114 ideas
| 1606 | You have to be a Platonist to debate about reality, so every philosopher is a Platonist [Roochnik] |
| 1595 | Philosophy aims to satisfy the chief human desire - the articulation of beauty itself [Roochnik] |
| 1571 | 'Logos' ranges from thought/reasoning, to words, to rational structures outside thought [Roochnik] |
| 1572 | In the seventeenth century the only acceptable form of logos was technical knowledge [Roochnik] |
| 1573 | The hallmark of a person with logos is that they give reasons why one opinion is superior to another [Roochnik] |
| 1592 | Logos cannot refute the relativist, and so must admit that it too is a matter of desire (for truth and agreement) [Roochnik] |
| 1593 | Human desire has an ordered structure, with logos at the pinnacle [Roochnik] |
| 1603 | Logos is not unconditionally good, but good if there is another person willing to engage with it [Roochnik] |
| 1598 | We prefer reason or poetry according to whether basics are intelligible or not [Roochnik] |
| 1584 | Modern science, by aiming for clarity about the external world, has abandoned rationality in the human world [Roochnik] |
| 1599 | Attempts to suspend all presuppositions are hopeless, because a common ground must be agreed for the process [Roochnik] |
| 1591 | Unfortunately for reason, argument can't be used to establish the value of argument [Roochnik] |
| 19807 | Both nature and reason require that everything has a cause [Rousseau] |
| 8820 | Rules of reasoning precede the concept of truth, and they are what characterize it [Pollock] |
| 8819 | We need the concept of truth for defeasible reasoning [Pollock] |
| 1605 | Reality can be viewed neutrally, or as an object of desire [Roochnik] |
| 8822 | Statements about necessities need not be necessarily true [Pollock] |
| 8818 | Defeasible reasoning requires us to be able to think about our thoughts [Pollock] |
| 8811 | What we want to know is - when is it all right to believe something? [Pollock] |
| 8817 | Logical entailments are not always reasons for beliefs, because they may be irrelevant [Pollock] |
| 8814 | Epistemic norms are internalised procedural rules for reasoning [Pollock] |
| 8823 | Reasons are always for beliefs, but a perceptual state is a reason without itself being a belief [Pollock] |
| 8813 | If we have to appeal explicitly to epistemic norms, that will produce an infinite regress [Pollock] |
| 8812 | Norm Externalism says norms must be internal, but their selection is partly external [Pollock] |
| 8816 | Externalists tend to take a third-person point of view of epistemology [Pollock] |
| 8815 | Belief externalism is false, because external considerations cannot be internalized for actual use [Pollock] |
| 1577 | Relativism is a disease which destroys the possibility of rational debate [Roochnik] |
| 1578 | If relativism is the correct account of human values, then rhetoric is more important than reasoning [Roochnik] |
| 1596 | Reasoning aims not at the understanding of objects, but at the desire to give beautiful speeches [Roochnik] |
| 7235 | Without freedom of will actions lack moral significance [Rousseau] |
| 19791 | Natural mankind is too fragmented for states of peace, or of war and enmity [Rousseau] |
| 20501 | Rousseau assumes that laws need a people united by custom and tradition [Rousseau, by Wolff,J] |
| 7237 | The act of becoming 'a people' is the real foundation of society [Rousseau] |
| 19792 | To overcome obstacles, people must unite their forces into a single unified power [Rousseau] |
| 19812 | Human nature changes among a people, into a moral and partial existence [Rousseau] |
| 19814 | A state must be big enough to preserve itself, but small enough to be governable [Rousseau] |
| 19815 | Too much land is a struggle, producing defensive war; too little makes dependence, and offensive war [Rousseau] |
| 19822 | If the state enlarges, the creators of the general will become less individually powerful [Rousseau] |
| 19823 | If the population is larger, the government needs to be more powerful [Rousseau] |
| 7232 | Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains [Rousseau] |
| 7234 | No man has any natural authority over his fellows [Rousseau] |
| 19816 | A state's purpose is liberty and equality - liberty for strength, and equality for liberty [Rousseau] |
| 7247 | The greatest social good comes down to freedom and equality [Rousseau] |
| 19838 | The measure of a successful state is increase in its population [Rousseau] |
| 19848 | The sovereignty does not appoint the leaders [Rousseau] |
| 20567 | Rousseau insists that popular sovereignty needs a means of expressing consent [Rousseau, by Oksala] |
| 19801 | Sovereignty is the exercise of the general will, which can never be delegated [Rousseau] |
| 19805 | Just as people control their limbs, the general-will state has total control of its members [Rousseau] |
| 19818 | Political laws are fundamental, as they firmly organise the state - but they could still be changed [Rousseau] |
| 19790 | Force can only dominate if it is seen as a right, and obedience as a duty [Rousseau] |
| 7233 | The social order is a sacred right, but based on covenants, not nature [Rousseau] |
| 19842 | The government is instituted by a law, not by a contract [Rousseau] |
| 7239 | The social pact is the total subjection of individuals to the general will [Rousseau] |
| 19793 | We need a protective association which unites forces, but retains individual freedom [Rousseau] |
| 7240 | To foreign powers a state is seen as a simple individual [Rousseau] |
| 19795 | The act of association commits citizens to the state, and the state to its citizens [Rousseau] |
| 19796 | Individual citizens still retain a private will, which may be contrary to the general will [Rousseau] |
| 19797 | Citizens must ultimately for forced to accept the general will (so freedom is compulsory!) [Rousseau] |
| 7244 | The general will is common interest; the will of all is the sum of individual desires [Rousseau] |
| 19802 | The general will is always right, but the will of all can err, because it includes private interests [Rousseau] |
| 19803 | If the state contains associations there are fewer opinions, undermining the general will [Rousseau] |
| 19804 | If a large knowledgeable population votes in isolation, their many choices will have good results [Rousseau] |
| 19808 | The general will changes its nature when it focuses on particulars [Rousseau] |
| 7246 | The general will is always good, but sometimes misunderstood [Rousseau] |
| 7250 | Laws are authentic acts of the general will [Rousseau] |
| 19844 | Assemblies must always confirm the form of government, and the current administration [Rousseau] |
| 19846 | The more unanimous the assembly, the stronger the general will becomes [Rousseau] |
| 19817 | Citizens should be independent of each other, and very dependent on the state [Rousseau] |
| 19840 | A citizen is a subject who is also sovereign [Rousseau] |
| 19839 | The flourishing of arts and letters is too much admired [Rousseau] |
| 19798 | Ancient monarchs were kings of peoples; modern monarchs more cleverly rule a land [Rousseau] |
| 19831 | The highest officers under a monarchy are normally useless; the public could choose much better [Rousseau] |
| 19834 | Attempts to train future kings don't usually work, and the best have been unprepared [Rousseau] |
| 19833 | Hereditary monarchy is easier, but can lead to dreadful monarchs [Rousseau] |
| 19829 | Natural aristocracy is primitive, and hereditary is dreadful, but elective aristocracy is best [Rousseau] |
| 7249 | Natural aristocracy is primitive, hereditary is bad, and elective aristocracy is the best [Rousseau] |
| 19830 | Large states need a nobility to fill the gap between a single prince and the people [Rousseau] |
| 19827 | Law makers and law implementers should be separate [Rousseau] |
| 19820 | The state has a legislature and an executive, just like the will and physical power in a person [Rousseau] |
| 19821 | I call the executive power the 'government', which is the 'prince' - a single person, or a group [Rousseau] |
| 19824 | Large populations needs stronger control, which means power should be concentrated [Rousseau] |
| 19826 | Democracy for small states, aristocracy for intermediate, monarchy for large [Rousseau] |
| 19837 | If inhabitants are widely dispersed, organising a revolt is much more difficult [Rousseau] |
| 19843 | The state is not bound to leave civil authority to its leaders [Rousseau] |
| 19825 | If the sovereign entrusts government to at least half the citizens, that is 'democracy' [Rousseau] |
| 19832 | Democratic elections are dangerous intervals in government [Rousseau] |
| 7243 | Silence of the people implies their consent [Rousseau] |
| 7251 | The English are actually slaves in between elections [Rousseau] |
| 7238 | Minorities only accept majority-voting because of a prior unanimous agreement [Rousseau] |
| 19828 | Democracy leads to internal strife, as people struggle to maintain or change ways of ruling [Rousseau] |
| 19835 | When ministers change the state changes, because they always reverse policies [Rousseau] |
| 19849 | In early theocracies the god was the king, and there were as many gods as nations [Rousseau] |
| 19847 | We can never assume that the son of a slave is a slave [Rousseau] |
| 19841 | Sometimes full liberty is only possible at the expense of some complete enslavement [Rousseau] |
| 7242 | Appetite alone is slavery, and self-prescribed laws are freedom [Rousseau] |
| 19800 | The social compact imposes conventional equality of rights on people who may start unequally [Rousseau] |
| 7248 | No citizen should be rich enough to buy another, and none so poor as forced to sell himself [Rousseau] |
| 19794 | If we all give up all of our rights together to the community, we will always support one another [Rousseau] |
| 7241 | In society man loses natural liberty, but gains a right to civil liberty and property [Rousseau] |
| 19806 | We alienate to society only what society needs - but society judges that, not us [Rousseau] |
| 19799 | Private property must always be subordinate to ownership by the whole community [Rousseau] |
| 19819 | The state ensures liberty, so civil law separates citizens, and binds them to the state [Rousseau] |
| 7245 | Natural justice, without sanctions, benefits the wicked, who exploit it [Rousseau] |
| 19809 | We accept the death penalty to prevent assassinations, so we must submit to it if necessary [Rousseau] |
| 19810 | A trial proves that a criminal has broken the social treaty, and is no longer a member of the state [Rousseau] |
| 19811 | Only people who are actually dangerous should be executed, even as an example [Rousseau] |
| 7236 | War gives no right to inflict more destruction than is necessary for victory [Rousseau] |
| 23607 | Wars are between States, not people, and the individuals are enemies by accident [Rousseau] |
| 19850 | By separating theological and political systems, Jesus caused divisions in the state [Rousseau] |
| 19851 | Every society has a religion as its base [Rousseau] |
| 19852 | Civil religion needs one supreme god, an afterlife, justice, and the sanctity of the social contract [Rousseau] |
| 19853 | All religions should be tolerated, if they tolerate each other, and support citizenship [Rousseau] |
| 19836 | The amount of taxation doesn't matter, if it quickly circulates back to the citizens [Rousseau] |
| 7252 | A tyrant exploits Christians because they don't value this life, and are made to be slaves [Rousseau] |