Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Roots of Reference', 'On Body and Force, Against the Cartesians' and 'reports'

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7 ideas

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 3. Powers as Derived

14296	Dispositions are physical states of mechanism; when known, these replace the old disposition term [Quine]
	Full Idea: Each disposition, in my view, is a physical state or mechanism. ...In some cases nowadays we understand the physical details and set them forth explicitly in terms of the arrangement and interaction of small bodies. This replaces the old disposition.
	From: Willard Quine (The Roots of Reference [1990], p.11), quoted by Stephen Mumford - Dispositions 01.3
	A reaction: A challenge to the dispositions and powers view of nature, one which rests on the 'categorical' structural properties, rather than the 'hypothetical' dispositions. But can we define a mechanism without mentioning its powers?

14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / h. Explanations by function

13195	To explain a house we must describe its use, as well as its parts [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: A house would be badly explained if we were to describe only the arrangement of its parts, but not its use.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (On Body and Force, Against the Cartesians [1702], p.255)
	A reaction: This must partly fall under pragmatics (i.e. what the enquirer is interested in). But function plays a genuine role in artefacts, and also in evolved biological organs.

15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 10. Conatus/Striving

13193	Active force is not just potential for action, since it involves a real effort or striving [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: Active force should not be thought of as the simple and common potential [potentia] or receptivity to action of the schools. Rather, active force involves an effort [conatus] or striving [tendentia] toward action.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (On Body and Force, Against the Cartesians [1702], p.252)
	A reaction: This is why Leibniz is lured into making his active forces more and more animistic, till they end up like proto-minds (though never, remember, conscious and willing minds).

23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 2. Golden Rule

7350	The Torah just says: do not do to your neighbour what is hateful to you [Hillel the Elder]
	Full Idea: What is hateful to you, do not unto your neighbour: this is the entire Torah. All the rest is commentary - go and study it.
	From: Hillel the Elder (reports [c.10]), quoted by Paul Johnson - The History of the Jews Pt II
	A reaction: Johnson suggests that this idea, of stripping everything from the Torah except its basic morality, was passed on to Jesus by Hillel. Suppose you hate Arsenal, but your neighbour supports them, and they just won the European Cup? What should you do?

26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 1. Laws of Nature

13194	God's laws would be meaningless without internal powers for following them [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: To say that, in creation, God gave bodies a law for acting means nothing, unless, at the same time, he gave them something by means of which it could happen that the law is followed.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (On Body and Force, Against the Cartesians [1702], p.253)
	A reaction: This is the beginning of the modern rebellion against the medieval view of laws as imposed from outside on passive matter. Unfortunately for Leibniz, once you have postulated active internal powers, the external laws become redundant.

27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / c. Forces

13196	All qualities of bodies reduce to forces [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: All qualities of bodies .....are in the end reduced [revoco] to forces.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (On Body and Force, Against the Cartesians [1702], p.256)
	A reaction: The dots conceal a long qualification, but he is essentially standing by this simple remark. If you substitute the word 'powers' for 'forces', I think that is just about right.

13192	Power is passive force, which is mass, and active force, which is entelechy or form [Leibniz]
	Full Idea: The dynamicon or power [potentia] in bodies is twofold, passive and active. Passive force [vis] constitutes matter or mass [massa], and active force constitutes entelechy or form.
	From: Gottfried Leibniz (On Body and Force, Against the Cartesians [1702], p.252)
	A reaction: This is explicitly equating the innate force understood in physics with Aristotelian form. The passive force is to explain the resistance of bodies. I like the equation of force with power. He says the entelechy is 'analogous' to a soul.