Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Theodosius, William Shakespeare and Edmund L. Gettier

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6 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy
8658 For there was never yet philosopher/ That could endure the toothache patiently [Shakespeare]
     Full Idea: For there was never yet philosopher/ That could endure the toothache patiently.
     From: William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing [1600], V.i)
     A reaction: You can't argue with that. I do think that people who have studied philosophy at length are more likely to be 'philosophical' when faced with human misery, but only up to a point.
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 1. On Reason
22708 Good reasons must give way to better [Shakespeare]
     Full Idea: Good reasons must of force give way to better.
     From: William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar [1599], 4.3.205)
     A reaction: [Brutus to Cassius] This remark is an axiom of rationality. But, of course, reasons can come in groups, and three modest reasons may compete with one very good reason.
13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 2. Justification Challenges / b. Gettier problem
8886 Being a true justified belief is not a sufficient condition for knowledge [Gettier]
     Full Idea: The claim that someone knows a proposition if it is true, it is believed, and the person is justified in their belief is false, in that the conditions do not state a sufficient condition for the claim.
     From: Edmund L. Gettier (Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? [1963], p.145)
     A reaction: This is the beginning of the famous Gettier Problem, which has motivated most epistemology for the last forty years. Gettier implies that justification is necessary, even if it is not sufficient. He gives two counterexamples.
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 4. Other Minds / b. Scepticism of other minds
1799 If we can't know minds, we can't know if Pyrrho was a sceptic [Theodosius, by Diog. Laertius]
     Full Idea: We can't say the school of Pyrrho is sceptical, because the motion of the mind in each individual is incomprehensible to others, so we don't know Pyrrho's disposition.
     From: report of Theodosius (Chapters on Scepticism [c.100 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 09.Py.8
20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 2. Willed Action / b. Volitionism
20304 The cause of my action is in my will [Shakespeare]
     Full Idea: The cause is in my will. I will not come./That is enough to satisfy the senate./But for your private satisfaction,/Because I love you, I will let you know.
     From: William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar [1599], II.ii)
     A reaction: This asserts the purest form of volitionism, but then qualifies it, because Caesar's will has been influenced by his wife's dreams.
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 1. War / b. Justice in war
23565 Our obedience to the king erases any crimes we commit for him [Shakespeare]
     Full Idea: We know enough if we know we are the king's men. Our obedience to the king wipes the crime of it out of us.
     From: William Shakespeare (Henry V [1599]), quoted by Michael Walzer - Just and Unjust Wars 03
     A reaction: He is referring to the slaughter of the French servants behind the lines at Agincourt. A classic expression of 'I was just obeying orders', which was rejected at Nurnberg in 1946. Depends on the seriousness of the crime.