6019
|
If someone squashed a horse to make a dog, something new would now exist [Mnesarchus]
|
|
Full Idea:
If, for the sake of argument, someone were to mould a horse, squash it, then make a dog, it would be reasonable for us on seeing this to say that this previously did not exist but now does exist.
|
|
From:
Mnesarchus (fragments/reports [c.120 BCE]), quoted by John Stobaeus - Anthology 179.11
|
|
A reaction:
Locke would say it is new, because the substance is the same, but a new life now exists. A sword could cease to exist and become a new ploughshare, I would think. Apply this to the Ship of Theseus. Is form more important than substance?
|
22200
|
If you eliminate the impossible, the truth will remain, even if it is weird [Conan Doyle]
|
|
Full Idea:
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
|
|
From:
Arthur Conan Doyle (The Sign of Four [1890], Ch. 6)
|
|
A reaction:
A beautiful statement, by Sherlock Holmes, of Eliminative Induction. It is obviously not true, of course. Many options may still face you after you have eliminated what is actually impossible.
|
7098
|
There is a new sort of moral scepticism, about the possibility of moral theories [Statman]
|
|
Full Idea:
Since the 1980s, ethics has witnessed a new sort of moral scepticism, this time about the possibility of moral theories.
|
|
From:
Daniel Statman (Introduction to Virtue Ethics [1997], §4)
|
|
A reaction:
He cites McDowell, Williams, Nussbaum and Baier as the culprits. 'Particularism' (every situation is different, so there can't be rules) seems an essential part of virtue theory, but total absence of principles sounds to me like moral drift.
|
7100
|
Virtue theory isn't a genuine ethical theory, because it doesn't have universal application [Statman]
|
|
Full Idea:
It can be claimed that universality is a necessary property of any ethical theory and therefore virtue theory, which fails in this respect, is not a theory, and hence poses no alternative to genuine ethical theories.
|
|
From:
Daniel Statman (Introduction to Virtue Ethics [1997], §5)
|
|
A reaction:
Replies: a) totally universal morality is an idle dream (part of the 'Enlightenment Project' to prove everything) and we must settle for something more relative; b) virtues aren't totally universal, but they are truths about humanity. I prefer b).
|
7104
|
The ancients recognised imperfect duties, but we have added perfect duties like justice [Statman]
|
|
Full Idea:
The advantage of modern thinkers over the ancient virtue ethicists is that in addition to imperfect duties (i.e. virtues) they also recognise the existence of perfect duties, or duties of justice, which are essential for the existence of society.
|
|
From:
Daniel Statman (Introduction to Virtue Ethics [1997], §7)
|
|
A reaction:
Even the Greeks had laws (e.g. Idea 422), so they understood that a society needs rules, but many laws don't seem to be moral rules (e.g. car parking), and the Greeks thought morality was about human excellence, not avoiding traffic jams.
|
7103
|
Abortion issues focus on the mother's right over her body, and the status of the foetus [Statman]
|
|
Full Idea:
Most of the debate on abortion focuses on two issues, the mother's assumed right over her body, and the status of the foetus.
|
|
From:
Daniel Statman (Introduction to Virtue Ethics [1997], §6)
|
|
A reaction:
Personally I think society as a whole might have a say (if, perhaps, we are over- or under-populated, or we have a widely accepted state religion, or we are just very shocked). Mother's have virtues and duties as well as rights.
|