|
Showing 1 - 7 of
7 matches in All Departments
Environmental ethicists have frequently criticized ancient Greek
philosophy as anti-environmental for a view of philosophy that is
counterproductive to environmental ethics and a view of the world
that puts nature at the disposal of people. This provocative
collection of original essays reexamines the views of nature and
ecology found in the thought of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and
Plotinus. Recognizing that these thinkers were not confronted with
the environmental degradation that threatens contemporary
philosophers, the contributors to this book find that the Greeks
nevertheless provide an excellent foundation for a sound theory of
environmentalism.
Environmental ethicists have frequently criticized ancient Greek
philosophy as anti-environmental for a view of philosophy that is
counterproductive to environmental ethics and a view of the world
that puts nature at the disposal of people. This provocative
collection of original essays reexamines the views of nature and
ecology found in the thought of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and
Plotinus. Recognizing that these thinkers were not confronted with
the environmental degradation that threatens contemporary
philosophers, the contributors to this book find that the Greeks
nevertheless provide an excellent foundation for a sound theory of
environmentalism.
Aristotle described the scientific explanation of universal or
general facts as deducing them through scientific demonstrations,
that is, through syllogisms that met requirements of logical
validity and explanatoriness which he first formulated. In Chapters
19-23, he adds arguments for the further logical restrictions that
scientific demonstrations can neither be indefinitely long nor
infinitely extendible through the interposition of new middle
terms. Chapters 24-26 argue for the superiority of universal over
particular demonstration, of affirmative over negative
demonstration, and of direct negative demonstration over
demonstration to the impossible. Chapters 27-34 discuss different
aspects of sciences and scientific understanding, allowing us to
distinguish between sciences, and between scientific understanding
and other kinds of cognition, especially opinion. Philoponus'
comments on these chapters are interesting especially because of
his metaphysical analysis of universal predication and his
understanding of the notion of subordinate sciences. We learn from
his commentary that Philoponus believed in Platonic Forms as
inherent in, and posterior to, the Divine Intellect, but ascribed
to Aristotle an interpretation of Plato's Forms as independent
substances, prior to the Demiurgic Intellect. A very important
notion from Aristotle's "Posterior Analytics" is that of the
'subordination' of sciences, i.e. the idea that some sciences
depend on 'higher' ones for some of their principles. Philoponus
goes beyond Aristotle in suggesting a taxonomy of sciences, in
which the subordinate science concerns the same scientific genus as
the superordinate, but a different species.This volume contains the
first English translation of Philoponus' commentary, as well as a
detailed introduction, extensive explanatory notes and a
bibliography.
The Posterior Analytics contains Aristotle's philosophy of science.
In Book 2, Aristotle asks how the scientist discovers what sort of
loss of light constitutes lunar eclipse. The scientist has to
discover that the moon's darkening is due to the earth's shadow.
Once that defining explanation is known the scientist possesses the
full scientific concept of lunar eclipse and can use it to explain
other necessary features of the phenomenon. The present commentary,
arguably ascribed to Philoponus incorrectly, offers some
interpretations of Aristotle that are unfamiliar nowadays. For
example, the scientific concept of a human is acquired from
observing particular humans and repeatedly receiving impressions in
the sense image or percept and later in the imagination. The
impressions received are not only of particular distinctive
characteristics, like paleness, but also of universal human
characteristics, like rationality. Perception can thus in a sense
apprehend universal qualities in the individual as well as
particular ones. This volume contains an English translation of the
commentary, accompanied by extensive commentary notes, an
introduction and a bibliography.
Aristotle described the scientific explanation of universal or
general facts as deducing them through scientific demonstrations,
that is, through syllogisms that met requirements of logical
validity and explanatoriness which he first formulated. In Chapters
19-23, he adds arguments for the further logical restrictions that
scientific demonstrations can neither be indefinitely long nor
infinitely extendible through the interposition of new middle
terms. Chapters 24-26 argue for the superiority of universal over
particular demonstration, of affirmative over negative
demonstration, and of direct negative demonstration over
demonstration to the impossible. Chapters 27-34 discuss different
aspects of sciences and scientific understanding, allowing us to
distinguish between sciences, and between scientific understanding
and other kinds of cognition, especially opinion. Philoponus'
comments on these chapters are interesting especially because of
his metaphysical analysis of universal predication and his
understanding of the notion of subordinate sciences. We learn from
his commentary that Philoponus believed in Platonic Forms as
inherent in, and posterior to, the Divine Intellect, but ascribed
to Aristotle an interpretation of Plato's Forms as independent
substances, prior to the Demiurgic Intellect. A very important
notion from Aristotle's Posterior Analytics is that of the
'subordination' of sciences, i.e. the idea that some sciences
depend on 'higher' ones for some of their principles. Philoponus
goes beyond Aristotle in suggesting a taxonomy of sciences, in
which the subordinate science concerns the same scientific genus as
the superordinate, but a different species.
The" Posterior Analytics" contains Aristotle's Philosophy of
Science. In Book 2, Aristotle asks how the scientist discovers what
sort of loss of light constitutes lunar eclipse. The scientist has
to discover that the moon's darkening is due to the earth's shadow.
Once that defining explanation is known the scientist possesses the
full scientific concept of lunar eclipse and can use it to explain
other necessary features of the phenomenon. The present commentary,
arguably misascribed to Philoponus, offers some interpretations of
Aristotle that are unfamiliar nowadays. For example, the scientific
concept of a human is acquired from observing particular humans and
repeatedly receiving impressions in the sense image or percept and
later in the imagination. The impressions received are not only of
particular distinctive characteristics, like paleness, but also of
universal human characteristics, like rationality. Perception can
thus in a sense apprehend universal qualities in the individual as
well as particular ones.
Human concern over the urgency of current environmental issues
increasingly entails wide-ranging discussions of how we may rethink
the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world.
In order to provide a context for such discussions this anthology
provides a selection of some of the most important, interesting and
influential readings on the subject from classical times through to
the late nineteenth century. Included are such figures as Xenophon,
Plato, Aristotle, Hildegard of Bingen, St Francis of Assisi, Bacon,
Descartes, Kant, Mill, Emerson and Thoreau. As the collection as a
whole amply demonstrates, the history of western philosophical
accounts of nature can help us to better understand current
attitudes and problems. Human Life and the Natural World may also
be of interest to a broad range of philosophers and students of
philosophy, and more generally to those with a concern for the
environment that engages the intellect as well as the heart.
|
You may like...
Spanish Phrases
Joseph Levi, Elizabeth Ronne
Fold-out book or chart
R655
Discovery Miles 6 550
|