Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Through the Looking Glass', 'The Absurd' and 'New Foundations for Mathematical Logic'

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5 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 1. Philosophy
3269 If your life is to be meaningful as part of some large thing, the large thing must be meaningful [Nagel]
     Full Idea: Those seeking to give their lives meaning usually envision a role in something larger than themselves, …but such a role can't confer significance unless that enterprise is itself significant.
     From: Thomas Nagel (The Absurd [1971], §3)
     A reaction: Which correctly implies that this way of finding meaning for one's life is doomed.
4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 4. Axioms for Sets / a. Axioms for sets
9879 NF has no models, but just blocks the comprehension axiom, to avoid contradictions [Quine, by Dummett]
     Full Idea: Quine's New Foundations system of set theory, devised with no model in mind, but on the basis of a hunch that a purely formal restriction on the comprehension axiom would block all contradictions.
     From: report of Willard Quine (New Foundations for Mathematical Logic [1937]) by Michael Dummett - Frege philosophy of mathematics Ch.18
     A reaction: The point is that Quine (who had an ontological preference for 'desert landscapes') attempted to do without an ontological commitment to objects (and their subsequent models), with a purely formal system. Quine's NF is not now highly regarded.
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.
13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 8. Social Justification
3270 Justifications come to an end when we want them to [Nagel]
     Full Idea: Justifications come to an end when we are content to have them end.
     From: Thomas Nagel (The Absurd [1971], §3)
     A reaction: This is the correct account, with the vital proviso that where justification comes to an end is usually a social matter. Robinson Crusoe doesn't care whether he 'knows' - he just acts on his beliefs.
23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 2. Nihilism
3268 If a small brief life is absurd, then so is a long and large one [Nagel]
     Full Idea: If life is absurd because it only lasts seventy years, wouldn't it be infinitely absurd if it lasted for eternity? And if we are absurd because we are small, would we be any less absurd if we filled the universe?
     From: Thomas Nagel (The Absurd [1971], §1)