Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    The claim that intellectual activities are intrinsically ... — Carmelics
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Virtue Ethics
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    The claim that intellectual activities are intrinsically good explains why some instances of knowledge are more important than others.

    Truth & KnowledgeVirtue Ethics
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Different instances of intellectual activity are good in proportion as they are conducted according to principles discovered by logic.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.More philosophical or more general knowledge requires greater and more sophisticated use of principles discovered by logic.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Therefore, more philosophical or general knowledge is better than trivial knowledge (e.g., knowledge of the sex lives of movie stars).
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Pragmatist thinkers like Dewey argue that knowledge gains value from its role in solving concrete problems, not from logical generality.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Trivial knowledge (e.g., a nurse knowing a patient's allergy) can be more important than abstract philosophical knowledge in real contexts.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.If importance tracks practical consequence rather than logical sophistication, the claim's ranking criterion fails as a general account.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Aristotle distinguished episteme from phronesis, holding that practical wisdom about particulars is irreducibly valuable and not subordinate to general principles.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If phronesis is intrinsically good yet resists reduction to logically general principles, then logical generality cannot explain differential importance among intellectual goods.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    Virtue EthicsTruth & Knowledge

    Key Terms

    knowledge(Distinguished from mere true belief, which may be the product of indoctrination and need not exercise deliberative capacities.)
    Justified true belief — true belief that has been arrived at through the exercise of deliberative capacities, including comparison of and deliberation among alternatives.

    Related

    Aristotle distinguished episteme from phronesis, holding that practical wisdom a...Different instances of intellectual activity are good in proportion as they are ...If importance tracks practical consequence rather than logical sophistication, t...If phronesis is intrinsically good yet resists reduction to logically general pr...
    +4 moreShow less
    More philosophical or more general knowledge requires greater and more sophistic...Pragmatist thinkers like Dewey argue that knowledge gains value from its role in...Therefore, more philosophical or general knowledge is better than trivial knowle...Trivial knowledge (e.g., a nurse knowing a patient's allergy) can be more import...

    Similar

    Ross holds that intellectual activities are intrinsically good, not kn...91%If Ross claims knowledge is not intrinsically valuable but intellectua...89%Saying an activity is better when it issues in knowledge implies knowl...86%The value of intellectual activities explains the value of knowledge.83%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: william-david-ross
    View source passageHide passage
    This reply might cause Ross problems. If he says knowledge is not intrinsically valuable but intellectual activities are, he cannot say an activity of the mind is better when it issues in knowledge (FE 270; Shaver 2011, 134n34). Perhaps Ross will have to say intellectual activities leading to knowledge are better, not because knowledge is itself good, but because of its instrumental properties, e.g., knowledge might lead us to being most effective at promoting justice or virtue or pleasure. A fo
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit