22103
|
Being is basic to thought, and all other concepts are additions to being [Aquinas]
|
|
Full Idea:
Being is inherently intellect's most intelligible object, in which it finds the basis of all conceptions. ...All of intellect's other conceptions must be arrived at by adding to being, insofar as they express what is not expressed by 'being' itself.
|
|
From:
Thomas Aquinas (Disputed questions about truth [1267], I.1c), quoted by Kretzmann/Stump - Aquinas, Thomas 09
|
|
A reaction:
I like the word 'intelligible' here. We might know reality, or be aware of appearances, but what is intelligible lies nicely in between. What would Berkeley make of that? I presume 'intelligible' means 'makes good sense'.
|
9757
|
A person viewed as an agent makes no sense without its own future [Korsgaard]
|
|
Full Idea:
In forming a particular plan of life, you need to identify with your future in order to be what you are even now. When the person is viewed as an agent, no clear content can be given to the idea of a merely present self.
|
|
From:
Christine M. Korsgaard (Intro to 'Creating the Kingdom of Ends' [1996], §2)
|
|
A reaction:
I certainly like the notion that we should treat persons primarily as agents, since I take personhood to be more like a process than an existent entity. If a large brick is about to hit you, you actually have no future, though you think you have.
|
9760
|
Self-concern may be a source of pain, or a lack of self-respect, or a failure of responsibility [Korsgaard]
|
|
Full Idea:
For utilitarians, self-concern causes needless pain; for Kantians, it evinces a lack of respect for one's own humanity; for the religious moralist, it is a failure of responsibility for what has been placed in one's special care.
|
|
From:
Christine M. Korsgaard (Intro to 'Creating the Kingdom of Ends' [1996], §5)
|
|
A reaction:
Worryingly, given my heathenish views, I find the third one the most congenial. If we don't take responsibility for our own selves (e.g. for having a great talent), then no one (even parents) will take responsibility for anything.
|
9761
|
Personal concern for one's own self widens out into concern for the impersonal [Korsgaard]
|
|
Full Idea:
The personal concern which begins with one's life in a particular body finds its place in ever-widening spheres of agency and enterprise, developing finally into a personal concern for the impersonal.
|
|
From:
Christine M. Korsgaard (Intro to 'Creating the Kingdom of Ends' [1996], §5)
|
|
A reaction:
I am very struck by this nice thought, which comes from a very committed Kantian. It seems to me to capture the modern orthodoxy in ethical thinking - that concern for one's self, rather than altruism, is central, but altruism should follow from it.
|