54 ideas
354 | Wisdom makes virtue and true goodness possible [Plato] |
3240 | There is more insight in fundamental perplexity about problems than in their supposed solutions [Nagel] |
3242 | Philosophy is the childhood of the intellect, and a culture can't skip it [Nagel] |
370 | Philosophy is a purification of the soul ready for the afterlife [Plato] |
3241 | It seems mad, but the aim of philosophy is to climb outside of our own minds [Nagel] |
350 | In investigation the body leads us astray, but the soul gets a clear view of the facts [Plato] |
20989 | Views are objective if they don't rely on a person's character, social position or species [Nagel] |
22354 | Things cause perceptions, properties have other effects, hence we reach a 'view from nowhere' [Nagel, by Reiss/Sprenger] |
3248 | Realism invites scepticism because it claims to be objective [Nagel] |
362 | The greatest misfortune for a person is to develop a dislike for argument [Plato] |
1564 | True and false statements can use exactly the same words [Anon (Diss)] |
13155 | If you add one to one, which one becomes two, or do they both become two? [Plato] |
21347 | If Simmias is taller than Socrates, that isn't a feature that is just in Simmias [Plato] |
360 | We must have a prior knowledge of equality, if we see 'equal' things and realise they fall short of it [Plato] |
1 | There is only one source for all beauty [Plato] |
368 | Other things are named after the Forms because they participate in them [Plato] |
16516 | The ship which Theseus took to Crete is now sent to Delos crowned with flowers [Plato] |
359 | If we feel the inadequacy of a resemblance, we must recollect the original [Plato] |
357 | People are obviously recollecting when they react to a geometrical diagram [Plato] |
9343 | To achieve pure knowledge, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things with the soul [Plato] |
3249 | Modern science depends on the distinction between primary and secondary qualities [Nagel] |
22429 | We achieve objectivity by dropping secondary qualities, to focus on structural primary qualities [Nagel] |
3247 | Epistemology is centrally about what we should believe, not the definition of knowledge [Nagel] |
3252 | Scepticism is based on ideas which scepticism makes impossible [Nagel] |
1559 | Thracians think tattooing adds to a girl's beauty, but elsewhere it is a punishment [Anon (Diss)] |
1560 | Lydians prostitute their daughters to raise a dowery, but no Greek would marry such a girl [Anon (Diss)] |
1561 | Anything can be acceptable in some circumstances and unacceptable in others [Anon (Diss)] |
3251 | Observed regularities are only predictable if we assume hidden necessity [Nagel] |
15859 | To investigate the causes of things, study what is best for them [Plato] |
13154 | Do we think and experience with blood, air or fire, or could it be our brain? [Plato] |
3244 | Personal identity cannot be fully known a priori [Nagel] |
3245 | The question of whether a future experience will be mine presupposes personal identity [Nagel] |
364 | One soul can't be more or less of a soul than another [Plato] |
3246 | I can't even conceive of my brain being split in two [Nagel] |
1567 | How could someone who knows everything fail to act correctly? [Anon (Diss)] |
1563 | Every apparent crime can be right in certain circumstances [Anon (Diss), by PG] |
3257 | Total objectivity can't see value, but it sees many people with values [Nagel] |
3265 | We don't worry about the time before we were born the way we worry about death [Nagel] |
3263 | If our own life lacks meaning, devotion to others won't give it meaning [Nagel] |
3256 | Pain doesn't have a further property of badness; it gives a reason for its avoidance [Nagel] |
1562 | It is right to lie to someone, to get them to take medicine they are reluctant to take [Anon (Diss)] |
361 | It is a mistake to think that the most violent pleasure or pain is therefore the truest reality [Plato] |
351 | War aims at the acquisition of wealth, because we are enslaved to the body [Plato] |
3261 | Something may be 'rational' either because it is required or because it is acceptable [Nagel] |
3258 | If cockroaches can't think about their actions, they have no duties [Nagel] |
3254 | If we can decide how to live after stepping outside of ourselves, we have the basis of a moral theory [Nagel] |
3264 | We should see others' viewpoints, but not lose touch with our own values [Nagel] |
3255 | We find new motives by discovering reasons for action different from our preexisting motives [Nagel] |
3262 | Utilitarianism is too demanding [Nagel] |
1566 | The first priority in elections is to vote for people who support democracy [Anon (Diss)] |
1565 | We learn language, and we don't know who teaches us it [Anon (Diss)] |
13156 | Fancy being unable to distinguish a cause from its necessary background conditions! [Plato] |
369 | If the Earth is spherical and in the centre, it is kept in place by universal symmetry, not by force [Plato] |
363 | Whether the soul pre-exists our body depends on whether it contains the ultimate standard of reality [Plato] |