Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Classical Cosmology (frags)', 'A Problem about Substitutional Quantification?' and 'The Republic'

unexpand these ideas     |    start again     |     choose another area for these texts

display all the ideas for this combination of texts


5 ideas

2. Reason / C. Styles of Reason / 1. Dialectic
Dialectic is the only method of inquiry which uproots the things which it takes for granted [Plato]
     Full Idea: Dialectic is the only field of inquiry whose quest for certainty causes it to uproot the things it takes for granted in the course of its journey.
     From: Plato (The Republic [c.374 BCE], 533c)
The ability to take an overview is the distinguishing mark of a dialectician [Plato]
     Full Idea: The ability to take an overview is the distinguishing mark of a dialectician.
     From: Plato (The Republic [c.374 BCE], 537c)
For Plato, rationality is a vision of and love of a cosmic rational order [Plato, by Taylor,C]
     Full Idea: In Plato's theory, to be rational is to have a vision of rational order, and to love this order.
     From: report of Plato (The Republic [c.374 BCE], 537d) by Charles Taylor - Sources of the Self §4.1
     A reaction: There may be a worrying elitism in this, but it helps to pinpoint the sense in which 'all philosophers are Platonists'.
2. Reason / C. Styles of Reason / 2. Elenchus
You must never go against what you actually believe [Plato]
     Full Idea: You must never go against what you actually believe.
     From: Plato (The Republic [c.374 BCE], 350e)
2. Reason / C. Styles of Reason / 3. Eristic
People often merely practice eristic instead of dialectic, because they don't analyse the subject-matter [Plato]
     Full Idea: People often think they are practising dialectic when they are practising eristic; this is because of their inability to conduct the enquiry by dividing the subject-matter into its various aspects.
     From: Plato (The Republic [c.374 BCE], 454a)