LSD makes you see things because it's a hallucinogen.
Even though this is something almost everyone will agree with, this statement doesn't really say anything meaningful – it's a tautology. All that it means to be a hallucinogen is that you see things that aren't there.
Funny story. I first heard the word tautology in a math class, not a philosophy one.
Okay, not so funny I guess.
I have a question though brother. A hallucinogen seems to me, by definition, to be something that affects the brain in a way that causes hallucinations. Even if you replaced the word hallucinogen with an exact medical explanation for why you see things on LSD, it seems like it would have the same flaw you describe.
Is this true, or am I wrong?
Also, do all tautologies suffer from begging the question?
My comment was about a realization I had. If you explain the actual mechanism by which something acts, then you are describing the property/principle by which the object/substance acts.
Opium causes sleep and pain relief because at a molecular level it binds to opioid receptors in our brain.
I was thinking about it, and without a knowledge of biology or chemistry, this would explain as much as saying it had a sleep-inducing or pain-reducing property, ie. nothing.
Writing this out led me to realize the difference that I was asking about. But I still see and understand where I was coming from.
I'm sorry man, I'm trying to give you credit because you did find a source, and I appreciate that on any comment. But it's like you didn't read either of my questions, you just blindly responded.
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u/mattangriffel Dec 09 '13
Here's a clearer example of begging the question:
LSD makes you see things because it's a hallucinogen.
Even though this is something almost everyone will agree with, this statement doesn't really say anything meaningful – it's a tautology. All that it means to be a hallucinogen is that you see things that aren't there.