To φ Or Not To φ (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)

Justin Weinberg

April 17, 2018

To φ Or Not To φ
by Tanya Kostochka

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3 Comments

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Lauris Lowe

8 years ago

Excuse my ignorance but what does the symbol mean?

moderate

8 years ago

Reply to Lauris Lowe

Do you mean this symbol: φ ? That’s the Greek letter phi (it’s pronounced ‘fee’, so it rhymes with ‘be’, thus the name is a pun on Hamlet). Philosophers tend to use it as a variable to talk about actions in sentences like: If S intends to φ, then S must believe that …

Ryan Lake

8 years ago

Reply to moderate

Whaaaa – I’ve always pronounced it ‘fie’ so it rhymes with ‘pie’. Have I been wrong all this time?

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