In Defense Of The Ivory Tower: Why Philosophers Should Stay Out Of Politics,
2014
Chapman University
In Defense Of The Ivory Tower: Why Philosophers Should Stay Out Of Politics, Bas Van Der Vossen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
Many political theorists, philosophers, social scientists, and other academics engage in political activism. And many think this is how things ought to be. In this essay, I challenge the ideal of the politically engaged academic. I argue that, quite to the contrary, political theorists, philosophers, and other political thinkers have a prima facie duty to refrain from political activism. This argument is based on a commonsense moral principle, a claim about the point of political thought, and findings in cognitive psychology.
Dionysian Biopolitics: Karl Kerényi’S Concept Of Indestructible Life,
2014
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Dionysian Biopolitics: Karl Kerényi’S Concept Of Indestructible Life, Kristóf Fenyvesi
Comparative Philosophy
Scholar of religion Karl Kerényi’s last book, Dionysos, is a grand attempt at reinterpreting ζωη (zoe), the Greek concept of indestructible life, which he distinguishes from βίος (bios), finite life. In Kerényi’s view, the meaning and sensual experience of zoe was expressed in its richest form in the Cretan beginnings of the cult of Dionysos. The major characteristics of this cult, as Kerényi describes, were beyond the cultural, political, and sexual limits of the Christian interpretations of life and nature. Searching for modern analogies to zoe, Kerényi explains the idea in relation to molecular biology’s minimum definition of life. Despite …
Ecological Tension: Between Minimum And Maximum Changes,
2014
Sun Yat-sen University, China
Ecological Tension: Between Minimum And Maximum Changes, Changfu Xu
Comparative Philosophy
This article elaborates the conditions as well as four potential modes of the ecological problem: (1) The mode of the absolute minimization of the ecological problem: minimum population plus minimum Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is characterized by the quantity of destruction being less than the quantity of natural rehabilitation of an ecosystem. This mode is the poorest mode with minimum change. (2) The mode of the relative minimization of the ecological problem: minimum population plus maximization of GDP, which is characterized by the quantity of destruction being less than the quantity of both natural rehabilitation and human rehabilitation of …
Anti-Nature In Nature Itself,
2014
University of Tübingen, Germany
Anti-Nature In Nature Itself, Ryōsuke Ōhashi
Comparative Philosophy
Nature and civilization are often regarded in opposition to each other. However, civilization employs technologies and is based on laws of nature. Also, the historical world is a result of the development of the natural world. An “anti-nature” must thus be contained somewhere within nature. The idea of “anti-nature” is neither alien to the Eastern nor to the Western traditional concepts of nature. The philosophy of Lao Zi never embraces mere naturalism. Lao Zi has observed that things in the world are not always “so on their own” but rather in the mode of anti-nature. Anti-nature in nature itself does …
All Or Nothing? Nature In Chinese Thought And The Apophatic Occident,
2014
University of Macau, China & Vanderbilt University, USA
All Or Nothing? Nature In Chinese Thought And The Apophatic Occident, William Franke
Comparative Philosophy
This paper develops an interpretation of nature in classical Chinese culture through dialogue with the work of François Jullien. I understand nature negatively as precisely what never appears as such nor ever can be exactly apprehended and defined. For perception and expression entail inevitably human mediation and cultural transmission by semiotic and hermeneutic means that distort and occult the natural in the full depth of its alterity. My claim is that the largely negative approach to nature that Jullien finds in sources of Chinese tradition can also be found in the West, particularly in its apophatic currents or countercurrents that …
Introduction,
2014
University of Macau, China
Vol 5 No 2 Content Page,
2014
San Jose State University
Vol 5 No 2 Content Page, Comparative Philosophy
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Vol 5 No 2 Information Page,
2014
San Jose State University
Vol 5 No 2 Information Page, Comparative Philosophy
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Vol 5 No 2 Cover Page,
2014
San Jose State University
Vol 5 No 2 Cover Page, Comparative Philosophy
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
Philosophy Of Mathematics In The Twentieth Century: Selected Essays,
2014
Old Dominion University
Philosophy Of Mathematics In The Twentieth Century: Selected Essays, Stewart Shapiro, Teresa Kouri Kissel
Philosophy Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Indeterminism In Kane’S Event-Causal Libertarianism,
2014
UTK
Indeterminism In Kane’S Event-Causal Libertarianism, Robert J. Nowell
Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee
In this paper, I examine the plausibility of event-causal libertarianism, a prominent view on free will which regards indeterminism in the causal history of a decision as necessary for an agent’s moral responsibility for a subsequent action. Specifically, I investigate how Robert Kane’s event-causal libertarian account fares in light of Derk Pereboom’s powerful “disappearing agent” objection, in addition to criticisms of my own. Kane concludes that Pereboom’s objection is ineffective against his account. I argue against Kane’s conclusion by highlighting a dilemma which results from Kane's response to the disappearing agent objection; either way Kane’s position is interpreted, his account …
Ordering Anarchy,
2014
Chapman University
Ordering Anarchy, John Thrasher
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
Ordered social life requires rules of conduct that help generate and preserve peaceful and cooperative interactions among individuals. The problem is that these social rules impose costs. They prohibit us from doing some things we might see as important and they require us to do other things that we might otherwise not do. The question for the contractarian is whether the costs of these social rules can be rationally justified. I argue that traditional contract theories have tended to underestimate the importance of evaluating the cost of enforcement and compliance in the contract procedure. In addition, the social contract has …
Walter Benjamin's Literary Aura: A Stylistic And Thematic Analysis Of One-Way Street,
2014
University of Oregon
Walter Benjamin's Literary Aura: A Stylistic And Thematic Analysis Of One-Way Street, Stephanie Chapman
Modern Languages and Literatures Annual Graduate Conference
“Brevity” epitomizes Walter Benjamin's One-Way Street, an avant-garde text composed entirely of aphorisms. Benjamin's ideal of literary montage involves the utilization of ideas that he refers to as Abfall, or detritus, and rearranging them—preserved in the momentary spontaneity in which they were conceived—in order to create an entirely new meaning. Noteworthy about Benjamin's style is the manner in which the assembly of momentary thoughts and impressions creates, in a literary sense, the artistic aura of authenticity introduced in his seminal essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” By preserving the form, content, and style …
Conservative Evolution, Sustainability, And Culture,
2014
Eötvös Loránd University
Conservative Evolution, Sustainability, And Culture, Gábor Náray-Szabó
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
In his article "Conservative Evolution, Sustainability, and Culture" Gábor Náray-Szabó argues that evolution is conservative in the sense that throughout the history of the universe old constructs like elementary particles, amino acids, and living cells remained conserved while the world evolved/evolves in complexity. A similar process can be observed in cultural evolution as components of society and culture continue to evolve. Considering the increasing pressure on natural resources by material consumption, a close alliance between past, present, and future generations is unavoidable and thus Náray-Szabó posits that concepts of conservative evolution and sustainability are related. However, in order to avoid …
Mitigated Skepticism Explanations And Why Its Valuable,
2014
Lynchburg College
Mitigated Skepticism Explanations And Why Its Valuable, Shane Crouch
Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects
Skepticism is one of the oldest epistemological positions. Since the time of the Greeks, philosophers have been asking the question of is any knowledge possible. The Ancient skeptics of the time doubted everything while David Hume was skeptical of only some things. He further recognized that a global view was not viable for daily life. I argue in this paper that we should follow Hume’s approach in adopting a skepticism that begins with doubt and then examines the evidence for claims before coming to a conclusion. This will be markedly different from a priori assumptions of no knowledge which will …
Locke On Territorial Rights,
2014
Chapman University
Locke On Territorial Rights, Bas Van Der Vossen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
Most treatments of territorial rights include a discussion (and rejection) of Locke. There is a remarkable consensus about what Locke's views were. For him, states obtain territorial rights as the result of partial transfers of people's property rights. In this article, I reject this reading. I argue that (a) for Locke, transfers of property rights were neither necessary nor sufficient for territorial rights and that (b) Locke in fact held a two-part theory of territorial rights. I support this reading by appealing to textual and contextual evidence. I conclude by drawing a lesson from Locke's views for current debates on …
Light And Affects From A Comparative Point Of View,
2014
Independent Scholar
Light And Affects From A Comparative Point Of View, Kyle Takaki
Comparative Philosophy
Light metaphors occurring in Chinese philosophy and Stoicism are of special interest for the unique ways they channel potentialities of the self. In this paper I apply ideas from cognitive linguistics to examine selected structural features of these metaphors. I also build on these ideas by presenting a framework regarding affects to assist in disclosing what is at stake for differing Chinese and Stoic technologies of the self. The paper adopts a high-level perspective to see these broad philosophical implications, interleaving discussions of Chinese philosophy (mainly views associated with Daoism), Stoicism (bringing into relief important differences from these views), and …
Meditation On Relativism, Absolutism, And Beyond,
2014
San Jose State University
Meditation On Relativism, Absolutism, And Beyond, Anand Vaidya
Comparative Philosophy
No abstract provided.
A Reply To Vaidya,
2014
Bryn Mawr College, USA.
The Inclusive Dynamics Of Islamic Universalism: From The Vantage Point Of Sayyid Qutb's Critical Philosophy,
2014
The Open University
The Inclusive Dynamics Of Islamic Universalism: From The Vantage Point Of Sayyid Qutb's Critical Philosophy, Andrea Mura
Comparative Philosophy
This article pursues a topological reading of Milestones, one of the most influential books in the history of Islamism. Written by Muslim thinker Sayyid Qutb, the general interest in this crucial text has largely remained restricted to the fields of Islamic Studies and Security Studies. This article aims to make the case for assuming a philosophical standpoint, relocating its significance beyond the above-mentioned fields. A creative and topological reading of this text will allow the spatial complexity of Qutbs eschatological vision to be fully exposed, while also unpacking the way in which antagonistic relations have variously been articulated by this …
