Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'On the Notion of Cause', 'Eliminative Materialism and Prop. Attitudes' and 'Principles of Nature and Grace based on Reason'

expand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts


14 ideas

1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 3. Scientism
Philosophers usually learn science from each other, not from science [Russell]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 5. Reason for Existence
First: there must be reasons; Second: why anything at all?; Third: why this? [Leibniz]
7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 6. Fundamentals / c. Monads
A monad and its body are living, so life is everywhere, and comes in infinite degrees [Leibniz]
10. Modality / A. Necessity / 2. Nature of Necessity
'Necessary' is a predicate of a propositional function, saying it is true for all values of its argument [Russell]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 1. Perception
'Perception' is basic internal representation, and 'apperception' is reflective knowledge of perception [Leibniz]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 7. Animal Minds
Animals are semi-rational because they connect facts, but they don't see causes [Leibniz]
17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 3. Eliminativism
Folk psychology may not be reducible, but that doesn't make it false [Kirk,R on Churchland,PM]
Eliminative materialism says folk psychology will be replaced, not reduced [Churchland,PM]
21. Aesthetics / B. Nature of Art / 8. The Arts / a. Music
Music charms, although its beauty is the harmony of numbers [Leibniz]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 7. Eliminating causation
The law of causality is a source of confusion, and should be dropped from philosophy [Russell]
If causes are contiguous with events, only the last bit is relevant, or the event's timing is baffling [Russell]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / a. Constant conjunction
Striking a match causes its igniting, even if it sometimes doesn't work [Russell]
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 5. Laws from Universals
In causal laws, 'events' must recur, so they have to be universals, not particulars [Russell]
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 6. Laws as Numerical
The constancy of scientific laws rests on differential equations, not on cause and effect [Russell]