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Već na prvoj stranici svog remek-djela o Nietzscheu Gilles Deleuze ubada Kanta tamo gdje se čini da je ovaj najtvrđi: Kant ≫nije proveo istinsku kritiku, jer problem nije znao postaviti u terminima vrijednosti≪. Drugim riječima, Kant nije postavio pitanje vrijednosti samih vrijednosti.
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Thomas Hobbes is an early precursor of legal positivism, a system which achieved full shape only in the nineteenth century. Mature positivism was fully self-sufficient, not looking for justification other than itself, and any gaps in the law were resolved on the basis of analogy and references to the principles of a higher order. A classical positivist consistently defended the thesis of a clear separation of law and moral systems. Unlike his orthodox nineteenth-century successors, Hobbes sought reasons for the positive law in the laws of reason, which he called laws of nature. When formed by a creative human effort, positive law fails, in an unusual case the judge can, according to Hobbes, refer to laws of nature. The political-legal system of Hobbes differed markedly from the classical positivism. It has an affinity with one of his today’s version, called “soft” positivism, which admits that there are certain significant relationships between law and morality systems. Especially close to Hobbesian theory is Hart’s concept concerning “minimum content of natural law”, formulated by analyzing human nature and man’s place in society. The legal system of Hobbes and Hart’s ideas arise from the same deep utilitarian grounds.
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The aim of the article is to analyse the influence of the 17th-century debate on moral law as represented by Grotius and Pufendorf on George Berkeley’s vision of natural law included in his Passive Obedience (1712). The analysis regards the origin, scope and character of natural law as presented by all three authors. Also, it touches on the issues of their visions of the role of God in the world, place of religion in a civil state, as well as their concepts of human nature and a conflict of a duty of non-resistance and a right to self-preservation, which was a source of great contention among philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries.
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In the text, which consists of the first two parts of the second chapter of Descartes Politico, Antonio Negri defines the change in the thought of René Descartes which took place at the end of the third decade of the 17th century. A crucial category in Descartes’ thought –conjuncture — is connected closely with the economic downturn and deep crisis of the Renaissance project. Negri tries to capture the moment of birth of the “baroque” Descartes and points to a dynamic tension between Descartes’ philosophy (at that particular moment) and a libertine worldview. This ambiguous relation with libertinism (which is the answer to the decline of Renaissance hopes and aspirations) is, according to Negri, the starting point for the Cartesian search for a way to overcome the crisis.
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This paper seeks to present a brief outline of America as a structure of many boundaries. The United States of America came to existence on the grounds of a contract, therefore it is the first modern State, for it is built in accordance with modern philosophy. Being the cradle of many cultures and languages, this country is a particularly interesting example how to harmonize tensions and come to agreement on the border. We are dealing here with the influence of philosophical ideas and the religious thought of a divided European Christianity. In the religious attitude of deism these two spheres – in the form of the religion as a free choice – are combined. Because the State distances itself from religion, allowing the citizens to practice many religions, new frontiers appear. In principle, the government should be limited, so that society is free to act within the legal regulations, hence the frontiers function in a peaceful coexistence.
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The article analyzes the evolution of the issue of economic opportunism in the context of the history of economic mind – particularly, within the research of David Hume and Adam Smith. It is shown that in the process of search of English empirical philosophy of the 18th century for foundation of social order, the purely economic preconditions for social order are determined, their consequences are defined, and the basic notions of the conception of economic opportunism are formed. Historical fates of these ideas from the point of view of various courses of modern economic theory are described.
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In this article, I explore the modernist assumption inherent in discussions of emergency powers, or, the state of exception. I dwell on some of the modern aspects of the state of exception through an overview of some examples from both pre-modern and modern political theory. More specifically, I examine the history of the political language of the state of exception. I do so in the context of three influencing and interconnected developments: the rise of the state, changes in perceptions of authority, and developments in conceptions of law. In doing so, this article contributes to the robust scholarship on emergency powers and the state of exception by combining an historical analysis of pre-modern and early modern primary sources with an institutional contextualization (the rise of the state) as well as a political theory and legal theory contextualization. In essence, for the Hobbesian modern state, the potential temporary constitutional dictatorship is part of the regular sovereign power. Within this power, I distinguish between the exception outside the law and the exception within the law, which are in a dialectical relationship. The exception outside the law, which was the state of exception on which Carl Schmitt wrote, was unimaginable prior to modern times, since it was tied to the modern positivist understanding of law.
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In order to understand Kant’s idea of perpetual peace, the author considers that it should be observed in context of Kant’s entire philosophy, keeping in mind, besides political and legal writings, his discussions on moral, history, anthropology, teleology of nature and religion. Through careful textual analysis, the author shows that the idea of perpetual peace is related to the earthly sphere and establishment of worldly civil constitution. However, the idea is not devoid of a religious dimension, since providence is a guarantor of viability of perpetual peace. Having indicated that for Kant there is no essential difference between notions of intention of nature and providence, the author reminds of the fact that Königsbergian philosopher was closely familiar with the position of theodicy in understanding of the history. Although he advocates perpetual peace and occasionally curses war as root of all evil, Kant, yet, does not overlook the fact that war often plays a role of means for establishing future peace in a hidden natural plan. Keeping an eye on antagonism between sociable and unsociable moment of human nature, great artist of nature gradually leads mankind to concord through discord. Having indicated that freedom is the highest notion in Kant’s philosophy, that his moral philosophy is the highest philosophical discipline, the author emphasizes that political utopia cannot be realized without unity of freedom and virtue. By reminding that, for Königsbergian thinker, the purpose of peace is not in itself, especially if it would mean suspension of freedom, he claims that Kant does not favor existence of a single united world state, but rather a antiwar league of nations, i.e. a federation, exactly due to fear that freedom would be threatened in a single large state. Being aware of social and historical circumstances of his time, and in order not to jeopardize the project of perpetual peace, Kant allows the monarchies to be ruled in a republican way. Yet, a monarchy to him is just a transitional historical phase towards establishment of a republic. After deliberating Kant’s anthropology and history of philosophy, the author indicates that the idea of perpetual peace is not the highest one in Kant’s philosophy. Religious idea of universal republic based on laws of virtue is higher than the idea of a perfect legal and civil condition. Namely, Kant explicitly claims that, indeed, establishment of a universal civil order and perpetual peace are the highest political goods on Earth, but, by far the highest possible good on Earth is a divine ethical community. Since moral progress of humanity is slower than civilizational and cultural progress, it would continue even after constitution of a perfect government. Namely, the purpose of a political project of perpetual peace is creation of a social ground which would be favorable for unlimited development of human predispositions. Following Kant, the author finally indicates the necessity to unite virtue and practical wisdom in a political life. For those who believe in higher justice, who follow Kant’s practical teaching on almighty moral guarantor of harmony between virtue and happiness, it is clear that we must not abandon the principles and surrender to mere pragmatic Realpolitik.
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This work examines the concept of the general will developed by the 18th-century Swiss- French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau through Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play An Enemy of the People. It reveals that the formulation of the concept of the general will comes about through Rousseau’s attempt, as part of the economic or social contract tradition, to solve the problem of the relation of freedom to society. It then looks at the difference between the general will and the will of all, an agglomeration of the will of each individual, and reveals that the general will is manifested in concrete terms through legislative action, which allows for it to be regarded as the manifestation of a community’s concern for its common interest. This work demonstrates that Ibsen’s play is suitable for an analysis of the general will, as it takes place in a town that is a de facto free city-state. It then reveals that the attempt in the drama to silence Stockmann’s revelation of the polluted waters in the town’s municipal Baths is a manifestation of the general will. As such, this work shows that the general will is problematic as regards the issues of morality and freedom. It also shows that polities run by the general will may have external instability, and that the general will is an obstacle to the discovery of new truths.
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In the article, the author is discussing the importance of the wandering experiences for the emergence of Romanticism in the mid-18th century. His point of view is that without such experiences the rising culture of novels would not be able to trigger the correspondent take off in romantic arts and philosophy. Only during wanderings in the unknown nature it was possible not only to contemplate the alternative universes reveled by novels, but also to feel the possibility of their existence. And the most precious experiences wanderings could offer were the experiences of the possibility that the golden age was not only part of a mythic past but could be re-established again. Romantic wanderings were always part of the search for such golden age and source of the urge to re-invent the alternative to the oppressive bourgeois society. Such a view on the importance of romantic wanderings the author tries to demonstrate on examples of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in France and Johann Gottfried Herder in Germany. He considers them as first Romantics (along with Johann Georg Hamann in Germany) whose early wandering experiences shaped to a great extent their intellectual development and enabled them to engage passionately in battle with the ideals of Enlightenment.
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In this article, the case of the economic crisis of Valenza (Italy) and its jewellery industry is presented. The crisis has occurred since 2008 as an effect of the plunge of international jewellery market. Drawing from ethnographic materials collected during my fieldwork in the city (2008-2010), I intend to point out that an the most recent economic downturn had strong cultural effects on local population (goldsmiths and others). Following Kant’s concept of category of reason, I will show that the crisis itself had become a category of reason for local population that uses it to make decisions and plan their future.
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The article deals with problems of evil, good, necessity and freedom in the philosophy of Leibniz. It also compares Leibniz‘s thinking with that of other philosophers. My considerations are based upon Leibniz‘s “Theodicy. Essays on the Goodness of God the Freedom of Man and the origin of Evil”, “New Essays on Human Understanding” and other shorter texts of Leibniz. My article highlights the justification of metaphysical, physical and moral evil. It analyzes the differences between the absolute and the hypothetical, metaphysical and moral necessity, and the relations between determination, freedom and necessity. The free will and the principle of the best that motivates intelligent beings are analyzed. Finally, it examines the concept of good as pleasure that motivates the will. Here special attention is paid to the original concepts of semi-pleasure and semi-suffering.
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This article attempts to give arguments for the hypothesis that the Lithuanian priest of piars Kazimieras Narbutas (1738–1807) was the philosopher, who had the honour of being the first in the East, and maybe the whole Europe, to receive and criticize the pre-critical thinking of Immanuel Kant. In 1765, in his course of philosophy at the Collegium of piars in Dąbrowicy, Narbutas criticized the concept of substance suggested by „metaphysician Cantzius“. A person named as „Cantzius“ could have been either Immanuel Kant, or theologian Gottlieb Israel Canz. Objecting to the position of S. Tunaitis, two arguments are developed in my article: the person, who was referred to by Narbutas, couldn’t have been Canz, since the latter was a representative of the theological Wolffianism. This philosophical position is close to that of Narbutas himself. Narbutas’ concept of the essence of the substance is the same as that of School of Wolff. Canz couldn’t have delivered the concept of substance which were opposite to that of School of Wolff. The second argument states, that the principle propositions (and their consequentials) of Kant provided in his work of 1755 Principorum primorum cognitionis metaphysicae nova dilucidatio could be attributed to the position of „metaphysician Cantzius“ on the substance, attributes and the goals of God, which had been questioned by Narbutas. This parallel provides us with an opportunity to state, that Narbutas directly or indirectly had been acquainted with the above mentioned work of Kant and that the person, referred to in the text of Narbutas, is nobody but Kant, who has been dealing with metaphysical matters at that time.
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This article argues that the Lithuanian priest, Kazimieras Narbutas (1738-1807), was the philosopher who had the honour of being the first in East, and maybe in the whole Europe, to receive and criticize the pre-critical thinking of Immanuel Kant. In 1765, in his course of philosophy at the Collegium of piars in Dàbrowicy, Narbutas criticizes the concept of substance suggested by “metaphysician Cantzius”. A person named “Cantzius” could have been Immanuel Kant, or the theologian Gottlieb Israel Canz. Objecting to the position of Steponas Tunaitis, two arguments are developed in this article: the person, who was referred to by Narbutas, could not have been Canz, since the latter was a representative of the theologian Christian Wolff. This philosophical position is close to that of Narbutas himself, his concept of the essence of the substance is the same as that of School of Wolff. Canz could not have presented a concept of substance that was opposite to the School of Wolff. The second argument is that the principal propositions (and their consequentials) of Kant provided in his work of 1755 Principorum primorum cognitionis metaphysicae nova dilucidatio could be attributed to the positions of the “metaphysician Cantzius” on the substance, the attributes and the goals of God, which had been questioned by Narbutas. This parallel provides us with an opportunity to state, that Narbutas directly or indirectly has been acquainted with the above mentioned work of Kant and that the person, referred to in the text of Narbutas, is nobody but Kant, who had been dealing with metaphysical matters at that time.
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Essay writing by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) and Francis Bacon (1561-1626) are analysed in this article. The hypothesis raised is that the essay writing by F. Bacon is formal whereas that by M. de Montaigne is informal. F.Bacon regards the form of the essay as an alternative to the language of the natural sciences. He provides a reader with Essays or Counsels: Civil and Moral. The initiator of the personal essay is M. de Montaigne. He creates narrative identity and considers his own “I” as an inseparable part of the Essay. This article deals with the approach of philosophy towards literature following an analysis on the issue of truth making. Certain aspects of stylistics are discussed - applying the principle of irony and the meaning of quotations. The examination reveals how the process occurs while the author creates his/her identity and what conditions are required to consider the essay form as an alternative to philosophical discourse. Additionally this work emphasizes the origin of the essay genre which links artistic and scientific discourse.
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The article analyses the interpretation of a proposition as the second operation of the human intellect included in scholastic logic in Lithuania in the 16th century, which should be considered the first age of logic in Lithuania. The author of the article focuses on the explanation of the word (vox) as the common genus of the elements of the proposition, as well as on the interpretation of the elements themselves. The article concludes that the authors of scholastic logic in Lithuania in the 16th century traditionally considered a noun (nomen) and a verb (verbum) as the essential elements of a proposition. As for a word as the common genus of noun and verb, the authors entered the significant scholastic controversy between Thomism and Scotism concerning the relation between a word and a thing. Meanwhile, on the question of the status of the word, they unanimously followed the scholastic tradition, which regarded words as conventional signs attributed to things based on a certain mutual similarity.
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The idea of freedom is often ignited by its absence. In our daily lives, we may encounter restrictions that prevent us from fulfilling our needs or pursuing our goals. Hegel, however, explores a much broader concept of freedom than the individualistic pursuit of self-interest. Hegel’s starting point is the individual’s clear understanding of his desires. In the pursuit of these desires, the individual inevitably encounters others and enters into relationships with different personalities in order to achieve his goals. This leads to an exploration of the master-slave dialectic in the context of contemporary socio-cultural dynamics and the evolving nature of the concept of freedom. These socio-cultural interactions give rise to distinct professional communities, each concerned with its own survival. To prevent social existence from becoming a struggle for survival, Hegelian philosophy emphasises the cultivation of the mind, the development of morality, and the distinction between what belongs to the individual and what belongs to others or the community. Law serves as a crucial tool for navigating these socio-cultural experiences. In contrast to contemporary interpretations of law as a mere collection of dry statutes, Hegel perceives the various functions of law as mediating mechanisms for shared human values, each of which sheds light on specific aspects of the concept of freedom. This article explores these conceptual connections, drawing on the ideas of Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, the author’s own perspectives, and the hermeneutical insights of various Lithuanian thinkers.
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This article examines the subtle nuances of Hobbes’s and Kant’s perspectives on rhetoric and materialism, contextualising them within the broader framework of political philosophy. Despite both philosophers being critics of rhetoric, their approaches exhibit notable divergences. Hobbes, who advocated for monarchy, criticized rhetoric from the perspective of a materialist anthropology influenced by Lucretius. However, he paradoxically employed rhetorical strategies in his new scientia civilis. Despite critiquing both Lucretian materialism and rhetoric, Kant incorporated certain rhetorical elements compatible with his philosophical framework, particularly in relation to Epicureanism. This study analyses their interpretations of paradiastole and the implications for the political thought. The argument is that both thinkers, in seeking a rational foundation for the political order, anchor their notions of rationality in Epicurean materialism, by reconfiguring rhetorical elements to suit their respective philosophies. The article elucidates Kant’s republican proclivities and his aspiration to maximize the citizens’ autonomy, which contrasts with Hobbes’s monarchical orientation. This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the early modern political thought and its relevance to the contemporary republican and democratic theory.
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Saying Farewell to the Body and its Comeback. Cartesian Dualism in the Discourse and the Meditationes together with a Sketch of a Phenomenological Continuation of the Body-Soul Problem. There is no independent concept of the soul in Descartes’ Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, nor is there any other argument for its immortality than the possibility of its continued existence after death, thanks to its distinction from the body. This is why the soul and the body must remain in opposition: either thinking or extended, indivisible or divisible substances, ontologically necessary, mathematically ideal or merely confused accidentals suspended on geometrically constructed skeletons. It sems that the division between body and mind has never been so great as in Descartes. However, it is precisely the continuity of his unquestioned knowledge of the ideas/forms and the eternally unchanging nature of mathematical objects, untouched by his methodological doubt, that finds its expression in the idea of evidence: For Descartes, seeing with the eye of the mind is not only possible, but remains the most reliable way of “seeing”. It is precisely evidence that Schopenhauer recovers to restore the world not only as (Cartesian) representation but also as a non-mediated, bodily lived truth: the world as will. It is also evidence that Husserl chose as a methodological starting- and also connecting point to Descartes’ philosophy. With his evidence-based method, one could conclude that Descartes not only remained at the entrance door to transcendental subjectivity (as Husserl stated at the beginning of his Cartesian Meditations) but also locked himself out of examining corporeality: the phenomenologically evident re-entrance for the thinker as a solipsist back to the intersubjectivity of the living world.
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Although it is not possible to conceive of the history of Western thought as a continuous and linear (let alone progressive) process of development, some paths seem to have been historically dominant, while other possible developments, however potentially fruitful, seem to have turned out to be “interrupted paths”. This paper is concerned with the interpretation offered by Foucault in the early 1980s, according to which Socrates on the one hand and Descartes on the other would have opened up two discordant paths to the key relationship between subjectivity and truth. In both cases, the starting point is the maxim gnóthi seautón. In Socrates, however, it is linked to (and subordinated to) the question of epiméleia heautoú, which in Descartes’ case would disappear completely. The modern-Cartesian approach would thus lead to a purely theoretical-gnoseological-epistemological conception of philosophy, which would lose sight of the strong practical scope of Socratic discourse. Contrary to this interpretation, an attempt is made here to show that, in fact, even at the heart of Cartesian thought one can trace an all but secondary attention to the ethical-practical dimension of philosophy and, albeit in a modified form, to the principle of the necessary “care of the self”.
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