Keith’s Conundrums: A New Puzzle Hunt

Keith Douglas

Steve and Mike report trying to formalize Curry’s paradox and getting stuck over self-reference. They can proceed in this direction; many have. Those interested can look up Gödel numbers. Alex points out an iterated conditional and how it is difficult to understand. In ordinary language iterated conditionals are very rare. Some philosophers of language think this is significant for the philosophy of logic. I am not sure. 

Thanks, everyone, for the interest. This puzzle is like The Liar (“this statement is false”) but harder still to think through.

A New Puzzle Hunt

We have a new puzzle hunt, this one related to domains of knowledge and their worldly referents. Once again, one gets a prize by solving all the individual challenges. Hint: a flawed but interesting book, on the theme of the puzzle.

1. Biomedical _____ is the discipline devoted to right and wrong, professional practice, safety, etc., in medical and adjacent fields.

2. _____ is the most general factual field of knowledge, according to M. Bunge and D. Armstrong (and the present author).

3. The area of knowledge associated with Herman Daly (two words).

4. The study of rocks, minerals, etc.

5. Scientific _____ can be taken as the thesis that scientific hypotheses are truth-apt (can be evaluated for literal truth and falsity).

6. The philosophical viewpoint (not to be confused with the epistemology of scientists) that knowledge can only be obtained through the senses.

7. For any proposition A, not-A can be said to be its (or one of its) _____.

8. The object of study of some anthropologists.

9. The applied science and technology of learning, motivation, reasoning, etc., as potentially useful in the classroom, rehearsal, workshop, etc.

10. The study of human beings generally.

11. Someone who studies the synthesis of molecules performed on behalf of and within nervous systems.

12. One of Bunge’s “mixed sciences” — the study of statistical properties of human populations.

13. Anatomy and _____; a department at McGill whose second component should not be confused with microbiology.

14. The branch of medicine that deals with the treatment of cancer.

15. Roundworms are the object of study here.

16. Determining whether a proposition is true is sometimes called this.

17. One can make use of this to help with the activity in item 16.

18. French for “bringing together.” Used by Bunge to explain a goal of scholarship because the world itself is one.

19. A mixed science divided sometimes into “human” and “physical.”

20. A very interdisciplinary field, touching on ethics, agriculture, forestry, biology, geography, urban planning, etc.

21. The branch of medicine dealing with the kidneys.

22. A puzzle concerning a curious piece of knowledge, often seemingly paradoxical.

23. A binary relation is said to be _____ when it is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive.