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Single Idea 9254

[filed under theme 1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / d. Philosophy as puzzles ]

Full Idea

In philosophy the truth can only be reached via the ruins of the false.

Gist of Idea

In philosophy the truth can only be reached via the ruins of the false

Source

H.A. Prichard (What is the Basis of Moral Obligation? [1925])

Book Ref

Prichard,H.A.: 'Moral Writings' [OUP 2002], p.1

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A Reaction

A lovely remark! In a flash you suddenly see why philosophers expend such vast energy on such unpromising views of reality (e.g. idealism, panpsychism). This might be the best definition of philosophy I have yet discovered.

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The 4 ideas from 'What is the Basis of Moral Obligation?'

9254	In philosophy the truth can only be reached via the ruins of the false [Prichard]

9256	I see the need to pay a debt in a particular instance, and any instance will do [Prichard]

9257	The complexities of life make it almost impossible to assess morality from a universal viewpoint [Prichard]

9255	Seeing the goodness of an effect creates the duty to produce it, not the desire [Prichard]