Digital Commons Network^™

Losing And Regaining The Self Through Language: Individuation In Nietzsche’S Creative Use Of Metaphor, Maximilian Chaoulideer

Episteme

No abstract provided.

Spurious Soul: A Modern Critique Of The Thomistic Soul, Eric Chase

Episteme

No abstract provided.

The Place Of Book X In Plato's Republic, Willie Costello

Episteme

Here is a new interpretation of Book X of the Republic, which understands this book in relation to the Republic’s central defense of justice and the virtuous life. A metaphysical argument uses the allegory of the cave to understand the problem of poetry as imitation. Appearances can be deceiving; truth need not look like popular wisdom. An ethical argument explains that poetry encourages us to act on the urging of the non-rational part of our soul, thereby diminishing the rational part. Furthermore, since the way our souls react to poetry is as real and as genuine as actual experience, we …

Penerjemahan Kata Budaya Dalam Laskar Pelangi Ke Dalam Novel Bahasa Jepang Niji No Shoonentachi, Mike Nurjana

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research aims to describe the method and technique of the translation of cultural words in “Laskar Pelangi” into a Japanese novel, “Niji no Shoonentachi.” This research uses a descriptive approach with comparative models. Cultural words in this study are determined based on the classification proposed by Newmark’s models. In this research 186 data have been collected according to the two cultural categories, namely, material one and ecological one. The data collection was conducted by comparing Japanese: the target language, and Indonesian: the source language. This comparative analysis of the data uses work tools such as dictionaries, both printed and …

Taking Skepticism Seriously: How The Zhuang-Zi Can Inform Contemporary Epistemology, Julianne Chung

Comparative Philosophy

This paper explores a few of the ways that the Zhuang-Zi can inform contemporary analytic epistemology. I begin, in section 1, by briefly outlining and summarizing the case for my fictionalist interpretation of the text. In section 2, I discuss how the Zhuang-Zi can be brought into productive dialogue with the question of how we should respond to skeptical arguments. Specifically, I argue that the Zhuang-Zi can be reasonably interpreted as exemplifying an approach that is different from dominant contemporary responses to skeptical arguments in three ways: (i) it is fictionalist; (ii) it motivates a skeptical perspective rather than a …

Stewards Of God’S Mercy: Vocation And Priestly Ministry In Africa, Jordan Nyenyembe

Journal of Global Catholicism

A reflection on the tasks of priestly ministry in Africa with specific reference to the example and exhortation of Pope Francis. Among the issues addressed and critiqued are Western “cultic” understandings of the priest and the, the “Igwe Syndrome" which likens the priest to a chief.

Inculturation Of Liturgical Music In The Roman Catholic Church Of Igbo Land: A Compositional Study, Benedict Nwabugwu Agbo

Journal of Global Catholicism

A study of inculturation, composition and music among Catholics in Igboland, Nigeria. The article insects with contemporary discussions of inculturation/enculturation after Vatican II and the recommendation of St. John Paul II in his Ecclesia in Africa.

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to African Catholicism: Contemporary Issues: Volume: 1, Issue 2 of the Journal of Global Catholicism

The Extended Room Or What Otto Didn't Know, Ryan Victor

Episteme

The author provides succinct explications of the relevant literature pertaining to the debate resulting from Turing’s thesis on artificial intelligence. It is argued that Searle’s Chinese room example is refuted by neither the so-called systems reply nor the Extended Mind thesis. Such attempts to defend strong AI err because they rely on altered definitions of concepts that we should not accept. The author, in addition to pointing out the importance of factoring in consciousness, provides several illustrative examples, parallels, and original arguments (including a modified concept of “strong coupling”) in his defense of Searle’s position. The paper concludes with a …

Hilary Putnam's Semantic Scientism: A Critique, Gregory R. Warner

Episteme

This author is puzzled by and disagrees with Putnam’s theory of meaning. In particular, the author argues that there can be a gap between scientific meaning and acceptable normal use, thereby showing the tension between Putnam’s scientism and his attention to linguistic communities. Part of the problem is Putnam’s imprecision, given that he neither argues for why we should privilege scientific classification, nor helps us draw the boundary surrounding our linguistic community. The author cites commentator Gregory McCulloch a great deal to help summarize and grasp Putnam’s project, thereby necessitating a discussion of McCulloch’s own “the understanding tracks real essence” …

Acquitting Nietzsche: An Alternative View Of His Infamous Misogyny, Susan Parillo

Episteme

Nietzsche has an appreciation for women’s naturalness and instinctual femininity; he desires to help emancipate them. A closer look at Beyond Good and Evil exonerates Nietzsche of the charge that finds him to be a supreme misogynist. The author begins her paper by rectifying the misunderstandings concerning his style, which makes wide use of confusion-causing linguistic tools. She then supports Maudemarie Clark’s attention to the distinction between “women as such” and “women.” The author argues that Nietzsche attacks the socio-psychological construction of womanness and the typically unhelpful role women play in perpetuating it. In the late 19th century, the women’s …

Functionalism And Artificial Intelligence, Kevin Connor

Episteme

The Chinese Room argument shows that the Turing test functions only by syntax, thereby revealing that the notion of meaning is not properly accounted for by the test. Thus, Searle is convincing in his refutation of the Turing test for strong artificial intelligence. Yet, while the mind is not like a program running on certain hardware, the brain is. But thinking, Searle’s real interest, is not simply running the appropriate program! Therefore, rather than providing a solution to the Mind-Body problem, Searle’s conclusion about AI begs the question about what causes semantics. Searle’s logic goes awry somewhere, and, for this …

Behavior And Other Minds: A Response To Functionalists, Michael Lockhart

Episteme

Functionalism’s metaphysics is wrongly thought to answer the epistemological question of the existence of the other’s mentality. Contra Elliot Reed, the practical utility of being able to solve the problem of other minds does not make functionalism the best theory of mind, nor does it actually solve the problem of other minds. Reed’s circular argument implicitly relies on abstract behaviorism and the need to solve the problem of other minds. What must come first, however, is a correct ontology of the mind. Functionalism struggles with intentionality, disregards qualia, and, according to Searle’s excellent thought experiments, is incompatible with what we …

Functionalism, Qualia, And Other Minds, Elliot Reed

Episteme

We can solve the problem of other minds by reference to behavior only if we conceive of consciousness in functional terms. Folk psychology, though incomplete, supplies us with mental categories that are useful for prediction and explanation and thus can become functional categories. We need psychology and linguistics to work together to create a substantial body of research. The author spends a great deal of time responding to an objecting interlocutor, out of which comes supplemental details such as a discussion of functional equivalence; a response to the reductio ad absurdum complaint against the liberal intentional stance; an argument about …

Anaphoric Deflationism: Truth And Reference, Lauren Hartzell

Episteme

As a reaction to Dorothy Grover and Robert Brandom, this paper examines semantic concerns about intralinguistic relationships and functions. The author supports Brandom’s interpretation of Grover and argues that the prosentential theory of truth must accept the pronominal theory of reference in order to maintain an anaphoric account of truth. The author uses Brandom’s logic to brand Grover an anaphoric deflationist—whether she intended to be one or not. But Brandom’s appeal to reference only begins the project of extending Grover. What other anaphoric mechanisms still need to be identified, the author asks? How do we account for notions of substantive …

The Hyperphilosophy Of Extraordinary Communication, Theresa Thuline

Episteme

By rejecting orthodoxy, systemization, and objectivity, metaphor allows us to express the extraordinary, contradictory, and paradoxical. Kierkegaard’s Postscript provides a good entry into the concept of metaphor, because it demonstrates the dialectical concepts that give rise to the usefulness of figurative language tools like metaphor and its sidekick, irony. Ricœur extends and elaborates on Kierkegaard’s dialectical philosophy. Together, contrary to Marie I. George’s thoughts on the suitability of metaphors in philosophy, these thinkers speak of the necessarily indirect linguistic means to communicate divine passion and to avoid the pitfalls of standard social meaning-expression. The author concludes by appreciating Pastor Robert …

Pragmatism, Neo-Pragmatism, Language And 'Truth', Andrew Forney

Episteme

This article takes a look at the place and significance of Rorty’s neo-pragmatism. The author makes an effort to parse out how Rorty fits into the history of pragmatism, philosophies of language, science, and history, and in connection to such explicitly related philosophers as Dewey, James, Davidson, and Kuhn. The author covers a great deal of ground, discussing pragmatist topics such as verification, truth, and culture, as well as Rorty-specific conceptions of semantics, ethnocentrism, post-Kuhn paradigms, and a metaphysics that bears resemblance to Kant’s divided realms.

‘We Don’T Talk Gypsy Here’: Minority Language Policies In Europe, William S. New, Hristo Kyuchukov, Jill De Villiers

Philosophy: Faculty Publications

The Roma constitute an ideal case of educational injustice meeting linguistic difference, racism, social marginalization, and poverty. This paper asks whether human-rights or capabilities approaches are best suited to address issues related to the language education of Roma students in Europe. These children are disadvantaged by not growing up with the standard dialect of whatever language is preferred by the mainstream population, and by the low status of the Romani language, and non-standard dialect of the standard language they usually speak. We examine language education for Roma students in Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, describing similarities and differences across …

Is A Subjective Theory Of Moral Language Possible?, Ali R. Shahrukhi

Episteme

In this paper, the author goes through considerations that come up when analyzing the prospect of a truly subjective theory of moral language. Certain forms of subjectivism are found to be either less than viable, similar to moral realism, or dependent upon psychological matters of debate. Support for this conclusion comes from Hume’s analysis of beliefs and desires; Wittgenstein’s private language argument; the fact that moral discussion is required; Smith’s theory of converging desires and beliefs within his moral realism; and the influence of community and environment. The discussion advocates a union of desires, moral beliefs, and actions, if subjectivism …

The Value Of Natural Kinds From A Kripkean Perspective: A Critique Of Eric Katz's 'Organism, Community And The "Substitution Problem", Jessica H. Mitchell

Episteme

The author endeavors to extend the Kripke/Putnam theory of reference in order to improve Eric Katz’s argument in “Organism, Community, and the ‘Substitution Problem.” Katz criticizes the organism model for species and supports the community model, which supposedly strikes a balance with a species’ intrinsic value and functional purpose within a natural ecosystem. But since it can be shown that the so-called organism model includes intrinsic value, too, the substitution problem (which had plagued it for Katz) is unfounded. Because Katz’s real goal is to differentiate between the intrinsic and instrumental value of a given species, Kripke’s theory of natural …

Persons, Materialism And Consciousness, Brendan Neufeld

Episteme

In this article, the author criticizes the materialist theory of mind but salvages the causal insights put forth by neurophysiology’s linkage of the mind and the brain. P. M. S. Hacker’s exegesis of Wittgenstein argues that materialist philosophers and neuroscientists make grammatical contradictions when accounting for the mental. To begin to pinpoint the error of physicalism, the author provides examples that elaborate on Norman Malcolm’s two distinct senses of the term “consciousness.” Materialism’s (and neurophysiology’s) causal nature accounts for intransitive consciousness, but neither are especially promising when it comes to transitive consciousness. In the background, there is a major problem: …

You Just Can't Crispin Brains In A Vat, David Miguel Gray

Episteme

In this article, the author lays out a defense of Putnam’s controversial “Brains in a Vat” paper, and it’s famous refutation of the Cartesian brain-in-a-vat skeptic. The author looks closely at the paper, its argument, and its relation to skepticism. In addition to properly understanding the thought experiments and logical argument put forth by Putnam, one must also understand that his refutation is not aimed at the infinitely regressive skeptic, but rather the internal skeptic. The author shows this fact by inventing his own brain-in-a-vat scenario. So, although it remains a possibility that we are brains in a vat, we …

Are All Our Readings Misreadings?: Derrida, The Flickering A (A Look At Derrida On Interpretation), Joseph Partain

Episteme

The author here guides us toward a sensible conceptualization of Derrida’s philosophical/literary impact on the world. First, Derrida’s demonstration concerning the a or e in differ(e/a)nce is meant to protest the silence in the universe, the insufficiency of language. He speaks of the term “difference” in linguistic terms; as disruption; and as the space between the two. He goes further than Nietzsche in his assault on Western metaphysics. The author then tells us why Derrida resists being identified and labeled, commenting next on how his playfulness relates to logic and negative theology—how he manages to communicate something that resembles conventional …

Indeterminacy And The Data Of Introspection, Paul A. Gregory

Episteme

The author of this paper argues that Searle’s introspective critique of Quine’s indeterminacy thesis is not a blow to Quine’s linguistic behaviorism. The paper begins with a general picture of Quine’s argument about the indeterminacy of language, as exhibited during radical translation but also in understanding one self. The author next pokes holes in the logic of Searle’s conclusion that Quine’s thesis is absurd and therefore incorrect. Searle, problematically, is too attached to his belief that there is such thing as determinate meaning. Instead, we must take up a contextualized understanding of meaning. Quine’s findings do not lead to the …

Nietzsche On Description And Interpretation, Joseph Cruz

Episteme

The Analytic tradition ought not to ignore Nietzsche’s insight into the debate between realists and anti-realists. Of course, Nietzsche’s views on language, reference, grammar, science, and value creation classify him as an anti-realist. But we must not describe Nietzsche’s views in such a way that he is unfairly attacked by the correspondence theorist. In reality, Nietzsche is very much in disagreement with even optimist realists. The God’s-eye view of the world is incoherent, as can be supported by the philosophy in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and the Genealogy of Morals. Furthermore, Nietzsche is not a troubling relativist. Rather, Nietzsche’s perspectivism allows …

Wittgenstein, Lewis Carroll And The Philosophical Puzzlement Of Language, Amy L. Kind

Episteme

The author’s method in this paper is to draw connections between Wittgenstein’s thoughts and Lewis Carroll’s play on words in the Alice tales. Even though Carroll obviously wishes to delight the reader, his puzzles map closely with the philosophical puzzlement at the heart of Wittgenstein’s language-game and meaning as use concepts. The author highlights Wittgenstein’s notion of meaning as use in connection to the nature of time, the concept of “nobody,” and language on holiday, all of which are ideas played upon in the Alice tales. The author also invokes Hegel’s philosophy about Now in order to help clarify what …

Darwin And Dennett: The Operationalist Debate And The Teleological Response, John W. Roorda

Episteme

The author of this paper makes an analogy between the 20th century debate in artificial intelligence and the 18th and 19th century debate concerning the design of the natural world. In the more recent disagreement, Turing and Searle represent the two poles in the AI discussion of computers and intentionality. In the earlier debate, the author identifies theologian William Paley and Hume as opposites, displaying arguments quite similar to those raised in the contemporary hot topic of AI. The author ends his overview of both debates by introducing the argument that moves the topic into a direction that makes use …

Illocutionary Speech Acts, John W. Tucker

Episteme

This article looks critically at Austinian speech act philosophy and applies Derrida’s critique to Searle’s account of promising. First, the author provides an overview of speech act philosophy, especially in connection to the notion of illocution. The author notes that for the Austinian, the gap between the intention and the expression is deemed unimportant. But isn’t Austinian speech act theory invested in a problematic idealization? Derrida holds that the Austinian account is misleading and ignores real difficulties. Searle’s notion of felicity neither approaches the reality that context itself is always partially open for (mis)interpretation, nor recognizes that speech acts often …

Are They Good? Are They Bad? Double Hermeneutics And Citation In Philosophy, Asphodel And Alan Rickman, Bruno Latour And The ‘Science Wars, Babette Babich

Articles and Chapters in Academic Book Collections

The attached file is a proof copy.

Please see the printed version. Das interpretative Universum

Evidentiality, Questions And The Reflection Principle In Tibetan: What Do Children Learn When They Learn About Evidentiality?, Jill De Villiers, Jay L. Garfield

Philosophy: Faculty Publications

Evidentials fall in the borderland between traditional semantics and pragmatics. A situation semantics for evidentials helps to explain their puzzling developmental pathway in children. Drawing on our work in Tibetan, we argue that there is no necessity for a child to master Theory of Mind, that is, awareness of others' mental states, in order to make or to understand assertions that carry evidential force. The meaning of evidentials does not make reference to states of knowledge of persons, but rather encodes relations between discourse, evidence and evaluation situations. On the other hand, when a Tibetan speaker asks a question, the …