green numbers give full details.
|
back to list of philosophers
|
expand these ideas
Ideas of J.J.C. Smart, by Text
[Australian, 1920 - 2012, Born in Scotland, and educated in Britain. Professor at Australian National University.]
1973
|
Outline of a System of Utilitarianism
|
5
|
p.29
|
22405
|
Negative utilitarianism implies that the world should be destroyed, to avoid future misery
|
I
|
p.7
|
22404
|
Any group interested in ethics must surely have a sentiment of generalised benevolence
|
1990
|
Explanation - Opening Address
|
p.02
|
p.2
|
17061
|
Explanation of a fact is fitting it into a system of beliefs
|
p.02-3
|
p.2
|
17062
|
If scientific explanation is causal, that rules out mathematical explanation
|
p.03
|
p.3
|
17063
|
Unlike Newton, Einstein's general theory explains the perihelion of Mercury
|
p.06
|
p.6
|
17070
|
Coherence is consilience, simplicity, analogy, and fitting into a web of belief
|
p.07
|
p.7
|
17072
|
We need comprehensiveness, as well as self-coherence
|
p.07
|
p.7
|
17071
|
An explanation is better if it also explains phenomena from a different field
|
p.07-8
|
p.8
|
17073
|
I simply reject evidence, if it is totally contrary to my web of belief
|
p.09
|
p.9
|
17074
|
Explanations are bad by fitting badly with a web of beliefs, or fitting well into a bad web
|
p.11
|
p.11
|
17075
|
Scientific explanation tends to reduce things to the unfamiliar (not the familiar)
|
p.13
|
p.13
|
17076
|
Deducing from laws is one possible way to achieve a coherent explanation
|
p.14
|
p.14
|
17077
|
The height of a flagpole could be fixed by its angle of shadow, but that would be very unusual
|
p.15
|
p.15
|
17078
|
Universe expansion explains the red shift, but not vice versa
|
2008
|
The Tenseless Theory of Time
|
1
|
p.227
|
14611
|
Metaphysics should avoid talk of past, present or future
|
3
|
p.233
|
14613
|
Special relativity won't determine a preferred frame, but we can pick one externally
|
3
|
p.233
|
14614
|
The past, present, future and tenses of A-theory are too weird, and should be analysed indexically
|
5
|
p.235
|
14615
|
If time flows, then 'how fast does it flow?' is a tricky question
|