Philosophical Investigations Research Articles

Distribution and Nature of Bioethical Research by Mediterranean Authors on the Example of the Croatian Bioethical Journals

Taking the basic goals of the scientific project “EUROBIOMED” (Croatian Science Foundation, HRZZ IP-2020-02-7450) as a starting point, the research investigates an important segment of bioethical production by Mediterranean authors. All main Croatian journals officially dedicated to bioethical research are taken into consideration as a corpus of research: Jahr – European Journal of Bioethics, Synthesis philosophica, and Filozofska istraživanja (Philosophical Investigations). Methodologically, only scientific and professional articles are taken, the criteria for defining articles as “bioethical” were given by leaning on bibliometric characteristics, and the considered approaches for content analysis were presented. Three dimensions are analysed. First, the research reveals all Mediterranean countries from which bioethical authors come. Second, topics that are represented in those works are described and categorized under mentioned methodological criteria. Third, the methodology applied in those articles is critically analysed and debated in the mentioned project’s framework. Apart from the distribution of authors from Mediterranean countries, the results have broader significance for the issues of representation of Mediterranean topics and methodology concerning bioethics in general, and, indirectly, say much about the relevance of all three mentioned journals in this context, i.e. their place and significance in the bioethical dimension of enriching and contributing to the Mediterranean Studies. Keywords: bioethics, Mediterranean, Croatia, journals, content analysis, Mediterranean studies, EUROBIOMED project

Wahrheit in Wittgensteins Spätphilosophie

Abstract Truth in Wittgenstein′s Later Philosophy. In this paper I attempt to examine Wittgenstein′s understanding of truth in his later period. In doing so, I orient myself primarily on the remarks published as Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty. My primary aim in the destructive part is to show that his later philosophy neither espouses a redundancy and deflationary, nor an epistemic and anti-realist conception of truth. Both strands of interpretation are strongly represented in the debate. An examination of Wittgenstein’s remarks on the correspondence theory of truth will also shed some light on his thoughts about truth. Furthermore, in the preceding constructive part of this paper, I will try to demonstrate that (1) for Wittgenstein there is a strong link between truths that we accept based on our certainties and our use of the term “truth” and (2) that skepticism about truth, which claims that all accepted truths in our Weltbild (“world-view”) could be actually false, fails to give any meaning to its use of “truth”. This culminates in Wittgenstein′s insight, that the question of what truth is can only be answered relative to the Weltbild. Therefore, talking about truths that transcend our Weltbild becomes nonsense.

„Das Ethische ist kein Sachverhalt“

Abstract “The ethical is no fact of the matter.” On Wittgenstein’s ethical paradox discusses Wittgenstein’s “Lecture on Ethics” of 1929. In this lecture to the Heretics Society at Cambridge he proposes an ethical paradox based on two incompatible types of facts, the natural facts offered by science and the supernatural facts, which he claims to be the core of ethics. The paradox is partly due to his Tractarian belief that ethics has no descriptive content. Yet, although it has no descriptive content the ethical is represented by a feeling which has a metaphysical and an undeniable factual character too, as Wittgenstein claims. This kind of fact is his personal, private if not solipsistic feeling. The paper tries to clarify this highly controversial type of feeling. It seems probable that the change from the Tractatus to the Philosophical Investigations resolves the ethical paradox along the new therapeutical lines of PU. It is argued that this is not the case. The content of the ethical paradox remains unchanged.

The Influence of Science Phylosophy in Improving Learning Ethics

This article was created with the aim of knowing how far and how much influence the philosophy of science has on the ethics of learning among students or students who are currently studying. The reason for raising this case is considered very important because of the decline in ethics among educational units at the elementary, secondary, and even tertiary levels compared to educational units in the past. The method used in writing this article is study literature, the basis used in discussing the ethics of learning uses the basis of Islamic theory or ethics according to Islam. Then the guidelines for learning ethics use the Al-Qur'an and hadith as well as the perspective of scholars who observe education. Ethics is the philosophy of human action as a human (human action). In a philosophical perspective, ethics is a philosophical investigation of human obligations and human behavior in terms of the good and bad of this behavior. Ethics also has a very basic nature, namely critical nature. In general it can be said that ethics is a philosophy of human action as a human being. An action has ethical value if it is carried out by humans and within a humane framework. It is clear that ethics deals directly with human actions or behavior. This humane behavior is not a meaningless behavior, but one that pursues good values.

Allegory as Language Game: Spenser with Ludwig Wittgenstein

Wittgenstein’s early philosophical masterpiece, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, builds to a logical picture of the whole world and asks what words can give us pictures of. Broadly speaking, this “picture-theory of language” exposes the underlying assumptions of allegory. Rejecting logic in his late work, especially the Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein asks what, in the vast array of human circumstances, words are used for. Meaning is no longer a spectral picture inside the head; it is out in the world, woven into all our interactions. Similarly, when we interpret The Faerie Queene, we are not constructing models of what each of us alone (in competition with everyone else) pictures as the true meaning. We are interacting with the text and with one another in the delicate web that is the poem’s field. All, or almost all, such interpretations are illuminating, but none of them is final, comprehensive, or in any simple sense true.

Identity versus Otherness: Propaedeutic Considerations

The present article attempts a philosophical, ontological and anthropological in-depth investigation of the conceptually opposed dual model identity-alterity in view of essentialist propaedeutic considerations, therefore contributing to the avoidance of reductionist interpretations. Thus, identity lays emphasis on the metaphysical problem of the "thing in itself", endowed with particular, unique properties and its relations with reality, as well as that of becoming, whereas alterity develops into a co-constructive—once the status of positive primordiality validated—total and irreducible concept. Being part of meta-categories of thinking about "Being", the opposing binomial identity-alterity is to be found as a fundamental concept in various disciplinary fields: logic, mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, etc. thus, contributing to attempts to identify and individuate things, people, phenomena, facts, processes, etc. In the current era of globalization/mundialization processes, alongside with the opposing trends in this regard, when humanity and contemporary societies develop a gnoseological (re)evaluation of anthropological valorization, the in-depth knowledge of the antagonistic-integrative concept of identity/alterity profiles an epistemological technique and an open, complex, systemic and integral approach based on a series of considerations: discontinuity and non-separability, syncretic and integrative unity of co-constructive dualities, polytropic perception, propagation of complementarity, gnoseological and epistemological (co)relativity integrated into a real-rational-relational dynamic interface.

Human dignity, the struggle for recognition and the precariousness of labor relations in Brazil

The present work intends to carry out a historical and philosophical investigation of the concept of dignity. The Latin term dignitas has always been linked to republican ideas since Ancient Rome, but it was in the Middle Ages that legal science, closely linked to theology, formulated one of the pillars of the theory of sovereignty, namely, the perpetual character of political power. Dignity then emancipated itself from its bearer and became a fictitious person, a kind of mystical body that is placed next to the real body of the magistrate. In Modernity, from Kant onwards, dignity is based on autonomy, assuming the presence of a moral legislating will, in which each human being needs to feel subjected to reasonable and internally coercive moral demands. Since then, the concept of dignity appears in the Constitutions of many countries, including the Federal Constitution in force in Brazil since 1988. Despite being embodied in national legislation, dignity ends up suffering setbacks due to interference from the political world, in this sense, the Labor Reform 2017, with its promises to improve employment and income in Brazil, ended up violating the basic principles of the notion of dignity. Critical Theory and the works of Axel Honneth are fundamental to think about the precariousness of labor relations in Brazil and the possibility of overcoming these obstacles by the working class through the struggle for recognition.

Tarski's T‐schema and necessity of identity

AbstractBlum (Philosophical Investigations 46, 2023, 264) argues that Tarski's T‐schema and the thesis of the necessity of identity are mutually inconsistent. It is argued that his argument fails.

Is being itself colonial?

ABSTRACT Nelson Maldonado-Torres’s coloniality of being thesis promises to add a metaphysical dimension to the decoloniality theory of Grupo Modernidad/Colonialidad. While Aníbal Quijano’s coloniality of power thesis is robustly empirical, the coloniality of being thesis postulates that “colonized Dasein” and “ordinary Dasein” differ in the fundamental structure of their being. It may have been hoped that this philosophical thesis would clarify and provide a firm foundation for the coloniality of knowledge thesis, developed by Walter Mignolo and Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, which entails two apparently contradictory forms of standpoint epistemology. I argue that the coloniality of being thesis does not add a new metaphysical dimension to decoloniality theory and does not justify any other aspects of decoloniality theory. If Maldonado-Torres’s claims about the differences between “the damné” and “ordinary Dasein” are correct, then Dasein is facticity all the way down. If his claims are correct, then there are no essential, a priori knowable fundamental structures of Dasein’s being for philosophical investigation to uncover: “the ontological colonial difference” stands for nothing beyond or beneath “the colonial difference” tout court. Proponents of fundamental ontology would doubtless contest Maldonado-Torres’s assertions. As for decoloniality theory, the coloniality of being thesis leaves everything exactly as it found it.

The Oxford Handbook of Elizabeth Anscombe edited by Roger Teichmann, (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2022); pp. 520, £ 97.00, hbk

The Oxford Handbook of Elizabeth Anscombe edited by Roger Teichmann, (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2022); pp. 520, £ 97.00, hbk

The Open Systems View and the Everett Interpretation

It is argued that those who defend the Everett, or ‘many-worlds’, interpretation of quantum mechanics should embrace what we call the general quantum theory of open systems (GT) as the proper framework in which to conduct foundational and philosophical investigations in quantum physics. GT is a wider dynamical framework than its alternative, standard quantum theory (ST). This is true even though GT makes no modifications to the quantum formalism. GT rather takes a different view, what we call the open systems view, of the formalism; i.e., in GT, the dynamics of systems whose physical states are fundamentally represented by density operators are represented as fundamentally open as specified by an in general non-unitary dynamical map. This includes, in principle, the dynamics of the universe as a whole. We argue that the more general dynamics describable in GT can be physically motivated, that there is as much prima facie empirical support for GT as there is for ST, and that GT could be fully in the spirit of the Everett interpretation—that there might, in short, be little reason for an Everettian not to embrace the more general theoretical landscape that GT allows one to explore.

Phenomenological Bioethics

AbstractEudaimonia, that is, the experience of flourishing and welfare at the center of Greek philosophical investigations, describes the qualitative experience of being able to feel well in our bodies. Reductionism in medicine as well as in philosophy would instead reduce well-being to a set of standards that the human body or its mind must meet in order to be recognized as functioning. This journal issue, dedicated to a phenomenological approach in bioethics, represents a way to overcome this dangerous constraint thanks to the methodological support of the phenomenological investigations. The authors invited to write in this journal issue will tackle the problem of reductionism in bioethics through a phenomenological approach.

Spying Through a Glass Darkly: The Ethics of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence, by Cécile Fabre

This excellent book shines a bright light on the dark arts. Though philosophers have had much to say about the ethics of overt foreign policy, surprisingly little work considers the under-the-table methods of spying and subterfuge that underpin those policies. Cécile Fabre’s rich and stimulating book opens up this novel terrain and is sure to be the leading work on this topic for some time. One of the book’s central virtues is Fabre’s ability to connect specific issues in the ethics of espionage to more general topics in moral and political philosophy, and to show how reflection on the former can shed new light on the latter. So even if you may not be interested in the secret service, the secret service may be interested in you. The book is also marked by Fabre’s characteristic blend of rigorous philosophical argument and engagement with empirical and historical sources (not to mention spy novels, films, and TV shows). Fabre clearly enjoyed researching the book and the reader is rewarded with a philosophical investigation more readable than the usual fare. I highly recommend it.

When Arne met J. L.: attitudes to scientific method in empirical semantics, ordinary language philosophy and linguistics

In the autumn of 1959, Arne Naess and J. L. Austin, both pioneers of empirical study in the philosophy of language, discussed their points of agreement and disagreement at a meeting in Oslo. This article considers the fragmentary record that has survived of that meeting, and investigates what light it can shed on the question of why the two philosophers apparently found so little common ground, given their shared commitment to the importance of data in the study of language. Naess and Austin held different views about two significant aspects of the relationship between scientific method and philosophical investigation. The first aspect concerns the nature of experimental data; Naess used the statistical analysis of data collected from non-philosophical informants while Austin advocated deliberation leading to agreement over usage by a few skilled experts. The second aspect relates to their respective attitudes to the role of theory in philosophical inquiry, attitudes which drew on discussions of scientific method, and its relevance to philosophy, from the early decades of the twentieth century. This article traces the evidence for these views on scientific method in Naess’s and Austin’s respective published work, and in the record of their Oslo meeting. It concludes with a brief overview of opinions about scientific method manifest in the decades since that meeting in various branches of linguistics. These opinions speak to the enduring importance of attitudes to scientific method in relation to our study and understanding of human language.

“When language goes on holiday”

The new discoveries of QM led to re-assessing, broadening the meanings of many physical concepts, and formulating a new logic that was no longer based on the classical principles of non-contradiction, identity, and causality. Heisenberg considered the classical logic and the conception of language expressed in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus inadequate for the understanding of the problems of language with which the physicists of the Copenhagen school had had to deal in order to define the foundations of Quantum Mechanics. On the contrary, he saw in Wittgenstein’s posthumous Philosophical Investigations the key to solving those problems. One may formulate a proportion and state that the use of language described in the Tractatus fits the use of language in Classical Mechanics, as the use of language described in PI fits the use of language in QM. I interpret the reflections of the physicists of the Copenhagen school on the limits of language relative to QM by highlighting how the epistemological revolution of quantum physics shares a conception of language similar to that expressed by late Wittgenstein in PI. I also aim to explain why Heisenberg considered it inappropriate to subsume the propositions and concepts of QM under the rules of the propositional logic of Tractatus. I explain why the philosophy of language expounded in PI, which is based on language games and resemblance families, sheds a light on how and why QM has contributed to renewing existing concepts (such as space, trajectory, observer, etc.) and to formulate a new logic (quantum logic).

Decolonising philosophical analysis: In defence of “ethnolysis”

Analysis has always been a core part of humanistic studies. In the domain of philosophical research, where it has assumed a larger-than-life status in the analytic tradition, analysis is a methodological device for conceptual clarification, the unpacking of loaded terms and expressions, and the achievement of overall understanding in every sphere of philosophical discourse. Scholars have expressed doubt about whether reductive analysis is an attractive methodological framework for African philosophy. In a recent article, Balogun raises the need for African philosophy to evolve its own unique method of analysis with the aim of decolonising analysis in the context of African philosophical investigations. This article advances this need by proposing a genre of philosophical analysis called “ethnolysis”. Coined from two words, “ethnography” and “analysis”, ethnolysis is a kind of analysis rooted in the search for ethnographical materials as a means of opening up an array of insights into the proper meaning of African concepts, terms, or expressions. The article defends “ethnolysis” in the light of the inappropriateness of mainstream analysis in producing an understanding of some philosophically interesting African concepts, terms and expression which are not completely amenable to the reductive analysis or fragmentation of the kind central to the analytic approach in African philosophy.

Philosophical Pragmatism and the Challenges of Information Technologies

Philosophical Pragmatism and the Challenges of Information Technologies

Kamalaśīla’s Views on Dependent Origination

Abstract Directly or indirectly, by way of scriptural commentary or philosophical investigation, dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda) plays an important role in several of Kamalaśīla’s works. His interpretation is remarkably consistent. As earlier “Yogācāra-Mādhyamika” authors such as Śrīgupta, Jñānagarbha and Śāntarakṣita, Kamalaśīla regards dependent origination as one of the characteristic features of genuine conventional reality, non-origination (anutpāda) being characteristic of ultimate reality/truth. Genuine conventional reality and ultimate reality correspond to the two modes – conventional and ultimate – of dependent origination in the ŚSūṬ, a commentary whose purpose was to provide the ŚSū with a Mādhyamika interpretation. Although it seems to leave no room for the Madhyamaka and culminates in a Yogācāra analysis of reality, the TSP likely is no exception to this, as its maṅgala’s indebtedness to Nāgārjuna already suggests. Close comparative and intertextual analysis reveals that the intention underlying the TS(P) was to provide a description of true conventional reality, i.e., the domain of dependently originated though ultimately essenceless entities similar to magical horses and elephants. As a corollary, Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla attempted to “purify” it from pseudo-entities, i.e., non dependently originated fictions, or, equivalently, entities with incongruous causes (viṣamahetu), such as a rabbit’s horn, the self, and God. In this perspective, the TS(P) can be read as a detailed philosophical propedeutics to a Mādhyamika analysis of reality, cognition, and truth.

How tracking technology is transforming animal ecology: epistemic values, interdisciplinarity, and technology-driven scientific change

Tracking technology has been heralded as transformative for animal ecology. In this paper I examine what changes are taking place, showing how current animal movement research is a field ripe for philosophical investigation. I focus first on how the devices alter the limitations and biases of traditional field observation, making observation of animal movement and behaviour possible in more detail, for more varied species, and under a broader variety of conditions, as well as restricting the influence of human presence and observer bias. I reconstruct these as shifts in scope, objectivity, accuracy and fruitfulness. The second transformation is slightly less obvious but equally significant for animal ecology. Tracking devices generate complex data that demands both statistical and biological expertise, which has led to increasingly frequent and intensive collaborations between statisticians and biologists. Based on interviews, I examine how researchers in these interdisciplinary collaborations negotiate the collection, analysis and interpretation of movement data, integrating research interests, methodological constraints, previous field observations, and background theory. Tracking technology is therefore also shifting which disciplinary considerations are brought to bear on research into animal movement and behaviour and how this research is conducted.

Methodological Analysis of Feminist Challenges in Indian Mines

This paper draws on a qualitative philosophical investigation to examine and create understanding of existing feminist problems in the coal mining industry in modern society. An attempt is made to understand the diachrony of gender stereotype phenomena and provisions that lead to female obstacles on their direct interaction at workplace across businesses by contextualising current occurrences from the Mining Industry. The findings will most likely aid in boosting the percentage of women working in productive capacities and offering answers that contribute to the long-term viability of the business.