Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Herodotus, Iamblichus and Thomas M. Scanlon

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3 ideas

23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 9. Contractualism
Right and wrong concerns what other people cannot reasonably reject [Scanlon]
     Full Idea: Thinking about right and wrong is, at the most basic level, thinking about what could be justified to others on grounds that they, if appropriately motivated, could not reasonably reject.
     From: Thomas M. Scanlon (What We Owe to Each Other [1998], Intro)
     A reaction: The tricky bit is that the acceptance by others must be 'reasonable', so we need a reasonably objective view of rationality. Don't picture your neighbours, picture the locals when you are on holiday in a very different culture. Other Nazis?
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 6. Divine Morality / b. Euthyphro question
Pythagoreans believe it is absurd to seek for goodness anywhere except with the gods [Iamblichus]
     Full Idea: The thinking behind Pythagorean philosophy is that people behave in an absurd fashion if they try to find any source for the good other than the gods.
     From: Iamblichus (Life of Pythagoras [c.290], 137)
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
The Egyptians were the first to say the soul is immortal and reincarnated [Herodotus]
     Full Idea: The Egyptians were the first to claim that the soul of a human being is immortal, and that each time the body dies the soul enters another creature just as it is being born.
     From: Herodotus (The Histories [c.435 BCE], 2.123.2)