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19696
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There are reasons 'for which' a belief is held, reasons 'why' it is believed, and reasons 'to' believe it [Neta]
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Full Idea:
We must distinguish between something's being a 'reason for which' a creature believes something, and its being a 'reason why' a creature believes something. ...We must also distinguish a 'reason for which' from a 'reason to' believe something.
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From:
Ram Neta (The Basing Relation [2011], Intro)
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A reaction:
He doesn't spell the distinctions out clearly. I take it that 'for which' is my personal justification, 'why' is the dodgy prejudices that cause my belief. and 'to' is some actual good reasons, of which I may be unaware.
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23261
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A people, not government, creates a constitution, which is essential for legitimacy [Paine]
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Full Idea:
A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government, and a government without a constitution is power without right.
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From:
Thomas Paine (Rights of Man [1792], Ch.7), quoted by A.C. Grayling - The Good State 5
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A reaction:
A constitution looks like the ultimate focus of a social contract (though Greeks had them long ago). It is hard to say why a government should consider itself to be sovereign if it hasn't got it in writing.
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