| 3879 | Philosophy aims to provide a theory of everything |
| 12172 | Objects of amusement do not have to be real |
| 12169 | Since only men laugh, it seems to be an attribute of reason |
| 12170 | Amusement rests on superiority, or relief, or incongruity |
| 12173 | The central object of amusement is the human |
| 3891 | If p entails q, then p is sufficient for q, and q is necessary for p |
| 8988 | Two marxist ideas have dominated in France: base and superstructure, and ideology |
| 8987 | On the surface of deconstructive writing, technicalities float and then drift away |
| 8992 | Deconstruction is the last spasm of romanticism, now become hopeless and destructive |
| 18543 | Do aesthetic reasons count as reasons, if they are rejectable without contradiction? |
| 3894 | We may define 'good' correctly, but then ask whether the application of the definition is good |
| 3883 | A true proposition is consistent with every other true proposition |
| 18542 | Defining truth presupposes that there can be a true definition |
| 3884 | The pragmatist does not really have a theory of truth |
| 5637 | Nowadays logic is seen as the science of extensions, not intensions |
| 3907 | Could you be intellectually acquainted with numbers, but unable to count objects? |
| 3908 | If maths contains unprovable truths, then maths cannot be reduced to a set of proofs |
| 3906 | If possible worlds are needed to define properties, maybe we should abandon properties |
| 3888 | Hume assumes that necessity can only be de dicto, not de re |
| 3903 | The conceivable can't be a test of the possible, if there are things which are possible but inconceivable |
| 3897 | Epistemology is about the justification of belief, not the definition of knowledge |
| 4266 | Having beliefs involves recognition, expectation and surprise |
| 4265 | If an animal has beliefs, that implies not only that it can make mistakes, but that it can learn from them |
| 3881 | In the Cogito argument consciousness develops into self-consciousness |
| 3887 | Maybe our knowledge of truth and causation is synthetic a priori |
| 4264 | Perception (which involves an assessment) is a higher state than sensation |
| 3901 | Touch only seems to reveal primary qualities |
| 3885 | We only conceive of primary qualities as attached to secondary qualities |
| 3910 | If primary and secondary qualities are distinct, what has the secondary qualities? |
| 3899 | The representational theory says perceptual states are intentional states |
| 3898 | My belief that it will rain tomorrow can't be caused by its raining tomorrow |
| 3880 | Logical positivism avoids scepticism, by closing the gap between evidence and conclusion |
| 3878 | Why should you believe someone who says there are no truths? |
| 4271 | There is consciousness whenever behaviour must be explained in terms of mental activity |
| 4272 | Our concept of a person is derived from Roman law |
| 3892 | Every event having a cause, and every event being determined by its cause, are not the same |
| 3911 | The very concept of a substance denies the possibility of mutual interaction and dependence |
| 4267 | Conditioning may change behaviour without changing the mind |
| 4269 | An emotion is a motive which is also a feeling |
| 12174 | Only rational beings are attentive without motive or concern |
| 4270 | Do we use reason to distinguish people from animals, or use that difference to define reason? |
| 5636 | Cartesian 'ideas' confuse concepts and propositions |
| 3882 | Wittgenstein makes it impossible to build foundations from something that is totally private |
| 12156 | Aesthetics has risen and fallen with Romanticism |
| 12158 | Aesthetic experience informs the world with the values of the observer |
| 18550 | Art gives us imaginary worlds which we can view impartially |
| 18546 | The pleasure taken in beauty also aims at understanding and valuing |
| 12163 | Literary meaning emerges in comparisons, and tradition shows which comparisons are relevant |
| 18544 | Maybe 'beauty' is too loaded, and we should talk of fittingness or harmony |
| 18553 | Beauty shows us what we should want in order to achieve human fulfilment |
| 18556 | Beauty is rationally founded, inviting meaning, comparison and self-reflection |
| 18548 | Natural beauty reassures us that the world is where we belong |
| 12167 | Reference without predication is the characteristic of expression |
| 12165 | Romantics say music expresses ideas, or the Will, or intuitions, or feelings |
| 18551 | Croce says art makes inarticulate intuitions conscious; rival views say the audience is the main concern |
| 12166 | If music refers to love, it contains no predication, so it is expression, not language |
| 12162 | In literature, word replacement changes literary meaning |
| 12168 | Music is not representational, since thoughts about a subject are never essential to it |
| 12159 | Without intentions we can't perceive sculpture, but that is not the whole story |
| 12160 | In aesthetic interest, even what is true is treated as though it were not |
| 12164 | Expressing melancholy is a good thing, but arousing it is a bad thing |
| 12161 | We can be objective about conventions, but love of art is needed to understand its traditions |
| 4284 | All moral life depends ultimately on piety, which is our recognition of our own dependence |
| 18541 | Beauty (unlike truth and goodness) is questionable as an ultimate value |
| 7590 | Consequentialism emphasises value rather than obligation in morality |
| 4273 | Kant's Moral Law is the rules rational beings would accept when trying to live by agreement |
| 3896 | Any social theory of morality has the problem of the 'free rider', who only pretends to join in |
| 4274 | The modern virtues are courage, prudence, wisdom, temperance, justice, charity and loyalty |
| 4286 | Only just people will drop their own self-interests when faced with an impartial verdict |
| 4283 | Sympathy can undermine the moral order just as much as crime does |
| 7589 | Altruism is either emotional (where your interests are mine) or moral (where they are reasons for me) |
| 3886 | Membership is the greatest source of obligation |
| 4290 | That which can only be done by a callous person, ought not to be done |
| 4285 | As soon as we drop self-interest and judge impartially, we find ourselves agreeing about conflicts |
| 3895 | The categorical imperative is not just individual, but can be used for negotiations between strangers |
| 4287 | Utilitarianism merely guides us (by means of sympathy) when the moral law is silent |
| 4282 | Morality is not a sort of calculation, it is what sets the limits to when calculation is appropriate |
| 4281 | Utilitarianism says we can't blame Stalin yet, but such a theory is a sick joke |
| 4280 | Utilitarianism is wrong precisely because it can't distinguish animals from people |
| 5660 | Allegiance is prior to the recognition of individual rights |
| 7595 | The idea of a right seems fairly basic; justice may be the disposition to accord rights to people |
| 8989 | The benefits of social freedom outweigh the loneliness, doubt and alienation it brings |
| 7588 | Allegiance is fundamental to the conservative view of society |
| 8990 | So-called 'liberation' is the enemy of freedom, destroying the very structures that are needed |
| 7594 | Democrats are committed to a belief and to its opposite, if the majority prefer the latter |
| 7593 | Liberals focus on universal human freedom, natural rights, and tolerance [PG] |
| 5653 | A right is a power which is enforced in the name of justice |
| 7592 | For positivists law is a matter of form, for naturalists it is a matter of content |
| 7587 | The issue of abortion seems insoluble, because there is nothing with which to compare it |
| 18554 | Prostitution is wrong because it hardens the soul, since soul and body are one |
| 4268 | Animals command our sympathy and moral concern initially because of their intentionality |
| 4263 | Many of the stranger forms of life (e.g. worms) interest us only as a species, not as individuals |
| 4276 | An animal has individuality if it is nameable, and advanced animals can respond to their name |
| 4277 | I may avoid stepping on a spider or flower, but fellow-feeling makes me protect a rabbit |
| 4278 | Lucky animals are eaten by large predators, the less lucky starve, and worst is death by small predators |
| 4279 | We can easily remove the risk of suffering from an animal's life, but we shouldn't do it |
| 4289 | Sheep and cattle live comfortable lives, and die an enviably easy death |
| 4292 | Concern for one animal may harm the species, if the individual is part of a bigger problem |
| 4294 | Animals are outside the community of rights, but we still have duties towards them |
| 4295 | We favour our own animals over foreign ones because we see them as fellow citizens |
| 4296 | Brutal animal sports are banned because they harm the personality of the watcher |
| 4291 | Letting your dog kill wild rats, and keeping rats for your dog to kill, are very different |
| 4293 | Introducing a natural means of controlling animal population may not be very compassionate |
| 4288 | Many breeds of animals have needs which our own ancestors planted in them |
| 3890 | 'Cause' used to just mean any valid explanation |
| 3904 | Measuring space requires no movement while I do it |
| 3905 | 'Existence' is not a predicate of 'man', but of the concept of man, saying it has at least one instance |