Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Douglas Lackey, Brian R. Martin and Scott Soames

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33 ideas

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 5. Modern Philosophy / c. Modern philosophy mid-period
13966 Analytic philosophy loved the necessary a priori analytic, linguistic modality, and rigour [Soames]
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 5. Linguistic Analysis
13974 If philosophy is analysis of meaning, available to all competent speakers, what's left for philosophers? [Soames]
4. Formal Logic / D. Modal Logic ML / 1. Modal Logic
15163 The interest of quantified modal logic is its metaphysical necessity and essentialism [Soames]
5. Theory of Logic / F. Referring in Logic / 2. Descriptions / a. Descriptions
15158 Indefinite descriptions are quantificational in subject position, but not in predicate position [Soames]
5. Theory of Logic / F. Referring in Logic / 2. Descriptions / c. Theory of definite descriptions
15157 Recognising the definite description 'the man' as a quantifier phrase, not a singular term, is a real insight [Soames]
5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 7. Unorthodox Quantification
15156 The universal and existential quantifiers were chosen to suit mathematics [Soames]
5. Theory of Logic / L. Paradox / 5. Paradoxes in Set Theory / b. Cantor's paradox
21554 Sets always exceed terms, so all the sets must exceed all the sets [Lackey]
5. Theory of Logic / L. Paradox / 5. Paradoxes in Set Theory / c. Burali-Forti's paradox
21553 It seems that the ordinal number of all the ordinals must be bigger than itself [Lackey]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / a. Essence as necessary properties
13969 Kripkean essential properties and relations are necessary, in all genuinely possible worlds [Soames]
10. Modality / A. Necessity / 5. Metaphysical Necessity
15162 We understand metaphysical necessity intuitively, from ordinary life [Soames]
15161 There are more metaphysically than logically necessary truths [Soames]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 3. Necessity by Convention
13973 A key achievement of Kripke is showing that important modalities are not linguistic in source [Soames]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 2. Nature of Possible Worlds / a. Nature of possible worlds
13968 Kripkean possible worlds are abstract maximal states in which the real world could have been [Soames]
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 4. Meaning as Truth-Conditions
15152 To study meaning, study truth conditions, on the basis of syntax, and representation by the parts [Soames]
15153 Tarski's account of truth-conditions is too weak to determine meanings [Soames]
19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 2. Semantics
13965 Semantics as theory of meaning and semantics as truth-based logical consequence are very different [Soames]
19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 6. Truth-Conditions Semantics
13964 Semantic content is a proposition made of sentence constituents (not some set of circumstances) [Soames]
19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 10. Two-Dimensional Semantics
13972 Two-dimensionalism reinstates descriptivism, and reconnects necessity and apriority to analyticity [Soames]
19. Language / D. Propositions / 4. Mental Propositions
15154 We should use cognitive states to explain representational propositions, not vice versa [Soames]
27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / c. Forces
21202 The strong force has a considerably greater range than the weak force [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 2. Thermodynamics / c. Conservation of energy
21211 If an expected reaction does not occur, that implies a conservation law [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / a. Electrodynamics
21209 Electron emit and reabsorb photons, which create and reabsorb virtual electrons and positrons [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / b. Fields
21201 A 'field' is just a region to which points can be assigned in space and time [Martin,BR]
21212 The Higgs field, unlike others, has a nozero value in a state without particles [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / c. Electrons
21205 Many physicists believe particles have further structure, if only we could see it [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / d. Quantum mechanics
21203 Uncertainty allows very brief violations of energy conservation - even shorter with higher energies [Martin,BR]
21207 The Exclusion Principle says no two fermions occupy the same state, with the same numbers [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / b. Standard model
21204 The standard model combines theories of strong interaction, and electromagnetic and weak interaction [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / c. Particle properties
21208 Eletrons don't literally 'spin', because they are point-like [Martin,BR]
21210 Virtual particles surround any charged particle [Martin,BR]
21206 The properties of a particle are determined by its quantum numbers and its mass [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 5. Unified Models / b. String theory
21213 String theory only has one free parameter (tension) - unlike the standard model with 19 [Martin,BR]
27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 2. Modern Elements
21200 An 'element' is what cannot be decomposed by chemistry [Martin,BR]