Combining Texts

Ideas for 'On the Question of Absolute Undecidability', 'Virtues of the Mind' and 'reports'

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2 ideas

20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 1. Acting on Desires
Motives involve desires, but also how the desires connect to our aims [Zagzebski]
     Full Idea: A motive does have an aspect of desire, but it includes something about why a state of affairs is desired, and that includes something about the way my emotions are tied to my aim.
     From: Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski (Virtues of the Mind [1996], II 2.6)
     A reaction: It is standard usage that a 'motive' involves some movement towards achieving the desire, and not merely having the desire. I'd quite like to stand on top of Everest, but have absolutely no motivation to try to achieve it.
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 3. Acting on Reason / b. Intellectualism
Jesus said learning was unnecessary, and only the spirit of the Law was needed [Jesus, by Johnson,P]
     Full Idea: Jesus was a learned Jew who said that learning was not necessary, who took the spirit and not the letter as the essence of the Law.
     From: report of Jesus (reports [c.32]) by Paul Johnson - The History of the Jews Pt II
     A reaction: This seems to me the perfect opposite of Socrates's intellectualism, offering the essence of morality as 'purity of heart', rather than careful thought about virtue or principles. On the whole I am with Socrates, but the idea is interesting.