Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Gorgias, Pierre Simon de Laplace and George Santayana

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8 ideas

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 1. History of Philosophy
He who is ignorant of the history of philosophy is doomed to repeat it [Santayana, by MacIntyre]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / d. Non-being
Not-Being obviously doesn't exist, and the five modes of Being are all impossible [Gorgias, by Diog. Laertius]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 6. Criterion for Existence
The criterion of existence is the possibility of action [Santayana]
13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 7. Testimony
The reliability of witnesses depends on whether they benefit from their observations [Laplace, by Hacking]
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 6. Determinism / a. Determinism
If a supreme intellect knew all atoms and movements, it could know all of the past and the future [Laplace]
19. Language / F. Communication / 1. Rhetoric
Destroy seriousness with laughter, and laughter with seriousness [Gorgias]
Gorgias says rhetoric is the best of arts, because it enslaves without using force [Gorgias, by Plato]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
The good is not relative, but is rooted in facts about human needs [Santayana]