Slavoj Zizek has been called "an academic rock star" and "the wild man of theory"; his writing mixes astonishing erudition and references to pop culture in order to dissect current intellectual pieties. In The Puppet and the Dwarf he offers a close reading of today's religious constellation from the viewpoint of Lacanian psychoanalysis. He critically confronts both predominant versions of today's spirituality--New Age gnosticism and deconstructionist-Levinasian Judaism--and then tries to redeem the "materialist" kernel of Christianity. His reading of Christianity is (...) explicitly political, discerning in the Pauline community of believers the first version of a revolutionary collective. Since today even advocates of Enlightenment like Jurgen Habermas acknowledge that a religious vision is needed to ground our ethical and political stance in a "postsecular" age, this book--with a stance that is clearly materialist and at the same time indebted to the core of the Christian legacy--is certain to stir controversy. (shrink)

Kazimierz Twardowski – einer der berühmtesten Schüler des Philosophen Franz Brentano und Gründer der philosophischen Lemberg-Warschauer Schule – verbrachte die ersten 30 Jahre seines Lebens in Wien. In dem Buch wird die prägende Wiener Periode (1866 – 1895) rekonstruiert und dabei der Versuch unternommen, die kulturelle und intellektuelle Atmosphäre der Jugendjahre Twardowskis lebendig werden zu lassen. Ferner werden seine Arbeiten der Wiener Jahre analysiert und untersucht, welchen Einfluss sie auf die reife Philosophie Twardowskis hatten.

The Parallax View is Slavoj Zizek's most substantial theoretical work to appear in many years; Zizek himself describes it as his magnum opus. Parallax can be defined as the apparent displacement of an object, caused by a change in observational position. Zizek is interested in the "parallax gap" separating two points between which no synthesis or mediation is possible, linked by an "impossible short circuit" of levels that can never meet. From this consideration of parallax, Zizek begins a rehabilitation of (...) dialectical materialism.Modes of parallax can be seen in different domains of today's theory, from the wave-particle duality in quantum physics to the parallax of the unconscious in Freudian psychoanalysis between interpretations of the formation of the unconscious and theories of drives. In The Parallax View, Zizek, with his usual astonishing erudition, focuses on three main modes of parallax: the ontological difference, the ultimate parallax that conditions our very access to reality; the scientific parallax, the irreducible gap between the phenomenal experience of reality and its scientific explanation, which reaches its apogee in today's brain sciences ; and the political parallax, the social antagonism that allows for no common ground. Between his discussions of these three modes, Zizek offers interludes that deal with more specific topics--including an ethical act in a novel by Henry James and anti-anti-Semitism.The Parallax View not only expands Zizek's Lacanian-Hegelian approach to new domains but also provides the systematic exposition of the conceptual framework that underlies his entire work. Philosophical and theological analysis, detailed readings of literature, cinema, and music coexist with lively anecdotes and obscene jokes. (shrink)

A militant Marxist atheist and a "Radical Orthodox" Christian theologiansquare off on everything from the meaning of theology and Christ to the war machine of corporatemafia.

Slavoj Žižek and Srecko Horvat combine their critical clout to emphasize the dangers of ignoring Europe's growing wealth gap and the parallel rise in right-wing nationalism, which is directly tied to the fallout from the ongoing financial crisis and its prescription of imposed austerity. To general observers, the European Union's economic woes appear to be its greatest problem, but the real peril is an ongoing ideological-political crisis that threatens an era of instability and reactionary brutality. The fall of communism in (...) 1989 seemed to end the leftist program of universal emancipation. However, nearly a quarter of a century later, the European Union has failed to produce any coherent vision that can mobilize people to action. Until recently, the only ideology receptive to European workers has been the nationalist call to "defend" against immigrant integration. Today, Europe is focused on regulating the development of capitalism and promoting a reactionary conception of its cultural heritage. Yet staying these courses, Žižek and Horvat show, only strips Europe of its power and stifles its political ingenuity. The best hope is for Europe to revive and defend its legacy of universal egalitarianism, which benefits all parties by preserving the promise of equal representation. (shrink)

Abstract.The authors concentrate on the analysis of the concept of permission. After a general account of differing concepts of permission both with regard to different legal theories and to different legal ideologies, they argue in favour of a “radical” imperativism which leaves no place for permissive norms. Thus, in contrast with the logic of normative language (LNL) purported by Alchourrón and Bulygin, the authors figure out a system of deontic logic ‐ supplemented by devices of the possible world semantics ‐ (...) according to which a normative system (N) is conceived as a set of logical consequences of a certain finite set of basic obligations and no room is left either for the concept of weak permission or for the concept of strong permission. Finally the authors raise some criticisms concerning the view maintained by Alchourron and Bulygin on strong permission.*. (shrink)

The present collection represents an attempt to bring together several contributions to the ongoing debate pertaining to supervenience of the normative in law and morals and strives to be the first work that addresses the topic comprehensively. It addresses the controversies surrounding the idea of normative supervenience and the philosophical conceptions they generated, deserve a recapitulation, as well as a new impulse for further development. Recently, there has been renewed interest in the concepts of normativity and supervenience. The research on (...) normativity – a term introduced to the philosophical jargon by Edmund Husserl almost one hundred years ago – gained impetus in the 1990s through the works of such philosophers as Robert Audi, Christine Korsgaard, Robert Brandom, Paul Boghossian or Joseph Raz. The problem of the nature and sources of normativity has been investigated not only in morals and in relation to language, but also in other domains, e.g. in law or in the c ontext of the theories of rationality. Supervenience, understood as a special kind of relation between properties and weaker than entailment, has become analytic philosophers’ favorite formal tool since 1980s. It features in the theories pertaining to mental properties, but also in aesthetics or the law. In recent years, the ‘marriage’ of normativity and supervenience has become an object of many philosophical theories as well as heated debates. It seems that the conceptual apparatus of the supervenience theory makes it possible to state precisely some claims pertaining to normativity, as well as illuminate the problems surrounding it. (shrink)

Žižek as comedian: jokes in the service of philosophy.

Are the cognitive sciences relevant for law? How do they influence legal theory and practice? Should lawyers become part-time cognitive scientists? The recent advances in the cognitive sciences have reshaped our conceptions of human decision-making and behavior. Many claim, for instance, that we can no longer view ourselves as purely rational agents equipped with free will. This change is vitally important for lawyers, who are forced to rethink the foundations of their theories and the framework of legal practice. Featuring multidisciplinary (...) scholars from around the world, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the emerging field of law and the cognitive sciences. It develops new theories and provides often provocative insights into the relationship between the cognitive sciences and various dimensions of the law including legal philosophy and methodology, doctrinal issues, and evidence. (shrink)

Słownik języka polskiego PWN odnotowuje m.in. trzy znaczenia słowa „fenomen”: (1) rzadkie, niezwykłe zjawisko; (2) osoba wyjątkowa, niezwykle uzdolniona; (3) fakt empiryczny będący punktem wyjścia badań naukowych. W tytule nie chodzi o „fenomen” w sensie drugim, chociaż do Szkoły Lwowsko-Warszawskiej należało wiele osób wyjątkowych i niezwykle uzdolnionych, do których z powodzeniem można odnosić słowo „fenomen” w tym sensie. Tytułowy zwrot „Fenomen Szkoły Lwowsko-Warszawskiej” sygnalizuje natomiast, z jednej strony, że książka zdaje sprawę z badań naukowych nad pewnym złożonym „faktem empirycznym” – (...) nad pewną formacją intelektualną wraz z jej dorobkiem. Z drugiej strony tytuł wskazuje na rzadkość i niezwykłość Szkoły: to, że była ona fenomenem nie tylko w dziejach Polski, lecz także w dziejach kultury in toto. Oto kilka faktów, które się na fenomen Szkoły – w tym drugim sensie – składają. Za początek Szkoły przyjmuje się rok 1895, kiedy jej założyciel, Kazimierz Twardowski, przybył z Wiednia do Lwowa i już wkrótce wypromował pierwszych doktorów. Wśród wychowanków (doktorantów) Twardowskiego było ponad dwudziestu przyszłych profesorów tytularnych, którzy w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym zajęli większość katedr filozofii, logiki i psychologii, ale oddziałali także na inne dyscypliny – takie jak literaturoznawstwo, muzykologia, filologia klasyczna etc. Twardowski zmarł w 1938 roku, a za koniec Szkoły niektórzy przyjmują rok 1939 – istotnie II wojna światowa spowodowała spustoszenie w szeregach przedstawicieli Szkoły, a jeszcze silniejszy cios stanowił dla niej okres stalinizmu. Jednakże Kilka wybitnych postaci Szkoły – takich jak Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz, Tadeusz Czeżowski, Izydora Dąmbska, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Stefan Swieżawski czy Władysław Tatarkiewicz – działało jeszcze wiele lat po wojnie, wychowując kolejne pokolenia w duchu właściwego Szkole antyirracjonalizmu. Wielu spośród autorów tekstów do niniejszego tomu to przedstawiciele młodszych pokoleń Szkoły Lwowsko-Warszawskiej sensu largo. Spoiwem Szkoły był nie pewien zespół idei, który wyznawaliby jej członkowie, lecz pewne postulaty metodologiczne oraz pewien zestaw wartości, które były w Szkole akceptowane przez kolejne pokolenia. O tych postulatach metodologicznych i o tym zestawie wartości mówią szczegółowo autorzy tekstów tu zamieszczonych. Ogromnemu wpływowi Szkoły na kulturę polską towarzyszyła recepcja wyników osiąganych przez jej członków za granicą. Naszym „towarem eksportowym” była szeroko rozumiana logika (logiki wielowartościowe i metalogika Łukasiewicza, gramatyka kategorialna Ajdukiewicza, koncepcja prawdy Tarskiego). Wiele osiągnięć członków Szkoły w innych dziedzinach zagranica odkrywa dla siebie dopiero dziś i wyniki te budzą podziw u tych, którzy się z nimi stykają. Ideą stojącą za powstaniem „Fenomenu Szkoły Lwowsko-Warszawskiej” była chęć ukazania Szkoły w jak najszerszej perspektywie, także przez pryzmat mniej znanych, choć ważnych postaci i osiągnięć. Ze wstępu Książkę można zamówić tutaj: https://ksiegarnia.academicon.pl/glowna/187-fenomen-szkoly-lwowsko-warszawskiej-miekka-oprawa--97883 62475193.html. (shrink)

Philosophy in science should be sharply distinguished from the philosophy of science. The latter offers a philosophical reflection on the method of science; the former, on the contrary, is expected to concentrate on the mutual influence between the philosophical ideas and scientific theories and practice. The papers in this book explore both the methodological niveau of the philosophy in science and some particular philosophical issues intertwined with scientific theories. Only such a combination of two perspectives may provide a comprehensive picture (...) of the methods and applications characteristic of philosophy in science. The book includes essays by Sir Roger Penrose, Joseph LeDoux, Francisco J. Ayala, and Michael Heller who won of the Templeton Prize in 2008. (shrink)

Cartesianer und Wittgensteinianer diskutieren über die logischen Grundlagen der Empfindungssprache. Mit einem Gedankenexperiment suggeriert der Cartesianer die Notwendigkeit, "private Objekte" anzunehmen. Der Wittgensteinianer deckt die "grammatische Täuschung" auf, der der Cartesianer dabei unterliegt. Nun sucht dieser, seinen Ansatz zu retten, indem er die Empfindungen des anderen als "theoretische Entitäten" (etwa im Rahmen der Himphysiologie) konstruiert: Neucartesianismus. Bestimmte empirische Befunde könnten ihn dabei aber in das Dilemma bringen, entweder seine Theorie oder seine "natürliche Einstellung" zum anderen Menschen aufzugeben. Allerdings bleibt auch (...) dem Wittgensteinianer ein ähnliches Dilemma letztlich nicht erspart. (shrink)

The book aims to formalise tableau methods for the logics of propositions and names. The methods described are based on Set Theory. The tableau rule was reduced to an ordered n-tuple of sets of expressions where the first element is a set of premises, and the following elements are its supersets.

Exposition of the philosophy of syncriticism.

Nearly all psychological research on basic cognitive processes of category formation and reasoning uses sample populations associated with large research institutions in technologically-advanced societies. Lopsided attention to a select participant pool risks biasing interpretation, no matter how large the sample or how statistically reliable the results. The experiments in this article address this limitation. Earlier research with urban-USA children suggests that biological concepts are thoroughly enmeshed with their notions of naive psychology, and strikingly human-centered. Thus, if children are to develop (...) a causally appropriate model of biology, in which humans are seen as simply one animal among many, they must undergo fundamental conceptual change. Such change supposedly occurs between 7 and 10 years of age, when the human-centered view is discarded. The experiments reported here with Yukatek Maya speakers challenge the empirical generality and theoretical importance of these claims. Part 1 shows that young Maya children do not anthropocentrically interpret the biological world. The anthropocentric bias of American children appears to owe to a lack of cultural familiarity with non-human biological kinds, not to initial causal understanding of folkbiology as such. Part 2 shows that by age of 4-5 Yukatek Maya children employ a concept of innate species potential or underlying essence much as urban American children seem to, namely, as an inferential framework for understanding the affiliation of an organism to a biological species, and for projecting known and unknown biological properties to organisms in the face of uncertainty. Together, these experiments indicate that folkpsychology cannot be the initial source of folkbiology. They also underscore the possibility of a species-wide and domain-specific basis for acquiring knowledge about the living world that is constrained and modified but not caused or created by prior non-biological thinking and subsequent cultural experience. (shrink)