Combining Texts

Ideas for 'talk', 'What is Analytic Philosophy?' and 'Queries to the 'Opticks''

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3 ideas

18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 5. Rationality / b. Human rationality
Socrates first proposed that we are run by mind or reason [Socrates, by Frede,M]
     Full Idea: It would seem that historically the decisive step was taken by Socrates in conceiving of human beings as being run by a mind or reason.. …He postulated an entity whose precision nature and function then was a matter of considerable debate.
     From: report of Socrates (reports of career [c.420 BCE]) by Michael Frede - Intro to 'Rationality in Greek Thought' p.19
     A reaction: This is, for me, a rather revelatory idea. I am keen on the fact the animals make judgements which are true and false, and also that we exhibit rationality when walking across uneven ground. So pure rationality is a cultural construct!
18. Thought / D. Concepts / 4. Structure of Concepts / h. Family resemblance
We might say that the family resemblance is just a consequence of meaning-as-use [Glock]
     Full Idea: Against Wittgenstein's family resemblance view one might evoke his own idea that the meaning of a word is its use, and that diversity of use entails diversity of meaning.
     From: Hans-Johann Glock (What is Analytic Philosophy? [2008], 8.2)
     A reaction: Wittgenstein might just accept the point. Diversity of concepts reflects diversity of usage. But how do you distinguish 'football is a game' from 'oy, what's your game?'. How does usage distinguish metaphorical from literal (if it does)?
The variety of uses of 'game' may be that it has several meanings, and isn't a single concept [Glock]
     Full Idea: The proper conclusion to draw from the fact that we explain 'game' in a variety of different ways is that it is not a univocal term, but has different, albeit related, meanings.
     From: Hans-Johann Glock (What is Analytic Philosophy? [2008], 8.2)
     A reaction: [He cites Rundle 1990] Potter says Wittgenstein insisted that 'game' is a single concept. 'Game' certainly slides off into metaphor, as in 'are you playing games with me?'. The multivocal view would still meet family resemblance on a narrower range.