14 ideas
19400 | Possibles demand existence, so as many of them as possible must actually exist [Leibniz] |
Full Idea: From the conflict of all the possibles demanding existence, this at once follows, that there exists that series of things by which as many of them as possible exist. | |
From: Gottfried Leibniz (Exigency to Exist in Essences [1690], p.91) | |
A reaction: I'm in tune with a lot of Leibniz, but my head swims with this one. He seems to be a Lewisian about possible worlds - that they are concrete existing entities (with appetites!). Could Lewis include Leibniz's idea in his system? |
19401 | God's sufficient reason for choosing reality is in the fitness or perfection of possibilities [Leibniz] |
Full Idea: The sufficient reason for God's choice can be found only in the fitness (convenance) or in the degree of perfection that the several worlds possess. | |
From: Gottfried Leibniz (Exigency to Exist in Essences [1690], p.92) | |
A reaction: The 'fitness' of a world and its 'perfection' seem very different things. A piece of a jigsaw can have wonderful fitness, without perfection. Occasionally you get that sinking feeling with metaphysicians that they just make it up. |
19402 | The actual universe is the richest composite of what is possible [Leibniz] |
Full Idea: The actual universe is the collection of the possibles which forms the richest composite. | |
From: Gottfried Leibniz (Exigency to Exist in Essences [1690], p.92) | |
A reaction: 'Richest' for Leibniz means a maximum combination of existence, order and variety. It's rather like picking the best starting team from a squad of footballers. |
23429 | The environment needs localised politics, with its care for the land [Dobson] |
Full Idea: More localised politics helps to generate the disposition of care for the land which is a core feature of environmental politics. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 4) | |
A reaction: I currently live in a time when localised politics is hugely devalued, because centralisation and privatisation are cheaper. It seems obvious that many human needs require a commitment to a particular locality. |
23424 | An ideology judges things now, and offers an ideal, with a strategy for reaching it [Dobson] |
Full Idea: An ideology generally has three components: a judgement (usually critical) of how things are, a picture of the ideology's ideal society, and a strategy for progressing towards the ideal. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: Conservatives tend to think we are already living in the ideal, and they reject most ideologies for being 'idealistic' (which presumably means delusional). I'm a fan of ideals, but combined with cool judgement. |
22595 | Liberty is the triumph of the individual, over both despotic government and enslaving majorities [Constant] |
Full Idea: Lliberty is the triumph of the individual, as much over a government which seeks to rule by despotic methods, as over the masses who seek to render the minority the slave of the majority. | |
From: Benjamin Constant (Principles of Politics [1806]), quoted by Ian Dunt - How to be a Liberal 4 | |
A reaction: [No page given] Dunt describes Constant's book as the first really systematic account of liberalism. Very important to have rights against the majority, as well as against government. |
22597 | Minority rights are everyone's rights, because we all have turns in the minority [Constant] |
Full Idea: To defend the rights of minorities is to defend the rights of all. Everyone in turn finds himself in the minority. | |
From: Benjamin Constant (Principles of Politics [1806]), quoted by Ian Dunt - How to be a Liberal 4 | |
A reaction: Very conformist people, who are often the most oppressive, are rarely in the minority, and are unlikely to be impressed by this idea. |
23426 | Ecologism is often non-liberal, by claiming to know other people's best interests [Dobson] |
Full Idea: Liberals say that their preferences are their interests, and resist the idea that anyone could know their interests better than they can. …To this degree, ecologism might be regarded as 'non-liberal'. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: There are lots of other cases where liberal citizens may not realise their best interests, such as in the control of traffic, or of drugs. |
23427 | Socialism can be productive and centralised, or less productive and decentralised [Dobson] |
Full Idea: Marx and his heirs promote a productivist socialism, but utopian socialists such as William Morris offer a less productivist and more decentralised form of socialism. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: Modern history teaches us to be very cautious about the centralised version. Presumably you could be decentralised but still value production highly, even if it is a bit less efficient. |
23428 | Difference feminists say women differ fundamentally from men [Dobson] |
Full Idea: Difference feminists argue that men and women are fundamentally different. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: You can be significantly different without being 'fundamentally' different. Personally I don't see a huge difference, even though history may have greatly exaggerated and dramatised what differences there are. |
23422 | For the environment, affluence and technology matter as much as population size [Dobson] |
Full Idea: Although bare population figures are important for environmental impact, the level of affluence and the technology are also crucial factors. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: It is worth noting that the technology can also have a good impact, though affluence is nearly always bad. |
23423 | We currently value the present fourteen times more highly than the future [Dobson] |
Full Idea: At current rates we seem to value present concerns as fourteen times more valuable than future concerns. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: A sobering figure, which sounds about right. This directly influences how much we spend on future concerns. One thought is that future generations may be much more affluent than us! |
23430 | A million years is a proper unit of political time [Dobson] |
Full Idea: We must acknowledge that a million years is a proper unit of political time. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 5) | |
A reaction: [He cites Colin Tudge] Such thinking is almost impossible, but owners of large aristocratic estates seem to have thought in centuries, because they were confident of continuity. The more we identify with all of humanity, the more this is possible. |
23425 | Ecologism says growth must be reduced, and efficiency is not enough [Dobson] |
Full Idea: A central belief of the ideology of ecologism is that aggregate growth must be reduced, and that this is very unlikely to be achieved by efficiency gains alone. | |
From: Andrew Dobson (Environmental Politics: very short intro [2016], 2) | |
A reaction: He argues that efficiency gains invariably lead to increased production. Trickle down economics needs huge growth to deliver a good life for the poorest sector. Ecologism has to be fairly egalitarian about wealth. |