78 ideas
2930 | The main aim of philosophy must be to determine the order of rank among values [Nietzsche] |
20143 | Scientific knowledge is nothing without a prior philosophical 'faith' [Nietzsche] |
23722 | Objectivity is not disinterestedness (impossible), but the ability to switch perspectives [Nietzsche] |
4417 | Only that which has no history is definable [Nietzsche] |
15647 | Truth definitions don't produce a good theory, because they go beyond your current language [Halbach] |
23715 | Psychologists should be brave and proud, and prefer truth to desires, even when it is ugly [Nietzsche] |
21616 | Truth and falsity apply to suppositions as well as to assertions [Williamson] |
21623 | True and false are not symmetrical; false is more complex, involving negation [Williamson] |
15649 | In semantic theories of truth, the predicate is in an object-language, and the definition in a metalanguage [Halbach] |
15648 | Instead of a truth definition, add a primitive truth predicate, and axioms for how it works [Halbach] |
15655 | Should axiomatic truth be 'conservative' - not proving anything apart from implications of the axioms? [Halbach] |
15654 | If truth is defined it can be eliminated, whereas axiomatic truth has various commitments [Halbach] |
15650 | Axiomatic theories of truth need a weak logical framework, and not a strong metatheory [Halbach] |
15656 | Deflationists say truth merely serves to express infinite conjunctions [Halbach] |
21602 | Many-valued logics don't solve vagueness; its presence at the meta-level is ignored [Williamson] |
15657 | To prove the consistency of set theory, we must go beyond set theory [Halbach] |
21611 | Formal semantics defines validity as truth preserved in every model [Williamson] |
15652 | We can use truth instead of ontologically loaded second-order comprehension assumptions about properties [Halbach] |
21606 | 'Bivalence' is the meta-linguistic principle that 'A' in the object language is true or false [Williamson] |
21605 | Excluded Middle is 'A or not A' in the object language [Williamson] |
15651 | Instead of saying x has a property, we can say a formula is true of x - as long as we have 'true' [Halbach] |
21612 | Or-elimination is 'Argument by Cases'; it shows how to derive C from 'A or B' [Williamson] |
21599 | A sorites stops when it collides with an opposite sorites [Williamson] |
21601 | A vague term can refer to very precise elements [Williamson] |
21596 | Vagueness undermines the stable references needed by logic [Williamson] |
21589 | When bivalence is rejected because of vagueness, we lose classical logic [Williamson] |
21629 | Equally fuzzy objects can be identical, so fuzziness doesn't entail vagueness [Williamson] |
21591 | Vagueness is epistemic. Statements are true or false, but we often don't know which [Williamson] |
21619 | If a heap has a real boundary, omniscient speakers would agree where it is [Williamson] |
21620 | The epistemic view says that the essence of vagueness is ignorance [Williamson] |
21622 | If there is a true borderline of which we are ignorant, this drives a wedge between meaning and use [Williamson] |
9120 | Vagueness in a concept is its indiscriminability from other possible concepts [Williamson] |
21625 | The vagueness of 'heap' can remain even when the context is fixed [Williamson] |
21614 | The 'nihilist' view of vagueness says that 'heap' is not a legitimate concept [Williamson] |
21617 | We can say propositions are bivalent, but vague utterances don't express a proposition [Williamson] |
21618 | If the vague 'TW is thin' says nothing, what does 'TW is thin if his perfect twin is thin' say? [Williamson] |
21590 | Asking when someone is 'clearly' old is higher-order vagueness [Williamson] |
21592 | Supervaluation keeps classical logic, but changes the truth in classical semantics [Williamson] |
21603 | You can't give a precise description of a language which is intrinsically vague [Williamson] |
21604 | Supervaluation assigns truth when all the facts are respected [Williamson] |
21607 | Supervaluation has excluded middle but not bivalence; 'A or not-A' is true, even when A is undecided [Williamson] |
21608 | Truth-functionality for compound statements fails in supervaluation [Williamson] |
21609 | Supervaluationism defines 'supertruth', but neglects it when defining 'valid' [Williamson] |
21610 | Supervaluation adds a 'definitely' operator to classical logic [Williamson] |
21613 | Supervaluationism cannot eliminate higher-order vagueness [Williamson] |
21633 | Nominalists suspect that properties etc are our projections, and could have been different [Williamson] |
21630 | If fuzzy edges are fine, then why not fuzzy temporal, modal or mereological boundaries? [Williamson] |
21632 | A river is not just event; it needs actual and counterfactual boundaries [Williamson] |
21621 | We can't infer metaphysical necessities to be a priori knowable - or indeed knowable in any way [Williamson] |
21627 | We have inexact knowledge when we include margins of error [Williamson] |
4421 | Philosophers have never asked why there is a will to truth in the first place [Nietzsche] |
23719 | Forgetfulness is a strong positive ability, not mental laziness [Nietzsche] |
21626 | Knowing you know (KK) is usually denied if the knowledge concept is missing, or not considered [Williamson] |
4420 | There is only 'perspective' seeing and knowing, and so the best objectivity is multiple points of view [Nietzsche] |
4414 | Philosophers invented "free will" so that our virtues would be permanently interesting to the gods [Nietzsche] |
4419 | People who think in words are orators rather than thinkers, and think about facts instead of thinking facts [Nietzsche] |
21631 | To know, believe, hope or fear, one must grasp the thought, but not when you fail to do them [Williamson] |
21600 | 'Blue' is not a family resemblance, because all the blues resemble in some respect [Williamson] |
21615 | References to the 'greatest prime number' have no reference, but are meaningful [Williamson] |
18038 | The 't' and 'f' of formal semantics has no philosophical interest, and may not refer to true and false [Williamson] |
21624 | It is known that there is a cognitive loss in identifying propositions with possible worlds [Williamson] |
4411 | It is a delusion to separate the man from the deed, like the flash from the lightning [Nietzsche] |
3793 | We must question the very value of moral values [Nietzsche] |
4408 | The concept of 'good' was created by aristocrats to describe their own actions [Nietzsche] |
23716 | A strong rounded person soon forgets enemies, misfortunes, and even misdeeds [Nietzsche] |
20129 | All animals strive for the ideal conditions to express their power, and hate any hindrances [Nietzsche] |
3259 | Nietzsche rejects impersonal morality, and asserts the idea of living well [Nietzsche, by Nagel] |
4409 | Only the decline of aristocratic morality led to concerns about "egoism" [Nietzsche] |
4416 | Basic justice is the negotiation of agreement among equals, and the imposition of agreement [Nietzsche] |
4418 | A masterful and violent person need have nothing to do with contracts [Nietzsche] |
4407 | Plato, Spinoza and Kant are very different, but united in their low estimation of pity [Nietzsche] |
4415 | Guilt and obligation originated in the relationship of buying and selling, credit and debt [Nietzsche] |
23718 | If we say birds of prey could become lambs, that makes them responsible for being birds of prey [Nietzsche] |
23717 | Modern nihilism is now feeling tired of mankind [Nietzsche] |
23721 | Old tribes always felt an obligation to the earlier generations, and the founders [Nietzsche] |
20142 | The state begins with brutal conquest of a disorganised people, not with a 'contract' [Nietzsche] |
23720 | Punishment makes people harder, more alienated, and hostile [Nietzsche] |
4410 | The truly great haters in world history have always been priests [Nietzsche] |