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Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'The Principles of Human Knowledge' and 'An Enquiry'

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8 ideas

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / a. Final purpose

20812	Covers are for shields, and sheaths for swords; likewise, all in the cosmos is for some other thing [Chrysippus]
	Full Idea: Just as the cover was made for the sake of the shield, and the sheath for the sword, in the same way everything else except the cosmos was made for the sake of other things.
	From: Chrysippus (fragments/reports [c.240 BCE]), quoted by M. Tullius Cicero - On the Nature of the Gods ('De natura deorum') 2.37
	A reaction: Chrysippus was wise to stop at the cosmos. Similarly, religious teleology had better not ask about the purpose of God. What does he think pebbles are for? Nature is the source of stoic value, so it needs to be purposeful.

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / f. Ancient elements

21403	The later Stoics identified the logos with an air-fire compound, called 'pneuma' [Chrysippus, by Long]
	Full Idea: From Chrysippus onwards, the Stoics identified the logos throughout each world-cycle not with pure fire, but with a compound of fire and air, 'pneuma'.
	From: report of Chrysippus (fragments/reports [c.240 BCE]) by A.A. Long - Hellenistic Philosophy 4.4.2
	A reaction: I suspect this was because breath is so vital to the human body.

20828	Fire is a separate element, not formed with others (as was previously believed) [Chrysippus, by Stobaeus]
	Full Idea: In his theory fire is said independently to be an element, since it is not formed together with another one, whereas according to the earlier theory fire is formed with other elements.
	From: report of Chrysippus (fragments/reports [c.240 BCE]) by John Stobaeus - Anthology 1.10.16c
	A reaction: The point is that fire precedes the other elements, and is superior to them.

5975	Stoics say earth, air, fire and water are the primary elements [Chrysippus, by Plutarch]
	Full Idea: The Stoics call the four bodies - earth and water and air and fire - primary elements.
	From: report of Chrysippus (fragments/reports [c.240 BCE], fr 444) by Plutarch - 72: Against Stoics on common Conceptions 1085c
	A reaction: Elsewhere (fr 413) Chrysippus denies that they are all 'primary'. Essentially, though, he seems to be adopting the doctrine of Empedocles and Aristotle, in specific opposition to Epicurus' atomism.

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 7. Later Matter Theories / a. Early Modern matter

6731	No one can explain how matter affects mind, so matter is redundant in philosophy [Berkeley]
	Full Idea: How matter should operate on a spirit, or produce any idea in it, is what no philosopher will pretend to explain; it is therefore evident there can be no use of matter in natural philosophy.
	From: George Berkeley (The Principles of Human Knowledge [1710], §50)
	A reaction: An intriguing argument for idealism, which starts in Cartesian dualism, but then discards the physical world because of the notorious interaction problem. Of course, if he had thought that matter and spirit were one (Spinoza) the problem vanishes.

26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / a. Constant conjunction

6730	We discover natural behaviour by observing settled laws of nature, not necessary connections [Berkeley]
	Full Idea: That food nourishes, sleep refreshes, and fire warms us; all this we know, not by discovering any necessary connexion between our ideas, but only by the observation of the settled laws of nature.
	From: George Berkeley (The Principles of Human Knowledge [1710], §31)
	A reaction: Hume is famous for this idea, but it is found in Hobbes too (Idea 2364), and is the standard empiricist view of causation. The word 'settled' I take to imply that the laws are contingent, because they could become unsettled at any time.

26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / a. Regularity theory

15861	The laws of nature are mental regularities which we learn by experience [Berkeley]
	Full Idea: The set rules or established methods wherein the Mind we depend on excites in us the ideas of sense, are called the 'laws of nature'; and these we learn by experience, which teaches us that such and such ideas are attended with certain other ideas.
	From: George Berkeley (The Principles of Human Knowledge [1710], 33)
	A reaction: He observes that the ideas of sense are more regular than other mental events, and attributes the rules to an Author. He is giving the standard empirical Humean view, with his own quirky idealist slant.

26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 8. Scientific Essentialism / e. Anti scientific essentialism

6734	If properties and qualities arise from an inward essence, we will remain ignorant of nature [Berkeley]
	Full Idea: An inducement to pronouncing ourselves ignorant of the nature of things is the opinion that everything includes within itself the cause of its properties; or that there is in each object an inward essence which is the source whence its qualities flow.
	From: George Berkeley (The Principles of Human Knowledge [1710], §102)
	A reaction: This remains a good objection to essentialism - that while it remains quite a plausible picture of how nature operates, it makes the task of understanding nature hopeless. We can grasp imposed regular laws, but not secret inner essences.