Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Why there isn't a ready-made world' and 'A Thousand Small Sanities'

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25 ideas

7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 2. Realism
17644 Metaphysical realism is committed to there being one ultimate true theory [Putnam]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 4. Anti-realism
17648 It is an illusion to think there could be one good scientific theory of reality [Putnam]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 3. Unity Problems / c. Statue and clay
17643 Shape is essential relative to 'statue', but not essential relative to 'clay' [Putnam]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 4. Sense Data / b. Nature of sense-data
17642 The old view that sense data are independent of mind is quite dotty [Putnam]
24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 4. Changing the State / c. Revolution
23125 Most good social changes are incremental, rather than revolutionary [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 3. Conservatism
23126 Conservatives often want peace, prosperity and tolerance, but not social fairness [Gopnik]
23132 Conservatives believe obedience and rank are essential to social order [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / a. Liberalism basics
23128 The opposite of liberalism is dogmatism [Gopnik]
23142 People are fallible, so liberalism tries to distribute power [Gopnik]
23143 Liberals have tried very hard to build a conscience into their institutions [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / c. Liberal equality
23141 Left-wingers are inconsistent in their essentialist descriptions of social groups [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / e. Liberal community
23124 Liberal community is not blood ties or tradition, but shared choices, and sympathy for the losers [Gopnik]
23127 Liberal community includes flight from the family, into energetic reforming groups [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / g. Liberalism critique
23138 Modern left-wingers criticise liberalism's control of culture [Gopnik]
23129 Right-wingers attack liberal faith in reason, left-wingers attack its faith in reform [Gopnik]
23133 Cosmopolitan liberals lack national loyalty, and welcome excessive immigration [Gopnik]
23139 Liberalism's attempt to be neutral and colour-blind erases cultural identities [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 9. Communism
23135 Classic Marxists see liberalism as the ideology of the bourgeoisie [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 11. Capitalism
23140 Environmental disasters result not from capitalism, but from a general drive for growth [Gopnik]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 14. Nationalism
23130 Popular imperialism gives the poor the belief that their acts have world historical meaning [Gopnik]
23131 Patriots love their place, but nationalists have a paranoid ethnic hostility [Gopnik]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 3. Free speech
23136 Liberal free speech is actually paid speech [Gopnik]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 4. Free market
23134 A 'free' society implies a free market, which always produces predatory capitalism and inequalities [Gopnik]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / d. Selecting the cause
17645 An alien might think oxygen was the main cause of a forest fire [Putnam]
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 1. God
6011 There is a remote first god (the Good), and a second god who organises the material world [Numenius, by O'Meara]