Читать книгу The Philosopher's Toolkit - Julian Baggini, Julian Baggini - Страница 65

For this reason, the concept of an axiom becomes a useful philosophical tool. An axiom is a proposition that acts as a special kind of premise in a specific kind of rational system. Axiomatic systems were first formalised by the Alexandrian geometer Euclid (fl. 300 BCE) in his famous work the Elements. In these kinds of systems, axioms function as initial, anchoring claims that stand in no need of justification – at least from within the system. They are the bedrock of the theoretical system, the basis from which, through various steps of deductive reasoning, the rest of the system is derived. In ideal circumstances, an axiom should be such that no rational agent could possibly object to its use.