“What right do we have to claim, as some might, that human beings are the only inhabitants of our planet blessed with an actual ability to be "aware"? The impression of a "conscious presence" is indeed very strong with me when I look at a dog or a cat or, especially, when an ape or monkey at the zoo looks at me. I do not ask that they are "self-aware" in any strong sense (though I would guess that an element of self-awareness can be present). All I ask is that they sometimes simply feel!” FeelsHumansLooksSelfSometimesMightAsksStrongHuman BeingsAbilityAwarenessDogPlanetsElementsConsciousCatClaimsSelf AwarenessBlessedImpressionVery StrongMonkeysLook At MeOur PlanetApesZoos Author:Roger Penrose
“When speaking of a "body of knowledge" or of "the results of research," e.g., we tacitly assign the same cognitive status to inherited knowledge and to independently acquired knowledge. To counteract this tendency a special effort is required to transform inherited knowledge into genuine knowledge by revitalizing its original discovery, and to discriminate between the genuine and the spurious elements of what claims to be inherited knowledge.” BodyResultsEffortSpecialElementsResearchDiscoveryClaimsOriginalsGenuineTendenciesCognitive Book:What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies Source: What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies
“Every American, to the last man, lays claim to a "sense" of humor and guards it as his most significant spiritual trait, yet rejects humor as a contaminating element wherever found. America is a nation of comics and comedians; nevertheless, humor has no stature and is accepted only after the death of the perpetrator.” MenFunnyLastsAmericaSpiritualFoundNationsElementsClaimsLaysAcceptedSignificantComedianRejectsSense Of HumorTraitsNeverthelessStaturePerpetrators Author:E. B. White
“Memeticists have to give empirical evidence to support the claim that, in the micro-processes of cultural transmission, elements of culture inherit all or nearly all their relevant properties from other elements of culture that they replicate.” GivingCultureProcessSupportElementsEvidenceClaimsPropertyRelevantTransmissionReplicateEmpirical Evidence Author:Dan Sperber
“You can talk about a caption underneath a photograph being true or false, because there is a linguistic element. You can claim that a photograph is a picture of a horse or a cow, but it is the sentence that expresses the claim, which is true or false, not the photograph.” ElementsClaimsHorsePhotographSentencesBeing TrueCowsCaptionTrue Or False Author:Errol Morris
“It is this claim to a monopoly of meaning, rather than any special scientific doctrine, that makes science and religion look like competitors today. Scientism emerged not as the conclusion of scientific argument but as a chosen element in a worldview - a vision that attracted people by its contrast with what went before - which is, of course, how people very often do make such decisions, even ones that they afterwards call scientific.” PeopleLooksTodayCoursesDecisionVisionSpecialElementsArgumentClaimsChosenDoctrineConclusionContrastScience And ReligionCompetitorsMonopolyWorldviewScientism Author:Mary Midgley