this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2024
636 points (82.5% liked)

Science Memes

10853 readers
3858 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Binette@lemmy.ml 44 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Metaphysics isn't looking for a black cat that isn't there. It's assuming that there is a black cat even though there might not be one, because flashlights don't exist yet.

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Metaphysics is about how things that don't exist affect what does exist. Things that don't exist include law, money, superstition, and belief. Santa clause isn't real, but everyone acting like he's real makes for a very real effect.

Metaphysics is telling everyone there's a black cat so they step more carefully.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago

What about superstitions about black cats being the reason everyone is looking in the first place?

[–] Binette@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

No but like stuff like Santa and money ins't part of metaphysics. It's like an attempt to answer stuff because we don't have the tools to know certain stuff. God would be metaphysics, but not Santa because we know we made Santa up, but the existence of some supreme being (while not exactly how we portray him) is unable to be unproven or proven

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You're talking about theology, not metaphysics.

[–] Binette@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I meant as in trying to figure out how the universe came to be etc. Not the study of religions.

Like yeah could of been "god" but it also could've been nothing at all, or something else

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah that's not what metaphysics is.

[–] Binette@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah it is

metaphysics, branch of philosophy whose topics in antiquity and the Middle Ages were the first causes of things and the nature of being. In postmedieval philosophy, however, many other topics came to be included under the heading “metaphysics.” (The reasons for this development will be discussed in the body of the article.)

Read more: https://www.britannica.com/topic/metaphysics/Problems-in-metaphysics

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Robert Anton Wilson would disagree.

[–] Binette@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 months ago