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All the ideas for 'works', 'Letters to Regius' and 'Letters to Russell'

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6 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 3. Philosophy Defined

7085	The main problem of philosophy is what can and cannot be thought and expressed [Wittgenstein, by Grayling]
	Full Idea: The 'Tractatus' concerns the theory of what can be expressed by propositions (and, which comes to the same thing, can be thought), and what cannot be expressed by propositions, but can only be shown; which, I believe, is the main problem of philosophy.
	From: report of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Letters to Russell [1919]) by A.C. Grayling - Wittgenstein Ch.2
	A reaction: This contains what a I consider the heresy of making thought depend on language, but his main question remains, of the limits of thought. It is dramatised nicely in the 'mysterian' view of the mind-body problem (e.g. Idea 2540).

5. Theory of Logic / D. Assumptions for Logic / 3. Contradiction

10121	Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor lack of contradiction a sign of truth [Pascal]
	Full Idea: Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.
	From: Blaise Pascal (works [1660]), quoted by A.George / D.J.Velleman - Philosophies of Mathematics Ch.6
	A reaction: [Quoted in Auden and Kronenberger's Book of Aphorisms] Presumably we would now say that contradiction is a purely formal, syntactic notion, and not a semantic one. If you hit a contradiction, something has certainly gone wrong.

7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 6. Fundamentals / d. Logical atoms

23463	Atomic facts correspond to true elementary propositions [Wittgenstein]
	Full Idea: Atomic fact [Sachverhalt] is what corresponds to an elementary proposition [Elementarsatz] if it is true.
	From: Ludwig Wittgenstein (Letters to Russell [1919], CL 125)
	A reaction: This is perhaps the key to the Tractatus, because it is the binding point between world and language. A true realist would allow for atomic facts that may go beyond even possible propositions.

9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 15. Against Essentialism

12251	Substantial forms are not understood, and explain nothing [Descartes]
	Full Idea: Clearly no explanation can be given by these substantial forms for any natural action, since their defenders admit that they are occult and that they do not understand them themselves, ...so they explain nothing.
	From: René Descartes (Letters to Regius [1642], 1642.01), quoted by David S. Oderberg - Real Essentialism 267 n5
	A reaction: [Oderberg gives refs for attack by Locke and Hume, p.66] Descartes' target is Aristotle's hylomorphism. The problem seems to be understanding what Aristotle meant, which is much more than mere 'shape'. More like 'controlling principle'.

19. Language / D. Propositions / 4. Mental Propositions

23490	A thought is mental constituents that relate to reality as words do [Wittgenstein]
	Full Idea: Does a Gedanke [thought] consist of words? No! But of psychical constituents that have the same sort of relation to reality as words.
	From: Ludwig Wittgenstein (Letters to Russell [1919], p.125), quoted by Michael Morris - Guidebook to Wittgenstein's Tractatus 4B
	A reaction: This is roughly my view of propositions, as non-lingustic mental events. The 'psychical constituents' seem to be concepts, in a psychological rather than a Fregean sense. This idea allowed transfer of his representation theory from thought to language.

29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 4. Christianity / c. Angels

16772	An angelic mind would not experience pain, even when connected to a human body [Descartes, by Pasnau]
	Full Idea: Descartes points out that an angelic mind, even if causally connected to a human body, would not experience the same sort of bodily sensations; it would, instead, simply observe flesh being torn, like a piece of paper.
	From: report of René Descartes (Letters to Regius [1642], III:493) by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 25.6
	A reaction: Does that mean that the angel could not have the experience even if it wanted to have it. So they can't pick up a cup either? So they can't make themselves known to us, even if they are desperate to? So the Annunciation never happened?