Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Matter and Memory' and 'The Discourses'

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5 ideas

7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / c. Becoming

21846	Bergson was a rallying point, because he emphasised becomings and multiplicities [Bergson, by Deleuze]
	Full Idea: Bergson was a rallying point for all the opposition, …not so much because of the theme of duration, as of the theory and practice of becoming of all kinds, of coexistent multiplicities.
	From: report of Henri Bergson (Matter and Memory [1896]) by Gilles Deleuze - A Conversation: what is it? What is it for? I
	A reaction: The three heroes of Deleuze are Spinoza, Nietzsche and Bergson. All philosophers are either of Being, or of Becoming, I suggest.

12. Knowledge Sources / E. Direct Knowledge / 4. Memory

21854	Bergson showed that memory is not after the event, but coexists with it [Bergson, by Deleuze]
	Full Idea: Bergson has shown that memory is not an actual image which forms after the object has been perceived, but a virtual image coexisting with the actual perception of the object.
	From: report of Henri Bergson (Matter and Memory [1896]) by Gilles Deleuze - The Actual and the Virtual p.114
	A reaction: It strikes me as plausible to say that all conscious life is memory. Perceiving the present instant is only possible because it endures for a tiny moment.

21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 7. Art and Morality

468	Musical performance can reveal a range of virtues [Damon of Ath.]
	Full Idea: In singing and playing the lyre, a boy will be likely to reveal not only courage and moderation, but also justice.
	From: Damon (fragments/reports [c.460 BCE], B4), quoted by (who?) - where?

25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 2. Religion in Society

19813	All legislators invoke God in support of extraordinary laws, because their justification is not obvious [Machiavelli]
	Full Idea: There has never been a single legislator who, in proposing extraordinary laws, did not have recourse to God, for otherwise they would not be accepted, since many benefits known to a prudent man do not have evident persuasive reasons.
	From: Niccolo Machiavelli (The Discourses [1520], 1.11), quoted by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The Social Contract (tr Cress) II.7 n8
	A reaction: It does seem to be an important role for God and state religion, to give support to decisions and laws which might not be intrinsically popular.

7126	Rulers should preserve the foundations of religion, to ensure good behaviour and unity [Machiavelli]
	Full Idea: It is the duty of the rulers of a republic or a kingdom to preserve the foundations of the religion they hold; if they do this, it will be an easy thing for them to keep their state religious, and consequently good and united.
	From: Niccolo Machiavelli (The Discourses [1520], I.12)
	A reaction: This is the germ of Marx's view, that the sole role of religion is political, as a tool used by the ruling classes to keep the populace in their place. The same idea can be found in Critias (Idea 542). But what is wrong with some central moral guidance?