45 ideas
22659 | It is wisdom to believe what you desire, because belief is needed to achieve it [James] |
22657 | All good philosophers start from a dumb conviction about which truths can be revealed [James] |
22647 | A complete system is just a classification of the whole world's ingredients [James] |
22648 | A single explanation must have a single point of view [James] |
22644 | Our greatest pleasure is the economy of reducing chaotic facts to one single fact [James] |
18739 | Three stages of philosophical logic: syntactic (1905-55), possible worlds (1963-85), widening (1990-) [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18741 | Logical formalization makes concepts precise, and also shows their interrelation [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18744 | Models are sets with functions and relations, and truth built up from the components [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18740 | If 'exist' doesn't express a property, we can hardly ask for its essence [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
22649 | Classification can only ever be for a particular purpose [James] |
18745 | A Tarskian model can be seen as a possible state of affairs [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18747 | The 'spheres model' was added to possible worlds, to cope with counterfactuals [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18748 | Epistemic logic introduced impossible worlds [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18746 | Possible worlds models contain sets of possible worlds; this is a large metaphysical commitment [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
18750 | Using possible worlds for knowledge and morality may be a step too far [Horsten/Pettigrew] |
22655 | Scientific genius extracts more than other people from the same evidence [James] |
22658 | Experimenters assume the theory is true, and stick to it as long as result don't disappoint [James] |
22654 | We can't know if the laws of nature are stable, but we must postulate it or assume it [James] |
22656 | Trying to assess probabilities by mere calculation is absurd and impossible [James] |
22646 | We have a passion for knowing the parts of something, rather than the whole [James] |
22652 | The mind has evolved entirely for practical interests, seen in our reflex actions [James] |
22651 | Dogs' curiosity only concerns what will happen next [James] |
8143 | Self is the rider, intellect the charioteer, mind the reins, and body the chariot [Anon (Upan)] |
8147 | We have an apparent and a true self; only the second one exists, and we must seek to know it [Anon (Upan)] |
22650 | How can the ground of rationality be itself rational? [James] |
22643 | It seems that we feel rational when we detect no irrationality [James] |
8155 | Without speech we cannot know right/wrong, true/false, good/bad, or pleasant/unpleasant [Anon (Upan)] |
22660 | Evolution suggests prevailing or survival as a new criterion of right and wrong [James] |
8142 | The wise prefer good to pleasure; the foolish are drawn to pleasure by desire [Anon (Upan)] |
8151 | Let your teacher be a god to you [Anon (Upan)] |
8153 | By knowing one piece of clay or gold, you know all of clay or gold [Anon (Upan)] |
22645 | Understanding by means of causes is useless if they are not reduced to a minimum number [James] |
8154 | Originally there must have been just Existence, which could not come from non-existence [Anon (Upan)] |
8148 | Brahma, supreme god and protector of the universe, arose from the ocean of existence [Anon (Upan)] |
8144 | Brahman is the Uncaused Cause [Anon (Upan)] |
8152 | Earth, food, fire, sun are all forms of Brahman [Anon (Upan)] |
8156 | The gods are not worshipped for their own sake, but for the sake of the Self [Anon (Upan)] |
8157 | A man with desires is continually reborn, until his desires are stilled [Anon (Upan)] |
8159 | Damayata - be self-controlled! Datta - be charitable! Dayadhwam - be compassionate! [Anon (Upan)] |
8145 | Those ignorant of Atman return as animals or plants, according to their merits [Anon (Upan)] |
22653 | Early Christianity says God recognises the neglected weak and tender impulses [James] |
8149 | Charity and ritual observance distract from the highest good of religion [Anon (Upan)] |
8158 | Do not seek to know Brahman by arguments, for arguments are idle and vain [Anon (Upan)] |
8146 | The immortal in us is the part that never sleeps, and shapes our dreams [Anon (Upan)] |
8150 | The immortal Self and the sad individual self are like two golden birds perched on one tree [Anon (Upan)] |