9291
|
The dating, in 1614, of the Hermetic writings as post-Christian is the end of the Renaissance [Yates]
|
|
Full Idea:
The dating by Isaac Casaubon in 1614 of the Hermetic writings as not the work of a very ancient Egyptian priest but written in post-Christian times, is a watershed separating the Renaissance world from the modern world.
|
|
From:
Frances A. Yates (Giordano Bruno and Hermetic Tradition [1964], Ch.21)
|
|
A reaction:
I tend to place the end of the Renaissance with the arrival of the telescope in 1610, so the two dates coincide. Simply, magic was replaced by science. Religion ran alongside, gasping for breath. Mathematics was freed from numerology.
|
9288
|
The magic of Asclepius enters Renaissance thought mixed into Ficino's neo-platonism [Yates]
|
|
Full Idea:
The magic of Asclepius, reinterpreted through Plotinus, enters with Ficino's De Vita into the neo-platonic philosophy of the Renaissance, and, moreover, into Ficino's Christian Platonism.
|
|
From:
Frances A. Yates (Giordano Bruno and Hermetic Tradition [1964], Ch.4)
|
|
A reaction:
Asclepius is the source of 'Hermetic' philosophy. This move seems to be what gives the Renaissance period its rather quirky and distinctive character. Montaigne was not a typical figure. Most of them wanted to become gods and control the stars!
|
9316
|
How is self-representation possible, does it produce a regress, and is experience like that? [Kriegel/Williford]
|
|
Full Idea:
The difficulties with a self-representational view of consciousness are how self-representation of mental states could be possible, whether it leads to an infinite regress, and whether it can capture the actual phenomenology of experience.
|
|
From:
U Kriegel / K Williford (Intro to 'Self-Representational Consciousness' [2006], §3)
|
|
A reaction:
[compressed] All of these objections strike me as persuasive, especially the first one. I'm not sure I know what self-representation is. Mirrors externally represent, and they can't represent themselves. Two mirrors together achieve something..
|
9314
|
Unfortunately, higher-order representations could involve error [Kriegel/Williford]
|
|
Full Idea:
A problem for explaining consciousness by higher-order representations is that, like their first-order counterparts, they can misrepresent; there could be a subjective impression of being in a conscious state without actually being in any conscious state.
|
|
From:
U Kriegel / K Williford (Intro to 'Self-Representational Consciousness' [2006], §1)
|
|
A reaction:
It sounds plausible that this is a logical possibility, but how do you assess whether it is an actual or natural possibility? Are we saying that higher-order representations are judgments, which could be true or false? Hm.
|