Pure Concepts Research Articles

Purposiveness, Intelligibility and Kant's Scepticism: Reconsidering Ng's Account of Hegel's Response to Kant

Hegel's integration of the concept of Life in the Logic has long been disputed and rejected by many scholars. The most common objection was that it seemed counterintuitive to integrate an empirical phenomenon such as Life into a Logic that, in fact, ought to present an immanent development of pure concepts. Hegel was often accused of bringing empirical considerations into his Logic in order to develop his logical account of Life. Consequently, there has been a great discussion about the question as to whether a Logic is an appropriate place for this concept—a discussion that did not occur with respect to other categories in Hegel's Logic. Now, in contemporary literature on Hegel, there is a surge of genuine interest in Hegel's logical account of Life, accompanied by the insight that the concept of Life plays an important and indispensable role in Hegel's philosophy. However, what this role is precisely is a controversial issue.

J. S. Beck’s Theory of theOriginal Representingas an Interpretation of Kant

AbstractThis paper explores Beck’s theory oforiginal representingin order to discuss both its historical and theoretical relevance and its implications concerning Kant’s views on the capacity to judge. My first concern will be to highlight the main points of Beck’s Kant interpretation and to show at which points he misunderstands Kant. My analysis also contains a positive aspect, for I adopt Beck’s claim that there is only one possible standpoint from which critical philosophy ought to be judged. Unlike Beck, I shall argue that this standpoint is that of Judgment’s normativity. I will consider the normative structure of Judgment from three perspectives: the proto-synthetic import of sensibility; the normative character of the pure concepts of the understanding; the lawfulness of the principles of the understanding. My basic idea is that only a normative account of Judgment can prove how and why all experience depends on the possibility of synthetic a priori judgments. On Kant’s account, the capacity to judge applies transcendental rules to establish the laws which make our experience and knowledge both possible and legitimate. Every single object is an object of experience only insofar as it conforms to the normative structure of Judgment. For Kant, to constitute an object means to apply the rules which make something possible as an object of experience and cognition.

Immunotherapy and personalized treatment of multiple sclerosis

Personalized medicine requires apatient-oriented approach with the exact classification of the disease being determined by the underlying pathophysiological processes. In particular, the optimal treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) requires personalized treatment that goes beyond the pure concept of precision medicine; however, due to the lack of robust biomarkers beyond cranial magnetic resonance imaging and alacking detailed understanding of some aspects of MS pathogenesis, this approach is not yet fully implemented. Important questions for abetter therapeutic stratification of MS patients are: (1)when does MS start? (2)Does the spectrum of MS really span multiple diseases? (3)When does the progressive phase of the disease begin? (4)In which phase of the disease is there atherapeutic window for immunotherapy? Recent findings indicate that MS represents aspectrum of diseases and that there is atherapeutic delay of several years, on which the optimal treatment effect of adisease-modifying treatment depends. For apersonalized treatment of MS it is important to determine the exact disease stage of the patient and to react to the development or increase of focal inflammatory activity in atimely manner.

Bergson et le schématisme cinématographique de l’intelligence

The aim of the study by Arnaud Bouaniche, “Bergson on the cinematographical Schematism of Intelligence”, is to understand the role of cinema in the fourth chapter of Bergson’s Creative Evolution in the light of a precise comparison with the Kantian doctrine of schematism of pure concepts of understanding. A thesis then becomes clear : for Bergson, cinema is not, as is often believed, only a machine for producing illusion — the illusion of movement — but this “hidden art” — now made visible — which controls our spontaneous knowledge of reality.

DIVERGENCES FROM THE SEPARATION OF POWERS IN TIMES OF EMERGENCY WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS TO THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

The worldwide pandemic caused by the coronavirus has disturbed the pure conception of the separation of powers. States forced by the newly established situation, declared a state of emergency, thus the Republic of North Macedonia was not an exception. This paper will focus on the divergences from the separation of powers in the countries from the Western Balkans and across Europe whose departure in the well-established system of checks and balances intrigued the media. The case of North Macedonia was maybe the most interesting because in time of declaring the state of emergency by the President of the Republic, the legislative branch of power – the Assembly was dissolute which meant that the already difficult situation became more complicated to establish a balance between the branches of power to function in protecting the general health of the citizens and the fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Husserl on the overlap of pure and empirical concepts

AbstractThis essay clarifies Edmund Husserl's view of “pure” concepts, with a view to its contemporary metaphilosophical significance. It is argued that Husserl's conception of pure concepts is unique in that he allows overlap between pure and empirical concepts. This overlap leads to a potential for confusion between pure and empirical concepts which I label “amphiboly,” following Kant's use of the term. The essay begins by clarifying Husserl's view of the divergence in concept formation between empirical and pure concepts, and then articulates the specific properties of pure concepts that allow an empirical overlap. These properties include the modality and range of the extension of the concepts, the ordering of objects under the concept, and the mental faculty required to identify an object under the concept. Once we see the source of amphiboly in Husserl's view, it can be observed that many concepts of interest to philosophy, even outside phenomenology proper, are potentially subject to amphibolous uses. Thus, Husserl's view can be a general hermeneutical resource for clarifying the nature of philosophical concepts.

O ceticismo, entre Maimon, Fichte e Hegel

This article provides an overview of some significant responses to scepticism in German classical philosophy. I start with the exposition of S. Maimon’s criticism to Kant about the applicability of pure concepts to the empirical reality and the influence of this problem on J. G. Fichte’s Wissenschaftslehre. I expose the main theses of Fichte’s 1794/1795 Foundations of the Entire Wissenschaftslehre, from the point of view of the possibility of a systematic philosophy built upon first principles. Next, I consider Hegel’s 1802 discussion of the meaning and relationship of ancient and modern scepticism. This will allow me to introduce Hegel’s response to scepticism in the Phenomenology of Spirit and the question about the grounds of knowledge in the Science of Logic. In addition to showing the relevance of Maimon for the development of classical German philosophy, three theses are defended in the article: first, that both the Fichtean and the Hegelian answers accept the terms of discussion set by scepticism; second, that both present internal refutations of scepticism; and finally, that scepticism and its internal refutation can be understood as a thread connecting different philosophical positions in German classical philosophy.

Motion as a Concept, an Insufficient Element in the Kantian Philosophy

This article examines the Kantian ideas on motion in his work Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science. In that essay, Kant holds that motion as a concept—from its connotation as elemental and fundamental predicament of the material reality—mobilises in matter all the characteristics of its essence as a property. Nevertheless conceiving motion as a concept does not enable us to confirm the existence of motion itself in the natural world because ‘the possibility of specific natural things can’t be discovered from their mere concepts.’ (Kant in Principios metafisicos de la ciencia de la naturaleza. Tecnos, Madrid, 7. 1991). Therefore, the concept of movement does not evidence the existence of the movement or its characteristics and properties. Such claim would imply that motion as a concept is not evidence of the existence of motion as such and, therefore, the properties of matter cannot be mobilised based on that concept because they are characteristics of the essence of motion. Then, how does Kant intend to denote motion? Why pretend to explain matter form the concept of motion if a pure concept is, by definition, independent of the data obtained from the sensibility? (Colomer in El pensamiento aleman. De Kant a Heidegger. Herder, Tomo I. Barcelona, 114. 1986). Therefore, we will demonstrate that such weakness is the breaking point of the Kantian concept of motion in his “dynamic-metaphysical” model.

The Problem of Schematism in Kant and its Transformation in Southwest Neo-Kantianism

Abstract The meaning and validity of Kant’s Kant’s doctrine of schematism remains contested until today. In neo-Kantianism and post-War transcendental philosophy, Kant’s schematism of the pure concepts of understanding is transformed drastically. Kant’s thesis of heterogeneity is overcome by taking it back into the internal relationships of the structure of cognition. The spontaneity of thought, performing schematizations, is retained, but Kant’s project of conceiving of the foundations of knowledge in the fashion of a theory of apperception of the I as well as the externality of the given and the determination of the given that goes along with it is sublated by an objective order of validity-noematic constitution and regulation. Kant’s doctrine of schematism, then, shows to be methodology.

Kant über die Vollständigkeit der „Tafel der Kategorien der Freiheit“

Abstract Kant’s repeated statement in the Critique of Pure Reason that the so-called table of judgements and, as a consequence, the table of pure concepts of the understanding or categories, is fully exhaustive is well-known. This ambitious assertion has worried and challenged generations of authors. However, thus far the entire discussion has completely disregarded the fact that in his Critique of Practical Reason Kant undertakes a coordinate venture. For the “Table of the Categories of Freedom”, which he sets out, with only a few explanations, in the “Second Chapter” of the Critique, Kant makes, when looked at more closely, the very same claim to completeness. This article shows that this same claim is made, even though Kant does not state this assertion as explicitly as one might have expected. And it poses the question, which underlying, yet concealed assumptions this view might appeal to. Or is it that Kant has merely failed to provide the evidence in this case?

Lenguaje, temporalidad y significado

El trabajo sostiene que el aspecto temporal del significado constituye un elemento común a la reflexión de la Crítica de la razón pura y Ser y tiempo y propone su identificación como línea de argumentación entre ambas obras. Esta línea puede ser trazada desde la afirmación de que sólo la temporalidad posibilita el significado de los conceptos puros (Kant) hasta la idea de la génesis temporal del significado (Heidegger). Acorde a ello el trabajo se propone: a) mostrar la posibilidad de trazar dicha línea de argumentación común a ambas obras; b) indicar que a partir de ello ambas confluyen en una perspectiva que puede ser comprendida como una reflexión trascendental (en un sentido comprensivo) sobre el significado; c) exponer esta confluencia como el aspecto temporal del significado, y d) sugerir que, así comprendida, dicha reflexión conjunta puede proponer un enfoque relevante en la actual reflexión filosófica sobre el significado.

HIGHLIGHTS OF SEVERAL WORKS ON METAPHYSICS AND TASAWWUF

This article is a summary of the important points in the subject of philosophy of science, especially, Metaphysics idea or in Islamic sense. It calls as “Tasawwuf” (Islamic metaphysics). From several works, for instance, Immanuel Kant’s Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, S.M.N al-Attas’s Islam and the Philosophy of Science, and Nūr al-Dīn al-Rānirī’s Latā’if al-Asrār li Ahli Allah al-Aṭyār. From these three books, here is the highlight in order to understand their views on Metaphysics and Tasawwuf. The survey aims to analyze and compare their views, particularly on pertaining on Metaphysics. The study was found that Metaphysics, deals in general with questions about the nature of reality. The Sufis took the same position as the philosophers and the theologians in affirming the reality of thing that constitute the world, and hence also the reality of the world, as established, in contradiction to the Sophists. But the Sufis attested further, in significant contrast to the philosophers and the theologians, that in addition to existence in the above sense, that is, as a pure concept, and based upon clear mystical revelation and true intuition founded upon the authority of the Holy Qur’an and the tradition as well as upon reason and experience. Keywords: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science, Reality, Sufism (Tasawwuf), Truth.

The Transnationalization of Corporate Governance: Law, Institutional Arrangements and Corporate Power

This Article presents a critique of corporate governance theory against the background of a fundamental transformation of the political economy in which the corporation is embedded. This transformation is effectuated, on the one hand, by the denationalization and privatization of corporate governance rule making, which now encompasses a wide range of new transnational fora and actors. On the other hand, this transformation is a substantive one which touches on the core beliefs that have shaped corporate law and corporate governance for more than a century. The coalescence of these two driving forces places the current debate around “corporate purpose” and alternative visions of the corporation in the context of political economy changes which require a serious engagement with the question how it can be prevented that the corporation continues to become even further insulated from democratic political intervention. With these two forces in mind, this Article makes a socio-legal intervention, exploring the actual, regulatory landscape of corporate governance norm production today. We study the connections between law and norm creation on both the nation-state and the global level – rather than treating transnational law as the exception – and seek to engage corporate governance as part of a larger critique of law’s troubled relationship with the business corporation as an entity that exists not only in legal doctrine but in a wealth of actual socio-economic relationships. Complementing this analysis, the Article engages with the question whether the corporation’s purpose can be exhaustively be captured by tying it to the maximization of shareholder value. In light of the global financial crisis and its devastating consequences not so long ago, particularly for retail investors, workers and mortgage debtors, and the present-day collapse of world-wide economic activity due to Covid-19, it would seem unlikely were we to find that the allegation, uttered some two decades ago, whereby the shareholder value maximization paradigm constituted the “end of history of corporate law”, was still seen to be true. But, this very belief seems alive and well so that when, in the spring of 2020, business appeals to government for “rescue” in an historically unknown fashion, we must take a closer look at the historical relationship between “the state” and “the market.” What becomes evident from a historical perspective is the linearity of how mainstream corporate law has over time prepared the ground for a far-reaching autonomization and insulation of corporate governance from “society at large.” The Article analyzes the arguments and policies in support of this alleged autonomy of corporate governance and finds that the roots reach deeper than even the current debates over “stakeholderism” let on. While we are intrigued with the recent advances made in these debates and by important “players” such as the Business Roundtable, it is not at all clear what their lasting impact might be. Our analysis shows that corporate law’s distance from “non-shareholder” interests has long been tied into an economistic concept of the business corporation, from which all memory of the corporation as creature of law is eventually removed. By depicting the corporation through the concept of an in itself reductionist “nexus of contracts” that prioritizes investor-management relations at the exclusion of all other contractual and affected stakeholders of the firm, corporate governance can “take off” into Rudolf Ihering’s heaven of “pure legal concepts”, all the while betraying its deeply ideological character and actual economic and political power.

Das Recht in der Kritik der reinen Vernunft

Abstract Recent publications (Henrich, Seeberg) claim that Kant has been profoundly influenced by contemporary publications on juridical deductions. I try to show, that this cannot be right. The introductory note of the “Transcendental Deduction” (Critique of Pure Reason A 84) poses two questions: “quid facti?” and “quid juris?”. The first is answered by the demonstration of the possibility of relations between pure concepts and pure intuition und sensations, the second by the implicit refutation of David Hume. Kant and his interpreters sustain the possibility of using juridical concepts, that are neither related to real juridical facts nor are only metaphers, but have a special philosophical signification. But what should that be?

The Writings: Psalms

The WritingsPsalms Christopher T. Begg, Fred W. Guyette, Joseph E. Jensen, and Frederick E. Greenspahn 2170. [Psalms] Jorge Blunda, "Los Salmos como 'espejo del alma.' Dimensión poética y antropológica del Salterio," Ebor 32 (2019) 113-40. It seems obvious that the psalms are poems. Nonetheless, a large part of the difficulty we experience in understanding and appropriating the psalms is the result of a lack of attention to this well-known characteristic of theirs. Poetry is that register of language that makes the fullest use of the resources that a given language makes available. In this study, we seek to enter more deeply into the poetic character of the psalms, above all their plasticity of language which makes it possible for them to create an alternative world. In so doing, we base ourselves on the inseparable unity of form and content which makes of the works of art that are the psalms irreducible to pure concepts in order to reach back to the activity of their authors who are skilled in saying important things (and making them sound important) and to ascertain the purpose for which the psalmists carried on their work. We show how in the psalms a human subject emerges who experiences himself as both unified and multifaceted, immersed in and surrounded by constitutive relationships with his fellows and as part of a world that is perceived, interpreted, and created for him, i.e. a being called to live out his vocation in that world in full and joyous dependence on God, the only true interlocutor for his most significant questions. [Translated and adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 2171. [Psalms; Land] Johannes Bremer, "'Land' as a Topic in the Book of Psalms?" OTE 32 (2019) 687-715. B.'s essay focuses on land conceptions in the Psalter, discussing those psalms that reflect on Israel's history and regard the land as an integral part of Israelite remembrance and Yhwh as a powerful and mighty savior. The message of these psalms is that, just as he fulfilled his promise of land in former times, now also Yhwh is able to rescue from distress and to grant land for the psalmist's own and subsequent generations. In his essay, B. distinguishes between two conceptions of the land that emerge from the psalms studied by him, i.e. a universal-cosmological and a particularizing perspective on the land. Whereas the former conception is the predominant one in the Psalter, a few psalms reflect a more particular conception of the land as a "reward" for those who live a God-fearing life. This latter conception suggests a metaphorical application of the concept and goes together with notions of Zion theology and the theology of the poor and poverty. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 2172. [Biblical Lament Psalms; Trauma Memories] June F. Dickie, "The Intersection of Biblical Lament and Psychotherapy in the Healing of Trauma Memories," OTE 32 (2019) 885-907. A study of biblical lament psalms can help present-day sufferers express their own pain to God and lead to personal, social, and biological healing. In this empirical study, Zulu "pain-bearers" first studied Psalms 3 and 13 and then wrote and performed their own laments, using the biblical laments as a model. This "experiment" led to the conclusion that such a use of a poetic form has advantages over narrative therapy approaches. In particular, the compositions and performances of D.'s subjects were found by her to correspond with [End Page 786] the insights gained from cognitive psychotherapy approaches as well as the therapeutic process proposed by Judith Herman in her 1992 book Trauma and Recovery. Moreover, in addition to facilitating healing of the soul and interpersonal relations, the research insights of L. L. Cozolino cited by D. suggest that lament can stimulate the biological healing of the brain, this, in turn, enabling healthy processing of trauma memories. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 2173. [Psalms] Jaco Gericke, "Restating the Psalter's Perspectives on Divine Justice in Philosophical Terms," OTE 32 (2019) 743-63. Prominent 20th-century theologians of the OT have offered comparative...

The Effect of Islamic Culture on Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Nurses of Yazd University of Medical Sciences Hospitals

Introduction: The organizational citizenship behavior in hospitals is of great importance since it enhances positive relationships between employees and their involvement in organizational activities. On the other hand, culture is one of the main and major components of the organization, which has a direct effect on promoting the organization's activities. In this regard, rich Islamic culture with its pure concepts has a great role in shaping and refining people's behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Islamic culture on organizational citizenship behavior among nurses in hospitals of Yazd University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 264 staff of the selected hospitals affiliated with Yazd University of Medical Sciences was selected using two-stage sampling method. The data collection tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire consisting of three sections: demographic information, a 22-item organizational citizenship behavior questionnaire with 5 dimensions, and the Islamic culture questionnaire, which should be answered using a 5-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 and SmartPLS software. Results: Among the dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior, the highest mean and standard deviation were related to conscientiousness dimension (3.10±0.69). The total mean and standard deviation was calculated as 2.99±0.57 for the component of organizational citizenship behavior. The mean and standard deviation of Islamic culture was 2.89±0.53. According to the data analysis algorithm in PLS method, by examining the significant coefficients of t for each path, Islamic culture had significant effect on all components of the organizational citizenship behavior. Conclusion: Considering the impact of Islamic culture on organizational citizenship behavior, various cultural programs such as cultural training courses, cultural seminars, and cultural events are suggested to promote Islamic culture in hospitals

Transcendental Anticipation: A Reconsideration of Husserl’s Type and Kant’s Schemata

In his genetic phenomenology, Husserl introduces types, pre-predicative frames of experience that guide the perception and cognition of objects. In this essay, I argue that there are two types that are functionally almost identical to Kant’s schemata. To support this conclusion, I first present an interpretation of Kant’s discussion of schemata. I argue that we must see schemata as pure, a priori cognitions that involve only pure intuition, pure concepts of the understanding, and the imagination. I offer two analogies to explain how schemata function to subsume objects under concepts and to anticipate possible objects of experience before moving on to discuss the schema of substance. Next, I present a brief explanation of Husserl’s genetic phenomenology, organizing my presentation around the idea of apperception. This paves the way for a demonstration of how the fundamental type is best understood as standing at the center of a cluster of concepts, including apperception, passive belief, natural bodies, and the one spatio-temporal horizon of experience. I argue that the fundamental type is central to Husserl’s attempt to ground logic in pre-predicative experience. Finally, I compare two specific types with schemata on the grounds cultivated in the previous sections. The first of these types, the fundamental type, functions to pre-predicatively anticipate objects of possible experience, just as schemata do. The second of these types, which is implied by but never discussed in Husserl’s work, serves to mediate between a formal system of rules and an intuitive grasp of the world, just as schemata do.

Machine Performance and Human Failure: How Shall We Regulate Autonomous Machines?

Machines powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are on the rise. In many use cases, their performance today already exceeds human capabilities. In this essay, I explore fundamental regulatory issues related to such “autonomous machines”. I adopt an analytical perspective that highlights the importance of what I call the “deep normative structure” of a particular society for crucial policy choices with respect to autonomous machines. I make two principal claims. First, the jargon of welfare economics appears well-suited to analyse the chances and risks of innovative new technologies, and it is also reflected in legal doctrine on risk, responsibility and regulation. A pure welfarist conception of “the good” will tend to move a society into a direction in which autonomous systems eventually will take a super-prominent role. However, such a conception assumes more than the welfarist calculus can yield, and it also ignores the categorical difference between machines and humans characteristic of Western legal systems. Second, taking the “deep normative structure” of Western legal systems seriously leads to policy conclusions regarding the regulation of autonomous machines that emphasize this categorical difference. Such a humanistic approach acknowledges human weaknesses and failures and protects humans, and it is characterized by fundamental human rights and by the desire to achieve some level of distributive justice. Welfaristic pursuits are constrained by these humanistic features, and the severity of these constraints differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I illustrate my argument with legal applications taken from various issues in the field of contract and tort.

The Principle of the Transcendental Deduction. The First Section of the Deduction of the Pure Concepts of the Understanding

This paper considers the transcendental deduction of the categories from a specific point of view: the First Section of the Deduction of the Pure Concepts of the Understanding. In this passage, Kant not only explores the task and the method of the transcendental deduction, in form of the principle of the transcendental deduction, but also implements it. The subsequent section(s) of the deduction proceed(s) to build on the argument, and do(es) so in different ways in the A- and the B-deduction. Accordingly, the principle of the transcendental deduction has a crucial function for the entire deduction because it builds a transition between the first and the following section(s) in which Kant constantly refers to it.

Upper secondary school students' difficulties with mathematical modelling

This article reports on a combined quantitative and in-depth qualitative study of 315 Danish upper secondary (grades 10–12) mathematics students’ answers to six modelling tasks that place emphasis on the early phases of the so-called modelling cycle. In order to focus attention on the extra-mathematical aspects of modelling, the technical mathematical requirements of the tasks designed were reduced as much as possible. The article analytically and empirically identifies the most significant ‘stumbling blocks’ in modelling with particular regard to the learning difficulties that the population considered experienced and displayed in getting started on relatively idealised mathematical modelling tasks. The results show that a significant number of students have difficulty in accepting or understanding modelling tasks that seem to breach the standard didactical contract in Danish upper secondary mathematics education, and that – more than acknowledged in previous research – pre-mathematisation is a significant stumbling block in modelling, which is also co-responsible for the better known fact that mathematisation, too, is a crucial stumbling block in mathematical modelling. The study further shows that insufficient or missing so-called implemented anticipation is a major factor in these difficulties. It is finally concluded that since there was no evidence of students having severe problems with the technical mathematical knowledge base (e.g. pure mathematical concepts and formulae) in dealing with the six tasks, the stumbling blocks reside in the fundamentals of subjecting extra-mathematical situations to mathematical modelling.