Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Jerry A. Fodor, Yale Kamisar and H.A. Prichard

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2 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 3. Philosophy Defined

12644	Who cares what 'philosophy' is? Most pre-1950 thought doesn't now count as philosophy [Fodor]
	Full Idea: Who cares what gets called 'philosophy'? It's my impression that most of what happened in philosophy before 1950 wouldn't qualify according to the present usage.
	From: Jerry A. Fodor (LOT 2 [2008], Ch.3.5)
	A reaction: A rather breath-taking remark. Fodor is, of course, a devotee of David Hume, and of Descartes, but he never seems to refer to Greeks at all. Personally I presume that if you aren't doing what Plato and Aristotle were interested in, it ain't philosophy.

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / d. Philosophy as puzzles

9254	In philosophy the truth can only be reached via the ruins of the false [Prichard]
	Full Idea: In philosophy the truth can only be reached via the ruins of the false.
	From: H.A. Prichard (What is the Basis of Moral Obligation? [1925])
	A reaction: A lovely remark! In a flash you suddenly see why philosophers expend such vast energy on such unpromising views of reality (e.g. idealism, panpsychism). This might be the best definition of philosophy I have yet discovered.