90 ideas
5196 | Philosophy is a department of logic [Ayer] |
15447 | We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads! [Lewis on Plato] |
5189 | Philosophers should abandon speculation, as philosophy is wholly critical [Ayer] |
15970 | People generalise because it is easier to understand, and that is mistaken for deep philosophy [Feynman] |
7919 | Humeans rejected the a priori synthetic, and so rejected even Kantian metaphysics [Ayer, by Macdonald,C] |
5195 | Critics say analysis can only show the parts, and not their distinctive configuration [Ayer] |
5179 | Philosophy deals with the questions that scientists do not wish to handle [Ayer] |
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] |
4749 | We cannot analyse the concept of 'truth', because it is simply a mark that a sentence is asserted [Ayer] |
5202 | Maths and logic are true universally because they are analytic or tautological [Ayer] |
6523 | Positivists regard ontology as either meaningless or stipulated [Ayer, by Robinson,H] |
21259 | To grasp a thing we need its name, its definition, and what it really is [Plato] |
5183 | Only tautologies can be certain; other propositions can only be probable [Ayer] |
6525 | Logical positivists could never give the sense-data equivalent of 'there is a table next door' [Robinson,H on Ayer] |
5170 | Material things are constructions from actual and possible occurrences of sense-contents [Ayer] |
5198 | We could verify 'a thing can't be in two places at once' by destroying one of the things [Ierubino on Ayer] |
2619 | Whether geometry can be applied to reality is an empirical question outside of geometry [Ayer] |
5197 | By changing definitions we could make 'a thing can't be in two places at once' a contradiction [Ayer] |
5204 | To say that a proposition is true a priori is to say that it is a tautology [Ayer] |
6524 | Positivists prefer sense-data to objects, because the vocabulary covers both illusions and perceptions [Ayer, by Robinson,H] |
5193 | Causal and representative theories of perception are wrong as they refer to unobservables [Ayer] |
5200 | The main claim of rationalism is that thought is an independent source of knowledge [Ayer] |
4729 | Empiricism lacked a decent account of the a priori, until Ayer said it was entirely analytic [O'Grady on Ayer] |
5180 | All propositions (especially 'metaphysics') must begin with the senses [Ayer] |
5169 | My empiricism logically distinguishes analytic and synthetic propositions, and metaphysical verbiage [Ayer] |
5185 | It is further sense-experience which informs us of the mistakes that arise out of sense-experience [Ayer] |
5199 | Empiricism, it is said, cannot account for our knowledge of necessary truths [Ayer] |
5190 | The induction problem is to prove generalisations about the future based on the past [Ayer] |
5191 | We can't use the uniformity of nature to prove induction, as that would be circular [Ayer] |
21260 | Soul is what is defined by 'self-generating motion' [Plato] |
5177 | Other minds are 'metaphysical' objects, because I can never observe their experiences [Ayer] |
5178 | A conscious object is by definition one that behaves in a certain way, so behaviour proves consciousness [Ayer] |
276 | My individuality is my soul, which carries my body around [Plato] |
5172 | If the self is meaningful, it must be constructed from sense-experiences [Ayer] |
5173 | Two experiences belong to one self if their contents belong with one body [Ayer] |
5176 | Empiricists can define personal identity as bodily identity, which consists of sense-contents [Ayer] |
5171 | The supposed 'gulf' between mind and matter is based on the senseless concept of 'substances' [Ayer] |
5181 | A sentence is factually significant to someone if they know how to verify its proposition [Ayer] |
5184 | Factual propositions imply (in conjunction with a few other premises) possible experiences [Ayer] |
5186 | Tautologies and empirical hypotheses form the entire class of significant propositions [Ayer] |
249 | People who value beauty above virtue insult the soul by placing the body above it [Plato] |
5205 | Moral intuition is worthless if there is no criterion to decide between intuitions [Ayer] |
23725 | Ayer defends the emotivist version of expressivism [Ayer, by Smith,M] |
5206 | To say an act is wrong makes no further statement about it, but merely expresses disapproval [Ayer] |
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] |
259 | Justice is granting the equality which unequals deserve [Plato] |
257 | Mathematics has the widest application of any subject on the curriculum [Plato] |
238 | Children's games should channel their pleasures into adult activity [Plato] |
260 | Control of education is the key office of state, and should go to the best citizen [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] |
9410 | Physical Laws are rhythms and patterns in nature, revealed by analysis [Feynman] |
18530 | Nobody understands quantum mechanics [Feynman] |
17707 | We should regard space as made up of many tiny pieces [Feynman, by Mares] |
273 | Movement is transmitted through everything, and it must have started with self-generated motion [Plato] |
5208 | A person with non-empirical attributes is unintelligible. [Ayer] |
8004 | In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god [Plato, by MacIntyre] |
5187 | When we ascribe an attribute to a thing, we covertly assert that it exists [Ayer] |
21258 | The only possible beginning for the endless motions of reality is something self-generated [Plato] |
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] |
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] |
5207 | If theism is non-sensical, then so is atheism. [Ayer] |
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] |
5209 | The 'truths' expressed by theists are not literally significant [Ayer] |