Granger causality

Firstly, it is difficult to establish causality from correlation. Even the strong R2 values and P values fail to prove this all important question. Therefore, whether one accepts the conclusions of Wilkinson and Pickett to some extent depends on whether or not one wants to be convinced. This is…

In this interview, I was surprised that Changlong Shi explains his viewpoints in a specific way which I never thought of. Changlong Shi believes that with the exception of irresistible outside forces, the desire of the human being is the only factor to make the world a dystopia, and the level of a dystopia can be defined through ranking its harmfulness. Changlong Shi argues that irresistible outside forces will probably cause a dystopia, but we do not need to worry about that because the…

The results from the experiment generally show the trials with full light intensity to have produced more oxygen, showing the elodea samples to have photosynthesised more than the lower light intensity trials. Trials 1 and 2 were in water bath 1 with full light intensity, whereas Trials 3 and 4 were in water bath 2, with lower light intensity. Experimental error caused the trials with the lower light intensity to be disrupted, and no data was collected for these trials on Day 8 of the experiment…

In his book, Free Will, author Sam Harris argues that the premises of free will, [1] “that each of us could have behaved differently than we did in the past” and [2] “that we are the conscious source of most of our thoughts, [intensions] and actions in the present” are false. Harris begins his argument by explaining that free will is an illusion because it is not our own making. Harris explains that our thoughts and intentions are the product of our unconscious mind. The point of origin of…

A dilemma is considered a situation in which you have to make a difficult choice. Vaughn states that free will is when "at least some of our choices and actions are not decided for us or forced upon us but are genuinely up to us." (Vaughn, pg.333) Free will is such a dilemma because for humans, it is natural to think that events are caused by previous events, but then again, it is natural to think that we act freely as well, yet together, these plausible beliefs cannot be true. The two general…

Argument: You can’t change the past. You can’t change the laws of nature. Given the past and the laws of nature, there’s only one thing that you can do next. So, you have no alternatives. Explanation: This argument utilizes the following three premises to show the impossibility of free will: 1) You can’t change the past. 2) You can’t change the laws of nature. 3) Given the past and the laws of nature, there’s only one thing that you can do next. Based on these premises, the argument concludes…

In the first section of Mind, R. E. Hobart presents a series of arguments in favor of compatibilism between free will and determination. In this essay, I will provide an analysis of his interpretation of power and discuss some of the critical parts of his argument. Finally, I will address two primary criticisms towards Hobart’s conclusion in favor of compatibilism using the conditional analysis of power. Hobart’s Conditional Analysis of Power: At the beginning of the article, Hobart…

Ayer: Ordinary and Constrained Actions Alfred Jules Ayer is one of the many philosophers throughout history who have attempted to analyze the concept of free will. He believed that free will is prominent within humans and that it is compatible with determinism. This compatibility stems from the idea that free will should be relative to constraint rather than causation, which free will is more often considered relative to. Ayer successfully defends his claims about free will by first breaking…

In four short chapters, Cavanaugh first exposes the misleading claims of the free market, arguing freedom must be ordered towards good ends. Absent otherworld’s telos, only the unreasonable power of one will against another remains. Second, he describes consumerism as a spiritual frame of mind that perpetuates a foolish desire for desire itself. Its logic is not a greedy grasping for possessions, but an empty detachment from, producers, production and the products we consume. Third, despite…

Larkin and Eliot vary in their view on time. For Eliot, time is ceaselessly present from the spiritual point of view. Through time, time is conquered .But Larkin believes that changes are predictable in time’s domain and the past is past and is never to be regained, “time and time over. “To the constant flux of time, man is in thrall and a victim” (Larkin, CP).So time is not an abstract idea but has “eroding agents” to bring out ill-effects in life. So time conquers man in its eternal flux.…