Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Subjectivist's Guide to Objective Chance', 'The Logic of Infinity' and 'Much Ado About Nothing'

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3 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy
For there was never yet philosopher/ That could endure the toothache patiently [Shakespeare]
     Full Idea: For there was never yet philosopher/ That could endure the toothache patiently.
     From: William Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing [1600], V.i)
     A reaction: You can't argue with that. I do think that people who have studied philosophy at length are more likely to be 'philosophical' when faced with human misery, but only up to a point.
6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 10. Constructivism / d. Predicativism
Avoid non-predicative classifications and definitions [Poincaré]
     Full Idea: Never consider any objects but those capable of being defined in a finite number of word ...Avoid non-predicative classifications and definitions.
     From: Henri Poincaré (The Logic of Infinity [1909], p.63), quoted by Penelope Maddy - Naturalism in Mathematics II.4
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / b. Best system theory
Lewis later proposed the axioms at the intersection of the best theories (which may be few) [Mumford on Lewis]
     Full Idea: Later Lewis said we must choose between the intersection of the axioms of the tied best systems. He chose for laws the axioms that are in all the tied systems (but then there may be few or no axioms in the intersection).
     From: comment on David Lewis (Subjectivist's Guide to Objective Chance [1980], p.124) by Stephen Mumford - Laws in Nature