Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Through the Looking Glass', 'Identity' and 'Ancient Philosophy: very short introduction'

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6 ideas

1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 2. Ancient Philosophy / b. Pre-Socratic philosophy
12036 Xenophanes began the concern with knowledge [Annas]
     Full Idea: Xenophanes begins a long concern with knowledge and its grounds.
     From: Julia Annas (Ancient Philosophy: very short introduction [2000], Intro)
     A reaction: Having that on his cv ought to make Xenophanes more famous than he is.
1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 2. Ancient Philosophy / c. Classical philosophy
12046 Plato was the first philosopher who was concerned to systematize his ideas [Annas]
     Full Idea: In the ancient world Plato was seen as a pivotal figure, the first philosopher who was concerned to systematize his ideas.
     From: Julia Annas (Ancient Philosophy: very short introduction [2000], Ch.6)
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / e. Being and nothing
21982 I only wish I had such eyes as to see Nobody! It's as much as I can do to see real people. [Carroll,L]
     Full Idea: "I see nobody on the road," said Alice. - "I only wish I had such eyes," the King remarked. ..."To be able to see Nobody! ...Why, it's as much as I can do to see real people."
     From: Lewis Carroll (C.Dodgson) (Through the Looking Glass [1886], p.189), quoted by A.W. Moore - The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics 07.7
     A reaction: [Moore quotes this, inevitably, in a chapter on Hegel] This may be a better candidate for the birth of philosophy of language than Frege's Groundwork.
9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 1. Concept of Identity
8970 Our notion of identical sets involves identical members, which needs absolute identity [Hawthorne]
     Full Idea: Our conceptual grip on the notion of a set is founded on the axiom of extensionality: a set x is the same as a set y iff x and y have the same members. But this axiom deploys the notion of absolute identity ('same members').
     From: John Hawthorne (Identity [2003], 3.1)
     A reaction: Identity seems to be a primitive, useful and crucial concept, so don't ask what it is. I suspect that numbers can't get off the ground without it (especially, in view of the above, if you define numbers in terms of sets).
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / b. Rational ethics
12037 Euripides's Medea is a key case of reason versus the passions [Annas]
     Full Idea: Euripides's Medea has remained a key case for discussion of reason and the passions.
     From: Julia Annas (Ancient Philosophy: very short introduction [2000], Ch.1)
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 1. Virtue Theory / a. Nature of virtue
12040 Virtue is a kind of understanding of moral value [Annas]
     Full Idea: There is a widespread view in ancient ethics that virtue is a kind of understanding of moral value.
     From: Julia Annas (Ancient Philosophy: very short introduction [2000], Ch.3)
     A reaction: In Aristotle's case, this coincides with his apparent view that 'understanding' is the aim of all areas of human thought. See Idea 12038.