Power of Change: Fun Philosophical Quotes

I read these over at the Prosblogian. Perhaps those who are philosophically minded will enjoy. The Avicenna quote is pretty well known, I had not seen how John Duns Scotus had adapted it.

Those who deny such manifest things need punishment..., for as Avicenna puts it: "Those who deny a first principle should be beaten or exposed to fire until they concede that to burn and not to burn, or to be beaten and not to be beaten, are not identical." And so to, those who deny that some being is contingent should be exposed to torments until they concede that it is possible for them not to be tormented.

Duns Scotus, Reportatio I A prol. q. iii. art. i

And then in the comments, a more kind but obscure quote from one of the men my Son, Thomas Reid Monaghan is named for:

"We may observe that opinions which contradict first principles, are distinguished, from other errors, by this:-That they are not only false but absurd; and, to discountenance absurdity, Nature has given us a particular emotion-to wit, that of ridicule-which seems intended for this very purpose of putting out of countenance what is absurd, either in opinion or practice."

Thomas Reid, Essays on the Intellectual Powers VI.iv

Just in case you wonder who the other folks Thomas is named for, please see the following link from the POC Archives: The Anatomy of a Name

Comments

"You cannot change the circumstances dealt to you from day to day. You can only change your attitude toward your circumstances. This is human freewill. Oddly enough, when your attitude changes, along with a conscious will toward positive change, so do your circumstances."

Posted by: Richard D Ackerman | April 9, 2008 10:24 PM

Nice quote Richard. Very interesting tension between human freedom and "circumstances being dealt to us" - I tend to agree with one small rejoinder.

Personally, responding positively usually helps, but I am not ready to make that a universal. We may respond with a good attitude and still be subject to circumstances beyond our control. Cancer still kills and oppression may still come - but of course my hope is not in this life alone. My though it that if something doesn't work in Darfur as well as America, it seems to be lacking.

Thanks for the quote - do you have a source for it? I am a bit of a quote geek.

Posted by: Reid | April 10, 2008 01:27 PM