An examination of verbal hallucinations and thought insertion as examples of "alienated self-consciousness.".

Response to commentaries on keynote article.

First published in 2000, this translation of one of the great works of Western political thought is based on the assumption that when Plato chose the dialogue form for his writing, he intended these dialogues to sound like conversations - although conversations of a philosophical sort. In addition to a vivid, dignified and accurate rendition of Plato's text, the student and general reader will find many aids to comprehension in this volume: an introduction that assesses the cultural background to the (...) Republic, its place within political philosophy, and its general argument; succinct notes in the body of the text; an analytical summary of the work's content; a full glossary of proper names; a chronology of important events; and a guide to further reading. The result is an accomplished and accessible edition of this seminal work, suitable for philosophers and classicists as well as historians of political thought at all levels. (shrink)

The age of maturity of children to consent for medical research is under debate, as different authorities regard the capacity of young teenagers as either satisfactory or not to grant consent without parental participation in the process. The present paper contrasts the generally accepted guideline for ethics in paediatric research in Canada with what the same children are allowed and expected to be able to do as babysitters. This comparison reveals deep incongruences in the way the maturity of the same (...) children is appreciated for two different tasks. (shrink)

In this seminal essay, Gentile gives an account of the way in which western philosophy gradually shed the myth of a transcendent reality. 'The Method of Immanence' is an outstanding example of Gentile's writing and one of the central texts in the actual idealist canon. In it Gentile displays boldness , historical erudition and remarkable single-mindedness as he works to set a host of ostensibly very different philosophers in a single tradition culminating in actual idealism.

Open peer commentary on the article “Second-Order Cybernetics as a Fundamental Revolution in Science” by Stuart A. Umpleby. Upshot: Connecting Umpleby’s article with Piaget and García’s genetic epistemology, I will argue that the revolution the former discerns is more comprehensive. Additionally, since the latter differ from cybernetic and radical traditions in their philosophical assumptions about society and its conditioning on knowledge, I will suggest that these assumptions must be considered to explain each constructivist program’s achievements and challenges.

In dealing with the whole complex of questions concerning human nature, no small role is played by the problem of language — the role of language in man's life — both personal and social. In successive periods of human history different representatives of social thought saw in different perspectives the role of language in human life and its influence on social development.

First published in 1930, this book presents an imagined account of conversation between Plato and ‘A Modern Young Man’. In the first part, political and social institutions are considered and property, forms of government, socialism, the control of population, war and education, are discussed. The second part examines the idea of real Goods including the concepts of truth, art and love. In this work, the author sees Plato reaffirming his belief that real Goods come from some higher world, which it (...) is the destiny of the spirits to pursue. (shrink)