Strange Questions No One Knows the Answers To

this video is sponsored by blinkist understand key ideas from books in just 15 minutes use the link in the description and you receive one free week and 25% off and annual premium membership you're sitting in a small Alleyway between your apartment building and the building next door getting some fresh air and enjoying some coffee a single snowflake falls on the ground next to you you don't notice not long after another snowflake falls in the same relative spot again you don't notice over the following couple of hours more snow flakes fall in the same concentrated area directed by a draft and a small Whirlwind created by the space between the two buildings at some point you notice and you determine that you are now sitting next to a heap of snow you were there observing the same area the whole time but only now do you determine that next to you is a heap of snow but then when did the snowflakes turn into a heap did one additional snowflake cause this change which number snowflake did if one did can a single snowflake possibly be the difference between a non-heap of snow and a Heap what if now after the snow is stopped assuming you could you take an individual snowflake off of the Heap would it still be a Heap what if you took another snowflake off and another what if you kept taking snowflakes off would there be a point along the way at which the Heap would no longer be a heap at some point ultimately you'd be left with only one snowflake certainly not a heap but if once snowflake is not a heap then is two is three now we're back where we started is there really such thing as a heap at all this is a version of what is known as cides Paradox in plain terms the Paradox is that if a single flake of snow or grain of sand or anything similar is not a heap then adding one flake to it does not create a heap It seems impossible that one flake could make the difference between a non-heap and a heap so therefore two flakes are also not a heap however using this Logic No matter how many flakes of snow are continually added one by one there will never be a heap of snow but of course we know there can be heaps of snow hence the Paradox this Paradox points out a problem with how we Define classify and identify things how language maps onto reality and how we manipulate reality with language arguably the term Heap refers to a concept a quality of something in this case the quality of a group of things the problem and Paradox however is caused by the vagueness of the term Heap doesn't have clear boundaries for what it is or isn't when we see a heap we know that's a heap but the vagueness of what a heap actually is in reality becomes clear when one is taken apart when we break a heap down the concept of a heap breaks down itself although this is most easily and clearly exemplified in something like like a keep a similar problem can arise when referring to almost anything the problem of universals in the case of heaps of snow philosophically the term Heap here is considered a universal the specific Heap next to you is what is referred to as a particular or the specific instance in which the universal is exemplified more broadly universals are properties that are fully instantiated or exemplified by different objects and phenomena in the world this includes things like greenness squareness tallness beautifulness and so on these entities are abstract so they don't exist in time and space and thus they can exist in multiple places at the same time conversely particulars are concrete which do exist in time and space and thus can only exist in one place at any given time for example imagine there are two heaps of snow now one next to you and one across the street there are both heaps of snow and so in this sense they are both the same thing and this is where universals come in but of course they are also completely different things they both are made of entirely different snow formed into different shapes exist in different places and so forth each Heap here is its own particular so both are the same thing heaps of snow and yet both are different things as another perhaps less extreme and clearer example consider the chair you are sitting on while observing the snow let's say the chair is green in this case the chair under you is the particular in which the universals of things like greenness and chairess are represented now let's also say you have three more of the same chair each of these other chairs are the exact same color shape size and of the same manufacturer but yet they are of course all different particular chairs they each occupy different space at different times they are each made of entirely unique collections of matter and so forth their existence is wholly separate and unique from each other and yet simultaneously they're all the same chair and that's most likely how you or anyone would refer to them when speaking generally but what actually makes something the same as other things if each individual instance of the thing is a completely different thing a separate physical object or phenomenon or put differently how can different things have identical properties if they are different things the problem in philosophy known as the problem of universals stems from this obscurity and how we identify what makes things the same the convoluted nature of sameness and separateness the most intuitive and obvious way to deal with this problem is to just describe the qualities that things have in common and if they have enough in common then referring to them with the same Universal is Justified but now we're back at the problem of the Heap how many properties in common make things the same thing how many metaphorical grains of sand or flakes of snow suddenly permit one individual thing into a group of the same thing taking it even further to say that objects have something in common means that there must be this other thing in reality that they have in common greenness Heap chairess bigness and so on using the example of the chairs if the green color small size chair shape and manufacturer make the chairs the same then the greenness smallness chairess and manufactur must be a present thing that exists in each chair one cannot say that green makes one thing the same as something else if green isn't a real Present part of reality but what really is chairess and greenness are they actually real parts of reality this is the problem of universals do these abstract properties exist beyond the objects they are instantiated by and if so in what way the philosophical camp known as realists believes that universals like greenness chairess heatness and so on actually do exist in reality and are independent of the mind this line of thinking follows from the theory of forms developed by the classic Greek philosopher Plato in which Plato drew a distinction between two Realms of reality physical objects that we can perceive with our senses and the realm of ideas which we can only grasp through our intellect and reason since for Plato all objects in the physical world change over time like for example a rock will erode and become sand but ideas like the idea of a Rock are ultimate and enduring then the realm of ideas is more real than the realm of objects if particulars are to have meaning there must be universals Plato says alternatively the philosophical camp known as nominalists believe that universals are only terms used to describe things but don't exist in reality they are merely words and labels lastly somewhat in the middle of the two conceptualists believe that universals exist in our perception but not in in the outside world in other words they only exist within the mechanisms of our mind other philosophers typically adjacent to nominalists argue that there is never anything truly shared between two or more objects two green chairs both possess two unique qualities of greenness and chairess entirely specific to each we simply lump all the green chairs together only as a result of their resemblance to us here we arrive at another philosophical problem the Criterion of identity or principle of individuation the Criterion of identity relates to the following problem how do we determine what makes an individual thing distinct from other things what is the standard by which we are to judge the identity of something as being unique and itself what makes you a person and not a heap of particles what makes you you and not someone else or someone different from yourself across time perhaps the best way to explore this problem is through the classic thought experiment the ship of Theus after voyaging to cre and slaying an evil Minotaur one of the most distructive and terrifying Monsters of the Greek mythical world the Divine founder and hero of Athens Theus sailed home and commemoration of this unbelievable feat the Athenians would decide to keep thesis's ship in the harbor and meticulously maintain it while each year reenacting thesis's Voyage as years and years would go by every time a part of the ship became worn damaged or defective it would be replaced with an identical piece made of the exact same material gradually after hundreds and hundreds of years the ship in the harbor will become comprised of entirely new parts with no original parts remaining the question we are left with here is as follows is the ship in the harbor still the ship of Theus after the first part of the ship is replaced most people would likely still consider it the ship of Theus but if this is true Sur the second part being replaced the third part and quite a few more parts to come would still not affect the ship of Theus being the ship of Theus but by the end how can a ship that does not have a single part in common be the same ship and if it isn't the ship of Theus at this point when did it stop being the ship of Theus if it is a different ship once one thing changes weren't some things always changing to some degree before any parts were replaced mild erosions scuffs things being put on and taken off and so on if it's only the ship of Theus if Theus uses it been on it or perhaps owns it what if he had been on parts of the new one and is considered the owner and what if someone then took all of the old parts that were removed and then put them back together in the form of another ship now there are two ships that he's been on and owned in different capacities which would be the true ship of Theus if there can only be one which one is more his or perhaps neither the ship of thesias ultimately this Paradox demonstrates the vagueness and uncertainty around the Persistence of identity in a world of change and plurality we cannot clearly and concretely Define what something is over time moreover we cannot clearly tell that something is the same thing as itself over time we can only call it the same thing and create or lean into the illusions of the mind that help us organize and form a linear tracking of things together the ship of Theus the iion of identity the problem of universals and sores Paradox demonstrate how terms and Concepts have a much looser relationship with reality than we like to think ultimately we use terms and ideas to communicate and interface with the world of objects and other people but even in just these fairly simple cases of examination the methods of language conceptualization and categorization reach the limits of their abilities it is an incredible wonder and achievement that given the uncertainty and obscurity of all of this everything in the world the human mind can still so easily and intuitively form such impressive Feats of organization and perceptual calibration of understanding the world in a coherent and functional way in a way that can allow societies and cities to be built love to be expressed confusion to be articulated shared and overcome we form our systems our identities our preferences our knowledge real or pseudo out from this ability and perhaps at bottom that's all that really matters but perhaps also at times it can be useful to dive head first into the Heap of obscurity and examine things just a little bit closer to remember that everything we think we know and think we are is far more malleable vague and uncertain and in doing so we can perhaps counteract the fair share of problems that come with rigid attachment to ideas and thinking in terms of binary opposition we can perhaps counteract Prejudice bias narrow mindedness and so on in truth we have all come to hold our Illusions and Frameworks of perception near and dear but take one flake away one wooden plank away one part of your brain away and what are you left with this video was sponsored by blinkist consider one more Paradox you've just discovered the app blinkist where you can understand the most important ideas from over 6,600 non-fiction books through 15-minute explainers after getting the app first you listen to the stuff of thought by Stephen Pinker where you learn about what language teaches us about human nature how it affects human behavior and often gets us into trouble it's so thought-provoking convenient and enjoyable you immediately continue on to a second book the doubt a jing by Lau where you learn about the fluidity of everything and how to understand what you cannot describe you continue using blinkist every day listening to at least several expl planners every week at the end of each week your knowledge significantly increases and you vastly improve your understanding of yourself the world your career and so on of course however at the end of each week you feel like the same person by the end of the year however after continuing this habit and absorbing countless life-changing ideas on blankest you feel like a completely different person compared to when you started at what point then did you become a different person if you felt the same after each individual week can it be pinpointed if not the first week was it the second the third was it at any point of course this is an example of the ship of thesias and how this problem can so easily apply to many things what isn't paradoxical however is that blinkist makes it easy for just about anyone to become a new improved version of themselves and now with blinket spaces you can easily share books with those close to you and help friends and family discover new versions of themselves as well even without having blink as premium click the link in the description and you'll receive a free 7-Day trial and 25% off and annual premium blanket subscription and of course thank you so much for watching in general and see you next video

Channel: Pursuit of Wonder

Views: 259,570

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Id: zhLOH_WEuhc

Length: 15min 23sec (923 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 05 2023