Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Categories, Classification, Cogn. Anthropology', 'The Rationality of Science' and 'A Philosophy of Boredom'

expand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts

29 ideas

1. Philosophy / B. History of Ideas / 5. Later European Thought
9307 Modern Western culture suddenly appeared in Jena in the 1790s [Svendsen]
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 7. Limitations of Analysis
9297 You can't understand love in terms of 'if and only if...' [Svendsen]
1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 1. Aims of Science
3859 We do not wish merely to predict, we also want to explain [Newton-Smith]
3853 For science to be rational, we must explain scientific change rationally [Newton-Smith]
3870 The real problem of science is how to choose between possible explanations [Newton-Smith]
1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 2. Positivism
3854 Positivists hold that theoretical terms change, but observation terms don't [Newton-Smith]
3855 Critics attack positivist division between theory and observation [Newton-Smith]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 6. Verisimilitude
3869 More truthful theories have greater predictive power [Newton-Smith]
3861 Theories generate infinite truths and falsehoods, so they cannot be used to assess probability [Newton-Smith]
7. Existence / E. Categories / 2. Categorisation
10494 Several words may label a category; one word can name several categories; some categories lack words [Ellen]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 1. Sources of Necessity
3867 De re necessity arises from the way the world is [Newton-Smith]
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 4. Belief / a. Beliefs
3872 We must assess the truth of beliefs in identifying them [Newton-Smith]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / e. Primary/secondary critique
9308 If subjective and objective begin to merge, then so do primary and secondary qualities [Svendsen]
13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 6. Relativism Critique
3857 Defeat relativism by emphasising truth and reference, not meaning [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 1. Observation
3858 A full understanding of 'yellow' involves some theory [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 5. Anomalies
3862 All theories contain anomalies, and so are falsified! [Newton-Smith]
3863 The anomaly of Uranus didn't destroy Newton's mechanics - it led to Neptune's discovery [Newton-Smith]
3864 Anomalies are judged against rival theories, and support for the current theory [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 1. Scientific Theory
3865 Why should it matter whether or not a theory is scientific? [Newton-Smith]
14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 5. Commensurability
3866 If theories are really incommensurable, we could believe them all [Newton-Smith]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / b. Types of emotion
9309 Emotions have intentional objects, while a mood is objectless [Svendsen]
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 3. Acting on Reason / c. Reasons as causes
3871 Explaining an action is showing that it is rational [Newton-Smith]
22. Metaethics / B. Value / 2. Values / e. Death
9304 Death appears to be more frightening the less one has lived [Svendsen]
23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 4. Boredom
9298 We can be unaware that we are bored [Svendsen]
9301 Boredom is so radical that suicide could not overcome it; only never having existed would do it [Svendsen]
9302 We are bored because everything comes to us fully encoded, and we want personal meaning [Svendsen]
9310 The profoundest boredom is boredom with boredom [Svendsen]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 1. Purpose of a State
9311 We have achieved a sort of utopia, and it is boring, so that is the end of utopias [Svendsen]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 9. Communism
9303 The concept of 'alienation' seems no longer applicable [Svendsen]