Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'A World of States of Affairs', 'On the Heavens' and 'Essays on Intellectual Powers 1: Preliminary'

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21 ideas

2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 9. Limits of Reason
19740 A very hungry man cannot choose between equidistant piles of food [Aristotle]
3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 1. Correspondence Truth
4742 Correspondence may be one-many or many one, as when either p or q make 'p or q' true [Armstrong]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 7. Fictionalism
9497 Without modality, Armstrong falls back on fictionalism to support counterfactual laws [Bird on Armstrong]
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 1. Nature of Properties
15550 Properties are contingently existing beings with multiple locations in space and time [Armstrong, by Lewis]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 1. Sources of Necessity
4743 The truth-maker for a truth must necessitate that truth [Armstrong]
12. Knowledge Sources / E. Direct Knowledge / 1. Common Sense
23633 Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find [Reid]
18. Thought / C. Content / 2. Ideas
23630 Only philosophers treat ideas as objects [Reid]
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 9. Ambiguity
23629 The ambiguity of words impedes the advancement of knowledge [Reid]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / b. Successful function
398 Each thing that has a function is for the sake of that function [Aristotle]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / a. Final purpose
394 An unworn sandal is in vain, but nothing in nature is in vain [Aristotle]
396 There has to be some goal, and not just movement to infinity [Aristotle]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / f. Ancient elements
16102 Aether moves in circles and is imperishable; the four elements perish, and move in straight lines [Aristotle, by Gill,ML]
17463 An element is what bodies are analysed into, and won't itself divide into something else [Aristotle]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 1. Causation
23632 Similar effects come from similar causes, and causes are only what are sufficient for the effects [Reid]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / d. Causal necessity
4798 In recent writings, Armstrong makes a direct identification of necessitation with causation [Armstrong, by Psillos]
27. Natural Reality / A. Classical Physics / 1. Mechanics / a. Explaining movement
399 If the more you raise some earth the faster it moves, why does the whole earth not move? [Aristotle]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 1. Void
20918 Void is a kind of place, so it can't explain place [Aristotle]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 1. Cosmology
402 The Earth must be spherical, because it casts a convex shadow on the moon [Aristotle]
403 The earth must be round and of limited size, because moving north or south makes different stars visible [Aristotle]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 3. The Beginning
1498 Everyone agrees that the world had a beginning, but thinkers disagree over whether it will end [Aristotle]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 10. Multiverse
395 It seems possible that there exists a limited number of other worlds apart from this one [Aristotle]