Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Letters to Edward Stillingfleet', 'Summula philosophiae naturalis' and 'Wang's Paradox'

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6 ideas

7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 10. Vagueness / b. Vagueness of reality

21628	To say reality itself is vague is not properly intelligible [Dummett]
	Full Idea: The notion that things might actually be vague, as well as being vaguely described, is not properly intelligible.
	From: Michael Dummett (Wang's Paradox [1970], p.260)
	A reaction: It seems hard to disagree with this. It seems crazy that a pile of grain, or the hair on someone's head, are vague, and even quantum indeterminacies are not very well described as 'vague'. Vagueness is a very human concept.

7. Existence / E. Categories / 5. Category Anti-Realism

16608	Ockham was an anti-realist about the categories [William of Ockham, by Pasnau]
	Full Idea: Ockham is the scholastic paradigm of anti-realism with respect to the categories.
	From: report of William of Ockham (Summula philosophiae naturalis [1320]) by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 05.3
	A reaction: These are the ten categories mentioned in Aristotle's book 'Categories'.

9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 4. Quantity of an Object

16599	Ockham says matter must be extended, so we don't need Quantity [William of Ockham, by Pasnau]
	Full Idea: Ockham regards Quantity as an entirely superfluous ontological category, …because matter is intrinsically extended.
	From: report of William of Ockham (Summula philosophiae naturalis [1320]) by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 04.4

16681	Matter gets its quantity from condensation and rarefaction, which is just local motion [William of Ockham]
	Full Idea: Matter is made to have a greater or lesser quantity not through its receiving any absolute accident, but through condensation and rarefaction alone. Parts come more or less close together, which can happen with local motion.
	From: William of Ockham (Summula philosophiae naturalis [1320], I.13), quoted by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 15.1
	A reaction: This is Ockham at his most modern, rejecting the odd idea of Quantity in favour of a modern corpuscular view of the mere motions of matter.

9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 3. Individual Essences

15990	Every individual thing which exists has an essence, which is its internal constitution [Locke]
	Full Idea: I take essences to be in everything that internal constitution or frame for the modification of substance, which God in his wisdom gives to every particular creature, when he gives it a being; and such essences I grant there are in all things that exist.
	From: John Locke (Letters to Edward Stillingfleet [1695], Letter 1), quoted by Simon Blackburn - Quasi-Realism no Fictionalism
	A reaction: This is the clearest statement I have found of Locke's commitment to essences, for all his doubts about whether we can know such things. Alexander says (ch.13) Locke was reacting against scholastic essence, as pertaining to species.

11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 1. Certainty

15994	If it is knowledge, it is certain; if it isn't certain, it isn't knowledge [Locke]
	Full Idea: What reaches to knowledge, I think may be called certainty; and what comes short of certainty, I think cannot be knowledge.
	From: John Locke (Letters to Edward Stillingfleet [1695], Letter 2), quoted by Simon Blackburn - Quasi-Realism no Fictionalism
	A reaction: I much prefer that fallibilist approach offered by the pragmatists. Knowledge is well-supported belief which seems (and is agreed) to be true, but there is a small shadow of doubt hanging over all of it.