Philosophical Work Research Articles

Simone Weil and Ludwig Wittgenstein: ‘Philosophy as work on oneself’

AbstractFor many years Simone Weil and Ludwig Wittgenstein have been placed side by side. Little of that work has tried to explicitly compare the two. Direct comparisons can, however, be made between Weil and Wittgenstein, which can show that the ways they approached philosophy shared numerous traits and ideas. Both thinkers rejected philosophical systems, both admitted that serious philosophical work did not try to reject all contradictions internal to it, and, in fact, both sought to make facing contradictions and seeming contradictions central to their method. Both wrote of the world with a sense of mystery that surrounds human life, a sense of transcendent good. Both engaged the problems with talking about such a good that cannot be neatly fit into language. Both also saw the task of philosophy as one concerned with meaning. Both also saw philosophy as a matter of “work on oneself.” This essay will examine what it means to say that philosophy is a matter of work on oneself. To do so, I want to examine primarily two essays, one from each philosopher, essays which bear remarkable similarity to each other in the sort of problem they deal with.They are section xi of Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Psychology – A Fragment, and Weil's “Essay on the Concept of Reading.”

The Function of Memes in Political Discourse

AbstractThe use of memes has become increasingly widespread in political discourse. However, there is a dearth of philosophical discussion on memes and their impact on political discourse. This paper addresses this gap in the literature and bridges the divide between the empirical and philosophical work on memes by offering a functionalist account which allows for a more in-depth analysis of the role memes play in political discourse. We offer a taxonomy of the eight key characteristics of memes: 1. humor; 2. fostering in-group identity; 3. caricatures; 4. replicability; 5. context collapse; 6. hermeneutical resources; 7. low reputational cost; 8. signaling. On the positive side, the propensity memes have to foster in-group identity and to function as a hermeneutical tool for people to make sense of their own experiences are a boon especially to marginalized communities. On the flipside, the creation of an in-group/out-group dynamic can also be exploited by sinister political actors, especially since the low reputational cost of circulating memes allows for plausible deniability. We use the analysis in this paper to jumpstart a discussion of how we should understand memes and debate which norms should govern the novel speech act of posting a meme given its impact on political discourse. Based on our findings, we end with a call to adopt stricter norms for the act of posting a meme.

EDUCATION AS A MAJOR CAPITAL AND THE MAIN BASIS FOR THE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF THE COUNTRY

Based on the works of philosophers of the ancient world and scientists of our time, the article analyzes the need for the existence of two components of its development in any country, namely human capital and financial and political opportunities. Attention is paid to the fact that intellectual potential is a set of resources that include human intelligence and creative ability, with its characteristic educational and qualification indicators. It is proved that higher education graduates are the intellectual core that forms the market of qualified specialists capable of becoming the economic potential of the country. It is shown that the rational use of this potential, in combination with other scientific achievements of society, contributes to the achievement of a new quality of economic development, raising living standards and preserving the environment for future generations. That is, the level of awareness and education of each individual is the molecule that lays the foundation for consolidating the country's competitive influence in the international market. To implement the above, the need for more active use of public administration in the educational process at all levels is determined, the expediency of applying legislative regulation of the process of interaction between higher education institutions and business structures is investigated, both for the establishment of joint projects and processes of commercialization and reform of education in different countries, including in modern Ukraine, and for achieving positive changes in strategic planning and economic development.

The (In)efficiency and (Un)certainty of Non-propositional Structures of Reality … or, Adventures in Philosophy of Understanding

This article critically discusses understanding, certainty and efficiency in relation to juridical and jurisprudential contexts. Understanding is an undertheorized topic in law and jurisprudence, despite philosophy and epistemology addressing it at some length in recent years. The focus, therefore, is on understanding-in-law (or understanding as a cognitive function of the law) rather than understanding-of-law, which is an exceedingly well-trodden path in doctrinal, critical and philosophical legal work. The article acknowledges that this branch of epistemology is perhaps new ground for legal academics, and thanks to Luca Siliquini-Cinelli’s landmark book, Scientia Iuris, the article is a response to his thesis that law’s regulatory function has grown in recent decades to embrace and embody knowledge while voiding experience. And while this leads Siliquini-Cinelli to the conclusion that law is a matter only of knowledge, not of experience, the article raises questions about what dwells cognitively between poles of knowledge and experience, and how we can take from or define a place for understanding between poles of knowledge and experience. It also explores the role of certainty and efficiency in shaping understanding in law and beyond, with understanding ultimately defined as a grasping of the structures of the objects of law, different from and in contrast to legal knowledge. Keywords: understanding; certainty; knowledge; efficiency; law.

The features of the theoretical training of the ancient Roman military

The purpose of the article. To investigate the specifics of the training of senior officers of the Roman army in the Late Republican period and the Early Principate. To outline the peculiarities of the study of military theory by the senior command staff of the legion, as well as to prove the probability of the existence of specialized libraries among the Roman elite, which consisted of the works of Greek and Roman authors of the genre of military literature. Research methodology. The research methodology: comparative, analysis, synthesis and analytical analysis. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the problem of military education in Ancient Rome was comprehensively investigated for the first time. In particular, the peculiarities of the study of the theory of military affairs not only by representatives of the highest military command — those from the nobility, but also by "new people" (homines novi) — representatives of the riding class (equites) are analyzed. Conclusions. It has been proven that the senior officers were not illiterate in military affairs and quite successfully coped with the assigned tasks — both in the administrative field and on the battlefield. It is also determined that the responsibilities of the senior officers of the Roman army, in particular military commanders, in addition to knowledge and skills in the field of military art, also included understanding the psychology of ordinary soldiers and the art of eloquence (rhetoric). The latter was acquired not so much from experience as from studying the works of Greek orators and philosophers.

Lightning and thunder explanations in encyclopedias – from ancient Greece to Wikipedia

Abstract. After a brief introduction to encyclopedias, the explanation of lightning and thunder in well-known encyclopedias, from the works of Greek philosophers to encyclopedias of modern physics, is examined. Starting with Aristotle (who is not regarded as an encyclopedist but is very important for our topic), 10 out of more than 200 known encyclopedias are treated in some detail. This selection is certainly somewhat arbitrary, but it an attempt was made to choose encyclopedias which are highlights and which were widely circulated at their time. In antiquity and during the Middle Ages, the explanations of thunderstorms were generally quite different from the modern view, explaining, for instance, lightning as a consequence of thunder. Besides this, strange effects of lightning were often reported. Many authors of those times used the explanations of former encyclopedias, sometimes referring to earlier authors, often just plagiarizing. These ideas, unorthodox by our present understanding, persisted for almost 2 millennia in encyclopedias. From the middle of the 18th century onward, physical explanations began to emerge; these are still valid today. More and more correct details regarding lightning and thunder and the results of experiments have been reported in encyclopedias. It is also attempted in this paper to name the insights of other scientists which the authors of contemporary encyclopedias do not mention but which should have been available at the time. Finally, it is stated that, even today, several details regarding thunderstorms are not well understood.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM AND ITS LIMITS: UKRAINIAN EXPERIENCE OF DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this research is a philosophical reflection on the category of freedom in the context of Ukraine’s democratic development, with a focus on its limits in light of current political and social challenges, particularly war and crises. The study analyzes the historical stages of the concept of freedom in Ukraine, the legal and ethical constraints placed on it, and the existential dimension of responsibility tied to individual choice. The research methods include critical analysis of philosophical and political works, synthesis of approaches from different philosophical schools (particularly liberalism and existentialism), comparative analysis of freedom and responsibility concepts, and systematic analysis of the legal and ethical challenges facing modern Ukrainian society. The results of the study reveal that the concept of freedom in Ukraine has specific historical features, related to the ongoing struggle for national independence, and dynamically changes under the influence of external threats and internal political processes. It is determined that the limits of freedom are shaped not only by legal norms but also by ethical and societal factors that actively shape Ukrainian public discourse. Special attention is given to the existential dimension of freedom as responsibility, which manifests in complex moral choices in the context of war. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the combination of historical, legal, and existentialist approaches to understanding freedom in the context of Ukrainian democratic development, providing deeper insights into the relationship between freedom and responsibility during periods of social crises. The theoretical significance of the work lies in expanding the philosophical understanding of the category of freedom within the Ukrainian context, its interaction with legal and ethical norms, which is essential for further research in political philosophy and law.

An Introduction to Acting “Together with Others” and Participation as the Basis for Community in the Thought of Karol Wojtyla

Karol Wojtyła’s conception of community is an often overlooked part of his vast body of writing. While much energy is dedicated to his ethics and theology, little attention is given to how he defined the way in which human persons interact with one another and build the communities and societies wherein they find themselves. Central to this definition of community are the concepts of “acting ‘together with others’” and “participation.” For Wojtyła, these two intimately personal and subjective aspects of the human person serve as both the basis and mode from which authentic human communities emerge. This work presents an introduction to Wojtyła’s basis for community through analyzing “acting ‘together with others’” and “participation,” thus placing the primary impetus for inter-personal action strictly within the tradition of metaphysical anthropology and personalism which Wojtyła himself embraced. In doing so, an overview of Wojtyła’s thought is presented that is based on his most influential philosophical works concerning community, particularly Person and Act and The Person: Subject and Community, with this serving as a realistic philosophical background for subsequent analysis of both the human person and communities generally.

Debunking Choice and Control in Active Support: A Qualitative Analysis of Encounters in Training Videos between Staff and People with Intellectual Disability

The online learning resource ‘Every Moment has Potential’ (2015) aimed to teach direct support professionals about the values underlying active support, especially choice and control. This is unsurprising: these values anchor disability rights activism and policies. However, accompanying videos meant to illustrate choice and control offer a more nuanced story. My qualitative analysis brings in Lori Marso’s concept of freedom in the encounter to theorize four kinds of encounters in active support relationships: encounters that treat people as people; encounters that encourage surprise and spontaneity; encounters of mutual and safe touch; and challenging encounters. I aim to question critically the explicit values alongside the practices of active support. Plus, by using online YouTube videos as analysis, I hope to encourage more creative ways to include people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities in academic work, especially theoretical and philosophical work about intellectual disability.

The event-property view of sounds

ABSTRACT Philosophical tradition holds that sounds, like colors, are sensible properties. Recently, however, there is a growing consensus in favor of the view that sounds are particulars, not properties. This article bucks the trend: it argues for the Event-Property View of Sounds – a widely overlooked and intuitively plausible version of the traditional view that not only avoids the difficulties that have led philosophers to opt for particularist alternatives, but does justice to the best insights of recent philosophical and empirical work on audition. In other words, it saves the truth in tradition by transforming it in light of new insight.

Холистическая антропология А.Л. Чижевского в контексте научного и религиозного мировоззрения

The article is devoted to the holistic views of A.L. Chizhevsky on human; fea­tures of their reflection in the philosophical and scientific works of the thinker, as well as in his poetry, are revealed; scientific and religious aspects of the scien­tist’s holistic anthropology are investigated. Analysis of the holistic world­view presented in the metaphysical work “The main beginning of the universe. Cosmic system. Problems”, allows us to state that the holistic approach to the human by Chizhevsky the philosopher is based on his conviction in the impact of the uni­versal principle of circulation on a single electric substrate. A study of the scien­tific works of one of the founders of space natural science suggests that the holistic anthropology reflected in them is based on specific laws that demonstrate human dependence on the environment (solar activity and ionized air). The Chizhevsky-poet forms the reader’s idea of the closest connection between micro- and macrocosm, about the cosmicity of a human being by using vivid images, with­out references to determinism; nevertheless, the anthropocosmic poems of “Leo­nardo da Vinci of the 20th century” are thematically related to his scientific re­search. The relevance of A.L. Chizhevsky’s holistic anthropology to the concept of global evolutionism and the post-classical type of scientific rationality is shown

The Multiple Aspects of the Given—Ontological Remarks on Ernst Mach’s Empiricism

Philosophers often rely on sciences of their own time. This is especially true for scientists writing philosophical works. In the case of Ernst Mach, the scientific references are mainly to physics, physiology, evolutionary biology and—in a somewhat different manner—the new discipline of psychology. Like so many authors in the late 19th century, Mach had extreme confidence in the methods of the natural sciences. However, this trait, often called scientism or positivism, can easily be used in polemical accounts that obscure other aspects of Mach’s thought. Mach is well-known for both his analysis of sensations and his evolutionary conception of perception and knowledge. The tension between the ambition to clarify the empirical basis of perception on the one hand and the focus on the natural origins of human perception on the other hand is, however, considerable. A comparison of these two perspectives can contribute to an ontological understanding of experience that sheds new light on the much-discussed topic of sense data and at the same time clarifies the difference between experience and observation and the role of experimental science in this context. In some respects, Mach seems closer to William James than to his followers in the Vienna circle. The accusation of idealism made by Lenin in his influential critique of positivism overlooks the implications of this naturalist approach but offers the occasion to dwell on the ontological implications of something that can be called natural historicity. Comparisons with Aristotle, Bacon, Descartes and Kant situate the empiricist theory of perception.

Freedom and Bondage: An Interpretation of the Concept of Freedom in Middlemarch

George Eliot, a renowned female writer and philosopher of the Victorian era, significantly embodied her philosophical ideas within her novels. The characters in Middlemarch relentlessly pursue freedom amidst the constraints of human nature, legal frameworks, and personal desires. This paper posits a remarkable resonance between George Eliot’s concept of freedom in Middlemarch and Baruch de Spinoza’s interpretation of freedom in his philosophical work, Ethica. However, Eliot’s creation of Middlemarch was not intended to serve as a vehicle for Spinoza’s view of freedom. Spinoza’s concept of freedom provided solid theoretical support for Eliot’s literary creation, and based on this, Eliot deepened the concept of freedom within Middlemarch, demonstrating her profound understanding and development of Spinoza’s ideas. Furthermore, this paper also reveals the complex societal issues and sharp human contradictions highlighted in the characters’ pursuits of freedom in Middlemarch. By analyzing Eliot’s thoughts on freedom and examining the influence of Spinoza’s view of freedom on her creation, this paper aims to open up a new path to help readers gain a more comprehensive grasp of Eliot’s philosophical ideas and the implications embedded within her literary oeuvre.

Freedom and Bondage: An Interpretation of the Concept of Freedom in Middlemarch

George Eliot, a renowned female writer and philosopher of the Victorian era, significantly embodied her philosophical ideas within her novels. The characters in Middlemarch relentlessly pursue freedom amidst the constraints of human nature, legal frameworks, and personal desires. This paper posits a remarkable resonance between George Eliot’s concept of freedom in Middlemarch and Baruch de Spinoza’s interpretation of freedom in his philosophical work, Ethica. However, Eliot’s creation of Middlemarch was not intended to serve as a vehicle for Spinoza’s view of freedom. Spinoza’s concept of freedom provided solid theoretical support for Eliot’s literary creation, and based on this, Eliot deepened the concept of freedom within Middlemarch, demonstrating her profound understanding and development of Spinoza’s ideas. Furthermore, this paper also reveals the complex societal issues and sharp human contradictions highlighted in the characters’ pursuits of freedom in Middlemarch. By analyzing Eliot’s thoughts on freedom and examining the influence of Spinoza’s view of freedom on her creation, this paper aims to open up a new path to help readers gain a more comprehensive grasp of Eliot’s philosophical ideas and the implications embedded within her literary oeuvre.

Ten in One: The Case of Stanza 13 in Samantabhadra’s Sixth Century Āptamīmāṃsā

AbstractThe title refers to an unusual instance of ten occurrences of one stanza in a single philosophical work. The stanza in question highlighted here is the outcome of a previous study on the faults (doṣas) levelled against the non-one-sided position of the Jainas, the theory of manifoldness that aims at avoiding any absolutistic standpoint or perspective concerning an object of investigation (anekāntavāda). This article draws on a study published in 2007 on doṣas or faults levelled against the Jainas. One aspect of the debate on it is dealt with here in a bit more detail: the ten occurrences of the identical stanza in Samantabhadra’s 6th century Āptamīmāṃsā (ĀM). Vidyānandin’s tenth century Aṣṭasahasrī-commentary to Āptamīmāṃsā 71 and 72 mentions a list of seven faults (doṣas) which, he says, do not apply to the Jaina anekāntavāda, with ĀM 70 thematically belonging to these two stanzas.The unique feature of ĀM 70 (which thematically belongs to ĀM 71 and 72 dealt with in the 2007 paper) in the context of Vidyānandin’s commentary is specifically dealt with here, because ĀM 70 is identical with ĀM 13, which is repeated ten times in all in Samantabhadra’s seminal work divided into ten chapters or sections (paricchedas) in the form now published. The paper will deal with some aspects of the repetitions of ĀM 70, the first occurrence being ĀM 13.

Christian personalism and “carnal race” in the philosophy of H. S. Skovoroda

The purpose of the article is to analyze H. Skovoroda’s criticism of mass society, called the “carnal race”, based on the position of Christian personalism, which the Ukrainian philosopher adhered to. Its implementation will allow us to expand our view of H. Skovoroda’s personology, taking into account the ascetic component and critical orientation of the content of his creative heritage. The main methodological tool for the stage of the mentioned problem includes a philosophical-anthropological, axiological and philosophical-religious analysis of H. Skovoroda’s texts in their dialectical unity and interaction. The result of the research presented in the article. The undertaken analysis of the teachings of H. Skovoroda revealed his critical attitude towards mass society, the environment of which is the “carnal man” as an anthropological type. An alternative to the named society has been identified, which is contrasted with the Kingdom of God as a community of spiritually renewed people. It is shown that condemnation and the desire to oust the community of “slaves of the flesh” is complemented by the desire for its spiritual transformation towards unity with God in the inner world of the individual — the heart. The view of the philosophy of the heart as an essential feature of personalistic thought is substantiated, and the achievement of identity with God and Christ in the spiritual space of the heart organically correlates personalism with Christian thought. The condemnation of the “carnal race” together with the “carnal man” in the horizon of Christian thought is recognized as one of the aspects of the personalization of man and society, a concern aimed at their spiritual transformation. The scientific novelty. The interpretation of Christian personalism as the foundation of H. Skovoroda’s philosophy has been expanded and deepened due to its correlation with the ascetic criticism of mass society. This circumstance allows us to pay serious attention to the role of criticism in constituting the Christian-personalistic foundation of the work of the Ukrainian philosopher. To develop an understanding of Christian thought, the organic connection between its personalistic and ascetic values is demonstrated, which makes it possible to evaluate their unity and interconnection in their focus on the spiritual development of man and society. The practical significance. The results of this study can be used in the educational process for teaching general and special courses on the history of philosophy, the history of Ukrainian culture, and Christian ethics.

Původ dělení věcí na hmotné a nehmotné

The article concerns the origins of the well-known classification of corporeal and incorporeal things in Roman law, which follows from the development visible in the legal sources from Institutes of Gaius to the codification of the emperor Justinian. The wide range of non-legal sources dealing with the classification, mostly the philosophical works, from authors as Cicero, Seneca, Gellius, or Lactantius, is taken also into account. Two types of the classification based on the corporeality of things arise from all the analyzed texts. The first one uses the terms corporeal and incorporeal thing, but the legal sources, except the Institutes of Gaius and apart the non-legal ones, almost avoid it. The second one divides things with corpus and the ones consisting of rights and it is represented in the text of Ulpianus or Hermogenianus as well as in several post-classical legal sources. Nevertheless, the codification of the emperor Justinian adopts the formulation according to Gaius, whose proximity to the philosophy categories can be observed so the classification of the corporeal and incorporeal things.

From Chinese to Global Humanism: Articulations and Decolonial Critiques of New Confucian Philosophy in Cold War Taiwan and Hong Kong

In scholarly discussions of Cold War humanism, writings by New Confucian philosophers who exiled themselves from China after 1949 have been largely overlooked due to assumptions about their anti-Communist position. This essay proposes to re-examine New Confucian writings on humanism in Taiwan and Hong Kong from the 1950s to the 1970s as a way to better understand the complexity of these two places in relation to humanistic genres of decolonization: while the New Confucian conception of Chinese humanism intervenes in the hegemony of Western humanism, it also represses other humanistic imaginations that do not derive from Han cultural nationalism. The first part of the essay closely analyses the connection between the French debates on humanism and several philosophical works of Mou Zongsan 牟宗三 (1909–1995) in Taiwan and Tang Chun-I 唐君毅 (1909–1978) in Hong Kong. Following a brief overview of their exilic context, it looks into Mou’s rejection of Sartre’s existentialist humanism in defence of Chinese subjective freedom, as well as Tang’s conception and ideological development of the “Chinese humanistic spirit” in opposition to “anti-humanism” (different from Althusser). The second part turns to repressed humanisms – the positive reception of existentialist humanism among liberal and nativist intellectuals in Taiwan and the search for Hong Kongers’ cultural identity between anti-humanism and Chinese humanism in Hong Kong, which complicates colonial and anti-colonial humanisms under European imperialism. Via a comparison with Sartre, Fanon, and the conception of a new/decolonial humanism, the essay concludes that a different shift from Chinese to global humanism is necessary for finding new approaches to decolonization in Taiwan and Hong Kong from the Cold War era to the present moment.

From the history of the lexeme ticket in Russian: from a word to a precedent phenomenon (on the material of F. M. Dostoevsky’s works)

This article considers the lexeme ticket as a representative example of those words that outlasted the golden age of semantic and cultural-historical evolution in the Russian language. We analyse possible extralinguistic and intralinguistic reasons for extending the lexical combinability and semantic spectrum of the lexeme ticket in the second half of the 19th century. These causes determined the gradual increase in the mental significance of the word, as well as the origins of its loss of conceptual significance in the period after 1917. The fact that the word ticket could have the status of a concept in the Russian language of the second half of the 19th century can be proved based on F. M. Dostoevsky’s texts. His works not only show the ample lexical combinability of the analysed lexeme, but also provide examples of its metaphorical use. The research employed the historical, descriptive, and comparative methods in conjunction with semantic and componential analysis. The paper concludes that the number of meanings and meaning shades of the word ticket increased considerably in the second half of the 19th century. Thus, its lexical combinability extended, and the lexeme reached the semantic evolution peak. As a result, any piece of paper with any text was actually called a ticket. The general linguistic significance of the word gradually developed into a conceptual one, which was reflected in F. M. Dostoevsky’s writings. His texts contain the best examples of the philosophical and metaphorical use of the lexeme. For instance, the image of a ticket returned to God in the novel "The Brothers Karamazov" became a precedent phenomenon in the works of Russian philosophers and writers.

Physical influx theory: the case of Émilie Du Châtelet

ABSTRACT In this paper, I analyse Émilie Du Châtelet’s (1706–49) account of causation which, in turn, is crucial for understanding her philosophical main work, the Institutions de physique (1740/1742). So far, the topic of causation in Du Châtelet’s thought has received but little attention despite its importance. I will show that Du Châtelet’s account of physical causation is that of physical influx much in line with the position taken by some of the most prominent eighteenth-century German metaphysicians at the time of the publication of her Institutions: Martin Knutzen (1713–49), Johann Peter Reusch (1691–1758) and the pre-Critical Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). I will argue that physical influx takes place at the level of simple substances or physical monads, and I will defend my interpretation against the main objection to physical influx: that it conflicts with Leibniz’s non-transfer argument. The ultimate metaphysical details regarding how physical influx has to be understood remain an issue, that of understanding the causality of the cause. This, however, is an issue that other causal theories face, too (in their own way).