Friday, April 24

Philosophical Warning Labels

Solipsism Warning:

The consumer should be aware that he or she may be the only entity in
the universe, and therefore that any perceived defects in product
quality are the consumer's own fault.

Determinism Safety Advisory:
Every citizen be advised that despite the possibility that his or her
acts are all entirely predetermined by the blind mechanical nature of
the universe and are therefore unavoidable and inescapable, he or she
will still incur a legal responsibility and liability for any torts,
violations, misdemeanors, or felonies he or she commits.
   
Knowledge-Definition Warning:

Because knowledge is defined for the purpose of this product
literature as "justified true belief", the manufacturer cannot prove
that they "know" any of the information provided with this product to
be true, correct, complete, or consistent because they cannot
demonstrate their internal belief states through the principle of
Philosophic Privacy.

 
Cartesian Evil Genius Alert:
The reader is advised that he or she may be subject to an illusion
generated by an evil genius, and that his or her "sensory fibers" may
be falsely manipulated at any time with neither advance warning nor
any possible legal remedy.
 
Epistemological Denotation Warning:
The consumer must understand that due to the a-priori impossibility of assuring a shared denotation amongst independent agents, none of the advertising material, product literature, instructions, or safety warnings (including this one), associated with this product may contain what the consumer perceives to be factual information.
 
Non-Universal Ethics Notice:
Due to the possibility that a common notion of ethics are not universally shared by all sentient beings, and that therefore the manufacturer may have entirely different concept of "fairness", "equity", "honesty", and "integrity" than the consumer, the consumer should not expect the product purchased to conform in any way to the advertised properties of the product.
  Godelian Product Disclaimer:
As it has been proven that there are many true but unproveable statements, the manufacturer cannot be held liable for any of its unsupported product claims.
 
Penrose Addendum to Godelian Disclaimer:
Despite the above warning, the manufacturer is confident that all its product claims are true because of its mystically acquired and computationally unrepudiable organic intuition. Unfortunately, the manufacturer cannot in any way demonstrate that its intuition is correct, or indeed that it has an intuition.
  Philosopher-General's Existentialist Tobacco Products Label:
Warning! this product has been found to cause cancer and ephysema, and to lead to increased likelihood of strokes and heart disease. However, as the Universe is a soulless waste inhabited by unthinking machines it doesn't matter in the least whether you smoke or not. Go ahead, light up, it's all the same to me if you live or die.

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