RECENT WORK THE MINIMAL DEFINITION AND METHODOLOGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY: A REPORT FROM A CONFERENCE STEPHEN C. ANGLE
Download "RECENT WORK THE MINIMAL DEFINITION AND METHODOLOGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY: A REPORT FROM A CONFERENCE STEPHEN C. ANGLE"
Katrina Harvey
1 Comparative Philosophy Volume 1, No. 1 (2010): Open Access / ISSN RECENT WORK THE MINIMAL DEFINITION AND METHODOLOGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY: A REPORT FROM A CONFERENCE STEPHEN C. In June of 2008, the International Society for Comparative Studies of Chinese and Western Philosophy (ISCWP) convened its third Constructive Engagement conference, on the theme of Comparative Philosophy Methodology. During the opening speeches, Prof. Dunhua ZHAO, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Peking University, challenged the conference s participants to put forward a minimal definition of comparative philosophy and a statement of its methods. Based on the papers from the conference and the extensive discussion that ensued, during my closing reflections at the end of the conference I offered a tentative synthesis of the conference s conclusions. That summary has already been published on-line as part of the bi-annual ISCWP newsletter (Angle 2008). In this brief essay, I recapitulate the themes of my earlier summary and expand, in my own voice, on some of the key points. An important goal of the conference was to bring together both practitioners and critics of comparative philosophy, in its various incarnations, to reflect on and debate the nature of our subject. There was thus no expectation that we would all agree perfectly on what comparative philosophy is, and on how it should be done. However, we did discover that there was considerable agreement. Most basically, it became clear that comparative philosophy has at least two potential dimensions that, while they may interact, are at least sometimes distinct from one another: 1. Use terms, ideas, or concepts from one philosophical tradition to help understand or interpret another philosophical tradition. 2. Through cross-tradition engagement, seek to advance or develop philosophy. Depending on how one defines philosophy, often the traditions in question will not be only philosophical. Both historically and at the present moment, Confucianism surely can refer to many discourses and practices that are not in any obvious way philosophical. Almost all the conference participants agreed, though, that historical and, STEPHEN C.: Professor, Department of Philosophy, Wesleyan University, USA.
2 107 more recent Confucian practice has included an important philosophical dimension, and thus that one can treat the tradition as philosophy for the purposes of comparative philosophy. Not all participants agreed that comparative philosophy could successfully accomplish these goals; I will discuss in a moment some of the challenges that were articulated. In general, though, we thought that the goals could be met, and articulated some success conditions: 1. Success comes in either of the above dimensions when the work is constructive. 2. Many of us agreed that success and constructiveness must be measured in context. That is, what counts as an advance will be determined from within a given philosophical tradition, rather than from a neutral standpoint above or between traditions. 3. Some of us believed that it was possible to judge which idea or tradition was better overall, at least in some circumstances. None of us believed that one could readily judge which tradition was the absolute best. Alasdair MacIntyre is well-known for having argued that, notwithstanding the existence of a kind of incommensurability (on which see further below), it is sometimes possible to compare two traditions and see which one is superior (MacIntyre 1988). He argues that one might come to see that one s tradition has failed by its own lights, and furthermore that an alternative tradition can both explain this failure, and does not itself fail by its own lights. In such a case it can be rational, MacIntyre says, to adopt the alternative tradition. MacIntyre offers various possible examples, and it can also be interesting to think about Chinese advocates of complete Westernization in the early twentieth century in this vein. Still, even in such cases, the judgment of superiority is still made from a particular standpoint that is initially rooted in one of the two traditions. If we set aside the type of case MacIntyre has in mind, then the only possible success criteria would seem to be internal notions of progress or fruitfulness, on the one hand, and a standpoint-independent idea of universal truth, on the other. In fact, if we grant that the only access one has to truth is via the best epistemological standards that one has so far come up with, then standpoint-independent truth will collapse into internal judgments. Therefore we seem to be on solid ground in emphasizing that success in comparative philosophy the constructive kind of engagement that is referred to in the title of the conference series is judged from within the distinct perspectives that the comparative philosopher is bringing into contact. One need not be limited to only one of the perspectives. In an essay a few years ago in comparative political philosophy, for example, I argued that if Chinese democratic centralism were to undergo certain sorts of reforms, it would then be legitimate both in its own terms, and from the standpoint of a Rawlsian Law of Peoples (Angle 2005). The exact significance of this result varies, depending on one s own position; I did not offer either perspective as uniquely privileged.
3 108 Depending on the nature of the philosophical work, the ways in which its constructiveness might be evaluated will also vary. Current debates about the applicability of the category virtue ethics to early Confucianism can illustrate some of the complexities. For some (e.g., Van Norden 2007), the framework of virtue ethics can help us better interpret and understand a work like the Meng-Zi. Others have argued that this category highlights relatively unimportant aspects of the text, and leads to a misunderstanding of its actual significance in its day. Whether a virtue ethics approach to the Meng-Zi is constructive as regards textual understanding the first dimension of comparative philosophy mentioned above will depend in part on the outcome of debates like these. (It will also depend on the details of what a given scholar takes virtue ethics to be, since this very category is by no means univocal in current philosophical use.) If we turn to the second ( advance or develop ) dimension, we see that constructiveness will be judged by whether some version of Confucianismas-virtue-ethics is judged to be a fruitful development of Confucianism, as seen either by someone committed to the contemporary development of Confucianism as a living philosophical tradition, or by someone interested in the development of virtue ethics in ever more robust, explanatory, or transformative ways. Participants in the conference identified a series of challenges to comparative philosophy: 1. Incommensurability. If it is impossible to compare or translate, then comparative philosophy cannot succeed. 2. Some say that philosophy is simply one thing; there is no room for comparison. 3. A complementary worry is that different philosophical traditions lack adequate common concerns. 4. Research and teaching of comparative philosophy lacks adequate institutional support and potential students find it difficult to acquire the needed training. On this we were all in agreement. With respect to incommensurability, most of us at the conference believed that differences between concepts or languages or traditions did not make comparison impossible. Both theoretical reasons (e.g., Donald Davidson s argument in Davidson 1984) and practical examples (of seemingly successful comparative philosophy) were offered as evidence that this challenge could be overcome. My own view (as seen, for example, in Angle 2002) is that there is ample evidence of cross-tradition philosophical engagement despite the distinctiveness of each tradition, and that we can readily understand how such communication across differences can occur. Indeed, according to many plausible theories of linguistic meaning, communication across difference takes place even when two native speakers of the same language talk to one another. Concerning the idea that philosophy is one specific thing, leaving no room for comparison, we should acknowledge that if philosophy is defined very narrowly, it may be that there is not enough room for the level of different development on which the possibility of comparative philosophy depends. Few of us were convinced that
4 109 philosophy is such a narrow enterprise, however. Efforts to produce a narrow definition based on early Greek philosophia are typically extremely ahistorical ignoring, for example, the evidence that philosophy was understood as a way of life (Hadot 1995). Turning to the opposite worry, that different philosophical traditions may lack common concerns, the most basic response is simply that many scholars have in fact found areas of common concern in our work across traditions, and those of us at the conference were therefore skeptical of any a priori argument that denied we could have done this. Common concern does not, of course, necessitate finding identical formulations of concepts or problems; this thought returns us to the same considerations that were discussed in the previous paragraph. The challenge of inadequate institutional support, we agreed, applies to each of our countries. Pioneering comparative philosophers in China, as in the U.S., have certainly had an impact, and there are now some institutional structures that welcome and nurture comparative research. But many barriers remain. In China, it is often difficult to be simultaneously taken seriously by specialists in different traditions, even when they share a single department. In the U.S., specialists in traditions other than the dominant Western ones are extremely rare within major graduate departments, as has recently been discussed in an issue of the APA s Newsletter on Asian and Asian- American Philosophers and Philosophies (Olberding 2008). We have a long way to go. Finally, on the basis of this understanding of comparative philosophy, what could we say about its methodology? At the conference there was quite general agreement on the following characteristics of a minimal methodology: 1. Openness is fundamental, though so is the exercise of critical philosophical judgment. 2. Traditions are not monolithic, but internally diverse; our specific methods should take advantage of this. 3. The idea of family resemblance is very helpful. 4. A focus on concepts or problems is often more constructive than the comparison of individual thinkers, though there are many exceptions particularly if the figure studied was him or herself engaged in comparative work. 5. Careful attention to issues of language and grammar is important. 6. Adequate training and adequate institutional support is critical. There is of course a great deal that could be said about many of these characteristics, but the key is to stress that the minimal nature of the methodology does not mean that we each felt that a more maximal set of principles was needed, but could not agree on such principles. A few at the conference did indeed argue for a more demanding methodology which they felt entailed constructing a kind of neutrality among traditions or a perspectiveless perspective. In general the conference participants were not sympathetic to such an approach, and noted that some of those who advocated such an understanding of comparative philosophy did so in order to
5 110 argue that the enterprise was impossible. Most of us felt this was attacking a straw man. The general preference for a minimal methodology, therefore, does not express a compromise or a lowest common denominator. Admittedly, because comparative philosophical practice is diverse, this limits the number of helpful generalizations about methodology that can be made. Nonetheless, I feel that the conference s agreed-upon methodological principles are far from empty. The idea of openness, in particular, puts the comparative enterprise into tension with many existing research programs in philosophy that are narrowly constrained by explicit or implict assumptions about their subject matters. Still, some at the conference commented on the minimal methodology by suggesting that there was no real difference between doing what is here characterized as comparative philosophy and simply doing philosophy well. This may be true: perhaps all philosophy is comparative philosophy. REFERENCES Angle, Stephen C. (2002), Human Rights and Chinese Thought: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry (New York: Cambridge University Press). (2005), Decent Democratic Centralism, Political Theory 33.4: (2008), Conclusions drawn from ISCWP s 2008 conference on comparative methodology, ISCWPNewsletter 6:2 < /ISCWP-Newsletter-0808.pdf> Davidson, Donald (1984), On The Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme, In Inquiries Into Truth and Interpretation (Oxford: Clarendon Press), pp Hadot, Pierre (1995), Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault (Cambridge, USA: Blackwell). MacIntyre, Alasdair C. (1988), Whose Justice? Which Rationality? (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press). Olberding, Amy, ed. (2008), Newsletter on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies 8:1. < index.aspx> Van Norden, Bryan W. (2007), Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy (NewYork: Cambridge University Press).
Has Nagel uncovered a form of idealism?
Has Nagel uncovered a form of idealism? Author: Terence Rajivan Edward, University of Manchester. Abstract. In the sixth chapter of The View from Nowhere, Thomas Nagel attempts to identify a form of idealism.
REASON AND PRACTICAL-REGRET. Nate Wahrenberger, College of William and Mary
1 REASON AND PRACTICAL-REGRET Nate Wahrenberger, College of William and Mary Abstract: Christine Korsgaard argues that a practical reason (that is, a reason that counts in favor of an action) must motivate
Philosophy 341. Confucianism and Virtue Ethics Spring 2012
Philosophy 341 Confucianism and Virtue Ethics Spring 2012 儒家思想與德性倫理學 2012 年春天 Syllabus COURSE OBJECTIVES In recent Western moral philosophy, virtue ethics has been undergoing a renaissance: many philosophers
Self-Evidence and A Priori Moral Knowledge
Self-Evidence and A Priori Moral Knowledge Colorado State University BIBLID [0873-626X (2012) 33; pp. 459-467] Abstract According to rationalists about moral knowledge, some moral truths are knowable a
AN OUTLINE OF CRITICAL THINKING
AN OUTLINE OF CRITICAL THINKING LEVELS OF INQUIRY 1. Information: correct understanding of basic information. 2. Understanding basic ideas: correct understanding of the basic meaning of key ideas. 3. Probing:
Nagel, T. The View from Nowhere. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Nagel Notes PHIL312 Prof. Oakes Winthrop University Nagel, T. The View from Nowhere. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Thesis: the whole of reality cannot be captured in a single objective view,
Epistemic Contextualism as a Theory of Primary Speaker Meaning
Epistemic Contextualism as a Theory of Primary Speaker Meaning Gilbert Harman, Princeton University June 30, 2006 Jason Stanley s Knowledge and Practical Interests is a brilliant book, combining insights
KNOWLEDGE ON AFFECTIVE TRUST. Arnon Keren
Abstracta SPECIAL ISSUE VI, pp. 33 46, 2012 KNOWLEDGE ON AFFECTIVE TRUST Arnon Keren Epistemologists of testimony widely agree on the fact that our reliance on other people's testimony is extensive. However,
Summary Kooij.indd :14
Summary The main objectives of this PhD research are twofold. The first is to give a precise analysis of the concept worldview in education to gain clarity on how the educational debate about religious
THE FREGE-GEACH PROBLEM AND KALDERON S MORAL FICTIONALISM. Matti Eklund Cornell University
THE FREGE-GEACH PROBLEM AND KALDERON S MORAL FICTIONALISM Matti Eklund Cornell University [me72@cornell.edu] Penultimate draft. Final version forthcoming in Philosophical Quarterly I. INTRODUCTION In his
Moral Argumentation from a Rhetorical Point of View
Chapter 98 Moral Argumentation from a Rhetorical Point of View Lars Leeten Universität Hildesheim Practical thinking is a tricky business. Its aim will never be fulfilled unless influence on practical
Ethical Theory for Catholic Professionals
The Linacre Quarterly Volume 53 Number 1 Article 9 February 1986 Ethical Theory for Catholic Professionals James F. Drane Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq Recommended
Unit VI: Davidson and the interpretational approach to thought and language
Unit VI: Davidson and the interpretational approach to thought and language October 29, 2003 1 Davidson s interdependence thesis..................... 1 2 Davidson s arguments for interdependence................
Are There Reasons to Be Rational?
Are There Reasons to Be Rational? Olav Gjelsvik, University of Oslo The thesis. Among people writing about rationality, few people are more rational than Wlodek Rabinowicz. But are there reasons for being
Choosing Rationally and Choosing Correctly *
Choosing Rationally and Choosing Correctly * Ralph Wedgwood 1 Two views of practical reason Suppose that you are faced with several different options (that is, several ways in which you might act in a
Rik Peels Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Kevin Diller. Theology s Epistemological Dilemma: How Karl Barth and Alvin Plantinga Provide a Unified Response. Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.
POWERS, NECESSITY, AND DETERMINISM
POWERS, NECESSITY, AND DETERMINISM Thought 3:3 (2014): 225-229 ~Penultimate Draft~ The final publication is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tht3.139/abstract Abstract: Stephen Mumford
MODELS CLARIFIED: RESPONDING TO LANGDON GILKEY. by David E. Klemm and William H. Klink
MODELS CLARIFIED: RESPONDING TO LANGDON GILKEY by David E. Klemm and William H. Klink Abstract. We respond to concerns raised by Langdon Gilkey. The discussion addresses the nature of theological thinking
UNITY OF KNOWLEDGE (IN TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABILITY) Vol. I - Philosophical Holism M.Esfeld
PHILOSOPHICAL HOLISM M. Esfeld Department of Philosophy, University of Konstanz, Germany Keywords: atomism, confirmation, holism, inferential role semantics, meaning, monism, ontological dependence, rule-following,
Quine s Naturalized Epistemology, Epistemic Normativity and the. Gettier Problem
Quine s Naturalized Epistemology, Epistemic Normativity and the Gettier Problem Dr. Qilin Li (liqilin@gmail.com; liqilin@pku.edu.cn) The Department of Philosophy, Peking University Beiijing, P. R. China
Theories of Truth in Chinese Philosophy: A Comparative Approach, Alexus McLeod. London:
Version of August 20, 2016. Forthcoming in Philosophy East and West 68:1 (2018) Theories of Truth in Chinese Philosophy: A Comparative Approach, Alexus McLeod. London: Rowman and Littlefield International,
* Dalhousie Law School, LL.B. anticipated Interpretation and Legal Theory. Andrei Marmor Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992, 193 pp.
330 Interpretation and Legal Theory Andrei Marmor Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992, 193 pp. Reviewed by Lawrence E. Thacker* Interpretation may be defined roughly as the process of determining the meaning
PROSPECTS FOR A JAMESIAN EXPRESSIVISM 1 JEFF KASSER
PROSPECTS FOR A JAMESIAN EXPRESSIVISM 1 JEFF KASSER In order to take advantage of Michael Slater s presence as commentator, I want to display, as efficiently as I am able, some major similarities and differences
The Critical Mind is A Questioning Mind
criticalthinking.org http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-critical-mind-is-a-questioning-mind/481 The Critical Mind is A Questioning Mind Learning How to Ask Powerful, Probing Questions Introduction
7AAN2004 Early Modern Philosophy report on summative essays
7AAN2004 Early Modern Philosophy report on summative essays On the whole, the essays twelve in all were pretty good. The marks ranged from 57% to 75%, and there were indeed four essays, a full third of
Postmodal Metaphysics
Postmodal Metaphysics Ted Sider Structuralism seminar 1. Conceptual tools in metaphysics Tools of metaphysics : concepts for framing metaphysical issues. They structure metaphysical discourse. Problem
Alternative Conceptual Schemes and a Non-Kantian Scheme-Content Dualism
Section 39: Philosophy of Language Alternative Conceptual Schemes and a Non-Kantian Scheme-Content Dualism Xinli Wang, Juniata College, USA Abstract D. Davidson argues that the existence of alternative
Well-Being, Time, and Dementia. Jennifer Hawkins. University of Toronto
Well-Being, Time, and Dementia Jennifer Hawkins University of Toronto Philosophers often discuss what makes a life as a whole good. More significantly, it is sometimes assumed that beneficence, which is
The Concept of Testimony
Published in: Epistemology: Contexts, Values, Disagreement, Papers of the 34 th International Wittgenstein Symposium, ed. by Christoph Jäger and Winfried Löffler, Kirchberg am Wechsel: Austrian Ludwig
proper construal of Davidson s principle of rationality will show the objection to be misguided. Andrew Wong Washington University, St.
Do e s An o m a l o u s Mo n i s m Hav e Explanatory Force? Andrew Wong Washington University, St. Louis The aim of this paper is to support Donald Davidson s Anomalous Monism 1 as an account of law-governed
Gary Ebbs, Carnap, Quine, and Putnam on Methods of Inquiry, Cambridge. University Press, 2017, 278pp., $99.99 (hbk), ISBN
[Final manuscript. Published in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews] Gary Ebbs, Carnap, Quine, and Putnam on Methods of Inquiry, Cambridge University Press, 2017, 278pp., $99.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781107178151
Agreement-Based Practical Justification: A Comment on Wolff
SYMPOSIUM PUBLIC ETHICS Agreement-Based Practical Justification: A Comment on Wolff BY FABIENNE PETER 2014 Philosophy and Public Issues (New Series), Vol. 4, No. 3 (2014): 37-51 Luiss University Press
2014 THE BIBLIOGRAPHIA ISSN: Online First: 21 October 2014
PROBABILITY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. Edited by Jake Chandler & Victoria S. Harrison. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. 272. Hard Cover 42, ISBN: 978-0-19-960476-0. IN ADDITION TO AN INTRODUCTORY
Atheism: A Christian Response
Atheism: A Christian Response What do atheists believe about belief? Atheists Moral Objections An atheist is someone who believes there is no God. There are at least five million atheists in the United
What Lurks Beneath the Integrity Objection. Bernard Williams s alienation and integrity arguments against consequentialism have
What Lurks Beneath the Integrity Objection Bernard Williams s alienation and integrity arguments against consequentialism have served as the point of departure for much of the most interesting work that
Well-Being, Disability, and the Mere-Difference Thesis. Jennifer Hawkins Duke University
This paper is in the very early stages of development. Large chunks are still simply detailed outlines. I can, of course, fill these in verbally during the session, but I apologize in advance for its current
Introduction: Paradigms, Theism, and the Parity Thesis
Digital Commons @ George Fox University Rationality and Theistic Belief: An Essay on Reformed Epistemology College of Christian Studies 1993 Introduction: Paradigms, Theism, and the Parity Thesis Mark
A Review of Norm Geisler's Prolegomena
A Review of Norm Geisler's Prolegomena 2017 by A Jacob W. Reinhardt, All Rights Reserved. Copyright holder grants permission to reduplicate article as long as it is not changed. Send further requests to
PHIL 2000: ETHICS 2011/12, TERM 1
PHIL 2000: ETHICS 2011/12, TERM 1 Professor: Christopher Lowry Email: lowry@cuhk.edu.hk Office: Leung Kau Kiu Building, Room 219 Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:30 to 4:30, and Wednesdays 9:30 to 11:30, or by
Issue 4, Special Conference Proceedings Published by the Durham University Undergraduate Philosophy Society
Issue 4, Special Conference Proceedings 2017 Published by the Durham University Undergraduate Philosophy Society An Alternative Approach to Mathematical Ontology Amber Donovan (Durham University) Introduction
1) What is the universal structure of a topicality violation in the 1NC, shell version?
Varsity Debate Coaching Training Course ASSESSMENT: KEY Name: A) Interpretation (or Definition) B) Violation C) Standards D) Voting Issue School: 1) What is the universal structure of a topicality violation
FINDING REST IN A RESTLESS WORLD. Dr. Stephen Pattee. not happy about it. It has helped to create a profound sense of disappointment, discontent,
FINDING REST IN A RESTLESS WORLD Dr. Stephen Pattee Americans today live at a hectic and feverish pitch, and I suspect that most of us are not happy about it. It has helped to create a profound sense of
Virtue Ethics without Character Traits
Virtue Ethics without Character Traits Gilbert Harman Princeton University August 18, 1999 Presumed parts of normative moral philosophy Normative moral philosophy is often thought to be concerned with
Boghossian & Harman on the analytic theory of the a priori
Boghossian & Harman on the analytic theory of the a priori PHIL 83104 November 2, 2011 Both Boghossian and Harman address themselves to the question of whether our a priori knowledge can be explained in
Dworkin on the Rufie of Recognition
Dworkin on the Rufie of Recognition NANCY SNOW University of Notre Dame In the "Model of Rules I," Ronald Dworkin criticizes legal positivism, especially as articulated in the work of H. L. A. Hart, and
Vol. II, No. 5, Reason, Truth and History, 127. LARS BERGSTRÖM
Croatian Journal of Philosophy Vol. II, No. 5, 2002 L. Bergström, Putnam on the Fact-Value Dichotomy 1 Putnam on the Fact-Value Dichotomy LARS BERGSTRÖM Stockholm University In Reason, Truth and History
3. Knowledge and Justification
THE PROBLEMS OF KNOWLEDGE 11 3. Knowledge and Justification We have been discussing the role of skeptical arguments in epistemology and have already made some progress in thinking about reasoning and belief.
narrow segment of life with a short-lived feeling ( I m happy with my latest pay raise ). One
Well-Being Well-being identifies a good state of being relative to one s life as a whole. Since the 1950s the term appears frequently as a preferred substitute for happiness, which tends to characterize
Skepticism and Internalism
Skepticism and Internalism John Greco Abstract: This paper explores a familiar skeptical problematic and considers some strategies for responding to it. Section 1 reconstructs and disambiguates the skeptical
Harmony in Popular Belief and its Relation to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
Harmony in Popular Belief and its Relation to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Prof. Cheng Chih-ming Professor of Chinese Literature at Tanchiang University This article is a summary of a longer paper
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission.
Review: [untitled] Author(s): Yang Xiao Source: The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 215 (Apr., 2004), pp. 327-330 Published by: Blackwell Publishing for The Philosophical Quarterly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3542830.
ELEONORE STUMP PENELHUM ON SKEPTICS AND FIDEISTS
ELEONORE STUMP PENELHUM ON SKEPTICS AND FIDEISTS ABSTRACT. Professor Penelhum has argued that there is a common error about the history of skepticism and that the exposure of this error would significantly
THE SENSE OF FREEDOM 1. Dana K. Nelkin. I. Introduction. abandon even in the face of powerful arguments that this sense is illusory.
THE SENSE OF FREEDOM 1 Dana K. Nelkin I. Introduction We appear to have an inescapable sense that we are free, a sense that we cannot abandon even in the face of powerful arguments that this sense is illusory.
Intro to Ground. 1. The idea of ground. 2. Relata. are facts): F 1. More-or-less equivalent phrases (where F 1. and F 2. depends upon F 2 F 2
Intro to Ground Ted Sider Ground seminar 1. The idea of ground This essay is a plea for ideological toleration. Philosophers are right to be fussy about the words they use, especially in metaphysics where
Conditions of Fundamental Metaphysics: A critique of Jorge Gracia's proposal
University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Critical Reflections Essays of Significance & Critical Reflections 2016 Mar 12th, 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Conditions of Fundamental Metaphysics: A critique of Jorge
Oxford Scholarship Online Abstracts and Keywords
Oxford Scholarship Online Abstracts and Keywords ISBN 9780198802693 Title The Value of Rationality Author(s) Ralph Wedgwood Book abstract Book keywords Rationality is a central concept for epistemology,
The Greatest Mistake: A Case for the Failure of Hegel s Idealism
The Greatest Mistake: A Case for the Failure of Hegel s Idealism What is a great mistake? Nietzsche once said that a great error is worth more than a multitude of trivial truths. A truly great mistake
Introduction. Cambridge University Press The Primitivist Theory of Truth Jamin Asay Excerpt More information.
Introduction Gottlob Frege begins his canonical paper On sense and reference with an intriguing puzzle (1952). Consider a simplesentenceoftheform A is identical to B. It is rather trivial that everything
The Nature of Enquiry
The Nature of Enquiry Dr John Ravenscroft (Course Organiser) Credit Rating 20 credits, SCQF 11 Course Summary The aim of this course is to introduce philosophical and epistemological perspectives that
Testimony and Moral Understanding Anthony T. Flood, Ph.D. Introduction
24 Testimony and Moral Understanding Anthony T. Flood, Ph.D. Abstract: In this paper, I address Linda Zagzebski s analysis of the relation between moral testimony and understanding arguing that Aquinas
RECENT WORK BOOK REVIEW ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL CHALLENGE FROM CHINA (EDITED BY BRIAN BRUYA) HANS VAN EYGHEN 1. INTRODUCTION
Comparative Philosophy Volume 7, No. 1 (2016): 90-95 Open Access / ISSN 2151-6014 www.comparativephilosophy.org RECENT WORK BOOK REVIEW ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL CHALLENGE FROM CHINA (EDITED BY BRIAN BRUYA)
Luck, Rationality, and Explanation: A Reply to Elga s Lucky to Be Rational. Joshua Schechter. Brown University
Luck, Rationality, and Explanation: A Reply to Elga s Lucky to Be Rational Joshua Schechter Brown University I Introduction What is the epistemic significance of discovering that one of your beliefs depends
Philosophical Issues, vol. 8 (1997), pp
Philosophical Issues, vol. 8 (1997), pp. 313-323. Different Kinds of Kind Terms: A Reply to Sosa and Kim 1 by Geoffrey Sayre-McCord University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill In "'Good' on Twin Earth"
CLASS #17: CHALLENGES TO POSITIVISM/BEHAVIORAL APPROACH
CLASS #17: CHALLENGES TO POSITIVISM/BEHAVIORAL APPROACH I. Challenges to Confirmation A. The Inductivist Turkey B. Discovery vs. Justification 1. Discovery 2. Justification C. Hume's Problem 1. Inductive
Jeffrey Stout s Secular and the Liberal Arts Jonathon S. Kahn Vassar College March 2008
- 1 - Jeffrey Stout s Secular and the Liberal Arts Jonathon S. Kahn Vassar College March 2008 For the last three years, four liberal arts schools Bucknell University and Macalester, Williams and Vassar
BOOK REVIEWS. Duke University. The Philosophical Review, Vol. XCVII, No. 1 (January 1988)
manner that provokes the student into careful and critical thought on these issues, then this book certainly gets that job done. On the other hand, one likes to think (imagine or hope) that the very best
Process Thought and Bridge Building: A Response to Stephen K. White. Kevin Schilbrack
Archived version from NCDOCKS Institutional Repository http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/ Schilbrack, Kevin.2011 Process Thought and Bridge-Building: A Response to Stephen K. White, Process Studies 40:2 (Fall-Winter
THE QUESTION OF "UNIVERSALITY VERSUS PARTICULARITY?" IN THE LIGHT OF EPISTEMOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF NORMS
THE QUESTION OF "UNIVERSALITY VERSUS PARTICULARITY?" IN THE LIGHT OF EPISTEMOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF NORMS Ioanna Kuçuradi Universality and particularity are two relative terms. Some would prefer to call
Chapter 2 Ethical Concepts and Ethical Theories: Establishing and Justifying a Moral System
Chapter 2 Ethical Concepts and Ethical Theories: Establishing and Justifying a Moral System Ethics and Morality Ethics: greek ethos, study of morality What is Morality? Morality: system of rules for guiding
The Role of Inconsistency in the Death of Socrates 1
The Role of Inconsistency in the Death of Socrates 1 The Role of Inconsistency in the Death of Socrates: An Analysis of Socrates Views on Civil Disobedience and its Implications By Said Saillant This paper
Kantian Humility and Ontological Categories Sam Cowling University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Kantian Humility and Ontological Categories Sam Cowling University of Massachusetts, Amherst [Forthcoming in Analysis. Penultimate Draft. Cite published version.] Kantian Humility holds that agents like
World without Design: The Ontological Consequences of Natural- ism , by Michael C. Rea.
Book reviews World without Design: The Ontological Consequences of Naturalism, by Michael C. Rea. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004, viii + 245 pp., $24.95. This is a splendid book. Its ideas are bold and
Is the Existence of the Best Possible World Logically Impossible?
Is the Existence of the Best Possible World Logically Impossible? Anders Kraal ABSTRACT: Since the 1960s an increasing number of philosophers have endorsed the thesis that there can be no such thing as
Plantinga, Van Till, and McMullin. 1. What is the conflict Plantinga proposes to address in this essay? ( )
Plantinga, Van Till, and McMullin I. Plantinga s When Faith and Reason Clash (IDC, ch. 6) A. A Variety of Responses (133-118) 1. What is the conflict Plantinga proposes to address in this essay? (113-114)
Can Christianity be Reduced to Morality? Ted Di Maria, Philosophy, Gonzaga University Gonzaga Socratic Club, April 18, 2008
Can Christianity be Reduced to Morality? Ted Di Maria, Philosophy, Gonzaga University Gonzaga Socratic Club, April 18, 2008 As one of the world s great religions, Christianity has been one of the supreme
OSSA Conference Archive OSSA 8
University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor OSSA Conference Archive OSSA 8 Jun 3rd, 9:00 AM - Jun 6th, 5:00 PM Commentary on Hample Christian Kock Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ossaarchive
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES Philosophy SECTION I: Program objectives and outcomes Philosophy Educational Objectives: The objectives of programs in philosophy are to: 1. develop in majors the ability
The Experience Machine and Mental State Theories of Wellbeing
The Journal of Value Inquiry 33: 381 387, 1999 EXPERIENCE MACHINE AND MENTAL STATE THEORIES OF WELL-BEING 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 381 The Experience Machine and Mental
Mark Schroeder. Slaves of the Passions. Melissa Barry Hume Studies Volume 36, Number 2 (2010), 225-228. Your use of the HUME STUDIES archive indicates your acceptance of HUME STUDIES Terms and Conditions
There might be nothing: the subtraction argument improved
ANALYSIS 57.3 JULY 1997 There might be nothing: the subtraction argument improved Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra 1. The nihilist thesis that it is metaphysically possible that there is nothing, in the sense
ON QUINE, ANALYTICITY, AND MEANING Wylie Breckenridge
ON QUINE, ANALYTICITY, AND MEANING Wylie Breckenridge In sections 5 and 6 of "Two Dogmas" Quine uses holism to argue against there being an analytic-synthetic distinction (ASD). McDermott (2000) claims
1 Hans Jonas, The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of an Ethics for the Technological Age (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984), 1-10.
Introduction This book seeks to provide a metaethical analysis of the responsibility ethics of two of its prominent defenders: H. Richard Niebuhr and Emmanuel Levinas. In any ethical writings, some use
Two Kinds of Moral Relativism
p. 1 Two Kinds of Moral Relativism JOHN J. TILLEY INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS jtilley@iupui.edu [Final draft of a paper that appeared in the Journal of Value Inquiry 29(2) (1995):
xiv Truth Without Objectivity
Introduction There is a certain approach to theorizing about language that is called truthconditional semantics. The underlying idea of truth-conditional semantics is often summarized as the idea that
Pihlström, Sami Johannes.
https://helda.helsinki.fi Peirce and the Conduct of Life: Sentiment and Instinct in Ethics and Religion by Richard Kenneth Atkins. Cambridge University Press, 2016. [Book review] Pihlström, Sami Johannes
Uganda, morality was derived from God and the adult members were regarded as teachers of religion. God remained the canon against which the moral
ESSENTIAL APPROACHES TO CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: LEARNING AND TEACHING A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF RESEARCH AND POSTGRADUATE STUDIES UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ON MARCH 23, 2018 Prof. Christopher
Can A Priori Justified Belief Be Extended Through Deduction? It is often assumed that if one deduces some proposition p from some premises
Can A Priori Justified Belief Be Extended Through Deduction? Introduction It is often assumed that if one deduces some proposition p from some premises which one knows a priori, in a series of individually
STEWART COHEN AND THE CONTEXTUALIST THEORY OF JUSTIFICATION
FILOZOFIA Roč. 66, 2011, č. 4 STEWART COHEN AND THE CONTEXTUALIST THEORY OF JUSTIFICATION AHMAD REZA HEMMATI MOGHADDAM, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), School of Analytic Philosophy,
FREEDOM AND THE SOURCE OF VALUE: KORSGAARD AND WOOD ON KANT S FORMULA OF HUMANITY CHRISTOPHER ARROYO
Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA METAPHILOSOPHY Vol. 42, No. 4, July 2011 0026-1068 FREEDOM AND THE SOURCE OF
ON THE DEMOCRATIC VALUE OF DISTRUST
DISCUSSION NOTE BY ERICH HATALA MATTHES JOURNAL OF ETHICS & SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY DISCUSSION NOTE DECEMBER 2015 URL: WWW.JESP.ORG COPYRIGHT ERICH HATALA MATTHES 2015 On the Democratic Value of Distrust IN
DO TROPES RESOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MENTAL CAUSATION?
DO TROPES RESOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MENTAL CAUSATION? 221 DO TROPES RESOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MENTAL CAUSATION? BY PAUL NOORDHOF One of the reasons why the problem of mental causation appears so intractable
Judith Jarvis Thomson s Normativity
Judith Jarvis Thomson s Normativity Gilbert Harman June 28, 2010 Normativity is a careful, rigorous account of the meanings of basic normative terms like good, virtue, correct, ought, should, and must.
AN EPISTEMIC PARADOX. Byron KALDIS
AN EPISTEMIC PARADOX Byron KALDIS Consider the following statement made by R. Aron: "It can no doubt be maintained, in the spirit of philosophical exactness, that every historical fact is a construct,
[JGRChJ 9 (2013) R28-R32] BOOK REVIEW
[JGRChJ 9 (2013) R28-R32] BOOK REVIEW Craig S. Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (2 vols.; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011). xxxviii + 1172 pp. Hbk. US$59.99. Craig Keener
Department of Bible, Theology & Ministry Assessment Program: Department of Bible, Theology & Ministry
Program: Department of Bible, Theology & Ministry Assessed by: Department of Bible, Theology & Ministry Date: 2014-2015 Mission Statement: Affiliated with the Evangelical Friends tradition, the Malone
A Case against Subjectivism: A Reply to Sobel
A Case against Subjectivism: A Reply to Sobel Abstract Subjectivists are committed to the claim that desires provide us with reasons for action. Derek Parfit argues that subjectivists cannot account for
Right-Making, Reference, and Reduction
Right-Making, Reference, and Reduction Kent State University BIBLID [0873-626X (2014) 39; pp. 139-145] Abstract The causal theory of reference (CTR) provides a well-articulated and widely-accepted account
The Philosophical Review, Vol. 110, No. 3. (Jul., 2001), pp
Review: [Untitled] Reviewed Work(s): Problems from Kant by James Van Cleve Rae Langton The Philosophical Review, Vol. 110, No. 3. (Jul., 2001), pp. 451-454. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8108%28200107%29110%3a3%3c451%3apfk%3e2.0.co%3b2-y
THE MORAL FIXED POINTS: REPLY TO CUNEO AND SHAFER-LANDAU
DISCUSSION NOTE THE MORAL FIXED POINTS: REPLY TO CUNEO AND SHAFER-LANDAU BY STEPHEN INGRAM JOURNAL OF ETHICS & SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY DISCUSSION NOTE FEBRUARY 2015 URL: WWW.JESP.ORG COPYRIGHT STEPHEN INGRAM
Conference on the Epistemology of Keith Lehrer, PUCRS, Porto Alegre (Brazil), June
2 Reply to Comesaña* Réplica a Comesaña Carl Ginet** 1. In the Sentence-Relativity section of his comments, Comesaña discusses my attempt (in the Relativity to Sentences section of my paper) to convince