Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Philosophical Explanations', 'Aristotle on Friendship' and 'The Gathas (seventeen hymns)'

unexpand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts


6 ideas

11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 4. Belief / c. Aim of beliefs
Maybe knowledge is belief which 'tracks' the truth [Nozick, by Williams,M]
     Full Idea: Nozick suggests that knowledge is just belief which 'tracks the truth' (hence leaving out justification).
     From: report of Robert Nozick (Philosophical Explanations [1981]) by Michael Williams - Problems of Knowledge Ch. 2
13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 4. Tracking the Facts
A true belief isn't knowledge if it would be believed even if false. It should 'track the truth' [Nozick, by Dancy,J]
     Full Idea: Nozick says Gettier cases aren't knowledge because the proposition would be believed even if false. Proper justification must be more sensitive to the truth ("track the truth").
     From: report of Robert Nozick (Philosophical Explanations [1981], 3.1) by Jonathan Dancy - Intro to Contemporary Epistemology 3.1
     A reaction: This is a bad idea. I see a genuine tree in my garden and believe it is there, so I know it. That I might have believed it if I was in virtually reality, or observing a mirror, won't alter that.
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 4. External Goods / d. Friendship
The Greek 'philia' covers all good and fruitful relationships [Cooper,JM]
     Full Idea: The Greek 'philia' is much wider than our "friendship"; it includes family relationships, and business relationships and membership of institutions.
     From: John M. Cooper (Aristotle on Friendship [1977], p.301)
29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 1. Monotheistic Religion
Zoroaster and the Hebrew prophets evolved different versions of monotheism [Zoroaster, by Armstrong,K]
     Full Idea: Zoroaster and the Hebrew prophets evolved different versions of monotheism.
     From: report of Zoroaster (The Gathas (seventeen hymns) [c.900 BCE]) by Karen Armstrong - A History of God Ch.1
     A reaction: This seems to be the consensus on the origins of monotheism, which places the development much earlier than the appearance of the idea in Greek philosophy.
29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 3. Zoroastrianism
Zarathustra was the first to present a god who is an abstract concept [Zoroaster]
     Full Idea: Zarathustra's achievement was for the first time to present a god who is an abstract concept - he broke with the tradition of a pantheon of gods.
     From: Zoroaster (The Gathas (seventeen hymns) [c.900 BCE]), quoted by Peter Watson - Ideas Ch.05
     A reaction: The more abstract the gods become, the harder it is to challenge their existence.
Zoroastrianism saw the world as a battle between good evil gods [Zoroaster, by Harari]
     Full Idea: Zoroastrianism saw the world as a cosmic battle between the good god Ahura Mazda and the evil god Angra Mainyu.
     From: report of Zoroaster (The Gathas (seventeen hymns) [c.900 BCE]) by Yuval Noah Harari - Sapiens: brief history of humankind 12 'Battle'
     A reaction: Hm. This contradicts the impression I had gained that it was monotheist.