‘Basic Color Categories’ in the Language- Game Perspective

Author(s): Ondřej Beran / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2012

In this paper I will discuss some interesting philosophical questions bound to color science, in its variant founded by Berlin and Kay’s linguistic and anthropological research. I will first refer to various criticisms, expressed by dissenting scientists. Further criticisms implied by a rather philosophical perspective will follow; a particular attention is paid to the question of synchronicity vs. diachronicity. The controversy about Berlin and Kay’s conception is paralleled by the development of Wittgenstein’s views on color that I will sketch in short. Wittgenstein’s philosophy offers tools for illuminating the problem from yet another point of view. In the final part of the paper, I will try to point to the limits of the conception of basic color categories, but also to assess its relevance and possible philosophical contribution in terms of language games variety; especially with respect to the Color Incompatibility Theorem and its implications.

‘Persons’ and Persons

Author(s): Paul Snowdon / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2009

In chapter 3 of Individuals, entitled ‘Persons’, Strawson argues against dualism and the no-ownership theory, and proposes instead that our concept of a person is a primitive concept. In this paper, it is argued that the basic questions that frame Strawson’s discussion, and some of his main arguments and claims, are dubious. A general diagnosis of the source of these problems is proposed. It is argued that despite these problems Strawson gives an accurate and very insightful description of the way we think about ourselves, which should form the starting point for more speculative accounts of ourselves.

“Epistemological Reading”: Stanley Cavell’s Method of Reading Literature

Author(s): Magdalena Filipczuk / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2016

Not many readers will recognize ‘Disowning Knowledge: Seven Plays of Shakespeare’ by Stanley Cavell as either a piece of philosophical writing or literary criticism, so it may be useful to ask what method Cavell uses to read literature, what are the main features of his approach, and whether he has a coherent view on what reading literature means. I examine Cavell’s interdisciplinary eclecticism, the feature which makes his work so original, and I describe his moving away from the British and American analytic tradition in which he was trained to other sources of inspiration, especially Thoreau. I also stress the important fact that Cavell does not avoid autobiographical motifs in his writings, the style of which derives to some extent from the Jewish tradition of storytelling. In his writings Cavell declares his adherence to an ahistorical approach, maintaining that in a sense philosophy is trans historical. In many of his books the central issue is the challenge that skepticism poses, and he endeavors to make a convincing case against it. Although Cavell’s work covers a broad range of interests, including tragedy and literature, as well as Romantic poetry, Shakespeare, Henry James and Samuel Beckett, I try to answer the question of why his analyses of skepticism in literature focus especially on the works of Shakespeare.

“Outside the Box” – Another View on Modern and Contemporary Art.” Book Review: Nikola Dedić, Između dela i predmeta: Majkl Frid i Stenli Kavel između moderne i savremene umetnosti, Beograd: Fakultet za medije i komunikacije, 2017.

Author(s): Jelisaveta Mojsilović / Language(s): English Issue: 15/2018

“THINKING POLITICALLY, SEEING HISTORICALLY”. HANNAH ARENDT ON THE METHOD OF POLITICAL THINKING

Author(s): Attila Demeter M. / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2020

In my paper, I try to summarize Hannah Arendt’s reflections on the method of political thinking, following them through their genesis. My fundamental assumption is that although she had been preoccupied with the issue before (at least from 1957), she became more seriously interested in it after the controversy following the publication of the Eichmann volume. It is generally known that Arendt believed to have found the pattern for the method of political thinking in Kant’s third critique, the one about judgment; more precisely in the Kantian description of the reflective judgment. This served as a pattern for Arendt for what she sometimes called representative thinking or opinion. If, on the other hand, we examine Arendt’s referring thoughts in their genesis we also come to realize why that was the case. In my opinion, Arendt looked in Kant’s work for a form of political thinking that remained impartial, in other words, it was not committed to one political cause or another, yet did not break its relations to politics, remaining entirely political.

„Bardzo nieliczni czują, że ich życie nie jest życiem, lecz śmiercią”. F. Dostojewski i L. Szestow wobec idei szczęścia i egzystencjalnej satysfakcji

Author(s): Michał Kruszelnicki / Language(s): Polish Issue: 33/2016

In my paper I set the existential interpretation of Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground proposed by Lev Shestov against the religious and psychological interpretations of this novel in order to excavate a vital problem in Dostoevsky, which is the inversion of hierarchy in pairs of oppositional categories such as normality-pathology, happiness-unhappiness, harmony- dissonance, omnitude-lack, certainty-uncertainty, joy-despair, faith-doubt. Following Shestov I argue that Dostoevsky embraces those categories that are traditionally mistrusted and negatively valorized and by so doing he rehabilitates the “underground”, accursed and unhappy existence at the expense of regular, “normal” life, easily founding spiritual certainty and every day satisfaction. Such an un-problematic life Dostoevsky’s man from the underground regards as a false, smug and eventually – “dead”. In further part of my study I focus on the religious aspect of Shestov’s later philosophy and try to prove that the perspective of faith gradually introduced to his reading of Dostoevsky in no way cancels Shestov’s early philosophy of the underground, despair and tragedy. On the contrary: if faith “obtained” is likely to become yet another mask of “evidence” and “certainty” and in this way might put stop to existential doubts and spiritual dissatisfaction, then neither Dostoevsky, nor Shestov himself, can easily trust it. In this situation despair and tragedy cannot but hold in Dostoevsky’s and Shestov’s thought and the circle of searching and suffering must remain vicious. I demonstrate the consistency in Shestov’s philosophical thought on Dostoevsky and its constant adequacy for understanding one of the crucial existential dilemmas in the works of the Russian writer.

„Bezstronny obserwator” Adama Smitha a neutralne kryteria oceny w etyce społecznej

Author(s): Cezary Kalita / Language(s): Polish Issue: 36/2016

Ethical theory for Adam Smith is first of all the basic mechanism of social controls. Going out from decisions of the matter of the moral feelings, which the ‘sympathy’ states the foundation; it tries to work out the neutral criteria of ethical opinions introducing the ‘impartial spectator’ figure. Superiority of this category in relation to John Rawls ‘veil of ignorance’ depends on this, that the Smith places his philosophical theory in the strong empirical context (the kind of sociological philosophy). Social ethicist is the base to build more folded regulators of community life, or social, such as economy and politics. The neutral criteria of ethical opinions are the foundation of different derivative social workings (economy, politics).

„Co je dosazitelne ze zebriku, me nezajima." Analyza a kritika resolutni interpretace Logicko-filozofickeho traktatu

Author(s): Tomáš Došek / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2013

This paper surveys a new approach to interpretation of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - the resolute reading. The proponents of the resolute interpretation (especially Cora Diamond and James F. Conant) have argued that the central point of Tractatus is § 6.54. The reading of the section should be resolute, which means the sentences in Tractatus are simply nonsense (einfach Unsinn). Thus, the Tractatus’ aim is not a theory or doctrine of aspects of reality, language or their relation. On the other hand, the main point of the text should be elucidation of the reader’s points. The paper analyses two assumptions in the resolute reading and submits criticism of them. The basis of the criticism is to verily the validity of resolute reading’s assumptions by reference to Notebooks, Prototractatus, correspondence and some manuscripts and typescripts from the Tractatus period in Wittgenstein’s thinking.

„The Referential“ and „the Attributive“: Two Distinctions for the Price of One

Author(s): Ilhan Inan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2006

There are two sorts of singular terms for which we have difficulty applying Donnellan’s referential/attributive distinction: complex definite descriptions, and proper names. With respect to the uses of such terms in certain contexts we seem to have conflicting intuitions as to whether they should be classified as referential or attributive. The problem concerning how to apply Donnellan’s distinction to the uses of certain complex definite descriptions has never been debated in the literature. On the other hand there have been attempts to extend Donnellan’s distinction to the uses of proper names, the most popular one being due to Kripke. However the argument Kripke gives to this end in his ‘Speaker’s Reference and Semantic Reference’ seems to be inconsistent with the position he takes in Naming and Necessity. I suggest that the reason we seem to have conflicting intuitions with respect to the uses of such terms, is because there is not one but two separate distinctions inherent in Donnellan’s examples; a pragmatic distinction based on the speaker’s intentions in using a term (captured by Kripke), and an epistemic one based on the notion of having an object in mind. In the light of this, I argue that the issue of whether there are attributive uses of proper names, in the latter sense, relates to the epistemic problem of whether a speaker can have de re attitudes toward an object that he does not have in mind. On this epistemic issue Kripke and Donnellan are on opposite sides as revealed by their debate over the issue of whether there are contingent a priori propositions.

„Основността” на философията като наука (из теория на българската основнонаучна школа

Author(s): Georgi Belogashev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The philosophical tradition of the world famous Bulgarian philosopher Prof. Dimiter Mihalchev is considered in the paper. The author’s approach is theoretical – he would like to analyze the basic character of philosophy as regards sciences.

ТРЕХМЕРНОСТЬ ВМЕСТО ПЕРВОЙ МАТЕРИИ: СРАВНЕНИЕ ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЙ О МАТЕРИИ У АРИСТОТЕЛЯ И ФИЛОПОНА

Author(s): M.N. VARLAMOVA / Language(s): Russian Issue: 2/2017

This paper considers a number of arguments in defense of the idea of matter's being created developed by John Philoponus in his treatise “De aeternitate mundi contra Proclum”. It is well known that the concept of matter was transformed by Philoponus as compared to the physics of Aristotle, and in the present occasion I aim to contribute to an ongoing scholarly discussion on how Philoponus’ concept of matter qua three-dimensionality helped him to substantiate the idea of creation ex nihilo.

Феноменологията на човешкия живот според Арент

Author(s): Luisa Paz Rodríguez Suárez / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

This article tries to show the phenomenological sense of the Arendtian investigation on the human life and to what extent it is constituted as a postmetaphysical philosophical anthropology, an interpretation that would be closely linked to her notions of action and identity.

Философия и управленска култура

Author(s): Lachezar Andreev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

In this study are considered: Philosophy – included in the values of the organization and management culture; philosophy as a factor and a model in public management and the practical activities; philosophy and pragmatic orientation of management actions.

Философското познание в информационната епоха

Author(s): Anna Ivanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

Since contemporary society of Western civilization is grounded on the pragmatic attitude toward knowledge, the demand for usefulness does not surpass philosophy as well. Social changes in the so called “information age” reignite the old historical question about the value of philosophy, this time in a different cultural context. The article challenges the common vision of philosophical work as purely intellectual and explores two main aspects of the practical implications of philosophical knowledge in modern day. The first aspect is the epistemic value of criticism in the information-overloaded environment of contemporary life. The second is the role of philosophy as a guardian of free thinking and the spiritual autonomy of public consciousness, provided by the constant moral awareness and farseeing of the practicing philosophers.

Хилъри Пътнам за литературата, морала и социалните науки

Author(s): Marina Bakalova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

This article addresses the issue of how moral philosophy and social sciences can play a role in defining visions of a better future for humanity. The author analyzes Hilary Putnam’s relevant ideas in this respect, including the possible impact of knowledge obtained through literature in this process. The article emphasizes two aspects of Putnam’s discussion. First, the author focuses on what underlies the current inability of social sciences and practical reasoning to perform their proper visionary functions. Second, the author presents certain potentially interesting consequences of Putnam’s ideas on errors in practical reasoning, which are applicable to a classical debate in this field.

مدخل إلى المنطق الطبيعي الحجاجي الحجاج ضرورة إنسانية

Author(s): M’utaz Hassan Mohamm Abûqasem / Language(s): Arabic Issue: 2/2016

Fur hypothesis in this article is that the main problem of the researchers in the field of humanities lies in the contradiction and the methodological mistakes in using the evidence. This contradiction is a natural outcome of the duplication between the rationalization process and the mathematical logic. This led to the conclusion that no deductive argument has a scientific evidence to prove or disprove any case. To come out of the tunnel of this dilemma we suggest that going through the natural process of argument is a necessity. This type of argument uses pluralism and language and its rhetoric as its main tools. Therefore we will be talking about the structure of the argument represented in its language.