(Nie)obiektywna podmiotowość

Author(s): Piotr Piotrowski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 36/2016

In this article, I analyze the issue of subjectivity in the form in which it appears in Charles Taylor’s and Richard Rorty’s writings. Positions of these philosophers are generally regarded as contradictory. I will, however, argued that the position on subjectivity represented by Rorty finds its complementation in Taylor’s concept. To do this, I will show firstly that both Rorty and Taylor use the category of contingency, presenting some common thesis about subjectivity. This way I will show that the location of the category of subjectivity and the scope of its use in each of them concept is closely related to the understanding of objectivity accepted by each of them. This will allow then to reconstruct the concept of subjectivity presented by Taylor and Rorty. Next, in the conclusion, I will present such a summary of those two standpoints, which will include justification of the thesis of their complementarity.

A PLEA FOR THE PLURALITY OF FUNCTION

Author(s): Tony Cheng / Language(s): English / Issue: 15/2016

In this paper I defend a pluralistic approach in understanding function, both in biological and other contexts. Talks about function are ubiquitous and crucial in biology, and it might be the key to bridge the “manifest image” and the “scientific image” identified by Sellars (1962). However, analysis of function has proven to be extremely difficult. The major puzzle is to make sense of “time-reversed causality”: how can property P be the cause of its realizer R? For example, “pumping blood” is a property of hearts, but a property of hearts cannot be the cause of the presence of hearts, since properties cannot predate their realizers and be causes of them. In section 2 I discuss Wright’s etiological analysis, Cummins’ causal-role analysis, and their critics. In section 3 I defend a version of the “consensus without unity” strategy proposed by Godfrey-Smith from Christopher Boorse’s recent critique (2002). In Section 4 I conclude by reflecting on the relation between functional discourses and physicalism.

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.

Alasdair MacIntyre jako krytyk oświeceniowego projektu uzasadnienia moralności (I): Przyczyny kryzysu etyki nowożytnej

Author(s): Sebastian Galecki / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 13/2016

In the famous “disquieting suggestion” Alasdair MacIntyre has written identifying the hypothetical state of modern ethics as a set of mutually antagonistic, chaotic, irrational and ultimately arbitrary positions. The later work of this extremely popular contemporary Scottish (although for many decades living in the United States) philosopher, sometimes referred to “an interminably long history of ethics”, is devoted mainly two purposes: to prove the arguments put forward in the “disquieting suggestion” and to overcome this crisis. This series of two articles is devoted to the presentation of the first, negative aim of MacIntyre. The eponymous reasons for the crisis of a contemporary moral philosophy, MacIntyre summarizes the three slogans: incommensurability of terms and language, the conceptual incommensurability of rival arguments and the ostensible impersonal, objective rationality. These three elements are a characteristic of all modern ethical theories realising “the enlightenment project of justifying morality.” As an example MacIntyre has shown two post-Enlightenment ethical traditions: liberal individualism (negating the social dimension of the person and the communal base of practical rationality) and emotivism, which is based on the negation of rational discourse, leading to persuasion and propaganda in the moral sphere.

Alice Returns From Wonderland

Ontological Frameworks for Explanation from Contemporary Quantum Theories

Author(s): Mladen Domazet,Mladen Domazet / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

Alice returns from Wonderland discusses scientific explanation and its importance for scientific knowledge. The classical ideal of coherence and completeness of physics was shaken in the early 20th century with the appearance of quantum mechanics, and this opened the floodgates of skepticism about the explanatory potential of science. Through extensive examination of principle and constructive approaches to methodology and explanation in quantum theory, Domazet discusses realist and antirealist approaches to scientific enterprise as a whole. The need for modification of the everyday conceptual framework through modification of some foundational units of the realist material ontology arises. The book argues for the reintroduction of the metaphysical component of science; to base explanations of empirical phenomena on ontological commitments. Despite the unfamiliar phenomena like quantum teleportation, imaginary Alice finds a way to hold on to familiar macroscopic objects, as one of many instances of durable generalized objects subjected not only to spatio-temporal constrictions but also to ontologically primitive fundamental laws of temporal evolution.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the Perception of Reality from the Visual Field of the Other: Analysis of the Relation between Ordinary Language Philosophy and Poststructural Critique of Vision

Author(s): Margareta Jelic / Language(s): English / Issue: 9/2016

The first objective of this work is to establish a parallel between the ordinary language philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein as well as the philosophy of Stanley Cavell and poststructuralism and its theories through their apprehension of vision and seeing as conceptual categories. The second objective is the analysis of perception of reality from the visual field of the other (children, women, other civilizations and peripheral parts of society) as a place of position of the subject in the frame of Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic poststructural theory, Jacques Derrida’s deconstructivism and psychoanalytic poststructural feminist theories (Irigaray, Kristeva).

An Approach to Abstract Structures of Logistics as a Complex Theory Unifying the Methodology of S-Modelling and the Logic of Science: Initial Steps

Author(s): Boris Chendov / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

In the introduction, following the formulation of the theses (1)on the concept ‘philosophy of science’, (2) on interdisciplinarity in modern science, and (3) on foundational studies in science, and on the bases of their content, (4) a thesis on the interdisciplinary approach to foundations of science is formulated. In accordance with the latter, together with the canonical approach to foundations of science, which consists in an elaboration of the foundations of mathematics, physics and other fundamental canonical sciences, also an interdisciplinary approach to foundations of science is realised, one that consists in the elaboration of four foundational complex sciences containing the most significant productive factors for the elaboration of various interdisciplinary theories: (1) Methodology of S-modelling, (2) Logic of science, (3) Definitics, a complex theory of definite structures, aggregates, processes and systems in reality and in knowledge, (4) Indefinitics, a complex theory of indefiniteness in its various forms in reality and in knowledge. Taking into account the internal connection between the first two complex sciences enlisted above, it is expedient in the process of investigations of their foundations that they be unified in yet another complicated complex science—logistics.

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.

Analitička filozofija istorije

Author(s): Rade Kalik / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 294-295/1983

Filozofija koja nema za cilj postavlianje novih filozofskih stavova, već za svoj osnovni zadatak smatra samoočišćenje od svake metafizike, svodi svoju aktivnost isključivo na filozofsku analizu pojmova. Stoga i filozofija istorije, unutar ove tradicije, postaje jedna u nizu ovih analitičkih aktivnosti, usmerena na značaj i istinitost istorijskih stavova, na njihovo objašnjenje, objektivnost, uzročnost i vrednovanje. Ako samo pogledamo sadržaj jedne od ovakvih filozofija istorije, nailazimo upravo na poglavlja pod ovim naslovima, pa i na sklonost da se i samo ime »filozofija istorije« zameni novim - »objašnjenje istorije«.

Antynomie teorii mnogości

Author(s): Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4 (92)/2015

The main aim of the study — written by Ajdukiewicz in 1913 in order to fulfil the requirements for a teaching certificate — is to provide a clear classification of set-theoretic paradoxes (Russell’s, Burali-Forti’s, Richard’s, König’s, and Berry’s) and to present a uniform way of framing them, which combines ideas put forward by Grelling, Nelson, and Russell. In the last part of the study, Ajdukiewicz surveys available solutions (Poincaré, Richard, Russell, Frege, Bernstein, Jourdain) and comments on their validity. The edition is based on a typescript.

Anzelmo „Ontologinio Įrodymo“ Logika

Author(s): Audrone Dumciene / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 72/2012

Keeping within the framework of analytic philosophy, the article examines Anselm of Canterbury‘s “ontological proof for God’s existence”, which, according to prevailing view, most clearly reveals specifics of pre-scholastic speculative thought. In the Anglo-Saxon tradition, the question of the logical validity of this proof is a matter of relevance, but this article highlights the aspect of the proof‘s soundness. After all, as it is known, formally correct reasoning can lead to false conclusions, and truth is an absolute value for philosophy, i.e. “love of wisdom”. The article not only attempts to estimate the compliance of “the ontological proof” with today’s standards of rationality, but also aims to clarify to what extent the approaches of an analytical history of philosophy enables us to reveal the intrinsic reason of Medieval thought.

Argumentativna semantika

Author(s): Oswald Ducrot / Language(s): Bosnian / Issue: 1/1998

Opći cilj ovog cjelokupnog rada govori o tome da se u semantičkom opisu maksimalno ograniči - i, ako je moguće, čak eliminira - pojam informativnosti. Zapravo, imam dojam da niti jedan dio iskazanog smisla, niti pak smisla jezika, ne sadrži opis stvarnosti, te mi se stoga ne čini da su pojmovi istine i neistine prikladni za opis lingvističkih činjenica. Govoreći ovo, čini mi se da se odvraćam od uobičajenog pojma značenja kakav se sprovodi u samom jezičkom rječniku, tj. pokušavam izgraditi drugačiji pojam značenja negoli je onaj što nam ga sam jezik pokušava nametnuti. Ako hoćete, pokušavam vidjeti jezik drugačije negoli on vidi sebe samog. To je moj opći cilj; sada treba pokušati da se precizira sredstvo kojim kanim postići taj cilj. Dvije teorije mi se čine posebno pogodnim za napredovanje k tom cilju: teorija polifonije i teorija argumentacije.

Argumenty na rzecz nieredukcyjnego ujęcia tożsamości osobowej

Author(s): Mariusz Grygianiec / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 34/2016

In the debate on personal identity many different criteria of identity are proposed and defended. Criteria of identity are usually taken to state necessary and sufficient conditions of identity and are viewed, in their metaphysical interpretation, as providing truth conditions of relevant identity statements. In my paper I argue that this view is misconceived and I present some arguments for the simple view of personal identity, according to which there are no noncircular and informative criteria of identity for persons. In particular, I argue that there are no other facts of the matter than identity itself which would serve as truth conditions of statements concerning numerical identity. I also try to justify the view that in most cases criteria of identity should be interpreted either epistemically as a means for finding out whether identity holds or not or metaphysically as criteria of genidentity, which provide appropriate persistence conditions for objects of a given kind.

Autorytet epistemiczny w sytuacji epistemicznej

Author(s): Filip Kobiela / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1 (93)/2016

The first part of the article presents Józef M. Bocheński’s analysis of authority. Emphasis is placed on the formal definition of authority and the distinction between two kinds of authority — epistemic and deontic. The second part of the article presents the results of further analysis conducted in Bocheński’s style. It revolves around the function of epistemic authority in an “epistemic situation”, i.e. within the structure of human beliefs regarded in the context of their origin and their truth values. This makes it possible to highlight the importance of epistemic authority in modern society and the need to analyse false authority and other related notions. Suggested definitions of these notions are presented together with a brief analysis of particular cases.

Ayerova interpretacija Descartesovog stava Cogito, ergo sum

Author(s): Kenan Šljivo / Language(s): Bosnian / Issue: 08/2015

In this paper, I will explicate the basic aspects of Ayer’s criticism of Descartes’ statement“Cogito, ergo sum”. Namely, Ayer tried to show in his criticism that this statement is an expression of Descartes’ tendency to deduce all human knowledge from intuitively certain premises. What I want to show in this paper is that Ayer’s critique of this statement has in itself entirely integrated positivist matrices about the understanding of traditional metaphysics. This positivist criticism takes Descartes’ philosophy as the most representative example of the metaphysical way of thinking. In this article, I want to show that the evaluation of Ayer’s criticism of Descartes entirely depends on the acceptance of the positivist philosophical project, in other words, I want to show that this analytical endeavor of Ayer is acceptable only from the perspective of requirements which are set before philosophy by the positivist orientation on the conceptual value of various philosophical systems.

Aнализ на „неопределимите“ и логическите константи в Ръселовата философска логика

Author(s): Denitsa Zhelyazkova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Issue: 1/2017

The basic aim of this study is to reveal and demonstrate how the analysis of the topic of contradiction can outline directions for overcoming transcendentalism, i.e., outline ontological-dialectical approaches to logic through the prism of Kant and Hegel, and based on this, present the result of paraconsistent logic with regard to the formalization of dialectical logic.

Becker, Ramsey, and Hi-world Semantics. Toward a Unified Account of Conditionals

Author(s): Cheng-Chih Tsai / Language(s): English / Issue: 46/2016

In Lowe (1995), instead of endorsing a Stalnaker/Lewis-style account of counterfactuals, E. J. Lowe claims that a variation of C. I. Lewis’s strict implication alone captures the essence of everyday conditionals and avoids the paradoxes of strict implication. However, Lowe’s approach fails to account for the validity of simple and straightforward arguments such as ‘if 2=3 then 2+1=3+1’, and Heylen & Horsten (2006) even claims that no variation of strict implication can successfully describe the logical behavior of natural language conditionals. By incorporating the German logician O. Becker’s modal intuition with the insight of Ramsey’s Test, we show that there does exist a unified, strict-conditional based account of everyday conditionals, which withstands all attacks previously raised against truth-conditional accounts of conditionals. Furthermore, a subtle distinction between autistic and realistic readings of the indexical ‘I’ involved in a conditional helps us resolve a recent debate concerning the Thomason conditionals.

Bertranda Russella koncepcja monizmu neutralnego

Author(s): Jacek Jarocki / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 33/2016

The metaphysical view of Bertrand Russell, called neutral monism, is not widely known today, although its impact on the contemporary debate over mind-body problem is clearly visible. The aim of this paper is to answer the question: what was Russell’s neutral monism? Firstly, I present the views of Russell’s predecessors – Ernst Mach and William James. Then, I discuss Russell’s own thought which can be divided into three phases. The initial phase is the rejection of neutral monism (mainly because of Russell’s commitments to epistemology). The second phase – I call it the first neutral monism – appears in The Analysis of Mind, where he proposes a deflationary theory of the object and the subject. The last, third phase – called the second neutral monism, initiated in 1927 in The Analysis of Matter and An Outline of Philosophy – introduces the notions of intrinsic and extrinsic properties. Finally, I suggest that the agnostic metaphysics of Russell is too reductive for a dualist and too mysterious for a materialist. However, it might be also true that Russell’s view is more epistemological than metaphysical, and the frames of (misleading) Cartesian dictionary of mind/matter may be too narrow for neutral monism to be pertinently interpreted.

Białe kłamstwo w praktyce medycznej z perspektywy wybranych teorii etycznych

Author(s): Krzysztof Sobczak,Agata Janaszczyk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 32/2015

Does a medical practitioner have a moral obligation to mislead a patient about hiscondition, if he has subjective certainty, that revealing the truth to the patient mayharm him even more? Or, perhaps the practioner is always bound to fully inform thepatient about true state of his health? Idea that pertains to those questions is, in itsnature, achronic. It has accompanied medicine since its birth and has also becomean issue pondered by philosophers. Over the course of centuries, various ethicalfundaments have been created by social and historical contexts. Their purpose wasto evaluate the so called ‘white lie’. The intention of this article is to classify and describemain ethical concepts, within which a solution to this issue has been sought for.