We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The paper discusses three major points:1. Concerning the matrix of intelligence, as a solution to the problem, Popper proposes a Darwinian model based on a hierarchical idea of causality (downward causality);2. Underlying hierarchical causality are systemic properties, whether they be holistic or reductionist;3. Intelligence is a hierarchical causality imposed by an external agent – i.e., whenever an external agent is able to impose its system characteristics upon the object of its impact
More...
Usually associated with the notion of scientific cognition is the notion of scientific rationality. But science is bivalent – it is a synthesis of cognitive and social components, factors, functions, results. It develops under the influence of broader cognitive and social contexts. It is natural that, within science, cognitive rationality is closely intertwined with specific forms of value-normative rationality. This significantly, and often decisively, affects the process of the production of scientific knowledge and its impact on society.
More...
The article is devoted to the problem, but still not lost its relevance theory about binominal nature of reasoning. The author has turned to a theoretical - historical reconstruction of the classic views of Thomas Hobbes who can be united under the name “two-names theory” and for which researchers differ in their conclusions. It's about the idea that language consists of names and that the two main term in a judgment - subject and predicate - act as names. This theory is shared by John. St. Mill, but is subject to critical analysis by G. Frege and B. Russell. At this historical and philosophical background are addressed three topics: the semantic role of the names, the dependence of their importance to the principles that govern the logical form of a valid proposition and the conclusions of T. Hobbes on definitions needed for the birth and development of theoretical knowledge.
More...
Hilary Putnam, one of the most famous analytical philosophers of the 20th century, died in 2016. His intellectual legacy extends to many areas of analytic philosophy and, beyond philosophy, to mathematics and computer science. The present article is focused on his particular contribution to the philosophy of mind – the thesis of the multiple realizability of mental states. Multiple realizability is among the most influential arguments in the debate on the mind-body problem and on the relationship between psychology and “the more fundamental” natural sciences (neuroscience, physiology, biology, physics, etc.).The article presents a brief overview of multiple realizability. In the first part, the author introduces the concept, and in the second part presents a reconstruction of the main argument of multiple realizability, as well as the most frequent applications of the concept in the philosophy of mind. In the third part, some of the most influential critiques of multiple realizability are reviewed.
More...
This article discusses the significance of Hilary Putnam’s “brains in a vat” argument for the metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of language in the last 30 – 35 years; the presentation is limited only to the classical discussion of the argument, almost entirely leaving aside the contemporary debate. Putnam devised this argument in order to refute both metaphysical realism and skepticism in philosophy. The analysis of the argument against metaphysical realism demonstrates that this realism is based on the causal restriction of linguistic reference. After the reconstruction of Putnam’s argument, the article attempts to show by further analyzing it the extent of its consequences for a philosopher’s epistemological stance, and especially for theories of truth.
More...
Using an analytical and synthetic approach, the article presents a summary of the changes that have taken place in the social context of science in the modern knowledge society as compared with the earlier industrial society. The author identifies the intense dynamic changes in the role, status and social functions of science occurring during the formation of knowledge-based societies. The article also identifies various concepts, models and political theses that, while focusing on one or another of the important aspect of these processes, fail to adequately articulate or explain the whole range of changes taking place in the exo-systemic social context of modern science. This proliferation of theoretical concepts and the diversity of their main focuses calls for a reconceptualization of the social dimensions of modern science, which would allow a sharper delineation of the new elements in the positioning of science as a factor of social development and in the interaction between science and society. It would also enable a more adequate and detailed interpretation of the respective processes. In this connection, a new concept of “socially robust science” is introduced.
More...
The article argues that theorizing about the origin of the universe is imbued with metaphorical language. Only such a language can produce intuitive representations about some cosmic “cause” of the birth of the universe. Nor can it be otherwise, when one strives to say something about the genesis of everything – whether the theorizing be couched in theological or in purely scientific concepts.
More...
The paper is written in order to demonstrate the lack of soundness of the present counter-Enlightenment attacks against reason and science. The characterisation of Enlightenment cannot only refer to the logical consequences of the universally manifested reason –(the wishful thoughts about) the humans‘ education and educability and thus the changing the world for the better –without substantiating them. Kant has substantiated the Enlightenment epistemology that supports even today the human endeavour to live in a better world. As the purpose of the analysis is the epistemological way of comprehension –i.e. the rational all the way, coherent to the end, thus the scientific questioning of the premises of every theory –the paper thus features only a selection from among the coryphaei of the Enlightenment movement. It starts from Kant‘s ―Copernican revolution‖ –a metaphor used by him that may rightfully be employed in order to evaluate his philosophy –which, in the view expressed here, consists in the interdependence of the constructivist epistemology and the categorical imperative ethics. Actually, and this is the thesis promoted here, this epistemology and this ethics constitute a continuous and unique structure and just this unitary epistemological-ethical structure, called here even the Enlightenment epistemology, is the basis of the Enlightenment perspective and theory of comprehension. But this perspective and comprehension form a methodological pattern for the approach of the world and for the reason to be of the human knowledge. Thus, the paper is not a simple reminder of an old page of the history of philosophy. And neither should the history of philosophy be thought of as an evolution of ideas, where there would exist just a simple transmission and taking over of the relay from one paramount theory to another and where at one time or another the respective preponderant theory would exist alone. The Enlightenment pattern was not the only one when it appeared, and so much less today. The epistemological analysis of some contemporary facts emphasizes the contradictory views expressed within the Enlightenment and counter-Enlightenment manners. There are presented Enlightenment type arguments and anti-Enlightenment arguments, put face to face. Thus, the paper shows that the Enlightenment perspective and understanding defeat the counter-Enlightenment attacks and they outline a methodological framework for the current interpretation of science and technology.
More...
The purpose of the article. To reveal the methodological principles of the functioning of the examination in the field of culture and art, to systematize and analyze the various branches of these studies. Clarification of the purpose and content of the concept of "examination of cultural values", taking into account the specifics of its tasks and methods of such research. The problems of the development of domestic expert activity in the field of culture and art are highlighted. Methodology. In order to achieve the goal, analytical, historical, epistemological-axiological and method of theoretical generalization were used to specify the problem of expert activity. The scientific novelty of the results obtained is the need to formulate the main methodological foundations for the study of works of art as a component of preservation and study of material and spiritual heritage; trace the purpose, tasks, and functions of expert studies of works of art; understanding of the principles and methods of studying cultural values, while conducting art criticism, judicial, commodity research, and state expertise. Conclusions. State, legal, commodity research of works of art, bringing together different experts, gives rise to a special reality, fixed by the concept of "expert activity". The methodological principles of expertise in the field of culture and the arts are considered as a general expert system, where the formulation of the purpose of the research and the specification of the tasks determine the principles and methods of work of the expert with similar objects of research. Nowadays, experts in various fields and fields of activity are actively involved in the study of cultural values, which led to the emergence and formation of a powerful national school of culture expertise. In order to understand the place of expertise in the system of protection and popularization of cultural property, it is necessary to clarify and systematize existing basic concepts concerning cultural objects.
More...
The text entitled as above analyses essential distinctions of Ibn ‘Arabi’s epistemology with a particular emphasis on its mystic consideration. The essence of his epistemology was put forward in accordance with the rules of metaphysical preference for the sources of cognition and cognitive process that a spiritual traveler has to go through on his way towards the Truth. Ibn ‘Arabi bases his theory of cognition first of all on those sources of cognition that elude the epistemological field at a historical level, but he does not neglect the latest sources of cognition either, from whose perspective derived is that ascending cognitive evolution of human genius that tries to observe the whole Truth in the perspective of the historical level too. This means that Ibn ‘Arabi, when perceiving the Truth, exposes himself equally to metacosmic Grace and cosmo-historical Wisdom. After defining the essential sources of Ibn ‘ Arabi’s epistemology, the author classified the basic patterns of cognition that the spiritual traveler (Sâlik) reaches in an ascending-cognitive order, starting from the knowledge taken from the world (al- ‘Ilm), via theosophical wisdom which is specifıcally Sophia divina or Sophia perennis (al-Hikma al-Lâduniyyâ), finding peace in the pure wisdom of the Divine Spirit, which is (the wisdom) fundamental glory, living gnosis of the Divine Essence (al-Ma ‘rifa). With each new spiritual phase, the spiritual traveler (Sâlik) acquires a new profile of his spiritual feature that is identical to the internal nature of the acquired cognitive form.
More...
Our truth culture has changed. Yet we are not living in a post-truth era but in a truth era – an observation of the ongoing debates shows a proliferation of invocations of truth. This paper argues that in order to grasp this transition, we should not refer to classical truth theories or common oppositions such as knowledge and belief, objectivity and subjectivity. Instead, we should focus on concrete practices in concrete situations: on “doing truth.” This paper introduces the concept of a “praxeology of truth,” which sets out to analyse truth by means of two parameters: “truth scenes” and “truth figures.” In suggesting that to ask about truth is to pose the question of power, it follows Michel Foucault, but it regards the invocation of truth as a technique of identity politics and truth as a social operator.
More...
COVID 19 is just one more problem we humans have to face today. Crises, such as global warming, species extinction, climate change, and the extended use of anxiolytics and antidepressants by all sections of the population including youngsters, are telling us we are out of sync with Nature, and with our Self. Here, I suggest we need to change the focus of our attention from outside to inside, and from the overextended use of logical thinking mind associated with the brain to the feeling-mind linked with the heart. I associate the thinking mind with the male principle and the feeling heart-mind with the female principle. This change can bring about the necessary next step in our evolution by providing us with a way to connect with the deeper Self or Essence to obtain Higher Guidance. This epistemological way of knowing is based on intuition, and heart-based esoteric traditions throughout the ages have known about it. However, to find solutions to the multiple problems we are facing today, many more people need to learn how to tap into their heart-mind. In this article, I explore and expand on these ideas from different angles, including the scientific.
More...
Since pain, as a phenomenon, is accessible only to the person who experiences it (which represents an obstacle to the objective categorization in the linguistic medium), when patients want to make it available to their interlocutors, they describe it with very detailed and elaborate metaphorical scenarios, most often those relating to a form of body damage. Using such embodied metonymic and metaphorical definitions, they provide an adequate imaginative simulation of their subjective experience for their recipients. The paper presents an overview of philosophical insights on the phenomenology of pain as well as a review of contemporary neuroscience research on a social dimension of pain, but also the results of cognitive linguistic analysis of pain vocabulary based on descriptors from the McGill Questionnaire as well as on the corpus of authentic doctor-patient dialogues.
More...
I intend to show in what way the meaning of the concept of human nature emerges from the worldview that, taken within the context of modernization, leads to the devaluation of the meaning of human. Hence the need to re-conceptualize human nature emerges in such a way that the concept of human nature is necessary intertwined with the global processes and onto-epistemo-ethical aspects of the general worldview that designate the (self)understanding of contemporary culture. The aporetic structure of thinking poses a barrier to this goal. Its context of modern progress is based on the separation of nature and culture. The separation establishes an (im)possibility of answering the question whether the culture, as an expression of human nature, is a part of nature or the nature is, as a product of human comprehension, a part of culture. Instead of the posthuman strive to resolve this dilemma by abolishing the concept of human, which resolves neither ecological nor other types of crisis, the concept of human nature needs to be redefined.
More...
The current paper is part of a broader research, which is dedicated to tracing a possible influence of medieval will theories in the development of epistemology. According to our hypothesis, the emphasis on the freedom and autonomy of the will by some Franciscan authors has led to introducing new topics into the epistemological field. In the current text, we try to trace a couple of novelties that authors like Peter John Olivi, John Duns Scotus or William of Ockham introduced. Topics as freedom of judgment, comparing notions and propositions, perfecting knowledge or choosing the object of knowledge are all areas of the epistemology, which were discussed in the context of the will’s participation in acquiring knowledge. We try to show how similar ideas were already present by earlier medieval authors like Augustine but received their specific terminology and more detailed treatment in the High Medieval Period.
More...
The paper attempts to conciliate the important distinction between what-is, or exists, and what-is-not, thereby supporting Russell’s existential analysis, with some Meinongian insights. For this purpose, it surveys the varied inhabitants of the realm of ‘non-being’ and tries to clarify their diverse statuses. The position that results makes it possible to rescue them back in surprising but non-threatening form, leaving our ontology safe from contradiction.
More...
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notions of mediational fields and dynamic situated senses as a way to identify the structure of experiences, thoughts and their relations. To reach this purpose I draw some lessons from the debate between Dreyfus and McDowell about the structure of experience, from Cussins’s conception of mediational contents, and from Evans’s account of singular senses. I notice firstly that McDowell’s answer to Dreyfus consists in developing a practical and demonstrative notion of the products of our conceptual capacities. A conception that entails that human experience is not entirely characterised in terms of an abstract specification of truth-conditions. McDowell and Cussins endorse Evans’s conception of singular senses. A specification that takes into account the dynamic and situated abilities involved in making reference. Whereas the first argues in favour of a conceptual conception of experience, the second one argues in favour of a nonconceptual conception. I introduce the notions of mediational fields and dynamic situated senses to argue that both converge in conceiving the contents of experience as mediational and not reducible to an abstract specification of truth-conditions. My proposal is to define a bidimensional space orthogonal to the conceptual/ nonconceptual, experience/thought, know-how/know-that dichotomies. Cognitive contents are ways to disclose the world both as mediational fields and as referential structures. The degree in which those elements are presented determine different varieties of cognition. I use the previous notions to develop the sketch of an account of singular, objective and contextual ways of cognition, and to argue that it is better to begin an enquiry about cognition with notions that do not presuppose a distinction between practical and intellectual capacities.
More...
This work approaches the distinction between knowledge-how and knowledge-that in terms of two complementary concepts: performance and information. In order to do so, I formulate Ryle’s argument of infinite regress in terms of performance in order to show that Stanley and Williamson’s counterargument has no real object: both reject the view that the exercise of knowledge-that necessarily requires the previous consideration of propositions. Next, using the concept of feedback, I argue that Stanley and Williamson’s positive account of knowledge-how in terms of knowledge-that corresponds to the output of the comparison between an intention of action and the perceived outcome of performance. Then, I expound other theories of mind and cognition in which feedback and prediction play a fundamental role in order to explain other ways in which information intervenes in performance—i.e., information is construed as knowledge-that available at subject level that guides performance. Finally, I present some reflections on the impact of the concept of knowledge-how, and possible routes to continue our enquiry on the nature of knowledge.
More...
This paper offers the basic theses behind the concept of narcissistic distortion, which can take place in two directions – the paper explains subject formation and experience in so-called concave and convex narcissistic mirroring. The theory proposed in this paper largely relies on Lacan's mirror stage, and on his contribution to subject's development of self-consciousness through constitutive-imaginary dimensions of subjectivity. In cases of inserted concave or convex distortion, the subject locates themselves in the place of the Other, by identifying themselves with their own distorted mirror image in the Other. These distortions influence subject formation in a very concrete manner, carrying over the predisposition for certain instabilities in latter mirroring. The paper is illustrated with a case study aimed at easier understanding of the approach offered in it. It also provides a critical reflection on the possibility of plane mirror formation, as well as a detailed designation of convex distortion and four positions of concave narcissistic distortion.
More...