Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Mahaprajnaparamitashastra', 'Truth and Probability' and 'Calculus Ratiocinator'

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4 ideas

10. Modality / B. Possibility / 8. Conditionals / d. Non-truthfunction conditionals

13766	'If' is the same as 'given that', so the degrees of belief should conform to probability theory [Ramsey, by Ramsey]
	Full Idea: Ramsey suggested that 'if', 'given that' and 'on the supposition that' come to the same thing, and that the degrees of belief in the antecedent should then conform to probability theory.
	From: report of Frank P. Ramsey (Truth and Probability [1926]) by Frank P. Ramsey - Law and Causality B
	A reaction: [compressed]

11. Knowledge Aims / C. Knowing Reality / 3. Idealism / a. Idealism

12742	A whole is just its parts, but there are no smallest parts, so only minds and perceptions exist [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: The whole, if it is assumed to be body or matter, is nothing other than all of its parts; but this is absurd, since there aren't any smallest parts. Therefore there really exist only minds and their perceptions.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (Calculus Ratiocinator [1679], A6.4.279), quoted by Daniel Garber - Leibniz:Body,Substance,Monad 7
	A reaction: Leibniz is sometimes labelled as an 'idealist', but this text is unusual in being so explicit, and he was mainly concerned to explain the reality of individual bodies. Monads were his final attempt to do this, not an attempt to escape into pure minds.

14. Science / C. Induction / 6. Bayes's Theorem

19143	Ramsey gave axioms for an uncertain agent to decide their preferences [Ramsey, by Davidson]
	Full Idea: Ramsey gave an axiomatic treatment of preference in the face of uncertainty, when applied to a particular agent.
	From: report of Frank P. Ramsey (Truth and Probability [1926]) by Donald Davidson - Truth and Predication 2
	A reaction: This is evidently the beginnings of Bayesian decision theory.

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').