Philosophy Commons^™

04. Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery, Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp, Frederick S. Oscanyan

Middle School Curriculum

This instructional manual includes hundreds of short, accessible explanations of the philosophical ideas and issues written into HARRY the novel, and as such is a valuable introduction to philosophy. Adults with no experience in academic philosophy will have no trouble using this manual to engage young people in philosophical dialogue. The manual provides discussion plans and exercises to help the students think for themselves about the philosophical ideas most relevant to their experience. The manual is also a primer in critical thinking and formal and informal logic, which are treated as helpful tools for inquiry. Students will find the logic …

Some Genres Of Post-Hegelian Philosophy, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

There are a number of important texts, sometimes treated as philosophical and sometimes as literary works, which do not usually find an appropriate audience. Paradigms of what I have in mind are: Kierkegaard's pseudonymous writings, almost all of Nietzsche, Marx's narratives of capital and class-struggle, Sartre's complex series of fictions, plays, treatises, critical performances and autobiography, and Heidegger's hypnotic meditations and textual exegeses. Responses by philosophers, especially Anglo-American ones, seldom take account of the specific literary forms of these works or of their authors’ very self-conscious concern with the problems and strategies of writing. It is true that the texts …

Ideas Of Relevance To Law, Mortimer J. Adler

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Geometries And Words - Linguistics And Philosophy - A Model Of The Composing Process, Dorothy Augustine

English Faculty Articles and Research

Dorothy Augustine writes about composing a piece for philosophy.

The Ethics Of Benedict De Spinoza, Translated By George Eliot, Benedict De [Baruch] Spinoza, George Eliot , Translator, Thomas Deegan , Editor

Electronic Reference Materials

The Ethics of Benedict (or Baruch) Spinoza (1632-1677) was written in Latin 1664-65 and published posthumously the year of his death. Spinoza's statement of moral philosophy, inspired by the rationalism of Descartes and the Enlightenment, was considered heretical at the time. He was excommunicated by Jewish religious authorities and his writings proscribed by the Catholic Church. His works, however, proved a hiden influence on the thought Locke, Hume, Liebnitz, and Kant, and became one of the foundations of the Western philosophical tradition, with profound influence on the works of Hegel, Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche.

George Eliot [Marian Evans] (1819-1880) prepared …

Styling Nietzsche: A Review Essay Of Jacques Derrida Spurs: Nietzsche's Styles, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Any examination of a text by Derrida challenges us to begin with an inquiry into its style. ''The Question of Style" was in fact the originally announced title of this essay which Derrida has since changed to Spurs: Nietzsche's Styles (Èperons: Les Styles de Nietzsche). Style is often regarded as a somewhat extraneous aspect of the philosophical enterprise; it is thought to be a variable form or container which may obstruct our comprehension of the matter or spirit of philosophical communication. Now it is well known that Derrida's whole enterprise involves a challenge to the "logocentric" tradition of philosophy according …

Rights And The Meta-Ethics Of Professional Morality, Mike W. Martin

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

This article looks into the Meta-Ethics of medical professionals.

The Moral Basis Of Property Rights, Lawrence C. Becker

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Claims In Linguistic Philosophy, Charles W. Mcgarry

Undergraduate Honors Theses

It seems to be one of the characteristic features of philosophy that any and all claims made within the subject are open to dispute. The empirical sciences also contain claims which are only contingently true about the world, but, in contrast to philosophy, they have universally recognized and accepted procedures for deciding which theories to accept. Many philosophers have found this very appealing, and the history of philosophy shows that time and time again there have been attempts to change philosophy into a science. More often than not these attempts manifest themselves in the introduction of a new method, which …

"Is Human Understanding Finite?", Peter Brian Medawar

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

Dialectical Laws And Elementary Catastrophes, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the newly developed Catastrophe Theory of Rene Thorn and E.C. Zeeman, it is possible to find mathematical interpretation of certain aspects of Hegelian and Marxist dialectics. Specifically, the three "classical" dialectical principles, (1) the transformation of quantity into quality, ( 2) the mutual interpenetration(or - the unity and struggle) of opposites, and (3) the negation of the negation, can be modeled using the seven "elementary catastrophe " given by Thom , especially the catastrophe known as the "cusp." Far from being an empty metaphysics or scholasticism, as critics have argued , these principles embody genuine insights into a class …

The Philosopher, The Teacher, And The Quest For Clarity, Daniel R. Denicola

Philosophy Faculty Publications

As the weeks have come and gone, my inflated expectations for this address have been punctured. I once hoped to take the presidential torch into some unexplored recess of the philosophical cave, there to illuminate an unsuspected cavern that would sparkle with truth. Cut and polished crystals of new truth would be the yield from my address. But then I remembered Whitehead's dictum that "It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true." Thinking this to be particularly sound advice for one whose role is to close a long day of philosophizing, I decided to …

Space-Time In The Creative Process, Kathleen Cooper

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

An inquiry about the nature of the universe and man's ability to perceive it: Do the concepts of time and space veil the realization of man's full potential and responsibility as a creative entity in a creative universe?

08. First Edition Of Lisa (1976) By Matthew Lipman, Matthew Lipman

Middle School Curriculum

Lisa is the story of a school year in the life of an adolescent girl and her classmates, a year studded with physical, aesthetic and ethical awakenings. Various events in these young people's lives prompt them to puzzle over such issues as animal rights, sexism, racism, justice, divorce and death. All of them struggle with issues of identity and thinking for oneself - philosophical issues of perennial concern to adolescents. As they begin to recognize the ethical dimensions of their experience, Lisa and her friends puzzle over such philosophical concepts as the right, the fair, the good, perfection, and naturalism. …

"A Philosophy For Complexity", Charles West Churchman

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

Nolan Pliny Jacobson Papers - Accession 24, Nolan Pliny Jacobson

Manuscript Collection

The Nolan Pliny Jacobson Papers consist of biographical data, professional and personal correspondence, and other papers relating to Dr. Jacobson’s research; his relationship with other philosophers, and his interest in oriental religion, philosophy, and the effects of science on the culture of the modern world. Correspondents include Prince Sihanouk, Charles Morris, John and Roberta Dewey, Henry and Laura Weiman, Charles and Dorothy Hartshorne, Kenneth Inada, Haljme Nakamusa, T.I. Dow, Nyanaponika Mahathera, and many other distinguished philosophers of the Western World.

Searle And The Nonderivability Thesis, Rick Harrison

Honors Projects

This paper contributes to the defense of the nonderivability thesis; that is, the thesis that no set of purely descriptive statements can entail an evaluative statement. Thus, it is impossible to give objective justification of any value judgment.

03. First Edition Of Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery (1974) By Matthew Lipman, Matthew Lipman

Middle School Curriculum

Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery is the student book for a project in philosophical thinking. It offers a model of dialogue—both of children with one another and of children with adults. The story is set among a classroom of children who begin to understand the basics of logical reasoning when Harry, who isn't paying attention in class, says that a comet is a planet because he remembers hearing that comets revolve around the sun just as planets do. The events that follow in the classroom and outside of school are a recreation of the ways that children night might find themselves thinking …

The Teacher As Liberator: An Analysis Of The Philosophy Of Education Of Friedrich Nietzsche (1973), Ann Margaret Sharp

Collected Papers of Ann Margaret Sharp

This dissertation will be an exegesis of the educational thought of Friedrich Nietzsche with the central focus on his conception of the teacher as liberator. This will involve an analysis of his conception of freedom, an analysis which involves a grasp of his philosophy as a whole. Nietzsche never wrote a systematic educational philosophy. Yet, in a certain sense, education is his primary concern. "I teach you the overman. Man is something that shall be overcome.... The overman is the meaning of the earth." In Nietzsche's view, the conscious production of the overman, a person who is characterized by a …

Habit And Meaning In Peirce's Pragmatism, Gary Shapiro

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The pragmatic movement has often been misunderstood; the most frequent misconceptions, which assimilated the philosophies of Peirce and James in particular to forms of positivism, reductionism, or crude voluntarism seem to be on the wane. Peirce's scholastic realism, his doctrine of signs, and his conception of truth as the unique and destined goal of inquiry now tend to receive the attention that was formerly reserved for his empiricism and pragmatism. A similar change in the estimation of James seems to be taking place insofar as his theory of truth is seen as much less simplistic than was formerly supposed; and …

An Hegelian Interpretation Of The Vietnam War, Diane Heggarty

All Master's Theses

This essay attempts to use the philosophy of politics and history of George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel to interpret a contemporary situation--the Vietnam War. The gradual involvement of America in Vietnam is illustrated by the use of Hegel's dialectic or logic. Internal problems and strife are put in perspective by Hegel's political philosophy. Problems arise because general theories must always ignore particulars in a concrete situation such as Vietnam. But Hegel's view of the world is generally applicable to the twentieth century.

A Historical Survey Of The Relevance Of Music In Man's Philosophy, Annette R. Arnold

All Master's Theses

Some concern with music in relation to man's well-being has been evidenced throughout history. Many philosophers have acknowledged that man's ethical and emotional well-being could be influenced by music. On the other hand, other philosophers have asserted that music had no meaning outside itself and therefore could have no significant impact on man. Some philosophers went further by contemplating the sociological implications of music as it relates to man's concept of self and his cognitive reality. This study is the outgrowth of a response to Nietzsche's cormient that "Life without music would be a mistake" (Nietzsche 81 :6 Vol. 16). …

Soren Kierkegaard's Philosophy Of Authentic Existence, John B. Merrell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This undergraduate honors thesis discusses the life and philosophical works of Soren Kierkegaard as it relates to the concept of authentic existence.

"Historical Roots Of The Death Of God", Thomas J.J. Altizer

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

The Atonement In Modern Thought, Martha Ellen Perry

Honors Projects

This paper compares Rudolph Bultmann and Emil Brunner, and combines and analyzes existentialism, theology, and demythologizing.

Can We Communicate Ultimate Reality?, David M. Newcomer

Honors Projects

This paper examines the function of communication, philosophy, and religion and moreover, their necessity to the awareness of being.

The Philosophy Of Sri Ramana Maharshi, David Benjamin White

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was threefold (1) to derive the philosophy of the contemporary Indian sage who was known for the greater part of his life as Sri Ramana Maharshi; (2) to present this philosophy in English an accurately as possible; and (3) to explain it as clearly as possible in terms understandable to those not familiar with the Indian philosophical tradition.

The Origin Of Living Things, By Julius Seiler, Translated By Gerard Farley, Gerard Farley

Philosophy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Brigham Young's Philosophy Of History, H. Carleton Marlow

Theses and Dissertations

"Brigham Young's Philosophy of History" attempts to describe how Brigham Young gave order and unity to the hubbub and confusion in which man lived. The laws which gave form and pattern to the baffling, diverse phenomena of and around man receive major attention. This thesis is an expository type of writing rather than an evaluation of Brigham Young's ideas and principles or laws in reference to other philosophies of history, Latter-day Saint theology, the modern natural exact sciences, or in reference to the current views of his times. This thesis is limited to a digestion of Brigham Young's works in …

Dogen And Bankei And A Study Of The Soto Zen, Kazumitsu W. Kato

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The reason I am writing this dissertation is to introduce another side of Zen, Soto, which is completely unknown in the Western world; and at the same time to bring Dogen's teaching to the attention of Western scholars, since it is famous in Japan as the most profound branch of the philosophy of Zen. Unfortunately, none of Dogen' s teaching has yet been translated into English except Masunaga's private publication given above. Therefore I am taking this opportunity to translate and to add a commentary of my own for the better understanding of Dogen as well as the historical survey …