161 ideas
2845 | Free and great-souled men do not keep asking "what is the use of it?" [Aristotle] |
22521 | Our method of inquiry is to examine the smallest parts that make up the whole [Aristotle] |
1570 | Human beings, alone of the animals, have logos [Aristotle] |
1574 | Reasoning distinguishes what is beneficial, and hence what is right [Aristotle] |
2801 | Intelligence which looks ahead is a natural master, while bodily strength is a natural slave [Aristotle] |
19767 | Reason leads to prudent selfishness, which overrules natural compassion [Rousseau] |
20768 | Like spiderswebs, dialectical arguments are clever but useless [Ariston, by Diog. Laertius] |
22529 | Men are natural leaders (apart from the unnatural ones) [Aristotle] |
22571 | 'If each is small, so too are all' is in one way false, for the whole composed of all is not small [Aristotle] |
22525 | The whole is prior to its parts, because parts are defined by their role [Aristotle] |
19757 | No one would bother to reason, and try to know things, without a desire for enjoyment [Rousseau] |
22587 | Understanding is the aim of our nature [Aristotle] |
22522 | To grasp something, trace it back to its natural origins [Aristotle] |
22524 | The nature of each thing is its mature state [Aristotle] |
19760 | General ideas are purely intellectual; imagining them is immediately particular [Rousseau] |
19759 | Only words can introduce general ideas into the mind [Rousseau] |
22528 | The nature of all animate things is to have one part which rules it [Aristotle] |
19758 | Language may aid thinking, but powerful thought was needed to produce language [Rousseau] |
22570 | Rhetoric now enables good speakers to become popular leaders [Aristotle] |
22574 | A community can lack self-control [Aristotle] |
19773 | Without love, what use is beauty? [Rousseau] |
2837 | Nothing contrary to nature is beautiful [Aristotle] |
2824 | The collective judgement of many people on art is better than that of an individual [Aristotle] |
2846 | Music can mould the character to be virtuous (just as gymnastics trains the body) [Aristotle] |
19769 | Rational morality is OK for brainy people, but ordinary life can't rely on that [Rousseau] |
2807 | Some say slavery is unnatural and created by convention, and is therefore forced, and unjust [Aristotle] |
22582 | Spirit [thumos] is the capacity by which we love [Aristotle] |
2810 | Selfishness is wrong not because it is self-love, but because it is excessive [Aristotle] |
22555 | The function of good men is to confer benefits [Aristotle] |
19752 | If we should not mistreat humans, it is mainly because of sentience, not rationality [Rousseau] |
19768 | The better Golden Rule is 'do good for yourself without harming others' [Rousseau] |
22557 | Virtuous people are like the citizens of the best city [Aristotle] |
2841 | People become good because of nature, habit and reason [Aristotle] |
2829 | The law is the mean [Aristotle] |
3049 | The chief good is indifference to what lies midway between virtue and vice [Ariston, by Diog. Laertius] |
22590 | Virtue is concerned with correct feelings [Aristotle] |
2813 | It is quite possible to live a moderate life and yet be miserable [Aristotle] |
22553 | Justice is a virtue of communities [Aristotle] |
19766 | The fact that we weep (e.g. in theatres) shows that we are naturally compassionate [Rousseau] |
22561 | The rich are seen as noble, because they don't need to commit crimes [Aristotle] |
2808 | Master and slave can have friendship through common interests [Aristotle] |
3549 | Ariston says rules are useless for the virtuous and the non-virtuous [Ariston, by Annas] |
2803 | Man is by nature a political animal [Aristotle] |
2820 | People want to live together, even when they don't want mutual help [Aristotle] |
22586 | Only humans have reason [Aristotle] |
19756 | Humans are less distinguished from other animals by understanding, than by being free agents [Rousseau] |
19755 | Most human ills are self-inflicted; the simple, solitary, regular natural life is good [Rousseau] |
19762 | Is language a pre-requisite for society, or might it emerge afterwards? [Rousseau] |
19763 | I doubt whether a savage person ever complains of life, or considers suicide [Rousseau] |
19765 | Savages avoid evil because they are calm, and never think of it (not because they know goodness) [Rousseau] |
19779 | Primitive man was very gentle [Rousseau] |
19771 | Savage men quietly pursue desires, without the havoc of modern frenzied imagination [Rousseau] |
19778 | Leisure led to envy, inequality, vice and revenge, which we now see in savages [Rousseau] |
19751 | Our two starting principles are concern for self-interest, and compassion for others [Rousseau] |
22523 | The community (of villages) becomes a city when it is totally self-sufficient [Aristotle] |
2805 | A community must share a common view of good and justice [Aristotle] |
22526 | People who are anti-social or wholly self-sufficient are no part of a city [Aristotle] |
22535 | Friendship is the best good for cities, because it reduces factions [Aristotle] |
22584 | A community should all share to some extent in something like land or food [Aristotle] |
22532 | A city can't become entirely one, because its very nature is to be a multitude [Aristotle] |
22581 | The size of a city is decided by the maximum self-sufficient community that can be surveyed [Aristotle] |
19774 | A savage can steal fruit or a home, but there is no means of achieving obedience [Rousseau] |
19772 | In a state of nature people are much more equal; it is society which increases inequalities [Rousseau] |
19789 | It is against nature for children to rule old men, fools to rule the wise, and the rich to hog resources [Rousseau] |
22577 | What is the best life for everyone, and is that a communal or an individual problem? [Aristotle] |
22578 | The happiest city is the one that acts most nobly [Aristotle] |
22579 | The same four cardinal virtues which apply to individuals also apply to a city [Aristotle] |
2431 | Every state is an association formed for some good purpose [Aristotle] |
22548 | A city aims at living well [Aristotle] |
19787 | People accept the right to be commanded, because they themselves wish to command [Rousseau] |
2832 | The state aims to consist as far as possible of those who are like and equal [Aristotle] |
2973 | We must decide the most desirable human life before designing a constitution [Aristotle] |
22580 | The best constitution enables everyone to live the best life [Aristotle] |
22546 | A city is a community of free people, and the constitution should aim at the common advantage [Aristotle] |
2821 | The six constitutions are monarchy/tyranny, aristocracy/oligarchy, and polity/democracy [Aristotle] |
22558 | Constitutions specify distribution of offices, the authorities, and the community's aim [Aristotle] |
22566 | The greed of the rich is more destructive than the greed of the people [Aristotle] |
2835 | Any constitution can be made to last for a day or two [Aristotle] |
22544 | A citizen is someone who is allowed to hold official posts in a city [Aristotle] |
2818 | The virtues of a good citizen are relative to a particular constitution [Aristotle] |
22545 | A person can be an excellent citizen without being an excellent man [Aristotle] |
22563 | The middle classes are neither ambitious nor anarchic, which is good [Aristotle] |
19780 | We seem to have made individual progress since savagery, but actually the species has decayed [Rousseau] |
22541 | Kings should be selected according to character [Aristotle] |
22583 | The guardians should not be harsh to strangers, as no one should behave like that [Aristotle] |
22542 | People who buy public office will probably expect to profit from it [Aristotle] |
2819 | The only virtue special to a ruler is practical wisdom [Aristotle] |
22552 | The rich can claim to rule, because of land ownership, and being more trustworthy [Aristotle] |
22572 | Officers should like the constitution, be capable, and have appropriate virtues and justice [Aristotle] |
22543 | In large communities it is better if more people participate in the offices [Aristotle] |
22539 | Election of officials by the elected is dangerous, because factions can control it [Aristotle] |
19747 | Revolutionaries usually confuse liberty with total freedom, and end up with heavier chains [Rousseau] |
2826 | Like water, large numbers of people are harder to corrupt than a few [Aristotle] |
2823 | The many may add up to something good, even if they are inferior as individuals [Aristotle] |
22567 | Democracy arises when people who are given equal freedom assume unconditional equality [Aristotle] |
22560 | Popular leaders only arise in democracies that are not in accord with the law [Aristotle] |
22562 | Choosing officials by lot is democratic [Aristotle] |
19748 | Plebiscites are bad, because they exclude the leaders from crucial decisions [Rousseau] |
19749 | In a direct democracy, only the leaders should be able to propose new laws [Rousseau] |
22533 | If the people are equal in nature, then they should all share in ruling [Aristotle] |
2817 | It is wrong that a worthy officer of state should seek the office [Aristotle] |
22576 | No office is permanent in a democracy [Aristotle] |
22549 | In many cases, the claim that the majority is superior would apply equally to wild beasts [Aristotle] |
22575 | Ultimate democracy is tyranny [Aristotle] |
22531 | We aim to understand the best possible community for free people [Aristotle] |
22589 | Citizens do not just own themselves, but are also parts of the city [Aristotle] |
22585 | Look at all of the citizens before judging a city to be happy [Aristotle] |
22564 | Community is based on friends, who are equal and similar, and share things [Aristotle] |
22565 | The best communities rely on a large and strong middle class [Aristotle] |
22534 | People care less about what is communal, and more about what is their own [Aristotle] |
22538 | Owning and sharing property communally increases disagreements [Aristotle] |
22536 | There could be private land and public crops, or public land and private crops, or both public [Aristotle] |
22530 | Both women and children should be educated, as this contributes to a city's excellence [Aristotle] |
21358 | Natural slaves are those naturally belonging to another, or who can manage no more than labouring [Aristotle] |
19775 | People must be made dependent before they can be enslaved [Rousseau] |
19784 | Enslaved peoples often boast of their condition, calling it a state of 'peace' [Rousseau] |
19785 | If the child of a slave woman is born a slave, then a man is not born a man [Rousseau] |
19746 | Like rich food, liberty can ruin people who are too weak to cope with it [Rousseau] |
20092 | One principle of liberty is to take turns ruling and being ruled [Aristotle] |
2833 | Equality is obviously there to help people who do not get priority in the constitution [Aristotle] |
2834 | It is always the weak who want justice and equality, not the strong [Aristotle] |
19786 | Three stages of the state produce inequalities of wealth, power, and enslavement [Rousseau] |
2830 | We can claim an equal right to aristocratic virtue, as well as to wealth or freedom [Aristotle] |
22569 | The Heraeans replaced election with lot, to thwart campaigning [Aristotle] |
22550 | It is dreadful to neither give a share nor receive a share [Aristotle] |
22568 | Faction is for inferiors to be equal, and equals to become superior [Aristotle] |
2814 | Phaleas proposed equality of property, provided there is equality of education [Aristotle] |
22540 | Wealth could be quickly leveled by only the rich giving marriage dowries [Aristotle] |
19788 | The pleasure of wealth and power is largely seeing others deprived of them [Rousseau] |
2828 | Law is intelligence without appetite [Aristotle] |
22537 | Property should be owned privately, but used communally [Aristotle] |
19777 | Persuading other people that some land was 'owned' was the beginning of society [Rousseau] |
19782 | What else could property arise from, but the labour people add to it? [Rousseau] |
19781 | Land cultivation led to a general right of ownership, administered justly [Rousseau] |
19754 | If we have a natural right to property, what exactly does 'belonging to' mean? [Rousseau] |
2825 | The good is obviously justice, which benefits the whole community, and involves equality in some sense [Aristotle] |
22527 | Justice is the order in a political community [Aristotle] |
22547 | Justice is equality for equals, and inequality for unequals [Aristotle] |
22573 | The virtue of justice may be relative to a particular constitution [Aristotle] |
22556 | Laws that match people's habits are more effective than mere written rules [Aristotle] |
2806 | Man is the worst of all animals when divorced from law and justice [Aristotle] |
2816 | If it is easy to change the laws, that makes them weaker [Aristotle] |
22551 | Correct law should be in control, with rulers only deciding uncertain issues [Aristotle] |
22554 | It is said that we should not stick strictly to written law, as it is too vague [Aristotle] |
2827 | It is preferable that law should rule rather than any single citizen [Aristotle] |
19750 | Writers just propose natural law as the likely useful agreements among people [Rousseau] |
19770 | Primitive people simply redressed the evil caused by violence, without thought of punishing [Rousseau] |
19783 | A state of war remains after a conquest, if the losers don't accept the winners [Rousseau] |
2840 | The whole state should pay for the worship of the gods [Aristotle] |
2811 | A state is plural, and needs education to make it a community [Aristotle] |
22588 | A city has a single end, so education must focus on that, and be communal, not private [Aristotle] |
2847 | The aim of serious childhood play is the amusement of the complete adult [Aristotle] |
2842 | Men learn partly by habit, and partly by listening [Aristotle] |
2844 | Abortions should be procured before the embryo has acquired life and sensation [Aristotle] |
19753 | Both men and animals are sentient, which should give the latter the right not to be mistreated [Rousseau] |
2809 | If nature makes everything for a purpose, then plants and animals must have been made for man [Aristotle] |
2800 | The best instruments have one purpose, not many [Aristotle] |
19761 | Men started with too few particular names, but later had too few natural kind names [Rousseau] |
19776 | Small uninterrupted causes can have big effects [Rousseau] |
2836 | God is not blessed and happy because of external goods, but because of his own nature [Aristotle] |
2802 | Men imagine gods to be of human shape, with a human lifestyle [Aristotle] |