Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'works', 'The Sentiment of Rationality' and 'What is Good?'

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25 ideas

1. Philosophy / A. Wisdom / 1. Nature of Wisdom
22659 It is wisdom to believe what you desire, because belief is needed to achieve it [James]
1. Philosophy / C. History of Philosophy / 3. Earlier European Philosophy / c. Later medieval philosophy
7823 Lucretius was rediscovered in 1417 [Grayling]
1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 1. Philosophy
22657 All good philosophers start from a dumb conviction about which truths can be revealed [James]
1. Philosophy / E. Nature of Metaphysics / 3. Metaphysical Systems
22647 A complete system is just a classification of the whole world's ingredients [James]
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 5. Objectivity
22648 A single explanation must have a single point of view [James]
2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 6. Ockham's Razor
22644 Our greatest pleasure is the economy of reducing chaotic facts to one single fact [James]
7. Existence / E. Categories / 2. Categorisation
22649 Classification can only ever be for a particular purpose [James]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 1. Observation
22655 Scientific genius extracts more than other people from the same evidence [James]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 6. Falsification
22658 Experimenters assume the theory is true, and stick to it as long as result don't disappoint [James]
14. Science / C. Induction / 3. Limits of Induction
22654 We can't know if the laws of nature are stable, but we must postulate it or assume it [James]
14. Science / C. Induction / 6. Bayes's Theorem
22656 Trying to assess probabilities by mere calculation is absurd and impossible [James]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / j. Explanations by reduction
22646 We have a passion for knowing the parts of something, rather than the whole [James]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / b. Purpose of mind
22652 The mind has evolved entirely for practical interests, seen in our reflex actions [James]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 7. Animal Minds
22651 Dogs' curiosity only concerns what will happen next [James]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 5. Rationality / a. Rationality
22650 How can the ground of rationality be itself rational? [James]
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 5. Rationality / b. Human rationality
22643 It seems that we feel rational when we detect no irrationality [James]
22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / d. Biological ethics
22660 Evolution suggests prevailing or survival as a new criterion of right and wrong [James]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / a. Virtues
20239 Unlike us, the early Greeks thought envy was a good thing, and hope a bad thing [Hesiod, by Nietzsche]
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / e. Honour
7809 In an honour code shame is the supreme punishment, and revenge is a duty [Grayling]
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 4. Suicide
7824 If suicide is lawful, but assisting suicide is unlawful, powerless people are denied their rights [Grayling]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / d. Selecting the cause
22645 Understanding by means of causes is useless if they are not reduced to a minimum number [James]
29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 4. Christianity / a. Christianity
22653 Early Christianity says God recognises the neglected weak and tender impulses [James]
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / a. Religious Belief
7819 Religion gives answers, comforts, creates social order, and panders to superstition [Grayling]
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
7817 To make an afterlife appealing, this life has to be denigrated [Grayling]
7818 In Greek mythology only heroes can go to heaven [Grayling]