Karl Marx (1818-1883) was trained as a philosopher and steeped in the thought of Hegel and German idealism, but turned away from philosophy in his mid-twenties towards politics, economics and history. It is for his these subjects Marx is best known and in which his work and ideas shaped the very nature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, Marx's engagement with philosophy runs through most of his work, especially in his philosophy of history and in moral and political philosophy. (...) In this outstanding introduction to Marx's philosophy Jaime Edwards and Brian Leiter begin with an overview of Marx's life and intellectual development, before examining and assessing the following important topics: Marx's theory of history: Hegel, dialectics, teleology, materialism functionalism and the causal explanation of historical change economics, history and the transition from communism to capitalism ideology, morality and religion human nature, alienation and the good life for human beings Marx's legacy and influence, including Western Marxism and the Frankfurt School. The addition of chapter summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary of technical terms make this an indispensable introduction to Marx's philosophy. It will also be useful to those in related disciplines such as politics, sociology, history and economics. (shrink)

Building upon the insights of scholars attuned to story, narrative, and myth, this article explores the relationship between myth, science, and religion. After clarifying the interplay of the three terms—story, narrative, and myth—and the preference for the term myth, this article will argue that myth can serve as a medium through which religion, neuroscience, and mental well‐being interact. Such an exploration will cover the role of myths in religion, the neurological basis of myth, and the practices of narrative psychology and (...) bibliotherapy. The article will conclude with suggestions for understanding and utilizing the relationship between myth and the scholarly study of the relationship between science and religion. This article ultimately suggests that myth can operate as a methodological aid to the science‐and‐religion field. (shrink)

El propósito del presente estudio es clarificar el modo en el que los últimos desarrollos de la fenomenología de Merleau-Ponty tratan de abordar el problema de la escisión entre conciencia y objetividad que aún se hallaba presente en las primeras obras de este pensador francés. A este respecto, la noción de "carne del mundo" desempeña un papel decisivo, dado que en torno a ella Merleau-Ponty construye -en su obra póstuma e inconclusa Lo visible y lo invisible- una teoría narcisista de (...) la percepción que puede interpretarse a la vez como una ontología especular en la cual el Ser, "la carne de las cosas", se capta a sí mismo a través de la percepción humana del mundo. Se trataría, pues, de una ontología de la reconciliación entre lo objetivo y lo subjetivo. The aim of the present study is to clarify the way in which the last developments of Merleau-Pontys phenomenology try to approach the problem of the split between conscience and objectivity that had remained unsolved in the French thinker's first works. In this discussion the notion of "flesh of the world" plays a decisive role since Merleau-Ponty builds around it -in his posthumous and unfinished work Le Visible et l'invisible- a narcissistic theory of perception that can be interpreted at the same time as a specular ontology in which Being, "the flesh of things", grasps itself through the human perception of the world -which makes it an ontology of reconciliation between the objective and the subjective. (shrink)

Volume 20, Issue 9, September 2020, Page W1-W4.

POLITICS is a system of computer programs which simulates humans in comprehending and responding to world events from a given political or ideological perspective. The primary theoretical motivations were: (1) the implemention of a functional system which applies the knowledge structures of Schank and Abelson (1977) to the domain of simulating political belief systems; (2) the development of a tentative theory of intentional goal conflicts and counterplanning. Secondary goals of the POLITICS project include developing a representation for belief systems, investigating (...) cognitive processes such as goal‐directed inferencing, and the integration of several types of knowledge representations into a functional system. (shrink)

El objetivo de este estudio es examinar hasta qué punto es válido incluir el pensamiento de Tomás de Aquino, junto al de Aristóteles y Kant, en la estructura filosófica que Heidegger llama, en Ser y tiempo § 44, “concepto tradicional de la verdad”. Partiendo de la definición de la verdad como adecuación del intelecto y la cosa, se somete a discusión la equivalencia entre el concepto aristotélico de ὁμοίωσις, el tomista de adaequatio y el kantiano de Übereinstimmung. Para ello se (...) examina detenidamente la noción de adaequatio, se la distingue de otras nociones cercanas, y se muestra cómo los diferentes sentidos del movimiento de adecuación dan lugar, a su vez, a distintos sentidos de la verdad. Se concluye que no hay equivalencia entre los conceptos de verdad de Aristóteles, Tomás y Kant, y se profundiza en la noción de verdad ontológica. (shrink)

Se proponen tres ejemplos históricos para mostrar cómo la religión, en la forma del cristianismo católico, ha promovido el avance de la filosofía moral o la filosofía social. Frente a posiciones que entienden que la religión tiene como función principal la conservación del status quo de una sociedad en particular (Marx o Durkheim) estos casos notables muestran que más bien es al contrario: las motivaciones religiosas han provocado cambios en la forma de pensar que inevitablemente implican cambios en el modo (...) de vida (Weber). Elegimos tres autores ligados por la época y el espacio (Siglo de oro español) y la religión (cristianismo católico). Juan Luis Vives propuso desde la filosofía cristiana que inspira todo su trabajo una asistencia regular y organizada a los pobres, que andando el tiempo se convertiría en la asistencia social contemporánea. Francisco de Vitoria, reflexionando sobre las causas de la guerra justa, los títulos de conquista o esclavitud, sentó las bases del derecho internacional al margen de la imposición violenta. Juan de Mariana hizo una reflexión política limitando tanto el poder del emperador que incluso sugirió la posibilidad del tiranicidio en caso de necesidad. Estos tres autores nos muestran que, aunque la religión continúa jugando un papel importante en la transmisión del estado de cosas, también ejerce una influencia que permite la evolución en las costumbres y, en consecuencia, en la reflexión ética. (shrink)

It is possible to describe certain basic principles that underlie Leibniz’s political activities. These principles do not literally determine the specific steps Leibniz takes, but play a much more decisive role than that due to mere metaphysical principles. They provide a general frame work for his activities and a point of reference towards which his reflections tend. Particular attention is paid here to the concept of perspective and its presence in Leibniz’s correspondence with Bossuet, Pellison and Madame de Brinon and (...) the way in which a theological dialogue enables Leibniz to develop his vision of reality. (shrink)

Jaspers, using Weber as a model, makes a negative critique of Phenomenology, Neo-Kantism and modern Human Sciences, althoug he admires the discipline and clarity of thought of the two first philosophic movements.