Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Fragments on My Philosophical Development' and 'Presupposition'

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5 ideas

4. Formal Logic / A. Syllogistic Logic / 3. Term Logic

19053	Logic would be more natural if negation only referred to predicates [Dummett]
	Full Idea: A better proposal for a formal logic closer to natural language would be one that had a negation-operator only for (simple) predicates.
	From: Michael Dummett (Presupposition [1960], p.27)
	A reaction: Dummett observes that classical formal logic was never intended to be close to natural language. Term logic does have that aim, but the meta-question is whether that end is desirable, and why.

5. Theory of Logic / E. Structures of Logic / 2. Logical Connectives / c. not

19052	Natural language 'not' doesn't apply to sentences [Dummett]
	Full Idea: Natural language does not possess a sentential negation-operator.
	From: Michael Dummett (Presupposition [1960], p.27)
	A reaction: This is a criticism of Strawson, who criticises logic for not following natural language, but does it himself with negation. In the question of how language and logic connect, this idea seems important. Term Logic aims to get closer to natural language.

23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / i. Absolute virtues

19458	Egoism is the only evil, love the only good; genuine love produces all the other virtues [Feuerbach]
	Full Idea: There is only one evil - egoism; there is only one good - love. ...Love, but truly! All other virtues will automatically come to you.
	From: Ludwig Feuerbach (Fragments on My Philosophical Development [1839], 1834-6)
	A reaction: This is a rather Christian idea of virtue, coming from the great atheist. Does tough love come from love?

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 5. Infinite in Nature

1748	Archelaus was the first person to say that the universe is boundless [Archelaus, by Diog. Laertius]
	Full Idea: Archelaus was the first person to say that the universe is boundless.
	From: report of Archelaus (fragments/reports [c.450 BCE]) by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 02.Ar.3

27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 3. Evolution

5989	Archelaus said life began in a primeval slime [Archelaus, by Schofield]
	Full Idea: Archelaus wrote that life on Earth began in a primeval slime.
	From: report of Archelaus (fragments/reports [c.450 BCE]) by Malcolm Schofield - Archelaus
	A reaction: This sounds like a fairly clearcut assertion of the production of life by evolution. Darwin's contribution was to propose the mechanism for achieving it. We should honour the name of Archelaus for this idea.