test 2 Flashcards
according to descartes there are only two kinds of finite substances what are they
thinking substances (mind) and extended substances (bodies)
what is the nature/principle attribute of a mind
the principle attribute of mind is thinking/thought
what is the nature/principle attribute of body
extension in three spacial dimensions (width, breadth, and depth)
2 examples of a mode of mind
particular ideas and volitions
what is it for something to be an atom
descartes thinks something is in atom if it is extended and indivisible
why does descartes think that atoms are impossible
because extension and indivisibility are incompatible. atoms have extension and would thus have to be divisible. however by definition atoms are indivisible, which leads to a contradiction
what would happen if god were to remove all matter from a vessel
the sides of the vessel would come in contact with each other- vessel would collapse
in the epistle to the reader locke describes himself as an _______ to the sciences
under-laborer
give 3 examples of primary qualities for locke
shape/figure, motion/rest/mobility, number
according to locke secondary qualities are merely ______ in bodies to cause perceptions in us
powers
what is lockes example of fire and the ideas of warmth and pain supposed to show
This example is trying to show that Naive Representationalism is false by showing a contradiction, as the ideas of warmth and pain must both be present in the fire if Naive Representationalism is true. In Locke’s view, the ability of fire to cause sensations of warmth and pain are secondary qualities that are dependent on a person experiencing them. In other words, NR must be false because the idea of pain is not intrinsic to the fire and could be said to not exist if no one is around to experience the fire.
the idea of heat or pain are not in the fire but effects of its operations on us, and are nowhere when we feel them not
state the 4 main theses of mechanical philosophy
1) bodies are composed of tiny bodies (corpuscles)
2) the only intrinsic (contingent) features that all bodies have (or could have) are the mechanical affections: size, shape, motion or rest, and texture
3) causation is through impact
4) by the figure, bulk, texture, and motion of the small and insensible corpuscles, all the phenomena of nature may be explained
2 examples of mode of body
particular size/shape, motion/rest
3 mechanical affections of bodies according to Boyle
size, shape, motion/rest
In Excellency and Grounds…, page (2), Boyle makes “a succinct mention of the chief Advantages
of [the Mechanical Hypothesis].” Present 3 of these advantages
- The “intelligibleness or clearness of Mechanical principles and explications.”
Boyle thinks this contrasts sharply with the notions of shape, size, and motion – everyone can agree what such terms mean, and fully understand other people’s claims about the shape, size and motion of a particular thing - Its principles are fundamental, chronologically and conceptually.
Chronologically: the universe as we know it could not begin without both matter and motion.
Conceptually: neither the concept of matter nor that of motion can be reduced to any simpler concepts (or to each other). - Its principles are “comprehesive” or universal.
Boyle points out that the same mechanical causes produce the same mechanical effects on very different scales of size: the basic design and operation of a wristwatch is the same as a huge town clock – the hands and gears are just bigger in one. Therefore, Boyle concludes, the mechanical principles hold good for very large things, very small things, and everything in between.
