Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Douglas Lackey, Luke Westaway and J.J.C. Smart

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23 ideas

1. Philosophy / E. Nature of Metaphysics / 1. Nature of Metaphysics
14611 Metaphysics should avoid talk of past, present or future [Smart]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 6. Coherence
17070 Coherence is consilience, simplicity, analogy, and fitting into a web of belief [Smart]
17072 We need comprehensiveness, as well as self-coherence [Smart]
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]
8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 6. Platonic Forms / b. Partaking
6900 A prior understanding of beauty is needed to assert that the Form of the Beautiful is beautiful [Westaway]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / c. Wholes from parts
6956 At what point does an object become 'whole'? [Westaway]
13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 3. Evidentialism / a. Evidence
17073 I simply reject evidence, if it is totally contrary to my web of belief [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 1. Explanation / c. Direction of explanation
17077 The height of a flagpole could be fixed by its angle of shadow, but that would be very unusual [Smart]
17078 Universe expansion explains the red shift, but not vice versa [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / c. Explanations by coherence
17061 Explanation of a fact is fitting it into a system of beliefs [Smart]
17074 Explanations are bad by fitting badly with a web of beliefs, or fitting well into a bad web [Smart]
17076 Deducing from laws is one possible way to achieve a coherent explanation [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / d. Consilience
17071 An explanation is better if it also explains phenomena from a different field [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / g. Causal explanations
17062 If scientific explanation is causal, that rules out mathematical explanation [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / j. Explanations by reduction
17075 Scientific explanation tends to reduce things to the unfamiliar (not the familiar) [Smart]
17. Mind and Body / C. Functionalism / 7. Chinese Room
7335 The Chinese Room should be able to ask itself questions in Mandarin [Westaway]
23. Ethics / E. Utilitarianism / 1. Utilitarianism
22405 Negative utilitarianism implies that the world should be destroyed, to avoid future misery [Smart]
23. Ethics / E. Utilitarianism / 3. Motivation for Altruism
22404 Any group interested in ethics must surely have a sentiment of generalised benevolence [Smart]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 1. Relativity / a. Special relativity
14613 Special relativity won't determine a preferred frame, but we can pick one externally [Smart]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 1. Relativity / b. General relativity
17063 Unlike Newton, Einstein's general theory explains the perihelion of Mercury [Smart]
27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / b. Rate of time
14615 If time flows, then 'how fast does it flow?' is a tricky question [Smart]
27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / e. Tensed (A) series
14614 The past, present, future and tenses of A-theory are too weird, and should be analysed indexically [Smart]