51 ideas
3240 | There is more insight in fundamental perplexity about problems than in their supposed solutions [Nagel] |
3242 | Philosophy is the childhood of the intellect, and a culture can't skip it [Nagel] |
3241 | It seems mad, but the aim of philosophy is to climb outside of our own minds [Nagel] |
3248 | Realism invites scepticism because it claims to be objective [Nagel] |
20989 | Views are objective if they don't rely on a person's character, social position or species [Nagel] |
22354 | Things cause perceptions, properties have other effects, hence we reach a 'view from nowhere' [Nagel, by Reiss/Sprenger] |
501 | Reason is a more powerful persuader than gold [Democritus (attr)] |
3249 | Modern science depends on the distinction between primary and secondary qualities [Nagel] |
22429 | We achieve objectivity by dropping secondary qualities, to focus on structural primary qualities [Nagel] |
3247 | Epistemology is centrally about what we should believe, not the definition of knowledge [Nagel] |
3252 | Scepticism is based on ideas which scepticism makes impossible [Nagel] |
3251 | Observed regularities are only predictable if we assume hidden necessity [Nagel] |
3244 | Personal identity cannot be fully known a priori [Nagel] |
3245 | The question of whether a future experience will be mine presupposes personal identity [Nagel] |
3246 | I can't even conceive of my brain being split in two [Nagel] |
20949 | Study the use of words, not their origins [Herder] |
514 | Beauty is merely animal without intelligence [Democritus (attr)] |
525 | Behave well when alone, and feel shame in you own eyes [Democritus (attr)] |
3257 | Total objectivity can't see value, but it sees many people with values [Nagel] |
7669 | We cannot attain all the ideals of every culture, so there cannot be a perfect life [Herder, by Berlin] |
502 | Good breeding in men means having a good character [Democritus (attr)] |
3265 | We don't worry about the time before we were born the way we worry about death [Nagel] |
3263 | If our own life lacks meaning, devotion to others won't give it meaning [Nagel] |
507 | Virtuous love consists of decorous desire for the beautiful [Democritus (attr)] |
3256 | Pain doesn't have a further property of badness; it gives a reason for its avoidance [Nagel] |
521 | We should only choose pleasures which are concerned with the beautiful [Democritus (attr)] |
505 | Good and true are the same for everyone, but pleasures differ [Democritus (attr)] |
508 | Only accept beneficial pleasures [Democritus (attr)] |
520 | The great pleasures come from the contemplation of noble works [Democritus (attr)] |
522 | Moderation brings more pleasures, and so increases pleasure [Democritus (attr)] |
506 | Immoderate desire is the mark of a child, not an adult [Democritus (attr)] |
523 | It is as brave to master pleasure as to overcome the enemy [Democritus (attr)] |
503 | Virtue doesn't just avoid evil, but also doesn't desire it [Democritus (attr)] |
518 | A bad life is just a drawn-out death [Democritus (attr)] |
497 | Be virtuous from duty, not from fear [Democritus (attr)] |
499 | Repentance of shameful deeds is salvation [Democritus (attr)] |
524 | Virtue comes more from practice than from nature [Democritus (attr)] |
519 | One must avoid even speaking of evil deeds [Democritus (attr)] |
500 | The wrongdoer is more unfortunate than the person wronged [Democritus (attr)] |
526 | Small appetite makes poverty equal to wealth [Democritus (attr)] |
1539 | The endless desire for money is a crueller slavery than poverty [Democritus (attr)] |
511 | It is better to have one intelligent friend than many unintelligent [Democritus (attr)] |
3261 | Something may be 'rational' either because it is required or because it is acceptable [Nagel] |
498 | It is a great thing, when one is in adversity, to think of duty [Democritus (attr)] |
3258 | If cockroaches can't think about their actions, they have no duties [Nagel] |
3254 | If we can decide how to live after stepping outside of ourselves, we have the basis of a moral theory [Nagel] |
3264 | We should see others' viewpoints, but not lose touch with our own values [Nagel] |
3255 | We find new motives by discovering reasons for action different from our preexisting motives [Nagel] |
3262 | Utilitarianism is too demanding [Nagel] |
1541 | It is better to be poor in a democracy than be rich without freedom [Democritus (attr)] |
7668 | Herder invented the idea of being rooted in (or cut off from) a home or a group [Herder, by Berlin] |