Philosophical Trends Research Articles

Engineering existence?

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the connection between two recent trends in philosophy: higher-orderism and conceptual engineering. Higher-orderists use higher-order quantifiers (in particular quantifiers binding variables that occupy the syntactic positions of predicates) to express certain key metaphysical doctrines, such as the claim that there are properties. I argue that, on a natural construal, the higher-orderist approach involves an engineering project concerning, among others, the concept of existence. I distinguish between a modest construal of this project, on which it aims at engineering higher-order analogues of the familiar notion of first-order existence, and an ambitious construal, on which it additionally aims at engineering a broadened notion of existence that subsumes first-order and higher-order existence. After identifying a substantial problem for the ambitious project, I investigate a possible response which is based on adopting a cumulative type theory as the background higher-order logic. While effective against the problem at hand, this strategy turns out to undermine a major reason to embrace higher-orderism in the first place, namely the idea that higher-orderism dissolves a range of otherwise intractable debates in metaphysics. Higher-orderists are therefore best advised to pursue their engineering project on the modest variant and against the background of standard type theory.

Od Jana Amosa Komeńskiego do Jeana Frédérica Oberlina – od idei do praxis

Resulting from his reflections on education and shaped by the idea of pansophism, the phenomenon of Comenius' pedagogical thought for centuries not only had an impact on the development of the subsequent philosophical trends forming the (perennial) educational exemplar but also it indicated the direction of the essential educational reforms. One of the inheri-tors of Comenius' pedagogical visionary was the author of Poêles à tricoter - John Frederic Oberlin. In his archetype of kindergarten, a reflection of Comenius' idea related to the early education can be found, which was included in Informatorium scholae maternae ('On early education'), which Oberlin puts into a language of pedagogical praxis. Comenius' ideas of religious-ethical education, child’s multisided development and education leading to child's readiness to be a pupil were given not only an application character but also an institutional form by Oberlin. Initiated by Oberlin in Ban de la Roche in 1769 on the pages of Poêles à tricoter and referring directly to Comenius' reflections, the educational solutions commenced the new era in the history of education.

OVERCOMING SOCIAL ALIENATION IN MARXIZM AND POST-INDUSTRIAL THEORY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The article is devoted to the reflection of processes in the economy associated with intangible capital on social development. The author focuses on the problem of social alienation, formulated by Marx, and the possibilities of overcoming it, which are opening up in connection with the transition of the economy to the production of intellectual values. Using the method of comparison, the author explores how this problem is solved by representatives of two philosophical trends – post-industrialism (D. Bell, V.L. Inozemtsev, A. Toffler) and neo-Marxism (V.V. Orlov, J. Baudrillard, A.V. Buzgalin, A. Gorz). Both of them believe that the production of knowledge is incompatible with the commodity nature of the industrial economy. However, supporters of the post-industrial concept believe that overcoming the commodity form is possible within the framework of reforming capitalism, while Marxists argue that the «knowledge economy» is achieved only by transforming of social relations. In addition to the actual economic aspects of this issue, the article examines the problems of creative labor, consumer society, relations between people, conflict of values through the prism of alienation.

«Страница из истории марксизма»: о чтении Гефтером Маркса

The purpose of this paper is to show how the thought and speech of people holding and defending directly opposite positions affect the change in the thought and speech of people of their own and subsequent generations, with different life orientations, and to find ways of this influence. The author describes the situation that arose at the end of the sixties of the twentieth century, known as the ideological dispersal of philosophical, historical and sociological trends that ran counter to the policy of the CPSU, which became especially fierce in the fight against opponents after the USSR’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in August, 1968. One of the results of such an ideological battle was the defeat of the sector of the methodology of history of the Institute of General History of the USSR Academy of Sciences, headed by M. Ya. Gefter, who published a series of books in which the so-called laws of historical development (formational approach) were questioned and the fundamental provisions of the classics of Marxism-Leninism were criticized. The subject of analysis is Gefter’s article “A Page from the History of Marxism in the Early 20th Century”, published in the book “Historical Science and Some Problems of the Modernity”, dedicated to the analysis of Lenin’s tactics and strategy development which changed the views of many, especially young, historians on the historical process, and most importantly - on the methods of seeking and expressing the truth. The differences were expressed primarily in the fact that the proponents and defenders of the Soviet regime, which was based on their own established norms of Marxism-Leninism, fearlessly used all means of pressure on unwanted opponents. Professionals, however, who tried to understand the true sense of the historical process, the sense of judgments about it, especially the sense of the revolutionary struggle against the autocracy, unfolding at the beginning of the twentieth century, were forced to use the Aesopian language, which also provoked a distortion of this sense in many ways: due to the nebulous and veiled expressions, which give the impression of theoretical blackmail, causing such consequences as speech irresponsibility.

Reception of period cultural and literary trends in the prints of Slovak authors active in Bohemia at the turn of the 16th century

At the turn of the 16th century for a variety of reasons related to the socio-political, educational and religious situation in Hungary, relatively many natives from the area of today’s Slovakia lived and permanently worked in Bohemia and Moravia. These were mostly Protestant scholars, writing and publishing their work in Bohemia. Due to the authors’ origin, their works are also considered to be related to Slovakia. This paper illustrates the circumstances of Slovaks active in Bohemia and selectively presents the inspiration sources (the ancient times, the Bible, the Renaissance authors of the time…) that the scholars originally from today’s Slovakia used in their work, published largely in Bohemia or intended primarily for the Bohemian market and audience. It also reflects on societal, cultural, religious and philosophical trends of Humanism.

Dimensions of the Stoic for Hemingway, "The Great Sheikh": Santiago as a model

Ernest Hemingway is considered one of the most prominent novelists and short story writers of the twentieth century. His short novel The Sheikh and the Sea is the last notable work of fiction to be published during his lifetime. This novel is also considered a milestone in fictional literature, as it has outstanding literary qualities that enabled its author (Hemingway) to obtain the Nobel Prize. It tells the story of the human tendency to the dilemma of skepticism and faith in the same critical situations. Therefore, the study assumes that there are some decisive factors that created the protagonist, Santiago, as one of the characters representing the Stoic philosophical trend. The study also focuses on Santiago's qualities such as perseverance in strength and patience in his struggle against nature

The Place of Socialism in African Art

The Place of Socialism in African Art

Եղիա Տեմիրճիպաշյան. Բազմավաստակ գրողն ու մտավորականը

Writer, publicist, philosopher, pedagogue, editor Yeghia Temirchipashyan (1851–1908) occupies a special place in the history of Armenian literature and, in particular, in the national-social, educational and cultural development of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was destined to live and create for our people, truly, in a crucial historical time, when not only national and public life, but also scientific and meaningful creative thought was undergoing rapid reforms. In the oppressive atmosphere of the Sultan’s Turkey, even the creative spirit of Armenians tried to find a way out of the developments taking place in the world, the sources of progress and the latest ways. In the system of communication and internal transfers, Y. Temirchipashyan gave priority to the present time. Soberly assessing the current requirements of life, he felt and realized that time has changed, the human being has changed. That is why, considering the Mashtots Grabar adored, he advocated the use of a manifests when assessing the complex phenomena of the transition time experienced by him from the point of view of the life and progress of the nation and society as a whole. In his famous articles entitled “The Evolution of the Beauty” “The Element of the Philosophy of History”, “A Hassle over Bringing up Girls or a Speech of Broom”, encouraging the influx of European literary, scientific and philosophical thought into the Armenian reality, he was against the intention to accept with open arms all the shepherds and currents coming from the West. At the same time, having mastered new aesthetic and philosophical trends, he also encouraged reading “nutritious, strengthening, awaking books”, and did not stop believing in the optimistic prospects of the nation and the Motherland.

Neopragmatism as Lebensphilosophie

This article analyzes the modern American pragmatism as “uniform in its diversity” movement of the philosophical thought. The author reveals the differences between neopragmatism and classical pragmatism, the key of which consists in transformation of representation of the American philosophers on the specificity of their discipline, purpose of philosophy, and its role within the system of sciences. The classics, such as C. S. Peirce, J. Dewey, C. I. Lewis, referring to instrumental success and practical orientation of natural science, viewed the contemporary to them technoscience as a model for the philosophical research, while the neopragmatists rely on the cultural studies and hermeneutics. The problems of substantiation of knowledge, verification, logical analysis, scientific experimental proof/disproof of hypotheses, which drew the interest of the classics of pragmatism, are being replaced with the problematic of dialogue, interpretation, and social communication. The associated with it “communological trend” of neopragmatism found drastic reflection in ethnocentrism of R. Rorty. The author highlights the characteristic features and trends in the development of nonclassical pragmatism in the United States and Europe, as well as assesses its current state is assessed. prospects. The conclusion is made on the substantial heuristic potential of pragmatist tradition and possibilities of its effective convergence with other philosophical trends and schools: as “method of settling disputes” (W. James), neopragmatism considering the demand for its ideas and growing popularity among the European philosophers, can make certain contribution to the convergence and mutual enrichment of the Anglo-American analytical and continental philosophy, as well as overcoming the schism between the two intellectual traditions.

The Problematics of Scientific Discovery

Historically, the problem of discovery or the problem of the genesis of scientific ideas has been taken seriously by the historians, psychologists, sociologists and philosophers who analyzed the creative thinking and formation of ideas and attempted to provide a meaningful account of them. In fact, the philosophical concern with scientific discovery is as old as science and philosophy of science themselves. However, almost throughout the first half of 20th century, philosophical reflection on the phenomenon of scientific discovery remained in a state of suspended animation. This is because the dominant trend in philosophy of science in this period outlawed it. The dominant view in philosophy of science maintained that the phenomenon of scientific discovery is philosophically irrelevant, and an adequate philosophical understanding of science should confine itself to the way in which scientific theories are justified; it was assumed that the process of justification is a neat, spick-and-span phenomenon eminently suited to be described in terms which are, logically speaking, cut and dry. The process of justification or evaluation according to this orthodox view constitutes the essence of science. Obviously, justification was demarcated from discovery. Justification, because of its supposed epistemic transparency, became the exclusive focus of philosophical attention to the detriment of discovery. The invidious distinction between discovery of scientific ideas and justification of finished ideas of science remained the catchword for a long time. This paper is an attempt to critically examine the nihilistic attitude of the dominant philosophies of science and to arrive at a philosophical theory of scientific discovery.

ON THE ISSUE OF FORMATION OF THE CONCEPT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL NORM IN THE CONTEXT OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF FUTURE PSYCHOLOGISTS

In the process of professional training of future psychologists, the ability to recognize the mental norm and deviations from it to identify resources to maintain a healthy part of the psyche during counseling, correctional or psychotherapeutic work with the client is important. Professional competencies in pathopsychology involve the formation of the concept of norm and pathology in the worldview of future psychologists, because in any activity of a psychologist the forefront is the qualification of the studied psychological phenomenon as normal or pathological. Purpose. The purpose of this article is a theoretical overview of scientific approaches to understanding the concept of the norm in clinical psychology and its field as pathopsychology, to emphasize the relevance of the concept of the psychological norm in students majoring in Psychology during their training Methods. Theoretical research is carried out using methods of historical analysis, comparison, systematization, and interpretation of facts. Originality. Closely related to the concept of the mental norm is the concept of mental and psychological health. The fundamental difference between the terms "mental health" and "psychological health" is that the former characterizes individual mental processes and mechanisms, and the latter - refers to the individual as a whole, is closely related to the manifestations of the human spirit. In the scientific sense, norm and pathology are two extreme points and there is no clear boundary between them, and it is difficult to differentiate them. The continuum between the two extreme points is filled by the so-called boundary conditions. Within the level approach, there are three levels of human existence: somatic, psychological, and level of moral self-awareness. The "ideal norm" can be considered human well-being at all three levels of its existence Conclusion . Theoretical review of the issue, the problem of mental norms has been and remains controversial not only for pathopsychology, but also for related fields, including medicine. The mental norm is a multidimensional and multilevel formation. There are several approaches in the interpretation of this concept: adaptive, statistical, pathopsychological, phenomenological, from the standpoint of the norm - norm, the norm as an ideal, and many others, but there is no exact, generally accepted, indisputable definition, despite many studies. We can see the prospect of further research in the direction of analysis of modern world social and philosophical trends in understanding the norm, pathology, disease and psychological health of the individual and their introduction into the educational process of training future psychologists.

The study of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette

The purpose of the article is to study the problem of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette. The methodology is to use the historical method in the study of this topic. It is thanks to this method that genre genres of Chinese opera are revealed in the work. Information on roles and make-up is provided, based on the historical method. The scientific novelty of the article is to study the feasibility of the issue of Chinese opera culture, drawing on the country's musical traditions. The historical names of the philosophers who influenced the development of the musical arts and education system, which affected the cultural traditions of China, were highlighted. The scientific novelty of the article is the study and study of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette. Based on the country's musical traditions, we single out important factors of opera genres, including Tibetan opera, Shaoxing, Sichuan, Henan, Guangdong, etc. Conclusions are based on the study of the problem of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette, revealed the original culture of the country, its worldview system. The problem of the genre palette of Chinese opera culture has interested many scholars, among which we single out scientific works: L.S. Vasiliev, Hou Jiang, U Gen-Ir, and others. This question highlighted the philosophical trends that underpin China's traditions. The problem of studying the worldview system of ancient China as the basis for the emergence of the musical tradition has interested many scholars because it influenced the cultural life of the countries of the East. Based on the study of the problem of opera culture, they discovered the original art of China. Philosophical views influenced both theatrical life and the country's musical art. Special attention was paid to the issue of education, in particular aesthetics, in China. Music education has played an important role in China's culture. Confucius emphasizes the comprehensive development of humans while emphasizing the morality of the individual. The opera culture of the country is peculiar. Musical load played a big role. The Chinese worldview is based on a vision of nature as a living organism. The first sprouts of musical and theatrical art emerge. XII-XIII centuries marked the birth of Chinese opera. The Chinese theater was in full understanding of the people. The article highlights the types of opera genres. The musical side of classical theater is characterized by an unbroken unity of sound, words, and dance. The circle of images, moods, techniques of acting is characterized by a certain type of melody, rhythm, composition of the orchestra. The study of this issue regarding the opera culture of China is interesting and not fully understood, which necessitates further development in the study of this issue.

Philosophy and religion in the works of P. A. Florensky

The object of this research is the philosophical works of the Russian religious thinker P. A. Florensky. The subject is the extensive concept of religious philosophy, which brings certain clarity to the question of separation of the unity of philosophy and religion that takes place in modern thought. Throughout centuries, the philosophy has been defined in relation to religion. Only in the Renaissance Era, scholars and philosophers came to the conclusion that these two sciences can exist separately and pursue their initial goals. Theology should be proving the existence of God and comprehensibility of God for human mind and, most importantly, for faith. The theme of philosophy is human and existence. The main conclusions of lies in the statement that philosophy and religion do not contradict each other, neither on the subject matter nor in the fundamental cognitive attitudes that develop the ideas of human in their being. In the early XX century, the following situation has formed in Russia: if the philosophy does not acknowledge the existence of God, it no longer is considered a full-fledged science and should cease to exist. Only the materialistic trend in philosophy denied the existence of God. It has been overcome by such thinkers as N. Berdyaev, S. Frank, P. Struve, S. Bulgakov, and other. The aggravation of this issue at the turn of centuries resulted in the fact that the scholars have found  the religious topic particularly painful and fatal for the individual.

Methodological reconstruction of system-thought-activity approach to understanding consciousness

Methodological reconstruction of system-thought-activity approach to understanding consciousness

Deconstructivism in Philosophy, Architecture, and Reusability Contribution

Interest in philosophy and the humanities increased after the Second World War, especially in the West, as the critical movement began to reconsider the Western intellectual and philosophical heritage, and emerged approaches known as” postmodernism“, as critical foundations of Western cultural thought, and a product of that cultural and cognitive movement known as” postmodernism"; the concept of postmodernism, which is central This term is associated with a very diverse group that is rarely associated with each other with common things. The idea of postmodernism appears in a critique of the literary and philosophical trends on which modernism was based, and some theorists and philosophers believe that postmodernism is closely related to the social and political transformations that took place in industrial societies such as the postindustrial or knowledge society. Deconstruction is important critical movement as well as controversial, and no theory in literary criticism has provoked waves of admiration and created a state of aversion and resentment as well, as deconstruction has done in contemporary literary thought. Deconstruction emerged in the 1960s as a reaction to structuralism, the dominance of language, the centralization of the mind, and the dominance of linguistics over all fields of knowledge, and from the 1970s deconstruction became a literary critical methodology, and a mechanism for evaluating rhetoric and interpretation. Deconstructionism is mainly a critique of the structural proposition, which has been working to reveal the basic structures responsible for the most noticeable features of social and cultural interaction, since deconstructionism consistently negates the meaning in the text system and analyzes the margins, gaps, expectations, contradictions and conclusions within the texts, as formulations that contribute to the disclosure of the background of language and structure.

�������� ˲�����в������ � �����ֲ���Ͳ� �����ֲ̲

The relevance of the research topic is due to the increased uncertainty of the economic environment, especially in crisis situations such as a pandemic, and the expediency of defining the principles of libertarianism as a philosophical trend within the behavioral economics. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the advisability of expanding the range of principles of libertarianism in the context of an intentional economy at the expense of the imperative of culture as an exogamy of freedom and consensus. The methodological base is made up of: scientific abstraction, which makes it possible to identify factors that turn into imperatives; typologization as a method of determining positions that are attributed to freedom or consensus, the method of analysis and synthesis in substantiating the principle of culture. In the process of realizing the goal of the study, the main imperatives of libertarianism that prevail in Western philosophy of economics are described. The concepts of David Boazu are taken as a basis, which contain: individualism, limited management, free market, virtue of economic activity, harmony of interests, rules of law, rights of individuals and spontaneous order. The expediency of expanding the range of principles of libertarianism in the context of the intentional economy at the expense of the imperative of culture as an exogamy of freedom and consensus has been substantiated. It is noted that the culture of freedom presupposes the existence of rules, does not restrict the free choice of actions as derivatives of certain intentions. Freedom presupposes not only free choice, but also other conditions necessary for the successful realization of intentions: versatility of intentions, actions and results; responsibility for intentions and results of their implementation. Consensus within libertarianism in the sphere of intentional economics provides for the alignment of interests, is the quintessence of culture as a current one, reaching compromises on a rational basis. The culture of consensus is the coordination of intentions. The culture of exogamy allows for the following. The rules of behavior that exist in society and its economic plane can determine: the priority of the interests of a certain economic actor, if this does not contradict the freedom of another economic player; shaping the values of an economic society; harmonization with the expediency of the graduation of intentions according to various criteria

Prepozytywistyczna (?) koncepcja filozofii narodowej Michała Wiszniewskiego. cz. 2: Charakter i język filozofii narodowej

Termin „filozofia narodowa” obejmuje swym znaczeniem te specyficzne trendy filozoficzne, które występowały w wieku XIX, w okresie romantyzmu. Niemniej nie wszyscy myśliciele, którzy rozwijali koncepcję filozofii narodowej, należeli do tego wiodącego wówczas nurtu. Romantykiem nie był na pewno Wiszniewski, co też, między innymi, starano się pokazać w pierwszej części artykułu. Jednakże, podobnie jak każdy, kto postulował potrzebę stworzenia filozofii narodowej, tak i Wiszniewski stanął przed koniecznością określenia, czym według niego miałaby się charakteryzować filozofia narodowa, czyli stanął przed koniecznością określenia jej charakteru narodowego, stosunku do filozofii w ogóle, a także języka, w jakim miałaby się wyrażać. Tym zagadnieniom został poświęcony artykuł w swojej drugiej części. Stanowi on ponadto próbę oceny omawianej koncepcji Wiszniewskiego, a także odpowiedzi na pytanie „czy?” i na „ile?” można ją określić jako prepozytywistyczną.

Subject and subjectivity: V. Descombes VS S. Laugier

Despite the general applicability of philosophical concepts of the subject and subjectivity among philosophers, there is no unanimity in their understanding, even if we are talking about representatives of one philosophical trend. The subject of this article is the different understandings of subjectivity by two well-known French authors of analytical inspiration, V. Descombes and S. Laugier, which are united by the critique of the reflexive subject of the philosophy of mind, defending the idea of social mental nature, as well as appeal to the methodological resources of later Wittgenstein’s philosophy to develop the idea of a social subject. Despite their common attitudes, Descombes and Laugier are inspired by different traditions — Descombes, in general, develops the ideas of the French School of Sociology, while Laugier works in line of linguistic phenomenology, defined by the ordinary language philosophy and skeptical interpretations of Wittgenstein’s thought. Descombes builds the conception of the subject as an actor, formed not by his inside world, but by his action, the model of which is the institution of social life. Descombes’s practical subjectivity grows out of his critique of the reflexive paradigm of the philosophy of mind (consciousness) and is the actor’s ability to take the responsibility for his own actions. Instead, Laugier’s concept of «depsychologized subjectivity » focuses on the other side of the actor’s ability to act following some rule within the institutional paradigm of practice, namely the fragility and vulnerability of any human action, its defeats and difficulties, and the subject’s reluctance to be an actor and take the responsibility for his actions. Laugier defends the skeptical understanding of subjectivity as a property of the action of the delocalized subject of language and knowledge, his ability even by his inability to express the social naturalness of the human way of life.

HUMANCENTRISM AS A BASIC CATEGORY OF PHILOSOPHY OF ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Aim. Theoretical and methodological substantiation of the concept of people-centeredness as a basic category of sustainable development economy in order to form a basis for further study of the economic system through the prism of the concept of sustainable development. Method. Analysis of scientific literature on current trends in philosophy of economics, problems of human-centric approach in economics, research and critique of anthropocentrism. Results. The analysis is carried out and the methodological bases of rethinking the role and place of human in the structure and processes of economic activity are singled out. It is determined that modern trends in the philosophy of economics form new models, methods, and laws of management. It is noted that the change of priorities of socio-economic development transforms the theoretical and methodological foundations of research and the actual philosophy of economics. In turn, there is a need for more in-depth research and the use of new approaches and tools. The prospects of the research results are to form the basis for a qualitative new study of the economics of sustainable development, in particular using a holistic approach. Opportunities and prospects for studying economic processes based on the concept of holism are prospects for further research. Scientific novelty. The place and role of the concept of anthropocentrism as a basic category of sustainable development economy are substantiated, as well as key trends in the philosophy of economics in this context are identified. Practical significance. The results of the study allow asserting the formation of a new array of theoretical and methodological data that require more detailed research and conceptualization. Humancentrism as a basic category of the economy of sustainable development forms new perspectives for the study of economic processes and reflects changes in the philosophy of economic thought in general.

The Reformation of Philosophy ed. by Marius Timmann Mjaaland

Reviewed by: The Reformation of Philosophy ed. by Marius Timmann Mjaaland Mark Mattes The Reformation of Philosophy. Edited by Marius Timmann Mjaaland. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020. viii + 279 pp. These eighteen essays present the results of the Sixth Nordic Conference for Philosophy of Religion held in Oslo in 2017. Their goal is to assess the impact of the Reformation on philosophy. Questions raised include: how did the Reformation re-situate philosophy? Was the Reformation in some sense a philosophical event? Strangely, the majority of thinkers tend to leapfrog from Luther, if he is examined at all, to German Idealism (Kant, Hegel, Schelling), Existentialism (Kierkegaard or Nietzsche), various schools of twentieth-century [End Page 362] phenomenology (Husserl and Heidegger), and postmodern thinkers (Derrida, Agamben, Badiou, and others). The theme is subdivided into four subthemes: (1) Re-Formation of Philosophy in Christianity and Islam, (2) Philosophy in the Wake of the Reformation, (3) Reformation, Phenomenology and Metaphysics, and (4) Critique, Protest and Reform. Many of the essays are fairly abstract and assume a working knowledge of current trends in philosophy. That said, those aware of the divergent schools in philosophy will find value in this book for assessing medium theory, communication theory, aesthetics, metaphysics, and hermeneutics in light of Luther in whom are “traces” of modern concepts. Editor Mjaaland sees many of the “deep structures” of modern philosophy as pre-figured in Luther. Some highlights include the following. Philipp Stoellger interprets Luther’s legacy for philosophy in light of medium theory. In this light, the Reformation is a “re-formatting” of religion and faith through the medium of the justifying word as well as other media by which God is self-revealing (43). Safet Bektovic, a Muslim scholar, follows the thinking of medieval Muslim mystic Ibn Arabi, who, similar to Luther’s notion of a “hidden God” (masks of God or larva dei), claims that Allah uses “signs” that reveal aspects of his presence while veiling his essence. Mjaaland shows how the destructive aspect of the theology of the cross, its crucifying of spiritual pride, impacted Heidegger and Kant who both use a notion of destruction to overthrow metaphysics. Ultimately, for Kant, however, the notion of God is problematic because it can neither be presupposed in experience nor proved, given that it is beyond sense experience. Stian Grøgaard appropriates the thinking of F. W. J. Schelling as a counter both to Kierkegaard’s skepticism of metaphysics and Hegel’s “speculative philosophy of Spirit” with an “a priori empiricism” which allows the logic of experience to permeate pure thought. Like Luther, the critique of philosophy is itself philosophical. Jayne Svennungsson also appeals to Schelling as a voice affirming Jewish experience in the face of German Idealism’s anti-Semitism. She notes that Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig developed this further with a messianic vision that (ironically) challenges the nationalist [End Page 363] idea of one people as superior to all others, and makes this vision the vocation of the Jews. Jan-Olav Henriksen describes Nietzsche’s appreciation for Luther’s translation of the German Bible but otherwise develops Nietzsche’s wholesale rejection of Luther’s view of grace. Countering Protestant ambivalence towards aesthetics, Dorthe Jørgensen seeks an aesthetic which presents, and does not just represent, metaphysical truths. She appeals to Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartner and Kant to help in this quest and sees them as offering such an aesthetic based on dialogue with God. With respect to the traditional Lutheran doctrine of election, Atle Søvik defends the Book of Concord: “saying that people are sinners who should convert and presenting the grace of the gospel can be understood as a way that God creates faith . . . Thus blaming people for not having faith and God creating faith are two sides of the same event. They are not two contradictory events, but the same event” (238). This is a book by academics for academics. Perhaps an essay devoted to Luther as Nominalist would ground the material more in the Reformation legacy and serve as a frame of reference for the other essays. This book should be consulted only if one is invested in a specific theme or figure discussed in one of the...