Combining Texts

Ideas for 'works', 'Twilight of the Idols' and 'Semantics for Natural Languages'

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5 ideas

22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / a. Preconditions for ethics
Healthy morality is dominated by an instinct for life [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: All naturalism in morality, that is all healthy morality, is dominated by an instinct for life.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Twilight of the Idols [1889], 4.4)
     A reaction: Sounds right. There is no reasoning against a moral nihilist, because they seem to have no instinct in favour of life. It is the given of morality.
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / f. Ethical non-cognitivism
Philosophers hate values having an origin, and want values to be self-sufficient [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: For philosophers, the higher must not be allowed to grow out of the lower, must not be allowed to have grown at all ...Moral: everything of the first rank must be causa sui. Origin in something else counts as an objection, as casting a doubt on value.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Twilight of the Idols [1889], 2.4)
     A reaction: This is so deep and central that I wrote a paper on it, advocating that the theory of values should focus of value-makers.
There are no moral facts, and moralists believe in realities which do not exist [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: An insight formulated by me: that there are no moral facts whatever. Moral judgement has this in common with religious judgement that it believes in realities which do not exist.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Twilight of the Idols [1889], 6.1)
     A reaction: Not only a slogan for non-cognitivism, but also a clear statement of the error theory about morality, a century before John Mackie.
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / g. Moral responsibility
The doctrine of free will has been invented essentially in order to blame and punish people [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: The doctrine of will has been invented essentially for the purpose of punishment, that is of finding guilty.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Twilight of the Idols [1889], 5.7)
     A reaction: Michael Frede says free will was invented to feel wholly in charge of our own actions. I doubt whether punishment was the first motive. The will just gives a simple explanation of actions.
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
Aristotle never actually says that man is a rational animal [Aristotle, by Fogelin]
     Full Idea: To the best of my knowledge (and somewhat to my surprise), Aristotle never actually says that man is a rational animal; however, he all but says it.
     From: report of Aristotle (works [c.330 BCE]) by Robert Fogelin - Walking the Tightrope of Reason Ch.1
     A reaction: When I read this I thought that this database would prove Fogelin wrong, but it actually supports him, as I can't find it in Aristotle either. Descartes refers to it in Med.Two. In Idea 5133 Aristotle does say that man is a 'social being'. But 22586!