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Articles 91 - 120 of 190
Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
Can American Christians Care About Hong Kong’S Umbrella Movement?, Justin Kh Tse
Can American Christians Care About Hong Kong’S Umbrella Movement?, Justin Kh Tse
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
It’s a delicate task to write about how American Christians, especially evangelicals, can care about Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.
Jian Ghomeshi And Secular Sexualities, Justin Kh Tse
Jian Ghomeshi And Secular Sexualities, Justin Kh Tse
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The public conversation swirling around Jian Ghomeshi’s termination from the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) is a grand exercise in secular sexualities.It begins with his Facebook post. Explaining that he was fired because of his private BDSM consensual acts with an ex-girlfriend, he castigates the CBC for both acknowledging that his acts were consensual and then wrongfully pulling the plug on him because he would serve as a poor role model.
Theologies Of Word And State: Some Reflections On The Ottawa Shooting, Justin Kh Tse, Matt Sheedy
Theologies Of Word And State: Some Reflections On The Ottawa Shooting, Justin Kh Tse, Matt Sheedy
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The shooting in Ottawa on 22 October 2014 has uncovered the remarkable way that the Canadian state remains theologically constituted. In some ways, this is a relatively uncontroversial argument. The White House press conference immediately following the attacks made a link between the Canadian support for military action against the Islamic State and the deaths of both Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent on October 20 in Quebec and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on the October 22. When one says that Ottawa shootings have a religious dimension, the gut response is that my argument will be about …
"Those Stubborn Principles": From Stoicism To Sociability In Joseph Addison’S Cato, Christine Dunn Henderson, Mark Yellin
"Those Stubborn Principles": From Stoicism To Sociability In Joseph Addison’S Cato, Christine Dunn Henderson, Mark Yellin
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Joseph Addison’s 1713 play, Cato: A Tragedy, dramatizes the final days of Cato the Younger’s resistance to Julius Caesar before his eventual suicide at Utica in 46 BC. Although Addison initially seems to present Cato as a model for emulation, we argue that Addison is ultimately critical of both Cato and the Stoicism he embodies. Via the play’s romantic subplot and via his work as an essayist, Addison offers a revision of the Catonic model, reworking it into a gentler model that elevates qualities such as love, friendship, and sympathy and that is more appropriate to the type of peaceful …
Tang Junyi’S Comparative Philosophy And The Spiritual Value Of Chinese Culture, Sor-Hoon Tan
Tang Junyi’S Comparative Philosophy And The Spiritual Value Of Chinese Culture, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Tang Junyi (1909-1978) engaged in philosophical comparisons very early in his career. He always philosophized from a cultural perspective in his subsequent philosophical reflection on the development of the mind, the philosophy of life, the relation between culture and moral reason, and the spiritual value of Chinese culture.
The Labor Theory Of Justice, Chandran Kukathas
The Labor Theory Of Justice, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions as truth is of systems ofthought. So John Rawls famously proclaimed in the beginning of hismasterwork, A Theory of Justice. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if untrue. Laws and institutions no matterhow efficient and well arranged must be reformed or abolished if unjust.Justice, perhaps unlike some other values, was not something we mightreadily trade a little of in exchange for other benefits.1In his critique ofRawls, Rescuing Justice and Equality, G. A. Cohen proposes to take justicemore seriously while at the same time conceding that justice might …
Zagzebski On Rationality, Shane Ryan, Shane Ryan
Zagzebski On Rationality, Shane Ryan, Shane Ryan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This paper examines Linda Zagzebski’s (2012) account of rationality, as set out in her rich, wide-ranging, and important book, Epistemic Authority: A Theory of Trust, Authority, and Autonomy in Belief. We briefly describe the account that she offers and then consider its plausibility. In particular, in the first section we argue that a number of Zagzebski’s claims with regard to rationality require more support than she offers for them. Moreover, in the second section, we contend that far from offering Zagzebski a quick way of dealing with radical scepticism, her account of rationality actually seems to be particularly vulnerable to …
Moore’S Paradox And The Priority Of Belief Thesis, John N. Williams
Moore’S Paradox And The Priority Of Belief Thesis, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Moore’s paradox is the fact that assertions or beliefs such as Bangkok is the capital of Thailand but I do not believe that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand or Bangkok is the capital of Thailand but I believe that Bangkok is not the capital of Thailand are ‘absurd’ yet possibly true. The current orthodoxy is that an explanation of the absurdity should first start with belief, on the assumption that once the absurdity in belief has been explained then this will translate into an explanation of the absurdity in assertion. This assumption gives explanatory priority to belief over assertion. …
The Completeness Of The Pragmatic Solution To Moore's Paradox In Belief: A Reply To Chan, John N. Williams
The Completeness Of The Pragmatic Solution To Moore's Paradox In Belief: A Reply To Chan, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Moore’s paradox in belief is the fact that beliefs of the form ‘p and I do not believe that p’ are ‘absurd’ yet possibly true. Writers on the paradox have nearly all taken the absurdity to be a form of irrationality. These include those who give what Timothy CHAN calls the ‘pragmatic solution’ to the paradox. This solution turns on the fact that having the Moorean belief falsifies its content. CHAN, who also takes the absurdity to be a form of irrationality, objects to this solution by arguing that it is circular and thus incomplete. This is because it must …
David-Hillel Ruben’S 'Traditions And True Successors': A Critical Reply, John N. Williams
David-Hillel Ruben’S 'Traditions And True Successors': A Critical Reply, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
Further Reflection On True Successors And Traditions, John N. Williams
Further Reflection On True Successors And Traditions, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
Generalization And Induction: More Misconceptions And Clarifications, Eric W. K. Tsang, John N. Williams
Generalization And Induction: More Misconceptions And Clarifications, Eric W. K. Tsang, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In ‘Generalization and Induction: Misconceptions, Clarifications, and a Classification of Induction’, we comment on Lee and Baskerville’s (2003) paper ‘Generalizing Generalizability in Information Systems Research’, which attempts to clarify the concept of generalization and classify it into four types. Our commentary discusses the misconceptions in their paper and proposes an alternative classification of induction. Their response ‘Conceptualizing Generalizability: New Contributions and a Reply’ perpetuates their misconceptions and create new ones. The purpose of this rejoinder is to highlight the major problems both in their original paper and in their reply and to provide further clarifications. Lee and Baskerville’s so-called ‘new …
Generalization And Induction: Misconceptions, Clarifications And A Classification Of Induction, Eric W. K. Tsang, John N. Williams
Generalization And Induction: Misconceptions, Clarifications And A Classification Of Induction, Eric W. K. Tsang, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In “Generalizing Generalizability in Information Systems Research,” Lee and Baskerville (2003) try to clarify generalization and classify it into four types. Unfortunately, their account is problematic. We propose repairs. Central among these is our balance-of-evidence argument that we should adopt the view that Hume’s problem of induction has a solution, even if we do not know what it is. We build upon this by proposing an alternative classification of induction. There are five types of generalization: (1) theoretical, (2) within-population, (3) cross-population, (4) contextual, and (5) temporal, with theoretical generalization being across the empirical and theoretical levels and the rest …
Moore-Paradoxical Assertion, Fully Conscious Belief And The Transparency Of Belief, John N. Williams
Moore-Paradoxical Assertion, Fully Conscious Belief And The Transparency Of Belief, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
I offer a novel account of the absurdity of Moore-paradoxical assertion in terms of an interlocutor’s fully conscious beliefs. This account starts with an original argument for the principle that fully conscious belief collects over conjunction. The argument is premised on the synchronic unity of consciousness and the transparency of belief.
Beyond Minority Report: Pre-Crime, Pre-Punishment And Pre-Desert, John N. Williams
Beyond Minority Report: Pre-Crime, Pre-Punishment And Pre-Desert, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Utilitarian ethics are apparently incommensurable with other ethical perspectives. Faced with a choice between maximizing general benefit to society and committing an act of injustice, those of us who reject utility in favor of justice are powerless to change the viewpoint of someone who rejects justice in favor of utility. Since there are no higher ethical principles that overarch both principles of utility and principles of justice, both sides must run out of reasons when deciding which principles should be put first. But the unreasoned decision is ineluctable, because there are possible cases in which the principles conflict.1 This kind …
Including The Excluded: Communitarian Paths To Cosmopolitanism, Eduard Jordaan
Including The Excluded: Communitarian Paths To Cosmopolitanism, Eduard Jordaan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Cosmopolitanism is frequently criticised for overlooking the situatedness of morality and the importance of solidarity in their aspiration to global justice. A number of thinkers take these criticisms seriously and pursue ‘a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism’. Four such approaches are considered. All four view morality and justice as grounded in a specific social setting and hold that justice is more likely to result if there is some ‘we-feeling’ among people, but are simultaneously committed to expanding the realm of justice and moral concern to beyond national boundaries. To enable the theorisation of an expanded realm of situated justice and moral …
Kovesi And The Formal And Material Elements Of Concepts, T. Brian Mooney, Mark Nowacki, John N. Williams
Kovesi And The Formal And Material Elements Of Concepts, T. Brian Mooney, Mark Nowacki, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In his seminal work Moral Notions, Julius Kovesi presents a novel account of concept formation. At the heart of this account is a distinction between what he terms the material element and the formal element of concepts. This paper elucidates his distinction in detail and contrasts it with other distinctions such as form-matter, universal-particular, genus-difference, necessary-sufficient, and open texture-closed texture. We situate Kovesi’s distinction within his general philosophical method, outlining his views on concept formation in general and explain how his theory of concept formation is applied in moral philosophy.
Why Study The Chinese Classics And How To Go About It?, Sor-Hoon Tan
Why Study The Chinese Classics And How To Go About It?, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This response to Zongjie Wu's "Interpretation, autonomy, and interpretation" focuses on the "battle between East and West" which contextualizes Wu's proposal to counter the current Western domination of Chinese pedagogic discourse with an "authentic language" recovered from the Chinese classics. It points out that it is impossible and undesirable to reject all Western influences. The dualistic opposition between East and West over-simplifies and blinds one to the complexity of China's history and culture, and unnecessarily limits future possibilities. It challenges Wu's conflation of Confucianism and Daoism and his claim that the authentic "language of Tao" recovered from the "Analects" is …
How To Test Cultural Theory: Suggestions For Future Research, Marco Verweij, Shenghua Luan, Mark Nowacki
How To Test Cultural Theory: Suggestions For Future Research, Marco Verweij, Shenghua Luan, Mark Nowacki
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This symposium highlighted the relevance of the cultural theory (CT) pioneered by anthropologists Mary Douglas, Steve Rayner, and Michael Thompson and political scientists Aaron Wildavsky and Richard Ellis for explaining political phenomena. In this concluding article, we suggest ways in which CT can be further tested and developed. First, we describe how the theory has been applied thus far and some of the achievements of these applications. Then, we examine some of the challenges revealed by this research. Finally, we discuss ways of applying CT that promise to help meet these challenges. These methods include nesting case studies and combining …
How Can A Chinese Democracy Be Pragmatic?, Sor-Hoon Tan
How Can A Chinese Democracy Be Pragmatic?, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Early in the last century, some of John Dewey's Chinese students had a chance to influence the fate of the first Chinese Republic. These individuals, Hu Shih being the most prominent example, were identified as Chinese liberals in the political spectrum of that time and advocated education reforms as the chief means of "saving China." Despite the hope for radical social change engendered by the New Culture Movement, education reforms failed, and cultural transformation did not lead in a democratic direction, at least not a Pragmatic democracy as conceived by Dewey. A century later, China is again going through a …
E Pluribus Plurum, Or, How To Fail To Back Into A State In Spite Of Really Trying, Chandran Kukathas
E Pluribus Plurum, Or, How To Fail To Back Into A State In Spite Of Really Trying, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
“The framework for utopia,” Robert Nozick tells us at the beginning of the fi nal section of Part iiiof Anarchy, State, and Utopia( ASU), “is equivalent to the minimal state” (p. 333). The rich andcomplex body of argumentation of Parts iand iihad produced theconclusion that the minimal, and no more than a minimal, statewas legitimate or morally justifi ed. What Part iiireveals is that theminimal state “is the one that best realizes the utopian aspirationsof untold dreamers and visionaries” (p. 333). Although this happyconvergence is surely no accident, neither, Nozick insists, is it contrived, for it is the conclusion reached …
Our Country Right Or Wrong: A Pragmatic Response To Anti-Democratic Cultural Nationalism In China, Sor-Hoon Tan
Our Country Right Or Wrong: A Pragmatic Response To Anti-Democratic Cultural Nationalism In China, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Since Deng Xiaoping came into power, China has been described as pragmatic in its approach to politics and development, and in the nineties there has been a revival of interest in Chinese cultural tradition. What is the relation between these two phenomena? Do they coexist, separately in mutual indifference, or in tension? Has there been constructive engagement, or at the very least does the potential for such engagement exist? More specifically, what roles, if any, do they play in China's quest for democracy? Does Dewey's pragmatism have any relevance to China in the twenty-first century? The issue of cultural tradition …
Reconciling Modernity And Tradition In A Liberal Society, Chandran Kukathas
Reconciling Modernity And Tradition In A Liberal Society, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Many modern liberals have been eager to tout the virtues of diversity, but many have equally found it difficult to tolerate customs or traditions that do not conform to liberalism’s deepest commitments to equality and individual liberty. The distinction between traditional and modern is not a very useful one for understanding the problems confronting liberal society, or for working out how to address them because the contrast does not pick out a tension or conflict about which we can usefully generalise. Chandran Kukatahs suggests that as the tension in question is not one that is capable of resolution, the best …
Thinking On The Edge: Heidegger, Derrida, And The Daoist Gateway (Men), Steven Burik
Thinking On The Edge: Heidegger, Derrida, And The Daoist Gateway (Men), Steven Burik
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Steven Bunk Many philosophical interpretations of the Daoist classics have proceeded, or continue to proceed, to read into these works the quest for a transcendental, foundational principle, a permanent moment of rest beyond the turmoil of everchanging things. The metaphysics that may be understood to be at work in such interpretations is what Heidegger and Derrida have called philosophy as ontotheology. It is argued here that Heidegger, Derrida, and the classical Daoists are better understood not so much as metaphysical and essentialist thinkers but as advocates of a profoundly inner-worldly way of thinking. In arguing for such a different approach, …
Moore’S Paradox, Truth And Accuracy, Mitchell S. Green, John N. Williams
Moore’S Paradox, Truth And Accuracy, Mitchell S. Green, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
G. E. Moore famously observed that to assert ‘I went to the pictures last Tuesday but I do not believe that I did’ would be ‘absurd’. Moore calls it a ‘paradox’ that this absurdity persists despite the fact that what I say about myself might be true. Krista Lawlor and John Perry have proposed an explanation of the absurdity that confines itself to semantic notions while eschewing pragmatic ones. We argue that this explanation faces four objections. We give a better explanation of the absurdity both in assertion and in belief that avoids our four objections.
Moore's Paradox, Defective Interpretation, Justified Belief And Conscious Belief, John N. Williams
Moore's Paradox, Defective Interpretation, Justified Belief And Conscious Belief, John N. Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In this journal, Hamid Vahid argues against three families of explanation of Moore-paradoxicality. The first is the Wittgensteinian approach; I assert that p just in case I assert that I believe that p. So making a Moore-paradoxical assertion involves contradictory assertions. The second is the epistemic approach, one committed to: if I am justified in believing that p then I am justified in believing that I believe that p. So it is impossible to have a justified omissive Moore-paradoxical belief. The third is the conscious belief approach, being committed to: if I consciously believe that p then I believe that …
Self And Other: Continental And Classical Chinese Thought, Steven Burik
Self And Other: Continental And Classical Chinese Thought, Steven Burik
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Traditionally, metaphysical notions of self and other presuppose a dualism that underlies much of Western philosophy. This dualism is opposed by accounts of self and other in recent continental philosophy and classical Chinese philosophy, which I compare. I argue that the self is seen in continental and Chinese thought as embedded in (ethical) relations and language, and not as transcendent or prior in the metaphysical sense to them. I argue for this by focussing on three themes: self and language, self as relational and embedded in the world or contextual environment, and self and the particular other. These three themes …
Logic, Doxastic, John Nicholas Williams
Logic, Doxastic, John Nicholas Williams
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Doxastic logic, beginning with Hintikka’s Knowledge and Belief. An Introduction to the Logic of the Two Notions (1962. Cornell University Press), studies relations between propositions about what we believe. Using ‘a’ as a proper name like ‘Ann’, ‘→’ for ‘if’ as opposed to material implication, propositional variables such as ‘p’, ‘q’ and ‘B’ to represent the two-place relation, ‘ . . . believes that . . . ’.
Understanding Hayek, Chandran Kukathas
Understanding Hayek, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Although some of this will be familiar to a number of you all,I will talk a bit about Friedrich A. Hayek since I am goingfirst. I’ll say a little bit about his life, how he came to theideas that he became so famous for espousing, and then a little bitabout his liberalism and the contribution he has made to liberaltheory and to intellectual life.
Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Jordaan
Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Jordaan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Although the term “cosmopolitan-communitarian debate” never really caught on, a national-global fault line remains prominent in debates about global justice. “Dialogic cosmopolitanism” holds the promise of bridging this alleged fault line by accepting many of the communitarian criticisms against cosmopolitanism and following what can be described as a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism. This article identifies and describes four key elements that distinguish dialogic cosmopolitanism: a respect for difference; a commitment to genuine dialogue; an open, hesitant and self-problematising attitude on the part of the moral subject; and an undertaking to expand the boundaries of moral concern to the point of …