Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Causal Explanation', 'Against the Logicians (two books)' and 'Aristotle and the Metaphysics'

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21 ideas

1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 5. Linguistic Analysis
22764 Ordinary speech is not exact about what is true; we say we are digging a well before the well exists [Sext.Empiricus]
2. Reason / D. Definition / 1. Definitions
11257 The Pythagoreans were the first to offer definitions [Politis, by Politis]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 4. Uses of Truth
11235 'True of' is applicable to things, while 'true' is applicable to words [Politis]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 6. Verisimilitude
15557 Verisimilitude has proved hard to analyse, and seems to have several components [Lewis]
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 3. Being / e. Being and nothing
11277 Maybe 'What is being? is confusing because we can't ask what non-being is like [Politis]
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 3. Powers as Derived
15554 A disposition needs a causal basis, a property in a certain causal role. Could the disposition be the property? [Lewis]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / b. Essence not necessities
11248 Necessary truths can be two-way relational, where essential truths are one-way or intrinsic [Politis]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 9. Essence and Properties
22762 Some properties are inseparable from a thing, such as the length, breadth and depth of a body [Sext.Empiricus]
10. Modality / B. Possibility / 7. Chance
15560 We can explain a chance event, but can never show why some other outcome did not occur [Lewis]
13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 1. Justification / b. Need for justification
22759 Fools, infants and madmen may speak truly, but do not know [Sext.Empiricus]
13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 3. Reliabilism / a. Reliable knowledge
22760 Madmen are reliable reporters of what appears to them [Sext.Empiricus]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 1. Explanation / b. Aims of explanation
15559 Does a good explanation produce understanding? That claim is just empty [Lewis]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / e. Lawlike explanations
15556 Science may well pursue generalised explanation, rather than laws [Lewis]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / f. Necessity in explanations
15558 A good explanation is supposed to show that the event had to happen [Lewis]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / g. Causal explanations
4809 Lewis endorses the thesis that all explanation of singular events is causal explanation [Lewis, by Psillos]
14321 To explain an event is to provide some information about its causal history [Lewis]
18. Thought / D. Concepts / 2. Origin of Concepts / b. Empirical concepts
22763 We can only dream of a winged man if we have experienced men and some winged thing [Sext.Empiricus]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 2. Types of cause
15555 Explaining match lighting in general is like explaining one lighting of a match [Lewis]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / d. Selecting the cause
15552 We only pick 'the' cause for the purposes of some particular enquiry. [Lewis]
15551 Ways of carving causes may be natural, but never 'right' [Lewis]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / c. Counterfactual causation
15553 Causal dependence is counterfactual dependence between events [Lewis]