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Despite differences in personal definitions of what it means to be good, one philosopher, Spinoza, adhered to the view that a life led by reason is truly virtuous. The purpose of this work is to investigate why Spinoza believed that to be so, and with the use of his classic the Ethics, I will explicate his understanding of God, or Nature, the mind, the body, and the influences that affect people’s ways of living. Finally, by analyzing Spinoza’s demonstrations concerning why a life guided by reason is identical to living morally, I will suggest that there is a general standard of righteousness conveyed in the Ethics that aims to benefit all, regardless of individual opinions concerning moral rectitude.Despite differences in personal definitions of what it means to be good, one philosopher, Spinoza, adhered to the view that a life led by reason is truly virtuous. The purpose of this work is to investigate why Spinoza believed that to be so, and with the use of his classic the Ethics, I will explicate his understanding of God, or Nature, the mind, the body, and the influences that affect people’s ways of living. Finally, by analyzing Spinoza’s demonstrations concerning why a life guided by reason is identical to living morally, I will suggest that there is a general standard of righteousness conveyed in the Ethics that aims to benefit all, regardless of individual opinions concerning moral rectitude.
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The article addresses the meaning and loss of meaning of life and death in the context of the modern world and classical philosophy, whose most prominent representative is Thomas Aquinas. There are also references to more contemporary thinkers and philosophers representing various cultural, political and – from certain points of view – also doctrinal backgrounds (G. K. Chesterton, Leszek Kołakowski) – which shows the relev-ance and significance of the problem. Therefore, referring predo-minantly to the teaching of Aquinas’ writings, especially the "Summa Theologiae", it is demonstrated that it is eschatology that alone can give the right meaning to life and death, which is cur-rently marginalised in the universal mentality and is a conse-quence of radically materialistic and post-positivist view of the world (associated with the successes of exact sciences) hostile to Christianity (which fulfils the objectives of eschatology most closely). The rejection of eschatology, and in consequence pur-posefulness which is a source and purpose of all human actions (the human ultimate goal is happiness, which St. Thomas – relying on Aristotle – equates with God) calls into question the very nature of man and – as viewed by the mentioned thinkers – may lead to the annihilation of humankind.
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This article is devoted to an analysis of Plotinus’ concept of „Life of the Intellect“. Scholarly discussion about this concept reveals the apparent contradictions between its eternal static state of rest and its emphatically dynamic vitalism. The article attemtps to demonstrate that a number of ambivalent elements of Plotinius‘s concept of „Life of the Intellect“ are caused by relevant theories of his predesesors, most notably, Plato and Aristotle. An analysis of the usage of terms ζωή and βίος in the Enneads shows that Plotinus is using them in a systematic and consistent manner. It seems obvious that Plotinus is himself aware of the ambiquity of his doctrine of the „Life of the intellect“ and difficulties caused by attempts to speak about „life“ in different levels of his metaphysical universe.
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The article analyzes the critical scholastic discourse concerning fundamental questions on metaphysics and Weltanschauung. In the 13th century, the discourse was focused on the concept of creation as methodological basis for philosophical and theological conceptions. In 1270, the Bishop of Paris Etienne Tempier issued the condemnation of thirteen heretical theses forbidding their propagation. The condemnation strengthened positions of Augustinism in philosophy and theology. One of the authors of the condemnation was Franciscan friar John Peckham who was convinced that Augustinism and Aristotelianism are incompatible. He attacked the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas accusing him of accepting the Averroist teaching on the unity of forms. The condemnation enkindled the confrontation between Franciscans and Dominicans in considering and evaluating Greek and Arab philosophical heritage. Franciscans regarded as erroneous the attempts of Dominicans to Christianize Aristotle’s teaching. Boethius of Dacia published the treatise De Aeternitate Mundi in which he tired to prove that there is no contradiction between philosophy and religion. By doing this he tried to rehabilitate the members of Art faculty accused of the distortion of Christian teaching. The controversy concerning the eternity of the world exposed the noetic influence of Neo-Platonic Peripatetism on the elaboration of theological and philosophical concepts of creationism.
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The paper deals with the sources and trends of contemporary Lithuanian aesthetics, exploring various aspects of its evolution, peculiarities, and tendencies. The authors show that the study of aesthetics was popular in the first part of the 20th century but later, in the early period of Soviet occupation, such work was decidedly less favoured. In the late period of occupation and after regaining independence, aesthetic thought developed intensively. Recently, distinct schools of aesthetic philosophy, characterized by different methodologies and approaches, have taken shape within which aesthetic ideas are interpreted from different points of view. The authors conclude that although analytical approaches may not be most suitable for the study of aesthetics, there have been some noteworthy achievements in analytic aesthetic thought. Finally, the authors show that very voluminous and productive aesthetic research was done by those who follow the school of comparative methodology and are oriented toward Eastern aesthetics.
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This article opens the set of articles intended as a survey and analysis of seven ways to prove God's existence. In the Middle Ages metaphysics is valued for its supposed ability to prove God. Nevertheless Anselm's argument is rejected by Thomas Aquinas, and this fact places the mentioned ability in dispute. In 17th century Descartes' return to Anselm's argumentation suggests the denial of the five Aquinas' ways. Finally Kant reveals the general inability of metaphysics to prove God's existence. Instead of metaphysics he proposes ethics (practical reason). But events of the 20th century render morality as the foundation of God's existence to be questionable. The following article shows the relevancy of the topic by focusing attention on the Aristotelian way to prove God's existence by means of movement as it is presented by Thomas Aquinas in Summa Contra Gentiles, Summa Theologiae and Compendium Theologiae. The article analyzes the concept of the first unmoved mover.
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In my article I intend to analyze L. Kołakowski’s departure from Marxism. I will conduct my reflections in the context of his relationship with Adam Schaff. It is precisely this that A. Schaff was the promoter of the dissertation of Master and Candidate (PhD) Leszek Kołakowski.Both these philosophers in the sixties of the twentieth century revisited their views on Marxism by entering into a current called revisionism. Leszek Kołakowski, however, criticized Marxism and became his leading critic, while Adam Schaff attempted to reform it by enriching the existing ideology of man’s philosophy. The views of both philosophers differed from the official version of Marxism. While Kolakowski had completely escaped from Marxism, Schaff tried to defend him. Schaff did not particularly approve the assessment of Marxism embodied in Mainstream Marxism of Kołakowski. It is not by chance, therefore, that both philosophers can be regarded as the most outstanding representatives of Marxism before 1968 in Poland.Their views were not always contradictory, but they were often similar because Schaff approached Kolakowski talking about ecumenical Marxism — and therefore their antagonism was primarily personal and less philosophical.
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In many areas of research, painful and lethal experiments on animals are common practice. Some of the most brutal experiments are carried out by military scientists, but painful experiments are performed by many scientists from other fields such as medicine, veterinary medicine, etc. Recently, there are many scientists and philosophers who justify experimenting on animals. The two most important ethicists who advocate the inclusion of animals in the moral community, but from different positions, are certainly Tom Regan and Peter Singer. Regan holds that we have to oppose the viewpoint that living beings with inherent value are regarded as beings that are valid only in relation to our interests. He concludes that the viewpoint of the law will not be satisfied with anything else but with total abolition of the animal experimentation. What kind of terrible experiments scientists have been able to do on animals are clearly shown from the titles of the experiments that were published by United Action for Animals, among which are: "Straw", "Warming", "Ignition", ''Staining'', ''Centrifuge '', '' Brainstorms'', ''Thirst'', ''Freezing'', ''Bleeding'', ''Multiple Injuries'', ''Radiation'', ''Spinal cord injury'', etc. For experimenters, animals are nothing more than a research tool. Test results on animals are often unusable for humans. For a long time, toxicologists know that a substance which is toxic to members of one species can be harmless to members of the second and vice versa. Singer says that number of questions can be posed: how can non-sadistic people cause the psychological death of monkeys or warm up dogs to death? He holds that the answer is in the uncritical acceptance of speciesism. Speciesism gives justification to the scientists so that they can relate to animals as nonliving beings, consumables or parts of equipment, and not as beings that can suffer and whose interests we have to take into account. Partiality, whether specific or racist, can not be justified, and so it follows that an animal experiment can not be justified also, unless it is so important that we could justify it just as the use of a man with brain damage.
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The review of: “Heidegger and the myth of the Jewish conspiracy/ Heidegger i mit spisku żydowskiego” by P. Trawny; translated by W. Warkocki, preface by A. Żychliski, PWN Scientific Publishers, Warsaw 2017 (p. 254)
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The article aim is to turn the spotlight on the main thesis of reflection of Descartes’ scepticism doctrine as well one’s argumentation estimation in the context of thinker’s creativeness. These steps will promote the overcoming of one-dimensional comprehension of his attitude on scepticism as an essential part of his doctrine. That is why it has the sense to concentrate an attention on some interpretations of key motives of Cartesian anti-sceptic approach at research literature as well as define the place of the anthropological project at these motives firstly. Secondly, make an accent on the key role of anthropological dimension of one’s doctrine in the context of philosophical polemics with scepticism. The analysis of interpretations of Descartes’ heritage, as well as one’s original texts, demonstrates the absence of adequate interpretation of one’s place in the history of scepticism. The specific place of Descartes’ anti-scepticism is also demonstrated. Most of the researchers pay ones’ attention to the tight vision of Modern Age in the form of development of a scientific worldview. This position does not take into account the contemporary level of Descartes’ studies. First of all, authors make an accent on the need to overcome the fragmentary vision of thinker’s heritage. Secondly, the valuable role of anthropological dimension of Descartes’ texts is underlined. This position lets perform more authentic perception of one’s anti-sceptic approach. In the course of finding the roots of a researched situation, the authors’ attention was consistently concentrated on the features of the contemporary interpretation of Modern Age request which is reduced to development of scientific worldview by the scepticism researchers. Such position marginalizes the anthropological component of one’s doctrine.
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The theme of the five senses in the medieval literature is very specific. We recognize the three variations of this subject in the literature of medieval Austria and Slovakia written by three theologians Thomas Ebendorfer de Haselbach, Nicolaus de Dinkelsbuhel and Johannes Roznawiensis Jambor. In their teaching they represent the five senses as the instruments of the soul to know the external world, but also as the gates by which the sins and death enter into the soul. In addition, they divide the senses on the interior and exterior senses to express their function in the body of man. These three men influenced the philosophical and theological ideas of their epoch and created the fascinating system to understand the union between the body and the soul.
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The article deals with the evolution model of reasonable matter (noogenesis), discovering the planetary and cosmic scale of the mind development. The author considers a historiography of this problem field, a contribution of the scientific community to the development of basic provisions - noogenesis. According to the author, the evolution model of reasonable matter consists of three interdependent and mutually complementary models: 1. Models of continuous and nonlinear com-plication of structures of reasonable matter (neuro-evolution); 2. Models of a continuous and nonlinear complication of types of interacting (or shown functions) structures of the system of reasonable matter. 3. Models of a continuous and nonlinear complication of the surroundings of reasonable matter (socio-cultural evolution). All these models include the author's understanding and corresponding arguments. In conclusion, the author compares models of living and reasonable matter (biological evolution and noogenesis).
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The sense of the concept of a sociality of thinking and its denial is opened in the article. Denial of social thinking the author of article traces by the research of known work of N.V. Gogol "The chosen places from correspondence with friends".In it, the writer autobiographical precisely recorded the radical world outlook metamorphosis, which has occurred to it. Its essence, as it is shown in M.M. Prokhorov's work, consists in the refusal of a sociality of thinking and in transition to positions of religious outlook that occurred for the existential reasons generated by a serious illness of N.V. Gogol. Reaction to these phenomena from the life of the known writer and the thinker of his contemporaries in Russia from different social groups is opened in the article. Historical conditions of changes and communication with the present in which in present Russia there are the similar changes generated by strengthening in the life of religious representations are shown, leading to the similar phenomena in Post-Soviet Russia, including and reaction to them.
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In the first chapter of the monograph, the subject of the author’s research is Dasein. On the one hand, reminiscence of Heidegger’s ideas allowed the author to use a reputable research of famous philosopher of the twentieth century, as well as a large cohort of researchers’ his work and followers, on the other hand, avoided direct reference to Heidegger’s texts and his theorists. The author investigated the research question as “What is Dasein in the philosophy of the cosmos?” which is not based on Heidegger’s ideas but only on the appeal to them. The author suggested that the philosophy of the cosmos as he created a methodological structure for the penetration and opening of Dasein to its maximum extent. The author used the dialectical, system-structural, structural-functional method, as well as methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis. The author’s main contribution to the research of the topic was a response to the following questions: 1. “What is philosophy?”, namely, philosophy is: a) a certain kind of action which causes historical events (Marx’s understanding of philosophy)? or b) questioning i.e. asking questions about Dasein and being and the search for answers to them (Heidegger’s understanding of philosophy)? 2. “What methodological apparatus should be involved for the disclosure of the manifold meanings of Dasein?” 3. “What is Dasein?”.
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The author analyses discussion that took place between S. Frank and S. Lurje concerning “Vekhi” (“Landmarks”). In this context, the author’s objective is to show the evolution of S. Frank’s outlook on culture and religion, which developed in three stages: the humanistic individualism, the religious humanism, and the Christian realism.
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Our present knowledge in the field of dynamical systems, information theory, probability theory and other similar domains indicates that the human brain is a complex dynamical system working in a strong chaotic regime in which random processes play important roles. In this environment our mental life develops. To choose a logically ordered sequence from a random or almost random stream of thoughts is a difficult and energy consuming task. The only domain in which we are able to do this with a full success is mathematics. Leibniz’s life ambition was to extend this success, with the help of what he called characteristica universalis, to other areas of human activity. The belief that this is possible lies at the basis of Leibniz’s rationalist system. Reasoning within his system, Leibniz claimed that also fundamental laws of physics can be deduced from the “first principles”. Just as linguistic or conceptual units are at the basis of the charactersistica universalis, his monads are responsible for physical activity of material bodies. When this rationalistic strategy is applied to the philosophy of space and time, it leads to their radically relational conception. Leibniz’s rationalistic approach to philosophy and science arouses out sympathy but it was Newton’s mathematical-empirical method that turned out to be effective in human endeavour to understand the functioning of the physical world. Successes of the Newtonian method compel us to revise our concept of rationality.
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Pascal ebbe una vita breve, ma ricca di vicende. Una volta gli viene in mente di scrivere un’Apologia della religione cristiana, un progetto che non poté realizzare per la sua morte precoce. I frammenti di quest’opera furono raccolti nel volume intitolato Pensées (Pensieri). Bisogna conoscere se stessi. Nello studio dell’uomo, Pascal giunge alla constatazione che la natura umana è una dialessi di miseria e di grandezza. L’uomo è solo “una canna, la più fragile della natura; ma una canna che pensa”. Solo la fede cristiana può spiegare all’uomo l’origine di questa frattura e dargli la grazia per sanarla. In Cristo è tutta la nostra virtù e tutta la nostra felicità; senza di Lui non c’è se non vizio, miseria, errori, tenebre, morte e disperazione.
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Autor artykułu proponuje przyjrzeć się filozofii krytycznej Györgya Márkusa z perspektywy socjologii wiedzy, i potraktować ją jako przykład tego rodzaju myśli, która wpisuje się w nurt tzw. hermeneutyki dystansu. Innymi słowy, chciałby zastanowić się nad tym, na ile krytyczny stosunek Márkusa względem wielu aspektów kultury współczesnej bierze się z zajmowanej przez niego uprzywilejowanej pozycji epistemologicznej wygnańca, który właśnie dzięki temu, że jest wygnańcem potrafi spoglądać na otaczającą go rzeczywistość z innej perspektywy i stawiać jej trudne pytania. Artykuł składa się z trzech części. Pierwsza ma charakter metodologiczny, autor precyzuje w niej swe stanowisko teoretyczne oraz definiuje pojęcia, przy pomocy których – w części drugiej i trzeciej – analizuje wybrane problemy emigracyjnej twórczości Márkusa.
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