150 ideas
| 21916 | Philosophers can't be religious, and don't need to be; philosophy is perilous but free [Schopenhauer] |
| 4171 | Philosophy considers only the universal, in nature as everywhere else [Schopenhauer] |
| 4186 | Everyone is conscious of all philosophical truths, but philosophers bring them to conceptual awareness [Schopenhauer] |
| 12171 | Absurdity is incongruity between correct and false points of view [Schopenhauer] |
| 21366 | Metaphysics must understand the world thoroughly, as a principal source of knowledge [Schopenhauer] |
| 21474 | Metaphysics studies the inexplicable ends of explanation [Schopenhauer] |
| 21918 | Sufficient Reason can't be proved, because all proof presupposes it [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 4187 | 'There is nothing without a reason why it should be rather than not be' (a generalisation of 'Why?') [Schopenhauer] |
| 4168 | Matter and intellect are inseparable correlatives which only exist relatively, and for each other [Schopenhauer] |
| 21470 | For me the objective thing-in-itself is the will [Schopenhauer] |
| 21926 | Schopenhauer, unlike other idealists, says reality is irrational [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 4167 | The knowing subject and the crude matter of the world are both in themselves unknowable [Schopenhauer] |
| 21920 | No need for a priori categories, since sufficient reason shows the interrelations [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 21362 | Necessity is physical, logical, mathematical or moral [Schopenhauer, by Janaway] |
| 4192 | All necessity arises from causation, which is conditioned; there is no absolute or unconditioned necessity [Schopenhauer] |
| 4190 | All understanding is an immediate apprehension of the causal relation [Schopenhauer] |
| 21479 | Knowledge is not power! Ignorant people possess supreme authority [Schopenhauer] |
| 4165 | Descartes found the true beginning of philosophy with the Cogito, in the consciousness of the individual [Schopenhauer] |
| 21361 | For Schopenhauer, material things would not exist without the mind [Schopenhauer, by Janaway] |
| 21923 | Schopenhauer can't use force/energy instead of 'will', because he is not a materialist [Lewis,PB on Schopenhauer] |
| 4162 | The world only exists in relation to something else, as an idea of the one who conceives it [Schopenhauer] |
| 21922 | We know reality because we know our own bodies and actions [Schopenhauer] |
| 21913 | Kant rightly separates appearance and thing-in-itself [Schopenhauer] |
| 21919 | Object for a subject and representation are the same thing [Schopenhauer] |
| 21476 | A priori propositions are those we could never be seriously motivated to challenge [Schopenhauer] |
| 4164 | Direct feeling of the senses are merely data; perception of the world comes with understanding causes [Schopenhauer] |
| 4163 | All perception is intellectual [Schopenhauer] |
| 3061 | Anaxarchus said that he was not even sure that he knew nothing [Anaxarchus, by Diog. Laertius] |
| 21473 | All knowledge and explanation rests on the inexplicable [Schopenhauer] |
| 21917 | The four explanations: objects by causes, concepts by ground, maths by spacetime, ethics by motive [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 4166 | A consciousness without an object is no consciousness [Schopenhauer] |
| 21369 | We have hidden and unadmitted desires and fears, suppressed because of vanity [Schopenhauer] |
| 21478 | Half our thinking is unconscious, and we reach conclusions while unaware of premises [Schopenhauer] |
| 4191 | What we know in ourselves is not a knower but a will [Schopenhauer] |
| 21367 | I know both aspects of my body, as representation, and as will [Schopenhauer] |
| 21368 | The knot of the world is the use of 'I' to refer to both willing and knowing [Schopenhauer] |
| 18658 | The 'Kantian' self steps back from commitment to its social situation [Kymlicka] |
| 4175 | It is as perverse to resent our individuality being replaced by others, as to resent the body renewing itself [Schopenhauer] |
| 4176 | We all regard ourselves a priori as free, but see from experience that character and motive compel us [Schopenhauer] |
| 21477 | We don't control our own thinking [Schopenhauer] |
| 4170 | Man's actions are not free, because they follow strictly from impact of motive on character [Schopenhauer] |
| 21921 | Concepts are abstracted from perceptions [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 21475 | All of our concepts are borrowed from perceptual knowledge [Schopenhauer] |
| 4169 | Every true act of will is also at once and without exception a movement of the body [Schopenhauer] |
| 7187 | Schopenhauer was caught in Christian ideals, because he didn't deify his 'will' [Nietzsche on Schopenhauer] |
| 21365 | Only the will is thing-in-itself, seen both in blind nature and in human action [Schopenhauer] |
| 21924 | As the subject of willing I am wretched, but absorption in knowledge is bliss [Schopenhauer] |
| 4173 | If we were essentially intellect rather than will, our moral worth would depend on imagined motives [Schopenhauer] |
| 21363 | Motivation is causality seen from within [Schopenhauer] |
| 21372 | Aesthetics concerns how we can take pleasure in an object, with no reference to the will [Schopenhauer] |
| 21370 | Schopenhauer is a chief proponent of aesthetic experience as 'disinterested' [Schopenhauer, by Janaway] |
| 4182 | A principal pleasure of the beautiful is that it momentarily silences the will [Schopenhauer] |
| 21488 | The beautiful is a perception of Plato's Forms, which eliminates the will [Schopenhauer] |
| 21928 | The Sublime fights for will-less knowing, when faced with a beautiful threat to humanity [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 21927 | Schopenhauer emphasises Ideas in art, unlike most romantics [Schopenhauer, by Lewis,PB] |
| 8116 | The will-less contemplation of art brings a liberation from selfhood [Schopenhauer, by Gardner] |
| 4174 | Man is more beautiful than anything else, and the loftiest purpose of art is to reveal his nature [Schopenhauer] |
| 21380 | The only aim of our existence is to grasp that non-existence would be better [Schopenhauer] |
| 21374 | We should no more expect ethical theory to produce good people than aesthetics to produce artists [Schopenhauer] |
| 21378 | We clearly feel responsible for our deeds, because we are quite certain that we did them [Schopenhauer] |
| 21375 | Reason can be vicious, and great crimes have to be rational [Schopenhauer] |
| 21915 | To deduce morality from reason is blasphemy, because it is holy, and far above reason [Schopenhauer] |
| 21483 | Man is essentially a dreadful wild animal [Schopenhauer] |
| 21379 | Man's three basic ethical incentives are egoism, malice and compassion [Schopenhauer] |
| 4181 | Every good is essentially relative, for it has its essential nature only in its relation to a desiring will [Schopenhauer] |
| 5649 | Will casts aside each of its temporary fulfilments, so human life has no ultimate aim [Schopenhauer, by Scruton] |
| 4177 | Most people would probably choose non-existence at the end of their life, rather than relive the whole thing [Schopenhauer] |
| 4185 | Altruistic people make less distinction than usual between themselves and others [Schopenhauer] |
| 4183 | Only self-love can motivate morality, but that also makes it worthless [Schopenhauer] |
| 18650 | Teleological theories give the good priority over concern for people [Kymlicka] |
| 4172 | Happiness is the swift movement from desire to satisfaction, and then again on to desire [Schopenhauer] |
| 21371 | We can never attain happiness while our will is pursuing desires [Schopenhauer] |
| 21466 | Pleasure is weaker, and pain stronger, than we expect [Schopenhauer] |
| 4184 | Virtue must spring from an intuitive recognition that other people are essentially like us [Schopenhauer] |
| 18664 | Maybe the particularist moral thought of women is better than the impartial public thinking of men [Kymlicka] |
| 21484 | A man's character can be learned from a single characteristic action [Schopenhauer] |
| 21482 | The five Chinese virtues: pity, justice, politeness, wisdom, honesty [Schopenhauer] |
| 21481 | Buddhists wisely start with the cardinal vices [Schopenhauer] |
| 18624 | Utilitarianism is not a decision-procedure; choice of the best procedure is an open question [Kymlicka] |
| 18626 | One view says start with equality, and infer equal weight to interests, and hence maximum utility [Kymlicka] |
| 18627 | A second view says start with maximising the good, implying aggregation, and hence equality [Kymlicka] |
| 21480 | Boredom is only felt by those clever enough to need activity [Schopenhauer] |
| 21469 | Human life is a mistake, shown by boredom, which is direct awareness of the fact [Schopenhauer] |
| 18625 | To maximise utility should we double the population, even if life somewhat deteriorates? [Kymlicka] |
| 18638 | The difference principles says we must subsidise the costs of other people's choices [Kymlicka] |
| 21485 | The state only exists to defend citizens, from exterior threats, and from one another [Schopenhauer] |
| 23418 | Liberal state legitimacy is based on a belief in justice, not in some conception of the good life [Kymlicka] |
| 18635 | Social contract theories are usually rejected because there never was such a contract [Kymlicka] |
| 23369 | Some liberals thinks checks and balances are enough, without virtuous citizens [Kymlicka] |
| 23370 | Good citizens need civic virtues of loyalty, independence, diligence, respect, etc. [Kymlicka] |
| 23373 | Liberals accept that people need society, but Aristotelians must show that they need political activity [Kymlicka] |
| 23375 | Minimal liberal citizenship needs common civility, as well as mere non-interference [Kymlicka] |
| 23376 | Modern non-discrimination obliges modern citizens to treat each other as equals [Kymlicka] |
| 23377 | The right wing sees citizenship in terms of responsibility to earn a living, rather than rights [Kymlicka] |
| 23414 | Liberals say state intervention in culture restricts people's autonomy [Kymlicka] |
| 18630 | Utilitarianism is no longer a distinctive political position [Kymlicka] |
| 18623 | The quest of the general good is partly undermined by people's past entitlements [Kymlicka] |
| 18628 | We shouldn't endorse preferences which reject equality, and show prejudice and selfishness [Kymlicka] |
| 18629 | Using utilitarian principles to make decisions encourages cold detachment from people [Kymlicka] |
| 18637 | Utilitarianism is irrational if it tells you to trade in your rights and resources just for benefits [Kymlicka] |
| 23371 | Modern democratic theory focuses on talk, not votes, because we need consensus or compromise [Kymlicka] |
| 23390 | In a liberal democracy all subjects of authority have a right to determine the authority [Kymlicka] |
| 18663 | Modern liberalism has added personal privacy to our personal social lives [Kymlicka] |
| 23374 | We have become attached to private life because that has become greatly enriched [Kymlicka] |
| 18632 | Liberalism tends to give priority to basic liberties [Kymlicka] |
| 22818 | Liberals are not too individualistic, because people recognise and value social relations [Kymlicka] |
| 23410 | Modern liberals see a community as simply a society which respects freedom and equality [Kymlicka] |
| 23387 | Liberals must avoid an official culture, as well as an official religion [Kymlicka] |
| 23388 | Liberals need more than freedom; they must build a nation, through a language and institutions [Kymlicka] |
| 23380 | Some individuals can gain citizenship as part of a group, rather than as mere individuals [Kymlicka] |
| 23381 | The status hierarchy is independent of the economic hierarchy [Kymlicka] |
| 23383 | Some multiculturalists defended the rights of cohesive minorities against liberal individualism [Kymlicka] |
| 23384 | 'Culturalist' liberals say that even liberal individuals may need minority rights [Kymlicka] |
| 23385 | Multiculturalism may entail men dominating women in minority groups [Kymlicka] |
| 23386 | Liberals must prefer minority right which are freedoms, not restrictions [Kymlicka] |
| 23389 | Why shouldn't national minorities have their own right to nation-build? [Kymlicka] |
| 23391 | Multiculturalism is liberal if it challenges inequality, conservative if it emphasises common good [Kymlicka] |
| 18656 | Marxists say liberalism is unjust, because it allows exploitation in the sale of labour [Kymlicka] |
| 23409 | Community can focus on class or citizenship or ethnicity or culture [Kymlicka] |
| 18659 | The 'Kantian' view of the self misses the way it is embedded or situated in society [Kymlicka] |
| 18660 | Communitarians say we should pay more attention to our history [Kymlicka] |
| 23419 | Communitarianism struggles with excluded marginalised groups [Kymlicka] |
| 18657 | Communitarian states only encourage fairly orthodox ideas of the good life [Kymlicka] |
| 23413 | Feminism has shown that social roles are far from fixed (as communitarians tend to see them) [Kymlicka] |
| 23415 | Participation aids the quest for the good life, but why should that be a state activity? [Kymlicka] |
| 21486 | Poverty and slavery are virtually two words for the same thing [Schopenhauer] |
| 18649 | If everyone owned himself, that would prevent slavery [Kymlicka] |
| 21487 | The freedom of the press to sell poison outweighs its usefulness [Schopenhauer] |
| 18640 | Libertarians like the free market, but they also think that the free market is just [Kymlicka] |
| 18651 | The most valuable liberties to us need not be the ones with the most freedom [Kymlicka] |
| 18661 | Ancient freedom was free participation in politics, not private independence of life [Kymlicka] |
| 18633 | Equal opportunities seems fair, because your fate is from your choices, not your circumstances [Kymlicka] |
| 18634 | Equal opportunity arbitrarily worries about social circumstances, but ignores talents [Kymlicka] |
| 18654 | Marxists say justice is unneeded in the truly good community [Kymlicka] |
| 18652 | The Lockean view of freedom depends on whether you had a right to what is restricted [Kymlicka] |
| 23379 | Rights are a part of nation-building, to build a common national identity and culture [Kymlicka] |
| 23382 | Rights derived from group membership are opposed to the idea of state citizenship [Kymlicka] |
| 18655 | Justice corrects social faults, but also expresses respect to individuals as ends [Kymlicka] |
| 23411 | Communitarians see justice as primarily a community matter, rather than a principle [Kymlicka] |
| 23412 | Justice resolves conflicts, but may also provoke them [Kymlicka] |
| 23378 | The welfare state helps to integrate the working classes into a national culture [Kymlicka] |
| 21471 | If suicide was quick and easy, most people would have done it by now [Schopenhauer] |
| 21467 | Would humanity still exist if sex wasn't both desired and pleasurable? [Schopenhauer] |
| 21376 | Philosophy treats animals as exploitable things, ignoring the significance of their lives [Schopenhauer] |
| 4179 | The essence of nature is the will to life itself [Schopenhauer] |
| 4189 | Time may be defined as the possibility of mutually exclusive conditions of the same thing [Schopenhauer] |
| 4178 | Christianity is a pessimistic religion, in which the world is equated with evil [Schopenhauer] |
| 4180 | Religion is the mythical clothing of the truth which is inaccessible to the crude human intellect [Schopenhauer] |
| 21472 | Only religion introduces serious issues to uneducated people [Schopenhauer] |
| 21468 | The Creator created the possibilities for worlds, so should have made a better one than this possible [Schopenhauer] |