Combining Texts

Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Causal Powers' and 'A Philosophy of Boredom'

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3 ideas

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

15212	Analysis of concepts based neither on formalism nor psychology can arise from examining what we know [Harré/Madden]
	Full Idea: Adequate accounts of those concepts which are neither purely formal nor simply psychological can be achieved by attention to ....the content of our knowledge, content which goes beyond the reports of immediate experience.
	From: Harré,R./Madden,E.H. (Causal Powers [1975], 1.I.A)
	A reaction: I like this one. Most proponents of analysis are either bogged down in trying to reduce all of our talk to formal logic, or else they think that they are just analysing how we think. It's neither, because the concepts arise from the world.

1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 6. Logical Analysis

15210	Humeans see analysis in terms of formal logic, because necessities are fundamentally logical relations [Harré/Madden]
	Full Idea: The Humean view has led philosophers to suppose that their task is to provide an analysis of key concepts and relations wholly in terms drawn from formal logic, since relations of necessity are, in their view, fundamentally logical relations
	From: Harré,R./Madden,E.H. (Causal Powers [1975], 1.I.A)
	A reaction: A very sharp observation about why logic has become central to contemporary philosophy. As far as I can see, logic steadily increases its dominance, to the point where ordinary metaphysical thought is being squeezed out.

1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 7. Limitations of Analysis

9297	You can't understand love in terms of 'if and only if...' [Svendsen]
	Full Idea: I once began reading a philosophical article on love. The following statement soon came up: 'Bob loves Kate if and only if...' At that point I stopped reading. Such a formalized approach was unsuitable, because the actual phenomenon would be lost.
	From: Lars Svendsen (A Philosophy of Boredom [2005], Pref)
	A reaction: It is hard to disagree! However, if your best friend comes to you and says, 'I can't decide whether I am really in love with Kate; what do you think?', how are you going to respond. You offer 'if and only if..', but in a warm and sympathetic way!