34 ideas
6575 | Philosophy may never find foundations, and may undermine our lives in the process [Fogelin] |
6585 | Rationality is threatened by fear of inconsistency, illusions of absolutes or relativism, and doubt [Fogelin] |
6557 | Humans may never be able to attain a world view which is both rich and consistent [Fogelin] |
6568 | A game can be played, despite having inconsistent rules [Fogelin] |
6560 | The law of noncontradiction is traditionally the most basic principle of rationality [Fogelin] |
6565 | The law of noncontradiction makes the distinction between asserting something and denying it [Fogelin] |
6574 | Legal reasoning is analogical, not deductive [Fogelin] |
6582 | Conventions can only work if they are based on something non-conventional [Fogelin] |
6576 | My view is 'circumspect rationalism' - that only our intellect can comprehend the world [Fogelin] |
6589 | Knowledge is legitimate only if all relevant defeaters have been eliminated [Fogelin] |
6596 | For coherentists, circularity is acceptable if the circle is large, rich and coherent [Fogelin] |
6597 | A rule of justification might be: don't raise the level of scrutiny without a good reason [Fogelin] |
6588 | Scepticism is cartesian (sceptical scenarios), or Humean (future), or Pyrrhonian (suspend belief) [Fogelin] |
6590 | Scepticism deals in remote possibilities that are ineliminable and set the standard very high [Fogelin] |
6583 | Radical perspectivism replaces Kant's necessary scheme with many different schemes [Fogelin] |
6555 | We are also irrational, with a unique ability to believe in bizarre self-created fictions [Fogelin] |
6605 | Critics must be causally entangled with their subject matter [Fogelin] |
6607 | The word 'beautiful', when deprived of context, is nearly contentless [Fogelin] |
6604 | Saying 'It's all a matter to taste' ignores the properties of the object discussed [Fogelin] |
6586 | Cynics are committed to morality, but disappointed or disgusted by human failings [Fogelin] |
7127 | If men are good you should keep promises, but they aren't, so you needn't [Machiavelli] |
6309 | The principle foundations of all states are good laws and good armies [Machiavelli] |
6306 | People are vengeful, so be generous to them, or destroy them [Machiavelli] |
6305 | To retain a conquered state, wipe out the ruling family, and preserve everything else [Machiavelli] |
6308 | A sensible conqueror does all his harmful deeds immediately, because people soon forget [Machiavelli] |
6572 | Deterrence, prevention, rehabilitation and retribution can come into conflict in punishments [Fogelin] |
6573 | Retributivists say a crime can be 'paid for'; deterrentists still worry about potential victims [Fogelin] |
6307 | A desire to conquer, and men who do it, are always praised, or not blamed [Machiavelli] |
7486 | Machiavelli emancipated politics from religion [Machiavelli, by Watson] |
19813 | All legislators invoke God in support of extraordinary laws, because their justification is not obvious [Machiavelli] |
7126 | Rulers should preserve the foundations of religion, to ensure good behaviour and unity [Machiavelli] |
1466 | Claims about God don't seem to claim or deny anything tangible, so evidence is irrelevant [Flew, by PG] |
1465 | You can't claim a patch of land is tended by a 'gardener' if there is no evidence, and all counter-evidence is rejected [Flew, by PG] |
1467 | Religious people seem unwilling to accept any evidence that God does not love us, so their claim is unfalsifiable [Flew, by PG] |