Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Laches', 'works' and 'Why there isn't a ready-made world'

expand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts

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9 ideas

1. Philosophy / A. Wisdom / 3. Wisdom Deflated

291	Don't assume that wisdom is the automatic consequence of old age [Plato]

6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 5. The Infinite / k. Infinitesimals

18086

Weierstrass eliminated talk of infinitesimals [Weierstrass, by Kitcher]

6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 5. The Infinite / l. Limits

18092

Weierstrass made limits central, but the existence of limits still needed to be proved [Weierstrass, by Bostock]

7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 2. Realism

17644

Metaphysical realism is committed to there being one ultimate true theory [Putnam]

7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 4. Anti-realism

17648

It is an illusion to think there could be one good scientific theory of reality [Putnam]

9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 3. Unity Problems / c. Statue and clay

17643

Shape is essential relative to 'statue', but not essential relative to 'clay' [Putnam]

12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 4. Sense Data / b. Nature of sense-data

17642

The old view that sense data are independent of mind is quite dotty [Putnam]

23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / d. Courage

293	Being unafraid (perhaps through ignorance) and being brave are two different things [Plato]

26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / d. Selecting the cause

17645

An alien might think oxygen was the main cause of a forest fire [Putnam]