Silly quote of the week: "There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous."- Hannah Arendt // No, it really isn't.
-
@PhilosophyExp fire can heat or burn but we say fire is dangerous. It is its potential that makes it so.
@BrianMcleish Except actually we wouldn't say "fire *itself* is dangerous". That would be a very odd construction (because it isn't).
-
-
@PhilosophyExp ..and the word dangerous implies potential harm. Once the harm is caused we would call something harmful. -
@BrianMcleish Hang on - I'm aware fire is dangerous! I'm disputing that it makes sense to say, "Fire itself is dangerous". -
@PhilosophyExp why does it not make sense to say that fire itself is dangerous? The potential for harm is the deciding factor. -
@BrianMcleish Too complex for twitter. But think about a brain in a vat - is there any danger? If not, then how can thinking *itself* be...
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
@PhilosophyExp google "why is fire dangerous?" for some fairly regular constructions. Anything with potential for harm is dangerous...Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.