Philosophy 2009
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Geuss-On-Rorty.Pdf
Richard Rorty at Princeton: Personal Recollections RAYMOND GEUSS When i arrived in Princeton during the 1970s my addiction to tea was already long-standing and very well entrenched, but I was so concerned about the quality of the water in town that I used to buy large containers of allegedly “pure” water at Davidson’s—the local supermarket, which seems now to have gone out of business. I didn’t, of course, have a car, and given the amount of tea I consumed, the trans- port of adequate supplies of water was a highly labor-inten- sive and inconvenient matter. Dick and Mary Rorty must have noticed me lugging canisters of water home, because, with characteristic generosity, they developed the habit of call- ing around at my rooms in 120 Prospect, often on Sunday mornings, offering to take me by car to fill my water bottles at a hugely primitive and highly suspicious-looking outdoor water tap on the side of a pumphouse which was operated by the Elizabethtown Water Company on a piece of waste land near the Institute Woods. This pumphouse with its copiously dripping tap was like something out of Tarkhovski’s film about Russia after a nuclear accident, Stalker, and the sur- rounding area was a place so sinister one half expected to be attacked by packs of dogs in the final stages of radiation sick- ness or by troops of feral children who had been left by their parents to fend for themselves while the parents went off to the library to finish their dissertations. -
Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association
September 2007 Volume 81, Issue 1 Proceedings and Addresses of The American Philosophical Association apa THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION Eastern Division Program University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 www.apaonline.org The American Philosophical Association Eastern Division One Hundred Fourth Annual Meeting Marriott Waterfront Hotel Baltimore, MD December 27 - 30, 2007 Proceedings and Addresses of The American Philosophical Association Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association (ISSN 0065-972X) is published five times each year and is distributed to members of the APA as a benefit of membership and to libraries, departments, and institutions for $75 per year. It is published by The American Philosophical Association, 31 Amstel Ave., University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716. Second-Class Postage Paid at Newark, DE and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Proceedings and Addresses, The American Philosophical Association, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716. Editor: David E. Schrader Phone: (302) 831-1112 Publications Coordinator: Erin Shepherd Fax: (302) 831-8690 Associate Editor: Richard Bett Web: www.apaonline.org Meeting Coordinator: Linda Smallbrook Proceedings and Addresses of The American Philosophical Association, the major publication of The American Philosophical Association, is published five times each academic year in the months of September, November, January, February, and May. Each annual volume contains the programs for the meetings of the three Divisions; the membership list; Presidential Addresses; news of the Association, its Divisions and Committees, and announcements of interest to philosophers. Other items of interest to the community of philosophers may be included by decision of the Editor or the APA Board of Officers. -
Kierkegaard on Selfhood and Our Need for Others
Kierkegaard on Selfhood and Our Need for Others 1. Kierkegaard in a Secular Age Scholars have devoted much attention lately to Kierkegaard’s views on personal identity and, in particular, to his account of selfhood.1 Central to this account is the idea that a self is not something we automatically are. It is rather something we must become. Thus, selfhood is a goal to realize or a project to undertake.2 To put the point another way, while we may already be selves in some sense, we have to work to become real, true, or “authentic” selves.3 The idea that authentic selfhood is a project is not unique to Kierkegaard. It is common fare in modern philosophy. Yet Kierkegaard distances himself from popular ways of thinking about the matter. He denies the view inherited from Rousseau that we can discover our true selves by consulting our innermost feelings, beliefs, and desires. He also rejects the idea developed by the German Romantics that we can invent our true selves in a burst of artistic or poetic creativity. In fact, according to Kierkegaard, becom- ing an authentic self is not something we can do on our own. If we are to succeed at the project, we must look beyond ourselves for assistance. In particular, Kierkegaard thinks, we must rely on God. For God alone can provide us with the content of our real identi- ties.4 A longstanding concern about Kierkegaard arises at this point. His account of au- thentic selfhood, like his accounts of so many concepts, is religious. -
Nietzsche and the Pathologies of Meaning
Nietzsche and the Pathologies of Meaning Jeremy James Forster Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2016 © 2016 Jeremy James Forster All rights reserved ABSTRACT NIETZSCHE AND THE PATHOLOGIES OF MEANING Jeremy Forster My dissertation details what Nietzsche sees as a normative and philosophical crisis that arises in modern society. This crisis involves a growing sense of malaise that leads to large-scale questions about whether life in the modern world can be seen as meaningful and good. I claim that confronting this problem is a central concern throughout Nietzsche’s philosophical career, but that his understanding of this problem and its solution shifts throughout different phases of his thinking. Part of what is unique to Nietzsche’s treatment of this problem is his understanding that attempts to imbue existence with meaning are self-undermining, becoming pathological and only further entrenching the problem. Nietzsche’s solution to this problem ultimately resides in treating meaning as a spiritual need that can only be fulfilled through a creative interpretive process. CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter I: The Birth of Tragedy and the Problem of Meaning 30 Part I: Background 33 Part II: Meaningfulness in Artistic Cultures 45 Part III: Meaningfulness in Tragic Cultures 59 Part IV: Meaningfulness in Socratic Cultures 70 Conclusion: The Solution to Socratism 78 Chapter II: Meaning, Science, and the “Perceptions of Science -
Bowliîo&Ebîstate University Library
THE DRAMATURGY OF LUDVIG HOLBERG'S COMEDIES Gerald S. Argetsinger A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 1975 BOWLIÎO&EBÎ STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY © 1975 GERALD SCOTT ARGETSINGER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED il ABSTRACT This study first described Ludvig Holberg's dramaturgy and then identified the characteristics which • have engendered the comedies' continued popularity. All of the prior Holberg research was studied, but most of the understanding of the comedies came through the careful studying of the playscripts. Holberg's form was greatly influenced by the comedies of Moliere and the Commedia dell' Arte. The content and tone were influenced by the comedies of Ben Jonson and George Farquhar. Holberg wrote for, and was best liked by, the middle class. At first, scholars found his plays crass and inferior. But only twenty years after his death, the plays were accepted as the foundation of the Royal Danish Theatre’s repertory. Holberg created comic characters based upon middle class types. The characters’ speech is almost strictly everyday, Copenhagen Danish. Little was done to linguistically individualize speech except when it was an integral part of the satire of the play. Holberg was also adept at writing jokes. He was a master at creating comic situations. These situations give the characters a setting in which to be funny and provide a foundation for intrigues and other comic business. The visual aspects of the early productions were not important. After careful investigation, it was concluded that Holberg's plays did not succeed, as previous writings tend to assume, because of the "Danishness” of the characters. -
9:30 - 11:00 SZB, Room 240
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE Department of Philosophy, UT, Austin Phil 332, Spring 2013 Unique Number 42755 T/TH: 9:30 - 11:00 SZB, Room 240 INSTRUCTOR Lawrence Ray Buchanan E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (512) 471-7396 Office: Waggener Hall 4th Floor Room # 416B Office hours: Tuesdays 11:30 – 12:30 COURSE SUMMARY The course focuses on various philosophical issues concerning language. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, the following: speaker-meaning, conversational implicature, sentence/expression-meaning, reference, modality, and propositional attitude ascriptions. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Assignments: • Two 6-7 page papers on topics selected from a list of prompts given by instructor. The first of these papers will be worth 20% of the student’s final grade for the course; the second will be worth 25% of the grade for the course. • One in-class midterm worth 25% of the student’s final grade. • A take-home final exam worth 25% of the grade. • Class participation and attendance (5%). Regarding the *participation* component of your grade: I expect regular attendance and participation in our course. Moreover, I expect you to have read the material for lecture carefully in advance. However, should my expectations on either front fail to be met, I reserve the right to assign (short) in-class written assignments regarding the required reading for the day that will then be counted towards the participation component of your grade. Late work: I do not accept work after the due date without a valid documented excuse. Please Note: One of the principal aims of this course is to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. -
Satire and the Enlightenment Scandinavian R5B, Spring 2017
Satire and the Enlightenment Scandinavian R5B, Spring 2017 GSI: Zachary Blinkinsop Office: Dwinelle 6414 Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 1200-1345 or by appointment Satire flourished during the eighteenth century when heavy-hitting writers across Europe penned droll attacks on superstition, intolerance, and vice. In this course, we will explore how the satirical mode functioned as part of the Enlightenment project. Particular emphasis will placed on the literary history of Sweden and Denmark-Norway from 1720 to 1792 and Ludvig Holberg’s satirical writings will comprise the mainstay of readings. Guiding questions in the course include: when is satire subversive and when does it reinforce the status quo? How do Scandinavian satires differ from their contemporaries in Great Britain, France, and colonial America/the United States? Is there a taxonomy of satire and what formal elements are ubiquitous across satirical sub-genres? Students will write a term paper that incorporates scholarship, historical material, and one or more of the course texts. All readings are in English. Course Texts (* indicates texts to purchase) Ogbord & Buckroyd * Satire Ebenezer Cooke “The Sot-Weed Factor” American, 1708 Ludvig Holberg Erasmus Montanus Danish, 1722 Ludvig Holberg Jeppe of the Hill Danish, 1723 Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels Anglo-Irish, 1726 Jonathan Swift “A Modest Proposal” Anglo-Irish, 1729 Benjamin Franklin “The Witch Trial at Mount Holly” American, 1730 Olof Dalin “Proof of Wisdom: Mr. Arngrim Beserk” Swedish, 1739 Ludvig Holberg * The -
Reposs #19: Newtonianism in the Scandinavian Countries, 1690–1790
RePoSS: Research Publications on Science Studies RePoSS #19: Newtonianism in the Scandinavian Countries, 1690–1790 Helge Kragh August 2012 Centre for Science Studies, University of Aarhus, Denmark Research group: History and philosophy of science Please cite this work as: Helge Kragh (Aug. 2012). Newtonianism in the Scandinavian Countries, 1690–1790. RePoSS: Research Publications on Sci- ence Studies 19. Aarhus: Centre for Science Studies, University of Aarhus. url: http://www.css.au.dk/reposs. Copyright c Helge Kragh, 2012 1 Newtonianism in the Scandinavian Countries, 1690-1790 HELGE KRAGH 1 Introduction In the present context, the Scandinavian countries refer to two national or administrative units, the one being Denmark and the other Sweden. In the period here considered, largely the century from 1690 to 1790, ‘Denmark’ means really Denmark-Norway, for until 1814 Norway was part of the double monarchy ruled by the king and his government in Copenhagen. It should also be kept in mind that parts of what is today Germany, namely Schleswig-Holstein, belonged to the kingdom. However, as far as language and culture were concerned, these parts of southern Denmark were more German than Danish, and they played no important role in the scientific life of the kingdom. Sweden covered a much larger geographical area than it does today. The country had expanded greatly during the seventeenth century, when not only Finland but also parts of the Baltic area and northern Germany came under Swedish rule. About 1720, after the Great Northern War, Sweden lost most of its possessions, but the major part of Finland remained as part of the country until Centre for Science Studies, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Denmark. -
Books Added to Benner Library from Estate of Dr. William Foote
Books added to Benner Library from estate of Dr. William Foote # CALL NUMBER TITLE Scribes and scholars : a guide to the transmission of Greek and Latin literature / by L.D. Reynolds and N.G. 1 001.2 R335s, 1991 Wilson. 2 001.2 Se15e Emerson on the scholar / Merton M. Sealts, Jr. 3 001.3 R921f Future without a past : the humanities in a technological society / John Paul Russo. 4 001.30711 G163a Academic instincts / Marjorie Garber. Book of the book : some works & projections about the book & writing / edited by Jerome Rothenberg and 5 002 B644r Steven Clay. 6 002 OL5s Smithsonian book of books / Michael Olmert. 7 002 T361g Great books and book collectors / Alan G. Thomas. 8 002.075 B29g Gentle madness : bibliophiles, bibliomanes, and the eternal passion for books / Nicholas A. Basbanes. 9 002.09 B29p Patience & fortitude : a roving chronicle of book people, book places, and book culture / Nicholas A. Basbanes. Books of the brave : being an account of books and of men in the Spanish Conquest and settlement of the 10 002.098 L552b sixteenth-century New World / Irving A. Leonard ; with a new introduction by Rolena Adorno. 11 020.973 R824f Foundations of library and information science / Richard E. Rubin. 12 021.009 J631h, 1976 History of libraries in the Western World / by Elmer D. Johnson and Michael H. Harris. 13 025.2832 B175d Double fold : libraries and the assault on paper / Nicholson Baker. London booksellers and American customers : transatlantic literary community and the Charleston Library 14 027.2 R196L Society, 1748-1811 / James Raven. -
Ludvig Holberg O Ne I N No Other Light We Wan T You English to See Him
L U DVI G H O LB E RG TH E FOU NDER OF N ORW EG IAN LITERATU RE AND AN OXFO RD STUDENT H A MM E R M A . S . C . , . OXFORD D . B A KW ELL BR A TREET B. H L C , O S LU DVI G HOLB ERG TH E FOU NDER OF N ORW EGIAN LITERAT U R E A ND AN OX FORD STU DENT A . H A MM E R M . c . s . L , OXFO RD B A D TREET B . EL RO ' H BLAC KW L, S MC MXX LU DVI G H OLB E R G I NTRODU CTORY NOTE TH E lec tu re w as 23rd 1 919 following delivered on May , , at i o f Sir Magdalen College , Oxford , by invitat on the President , Herbert Warren , and in the presence , among others , of the L N . orwegian Minister in ondon , Mr Benjamin Vogt In revising the manuscript I have thought it necessary to enlarge it o n a few points where I had to condense the lecture W I in order to keep it ithin the confin es Of an hour . have also added a few supplementary footnotes and a brief reference to the bulky Holberg literature which m a y perhaps prove o f interest to Holberg students in England . In paying my respectful thanks to the President Of Magdalen College and the distinguished audience for their kind reception I beg to sum up my feelings in the words o f Holberg ' himself ' M u ms san e n ominibu s devin ctu m Oxoniensibu s me ’ tenerz fateor . -
Deep Contextualism and Radical Criticism: the Argument for a Division of Labor
1 Deep Contextualism and Radical Criticism: The Argument for a Division of Labor Mathias Thaler [email protected] Abstract: Raymond Geuss has recently argued for a “realist” re‐orientation of political theory. This argument is based on a devastating critique of what he calls the “ethics first”‐approach, that is, an approach to politics that is essentially derived from, and thus tributary to, ethics. Geuss’s own account of realist political theory urges us to engage in two distinct activities: (1) embracing some form of deep contextualism and (2) exploiting the potential for radical criticism. This paper argues that these imperatives cannot be fully synthesized because they impose completely different requirements on the philosopher: the former forces the philosopher to immerse herself into the analysis of the real world so as to tailor her normative judgments to the particularities of the situation under scrutiny, while the latter might actually be served better if the principles of justice remained untainted by any considerations of the real world. To illustrate this claim about the structural incompatibility, I will start by unfolding a continuum of various positions in the debate about the relationship between deep contextualism and radical criticism. This continuum has at one extreme Michael Walzer’s notion of “immanent criticism”, and on the other extreme we can find G. A. Cohen’s suggestion that principles of justice should remain “fact‐insensitive”. The final part of this paper suggests that we best conceive of deep contextualism and radical criticism not as mutually exclusive, but rather as reciprocally complimentary. This idea is encapsulated in the notion that we need a division of labor between idealizing and realist approaches to politics. -
9D3f0f669010a3a0c55927ac475
ALASTAIR HANNAY AND GORDON D. MARINO Introduction Myths attach rather easily to some thinkers, especially to those who like Hegel are hard to read or like Kierkegaard hard to place. Such myths are often based on hearsay or a superficial reading of the texts. One lingering myth about Kierkegaard is that he is an irra- tionalist in some sense that denies the value of clear and honest thinking. Kierkegaard did deny the ability of reasoned thought to ar- rive at universal and objective truth on matters of value, but today that is considered quite rational. This collection of previously un- published essays is offered as proof of how wrong it is to suppose that if Kierkegaard's philosophical star is in the ascendant, as it now is, things must be going badly with philosophy. Besides this general myth, though owing as much to them as they to it, are the particular myths - of Kierkegaard's uncontrolled pre- dilection for paradox, a delight in exaggeration, and his writer's weakness for rhetoric over perspicuity - myths that have led in their turn to superficial renditions of the ideas and to failures to de- tect consistency or development in his multiauthored production. More than with any other recent thinker, and for good or ill, the re- ception of Kierkegaard's work has carried the subjective stamp of the receiver's own preferences. So much so that one might well ask if Kierkegaard has not so much enjoyed as "suffered" his several renaissances. Emanuel Hirsch, whose influential German translations reflect personal political leanings, tried to weave Kierkegaard into the tan- gled web of an existence theology adapted to National Socialism.