[ExI] The point of emotions

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2008/4/22 Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com>:
> On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 2:54 PM, Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:
>  >  I am not asking a philosophical question but, if you will, a practical
>  >  question about what we really think is likely to be the case. We
>  >  cannot be absolutely sure that the Earth is spherical rather than flat
>  >  any more than we can be absolutely sure that other people have minds
>  >  like our own.
>
>  I believe that a difference nevertheless exists. I cannot be sure that
>  the earth is really spherical in the sense that I might be dreaming
>  the world or living in a VR, à la Deutsch. But making the assumption
>  that this is not the case, there are different consequences, both from
>  a theoretical and practical point of view, that makes the hyphothesis
>  that the earth is flat not really satisfactory.

There are also practical and theoretical consequences to the theory
that other people have feelings; whether we can torture them with
impunity, for example.

There was a time when I was in the thrall of logical positivism and
thought the question of whether other people have feelings was
metaphysical nonsense. Reluctantly, I have dropped that position and
now think that it is *very likely* other people have feelings.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou