19 APR 2013 by ideonexus
The Philosopher's Solace
...how admirably calculated is this view of the human race, emancipated from its chains, released alike from the dominion of chance, as well as from that of the enemies of its progress, and advancing with a firm and indeviate step in the paths of truth, to console the philosopher lamenting the errors, the flagrant acts of injustice, the crimes with which the earth is still polluted? It is the contemplation of this prospect that rewards him for all his efforts to assist the progress of reason ... 1 
notes
notesThe unstoppable perfectibility of the human race is almost a law of the Universe that no injustice in the present can undo.
06 AUG 2012 by ideonexus
Definition of a Philosophe
Reason is to the philosopher what grace is to the Christian.
Grace causes the Christian to act, reason the philosopher.
Other men are carried away by their passions, their actions not being preceded by reflection: these are the men who walk in darkness. On the other hand, the philosopher, even in his passions, acts only after reflection: he walks in the dark, but by a torch.
The philosopher forms his principles from an infinity of particular observations. Most people adopt principles witho...Folksonomies: enlightenment philosophy
Folksonomies: enlightenment philosophy
1 Quoted in its entirety, this short essay capture the full essence of what it means to be an Enlightenment Scholar, to study the world and cherish civilization as sacred above all else.
07 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Newton Was the Last Magi
Newton was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the magicians, the last of the Babylonians and Sumerians ... Isaac Newton, a posthumous child born with no father on Christmas Day, 1642, was the last wonder child to whom the Magi could do sincere and appropriate homage... Why do I call him a magician? Because he looked on the whole universe and all that is in it as a riddle, as a secret which could be read by applying pure thought to certain evidence, certain mystic clues whi... 1 notes
notesLast of the Babylonians, who looked at the Universe as riddle to be solved.
24 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Mathematics Feels Real, but is Paradoxical
On foundations we believe in the reality of mathematics, but of course, when philosophers attack us with their paradoxes, we rush to hide behind formalism and say 'mathematics is just a combination of meaningless symbols,'... Finally we are left in peace to go back to our mathematics and do it as we have always done, with the feeling each mathematician has that he is working with something real. The sensation is probably an illusion, but it is very convenient. Folksonomies: mathematics philosophy
Folksonomies: mathematics philosophy
1 notes
notesReal to the mathematician, paradoxical to the philosopher.
28 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Don't Be Discouraged by the Complexity of Nature
Far from becoming discouraged, the philosopher should applaud nature, even when she appears miserly of herself or overly mysterious, and should feel pleased that as he lifts one part of her veil, she allows him to glimpse an immense number of other objects, all worthy of investigation. For what we already know should allow us to judge of what we will be able to know; the human mind has no frontiers, it extends proportionately as the universe displays itself; man, then, can and must attempt al... 1 notes
notesMaintain the enthusiasm that investigation will reveal all her secrets.
03 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Scientists Create More Questions
The scientist, by the very nature of his commitment, creates more and more questions, never fewer. Indeed the measure of our intellectual maturity, one philosopher suggests, is our capacity to feel less and less satisfied with our answers to better problems. 1 notes
notesIntellectual maturity "is our capacity to feel less and less satisfied with our answers to better problems."
03 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Inter-Species Competition
A gazelle on the African savanna is trying not to be eaten by cheetahs, but it is also trying to outrun other gazelles when a cheetah attacks. What matters to the gazelle is being faster than other gazelles, not being faster than cheetahs. (There is an old story of a philosopher who runs when a bear charges him and his friend. "It's no good, you'll never outrun a bear," says the logical friend. "I don't have to." replies the philosopher. "I only have to outrun you.") In the same way, psycholo... 1 notes
notesMembers of a species compete with one another as well as with other species.
