Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Hermarchus, Amartya Sen and Kit Fine

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2 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / c. Philosophy as generalisation

14255	We understand things through their dependency relations [Fine,K]
	Full Idea: We understand a defined object (what it is) through the objects on which it depends.
	From: Kit Fine (Ontological Dependence [1995], II)
	A reaction: This places dependency relations right at the heart of our understanding of the world, and hence shifts traditional metaphysics away from existence and identity. The notion of explanation is missing from Fine's account.

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy

9208	Philosophers with a new concept are like children with a new toy [Fine,K]
	Full Idea: Philosophers with a new concept are like children with a new toy; their world shrinks to one in which it takes centre stage.
	From: Kit Fine (Intro to 'Modality and Tense' [2005], p.10)
	A reaction: A wonderfully accurate observation, I'm afraid. You can trace the entire history of the subject as a wave of obsessions with exciting new ideas. Fine is referring to a posteriori necessities and possible worlds.