Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason' and 'talk'

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8 ideas

7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 5. Reason for Existence

5062	First: there must be reasons; Second: why anything at all?; Third: why this? [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: We rise to metaphysics by saying 'nothing takes place without a reason', then asking 'why is there something rather than nothing?, and then 'why do things exist as they do?'
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason [1714], §7)
	A reaction: Wonderful. This is what we pay philosophers for - to attempt to go to the heart of the mystery, and then start formulating the appropriate questions. The question of 'why this?' is the sweetest question. The first one seems a little intractable.

7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 6. Fundamentals / c. Monads

19377	A monad and its body are living, so life is everywhere, and comes in infinite degrees [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: Each monad, together with a particular body, makes up a living substance. Thus, there is not only life everywhere, joined to limbs or organs, but there are also infinite degrees of life in the monads, some dominating more or less over others.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason [1714], 4)
	A reaction: Two key ideas: that each monad is linked to a body (which is presumably passive), and the infinite degrees of life in monads. Thus rocks consist of monads, but at an exceedingly low degree of life. They are stubborn and responsive.

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 1. Perception

19353	'Perception' is basic internal representation, and 'apperception' is reflective knowledge of perception [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: We distinguish between 'perception', the internal state of the monad representing external things, and 'apperception', which is consciousness, or the reflective knowledge of this internal state, not given to all souls, nor at all times to a given soul.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason [1714], §4)
	A reaction: The word 'apperception' is standard in Kant. I find it surprising that modern analytic philosophers don't seem to use it when they write about perception. It strikes me as useful, but maybe specialists have a reason for avoiding it.

15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / d. Location of mind

5987	Alcmaeon was the first to say the brain is central to thinking [Alcmaeon, by Staden, von]
	Full Idea: Alcmaeon apparently was the first Greek to assign central cognitive and biological functions to the brain.
	From: report of Alcmaeon (fragments/reports [c.490 BCE]) by Heinrich von Staden - Alcmaeon
	A reaction: The name of Alcmaeon should be remembered with honour. This was 200 years before Aristotle, who still hadn't worked it out. I presume Alcmaeon inferred the truth from head injuries, which is overwhelming evidence, if you notice it.

15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 7. Animal Minds

5061	Animals are semi-rational because they connect facts, but they don't see causes [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: There is a connexion between the perceptions of animals, which bears some resemblance to reason: but it is based only on the memory of facts or effects, and not at all on the knowledge of causes.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason [1714], §5)
	A reaction: This amounts to the view that animals can do Humean induction (where you see regularities), but not Leibnizian induction (where you see necessities). I say all minds perceive patterns, but only humans can think about the patterns they have perceived.

21. Aesthetics / B. Nature of Art / 8. The Arts / a. Music

5063	Music charms, although its beauty is the harmony of numbers [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: Music charms us although its beauty only consists in the harmony of numbers.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason [1714], §17)
	A reaction: 'Only'! This is a super-pythagorean view of music, as you might expect from a great mathematician. Did he understand the horrible compromises that had just been made to achieve even-tempered tuning? Patterns are the key, as always.

28. God / B. Proving God / 2. Proofs of Reason / b. Ontological Proof critique

7417	God can't have silly perfections, but how do we decide which ones are 'silly'? [Joslin]
	Full Idea: It is clear that God cannot have all conceivable perfections, because otherwise he would have absurd perfections (like being the perfect prawn sandwich), so a line must be drawn, and how are we to decide which perfections are appropriate and essential?
	From: Jack Joslin (talk [2006]), quoted by PG - Db (ideas)
	A reaction: This is an excellent question for curbing the absurdities of those who want to load God with every good thing that can possibly be conceived. Is the God who is also a perfect prawn sandwich more perfect than the one who isn't?

29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / b. Soul

24043	Soul must be immortal, since it continually moves, like the heavens [Alcmaeon, by Aristotle]
	Full Idea: Alcmaeon says that the soul is immortal because it resembles immortal things and that this affection belongs to it because it is always in movement, like divine things, such the moon, the sun, the stars and the whole heaven.
	From: report of Alcmaeon (fragments/reports [c.490 BCE], DK 24) by Aristotle - De Anima 405a30
	A reaction: Hm. Fish and rivers seem to be continually moving too. Presumably we are like gods, but then Greek gods seem awfully like humans. I don't know the history of belief in immortality; an interesting topic.