A careful examination of Cicero's logic, however, reveals that he is not actually stating anything in any sort of refutable or even affirmable manner. This clause is not a true part of Cicero's argument at all, but merely a definition of the term "miracle" as he is using it (or whatever other Latin equivalent he actually wrote). If "what was capable of happening is not a miracle," then the converse must also be true; that is, what is a miracle is incapable of happening. There is no reasoning required for this, it is simply the definition of "miracle" as Cicero defines it -- his statement simply defines it in the negative ("a miracle is not capable of happening). Cicero's response to our hypothetical theologian, them would simply be, "if it was capable of happening, then it was no miracle." There is no discussion or even consideration of the miraculous agent here; causation is not important to this argument of Cicero's. He merely defines a miracle as that which is incapable of happening, and then moves on to his conclusive point. The last clause of this statement is simply the logical culmination of the first two. If nothing that was incapable of happening has ever happened, and miracles are defined as that which is incapable of having happened, then, Cicero reasons, "there are no miracles." This wording is interesting (though admittedly it might be partially the responsibility of the translator,...
At first, this might seem grounds for refutation -- how can he extrapolate that because there haven't been any miracles that there aren't now or won't be later (as the argument implies)? However, the self-reflexive logic of the argument makes it true no matter what the scenario -- if God (should He exist) were to stomp his foot down in the middle of the Pacific and empty the ocean in a matter of seconds, then obviously such a thing, extraordinary though it may have been, was capable of happening, and is therefore no miracle according to Cicero's definition. The logic of this argument, though it eats its own tail, is perfectly sound.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was more of a pragmatic and realistic thinker than a philosopher in the true sense of the term. His views on life and existence and human thinking are therefore realist without being influenced by any religious dogma or creed. There are two underlying concepts in all his works- firstly the admiration and discussion of nature, its ways leading to the discussion of being. We can understand that
E. The voices who argue that America should and could be an imperial superpower, but lacks sound practical judgment. The thesis of this paper is that the history of the Roman Empire can be matched to that of the United States in terms of economy, political power, as well as aspirations. In this sense, present day America is very similar to fourth of even fifth century Rome; this poses one stringent
It was not until the Renaissance that the art of rhetoric would retain the heights it had reached in the classical period. The Renaissance favored classical forms of rhetorical theory - particularly Latin. The Renaissance period can be seen as a severe reaction to the medieval period's emphasis on dialectical forms of scholastic endeavor. One of the key figures in the revival of the classical study of rhetoric was Erasmus.
geniuses, history will never even be aware that most people even lived at all, much less that their lives had any real purpose, meaning or worth. All ideas of human equality and natural rights are just pious little myths and fables, since only a handful will ever have the talent and intelligence to be recognized as standing out from the anonymous masses. This world is a very cruel and
Participative Management Today's international world of business is too complex and competitive for an authoritative approach to management. In order to succeed, companies need the support and expertise of its employees. Businesses are being redesigned to be flatter, so decisions are made by people close to the action. A more loosely created organizational structure can quickly adapt to changing business conditions and current projects. Overall, this belief in employee involvement is
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