Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'The World' and 'Questions on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics'

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5 ideas

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / b. Primary/secondary

16726	Why can't we deduce secondary qualities from primary ones, if they cause them? [Buridan]
	Full Idea: The entire difficulty in this question is why through a knowledge of the primary tangible qualities we cannot come to a knowledge of flavors or odors, since these are their causes, since we often go from knowledge of causes to knowing their effects.
	From: Jean Buridan (Questions on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics [1344], I.28c), quoted by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 22.2
	A reaction: He is commenting on Idea 16725. Still a nice puzzle in the philosophy of mind. Will neuroscientists ever be able to infer to actual character of some quale, just from the structures of the neurons?

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / d. Secondary qualities

22593	Our sensation of light may not be the same as what produces the sensation [Descartes]
	Full Idea: There can be a difference between our sensation of light and what is in the objects that produce that sensation in us.
	From: René Descartes (The World [1631]), quoted by Ian Dunt - How to be a Liberal 1
	A reaction: Note only that they 'may' differ, and that he does not assert that they are entirely different. Secondary qualities give information, and are not just mental events.

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?

26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / f. Ancient elements

16569	The Hot, Cold, Wet and Dry of the philosophers need themselves to be explained [Descartes]
	Full Idea: If you find it strange that in explaining these elements I do not use the qualities called Hot, Cold, Wet and Dry - as the philosophers do - I shall say to you that these qualities themselves seem to me to need explanation.
	From: René Descartes (The World [1631], 9:25-6), quoted by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 1.3
	A reaction: Nice. I take pushing the boundaries of explanation back (or down) to be the basic driving force of all human thought, in metaphysics as well as in physics.

27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / b. Laws of motion

20964	Descartes said there was conservation of 'quantity of motion' [Descartes, by Papineau]
	Full Idea: Descartes incorporated the conservation of what he called 'quantity of motion', by which he meant mass times speed.
	From: report of René Descartes (The World [1631]) by David Papineau - Thinking about Consciousness App 2
	A reaction: Mass times velocity is now called 'momentum'. Is this the first ever conservation law? There are now lots of them.