Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Explanation - Opening Address' and 'Atomism'

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22 ideas

2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 6. Coherence
17070 Coherence is consilience, simplicity, analogy, and fitting into a web of belief [Smart]
17072 We need comprehensiveness, as well as self-coherence [Smart]
13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 3. Evidentialism / a. Evidence
17073 I simply reject evidence, if it is totally contrary to my web of belief [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 1. Explanation / c. Direction of explanation
17077 The height of a flagpole could be fixed by its angle of shadow, but that would be very unusual [Smart]
17078 Universe expansion explains the red shift, but not vice versa [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / c. Explanations by coherence
17061 Explanation of a fact is fitting it into a system of beliefs [Smart]
17074 Explanations are bad by fitting badly with a web of beliefs, or fitting well into a bad web [Smart]
17076 Deducing from laws is one possible way to achieve a coherent explanation [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / d. Consilience
17071 An explanation is better if it also explains phenomena from a different field [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / g. Causal explanations
17062 If scientific explanation is causal, that rules out mathematical explanation [Smart]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / j. Explanations by reduction
17075 Scientific explanation tends to reduce things to the unfamiliar (not the familiar) [Smart]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / d. Location of mind
5987 Alcmaeon was the first to say the brain is central to thinking [Alcmaeon, by Staden, von]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 2. State Legitimacy / c. Social contract
22809 The social contract sees society as constituted by and for individuals [Taylor,C]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / a. Communitarianism
22811 Assigning a right based on a human capacity implies that the capacity should be developed [Taylor,C]
22815 If freedom depends on society and culture, the greatest freedom is in shaping them [Taylor,C]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / b. Against communitarianism
22814 Our reliance on other people close to us does not imply any political obligations [Taylor,C]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 1. Basis of Rights
22812 For most people the primacy of rights mainly concerns freedom [Taylor,C]
22810 A right is not just a rule, but also asserts certain ideas of moral worth [Taylor,C]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 4. Property rights
22813 Property is not essential for life, but it may be essential for independence [Taylor,C]
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 3. Welfare provision
23417 If the state is neutral, there won't be sufficient community to support a welfare state [Taylor,C, by Kymlicka]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 1. Relativity / b. General relativity
17063 Unlike Newton, Einstein's general theory explains the perihelion of Mercury [Smart]
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / b. Soul
24043 Soul must be immortal, since it continually moves, like the heavens [Alcmaeon, by Aristotle]