Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Mahaprajnaparamitashastra', 'The Structure and Content of Truth' and 'Go Figure: a Path through Fictionalism'

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4 ideas

3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 3. Correspondence Truth critique
18902 Correspondence theories can't tell you what truths correspond to [Davidson]
     Full Idea: The real objection to correspondence theories is that such theories fail to provide entities to which truth vehicles (as statements, sentence, or utterances) can be said to correspond.
     From: Donald Davidson (The Structure and Content of Truth [1990], p.304), quoted by Fred Sommers - Intellectual Autobiography Notes 23
     A reaction: This is the remark which provoked Sommers to come out with Idea 18901, which strikes me as rather profound.
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 7. Fictionalism
19494 Fictionalism allows that simulated beliefs may be tracking real facts [Yablo]
     Full Idea: The fictionalist offers the option that your simulated beliefs and assertions may be tracking a realm of genuine facts, or a realm of what you take to be facts.
     From: Stephen Yablo (Go Figure: a Path through Fictionalism [2001], 13)
     A reaction: This means that fictionalism does not have to be an error theory. That is, we aren't mistakenly believing something that we actually made up. Instead we are sensibly believing something we know to be not literally true. Love it.
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 2. Nature of Possible Worlds / b. Worlds as fictions
19493 Governing possible worlds theory is the fiction that if something is possible, it happens in a world [Yablo]
     Full Idea: The governing fiction of possible worlds theory says that whenever something is possible, there is a world where it happens.
     From: Stephen Yablo (Go Figure: a Path through Fictionalism [2001], 05)
     A reaction: This sounds like the only sensible attitude to possible worlds I can think of.
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / a. Virtues
7903 The six perfections are giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom [Nagarjuna]
     Full Idea: The six perfections are of giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom.
     From: Nagarjuna (Mahaprajnaparamitashastra [c.120], 88)
     A reaction: What is 'morality', if giving is not part of it? I like patience and vigour being two of the virtues, which immediately implies an Aristotelian mean (which is always what is 'appropriate').