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Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present > Western philosophy, from c 1900 - > General
The commonly held view that Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion
is fideistic loses plausibility when contrasted with recent
scholarship on Wittgenstein's corpus and biography. This book
reevaluates the place of Wittgenstein in the philosophy of religion
and charts a path forward for the subfield by advancing three
themes.
This book offers a clear, analytic, and innovative interpretation
of Heidegger's late work. This period of Heidegger's philosophy
remains largely unexplored by analytic philosophers, who consider
it filled with inconsistencies and paradoxical ideas, particularly
concerning the notions of Being and nothingness. This book takes
seriously the claim that the late Heidegger endorses dialetheism -
namely the position according to which some contradictions are true
- and shows that the idea that Being is both an entity and not an
entity is neither incoherent nor logically trivial. The author
achieves this by presenting and defending the idea that reality has
an inconsistent structure. In doing so, he takes one of the most
discussed topics in current analytic metaphysics, grounding theory,
into a completely unexplored area. Additionally, in order to make
sense of Heidegger's concept of nothingness, the author introduces
an original axiomatic mereological system that, having a
paraconsistent logic as a base logic, can tolerate inconsistencies
without falling into logical triviality. This is the first book to
set forth a complete and detailed discussion of the late Heidegger
in the framework of analytic metaphysics. It will be of interest to
Heidegger scholars and analytic philosophers working on theories of
grounding, mereology, dialetheism, and paraconsistent logic.
This is the first volume dedicated to a direct exploration of
Wittgenstein and Plato. It is a compilation of essays by thirteen
authors of diverse geographical provenance, orientation and
philosophical interest.
The volume offers the most complete and detailed view to date on
Wittgenstein and Plato, without being tied to any unilateral
guidelines from either a critical or philosophical perspective. The
authors are scholars of Wittgenstein, but also of Plato and Greek
philosophy. The book is a sort of game of mirrors: Plato in the
mirror of Wittgenstein, and Wittgenstein in the mirror of Plato.
All essays always seek to combine philosophical interest and
philological attention, although, in some essays one interest
prevails over the other.
Despite the preponderance of scholars of Wittgenstein, the volume
seeks to be not only a book on Wittgenstein and Plato, but also,
simultaneously, on Plato and Wittgenstein.
This book presents Heidegger as a thinker of revolution.
Understanding revolution as an occurrence whereby the previously
unforeseeable comes to appear as inevitable, the temporal character
of such an event is explored through Heidegger's discussion of
temporality and historicity. Beginning with his magnum opus, Being
and Time, Heidegger is shown to have undertaken a radical
rethinking of time in terms of human action, understood as
involving both doing and making and as implicated in an interplay
of the opportune moment (kairos) and temporal continuity (chronos).
Developing this theme through his key writings of the early 1930s,
the book shows how Heidegger's analyses of truth and freedom led to
an increasingly dialectical account of time and action culminating
in his phenomenology of the - artistic and political - 'work'. A
context is thus given for Heidegger's political engagement in 1933.
While diagnosing the moral failure of this engagement, the book
defends Heidegger's account of the time of human action and shows
it to foreshadow his later thought of a 'new beginning'.
A collection of essays which explores the significance of
Wittgenstein for the Philosophy of Religion. Explorations of
central notions in Wittgenstein's later philosophy are brought to
bear on the clash between belief and atheism; understanding
religious experience; language and ritual; evil and theodicies;
miracles; and the possibility of a Christian philosophy.
Bringing together all of Jacques Derrida s writings on James Joyce,
this volume includes the first complete translation of his book
"Ulysses Gramophone: Two Words for Joyce" as well as the first
translation of the essay The Night Watch. In "Ulysses Gramophone,"
Derrida provides some of his most thorough reflections on
affirmation and the yes, the signature, and the role of
technological mediation in all of these areas. In The Night Watch,
Derrida pursues his ruminations on writing in an explicitly
feminist direction, offering profound observations on the
connection between writing and matricide. Accompanying these texts
are nine essays by leading scholars from across the humanities
addressing Derrida s treatments of Joyce throughout his work, and
two remembrances of lectures devoted to Joyce that Derrida gave in
1982 and 1984. The volume concludes with photographs of Derrida
from these two events."
This is an exciting new collection of essays exploring the
relevance of Deleuze and Guattari's work in contemporary aesthetics
and political theory.Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari have
arguably gone further than anyone in contemporary philosophy in
affirming a philosophy of creation, one that both establishes and
encourages a clear ethical imperative: to create the new.In this
remarkable undertaking, these two thinkers have created a fresh
engagement of thought with the world. This important collection of
essays attempts to explore and extend the creative rupture that
Deleuze and Guattari produce in the "Capitalism and Schizophrenia"
project.The essays in this volume, all by leading thinkers and
theorists, extend Deleuze and Guattari's project by offering
creative experiments in constructing new communities - of ideas and
objects, experiences and collectives - that cohere around the
interaction of philosophy, the arts and the political realm.
"Deleuze, Guattari and the Production of the New" produces new
perspectives on Deleuze and Guattari's work by emphasising its
relevance to the contemporary intersection of aesthetics and
political theory, thereby exploring a pressing contemporary
problem: the production of the new.
Ranging from Antiquity to contemporary analytic philosophy, it
provides a concise but thorough analysis of the arguments developed
by some of the most outstanding philosophers of all times. Besides
the aesthetics of music proper, the volume touches upon
metaphysics, ethics, philosophy of language, psychology,
anthropology, and scientific developments that have influenced the
philosophical explanations of music. Starting from the very origins
of philosophy in Western thought (Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle) the
book talks about what music is according to Augustine, Descartes,
Leibniz, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, the Romantics, Schopenhauer,
Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Susanne Langer, Bloch, Adorno, and many
others. Recent developments within the analytic tradition are
illustrated with particular attention to the ontology of the
musical artwork and to the problem of music and emotions. A
fascinating idea which recurs throughout the book is that
philosophers allow for a sort of a secret kinship between music and
philosophy, as means to reveal complementary aspects of truth.
While well-known for his book-length work, philosopher Peter
Unger's articles have been less widely accessible. These two
volumes of Unger's Philosophical Papers include articles spanning
more than 35 years of Unger's long and fruitful career. Dividing
the articles thematically, this first volume collects work in
epistemology and ethics, among other topics, while the second
volume focuses on metaphysics.
Unger's work has advanced the full spectrum of topics at the heart
of philosophy, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of
language and philosophy of mind, and ethics. Unger advances radical
positions, going against the so-called "commonsense philosophy"
that has dominated the analytic tradition since its beginnings
early in the twentieth century. In epistemology, his articles
advance the view that nobody ever knows anything and, beyond that,
argue that nobody has any reason to believe anything--and even
beyond that, they argue that nobody has any reason to do anything,
or even want anything. In metaphysics, his work argues that people
do not really exist--and neither do puddles, plants, poodles, and
planets. But, as Unger has often changed his favored positions,
from one decade to the next, his work also advances the opposite,
"commonsense" positions: that there are in fact plenty of people,
puddles, plants and planets and, quite beyond that, we know it all
to be true. On most major philosophical questions, both of these
sides of Unger's significant work are well represented in this
major two volume collection.
Unger's vivid writing style, intellectual vitality, and
fearlessness in the face of our largest philosophical questions,
make these volumes of great interestnot only to the philosophical
community but to others who might otherwise find contemporary
philosophy dry and technical.
(Mis)readings of Marx In Continental Philosophy reflects on the way
major European philosophers related to the work of Karl Marx. It
brings together leading and emerging critical theorists to address
the readings of Marx offered by Benjamin, Adorno, Arendt,
Althusser, Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, Negri, Badiou, Agamben,
Ranciere, Latour and Zizek.
In this brief and accessible introduction, Russell guides the
reader through his famous 1910 distinction between "knowledge by
acquaintance and knowledge by description" and introduces important
theories of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Locke, Kant, Hegel
and others. He lays the foundation for philosophical inquiry for
general readers and scholars.There are sixteen chapters: Appearance
and Reality, The Existence of Matter, The Nature of Matter,
Idealism, Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description,
On Induction, On Our Knowledge Of General Principles, How A Priori
Knowledge Is Possible, The World of Universals, On Our Knowledge of
Universals, On Intuitive Knowledge, Truth and Falsehood, Knowledge,
Error, and Probable Opinion, The Limits of Philosophical Knowledge,
The Value of Philosophy. Russell also provides a short
supplementary reading list.
This is a fascinating examination of the relation between absence
and chance in Derrida's work and through that a re-examination of
the relation between war and literature. "Derrida, Literature and
War" argues for the importance of the relation between absence and
chance in Derrida's work in thinking today about war and
literature. Sean Gaston starts by marking Derrida's attempts to
resist the philosophical tradition of calculating on absence as an
assured resource, while insisting on the (mis)chances of the chance
encounter. Gaston re-examines the relation between the concept of
war and the chances of literature by focusing on narratives of
conflict set during the Napoleonic wars. These chance encounters or
duels can help us think again about the sovereign attempt to leave
the enemy nameless or to name what cannot be named in the midst of
wars without end. His study includes new readings of a range of
writers, including Aristotle, Hume, Rousseau, Schiller, Clausewitz,
Thackeray, Tolstoy, Conrad, Freud, Heidegger, Blanchot, Foucault,
Deleuze and Agamben. Offering an authoritative reading of Derrida's
oeuvre and new insights into a range of writers in philosophy and
literature, this is a timely and ambitious study of philosophy,
literature, politics and ethics. "The Philosophy, Aesthetics and
Cultural Theory" series examines the encounter between contemporary
Continental philosophy and aesthetic and cultural theory. Each book
in the series explores an exciting new direction in philosophical
aesthetics or cultural theory, identifying the most important and
pressing issues in Continental philosophy today.
This book offers a concise and accessible introduction to his work
and thought, ideal for students coming to his philosophy for the
first time. John Searle is one of the most important and
influential analytic philosophers working today. He has made
significant contributions to the fields of the philosophy of
language and the philosophy of mind. This concise and accessible
book provides a critical review of Searle's philosophical themes.
While Searle began his career as a philosopher of language, this
book proceeds thematically, starting with a review of Searle's
general ontological commitments. His conception of the mental is
then located within that general framework. A theory of
intentionality sets the stage for Searle's accounts of action,
rationality, freedom, language, and social reality. Searle weaves
together this broad array of topics by means of a set of
theoretical and methodological assumptions. Part of the task of
this book is to articulate some of those unifying tendencies, while
locating Searle within the history of analytic philosophy. In
addition to comparing Searle's views to those of his interlocutors,
the book also attempts to identify changes in those views, as
articulated over the course of Searle's career. "The Continuum
Contemporary American Thinkers" series offers concise and
accessible introductions to the most important and influential
thinkers at work in philosophy today. Designed specifically to meet
the needs of students and readers encountering these thinkers for
the first time, these informative books provide a coherent overview
and analysis of each thinker's vital contribution to the field of
philosophy. The series is the ideal companion to the study of these
most inspiring and challenging of thinkers.
This engaging and wide-ranging collection of essays is informed and
unified by the conviction that philosophy can, and should, engage
with real-world issues. Susan Haack's keen analytical skills and
well-chosen illustrations illuminate a diverse range of cultural
questions; and her direct style and wry sense of humor make complex
ideas and subtle distinctions accessible to serious readers
whatever their discipline or particular interests. "Putting
Philosophy to Work" will appeal not only to philosophers but also
to thoughtful scientists, economists, legal thinkers, historians,
literary scholars, and humanists.
This new, expanded second edition includes several previously
unpublished essays: a devastating critique of Karl Popper's highly
(and dangerously) influential philosophy of science; a searching
and thought-provoking analysis of scientism; and a groundbreaking
paper on "academic ethics in a preposterous environment" that every
professor, and would-be professor, should read.
This volume features essays that detail the distinctive ways
authors and researchers in Spanish speaking countries express their
thoughts on contemporary philosophy of technology. Written in
English but fully capturing a Spanish perspective, the essays bring
the views and ideas of pioneer authors and many new ones to an
international readership. Coverage explores key topics in the
philosophy of technology, the ontological and epistemological
aspects of technology, development and innovation, and new
technological frontiers like nanotechnology and cloud computing. In
addition, the book features case studies on philosophical queries.
Readers will discover such voices as Miguel Angel Quintanilla and
Javier Echeverria, who are main references in the current landscape
of philosophy of technology both in Spain and Spanish speaking
countries; Jose Luis Lujan, who is a leading Spanish author in
research about technological risk; and Emilio Munoz, former head of
the Spanish National Research Council and an authority on Spanish
science policy. The volume also covers thinkers in American Spanish
speaking countries, such as Jorge Linares, an influential
researcher in ethical issues; Judith Sutz, who has a very
recognized work on social issues concerning innovation; Carlos
Osorio, who focuses his work on technological determinism and the
social appropriation of technology; and Diego Lawler, an important
researcher in the ontological aspects of technology.
The International Kierkegaard Commentary-For the first time in
English the world community of scholars systematically assembled
and presented the results of recent research in the vast literature
of Soren Kierkegaard. Based on the definitive English edition of
Kierkegaard's works by Princeton University Press, this series of
commentaries addresses all the published texts of the influential
Danish philosopher and theologian. This is volume 9 & 10 in a
series of commentaries based upon the definitive translations of
Kierkegaard's writings published by Princeton University Press,
1980ff.
This book offers a fascinating account of Heidegger's middle and
later thought."Heidegger and Philosophical Atheology" offers an
important new reading of Heidegger's middle and later thought.
Beginning with Heidegger's early dissertation on the doctrine of
categories in Duns Scotus, Peter S. Dillard shows how Heidegger's
middle and later works develop a philosophical anti-theology or
'atheology' that poses a serious threat to traditional metaphysics,
natural theology and philosophy of religion.Drawing on the insights
of Scholastic thinkers such as St Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus,
the book reveals the problematic assumptions of Heideggerian
'atheology' and shows why they should be rejected. Dillard's
critique paves the way for a rejuvenation of Scholastic metaphysics
and reveals its relevance to some contemporary philosophical
disputes. In addition to clarifying the question of being and
explaining the role of phenomenology in metaphysics, Dillard sheds
light on the nature of nothingness, necessity and contingency.
Ultimately the book offers a revolutionary reorientation of our
understanding, both of the later Heidegger and of the legacy of
Scholasticism.
Several of Descarte's most ground-breaking essays and philosophic
treatises are contained in this quality edition. Written by Ren
Descartes in the 17th century and counted among the first great
philosophic works of Enlightenment era, these papers contain the
philosopher's thoughts on physical objects, presence and being.
Descartes describes a series of vivid dreams which, for their
realism, leave him in doubt as to whether he does indeed possess a
body or whether it is merely an illusion. Descartes reflects upon
the nature of dreams, and wonders whether their strangeness is not
a consequence of God playing a trick with his mind. Discounting God
as the culprit, Descartes instead places responsibility of the
illusion of reality at the feet of a 'malignant demon'. The
translations present in this edition were composed by the Scottish
poet and scholar of philosophy John Vietch, whose academic career
at The University of St. Andrews in Fife provided a firm grounding
in the philosophic disciplines.
"Contemporary Caribbean Writing and Deleuze" maps a new
intellectual and literary history of postcolonial Caribbean writing
and thought spanning from the 1930s surrealist movement to the
present, crossing the region's language blocs, and focused on the
interconnected principles of creativity and commemoration.
Exploring the work of Rene Menil, Edouard Glissant, Wilson Harris,
Derek
Walcott, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, Pauline Melville, Robert Antoni and
Nalo Hopkinson, this study reveals the explicit and implicit
engagement with Deleuzian thought at work in contemporary Caribbean
writing.Uniting for the first time two major schools of
contemporary thought - postcolonialism and post-continental
philosophy - this study establishes a new and innovative critical
discourse for Caribbean studies and postcolonial theory beyond the
oppositional dialectic of colonizer and colonized. Drawing
from Deleuze's writings on Bergson, Nietzsche and Spinoza, this
study interrogates the postcolonial tropes of newness, becoming,
relationality and a philosophical concept of immanence that lie at
the heart of a little-observed dialogue between contemporary
Caribbean writers and Deleuze.
The Philosophy of Philip Kitcher contains eleven chapters on the
work of noted philosopher Philip Kitcher, whose work is known for
its broad range and insightfulness. Topics covered include
philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, philosophy of
mathematics, ethics, epistemology, and philosophy of religion. Each
of the chapters is followed by a reply from Kitcher himself. This
first significant edited volume devoted to examining Kitcher's work
is an essential reference for anyone interested in understanding
this important philosopher.
This book presents an anti-intellectualist view of how the
cognitive-mental dimension of human intellect is rooted in and
interwoven with our embodied-internal components including emotion,
perception, desire, etc., by investigating practical forms of
thinking such as deliberation, planning, decision-making, etc. With
many thought-provoking statements, the book revises some classical
notions of rationality with new interpretation: we are "rational
animals", which means we have both rational capabilities, such as
calculation, evaluation, justification, etc., and more animal
aspects, like desire, emotion, and the senses. According to the
traditional position of rationalism, we use well-grounded reason as
the fundamental basis of our actions. But this book argues that we
simply perform our practical intellect intuitively and
spontaneously, just like playing music. By this the author turns
the dominant metaphor of "architecture" in understanding of human
rationality to that of "music-playing". This book presents a
groundbreaking and compelling critique of today's pervasively
reflective-intellectual culture, just as Bernard Williams, Charles
Taylor and other philosophers diagnose, and makes any detached
notion of rationality and formalized understanding of human
intellect highly problematic.Methodologically, it not only
reconciles the phenomenological-hermeneutic tradition with
analytical approaches, but also integrates various theories, such
as moral psychology, emotional studies, action theory, decision
theory, performativity studies, music philosophy, tacit knowledge,
collective epistemology and media theory. Further, its use of
everyday cases, metaphors, folk stories and references to movies
and literature make the book easy to read and appealing for a broad
readership.
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