Plato’s metaphysics and his Doctrine of Forms describes a general division of our universe into forms and particulars. Forms are instantiated by contingent particulars. That is, particulars are produced by imperfect participation in a form.
A classic example in the metaphysics of identity is the “Ship of Theseus” story which introduces an interesting worry in the way we identify objects over time and change.
First, a brief overview of the problem itself. Imagine a ship, oddly enough captained by a man named Theseus, that was being preserved for historical reasons. Over the course of many years, every piece of the ship was replaced, from the main mast and Theseus’s own cabin to the tiniest bolt, such that no part of the original ship remained. Is the ship then still the Ship of Theseus?
G.E. Moore, an English philosopher, was famous for his simplistic “here is a hand” argument for a commonsensical refutation of skepticism. Before lectures of his Proof of an External World, he would raise each hand, remarking “here is a hand, here is another hand, _skepticism refuted_”, suggesting the intuitive nature of the observation and our phenomenal experience of hands was refutation enough.
How much importance should skeptical hypotheses be given? Is their affront to our common sense ideas of the world sufficient to refute them?
A worrisome issue that is often neglected in many fields is the problem of induction. Raised initially by Hume in his An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, the problem is related to our generalizations based on limited experience or knowledge, and how these a posteriori truths have no logical justification.
I’ve had my iPod Touch for a good week now and am absolutely loving the multi-touch experience. To say that the iPhone/iTouch UI is revolutionary is a massive understatement. In its first entrance into the mobile OS market, Apple has leapfrogged years past its competitors and leaves my Windows Mobile-powered Motorola Q in the dust. Switching between the obnoxiously unresponsive Q and the smooth scrolling and animation of the iPod only makes Apple’s product more brilliant.
However, the device is not without its niggles and I wouldn’t be a UI designer if I didn’t point out a few of the most obvious.