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7460
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The great moments are the death of Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Romanticism [Berlin, by Watson]
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Full Idea:
Berlin says there were three great turning points: after the death of Aristotle (when Greek schools focused on the inner life of individuals, instead of as social beings), Machiavelli's division of political and individual virtues, and Romanticism.
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From:
report of Isaiah Berlin (The Sense of Reality [1996], p.168-9) by Peter Watson - Ideas Intro
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A reaction:
I have the impression that Machiavelli introduced a new hard-boiled ethics, which dominated the sixteenth century, but in the seventeenth and eighteenth century they fought back, and Machiavellianism turned out to be just a phase.
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10838
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To explain a concept, we need its purpose, not just its rules of usage [Dummett]
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Full Idea:
We cannot in general suppose that we give a proper account of a concept by describing those circumstance in which we do, and those in which we do not, make use of the relevant word. We explain the point of the concept, what we use the word for.
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From:
Michael Dummett (Truth [1959], p.231)
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A reaction:
Well said. I am beginning to develop a campaign to make sure that analytical philosophy focuses on understanding concepts (in a full 'logos' sort of way), and doesn't just settle for logical form or definition or rules of usage.
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10840
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We must be able to specify truths in a precise language, like winning moves in a game [Dummett]
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Full Idea:
For a particular bounded language, if it is free of ambiguity and inconsistency, it must be possible to characterize the true sentences of the language; somewhat as, for a given game, we can say which moves are winning moves.
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From:
Michael Dummett (Truth [1959], p.237)
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A reaction:
The background of this sounds rather like Tarski, with truth just being a baton passed from one part of the language to another, though Dummett adds the very un-Tarskian notion that truth has a value.
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