Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Politics', 'Essays on Intellectual Powers 1: Preliminary' and 'The Ethics'

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296 ideas

1. Philosophy / A. Wisdom / 1. Nature of Wisdom
The wisdom of a free man is a meditation on life, not on death [Spinoza]
If we are not wholly wise, we should live by good rules and maxims [Spinoza]
1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / a. Philosophy as worldly
Free and great-souled men do not keep asking "what is the use of it?" [Aristotle]
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 1. Nature of Analysis
Our method of inquiry is to examine the smallest parts that make up the whole [Aristotle]
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 5. Linguistic Analysis
We must be careful to keep words distinct from ideas and images [Spinoza]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 2. Logos
Human beings, alone of the animals, have logos [Aristotle]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 3. Pure Reason
Reason only explains what is universal, so it is timeless, under a certain form of eternity [Spinoza]
Reason perceives things under a certain form of eternity [Spinoza]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 4. Aims of Reason
In so far as men live according to reason, they will agree with one another [Spinoza]
Reasoning distinguishes what is beneficial, and hence what is right [Aristotle]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 7. Status of Reason
Intelligence which looks ahead is a natural master, while bodily strength is a natural slave [Aristotle]
2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 2. Sufficient Reason
There is necessarily for each existent thing a cause why it should exist [Spinoza]
2. Reason / F. Fallacies / 3. Question Begging
Men are natural leaders (apart from the unnatural ones) [Aristotle]
2. Reason / F. Fallacies / 5. Fallacy of Composition
'If each is small, so too are all' is in one way false, for the whole composed of all is not small [Aristotle]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 1. Truth
Truth is its own standard [Spinoza]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 3. Value of Truth
Spinoza's life shows that love of truth which he proclaims as the highest value [MacIntyre on Spinoza]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 8. Subjective Truth
For Spinoza, 'adequacy' is the intrinsic mark of truth [Spinoza, by Scruton]
3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 1. Correspondence Truth
A true idea must correspond with its ideate or object [Spinoza]
5. Theory of Logic / B. Logical Consequence / 5. Modus Ponens
If our ideas are adequate, what follows from them is also adequate [Spinoza]
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 1. Mathematics
Mathematics deals with the essences and properties of forms [Spinoza]
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 2. Geometry
The sum of its angles follows from a triangle's nature [Spinoza]
The idea of a triangle involves truths about it, so those are part of its essence [Spinoza]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 2. Types of Existence
Outside the mind, there are just things and their properties [Spinoza]
The more reality a thing has, the more attributes it has [Spinoza]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 5. Reason for Existence
There must always be a reason or cause why some triangle does or does not exist [Spinoza]
7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 1. Grounding / a. Nature of grounding
Men say they prefer order, not realising that we imagine the order [Spinoza]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 5. Naturalism
Laws of nature are universal, so everything must be understood through those laws [Spinoza]
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 3. Types of Properties
An 'attribute' is what the intellect takes as constituting an essence [Spinoza]
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 8. Properties as Modes
A 'mode' is an aspect of a substance, and conceived through that substance [Spinoza]
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 2. Powers as Basic
Things persevere through a force which derives from God [Spinoza]
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 4. Powers as Essence
The essence of a thing is its effort to persevere [Spinoza]
8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 6. Platonic Forms / d. Forms critiques
The 'universal' term 'man' is just imagining whatever is the same in a multitude of men [Spinoza]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 1. Unifying an Object / b. Unifying aggregates
A thing is unified if its parts produce a single effect [Spinoza]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / b. Need for substance
Spinoza implies that thought is impossible without the notion of substance [Spinoza, by Scruton]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / d. Substance defined
Substance is the power of self-actualisation [Spinoza, by Lord]
Substance is that of which an independent conception can be formed [Spinoza]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / c. Wholes from parts
The whole is prior to its parts, because parts are defined by their role [Aristotle]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 1. Essences of Objects
The essence of a thing is what is required for it to exist or be conceived [Spinoza]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 6. Essence as Unifier
Essence gives existence and conception to things, and is inseparable from them [Spinoza]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / b. Essence not necessities
Nothing is essential if it is in every part, and is common to everything [Spinoza]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 8. Essence as Explanatory
All natures of things produce some effect [Spinoza]
9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 11. End of an Object
Only an external cause can destroy something [Spinoza]
9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 7. Indiscernible Objects
There cannot be two substances with the same attributes [Spinoza]
9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 8. Leibniz's Law
Two substances can't be the same if they have different attributes [Spinoza]
10. Modality / A. Necessity / 10. Impossibility
Things are impossible if they imply contradiction, or their production lacks an external cause [Spinoza]
10. Modality / B. Possibility / 5. Contingency
Contingency is an illusion, resulting from our inadequate understanding [Spinoza, by Cottingham]
We only call things 'contingent' in relation to the imperfection of our knowledge [Spinoza]
Reason naturally regards things as necessary, and only imagination considers them contingent [Spinoza]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 1. Sources of Necessity
Divine nature makes all existence and operations necessary, and nothing is contingent [Spinoza]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 6. Necessity from Essence
Necessity is in reference to essence or to cause [Spinoza]
10. Modality / D. Knowledge of Modality / 4. Conceivable as Possible / a. Conceivable as possible
People who are ignorant of true causes imagine anything can change into anything else [Spinoza]
Error does not result from imagining, but from lacking the evidence of impossibility [Spinoza]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / a. Transworld identity
A horse would be destroyed if it were changed into a man or an insect [Spinoza]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / e. Possible Objects
A thing is contingent if nothing in its essence determines whether or not it exists [Spinoza]
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 1. Knowledge
Spinoza's three levels of knowledge are perception/imagination, then principles, then intuitions [Spinoza, by Scruton]
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 2. Understanding
Understanding is the aim of our nature [Aristotle]
Understanding is the sole aim of reason, and the only profit for the mind [Spinoza]
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 4. Belief / e. Belief holism
Unlike Descartes' atomism, Spinoza held a holistic view of belief [Spinoza, by Schmid]
11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 1. Certainty
True ideas intrinsically involve the highest degree of certainty [Spinoza]
You only know you are certain of something when you actually are certain of it [Spinoza]
A man who assents without doubt to a falsehood is not certain, but lacks a cause to make him waver [Spinoza]
11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 5. Cogito Critique
'I think' is useless, because it is contingent, and limited to the first person [Spinoza, by Scruton]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 5. Interpretation
If the body is affected by an external object, the mind can't help believing that the object exists [Spinoza]
12. Knowledge Sources / C. Rationalism / 1. Rationalism
The eyes of the mind are proofs [Spinoza]
12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 2. Associationism
Once we have experienced two feelings together, one will always give rise to the other [Spinoza]
12. Knowledge Sources / E. Direct Knowledge / 1. Common Sense
Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find [Reid]
13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 3. Internal or External / a. Pro-internalism
Anyone who knows, must know that they know, and even know that they know that they know.. [Spinoza]
13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 5. Coherentism / b. Pro-coherentism
Encounters with things confuse the mind, and internal comparisons bring clarity [Spinoza]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / f. Necessity in explanations
To understand a phenomenon, we must understand why it is necessary, not merely contingent [Spinoza, by Cottingham]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / g. Causal explanations
To grasp something, trace it back to its natural origins [Aristotle]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / k. Explanations by essence
The nature of each thing is its mature state [Aristotle]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / a. Mind
The human mind is the very idea or knowledge of the human body [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / b. Purpose of mind
Knowledge is the essence of the mind [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / c. Features of mind
Will and intellect are the same thing [Spinoza]
The will is finite, but the intellect is infinite [Spinoza]
The will is not a desire, but the faculty of affirming what is true or false [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 5. Unity of Mind
Spinoza held that the mind is just a bundle of ideas [Spinoza, by Schmid]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 7. Animal Minds
Animals are often observed to be wiser than people [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / B. Features of Minds / 1. Consciousness / d. Purpose of consciousness
To understand is the absolute virtue of the mind [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 1. Faculties
Faculties are either fictions, or the abstract universals of ideas [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 8. Remembering Contiguity
If the body is affected by two things together, the imagining of one will conjure up the other [Spinoza]
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 10. Conatus/Striving
Our own force of persevering is nothing in comparison with external forces [Spinoza]
As far as possible, everything tries to persevere [Spinoza]
The conatus (striving) of mind and body together is appetite, which is the essence of man [Spinoza]
16. Persons / B. Nature of the Self / 4. Presupposition of Self
The nature of all animate things is to have one part which rules it [Aristotle]
16. Persons / B. Nature of the Self / 7. Self and Body / a. Self needs body
The mind only knows itself by means of ideas of the modification of the body [Spinoza]
16. Persons / C. Self-Awareness / 2. Knowing the Self
Self-knowledge needs perception of the affections of the body [Spinoza]
16. Persons / D. Continuity of the Self / 2. Mental Continuity / a. Memory is Self
The poet who forgot his own tragedies was no longer the same man [Spinoza]
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 1. Nature of Free Will
A thing is free if it acts by necessity of its own nature, and the act is determined by itself alone [Spinoza]
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 5. Against Free Will
An act of will can only occur if it has been caused, which implies a regress of causes [Spinoza]
'Free will' is a misunderstanding arising from awareness of our actions, but ignorance of their causes [Spinoza]
Would we die if we lacked free will, and were poised between equal foods? Yes! [Spinoza]
The mind is not free to remember or forget anything [Spinoza]
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 6. Determinism / a. Determinism
We think we are free because we don't know the causes of our desires and choices [Spinoza]
The actual world is the only one God could have created [Spinoza]
17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 5. Parallelism
Ideas and things have identical connections and order [Spinoza]
17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 8. Dualism of Mind Critique
Mind and body are one thing, seen sometimes as thought and sometimes as extension [Spinoza]
We are incapable of formulating an idea which excludes the existence of our body [Spinoza]
17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 1. Physical Mind
Mind and body are the same thing, sometimes seen as thought, and sometimes as extension [Spinoza]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / a. Nature of emotions
Emotion is a modification of bodily energy, controlling our actions [Spinoza]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / e. Basic emotions
The three primary emotions are pleasure, pain and desire [Spinoza]
The three primary emotions are pleasure, pain, and desire [Spinoza, by Goldie]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / f. Emotion and reason
Minds are subject to passions if they have inadequate ideas [Spinoza]
An emotion is only bad if it hinders us from thinking [Spinoza]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / g. Controlling emotions
Stoics want to suppress emotions, but Spinoza overcomes them with higher emotions [Spinoza, by Stewart,M]
An emotion comes more under our control in proportion to how well it is known to us [Spinoza]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 6. Judgement / b. Error
People make calculation mistakes by misjudging the figures, not calculating them wrongly [Spinoza]
18. Thought / C. Content / 2. Ideas
Ideas are powerful entities, which can produce further ideas [Spinoza, by Schmid]
An 'idea' is a mental conception which is actively formed by the mind in thinking [Spinoza]
Ideas are not images formed in the brain, but are the conceptions of thought [Spinoza]
Only philosophers treat ideas as objects [Reid]
An idea involves affirmation or negation [Spinoza]
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 9. Ambiguity
The ambiguity of words impedes the advancement of knowledge [Reid]
19. Language / F. Communication / 1. Rhetoric
Rhetoric now enables good speakers to become popular leaders [Aristotle]
20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 2. Willed Action / a. Will to Act
Claiming that actions depend on the will is meaningless; no one knows what the will is [Spinoza]
Spinoza argues that in reality the will and the intellect are 'one and the same' [Spinoza, by Cottingham]
20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 2. Willed Action / d. Weakness of will
A community can lack self-control [Aristotle]
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 1. Acting on Desires
Whenever we act, then desire is our very essence [Spinoza]
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 4. Responsibility for Actions
We love or hate people more strongly because we think they are free [Spinoza]
We are the source of an action if only our nature can explain the action [Spinoza]
We act when it follows from our nature, and is understood in that way [Spinoza]
21. Aesthetics / A. Aesthetic Experience / 5. Natural Beauty
Nothing contrary to nature is beautiful [Aristotle]
21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 5. Objectivism in Art
The collective judgement of many people on art is better than that of an individual [Aristotle]
21. Aesthetics / C. Artistic Issues / 7. Art and Morality
Music can mould the character to be virtuous (just as gymnastics trains the body) [Aristotle]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / b. Rational ethics
Men only agree in nature if they are guided by reason [Spinoza]
We seek our own advantage, and virtue is doing this rationally [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
The essence of man is modifications of the nature of God [Spinoza]
By 'good' I mean what brings us ever closer to our model of human nature [Spinoza]
Along with his pantheism, Spinoza equates ethics with the study of human nature [Spinoza, by MacIntyre]
If infancy in humans was very rare, we would consider it a pitiful natural defect [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / j. Ethics by convention
Some say slavery is unnatural and created by convention, and is therefore forced, and unjust [Aristotle]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 1. Nature of Value / d. Subjective value
We don't want things because they are good; we judge things to be good because we want them [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / g. Love
Spirit [thumos] is the capacity by which we love [Aristotle]
Love is joy with an external cause [Spinoza]
Love is nothing else but pleasure accompanied by the idea of an external cause [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / i. Self-interest
Selfishness is wrong not because it is self-love, but because it is excessive [Aristotle]
Spinoza names self-interest as the sole source of value [Spinoza, by Stewart,M]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / j. Evil
If our ideas were wholly adequate, we would have no concept of evil [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / f. Good as pleasure
Music is good for a melancholic, bad for a mourner, and indifferent to the deaf [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / g. Consequentialism
The function of good men is to confer benefits [Aristotle]
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 2. Happiness / d. Routes to happiness
Man's highest happiness consists of perfecting his understanding, or reason [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 3. Pleasure / a. Nature of pleasure
Pleasure is a passive state in which the mind increases in perfection [Spinoza]
22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 3. Pleasure / f. Dangers of pleasure
Pleasure is only bad in so far as it hinders a man's capability for action [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / A. Egoism / 1. Ethical Egoism
Reason demands nothing contrary to nature, and so it demands self-love [Spinoza]
Self-satisfaction is the highest thing for which we can hope [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 1. Contractarianism
Both virtue and happiness are based on the preservation of one's own being [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 1. Virtue Theory / b. Basis of virtue
To act virtuously is to act rationally [Spinoza]
The more we strive for our own advantage, the more virtuous we are [Spinoza]
All virtue is founded on self-preservation [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / b. Living naturally
To live according to reason is to live according to the laws of human nature [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / c. Motivation for virtue
Virtuous people are like the citizens of the best city [Aristotle]
People become good because of nature, habit and reason [Aristotle]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / f. The Mean
The law is the mean [Aristotle]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / h. Right feelings
Virtue is concerned with correct feelings [Aristotle]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / j. Unity of virtue
A man ignorant of himself is ignorant of all of the virtues [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / b. Temperance
It is quite possible to live a moderate life and yet be miserable [Aristotle]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / c. Justice
Justice is a virtue of communities [Aristotle]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / d. Courage
In a free man, choosing flight can show as much strength of mind as fighting [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / f. Compassion
A person unmoved by either reason or pity to help others is rightly called 'inhuman' [Spinoza]
Pity is a bad and useless thing, as it is a pain, and rational people perform good deeds without it [Spinoza]
Pity is not a virtue, but at least it shows a desire to live uprightly [Spinoza]
People who live according to reason should avoid pity [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 4. External Goods / c. Wealth
The rich are seen as noble, because they don't need to commit crimes [Aristotle]
Rational people judge money by needs, and live contented with very little [Spinoza]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 4. External Goods / d. Friendship
Master and slave can have friendship through common interests [Aristotle]
23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 3. Universalisability
Rational people are self-interested, but also desire the same goods for other people [Spinoza]
A rational person will want others to have the goods he seeks for himself [Spinoza]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness
Man is by nature a political animal [Aristotle]
People want to live together, even when they don't want mutual help [Aristotle]
Only humans have reason [Aristotle]
If people are obedient to reason, they will live in harmony [Spinoza]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / c. A unified people
The community (of villages) becomes a city when it is totally self-sufficient [Aristotle]
A community must share a common view of good and justice [Aristotle]
People who are anti-social or wholly self-sufficient are no part of a city [Aristotle]
Friendship is the best good for cities, because it reduces factions [Aristotle]
A city can't become entirely one, because its very nature is to be a multitude [Aristotle]
A community should all share to some extent in something like land or food [Aristotle]
The ideal for human preservation is unanimity among people [Spinoza]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 2. Population / b. State population
The size of a city is decided by the maximum self-sufficient community that can be surveyed [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 3. Natural Values / a. Natural freedom
Only self-knowledge can liberate us [Spinoza, by MacIntyre]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 3. Natural Values / c. Natural rights
Spinoza extended Hobbes's natural rights to cover all possible desires and actions [Spinoza, by Tuck]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 1. Purpose of a State
A city aims at living well [Aristotle]
What is the best life for everyone, and is that a communal or an individual problem? [Aristotle]
The same four cardinal virtues which apply to individuals also apply to a city [Aristotle]
Every state is an association formed for some good purpose [Aristotle]
The happiest city is the one that acts most nobly [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 2. State Legitimacy / d. General will
The state aims to consist as far as possible of those who are like and equal [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 3. Constitutions
The six constitutions are monarchy/tyranny, aristocracy/oligarchy, and polity/democracy [Aristotle]
A city is a community of free people, and the constitution should aim at the common advantage [Aristotle]
Any constitution can be made to last for a day or two [Aristotle]
The best constitution enables everyone to live the best life [Aristotle]
Constitutions specify distribution of offices, the authorities, and the community's aim [Aristotle]
The greed of the rich is more destructive than the greed of the people [Aristotle]
We must decide the most desirable human life before designing a constitution [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 4. Citizenship
The middle classes are neither ambitious nor anarchic, which is good [Aristotle]
The virtues of a good citizen are relative to a particular constitution [Aristotle]
A person can be an excellent citizen without being an excellent man [Aristotle]
A citizen is someone who is allowed to hold official posts in a city [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 2. Leaders / b. Monarchy
Kings should be selected according to character [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 2. Leaders / d. Elites
The only virtue special to a ruler is practical wisdom [Aristotle]
People who buy public office will probably expect to profit from it [Aristotle]
The rich can claim to rule, because of land ownership, and being more trustworthy [Aristotle]
The guardians should not be harsh to strangers, as no one should behave like that [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 3. Government / c. Executive
In large communities it is better if more people participate in the offices [Aristotle]
Election of officials by the elected is dangerous, because factions can control it [Aristotle]
Officers should like the constitution, be capable, and have appropriate virtues and justice [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / a. Nature of democracy
Like water, large numbers of people are harder to corrupt than a few [Aristotle]
Democracy arises when people who are given equal freedom assume unconditional equality [Aristotle]
Popular leaders only arise in democracies that are not in accord with the law [Aristotle]
Choosing officials by lot is democratic [Aristotle]
The many may add up to something good, even if they are inferior as individuals [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / d. Representative democracy
If the people are equal in nature, then they should all share in ruling [Aristotle]
It is wrong that a worthy officer of state should seek the office [Aristotle]
No office is permanent in a democracy [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / e. Democratic minorities
In many cases, the claim that the majority is superior would apply equally to wild beasts [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / f. Against democracy
Ultimate democracy is tyranny [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / e. Liberal community
We aim to understand the best possible community for free people [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / a. Communitarianism
Community is based on friends, who are equal and similar, and share things [Aristotle]
Look at all of the citizens before judging a city to be happy [Aristotle]
The best communities rely on a large and strong middle class [Aristotle]
Citizens do not just own themselves, but are also parts of the city [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 8. Socialism
People care less about what is communal, and more about what is their own [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 9. Communism
Owning and sharing property communally increases disagreements [Aristotle]
There could be private land and public crops, or public land and private crops, or both public [Aristotle]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 12. Feminism
Both women and children should be educated, as this contributes to a city's excellence [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 1. Slavery
Slavery is a disgraceful crime [Spinoza]
Natural slaves are those naturally belonging to another, or who can manage no more than labouring [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 6. Political freedom
One principle of liberty is to take turns ruling and being ruled [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / B. Equalities / 1. Grounds of equality
Equality is obviously there to help people who do not get priority in the constitution [Aristotle]
It is always the weak who want justice and equality, not the strong [Aristotle]
We can claim an equal right to aristocratic virtue, as well as to wealth or freedom [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / B. Equalities / 2. Political equality
It is dreadful to neither give a share nor receive a share [Aristotle]
The Heraeans replaced election with lot, to thwart campaigning [Aristotle]
Faction is for inferiors to be equal, and equals to become superior [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / B. Equalities / 4. Economic equality
Phaleas proposed equality of property, provided there is equality of education [Aristotle]
Wealth could be quickly leveled by only the rich giving marriage dowries [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 1. Basis of Rights
Law is intelligence without appetite [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 4. Property rights
Property should be owned privately, but used communally [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / D. Justice / 1. Basis of justice
The virtue of justice may be relative to a particular constitution [Aristotle]
Justice is the order in a political community [Aristotle]
Justice is equality for equals, and inequality for unequals [Aristotle]
The good is obviously justice, which benefits the whole community, and involves equality in some sense [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / D. Justice / 2. The Law / a. Legal system
If it is easy to change the laws, that makes them weaker [Aristotle]
Man is the worst of all animals when divorced from law and justice [Aristotle]
Laws that match people's habits are more effective than mere written rules [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / D. Justice / 2. The Law / b. Rule of law
It is preferable that law should rule rather than any single citizen [Aristotle]
Correct law should be in control, with rulers only deciding uncertain issues [Aristotle]
It is said that we should not stick strictly to written law, as it is too vague [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 2. Religion in Society
The whole state should pay for the worship of the gods [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / a. Aims of education
A state is plural, and needs education to make it a community [Aristotle]
A city has a single end, so education must focus on that, and be communal, not private [Aristotle]
The aim of serious childhood play is the amusement of the complete adult [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / c. Teaching
Men learn partly by habit, and partly by listening [Aristotle]
The best use of talent is to teach other people to live rationally [Spinoza]
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 3. Abortion
Abortions should be procured before the embryo has acquired life and sensation [Aristotle]
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 4. Suicide
It is impossible that the necessity of a person's nature should produce a desire for non-existence [Spinoza]
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 6. Animal Rights
Animals feel, but that doesn't mean we can't use them for our pleasure and profit [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 1. Nature
We can easily think of nature as one individual [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / a. Final purpose
If nature makes everything for a purpose, then plants and animals must have been made for man [Aristotle]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / b. Limited purposes
The best instruments have one purpose, not many [Aristotle]
Nature has no particular goal in view, and final causes are mere human figments [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / c. Purpose denied
Spinoza strongly attacked teleology, which is the lifeblood of classical logos [Roochnik on Spinoza]
For Spinoza eyes don't act for purposes, but follow mechanical necessity [Roochnik on Spinoza]
Final causes are figments of human imagination [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 5. Infinite in Nature
An infinite line can be marked in feet or inches, so one infinity is twelve times the other [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / c. Ultimate substances
In nature there is just one infinite substance [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 1. Causation
Similar effects come from similar causes, and causes are only what are sufficient for the effects [Reid]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 3. Final causes
A final cause is simply a human desire [Spinoza]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / d. Causal necessity
From a definite cause an effect necessarily follows [Spinoza]
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 1. God
The key question for Spinoza is: is his God really a God? [Stewart,M on Spinoza]
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 2. Divine Nature
God feels no emotions, of joy or sorrow [Spinoza]
God is not blessed and happy because of external goods, but because of his own nature [Aristotle]
God does not act according to the freedom of the will [Spinoza]
Spinoza's God is just power and necessity, without perfection or wisdom [Leibniz on Spinoza]
Spinoza's God is not a person [Spinoza, by Jolley]
God is wholly without passions, and strictly speaking does not love anyone [Spinoza, by Cottingham]
God is the sum and principle of all eternal laws [Spinoza, by Armstrong,K]
God is not loveable for producing without choice and by necessity; God is loveable for his goodness [Leibniz on Spinoza]
God is a substance with infinite attributes [Spinoza]
God has no purpose, because God lacks nothing [Spinoza]
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 6. Divine Morality / c. God is the good
To say that God promotes what is good is false, as it sets up a goal beyond God [Spinoza]
28. God / B. Proving God / 2. Proofs of Reason / a. Ontological Proof
Spinoza says a substance of infinite attributes cannot fail to exist [Spinoza, by Lord]
Denial of God is denial that his essence involves existence, which is absurd [Spinoza]
God is being as such, and you cannot conceive of the non-existence of being [Spinoza, by Lord]
God must necessarily exist, because no reason can be given for his non-existence [Spinoza]
Some things makes me conceive of it as a thing whose essence requires its existence [Spinoza]
28. God / B. Proving God / 2. Proofs of Reason / b. Ontological Proof critique
If a thing can be conceived as non-existing, its essence does not involve existence [Spinoza]
28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / e. Miracles
Priests reject as heretics anyone who tries to understand miracles in a natural way [Spinoza]
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 2. Pantheism
That God is the substance of all things is an ill-reputed doctrine [Leibniz on Spinoza]
God is the efficient cause of essences, as well as of existences [Spinoza]
The human mind is part of the infinite intellect of God [Spinoza]
Everything is in God, and nothing exists or is thinkable without God [Spinoza]
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 4. God Reflects Humanity
Men imagine gods to be of human shape, with a human lifestyle [Aristotle]
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 5. Atheism
In Spinoza, one could substitute 'nature' or 'substance' for the word 'God' throughout [Spinoza, by Stewart,M]
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
Spinoza's theory of mind implies that there is no immortality [Spinoza, by Stewart,M]
After death, something eternal remains of the mind [Spinoza]