Combining Texts

Ideas for 'On What Grounds What', 'talk' and 'Notebooks'

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2 ideas

18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 1. Thought
A thought is as real as a cannon ball [Joubert]
     Full Idea: A thought is a thing as real as a cannon ball.
     From: Joseph Joubert (Notebooks [1800], 1801)
     A reaction: Nice. The realisation of a thought can strike someone as if they have been assaulted, and hearing some remarks can be as bad as being stabbed. That is quite apart from political consequences. Joubert is good on the physicality of thinking.
18. Thought / D. Concepts / 2. Origin of Concepts / c. Nativist concepts
Where does the bird's idea of a nest come from? [Joubert]
     Full Idea: The idea of the nest in the bird's mind, where does it come from?
     From: Joseph Joubert (Notebooks [1800], 1800)
     A reaction: I think this is a very striking example in support of innate ideas. Most animal behaviour can be explained as responses to stimuli, but the bird seems to hold a model in its mind while it collects its materials.