Beg to Differ (eBook)

Dr. Abraham Meidan,Ph.d., is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Hashavshevet Ltd. and at WizSoft Inc. In addition to the this role, Dr. Meidan serves as the Chairman of Targetech Innovation Center. Dr. Meidan also serves as the Chairman of Afeka, Tel-Aviv Academic College of Engineering and a Director of the Tel-Aviv Technological College. As well as this he was formerly the Director of Optiway Ltd. Prior to founding his software companies, Dr. Meidan served as a Lecturer at the Tel Aviv University. Dr. Meidan holds a Ph.D. from the Tel Aviv University and is an expert in logic.Joseph Agassi Ph, d. is an Israeli academic who specializes in logic, scientific method, and philosophy. He studied at the London School of Economics. He has taught at Boston University, the University of Illinois, the University of Hong Kong and the London School of Economics. He is currently professor of Philosophy, Tel-Aviv University, and York University Toronto. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Society of Canada, and the World Academy of Art and Science.

Preface 6
Contents 8
Introduction 10
Chapter 1: On the Frustration That Debates Cause 12
Avoiding Frustrating Debates 17
Chapter 2: Resolving a Dispute 26
Debates About Theories 32
Chapter 3: Improving the Wording of the Questions Under Dispute 38
Chapter 4: The Burden of Proof 52
Generalizations and Existential Statements 53
Chapter 5: Disputes About General Facts and Theories 56
Ad-hoc Theories 58
Simplicity 61
Predictions vs. Explanations 63
The Theory of Evolution or Evolutionism 66
Global Warming 68
Chapter 6: Disputes About Statistical Generalizations 70
Accidental Patterns 77
Debates About Healthy Diets 78
Chapter 7: Metaphysical Disputes 79
The Mind-Body Problem 81
The Problem of Free Choice 85
What Is Really the Case? 87
Does God Exist? 88
Chapter 8: Disputes About History and Predictions 93
Long-Range Forecasts 99
Global Famine 102
Chapter 9: Disputes About Technology, Including Medicine 103
Disputes About Advantages and Drawbacks 107
Global Warming II 109
Chapter 10: Disputes About Ethics and Politics 111
The Choice of a Lifestyle 111
Criteria for Ethics and Politics 112
Politics 118
Human Rights 120
The Problem of Inequality 121
National Rights 122
Global Politics 123
Popular Political Principles and Styles 124
Chapter 11: Disputes About Aesthetics 127
Chapter 12: Conclusion 132
Appendix: Skepticism 136
A Brief History of Skepticism 138
Bibliography 141
Index 142