9152
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If green is abstracted from a thing, it is only seen as a type if it is common to many things [Fine,K]
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Full Idea:
In traditional abstraction, the colour green merely has the intrinsic property of being green, other properties of things being abstracted away. But why should that be regarded as a type? It must be because the property is common to the instances.
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From:
Kit Fine (Cantorian Abstraction: Recon. and Defence [1998], §5)
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A reaction:
A nice question which shows that the much-derided single act of abstraction is not sufficient to arrive at a concept, so that abstraction is a more complex matter (perhaps even a rational one) than simple empiricists believe.
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9146
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After abstraction all numbers seem identical, so only 0 and 1 will exist! [Fine,K]
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Full Idea:
In Cantor's abstractionist account there can only be two numbers, 0 and 1. For abs(Socrates) = abs(Plato), since their numbers are the same. So the number of {Socrates,Plato} is {abs(Soc),abs(Plato)}, which is the same number as {Socrates}!
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From:
Kit Fine (Cantorian Abstraction: Recon. and Defence [1998], §1)
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A reaction:
Fine tries to answer this objection, which arises from §45 of Frege's Grundlagen. Fine summarises that "indistinguishability without identity appears to be impossible". Maybe we should drop talk of numbers in terms of sets.
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7903
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The six perfections are giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom [Nagarjuna]
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Full Idea:
The six perfections are of giving, morality, patience, vigour, meditation, and wisdom.
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From:
Nagarjuna (Mahaprajnaparamitashastra [c.120], 88)
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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').
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23261
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A people, not government, creates a constitution, which is essential for legitimacy [Paine]
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Full Idea:
A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government, and a government without a constitution is power without right.
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From:
Thomas Paine (Rights of Man [1792], Ch.7), quoted by A.C. Grayling - The Good State 5
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A reaction:
A constitution looks like the ultimate focus of a social contract (though Greeks had them long ago). It is hard to say why a government should consider itself to be sovereign if it hasn't got it in writing.
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