32 ideas
20981 | What justifies reliance on reason? Is it just a tool? Why is it better than blind belief? [Sen] |
Full Idea: What is the ultimate justification for relying on reason? Is reason cherished as a good tool, and if so, how does it differ from blind and unquestioning belief? | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 01 'Critique') | |
A reaction: And can it answer the romantic charge of stunting a rich life? NIetzsche started this one, by asking the value of truth. Proposal: treat others rationally, and treat yourself intuitively. |
20982 | In politics and ethics, scrutiny from different perspectives is essential for objectivity [Sen] |
Full Idea: I take reasoned scrutiny from different perspectives to be an essential part of the demands of objectivity for ethical and political convictions. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 01 'Adam') | |
A reaction: We should distinguish the nature of objectivity from ways of achieving it. Multiple perspectives don't guarantee objectivity. This is peer review in science, and publisher's readers of philosophy texts. What is objectivity? The same as truth? |
14713 | Truth in a scenario is the negation in that scenario being a priori incoherent [Chalmers] |
Full Idea: The epistemic 1-intension for a sentence S is True at a scenario W iff (W and not-S) is a priori incoherent. | |
From: David J.Chalmers (Epistemic Two-Dimensional Semantics [2004], p.180-4), quoted by Laura Schroeter - Two-Dimensional Semantics | |
A reaction: See Two-Dimensional Semantics (in 'Language') and Chalmers for the background to this idea. I love the coherence view of justification, but get a bit nervous when people start defining truth in that way. |
8361 | What is true used to be possible, but it may no longer be so [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: It is not very natural to say of that which is true that it is also possible. ...What is true was possible - but whether it still is a potency of the world is not certain. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §5) | |
A reaction: A simple and rather important distinction. Before encountering this, I would certainly have been happy to affirm that the actual is possible, but actually it may not be. The power to create differs from the power to sustain. Could God re-create the world? |
14712 | A sentence is a priori if no possible way the world might actually be could make it false [Chalmers] |
Full Idea: The Core Thesis for rationalist 2D semantics is that for any sentence S, S is apriori iff S has a necessary 1-intension. (That is, there is no possible way the world might be that, if it actually obtained, would make S false). | |
From: David J.Chalmers (Epistemic Two-Dimensional Semantics [2004], p.165), quoted by Laura Schroeter - Two-Dimensional Semantics 2.3.2 | |
A reaction: [The parenthesis is by Schroeter] A '1-intension' is defined by a diagonal on a 2D semantic matrix. Chalmers defends conceivability as the guide to possibility. This is a very traditional view of the a priori, expressed in modern terms. |
20990 | Rationality is conformity to reasons that can be sustained even after scrutiny [Sen] |
Full Idea: My main argument can be fairly easily understood in terms of seeing rationality as conformity with reasons that one can sustain, even after scrutiny, and not just at first sight. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 08 'Rational' n) | |
A reaction: We would need to say more about the 'scrutiny' before we had a really good account of rationality here. In Idea 20982 he emphasises the need for scrutiny by other people, and not mere self-criticism. The key may to be invite outside criticism. |
21005 | A human right is not plausible if public scrutiny might reject it [Sen] |
Full Idea: The force of a claim for a human right would indeed be seriously undermined if it were possible to show that it is unlikely to survive open public scrutiny. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 17 'Scrutiny') | |
A reaction: This is a public aspect of Scanlon's 'contractualist' approach to ethics. You can hardly disagree with the idea, though anti-racist legislation in a strongly racist society might be a good test case. |
20983 | The original position insures that the agreements reached are fair [Sen] |
Full Idea: The original position is the appropriate initial status quo which insures that the fundamental agreements reached in it are fair. This fact yields the name 'justice as fairness'. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 01.4) | |
A reaction: I suppose it insures fairness on day one of the new society, but that might have all been wiped out in the next fortnight, when you find you are the least advantaged as a result of racism. |
20987 | The veil of ignorance encourages neutral interests, but not a wider view of values [Sen] |
Full Idea: The veil of ignorance is very effective for making people see beyond their vested interests and goals. And yet it does little to ensure an open scrutiny of local and possibly parochial values. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 06 'Original') | |
A reaction: Communitarians also make a similar criticism of Rawls - that people in the initial position simplify themselves into pure rational agents looking for 'basic goods'. |
20984 | A social contract limits the pursuit of justice to members of a single society [Sen] |
Full Idea: The use of the social contract in the Rawlsian form inescapably limits the involvement of participants in the pursuit of justice to the members of a given polity, or 'people'. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 02 'Relevance') | |
A reaction: This relates to the criticism of contractarian ethics - that the weak have nothing to bargain with. One can either add international contracts, or appeal to natural human rights. Or we could just be nice to one another? Nah! |
20986 | A person's voice may count because of their interests, or because of their good sense [Sen] |
Full Idea: A person's voice may count either because her interests are involved, or because he reasoning and judgement can enlighten a discussion. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 04 'Diversity') | |
A reaction: Good. Inarticulate people may have strong interests, and articulate and helpful people may be wholly disinterested. But people may have unworthy interests, and may be articulate but not sensible. |
21001 | Famines tend to be caused by authoritarian rule [Sen] |
Full Idea: The history of famines has had a peculiarly close connection with authoritarian rules. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 16 'Famine') | |
A reaction: He cites the British Empire, the Soviet Union, China and Cambodia. There is unlikely to be a local famine if there is free movement of food supplies.342 |
21002 | Effective democracy needs tolerant values [Sen] |
Full Idea: The formation of tolerant values is quite central to the smooth functioning of a democratic system. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 16 'Minority') | |
A reaction: There is presumably a brutal sort of democracy, if the majority in a polarised society agree to crush a minority. |
20999 | Democracy as 'government by discussion' now has wide support [Sen] |
Full Idea: In contemporary political philosophy the view that democracy is best seen as 'government by discussion' has gained widespread support. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 15 'Content') | |
A reaction: The obvious worry about this is inefficiency in decision-making. Also the dominance of noisy stupidity. But citizens need to feel involved, and committed to the decisions. |
20979 | Democracy needs more than some institutions; diverse sections of the people must be heard [Sen] |
Full Idea: Democracy has to be judged not just by the institutions that formally exist but by the extent to which different voices from diverse sections of the people can actually be heard. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], Pref 'Public') | |
A reaction: Depends what you mean by 'democracy'. Should the workplace and the school and the family be democratic, or just the choice of leaders? What can oblige leaders to listen to the people? Listen to, and then ignore? |
20993 | Eradicating smallpox does not impoverish nature [Sen] |
Full Idea: The eradication of smallpox is not viewed as an impoverishment of nature. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 11 'Sustainable') | |
A reaction: You'd have to be a pretty 'deep' ecologist to defend the carrier of smallpox, or Dutch Elm disease. The idea is included for balance. |
20995 | Capabilities are part of freedom, involving real opportunities [Sen] |
Full Idea: Capability is an aspect of freedom, concentrating in particular on substantive opportunities. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 13 'Well-being') | |
A reaction: This is the 'capabilities approach' of Sen and Nussbaum. The key word is 'substantive' (as opposed to theoretical). We are all free to become astronauts, but.... |
20998 | Freedom can involve capabilities, independence and non-interference [Sen] |
Full Idea: There is no embarrassment in accommodating several distinct features within the idea of freedom, focusing respectively on capability, lack of dependence and lack of interference. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 14 'Capability') | |
A reaction: This relates to Berlin's distinction between negative and positive rights. |
20997 | The need for equality among people arises from impartiality and objectivity [Sen] |
Full Idea: The demand for seeing people as equals (in some important perspective) relates to the normative demand for impartiality, and the related claims of objectivity. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 14 'Equality') | |
A reaction: Either impartiality already contains (analytically) the concept of equality, or the principle of sufficient reason must be invoked. True impartiality removes any reason for preferring one person to another. But what if preference is 'to my taste'? |
20996 | All modern theories of justice demand equality of something [Sen] |
Full Idea: Every normative theory of social justice that has received support and advocacy in recent times seems to demand equality of something. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 14 Intro) | |
A reaction: He mentions liberties, income, rights and utilities. |
20988 | Freedom from torture or terrorist attacks is independent of citizenship [Sen] |
Full Idea: The human right of a person not to be tortured or subjected to terrorist attacks is affirmed independently of the country of which this person is a citizen. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 06 'Exclusionary') | |
A reaction: If rights can only be enshrined in a legal system, then I presume all systems of legal rights should ensure rights like these, irrespective of their nation. A universal charter of rights for tourists and alien residents? |
20980 | You don't need a complete theory of justice to see that slavery is wrong [Sen] |
Full Idea: It was the diagnosis of an intolerable injustice in slavery that made abolition an overwhelming priority, and this did not require a search for a consensus on what a perfectly just society would look like. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], Intro 'Classical') | |
A reaction: This illustrates Sen's key points, that we should focus on injustices, which are obvious, and that designing a totally just society has little relevance to justice in practice (which is what matters). Well said. |
20978 | Practical justice concerns not only ideals, but ways to achieve them [Sen] |
Full Idea: A theory of justice that can serve as the basis of practical reason must include ways of judging how to reduce injustice and advance justice, rather than aiming only at the characterisation of perfectly just societies. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], Pref 'What') | |
A reaction: Sounds simple, but this is Amartya Sen's revolutionary new idea - that justice is not just ideals and opportunities, but what sort of life people actually end up with. |
20985 | Our institutions should promote justice, rather than embodying it [Sen] |
Full Idea: We have to seek institutions that promote justice, rather than treating the institutions as themselves manifestations of justice. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 03 'Institutions') | |
A reaction: The best quote I can find for summarising Sen's view. He criticises Rawls and others for trying to design institutions that embody justice. Our legal system promotes justice. Do our schools and hospitals? The Department for the Promotion of Justice? |
20994 | We must focus on removing manifest injustice, not just try to design a perfect society [Sen] |
Full Idea: The demands of justice must give priority to the removal of manifest injustice, rather than concentrating on the long-distance search for the perfectly just society. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 12 'Disability') | |
A reaction: So the point is not to understand the world, but to change it? I'd want to put in a word for the theoretical and idealised project, which I see in terms of writing the perfect constitution. You can't just pick off injustices, perceived intuitively. |
21000 | If justice needs public reasoning, which needs democracy, then justice and democracy are linked [Sen] |
Full Idea: If the demands of justice can be assessed only with the help of public reasoning, and that is constitutively related to the idea of democracy, then there is an intimate connection between justice and democracy. | |
From: Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice [2009], 15 'Content') | |
A reaction: I suspect that he argued early on that rationality required many perspectives in order to later mount this defence of democracy. |
8363 | p is a cause and q an effect (not vice versa) if manipulations of p change q [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: What makes p a cause-factor relative to the effect-factor q (rather than vice versa) is the fact that by manipulating p, producing changes in it 'at will', we could bring about changes in q. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §8) | |
A reaction: As a solution to the direction-of-causation problem, I suspect that this proposal is begging the question. Will a causal explanation be offered of the action of manipulation? If he mistook his manipulation for a cause when it is actually an effect... |
8364 | We can imagine controlling floods by controlling rain, but not vice versa [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: Given our present knowledge of the laws of nature, we can imagine ways of controlling floods by controlling rainfall, but not the other way round. That is should be so, however, is contingent. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §8) | |
A reaction: Despite my objections to Idea 8363, this is a good example. It won't establish the metaphysics of the direction of causation, though, because God might control rainfall by controlling floods. Maybe causation is more like a motorway pile-up than dominoes. |
8366 | The very notion of a cause depends on agency and action [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: There is an implicit dependence of the very notion of a cause on a concept of agency and action. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §10) | |
A reaction: This is because he thinks experimental intervention is the key to the concept of causation (see Ideas 8362 and 8363). Others go further, and say that the concept of causation arises from subjective experience of performing actions. I quite like that. |
8362 | We give regularities a causal character by subjecting them to experiment [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: What confers on observed regularities the character of causal or nomic connections is the possibility of subjecting cause-factors to experimental test by interfering with the 'natural' course of events. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §7) | |
A reaction: This is von Wright's distinctive proposal, making causation a feature of the culture of science, rather than of ordinary life. But see Idea 2461. Causation is becoming too epistemological for my taste. Either it is a feature of reality, or forget it. |
8360 | We must further analyse conditions for causation, into quantifiers or modal concepts [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: We may be able to analyse causation into conditionship relations between events or states of affairs, ...but conditions cannot be regarded as logical primitives, ... and must be analysed into quantifiers, or modal concepts. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §2) | |
A reaction: [very compressed] A nice illustration of the aim of analytical philosophy - to analyse the elements of reality down to logical primitives. This is the dream of Descartes and Leibniz, continued by Russell and co. Do we still have this aspiration? |
8365 | Some laws are causal (Ohm's Law), but others are conceptual principles (conservation of energy) [Wright,GHv] |
Full Idea: Not all laws are causal 'experimentalist' laws, such as those for falling bodies, or the Gas Law, or Ohm's Law. Some are more like conceptual principles, giving a frame of reference, such as inertia, or conservation of energy, or the law of entropy. | |
From: G.H. von Wright (Logic and Epistemology of Causal Relations [1973], §9) | |
A reaction: An interesting and important distinction, whenever one is exploring the links between theories of causation and of laws of nature. If one wished to attack the whole concept of 'laws of nature', this might be a good place to start. |