In seinem letzten philosophischen Werk erörtert Hume die Frage, ob es die Möglichkeit oder Notwendigkeit gibt, aus Vernunftgründen die Existenz Gottes zu bejahen. Die 1779 postum veröffentlichte Schrift führt die konträren Standpunkte vor.

This article aims to draw a theoretical framework to discuss the role of religion in utopia's appeal to transcendence in Turkish literature. This aim entails interrogating the intricate relation between utopia and religion in order to demonstrate how religious discourse functions as a transcendent organizing principle in Turkish utopian vision. The employment of religious discourse in utopia often generates problematic moments in which utopia attains a transcendent position and comes closest to its sibling term, dystopia. This article seeks (...) to identify and describe this position of transcendence in Turkish utopia by resorting to Deleuzian distinction between the two types of utopia: “utopia of transcendence,” oriented toward authoritarianism, and “utopia of immanence,” oriented toward revolution. In so doing, it will engage with three early works from the Second Constitutional Period, Ruşeni Barkın's Müslümanların Gaye-i Hayâliyesi, İsmail Gaspıralı's Darürrahat Müslümanları, and Molla Davudzade's Rüyada Terakki ve Medeniyet-i İslamiyeyi Rü‘yet. (shrink)

Johann Liborius Zimmermann (1702 – 1734) studierte Philosophie und theologische Moral an der Universität Jena. Dort wurde er 1725 mit einer philosophischen Dissertation promoviert und lehrte anschließend alle Gebiete dieses Fachs. Nach einer kurzen Tätigkeit als Hofprediger des Grafen von Wernigerode wechselte er 1731 zur Universität Halle, wo er bis zu seinem Tode praktische Theologie lehrte. Zimmermann greift im vorliegenden Traktat, der sich methodisch strenger, an Wolffs Methodenideal anknüpfender Prinzipien bedient, einerseits sehr frei – eklektisch – auf Wolffs Topoi in (...) dessen Metaphysik zurück und bleibt andererseits Grundüberzeugungen treu, die sich der Tradition des Thomasianismus verdanken, insbesondere was die praktische Ausrichtung und Nützlichleit der Philosophie betrifft; darüberhinaus wird gerade diese Ausrichtung unter pietistischem Einfluss noch theologisch überhöht. Dies verleiht insgesamt seiner Metaphysik eine singuläre Gestalt. Johann Liborius Zimmermann (1702-1734) studied theology and theological morals at the University of Jena. In 1725 he gained his doctorate in philosophy and went on to teach in all areas of this subject. After a short period as court preacher to the Count of Wernigerode, he moved in 1731 to the University of Halle where he taught practical theology until his death. In this treatise Zimmermann, who uses stricter principles based on Wolff’s ideal method, in part refers very freely – eclectically – to the topoi in Wolff’s metaphysics and in part remains true to basic convictions from the tradition of Thomasianism, especially where the practical orientation and usefulness of philosophy are concerned; in addition, this very orientation, influenced by Pietism, is elevated in theological terms. All of this lends his metaphysics a singular character. (shrink)

Das Verhältnis zwischen Kirche und säkularer Kultur steht einmal mehr in Frage. Gehören die Kunstwerke der christlichen Tradition als lebendige Quelle noch in unsere Gegenwart, oder nicht vielmehr einer Vergangenheit an, die höchstens noch von musealem Interesse ist? Ist eine intellektuelle Durchdringung des Glaubens, eine christliche, katholische/protestantische Intellektualität sinnvoll, notwendig, überhaupt möglich?

Les errements d'Yves de Vallone (1666/67-1705) et les péripéties de sa carrière sont remarquables. Engagé malgré lui dans la Congrégation de Sainte-Geneviève à l'âge de 16 ans, il s'enflamme lorsqu'il est informé qu'il existe une "petite Église" de sociniens au sein de son ordre. Il accuse les directeurs génovéfains d'hérésie et subit une persécution très éprouvante, mais finit par faire démettre le supérieur général et ses acolytes, non pas à cause de leur hérésie, mais à cause de la persécution qu'ils (...) lui ont infligée. La nouvelle direction génovéfaine cherchant à venger l'ancienne, Vallone s'échappe en Suisse et en Allemagne et se convertit au protestantisme en 1697. Appelé à Zwolle aux Provinces-Unies, il s'érige en apologiste rationaliste de la doctrine calviniste de la prédestination dans deux écrits dirigés contre les luthériens. Cependant, ne voulant abandonner la métaphysique aux libertins ; il se laisse emporter par la logique de sa propre conception malebranchiste de l'Être infiniment parfait et se heurte à la critique de Jacques Bernard et à la censure par un synode de l'Église réformée en 1703. Il abandonne alors, non pas son rationalisme malebranchiste, mais la doctrine du péché originel qui avait entraîné toutes ses difficultés : sous l'influence de Leenhof, et à l'aide des œuvres de Richard Simon, de Pierre Bayle et de Spinoza, il dresse une histoire accablante de la doctrine chrétienne et élabore un système philosophique où Dieu, principe intelligent de tout ce qui existe, agit par la nécessité de sa propre nature et finit par se confondre avec la Nature."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Le Conseiller d'Etat ou Recueil général de la politique moderne est l'un des grands traités politiques du XVIIe siècle. Son auteur, Philippe de Béthune, diplomate réputé et fin connaisseur de la vie publique, a écrit un livre étonnant de philosophie politique, de stratégie, d'économie et d'urbanisme. Œuvre d 'un homme de cour, habitué à côtoyer les princes, il est le produit de la réflexion et de l'expérience d'un personnage singulier, mais aussi d'une époque insolite de mutation entre deux mondes, - (...) celui de la Renaissance, des guerres de religion et des troubles de la Ligue, et celui de l'absolutisme monarchique et de l'État moderne, - marquée par une transformation profonde des valeurs politiques et morales. Personnalité peu commune, qui a voyagé à travers toute l'Europe, qui par deux fois a été ambassadeur à Rome et qui a bénéficié d'une longévité remarquable, Philippe de Béthune est le frère puîné de Sully Il naît sous Charles IX, commence sa carrière comme mignon, dans l'entourage de Joyeuse, l'archi-favori d'Henri III, sert Henri lV Louis XIII, Richelieu et termine sa vie sous le ministériat de Mazarin. Publié en 1633, avec l'accord du cardinal ministre, Le Conseiller d'Etat n 'a jamais été réédité depuis 1684. Cette nouvelle édition est précédée d'une longue introduction sur l'art politique de la première moitié du XVlle siècle et le paysage mental de l'époque. (shrink)

David Brown (b. 1948) is a Scottish Episcopal priest and theologian whose work covers a vast terrain spanning methodological divisions between philosophy, Christian theology, religious studies, the arts and culture. Early work on the Trinity and Incarnation led to a Newman-inspired articulation of Scripture as tradition, and, related to this, the exploration of tradition as revelation with reference to a wide range of human experience. Moving from materially-mediated divine presence to culturally-mediated revelation, Brown's phenomenology of religious experience amounts to a (...) transformed natural religion along sacramental lines. Essays in this volume consider Brown's wide ranging and generative contributions in three parts: 1) Butler & Newman, 2) Incarnation & Trinity, and 3) Sacramentality & the Arts, with a concluding response from Brown himself that addresses 'religious experience and revelation', as well as 'secular culture and religious distinctiveness'. (shrink)

Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenforde a dressé le constat d’un écart historique entre la conception hégelienne de l’État moderne comme « État chretien » et la conception contemporaine de l’État libéral comme « neutre à l’égard des religions et des conceptions du monde ». D’après lui, Hegel aurait défendu la thèse selon laquelle l’État moderne trouve son « principe spirituel » dans le christianisme. L’auteur de l’article nuance cette interprétation en montrant, tout d’abord, que le processus de modernisation ne se réduit pas chez (...) Hegel à une simple application au monde du principe chrétien. Il revient ensuite sur la manière originale dont le philosophe berlinois conçoit, à partir de l’évènement fondateur de la Réforme, les rapports entre politique et religion à l’époque moderne. C’est à partir de la figure de « l’État protestant » que Hegel peut affirmer a la fois la separation de l’État et des Églises et l’identité spirituelle de l’État et d’une religion chrétienne « modernisée ». (shrink)

Essentialism in philosophy is the position that things, especially kinds of things, have essences, or sets of properties, that all members of the kind must have, and the combination of which only members of the kind do, in fact, have. It is usually thought to derive from classical Greek philosophy and in particular from Aristotle’s notion of “what it is to be” something. In biology, it has been claimed that pre-evolutionary views of living kinds, or as they are sometimes called, (...) “natu-ral kinds”, are essentialist. This static view of living things presumes that no tran-sition is possible in time or form between kinds, and that variation is regarded as accidental or inessential noise rather than important information about taxa. In contrast it is held that Darwinian, and post-Darwinian, biology relies upon varia-tion as important and inevitable properties of taxa, and that taxa are not, therefore, kinds but historical individuals. Recent attempts have been made to undercut this account, and to reinstitute essentialism in biological kind terms. Others argue that essentialism has not ever been a historical reality in biology and its predecessors. In this chapter, I shall outline the many meanings of the notion of essentialism in psychology and social science as well as science, and discuss pro- and anti-essentialist views, and some recent historical revisionism. It turns out that nobody was essentialist to speak of in the sense that is antievolutionary in biology, and that much confusion rests on treating the one word, “essence” as meaning a single notion when in fact there are many. I shall also discuss the philosophical implica-tions of essentialism, and what that means one way or the other for evolutionary biology. Teaching about evolution relies upon narratives of change in the ways the living world is conceived by biologists. This is a core narrative issue. (shrink)

The dominant view amongst contemporary Western philosophers about the essence of a natu­ ral object is that it is constituted by its intrinsic properties. The ontological approach salient in the African philosophical tradition, in contrast, accounts for a thing’s essence by appeal to its relational properties. The Afro­relational ontology is under­developed, with the primary aim of this article being to help rectify that weakness. Specifically, this article’s aims are: to articulate an African approach to understanding the essence of a (...) concrete, natural thing in terms of its relationships; to illustrate the Afro­relational approach with the examples of the self and of water; to contrast the Afro­relational characterization of the essence of the self and of water with a typically Western construal in terms of their intrinsic properties; and finally to provide an initial defence of the Afro­relational approach, both by responding to some objections facing it and by providing some new, positive reasons to take it seriously. (shrink)

The articles in this volume present a selection of works from the Symposium on Natu-ral/Unconventional Computing at AISB/IACAP (British Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour and The International Association for Computing and Philosophy) World Congress 2012, held at the University of Birmingham, celebrating Turing centenary. This book is about nature considered as the totality of physical existence, the universe. By physical we mean all phenomena - objects and processes - that are possible to (...) detect either directly by our senses or via instruments. Historically, there have been many ways of describ-ing the universe (cosmic egg, cosmic tree, theistic universe, mechanistic universe) and a par-ticularly prominent contemporary approach is computational universe. (shrink)

People of Socrates' time were frequently aghast at the questions he would ask. Their responses were of the sort elicited by very dumb or ex tremely obvious questions: "Don't you know? Everyone else does. " Socrates was hardly alone in his knack for asking such questions. Phi losophers have always asked peculiar questions most other people would never dream of asking, convinced as the latter are that the answers were settled long ago in the collective "wisdom" of society, including ques (...) tions about woman: should women be educated? should they rule socie ties? should they be subordinate in marriage? do women and men have the same virtues, or are there separate virtues for each? which of the dif ferences between women and men are conventional, and which are natu ral? is there a woman's work? do women and men have different types or degrees of rationality? Philosophers of the most diverse periods have raised these questions and their answers were often quite creative, not merely reflecting the conventions and mores of their societies. With the publication of this anthology, their writings will be brought together in a single volume for the first time. This anthology differs from others not just in its inclusiveness. It also contains several translations of material previously unavailable in English. (shrink)

Some naturalistic theories of consciousness give an essential role to teleology.1 This teleology is said to arise due to natural selection. Thus it is claimed that only certain states, namely, those that have been selected for by evolutionary pro- cesses because they contribute to (or once contributed to) an organism’s fitness, are conscious states. These theories look as if they are assigning a creative role to natural selection. If a state is conscious only if it has been selected for, then (...) selec- tion appears to be able to create a new feature of states, namely, their conscious nature. Yet, intuitively, natural selection cannot create anything. Natural selec- tion chooses certain features that already exist and makes them more (or less) prevalent in a population, but it cannot bring features into existence itself. Natu- ral selection can select for conscious states, but it cannot create them. This con- clusion has recently been argued for by Steven Horst (1999). If it is right, then teleological theories of conscious states should be rejected. A state cannot become a conscious experience in virtue of having been selected for by evolu- tionary process. (shrink)

t. 1. Les religions de l'Inde, et Bulletins des religions de l'Inde (1880-1885) -- t. 2. Bulletins des religions de l'Inde (1889-1902) -- t. 3. Comptes rendus et notices (1872-1886) -- t. 4. Comptes rendus et notices (1887-1898) -- t. 5. Comptes rendus et notices (1899-1911). Bibiliographie. Index général.

T hese are indignant times. Reading news- papers, talking to friends or coworkers, we seem often to live in a state of perpetual moral outrage.The targets of our indignation depend on the particular group, religion, and political party we are associated with. If the Terry Schiavo case does not convince of you of this, take the issue of same-sex marriage. Conservatives are furious over the prospect of gays and lesbians marrying, and liberals are furious that conservatives are furious. But (...) has anyone on either side subjected their views to serious scrutiny? What’s the response, for example, when conservatives are asked exactly why gays and lesbians shouldn’t be allowed to marry? “It threatens the institution of marriage.” OK. How? “Marriage is between a man and a woman.” (Democ- rats give this answer as well.) Right, but why? “It’s unnatu- ral.” Isn’t that true of marriage in general? “Well… look… I.. (shrink)

La información es una dimensión de lo real que, a pesar de no tener natu-raleza física, solo existe apoyada en una base física. Y su presencia en los objetos, eventos y procesos que constituyen nuestro entorno vital humano, es lo que permite que el mundo sea inteligible. Sin información no serían posibles las definiciones, ni el pensamiento, ni el lenguaje, ni la ciencia. La importancia de la información está creciendo de manera expo-nencial en nuestros días. Aclarar su estatuto ontológico (...) es una tarea mucho más difícil de lo que a primera vista parece. Y explicar su presencia en los objetos naturales, equivaldría a explicar porqué es inteligible el universo, algo que solo parece posible si, abandonando el ámbito del pensamiento científico, penetramos en niveles más profundos, tradicionalmente reservados a la filosofía o la religión. (shrink)

Supporters of neutrality as benign neglect argue that a neutral state should not grant any type of recognition to cultural or religious groups. Liberal multiculturalists argue instead that due to the non-neutral nature of public institutions, democratic states must adopt policies that recognize and accommodate the distinctive needs of ethnocultural groups. This article examines a different way of conceiving the principle of neutrality. In this conception, developed by Alan Patten in the framework of liberal multiculturalism, a state can only be (...) neutral when it extends equivalent levels of assistance/hindrance to rival conceptions of the good. Neutrality is thus reinterpreted to become a principle justifying the religious exemptions. The article highlights some aspects of this theory that should be reconsidered.// -/- Les défenseurs de la neutralité bienveillante soutiennent qu’un État neutre ne doit accorder aucun type de reconnaissance aux groupes culturels ou religieux. Les multiculturalistes libéraux avancent pour leur part que, en raison de la nature non neutre des institutions publiques, les États démocratiques doivent adopter des politiques vi-sant la reconnaissance et l’accommodement des besoins distinctifs des groupes ethnoculturels. Cet article examine une manière diffé-rente de concevoir le principe de neutralité. Dans cette conception, développée par Alan Patten dans le cadre du multiculturalisme libé-ral, un État ne peut être neutre que s’il assiste ou entrave de manière équivalente les différentes conceptions du bien. La neutralité est ainsi réinterprétée pour devenir un principe permettant de justifier les exemptions religieuses. L’article souligne certains aspects de cette théorie qui méritent d’être repensés. (shrink)

Pochodząca ze zbiorów Bogusława Szybkowskiego widokówka „Partie im Schlossgarten” („Część Ogrodu Zamkowego”), na której znajduje się fotografia Ogrodu Zamkowego w Opolu, stanowi materiał badawczy dla teoretycznoliterackich rozważań podjętych w niniejszym artykule. Jest to niezwykle cenna pamiątka traktująca o historii Opola, zwłaszcza że zachowała się tylko w liczbie jednego egzemplarza, jak również z uwagi na zaprezentowany motyw nieco zapomnianej sztuki ogrodowej, w której Opolszczyzna nie ustępowała ogrodom miast europejskich. W tym opracowaniu przedstawiono analizę ogrodowego_ topoi_, wpisanego w interdyscyplinarne spojrzenie na uwarunkowania (...) artystyczno-historyczne tego typu archiwalium. Artykuł wytycza zatem pole badań nad dziejami Śląska Opolskiego i kultury literackiej dawnych czasów. (shrink)

Pochodząca ze zbiorów Bogusława Szybkowskiego widokówka „Partie im Schlossgarten” („Część Ogrodu Zamkowego”), na której znajduje się fotografia Ogrodu Zamkowego w Opolu, stanowi materiał badawczy dla teoretycznoliterackich rozważań podjętych w niniejszym artykule. Jest to niezwykle cenna pamiątka traktująca o historii Opola, zwłaszcza że zachowała się tylko w liczbie jednego egzemplarza, jak również z uwagi na zaprezentowany motyw nieco zapomnianej sztuki ogrodowej, w której Opolszczyzna nie ustępowała ogrodom miast europejskich. W tym opracowaniu przedstawiono analizę ogrodowego_ topoi_, wpisanego w interdyscyplinarne spojrzenie na uwarunkowania (...) artystyczno-historyczne tego typu archiwalium. Artykuł wytycza zatem pole badań nad dziejami Śląska Opolskiego i kultury literackiej dawnych czasów. (shrink)

The history of the concept of “religion” in Western tradition has intrigued scholars for years. This important collection of eighteen essays brings further light to the ongoing debate. Three of the invited participants, W.C. Smith, M. Despland and E. Feil, has each previously written impressive books treating this subject; the last two acknowledged the impact and continuing influence of Smith’s work, The Meaning and End of Religion. An introduction and a recapitulation of Smith’s contribution as a scholar set (...) the stage for a retrospective look at the published literature. Contributors then examine the transformation of words (the classical religio to the modern religion), particularities of religion in nineteenth-century France, Troeltsch’s concept of religion, the study of religion from an Asian point of view and the categorization of “World Religions.” The concluding essays elaborate contemporary anthropological, cross-disciplinary, semiological, deconstructive and psychoanalytical methodological approaches to the concept and study of “religion.” Exploring critically different aspects of the concept and study of religion, these provocative essays typically reflect the methodological pluralism currently existing in the field of Religious Studies. Of interest to scholars and students alike, this collection also contains a complete bibliography of W.C. Smith’s publications. (shrink)

El presente estudio propone una lectura de la novela de José Saramago O Evangelo segundo Jesus Cristo a la luz de aquellos textos antiguos judíos y cristianos de temática bíblica que han sido excluidos de los correspondientes cánones sagrados de los judíos, protestantes y católicos. El análisis de la obra del escritor portugués revela un alto nivel de lo que se podría denominar intertextualidad inversa. Para reconstruir la vida de Jesús, Saramago se apropia de episodios, personajes y símbolos tanto de (...) la Biblia como de esos apócrifos antiguos y los transforma de tal manera que adquieren un significado opuesto al que poseen en sus respectivas fuentes textuales. De esta forma, Saramago lleva a cabo una exégesis personal particularmente osada que tergiversa o desmonta ciertos presupuestos que se consideran parte esencial de la tradición bíblica. Para lograr su propósito, el novelista pone en práctica una serie de técnicas literarias y hermenéuticas afines a las que se usaban en los textos apócrifos de la Antigüedad. Al igual que en un midrás hebreo, Saramago vuelve a contar una historia sagrada desde una perspectiva distinta, en este caso la de los débiles y desposeídos. Igualmente, su deseo de rellenar los huecos que quedaron sin explicación en los Evangelios canónicos hace eco de la técnica judía del derás. A través de un análisis detallado de los personajes principales y de algunos símbolos recurrentes que aparecen en la novela se descubre una glorificación de lo pequeño y de los marginados como focos de resistencia contra las fuerzas poderosas que desean dominarlos y silenciarlos. En el centro de esta lucha se encuentra un Jesús profundamente humano que busca inútilmente la respuesta a algunas de las interrogantes fundamentales que siguen atormentando a la humanidad: ¿Por qué entraron al mundo el mal y el dolor? ¿Por qué castiga Dios a los seres humanos? ¿Por qué tiene que sufrir el hombre la angustia de la culpa? (shrink)

Despite its considerable intellectual interest and great social relevance, religion has been neglected by contemporary develop- mental psychologists. But in the last few years, there has been an emerging body of research exploring children’s grasp of certain universal religious ideas. Some recent findings suggest that two foundational aspects of religious belief – belief in divine agents, and belief in mind–body dualism – come naturally to young children. This research is briefly reviewed, and some future directions..

Rooted in the field of cathedral studies, this paper draws into dialogue three bodies of knowledge: Edward Bailey’s notion of implicit religion that, among other things, highlights the continuing traction of the Christian tradition and Christian practice within secular societies; David Walker’s notion of the multiple ways through which in secular societies people may relate to the Christian tradition as embodied within the Anglican Church and John Fisher’s notion of spiritual wellbeing as conceptualised in relational terms. Against this conceptual (...) background, this paper draws on data provided by 1234 participants attending one of the Christmas Eve carol services in Liverpool Cathedral to explore the perceived impact of attendance on the spiritual health of people who do not believe in God and yet feel that Liverpool Cathedral is their cathedral, and it is this sense of belonging that brings them back at Christmas time.Contribution: Situated within the science of cathedral studies, this paper links in an original way three fields of discourse: Edward Bailey’s notion of implicit religion, David Walker’s notion of the four ways of belonging to God facilitated by the Anglican Church and John Fisher’s conceptualisation and operationalisation of the notion of spiritual wellbeing. The hypothesis developed from this original integration of theoretical perspectives is then tested empirically on data provided by 404 participants at carol services who do not believe in God. (shrink)

This study was designed to examine the determinants of and differences between the ethical beliefs of two groups of Japanese students in religious and secular universities. Multiple regression analysis revealed that students of the Japanese religious university perceived that young, male, relativistic, and opportunistic students tended to behave less ethically than did older, female, and idealistic students. Students of the Japanese secular university perceived that male, achievement-oriented, and opportunistic students tended to behave less ethically than did female and experience-oriented students. (...) Opportunism was found to be one of the most important determinants in explaining misconduct. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) revealed that students of the Japanese secular university tended to score higher on achievement and humanism, and lower on theism and positivism than did students of the Japanese religious university. In addition, students of the Japanese secular university were somewhat more sensitive to academic dishonesty practices than were students of the Japanese religious university. (shrink)