Philosophical Components Research Articles

Ways of Being Reasonable: Perelman and the Philosophers

Ways of Being Reasonable:Perelman and the Philosophers Christopher W. Tindale Introduction In 1958, Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca published Traité de l'argumentation: La nouvelle rhétorique, the culmination of many years study. A seminal work in philosophy and rhetoric, it aimed to bring classical Aristotelian rhetoric into the modern era and present a model of argumentation that promoted action and reasonableness. One distinctive feature of the dense account found in this work is the claim that the success of argumentation can in part be measured by the responses of the audience for which it is intended. By that standard, the project of the new rhetoric appears unsuccessful, because the audience for whom Perelman (and Olbrechts-Tyteca) expressly wrote was the audience least captivated by his ideas. Writing as a philosopher for philosophers, Perelman strove to provide "for the sake of the logicians, a philosophical defense in favor of an enlarged conception of proof and reason," "to show that philosophers cannot do without a rhetorical conception of reason" (1979, 42). Against the backdrop of positivism's arid thought, he looked to establish, having emerged himself from an immersion in the intricacies of Frege's logic, what at the time seemed at odds with the direction in which philosophical thought was flowing—a logic of value. [End Page 337] Insofar as it did receive some acclaim in Europe and, subsequently, in the United States, the work did not exactly fall "deadborn from the press."1 But what might be thought of as "main-stream philosophy," arguably the intended audience, seems to have been more muted in its response. In this paper, I am interested in exploring some central facets of that reception and suggesting some of the reasons behind it. To undertake such an investigation one has to appreciate not only Perelman's insistence on the importance of rhetoric (a claim toward which philosophers have been traditionally ambivalent) but also, and perhaps more so, his understanding of philosophy itself. Still, as I show below, it is from that conception that some of Perelman's richest and most promising ideas arise, ideas that testify to the durability and continued importance of the new rhetoric project. Perelman and the Philosophers Tom Conley (1990) notes the favorable reception the book received in Europe in 1958 and its unexpected (by Perelman) welcome in the United States.2 The philosophical component of that reception has been rehearsed elsewhere, not least by some of the principals involved (Johnstone 1978; Perelman 1989). But even Henry Johnstone Jr.'s initial engagement with Perelman's ideas challenged their central component. Johnstone wondered, for example, "whether there is really any promise after all in the attempt to define philosophical argumentation in terms of rhetoric" (1978, 91). Conley expresses surprise that The New Rhetoric was "praised even in Britain, in a review by Peter Strawson in Mind, a journal dominated by the 'ordinary language philosophy' current in Cambridge and Oxford" (1990, 297). The surprise, though, may be itself surprising. As Alan Gross and Ray Dearin aptly remind us, Perelman was first and foremost a philosopher: "His writings stress the interrelationships between rhetoric and philosophy at every turn, and anyone who essays to understand his rhetorical views must first examine the metaphysical axioms upon which they are based" (2003, 14). We might, then, expect other conceivably like-minded philosophers to be attracted to that aspect of his endeavors. At least at Oxford, ordinary language philosophy was dominated by the figure of J. L. Austin, another philosopher with roots in the work of Frege (Austin had translated Frege's Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik in 1950). By the time of his association with ordinary language philosophy Austin had, like Perelman, traveled a long way from such roots.3 In the late 1940s, Austin organized a series of Saturday morning gatherings that attracted [End Page 338] some significant younger Oxford philosophers, including Paul Grice, Strawson, R. M. Hare, H. L. A. Hart, and Geoffrey Warnock, several of whom would later comment on Perelman's work. This group would study features of language and the way it was ordinarily used.4 They would, for example, draw up lists of words and then analyze their...

Emotions in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (review)

Reviewed by: Emotions in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Kevin White Simo Knuuttila. Emotions in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Pp. x + 341. Cloth, $74. “Studies on the emotions became popular in the analytically oriented philosophy of mind in the 1980s” (1), the author begins, but the status of emotion as reason’s rival or complement in the directing of human nature is, of course, of perennial interest to philosophy per se. True, the topic has acquired (and not just in the analytic school) a certain prominence in recent decades, and this has led to useful historical investigations, although, as the author says, many more of them have been on emotions in ancient than in medieval philosophy (ibid.). In four chapters, he presents a continuous history of philosophical reflection on emotion from Plato to the fourteenth-century Franciscan Adam Wodeham, and late medieval compendia. Along the way he summarizes and comments on a large number of texts in whole or in part, regularly quotes from them in English translation, and often supplies the more significant Greek and Latin terms. For discussion of ancient theories, he acknowledges reliance on works by Martha Nussbaum and Richard Sorabji, but his scholarship extends to a wide range of primary sources and other historical studies. His recognition of the bearing of both theological and medical works on his subject is noteworthy: it is a mark of the singularity of emotion—or, as it is sometimes still quaintly called, ‘passion’—as a philosophical theme that it can combine theological and medical considerations, as well as moral and rhetorical ones. [End Page 316] The first and longest chapter, “Emotions in Ancient Philosophy,” begins with discussion of the relevant Platonic and Aristotelian texts, with emphasis on the Republic and Philebus and on the Rhetoric, respectively. The Stoic view of emotion as false judgment, to be expelled through exercises, is considered, and the influential Stoic doctrine of pre-passions or first movements is stressed. More briefly the chapter considers the Epicureans, Galen, the middle Platonists, and Plotinus, and closes with a look at the De natura hominis by the fourth-century bishop Nemesius, a synthesis of ancient thought that had an influential eleventh-century Latin translation. Chapter 2, “Emotions and the Ancient Pursuit of Christian Perfection,” discusses the Alexandrian and Cappadocian Fathers, John Cassian, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Pseudo Dionysius, with remarks on monastic discipline and scriptural interpretation. Origen’s connection of first motions with bad “thoughts” and his distinction between thought and consent are brought out. Augustine naturally gets the most attention here, with sections on City of God, Confessions, and emotions and will. The third chapter, “Medieval Conceptions of Emotions from Abelard to Aquinas,” is remarkably well constructed. It begins with the theme of first movements, the literature of spiritual experience, and the logic of the will in twelfth and thirteenth-century authors; it then turns to Latin translations of medical treatises and of Avicenna’s faculty psychology; and it closes with early thirteenth-century philosophy, Albert the Great, and Aquinas, author of “the most extensive medieval treatise on the subject” (239), namely Summa theologiae, I–II, QQ.22–48. At only thirty-one pages, the last chapter, “Emotions in Fourteenth-Century Philosophy,” is a coda to the discussion of Aquinas that introduces the themes of intuitive cognition, self-awareness, and free volition, and sketches the views of important Franciscan authors. Scotus and Ockham introduce the notion of “passions of will”; their follower Adam Wodeham considers love as a cognition partially caused by another cognition (277). Aquinas’s treatise emerges as a focal point, one at which earlier currents converge and from which subsequent lines of thought derive or differ. The author emphasizes Aquinas’s debts to Avicenna and John of la Rochelle, and his original analogy between the “motion” of the soul and physical motion. (Is this analogy plausible beyond the limitations of Aquinas’s physics or is it merely a curiosity? The author offers no opinion on this question.) Readers interested in the theological context of Aquinas’s treatise and further discussion of its philosophical components may wish to consult a work not mentioned in the bibliography: Paul Gondreau...

Arsen Rychinsky is an ethnologist of religion

Recently, the scientific and journalistic heritage of A.Richynsky as an ideologist and organizer of the Ukrainian church-national movement in Volyn in the 20-30s of the XX century has attracted considerable attention of researchers. From this perspective, the most outstanding work of A.Richinsky's "Features of Ukrainian Religious Consciousness" is analyzed by scholars, though we admit that the theological and philosophical component in A.Richinsky's religious heritage remains almost unexplored. The article will trace the formation of A. Richinsky's teaching on the relationship between the religious and ethnic in the Bible, in particular about the nation as established eternal reality. The basis for writing the article is the works of Arsen Rychinsky published in recent years.

NOTES ON DALÍ AS CATALAN CULTURAL AGENT

Was Salvador Dalí a legitimate and effective agent in the spread of Catalan culture? This article approaches the artist’s idiosyncratic, contentious and “politically incorrect” Catalanism and examines how he translated certain major Catalan cultural and philosophical components of his work into the cosmopolitan aesthetics of moderniry and surrealism.

Descriptive versus interpretive phenomenology: their contributions to nursing knowledge.

A number of articles in the nursing literature discuss the differences between descriptive and interpretive approaches to doing phenomenology. A review of studies demonstrates, however, that many researchers do not articulate which approach guides the study, nor do they identify the philosophical assumptions on which the study is based. Such lack of clarity makes it difficult for the reader to obtain a sense of how the knowledge produced by the study is to be evaluated and used. In this article, the authors compare the philosophical components of descriptive and interpretive approaches to doing phenomenology and illustrate types of knowledge produced by each through reviewing specific studies. They focus on the various uses of phenomenology in generating useful knowledge for health care practice.

Researcher-Practitioner Collaboration in Community Corrections: Overcoming Hurdles for Successful Partnerships

Funding agencies now generally require that projects include an evaluation component as part of their grant proposals, but there are no clear guidelines to help researchers and practitioners work together once funding is awarded. The authors of this article have experience working together as the evaluators and program manager on a recently completed four-year demonstration project designed to provide multiagency services to youth on probation in South Oxnard, California. We believe that our experiences can help other researchers and practitioners to understand practical and philosophical components of collaboration. We first discuss our differing perspectives on key issues and resulting tensions that arose. Next, we discuss strategies that we used to create a good working relationship, as well as the benefits that we gained from this partnership.

Exploring workforce retention in child and family social work

Child and family social work in the United Kingdom is facing a staff recruitment and retention crisis in many areas. Occupational stress, burnout, heavy workloads and insufficient resources combine to make the social workrole highly demanding and unattractive to prospective recruits. This paper explores one approach to the problem which synthesises Giddens' philosophical ideas on discursive consciousness, Habermas' precepts on moral discourse, Boal's use of empowering theatre and Lewin's rendition of the action research cycle. These theoretical, philosophical and methodological components, when combined, offer a radically different approach to staff retention strategies within child welfare organisations by centring on the transformative power of human agency. It is concluded that the approach described can be extrapolated to the management of other human service professions experiencing similar recruitment and retention difficulties.

Friedrich Cramer (1923–2003): Nucleic Acid Chemist and Philosopher

Friedrich Cramer died on June 24, 2003 shortly before his 80th birthday. In him we have lost a colleague of great merit, particularly in the area of nucleic acid chemistry. Friedrich Cramer, or Fritz to his colleagues and friends, was born in Breslau on September 20, 1923. Having been badly wounded in Russia in October 1942, he started studying chemistry a year later in Breslau and continued his studies in Heidelberg from 1944. He received his PhD in 1949 with work on cyclodextrins under the supervision of Karl Freudenberg. He continued to work on this class of compounds for his habilitation, which he completed in 1953. This work formed the basis for the development of cyclodextrins as enzyme models. Cramer could show that compounds enclosed in a cyclodextrin cavity, as so-called inclusion compounds, become available for catalytic reactions through a key–lock interaction similar to that of an enzyme–substrate complex.1 These results were of fundamental interest at the time, and Professor Alexander Todd invited Cramer for a one-year visit to his laboratory in Cambridge. This laboratory was prominent in the budding field of nucleic acid chemistry, and investigations into the type of linkage of the nucleotide monomers in DNA and RNA formed an active research program there.1 Cramer returned to Heidelberg in 1954 and accepted the position of Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in 1959. There he built upon his experience gained in Cambridge and began work on the chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides. In 1962 he became a member of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and Director of the Department of Chemistry at the newly created Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen. With the new opportunities available to him at this institute he focused on the study of nucleic acids. He was not only interested in the chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides, but he extended his research to tRNA and in particular to the enzymes that play a role in the aminoacylation of tRNA. These studies led to the first attempts to crystallize tRNA. Through probably the first use of nucleotide analogues it was also discovered that aminoacyl synthases occur in two classes, depending on whether they catalyze the binding of the amino acid residue to the 2′ or the 3′ hydroxy group.2 This classification was later fully confirmed by X-ray structural analysis in another laboratory. Work on the specificity of aminoacylation formed the basis for a better understanding of this reaction, which is so important for cell function.3 The work in Cramer's department in many respects formed a foundation for the bioorganic research of nucleic acids, particularly in such modern areas as RNA research. Friedrich Cramer created a very stimulating and lively atmosphere in his department, to which his dislike of hierarchical structures certainly contributed, and he permitted the members of his department to work quite independently. The department was also enriched by the presence of many postdoctoral researchers from abroad at a time when this was not the rule in Germany. His contact with Professor Jan Michalski from Poland, who Cramer had met in Cambridge, laid the foundation for a lively exchange with Poland, which has continued to this day. These international relations also included close contacts with Israel. This stimulating and open environment served to encourage many members of the department to stay in research and to continue to work in the field of nucleic acids. Friedrich Cramer had many varied interests and talents. For example, his sketchbook was a constant companion, and he produced portraits of colleagues and paintings. As the years went on his interest in the philosophical component of the sciences grew, and themes such as complexity, chaos, and the ethics of gene technology attracted his particular attention. These thoughts were the subject of many lectures, articles, and books. His concerns about the significance of science for society as a whole, not frequently encountered among scientists, led to his election as a Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin for 1989/90 and as a member of the Göttinger Colloquium for Ethical Questions in Science and Technology. Friedrich Cramer's death coincides with the end of an era following the Second World War during which the rebuilding of respect and recognition for Germany was of prime concern. Cramer contributed greatly to this endeavor, alongside his considerable contributions to nucleic acid research.4

The Catholic Mind: Culture, Philosophy, and Responsibility in Higher Education

This article argues that any quest to establish or strengthen Catholic identity in educational institutions is ultimately a question of philosophical foundations. The author discusses the importance and fragility of culture as it applies to Catholic though and analyzes the philosophical components necessary for sustaining a dominant cultural ethos. This article concludes with a tentative formulation of four responsibilities of professors in Catholic institutions of higher learning.

Mach’s phenomenalism and the British reception of mendelism

The assimilation of Mendel’s paper into Britain took place in an Edwardian social context. This paper concentrates on the interplay of empirical and philosophical issues in this reception. A feature of the British reception of mendelism, not duplicated elsewhere, was the role of phenomenalist philosophies of science as developed by the physicist–mathematician and scientific methodologist Karl Pearson from the philosophical positions of Austrian physicist Ernst Mach and British mathematician William Clifford. Pearson’s philosophy of science forms the background to his subsequent collaboration with the zoologist W.F.R. Weldon. In this collaborative work, Pearson developed powerful statistical techniques for analyzing Weldon’s empirical data on organic variation. Pearson’s statistical analysis of causation and his rejection of hidden entities and causes in the explanation of evolutionary change formed the philosophical component of this program. The arguments of Pearson and Weldon were first brought to bear against the pre-Mendel ‘discontinuist’ analyses of variation of William Bateson. The introduction of Mendel’s paper into these empirical and methodological debates consequently resulted in mathematically sophisticated attacks on Mendel’s claims by Pearson and Weldon. This paper summarizes this history and argues for the creative importance of this biometrical resistance to Mendelism.

Professional identity: key to the future of the osteopathic medical profession in the United States.

The authors have been professionally and personally associated with osteopathic medicine since 1972. During this period, they have observed, from several perspectives, the processes by which trainees and osteopathic physicians inculcate their unique professional identity. Yet, increasingly, the philosophic and practical components that have historically defined osteopathic medicine as a distinctive approach to medical practice are rapidly eroding. Powerful forces associated with such things as professional prestige, public acceptance, professional collaboration with allopathic physicians, as well as changing trainee expectations, are rapidly reshaping the osteopathic medical profession. The degree to which osteopathic medical practitioners embrace the philosophic and clinical components unique to their profession will determine whether the profession retains its identity as a separate medical entity. If the current de-emphasis of these identifying characteristics continues, little more than a name will distinguish osteopathic medicine from the allopathic medical profession.

A Survey of 25 Years of Research on Legal Argumentation

This essay discusses the developments and trends of research in legalargumentation of the last 25 years. The essay starts with a survey of thevarious approaches which can be distinguished: the logical approach, therhetorical approach, and the dialogical approach. Then it identifies varioustopics in the research, which constitute the various components of aresearch programme of legal argumentation: the philosophical component, thetheoretical component, the reconstruction component, the empiricalcomponent, and the practical component. It concludes with a discussion ofthe main trends in the research of the last 25 years.

Assertive community treatment and severe mental illness

Assertive community treatment can be considered the recipe under which inter-agency, interdisciplinary, operational and philosophical components are mixed to produce services which have a positive impact upon the severely mentally ill, and the communities in which they live. It pulls together processes, such as care management and the care programme approach and treatment and rehabilitation, as well as addressing the need for 24-hour services, housing, and matters of everyday survival for severely mentally ill people.

The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas.

Overview: Among the great philosophers of the Middle Ages Aquinas is unique in pursuing two apparently disparate projects. On the one hand, he developed a philosophical understanding of Christian doctrine in a fully integrated system encompassing all natural and supernatural reality. On the other hand, he was convinced that Arisotle's philosophy afforded the best available philosophical component of such a system. In a relatively brief career Aquinas developed these projects in great detail and with an astonishing degree of success. In this book ten leading scholars introduce all the important aspects of Aquinas's thought, ranging from its historical background and dependence on Greek, Islamic, and Jewish philosophy and theology, through the metaphysics, epistemology and ethics, to the philosophical approach to biblical commentary. New readers and nonspecialists will find the most convenient, accessible guide to Aquinas currently in print. Advanced students and specialists will find a conspectus of recent developments in the interpretation of Aquinas.

Physiological and Psychological Effects of Hatha Yoga: A Review of the Literature

The word "yoga" is commonly used to refer specifically to Hatha yoga stretching postures or generally to Hatha yoga programs that also include certain relaxation,breathing and meditation practices.Such programs, however, represent only certain aspects of the comprehensive system that comprises the physical, psychological,philosophical, and spiritual components of yoga. In the generic sense, yoga means the practical aspect of a philosophy, — its methods and application. More specifically, it refers to the philosophical view of the world and the individual described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and related texts.

Preparing the USA Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team for the 1988 Olympics: A Multimodel Approach

The following article explains the sport psychology program utilized with the USA Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team. The program was developed in 1983 and was implemented over the past quadrennium. Both service and research delivery systems are explained as well as the organization of service delivery over the past 5 years. This multimodel approach to the systematic training of elite world-class female athletes is presented to illustrate the psychometrics, mental skill development, and group process techniques utilized within the U.S. Gymnastic Federation’s artistic program. Both organizational and philosophical components of service delivery are explained. The range of services and problems encountered are also discussed. Finally, a detailed account of service leading to the Olympic Games and the program’s effectiveness is presented.

Plato, Aristotle, and the Concept of Woman in Early Jewish Philosophy

The purpose of this paper is to consider the relationship between ancient Greek philosophy and early Jewish philosophy in the particular concept of woman articulated by Philo, Solomon Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron), Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides), and Leone Ebreo (Jehudah Abrabanel). While the concept of woman proposed by Jewish thought has often been approached through a study of religious writings or historical documents, there has been little written on the specifically philosophical components of the theory of woman’s identity. This paper will seek to demonstrate the similarities and differences in the concepts of woman in four Jewish philosophers who lived between the first and the sixteenth centuries AD. In addition, the relation between these views and the theories of Plato and Aristotle will be examined.

Occupational Therapy Programming for Adolescents with Psychosocial Dysfunctions

The philosophical and structural components of one inpatient adolescent psychiatry program in a university center are presented. Set up to address the needs of adolescents with severe psychosocial problems, the general design of the program is described with particular emphasis on occupational therapy as a very active part of the program. The occupational therapy program, its belief systems, approaches and specific programming strategies are then presented concluding with some thoughts about working with adolescents.

Does Development Studies Have a Core?

SUMMARY Should graduate courses in development studies contain a core element, which would be compulsory for all students, or should students be free to take whatever combination of course elements they choose? In the end, the principal determining consideration is whether development studies in fact possesses an identifiable core of central ideas. The argument presented here is that such a core does indeed exist, and that it has three major components. The philosophical component is the development of the idea of development, in its main vicissitudes since the Scottish Enlightenment. The historical component requires the integration of studies of national development experiences with an understanding of their changing global content. The practical component involves the purging of ideological biases from existing technical knowledge, with a view to salvaging what will be needed in any conceivably desirable future social order.RESUME Les études sur le développement ont‐elles un noyau central?Les cours de licence d'études sur le développement devraient‐ils avoir un élément central qui serait obligatoire pour tous les étudiants, ou bien les étudiants devraient‐ils être libres de choisir n'importe quelle combinaison d'éléments du cours? En fait, le principal facteur déterminant est de savoir si les études sur le développement ont un noyau identifiable d'idées centrales. L'argument présenté ici est que ce noyau existe et qu'il se compose de trois éléments principaux. L'élément philosophique est l'évolution de l'idée développement et ses principales vicissitudes depuis le siècle des lumières en Ecosse. L'élément historique exige l'intégration des études sur les expériences de développment national avec une compréhension de leur contenu global changeant. L'élément pratique suppose la suppression des préjugés idéologiques dans les connaissances techniques existantes, afin de sauver ce qui sera nécessaire pour tout ordre social d'avenir qui puisse être souhaitable.RESUMEN ¿Tienen un núcleo básico los estudios sobre el desarrollo?¿Debieran tener un elemento de núcleo básico los cursos de ampliación de estudios universitarios sobre el desarrollo, que fuese obligatorio para todos los estudiantes ó debieran los estudiantes tener libertad para elegir cualquier combinación para los elementos del curso que elijan? En última instancia, la principal consideración determinante es saber si los estudios sobre el desarrollo poseen de hecho un núcleo identifiable de ideas centrales. El argumento que se presenta en este artículo es que dicho núcleo existe efectivamente y que tiene tres componentes principales. El componente filosófico es la elaboración de la idea de desarrollo en sus principales vicisitudes desde el periodo de la Ilustración Escocesa. El componente histórico exige la integración de estudios de las experiencias nacionales de desarrollo con una comprensión de su contenido global variable. El componente práctico representa la supresión de preferencias ideológicas dentro del conocimiento técnico existente, con objeto de salvar lo que se puede necesitar en cualquier orden social concebible a que aspire en el futuro.

The Sceptical Vision of Moliere: A Study in Paradox

The Sceptical Vision of Moliere: A Study in Paradox affords a jud icious and illuminating survey of traditional and recent trends in Moliere criticism, and uses them as a springboard to setting Moliere’s ‘problem’ plays in the context of the prevalent morale of the playwright’s time. Too often the philosophic components consist of the extensive use of apt quotations from such as Gassendi, Montaigne, and La Mothe Ie Vayer without any very rigorous application to the plays in question. McBride is at his best when he steps away from the history of ideas and focuses on what, for want of a better term, could be described as New Critical analysis of the ‘internal coherent structure’ of the plays: their suggestive juxtaposition of absolutists and raisonneurs in the Molieresque moral dialectic; the linguistic games subtending the doubleness of the comic vision; and Moliere’s dual role as actor on the scene and playwright behind.