Hobbes: Metaphysics and Method
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
From Hades to the Stars: Empedocles on the Cosmic Habitats of Soul', Classical Antiquity, Vol
Edinburgh Research Explorer From Hades to the stars Citation for published version: Trepanier, S 2017, 'From Hades to the stars: Empedocles on the cosmic habitats of soul', Classical Antiquity, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 130-182. https://doi.org/10.1525/ca.2017.36.1.130 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1525/ca.2017.36.1.130 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: Classical Antiquity Publisher Rights Statement: Published as Trépanier, S. 2017. From Hades to the Stars: Empedocles on the Cosmic Habitats of Soul, Classical Antiquity, Vol. 36 No. 1, April 2017; (pp. 130-182) DOI: 10.1525/ca.2017.36.1.130. © 2017 by the Regents of the University of California. Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the Regents of the University of California for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. -
On the Development of Spinoza's Account of Human Religion
Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies Volume 5 Number 1 Spring 2014 Article 4 2014 On the Development of Spinoza’s Account of Human Religion James Simkins University of Pittsburgh Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal Recommended Citation Simkins, James "On the Development of Spinoza’s Account of Human Religion." Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies 5, no. 1 (2014). https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal/ vol5/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 52 James Simkins: On the Development of Spinoza’s Account of Human Religion JAMES SIMKINS graduated with philosophy, history, and history and philosophy of science majors from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013. He is currently taking an indefinite amount of time off to explore himself and contemplate whether or not to pursue graduate study. His academic interests include Spinoza, epistemology, and history from below. IMW Journal of Religious Studies Vol. 5:1 53 ‡ On the Development of Spinoza’s Account of Human Religion ‡ In his philosophical and political writings, Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) develops an account of human religion, which represents a unique theoretical orientation in the early modern period.1 This position is implicit in many of Spinoza’s philosophical arguments in the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, the Short Treatise, and Ethics.2 However, it is most carefully developed in his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (hereafter TTP).3 What makes Spinoza’s position unique is the fact that he rejects a traditional conception of religion on naturalistic grounds, while refusing to dismiss all religion as an entirely anthropological phenomenon. -
Social Contract As Bourgeois Ideology Stephen C
Social Contract as Bourgeois Ideology Stephen C. Ferguson II John Rawls (Photo © Steve Pyke.) Since the publication of John Rawls’ magnum opus A Theory of Justice in 1971, there has been a significant resurgence of philosophical work in the tradition of contractarianism. The distinguished bourgeois political philosopher Robert Nozick has argued that A Theory of Justice is one of the most important works in political philosophy since the writings of John Stuart Mill. “Political philosophers,” Nozick concludes, “now must either work within Rawls’ theory or explain why.”1 It is not far from the truth that Rawls single-handedly not only gave life to analytical political philosophy, but also resuscitated contractarianism, a philosophical tradition that — in many respects — had been lying dormant in a philosophical coma. In fact, social contract theory has become the hegemonic tradition in liberal social and political philosophy. As the Afro-Caribbean My thanks for advice, guidance and/or invaluable criticism of earlier drafts to John H. McClendon III, Ann Cudd, Rex Martin, Tom Tuozzo, Robert J. Antonio and Tariq Al-Jamil. I would also like to extend a hearty thanks to Greg Meyerson and David Siar for their invaluable editorial comments. And, lastly, thanks to my wife, Cassondra, and my two sons, Kendall and Trey, for your unqualified love and support in times of tranquility as well as times of crisis. 1 Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia (New York: Basic Books, 1974): 183. Copyright © 2007 by Stephen C. Ferguson and Cultural Logic, ISSN 1097-3087 Ferguson 2 philosopher Charles Mills has put it, contract talk is, after all, the political lingua franca of our times.2 In this essay, we will examine the ideological character and theoretical content of contractrarianism as a philosophical tradition beginning with its classic exposition in the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and, finally, culminating in the work of John Rawls. -
97 Herman Cappelen, Tamar Szabo Gendler, and John Hawthorne, Eds
Philosophy in Review XXXVII (June 2017), no. 3 Herman Cappelen, Tamar Szabo Gendler, and John Hawthorne, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Methodology. Oxford University Press 2016. 688 pp. $150.00 USD (Hardcover ISBN 9780199668779). A working assumption within philosophy is that from the point of view of research, philosophers make use of a diverse set of methods. This includes, though is not limited to, argumentation, explanation, analysis, description, interpretation and so on. A further point to note is that the use of such methods may be found among practicing philosophers both today as well as within the history of philosophy, and likewise across diverse disciplines and philosophical movements from pragmatism to logical positivism, phenomenology to deconstructionism. What we find is that although philosophers may disagree on most philosophical issues, the question of whether or not philosophy simply makes use of method is hardly controversial. A further assumption that might be made is that one or another method serves best to characterize the philosophical endeavor. Here we might point to reason and argument as a primary instance of this. Since ancient times, philosophers have clearly set themselves apart from the other domains of inquiry in the use of argument, reasoned discourse and debate. The problem with such an assumption, however, is that it is far from self-evident. Although philosophy certainly makes use of argumentation, since at least the 20th century, the use of rational speculation and demonstration has tended to diminish in favor of other approaches far more critical in nature, e.g., analysis and description. A further objection may be found today in the increasing use of empirical evidence as a foundation for philosophical inquiry, so-called ‘experimental’ philosophy, which in many ways opposes traditional ‘armchair’ methods. -
Lewis on Conventions and Meaning
Lewis on conventions and meaning phil 93914 Jeff Speaks April 3, 2008 Lewis (1975) takes the conventions in terms of which meaning can be analyzed to be conventions of truthfulness and trust in a language. His account may be adapted to state an analysis of a sentence having a given meaning in a population as follows: x means p in a population G≡df (1a) ordinarily, if a member of G utters x, the speaker believes p, (1b) ordinarily, if a member of G hears an utterance of x, he comes to believe p, unless he already believed this, (2) members of G believe that (1a) and (1b) are true, (3) the expectation that (1a) and (1b) will continue to be true gives members of G a good reason to continue to utter x only if they believe p, and to expect the same of other members of G, (4) there is among the members of G a general preference for people to continue to conform to regularities (1a) and (1b) (5) there is an alternative regularity to (1a) and (1b) which is such that its being generally conformed to by some members of G would give other speakers reason to conform to it (6) all of these facts are mutually known by members of G Some objections: • Clause (5) should be dropped, because, as Burge (1975) argued, this clause makes Lewis's conditions on linguistic meaning too strong. Burge pointed out that (5) need not be mutually known by speakers for them to speak a meaningful language. Consider, for example, the case in which speakers believe that there is no possible language other than their own, and hence that there is no alternative regularity to (1a) and (1b). -
Jantzen, GOD's WORLD, GOD's BODY
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Asbury Theological Seminary Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 4 Issue 1 Article 8 1-1-1987 Jantzen, GOD'S WORLD, GOD'S BODY Charles Taliaferro Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Taliaferro, Charles (1987) "Jantzen, GOD'S WORLD, GOD'S BODY," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 8. Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol4/iss1/8 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. BOOK REVIEWS God's World, God's Body,by Grace Jantzen. Foreword by John Macquarie (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1984). Pap. $10.95. Reviewed by CHARLES TALIAFERRO, St. Olaf College. In recent years philosophers have sought to retain a Christian metaphysics while either dispensing with or radically revising important tenets of the classical Christian conception of God. Immutability, metaphysical simplicity, eternity, necessary existence, essential goodness, omniscience, and omnipotence have been among the most popular Divine attributes targetted for critical review. In God's World, God's Body Grace Jantzen argues for the bold thesis that a Christian metaphysics need not claim that God is incorporeal. Criticism of the thesis that God is incorporeal is not new to philosophical theology, but Jantzen's work is a significant, new attempt to establish the compatibility of theism with the view that there are no incorporeal, nonphysical persons. -
Following the Argument Where It Leads
Following The Argument Where It Leads Thomas Kelly Princeton University [email protected] Abstract: Throughout the history of western philosophy, the Socratic injunction to ‘follow the argument where it leads’ has exerted a powerful attraction. But what is it, exactly, to follow the argument where it leads? I explore this intellectual ideal and offer a modest proposal as to how we should understand it. On my proposal, following the argument where it leaves involves a kind of modalized reasonableness. I then consider the relationship between the ideal and common sense or 'Moorean' responses to revisionary philosophical theorizing. 1. Introduction Bertrand Russell devoted the thirteenth chapter of his History of Western Philosophy to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. He concluded his discussion with a rather unflattering assessment: There is little of the true philosophic spirit in Aquinas. He does not, like the Platonic Socrates, set out to follow wherever the argument may lead. He is not engaged in an inquiry, the result of which it is impossible to know in advance. Before he begins to philosophize, he already knows the truth; it is declared in the Catholic faith. If he can find apparently rational arguments for some parts of the faith, so much the better: If he cannot, he need only fall back on revelation. The finding of arguments for a conclusion given in advance is not philosophy, but special pleading. I cannot, therefore, feel that he deserves to be put on a level with the best philosophers either of Greece or of modern times (1945: 463). The extent to which this is a fair assessment of Aquinas is controversial.1 My purpose in what follows, however, is not to defend Aquinas; nor is it to substantiate the charges that Russell brings against him. -
COMMENTS and CRITICISM WORDS on WORDS* Awthorne and Lepore’S Paper Begins Thus
504 the journal of philosophy COMMENTS AND CRITICISM WORDS ON WORDS* awthorne and Lepore’s paper begins thus: H “ ” In his seminal paper Words, David Kaplan addresses a pair of questions that have been largely neglected by the philosophical community: (i) Under what conditions are two utterances utterances of the same word? (ii) What are words? That these questions have not received much attention is rather surpris- ing: after all, philosophers and linguists frequently appeal to consider- ations about word and sentence identity in connection with a variety of puzzles and problems that are foundational to the very subject matter of philosophy of language and linguistics. Kaplan’s attention to words is thus to be applauded. And there is no doubt that his discussion contains many useful insights.1 [Emphasis missing in the original.] As we say in the Passover service, Dayenu. That alone would have been sufficient. Unfortunately, as I have discovered to my sorrow, papers that begin like this always continue, at length, in a different vein. In fact, the very next word in their introduction is “Nevertheless.” I will respond to some of their criticisms, but I want to say at the outset that in my view, when you publish something, you put it out there for all eyes to see from their own perspective. And so, I believe * This article is an attempt to reconstruct a paper delivered to a symposium at the American Philosophical Association meeting in San Francisco on April 3, 2010. It spe- cifically aims to do no more than that. In order to avoid an endless back and forth, we all agreed to publish what was presented, rather than second thoughts based on what the others had presented. -
Philosophy 539/Theory of Knowledge: Evidence
Philosophy 539/Theory of Knowledge: Evidence Princeton University Spring 2008 Wednesdays 1:30-4:20, Marx 201 An examination of select issues at the intersection of philosophy of science and epistemology, with a focus on the theme of ‘evidence’. Recent work on the concept of evidence, with some attention to both informal and formal approaches. Williamson’s conception of evidence as knowledge. Evidence and epistemic diversity. How should we think of evidence which bears on philosophical theories? (Is there some distinctive kind of ‘philosophical’ evidence, e.g., ‘intuitions’, or is such evidence ultimately of a piece with scientific evidence?) In what respects (if any) does common sense provide a kind of data for philosophy? The role of normative ideals for believers who have evidence of their own finitude and fallibility. Bas van Fraassen Thomas Kelly 219 1879 Hall 221 1879 Hall [email protected] [email protected] Office hrs: Th.12:30-1:20 + by appt. Office hrs: F 12-12:50 + by appt. 1. February 6th. Introduction/Overview 2. February 13th. Evidence: What Is It? Williamson on evidence *Timothy Williamson, “Evidence”, Chapter 9 of his Knowledge and Its Limits (Oxford University Press 2000), pp.184-208. Thomas Kelly, “Evidence”, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available online at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evidence/. 3. February 20th. Evidence and Epistemic Diversity (I). *Roger White, “Epistemic Permissiveness” in John Hawthorne (ed.) Philosophical Perspectives, vol.19: Epistemology (Blackwell 2005), pp.445-459. Bas’ voluntarist response. 2 4. February 27th. Evidence and Epistemic Diversity (II). *Thomas Kelly, “Peer Disagreement and Higher Order Evidence” forthcoming in Richard Feldman and Ted Warfield (eds.) Disagreement (Oxford University Press 2008). -
Freedom and the State: the Social Contract This Course Aims To
Freedom and the State: The Social Contract This course aims to introduce students to central questions in political philosophy, through engagement with the work of several significant political philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. The topics with which we will be most deeply concerned include the legitimacy of the state; the limits of the state’s authority; the basis of rights of resistance or rebellion; the relevance of consent to political authority; the nature and value of freedom; the relationship between politics and human nature; and social justice. We will also, as often as we can, attempt to relate the views of these philosophers to contemporary debates. Program of lectures and reading Week 1 (15/01) Lecture 1: Political Legitimacy and the Social Contract Tradition Reading: Easy: Wolf (2006): 34-48. Easier: ‘Authority’ and ‘Political Obligation’ in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Harder: Boucher & Kelly (1994): ch. 1. Hampton (1997): Chapter 3. Week 2 (22/01) Lecture 2: Hobbes on Human Nature and the State of Nature Primary Reading: Leviathan, Part I, chs. 11, 13-16. Secondary Reading: Easy: Wolf (2006): 8-17. Easier: Levine (2002): 15-32. Newey (2008): ch. 4-5. Harder: Warburton, Pike and Matravers (2000): 100-105. Seminar question: If human nature is, or were, as Hobbes describes it, does it follow that life in the state of nature would be ‘solitary, poore, nasty, brutish and short’? Week 3 (29/01) Lecture 3: Hobbes on the Covenant, the Sovereign and the Right to Rebel Primary Reading: Leviathan, Part II, chs. -
Philosophy.Pdf
Philosophy 1 PHIL:1401 Matters of Life and Death 3 s.h. Contemporary ethical controversies with life and death Philosophy implications; topics may include famine, brain death, animal ethics, abortion, torture, terrorism, capital punishment. GE: Chair Values and Culture. • David Cunning PHIL:1636 Principles of Reasoning: Argument and Undergraduate major: philosophy (B.A.) Debate 3 s.h. Undergraduate minor: philosophy Critical thinking and its application to arguments and debates. Graduate degrees: M.A. in philosophy; Ph.D. in philosophy GE: Quantitative or Formal Reasoning. Faculty: https://clas.uiowa.edu/philosophy/people/faculty PHIL:1861 Introduction to Philosophy 3 s.h. Website: https://clas.uiowa.edu/philosophy/ Varied topics; may include personal identity, existence of The Department of Philosophy offers programs of study for God, philosophical skepticism, nature of mind and reality, undergraduate and graduate students. A major in philosophy time travel, and the good life; readings, films. GE: Values and develops abilities useful for careers in many fields and for any Culture. situation requiring clear, systematic thinking. PHIL:1902 Philosophy Lab: The Meaning of Life 1 s.h. Further exploration of PHIL:1033 course material with the The department also administers the interdisciplinary professor in a smaller group. undergraduate major in ethics and public policy, which it offers jointly with the Department of Economics and the PHIL:1904 Philosophy Lab: Liberty and the Pursuit of Department of Sociology and Criminology; see Ethics and Happiness 1 s.h. Public Policy in the Catalog. Further exploration of PHIL:1034 course material with the professor in a smaller group. Programs PHIL:1950 Philosophy Club 1-3 s.h. -
Hobbes and the Theory of Social Contract As the Context for Kant's
Hobbes and the theory of social contract as the context for Kant’s political philosophy Gorazd Korošec f we are to deal with Kant’s political theory, we must put it in the context I of social contract theories. The theory of social contract has a central place in Kant’s political theory and by placing it in this tradition, we shall be able to see where his theory is in accordance with the tradition, and where it differs from it. Social contract theory as a mode of political thought has dominated the Age of Enlightenment, but we can also see a revival of such theories in today’s political philosophy. We can trace the origins of social contract theory in ancient and medieval thought to Augustine, who built on Seneca and Cicero, to William of Ockham and Nicholas Cusanus, and find a number of basic elements for such a theory in Francisco Suarez, a Spanish writer who saw common political consent as necessary for people to be gathered together in one political body. Talking about its origins, we can also mention the tradition of natural law theory, developed by Grotius, Althusius, Lipsius and Seiden, which was subsequently included in a large part in theories of social contract by many of its greatest authors. The idea of individual moral autonomy, grown within the movements of Reformation and Protestantism and applied to politics, provided the intellectual basis for a social contract theory. At its heart is the idea that legitimate government is the artificial product of the voluntary agreement of free moral agents, and that there is no »natural« political authority.