Journal Of Philosophy Research Articles

Explorations in Contemporary Analytic Metaphysics: Mind, Identity, and Society

Analytic Metaphysics represents a recent evolution of one of the oldest philosophical disciplines, now redefined by the methods of analytic philosophy. This contemporary approach reformulates the traditional ontological questions about existence, reality, and the nature of the Universe, prioritizing rigorous logical analysis and language. Analytic metaphysics, contrasted with continental ontology or traditional metaphysics, has surpassed the popularity of classical metaphysics, establishing itself as the predominant metaphysical stream in philosophical thought. In this special issue of the Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia (Portuguese Journal of Philosophy), we reflect on the current dynamics of analytic metaphysics, emphasizing its continuity with the metaphysical tradition or on new perspectives and pivotal issues driving analytic ontology.

Editorial Introduction

The choice of the concept of “resistance” to the inaugural issue of Aion. Journal of Philosophy and Science is no accident. It comes in line with Aion’s commitment to developing its critical activity and presence in the public space.

INCLUSION, ELIGIBILITY AND FORFEITURE

One of the buzzwords of today is ‘inclusion’. But the idea that everyone should be ‘included’ is a mistake, thoughtlessly reproduced by many. This holds in the private sphere, as well as in the institutional settings of the public sphere. There is very little conceptual analysis of the term, although there is plenty of literature on ‘social inclusion’ and the political vision of including the marginalized. My aim is to show that there are constraints on inclusion – particularly in institutional settings. Participation in social life is a kaleidoscope of inclusion and exclusion practices; this makes social life possible. Without inclusion/exclusion practices social life would be chaotic – if not impossible. Even philosophy journals have submission criteria which permit exclusion: e.g. the paper must not be under consideration by any other journal. Thus, exclusion is not per se a denial of someone’s dignity or a failure to recognize them as a fellow human being. The aim of this short essay is to raise awareness about inclusion and two of its constraints (eligibility and forfeiture), thereby starting a long overdue debate in the humanities.

Россия как цивилизация в отечественной философской публицистике XIX – начала ХХ века

The article examines the spectrum of domestic philosophical journalism from the XIX ‒ early XX century, which placed particular emphasis on identifying the civilizational specificity of Russia. A significant initial contribution to this discourse was made by P.Ya. Chaadaev in his works “Philosophical Letters” and “Apology of a Madman”. A distinctive response to Chaadaev’s ideas can be found in the works of his contemporaries, including A.S. Pushkin, F.I. Tyutchev, and N.V. Gogol. Each of these authors proposed their own solution on the issue of Russia as a unique civilization. This topic is further developed by Russian philosophers of the second half of the XIX – early XX century – N.Y. Danilevsky, K.N. Leontiev, V.S. Solovyov and V.V. Rozanov, whose ideas became the subject of analysis in the presented article. The text provides a comparative analysis of domestic and foreign assessments of this historical period in the context of the geopolitical situation of that time. Particular attention is paid to the reconstruction of cultural-historical types in the works of Russian and European authors.

Deep and shallow conditionals – and three alleged counterexamples

ABSTRACT We analyze three interesting arguments from the literature, where ascribing a probability of 1 to a certain right-nested conditional A→(B→C) leads to strong theses concerning conditionals: they serve as counterexamples to important general claims. The first is the classic and much discussed McGee’s counterexample to Modus Ponens from McGee [“A Counterexample to Modus Ponens.” The Journal of Philosophy 82 (9): 462–471]. The second example was given by Santorio [“Trivializing Informational Consequence.” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 104:297–320] and is intended to undermine the probabilistic version of Modus Ponens. The third example was presented in Cantwell [“Revisiting McGee’s Probabilistic Analysis of Conditionals.” Journal of Philosophical Logic 51 (5): 973–1017] in order to reject the general version of the Ramsey Test (i.e. PCCP) and Modus Ponens. These examples are based on a specific interpretation of right-nested conditional which is not the only possible one. We provide examples demonstrating that alternative interpretations are feasible. As a result, the arguments presented in the three cited works possess limited efficacy, as they are confined solely to the particular interpretation of the conditional.

Future Lives and Deaths with Purpose: Perspectives on Capacity, Character, and Intent

Abstract The articles in this issue of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy explore emerging technologies, medical innovations, and shifting moral norms, expanding present discussions around topics in bioethics both old and new. Some question whether novel definitions of death and harm change the moral permissibility of killing, particularly at the hands of a physician. Others question how increased or decreased abilities affect responsibility and achievement. Another illustrates how rhetorical appeals to character have been used to justify otherwise morally illicit actions within the clinic. Together, these articles shed new light on topics in the field of bioethics.

Against causal arguments in metaphysics

Traditionally, causal arguments for physicalism have been taken to favour a ‘reductive’ brand of physicalism, according to which all the mental stuff is identical to some of the physical stuff. Many flaws have been found with these traditional causal arguments. Zhong (Asian Journal of Philosophy,2(2), 1–9, 2023) develops a new causal argument that avoids these flaws and favours a milder, non-reductive brand of physicalism instead. The conclusion is that all mental stuff is metaphysically necessitated by some of the physical stuff. I argue that neither the traditional nor the new causal argument holds much sway over non-physicalism. The problem is that causation just does not run that deep. It is a fairly superficial relationship and a poor guide to the metaphysically weighty facts of our world, such as what is identical to what, and what metaphysically necessitates what.

A Lewisian regularity theory

In this paper, we develop a non-reductive variant of the regularity theory of causation proposed in Andreas and Günther (Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 105: 2–32, 2024). The variant is motivated as a refinement of Lewis’s (Journal of Philosophy 70:556–567, 1973) regularity theory. We do not pursue a reductive theory here because we found a challenge for Baumgartner's (Erkenntnis 78:85–109, 2013) regularity theory which applies to our previous theory as well. The challenge is sidestepped by a framework of law-like propositions resembling structural equations. We furthermore improve the deviancy condition of our previous theory. Finally, we show that the present theory can compete with the most advanced regularity and counterfactual accounts.

Lies are assertions and presuppositions are not

ABSTRACT Most philosophers agree that lies are assertions. Most also agree that to presuppose information is different from asserting it. In a series of papers, Viebahn [2020. “Lying with Presuppositions.” Noûs 54 (4): 731–751; “The Lying-Misleading Distinction: A Commitment-Based Approach.” Journal of Philosophy 118 (6): 298–319], along with an empirical study in Viebahn et al. [2021. “Can a Question be a lie? An Empirical Investigation.” Ergo 8 (7): 175–217], has recently argued that one can lie with presuppositions, and therefore one can assert that p by presupposing that p. The latter conclusion is a rejection of a cornerstone of modern philosophy of language and linguistics, and as such we should require strong reasons for accepting it. I argue here that the reasons for thinking that presuppositions can be lies are too weak to motivate giving up either the view that lies are assertions or the traditional distinction between presuppositions and assertions.

Appraising the philosophical influences on modern public administration research

As an interdisciplinary field, public administration (PA) has evolved by borrowing and integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines, including philosophy. Consequently, the means by which these disciplines’ influence diffuses to PA may significantly influence PA research quality and direction. This study is a first step to quantitatively appraise the effect of philosophy on PA research alongside other disciplines. Using a dataset of 58,333 PA journal articles, their 2,224,146 references, and 563,237 philosophy articles extracted from the Web of Science database, this study explores the evolution of knowledge sources, temporal-geographical distribution, and thematic topics of PA journal articles under direct philosophical influences. Empirical evidence reveals that citing philosophy in PA research continues to grow, despite continuing to make up a lesser share of citations than political science, economics, management and law. Articles published in top PA journals tend to cite the most impactful philosophical journals. There is no significant difference in authorship structures between PA journal articles citing or not citing philosophy articles, but those that do have greater research impacts and demonstrate different topical preferences.

Fragments and semiophores: on the educational values of monuments as ephemeral heritage

Abstract Based on several cases, this article develops a thought inspired by the Journal of Philosophy of Education’s special issue on the Educational Value of Monuments (55.3). The article is a reflection about the locations which make statues able to be transformed materially and semiotically, and which provoke discussion about what is to be learnt by understanding the monument as a fragment and semiophore. I argue that the monument—located in a specific place which makes its contextual meaning—represents fragments, in Latin fractures or cracks, as an expression of the violence inflicted on an imaginary whole. Defining and accepting a monument as a fragment allows us to understand each change that may happen to it—including removal or relocation—as an incentive to learn about the meanings of new wholes and to consciously respond to them. On the one hand, this can effectively stop mimetic pressures to reproduce aggression towards monuments. On the other, it can create a ground for shaping an ethical attitude of co-responsibility for a common world that is not exclusively human. The strictly educational sense of the proposed redefinition of the monument would be to radicalize sensitivity to its inherent feature, which is its fragmentary nature, resulting in the fragility of the heritage it co-creates in the space of commonality. In the proposed understanding of the monument, apart from the emphasis on significant fragmentation, an important role is played by the decisive abandonment of the anthropocentric perspective. In the new perspective of the common world, the monument becomes an ephemeral heritage, and its most current educational value seems to lie there.

Editorial and tribute to Janette Poulton

This special issue of the Journal of Philosophy in Schools is based on papers presented at the Federation of Asia-Pacific Philosophy in Schools Associations (FAPSA) conference on Communities of Inquiry: Significance, Cultural Change and the Ongoing Relationship to P4C, and held at the University of Melbourne from 1 to 3 October 2022.

Этические аспекты подготовки журналистских материалов о детях и для детской аудитории: гуманистический подход

Thе article examines a two-pronged problem: the need to develop fundamental documents on the Russian media’s observance of humanistic principles, when preparing materials about childhood, as well as the lack of a professional journalistic school within which such approaches are formed and supported. The author turns to scientific research in the field of deontology and philosophy of journalism and comes to the conclusion, that the implementation of tasks to humanize the information space depends not only on the level of the development of media ethics, but also on the will of journalists, the political situation, and the structure of the media market at the stage of its economic transformation. In an aggressive media environment and when the professional journalistic community ignores ethical principles, the most vulnerable audience group subject to negative influence are minors. Today, some editorial offices deliberately deviate from the norms of morality and ethics in the process of creating a potentially “saleable” information product, while children and adolescents, according to statistics, are regularly indirect consumers of non-target content. That is why the author of the article chooses media texts from professional media as an empirical basis, since their authors, unlike many bloggers and content creators on social networks, as editorial staff, are aware of the responsibility not only at the legislative but also at the corporate level. Certain ethical charters and standards ratified by journalistic organizations in Russia contain recommendations for the preparation of media materials that address the topic of childhood directly or indirectly. A detailed analysis of the presented documents allows us to conclude that some provisions adopted in the early 2000s have lost their relevance, and today it is necessary not only to revise their content, but also to raise the question among practitioners about the need to show greater attention to measures of deterring aggressive rhetoric, as well as the question about the introduction of new self-regulation mechanisms.

Preface

The 14th issue of the International Journal of Theology, Philosophy and Science (May 2024) contains scientific research articles centered on the subjects of Philosophy, Theology, and Science.

Counterpart Theory and Actuality

Lewis (The Journal of Philosophy, 65(5), 113–126, 1968) attempts to provide an account of modal talk in terms of the resources of counterpart theory, a first-order theory that eschews transworld identity. First, a regimentation of natural language modal claims into sentences of a formal first-order modal language L is assumed. Second, a translation scheme from L-sentences to sentences of the language of the theory is provided. According to Hazen (The Journal of Philosophy, 76(6), 319–338, 1979) and Fara & Williamson (Mind, 114(453), 1–30, 2005), the account cannot handle certain natural language modal claims involving a notion of actuality. The challenge has two parts. First, in order to handle such claims, the initial formal modal language that natural language modal claims are regimented into must extend L with something like an actuality operator. Second, certain ways that Lewis’ translation scheme for L might be extended to accommodate an actuality operator are unacceptable. Meyer (Mind, 122(485), 27–42, 2013) attempts to defend Lewis’ approach. First, Meyer holds that in order to handle such claims, the formal modal language L∗\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^*$$\\end{document} that we initially regiment our natural language claims into need not contain an actuality operator. Instead, we can make do with other resources. Next, Meyer provides an alternative translation scheme from L∗\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^*$$\\end{document}-sentences to sentences of an enriched language of counterpart theory. Unfortunately, Meyer’s approach fails to provide an appropriate counterpart theoretic account of natural language modal claims. In this paper, I demonstrate that failure.

Persons and their Brains: Life, Death, and Lessened Humanity

Abstract The authors of the articles in this issue of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy address a wide variety of topics, from definitions of disease to bioenhancement. Each author, however, draws out the importance of careful use of language. Over the years, philosophers of medicine and bioethicists have debated questions such as what qualifies something as a disease, whether disease language is evaluative, whether the term “person” encompasses more than just human beings, and what language ought to be used to best convey complex information to patients. Among a great deal of disagreement on these topics, one thing emerges distinctly: that clarity and careful attention to language is paramount in medicine. The articles in this issue contribute to that conversation, presenting complex arguments and illustrative examples of why it is so important to use clear and well-defined terms in medicine, and of the reality-altering power that our language carries.

Вл.С. Соловьев и «Новое время»: жанровое разнообразие философской публицистики

The traditional connection between philosophy, literature and journalism in Russian culture has led to increased interest in issues of social development, the meaning of human existence, morality and ethics on the pages of small periodicals, weekly and daily newspapers. Often judgments about new trends in literature (F. Bulgakov, N. Engelhardt, P. Weinberg, etc.) turned into independent philosophical and journalistic statements. The article updates the term “philosophical journalism” in the context of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. The specificity and genre diversity of this phenomenon are revealed through the analysis of texts associated with the name of Vl. Solovyov in the newspaper “Novoye Vremya”. In this regard, special attention is paid to the controversy between S. Syromyatnikov and P. Parensov, which reflects not only the perception of the ideological and philosophical system of Vl. Solovyov by the authors of a popular periodical, but mainly one of the ways of forming philosophical journalism of the Silver Age. 510 issues of the newspaper “Novoye Vremya” (November–December 1902, February–December 1903, February–May 1904) were selected as sources.

Cultural and Value Differences in the Conditions of Technological Globalisation


 
 
 The text is the editor’s introduction to the articles of this scientific journal Philosophy. Sociology, thematically divided into four sections: Philosophy of Technology and Ethics of Technology, Social Philosophy and Philosophy of Communication, Philosophy of Art and Art Communication, Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. This article also aims to problematise the concepts of culture and technology and present one of the conceptual approaches when considering cultural and value differences in the conditions of technological globalisation. From the author’s perspective, although technology provides tools for effective human activity and technological progress influences different societies and their interactions, technological solutions alone cannot eliminate or neutralise the cultural, mentality, moral, or simply value differences of different societies.
 
 

Fostering Medical Students’ Commitment to Beneficence in Ethics Education

Fostering Medical Students’ Commitment to Beneficence in Ethics Education

WALTER BLOCK ABOUT HIS STUDENT PUBLICATION PROGRAM

Over 150 of my undergraduate students’ term papers have been published in law reviews or refereed scholarly journals in economics, politics, philosophy, and other such venues. This is the story of how this program started, and how it is implemented. Hopefully, this will encourage other instances of similar faculty-student cooperation.