Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Reply to Fourth Objections', 'The Xunzi' and 'The Philosophical Culture'

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4 ideas

1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 3. Scientism
1489 Modern philosophy tends to be a theory-constructing extension of science, but there is also problem-solving [Nagel]
     Full Idea: Philosophy is now dominated by a spirit of theory construction which sees philosophy as continuous with science, but the other problem-centred style is still in existence and it is important to keep it alive.
     From: Thomas Nagel (The Philosophical Culture [1995], §6)
17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 6. Conceptual Dualism
3643 The concept of mind excludes body, and vice versa [Descartes]
     Full Idea: The concept of body includes nothing at all which belongs to the mind, and the concept of mind includes nothing at all which belongs to the body.
     From: René Descartes (Reply to Fourth Objections [1641], 225)
     A reaction: A headache? Hunger? The mistake, I think, is to regard the mind as entirely conscious, thus creating a sharp boundary between two aspects of our lives. As shown by blindsight, I take many of my central mental operations to be pre- or non-conscious.
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / d. Teaching virtue
23405 Rituals escape natural chaos, and benefit everyone, by reshaping our motivations [Xunzi (Xun Kuang), by Norden]
     Full Idea: For Xunzi, everyone is better off with rituals …because they allow us to escape the chaotic state of nature. They do not merely set rules for entitlement, though. They are effective because they reshape human motivation.
     From: report of Xunzi (Xun Kuang) (The Xunzi [c.250 BCE]) by Bryan van Norden - Intro to Classical Chinese Philosophy 10.2
     A reaction: Rituals are a basic part of Confucianist thinking, and may be puzzling to outsiders. At there worst rituals are brain-washing, but teaching children good manners is a sort of ritual, meant to channel feelings in a healthy direction
23406 Rituals don't arise from human nature; they are the deliberate creations of a sage [Xunzi (Xun Kuang)]
     Full Idea: Rituals and standards of righteousness and proper models and measures are produced from the deliberate efforts of the sage; they are not produced from people's nature.
     From: Xunzi (Xun Kuang) (The Xunzi [c.250 BCE], 23), quoted by Bryan van Norden - Intro to Classical Chinese Philosophy 10.III
     A reaction: This is not to say that the sage is not in tune with nature. Human nature is often seen as a sprouting seed, which needs careful husbandry to bring out its best.