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A BEAUTIFUL LIFE AS AN END OF EDUCATION

Author(s): Christoph Teschers / Language(s): English / Issue: 06/2017

Following the theme of a conference held in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2016, this article explores the notion of “enabling students to live a beautiful life” as a possible end of education. A distinction is made between short-term, contextual aims in education and overarching, encompassing end(s) of education. Following Dewey, educational aims are considered to be manifold and to change over time within a socio-cultural context, whereas a proper end of education, if such a thing exists, could be seen as “the best possible realization of humanity as humanity.” Drawing further on the work of R. S. Peters, who contests the existence of any final end of education other than education itself, it can be seen that proposing such an end can be a challenging undertaking. Nevertheless, this article argues for a possible humanistic end of education, building on Schmid’s philosophical concept of the art of living in conjunction with the German notion of Bildung and Aristotle’s concept of phronesis, consolidating Peter’s and Dewey’s positions. An argument is made that a, if not the end of education would be to support every person as much as reasonably possible to develop their own art of living and live a good and beautiful life. Resulting implications for schooling, curricula and education systems are explored to show how education understood in such way transcends theory into practice.

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A case for Cosmopolitan, pragmatic sociology in the context of migrant youth integration

Author(s): Sirkka Komulainen / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Migration has become increasingly political and urgent on a global scale (Cuomo, 2011; Castles, 2014). Europe (the primary focus of this paper) has witnessed unprecedented flows and moves of migrants a great deal of whom are young people and young adults. Public discourses on migration matters continue to be polarised, especially around the migrations of young men. Nations that may have previously expressed a great deal of solidarity towards immigration are growing reticent in their public accounts.

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A Dialectical Approach to Berleant’s Concept of Engagement

Author(s): Thomas Leddy / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2017

Arnold Berleant shares much in common with John Dewey. His notion of aesthetic engagement, which is central to his philosophy of art, is, like Dewey’s concept of “an experience,” an attack on dualistic notions of aesthetic experience. To the extent that Berleant and I are both Deweyans, we agree that we need to turn from the art object to art experience. Art is what it does in experience. Yet appreciative experience of art cannot happen without, at some point, focusing on the art object as such, and this means bracketing context. Engagement is important, but so too are contemplation, disinterestedness and distance. Contemplation, for example, is a moment both in the creative process and in the process of appreciation. Moreover, following Brand and Gracyk, it will be argued in the present paper that only through toggling between contemplation and engagement can we obtain a full experience of art, nature, or of the everyday.

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A Logical-Pragmatic Theory of Objects

Author(s): Augustín Riška / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2006

There are two fundamental questions concerning the choice and presence of objects in various formal systems: (1) Where do these objects come from? (2) What do (can) we know about them? To answer these questions I introduce the notion of a proto-ontology as the pre-theoretic realm of (unspecified) entities from which the basic objects – individuals – of the formal system S are postulated. The pragmatic aspects of such choices are investigated with regard to first-order logic, both pure and applied, set theory and mereology. It is claimed that the postulated (chosen, constructed) objects enter the formal system S with a package of properties and relationships, the recognition of which depends on the interpretation and application of the available predicates of S. If these properties and relationships are not made explicit, a possible clash may arise between them and the properties and relationships “assigned” to the individuals of S by the interpreted predicates of S. As regards the relationship between logic and metaphysics, I contend that logic can perhaps be viewed as the articulation of the fundamental features of proto-ontological objects without which no discourse or theory would be possible. In this sense logic could also be viewed as a theory and method of the construction of a well-articulated metaphysical theory.

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A Pragmatic Theory of Everyday Imposition of Words in an Anonymous Thirteenth-Century Commentary on De anima (MS Prague, Metropolitan Chapter, M. 80, ff. 54vA–55rB)

Author(s): Claudia Appolloni / Language(s): English / Issue: 54/2021

The aim of this paper is to offer an edition of three anonymous questions on De anima II.8, contained in MS Prague, Metropolitan Chapter, M. 80, ff. 54vA– 55vB and dated 1250–1260. The text offers an original theory of the everyday imposition of words. To present it, I (i) analyze the contemporary question-commentaries on De anima II.8; (ii) I present the theory of everyday imposition by discussing the analogies with, and differences from, Bacon’s contemporary pragmatic theory; and (iii) I discuss the hypothesis of the attribution of the text to Roger Bacon.

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A Pragmatist Dimension in Georg Henrik von Wright’s Philosophy

Author(s): Sami Pihlström / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

This paper reconsiders Georg Henrik von Wright’s theory of causation from the point of view of pragmatism. Given the conceptual link between causation and action, von Wright’s position might be reinterpreted along pragmatist lines, even though he never explicitly developed his views with reference to pragmatism. However, the dichotomy between the ontological and the conceptual presupposed by von Wright may also be criticized from a pragmatist perspective.

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ABOUT PRACTICAL PROBLEM SOLVING

Author(s): Arto Mutanen / Language(s): English / Issue: 89/2016

Knowledge is, by definition, reliable and, hence, it can be applied to a variety of different problems. Nevertheless, in practical problem solving, we do not rely on mere truthful knowledge, but also on information which frames the practical acceptability. We are not looking for truthful solution but an optimal solution. Optimal solution is found out by optimizing some given (practical) parameters. The optimization is both theory based and practice based process. That is, practical problem solving is a human deliberation that interconnects theoretical and practical knowledge. So, the philosophical foundation of practical problem solving interconnects theoretical and practical philosophy. Especially ethical deliberation plays – or should play – central role in practical problem solving. The complexity of the advanced scientific knowledge needed in solving present day practical problems separates the people who know, from the people who do (decide). The situation makes immediate that we need some deeper pedagogical conviction: we need ecological education.

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Against Lepore and Stone’s Sceptic Account of Metaphorical Meaning

Author(s): Esther Romero,Belén Soria / Language(s): English / Issue: 47/2016

In this paper, we discuss Lepore and Stone’s account of metaphor which is based on three of Davidson’s proposals: (i) the rejection of metaphorical meanings; (ii) the rejection of metaphors as conveying metaphorical propositional contents; and (iii) the defence of analogy as the key mechanism for understanding metaphors. Lepore and Stone defend these proposals because the non-sceptic strategy on metaphorical meanings, characterized in general by the negation of (i) and (ii), fails to come to grips with neither the power of metaphor nor the explanatory resources of traditional pragmatic theories. In this paper we show not only how our non-sceptic account of metaphorical meaning as a variety of ad hoc concept eliminates these difficulties but also how it can solve two related difficulties that appear in Lepore and Stone’s account. One of them is that Lepore and Stone’s account involves the possibility of interpreting all metaphorical utterances literally (metaphors only have one meaning, the ordinary meaning) as a criterion of metaphorical identification; the other is that their proposal is not suited for explaining how speakers can agree or disagree when they use metaphorical utterances.

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AIMS AS EXPERIENCE

Author(s): John Freeman-Moir / Language(s): English / Issue: 06/2017

Human action runs thick with aims and means. Without aims, without means, and the interplay between them the very idea of action itself would be unintelligible. Through space and time means are transformed into aims or ends-in-view; and aims simultaneously signal the possibilities of further means, and so ad infinitum. This article represents a keynote address given to the NZARE Conference on Aims and Ends in Education, at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 29 August 2016.

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An Examination of Superluminal Motion

Author(s): Argun Abrek Canbolat / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2017

In this work, the debate between Yuri Balashov and Hud Hudson is reviewed in terms of the views put forward by Tim Maudlin. It seems that Maudlin’s view can shed light on the debate and may ensure new discussions and perspectives. Hudson, posing an interesting thought experiment, says that superluminal motion is possible whereas Balashov argues to the contrary. If we take into account what Tim Maudlin suggests in the first chapter of his book The Metaphysics within Physics, namely, that “laws of nature ought to be accepted as ontologically primitive,” we can interpret Balashov-Hudson debate from a new perspective. It can be said that Balashov would be taking a step forward if we were to take into account Maudlin perspective.

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Analytische und Integrative Sprachphilosophie

Author(s): Norbert Walz,Damir Smiljanić / Language(s): German / Issue: 24/2015

The authors are proceeding from the one-sided viewpoint as a result of absolutization of the analytic way of thinking in contemporaty philosophy. In four theses they present the weak spots of the official Analytic Philosophy (absolutization of the logical moment, disregard for alternative media, one-dimensionality of the favored ordinary language, »softening« of the rigorous assertive claims). In order to overcome these shortcomings but also acknowledging the achievements of the analytic way of thinking (such as ideal of clarity, unified method, self-criticism by critique of language) at the end of their paper the authors make out a case for an integrative understanding of language which is including new aspects of the phenomenon of language (effective, expressive, creative aspect) not only the aspects figured out by language analysis (logical-semantic and pragmatic aspect of language).

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Aphantasia and the Language of Imagination: A Wittgensteinian Exploration

Author(s): Mélissa Fox-Muraton / Language(s): English / Issue: 55/2021

Congenital aphantasia, or the complete absence of mental imagery, is a topic that has recently aroused the interest of researchers in many fields including philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences. While it is generally supposed that we all have rich mental lives full of imaged representations, estimates suggest 2-3% of the population may have never formed an image or seen ‘in the mind’s eye.’ This paper aims to address the scepticism surrounding aphantasia, the challenges in communicating about mental imagery, and the research methods used in cognitive sciences today through the lens of Wittgenstein’s philosophy. The paper argues that 1) communicating about mental imagery involves language games that persons with aphantasia may not be able to play (i.e., makes reference to expressions and concepts that are meaningless for them, such as ‘visualise,’ ‘form an image,’ etc.); 2) that as a consequence aphantasia, in present research, is only describable negatively (as lack or incapacity); 3) that rather than a cognitive or a psychological issue, aphantasia should be understood as a grammatical one; and 4) that we need to invent new language games in order to come to a better understanding of conditions such as aphantasia, and to be able to appreciate the rich diversity and variability of human experience.

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APPROCHE DES CRIS PHILOSOPHIQUES. FORMES DE PENSÉES SINGULIÈRES DANS LES PRATIQUES PHILOSOPHIQUES AVEC LES ENFANTS

Author(s): Anda Fournel / Language(s): French / Issue: 2/2019

The discursive and reflexive practices falling within “Philosophy for children” (P4C) program aim to enable children to develop autonomous and authentic thinking by transforming the class into a community of philosophical inquiry. The educational program’s initiators put forward the idea that learning to think cannot exclusively follow a rationality model. Considering Deleuze distinction (1984) between "cry of reason" and "cry of unreason" as a starting point, we are interested in cry’s specimens – the concept and the question – as the call’s living forms in philosophical thought, linked to the emotions’ expression. Our investigation explores the folds of children’s thinking, through a qualitative analyze of classroom recordings in primary and middle school, in order to asses children’s ability to provide "philosophical cries". If so, one might wonder what do they shout and how do they do it?

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ASPECTS OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN JOHN DEWEY’S VIEW

Author(s): Gabriela Pohoaţă,Mihaela Mocanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 04/2015

Rethinking education in a globalized world requires the analysis and thorough research of the great philosophers-educators’ works as current education claims a new philosophy which needs to be based on authentic landmarks that can be objectified under the new circumstances. From this perspective, we consider it useful and necessary to examine the contribution of the American philosopher and educator J. Dewey with a view to analyzing some of the most valuable ideas in the philosophy of education, which we think of great importance for adapting the Romanian education system to the specific of a dynamic and pragmatic youth, by rethinking the national curriculum after the American pragmatist model.

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Augustín Riška: Americká filozofia. Od Percea po Quina

Author(s): František Mihina / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 1/1997

Review of: Augustín Riška: Americká filozofia. Od Peircea po Quina. IRIS, Bratislava 1996, 194 s.

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Az alkalmazás filozófiai aktualitása

Author(s): Károly Veress / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2018

What is “application” according to its basic meaning, and what does it mean when it is used with philosophical pretensions? How does the relationship between application and philosophy, viz. the role of applied philosophy develop in a context outside hermeneutics, and how can it be thought of in a hermeneutical perspective? How is the question related to the hermeneutical sense of “application” connected to the question of the application of philosophy? And how does contemporary philosophical hermeneutics contribute to the exploration of this relationship? In the thread of my present study I argue in favour of the philosophical actuality of the application, actuality which consists precisely in its possibility to bring philosophy once again closer to human being and life.

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Becoming Animal of Philosophy: Pragmatism, Pragrammatology, Speculative Pragmatism

Author(s): Anthony Reynolds / Language(s): English / Issue: 24/2021

I argue that American pragmatism can be understood as an effort to recuperate a sense of the animality of thought and thus as an example of what Deleuze and Guattari call a “becoming animal” within the field of philosophy. At issue in this becoming animal of pragmatism is the influence of Charles Peirce’s theory of abduction on the history of pragmatism from its origins to its more recent reception within Jacques Derrida’s (pra)grammatology and Brian Massumi’s speculative pragmatism. Predicated on the evolutionary notion that animal instinct is the source of language, thought, and inquiry, Peirce’s theory of creative inference, or “abduction” as he called it, has allowed generations of pragmatists to begin “shaking philosophy’s dust off their feet and following the call of the wild” (James); to recognize in the origin of their thought something like “the movements of a wild creature toward its goal” (Dewey); to define intellectual inquiry as “doing what comes naturally” (Fish), and to pursue such inquiry “without method” (Rorty). Emerging under the ostensible heading of a new “humanism”, pragmatism exceeds what Derrida calls “the anthropological limit” from the very start, relieving humanism of its exclusive claim to logocentrism by reinscribing the question if not the origin of the logos within the animal kingdom. Yet unlike Derrida, whose rejection of biological continuism in the name of difference prevents him from committing fully to the logic of abduction, Massumi is able to rehabilitate Peirce’s theory of abduction as the foundation for his speculative pragmatism as a result of his commitment to a processual ontology that rejects binary oppositions in favor of “disjunctive syntheses” and “zones of indiscernibility”.

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Between Control and More-than-Human Events: The Listening Experience in the Light of Speculative Pragmatism

Author(s): Henrique Souza Lima / Language(s): English / Issue: 24/2021

This paper presents an investigation into the relationship between listening and power in the context of information warfare through the theoretical framework of speculative pragmatism. The main objective is to investigate the possibility of thinking of the listening activity as a particular act of thought through the concepts of lived abstraction and subjectless individuation. For doing this, the first part of the article describes the relationship of reciprocal presupposition between current online information warfare and the production of a subjectivity tied to a narcissistic regime of subjection. The second part of this article describes the concept of lived abstraction, such as elaborated by philosopher Brian Massumi. The third part of this article consists of investigating the epistemological core of speculative pragmatism through Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of subjectless individuation, particularly the individuation of an event. In the last part, we speculate a possible understanding of listening as an act of thought that is potentially articulated outside the noological register of narcissism through the appreciation of a mode of artistic operation that work in a way of designing listening experiences.

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BÍLEK, P., A., DADAJÍK, O., KAPLICKÝ, M., PAPOUŠEK, V., SKALICKÝ, D., STANĚK, J. 2017. Stopy pragmatismu. Česká literatura a estetika v dotyku s americkým pragmatismem

Author(s): Lenka Bandurová / Language(s): Slovak / Issue: 1/2017

Review of: BÍLEK, P., A., DADAJÍK, O., KAPLICKÝ, M., PAPOUŠEK, V., SKALICKÝ, D., STANĚK, J. 2017. Stopy pragmatismu. Česká literatura a estetika v dotyku s americkým pragmatismem. České Budějovice: Jihočeská univerzita. ISBN 978-80-7394-627-2.

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Bourdieu Vs. Habermasas: „Mass Media“ Poveikio Viešybei Problema

Author(s): Ernesta Molotokienė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 74/2013

The article deals with the influence of the mass media on public space by a comparison with mass media functioning on social space in the philosophies of Jürgen Habermas and Pierre Bourdieu. One of the main problems analyzed in this article is that of communication as a realization ofan ideal linguistic situation which is focused on consensus. The article argues that the concept of a mediated society for Habermas is inseparable from a mass media that shapes public space. Accordingly, mediated society for Bourdieu is inseparable from the concept of a meta-capital field, which, by involving different capitals acquires a dominant position in today’s society. It is proved that the hegemony of the meta-capital is problematic in relation to other fields that form the social space. The article contains the following question: how does mass media work the public space? The article argues that Habermas and Bourdieu’o recognize the fact that the dominant power and influence of mass media to the public space is a problematic phenomenon because mass media negatively transforms the public space.

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