Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Epistemology of Modality', 'Representative Government' and 'talk'

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6 ideas

10. Modality / D. Knowledge of Modality / 4. Conceivable as Possible / a. Conceivable as possible

19440	How do you know you have conceived a thing deeply enough to assess its possibility? [Vaidya]
	Full Idea: The main issue with learning possibility from conceivability concerns how we can be confident that we have conceived things to the relevant level of depth required for the scenario to actually be a presentation or manifestation of a genuine possibility.
	From: Anand Vaidya (The Epistemology of Modality [2015], 1.2.2)
	A reaction: [He cites Van Inwagen 1998 for this idea] The point is that ignorant imagination can conceive of all sorts of absurd things which are seen to be impossible when enough information is available. We can hardly demand a criterion for this.

17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 2. Reduction of Mind

4688	We imagine small and large objects scaled to the same size, suggesting a fixed capacity for imagination [Lavers]
	Full Idea: If we think of a pea, and then of the Eiffel Tower, they seem to occupy the same space in our consciousness, suggesting that we scale our images to fit the available hardware, just as computer imagery is limited by the screen and memory available.
	From: Michael Lavers (talk [2003]), quoted by PG - Db (ideas)
	A reaction: Nice point. It is especially good because it reinforces a physicalist view of the mind from introspection, where most other evidence is external observation of brains (as Nietzsche reinforces determinism by introspection).

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / b. Consultation

20508	How people vote should be on public record, so they can be held accountable [Mill, by Wolff,J]
	Full Idea: Mill believed in an open vote. People should be held accountable for how they vote, and therefore it should be a matter of public record.
	From: report of John Stuart Mill (Representative Government [1861]) by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 3 'Representative'
	A reaction: Nowadays it is a mantra that voting should be secret, because coercion is an obvious problem, but MPs vote publicly, and are held accountable for their voting records. People like the mafia seem to make open public voting impossible.

20507	Voting is a strict duty, like jury service, and must only be aimed at the public good [Mill]
	Full Idea: The citizen's vote is not a thing in which he has an option; it has no more to do with his personal wishes than the verdict of a juryman. ...he is bound to give it according to his best and most conscientious opinion of the public good.
	From: John Stuart Mill (Representative Government [1861], p.299), quoted by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 3 'Representative'
	A reaction: Mill was also concerned that voters might pursue 'class interest' (which they currently do, big time).

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / c. Direct democracy

20505	Direct democracy is inexperience judging experience, and ignorance judging knowledge [Mill]
	Full Idea: At its best [direct democracy] is inexperience sitting in judgement on experience, ignorance on knowledge.
	From: John Stuart Mill (Representative Government [1861], p.232), quoted by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 4 'Representative'
	A reaction: Recent experiments have suggested that inexperienced people can become very good at making large decisions, if they are allowed to consult experts when they want to. See Van Reybrouck's 'Against Elections'.

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / d. Representative democracy

20504	People can only participate in decisions in small communities, so representatives are needed [Mill]
	Full Idea: Since all cannot, in a community exceeding a single small town, participate personally in any but some very minor portions of the public business, it follows that the ideal type of a perfect government must be representative.
	From: John Stuart Mill (Representative Government [1861], p.217-8), quoted by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 4 'Representative'
	A reaction: Wolff offers Mill as the principal spokesman for representative democracy. It is not only the difficulty of achieving participation, but also the slowness of decision-making. Modern technology may be changing all of this.