Idealist Philosophy Research Articles

PROMOTING PHILOSOPHY, UNDERMINING PHILOSOPHICAL IDEALS: THE CASE OF THE RADIO SHOW “GOZBA” AND ITS TREATMENT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE

According to philosopher Anthony Cashio, radio possesses a power to create a deep and intimate connection between speakers and listeners, and therefore to forge strong communities. It is this power that makes radio a potent instrument both of populist propaganda, disinformation, conspirology and fear-mongering, on the one hand, and of public philosophy fostering critical and reflective capacities of its listeners, on the other. Following Cashio’s insight and drawing on Jason Stanley’s work propaganda, I will analyze one of the longest running philosophy themed radio shows in Serbia, “Gozba”, which airs every week on Radio Belgrade Channel 2 (RB2). By focusing on the way “Gozba” has covered two significant recent events – the COVID pandemic and the Ukrainian war, I will demonstrate that in dealing with these topics, the show undermines the philosophical ideals it claims to promote, and instead serves primarily as an instrument of spreading conspiracy theories, dangerous anti-science views, vaccine hesitancy, fake news and Russian war propaganda. Also, I will analyze the dangers of promoting such deeply anti-philosophical stances under the guise of philosophy and critical thinking. Keywords: philosophy, radio, propaganda, conspiracy theories

Marxism and Religion: from Atheistic Prejudice to Scientific Approach

Introduction. In the light of Marxist social ontology, the theoretical inconsistency of Marxist atheism is revealed.Methodology and sources. The contradictions between these two aspects of Marxism are examined in the context of the works of K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin, R. Luxemburg, and a number of contemporary materialist philosophers. Marxist philosophy is analyzed in a postpositivist key as a set of research programs within which atheism should be seen as an optional, hypothetical element of their “protective belt”.Results and discussion. Marxist social ontology, which has a communist character, and Marxist atheism, which is based on the bourgeois Feuerbachian worldview, cannot coexist in the “solid core” of Marxist research programs. Materialist dialectics exposes the bourgeois-enlightenment idea of the omnipotence of human reason, on which Marx's conviction that “conscious planned control” of social production will abolish religion is based. Scientific atheism is just as impossible as scientific theism, because ideas about God do not lend themselves to an unambiguous scientific definition due to their apophatic aspect (which, among other things, does not allow for attributing authentic Christian theology to idealist philosophy). Socio-historical practice does not confirm the superiority of the atheistic worldview over the religious one. The rejection of permanent resistance to religion follows from the Marxist requirement of a concrete-historical approach to superstructural social phenomena. The general philosophical and anthropological basis of scientific analysis of different worldviews makes it possible to constructively engage in interfaith dialogue as well as dialogue between atheists and believers.Conclusion. In a world of transformed social forms, the concept of fact is radically problematized. And this calls into question the atheistic critique of religion along the lines of “illusion or reality”. As long as the question of authentic human reality is not resolved in practical terms, an objective critique of the various concrete-historical manifestations of religion and atheism is possible on the scale of research programs only through the parameter “humane or inhumane”, that is, through an analysis of the impact of this or that worldview on the development of living human individuals and the essential human forces.

Friedrich Schleiermachers Monologen und der Athenaeums-Kreis Wirkungsabsicht und Wirkungswandel einer frühromantischen Schrift

Abstract Schleiermacher’s anonymous Soliloquies of 1800 were written as a Supplement to his likewise anonymous book On Religion, Speeches to its Cultured Despisers of 1799. They are addressed to the circle of intellectuals around the early Romantic periodical Athenaeum, to the „Holy family“ (Friedrich Schlegel), and moreover to the despisers of Transcendental philosophy whose state of discussion is reflected. Thus they belong to the history of modern individual thought. The form of the book follows the contemporary imitation of classical poetic form (Hölderlin) which was prevalent among the Athenaeum Circle as well. Schleiermacher discusses the separation of philosophy and life (Fichte), the forming one’s self and the forming of artistic works (Goethe), i. e. the dichotomy of individuality and artistry. He confesses himself not to be an artist. Schleiermacher’s intention in Soliloquies was to give philosophical idealism a personal depth beyond intellectual speculation. Looking back in 1803 he realizes, in the draft of a poem, that he had idealized his empirical self in his literary self. Except for a few remarks by Schlegel, who at first did not umask the author‘s anonymity, there was no reaction whatever from the Athenaeum Circle. Soliloquies later became a popular Protestant book for spiritual edification.

Idealistic Philosophy ('I') as Thing-in-itself as Spaceship and Timelessness

The purpose of this study is merely to examine the philosophy of idealism that seems to be self-oriented (thing-in-itself in/or I) or as if narcissistic anthropocentric and the source of the problem of evil is evil as the logical consequence as the stigma, but when it unfolds in education, whether it be Christian education or education management, it itself then becomes signified, interpreted and signaled. Qualitative research with data search techniques through secondary sources presents various philosophical perspectives as an overview while talking about the philosophy of idealism from Emmanuel Kant, Cartesian, Martin Heidegger, and Quentin Meillassoux through various journals related to researchers' searches. Results show that the philosophy of idealism that departs from the self (thinking, chatting and crossing) becomes spatial constructs in education, including Christian religious education or in researchers' discipline, namely Christian education management.

The Position of Kabir Bhajans in North Indian Music

Kabirdas is a poet who lived in medieval India. He visioned to spread social purity with philosophical thinking through the poems which are termed as Nirgun bhajans. Bhajan is simply known for chanting the qualities and the physical appearance of Hindu deity/deities. The bhajans or poems composed by Kabirdas are not consisting of the latter, but they are also put under the term 'bhajan' in terms of lyrics and their musical presentation. Traditionally, bhajans refer to devotional songs that depict the qualities and physical attributes of various deities. However, Kabirdas' bhajans deviate from this norm by focusing on different themes, while maintaining a certain essence of traditional bhajans. This study investigates how the melodies of Kabir bhajans effects in the absence of chanting the qualities and the physical appearance of a Hindu deity/deities in the lyrics. This study also aims to look at the broader significance of devotional music in promoting social and philosophical ideals in medieval India.

Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit as Bildungsroman

AbstractThis article argues that Hegel’s book The Phenomenology of Spirit can be read as a Bildungsroman or a theory of reception. Hegel (as he appears in this book) sets forth to educate his readers to a historical understanding. This is the article’s main argument which will be split up in three parts. First, it seems that Hegel tries to lead the uneducated reader to his own ideal philosophy. If so, the reception will be merely technical, i.e., the book has only one answer and the reader has to submit to Hegel to get him right. The article argues against such a reading. Secondly, it seems more likely that Hegel invites his readers to take an active part in the interpretation of the book. To substantiate this claim, the article argues that the hitherto unknown phenomenon in the book “touches” and challenges the reader, who must “touch” back and accept the challenge in order to grasp the phenomenon. This reception involves the experience of “touch” (not physical) and is therefore haptic. Thirdly, and in extension of the haptic reception, the article argues that there is a reception as recollection, meaning that Hegel invites the reader to reflect upon the recollected experiences or “the gallery of images” that Hegel has archived in his book. In doing so, the reader will see the gallery of images with new eyes—which ultimately is a process of Bildung as the reader gains self-awareness and knowledge through Hegel’s images.

Toward the Aircraft of the Future: A Perspective from Consciousness

This paper envisions the possibility of a Conscious Aircraft: an aircraft of the future with features of consciousness. To serve this purpose, three main fields are examined: philosophy, cognitive neuroscience, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While philosophy deals with the concept of what is consciousness, cognitive neuroscience studies the relationship of the brain with consciousness, contributing toward the biomimicry of consciousness in an aircraft. The field of AI leads into machine consciousness. The paper discusses several theories from these fields and derives outcomes suitable for the development of a Conscious Aircraft, some of which include the capability of developing “world-models”, learning about self and others, and the prerequisites of autonomy, selfhood, and emotions. Taking these cues, the paper focuses on the latest developments and the standards guiding the field of autonomous systems, and suggests that the future of autonomous systems depends on its transition toward consciousness. Finally, inspired by the theories suggesting the levels of consciousness, guided by the Theory of Mind, and building upon state-of-the-art aircraft with autonomous systems, this paper suggests the development of a Conscious Aircraft in three stages: Conscious Aircraft with (1) System-awareness, (2) Self-awareness, and (3) Fleet-awareness, from the perspectives of health management, maintenance, and sustainment.

Vrikshayurveda - A Capital for Conservative Agronomy

Nature conservation has changed from an idealistic philosophy to a serious technology understanding of the nature of plant conservation is very much need of the hour that has elaborately mentioned in the literatures of Ayurveda. The interrelationships between conservation and sustainable use are considered, as well as the impact of the development of the discipline of conservation biology should be understood by the common man to save the Plant Kingdom. Traditional knowledge is vital for sustainability of natural resources including medicinal plants. Biodiversity conservation can be learnt from the context - specific local knowledge and intergenerational transmission of knowledge, skills and strategies, concern for well-being of future generations. The ancient text of Vrikshayurveda consists of about 170 different plant species including herbs, shrubs and trees. The text deals with Agri horticulture, home gardening, intercropping and storage etc. This paper intends to understand the traditional knowledge on biodiversity, practices and principles of Varahamihira’s, Brhat Samhita - Vrikshayurveda the text of 9th century AD in Growth, Conservation, Pest control and in-turn to check the diseases in Medicinal plants.

The Seductions of Kantian Idealism

Abstract This study maintains that Dostoevsky’s monological short story, “Dream of the Ridiculous Man,” is a critique of the impact of Kantian philosophical Idealism on Russian university-trained intellectuals of his age. The protagonist’s discourse has explicit and hidden levels that Dostoevsky sets at odds. The resulting discordance underscores the protagonist’s ridiculousness and the reasons for his ultimate madness. On the explicit level, the narrator tells how, under the influence of a dream, he has given up the philosophical ideals that undermined his empathy for others and embraced brotherly love. On the hidden level, this same discourse reveals that he has rationalized “love” within the framework of Kantian philosophical Idealism as he understands it, so as not to have to experience empathy and act according to his conscience. By analyzing the poetic devices that point to this discordance, and thus to the protagonist’s self-delusion, this paper shows the morally corrupting influence of Kantian philosophy despite its claims to a higher morality. This analysis places the story in a continuum with Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, and with the problematics of Ivan Karamazov’s character in the Brothers Karamazov.

Implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka Belajar Dalam Pandangan Filsafat Idealisme

The prescriptive philosophical foundation of education will provide clues about what should be aspired to in education. Education is not enough to be understood only with a descriptive scientific approach, but must also be understood holistically. The purpose of this research is about the implementation of the independent learning curriculum in the view of the philosophy of idealism. The method used is a literature study. This literature review is a study in the form of books, articles, references relating to the ideals of education in Indonesia which can be used as references in the implementation of similar studies. Similar research was also conducted to obtain valid and accurate conclusions. The relationship between philosophical idealism and independent learning is a unity that cannot be separated. The concept of independent learning is part of efforts to create a primary and secondary education system. With this concept, a specific strategy is chosen to issue various things in implementation. Educators' understanding of philosophy as the basis of knowledge is very important as a basis for reflection and as a basis for implementing the concept of independent learning which is carefully structured for the purposes of reforming the education system in Indonesia.

Taking Freedom Seriously: Kantian Ethics versus the Ethics of Kant

ABSTRACT No understanding of morality has more zealous or influential defenders among academic philosophers than Kant’s. Yet as Michael Rosen demonstrates in The Shadow of God, there is a sense in which Kant’s critics take his conception of freedom more seriously nowadays than his defenders. As a result, contemporary versions of “Kantian ethics” often end up challenging what Rosen calls “the ethics of Kant,” not just the claims of rival moral theories. Rosen supports this surprising conclusion with some powerful arguments, showing that we cannot make sense of Kantian moral philosophy or its extraordinary impact on modern philosophy while detaching it from Kant’s conception of transcendental freedom. But Rosen overstates the continuity between Kant and the Idealist philosophers that he inspired. Thinkers like Schiller, Schelling, and Hegel took Kant’s concept of transcendental freedom far more seriously than defenders of Kantian ethics do today. But precisely because they did so, they felt compelled to address a whole new set of problems, which could be solved only by radically transforming the conception of freedom that they received from Kant.

한국철학사에서 자기정체성과 타자성의 문제

The other is a stranger to the a subject. The myth of Dangun mythologically in Korea expresses the process in which the other changes the subject through the process of metamorphosis. Just as an individual's identity is formed in social relationships, the identity of philosophy is also formed through relationships with others. There are typically three ways in a philosophical tradition that makes responses when it interacts with other traditions: conversion(轉向), confrontation(對決), and consilience(統攝). Firstly, in conversion, one admits that the other is superior and gives up one’s own self-identity all together. There are two types in the conversion.: collective conversion and individual conversion. As a case of collective conversion, there is a case in which the royal family of Silla collectively turned to Buddhism, and as an example of an individual conversion, there is the case of Choe Byeong- heon who converted from a Neo-confucian scholar to a Protestant Christian. Secondly, in confrontation, one believes that one’s system of beliefs is correct and other’s is incorrect so a conflict is inevitable. Wijeongcheoksa(衛正斥邪) theory belongs to the case of confrontation. The root of Wijeongcheoksa theory lies in the Horak(湖洛) debate. Thirdly, the case of consilience is found in Wonhyo(元曉), a Buddhist thinker of Silla. Hwajaeng(和諍=harmonization of disputes) was Wonhyo's method of integrating the theories of other lineage within Buddhism, but it was also applied to theories outside of Buddhism. Western philosophy is the other that Koreans confronted for the last time in the history of Korean philosophy. After the introduction of Western philosophy, Korean philosophy suffered a serious crisis of identity confusion. After the Japanese colonial period, the traditional subject-other or host-guest relationship is reversed. This situation is a very uncomfortable truth for Eastern or Korean philosophers to accept. Now, what is the direction Korean philosophy should go in the future, and where is the identity to be newly formed? In the global world, the relationship between the subject and the other is not fixed and is constantly evolving. In the global knowledge field, the subject and the other will exchange information more actively than ever before, forming a new amalgam.

Философия или история философии: анализ инверсивных отношений

The article examines the current situation related to the prospects for further development of philosophical knowledge. It is pointed out that in the interpretation of a number of authors, philosophy is now actually reduced to the history of philosophy, turning into a purely historical discipline. Philosophical thought boils down to the analysis and systematization of what was created before, but not to the free search and creation directed to the future. The current situation has been created due to the practice in which every thought does not arise by itself, but is necessarily based on previously expressed thoughts. Philosophy deals mainly not with the actual, but with the previously described and interpreted reality. Therefore, it is almost impossible for modern philosophers to create on virgin soil. In addition, the amount of philosophical knowledge has reached such a volume that it is almost impossible to keep it within individual human memory. A significant part of philosophical research at present is actually aimed at studying the history of philosophy, while such works sometimes do not contain their own thoughts at all. This situation is considered in philosophy as a systemic inversion: the service, subordinate element of the system acquires a dominant meaning in it. Of course, the role of the history of philosophy in this discipline itself cannot be disputed. Philosophy is a kind of cumulative knowledge in which the past is inseparable from the present and the future. However, it is impossible to identify the history of philosophy with philosophy itself, because this approach closes any path leading to the future for philosophical thought. It is implied that philosophers from now on should be engaged exclusively in rethinking what was created earlier. The further development of philosophical thought with this approach is actually denied. However, Aristotle pointed out that even the complete denial of philosophy implies the use of philosophical argumentation, and therefore, willingly or unwittingly forces one to accept the existence of a philosophical discipline. The most important point is that philosophy is a discipline of interest not only for philosophers themselves. Philosophy is not a ‘toy for philosophers’, it is a cognitive tool that is in demand in all other areas of human knowledge. And since science and practice as a whole continue to develop, philosophy will remain in demand precisely as a living, developing discipline, and not as a frozen collection of accumulated thoughts.

The New Liberals and Chinese Civilization: Idealist Philosophy, Evolutionary Sociology, and the Quest for a Humanitarian Ethics in Edwardian Britain

It is well known that the leading New Liberals L. T. Hobhouse and J. A. Hobson were critics of the British Empire, and their sympathy with China has been understood as an expression of their anti-imperialism. However, this article argues that this reading is at best one-sided. By examining Hobhouse's and Hobson's ethical and sociological thought, it demonstrates that their Sinophile position drew on a broader concern about the turn-of-the-century moral crisis. Informed by Idealist philosophy, positivism, and evolutionary biology, their quest for a post-Christian ethics led to an appreciation of the harmonic order of Chinese society and its secularism. The leading New Liberals’ earnest study of China on the one hand represented a departure from the Eurocentric position of British Liberals who had seen “stationary” China as a negative object lesson, and on the other anticipated a generation of Liberal/progressive thinkers who were attracted to Chinese culture.

Continual creation: Idealism, metaphor and the representation of spatio-temporality

In this examination of spatio-temporality’s representation in two- and three-dimensional video games, diegetic time and how a game’s overriding metaphors may be reflected in both gameplay and a storyworld’s virtual environment are considered at length through the idealist philosophy of George Berkeley, with an important adaptation of what Ludwig Wittgenstein referred to as ‘information-time’ experienced by conscious players operating in ‘memory-time’. After considering a number of examples from Outer Wilds and the Legend of Zelda franchise, the question as to whether video games are ontically presentist is resolved by way of a synthesis between the expression of time in spatial terms and every video game’s minimum of interactivity, a distinction I adapt from Henri Bergson and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. The continual creation of a digital world, while materially a fact of hardware limitations, is shown to lend itself metaphorically to an eidetic reading, bound to our intuitive association of time and space with inhabitation.

Ежен Дюпреель і Хаїм Перельман: нормативно-критичні засади «риторичного повороту» в сучасній філософії. Частина ІІ

The purpose of the article is, firstly, to explicate and give a critical assessment of the methodological, epistemological, and philosophical foundations that led to the “rhetorical turn” in modern philosophy, and, secondly, to answer the question of how justified the grounds for such a “rhetorical turn” are. The answer proposed is based on a reconstruction of Eugene Dupréel’s critical arguments that were directed against the “classical philosophy” and their reception in Chaim Perelman’s works during his “turning point” period (1947 – 1949). The article proves that these two scholars’ critique of classical philosophy proceeds from a realistic position, therefore it does not apply to the epistemological principles of idealistic philosophy. Their criticism of the classical theory of progress and the ideal of universally valid knowledge is “axiological” in nature and boils down to a reassessment of all traditional values. As a result of this reassessment, the methodological principles of sophistry (subjectivism, pragmatism, pluralism, relativism, conventionalism, etc.) are actually rehabilitated. The criticism of philosophy that appeals to spoken language and everyday knowledge, is not justified, since it is based on a misunderstanding of the conceptual and constructive nature of the philosophical language. Although the rhetorical analysis of philosophical texts should be recognized as fruitful and useful, rhetoric cannot be an instrument of philosophizing, since the interpretation of values depends on their understanding, which is given by “classical philosophy”.

Degradation of the Body in Idealist–Dualist Philosophy

There is no corporal philosophy at the level of other philosophical subdisciplines. A research line has begun whose ultimate goal is to determine whether a somatic philosophy can be built. From a pragmatist and biopolitical approach, the present study investigated why it has not been possible to develop grounded somatic philosophy. As an answer, the “idealist–dualist episteme” is described, which encompasses invariants in the history of idealist philosophy at the ontological, gnoseological, ethical–political, and pedagogical levels. These constants reflect somatophobia, as well as an ontological and gnoseological disregard of the body, which has led to the irrelevance of the body and corporeality in philosophy until the arrival of the “bodily turn”. The critique of this prevailing idealism and dualism will enable a review of current approaches based on these positions, such as embodiment, enactivism, embodied cognition, or embodied artificial intelligence. It opens up a new philosophical line with a universalis scope that is open to the eclectic construction of a pragmatic corporal philosophy that takes into account Chinese, Japanese, or African philosophies.

The Post-Truth Condition in Capitalist Society: A Critical Enquiry

ABSTRACT It is being increasingly recognized that a post-truth phenomenon has arrived where lies and deception inform politics and everyday life as a normal state of affairs in (advanced) capitalist societies. In the post-truth world, feelings are more accurate than facts, and lies are constantly told for the purpose of the political subordination of reality. The post-truth condition is deeply skeptical of objective truth and experts/scientists. This article discusses the various traits of the post-truth phenomenon, explains its connection to post-modernist idealist philosophy, and its association with Far Right politics. It also explains the post-truth phenomenon in terms of the crisis-ridden bourgeois political economy and bourgeois politics, including the contradictions of imperialism. It argues that the post-truth phenomenon is only partly because of Far Right politics and that its ultimate cause lies in the capitalist system as a whole. This article concludes by pointing out what is to be done to counter the post-truth condition.

World-Formation and Dasein

The subject of this paper is Heidegger's understanding of world and world-formation [Weltbildung] in his lecture The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics (GA 29/30) and his references to the idealistic philosophy of Schelling, such as the ancient thought of Aristotle and Heraclitus. I will put forward the following thesis: World is prevailing and, as this prevailing, it is the being of beings as such as whole in the projection of world that lets it prevail. In this paper, I will clarify how the world prevails, how Dasein forms the world, and the significance of physis, logos and as-structure in this context. I will also show that Heidegger's concept of world-formation, which is less discussed in research, can be thought together with his concepts of being-in-the-world and worldhood. Finally, I will discuss some of the difficulties of Heidegger's understanding of the world and propose some solutions.

Marxist Realism: Kobayashi Takiji and the Politics of Representation

This paper explores the cross-cultural dynamics and contradictions that surface when attempting to apply the universal claims of Marxist literary aesthetics to the particular case of a non-Western national tradition. More specifically, the key work of 1930s proletarian writer, Kobayashi Takiji (“The Factory Ship”) and his mentoring relationship to Marxist critic, Kurahara Korehito, will be analyzed by examining the tensions in trying to remain faithful to the universal, international claims of global Marxism, while also respecting Japanese historical and cultural particulars and conditions. Broadly speaking, the issues that surface in the Kobayashi/Kurahara relationship reflect inherent difficulties in maintaining metanarrative dimension of orthodox Marxism that belies its Western framework regarding world historical movements. The tension between the universal and particular poles of Marxism’s global vs Japanese context also frames parallel tension between the literary/aesthetic realm of art and its political content; remaining true to the former may bracket the assumed-to-be applicable state of the latter. In short, the question of the viability of a particular work of fiction’s realism (namely, its literariness) vs its fidelity to political orthodoxy, often articulated in terms of its form versus content. Finally, this tension between the universal global and particular national culture setting of Marxist literature and Marxist politics also may indicate a tension inherent within the revolutionary ambitions of idealist philosophy, namely Hegelianism. Stated differently, is Marxist philosophy itself a work of art/fiction – the utopic impulse of the classless society and worldwide revolution – at odds with the realities of specific historical and cultural conditions ‘on the ground’?