(Originally written August 26, 2007 in Notebook 18)
Beyond Good & Evil
Friedrich Nietzsche
248
There are two types of genius:
1) That which wants to beget (man)
2) That which wants to give birth (woman)
These two types of peoples and genius search for one another looking to combine (as with man and woman) but, as with man and woman they often misunderstand one another.
249
"What is best in us we do not know - we cannot know" (Nietzsche 375).
250
Europe owes many things to the Jews, both good and bad.
Above all Europe owes the grand style of morality, infinite demands, infinite meanings; these we owe to the Jews and it is both the best and worst they have offered.
Nietzsche seeks to initiate a revolution process. He uses the Jews as a model on how to do so while disagreeing with the values they have set.
251
The Jews are the strongest and purest race in all of Europe. They prevail in hardships and change when they wish to.
The Jews have a faith that stands unembarrassed in the presence of modern ideas.
The Jews, if they wished, could take over all of Europe.
But rather than conquering the Jews wish only to be admitted and assimilated into a nation's culture.
The task which Nietzsche is serious about is the cultivation of a new caste that will rule Europe.
252
The English are unphilosophic as a race. Bacon is an attack on the philosophical spirit. Hobbes, Hume and Locke have amounted to a debasement of the value of philosophy.
His characteristic of an unphilosophical race is to cling to Christianity. The English need Christianity for its discipline, its power to moralize and its power to humanize.
The English person lacks a musical sense. The movements of their bodies and souls completely lack rhythm and dance.
253
There are truths that are recognized by mediocre minds at best.
The spirit of respectable, albeit mediocre, English minds like Darwin, John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer is becoming fashionable in middle Europe.
These mediocre minds are necessary at times. For they are knowledgeable, but the higher man is a man who "can"
The disparity between 'know' and 'can' is great. In fact, a high mind must be able to do something starkly new and innovative. Their focus on new and can may demand that he not know as much.
254
The French are a semi-successful blending of the North and South cultures.
255
We must rise above the good and evil, and as the sun sets on the moral world it becomes hospitable and profound enough for fugitives.
256
"Europe wants to become one" (Nietzsche, 386).
Showing posts with label Francis Bacon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francis Bacon. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Virtues of the Mind - Ch. 3
(Originally written December 3, 2006 in Book 12)
Virtues of the Mind
Linda Zagzebski
3. Intellectual and Moral Virtues
3.1 Aristotle's distinction between intellectual and moral virtues
The human cognitive and feeling processes are regarded as distinct and relatively autonomous by Western Philosophers.
Many Western Philosophers have aimed for what Michael Stocker calls a "purified view of the intellect" despite Philosophers like Hume and James showing the connection between feelings/emotions and cognition.
Few philosophers have openly denied Aristotle's division of feelings and cognition.
Spinoza was an exception, he connected the passions and virtue via the ideas of God. No one have unified intellectual and moral virtue like Spinoza.
David Hume insisted that the difference between moral and intellectual virtues was merely verbal. But, Hume's notion of virtue was broader than most other philosophers.
Zagzebski holds that Aristotle's distinction between virtues and other capacities is an important one; but, his division of moral and intellectual virtue is not an important one.
Aristotle divides intellectual virtues into two classes:
1) Art (techne) - theoretical knowledge
2) Practical wisdom (phronesis) - practical knowledge
Aristotle links the two different types of virtues to the two parts of the soul.
The thinking part of the soul commands and the feelings part obeys.
Pascal saw being full of faults as being an evil, but it was worse to be full of faults and unwilling to recognize it.
Self-love weakens the love of truth and leads to self-deception, hypocrisy and other intellectual vices.
"Feelings are involved in intellectual virtues, and intellectual virtues are involved in handling feelings" (Zagzebski, 148).
In addition to distinguishing intellectual virtues from moral ones on the ground that intellectual virtues regulate feelings (an inadequate argument), Aristotle distinguishes them on the basis of how they are acquired.
He holds that intellectual virtues can be taught, whereas moral virtues can only be acquired by practice and training.
Zagzebski holds that both intellectual and moral virtues are learned in stages.
Young people do not possess virtues or vices. We do not start with vice and work up to a virtue.
William James held that it is bad to be too doubtful and too uncritical in holding a belief. He held that the virtue lies in the mean between the two.
Intellectual akrasia (weakness) is higher than a vice. It exists when one knows the good, but does not intellectually actualize it.
Above akrasia is intellectual self-control. This is not a virtue, but it is knowing the bad and not doing it.
Intellectual and moral states (higher to lower)
1) Virtue
2) Self-Control
3) Akrasia
4) Vice
Zagzebski hold that the distinction between moral and intellectual virtues is a real one. She argues that because a person can possess intellectual virtues but no moral virtues (and vice-versa) the distinction is real and not linguistic as Hume and Spinoza held.
Both intellectual and moral virtues are acquired in the same fashion. They both require training and imitation.
Both involve feelings and require one to act virtuously. Both have the states virtue, self-control, akrasia and vice.
3.2 Some connections between intellectual and moral virtues
Zagzebski argues that no-one has offered adequate reason to think moral and intellectual virtues differ any more than one moral virtue differs from another.
The two types of virtue are similar in their natures, similarly acquired and are intimately connected in their operation.
There are logical and causal connections between moral and intellectual virtues.
Moral virtues logically entail some intellectual virtues.
Moral vices can causally inhibit the acquisition of intellectual virtues.
Intellectual failures can be caused by moral failures.
Some virtues have both an intellectual and moral form (i.e. trust and autonomy)
Francis Bacon and John Locke associate intellectual failings with the passions and moral vices.
Francis Bacon states that human understanding is infused by desire and emotion.
Bacon states that there are four types of error in belief formation (he calls the errors 'idols')
1) Idols of the tribe: "The human understanding is like an uneven mirror that cannot truly reflect the rays from objects, but distorts and corrupts the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it (aphorism 41)" (Zagzebski, 164).
2) Idols of the cave: these come from every individual's particularisms, from education, habits and chance
3) Idols of the marketplace: language dictates reason, when reason ought to dictate language. Sometimes language can make philosophy sophistical and inactive.
4) Idols of the theater: errors of this sort come from the fashions of the day. These trends in theology and philosophy can be used to make theory better than truth
Locke's explanation of error comes from his classification of types of men:
1) Those who do not think independently
2) Those who use passion instead of reason as a substitute
3) Those who follow reason, but only seek one source for information and tat source corroborates their opinions
Virtues of the Mind
Linda Zagzebski
3. Intellectual and Moral Virtues
3.1 Aristotle's distinction between intellectual and moral virtues
The human cognitive and feeling processes are regarded as distinct and relatively autonomous by Western Philosophers.
Many Western Philosophers have aimed for what Michael Stocker calls a "purified view of the intellect" despite Philosophers like Hume and James showing the connection between feelings/emotions and cognition.
Few philosophers have openly denied Aristotle's division of feelings and cognition.
Spinoza was an exception, he connected the passions and virtue via the ideas of God. No one have unified intellectual and moral virtue like Spinoza.
David Hume insisted that the difference between moral and intellectual virtues was merely verbal. But, Hume's notion of virtue was broader than most other philosophers.
Zagzebski holds that Aristotle's distinction between virtues and other capacities is an important one; but, his division of moral and intellectual virtue is not an important one.
Aristotle divides intellectual virtues into two classes:
1) Art (techne) - theoretical knowledge
2) Practical wisdom (phronesis) - practical knowledge
Aristotle links the two different types of virtues to the two parts of the soul.
The thinking part of the soul commands and the feelings part obeys.
Pascal saw being full of faults as being an evil, but it was worse to be full of faults and unwilling to recognize it.
Self-love weakens the love of truth and leads to self-deception, hypocrisy and other intellectual vices.
"Feelings are involved in intellectual virtues, and intellectual virtues are involved in handling feelings" (Zagzebski, 148).
In addition to distinguishing intellectual virtues from moral ones on the ground that intellectual virtues regulate feelings (an inadequate argument), Aristotle distinguishes them on the basis of how they are acquired.
He holds that intellectual virtues can be taught, whereas moral virtues can only be acquired by practice and training.
Zagzebski holds that both intellectual and moral virtues are learned in stages.
Young people do not possess virtues or vices. We do not start with vice and work up to a virtue.
William James held that it is bad to be too doubtful and too uncritical in holding a belief. He held that the virtue lies in the mean between the two.
Intellectual akrasia (weakness) is higher than a vice. It exists when one knows the good, but does not intellectually actualize it.
Above akrasia is intellectual self-control. This is not a virtue, but it is knowing the bad and not doing it.
Intellectual and moral states (higher to lower)
1) Virtue
2) Self-Control
3) Akrasia
4) Vice
Zagzebski hold that the distinction between moral and intellectual virtues is a real one. She argues that because a person can possess intellectual virtues but no moral virtues (and vice-versa) the distinction is real and not linguistic as Hume and Spinoza held.
Both intellectual and moral virtues are acquired in the same fashion. They both require training and imitation.
Both involve feelings and require one to act virtuously. Both have the states virtue, self-control, akrasia and vice.
3.2 Some connections between intellectual and moral virtues
Zagzebski argues that no-one has offered adequate reason to think moral and intellectual virtues differ any more than one moral virtue differs from another.
The two types of virtue are similar in their natures, similarly acquired and are intimately connected in their operation.
There are logical and causal connections between moral and intellectual virtues.
Moral virtues logically entail some intellectual virtues.
Moral vices can causally inhibit the acquisition of intellectual virtues.
Intellectual failures can be caused by moral failures.
Some virtues have both an intellectual and moral form (i.e. trust and autonomy)
Francis Bacon and John Locke associate intellectual failings with the passions and moral vices.
Francis Bacon states that human understanding is infused by desire and emotion.
Bacon states that there are four types of error in belief formation (he calls the errors 'idols')
1) Idols of the tribe: "The human understanding is like an uneven mirror that cannot truly reflect the rays from objects, but distorts and corrupts the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it (aphorism 41)" (Zagzebski, 164).
2) Idols of the cave: these come from every individual's particularisms, from education, habits and chance
3) Idols of the marketplace: language dictates reason, when reason ought to dictate language. Sometimes language can make philosophy sophistical and inactive.
4) Idols of the theater: errors of this sort come from the fashions of the day. These trends in theology and philosophy can be used to make theory better than truth
Locke's explanation of error comes from his classification of types of men:
1) Those who do not think independently
2) Those who use passion instead of reason as a substitute
3) Those who follow reason, but only seek one source for information and tat source corroborates their opinions
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