Hegel's Solution to the Pyrrhonian Dilemma of the Criterion
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Hegel's Critique of Ancient Skepticism
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Philosophy Theses Department of Philosophy Summer 8-1-2012 Hegel's Critique of Ancient Skepticism John Wood Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses Recommended Citation Wood, John, "Hegel's Critique of Ancient Skepticism." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/philosophy_theses/113 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Philosophy at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HEGEL’S CRITIQUE OF ANCIENT SKEPTICISM by JAY WOOD Under the Direction of Dr. Sebastian Rand ABSTRACT Recent work on the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel has emphasized his interest in skeptical concerns. These contemporary scholars argue that, despite common opinions to the contrary, Hegel actually had a very keen interest in skepticism, one that informed and motivated much of his overall project. While I welcome this recent literature, I argue here that contemporary scholars have overemphasized the importance of skepticism for Hegel. By looking closely at Hegel’s arguments against skepticism in the Phenomenology of Spirit, I argue that Hegel’s anti-skeptical arguments are in fact major failures. Hegel’s failure is at odds with the emphasis that contemporary literature places on Hegel’s interests in skepticism. For a philosopher who was supposedly centrally concerned with skeptical issues, Hegel sure does not act like it. I conclude that the tension here is the result of contemporary scholars’ overemphasis of the role that skepticism plays in Hegel’s project. -
The Problem of the Criterion
Chapter 5 The Problem of the Criterion i "The problem of the criterion" seems to me to be one of the most important and one of the most difficult of all the problems of phi- losophy. I am tempted to say that one has not begun to philosophize until one has faced this problem and has recognized how unappealing, in the end, each of the possible solutions is. I have chosen this problem as my topic for the Aquinas Lecture because what first set me to thinking about it (and I remain obsessed by it) were two treatises of twentieth century scholastic philosophy. I refer first to P. Coffey's two-volume work, Epistemology or the Theory of Knowledge, pub- lished in 1917.1 This led me in turn to the treatises of Coffey's great teacher, Cardinal D. J. Merrier: Criteriologie generale ou theorie gen- erate de la certitude.2 Mercier and, following him, Coffey set the problem correctly, I think, and have seen what is necessary for its solution. But I shall not discuss their views in detail. I shall formulate the problem; then note what, according to Mercier, is necessary if we are to solve the prob- lem; then sketch my own solution; and, finally, note the limitations of my approach to the problem. What is the problem, then? It is the ancient problem of "the dial- lelus"—the problem of "the wheel" or "the vicious circle." It was 61 62 • PROBLEM OF THE CRITERION put very neatly by Montaigne in his Essays. So let us being by para- paraphrasing his formulation of the puzzle. -
Substance and the Concept of Personal Identity
AN OPEN ACCESS Ergo JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY Substance and the Concept of Personal Identity JenS KIPPer University of Cologne In this paper, I identify and discuss the following feature of our judgments about hypothetical scenarios concerning the identity of persons: with respect to the vast majority of scenarios, both members of a pair of logically complementary proposi- tions about personal identity are conceivable. I consider a number of explanations of this feature that draw on the metaphysics and the epistemology of personal identity, none of which prove to be satisfactory. I then argue that in order to give an adequate explanation, one needs to recognize an important characteristic of our concept of personal identity: it is such that if there are mental substances (or the like), they constitute personal identity. At the same time, there can still be persons if there are no such substances. Since this finding casts doubts on the way that thought experi- ments about personal identity are usually set up, I end by outlining its potential consequences for the debate over the identity of persons. 1. Introduction The debate over the nature of personal identity is as replete with thought experi- ments as many other philosophical debates. But there is a nagging suspicion that thought experiments work differently when the identity of persons is concerned. For example, it is natural to think that our judgment that the person in Harry Frankfurt’s (1969) famous case is responsible for what he did is based on our conceptual competence. When John Locke argues, however, that the person in the body of a cobbler who has the memories of a prince is that prince (1694/1975: 340), he does not seem to be stating a conceptual truth. -
Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy. Volume 31, Winter 2006
LIVING IN DOUBT: CARNEADES’ PITHANON RECONSIDERED SUZANNE OBDRZALEK I though the interpretation of ancient texts is inevitably di¶cult, Carneades presents what one might call a worst-case scenario. In the first place, he wrote nothing. To complicate matters, Carneades’ views were so obscure that his faithful disciple Clitomachus con- fessed that he could never figure out what Carneades actually be- lieved (Cic. Acad. 2. 139). Showing remarkable fortitude in the face of such an obstacle, Clitomachus, attempting to play Plato to Carneades’ Socrates, reportedly recorded Carneades’ teachings in 400 books (D.L. 4. 67). Not one remains. None the less, Clito- machus’ attempt to make a philosophy of Carneades’ anti-theoreti- cal stance was not a complete failure; Carneades had a tremendous influence on the later Academy as well as the Stoa, and his views (or lack thereof) have been handed down to us by both Sextus Em- piricus and Cicero. These sources are, however, problematic. As a Pyrrhonist, Sextus was critical of the Academy and may have ex- aggerated what he took to be Carneades’ dogmatism. Cicero, on the other hand, a student of Philo, was undoubtedly influenced in his interpretation of Carneades by his teacher’s dogmatic scepti- cism. Carneades is perhaps best known for proposing the pithan»e phantasia (probable impression) as a criterion for life. However, the status of his theory of the pithanon (probable) is completely unclear.1 Was it merely a dialectical move against the Stoic charge of apraxia (inaction)? Was it a theory that Carneades himself en- ã Suzanne Obdrzalek 2006 I would like to thank Alan Code, Tony Long, Julius Moravcsik, and David Sedley for their comments on this paper. -
A Critique of Roderick Chisholm
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26512/rfmc.v8i2.35865 Intentionality and the Logico-Linguistic Commitment: A Critique of Roderick Chisholm [Intencionalidade e Compromisso Lógico-Linguístico: Uma crítica a Roderick Chisholm] Luis Niel* Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyze and criticize Roderick Chisholm’s con- ception of intentionality, which has, historically, served as the point of departure for most accounts of intentionality in analytic philosophy. My goal is to highlight the problematic ’logico-linguistic commitment’ presupposed by Chisholm, according to which mental concepts should be interpreted by means of semantic concepts. After addressing Chisholm’s differentiation between the ontological thesis (the idea that the intentional object might not exist) and the psychological thesis (the conception that only mental phenomena are intentional), as well as his defining criteria for intentionality (non-existential implication, independency of truth-value, and indirect reference), I fo- cus on the manifold problems presented by his theory. First, the two initial criteria entail a conceptual confusion between the semantic concept of ’intensionality’ and the mental concept of ’intentionality’. Second, according to these criteria-and against Chisholm’s explicit intention-perception and other cognitive activities should not be considered intentional. Third, there are no grounds for the artificial conflation of intentionality and the concept of ’propositional attitudes’-an equation which is an explicit tenet of the logico-linguistic commitment. In general, I argue that an interpretation of intentionality based on this commitment obscures the true meaning of the concept of intentionality, as it is presented, for instance, by phenomenology. Keywords: Chisholm. Intentionality. Intensionality. Propositional Attitudes. Logico- linguistic Commitment. -
Against the Logicians Edited by Richard Bett Frontmatter More Information
Cambridge University Press 0521531950 - Sextus Empiricus: Against the Logicians Edited by Richard Bett Frontmatter More information CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY SEXTUS EMPIRICUS Against the Logicians © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521531950 - Sextus Empiricus: Against the Logicians Edited by Richard Bett Frontmatter More information CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY Series editors KARL AMERIKS Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame DESMOND M. CLARKE Professor of Philosophy at University College Cork The main objective of Cambridge Textsin the History of Philosophy is to expand the range, variety and quality of texts in the history of philosophy which are available in English. The series includes texts by familiar names (such as Descartes and Kant) and also by less well-known authors. Wherever possible, texts are published in complete and unabridged form, and translations are specially commissioned for the series. Each volume contains a critical introduction together with a guide to further reading and any necessary glossaries and textual apparatus. The volumes are designed for student use at undergraduate and postgraduate level and will be of interest not only to students of philosophy, but also to a wider audience of readers in the history of science, the history of theology and the history of ideas. For a list of titles published in the series, please see end of book. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521531950 -
Essence, Plenitude, and Paradox
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES Philosophical Perspectives, 25, Metaphysics, 2011 ESSENCE, PLENITUDE, AND PARADOX Sarah-Jane Leslie Princeton University Essentialism in philosophy is the view that there are in principle two ways of having properties and including parts: the essential way and the accidental way (e.g, Fine, 1994, 1995; Johnston 1984, 2006; Kripke, 1980; Salmon 1986, 2005; Yablo 1987). As I understand the view, even an extreme essentialist — who takes every property and every part to be had essentially — should agree with the in-principle distinction while arguing that certain metaphysical considerations mean that the second way of having properties is not, and cannot be, exemplified. Such a view would contrast with the view of an anti-essentialist like Willard van Orman Quine who repudiates the very distinction between the two ways of having properties. Quine’s view is not that all properties are accidental, for that would be to use what he calls the “invidious distinction” (1953), rather than repudiate it. His view is that there is not even in principle these two ways of having properties (or satisfying predicates, as he would put it), about which we can ask “Which of these two ways do things have properties?” What then ostensibly distinguishes the essential way of having properties from the accidental way? An object’s essential properties are conditions on what it is to be that object, and this set of conditions fixes just which possibilities or possible worlds the object exists in, namely just those in which it satisfies those conditions. An object’s essential properties also fix how long it exists, namely only at those times at which it satisfies those conditions. -
INTENTIONALITY Past and Future VIBS
INTENTIONALITY Past and Future VIBS Volume 173 Robert Ginsberg Founding Editor Peter A. Redpath Executive Editor Associate Editors G. John M. Abbarno Matti Häyry Mary-Rose Barral Steven V. Hicks Gerhold K. Becker Richard T. Hull Raymond Angelo Belliotti Mark Letteri Kenneth A. Bryson Vincent L. Luizzi C. Stephen Byrum Alan Milchman H. G. Callaway George David Miller Robert A. Delfino Alan Rosenberg Rem B. Edwards Arleen L. F. Salles Andrew Fitz-Gibbon John R. Shook Francesc Forn i Argimon Eddy Souffrant William Gay Tuija Takala Dane R. Gordon Anne Waters J. Everet Green John R. Welch Heta Aleksandra Gylling Thomas F. Woods a volume in Cognitive Science CS Francesc Forn i Argimon, Editor INTENTIONALITY Past and Future Edited by Gábor Forrai and George Kampis Amsterdam - New York, NY 2005 Cover Design: Studio Pollmann The paper on which this book is printed meets the requirements of “ISO 9706:1994, Information and documentation - Paper for documents - Requirements for permanence”. ISBN: 90-420-1817-8 ©Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2005 Printed in the Netherlands CONTENTS Preface vii List of Abbreviations ix ONE The Necessity and Nature of Mental Content 1 LAIRD ADDIS TWO Reading Brentano on the Intentionality of the Mental 15 PHILIP J. BARTOK THREE Emotions, Moods, and Intentionality 25 WILLIAM FISH FOUR Lockean Ideas as Intentional Contents 37 GÁBOR FORRAI FIVE Normativity and Mental Content 51 JUSSI HAUKIOJA SIX The Ontological and Intentional Status of Fregean Senses: An Early Account of External Content 63 GREG JESSON -
Epistemic Relativism, Scepticism, Pluralism
Synthese (2017) 194:4687–4703 DOI 10.1007/s11229-016-1041-0 S.I.: OBJECTIVITY IN SCIENCE Epistemic relativism, scepticism, pluralism Martin Kusch1 Received: 5 September 2015 / Accepted: 6 February 2016 / Published online: 23 February 2016 © The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract There are a number of debates that are relevant to questions concerning objectivity in science. One of the eldest, and still one of the most intensely fought, is the debate over epistemic relativism. —All forms of epistemic relativism commit themselves to the view that it is impossible to show in a neutral, non-question-begging, way that one “epistemic system”, that is, one interconnected set of epistemic standards, is epistemically superior to (all) others. I shall call this view “No-metajustification”. No-metajustification is commonly taken to deny the objectivity of standards. In this paper I shall discuss two currently popular attempts to attack “No-metajustification”. The first attempt attacks no-metajustification by challenging a particular strategy of arguing in its defence: this strategy involves the ancient Pyrrhonian “Problem of the Criterion”. The second attempt to refute No-metajustification targets its metaphysi- cal underpinning: to wit, the claim that there are, or could be, several fundamentally different and irreconcilable epistemic systems. I shall call this assumption “Plural- ism”. I shall address three questions with respect to these attempts to refute epistemic relativism by attacking no-metajustification: (i) Can the epistemic relativist rely on the Problem of the Criterion in support of No-metajustification? (ii) Is a combination of Chisholmian “particularism” (i.e. -
The Problem of Relativism.Indb
Richard Schantz, Markus Seidel The Problem of Relativism in the Sociology of (Scientific) Knowledge P h i l o s o p h i s c h e A n a l y s e P h i l o s o p h i c a l A n a l y s i s Herausgegeben von / Edited by Herbert Hochberg • Rafael Hüntelmann • Christian Kanzian Richard Schantz • Erwin Tegtmeier Band 43 / Volume 43 Richard Schantz, Markus Seidel The Problem of Relativism in the Sociology of (Scientific) Knowledge Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. North and South America by Transaction Books Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 08854-8042 [email protected] United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Turkey, Malta, Portugal by Gazelle Books Services Limited White Cross Mills Hightown LANCASTER, LA1 4XS [email protected] Livraison pour la France et la Belgique: Librairie Philosophique J.Vrin 6, place de la Sorbonne; F-75005 PARIS Tel. +33 (0)1 43 54 03 47; Fax +33 (0)1 43 54 48 18 www.vrin.fr 2011 ontos verlag P.O. Box 15 41, D-63133 Heusenstamm www.ontosverlag.com ISBN 978-3-86838-126-9 2011 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed -
Jeff Buechner.POMSIGMAA 2017 Invited Address
Computers, mathematical proof, and the nature of the human mind POMSIGMAA Keynote Address Philosophy of Mathematics American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America Joint Meetings Jeff Buechner Rutgers University-Newark and The Saul Kripke Center, CUNY, The Graduate Center January 6th, 2017 1 1976 Appel and Haken prove the four- color theorem • June 21, 1976 Wolfgang Haken and Kenneth Appel, with the aid of John Koch, completed their proof of the Four-Color Theorem (4CT). (Haken turned 48 years old on that day.) • Their proof was published in 1977: “Every planar map is four colorable,” Parts 1 and II, and Supplements I and II, Illinois Journal of Mathematics, XXI, 84, September 1977 2 1976 Appel and Haken prove the four- color theorem • At one place in the proof of the 4CT, Appel and Haken need to find a finite list of reducible configurations with the property that every graph contains at least one configuration in the list. To do this, a lemma must be proved: that every configuration in an unavoidable set is reducible. A computer is needed to prove that all of the configurations are reducible. For instance, to show that one kind of configuration in the set is reducible requires 1,000,000 steps. 3 1976 Appel and Haken prove the four- color theorem • Although computers had already been used to prove theorems in mathematics before the Appel-Haken proof, the importance of the 4CT brought the use of a computer in proving it to the forefront of attention of mathematicians, as well as a lay public. -
Early Pyrrhonism As a Sect of Buddhism? a Case Study in the Methodology of Comparative Philosophy
Comparative Philosophy Volume 9, No. 2 (2018): 1-40 Open Access / ISSN 2151-6014 / www.comparativephilosophy.org https://doi.org/10.31979/2151-6014(2018).090204 EARLY PYRRHONISM AS A SECT OF BUDDHISM? A CASE STUDY IN THE METHODOLOGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY MONTE RANSOME JOHNSON & BRETT SHULTS ABSTRACT: We offer a sceptical examination of a thesis recently advanced in a monograph published by Princeton University Press entitled Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia. In this dense and probing work, Christopher I. Beckwith, a professor of Central Eurasian studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, argues that Pyrrho of Elis adopted a form of early Buddhism during his years in Bactria and Gandhāra, and that early Pyrrhonism must be understood as a sect of early Buddhism. In making his case Beckwith claims that virtually all scholars of Greek, Indian, and Chinese philosophy have been operating under flawed assumptions and with flawed methodologies, and so have failed to notice obvious and undeniable correspondences between the philosophical views of the Buddha and of Pyrrho. In this study we take Beckwith’s proposal and challenge seriously, and we examine his textual basis and techniques of translation, his methods of examining passages, his construal of problems and his reconstruction of arguments. We find that his presuppositions are contentious and doubtful, his own methods are extremely flawed, and that he draws unreasonable conclusions. Although the result of our study is almost entirely negative, we think it illustrates some important general points about the methodology of comparative philosophy. Keywords: adiaphora, anātman, anattā, ataraxia, Buddha, Buddhism, Democritus, Pāli, Pyrrho, Pyrrhonism, Scepticism, trilakṣaṇa 1.