Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Proclus, Anon (Titus) and Martin Luther

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5 ideas

1. Philosophy / B. History of Ideas / 4. Early European Thought

8011	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 / L. Paradox / 6. Paradoxes in Language / a. The Liar paradox

9464	One of their own prophets said that Cretans are always liars [Anon (Titus)]
	Full Idea: One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true.
	From: Anon (Titus) (17: Epistle to Titus [c.115], I.12)
	A reaction: The classic statement of the paradox, the word 'always' being the source of the problem.

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / g. Causal explanations

13165	Geometrical proofs do not show causes, as when we prove a triangle contains two right angles [Proclus]
	Full Idea: Geometry does not ask 'why?' ..When from the exterior angle equalling two opposite interior angles it is shown that the interior angles make two right angles, this is not a causal demonstration. With no exterior angle they still equal two right angles.
	From: Proclus (Commentary on Euclid's 'Elements' [c.452], p.161-2), quoted by Paolo Mancosu - Explanation in Mathematics §5
	A reaction: A very nice example. It is hard to imagine how one might demonstrate the cause of the angles making two right angles. If you walk, turn left x°, then turn left y°, then turn left z°, and x+y+z=180°, you end up going in the original direction.

18. Thought / E. Abstraction / 1. Abstract Thought

9569	The origin of geometry started in sensation, then moved to calculation, and then to reason [Proclus]
	Full Idea: It is unsurprising that geometry was discovered in the necessity of Nile land measurement, since everything in the world of generation goes from imperfection to perfection. They would naturally pass from sense-perception to calculation, and so to reason.
	From: Proclus (Commentary on Euclid's 'Elements' [c.452]), quoted by Charles Chihara - A Structural Account of Mathematics 9.12 n55
	A reaction: The last sentence is the core of my view on abstraction, that it proceeds by moving through levels of abstraction, approaching more and more general truths.

29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / e. Fideism

6609	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.