Krimel asked dmb:...Who says the "probability distribution" is cannot be a philosophical term? You? Why not?
dmb says:Seriously? Well, your apparent inability to detect such a distinction would seem to confirm my previous accusations. It's funny that we keep saying, "No, you're confused" at each other. At least one of us is. Maybe both of us. But look at this statement of yours, for example: You said, "The term preference agrees with the data to the extent that it is synonymous with 'probability distribution'." Now, if the probability distribution is "a description of a collection of outcomes", then it IS the empirical data. Then we can make philosophical claims about that data. The claims have to agree with the data, but they say something beyond that about how to understand it, adding context and meaning to the raw numbers. Thus, the "probability distribution" is not a philosophical term. It's a data set that quantifies empirical observations. The term "preference" asks us to understand that data in a certain way, thus it is a philosophical term. Krimel said:You have not shown how the addition of volition at the inorganic level contributes to our understanding. ...I don't see how volition adds anything to the analysis. ...But again where is the volition? ...But again I ask where is the volition? ... But again I ask where is the volition? dmb says: I think you must be confused again, because "volition" is not in the data. It's just an idea about the data. It unifies the inorganic level with the other three levels, which is nice for the internal structure of the MOQ, and it helps to solve some classic problems. But now I'm just repeating myself. It's just no good to mix philosophy and science the way you do. It's a real conversation stopper. _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™ Groups: Create an online spot for your favorite groups to meet. http://windowslive.com/online/groups?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_groups_032009 Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
