40 ideas
22338 | An unexamined life can be virtuous [Murdoch] |
22337 | Philosophy must keep returning to the beginning [Murdoch] |
23563 | Philosophy moves continually between elaborate theories and the obvious facts [Murdoch] |
7508 | Good reductionism connects fields of knowledge, but doesn't replace one with another [Pinker] |
5953 | For the Cyrenaics experience was not enough to give certainty about reality [Aristippus young, by Plutarch] |
7510 | Connectionists say the mind is a general purpose learning device [Pinker] |
7513 | Is memory stored in protein sequences, neurons, synapses, or synapse-strengths? [Pinker] |
22591 | We know perfection when we see what is imperfect [Murdoch] |
7509 | Roundworms live successfully with 302 neurons, so human freedom comes from our trillions [Pinker] |
7511 | Neural networks can generalise their training, e.g. truths about tigers apply mostly to lions [Pinker] |
7512 | There are five types of reasoning that seem beyond connectionist systems [Pinker, by PG] |
3023 | Even the foolish may have some virtues [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
22709 | We should first decide what are the great works of art, with aesthetic theory following from that [Murdoch] |
22341 | Literature is the most important aspect of culture, because it teaches understanding of living [Murdoch] |
22715 | Great art proves the absurdity of art for art's sake [Murdoch] |
22714 | Because art is love, it improves us morally [Murdoch] |
22712 | Art and morals are essentially the same, and are both identical with love [Murdoch] |
22347 | Appreciating beauty in art or nature opens up the good life, by restricting selfishness [Murdoch] |
3026 | Actions are influenced by circumstances, so Cyrenaics say felons should be reformed, not hated [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
7505 | Many think that accepting human nature is to accept innumerable evils [Pinker] |
3024 | Cyrenaics teach that honour, justice and shame are all based on custom and fashion [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
22339 | Love is a central concept in morals [Murdoch] |
22348 | Ordinary human love is good evidence of transcendent goodness [Murdoch] |
22713 | Love is realising something other than oneself is real [Murdoch] |
3025 | For a Cyrenaic no one is of equal importance to himself [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
3021 | The Cyrenaics asserted that corporeal pleasures were superior to mental ones [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
3019 | No one pleasure is different from or more pleasant than another [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
22343 | If I attend properly I will have no choices [Murdoch] |
22340 | It is hard to learn goodness from others, because their virtues are part of their personal history [Murdoch] |
22349 | Art trains us in the love of virtue [Murdoch] |
22346 | Moral reflection and experience gradually reveals unity in the moral world [Murdoch] |
22350 | Only trivial virtues can be possessed on their own [Murdoch] |
3027 | Cyrenaics say wise men are self-sufficient, needing no friends [Aristippus young, by Diog. Laertius] |
20765 | Man is a brave naked will, separate from a background of values and realities [Murdoch] |
22351 | Only a philosopher might think choices create values [Murdoch] |
22342 | Kantian existentialists care greatly for reasons for action, whereas Surrealists care nothing [Murdoch] |
7516 | In 1828, the stuff of life was shown to be ordinary chemistry, not a magic gel [Pinker] |
7514 | Intelligent Design says that every unexplained phenomenon must be design, by default [Pinker] |
7515 | All the evidence says evolution is cruel and wasteful, not intelligent [Pinker] |
22345 | Moral philosophy needs a central concept with all the traditional attributes of God [Murdoch] |