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Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Fifteen Sermons' and 'fragments/reports'

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6 ideas

12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 1. Nature of the A Priori

20784	There are non-sensible presentations, which come to us through the intellect [Stoic school, by Diog. Laertius]
	Full Idea: Stoics say some presentations are sensible, some non-sensible. Those received through the sense organs are sensible; non-sensible are those which come through the intellect, for example, presentations of incorporeals and other things grasped by reason.
	From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 07.51
	A reaction: The a priori used to be metaphysics (a world of truths), and in modern times is epistemology (a mode of justification), but here it is just a mode of experience, which is not, it seems, necessarily true.

12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 3. Innate Knowledge / c. Tabula rasa

20803	Stoics say we are born like a blank sheet of paper; the first concepts on it are sensations [Stoic school, by Ps-Plutarch]
	Full Idea: The Stoics say when a human being is born, the leading part of his soul is like a sheet of paper ready for being written on. On this he inscribes every one of his conceptions. The first manner of writing on it is through the senses.
	From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Pseudo-Plutarch - On the Doctrine of the Philosophers 900a
	A reaction: This may not be dogmatic empiricism, because later inscriptions on the sheet could be purely a priori.

6025	At birth the soul is a blank sheet ready to be written on [Stoic school, by Aetius]
	Full Idea: When a man is born, the Stoics say, he has the commanding-part of his soul like a sheet of paper reading for writing upon; on this he inscribes each one of his conceptions.
	From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Aetius - fragments/reports 4.11
	A reaction: This appears to be the origin of the concept of the 'tabula rasa', which resurfaces in empirical thought, in Locke and elsewhere. Notice that 'he' inscribes on the paper, rather than raw experience doing the job. The natural light of reason can do it.

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / d. Secondary qualities

20781	Non-graspable presentations are from what doesn't exist, or are not clear and distinct [Stoic school, by Diog. Laertius]
	Full Idea: The non-graspable presentation is either not from an existing object or from an existing object but not in accordance with it; it is neither clear nor well stamped (i.e. distinct).
	From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 07.46
	A reaction: This sounds exactly like Locke's account of secondary qualities, at least as interpreted by Peter Alexander. That is, they are genuine qualities of things, but misleading, in a way that primary qualities are not.

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 5. Interpretation

20792	Stoic perception is a presentation to which one voluntarily assents [Stoic school, by Stobaeus]
	Full Idea: The Stoics did not make sense-perception consist in presentation alone but made its substance depend on assent; for perception is an assent to a perceptual presentation, the assent being voluntary.
	From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by John Stobaeus - Anthology 1.49.25
	A reaction: [Stobaeus cites Porphyry's De Anima] Thus you only perceive a hallucination if you do not realise that it is false. This is more subjective than I would want to be. If you only think you perceive, but you are wrong, then I say you don't perceive.

12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 1. Empiricism

20805	All our concepts come from experience, directly, or by expansion, reduction or compounding [Stoic school, by Sext.Empiricus]
	Full Idea: In general one can find nothing in our conceptions that is not known to oneself in direct experience. For it is grasped either by similarity to what is revealed in direct experience, or by expansion or reduction or compounding.
	From: report of Stoic school (fragments/reports [c.200 BCE]) by Sextus Empiricus - Against the Mathematicians 8.58
	A reaction: Although the stoics allow for purely a priori knowledge, this quotation sounds comprehensively empirical.