“Order can arise from chaos without anyone or anything directing the process when unstable combinations of atoms perish and others persist. In the 17th century, Descartes applied this insight to cosmology, and long before Darwin presented his more rigorous ideas about variation and selection, people began to speculate more openly about the origins of life and the species in Epicurean terms.” PeopleLongIdeasOrderProcessTermCenturySpeciesChaosInsightAriseCombinationAtomsPersistSelectionVariationCosmologyUnstableOrigin Of Life17th CenturyEpicurean Author:Catherine Wilson
“Epicurus thought of justice as an agreement to prevent people harming and being harmed.” PeopleJusticeAgreement Author:Catherine Wilson
“There's Hobbes, who understood in the 1640s that the sovereign is not an appointee of God, or even a figure of superior virtue and wisdom, but just a functional device whose role is to keep people from hurting and killing each other.” PeopleHurtRolesVirtueFiguresUnderstoodKillingSuperiorsDevicesSovereignHobbesKilling Each Other Author:Catherine Wilson
“We call 'Slavery is wrong' a moral truth because there is a specific history of theoretical investigation of a particular kind of slavery. We discussed it for centuries in metaphysical, economic, biological, and philosophical terms; we listened to all the arguments pro and con, we read all the testimonies of slaves and witnesses, and we decided. Though this 'we" is not everybody on earth, or even most people, who've never thought about slavery much.” PeopleKindEarthTermMoralEconomicCenturyParticularTruth IsArgumentDecidedPhilosophicalSlaverySlaveWitnessInvestigationMetaphysicalTestimonyTheoreticalPros And Cons Author:Catherine Wilson
“Morality has in the past made progress when we broadened the category of things we weren't permitted to harm (animals, 'infidels'); saw through some delusions and rationalisations about what harms are good for people themselves (prison punishment, hysterectomies for unhappy 1950s wives); and readjusted our for-the-good of others criteria so as to demand only reasonable sacrifices (ceasing to use children as handy chimney sweeps).” PeopleChildrenMadeUsePastAnimalSawsWifeProgressSacrificeMoralityDemandPrisonHarmPunishmentUnhappyReasonableDelusionCategoriesCriteriaHandyInfidelChimneysHysterectomyChimney Sweeps Author:Catherine Wilson
“People should be able to develop their abilities and interests and have access to such goods as friendship, artistry, and nature and a political voice. It's possible to be poor and yet have all this, but in a polarized society, and one where culture and adventure have been thoroughly monetised, it is a lot more difficult.” PeopleShouldHas BeensAblePoliticalCultureDifficultVoiceInterestAbilityPoorAdventureAccessGoodsArtistry Author:Catherine Wilson
“People's wants are not fixed; they generally want what others in their chosen comparison class appear to be enjoying and what advertising presents to them as attainable for them and as bringing happiness.” PeopleWantEnjoyClassChosenAdvertisingFixedComparison Author:Catherine Wilson
“There are people who organise the contest, winners, losers, and people who benefit from the contest taking place.” PeopleBenefitsWinnerLoserContests Author:Catherine Wilson
“People formerly seemed unable to evaluate a woman's c.v. or to accept a range of personal and communicative styles from the exuberant and confident to the sober and pedantic. It's much better than it was, and a number of male philosophers have been extraordinarily helpful in detecting and criticising everyday sexism in the profession.” PeopleHas BeensNumbersAcceptingStyleMalesEverydayPhilosopherProfessionRangeHelpfulSexismSoberEvaluatePedantic Author:Catherine Wilson