Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'The Philosophy of Philosophy', 'On Relations of Universals and Particulars' and 'Intro to 'Communitarianism and Individualism''

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20 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / e. Philosophy as reason
Progress in philosophy is incremental, not an immature seeking after drama [Williamson]
3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 3. Correspondence Truth critique
Correspondence to the facts is a bad account of analytic truth [Williamson]
7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 5. Supervenience / c. Significance of supervenience
General facts supervene on particular facts, but cannot be inferred from them [Russell, by Bennett,K]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 4. Anti-realism
The realist/anti-realist debate is notoriously obscure and fruitless [Williamson]
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 10. Vagueness / b. Vagueness of reality
There cannot be vague objects, so there may be no such thing as a mountain [Williamson]
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 13. Tropes / b. Critique of tropes
Trope theorists cannot explain how tropes resemble each other [Russell, by Mumford]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 3. Unity Problems / e. Vague objects
Common sense and classical logic are often simultaneously abandoned in debates on vagueness [Williamson]
10. Modality / D. Knowledge of Modality / 1. A Priori Necessary
Modal thinking isn't a special intuition; it is part of ordinary counterfactual thinking [Williamson]
10. Modality / D. Knowledge of Modality / 4. Conceivable as Possible / a. Conceivable as possible
Williamson can't base metaphysical necessity on the psychology of causal counterfactuals [Lowe on Williamson]
We scorn imagination as a test of possibility, forgetting its role in counterfactuals [Williamson]
12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 2. Self-Evidence
There are 'armchair' truths which are not a priori, because experience was involved [Williamson]
12. Knowledge Sources / E. Direct Knowledge / 2. Intuition
Intuition is neither powerful nor vacuous, but reveals linguistic or conceptual competence [Williamson]
When analytic philosophers run out of arguments, they present intuitions as their evidence [Williamson]
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 6. Meaning as Use
You might know that the word 'gob' meant 'mouth', but not be competent to use it [Williamson]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 5. Culture
If languages are intertranslatable, and cognition is innate, then cultures are all similar [Williamson]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / a. Liberalism basics
Liberalism is minimal government, or individual rights, or equality [Avineri/De-Shalit]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / g. Liberalism critique
Can individualist theories justify an obligation to fight in a war? [Avineri/De-Shalit]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / a. Communitarianism
Autonomy is better achieved within a community [Avineri/De-Shalit]
Communitarians avoid oppression for the common good, by means of small mediating communities [Avineri/De-Shalit]
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / b. Against communitarianism
If our values are given to us by society then we have no grounds to criticise them [Avineri/De-Shalit]