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Full Idea
An analysis is always relative to some objective. It makes no sense to simply demand an analysis of goodness, knowledge, beauty or truth, without some indication of the purpose of the analysis.
Gist of Idea
You cannot demand an analysis of a concept without knowing the purpose of the analysis
Source
Keith Lehrer (Theory of Knowledge (2nd edn) [2000], I p.7)
Book Ref
Lehrer,Keith: 'Theory of Knowledge' [Westview 2000], p.7
A Reaction
Your dismantling of a car will go better if you know what a car is for, but you can still take it apart in ignorance.
| 9329 | Justification is coherence with a background system; if irrefutable, it is knowledge [Lehrer] |
| 9330 | Generalization seems to be more fundamental to minds than spotting similarities [Lehrer] |
| 9328 | All conscious states can be immediately known when attention is directed to them [Lehrer] |
| 2945 | Most philosophers start with reality and then examine knowledge; Descartes put the study of knowledge first [Lehrer] |
| 2946 | You cannot demand an analysis of a concept without knowing the purpose of the analysis [Lehrer] |