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to Unedited Philosophy Quotes and Ramblings about Intequinism.
Title: The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
Edition: 2nd
edition revised
Year: 2008
Author: Simon Blackburn
Place: Oxford, United
Kingdom and New York, New York
Publisher: Oxford
University Press
Reader: Mr. M.D. Pienaar
27 August 2012
"absolute
idealism ... Hegel
also insists on holism, implying that a mind capable
of knowing any truth must have the capacity to know
all truth, since partial and divided truth is dead
or non-existent." (Blackburn 2008:2)
23 February 2016
"labour theory
of value in economics, the view that the
value of a commodity reflects the amount of labour
involved in its production. Although espoused as an
approximation by Pufendorf, Hutcheson, Adam Smith,
and David Ricardo (1772-1823), it is now mainly held
by Marxist economists, since it denies any real
productive role to capital." (Blackburn 2008:202)
"Mo Tzu (Mozi)
(5th c. BC) Founder of Mohism, a precursor of
utilitarianism. Mo Tzi dissented from Confucian
emphasis on ritual and on the family, in favour of a
more generalized impartial benevolence." (Blackburn
2008:242)
24 February 2016
"new realism
The reaction
[own italic] at the beginning of the 20th century
against the dominant idealist and Hegelian
metaphysics. In England the reaction is associated
especially with Russell and Moore. In America
philosophers defining themselves as new realists
included F.J. Woodbridge (1867-1940) and R.B. Perry
(1876-1957). The view tended to dismiss any special
status of mind, and to lead to behaviourism. See also
CRITICAL REALISM." (Blackburn 2008:250) After
reading the explanations by Blackburn of
"behaviourism" and "critical realism" it seemed that
at the beginning of the 20th century there was a
movement away from idealism, which used dialectical
reasoning to identify essence. The result was more
materialistic in line with Marxism, thus behaviour
was regarded an effect of identifiable causes and
dispositions. People were thus classified with
"disposition" types. Individuals were thus degraded
in line with Marxism. Blackburn explains that
"behaviourism", which was followed by
"functionalism" are reductionist philosophies
because it do not consider that everything affects a
person. My identification of 'true realism' meant
basically that realism implies an identification of
everything (totality), which is not possible and if
a realist realises that he/she could be a true
realist. According to Blackburn objectivity and
realism goes hand in hand. My interpretation is that
realists are subjective because they think they can
fathom it all. I understand realism in line with
empiricists who cannot distinguish between facts and
their own opinions. Some empiricists have been
influenced by theories and probably deceit, to an
extent that they have become irrational and
illogical. Realists are currently confusing 'the
individual', 'God Himself', 'the object' and 'the
subject' in stead of identifying individuals, God,
objects and subjects.
"open
society/closed society Contrast made famous in
the works of Popper, particularly The Open
Society and its Enemies (1945). Open societies
are those in which the actions of individuals can be
freely assessed and monitored, and subjected to
criticism in liberal and democratic debate. They
thus change by 'piecemeal social engineering'. In a
closed society these proper processes of change are
replaced by the inefficient command structures of
totalitarian governments." (Blackburn 2008:250)
Popper argued in favour of individuals and said
Plato endangered individuals, yet he promoted open
societies. It is a contradiction in his philosohy.
Times have changed because currently totalitarians
who impart ideas govern the open society. Popper was
against communism/Russia and probably Marx. Hitler's
regime and Communism were totalitarian. Current
capitalism is totalitarian. I guess any system can
be totalitarian if change is not allowed.
26 February 2016
"Plotinus
(c.AD 205-70)...Following the largely discredited Second Letter
attributed to Plato, Plotinus divides the realm of
intelligible things into three: the One,
Intelligence or nous, and the Soul. The One is the
absolutely transcendental, unknowable object of
worship and desire. The world of intelligence is
that of ideas or concepts, but conceived as ideas in
the mind of the One...In any event, it is in
contemplation of the higher, creative principle that
the lower receives its form or impress." (Blackburn
2008:279) Although Plotinus's philosophy is called
neoplatonism his philosophy with regard to ideas is
closer to Aristotle's philosophy. According to
Socrates in Plato's Ion and Republic
human "gods" generate ideas. "The One" of Plotinus
is more in line with the First mover and Mind of
Aristotle.
27 Febraury 2016
"Protagoras of Abdera (c.490-420 BC) The most
successful of the Sophists.. He taught virtue (aretē) in
Athens, was a friend of Pericles, and was employed
to draw up the code of laws for the Athenian colony
at Thurii... It is quite possible that Protagoras
established in Athens the dialectical method, later
made famous through Plato's Socratic dialogues."
(Blackburn 2008:296)
"protocol
statements (German Protokollsätze)
The basic statements in the logical positivists
analysis of knowledge, thought of as reporting the
unvarnished and pre-theoretical deliverance of
experience: what it is like here, now, for me...
Difficulties at this point led the logical
positivists to abandon the notion of an
epistemological foundation altogether, and to flirt
with the coherence theory of truth." (Blackburn
2008:296)
28 February 2016
"Reid, Thomas (1710-96) ... Reid was the
first serious philosopher to attack the Bristish
empiricists reliance on 'ideas' as satisfactory
units on which to found a theory of knowledge and
meaning. He regarded Burkley, and especially Hume,
as presenting a reductio ad
absurdum of the approach to knowledge by the
way of ideas." (Blackburn 2008:312) This can be read
in conjunction with my experience of a learned
person who claimed to be an empiricist and could not
distinguish between facts and his own opinions.
29 February 2016
"self-defeating
... Utilitarianism is sometimes thought to be
self-defeating, in that a society of persons
reasoning in a utilitarian way might do worse than
one in which other forms of practical reasoning are
used." (Blackburn 2008:331)
"self-respect
The capacity to bear one's own self-scrutiny."
(Blackburn 2008:332) All the disrespect i have
experienced since 1999 was probably from people who
cannot respect others because they do not have
self-respect.
1 March 2016
"complex idea
A doctrine of empiricism is that the mind is
furnished with its raw materials through perception.
In imagination and thought we can build new ideas,
but only by recombining the elements already given.
Such new ideas would therefore be complex, and the
basic elements from which they are built are the
simple idea." (Blackburn 2008:69) It seems today
that differences between intequinism and empiricism
are that according to intequinism it is not right to
generalise about what "we" can do or cannot do,
except in extreme cases for practical reasoning for
example regarding gravity and power. It is thus
possibe to say one man can never have the power to
fly self or to be God. To say persons cannot
generate brand new ideas is psychological preference
based on own godthoughts; i.e. Caiaphas syndrome. My
feeling is: there could have been brand new ideas
generated in this world, by people, where did things
that exist come from? Obviously most products came
from complex ideas but to say no brand new ideas can
be generated is not acknowledging the limits of
self's knowledge and thinking. If self has not
generated a brand new idea it means not that others
have not done that. On the other hand, i cannot
think now of a brand new 'idea' in existence. Even
the ideas for beds and tables, generated by "gods",
mentioned by Socrates in the Republic,
are complex ideas.
References