Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Natural Kinds', 'Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy' and 'Which Logic is the Right Logic?'

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36 ideas

1. Philosophy / G. Scientific Philosophy / 3. Scientism
Philosophy is continuous with science, and has no external vantage point [Quine]
4. Formal Logic / F. Set Theory ST / 4. Axioms for Sets / j. Axiom of Choice IX
The axiom of choice now seems acceptable and obvious (if it is meaningful) [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 1. Overview of Logic
Logic is either for demonstration, or for characterizing structures [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 5. First-Order Logic
Elementary logic is complete, but cannot capture mathematics [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 7. Second-Order Logic
Second-order logic isn't provable, but will express set-theory and classic problems [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / E. Structures of Logic / 2. Logical Connectives / b. Basic connectives
In sentential logic there is a simple proof that all truth functions can be reduced to 'not' and 'and' [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 2. Domain of Quantification
The main quantifiers extend 'and' and 'or' to infinite domains [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 7. Unorthodox Quantification
There are at least five unorthodox quantifiers that could be used [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / J. Model Theory in Logic / 3. Löwenheim-Skolem Theorems
The Löwenheim-Skolem property is a limitation (e.g. can't say there are uncountably many reals) [Tharp]
Skolem mistakenly inferred that Cantor's conceptions were illusory [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / K. Features of Logics / 3. Soundness
Soundness would seem to be an essential requirement of a proof procedure [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / K. Features of Logics / 4. Completeness
Completeness and compactness together give axiomatizability [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / K. Features of Logics / 5. Incompleteness
If completeness fails there is no algorithm to list the valid formulas [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / K. Features of Logics / 6. Compactness
Compactness is important for major theories which have infinitely many axioms [Tharp]
Compactness blocks infinite expansion, and admits non-standard models [Tharp]
5. Theory of Logic / K. Features of Logics / 8. Enumerability
A complete logic has an effective enumeration of the valid formulas [Tharp]
Effective enumeration might be proved but not specified, so it won't guarantee knowledge [Tharp]
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 2. Geometry
Klein summarised geometry as grouped together by transformations [Quine]
7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 8. Stuff / a. Pure stuff
Mass terms just concern spread, but other terms involve both spread and individuation [Quine]
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 6. Dispositions / a. Dispositions
Once we know the mechanism of a disposition, we can eliminate 'similarity' [Quine]
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 6. Dispositions / d. Dispositions as occurrent
We judge things to be soluble if they are the same kind as, or similar to, things that do dissolve [Quine]
9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 4. Four-Dimensionalism
Surely the past phases of a thing are not parts of the thing? [Broad]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 3. Experiment
Science is common sense, with a sophisticated method [Quine]
14. Science / C. Induction / 1. Induction
Induction relies on similar effects following from each cause [Quine]
Induction is just more of the same: animal expectations [Quine]
14. Science / C. Induction / 5. Paradoxes of Induction / a. Grue problem
Grue is a puzzle because the notions of similarity and kind are dubious in science [Quine]
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 7. Seeing Resemblance
General terms depend on similarities among things [Quine]
To learn yellow by observation, must we be told to look at the colour? [Quine]
Similarity is just interchangeability in the cosmic machine [Quine]
Standards of similarity are innate, and the spacing of qualities such as colours can be mapped [Quine]
19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 3. Predicates
Projectible predicates can be universalised about the kind to which they refer [Quine]
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 1. Natural Kinds
Quine probably regrets natural kinds now being treated as essences [Quine, by Dennett]
If similarity has no degrees, kinds cannot be contained within one another [Quine]
Comparative similarity allows the kind 'colored' to contain the kind 'red' [Quine]
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 3. Knowing Kinds
You can't base kinds just on resemblance, because chains of resemblance are a muddle [Quine]
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / a. Regularity theory
It is hard to see how regularities could be explained [Quine]