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2 ideas
234 | We couldn't discuss the non-existence of the One without knowledge of it [Plato] |
Full Idea: There must be knowledge of the one, or else not even the meaning of the words 'if the one does not exist' would be known. | |
From: Plato (Parmenides [c.364 BCE], 160d) |
5187 | When we ascribe an attribute to a thing, we covertly assert that it exists [Ayer] |
Full Idea: When we ascribe an attribute to a thing, we covertly assert that it exists. | |
From: A.J. Ayer (Language,Truth and Logic [1936], Ch.1) | |
A reaction: This is an unsurprising endorsement from logical positivism that Kant's claim that the ontological argument is probably tautological is correct. We could of course say "Imagine a non-existent being with dirty toenails". |