Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Mahaprajnaparamitashastra', 'Theological and other works' and 'Theology and Falsification'

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6 ideas

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 1. Powers
15312 We get the idea of power by abstracting from ropes, magnets and electric shocks [Priestley]
     Full Idea: A rope sustains weight, a magnet attracts iron, a charged electrical jar gives a shock, and from these and other similar observations, we get the idea of power, universally and abstractly considered.
     From: Joseph Priestley (Theological and other works [1790], p.191), quoted by Harré,R./Madden,E.H. - Causal Powers 9.II.B
     A reaction: I agree with this, in that we appear to be observing powers directly, and are not observing something which can then be reduced to non-powers. Nature just can't be a set of inert structures, with forces 'imposed' on them.
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').
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / a. Concept of matter
15311 Attraction or repulsion are not imparted to matter, but actually constitute it [Priestley]
     Full Idea: Attraction or repulsion appear to me not to be properly what is imparted to matter, but what really makes it what it is, in so much that, without it, it would be nothing at all.
     From: Joseph Priestley (Theological and other works [1790], p.237), quoted by Harré,R./Madden,E.H. - Causal Powers 9.II.B
     A reaction: This is music to the ears of anyone who thinks that powers are the fundamentals of nature (like me).
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / b. Religious Meaning
1466 Claims about God don't seem to claim or deny anything tangible, so evidence is irrelevant [Flew, by PG]
     Full Idea: An assertion is logically equivalent to denying its opposite, but claims about a 'gardener', or God, make neither claims nor denials of anything, so no evidence can count against the claim, or for it.
     From: report of Antony Flew (Theology and Falsification [1950]) by PG - Db (ideas)
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / d. Religious Falsification
1465 You can't claim a patch of land is tended by a 'gardener' if there is no evidence, and all counter-evidence is rejected [Flew, by PG]
     Full Idea: If someone claimed a patch of land was tended by a 'gardener', but there was never a shred of evidence to support this view, the claim would gradually dissolve into meaninglessness, especially if it was suggested that evidence was irrelevant.
     From: report of Antony Flew (Theology and Falsification [1950]) by PG - Db (ideas)
1467 Religious people seem unwilling to accept any evidence that God does not love us, so their claim is unfalsifiable [Flew, by PG]
     Full Idea: Religious people seem unwilling to accept any evidence which shows that God does not love us, so what would they accept? If nothing counts that way, their claim is unfalsifiable, and hence meaningless.
     From: report of Antony Flew (Theology and Falsification [1950]) by PG - Db (ideas)