Ideas from 'Theory of Knowledge (2nd edn)' by Keith Lehrer [2000], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Theory of Knowledge' by Lehrer,Keith [Westview 2000,0-8133-9053-2]].

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1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 4. Later European Philosophy / b. Seventeenth century philosophy

2945	Most philosophers start with reality and then examine knowledge; Descartes put the study of knowledge first

			Full Idea: Some philosophers (e.g Plato) begin with an account of reality, and then appended an account of how we can know it, ..but Descartes turned the tables, insisting that we must first decide what we can know.
			From: Keith Lehrer (Theory of Knowledge (2nd edn) [2000], I p.2)

1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 4. Conceptual Analysis

2946	You cannot demand an analysis of a concept without knowing the purpose of the analysis

			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.
			From: Keith Lehrer (Theory of Knowledge (2nd edn) [2000], I 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.