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Ideas for 'Pragmatism - eight lectures', 'Parmenides' and 'Modern Philosophy:introduction and survey'

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6 ideas

12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 5. A Priori Synthetic
3887 Maybe our knowledge of truth and causation is synthetic a priori [Scruton]
     Full Idea: 'Every event has a cause' and 'truth is correspondence to facts' are candidates for being synthetic a priori knowledge.
     From: Roger Scruton (Modern Philosophy:introduction and survey [1994], 13.2)
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / c. Primary qualities
3901 Touch only seems to reveal primary qualities [Scruton]
     Full Idea: Touch seems to deliver a purely primary-quality account of the world.
     From: Roger Scruton (Modern Philosophy:introduction and survey [1994], 24)
     A reaction: Interesting, though a little over-confident. It seems occasionally possible for touch to be an illusion.
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / e. Primary/secondary critique
3885 We only conceive of primary qualities as attached to secondary qualities [Scruton]
     Full Idea: Bradley argued that we cannot conceive of primary qualities except as attached to secondary qualities.
     From: Roger Scruton (Modern Philosophy:introduction and survey [1994], 10.1)
3910 If primary and secondary qualities are distinct, what has the secondary qualities? [Scruton]
     Full Idea: If primary and secondary qualities are distinct, what do secondary qualities inhere in?
     From: Roger Scruton (Modern Philosophy:introduction and survey [1994], Ch.10 n)
     A reaction: What is the problem? A pin causes me pain, but I know the pain isn't in the pin. It is the same with colour. It is a mental property, if you like, triggered by a wavelength of radiation.
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 3. Representation
3899 The representational theory says perceptual states are intentional states [Scruton]
     Full Idea: The representational theory is the unsurprising view that perceptual states are intentional, like beliefs, emotions and desires.
     From: Roger Scruton (Modern Philosophy:introduction and survey [1994], 23.3)
12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 3. Pragmatism
18989 Pragmatism accepts any hypothesis which has useful consequences [James]
     Full Idea: On pragmatic principles we cannot reject any hypothesis if consequences useful to life flow from it.
     From: William James (Pragmatism - eight lectures [1907], Lec 8)
     A reaction: Most governments seem to find lies more useful than the truth. Maybe most children are better off not knowing the truth about their parents. It might be disastrous to know the truth about what other people are thinking. Is 'useful but false' meaningful?