Philosophical Positions Research Articles

Scepticism about Meaning in the German Enlightenment

Abstract Exegetical scepticism is a strand of scepticism about meaning running through the German Enlightenment. This paper provides the first modern account of its tenets, critics, and proponents, and argues that it shares essential features with modern varieties of meaning-scepticism that have been a preoccupation among philosophers of language since the middle of the twentieth century. I argue that exegetical scepticism is a type of epistemological scepticism first introduced as a philosophical position in a theological debate between August Pfeiffer (1640–1698) and Philipp Jacob Spener (1635–1705). Under contention, so I argue, was the idea that interpretation is never certain because it is necessarily underdetermined by the evidence. Following the effects of this controversy, I show that exegetical scepticism caused a great deal of unrest in German letters in the eighteenth century and can be seen to contribute to the great proliferation of hermeneutical theories in the Aufklärung, indeed to the very birth of hermeneutics as a standalone discipline. Bringing this type of scepticism to contemporary attention supports a reassessment of issues at the heart of meaning-scepticism and hermeneutics itself, and a reconsideration of the histories of Enlightenment scepticism and hermeneutics.

Thinking multimodal translation through relational ontology

ABSTRACT This article envisions a novel way of conceiving of the nature of multimodal translation by thinking it through relational ontology–a philosophical position that views relations as primary and singularities as secondary. Relational ontology is applied here to relationships between modes constituting multimodal wholes. While Translation Studies has traditionally focused on the verbal mode and treated the modes as singularities, when multimodal translation is understood through relational ontology, the focus of inquiry shifts to the relationships between modes. Thus, rather than conceiving of individual modes as singularities that make meaning by addition, meaning is a synthesis of the modes and requires the embodied perceiver’s engagement with and interpretation of the co-presented materials. Changing the perspective of Translation Studies from a verbal to relational ontology allows us to focus on the relationships between modes instead of framing modes through hierarchical relationships, and to look beyond the restrictive tendency of Translation Studies to frame multimodal entities as texts. The focus on relations between modes also allows us to envision connections between the cognitive and embodied dimensions of multimodal meaning construction. Relational ontology brings methodological challenges, because methods must be found that allow us to focus on the relationships between modes.

“Killing in the Name of 3R?” The Ethics of Death in Animal Research

Changing relationships with nonhuman animals have led to important modifications in animal welfare legislations, including the protection of animal life. However, animal research regulations are largely based on welfarist assumptions, neglecting the idea that death can constitute a harm to animals. In this article, four different cases of killing animals in research contexts are identified and discussed against the background of philosophical, societal, and scientific-practical discourses: 1. Animals killed during experimentation, 2. Animals killed before research, 3. “Surplus” animals and 4. “Leftover” animals. The scientific community and, accordingly, animal research regulations such as the internationally acknowledged framework 3R (“Replace”, “Reduce”, “Refine”) tend to aim at the reduction of “surplus” and, to some extent, “leftover” animals, whereas the first two classes are rather neglected. However, the perspective that animal death matters morally is supported by both societal moral intuitions and certain theoretical accounts in animal ethics. Therefore, we suggest the implementation of the 3Rs in regulations, so that they: 1. Make their underlying philosophical position transparent; 2. Are based on a weighing account of animal death; 3. Are applicable to procedures on living and dead animals; 4. Apply the “reduction” principle to procedures on dead animals; 5. Entail that methods using (parts of) dead animals need to be replaced by animal free methods, if possible; 6. Do not suggest replacing research on living animals by research on killed animals; 7. Include all kinds of animals, depending on the respective harm of death; 8. Are applied to the broader context of experimentation, including breeding and the fate of the animals after the experiment.

Коротка вічність або Довгий кінець радянського академізму

This article is the Opus postum of the author, who passed away in September 2023. Volodymyr Verloka is the author of numerous translations of philosophical classics from English, worked in various academic institutions, including the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. He received his philosophical education at the beginning of the 1990s and personally witnessed the Soviet period of Ukrainian philosophy. The author’s critical reflections offered here are largely the result of his own experience of participating in the work of various academic institutions of independent Ukraine, and are also an honest expression of his sincere desire to change the situation with Ukrainian science and higher education for the better. In the article, the author addresses the reconstruction of the specific understanding of science in the USSR, revealing such features as ideological, partisan, and bureaucratic. The author analyzes the documents of the era – the publication of texts by Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Volodymyr Vernadskyi, Nikolay Bukharin, Petr Kapitsa regarding the role of science in society. The author also turns to the analysis of the key philosophical texts of the era, which are direct evidence of the open position of Soviet philosophers on various issues, such as the definition of science, truth, and practice, and also finds out the specific influence of the doctrine of communism on the idea of Soviet academicism as the only politically permissible and at the same time as supposedly the only scientifically possible academic position. For this purpose, the author primarily analyzes the texts of the Soviet “Philosophical Encyclopedia”. The author also refers to critical sources that analyze the Soviet era – the works of Alain Besançon, Nelli Motroshilova, Anatolii Yermolenko and Serhii Yosypenko, Evert van der Zweerde and others. The author also gives his own critical assessment of the presence of vestiges of Soviet academicism in the modern Ukrainian academic sphere.

Our resolutions and their causes: Twardowski on free will in ethical and legal contexts

AbstractThe paper aimed to reconstruct Twardowski's approach to the problem of free will and his analyses of the consequences of various solutions to this problem in ethics and criminal law. According to Twardowski, if we understand ‘free will’ as the possibility of making resolutions other than actually made, then (most probably) nobody has free will. Our resolutions are determined by a set of mental dispositions (character) and incentives that activate these dispositions. However, the existence of freedom of will such understood is not a necessary condition for the correct functioning of ethical systems or criminal law. On the contrary, ethical systems and criminal law seem to assume that at least some of our resolutions are determined by our relatively stable dispositions. Only then can these resolutions and the actions that follow them be ascribed to certain agents. Twardowski's views on free will are presented here in the context of the metaphilosophical positions of the Lvov–Warsaw School, the central European branch of analytic philosophy. His position is also juxtaposed with Brentano's view of free will and Łukasiewicz's approach to the determinism/indeterminism debate. This juxtaposition illustrates the variety of philosophical positions and the diversity of the metaphilosophical toolkit applied in early analytic philosophy.

A Paradox of ZF-Class Nominalism

In a recent article in this journal, Calemi challenges the Küng-Armstrong trilemma, a well-known objection to traditional class nominalism, by proposing a fusion of class nominalism with Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory (ZF). In this note, we argue that ZF-class nominalism faces significant challenges in the form of incompleteness and potential paradoxes stemming from Gödel’s incompleteness theorem. We will explore these issues in detail, highlighting the key implications for the viability of ZF-class nominalism as a philosophical position.

Fregean Aletheic Objectualism, the Flaw of False Assertion, and Truth as a Norm of Assertion

Gottlob Frege is an aletheic objectualist who regards truth as an object. For him, truth is the truth-value True, which is an object referred to by true sentences. Some interpreters argue that Frege’s claim that the True is an object is merely a byproduct of the technical features of his formal logic, Begriffsschrift. However, Frege’s works instead suggest that aletheic objectualism constitutes his philosophical position on the metaphysics of truth. Although Fregean aletheic objectualism may seem counterintuitive and unfruitful, it is, in fact, quite useful. Viewing truth as an object provides a new explanation for why there is a pro tanto reason to consider false assertion flawed. This explanation in turn strengthens support for the popular view that assertion is a norm-laden speech act.

Интерпретация поп-культуры А. Дугина и С. Жижека: традиция и идеология

Research in the field of pop culture and its semantic fields occupies an important place in cultural science to-day. Elements of pop culture, such as music and cinema, are currently sufficiently represented in scientific dis-course. In this paper, two views on the interpretation of pop culture will be considered, belonging to the Russian traditionalist philosopher Alexander Dugin and the Slovenian social philosopher Slavoj Žižek. These “public philosophers” are known for sometimes extravagant and outrageous statements, their ideological differences are expressed in the form of an interpretation of pop culture and its conclusions. The situation when two well-known modern philosophers with diametrically opposed political and philosophical positions reflect on the na-ture of the introduction of elements of the system into pop culture (the concepts of “tradition” and “ideology”), undoubtedly, should be considered through a comparison of interpretations. Dugin’s analysis of pop culture is based on a traditionalist interpretation and, as will be shown in the article, is quite close to hermeneutical theo-ry, namely Heidegger and Gadamer. In turn, Žižek’s analysis of pop culture is based on Marxism, the psychoa-nalysis of Jacques Lacan interpreted by the philosopher, and the theory of ideology of Louis Althusser. The primary issue addressed in this article revolves around the consonance of these interpretive approaches. The authors seek to discern the points of convergence (if any) between their respective conceptual frameworks. Through this comparative exploration, the article endeavors to illuminate the complexities inherent in the philo-sophical discourse surrounding pop culture and its ideological implications.

Exploring the Challenges of Context in Accessing Mental Health Support in Rural New Zealand: A Case Study Approach.

This paper explores the complexities that impact access to mental health services in rural New Zealand. Historical, cultural, social and political factors will be examined against the philosophical positioning of Foucault and Fairclough. This research is a single-embedded case study design exploring participants' discourses in the context of a rural, bounded geographical area of New Zealand. The results show that mental health support that addresses people's actual needs rather than the needs that governments map against ever-changing policy is required and that an awareness of context within case study research is important. The process of case study design is described, including building upon a rationale for selecting the case, collecting data and conducting case analysis and interpretation. This study examines factors influencing the real-life rural context of accessing mental health support. This article demonstrates that case-study research can be valuable for navigating context complexity and developing nuanced understandings of complex phenomena. The paper highlights how the multifaceted case study context is more than mapping discourses against a rural backdrop. It is necessary to consider the power dynamics that shape experiences and their impact on service creation and its consequent delivery. Rather than services being created that are complex and not meeting people's needs, there is a need to listen to the people who have experienced mental health distress and provide services and support in locations other than clinical settings.

Aristotle and the Stoics on the Notion of ἐνέργεια

Abstract The Stoic theory of movement has never been the object of a deep investigation despite the considerable number of sources in Neoplatonist commentators. This paper explores for the first time the Stoic notion of ἐνέργεια, which plays a fundamental role in the Stoic conception of movement and generally in the characterization of interaction between bodies. I will show that the Stoics identified movement and activity, so that everything that is active is necessarily moved. This implies that the Stoics merely characterized ἐνέργεια in a dynamic or kinetic sense, namely by connecting it with movement. In order to prove the coherence of this philosophical position to the Stoic doctrine, I will display the compatibility of Neoplatonists’ reports with other sources. Accordingly, I will claim that the Stoics conceived this peculiar sense of ἐνέργεια in reaction to Aristotle, who clearly distinguished between ἐνέργεια and κίνησις in his physical theory.

Issues and Opinions: A Rejoinder to "Questioning the Third Way Rhetoric of Critical Realism"

In the preceding essay, the author presents a number of challenges regarding the philosophical positioning of critical realism (CR). Although we find the essay to indeed be thought-provoking and interesting, we also believe that several of his points are misrepresentative of CR. In the current response, we address his concerns and point out opportunities to improve CR research.

Диспозитивный и императивный методы правового регулирования: философско-правовой генезис и междисциплинарная экстраполяция

In this article, the concepts of “dispositivity” and “imperative” are considered as methods of legal regulation from philosophical and legal positions. The author draws parallels with the presence of free will in the individual in the philosophical paradigm, identifying this state of affairs with the dispositive principle in law, and, on the contrary, reflects on determinism as a kind of orderliness inherent in the imperative method. The author's view on the correlation of the use of the previously mentioned methods in the current reality, from the point of view of their essential features, seems to be the most curious. Additionally, the question of the viability of one method in the absence of another is raised, similar to such philosophical trends as compatibilism and incompatibilism in relation to human freedom of expression.

Technological scenarios of posthumanism: which [built] environment towards sustainability

Abstract Human kind has always been an explorer and technological innovation over the centuries is been implemented thanks to his thirst for novelty. Technological progress today clashes with the limitations of available resources and environmental impacts. The acceleration in the introduction of technological innovations determines rapid obsolescence of human artifacts and the need for continuous replacement, reducing the useful life of products. Having exhausted the physicality of planet Earth, human exploration now continues in two directions: on the one hand, the colonization of Space, on the other, the construction of new virtual worlds (Metaverse) and new physical and cognitive capabilities (biotechnology and artificial intelligence). However, these explorations are the source of considerable energy consumption (e.g., of space flights and data centers) and contribute to climate change, increasing the critical issues regarding the sustainability of lifestyles. Technological and scientific progress, after having changed the natural environment, today comes to change human nature (posthumanism), and consequently the living environment of human kind. The research is approached through the comparison of different philosophical and scientific positions (literature analysis), transferring some general considerations to the building sector. What next generation built environment will be?

The Nexus of Employee Attitudes Towards Performance Appraisals and its Impact on Employee Performance in the Zimbabwean Manufacturing Sector

Objectives: The study sought to examine the relationship between employee attitudes towards performance appraisal and its impact on work performance in the manufacturing sector using Ecomed Manufacturing (Pvt) Limited as a case study. This was in response to the general negative feelings against the performance appraisals by employees in the manufacturing sector. Methods: The researchers used an inductive research approach which recognizes that meaning emerges through interaction with participants of the study and adopted the realism philosophical position. The study used the case study research design and convenience sampling technique was adopted, thereby allowing the researchers to conveniently select 55 cases up to saturation point. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to solicit for information from the participants of the study which included both managerial and non-managerial staff. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative responses from participants. Results: The major findings of the study highlighted that the company under study is faced with negative employee attitudes towards performance appraisals. Hatred, bitterness, resentment, anger, competition among the employees were prevalent attitudes that the workforce exhibited against the appraisal system in place. Erosion of trust, antagonism and lack of team work among the workforce both in supervisory and non-supervisory levels was the greatest challenge faced by the organization studied. Regardless of the challenges faced, managerial participants concurred in stating that the performance appraisals in place brought about positive changes to the organization, exhibited by a steady increase in production due to competition among the employees which in turn led to meeting of targets. Conclusion: The researchers recommend that the Human Resource department should train and create awareness to about the entire performance management process so as to eliminate resentment towards the process. Furthermore, the Human Resource department should explore the introduction of self-rating performance appraisal methods where the employee can set targets and then monitor and rate own performance against set targets after a given period of time.

От эстетики к сомаэстетике: о формировании философской позиции Р. Шустермана

The subject of the article is neopragmatic aesthetics; its formation, methodological foundations and specificity of the object of research. To reveal the stated goal, the author turns to the works of the American philosopher Richard Shusterman, who most consistently and clearly substantiates his philosophical position. The American philosopher, despite the strong influence of the analytical school, restores the connection with pragmatism, with the aesthetics of John Dewey, points out the dead ends and problematic points of the analytical approach. The article presents the evolution of American philosophical aesthetics with an emphasis on the transitional stage from the analytic tradition to a neopragmatic one. It is shown that Shusterman’s attempt to get rid of the “Platonic stigma” in the philosophy of art is carried out at the expense of criticizing analytic aesthetics. Thus, Shusterman makes critical arguments about the established habit of identifying art in its multivariate manifestation with the notion of “high” fi ne art associated with the sublime and true art. Shusterman shifts the focus of attention from the problem of defining art to the analytics of aesthetic experience, which allows him to transform aesthetics into somaesthetics – a body-oriented, practical philosophical discipline. The author concludes that Shusterman’s concept of somaesthetics emerges in a polemic with fundamentalist foundations in aesthetics, namely, the tradition of distinguishing objects, works of art from what is not, i.e. defining art. The author notes that a key figure for the formation of the theoretical basis of somaesthetics was Shusterman’s acquaintance with the position of Noel Carroll, who moves from the search for the essence of art to the investigation of the internal standards and motives of art. Schusterman, picking up on this strategy, affirms his anti-essentialist position. In polemics with his colleagues, he shifts and rethinks the problem field of aesthetics, declaring war on “Platonism,” criticizing the Greek philosophical tradition, to which we owe the fact that practical activity has become valued much less than theoretical activity. Along with this, the author concludes about Shusterman’s sophistic strategy and logic of thinking, citing arguments from the work of postmodernist researcher Barbara Cassin.

La interpersonalidad en Karol Wojtyla (II)

The “philosophers of dialogue” discovered, at the beginning of the twentieth century, that the constitution of the modern self required the presence of a you. The discovery of the need for a you opened up different philosophical positions: some maintained the priority of the you over the I; others the priority of the we over the you and over the I; still others the priority of the personal subject over the interpersonal relationship. This text aims to explain Wojtyla’s position on this issue and why. The Polish philosopher maintains the priority of the personal subject over the relationship and, at the same time, that the I is constituted or realized through the you (the man through the woman and the woman through the man) and in the we. Thanks to the discovery of the subjective dimension of the person, Wojtyla discovers categories such as “self-determination”, “self-control”, “self-giving”, “psyche”, “soma”, etc., which are constitutive of the person and which we could not find in an anthropology that began with the you or the we. Furthermore, starting with the community seems to call into question personal freedom. On the other hand, Wojtyla maintains that the you and the we are absolutely necessary for the full realization of the self as a person. Through joint (good) action, one realizes oneself and, at the same time, others.

Duns Scotus’s Entangled Doctrines of Univocity, Freedom, and the Powers of the Soul

In this paper, I argue that that three of Duns Scotus’s most controversial philosophical positions, namely, his doctrine of the univocity of the concept of being, his radical voluntarism, and his formal distinction between the soul and its powers, are related in the following way: The latter two depend upon the former, sometimes in obvious ways that Duns Scotus owns, and sometimes in ways that are not licensed by the doctrine of the univocity of the concept of being as Scotus himself claims to employ it. In particular, I argue that in Scotus’s development of his theory of freedom and his understanding of the powers of the soul, he makes inferences from God to creatures that the doctrine of the univocity of the concept of being does not allow and that, coupled with inferences that are licensed by that doctrine, result in circularity.

Theoretical sensitivity and reflexivity in grounded theory.

Grounded theory (GT) has become one of the foremost tools in qualitative nursing research. There are different approaches to GT but a feature common to all of them is theoretical sensitivity, which facilitates GT's iterative process. However, differences between the approaches in how to apply theoretical sensitivity and how much influence existing knowledge should play have contributed to tribalism. To critically evaluate the role of theoretical sensitivity and reflexivity in GT and the involvement they can have, as well as explore what steps researchers can take to improve their insight. Theoretical sensitivity enables researchers to steer their studies to answer their research questions, gain insight into their study's findings and develop theory grounded in the data. However, reflection is required for researchers to understand their effect on the theories that emerge, prevent them from applying preconceived ideas and allow for the unfettered emergence of theory. Researchers who do not demonstrate insight into their own philosophical positions and influences risk being accused of bias; this may result in the perceived value of their theoretical outcomes being reduced. Applying a reflexive process may mitigate this, enabling them to understand and refine their methodological processes and produce high-quality GT research. All researchers should consider using reflexivity when conducting research. Understanding influences and positionality in qualitative methodologies allows for transparency and improves the rigour of their outcomes.

Dynamics of Public Participation on Sustainable Resource Management in County Government of Kericho, Kenya

Sustainable resource management involve managing resources in a way that their sources are not depleted; so that the future generations can also benefit from it. Africa is endowed with diverse and abundant natural resources and stands at a critical juncture where responsible and sustainable management of these resources is paramount for the continent's development. The Kenyan governments (national-level and county-level) recognize the need for sustainable resource management for the good of the citizens. In devolved government units in Kenya, sustainable resource management is a critical. This study sought to assess the dynamics of public participation on sustainable resource management in county government of Kericho, Kenya. The study was guided by Resource-based view theory, administrative theory, transformational leadership theory and the theory of Planned Behaviour. This study adopted a pragmatism approach that took a practical and flexible approach, focusing on the usefulness and applicability of research findings, rather than an all-or-nothing, mutually exclusive philosophical position. A descriptive research design with a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data collections was adopted. The target population of the study comprised a total of 213 senior, middle and lower level management staff of the county government of Kericho. The Stratified random sampling was used to develop a sample from different management groups. A sample of 139 management staff was selected using Slovin’s formula. Reliability of the study was ensured by conducting a pilot study in the neighbouring County Government of Nakuru while context, content and criterion validity were ascertained by the researcher in the field of study. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics which described the nature of ethical leadership and sustainable resource management. Inferential statistics (Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis) were used to determine the nature of influence between the variables. This was done with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Qualitative data was analysed by themes and content analysis. The study findings revealed that, public participation had a statistically significant influence on sustainable resource management. The study concluded that there exists a strong and significant relationship between public participation (r=0.832 and p=0.000) and sustainable resource management in Kericho County, Kenya. The study recommends that in order to enhance public participation members of the public should be empowered by giving the information and documents containing information on development activities and legislations that require their input in advance so that they know and understand what they are coming to do in public forums.

La philosophie comme législation axiologique Platon nietzschéen?

In Nietzsche’s view, Plato certainly is not just any philosopher. First and foremost because of what Nietzsche refers to as his particular « sphinx nature » (BGE, § 28), his insuperable and artistic « secrecy » (BGE, § 28), his ability to hide, and sometimes even to lie : which means that it is extremely difficult to ascribe to him any precise, indisputable philosophical position, doctrine or notion. As is apparent, Nietzsche’s Plato is therefore completely different from the character usually discussed by other philosophers. Why then, is he so intensely interested in Plato if he does not take his so-called major theories seriously ? A closer scrutiny of Nietzsche’s corpus reveals that there is something really specific about Plato : his deep, mostly hidden, and sharp-sighted understanding of philosophy (and philosophers) ; namely not as a theoretical search for knowledge and truth, but as practical value creation and legislation, in other words as an activity intent on carving a new type of human life and being, very much akin to Nietzsche’s own analysis.