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Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present
Thought's Footing is an enquiry into the relationship between the
ways things are and the way we think and talk about them. It is
also a study of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations:
Charles Travis develops his account of certain key themes into a
unified view of the work as a whole. His methodological
starting-point is to see Wittgenstein's work as a response to
Frege's. The central question is: how does thought get its footing?
How can the thought that things are a certain way be connected to
things being that way? Wittgenstein departs from Frege in holding
that there are indefinitely many ways of filling out (giving
content to) the notion of truth.. The truth of a thought or
utterance is connected with the consequences of thinking or saying
it. That is the point of Wittgenstein's introduction of the notion
of a language game. The second key theme is this: a representation
of things as being a certain way cannot take the right form for
truth-bearing without a background of agreement in judgements: its
form must belong to thinkers of a given kind. The third key theme
is that the proprietary perceptions of a given sort of thinker as
to what would be a case of judging when there is a particular way
for things to be is not subject to criticism from outside it. Along
the way Travis gives his own distinctive take on such topics as the
problem of singular thought, the notion of a proposition,
rule-following, sense and nonsense, the possibility of private
language, and the representational content of experience. The
result is an original and stimulating demonstration of the
continuing value of Wittgenstein's work for central debates in
philosophy today.
Concentrating mainly on the process philosophy developed by Alfred
North Whitehead, this series of essays brings together some of the
newest developments in the application of process thinking to the
physical and social sciences. These essays, by established scholars
in the field, demonstrate how a wider and deeper understanding of
the world can be obtained using process philosophical concepts, how
the distortions and blockages inevitably inherent in substantivist
talk can be set aside, and how new and fertile lines of research in
the sciences can be opened as a result.
This volume brings together a range of practical and theoretical
perspectives on responsibility in the context of refugee and
migrant integration. Addressing one of the major challenges of our
time, a diverse group of authors shares insights from history,
philosophy, psychology, cultural studies, and from personal
experience. The book expands our understanding of the complex
challenges and opportunities that are associated with migration and
integration, and highlights the important role that individuals can
and should play in the process. Interview with the authors:
https://youtu.be/HDkaN_PBBF8
This book is a collection of articles authored by renowed Polish
ontologists living and working in the early part of the 21st
century. Harking back to the well-known Polish Lvov-Warsaw School,
founded by Kazimierz Twardowski, we try to make our ontological
considerations as systematically rigorous and clear as possible -
i.e. to the greatest extent feasible, but also no more than the
subject under consideration itself allows for. Hence, the papers
presented here do not seek to steer clear of methods of inquiry
typical of either the formal or the natural sciences: on the
contrary, they use such methods wherever possible. At the same
time, despite their adherence to rigorous methods, the Polish
ontologists included here do not avoid traditional ontological
issues, being inspired as they most certainly are by the great
masters of Western philosophy - from Plato and Aristotle, through
St. Thomas and Leibniz, to Husserl, to name arguably just the most
important.
First published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &
Francis, an informa company.
Discussion of Wittgenstein's Tractatus is currently dominated by
two opposing interpretations of the work: a metaphysical or realist
reading and the 'resolute' reading of Diamond and Conant. Marie
McGinn's principal aim in this book is to develop an alternative
interpretative line, which rejects the idea, central to the
metaphysical reading, that Wittgenstein sets out to ground the
logic of our language in features of an independently constituted
reality, but which allows that he aims to provide positive
philosophical insights into how language functions. McGinn takes as
a guiding principle the idea that we should see Wittgenstein's
early work as an attempt to eschew philosophical theory and to
allow language itself to reveal how it functions. By this account,
the aim of the work is to elucidate what language itself makes
clear, namely, what is essential to its capacity to express
thoughts that are true or false. However, the early Wittgenstein
undertakes this descriptive project in the grip of a set of
preconceptions concerning the essence of language that determine
both how he conceives the problem and the approach he takes to the
task of clarification. Nevertheless, the Tractatus contains
philosophical insights, achieved despite his early preconceptions,
that form the foundation of his later philosophy. The
anti-metaphysical interpretation that is presented includes a novel
reading of the problematic opening sections of the Tractatus, in
which the apparently metaphysical status of Wittgenstein's remarks
is shown to be an illusion. The book includes a discussion of the
philosophical background to the Tractatus, a comprehensive
interpretation of Wittgenstein's early views of logic and language,
and an interpretation of the remarks on solipsism. The final
chapter is a discussion of the relation between the early and the
later philosophy that articulates the fundamental shift in
Wittgenstein's approach to the task of understanding how language
functions and reveal the still more fundamental continuity in his
conception of his philosophical task.
Wittgenstein's later writings generate a great deal of controversy
and debate, as do the implications of his ideas for such topics as
consciousness, knowledge, language and the arts. Oswald Hanfling
addresses a widespeard tendency to ascribe to Wittgenstein views
that go beyond those he actually held. Separate chapters deal with
important topics such as the private language argument,
rule-following, the problem of other minds, and the ascription of
scepticism to Wittgenstein. Describing Wittgenstein as a 'humanist'
thinker, he contrasts his views on language, art humanity and
philosophy itself with those of scientifically minded philosophers.
He argues that 'the human form of life' calls for a kind of
understanding that cfannot be achieved by the methods of emirical
science; that consiousness, for example, cannot properly be
regarded as a property of the bran; and that the resulting 'problem
of consoiusness is an illusion. Wittgenstein and the Human Form of
Life is essential reading for anyone interested in Wittgenstein's
approach to what it means to be human. It will be invaluable to all
Wittgenstein scholars, and all who are interested in the philosophy
of mind, language and aesthetics.
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the
1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly
expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable,
high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
The traditional and lively interest in Meinong s philosophy and
related topics among Italian philosophers gives rise to this volume
of MEINONG STUDIES. As more than an introduction, Venanzio Raspa
presents an enlightening historical presentation of Meinong s
reception in Italy from his lifetime to the present day. Riccardo
Martinelli offers a reconstruction of the Meinongian theory of
musical objects of higher order. Francesca Modenato gives the
outlines of Meinong s object theory as a theory of the pure object,
separating it from ontology and associating it rather with
gnoseology. From a less historical than systematic-analytic
perspective, Andrea Bottani deals with incomplete objects, Mario
Alai investigates the problem of propositions concerning
non-existent objects, and Carola Barbero proposes a realistic
theory of the emotions aroused by reading literary texts. As themes
related to Meinongian ones, Alberto Voltolini discusses the concept
of existence as a property, Francesco Orilia validates an intuition
of Meinong by adopting an approach called 'fact infinitism', and
Guido Bonino deals with Gustav Bergmann s interpretation of Meinong
s ontology. Das traditionelle und lebhafte Interesse italienischer
Philosophen an Meinongs Philosophie und damit zusammenhangenden
Themen gibt Anlass fur diesen Band der MEINONG STUDIEN. Weit uber
die Anforderungen an ein Eineitung hinausgehend, prasentiert
Venanzio Raspa eine erhellende Studie der Rezeption Meinongs in
Italien von seinen Lebzeiten bis zum heutigen Tag. Riccardo
Martinelli rekonstruiert Meinongs Theorie musikalischer Objekte
hoherer Ordnung und Francesca Modenato umreisst Meinongs
Objekttheorie (als Theorie reiner Objekte), welche sie eher der
Gnoseologie denn der Ontologie zuordnet. Aus einer weniger
historischen als systematisch-analytischen Perspektive befassen
sich Andrea Bottani mit unvollstandigen Objekten, Mario Alai mit
der Frage nicht-existierende Objekte betreffender Aussagen, und
Carola Barbero prasentiert eine realistische Theorie von Emotionen,
die durch die Lekture literarischer Texte erweckt werden. Als
Meinong-bezogene Themen diskutiert Alberto Voltolini den Begriff
der Existenz als Eigenschaft, Francesco Orilia bestatigt in seinem
'Fakteninfinitismus' genannten Zugang eine Meinongsche Intuition,
und Guido Bonino befasst sich mit Gustav Bergmanns Interpretation
der Meinongschen Ontologie."
This volume brings Cassirer's work into the arena of contemporary
debates both within and outside of philosophy. All articles offer a
fresh and contemporary look at one of the most prolific and
important philosophers of the 20th century. The papers are authored
by a wide array of scholars working in different areas, such as
epistemology, philosophy of culture, sociology, psychopathology,
philosophy of science and aesthetics.
This book presents a unique rethinking of G. W. F. Hegel's
philosophy from unusual and controversial perspectives in order to
liberate new energies from his philosophy. The role Hegel ascribes
to women in the shaping of society and family, the reconstruction
of his anthropological and psychological perspective, his approach
to human nature, the relationship between mental illness and social
disease, the role of the unconscious, and the relevance of
intercultural and interreligious pathways: All these themes reveal
new and inspiring aspects of Hegel's thought for our time.
Wittgenstein's thought is reflected in his reading and reception of
other authors. Wittgenstein Reading approaches the moment of
literature as a vehicle of self-reflection for Wittgenstein. What
sounds, on the surface, like criticism (e.g. of Shakespeare) can
equally be understood as a simple registration of Wittgenstein's
own reaction, hence a piece of self-diagnosis or self-analysis. The
book brings a representative sample of authors, from Shakespeare,
Goethe, or Dostoyevsky to some that have received far less
attention in Wittgenstein scholarship like Kleist, Lessing, or
Wilhelm Busch and Johann Nepomuk Nestroy. Furthermore, the volume
offers means for the cultural contextualization of Wittgenstein's
thoughts. Unique to this book is its internal design. The editors'
introduction sets the scene with regards to both biography and
theory, while each of the subsequent chapters takes a quotation
from Wittgenstein on a particular author as its point of departure
for developing a more specific theme relating to the writer in
question. This format serves to avoid the well-trodden paths of
discussions on the relationship between philosophy and literature,
allowing for unconventional observations to be made. Furthermore,
the volume offers means for the cultural contextualization of
Wittgenstein's thoughts.
"In 12 excellent essays by scholars East and West, this collection
explores the many dimensions of Heidegger's relation to Eastern
thinking.... Because of the quality of the contributions, the
eminence of the many contributors... this volume must be considered
an indispensable reference on the subject. Highly recommended."
--Choice.
Oxford Studies in Early Modern Philosophy is an annual series,
presenting a selection of the best current work in the history of
early modern philosophy. It focuses on the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries--the extraordinary period of intellectual
flourishing that begins, very roughly, with Descartes and his
contemporaries and ends with Kant. It also publishes papers on
thinkers or movements outside of that framework, provided they are
important in illuminating early modern thought.
The articles in OSEMP will be of importance to specialists within
the discipline, but the editors also intend that they should appeal
to a larger audience of philosophers, intellectual historians, and
others who are interested in the development of modern thought.
While there are publications on Wittgenstein's interest in
Dostoevsky's novels and the recurring mentions of Wittgenstein in
Sebald's works, there has been no systematic scholarship on the
relation between perception (such as showing and pictures) and the
problem of an adequate presentation of interiority (such as
intentions or pain) for these three thinkers.This relation is
important in Wittgenstein's treatment of the subject and in his
private language argument, but it is also an often overlooked motif
in both Dostoevsky's and Sebald's works. Dostoevsky's depiction of
mindset discrepancies in a rapidly modernizing Russia can be
analyzed interms of multi-aspectivity. The theatricality of his
characters demonstrates especially well Wittgenstein's account of
interiority's interrelatedness with overt public practices and
codes. In Sebald's Austerlitz, Wittgenstein's notion of family
resemblances is an aesthetic strategy within the novel. Visual
tropes are most obviously present in Sebald's use of photography,
and can partially be read as an ethical-aesthetic imperative of
rendering pain visible. Tea Lobo's book contributes towards a
non-Cartesian account of literary presentations of inner life based
on Wittgenstein's thought.
This collection on the Standard of Taste offers a much needed
resource for students and scholars of philosophical aesthetics,
political reflection, value and judgments, economics, and art. The
authors include experts in the philosophy of art, aesthetics,
history of philosophy as well as the history of science. This much
needed volume on David Hume will enrich scholars across all levels
of university study and research.
How should we deal with mental disorder - as an "illness" like
diabetes or bronchitis, as a "problem in living", or what? This
book seeks to answer such questions by going to their roots, in
philosophical questions about the nature of the human mind, the
ways in which it can be understood, and about the nature and aims
of scientific medicine. The controversy over the nature of mental
disorder and the appropriateness of the "medical model" is not just
an abstract theoretical debate: it has a bearing on very practical
issues of appropriate treatment, as well as on psychiatric ethics
and law. A major contention of this book is that these questions
are ultimately philosophical in character: they can be resolved
only if we abandon some widespread philosophical assumptions about
the "mind" and the "body", and about what it means for medicine to
be "scientific". The "phenomenological" approach of the
twentieth-century French philosopher, Maurice Merleau-Ponty is used
to question these assumptions. His conception of human beings as
"body-subjects" is argued to provide a more illuminating way of
thinking about mental disorder and the ways in which it can be
understood and treated. The conditions we conventionally call
"mental disorders" are, it is argued, not a homogeneous group: the
standard interpretation of the medical model fits some more readily
than others. The core mental disorders, however, are best regarded
as disturbed ways of being in the world, which cause unhappiness
because of deviation from "human" rather than straightforwardly
"biological" norms. That is, they are problems in how we experience
the world and especially other people, rather than in physiological
functioning - even though the nature of our experience cannot
ultimately be separated from the ways in which our bodies function.
This analysis is applied within the book both to issues in clinical
treatment and to the special ethical and legal questions of
psychiatry. Written by a well known philosopher in an accessible
and clear style, this book should be of interest to a wide range of
readers, from psychiatrists to social workers, lawyers, ethicists,
philosophers and anyone with an interest in mental health.
Occasional Paper No. 44 of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Published in association with the Anglo-Finnish Society Westermarck
was a remarkable man, but one who has received little credit for
the significant part he played in the creation of modern
anthropology. He spanned two worlds: the comparative
anthropological endeavours of the nineteenth century, and the
establishment of social anthropology at the LSE, in which he played
a major role. One of Malinowski's principal teachers, he was
himself an outstanding fieldworker. His work on Morocco has, even
today, hardly been surpassed. Yet, his theories on the nature of
human marriage and the origins of the incest taboo place him firmly
in the earlier, generalist camp, and the controversies to which
they have given rise have hardly settled down to this day. In this
volume, Westermarck's place in anthropology is discussed, along
with detailed descriptions of his very active academic life in
Finland and in Britain, whilst other chapters consider his equally
pioneering writings in morals and ethics. Westermarck's own
writings are featured by way of illustration of his ideas,
including his LSE inaugural lecture, his Huxley lecture, and a
hitherto unpublished paper on ritual and survivals. This volume
shows, indeed, that Westermarck is a 'missing link' in today's
history of anthropology, and our understanding of that history will
be profoundly changed by a better appreciation of his role within
it.
Philosophical work on the mind flowed in two streams through the
20th century: phenomenology and analytic philosophy. The
phenomenological tradition began with Brentano and was developed by
such great European philosophers as Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, and
Merleau-Ponty. As the century advanced, Anglophone philosophers
increasingly developed their own distinct styles and methods of
studying the mind, and a gulf seemed to open up between the two
traditions. This volume aims to bring them together again, by
demonstrating how work in phenomenology may lead to significant
progress on problems central to current analytic research, and how
analytical philosophy of mind may shed light on phenomenological
concerns. Leading figures from both traditions contribute specially
written essays on such central topics as consciousness,
intentionality, perception, action, self-knowledge, temporal
awareness, and mental content. Phenomenology and Philosophy of Mind
demonstrates that these different approaches to the mind should not
stand in opposition to each other, but can be mutually
illuminating.
This volume presents different conceptions of logic and mathematics
and discuss their philosophical foundations and consequences. This
concerns first of all topics of Wittgenstein's ideas on logic and
mathematics; questions about the structural complexity of
propositions; the more recent debate about Neo-Logicism and
Neo-Fregeanism; the comparison and translatability of different
logics; the foundations of mathematics: intuitionism, mathematical
realism, and formalism. The contributing authors are Matthias Baaz,
Francesco Berto, Jean-Yves Beziau, Elena Dragalina-Chernya, Gunther
Eder, Susan Edwards-McKie, Oliver Feldmann, Juliet Floyd, Norbert
Gratzl, Richard Heinrich, Janusz Kaczmarek, Wolfgang Kienzler, Timm
Lampert, Itala Maria Loffredo D'Ottaviano, Paolo Mancosu, Matthieu
Marion, Felix Muhlhoelzer, Charles Parsons, Edi Pavlovic, Christoph
Pfisterer, Michael Potter, Richard Raatzsch, Esther Ramharter,
Stefan Riegelnik, Gabriel Sandu, Georg Schiemer, Gerhard Schurz,
Dana Scott, Stewart Shapiro, Karl Sigmund, William W. Tait, Mark
van Atten, Maria van der Schaar, Vladimir Vasyukov, Jan von Plato,
Jan Wolenski and Richard Zach.
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