13 ideas
19336 | Wisdom involves the desire to achieve perfection [Leibniz] |
8207 | The quest for simplicity drove scientists to posit new entities, such as molecules in gases [Quine] |
8208 | In arithmetic, ratios, negatives, irrationals and imaginaries were created in order to generalise [Quine] |
7696 | Leibniz first asked 'why is there something rather than nothing?' [Leibniz, by Jacquette] |
19341 | There must be a straining towards existence in the essence of all possible things [Leibniz] |
19428 | Because something does exist, there must be a drive in possible things towards existence [Leibniz] |
8205 | Explaining events just by bodies can't explain two events identical in space-time [Quine] |
5047 | The world is physically necessary, as its contrary would imply imperfection or moral absurdity [Leibniz] |
8206 | Necessity could be just generalisation over classes, or (maybe) quantifying over possibilia [Quine] |
19343 | We follow the practical rule which always seeks maximum effect for minimum cost [Leibniz] |
19429 | The principle of determination in things obtains the greatest effect with the least effort [Leibniz] |
1748 | Archelaus was the first person to say that the universe is boundless [Archelaus, by Diog. Laertius] |
5989 | Archelaus said life began in a primeval slime [Archelaus, by Schofield] |