42 ideas
4739 | In "if and only if" (iff), "if" expresses the sufficient condition, and "only if" the necessary condition [Engel] |
20388 | 'Necessary' conditions are requirements, and 'sufficient' conditions are guarantees [Davies,S] |
20389 | A definition of a thing gives all the requirements which add up to a guarantee of it [Davies,S] |
20391 | Feminists warn that ideologies use timeless objective definitions as a tool of repression [Davies,S] |
4737 | Are truth-bearers propositions, or ideas/beliefs, or sentences/utterances? [Engel] |
4750 | The redundancy theory gets rid of facts, for 'it is a fact that p' just means 'p' [Engel] |
4744 | We can't explain the corresponding structure of the world except by referring to our thoughts [Engel] |
4738 | The coherence theory says truth is an internal relationship between groups of truth-bearers [Engel] |
4745 | Any coherent set of beliefs can be made more coherent by adding some false beliefs [Engel] |
4753 | Deflationism seems to block philosophers' main occupation, asking metatheoretical questions [Engel] |
4755 | Deflationism cannot explain why we hold beliefs for reasons [Engel] |
4751 | Maybe there is no more to be said about 'true' than there is about the function of 'and' in logic [Engel] |
4752 | Deflationism must reduce bivalence ('p is true or false') to excluded middle ('p or not-p') [Engel] |
4762 | The Humean theory of motivation is that beliefs may be motivators as well as desires [Engel] |
4754 | Our beliefs are meant to fit the world (i.e. be true), where we want the world to fit our desires [Engel] |
4763 | 'Evidentialists' say, and 'voluntarists' deny, that we only believe on the basis of evidence [Engel] |
4746 | Pragmatism is better understood as a theory of belief than as a theory of truth [Engel] |
4764 | We cannot directly control our beliefs, but we can control the causes of our involuntary beliefs [Engel] |
7458 | The reliability of witnesses depends on whether they benefit from their observations [Laplace, by Hacking] |
3441 | If a supreme intellect knew all atoms and movements, it could know all of the past and the future [Laplace] |
4759 | Mental states as functions are second-order properties, realised by first-order physical properties [Engel] |
20387 | Aesthetic experience involves perception, but also imagination and understanding [Davies,S] |
20385 | The faculty of 'taste' was posited to explain why only some people had aesthetic appreciation [Davies,S] |
20386 | The sublime is negative in awareness of insignificance, and positive in showing understanding [Davies,S] |
20384 | The idea that art forms are linked into a single concept began in the 1740s [Davies,S] |
20390 | Defining art as representation or expression or form were all undermined by the avant-garde [Davies,S] |
20392 | 'Aesthetic functionalism' says art is what is intended to create aesthetic experiences [Davies,S] |
20405 | Music may be expressive by being 'associated' with other emotional words or events [Davies,S] |
20403 | It seems unlikely that sad music expresses a composer's sadness; it takes ages to write [Davies,S] |
20393 | The 'institutional' theory says art is just something appropriately placed in the 'artworld' [Davies,S] |
20402 | Music is too definite to be put into words (not too indefinite!) [Davies,S] |
20395 | The title of a painting can be vital, and the artist decrees who the portrait represents [Davies,S] |
20396 | We must know what the work is meant to be, to evaluate the artist's achievement [Davies,S] |
20399 | Intentionalism says either meaning just is intention, or ('moderate') meaning is successful intention [Davies,S] |
20401 | The meaning is given by the audience's best guess at the author's intentions [Davies,S] |
20397 | If we could perfectly clone the Mona Lisa, the original would still be special [Davies,S] |
20398 | Art that is multiply instanced may require at least one instance [Davies,S] |
20404 | Music isn't just sad because it makes the listener feel sad [Davies,S] |
22705 | If the depiction of evil is glorified, that is an artistic flaw [Davies,S] |
22707 | It is an artistic defect if excessive moral outrage distorts the story, and narrows our sympathies [Davies,S] |
22706 | A work which seeks approval for immorality, but alienates the audience, is a failure [Davies,S] |
22704 | Immorality may or may not be an artistic defect [Davies,S] |