Reason, Causation and Compatibility with the Phenomena
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The Method of Wittgenstein's Tractatus
The Method of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus: Toward a New Interpretation Nikolay Milkov, University of Paderborn, Germany Abstract This paper introduces a novel interpretation of Wittgenstein‘s Tractatus, a work widely held to be one of the most intricate in the philosophical canon. It maintains that the Tractatus does not develop a theory but rather advances an original logical symbolism, a new instrument that enables one to ―recognize the formal properties of propositions by mere inspection of propositions themselves‖ (6.122). Moreover, the Tractarian conceptual notation offers to instruct us on how better to follow the logic of language, and by that token stands to enhance our ability to think. Upon acquiring the thinking skills that one can develop by working with the new symbolism, one may move on and discard the notation—―throw away the ladder‖ (6.54), as Wittgenstein put it. 1. The New Wittgensteinians This paper introduces a novel interpretation of Wittgenstein‘s Tractatus. In the process, it takes issue with the New Wittgensteinians, in particular Cora Diamond and James Conant,1 who some twenty-five years ago fielded a comprehensive, essentially skeptical interpretation of the entire body of the Tractatus. Diamond and Conant argued that the core propositions of the Tractatus are literally nonsense, gibberish equivalent to phrases like ―piggly wiggle tiggle‖ (Diamond, 2000, p. 151). To be more explicit, Diamond and Conant defended their view that the book‘s core content is philosophically vacuous by arguing (i) that the Tractatus is divided into a body and a frame; (ii) that the Preface, 3.32–3.326, 4–4.003, 4.111–2 and 6.53–6.54 compose the frame (Conant 2001, p. -
“Nothing Is Shown”: a 'Resolute' Response
Philosophical Investigations 26:3 July 2003 ISSN 0190-0536 “Nothing is Shown”: A ‘Resolute’ Response to Mounce, Emiliani, Koethe and Vilhauer Rupert Read and Rob Deans, University of East Anglia Part 1: On Mounce on Wittgenstein (Early and Late) on ‘Saying and Showing’ H. O. Mounce published in this journal two years ago now a Criti- cal Notice of the The New Wittgenstein,1 an anthology (edited by Alice Crary and Rupert Read) which is evenly divided between work on Wittgenstein’s early and later writings. The bulk of Mounce’s article was devoted to those contributions primarily con- cerned with the Tractatus.2 There is a straightforward sense in which this selective focus is natural. The pertinent contributions – most conspicuously those by Cora Diamond and James Conant – describe a strikingly un- orthodox interpretation of Wittgenstein’s early book on which it is depicted as having an anti-metaphysical aim. Mounce takes an inter- est in this interpretation because he believes that, in characterizing the Tractatus in anti-metaphysical terms, it misrepresents the central Tractarian doctrine of ‘saying and showing’ – a doctrine which he understands in terms of the idea that “metaphysical truths, though they cannot be stated, may nevertheless be shown”(186). Mounce argues that Diamond and Conant et al. fail to treat this doctrine as “one that Wittgenstein himself advances,” and he claims that they therefore make Wittgenstein’s thought “less original than one might otherwise suppose” (186) by implying that it is “indistinguishable from positivism” in the sense of “not even attempt[ing] to provide positive knowledge [and] confin[ing] itself to removing the confu- 1. -
Introduction Sally Shuttleworth and Geoffrey Cantor
1 Introduction Sally Shuttleworth and Geoffrey Cantor “Reviews are a substitute for all other kinds of reading—a new and royal road to knowledge,” trumpeted Josiah Conder in 1811.1 Conder, who sub- sequently became proprietor and editor of the Eclectic Review, recognized that periodicals were proliferating, rapidly increasing in popularity, and becoming a major sector in the market for print. Although this process had barely begun at the time Conder was writing, the number of peri- odical publications accelerated considerably over the ensuing decades. According to John North, who is currently cataloguing the wonderfully rich variety of British newspapers and periodicals, some 125,000 titles were published in the nineteenth century.2 Many were short-lived, but others, including the Edinburgh Review (1802–1929) and Punch (1841 on), possess long and honorable histories. Not only did titles proliferate, but, as publishers, editors, and proprietors realized, the often-buoyant market for periodicals could be highly profitable and open to entrepreneurial exploitation. A new title might tap—or create—a previously unexploited niche in the market. Although the expensive quarterly reviews, such as the Edinburgh Review and the Quarterly, have attracted much scholarly attention, their circulation figures were small (they generally sold only a few thousand copies), and their readership was predominantly upper middle class. By contrast, the tupenny weekly Mirror of Literature is claimed to have achieved an unprecedented circulation of 150,000 when it was launched in 1822. A few later titles that were likewise cheap and aimed at a mass readership also achieved circulation figures of this magnitude. -
The Analytic-Synthetic Distinction and the Classical Model of Science: Kant, Bolzano and Frege
Synthese (2010) 174:237–261 DOI 10.1007/s11229-008-9420-9 The analytic-synthetic distinction and the classical model of science: Kant, Bolzano and Frege Willem R. de Jong Received: 10 April 2007 / Revised: 24 July 2007 / Accepted: 1 April 2008 / Published online: 8 November 2008 © The Author(s) 2008. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract This paper concentrates on some aspects of the history of the analytic- synthetic distinction from Kant to Bolzano and Frege. This history evinces con- siderable continuity but also some important discontinuities. The analytic-synthetic distinction has to be seen in the first place in relation to a science, i.e. an ordered system of cognition. Looking especially to the place and role of logic it will be argued that Kant, Bolzano and Frege each developed the analytic-synthetic distinction within the same conception of scientific rationality, that is, within the Classical Model of Science: scientific knowledge as cognitio ex principiis. But as we will see, the way the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments or propositions functions within this model turns out to differ considerably between them. Keywords Analytic-synthetic · Science · Logic · Kant · Bolzano · Frege 1 Introduction As is well known, the critical Kant is the first to apply the analytic-synthetic distinction to such things as judgments, sentences or propositions. For Kant this distinction is not only important in his repudiation of traditional, so-called dogmatic, metaphysics, but it is also crucial in his inquiry into (the possibility of) metaphysics as a rational science. Namely, this distinction should be “indispensable with regard to the critique of human understanding, and therefore deserves to be classical in it” (Kant 1783, p. -
Bernard Bolzano. Theory of Science
428 • Philosophia Mathematica Menzel, Christopher [1991] ‘The true modal logic’, Journal of Philosophical Logic 20, 331–374. ———[1993]: ‘Singular propositions and modal logic’, Philosophical Topics 21, 113–148. ———[2008]: ‘Actualism’, in Edward N. Zalta, ed., Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2008 Edition). Stanford University. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2008/entries/actualism, last accessed June 2015. Nelson, Michael [2009]: ‘The contingency of existence’, in L.M. Jorgensen and S. Newlands, eds, Metaphysics and the Good: Themes from the Philosophy of Robert Adams, Chapter 3, pp. 95–155. Oxford University Press. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/philmat/article/23/3/428/1449457 by guest on 30 September 2021 Parsons, Charles [1983]: Mathematics in Philosophy: Selected Essays. New York: Cornell University Press. Plantinga, Alvin [1979]: ‘Actualism and possible worlds’, in Michael Loux, ed., The Possible and the Actual, pp. 253–273. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ———[1983]: ‘On existentialism’, Philosophical Studies 44, 1–20. Prior, Arthur N. [1956]: ‘Modality and quantification in S5’, The Journal of Symbolic Logic 21, 60–62. ———[1957]: Time and Modality. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ———[1968]: Papers on Time and Tense. Oxford University Press. Quine, W.V. [1951]: ‘Two dogmas of empiricism’, Philosophical Review 60, 20–43. ———[1969]: Ontological Relativity and Other Essays. New York: Columbia University Press. ———[1986]: Philosophy of Logic. 2nd ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Shapiro, Stewart [1991]: Foundations without Foundationalism: A Case for Second-order Logic.Oxford University Press. Stalnaker, Robert [2012]: Mere Possibilities: Metaphysical Foundations of Modal Semantics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Turner, Jason [2005]: ‘Strong and weak possibility’, Philosophical Studies 125, 191–217. -
Martin Heidegger's Phenomenology and the Science of Mind
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2005 Martin Heidegger's phenomenology and the science of mind Charles Dale Hollingsworth Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Hollingsworth, Charles Dale, "Martin Heidegger's phenomenology and the science of mind" (2005). LSU Master's Theses. 2713. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/2713 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MARTIN HEIDEGGER’S PHENOMENOLOGY AND THE SCIENCE OF MIND A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In The Department of Philosophy by Charles Dale Hollingsworth B.A., Mississippi State University, 2003 May 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.......................................................................................iii Chapter 1 The Computational Model of Mind and its Critics..........1 2 One Attempt at a Heideggerean Approach to Cognitive Science...........................................................................14 3 Heidegger on Scientific -
The Philosophy of Religion Contents
The Philosophy of Religion Course notes by Richard Baron This document is available at www.rbphilo.com/coursenotes Contents Page Introduction to the philosophy of religion 2 Can we show that God exists? 3 Can we show that God does not exist? 6 If there is a God, why do bad things happen to good people? 8 Should we approach religious claims like other factual claims? 10 Is being religious a matter of believing certain factual claims? 13 Is religion a good basis for ethics? 14 1 Introduction to the philosophy of religion Why study the philosophy of religion? If you are religious: to deepen your understanding of your religion; to help you to apply your religion to real-life problems. Whether or not you are religious: to understand important strands in our cultural history; to understand one of the foundations of modern ethical debate; to see the origins of types of philosophical argument that get used elsewhere. The scope of the subject We shall focus on the philosophy of religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Other religions can be quite different in nature, and can raise different questions. The questions in the contents list indicate the scope of the subject. Reading You do not need to do extra reading, but if you would like to do so, you could try either one of these two books: Brian Davies, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Oxford University Press, third edition, 2003. Chad Meister, Introducing Philosophy of Religion. Routledge, 2009. 2 Can we show that God exists? What sorts of demonstration are there? Proofs in the strict sense: logical and mathematical proof Demonstrations based on external evidence Demonstrations based on inner experience How strong are these different sorts of demonstration? Which ones could other people reject, and on what grounds? What sort of thing could have its existence shown in each of these ways? What might we want to show? That God exists That it is reasonable to believe that God exists The ontological argument Greek onta, things that exist. -
Bolzano and the Traditions of Analysis
Bolzano and the Traditions of Analysis Paul Rusnock (Appeared in Grazer Phil. Studien 53 (1997) 61-86.) §1 Russell’s discussion of analytic philosophy in his popular History begins on a sur- prising note: the first analytic philosopher he mentions is . Weierstrass. His fur- ther remarks—in which he discusses Cantor and Frege, singling out their work in the foundations of mathematics—indicate that he thought that the origin of mod- ern philosophical analysis lay in the elaboration of modern mathematical analysis in the nineteenth century [13, 829-30]. Given the markedly different meanings attached to the word “analysis” in these two contexts, this juxtaposition might be dismissed as merely an odd coincidence. As it turns out, however, modern philo- sophical and mathematical analysis are rather closely linked. They have, for one thing, a common root, albeit one long since buried and forgotten. More important still, and apparently unknown to Russell, is the circumstance that one individual was instrumental in the creation of both: Bolzano. Russell’s account could easily leave one with the impression that analytic phi- losophy had no deep roots in philosophical tradition; that, instead, it emerged when methods and principles used more or less tacitly in mathematics were, af- ter long use, finally articulated and brought to the attention of the philosophical public. A most misleading impression this would be. For right at the begin- ning of the reconstruction of the calculus which Russell attributed to Weierstrass we find Bolzano setting out with great clarity the methodology guiding these de- velopments in mathematics—a methodology which, far from being rootless, was developed in close conjunction with Bolzano’s usual critical survey of the relevant philosophical literature. -
Introduction Setting the Scene
Introduction Setting the Scene On 7 April, 1875, mathematics students turning up for their morning lecture at University College London were surprised to see a message chalked on the blackboard. It read, ‘I am obliged to be absent on important business which will probably not occur again.’ The Professor of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, William Kingdon Clifford, was getting married on that day. He had come to London from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1871 and was twenty-nine years old. He was highly intellectual, tremendously popular, slightly eccentric and such a brilliant lecturer that he had taken the academic world by storm. His bride to be was Sophia Lucy Jane Lane. She was one year younger than William Clifford and had already begun to establish herself as a novelist and journalist. He and Lucy made a most attractive and lively couple and they drew around them a wide circle of friends from all walks of life. In 1874, when their engagement had been announced, William Clifford received this letter: Few things have given us more pleasure than the intimation in your note that you had a fiancée. May she be the central happiness and motive force of your career, and by satisfying the affections, leave your rare intellect free to work out its glorious destiny. For, if you don’t become a glory to your age and time, it will be a sin and a shame. Nature doesn’t often send forth such gifted sons, and when she does, Society usually cripples them. Nothing but marriage – a happy marriage – has seemed to Mrs Lewes and myself wanting to your future.1 The letter was from his close friend, the publisher, writer, and philosopher George Henry Lewes.SAMPLE Mrs Lewes was, of course, George Eliot. -
Roger-White-Tractatus-Wars.Pdf
BEYOND THE TRACTATUS WARS The New Wittgenstein Debate Edited by Rupert Read and Matthew A. Lavery First published 2011 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Editorial matter © 2011 Taylor & Francis; individual chapters, respective contributors The right of the Editors and Contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beyond the Tractatus wars: the new Wittgenstein debate / edited by Rupert Read and Matthew A. Lavery. p. cm. 1. Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 1889–1951. Tractatus logico-philosophicus. I. Read, Rupert J., 1966– II. Lavery, Matthew A. B3376.W563T732158 2011 192—dc22 2010047956 ISBN: 978–0–415–87439–7 (hbk) ISBN: 978–0–415–87440–3 (pbk) ISBN: 978–0–203–81605–9 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free paper by Walsworth Publishing Company, Marceline, MA CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Notes on Contributors ix Note on Translations xi Introduction 1 Matthew A. -
Emmanuel Levinas on Evasion and Moral Responsibility
BEYOND TRAGEDY AND THE SACRED: EMMANUEL LEVINAS ON EVASION AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY JOHN CARUANA A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial hlfilrnent of the requirernents for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Programme in Social and Political Thought York University Toronto. Ontario July 2000 National Library Bibliothèque nationaIe of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON KI A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur fonnat électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othefwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Beyond Tragedy and the Sacred: Emmanuel Levinas on Evasion and Moral Responsibility by John Caruana a dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHtLOSOPHY O Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK UNIVERSITY to lend or seIl copies of this dissertation, to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this dissertation and to Iend or seIl copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this dissertation. -
Dewey and Rorty on Kant
WHY NOT ALLIES RATHER THAN ENEMIES? DEWEY AND RORTY ON KANT István Danka E-mail: [email protected] In my paper I shall investigate Rorty's claim how Kant's philosophy is a reductio ad absurdum of the traditional object-subject distinction. I shall argue that most of the common arguments against Rorty's philosophy are based on the same mistake as some of the common arguments against Kant (shared by Dewey and Rorty as well). Though their philosophies differ in several aspects with no doubt, in their anti-skeptical and hence Anti-Cartesian strategy, central to all three of them, they follow the same sort of argumentation. First I shall make some methodological remarks, distinguishing my sort of critique from traditional Anti-Rortyan strategies. Then I shall identify the two main distinctive features between Dewey and Rorty as the latter's return to certain idealist issues. Third, I shall investigate three Kantian topics in pragmatism: the denial of the subject-object dualism, constructivism, and transcendental argumentation. Finally, I shall focus on the question how transcendental idealism could help a Rortyan in order to avoid the same critique as by which Rorty, following Dewey, attacked Kantians. 1. Methodological remarks 1.1. How not to argue against Rorty Richard Rorty is one of the most criticised contemporary philosophers. In order to avoid a misleading reading of my paper, according to which my purpose would be similar to the most common critiques of him, I must say a word or two why my present line of thought is a radically Rortyan one.