History of Philosophy Commons^™

Teaching Kant To Undergraduates: Some Notes, Kurt Mosser

Kurt Mosser

No abstract provided.

The Noise Of Battle: Talking Philosophy On The Internet, Kurt Mosser

Kurt Mosser

Although the Internet is often used to talk with those with whom one agrees, this paper presents an "agonistic" strategy designed to help students find discussion partners with whom they disagree. This "agonistic" strategy has a number of advantages, specifically helping students' skills in writing, reading, logic, and rhetoric, as well as helping them recognizes the values of these skills and the importance of being well-informed when one enters a debate. As a further benefit, this approach has improved classroom discussion and improved the substance and form of those discussions. In contrast with those who fear that the Internet has …

The Philosophical Sins Of Stephen Pinker, Kurt Mosser

Kurt Mosser

No abstract provided.

Kant's General Logic And Aristotle, Kurt Mosser

Kurt Mosser

In the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant uses the term “logic” in a bewildering variety of ways, at times making it close to impossible to determine whether he is referring to (among others) general logic, transcendental logic, transcendental analytic, a "special" logic relative to a specific science, a "natural" logic, a logic intended for the "learned" (Gelehrter), some hybrid of these logics, or even some still-more abstract notion that ranges over all of these uses. This paper seeks to come to grips with Kant's complex use of "logic."

Kant is standardly regarded as saying that since Aristotle, there need be …

Development, Ethics And The Ethics Of Nationalism, Messay Kebede

Messay Kebede

In a world which exhibits so much power and yet does so little to drive back underdevelopment, it is not to be wondered if the thinking endeavour is shrouded with the impression of being confronted with the greatest enigma, with the most disconcerting sphinx of all times. However, concerning this most pressing and controversial issue of underdevelopment, of all the disciplines which study man, philosophy is the one which until now said the least. Is this due to simple insensitiveness, or to pure neglect, or to the feeling of not being directly concerned? Whatever the reasons may be, the simple …

Ecological Laws And Their Promise Of Explanations, Viorel Pâslaru

Viorel Pâslaru

Marcel Weber (1999) argued that the principle of competitive exclusion is a law of ecology that could explain phenomena (1) by direct application, or (2) by describing default states. Since he did not offer an account of explanation by direct application of laws, I offer an interpretation of explanation by direct application of laws based on a proposal by Elgin and Sober (2002). I show that in both cases it is the descriptions of mechanisms that explain phenomena, and not the laws. Lev Ginzburg and Mark Colyvan (2004) argued Malthus’ Law of Exponential Growth is the first law of ecology, …

The Subject As Moral Person: On Husserl's Late Reflections Concerning The Concept Of Personhood, Sebastian Luft

Sebastian Luft

No abstract provided.

The Worldmakers: Global Imagining In Early Modern Europe, Ayesha Ramachandran

Ayesha Ramachandran

In this beautifully conceived book, Ayesha Ramachandran reconstructs the imaginative struggles of early modern artists, philosophers, and writers to make sense of something that we take for granted: the world, imagined as a whole. Once a new, exciting, and frightening concept, “the world” was transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But how could one envision something that no one had ever seen in its totality? The Worldmakers moves beyond histories of globalization to explore how “the world” itself—variously understood as an object of inquiry, a comprehensive category, and a system of order—was self-consciously shaped by human agents. Gathering an …

Aristotle's Correspondence Theory Of Truth And What Does Not Exist, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

Truth And Temporality In Aristotle, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

Brentano's Aristotle And The Intentional Definition Of Mental Phenomena, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

Mobility Through The Looking Glass: Taming Chaos In A Wireless Wonderland, Joyce Lazier

joyce lazier

The presentation covered the transformative power of a faculty cohort when equipped with the latest in mobile technology and the infrastructure to support it. Sam Birk and I showcased the collaborative and creative power of mobile computing to reenvision the classroom and better engage student learning in a true collaborative environment.

Fictional Entities: Truth As A Function Of Combination And Separation In Aristotle, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

Truth And Inexistence In Aristotle’S Categories And De Interpretatione, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

The Aristotelian Aspects Of Husserl’S Fourth Logical Investigation, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

What's The Meaning Of Life? There's An App For That, Joyce Lazier

joyce lazier

The use of mobile devices is not for the kind of teacher who prefers to be the sage on the stage. Mobile devices allow the student to become a colleague in the content of the course, which results in higher engagement because they have a greater ownership in the content. This session will cover the use of mobile devices as a means to enhance student learning. Last semester I ran a proof of concept course where my Modern Philosophy students were all given iPads to use for the entire semester. In this session I will share my experience using mobile …

Enthusiasmos And Moral Monsters In Eudemian Ethics Viii.2, Julie Ponesse

Julie E Ponesse

This paper explores a much overlooked passage buried at the end of the Eudemian Ethics in which Aristotle attributes the success of those he calls ‘fortunate'--eutuchēs-- to nature, a conclusion he would seem not to be entitled to draw. Against the standard view, I argue that we can understand how Aristotle could have quite seriously (and consistently) drawn this conclusion if we distinguish between the proximate cause of the fortunate man’s eutuchia, which is his nature (in particular, his own irrational soul impulses), and its ultimate cause, which is tuchē (because his soul, which contains those impulses, is generated by …

Affective Neuroscience And The Philosophy Of Self, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The nature of self awareness and the origin and persistence of personal identity still loom large in contemporary philosophy of mind. Many philosophers have been wooed by the computational approach to consciousness, and they attempt to find the self amidst the phenomenon of neocortical information processing. Affective neuroscience offers another pathway to understanding the evolution and nature of self. This paper explores how affective neuroscience acts as a positive game-changer in the philosophical pursuit of self. In particular, we focus on connecting 'mammalian agency' to (a) subjective awareness, and (b) identity through time.

Gauging Gender: A Metaphysics, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

In this article the author discusses sex and gender in human beings and examines how the study of science, particularly biology, has influenced the study of these subjects in higher education. It traces the evolution of sex and gender studies in academe, comments on the failure of many humanities scholars to dismiss biology in studying human behavior, and explores ways in which psychoanalysis, social constructionism, and metaphysics have informed the debate over the differences between sex and gender. Other topics include research conducted by Anne Fausto-Sterling regarding intersexed people, scientific tests focusing on sexual preference in rats, and thoughts by …

Nature And Convention: Defining A Spoken Language In Aristotle’S De Interpretatione, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

Aristotle On The Incidental Sense, Charlene Elsby

Charlene Elsby

No abstract provided.

Risen Apes And Fallen Angels: The New Museology Of Human Origins, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

There has been a little explosion of "origin" exhibitions in the past few years. The recent bicentennial of Darwin's birth, in 2009, ushered in a bevy of traveling exhibitions and events. Grandscale permanent exhibitions have recently opened at the American Museum of Natural History (the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins) in New York, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins) in Washington, D.C. A new museology is afoot, and some of the recent changes are worth tracking. And let's not forget the recently opened Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Even in …

The New Atheists' Narrow World-View, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The article discusses atheism, Buddhism, and the practice of animism in southeast Asia. Atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris are discussed as is the argument regarding the "provincialism" of religion. It is noted that some atheists echo the statement by philosopher Karl Marx that religion is an opiate that should be done away with because it has little moral value. The use of spirit houses as a part of religious practice in southeast Asia is described. The opinion held by theists on animism is explored. Other topics include living conditions in Cambodia and the role of religion in …

Aristotle’S Pluralistic Realism, Devin Henry

Devin Henry

In this paper I explore Aristotle’s views on natural kinds and the compatibility of pluralism and realism, a topic that has generated considerable interest among contemporary philosophers. I argue that, when it came to zoology, Aristotle denied that there is only one way of organizing the diversity of the living world into natural kinds that will yield a single, unified system of classification. Instead, living things can be grouped and regrouped into various cross-cutting kinds on the basis of objective similarities and differences in ways that subserve the explanatory context. Since the explanatory aims of zoology are diverse and variegated, …

What We Talk About When We Talk About The Soul, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The author discusses the popularity among college students of the concept of the soul, and attempts to place it in its proper context. He dispenses with orthodox theological arguments and New Age arguments as scientifically untenable. He takes a so-called Wittgensteinian approach, noting soul's linguistic significance. He analyzes expressions which use the concept of soul and concludes that they are qualitatively different from testable factual expressions. He notes that soul talk is about hopes and aspirations, inspiration, or feelings deeper than friendship. He assigns it meaning outside of scientific concepts. He likens expressions of soul to creative and ethical acts, …

Why I Am A Buddhist, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

Profound and amusing, this book provides a viable approach to answering the perennial questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How can I live a meaningful life? For Asma, the answers are to be found in Buddhism.

There have been a lot of books that have made the case for Buddhism. What makes this book fresh and exciting is Asma's iconoclasm, irreverence, and hardheaded approach to the subject. He is distressed that much of what passes for Buddhism is really little more than "New Age mush." He loudly asserts that it is time to "take the California out of …

Green Guilt, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The essay discusses the more neurotic aspects of environmentalism, involving guilt over failure to recycle or turn off the lights. It notes that those most prone to these sensibilities are those who have left traditional religion. It quotes philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who states that religious emotions such as guilt and indignation are still present in a post-Christian world. The essay argues that we should certainly save the planet but avoid the neurosis that often accompanies it.

Monsters And The Moral Imagination, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The article discusses the cultural interest in monsters in the 21st century. The author speculates on the reasons for the interest, citing anxiety after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq, or the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. He notes a conference in September 2009 at the University of Oxford entitled "Monsters and the Monstrous." Cultural uses of monsters, he notes, include scolding ourselves for failure to be inclusive, the medievals' punishment for the sin of pride, or the ancient Greeks' warnings of impending calamity. He notes that monster stories can promote the individual's thought about what …

Kant's Moral Grounding Of Societal Duties, Joyce Lazier

joyce lazier

In this article I argue for the moral grounding of Kant's Duties of Right and maintain that my solution of ultimately grounding Duties of Right in the Highest Good does not dilute them into Duties of Virtue.

Ancient Antidotes To Timeless Troubles: Stoicism And The Recession, Stephen Asma

Stephen T Asma

The article reviews the books "The Present Alone is Our Happiness," by Arnold I. Davidson and Jeannie Carlier and "A Life Worthy of the Gods: The Materialist Psychology of Epicurus" by David Konstan.