From: Stathis Papaioannou (stathisp@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Mar 16 2008 - 02:17:11 MDT
On 16/03/2008, Rebecca <overturnedchair@gmail.com> wrote:
> While we're solving Great Problems In Definitions, how many grains of sand
> makes a heap?
You can avoid the sorites paradox
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorites_paradox) by always specifying
number of grains; how you define "heap" is of no substantive
importance in describing the world. Unfortunately, if the definition
of "heap" had profound psychological importance, as the definition of
personal identity and what counts as survival does, it couldn't be so
easily dismissed.
-- Stathis Papaioannou
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