I began this study with Laudan's argument from the pessimistic induction and I promised to show that the caloric theory of heat cannot be used to support the premisses of the meta-induction on past scientific theories. I tried to show that the laws of experimental calorimetry, adiabatic change and Carnot's theory of the motive power of heat were independent of the assumption that heat is a material substance, approximately true, deducible and accounted for within thermodynamics.I stressed that results and were (...) known to most theorists of the caloric theory and that result was put forward by the founders of the new thermodynamics. In other words, the truth-content of the caloric theory was located, selected carefully, and preserved by the founders of thermodynamics.However, the reader might think that even if I have succeeded in showing that laudan is wrong about the caloric theory, I have not shown how the strategy followed in this paper can be generalised against the pessimistic meta-induction. I think that the general strategy against Laudan's argument suggested in this paper is this: the empirical success of a mature scientific theory suggests that there are respects and degrees in which this theory is true. The difficulty for — and and real challenge to — philosophers of science is to suggest ways in which this truth-content can be located and shown to be preserved — if at all — to subsequent theories. In particular, the empirical success of a theory does not, automatically, suggest that all theoretical terms of the theory refer. On the contrary, judgments of referential success depend on which theoretical claims are well-supported by the evidence. This is a matter of specific investigation. Generally, one would expect that claims about theoretical entities which are not strongly supported by the evidence or turn out to be independent of the evidence at hand, are not compelling. For simply, if the evidence does not make it likely that our beliefs about putative theoretical entities are approximately correct, a belief in those entities would be ill-founded and unjustified. Theoretical extrapolations in science are indespensable, but they are not arbitrary. If the evidence does not warrant them I do not see why someone should commit herself to them. In a sense, the problem with empricist philisophers is not that they demand that theoretical beliefs must be warranted by evidence. Rather, it is that they claim that no evidence can warrant theorretical beliefs. A realist philosopher of science would not disagree on the first, but she has good grounds to deny the second.I argued that claims about theoretical entities which are not strongly supported by the evidence must not be taken as belief-worthy. But can one sustaon the more ambitious view that loosely supported parts of a theory tend to be just those that include non-referring terms? There is an obvious excess risk in such a generalisation. For there are well-known cases in which a theoretical claim was initially weakly supported by the evidence. (shrink)

A Philosophical Study of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets By MartinWarner. The Edwin Mellen Press. 1999. xi + 138.

A special issue of Philosophical Studies containing selected papers from the 1999 meeting of the Pacific Division American Philosophical Association (Elizabeth S. Radcliffe, guest editor).

"Dare to be wise."--Mysticism.--Personality.--The individualism of value.--The unreality of time.--The relation of time and eternity.--The meaning of causality.--Propositions applicable to themselves.--Introduction to the study of philosophy.--The further determination of the absolute.--An ontological idealism.

Aeschines of Sphettus.--Parmenides, Zeno, and Socrates.--Forms and numbers: a study in Platonic metaphysics.--The philosophy of Proclus.--The analysis of Epistēmē in Plato's seventh epistle.--St. Thomas Aquinas as a philosopher.--Francis Bacon.--Some features of Butler's ethics.--David Hume and the miraculous.--Knowing and believing.--Is goodness a quality?

"This philosophical study offers a representation of the logical structure of classical Hindu ethics and argues for the availability of at least the core of this ethical system to Westerners."--Page [4] Cover.

This volume inaugurates a new critical edition of the writings of the great English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626)--the first such complete edition in more than a hundred years. It contains six of Bacon's Latin scientific works, each accompanied by entirely new facing-page translations which, together with the extensive introduction and commentaries, offer fresh insights into one of the great minds of the early seventeenth century.

Chiefly comprises articles previously published in various periodicals.

Presents a penetrating study of Eliot's Four Quartets. Begins with an account of the intellectual and personal context for Eliot's mature work, explaining how his influences shaped his mind, then discusses Eliot's own personal circumstances and the contemporary relevance of his work a half century after it appeared, offering comparisons with Samuel Beckett. A central motif of analysis of "Burnt Norton" is Augustine's discussion of time in relation to subjective memory. Other literary references brought to bear on the Four Quartets (...) include work by Yeats, Milton, and St. John of the Cross, as well as the Bible and the Bhagavad-Gita. Warner is a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Warwick, UK. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR. (shrink)

A pioneering philosophical exploration, this volume seeks to clarify the function of climate as a key factor within the structure of human existence. The author takes as his starting point the argument that the phenomena of climate should be treated as expressions of subjective human existence and not of natural environments. In developing his argument, Watsuji first examines the basic principles of climate and then proceeds to examine three types of climate in detail--monsoon, desert, and meadow--and their relative impacts (...) on human experience. As both a unique guide to Japan and her culture and a penetrating philosophical study, Climate and Culture will be enlightening reading for students and scholars of modern Japanese thought. (shrink)

I Venture to take as the subject for our consideration the philosophical study of politics. However imperfect the treatment of such a subject, it seems to me opportune that attention should at this point of time be directed to the question. The study of politics is of increasing importance in the curricula of our universities and in general adult education. There is also the plain fact that we live in times when a deep unrest of spirit and a great (...) variety of experiment challenge ideas and institutions which have received wide acceptance. There has been, in short, a return to politics. It is well that we should consider afresh the value of the study and the methods by which it is studied. (shrink)

First published in 1963, this title considers the philosophical problems encountered when attempting to provide a clear and general explanation of scientific principles, and the basic confrontation between such principles and experience. Beginning with a detailed introduction that considers various approaches to the philosophy and theory of science, Israel Scheffler then divides his study into three key sections – Explanation, Significance and Confirmation – that explore how these complex issues involved have been dealt with in contemporary research. This title, (...) by one of America’s leading philosophers, will provide a valuable analysis of the theory and problems surrounding the Philosophy of Science. (shrink)

Punishment and Shame: A Philosophical Study reveals the economic and religious underpinnings to modern notions of crime and punishment. Contra Michel Foucault's claim that modern penal practices witness a revolution in Western moral sensibilities, awakened by Enlightenment ideals, Hamblet shows that punishment practices in the West grew out of Protestant moralizations, capitalist greed, and the need for a cheap labor pool.

Everyone loves something or somebody, and most people are concerned with loving another person like themselves, all equal. This book is based on the belief that getting clear about the concept and meaning of love between equals is essential for success in our practical lives. For how can we love properly unless we have a fairly clear idea of what love is? The book is written in ordinary language and for the ordinary person, without jargon or philosophical technicalities. It (...) aims to show that love between equals involves a single basic disposition, though that disposition expresses itself in various ways. Thus, after an introduction explaining the need for analysis and clarification, the author then deals in order with love as desire or need; with intrinsic friendship and sharing the self; with basic difficulties concerning power, dependence, altruism and paranoia; with sex and erotic love; and finally with the value in human life of love between equals. The work as a whole gives clear, coherent and practical guidance for all who wish to grasp what such love is really like. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and (...) made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Memoir.--Cogitatio metaphysica.--The relation of logic to psychology [Philosophical review, vol. V & vol. VI]--The relation of metaphysics to epistemology [Philosophical review, vol. III]--The one and the many. [Mind, n. s., vol. VII]--Confessio fidei.--Moral philosophy. On the method and scope of ethics.--Index.

This is a response to three critical discussions of my book Memory: A Philosophical Study (Oxford University Press 2010): Marya Schechtman, “Memory and Identity”, Fred Adams, “Husker Du?”, and Sanford Goldberg “The Metasemantics of Memory”.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

China's Philosophical Studies: Rediscovery of Chinese Spiritual Essence collects essential research findings of China's philosophical studies conducted by the academics at East China Normal University (ECNU) in recent years. The book covers topics including thoughts in China's Spring and Autumn Period, Chinese virtue of trust, establishing morals, historical studies of Chinese philosophy, etc. This book is the fifth volume of the WSPC-ECNU Series on China. This Series showcases the significant contributions to scholarship in social sciences (...) and humanities studies about China. It is jointly launched by World Scientific Publishing, the most reputable English academic publisher in Asia, and ECNU, a top University in China with a long history of exchanges with the international academic community. (shrink)

A review of the mission and activities of the Italian Institute of Philosophical Studies and the School of Advanced Studies in Naples.

자살을 바라보는 다양한 시각이 존재할 수 있지만 통상적으로 두 가지 시선이 존재한다. 첫째로 자살은 광범위한 정신적 질병의 결과로 보는 것이며, 둘째로 사회적 현상으로서의 자살이다. 그러나 이러한 두 가지 입장은 인간의 자살을 충분히 이해하고 설명하기에는 한계를 가진다. 우울증과 같은 정신적 질병으로 인해 인간이 자살을 실행한다는 입장이나 사회적 현상에 의해 인간의 자살이 결정된다는 입장 어디에도 행위의 주체로서 무제약적 결단에 나설 수 있는 인간의 실존적 의지는 간과되기 때문이다. 이 글에서는 야스퍼스(Jaspers)의 『철학』II 권을 중심으로 한계상황에 부딪친 인간이 선택할 수 있는 무제약적 행위로서의 자살을 규명한다. (...) 그리고 이와 연관하여 현존적 조건과 함께 무제약성을 고려한 실존적 소통으로서의 상담과 이를 적용한 로고테라피의 철학상담적 의의를 자살문제와 연관시켜 보려고 한다. (shrink)