. The circumstance, that the text of Imre Lakatos' doctoral thesis from the University of Debrecen did not survive, makes the evaluation of his career in Hungary and the research of aspects of continuity of his lifework difficult. My paper tries to reconstruct these newer aspects of continuity, introducing the influence of László Kalmár the mathematician and his fellow student, and Sándor Karácsony the philosopher and his mentor on Lakatos' work. The connection between the understanding of the empirical basis of (...) exact ideas—which is a common feature in the papers of the members of the Karácsonycircle—and Lakatos' way of thinking regarding mathematics is more direct and can be documented through his connection to Kalmár. The central element of Lakatos' philosophy of mathematics is criticism of formalism and his tendency is to use the empirical view. Discussions at the 1965 International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science in London were very helpful in clarifying the quasi-empirical conception. Kalmár's lecture in London, based on one of his papers published by Karácsony in 1942, emphasized the empirical character of mathematics. After this colloquium some elements of the heritage of the Karácsony-circle were integrated again in the development of Lakatos' way of thinking. First I will analyze the Kalmár lecture of 1965 at the Colloquium of Philosophy of Science and Lakatos's reflections on the problem of the foundation of mathematics. Then I will present their common Hungarian background, their education and the beginning of their career, which have many important common features; third I draw attention to the network of contacts of Karácsony-disciples. (shrink)

This paper takes a look at seventeenth-century theories of emotion, and their influence on contemporary philosophical and psychological approaches to the subject. Although at a first glance some of these seventeenth-century theories may seem to be outdated, this is often a result of a simplistic reading, and in fact there are promising ways to “update” these theories. Reading seventeenth-century theories from our own perspective reveals new aspects of the work of our predecessors, which, in turn, can inspire further contemporary developments.

This article examines how the Stoic ideals of impassivity and repression gave way to favourable treatments of the emotions, particular passion. It suggest that one of the trademarks of philosophy in the early modern period is the renewal of the theory of passions on the basis of the new mechanical-corpuscular philosophy which René Descartes regarded as his signal contribution to ethics. It also discusses the systematic character of the theories of passions, the theologico-philosophical approaches to the emotions, and the conception (...) of love as a counterweight to solipsism. (shrink)

v. 1 Egyetem, nevelés, értelmiségi lét.

This paper focuses on a neglected part of Dilthey’s œuvre that consists of papers on 16th–17th century philosophical issues. These papers are closer to interpretive articles than to original works, and so they are neither considered Dilthey’s original contributions to his own philosophy nor studied as part of the secondary literature. One of the most characteristic features of Dilthey’s philosophic style is the historical-systematic method mostly repudiated as concealing the real statement of the author “between the lines,” i.e. behind historical (...) analyses. Therefore these papers are not reckoned among Dilthey’s great works of enduring significance. This paper aims to make the reader more sensitive to the world and claims of these papers by way of an intermediary approach to them that acknowledges their intermediary position between a historical description and a systematic analysis. This is to be accomplished by having a look at the “pantheism” of Georg Misch, Dilthey’s largely forgotten pupil and son-in-law. (shrink)

My “Letter” collects some facts concerning the 20th century history of Hungarian Philosophy as a basis for understanding its situation now. Progressive and conservative systems of thought dominated the first half of the century alternately, until the post-war communist regime refused to tolerate independent thinking. The new regime after 1956 was unpredictably hostile or tolerant towards philosophical dissenters. All this resulted in a multifaceted philosophical life in the period after 1989. Its basic tendency has been a historical approach issuing in (...) various disciplines like phenomenology and hermeneutics, analytical philosophy, postmodern thought, philosophy of religion, while ethics and aesthetics became disciplines in their own right. The “Letter” maps out some of the institutional bases of philosophizing as well as some of the dangers threatening independent philosophy. (shrink)

The article deals with the notion of générosité, an important concept of the 17th century moral philosophy, as well as with the metamorphosis of the meaning of this passion and/or virtue. The starting point of this metamorphosis is générosité as a virtue of the late medieval and early modern French noble man, whereas the end point is générosité as the passion/virtue of Descartes’ rational beings. The paper analyses this phenomenon in Molière’s play Don Juan, and in Descartes’ and Spinoza’s texts.

Collection of papers presented at the 2nd and 3rd Budapest Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy.

Posicionando-se como “filósofo natural” no tratamento das paixões, Descartes dá início a uma secularização dos afetos ou emoções. Nisso ele é seguido por Spinoza. Em ambos os casos a abordagem filosófica dos afetos tem como consequência desvinculá-los da perspectiva moral, secularizando as emoções: separadas da moral, sua explicação desvincula-se ao mesmo tempo da religião, já que a moral encontra seus fundamentos no deus transcendente. Nesse ponto, Spinoza vai mais longe que Descartes, na secularização das emoções, pois nele o deus é (...) naturalizado, Deus sive natura. A generosidade, por exemplo, não depende mais de um deus dotado de boa vontade, mas sim do exercício natural do homem dotado de razão como parte da Natureza racionalizada. De modo que nem mesmo o amor intelectual de Deus seria substituto do impulso moral religioso: em Spinoza, tal amor, assim como a generosidade e a amizade, inscrevem-se na ordem necessária da natureza, não dependendo de uma vontade livre divina, mas também não se reduzindo a uma vontade humana. (shrink)

Eine aus der Zusammenarbeit der Herzog August Bibliothek mit der Ungarischen Akademie der Wissenschaften hervorgegangene Tagung beschaftigte sich mit einem sehr komplexen Traditionszusammenhang, der unter der Leitmetapher Einfluss thematisiert wurde. Ausgehend von Philosophen wie Hegel und Dilthey, die insbesondere die philosophiegeschichtliche Rolle des Stoizismus eingehender untersucht hatten, setzen sich die zehn Beitrager dieses Bandes mit dem Wesen einer sich wiederholenden Geschichte, mit bestimmten geschichtsphilosophischen Schemata auseinander. Sie legen Grenzen des zu untersuchenden Feldes fest und beziehen neue Stromungen in die Untersuchung (...) ein. Zugleich werden neue Quellen fur die fruhneuzeitliche Philosophie nutzbar gemacht, die durch ihre kaum beachteten Interpretationen des ursprunglich hellenistischen Gedankengutes den Neuanfang der Philosophie im 17. Jahrhundert massgeblich beeinflussten. (shrink)

I. Muerte, paisaje y "otro hombre" : -- II. Tod, Landschaft und "Der andere Mensch".

Capitalism has been an unprecedented engine of wealth creation for many centuries, leading to sustained productivity gains and long-term growth and lifting an increasing proportion of humanity out of poverty. But its effects, and hence its future, have come increasingly under question: Is capitalism still improving wealth and well-being for the many? Or, is long-term value creation being sacrificed to the pressures of short-termism, with potentially far-reaching consequences for society, the natural environment, prosperity, and global order? Building on a collaboration (...) between the Schulich School of Business and global management consultancy McKinsey & Company, this volume reflects both the urgency of the needed action and the tremendous opportunity to forge consensus and catalyze a lasting movement toward a more responsible, long-term, and sustainable model of capitalism. This unique volume brings together many of the leading proponents for a reformed, re-imagined capitalism from the Âfields of academia, business, and NGOs. Its contributors have been at the forefront of thought and action in regard to the future of capitalism. Both individually and collectively, they provide powerful suggestions of what such a long-term oriented model of capitalism should look like and how it can be achieved. Drawing on their research and professional experience, they write in an accessible style aiming to reach the broad audiences required to turn a re-imagined capitalism into a reality. (shrink)