Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World', 'On Multiplying Entities' and 'Of the original contract'

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13 ideas

2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 6. Ockham's Razor
The quest for simplicity drove scientists to posit new entities, such as molecules in gases [Quine]
In arithmetic, ratios, negatives, irrationals and imaginaries were created in order to generalise [Quine]
7. Existence / B. Change in Existence / 4. Events / c. Reduction of events
Explaining events just by bodies can't explain two events identical in space-time [Quine]
10. Modality / A. Necessity / 11. Denial of Necessity
Necessity could be just generalisation over classes, or (maybe) quantifying over possibilia [Quine]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / i. Explanations by mechanism
Causation produces productive mechanisms; to understand the world, understand these mechanisms [Salmon]
Salmon's interaction mechanisms needn't be regular, or involving any systems [Glennan on Salmon]
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 5. Action Dilemmas / a. Dilemmas
Moral questions can only be decided by common opinion [Hume]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 3. Natural Values / b. Natural equality
People must have agreed to authority, because they are naturally equal, prior to education [Hume]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 2. State Legitimacy / c. Social contract
The idea that society rests on consent or promises undermines obedience [Hume]
We no more give 'tacit assent' to the state than a passenger carried on board a ship while asleep [Hume]
The people would be amazed to learn that government arises from their consent [Hume]
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 7. Freedom to leave
Poor people lack the knowledge or wealth to move to a different state [Hume]
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 4. Property rights
We all know that the history of property is founded on injustices [Hume]