Thought expediment elemental demonology 102 v. 0.1
- – Hypothetical organism which can simultaneously maximize all aspects of its fitness.
- – Cartesian skepticism (also called methodological skepticism) advocates the doubting of all things that cannot be justified through logic. uses three arguments to cast doubt on our ability to know objectively: the , the deceiving God argument, and the malicious demon argument. Since our senses cannot put us in contact with external objects themselves, but only with our mental images of such objects, we can have no absolute certainty that anything exists in the external world. In the evil demon argument Descartes proposes an entity who is capable of deceiving us to such a degree that we have reason to doubt the totality of what our senses tell us.
- – Hypothetical all-knowing being who knows the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe, and therefore could use to reveal the entire course of cosmic events, past and future. based the demon on the philosophical proposition of . developed a more physical version of the same thought experiment, known as , based on position, , direction and .
- – Hypothetical being that can distinguish between fast and slow moving molecules. If this demon only let fast moving molecules through a trapdoor to a container, the temperature inside the container would increase without any work being applied. According to , such a scenario seems to violate the . 's refinement of Maxwell's demon in the context of is sometimes referred to as . The biological equivalent of Maxwell's "" is a . According to , the demon must record the state of each molecule, and the eventual erasure of that information would return entropy to the system.
- In aphorism 341 of , puts forth his concept. In it, he employs a demon with special metaphysical knowledge as an agent for forcing reevaluation of perspective on one's own life.
- Searle's demon – -like being that reproduces intentional behaviour in someone's brain without neither the person nor the organism being intentional in themselves. It was conceptualized by in criticizing 's theory of .
- Morton's demon – Hypothetical being that stands at the gateway of a person's senses and lets in facts that agree with that person's beliefs while deflecting those that do not. This demon was devised by Glenn Morton to explain the phenomenon of .
- Demon of bureaucratic chaos – Relates to the phenomenon that "blocks good things from happening" at the . This hypothesized entity makes it extremely difficult to complete complex projects — by frequently changing mission requirements, funding, and strategic direction. Examples include the , which was constructed but never turned on; the , which cost $2 billion before its cancellation; and , the international fusion experiment in that the has alternately supported and opposed, and to which it has threatened withdrawal, cut funding, and increased funding over the decades.
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