The theory of descriptions occupies a very prominent place in Russell's system of logic and indeed in his system of philosophy. Since the publication of the now classical paper “On Denoting” in Mind for 1905 the theory had been incorporated into Principia Mathematica , the first volume of which appeared in 1910. In 1918 Russell discussed descriptions in his lectures on the Philosophy of Logical Atomism, which subsequently were published in The Monist for 1919. A very lucid exposition of the (...) main tenets of the doctrine is to be found in the Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy dating from the same year. Epistemological aspects of the theory of descriptions are examined in “Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description“, in the Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society for 1910–11, and also in Chapter V of The Problems of Philosophy, first published in 1912. (shrink)

This article examines the topic of approaches to personal development that aim at achieving the highest possible level. Such approaches are considered here in the context of Kazimierz Dąbrowski “Theory of Positive Disintegration”. The shaping of the personality is accomplished by the dynamic integration and disintegration of the individual, and also by considering his/her five levels of development. The first level is called the stage of primary integration, whilst harmonious secondary integration refers to the highest level of development itself. The (...) discovery of the highest level of personal value in one’s progress is one of the most effective stages in protecting the individual from any unacceptable moral or ethical standards present in society. It is also effective in the resocialisation of cases involving social pathology. Each person has the task of promoting their personal values to the highest level of development. When the individual conclusively fulfils this task, he/she reaches an optimal stage of harmoniousness and peacefulness. (shrink)

The structure and regulative function of the cognitive styles: a new theory The organization of human cognitive styles can be described as a kind of functional system or as an holon. In this framework it is possible to propose a new theoretical base for classifying the primary cognitive styles. The fundamental theoretical thesis is that for all styles there is one common mechanism of forming and scanning the perceptual and memory field induced by the situation, and by the differences in (...) the manner of carrying out the processes of field scanning /codes interfering depend on the range of conceptual equivalency and cognitive control of behavior. In the functional describing of the basic set of cognitive styles we must take into account three elements of the chain: neurobiological modules ® organization of cognitive holon ® behavioral manifestation of styles. (shrink)

This book introduces an important chapter of Polish 20th century philosophy, by analyzing the studies that contributed to value theory; i.e. the studies of Kazimierz Twardowski, Tadeusz Czeżowski, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Roman Ingarden, Henryk Elzenberg, Maria Ossowska, and Józef Maria Bocheński.

Judaism was a mythical, strongly tribal religion with anthropomorphic God in which the leading element was the concept of a covenant between God and the exceptional “chosen people.” Such views produced a strong emphasis on tribal unity and attitude of election and moral superiority vis-à-vis the rest of humanity. Philo must have felt inadequacy of the ancient Judaism and its limitations to compete for the minds of Hellenes with their universalistic philosophical thought. Philo represented a trend in Jewish ideology which (...) attempted, in confrontation with the Greek culture, to assert itself as a valid cosmic view to support the existence of a community. He attempted to reevaluate Hebrew ideology found in the scriptures adopting Greek metaphysical, ethical, and religious doctrines to Judaism.The focus of this article is on Philo’s introduction of the Greek concept of Logos, in the modified version of Xenocrates into Judaism. Philo developed this concept further and transformed from a metaphysical entity into an extension of a divine and transcendental anthropomorphic being and mediator between God and men. Thus Philo produced a synthesis of both Hebrew and Greek traditions developing concepts that were used for future Hellenistic interpretation of messianic Hebrew thought by providing foundations for Christianity. (shrink)

An attempt is made in the present essay to accommodate various senses of the notion of existence and ofthat of non-existence within the framework of logic. With this aim in view a system of Lesniewski's Ontology, referred to as System S, is outlined. Equipped with appropriate definitions and illustrated with a selection of theses it offers a logical theory of existence and non-existence. The usefulness of the theory is then tested by interpreting in its terms some of the principal notions (...) and assertions of Meinong's ontology. A few brief comments on the notion of 'possible object' and on 'semantics' of fiction conclude the essay. (shrink)

W artykule przedstawiono funkcjonalny model struktury umysłu z perspektywy ograniczeń poznawczych i mechanizmów ich kompensacji. W ramach tej struktury centralne miejsce zajmuje pamięć robocza charakteryzowana jako „mały umysł”, który poprzez cztery kierunki przetwarzania informacji tworzy różne organizacje funkcjonalne reprezentowane jako sieci „pełnego umysłu”. W ramach tej organizacji bieżące przetwarzanie jest relatywnie odizolowane i chronione z czterech stron: od strony pola uwagi, od strony zasobów pamięci trwałej, wiedzy deklaratywnej i doświadczenia personalnego, od strony struktur poznawczych i emocjonalnych podświadomości i nieświadomości, od (...) strony programów realizujących świadomą kontrolę i metapoznawanie. (shrink)