Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Theaetetus', 'Science without Numbers' and 'The Journals of Kierkegaard'

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3 ideas

1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 2. Analysis by Division
Either a syllable is its letters (making parts as knowable as whole) or it isn't (meaning it has no parts) [Plato]
     Full Idea: Either a syllable is not the same as its letters, in which case it cannot have the letters as parts of itself, or it is the same as its letters, in which case these basic elements are just as knowable as it is.
     From: Plato (Theaetetus [c.368 BCE], 205b)
Understanding mainly involves knowing the elements, not their combinations [Plato]
     Full Idea: A perfect grasp of any subject depends far more on knowing elements than on knowing complexes.
     From: Plato (Theaetetus [c.368 BCE], 206b)
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 5. Linguistic Analysis
Philosophy can't be unbiased if it ignores language, as that is no more independent than individuals are [Kierkegaard]
     Full Idea: If the claim of philosophers to be unbiased were all it pretends to be, it would have to take account of language and its significance...Language is partly given and partly develops freely. As individuals cannot be truly independent, so too with language.
     From: Søren Kierkegaard (The Journals of Kierkegaard [1850], 1840.07.18)
     A reaction: A surprisingly prophetic entry from Kierkegaard anticipating the linguistic turn. [SY]