review descartes & nietzsche cartesian skepticism –motivated by evil-demon fantasy—too broad...
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Review Descartes & NietzscheReview Descartes & Nietzsche
• Cartesian skepticism– Motivated by evil-demon fantasy—too broad
• Needs a premise he cannot doubt– I think: denying it is a pragmatic contradiction (paradox?)– Conclusion I exist follows as a matter of sentence form
• Cartesian dualism– Only proved thinker thinking thoughts
• Bodies, other minds? Needs an argument
• God refutes demon and warrants “clear and distinct” reasoning—science.
• Cartesian skepticism– Motivated by evil-demon fantasy—too broad
• Needs a premise he cannot doubt– I think: denying it is a pragmatic contradiction (paradox?)– Conclusion I exist follows as a matter of sentence form
• Cartesian dualism– Only proved thinker thinking thoughts
• Bodies, other minds? Needs an argument
• God refutes demon and warrants “clear and distinct” reasoning—science.
Ontological ArgumentOntological Argument
• Only proof with “ideas” only as premises– The idea (definition, meaning, concept) God
• God =df the uniquely perfect being
• Perfect=df has all positive attributes (predicates)
• Exist 有 is an attribute of its subject (Parmenides?)» Can be translated but the trick doesn’t work!
» No problem with exists 有 is positive?
• God lacks existence (in reality)=not God• Neither a predicate adjective nor a verb
• Role in modern logicoperator
• Only proof with “ideas” only as premises– The idea (definition, meaning, concept) God
• God =df the uniquely perfect being
• Perfect=df has all positive attributes (predicates)
• Exist 有 is an attribute of its subject (Parmenides?)» Can be translated but the trick doesn’t work!
» No problem with exists 有 is positive?
• God lacks existence (in reality)=not God• Neither a predicate adjective nor a verb
• Role in modern logicoperator
Nietzsche: Rational Desperation Nietzsche: Rational Desperation
• Fear of loss of meaning, purpose– Existential angst—suspension over nothing– Death of God mythloss of special status
• Desperate resort to grammatical tricks
• Needs strength of will– The overman overcomes the fear and loss– Or change perspectiveZhuangzi
• See as ultimate freedom (from gravity:God:absolutes)
• Fear of loss of meaning, purpose– Existential angst—suspension over nothing– Death of God mythloss of special status
• Desperate resort to grammatical tricks
• Needs strength of will– The overman overcomes the fear and loss– Or change perspectiveZhuangzi
• See as ultimate freedom (from gravity:God:absolutes)
Genealogy of MoralsGenealogy of Morals
• No reliance on metaphysics (God, Forms, Reality)
– Free creation—presuppose values– Genealogy to appreciate the range
• Master-slave morality types– Resentment, anti-, don’t, evil, sin: slave type– Affirm, do, good-bad master type
• No reliance on metaphysics (God, Forms, Reality)
– Free creation—presuppose values– Genealogy to appreciate the range
• Master-slave morality types– Resentment, anti-, don’t, evil, sin: slave type– Affirm, do, good-bad master type
QuestionsQuestionsQuestionsQuestions
Quiz and coffee tutorial (brief)
Back to Ontological argument
Quiz and coffee tutorial (brief)
Back to Ontological argument
Argument AnalogyArgument Analogy
• Ontological: perfectexist– Difficult to see why invalid
• Argument in same form – with true premises and false conclusion
• Perfect island objection– And perfect anything
– Return of Plato’s forms
• Ontological: perfectexist– Difficult to see why invalid
• Argument in same form – with true premises and false conclusion
• Perfect island objection– And perfect anything
– Return of Plato’s forms
Reality and Good or Power?Reality and Good or Power?
• Reality is interpretation– The myth of the original text
• My Zhuangzi expresses my will to power over text– Not wrong and others right—all seek power over it– Control it; use it
• Interpretations: not getting close to reality• Only power conferring stories• Science as another myth
– A power conferring way to interpret reality
• Reality is interpretation– The myth of the original text
• My Zhuangzi expresses my will to power over text– Not wrong and others right—all seek power over it– Control it; use it
• Interpretations: not getting close to reality• Only power conferring stories• Science as another myth
– A power conferring way to interpret reality
How Reality Became MythHow Reality Became Myth
• David Hume and Immanuel Kant– Hume attacks Descartes “clear” science
• Cannot rationally prove causation– Identity (no substantial “I” think)– Value—can’t get an “ought” from an “is”
• Immanuel Kant—Aristotle equal– Salvages rationalism: we can know cause
• Structure of mind imposed on a manifold– Thing in itself and thing as perceived
• David Hume and Immanuel Kant– Hume attacks Descartes “clear” science
• Cannot rationally prove causation– Identity (no substantial “I” think)– Value—can’t get an “ought” from an “is”
• Immanuel Kant—Aristotle equal– Salvages rationalism: we can know cause
• Structure of mind imposed on a manifold– Thing in itself and thing as perceived
Kant: Numenon/PhenomenonKant: Numenon/Phenomenon
• The mind structures phenomenal reality– Imposes space, time, cause, identity– But value, obligation from the noumenon
• Can’t be perceived but really there• Truths of a third category—not analytic or
empirical
• Problem—image of mind filtering realilty– It is a causal, time-space, identity picture
• These can’t apply to the noumenal world
• The mind structures phenomenal reality– Imposes space, time, cause, identity– But value, obligation from the noumenon
• Can’t be perceived but really there• Truths of a third category—not analytic or
empirical
• Problem—image of mind filtering realilty– It is a causal, time-space, identity picture
• These can’t apply to the noumenal world
Positivism: Freedom from ValuePositivism: Freedom from Value
• An early 20th century movement: Science
– Only scientific statements meaningful– Value claims are non-cognitive,
meaningless
• Nietzsche predicts the position– 20th century Existentialism rebelled against
it
• An early 20th century movement: Science
– Only scientific statements meaningful– Value claims are non-cognitive,
meaningless
• Nietzsche predicts the position– 20th century Existentialism rebelled against
it
The Real World Is a MythThe Real World Is a Myth
• Plato (the sun) attainable to the wise
• Christianity (A woman! A promise)
• Kant (a skeptical possibility) source of obligation
• Positivism (value unknowable, so meaningless)
• Nietzsche (abandon real/apparent distinction)
• Plato (the sun) attainable to the wise
• Christianity (A woman! A promise)
• Kant (a skeptical possibility) source of obligation
• Positivism (value unknowable, so meaningless)
• Nietzsche (abandon real/apparent distinction)