Philosophical Tradition Research Articles

Testimonial Kinds: The Source Factor

Abstract In this article, I argue that the nature of testimony necessitates that we distinguish between testimonies that are based on the informant's sense perception, inference, or on a longer testimonial chain. I further argue that this distinction has epistemic significance, in that it helps us better understand how reliable certain classes of testimonies are and how reliable certain individuals are, based upon the epistemic source that their testimony is ultimately grounded in. I begin the article, in Section 1, by drawing attention to the existence of several different terms for testimony found within the Islamic philosophical tradition. In Section 2, I argue that the essential difference between these terms has to do with the epistemic source that grounds the speaker’s testimony. In Section 3, I move on to explicate how this distinction helps us better understand the reliability of testimony and how it impacts our evaluation of the reliability of different speakers in different contexts. In Section 4, I use this distinction to challenge the necessary condition of speaker competency. Finally, in Section 5, I use the distinction to undermine the belief-transmission view in the epistemology of testimony.

Themes of Chinese painting and their evolution in the process of development of pictorial art

In the process of interpreting works of pictorial art, it is easier to understand not the "style", but the "theme", that is, not how to write, but what to write. In the history of modern art, which attaches more importance to "style", the problem of "theme" is not fundamental and is among the primitive issues worthy of the attention of amateurs who do not understand art. However, sometimes it is in simplicity that the essence lies. The simplest questions that interest almost everyone are the link between works of art and society. When analyzing the "topic", the subject under study is not confined to one work of art, since an integrated approach to the consideration of the problem should be used. The author's main contribution to the study of the history of the development of Chinese painting is a new perspective – the analysis of works based on the "theme". The results of the study revealed the main themes of Chinese pictorial art, identified the main reasons for referring to them, and also established their symbolic meaning, connection with philosophical and literary traditions. The important role of literary scientists in determining the directions of thematic development of Chinese landscape painting is revealed, the significance of the images of the fisherman and the traveler as carriers of the spiritual content of the landscape is determined. The conclusion is made about the prominence of certain themes in the pictorial art, depending on the processes of social development of China.

Paul on the Human Vocation: Reason Language in Romans and Ancient Philosophical Tradition by Simon Dürr (review)

Paul on the Human Vocation: Reason Language in Romans and Ancient Philosophical Tradition by Simon Dürr (review)

Book Review: ISLAM AND BIOMEDICINE by Afifi al-Akiti & Aasim I. Padela (Editors)

Afifi al-Akiti & Aasim I. Padela, eds., Islam and Biomedicine, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. 326 pp. ISBN 978-3-030-53800-2. The book, Islam and Biomedicine, initiates conversations at the junction between the rich Islamic intellectual tradition and the diverse disciplines of Biomedicine. The project has brought together scholars from diverse backgrounds to engage with a critical question: How do biomedical advancements might inform and work with Islamic theological and philosophical traditions?

Philosophy and Intercultural Communication: The Phenomenon of a Human Being in the Confucian Tradition

Purpose. This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of a human being within the Confucian tradition as well as its interpretations from intercultural perspective. Theoretical basis. One of the ways to understand the deepest level of the intercultural dialogue is to reveal the interpretations of a human being in philosophical traditions, since they refer to the formation of personality and identity within a given culture including interpersonal, intergroup, and intercultural relations. Humanism based on the unity of Human and Heaven runs like a red thread through the philosophical teachings of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming defining the ideas of human nature, his/her duties, his/her place and roles in society that shaped the Chinese mentality. Originality. Quite often, Chinese concepts (for example, human dignity beyond the ideas of democracy and mass political participation, guanxi, mianzi) are incomprehensible to the representatives of the Western civilization, which leads to the challenges in intercultural communication. The interpretation of these ideas in the context of Confucianism allows to understand them from the perspective of Others and expand the set of patterns of cultural perception. This ultimately leads to the awareness that there are many social, political, cultural realities, which we perceive through the lens of our own concepts and attitudes. The participants of an intercultural dialogue realize that each of them has a unique experience, own way of posing a problem and resolving it, and no one is better or worse. Conclusions. Confucian philosophy shaped the worldview of Chinese people, defined values, goals, meanings, attitudes, communication models, which affected all spheres of Chinese life and culture. The study of the philosophical heritage of the great Chinese civilization enhances the cultural competence of the intercultural communicators and expands the field of dialogue to the level of global communication.

한국철학사에서 자기정체성과 타자성의 문제

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

A Critical Analysis of the Translations of the Bṛhaspatisūkta of the Ṛgveda by the Western Scholars

: When it comes to understanding ancient scriptures, particularly Vedas, commentaries not only play a crucial role but are rather indispensable. Even to understand the nuances present in the commentary, one has to learn them from scholars rooted in the tradition, and hence we have the guru-śiṣya-paramparā. Given this, the kind of translation given to mantras in the Ṛgveda by some of the western scholars not only does not synchronise with indigenous thought inlaid in the commentaries but is also found to be misleading. In order to illustrate this, in the present paper, we have taken up the Bṛhaspatisūkta (10.68) for analysis. Here each mantra is examined with respect to morphology, grammar, syntax and context. The key differences between the commentaries of Sāyaṇācārya and translations of select western scholars, as well as incoherence with the indigenous narrative and philosophical tradition, are discussed.

Bruno Latour’s Detour

In this article, I argue that the work of Bruno Latour has straddled two conflicting intellectual traditions: the relativism of 20th-century postmodernism (which deconstructed the realist pretensions of scientism) and the realism of 21st-century New Materialism (which seeks to sublate the postmodern linguistic turn and embrace science alongside critical theory). I connect these twin tendencies to their ancient precursors among the Greek sophists and presocratic philosophers and argue that Latour’s strange position between relativism and realism recalls the historical tension between the philosophical and rhetorical traditions. Latour has embodied both of these intellectual currents, shifting only his focus but never his commitment to deconstructing the distinction between nature and culture. By connecting the conflicting tendencies of postmodernism and New Materialism back to the ancient sophists and presocratic philosophers, I argue that Latour effectively ontologizes rhetorical persuasion as the ‘language’ of every being, human and nonhuman alike.

Софиология Вл. Соловьева как главный фактор «духовного рождения» о. Сергия Булгакова

The analysis of the influence of V. Solovyov’s sophiology on the spiritual path of S.N. Bulgakov and his formation as a philosopher and theologian is proposed. The experience of the “revelation of Sophia”, developed by the thinker into a philosophical and theological concept under the direct influence of the philosophy of V. Solovyov, is considered as the main factor of the spiritual evolution of Fr. Sergius. Using the method of existential analysis, the key events of S.N. Bulgakov’s spiritual path are revealed, which became the basis of his conceptual constructions. As a result of the analysis, it was found that based on their own experience of cognition of Sophia as a special dimension of created being, connecting it with the Creator, S.N. Bulgakov demonstrates the continuity of the development of Russian philosophy from V. Solovyov to the thinkers of the Silver Age. This allows us to speak about the key role of the revelation of Sophia of the Wisdom of God as one of the main elements of the Russian philosophical tradition of the XIX–XX centuries. It is shown that, according to this philosophical interpretation, sophiology conveys an important spiritual experience of human perception of the essence of the created world, not damaged by Original sin. It is noted that this aspect of spiritual experience has not been previously investigated within the framework of academic theology, which led S.N. Bulgakov to conflict with traditional academic theology, allowed S.N. Bulgakov to overcome the materialistic understanding of history. Based on the analysis of a number of modern approaches, the sophiology of Fr. Sergius is interpreted as a valuable theologumen for the modern Christian consciousness, which is the response of the Russian Orthodox mind to the dehumanization of the world, to the secular picture of the world that has developed within the framework of Modern science. An example of the “spiritual birth” of fr. Sergiy Bulgakov is considered as a vivid example of the influence of Vladimir Solovyov’s legacy, his spiritual experience and philosophical doctrine on the subsequent history of Russian philosophy.

동서철학의 지평에서 본 유교 인성론

This Article intend to articulate The Theory of Confucian theory of Human- nature in the Horizon of East-West Philosophy. Confucianism regarded Human- nature(mind-heart's nature) with importance more than any other schools at all the time. The most critical question in Confucian philosophy was what are truly a human Virtues and a good life? We begins with on definition of reverence(敬) and Te(德) in Confucian tradition. Confucius was the first philosopher to bring up the concept of Human- nature(mind-heart's nature) in the history of chinese traditional philosophy. Mencius was a protector to block heterodoxy after succeeding Confucius's the The Theory of Confucian theory of Human-nature(doctrine of mind-heart's nature). Mencius was the first founder to demonstrate reality of Human-nature(mind- heart's nature) systematically and scientifically. Human-nature provided by Mencius are a) what distinguishes human beings from other animals. b)comprised of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom. Chu-Hui introduced The four beginnings are the issuance of LI, and protected Human-nature(mind-heart's nature) differed with other beings after succeeding Confucius-Mencius's the doctrine of mind-heart's nature. According to Chu-Hui, The four beginnings was to present a moral motivation of human beings in their relation to metaphysical composition(Li-Ki). Such viewpoints about theory of Human-nature(mind-heart's nature) plays an important role in the Age of AI.

Aquinas’s Understanding of Religion

Thomas Aquinas emerges as a remarkable figure whose significant literary contributions have had a profound impact on our understanding of religion. Drawing inspiration from both the Greco-Roman philosophical and legal traditions, particularly the influential works of Cicero and the rich Christian tradition, notably Augustine, Aquinas presents a comprehensive and nuanced approach to the multifaceted concept of ‘religion’. While his analysis often situates ‘religion’ within the moral framework of justice, highlighting its inherent concern with the relationship between humanity and the divine, Aquinas goes beyond mere moral principles in his exploration. His aim is to establish a universal understanding of ‘religion’, offering a well-defined definition and presenting a philosophical and theological doctrine. In this paper, we shall first delve into the foundations and underlying principles that shaped Aquinas’s interpretation of religion. Next, we will undertake a thorough examination of religion as a virtue, highlighting Aquinas’s emphasis on its intrinsic connection to justice rather than confining it to the realm of religious sentiment, piety, or devotion. Finally, our research will explore the specific terminologies employed by Aquinas to elucidate the concept of religion, providing a comprehensive and nuanced approach to the ongoing discourse on this topic. Aquinas’s contribution rests in his defence of religion’s inherent public nature, grounded in its anthropological foundation and its virtuous essence.

Slavophile Philosophy and the Subjective School in Sociology: An Experience of Comparative Analysis

This article problematizes the relationship between the sociological and philosophical traditions of Russian social thought based on the material of the subjective school and of Slavophilism. The absence of direct ideological and conceptual continuity between these avenues is shown, albeit they do share common mental and world-view prerequisites. Slavophilism and the subjective school are compared along three lines — epistemological, social, and historiosophical. The distinguishing features that reveal the correspondence between the aforementioned schools are as follows: the orientation towards a holistic view of reality, unifying life and cognition; the ethical dominant of epistemological views and the inclination towards a practical and transformative attitude towards reality; anthropocentrism and personalism; a romantically ecstatic formulation of the popular/commoner issue; missionary and messianic motives of historiosophical quests, and journalism as a genre of theoretical reflection. It is suggested that the cultural codes of the national social mentality are reflected in the outlined worldview complex.

The Values of Islamic Education Philosophy "Adat Besandi Syarak, Syarak Besandi Kitabullah" in Kampung Sakti Rantau Batuah

This study discusses the understanding of the traditional philosophy of "adat besandi syarak, syarak besandi kitabullah" in the community of Kampung Sakti Rantau Batuah, Mukomuko City District, Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu Province. Aims to know and understand the Philosophical Values of Islamic Education "Adat Bersendi Syarak, Syarak Bersendi Kitabullah" in Kampung Sakti Rantau Batuah. The research method used in this study is qualitative descriptive. Data were obtained using semi-structured interview methods related to indigenous philosophies and implications of Islamic Education philosophy. The informants of this study consisted of traditional leaders, religious leaders, community leaders, and tribal leaders. The informant technique was carried out using a purposive sampling technique conducted by the head of the BMA (Customary Consultative Board) of Mukomuko district. The results of the study found that the philosophy of adat besandi syarak, syarak besandi kitabuallah, has two meanings, namely: first, adat bersandi syarak means customs that are by Islamic sharia and do not contradict the teachings of Islam, Sharak besandi Kitabullah means sharia sourced from kitabullah (Quran and hadith). Among the existing educational philosophy, values including Honesty and a clean heart are the characteristics of the leadership of Rasulullah SAW. This is the same hope desired by the Mukomuko Community in the leadership in the Mukomuko area. The higher a person's degree, the more burdens and responsibilities he will face. He needs patience and should not be arrogant. Every Mukomuko community is a brother who is attached, and a strong brotherhood symbolizes kinship, and strong kinship is evidenced by the brotherhood between indigenous people who are bound together.

Von Hildebrand on the Roots of Moral Evil

In this article, I sketch, both in broad outlines and in selected details, the new, richer picture of von Hildebrand’s account of moral evil as it emerges from my discovery of extensive materials in von Hildebrand´s Nachlass at the Bavarian State Library in Munich dealing with the “roots of moral evil”. These manuscripts and typescripts, the critical edition of which will be published at the same time as this article or shortly thereafter, show that von Hildebrand´s account of moral evil is much richer, more nuanced, and complex than the one we can glean from the final section of Ethics, his magnum opus in moral philosophy. In this article, I also aim to situate von Hildebrand´s analysis of the roots of moral evil in the context of both Christian religious thought and the Western philosophical tradition. Von Hildebrand was, to be sure, an heir to both of these traditions, despite the thrust of his phenomenological method to “bracket” all extant theories and turn “back to the things themselves”. The mind-boggling feature of the tension between von Hildebrand´s existential rootedness in the Catholic tradition and his methodological distance to it, including the Aristotelian–Thomist philosophy, is the following: On one hand, he claims that the two ultimate roots of moral evil are pride and concupiscence, which sounds perfectly traditionally Christian. On the other hand, however, he strips these concepts of most of their traditional connotations and endows them with the meaning they acquire in the context of his phenomenological analyses. The intriguing result of this approach is the transformation of religious or moral theological concepts of pride and concupiscence into descriptive phenomenological categories which encompass an almost inexhaustible wealth of various subspecies and subordinate forms of moral evil.

LIVING ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY: Reflection on Mulyadhi Kartanegara's Thought

This study elaborates Mulyadhi Kartanegara's thoughts regarding the continuity of Islamic philosophy after the Ibn Rushd era. This research is a case study-based qualitative research using a review on Kartanegara's travel notes and research reports as the object. This research also uses other relevant studies to understand Kartanegara’s big idea. This study concludes that, although the idea on Islamic Philosophy does not perish in the Iranian region has been a thesis recognized by many researchers, Kartanegara explore further the dynamics of Islamic philosophical traditions in Iran since the post-Ibn Rushd era. He was dissatisfied with the explanations of many experts who emphasized the elaboration of a prominent philosopher, Mullâ Sadrâ, while ignoring the role of minor philosophers in supporting the continuity of the Islamic philosophical tradition in Iran. This research found, Kartanegara could construct the argument that Islamic philosophy is a living tradition marked by the continuity of ideas developed by minor and major philosophers. Mulyadhi also showed that Islamic philosophy has relevance for overcoming contemporary challenges, primarily related to the problem of knowledge production.

(Concept of) Rectification of Names and Putin’s War-time Euphemisms

In the given paper, the notion of rectification of language in the Chinese philosophical tradition is discussed, which will be linked to the concept of political discourse in general, and specifically to the use of euphemisms in the language of politics. In addition, we will attempt to apply practical examples from the current Russian political discourse to the discussed concepts.Key words: rectification, euphemism, Confucius, Putin, discourse, war

Athens and Jerusalem Redux

In this essay, I evaluate the extent to which some currents in classical Christian mysticism might count as properly ‘Christian’ against the rules of faith and theological methodology of thinkers like Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Justin Martyr. I begin by expounding this methodology as it relates to non-Christian philosophical traditions, and from there explore the rules these thinkers offer, suggesting that the beating heart of these rules is not a string of propositions to affirm so much as it is a commitment to a certain rendition of biblical narrative grammar. After exploring this grammar, I turn to a brief discussion of the foundations of Christian mysticism and the thought of Evagrius Ponticus. The aim here is to illustrate the theoretical foundations of much Christian mysticism, as well as to provide a test case to evaluate how far some prominent elements of this discourse might, or might not, cohere with the biblical narrative grammar elucidated above. I argue that there is ample room to question the legitimacy of Evagrius’s claim to properly Christian theorizing, and suggest this has serious implications for future Christian work in the philosophy of mysticism.

Christian Philosophy facing Naturalism

The dispute between naturalism and anti-naturalism has been underway almost since the very beginnings of philosophy. Christian thinkers, by proclaiming that God as Creator transcends the reality He has created, and that human beings as persons transcend the material world, have entered this dispute on the anti-naturalist side. The contemporary dominance in culture of the naturalistic paradigm requires Christian philosophy to reflect on naturalism in the broadest sense (in its various forms), together with its conditions and consequences, and to rethink its relationship to this philosophical tradition. Naturalism rejects the possibility of something existing, being known, or being explained that is separate from the material reality given in empirical cognition. Along with this, it denies human beings transcendence with respect to the natural or social world. In its contemporary iteration, this tradition appeals to the solutions and methods of domain-specific forms of scientific inquiry, relying on them for its own authority. For Christian philosophy, naturalism represents a powerful challenge. It is possible to see in it a threat to Christian philosophy, but it is also possible to discern in it an opportunity for a more critical evaluation of Christian philosophy’s previous solutions, and an opportunity to develop new ones. There is a need for a better understanding of naturalism itself, as well as of what the various domain-specific sciences (including the natural and social sciences, as well as the humanities and, currently, neuroscientific research in particular) have to say about the world and about human beings. Systematic and historico-philosophical questions equally still call for debate – in relation to the centuries-old dispute between naturalism and anti-naturalism, as well as the changing place of Christian thought within it. In our own time, one can witness diverse attempts by Christian thinkers both to critically discuss naturalistic positions and to implement naturalistic approaches or solutions within Christian thought itself. Certainly, the latter cannot ignore the fact that naturalism allows philosophy to maintain cognitive contact with domain-specific forms of scientific inquiry. The organizers plan to conduct this conference in hybrid mode, combining both online and onsite elements. This model will allow all interested persons to participate, while also offering those wishing to actually come to Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow the possibility of doing so.

Ọ̀rúnmìlà and the Yorùbá Intellectual Tradition: Words and Language vis-à-vis Western Modernity

Abstract The essay offers a decolonial reading of the thought of Ọ̀rúnmìlà, the ancient legendary Yorùbá African messenger and interpreter of the spiritual tradition of Ifá with the aim to address the problem of hegemonic languages (such as English and French) and epistemic bias that have affected the Yorùbá intellectual tradition. The essay argues that reflection on the deep history of Yorùbá and the applied philosophy of Ọ̀rúnmìlà can better clarify the problem of language and epistemic injustices that European modernity has generated in modern Africa. The essay therefore explores what could be described as the interaction of nature-culture in the Yorùbá African intellectual tradition that continues to be silenced and distorted by imposed hegemonic languages and cultures. Through a new reading of the thought of Ọ̀rúnmìlà within the context of Ifá, the essay highlights how the problem of language and epistemic injustices disrupts the continuity of inherited African philosophical and historical traditions in modern times. Ultimately, such reading aims at revealing the contribution of the Yorùbá intellectual tradition to the global philosophical and historical discourse.

“Knowledge” and “Action”: al-Ghazali and Arab Muslim Philosophical Tradition in Context of Interrelationship with Philosophical Culture of Byzantium

“Knowledge” in Islam, Muslim culture and philosophy is considered as the key to understanding Muslim civilization, the formation of which took place in interaction with the cultures of peoples of the eastern and western parts of the former Roman Empire. The Byzantine theology and philosophy were of great importance for the points of contact and mutual enrichment of Muslim and Christian cultures in the Middle Ages, influencing the formation of Christian orthodox doctrine and the worldview of the ethnically diverse peoples of the Byzantine oikumene. The phenomenon of “knowledge” in Muslim culture is presented in the article in connection with some contexts of Byzantine culture. “Knowledge”, as well as the categorical space of Muslim culture as a whole, on the one hand, allows us to understand the spirit of Islam as a phenomenon of religion, culture and civilization, and on the other hand, to determine the role and significance of this space in the formation and development of the main directions of Arab-Muslim philosophy formed in the “golden era” of Islam. The article considers the spiritual attitude to the “search for knowledge” in Islam: in the Koran and the Sunnah. Particular attention is paid to the concept of “knowledge” in the Arab-Muslim culture, while it is noted that written culture, book knowledge and education in general were the property of not only a narrow circle of rulers and religious figures in the Arab Caliphate. Within the framework of the categorical space of the Arab Muslim culture and philosophy, it should be borne in mind that the categories of “knowledge” (‘ilm) and “action” ('amal) constitute an inseparable unity within the framework of the Arab Muslim spiritual tradition in the context of the relationship between “theoretical” and “practical” mind. The role of “knowledge” and “action” within the framework of the Arab Muslim philosophical tradition is considered on the example of the teachings of al-Ghazali, who had a huge impact on the development of philosophy both in the Arab East and the European West. Being a key figure in the spiritual history of Islam and Muslim civilization, al-Ghazali considered knowledge not just as a value, but also as a virtue. An ardent champion of the role of reason, he connected theoretical reason with the understanding of spiritual realities that give us various systems of knowledge called sciences. The area of competence of practical reason, which should be based on the theoretical, al-Ghazali associated with human behavior. Practical reason directs human actions based on the will, based on and guided by a moral ideal. Al-Ghazali’s teachings are considered in notions and terms formed and developed in the Middle Ages within the Arab-Muslim culture and reflecting some meanings of such historical type of philosophical culture as the Greek-Byzantine classical Patristics. Al-Ghazali and the Byzantine Church Fathers shared a philosophical and theological understanding of man in his relation to the Creator and the phenomenon of “knowledge”.