Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Jacques Lenfant, Hermann Minkowski and David Miller

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4 ideas

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 4. Powers as Essence

12750	The question is whether force is self-sufficient in bodies, and essential, or dependent on something [Lenfant]
	Full Idea: The whole question is to know if the force to act in bodies is in matter something distinct and independent of everything else that one conceives there. Without that, this force cannot be its essence, and will remain the result of some primitive quality.
	From: Jacques Lenfant (Letters to Leibniz [1693], 1693.11.07), quoted by Daniel Garber - Leibniz:Body,Substance,Monad 8
	A reaction: This challenge to Leibniz highlights the drama of trying to simultaneously arrive at explanations of things, and to decide the nature of essence. Leibniz replied that force is primitive, because it is the 'principle' of behaviour and dispositions.

24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 4. Citizenship

22817	Citizenship involves a group of mutually supporting rights, which create community and equality [Miller,D]
	Full Idea: The idea of citizenship is that rights support each other. Protective and welfare rights provide a basis for a political role. This underpins a sense of membership, and an obligation to provide welfare. Rights confer equal status and self-respect.
	From: David Miller (Community and Citizenship [1989], 3)
	A reaction: A helpful eludation of what a richer concept of citizenship than mere membership might look like. Communitarians have a different concept of rights from that of liberals.

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 14. Nationalism

22816	Socialists reject nationality as a false source of identity [Miller,D]
	Full Idea: The socialist tradition has been overwhelmingly hostile to nationality as a source of identity, usually regarding it merely as an artificially created impediment to the brotherhood of man.
	From: David Miller (Community and Citizenship [1989], 2)
	A reaction: I have some sympathy with this, especially when nationalism is expressed in terms of enemies, but the question of what community a person can plausibly identify with is difficult. We start in hunter gather tribes of several hundred.

27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 6. Space-Time

14014	Space alone, and time alone, will fade away, and only their union has an independent reality [Minkowski]
	Full Idea: Henceforth, space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality.
	From: Hermann Minkowski (Space and Time [1908], Intro)
	A reaction: Notice the qualification that it is a 'kind of' union. Deep confusion arises from exaggerating the analogy between space and time. Craig Bourne remarks (2006:157) that this shows independence of measurement, not of reality