48 ideas
| 6253 | Reason is our power of finding out true propositions [Hutcheson] |
| 9641 | Definitions should be replaceable by primitives, and should not be creative [Brown,JR] |
| 9634 | Set theory says that natural numbers are an actual infinity (to accommodate their powerset) [Brown,JR] |
| 9615 | Nowadays conditions are only defined on existing sets [Brown,JR] |
| 9613 | Naïve set theory assumed that there is a set for every condition [Brown,JR] |
| 9617 | The 'iterative' view says sets start with the empty set and build up [Brown,JR] |
| 9642 | A flock of birds is not a set, because a set cannot go anywhere [Brown,JR] |
| 9605 | If a proposition is false, then its negation is true [Brown,JR] |
| 9649 | Axioms are either self-evident, or stipulations, or fallible attempts [Brown,JR] |
| 9638 | Berry's Paradox finds a contradiction in the naming of huge numbers [Brown,JR] |
| 9604 | Mathematics is the only place where we are sure we are right [Brown,JR] |
| 9622 | 'There are two apples' can be expressed logically, with no mention of numbers [Brown,JR] |
| 9648 | π is a 'transcendental' number, because it is not the solution of an equation [Brown,JR] |
| 9621 | Mathematics represents the world through structurally similar models. [Brown,JR] |
| 9646 | There is no limit to how many ways something can be proved in mathematics [Brown,JR] |
| 9647 | Computers played an essential role in proving the four-colour theorem of maps [Brown,JR] |
| 9643 | Set theory may represent all of mathematics, without actually being mathematics [Brown,JR] |
| 9644 | When graphs are defined set-theoretically, that won't cover unlabelled graphs [Brown,JR] |
| 9625 | To see a structure in something, we must already have the idea of the structure [Brown,JR] |
| 9628 | Sets seem basic to mathematics, but they don't suit structuralism [Brown,JR] |
| 9606 | The irrationality of root-2 was achieved by intellect, not experience [Brown,JR] |
| 9610 | Numbers are not abstracted from particulars, because each number is a particular [Brown,JR] |
| 9612 | There is an infinity of mathematical objects, so they can't be physical [Brown,JR] |
| 9620 | Empiricists base numbers on objects, Platonists base them on properties [Brown,JR] |
| 9630 | The most brilliant formalist was Hilbert [Brown,JR] |
| 9629 | For nomalists there are no numbers, only numerals [Brown,JR] |
| 9639 | Does some mathematics depend entirely on notation? [Brown,JR] |
| 9608 | There are no constructions for many highly desirable results in mathematics [Brown,JR] |
| 9645 | Constructivists say p has no value, if the value depends on Goldbach's Conjecture [Brown,JR] |
| 9619 | David's 'Napoleon' is about something concrete and something abstract [Brown,JR] |
| 9611 | 'Abstract' nowadays means outside space and time, not concrete, not physical [Brown,JR] |
| 9609 | The older sense of 'abstract' is where 'redness' or 'group' is abstracted from particulars [Brown,JR] |
| 9640 | A term can have not only a sense and a reference, but also a 'computational role' [Brown,JR] |
| 6256 | Can't the moral sense make mistakes, as the other senses do? [Hutcheson] |
| 5901 | Is 'productive of happiness' the definition of 'right', or the cause of it? [Ross on Bentham] |
| 6252 | Happiness is a pleasant sensation, or continued state of such sensations [Hutcheson] |
| 5934 | Of Bentham's 'dimensions' of pleasure, only intensity and duration matter [Ross on Bentham] |
| 3777 | Pleasure and pain control all human desires and duties [Bentham] |
| 6257 | You can't form moral rules without an end, which needs feelings and a moral sense [Hutcheson] |
| 3554 | Bentham thinks happiness is feeling good, but why use morality to achieve that? [Annas on Bentham] |
| 3781 | The value of pleasures and pains is their force [Bentham] |
| 3778 | The community's interest is a sum of individual interests [Bentham] |
| 20280 | Large mature animals are more rational than babies. But all that really matters is - can they suffer? [Bentham] |
| 3779 | Unnatural, when it means anything, means infrequent [Bentham] |
| 9635 | Given atomism at one end, and a finite universe at the other, there are no physical infinities [Brown,JR] |
| 6254 | We are asked to follow God's ends because he is our benefactor, but why must we do that? [Hutcheson] |
| 6255 | Why may God not have a superior moral sense very similar to ours? [Hutcheson] |
| 3780 | We must judge a thing morally to know if it conforms to God's will [Bentham] |