Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Anaxarchus, Wallace, J and Martin Luther

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4 ideas

1. Philosophy / B. History of Ideas / 4. Early European Thought
Aristotle is a buffoon who has misled the Church [Luther, by MacIntyre]
     Full Idea: Aristotle is a buffoon who has misled the Church.
     From: report of Martin Luther (talk [1525]) by Alasdair MacIntyre - A Short History of Ethics Ch.10
     A reaction: Before he became famous, Luther was a university lecturer on Aristotle. This remark was a hundred years before philosophers began serious criticism of Aristotle. Presumably Protestants just stopped reading him.
5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 4. Substitutional Quantification
Substitutional quantification is just a variant of Tarski's account [Wallace, by Baldwin]
     Full Idea: In a famous paper, Wallace argued that all interpretations of quantifiers (including the substitutional interpretation) are, in the end, variants of that proposed by Tarski (in 1936).
     From: report of Wallace, J (On the Frame of Reference [1970]) by Thomas Baldwin - Interpretations of Quantifiers
     A reaction: A significant-looking pointer. We must look elsewhere for Tarski's account, which will presumably subsume the objectual interpretation as well. The ontology of Tarski's account of truth is an enduring controversy.
13. Knowledge Criteria / D. Scepticism / 1. Scepticism
Anaxarchus said that he was not even sure that he knew nothing [Anaxarchus, by Diog. Laertius]
     Full Idea: Anaxarchus said that he was not even sure that he knew nothing.
     From: report of Anaxarchus (fragments/reports [c.340 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 09.10.1
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / e. Fideism
With respect to religion, reason is a blind whore [Luther]
     Full Idea: With respect to the mysteries of the Christian religion, reason is a blind whore.
     From: Martin Luther (talk [1525]), quoted by Robert Fogelin - Walking the Tightrope of Reason n4.2
     A reaction: Reason is presumably a blind whore with respect to all impenetrable mysteries. Since the reason of Aquinas endorsed the mysteries of Christianity, the remark seems a bit strong, but it is appropriate if you think that only faith (in Christianity) matters.