Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'works' and 'Letters to Fardella'

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3 ideas

1. Philosophy / A. Wisdom / 2. Wise People
Tell cleverness from answers, but wisdom from questions [Mahfouz]
     Full Idea: You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
     From: Naguib Mahfouz (works [1998])
     A reaction: [Popped up on Twitter. I am adjusting to the 21st century] The observation is simplistic, of course, but very nice indeed.
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 2. Powers as Basic
The soul is not a substance but a substantial form, the first active faculty [Leibniz]
     Full Idea: The soul, properly and accurately speaking, is not a substance, but a substantial form, or the primitive form existing in substances, the first act, the first active faculty.
     From: Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Fardella [1690], A6.4.1670), quoted by Daniel Garber - Leibniz:Body,Substance,Monad 2
     A reaction: In all of Leibniz's many gropings towards what is at the heart of a unified object, I pounce on the phrase "the first active faculty" as the one that suits me. I take that to be a 'power'. It has two characteristics - it is active, and it is basic.
21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 7. Art and Morality
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?