display all the ideas for this combination of texts
2 ideas
16956 | To explain generosity in a person, you must understand a generous action [Dummett] |
Full Idea: It cannot be explained what it is for a person to be generous without first explaining what it is for an action to be generous. | |
From: Michael Dummett (Could There Be Unicorns? [1983], 4) | |
A reaction: I presume a slot machine can't be 'generous', even if it favours the punter, so you can't specify a generous action without making reference to the person. A benign circle, as Aristotle says. |
20547 | We should respect the right of people to live in their own way, even if it is irrational [Swift] |
Full Idea: Forcing people to do what is rational involves a lack of respect, a failure to respect the value of her living her life in her own (irrational) way. | |
From: Adam Swift (Political Philosophy (3rd ed) [2014], 2 'Resisting' 6) | |
A reaction: Up to a point. Irrationally eccentric is one thing, and irrationally self-destructive is another. You can sit back and watch your children embrace a life less happy than the one you wanted for them - but not a life of utter misery. |