Posted by Glyn on March 11, 19103 at 11:46:23:
Hi guys, I'm having a bit of a debate with a friend, and he's the type of guy that just doesn't grasp philosophy at all (I'm sure you've all come across the type and spent hours trying to prove your point and hear them tell you it's just rubbish).
Anyway, the debate is about specific measurements. My point is that we can never measure a physical object in its absolute specificness because the object is infinite in its principles. If you don't get what I'm saying, I'll try to explain it a little more. The object is made up of molecules and so on, and we can never fully comprehend the object absolutely because every molecule can be broken down, and it would take longer than forever to cut every molecule down and get a specific measurement for every part of the object.
He replied with something like "You can measure everything."
And I then replied with "Yes, but we measure things with rulers, and this only gives us the vaguest calculations / estimates of its actual measurements."
He then said something stupid like "We may not measure something with a physical measuring device."
He thinks I'm stupid, yet I know I'm right, especially after reading Mr Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding." I've briefly been looking around on the net looking for some more clear cut evidence to prove my point, but I can't find anything simple enough for the idiot to understand.
This is where you come in. I was hoping some of you may be able to explain things a little more clearly for me, or point me in the right direction to a "Philosophy for dummies" site.
The most annoying thing is that he's a generally clever guy usually, he just can't grasp basic philosophical ideas, and to top it off, the guy ped an A-Level in mathematics.
Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help!
(if you want a laugh, I may even introduce him to this message board later on to display just how frustratingly ignorant the guy is)
Cheers, Glyn!