115 ideas
1887 | You cannot divide anything into many parts, because after the first division you are no longer dividing the original [Sext.Empiricus] |
224 | When questions are doubtful we should concentrate not on objects but on ideas of the intellect [Plato] |
232 | Opposites are as unlike as possible [Plato] |
8937 | Plato's 'Parmenides' is the greatest artistic achievement of the ancient dialectic [Hegel on Plato] |
1885 | Proof moves from agreed premises to a non-evident inference [Sext.Empiricus] |
5728 | The concept of truth was originated by the senses [Lucretius] |
12196 | A valid hypothetical syllogism is 'that which does not begin with a truth and end with a falsehood' [Sext.Empiricus] |
13986 | Plato found antinomies in ideas, Kant in space and time, and Bradley in relations [Plato, by Ryle] |
14150 | Plato's 'Parmenides' is perhaps the best collection of antinomies ever made [Russell on Plato] |
1902 | Since Socrates either died when he was alive (a contradiction) or died when he was dead (meaningless), he didn't die [Sext.Empiricus] |
16150 | One is, so numbers exist, so endless numbers exist, and each one must partake of being [Plato] |
229 | The one was and is and will be and was becoming and is becoming and will become [Plato] |
21821 | Plato's Parmenides has a three-part theory, of Primal One, a One-Many, and a One-and-Many [Plato, by Plotinus] |
221 | Absolute ideas, such as the Good and the Beautiful, cannot be known by us [Plato] |
223 | If you deny that each thing always stays the same, you destroy the possibility of discussion [Plato] |
227 | You must always mean the same thing when you utter the same name [Plato] |
210 | It would be absurd to think there were abstract Forms for vile things like hair, mud and dirt [Plato] |
220 | The concept of a master includes the concept of a slave [Plato] |
211 | If admirable things have Forms, maybe everything else does as well [Plato] |
219 | If absolute ideas existed in us, they would cease to be absolute [Plato] |
228 | Greatness and smallness must exist, to be opposed to one another, and come into being in things [Plato] |
16151 | Plato moves from Forms to a theory of genera and principles in his later work [Plato, by Frede,M] |
218 | Participation is not by means of similarity, so we are looking for some other method of participation [Plato] |
215 | If things partake of ideas, this implies either that everything thinks, or that everything actually is thought [Plato] |
212 | The whole idea of each Form must be found in each thing which participates in it [Plato] |
213 | Each idea is in all its participants at once, just as daytime is a unity but in many separate places at once [Plato] |
216 | If things are made alike by participating in something, that thing will be the absolute idea [Plato] |
217 | Nothing can be like an absolute idea, because a third idea intervenes to make them alike (leading to a regress) [Plato] |
214 | If absolute greatness and great things are seen as the same, another thing appears which makes them seem great [Plato] |
15851 | Parts must belong to a created thing with a distinct form [Plato] |
15846 | In Parmenides, if composition is identity, a whole is nothing more than its parts [Plato, by Harte,V] |
15849 | Plato says only a one has parts, and a many does not [Plato, by Harte,V] |
15850 | Anything which has parts must be one thing, and parts are of a one, not of a many [Plato] |
13259 | It seems that the One must be composed of parts, which contradicts its being one [Plato] |
15847 | Two things relate either as same or different, or part of a whole, or the whole of the part [Plato] |
1889 | If an argument has an absurd conclusion, we should not assent to the absurdity, but avoid the absurd argument [Sext.Empiricus] |
1871 | Whether honey is essentially sweet may be doubted, as it is a matter of judgement rather than appearance [Sext.Empiricus] |
1883 | How can the intellect know if sensation is reliable if it doesn't directly see external objects? [Sext.Empiricus] |
1890 | We distinguish ambiguities by seeing what is useful [Sext.Empiricus] |
5729 | If the senses are deceptive, reason, which rests on them, is even worse [Lucretius] |
5702 | The senses are much the best way to distinguish true from false [Lucretius] |
5697 | The only possible standard for settling doubts is the foundation of the senses [Lucretius] |
1870 | The basis of scepticism is the claim that every proposition has an equal opposing proposition [Sext.Empiricus] |
1882 | The necks of doves appear different in colour depending on the angle of viewing [Sext.Empiricus] |
1881 | The same oar seems bent in water and straight when out of it [Sext.Empiricus] |
5727 | Most supposed delusions of the senses are really misinterpretations by the mind [Lucretius] |
1872 | The same tower appears round from a distance, but square close at hand [Sext.Empiricus] |
1873 | If we press the side of an eyeball, objects appear a different shape [Sext.Empiricus] |
1874 | How can we judge between our impressions and those of other animals, when we ourselves are involved? [Sext.Empiricus] |
1878 | Water that seems lukewarm can seem very hot on inflamed skin [Sext.Empiricus] |
1880 | Some actions seem shameful when sober but not when drunk [Sext.Empiricus] |
1877 | If we had no hearing or sight, we would assume no sound or sight exists, so there may be unsensed qualities [Sext.Empiricus] |
1879 | Sickness is perfectly natural to the sick, so their natural perceptions should carry some weight [Sext.Empiricus] |
1876 | If we enjoy different things, presumably we receive different impressions [Sext.Empiricus] |
1911 | Even if all known nations agree on a practice, there may be unknown nations which disagree [Sext.Empiricus] |
1910 | With us it is shameful for men to wear earrings, but among Syrians it is considered noble [Sext.Empiricus] |
5714 | Even simple facts are hard to believe at first hearing [Lucretius] |
1886 | If you don't view every particular, you may miss the one which disproves your universal induction [Sext.Empiricus] |
5718 | The mind is in the middle of the breast, because there we experience fear and joy [Lucretius] |
5717 | The mind is a part of a man, just like a hand or an eye [Lucretius] |
21387 | The separate elements and capacities of a mind cannot be distinguished [Lucretius] |
5709 | The actions of the mind are not determinate and passive, because atoms can swerve [Lucretius] |
5695 | Only bodies can touch one another [Lucretius] |
5711 | The earth is and always has been an insentient being [Lucretius] |
5712 | Particles may have sensation, but eggs turning into chicks suggests otherwise [Lucretius] |
5719 | The mind moves limbs, wakes the body up, changes facial expressions, which involve touch [Lucretius] |
5724 | Lions, foxes and deer have distinct characters because their minds share in their bodies [Lucretius] |
5713 | You needn't be made of laughing particles to laugh, so why not sensation from senseless seeds? [Lucretius] |
1884 | If we utter three steps of a logical argument, they never exist together [Sext.Empiricus] |
6611 | One man's meat is another man's poison [Lucretius] |
5730 | Our bodies weren't created to be used; on the contrary, their creation makes a use possible [Lucretius] |
5726 | The dead are no different from those who were never born [Lucretius] |
5705 | Nature only wants two things: freedom from pain, and pleasure [Lucretius] |
222 | Only a great person can understand the essence of things, and an even greater person can teach it [Plato] |
5716 | Nature runs the universe by herself without the aid of gods [Lucretius] |
5704 | There can be no centre in infinity [Lucretius] |
5703 | The universe must be limitless, since there could be nothing outside to limit it [Lucretius] |
225 | The unlimited has no shape and is endless [Plato] |
233 | Some things do not partake of the One [Plato] |
2062 | The only movement possible for the One is in space or in alteration [Plato] |
231 | Everything partakes of the One in some way [Plato] |
5693 | Everything is created and fed by nature from atoms, and they return to atoms in death [Lucretius] |
5701 | If an object is infinitely subdivisible, it will be the same as the whole universe [Lucretius] |
5708 | In downward motion, atoms occasionally swerve slightly for no reason [Lucretius] |
1894 | Some say that causes are physical, some say not [Sext.Empiricus] |
1897 | Knowing an effect results from a cause means knowing that the cause belongs with the effect, which is circular [Sext.Empiricus] |
1898 | Cause can't exist before effect, or exist at the same time, so it doesn't exist [Sext.Empiricus] |
1896 | If there were no causes then everything would have been randomly produced by everything [Sext.Empiricus] |
1895 | Causes are either equal to the effect, or they link equally with other causes, or they contribute slightly [Sext.Empiricus] |
17004 | Nothing can break the binding laws of eternity [Lucretius] |
1900 | If time and place are infinitely divided, it becomes impossible for movement ever to begin [Sext.Empiricus] |
1901 | If all atoms, times and places are the same, everything should move with equal velocity [Sext.Empiricus] |
5696 | If there were no space there could be no movement, or even creation [Lucretius] |
5706 | Atoms move themselves [Lucretius] |
1899 | Does the original self-mover push itself from behind, or pull itself from in front? [Sext.Empiricus] |
5700 | It is quicker to break things up than to assemble them [Lucretius] |
1903 | If motion and rest are abolished, so is time [Sext.Empiricus] |
1904 | Time must be unlimited, but past and present can't be non-existent, and can't be now, so time does not exist [Sext.Empiricus] |
5698 | We can only sense time by means of movement, or its absence [Lucretius] |
1905 | How can time be divisible if we can't compare one length of time with another? [Sext.Empiricus] |
5715 | This earth is very unlikely to be the only one created [Lucretius] |
5694 | Nothing can be created by divine power out of nothing [Lucretius] |
1891 | How can we agree on the concept of God, unless we agree on his substance or form or place? [Sext.Empiricus] |
234 | We couldn't discuss the non-existence of the One without knowledge of it [Plato] |
1892 | The existence of God can't be self-evident or everyone would have agreed on it, so it needs demonstration [Sext.Empiricus] |
5699 | If matter wasn't everlasting, everything would have disappeared by now [Lucretius] |
5707 | The universe can't have been created by gods, because it is too imperfect [Lucretius] |
5710 | Gods are tranquil and aloof, and have no need of or interest in us [Lucretius] |
5731 | Why does Jupiter never hurl lightning from a blue sky? [Lucretius] |
5720 | Spirit is mortal [Lucretius] |
5722 | For a separated spirit to remain sentient it would need sense organs attached to it [Lucretius] |
5725 | An immortal mind couldn't work harmoniously with a mortal body [Lucretius] |
5721 | The mind is very small smooth particles, which evaporate at death [Lucretius] |
5723 | If spirit is immortal and enters us at birth, why don't we remember a previous existence? [Lucretius] |
1893 | If God foresaw evil he would presumably prevent it, and if he only foresees some things, why those things? [Sext.Empiricus] |