Combining Texts

Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Daniel Dennett on himself' and 'Reply to Richards'

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2 ideas

27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 1. Nature of Time / d. Time as measure
Time is an interval of motion, or the measure of speed [Posidonius, by Stobaeus]
     Full Idea: Posidonius defined time thus: it is an interval of motion, or the measure of speed and slowness.
     From: report of Posidonius (fragments/reports [c.95 BCE]) by John Stobaeus - Anthology 1.08.42
     A reaction: Hm. Can we define motion or speed without alluding to time? Looks like we have to define them as a conjoined pair, which means we cannot fully understand either of them.
27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 1. Biology
Biology is a type of engineering, not a search for laws of nature [Dennett]
     Full Idea: Biology is not a science like physics, in which one should strive to find 'laws of nature', but a species of engineering.
     From: Daniel C. Dennett (Daniel Dennett on himself [1994], p.239)
     A reaction: Yes. This is also true of chemistry, which has always struck me as minitiarised car mechanics.