Combining Texts

Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed)' and 'The Folly of Trying to Define Truth'

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2 ideas

2. Reason / F. Fallacies / 7. Ad Hominem
Ad Hominem: press a man with the consequences of his own principle [Locke]
     Full Idea: The Argumentum ad Hominem is to press a man with consequences drawn from his own principles or concessions.
     From: John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694], 4.17.21)
     A reaction: This is a rather more plausible account of it than the alternative I have met, that it is just to attack to speaker instead of what they say. This version is at least an attempt to derive a contradiction, rather than mere abuse.
2. Reason / F. Fallacies / 8. Category Mistake / a. Category mistakes
Asking whether man's will is free is liking asking if sleep is fast or virtue is square [Locke]
     Full Idea: To ask whether man's will be free is as improper as to ask whether sleep be swift, or virtue square.
     From: John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694], 2.21.14)
     A reaction: Beautiful illustrations of category mistakes, long before the actual phrase was coined.