100 ideas
15447 | We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads! [Lewis on Plato] |
13395 | If an analysis shows the features of a concept, it doesn't seem to 'reduce' the concept [Jubien] |
243 | It is foolish to quarrel with the mind's own reasoning processes [Plato] |
241 | We ought to follow where the argument leads us [Plato] |
21264 | Mortals are incapable of being fully rational [Plato] |
251 | Truth has the supreme value, for both gods and men [Plato] |
13378 | It is a mistake to think that the logic developed for mathematics can clarify language and philosophy [Jubien] |
13402 | We only grasp a name if we know whether to apply it when the bearer changes [Jubien] |
13405 | The baptiser picks the bearer of a name, but social use decides the category [Jubien] |
13399 | Examples show that ordinary proper names are not rigid designators [Jubien] |
13398 | We could make a contingent description into a rigid and necessary one by adding 'actual' to it [Jubien] |
13392 | Philosophers reduce complex English kind-quantifiers to the simplistic first-order quantifier [Jubien] |
13404 | To exist necessarily is to have an essence whose own essence must be instantiated [Jubien] |
13386 | If objects are just conventional, there is no ontological distinction between stuff and things [Jubien] |
13403 | The category of Venus is not 'object', or even 'planet', but a particular class of good-sized object [Jubien] |
13375 | The idea that every entity must have identity conditions is an unfortunate misunderstanding [Jubien] |
13393 | Any entity has the unique property of being that specific entity [Jubien] |
13388 | It is incoherent to think that a given entity depends on its kind for its existence [Jubien] |
13384 | Objects need conventions for their matter, their temporal possibility, and their spatial possibility [Jubien] |
13385 | Basically, the world doesn't have ready-made 'objects'; we carve objects any way we like [Jubien] |
13383 | If the statue is loved and the clay hated, that is about the object first qua statue, then qua clay [Jubien] |
13400 | If one entity is an object, a statue, and some clay, these come apart in at least three ways [Jubien] |
13401 | The idea of coincident objects is a last resort, as it is opposed to commonsense naturalism [Jubien] |
13380 | Parts seem to matter when it is just an object, but not matter when it is a kind of object [Jubien] |
21259 | To grasp a thing we need its name, its definition, and what it really is [Plato] |
13376 | We should not regard essentialism as just nontrivial de re necessity [Jubien] |
13381 | Thinking of them as 'ships' the repaired ship is the original, but as 'objects' the reassembly is the original [Jubien] |
13382 | Rearranging the planks as a ship is confusing; we'd say it was the same 'object' with a different arrangement [Jubien] |
13379 | If two objects are indiscernible across spacetime, how could we decide whether or not they are the same? [Jubien] |
13394 | Entailment does not result from mutual necessity; mutual necessity ensures entailment [Jubien] |
13391 | Modality concerns relations among platonic properties [Jubien] |
13374 | To analyse modality, we must give accounts of objects, properties and relations [Jubien] |
13389 | The love of possible worlds is part of the dream that technical logic solves philosophical problems [Jubien] |
13390 | Possible worlds don't explain necessity, because they are a bunch of parallel contingencies [Jubien] |
21260 | Soul is what is defined by 'self-generating motion' [Plato] |
276 | My individuality is my soul, which carries my body around [Plato] |
13396 | Analysing mental concepts points to 'inclusionism' - that mental phenomena are part of the physical [Jubien] |
13377 | First-order logic tilts in favour of the direct reference theory, in its use of constants for objects [Jubien] |
23590 | Criminal responsibility can be fully assigned to each member of a group [Walzer] |
23578 | Double Effect needs a double intention - to achieve the good, and minimise the evil [Walzer] |
249 | People who value beauty above virtue insult the soul by placing the body above it [Plato] |
23564 | Deep ethical theory is very controversial, but we have to live with higher ethical practice [Walzer] |
265 | An action is only just if it is performed by someone with a just character and outlook [Plato] |
269 | Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin [Plato] |
240 | It would be strange if the gods rewarded those who experienced the most pleasure in life [Plato] |
264 | The conquest of pleasure is the noblest victory of all [Plato] |
4332 | Virtue is a concord of reason and emotion, with pleasure and pain trained to correct ends [Plato] |
248 | A serious desire for moral excellence is very rare indeed [Plato] |
253 | Every crime is the result of excessive self-love [Plato] |
263 | The only worthwhile life is one devoted to physical and moral perfection [Plato] |
235 | Virtue is the aim of all laws [Plato] |
277 | The Guardians must aim to discover the common element in the four cardinal virtues [Plato] |
254 | Excessive laughter and tears must be avoided [Plato] |
266 | Injustice is the mastery of the soul by bad feelings, even if they do not lead to harm [Plato] |
242 | The best people are produced where there is no excess of wealth or poverty [Plato] |
256 | Virtue and great wealth are incompatible [Plato] |
245 | Totalitarian states destroy friendships and community spirit [Plato] |
239 | Education in virtue produces citizens who are active but obedient [Plato] |
1402 | Friendship is impossible between master and slave, even if they are made equal [Plato] |
262 | Men and women should qualify equally for honours on merit [Plato] |
236 | Sound laws achieve the happiness of those who observe them [Plato] |
23568 | If whole states possess rights, there can be social relations between states [Walzer] |
259 | Justice is granting the equality which unequals deserve [Plato] |
23567 | Even non-violent intrusive acts between states count as aggression, if they justify resistance [Walzer] |
23570 | The only good reason for fighting is in defence of rights [Walzer] |
23571 | States can rightly pre-empt real and serious threats [Walzer] |
23572 | Just wars are self-defence, or a rightful intercession in another's troubles [Walzer] |
23581 | The aim of reprisals is to enforce the rules of war [Walzer] |
23582 | Reprisal is defensible, as an alternative to war [Walzer] |
23588 | With nuclear weapons we have a permanent supreme emergency (which is unstable) [Walzer] |
23580 | States need not endure attacks passively, and successful reprisals are legitimate [Walzer] |
23587 | Nuclear bombs are not for normal war; they undermine the 'just war', with a new morality [Walzer] |
23573 | For moral reasons, a just war must be a limited war [Walzer] |
23577 | Napoleon said 'I don't care about the deaths of a million men' [Walzer] |
23593 | Jus ad bellum and Jus in bello are independent; unjust wars can be fought in a just way [Walzer] |
23614 | Even aggressor soldiers are not criminals, so they have equal rights with their opponents [Walzer] |
23574 | The duties and moral status of loyal and obedient soldiers is the same in defence and aggression [Walzer] |
23575 | We can't blame soldiers for anything they do which clearly promotes victory [Walzer] |
23584 | Rejecting Combatant Equality allows just soldiers to be harsher, even to the extreme [Walzer] |
23589 | Kidnapped sailors and volunteers have different obligations to the passengers [Walzer] |
23586 | What matters in war is unacceptable targets, not unacceptable weapons [Walzer] |
23591 | If the oppressor is cruel, nonviolence is either surrender, or a mere gesture [Walzer] |
23579 | Soldiers will only protect civilians if they feel safe from them [Walzer] |
23592 | We can only lead war towards peace if we firmly enforce the rules of war [Walzer] |
257 | Mathematics has the widest application of any subject on the curriculum [Plato] |
260 | Control of education is the key office of state, and should go to the best citizen [Plato] |
238 | Children's games should channel their pleasures into adult activity [Plato] |
4331 | Education is channelling a child's feelings into the right course before it understands why [Plato] |
250 | The best way to educate the young is not to rebuke them, but to set a good example [Plato] |
275 | Creation is not for you; you exist for the sake of creation [Plato] |
273 | Movement is transmitted through everything, and it must have started with self-generated motion [Plato] |
8004 | In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god [Plato, by MacIntyre] |
21261 | Self-moving soul has to be the oldest thing there is [Plato] |
21257 | Self-generating motion is clearly superior to all other kinds of motion [Plato] |
21258 | The only possible beginning for the endless motions of reality is something self-generated [Plato] |
274 | Soul must be the cause of all the opposites, such as good and evil or beauty and ugliness [Plato] |
21263 | If all the motions of nature reflect calculations of reason, then the best kind of soul must direct it [Plato] |
278 | If astronomical movements are seen as necessary instead of by divine will, this leads to atheism [Plato] |
21265 | The heavens must be full of gods, controlling nature either externally or from within [Plato] |
21262 | There must be at least two souls controlling the cosmos, one doing good, the other the opposite [Plato] |