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Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present > Western philosophy, from c 1900 - > General
Few contemporary philosophers have made as wide-ranging and
insightful a contribution to philosophical debate as John
Cottingham. This collection brings together friends, colleagues and
former students of Cottingham, to discuss major themes of his work
on moral philosophy. Presented in three parts the collection
focuses on the debate on partiality, impartiality and character;
the role of emotions and reason in the good life; the meaning of a
worthwhile life and the place of theistic considerations in it. The
original contributions to this volume celebrate Cottingham's work
by embracing and furthering his arguments and, at times, in the
best spirit of philosophical engagement, challenging and
confronting them. The volume concludes with Cottingham's specially
commissioned responses to the contributions.
John Dewey, one of America's greatest popular philosophers and
educators, emphasises the importance of critical thinking and the
vital role education should play. In this progressive work, written
more than 80 years ago, Dewey, recognising that we are born with
the ability to think, argues that the educator's fundamental role
is to train us to think well. At a time when America is lamenting
the lack of solid training in the sciences at the elementary and
secondary levels, Dewey's enthusiastic correlation between the
scientific mind and the natural attitude of childhood marked by
curiosity, imagination, and the love of experimental inquiry offers
a refreshing and optimistic perspective. He demonstrates how an
appreciation of this correlation and a recognition of its value in
educational practice can promote individual happiness and reduce
social waste.
Based on Nelson Goodman's conception of language and of
pragmatically inherited meaning, this book looks at the arts as
systems of particular symbols. The author offers an approach to
kalology as a metaphysical implication of symbological functioning.
This book grew out of an international symposium, organized in
September 1986 by the Austrian Cultural Institute in Warsaw in
cooperation with the Polish Philosophical Society. The topic was:
The Vienna Circle and the Lvov-Warsaw School. Since the two phil-
osophical trends existed in roughly the same time and were close-
ly related, it was one of the purposes of the symposium to
investigate both similarities and thp differences. Some thirty
people took part in the symposium, nearly twenty contributions were
presented and extensively discussed. The sym- posium owed much to
the excellent organization and warm hospital- ity shown by Dr Georg
Jankovic, the Director of the Austrian In- stitute. As the person
in charge of the scientific programme of the symposium, I take
pleasure to acknowledge this debt. It so happened that a month
later another symposium of a similar character was held. It took
place in the University of Manchester, on the occasion of the
centenary of the births of Stanislaw Lesniewski, Tadeusz
Kotarbiflski and Wladyslaw Tatarkie- wicz. Some papers read at the
Manchester symposium form a part of the present volume. It was not
possible, for technical reasons (the time factor was one of them),
to include in this book all the material from the two symposia.
Certain contributions have appeared elsewhere (for instance, K.
Szaniawski's 'Ajdukiewicz on Non-Deductive Inference' was published
in Danish Yearbook of Philosophy, Vol. 23). On the other hand,
certain papers have been written special- ly for this volume.
What are the implications of philosophical pragmatism for
international relations theory and foreign policy practice?
According to John Ryder, "a foreign policy built on pragmatist
principles is neither naive nor dangerous. In fact, it is very much
what both the U.S. and the world are currently in need of." Close
observers of Barack Obama's foreign policy statements have also
raised the possibility of a distinctly pragmatist approach to
international relations. Absent from the three dominant theoretical
perspectives in the field-realism, idealism and constructivism-is
any mention of pragmatism, except in the very limited,
instrumentalist sense of choosing appropriate foreign policy tools
to achieve proposed policy objectives. The key commitments of any
international relations approach in the pragmatist tradition could
include a flexible approach to crafting policy ends, theory
integrally related to practice, a concern for both the normative
and explanatory dimensions of international relations research, and
policy means treated as hypotheses for experimental testing.
Following the example of classic pragmatists such as John Dewey and
neo-pragmatists like Richard Rorty, international relations
scholars and foreign policy practitioners would have to forgo grand
theories, instead embracing a situationally-specific approach to
understanding and addressing emerging global problems.
Unfortunately, commentary on the relationship between philosophical
pragmatism and international relations has been limited. The
authors in Philosophical Pragmatism and International Relations
remedies this lacuna by exploring ways in which philosophical
pragmatism, both classic and contemporary, can inform international
relations theory and foreign policy practice today.
"Being and Number in Heidegger's Thought" examines the relationship
between mathematics and ontology in Heidegger's thought, from his
earliest writings, through "Being and Time", up to and including
his work of the 1930s. The book charts the unfamiliar territory of
Heidegger's conception of mathematics, and explores the
relationship between time and number in/Heidegger's magnum opus,
"Being and Time". Michael Roubach offers a new analysis of
Heideggerian finitude, one of the most recalcitrant problems in the
interpretation on "Being and Time". In addition, he situates
Heidegger's thought with respect to some of the core debates in
logic and the foundations of mathematics.The book goes on to
elucidate Heidegger's reading of mathematics as ontology in his
writings from the 1930s. Roubach argues that exploring the
connection between mathematics and ontology in Heidegger's thought
affords us new insight into the origins and evolution of
Heidegger's radically original take on the traditional problems of
philosophy.This facilitates a reassessment, not only of specific
issues in Heideggerian thought, but also of the larger question of
Heidegger's place in twentieth-century philosophy.
This book charts the history of the concept of nihilism in some of
the most important philosophers and literary theorists of the
modern and postmodern periods, including Wyndham Lewis, Heidegger,
Adorno, Blanchot, Derrida, and Vattimo. Focusing in particular on
the ways in which each of these thinkers produces a theory of the
literary as the privileged form of resistance to nihilism, Weller
offers the first in-depth analysis of nihilism's key role in the
thinking of the aesthetic since Nietzsche.
What is fair? How and when can punishment be legitimate? Is there
recompense for human suffering? How can we understand ideas about
immortality or an afterlife in the context of critical thinking on
the human condition? In this book L. E. Goodman presents the first
general theory of justice in this century to make systematic use of
the Jewish sources and to bring them into a philosophical dialogue
with the leading ethical and political texts of the Western
tradition. Goodman takes an ontological approach to questions of
natural and human justice, developing a theory of community and of
nonvindictive yet retributive punishment that is grounded in
careful analysis of various Jewish sources-biblical, rabbinic, and
philosophical, His exegesis of these sources allow Plato, Kant, and
Rawls to join in a discourse with Spinoza and medieval
rationalists, such as Saasidah and Maimonides, who speak in a very
different idiom but address many of the same themes. Drawing on
sources old and new, Jewish and non-Jewish, Goodman offers fresh
perspectives on important moral and theological issues that will be
of interest to both Jewish and secular philosophers.
Contemporary interest in realism and naturalism, emerging under the
banner of speculative or new realism, has prompted
continentally-trained philosophers to consider a number of texts
from the canon of analytic philosophy. The philosophy of Wilfrid
Sellars, in particular, has proven remarkably able to offer a
contemporary re-formulation of traditional "continental" concerns
that is amenable to realist and rationalist considerations, and
serves as an accessible entry point into the Anglo-American
tradition for continental philosophers. With the aim of appraising
this fertile theoretical convergence, this volume brings together
experts of both analytic and continental philosophy to discuss the
legacy of Kantianism in contemporary philosophy. The individual
essays explore the ways in which Sellars can be put into dialogue
with the widely influential work of Quentin Meillassoux, explaining
how-even though their methods, language, and proximal influences
are widely different-their philosophical stances can be compared
thanks to their shared Kantian heritage and interest in the problem
of realism. This book will be appeal to students and scholars who
are interested in Sellars, Meillassoux, contemporary realist
movements in continental philosophy, and the analytic-continental
debate in contemporary philosophy.
Until recently, the work of Jean-Paul Sartre seemed to have faded
out of fashion. Existentialism was replaced by structuralism and
poststructuralism, and Sartrean philosophy was relegated to
anthologies. In France and the United States, real confrontation
with his work has been virtually missing. This collection of essays
addresses this absence by shedding light on Sartre's contribution
to critical trends that have been developing over the last twenty
years, including feminism, gender studies and post-colonial
studies. In addition, the essays combine to reassess Sartre's
importance in such traditional fields as literature, philosophy and
psychoanalysis. An essential, comprehensive volume of work,
Situating Sartre in Twentieth-Century Thought and Culture updates
and expands the scope of Sartrean studies.
New essays providing an up-to-date picture of the engagement of
artists, philosophers, and critics with Kafka's work. The topic of
"Kafka after Kafka" is a fascinating one: the engagement of
artists, philosophers, and critics in dialogical exchange with
Kafka's works. The present collection of new essays highlights the
engagement of lesser knownartists and commentators with Kafka, and
represents those who are well known, such as Arendt, Blanchot,
Nabokov, and Coetzee, from new perspectives. The eleven essays
contained here represent the most recent scholarly engagements with
this topic. An essay on major trends in current Kafka criticism
provides background for several essays on novelists, philosophers,
and critics whose relationship to Kafka is not very well known. A
section devoted to Kafka from an Israeli perspective includes
artists not commonly known in the US or Europe (Ya'acov Shteinberg,
Hezi Leskly, Sayed Kashua), as well as an essay on the recent trial
in Israel regarding the fate of Kafka's literary legacy. A final
section addresses important contemporary approaches to Kafka in
film studies, animal studies, the graphic novel, and in postmodern
culture and counterculture. Contributors: Iris Bruce, Stanley
Corngold, AmirEngel, Mark H. Gelber, Sander L. Gilman, Caroline
Jessen, Tali Latowicki, Michael G. Levine, Ido Lewit, Vivian Liska,
Alana Sobelman. Iris Bruce is Associate Professor of German at
McMaster University. Mark H. Gelber is Senior Professor and
Director of the Center for Austrian and German Studies at
Ben-Gurion University.
Metaphysicians have for centuries attempted to clarify the nature
of the world and how rational human beings construct their ideas of
it. Materialists believed that the world (including its human
component) consisted of objective matter, an irreducible substance
to which qualities and characteristics could be attributed.
Mind-thoughts, ideas, and perceptions was viewed as a more
sophisticated material substance. Idealists, on the other hand,
argued that the world acquired its reality from mind, which
breathed metaphysical life into substances that had no independent
existence of their own.These two camps seemed deadlocked until
Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" endeavoured to show that
the most accurate theory of reality would be one that combined
relevant aspects of each position, yet transcended both to arrive
at a more fundamental metaphysical theory. Kant's synthesis sought
to disclose how human reason goes about constructing its experience
of the world, thus intertwining objective stimuli with rational
processes that arrive at an orderly view of nature.
This book challenges liberals and conservatives alike. Hook pierces
to the heart of momentous issues: human rights, racial equality,
cultural freedom, and the separation of ethical behaviour from
religious belief.
Intuitionism is one of the main foundations for mathematics
proposed in the twentieth century and its views on logic have also
notably become important with the development of theoretical
computer science. This book reviews and completes the historical
account of intuitionism. It also presents recent philosophical work
on intuitionism and gives examples of new technical advances and
applications. It brings together 21 contributions from today's
leading authors on intuitionism.
Two dominant schools have emerged in twentieth-century American
philosophy: scientific naturalism and pragmatism. In this vibrant
collection of hard-to-find essays, articles and contributions to
books, internationally-known philosopher, author and lecturer Paul
Kurtz offers his own special blend of these influential theories.
With skill and clarity, "Philosophical Essays in Pragmatic
Naturalism" captures naturalism's dedication to scientific method
and critical intelligence (which are so much a part of ordinary
life), and pragmatism's application of rational inquiry to the
problems each of us face as individuals and as social beings.
"Philosophical Essays in Pragmatic Naturalism" demonstrates Kurtz's
unwavering commitment to free inquiry, his appreciation of
pluralism and diversity, and his fervent belief that the scientific
method and critical intelligence that gave birth to pragmatic
naturalism provide the foundations for a cosmic outlook and an
authentic ethical humanism.
The Raymond Tallis Reader provides a comprehensive survey of the
work of this passionate, perceptive and often controversial
thinker. Key selections from Tallis's major works are supplemented
by Michael Grant's detailed introduction and linking commentary.
From nihilism to Theorrhoea, from literary theory to the role of
the unconscious, The Raymond Tallis Reader guides us through the
panoptic sweep of Tallis's critical insights and reveals a way of
thinking for the twenty-first century.
The twentieth century has witnessed the blossoming of Western
culture: new technology; communications and transportation systems;
social, political, educational, agricultural, and medical advances.
But with these changes have come the strains and tensions of
conflicting interests, desires, and values within the community.
John Dewey, one of America's most prolific writers of popular
philosophy, believed that humankind could keep a firm hold on its
destiny only if the critical intelligence of scientific method and
its democratic counterpart were emphasized and promoted. Freedom of
inquiry, tolerance of diverse ideas and opinions, cultural
pluralism, free speech, and a willingness to cooperate in pursuit
of shared values and ideals would be the springboard for social
development.
Max Weber and The Protestant Ethic: Twin Histories presents an
entirely new portrait of Max Weber, one of the most prestigious
social theorists in recent history, using his most famous work, The
Protestant Ethic and the "Spirit" of Capitalism, as its central
point of reference. It offers an intellectual biography of Weber
framed along historical lines - something which has never been done
before. It re-evaluates The Protestant Ethic - a text surprisingly
neglected by scholars - supplying a missing intellectual and
chronological centre to Weber's life and work. Peter Ghosh suggests
that The Protestant Ethic is the link which unites the earlier
(pre-1900) and later (post-1910) phases of his career. He offers a
series of fresh perspectives on Weber's thought in various areas -
charisma, capitalism, law, politics, rationality, bourgeois life,
and (not least) Weber's unusual religious thinking, which was
'remote from god' yet based on close dialogue with Christian
theology. This approach produces a convincing view of Max Weber as
a whole; while previously the sheer breadth of his intellectual
interests has caused him to be read in a fragmentary way according
to a series of specialized viewpoints, this volume seeks to put him
back together again as a real individual.
This book explores the complexity of two philosophical traditions,
extending from their origins to the current developments in
neopragmatism. Chapters deal with the first encounters of these
traditions and beyond, looking at metaphysics and the Vienna circle
as well as semantics and the principle of tolerance. There is a
general consensus that North-American (neo-)pragmatism and European
Logical Empiricism were converging philosophical traditions,
especially after the forced migration of the European Philosophers.
But readers will discover a pluralist image of this relation and
interaction with an obvious family resemblance. This work clarifies
and specifies the common features and differences of these currents
since the beginning of their mutual scientific communication in the
19th century. The book draws on collaboration between authors and
philosophers from Vienna, Tubingen, and Helsinki, and their
networks. It will appeal to philosophers, scholars in the history
of philosophy, philosophers of science, pragmatists and beyond.
The rise of experimental philosophy is generating pressing
methodological questions for philosophers. Can findings from
experimental studies hold any significance for philosophy as a
discipline? Can philosophical theorizing be improved through
consideration of such studies? Do these studies threaten
traditional philosophical methodology? Advances in Experimental
Philosophy and Philosophical Methodology addresses these questions,
presenting a variety of views on the potential roles experimental
philosophy might play in philosophical debate. Featuring
contributors from experimental philosophy, as well as those who
have expressed criticism of the experimental philosophy movement,
this volume reflects on the nature of philosophy itself: its goals,
its methods, and its possible future evolution. Tackling two major
themes, contributors discuss the recent controversy over the degree
to which intuition plays a major role in philosophical methodology
and the characterization of the role of the experimental philosophy
project. They also look at the relationship between so-called
'positive' and 'negative' projects and examine possible links
between experimental and mainstream philosophical problems. Close
discussion of these themes contributes to the overall goal of the
volume: an investigation into the current significance and possible
future applications of experimental work in philosophy.
This selection provides the reader with the text of Diderot's more
important philosophical writings.
Wittgenstein criticised prevailing attitudes toward the sciences.
The target of his criticisms was 'scientism': what he described as
'the overestimation of science'. This collection is the first study
of Wittgenstein's anti-scientism - a theme in his work that is
clearly central to his thought yet strikingly neglected by the
existing literature. The book explores the philosophical basis of
Wittgenstein's anti-scientism; how this anti-scientism helps us
understand Wittgenstein's philosophical aims; and how this
underlies his later conception of philosophy and the kind of
philosophy he attacked. An outstanding team of international
contributors articulate and critically assess Wittgenstein's views
on scientism and anti-scientism, making Wittgenstein and Scientism
essential reading for students and scholars of Wittgenstein's work,
on topics as varied as the philosophy of mind and psychology,
philosophical practice, the nature of religious belief, and the
place of science in modern culture. Contributors: Jonathan Beale,
William Child, Annalisa Coliva, David E. Cooper, Ian James Kidd,
James C. Klagge, Daniele Moyal-Sharrock, Rupert Read, Genia
Schoenbaumsfeld, Severin Schroeder, Benedict Smith, and Chon
Tejedor.
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