European Philosophy, Miscellaneous

Brief discussion of Niels Bohr's place in the history of philosophy (including his philosophical forebears, Søren Kierkegaard, Rasmus Nielsen, and Harald Høffding).

This paper follows Francois Laruelle’s non-philosophy and his non-religion and non-theology to suggest anon-philosophical approach to the sociology of religious pluralism. The entanglements of experiences of the religious end-user are analysed vis-a-vis Laruelle’s thought and a dogma free inclusive approach to religion is envisaged.

Tensions between the domain of reason and the domain of faith have been one of the most controversial issues in the history of our civilization for over three hundred years. They have contributed to many divisions, conflicts, and even wars. Contributions that have sought to reconcile the two domains have largely used the cultural approach in trying to solve this problem. The approach used in this essay views faith and reason from the perspective of cognitive operations. It shows that viewed (...) from this perspective, faith and reason emerge as two aspects of the process of creation of new levels of organization that takes place in the human mind. The essay correlates faith and reason with such cognitive operations as equilibration and the production of disequilibrium. This approach shows that there is no fundamental ontological contradiction between faith and reason, and that cooperation between them is not only possible but is actually essential for sustaining our mental work and the survival of our civilization. (shrink)

After years of neglect, alienation has again reached the agenda of critical thought. In my case, I recognize alienation as a challenge for education in contemporary societies. To obtain conceptual resources to overcome this challenge, I have revisited the comprehensive 20 th century discussion of alienation. Today, alienation is naturally discussed as an existential condition of human being, but still in the 1980s, there was a strong Marxist current that claimed alienation to be implied by capitalism, in particular by the (...) institution of private property and the social division of labor, and that alienation therefore should be criticized as part of the critique of capitalism and political economy and possibly overcome. Today, under the hegemony of neo-liberal capitalism, this critical and processual concept of alienation is more relevant than ever. Hence, in the present work I argue that the basic logic of Marx's idea of alienation still has critical potential. The argument forms a long engagement with mainly 20 th century literature, departing from the very idea of capitalism, considering the ideas of history, education and democracy, discussing how to distinguish and translate key terms, considering why alienation became an object of controversy among Marxists, offering an interpretation of Marx's critique relevant for contemporary society, thus considering alienation a consequence of working under conditions of private property, i.e. being a human being in a capitalist society, and finally presenting Marx's idea of communism as relevant to the contemporary educational agenda. (shrink)

A lineage of prominent philosophers who have discussed the second-person relation can be regarded as advancing structural accounts. They posit that the second-person relation effects one transformative change to the structure of practical reasoning. In this paper, I criticise this orthodoxy and offer an alternative, substantive account. That is, I argue that entering into second-personal relations with others does indeed affect one's practical reasoning, but it does this not by altering the structure of one's agential thought, but by changing what (...) reasons can become available. The importance of second-personal thought for action is heterogenous. Second-person relations make possible the emergence of a wide variety of different kinds of practical reasons: creating some, revealing others. Recognising this diminishes the appeal of the traditional, structural accounts of the practical significance of such second-personal relations. Moving away from structural accounts facilitates a more thorough understanding of the intersubjective form of action. (shrink)

După sfârşitul celei de a doua mari conflagraţii mondiale, Europa se afla în ruină şi dezastru economico-social. Ajutorul dat de Statele Unite ale Americii în reconstrucţia statelor europene a fost vital pentru supravieţuirea Occidentului european. În anul 1948, cinci state (Franţa, Marea Britanie, Belgia, Ţările de Jos şi Luxemburg) semnează Tratatul de Cooperare Culturală, Socială, Economică şi Apărare Colectivă, pe scurt Tratatul de la Bruxelles . După numirea generalului Dwight Eisenhower în funcţia de comandant suprem aliat în Europa, acest tratat (...) va deveni parte a documentelor NATO. Nevoia de apărare împotriva ameninţării sovietice se face şi mai vizibilă în propunerea ministrului de externe francez Réne Pléven. Planul Pléven, propus în anul 1952, viza constituirea unei Comunităţii Europene a Apărării, dar şi a unei Comunităţi Politice Europene. Planul nu a fost votat de către Adunare Franceză în anul 1954. Eşecul acestei comunităţi se datorează lipsei de viziune a liderilor europeni. O altă piedică în adoptarea acestui plan a fost teama statelor naţionale de posibila federalizare a Europei. (shrink)

تندرج معالجة دولوز لمقولة مجتمع التحكّم في ‏سياق معالجته الفلسفية للتغيّرات الّتي طرأت على ‏المكان والفضاء والزمن وعلاقاتها في المجتمع ‏الاوروبي المعاصر. وتتصل هذه المعالجة بمجمل ‏فلسفة دولوز السياسية الّتي يُلحَظ في بعض ‏أقسامها أثر التدبّر الفوكوي لتاريخ المجتمعات ‏من جانب الأصوات المكبوتة والمهمّشة ‏والمُخضَعة. ويرى البعض أن دولوز، في قراءته ‏لفوكو، يصحّ النظر إليه بوصفه مكمّلا لهذا ‏الأخير الّذي يمكن وصفه بأنّه منظّر مجتمعات ‏الانضباط، بالأخص في كتابه راقب وعاقب. وهكذا ‏لا تنفصل الرؤية الدولوزية لمجتمعات التحكّم عن ‏الرؤية الفوكوية (...) لمجتمعات الانضباط وقبلها ‏مجتمعات السيادة. ففي تكملة لعمل فوكو، يميّز ‏دولوز بين ثلاثة أصناف متعاقبة من المجتمعات: ‏مجتمعات السيادة، والمجتمعات الانضباطية ‏ومجتمع التحكّم. ولكلّ مجتمعٍ منها تقنياته ‏السلطوية الخاصة وأجاهيزه الّتي تتيح الاشتغال ‏عبر تنظيم الفضاء بطريقةٍ محددة. في هذه ‏المقالة، نستعرض مفهوم جيل دولوز لمجتمعات ‏التحكّم الّتي تعمل في فضاءات مفتوحة وترتكز ‏على دفوق الاتصالات واكسيوماتية الرأسمالية، ‏في مقابل مجتمعات الانضباط الّتي أبرزها ميشيل ‏فوكو في كتابه راقب وعاقب(أو المراقبة والعقاب). ‏كما سننهي المقالة بسبل المقاومة الّتي نظّر لها ‏دولوز في سياق الكلام عن مجابهة التحكّم.‏. (shrink)

In this brief text, I will sketch developments in the philosophy of technology in the Netherlands and in Europe since Paul Durbin published his extensive study on the state of the field in 2006.

Historically, scientific and engineering expertise has been key in shaping research and innovation policies, with benefits presumed to accrue to society more broadly over time. But there is persistent and growing concern about whether and how ethical and societal values are integrated into R&I policies and governance, as we confront public disbelief in science and political suspicion toward evidence-based policy-making. Erosion of such a social contract with science limits the ability of democratic societies to deal with challenges presented by new, (...) disruptive technologies, such as synthetic biology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, automation and robotics, and artificial intelligence. Many policy efforts have emerged in response to such concerns, one prominent example being Europe's Eighth Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, whose focus on “Responsible Research and Innovation” provides a case study for the translation of such normative perspectives into concrete policy action and implementation. Our analysis of this H2020 RRI approach suggests a lack of consistent integration of elements such as ethics, open access, open innovation, and public engagement. On the basis of our evaluation, we suggest possible pathways for strengthening efforts to deliver R&I policies that deepen mutually beneficial science and society relationships. (shrink)

It is generally known that the influential Kyiv researcher, professor of the St. Volodymyr University and honorary member of the Kyiv Theological Academy Ivan Sikorsky (1842–1919) made a significant contribution to the development of the psychological science of his times and gained great authority among his colleagues in the West. In recent years, many studies have been launched in Ukraine, whose authors are trying to demonstrate the relevance of his work also in terms of contemporary science. It remains unclear as (...) to when and how he was recognized in the West, which of his colleagues he influenced in his own life, how his academic achievements are now appreciated in foreign professional circles. Trying to fill this gap, the author of the paper created Sikorsky’s personal profile on the Internet platform “Google Scholar” (“Google Academy”). This Internet-based platform is regularly used to calculate citations of the contemporary scholars and publications. However, as it has turned out, Google Scholar may also be a useful tool for the historical research. This search engine collates information on almost all of the Sikorsky’s works, including those written or translated into foreign languages and published abroad. Despite the fact that Google Scholar identified and included in its own list not all of the existing references, it nevertheless helped to reconstruct a rather large and representative bibliography. Combining the quantitative and qualitative analysis of relevant information from Google Scholar as well as such tools as Google Books, Internet Archive, JSTOR, etc. helps to clarify and substantially expand the understanding of Sikorsky’s place within the history of science and the treatment of his works in the West. As it is clearly shown in the article, he became one of the brightest domestic representatives of the leading trends in the world psychology. A significant number of Western experimental psychologists of the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century (including such prominent figures as Alfred Binet, Franz Boas, Edouard Claparede, Edward Thorndike, etc.) were actively referring to his pioneering researches on the phenomenon of mental fatigue in children. It is also shown that the contribution made by Sikorsky to the development of psychology and pedagogy has not been forgotten by the contemporary researchers. (shrink)

The text published below is the translation of a part of this published article: "Il Dio che rischia e che cambia: introduzione all’Open Theism". The issue of omniscience is one of the most debated in contemporary Analytical Philosophy of Religion. However, what is often lacking in this discussion is a deep understanding of the dilemma of omniscience and human freedom within a complete epistemological (what can we really say about the divine and the world), metaphysical and theological framework. For example, (...) it is often forgotten to frame some issues within a clear definition of the notion of mystery. (shrink)

Agonism as a political theory emphasizes the ontological aspect of conflict in human political interaction. This article aims to shed light on the political practice of agonism – and in doing so on its limits – by viewing 'crisis discourse' as an agonistic political practice. As my analysis of the Dutch Socialist Party and the Freedom Party’s speech in the European Sovereign Debt Crisis shows, crisis discourse aimed to (re)create a ‘people’ and to justify radical change in economic and social (...) structures. Crisis discourse is employed to construct an 'other' that can be based on ethnic and nationalist terms and to justify retroactive application of the law and the stripping of Dutch citizens of their rights. This attention to crisis discourse as an agonistic political practice highlights an unease within agonism itself: where must the agonist accepts limits to the conflict and contestation she so values? The article starts with Chantal Mouffe's answer to this question - her insistence that legitimate conflict must always recognize the shared values of equality and liberty - and proceeds to show that Mouffe's view unnecessarily relies on a deliberative democratic desire for consensus. Other than Mouffe, I draw on Honig’s emphasis of perpetual contestation to propose that the issue of limits can be best answered by reference to the core of agonistic thought: the preservation of the struggle over political norms and processes. It is not shared values or even a shared political space that matters, but that the political space of the ‘people’ – however contested membership therein might be – remains a place that the 'other' can re-enter. (shrink)

Certain principle aspects of the fundamental science state in Ukraine as of 2014 were analyzed. It was shown that no awareness exists in the country that the main although not unique task of the science consists in the creation of new knowledge. The special attention was paid to state academies of science, in particular, to the National academy of science of Ukraine. It was demonstrated that the active law concerning science as well as the project of the new law have (...) substantial shortcomings from the judiciary viewpoint and inhibit a free progress of science in line with general trends of the developed countries. The existing status of the autonomous state academies, being a peculiar symbiosis the non-governmental organization and state institution, was criticized. The concept of a scientific elite was analyzed, which was used to determine its true level. Certain scientometric data on the Ukrainian science were presented. A very unsatisfactory situation with social sciences and humanities was shown. Criteria were discussed for the future audit of the Ukrainian science in order to reform it in the European style. (shrink)

This essay introduces the transcription and translation of Paul Feyerabend's "Der Begriff der Verständlichkeit in der modernen Physik" [The concept of intelligibility in modern physics] (1948), which is an early essay written by Paul Feyerabend in 1948 on the topic of intelligibility (Verständlichkeit) and visualizability (Anschaulichkeit) of physical theories. The existence of such essay was likely. It is listed in his bibliography as his first publication. Yet the content of the essay was unknown, as no original or copy is extant (...) in Feyerabend's Nachlass and no known published version was available to the community—until now. The essay has both historical and philosophical interest: it is, as far as our current knowledge goes, Feyerabend's earliest extant publication. It documents Feyerabend's philosophical interest as a physicist-to-be, in what he himself called his “positivist” phase; and it gives a rare if fragmentary insight into the early discussions of the ‘Third Vienna Circle’ and, more generally, the philosophical culture of discussion in Vienna. (shrink)

James A. Harris's biography of David Hume is the first such study to appear since Ernest Mossner's The Life of David Hume (1954). Unlike Mossner, Harris aims to write a specifically "intellectual biography", one that gives "a complete picture of Hume's ideas" and "relates Hume's works to the circumstances in which they were conceived and written" (vii). Harris's study turns on four central theses or claims about the character of Hume's thought and how it is structured and developed. The claims (...) are: (1) Hume's Treatise has no claim to any sort of "privileged" status in relation to Hume's other major works -- which include his Essays and his History of England. -/- (2) There is no system, doctrine, or fundamental aims or ambitions that serve to unify Hume's thought. -/- (3) Irreligious aims and interests are not of any particular or unique importance for Hume's thought. Moreover, whatever irreligious aims and objectives Hume may have had, they reflect his moderate, neutral and detached attitude to this and all other subjects -- there is no underlying animus or hostility against religion that motivates his contributions to this subject. (4) Hume's thought should be understood and explained not in terms of his concern with some specific subject matter or body of doctrine but rather in terms of his style and his identity as a "philosophical man of letters". -/- The general picture of Hume that emerges from this study, as constructed around these four core theses, is, as I will explain, incomplete, unconvincing and, in important respects, seriously flawed and misleading. -/- . (shrink)

In the present paper, the meanings the term “Chaldeans” acquired during the Antiquity and the early Middle Ages are presented, but mainly the role the Chaldean Oracles played inside the movement of Neo-Platonism is emphasized. The stratification of Being according to the theology of the Chaldean Oracles, suggests a reformation of the ancient Chaldean dogmas by the Neo-Platonists. The kernel of this paper is the demonstration of the similarity between the name “En” that the ancient Babylonians used as the first (...) part of many compound words for their gods, with the One (Ἕν=En), the first theological principle in the Neo-Platonic system. Yet, a comparison between the Chaldean theology and the Neo-platonic views on Mysticism and religiosity follows. As it is well known, the later Neo-Platonism will be led to the creation of a way of thought and practice as impacts from the ancient tradition. (shrink)

In this essay I propose a new reading of Michel Foucault’s main thesis about biopower and biopolitics. I argue that organisation represents the neglected key to Foucault’s new conceptualisation of power as something that is less political and more organisational. This unique contribution was lost even on his closest interlocutors. Foucault’s work on power had a strong influence on organisation and management theory but interestingly not for the reasons I am proposing. In fact, although theorists in management and organisation studies (...) have emphasised power in relation to discipline, control and subjectivity they have overlooked the transformative meaning of Foucault’s organisation. His work on biopolitics has attracted opposition, too, as evidenced by the controversy sparked by Giorgio Agamben about Foucault’s biopolitics. From Agamben’s critique, it appears that Foucault’s notions of politics and power do not allow a deconstruction of the violence of the concentration camp. However, a critical reading of Primo Levi’s biographical narratives reveals the camp as a place where the prisoners’ability to organise their daily lives secured survival. To make sense of Levi’s revelation, I use John Dewey’s notion of habits as forms of organisation and reconnect it to Foucault’s organisation. A shared understanding of the objective conditions of human activity and experience highlights the similarities between Dewey’s pragmatism and Foucault’s pragmatic metaphysics. In the end, however, Foucault’s metaphysical background has caught up with him, pushing him away from his own most radical proposal that organisation was the new form of power and the new substance of politics. (shrink)

What is a problem? What is problematic about any problem whatsoever, philosophical or otherwise? As the origin of assertion and apodeiction, the problematic suspends the categories of necessity and contingency, possibility and impossibility. And it is this suspension that is the essence of the problem, which is why it is so suspenseful. But then, how is the problem problematic? Only if what is suspended neither comes to presence, nor simply goes out into absence, that is, if the suspension continues, which (...) continues the problem. But what is problematic about suspension? As a consideration of language shows, the problem of suspension is the problem of implication. If being, for example, is merely implied, neither present nor absent, then it is the suspension of both, at least insofar as it is problematic. And this not only says something about language; rather, it has ontological implications as well — it speaks of being, and the being of anything whatsoever. For if being is implied, if that is the problem of being, it is because being is an implication. Then the being of things like problems is implied as well; or being is in things by implication. But what does it mean for being to be neither presence nor absence, but an implication? It means that being is implied in a way that is problematic — before it is necessary, or even possible. For being’s way of being is characterized by suspension — which has implications for thinking and speaking about being, and about things like problems, even about anything whatsoever. And this has implications for what being implies, namely, unity and time and aspect. (shrink)

The German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s seminal essay “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”, published in 1954, is one of the texts which has had most influence on architectural thinking in the second half of 20th and early 21st century. What much of modern and postmodern architectural thinking extracts from Heidegger’s text and revolves around is the understanding of building and dwelling as more or less abstract forms of being without taking into account the people inhabiting space. In these traditions little has been said (...) about what the Danish architect Jørn Utzon adds to the term “being” and announces as the most important aspect of architecture: Well-being understood as human well-being. The present paper means to re-interpret Heidegger’s text critically in order to rethink dwelling and building within an architectural context, presenting Jørn Utzon’s work and thinking as a lifelong search for the architecture of well-being. (shrink)

The foremost aim of this paper is to realize the fourth part of the Aufbau. This part, which provides an actual phenomenalistic constitution system, is interpretable from a Kantian perspective (§§1-4). But Carnap plotted to overcome Kant’s old style of philosophy as well. We review this aspect of his constitution, focusing on space (§§7-13) and time (§§5-6), especially.

Abstract The aim of this paper is to discern the subtitle on 2004 Marc Richir’s book, Phantasia, imagination, affectivité. Phénoménologie et anthropologie phénoménologique. Traditionally, Phenomenology has been elusive to link to Anthropology. However, Richir gives its importance including it into the title of his book. Husserl first, and then Richir, facing the Cartesian solipsist subjectivity outline, propose the concept of intersubjectivity. Community prevails over an individual and generalizing self. The other, then, becomes our incarnation, a live-­‐‑incarnation, it defines our own (...) self, as long as it is done from a de-­‐‑anchoring, that is to say, there is a union in distance, it is the intersubjectivity tissue. The community, therefore, shapes up, but it is not uniform yet it is always a whole. The concept of Phantasieleib plays a significant role in this community, this Richirianne concept is very important to grasp the movement between fantasy and language, also, it is very influential in actual phenomenologists as Murakami. This movement is also key in language and phenomena language, furthermore, is also relevant in the Inter-­‐‑subjectivity Foundation. Resumen El objetivo de este artículo es discernir el subtítulo de Marc Richir, del 2004, a saber, Phantasia, imagination, affectivité. Phénoménologie et anthropologie phénoménologique. Tradicionalmente, la fenomenología se ha mostrado reticente a vincularse a la antropología. Por el contrario, Richir le confiere una importancia al incluirlo en dicho título. Frente al planteamiento cartesiano de una subjetividad solipsista, primero Husserl y después Richir, proponen la intersubjetividad. La comunidad prevalece ante la individualidad de un yo generalizador. El otro se convierte en nuestra encarnación, una encarnación viva, define nuestro propio yo, siempre que se haga en un des-­‐‑anclaje, es decir, se produce una unión en la distancia, es el tejido de la intersubjetividad. La comunidad, por tanto, toma forma, pero, no es uniforme, aunque está siempre unida. El concepto de Phantasieleib juega un papel fundamental en dicha comunidad, este concepto richiriano es muy importante para comprender el movimiento entre phantasia y pensamiento, además, de suponer una gran influencia en los fenomenólogos actuales como Murakami. Este movimiento es también importante en el lenguaje y los fenómenos del lenguaje, a su vez, relevante también en la fundamentación de la intersubjetividad. (shrink)

A History of Intelligence and “Intellectual Disability” examines how the concepts of intellectual ability and disability became part of psychology, medicine and biology. Focusing on the period between the Protestant Reform and 1700, this book shows that in many cases it has been accepted without scientific and psychological foundations that intelligence and disability describe natural or trans-historical realities.

Ciò che qui chiamo Materialismo indiano non deve intendersi come scuola filosofica unica ed univocamente impostata, bensì come insieme di correnti di pensiero, propugnanti differenti punti di vista, ma tutte collocate entro l’orizzonte concettuale che nega ciò che in Occidente si usa chiamare Trascendente. Inoltre, com’è ovvio, bisogna distinguere tra un Materialismo filosofico – che prenderò in considerazione qui – ed un Materialismo, per così dire, popolare – al quale mi riferirò solo se necessario. Due sono le impostazioni materialiste che (...) intendo trattare: l’una riguarda i sostenitori dell’esistenza di cinque elementi materiali (bhūtapañcakavādin) che chiamerò, seguendo Ramkrishna Bhattacharya, proto-Materialisti, l’altra concerne i sostenitori dell’esistenza di quattro elementi materiali (bhūtacatuṣṭayavādin), tra cui i Cārvāka. (shrink)

There are numerous books which seek to interpret Martin Heidegger’s seminal text, Beiträge zur Philosophie (Vom Ereignis), and others which address the question of how to translate his writings. By joining these two tasks, Translation and Interpretation: Learning from Beiträge, stands out from other such books in the field of Heidegger studies. The volume begins with Parvis Emad’s translation of an original essay by Martin Heidegger, “Contributions of Philosophy. The Da-sein and the Be-ing (Enowning).” -/- Through six carefully crafted essays, (...) Emad then takes the reader through a journey which examines the relationship between Heidegger’s being-historical thinking and such key figures—including Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Friedrich Hölderlin—who either occupy the forefront at the end of metaphysics or mark the “crossing” to the “other beginning.” -/- This book will be of special interest to scholars and graduate students alike, whether in philosophy or such diverse fields as poetry and linguistics. (shrink)

Questo breve volume prende in considerazione, analizza e commenta alcune interpretazioni magistrali della filosofia di Giordano Bruno, che hanno attraversato l'800 ed il '900, indirizzandone l'orizzonte di comprensione. Il testo inizia con l'interpretazione di G.W.F. Hegel e di B. Spaventa, per poi accedere a quella di G. Gentile. Il volume si conclude con l'analisi ed il commento dell'interpretazione fornita da N. Badaloni. Una piccola bibliografia bruniana conclude il testo.

An inter-disciplinary enquiry concerning Europe, Europeans and Europeanity across time, based on proceedings of the 10th world congress of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas convened at the University of Malta. -/- Originally published in: Frendo, Henry (2010): The European Mind: Narrative and Identity : Proceedings of the X World Congress of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas, University of Malta, 24th-29th July 2006. International Society for the Study of European Ideas. Malta University Press.

In the whole Corpus Platonicum, we find in principle only one "direct argument" (Charles Kahn) for the existence of the ideas (Tim.51d3-51e6). The purpose of the article is to analyse this argument and to answer the question of why Plato in the Timaeus again defended the existence of the ideas despite the objections in the Parmenides. He defended it again because the latent presupposition of the apories in the Parmenides, the substantial view of sensibles, is removed through the introduction of (...) space as "substantialized extension". First (I) it is shown that Plato remained in dialogues, like the Sophist and Politicus, faithful to the "theory of ideas" despite his criticism in the Parmenides. The common theme in the trilogy of the Theaetetus, Sophist and Politicus is to refute relativism by showing that any relativism presupposes something absolute that is something like the "theory of ideas". The second part of the paper (II) examines closely the logical structure of the argument for the existence of ideas in the Timaeus (51d3-52a7). The third part (III) shows how this argument can avoid the criticism of ideas in the Parmenides. In the Parmenides, sensibles are treated as substantial entities. But, as the Timaeus shows, sensibles are not substantial entities but merely qualities, namely qualities of space, which is the only substance in the sensible world. A shortened English version of the paper appeared in Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium Platonicum, Granada, Selected papers, ed. by T. Calvo/L. Brisson, Academia Verlag, St. Augustin, 1997, 179-186. -/- But the only "direct argument" (Tim.51d3-51e6) seems to be interestingly flawed. Cf. Ferber, Rafael; Hiltbrunner, Thomas, (2005). (shrink)

Review of: Isaiah Berlin’s The Sense of Reality: Studies in Ideas and their History.

Review of 'Nihilism Incorporated: European Civilization and Environmental Destruction.

The reception of Kant began in Croatia at the turn of the 19th century with the writings of J.B. Horváth, whose textbooks were in use at that time in Croatia and Hungary. Unlike Horváth's decidedly negative attitude toward Kant, Šimun Čučić (Simeon Chuchich), in his systematic work Philosophia Critice Elaborata (1815), adopted some aspects of Kantian philosophy. This includes, for example, the formalistic conception of logic, Kantian apriorism and subjectivism, the formalistic approach to the moral law, and the like. However, (...) since these elements were incorporated into a schoolbook type of text, they could not always be consistently implemented. The beginning of the reception of Kant in Croatia coincided with the revival of Croatian national self-awareness. -- Die Kantrezeption setzte in Kroatien an der Wende zum 19. Jahrhundert ein mit den Schriften J. B. Horváths, dessen Lehrbuecher in Kroatien und Ungarn damals in Gebrauch waren. Im Unterschied zu Horváth's ausgeschprochen negativer Einstellung zu Kant hat Šimun Čučić in seinem systematischen Werk Philosophia critice elaborata (1815) einige Aspekte der Kantischen Philosophie uebernommen. Dies betrifft z.B. die formalistische Auffassung der Logik, die Uebernahme des kantianischen Apriorismus und Subjektivismus, die formalistische Auffassungsweise des moralischen Gesetzes und dgl. Da nun diese Momente in ein schulmaeßig konzipiertes Buch aufgenommen wurden, konnten sie nicht immer konsequent durchgefuehrt werden. Der Beginn der Kantrezeption in Kroatien koinzidierte mit der Wiedererweckung des kroatischen nationalen Selbsbewußtseins. (shrink)

The relation (ratio) between humankind and infinity. The Logos.

Der endliche Mensch hat Probleme bei W a h r n e h m u n g oder V o r s t e l l u n g eines „unendlichen“ Raumes: als gleichzeitig oder als nacheinander. Die Vorstellung eines solchen Raumes führt für Paul Sturm zu einem Widerspruch. Dabei will er nicht stehen bleiben. Die Vorstellung dieses Raumes möchte er durch das D e n k e n „erweitern und vervollständigen“. Darin sieht er die Lösung dieses Konfliktes. Er möchte (...) das Bewusstsein dafür schärfen, dass sich das „Unendliche“ nicht vorstellen, sondern nur denken lässt. In der richtigen Formulierung der Problemstellung sieht Sturm ihre Lösung. Er legt dar, dass eine falsche Methode in der Vergangenheit stets zu einem Widerspruch führte, der sich als Sophisma (irrtümliche Schlussfolgerung) erweist. (Zusammenfassung verfasst von Michael Sturm-Berger und Beate Sturm). (shrink)

This paper examines the relationships between Romantic painting, poetry, and philosophy, historically tracing the circulation of images used to communicate sublimity (for example, images of ruins, storms, volcanoes, and so on). Kant's "Critique of Judgment" deployed the same vocabulary of images that appear in Coleridge and Shelly, in Church and in Turner. The discussion thereby places Kant's 3rd Critique within its cultural context. But it also reveals the massive shift from Enlightenment rationalism to 19th century historicism that Romanticism enacted, and (...) Kant's resistance to, and unwilling participation, in that shift. For the nostalgic logic of ruins, and the irruption of geological time, both of which were conceived and negotiated through sublimity, cannot be assimilated within Kant's philosophy. The treatment of the sublime in the "Critique of Judgment" represents Kant's philosophy straining at its own limits in the attempt to develop a philosophy of history and to articulate an historicized philosophical anthropology. Therefore, read through art history, Kant's 3rd. Critique represents a vital transition between Enlightenment rationalism/beauty and Romantic historicism/sublimity, along with the work of Beethoven, Goya, and the Marquis de Sade. (shrink)

Wir leben in einem Universum, das aus vielen verschiedenen Perspektiven gesehen und erlebt werden kann. Deshalb müssen wir das Universum aus vielen verschiedenen Blickwinkeln betrachten. Alles und jeder ist eine Form des Universums, die sich auf eine bestimmte Weise ausdrückt. Mit anderen Worten, jeder von uns kann mit absoluter Gewissheit sagen: „Wir sind das Universum!“ Da wir das Universum sind, bietet jeder von uns eine wertvolle Perspektive, die die Beiträge aller und alles andere um uns herum ergänzt. Jeder von uns (...) ist das Universum, das sich an einem bestimmten Ort auf eine bestimmte Weise ausdrückt. Wir sind alle Teil desselben sich bewegenden und sich entwickelnden Kosmos, aber der Blick darauf ist von jedem unserer jeweiligen Standorte aus einzigartig. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass das Universum nicht nur omnizentrisch, sondern auch multiperspektivisch ist – dazu gibt es viele unterschiedliche und gleichermaßen gültige Sichtweisen. Jeder von uns ist ein kosmisches Labor, in dem wir die Geheimnisse des Universums entdecken können. Wir sprechen auf verschiedene Weise, wir sind alle das Universum, das sich seiner selbst auf seine eigene einzigartige Weise bewusst geworden ist. Die Einsicht, dass das Universum viele verschiedene Perspektiven hat und sowohl kosmisch als auch persönlich ist, hat ein großes transformatives Potenzial und ist es wert, tief darüber nachzudenken. (shrink)