Objectively, what is a question (dan020350…u in spy a me he yeah
that has a distinctly true, unarguable, undisputable answer?
I posit there is none.
…from which I conclude that “question” is itself a mere inflection-infected sentence constructed for the same kind of practical ends as are sentences— sentences also having no objective meaning outside of context-specific arrangements with practical, social-contract-based goals in mind.
Any “questions”?
a question of definate answer? one that can be used in any content, and will get the same answer? One that isn’t dirrect, like,… Is the sun hot or cold? As long as your not comparing it top a hotter sun, it will be hot.
How about one that triggers the responce,… All I am is what I do in contrast to the situation I’m confronted with.
What does 2+2 equal?
thank you, Duder–
your question not only
follows a time-honored tradition of
philosophical reverence for the prowess of
mathematical science as a seemingly self-contained entity,
as well as as a reliable tool one may use to demonstrate ways it imitates
our ideas concerning truth, or vice-versa (<hey! there goes one now!!!), it
lends insight into the “fact” that I should have framed my topic “question” more specifically…
[size=150]What is one question which has just one answer, as opposed to infinitely many answers?[/size]
Your simple, yet nonetheless powerful, reference to of our recognition of mathematics’ quirky resemblance to an answer concerning absolute truth ties in nicely with Phil27of79’s suggestions that truth is comparative, as opposed to “fixed”, “absolute”
“What does 2+2 equal?”
may be answered in a variety of ways
…not simply one,
right?
So then, my claim, being shaped by your responses, is that there is no question which yields onely one answer, rather many.
In what other way can it be answered?
Another question:
“Am I?”
I don’t get your point. There are a lot of questions with one possible answer, like;
‘is this a question’?
‘is there an answer to this question?’
‘what’s the full name your parents gave Pamela McGee born 1977 in Little Spring Ohio?’
‘what is the standard chemical notation for iron?’
‘What is the sixth planet from the Sun?’
‘What is the melting temperature of platinum at 1 bar?’
‘Is it possible to describe all of the worlds population in one word?’
‘Was Freud Mahori?’
'How many letters spells ‘Einstein?’
But I’m sure these are all not real questions considering your post.
Could you clarify your question a bit?
Finally, I understand - you mean that all questions can be answerd wrong as well as right, don’t you?
To the question what is 2+2? I could very easily answer: 5.
I suppose then your conclusion is correct. Bravo!
Duder,
it’s interesting how you ask
“in what other way can it be answered?”
when we haven’t even given one answer yet!
What does 2+2 equal?
(You go first)
JM… Right. But there are no “wrong” answers in an absolute sense, just those which are not approved according to established systematic codes which are considered satisfactory by social authority.
5 does not represent a valid equal-- it was established to denote a higher value, but 2+2, as well as 3+1, 3+ 1/2+ 1/2, and 2(2) all alternately express the same “value”.
“5” fits the bill only if we establish that we have assigned a different value to the symbol for the sake of illustration, but such would get confusing, and, for practical reasons, has no utility in the economic sense in which the “facts” of number thrive. But ultimately, above and beyond the arrangement whereby “5” means 2+2+1, it is one choice among many of representing the pattern mathematical reasoning provides.
(The other illustration, which allows “2+2 equals 7-3” is a less psychologically disruptive treat).
My point is, JM, philosophically speaking, that there are no questions with just one possible answer.
“is this a question”? in the context in which you deliver it is arguably not a question at all, insofar as it is used as part of a sentence which is an assertion, not a question, that there exist questions with one possible answer.
Taken independently, and more philosophically favorably, for some, the question “is this a question?” can of course yield the pat answer “yes”, but from the standpoint of philosophical investigation will allow the responses:
"Is what a question? You mean this sentence which would otherwise say “This is a question” if it did not change the order and the inflection of words for the sake of anyhow expecting a “yes” response in accordance with an socially-sanctioned system of confirmation and denial?.
My own authority reports to my sense of the context that “is this a question?” is indeed not necessarily a “question”
(We haven’t satisfactorily defined “question” if we ever will here)
It is a statement which attempts to defend a position, but is manipulated so as to effect a response that is anticipated and expected, so as to encourage denial of alternative forms of representation.
Socrates is famous for this, despite however much we may or may not appreciate the truth values of the technique’s results.
I could say “yes” to “Is this a question?” but it is more complicated when philosophy is permitted to investigate the structure of language and intention.
II
The second question, which asks “is there an answer to this question”, makes our task easy by legitimately allowing the answer –
“No, there are many answers to this question, including a simple ‘yes’, if you like, or 'no, the question is so vague as to preclude a meaningful answer” among others…
III
This type of question is more difficult to deconstruct because it involves the context-specific information I refered to initially as having the most bearing on that which we most powerfully accomplish as representing a “fact.” Things we make up, count, or categorize. This was Aristotle’s great contribution. Of course as many saw, and continue to see, such “truths” are highly arbitrary and require a context-specific reference point which is quite divorced from any concern with ultimate truth.
In other words, the “fact” that such questions suggest only one answer, if they in fact do, is based in a concern with the trivial, the legal, the social contracting and practically constructive elements of society which preserve records for the sake of material prosperity. It’s very simple.
What’s the full name [my] parents gave Pamela McGee born in 1977 in Little Spring Ohio? For some “There is no such name”, for others “my parents did not”, for yet another “Pamela McGee”. It depends on a practical arrangement. The question itself has no absolute answer. We cannot support any assertion otherwise without clarification.
IV
I myself do not know the standard chemical notation for iron, so there is one answer. If you know it, then there is your answer.
Beyond such facetiousness as that, again, it bears repeating that whatever symbolic structure it has, can be alternately described using alternative languages we simply do not construct. The fact that something is “on record” does not satisfy the kind of answer I mean when speaking of ultimate truth, or absolute reality. It escapes the grasp of language to define our world so precisely. Where we do, it is usually very material and/or trivial. That is why philosophy degenerates into this.
V
‘What is the sixth planet from the Sun?’
Phil27of79 might commit my favorite cardinal sin of answering a question with a question (as if “yes” and “no” are not the ultimate mysteries if ever there were) and ask “Which sun?”
VI
‘What is the melting temperature of platinum at 1 bar?’
F, C, or K?
VII
‘Is it possible to describe all of the worlds population in one word?’
Possible for who? Is it possible to describe anything in one word? Aren’t descriptions’ lengths up to the describer? Whose judging what’s possible for description, the one doing the describing ot the one listening/reading the description? I’d say yes it is possible to do such. The word is “Oh.” On second thought, it’s not possible, no.
VIII
‘Was Freud Mahori?’
I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question.
If you are asking if two people can be the same person, there are theories that support that we are indeed one soul fragmented, so this could be “yes”, but for practical considerations, like if some one is trying to prosecute, seize assets, or something where an answer of “no” is expected so that business may be carried out, even the microcosmic business of “proving” something (trivial), a “no” might just be imposed on the truth.
VIII
'How many letters spells ‘Einstein?’
5, 6, or 8, depending on whether e,i, and n are counted twice, and if the captial E is a distinct character, but this surely is not the only answer, right?
There are only directions, no answers and the direction is to be found in the question.
A
Can you clarify what you have said about me?