33 ideas
| 21406 | Because there is only one human reason, there can only be one true philosophy from principles [Kant] |
| 16539 | A definition of a circle will show what it is, and show its generating principle [Lowe] |
| 16540 | Defining an ellipse by conic sections reveals necessities, but not the essence of an ellipse [Lowe] |
| 16548 | An essence is what an entity is, revealed by a real definition; this is not an entity in its own right [Lowe] |
| 16549 | Simple things like 'red' can be given real ostensive definitions [Lowe] |
| 16545 | The essence of lumps and statues shows that two objects coincide but are numerically distinct [Lowe] |
| 16546 | The essence of a bronze statue shows that it could be made of different bronze [Lowe] |
| 16551 | Grasping an essence is just grasping a real definition [Lowe] |
| 16542 | Explanation can't give an account of essence, because it is too multi-faceted [Lowe] |
| 16552 | If we must know some entity to know an essence, we lack a faculty to do that [Lowe] |
| 5451 | Popper felt that ancient essentialism was a bar to progress [Popper, by Mautner] |
| 16533 | Logical necessities, based on laws of logic, are a proper sub-class of metaphysical necessities [Lowe] |
| 16531 | 'Metaphysical' necessity is absolute and objective - the strongest kind of necessity [Lowe] |
| 16532 | 'Epistemic' necessity is better called 'certainty' [Lowe] |
| 16543 | If an essence implies p, then p is an essential truth, and hence metaphysically necessary [Lowe] |
| 16544 | Metaphysical necessity is either an essential truth, or rests on essential truths [Lowe] |
| 16538 | We could give up possible worlds if we based necessity on essences [Lowe] |
| 21081 | We are equipped with the a priori intuitions needed for the concept of right [Kant] |
| 16534 | 'Intuitions' are just unreliable 'hunches'; over centuries intuitions change enormously [Lowe] |
| 16535 | A concept is a way of thinking of things or kinds, whether or not they exist [Lowe] |
| 16550 | Direct reference doesn't seem to require that thinkers know what it is they are thinking about [Lowe] |
| 21082 | A power-based state of nature may not be unjust, but there is no justice without competent judges [Kant] |
| 21089 | Monarchs have the highest power; autocrats have complete power [Kant] |
| 21086 | Hereditary nobility has not been earned, and probably won't be earned [Kant] |
| 21080 | Actions are right if the maxim respects universal mutual freedoms [Kant] |
| 21083 | Women have no role in politics [Kant] |
| 21407 | Equality is not being bound in ways you cannot bind others [Kant] |
| 21084 | In the contract people lose their rights, but immediately regain them, in the new commonwealth [Kant] |
| 21090 | If someone has largely made something, then they own it [Kant] |
| 21087 | Human life is pointless without justice [Kant] |
| 21088 | Justice asserts the death penalty for murder, from a priori laws [Kant] |
| 21085 | The church has a political role, by offering a supreme power over people [Kant] |
| 16547 | H2O isn't necessary, because different laws of nature might affect how O and H combine [Lowe] |