Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Character of Physical Law', 'Semantics for Propositional Attitudes' and 'Philosophy of Chemistry'

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17 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy
15970 People generalise because it is easier to understand, and that is mistaken for deep philosophy [Feynman]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 11. Ontological Commitment / a. Ontological commitment
15785 Our commitments are to an 'ontology', but also to an 'ideology', or conceptual system [Hintikka]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 2. Nature of Possible Worlds / a. Nature of possible worlds
15786 Commitment to possible worlds is part of our ideology, not part of our ontology [Hintikka]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / i. Explanations by mechanism
17472 Thick mechanisms map whole reactions, and thin mechanism chart the steps [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17471 Using mechanisms as explanatory schemes began in chemistry [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / f. Ancient elements
17465 Lavoisier's elements included four types of earth [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / a. Regularity theory
9410 Physical Laws are rhythms and patterns in nature, revealed by analysis [Feynman]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / d. Quantum mechanics
18530 Nobody understands quantum mechanics [Feynman]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 3. Points in Space
17707 We should regard space as made up of many tiny pieces [Feynman, by Mares]
27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 1. Chemistry
17468 Over 100,000,000 compounds have been discovered or synthesised [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17470 Water molecules dissociate, and form large polymers, explaining its properties [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17473 It is unlikely that chemistry will ever be reduced to physics [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17474 Quantum theory won't tell us which structure a set of atoms will form [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17475 For temperature to be mean kinetic energy, a state of equilibrium is also required [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17469 'H2O' just gives the element proportions, not the microstructure [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 2. Modern Elements
17467 Isotopes (such as those of hydrogen) can vary in their rates of chemical reaction [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 3. Periodic Table
17466 Mendeleev systematised the elements, and also gave an account of their nature [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]