Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'works', 'Rules for the Direction of the Mind' and 'Things and Their Parts'

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28 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy
24032 Clever scholars can obscure things which are obvious even to peasants [Descartes]
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 5. Linguistic Analysis
24033 Most scholastic disputes concern words, where agreeing on meanings would settle them [Descartes]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 4. Aims of Reason
24024 The secret of the method is to recognise which thing in a series is the simplest [Descartes]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 5. Objectivity
24018 One truth leads us to another [Descartes]
4. Formal Logic / G. Formal Mereology / 1. Mereology
13331 Part and whole contribute asymmetrically to one another, so must differ [Fine,K]
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / a. Units
24035 Unity is something shared by many things, so in that respect they are equals [Descartes]
24036 I can only see the proportion of two to three if there is a common measure - their unity [Descartes]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / d. Non-being
24029 Among the simples are the graspable negations, such as rest and instants [Descartes]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 1. Unifying an Object / c. Unity as conceptual
13332 Hierarchical set membership models objects better than the subset or aggregate relations do [Fine,K]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 3. Matter of an Object
13333 The matter is a relatively unstructured version of the object, like a set without membership structure [Fine,K]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / a. Parts of objects
13326 A 'temporary' part is a part at one time, but may not be at another, like a carburetor [Fine,K]
13327 A 'timeless' part just is a part, not a part at some time; some atoms are timeless parts of a water molecule [Fine,K]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / b. Sums of parts
13329 An 'aggregative' sum is spread in time, and exists whenever a component exists [Fine,K]
13330 An 'compound' sum is not spread in time, and only exists when all the components exists [Fine,K]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / c. Wholes from parts
13328 Two sorts of whole have 'rigid embodiment' (timeless parts) or 'variable embodiment' (temporary parts) [Fine,K]
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 4. Necessity from Concepts
24030 3+4=7 is necessary because we cannot conceive of seven without including three and four [Descartes]
11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 1. Certainty
24019 If we accept mere probabilities as true we undermine our existing knowledge [Descartes]
11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 4. The Cogito
24020 We all see intuitively that we exist, where intuition is attentive, clear and distinct rational understanding [Descartes]
24031 When Socrates doubts, he know he doubts, and that truth is possible [Descartes]
12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 2. Self-Evidence
24025 Clear and distinct truths must be known all at once (unlike deductions) [Descartes]
12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 3. Innate Knowledge / a. Innate knowledge
24022 Our souls possess divine seeds of knowledge, which can bear spontaneous fruit [Descartes]
12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 5. Empiricism Critique
24034 If someone had only seen the basic colours, they could deduce the others from resemblance [Descartes]
13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 4. Foundationalism / a. Foundationalism
24021 The method starts with clear intuitions, followed by a process of deduction [Descartes]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 8. Brain
24027 Nerves and movement originate in the brain, where imagination moves them [Descartes]
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 1. Faculties
24026 Our four knowledge faculties are intelligence, imagination, the senses, and memory [Descartes]
17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 1. Dualism
24028 The force by which we know things is spiritual, and quite distinct from the body [Descartes]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
22086 The most important aspect of a human being is not reason, but passion [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 4. Mathematical Nature
24023 All the sciences searching for order and measure are related to mathematics [Descartes]