167 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] |
| 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] |
| 18019 | People have dreams which involve category mistakes [Magidor] |
| 17998 | Category mistakes are either syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic [Magidor] |
| 18012 | Category mistakes as syntactic needs a huge number of fine-grained rules [Magidor] |
| 18013 | Embedded (in 'he said that…') category mistakes show syntax isn't the problem [Magidor] |
| 18011 | Category mistakes seem to be universal across languages [Magidor] |
| 18030 | A good explanation of why category mistakes sound wrong is that they are meaningless [Magidor] |
| 18032 | Category mistakes are neither verifiable nor analytic, so verificationism says they are meaningless [Magidor] |
| 18034 | Category mistakes play no role in mental life, so conceptual role semantics makes them meaningless [Magidor] |
| 18037 | Maybe when you say 'two is green', the predicate somehow fails to apply? [Magidor] |
| 18039 | If category mistakes aren't syntax failure or meaningless, maybe they just lack a truth-value? [Magidor] |
| 18021 | Category mistakes are meaningful, because metaphors are meaningful category mistakes [Magidor] |
| 18015 | The normal compositional view makes category mistakes meaningful [Magidor] |
| 18017 | If a category mistake is synonymous across two languages, that implies it is meaningful [Magidor] |
| 18031 | If a category mistake has unimaginable truth-conditions, then it seems to be meaningless [Magidor] |
| 18016 | Two good sentences should combine to make a good sentence, but that might be absurd [Magidor] |
| 18058 | Maybe the presuppositions of category mistakes are the abilities of things? [Magidor] |
| 18041 | Category mistakes suffer from pragmatic presupposition failure (which is not mere triviality) [Magidor] |
| 18056 | Category mistakes because of presuppositions still have a truth value (usually 'false') [Magidor] |
| 18055 | In 'two is green', 'green' has a presupposition of being coloured [Magidor] |
| 18057 | 'Numbers are coloured and the number two is green' seems to be acceptable [Magidor] |
| 18059 | The presuppositions in category mistakes reveal nothing about ontology [Magidor] |
| 18040 | Intensional logic maps logical space, showing which predicates are compatible or incompatible [Magidor] |
| 17997 | Some suggest that the Julius Caesar problem involves category mistakes [Magidor] |
| 18060 | We can explain the statue/clay problem by a category mistake with a false premise [Magidor] |
| 22525 | The whole is prior to its parts, because parts are defined by their role [Aristotle] |
| 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] |
| 22528 | The nature of all animate things is to have one part which rules it [Aristotle] |
| 18020 | Propositional attitudes relate agents to either propositions, or meanings, or sentence/utterances [Magidor] |
| 18035 | Two sentences with different meanings can, on occasion, have the same content [Magidor] |
| 18018 | To grasp 'two' and 'green', must you know that two is not green? [Magidor] |
| 18008 | Generative semantics says structure is determined by semantics as well as syntactic rules [Magidor] |
| 18010 | 'John is easy to please' and 'John is eager to please' have different deep structure [Magidor] |
| 18053 | The semantics of a sentence is its potential for changing a context [Magidor] |
| 18000 | Weaker compositionality says meaningful well-formed sentences get the meaning from the parts [Magidor] |
| 17999 | Strong compositionality says meaningful expressions syntactically well-formed are meaningful [Magidor] |
| 18014 | Understanding unlimited numbers of sentences suggests that meaning is compositional [Magidor] |
| 18001 | Are there partial propositions, lacking truth value in some possible worlds? [Magidor] |
| 22570 | Rhetoric now enables good speakers to become popular leaders [Aristotle] |
| 18036 | A sentence can be meaningful, and yet lack a truth value [Magidor] |
| 18051 | In the pragmatic approach, presuppositions are assumed in a context, for successful assertion [Magidor] |
| 18043 | The infelicitiousness of trivial truth is explained by uninformativeness, or a static context-set [Magidor] |
| 18042 | The infelicitiousness of trivial falsity is explained by expectations, or the loss of a context-set [Magidor] |
| 18047 | A presupposition is what makes an utterance sound wrong if it is not assumed? [Magidor] |
| 18048 | A test for presupposition would be if it provoked 'hey wait a minute - I have no idea that....' [Magidor] |
| 18049 | The best tests for presupposition are projecting it to negation, conditional, conjunction, questions [Magidor] |
| 18050 | If both s and not-s entail a sentence p, then p is a presupposition [Magidor] |
| 18054 | Why do certain words trigger presuppositions? [Magidor] |
| 18024 | One theory says metaphors mean the same as the corresponding simile [Magidor] |
| 18023 | Theories of metaphor divide over whether they must have literal meanings [Magidor] |
| 18025 | The simile view of metaphors removes their magic, and won't explain why we use them [Magidor] |
| 18026 | Maybe a metaphor is just a substitute for what is intended literally, like 'icy' for 'unemotional' [Magidor] |
| 18028 | Gricean theories of metaphor involve conversational implicatures based on literal meanings [Magidor] |
| 18029 | Non-cognitivist views of metaphor says there are no metaphorical meanings, just effects of the literal [Magidor] |
| 18022 | Metaphors tend to involve category mistakes, by joining disjoint domains [Magidor] |
| 18027 | Metaphors as substitutes for the literal misses one predicate varying with context [Magidor] |
| 22574 | A community can lack self-control [Aristotle] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 2841 | People become good because of nature, habit and reason [Aristotle] |
| 22557 | Virtuous people are like the citizens of the best city [Aristotle] |
| 2829 | The law is the mean [Aristotle] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 22532 | A city can't become entirely one, because its very nature is to be a multitude [Aristotle] |
| 22584 | A community should all share to some extent in something like land or food [Aristotle] |
| 22581 | The size of a city is decided by the maximum self-sufficient community that can be surveyed [Aristotle] |
| 22548 | A city aims at living well [Aristotle] |
| 22577 | What is the best life for everyone, and is that a communal or an individual problem? [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] |
| 22578 | The happiest city is the one that acts most nobly [Aristotle] |
| 2832 | The state aims to consist as far as possible of those who are like and equal [Aristotle] |
| 2821 | The six constitutions are monarchy/tyranny, aristocracy/oligarchy, and polity/democracy [Aristotle] |
| 22546 | A city is a community of free people, and the constitution should aim at the common advantage [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] |
| 2973 | We must decide the most desirable human life before designing a constitution [Aristotle] |
| 2835 | Any constitution can be made to last for a day or two [Aristotle] |
| 22580 | The best constitution enables everyone to live the best life [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] |
| 22544 | A citizen is someone who is allowed to hold official posts in a city [Aristotle] |
| 22541 | Kings should be selected according to character [Aristotle] |
| 2819 | The only virtue special to a ruler is practical wisdom [Aristotle] |
| 22542 | People who buy public office will probably expect to profit from it [Aristotle] |
| 22552 | The rich can claim to rule, because of land ownership, and being more trustworthy [Aristotle] |
| 22583 | The guardians should not be harsh to strangers, as no one should behave like that [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] |
| 22572 | Officers should like the constitution, be capable, and have appropriate virtues and justice [Aristotle] |
| 2826 | Like water, large numbers of people are harder to corrupt than a few [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] |
| 2823 | The many may add up to something good, even if they are inferior as individuals [Aristotle] |
| 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] |
| 22564 | Community is based on friends, who are equal and similar, and share things [Aristotle] |
| 22585 | Look at all of the citizens before judging a city to be happy [Aristotle] |
| 22565 | The best communities rely on a large and strong middle class [Aristotle] |
| 22589 | Citizens do not just own themselves, but are also parts of the city [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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 2828 | Law is intelligence without appetite [Aristotle] |
| 22537 | Property should be owned privately, but used communally [Aristotle] |
| 22573 | The virtue of justice may be relative to a particular constitution [Aristotle] |
| 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] |
| 2816 | If it is easy to change the laws, that makes them weaker [Aristotle] |
| 2806 | Man is the worst of all animals when divorced from law and justice [Aristotle] |
| 22556 | Laws that match people's habits are more effective than mere written rules [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] |
| 22551 | Correct law should be in control, with rulers only deciding uncertain issues [Aristotle] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 20919 | How can things without weight compose weight? [Alexander] |
| 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] |