Monday, June 4, 2012

The Dethronement of the Concept


 “Our convenience, or blind nature, are the only authorities which can validate our cognitive claims.” (p126)

“This theory reflects a culture which no longer accepts its own concepts as ordained from on high, but which chooses its own, and endows them with only a conditional authority. Neither ritual inclination nor Platonic meta-theory sanctifies concepts any longer…Concepts, like men, come to be valued for their efficiency rather than their honor.” (p126)

Ernest Gellner
U. of Chicago Press
1988

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