Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Stephen Houlgate, Wolfgang von Goethe and Gary Gutting

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12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 5. Empiricism Critique
Many people imagine that to experience is to understand [Goethe]
     Full Idea: There are many people who imagine that what they experience they also understand.
     From: Wolfgang von Goethe (Maxims and Reflections [1825], 889)
     A reaction: This should be posted over the arrivals gate of every international airport, for returning holiday-makers. It seems to place Goethe on the rationalist side of the debate with empiricism. It is hard to explain 'understanding' in Humean terms.