Category: Philosophy
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Entropy tends to Zero, at the Boundaries
Testing and Evaluation Philosophy Psychology Economics Physics & Engineering Chemistry Biology & Medicine Computer Science and Data Science Statistics and Measurement Theory Linguistics and Semiotics Music and Acoustics Visual and Plastic Arts Law and Ethics Sociology and Survey Design Theology and Liturgical Studies
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The Sorites Paradox, Ship of Theseus, and the smoke that broke the Planet’s back.
Introduction The Sorites Paradox, often called the paradox of the heap, is a classic philosophical riddle that arises from the vagueness of our language. It asks: at what point do small changes make a big difference? If removing a single grain of sand from a heap leaves it still a heap, and repeating this seems…
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Hercules and the Wagoner (Hercules and the Carter)
A wagoner (cart driver) was driving a heavily loaded cart along a muddy country road. The wheels sank axle-deep, and the cart stuck fast in the mire. The more the horses strained, the deeper the wheels sank. When the wagoner realized he was truly bogged, he panicked and fell to his knees, praying loudly to…
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Mercury and the Woodman
A poor woodman was felling a tree on a riverbank when his axe slipped from his hands and sank into the deep water. Dismayed, for the axe was his only means of livelihood, he sat down and wept. Hearing his cries, the god Mercury (the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, known for cleverness and also…
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The Oak and the Reed
By a riverside stands a mighty oak tree, proud and unyielding, next to a cluster of slender reeds that bow and flutter with each breeze. The oak boasts of its great strength and firmly rooted stability, sneering at the flexible reeds for bending meekly to even a slight wind. The reeds reply, “Do not worry…
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The Farmer and the Snake (The Frozen Serpent)
On a cold winter’s day, a kind-hearted farmer comes across a snake stiff and half-dead with cold. Moved with pity, the farmer lifts the frozen serpent and places it in his bosom (or brings it home by the hearth) to warm it back to life. Revived by the warmth, the snake immediately bites the farmer…
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Belling the Cat (The Mice in Council)
A community of mice is terrorized by a marauding house cat that pounces on them stealthily. Desperate to find a solution, the mice convene a council to discuss how to protect themselves. Many ideas are debated. Finally, a young mouse proposes a bold plan: hang a bell around the cat’s neck. That way, the bell…
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The Bundle of Sticks (The Old Man and His Sons)
An aging father with several quarrelsome sons seeks to teach them a final lesson before he dies. He gathers his sons and sets a bundle of sticks (or in some versions, a bundle of arrows) before them. He first asks each son to try to break the bundle when it’s tightly bound together. Despite their…
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Androcles and the Lion
Set in classical times, this story (often included in Aesop’s corpus though of later origin) tells of Androcles, a fugitive slave in ancient Rome, and a lion. Androcles escapes his cruel master and flees into the wilderness. There, he encounters a lion in pain, groaning and unable to walk. Instead of fleeing, Androcles bravely approaches…
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The Dog and its Reflection
The 17th-century engraver Wenceslaus Hollar depicts the greedy dog dropping its real bone while lunging at the illusion in the water. A dog crossing a stream with a piece of meat in its jaws looks down and sees what appears to be another dog in the water, carrying a larger piece of meat. Not realizing…
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The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
A town mouse, accustomed to the luxuries and bustle of urban living, once visited his cousin, a country mouse, who lived a simpler life in the fields. The country mouse humbly served rustic fare—plain grains and acorns. Finding this provincial meal and quiet life dull, the town mouse boasted of the refined delicacies and sophistication…
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The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
A poor farmer and his wife possess an extraordinary goose that lays a solid gold egg each day. Initially, this marvel brings them steady wealth. But greed soon overtakes prudence: impatient to have all the treasure at once, the couple decides to kill the goose and cut it open, believing it must contain a great…
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The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
A cunning wolf, unable to catch enough prey due to vigilant shepherds, devises a deceit: it dons the fleece of a sheep to blend into the flock. Disguised as one of the herd, the predatory wolf can prowl among the sheep without alarming them. Yet the ruse proves its own undoing—accounts differ on the ending.…
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The Lion and the Mouse
A mighty lion and a humble mouse cross paths in this tale of unexpected reciprocity. The lion, king of the savanna, initially captures the tiny mouse and, amused by the little creature’s pleas, decides magnanimously to spare its life. The grateful mouse squeaks that it will return the favor someday, which the lion finds laughable—how…
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The Fox and the Grapes
A hungry fox spies a cluster of ripe grapes hanging high on a vine. The grapes look delicious, and the fox eagerly leaps to snatch them, but they hang just out of reach. After repeated failures to obtain the fruit, the fox scoffs, “Oh, you’re probably sour anyway!” and trots off, convincing himself that he…
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The Tortoise and the Hare
A hare, swift and self-assured, and a tortoise, slow but steadfast, agree to race one another. Bolting ahead easily, the hare becomes so overconfident in his lead that he stops to nap midway. The plodding tortoise, meanwhile, never pauses and eventually passes the sleeping hare to reach the finish line first. This fable’s popular moral,…
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The Ant and the Grasshopper
In this classic tale, a hard-working ant labors all summer to store food, while a carefree grasshopper sings and plays. When winter arrives and the grasshopper finds itself starving, it begs the ant for food—but the ant reproaches its idleness and refuses to help. The straightforward moral is that diligent preparation and industry are rewarded,…
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Herodotus: The Gold-digging Ants of a far-away land called India
Hear then, O reader, a tale that the Persians who trade with the far-flung Indians relate, and that I, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, record as it was told to me—whether it be wholly true the gods alone may know, for I myself have not beheld these wonders with my own eyes. How the Gold Lies in…
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Fifty Laws defining the underlying structure of Reality
1 – 10 • Murphy 11 – 20 • Everyday Mischief and Mishaps 21 – 30 • Work, Management, and Bureaucracy 31 – 40 • Internet and Media 41 – 50 • Technology and Engineering
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Significant Paradoxes: Social Choice and Politics
79 Condorcet (Voting-Cycle) Paradox Three citizens rank policies A, B, C such that majority prefers A > B, B > C, and C > A, creating a cycle with no clear winner. Individual rankings are rational; the collective ranking is not. The paradox proves that simple majority voting can violate transitivity, foreshadowing complexities in committee…
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Significant Paradoxes: Epistemology and Probability
38 Hempel’s Raven Scientific hypotheses are usually universal claims—for example, “All ravens are black.” By standard logic that statement is equivalent to its contrapositive “All non-black things are non-ravens.” Hempel pointed out a tension between that equivalence and ordinary confirmation. A sighting of a black raven clearly supports the hypothesis, yet the contrapositive implies that…