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Ideas for 'Metaphysics', 'Notebooks 1914-1916' and 'Immortality of the Soul'

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2 ideas

12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 5. A Priori Synthetic
23500 My main problem is the order of the world, and whether it is knowable a priori [Wittgenstein]
     Full Idea: The great problem around which everything turns that I write is: is there an order in the world a priori, and if so what does it consist in?
     From: Ludwig Wittgenstein (Notebooks 1914-1916 [1915], 15.06.01)
     A reaction: Morris identifies this as a 'Kantian question'. I trace it back to stoicism. This question has never bothered me. It just seems weird to think that you can infer reality from the examination of your own thinking. Perhaps I should take it more seriously?
12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 4. Pro-Empiricism
543 All men long to understand, as shown by their delight in the senses [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: By nature, all men long to understand [eidenai]; an indication is their delight in the senses.
     From: Aristotle (Metaphysics [c.324 BCE], 0980a21)
     A reaction: See Idea 8331 and Idea 12038 to understand what this means. I take it to support the thesis that the aim of philosophy is explanations (at a higher level of generality than the sciences).