Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Mahaprajnaparamitashastra', 'Panpsychism' and 'Real Essence'

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4 ideas

2. Reason / D. Definition / 4. Real Definition
16030 'Nominal' definitions identify things, but fail to give their essence [Jones,J-E]
     Full Idea: In the Aristotelian tradition, a 'nominal' definition is a pseudo-definition that identifies the members of the species or genus, but fails to capture the essence, e.g. 'man is the featherless biped'.
     From: Jan-Erik Jones (Real Essence [2012], §2)
     A reaction: You can 'individuate' an object as 'the only object in that drawer', while revealing nothing about it. So what must a definition do, in addition to picking something out uniquely?
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 7. Emergent Properties
3291 Emergent properties appear at high levels of complexity, but aren't explainable by the lower levels [Nagel]
     Full Idea: The supposition that a diamond or organism should truly have emergent properties is that they appear at certain complex levels of organisation, but are not explainable (even in principle) in terms of any more fundamental properties of the system.
     From: Thomas Nagel (Panpsychism [1979], p.186)
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').
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / d. Causal necessity
3290 Given the nature of heat and of water, it is literally impossible for water not to boil at the right heat [Nagel]
     Full Idea: Given what heat is and what water is, it is literally impossible for water to be heated beyond a certain point at normal atmospheric pressure without boiling.
     From: Thomas Nagel (Panpsychism [1979], p.186)