In this essay, I propose a novel way of thinking about Kant’s philosophical methodology during the critical period. According to this interpretation, the critical Kant can generally be understood as operating within a “capacities‐first” philosophical framework – that is, within a framework in which our basic rational or cognitive capacities play both an explanatorily and epistemically fundamental role in philosophy – or, at least, in the sort of philosophy that limited creatures like us are capable of. In discussing this idea, (...) I consider the complicated relationship between the explanatory and epistemic roles that such capacities play in Kant. I also sketch how this way of thinking about Kant’s methodology can illuminate the foundations of both his theoretical and his practical philosophy, before discussing some of Kant’s reasons for finding this approach to philosophy attractive. I close with a brief discussion of the contemporary relevance of this approach. (shrink)

This book explores the main stages and key concepts in the development of Kant's critical philosophy, from the early 1760s to the 1790s. Karl Ameriks provides a detailed and concise account of the main ways in which the later critical works provide a plausible defense of the conception of humanity's fundamental end that Kant turned to after reading Rousseau in the 1760s. Separate essays are devoted to each of the three Critiques, as well as to earlier notes and lectures (...) and several of Kant's later writings on history and religion. A final section devotes three chapters to post-Kantian developments in German Romanticism, accounts of tragedy up through Nietzsche, and contemporary philosophy. The theme of an elliptical path is shown to be relevant to these writers as well as to many aspects of Kant's own life and work. The topics of the book include fundamental issues in epistemology and metaphysics, with a new defense of the Amerik's 'moderate' interpretation of transcendental idealism. (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 was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. 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 (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

An argument with roots in ancient Greek philosophy claims that only humans are capable of a certain class of thought termed conceptual, as opposed to perceptual thought, which is common to humans, the higher animals, and some machines. We outline the most detailed modern version of this argument due to Mortimer Adler, who in the 1960s argued for the uniqueness of the human power of conceptual thought. He also admitted that if conceptual thought were ever manifested by machines, such an (...) achievement would contradict his conclusion. We revisit Adler’s criterion in the light of the past five decades of artificial-intelligence research, and refine it in view of the classical definitions of perceptual and conceptual thought. We then examine two well-publicized examples of creative works produced by AI systems and show that evidence for conceptual thought appears to be lacking in them. Although clearer evidence for conceptual thought on the part of AI systems may arise in the near future, especially if the global neuronal workspace theory of consciousness prevails over its rival, integrated information theory, the question of whether AI systems can engage in conceptual thought appears to be still open. (shrink)

Diese Ausagabe macht Buchbesprechungen wieder zugänglich, die in verschiedenen Zeitschriften vom Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts verstreut erschienen sind und deswegen schwer erreichbar waren. Sie sammelt alle Dokumente, in denen von mehr oder minder bekannten Zeitgenossen Einwände gegen die Elementarphilosophie erhoben wurden, auf die Reinhold selbst in seinen Büchern antwortete. Auf diese Weise wird ein philosophischer Kontext geschildert, in dem einzelne Konstellationen deutlich werden, die sich wechselseitig widerrufen und widerlegen. Viele der zeitgenössischen Rezensionen beinhalten auBerdem einen Vergleich zwischen der Kantischen und (...) der Reinholdschen Philosophie; die vorliegende Ausgabe bringt insofern Bewertungen von Kants theoretischem Unternehmen zum Ausdruck, als dieses meistens per Kontraposition zur Elementarphilosophie, aber auch direkt beurteilt wird--Back cover. (shrink)

Alfred Stein, em memória de quem esse artigo é dedicado, mantinha, enquanto filósofo da história, a crença em valores absolutos como obsoletos bem como, enquanto filósofo da ética, o convencimento sobre a aleatoriedade relativista-cultural na valoração moral da ação humana. De uma tal valoração aparece indicado reconstruir a ação adequadamente, ou seja, compreendê-la intencionalmente e explicá-la por meio da causalidade. No decorrer desse compreender e desse explicar, se deve fazer uma referência a isso que Stern com, entre outros, Blaise Pascal, (...) chama de “a condição humana” (la condition humaine): o fato de que o humano é um ser consciente de si mesmo, de que ele é determinado por uma vontade de autopreservação, de que ele ama e odeia, de que ele sofre, busca escapar do sofrimento, de que ele sabe de sua mortalidade e, por fim, morre. De maneira semelhante à anthropéia physis de Thukydides, essas condições variantes resultam decorrer de ação bem diferentes e padrões de comportamento, de acordo com as especificidades da situação histórica – parecido com como um balão sobe, sob o efeito da mesma lei da gravidade, uma pedra, entretanto, cai ao chão. Seguindo essa construção compreensivo-explicativa da ação, vêm a sua valoração moral. Esta é, com Stein, guiada pelo princípio da liberdade como de um ser-livre de pressão e pelo princípio da maior minimização possível do sofrimento humano. (shrink)

Joseph Addison’s (1672--1719) essays in The Spectator occupy contradictory positions in the history of aesthetics. While they are generally considered central to the institution of aesthetics as a scholarly discipline, their reception has throughout history entailed a strong questioning of their philosophical and scholarly importance. In the following paper, I consider this dual feature as regards reception, and set out to clarify how this has come about. A re-examination of the arguments advanced by Addison makes clear that his role is (...) not that of a philosopher, but that of a public educator. As such he aims to raise the standard of general education of the British ‘middling orders’ in the early eighteenth century, and by using art for didactic purposes he seeks to contribute to the shaping of morally accomplished individuals. (shrink)

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This volume brings together those papers of mine which may be of interest not only to various specialists but also to philosophers. Many of my writings in mathematics were motivated by epistemological considerations; some papers originated in the critique of certain views that at one time dominated the discussions of the Vienna Cirele; others grew out of problems in teaching fundamental ideas of mathematics; sti II others were occasioned by personal relations with economists. Hence a wide range of subjects will (...) be discussed: epistemology, logic, basic concepts of pure and applied mathematics, philosophical ideas resulting from geometric studies, mathematical didactics and, finally, economics. The papers also span a period of more than fifty years. What unifies the various parts of the book is the spirit of searching for the elarification of basic concepts and methods and of articulating hidden ideas and tacit procedures. Part 1 ineludes papers published about 1930 which expound an idea that Carnap, after a short period of opposition in the Cirele, fully adopted ; and, under the name "Princip/e of To/erance", he eloquently formulated it in great generality in his book, Logica/ Syntax of Language, through which it was widely disseminated. "The New Logic" in Chapter 1 furthermore ineludes the first report to a larger public of Godel's epochal discovery presented among the great logic results of ali time. Chapter 2 is a translation of an often quoted 1930 paper presenting a detailed exposition and critique of intuitionism. (shrink)

Professor Ilya Prigogine (January 25, 1917 -- May 28, 2003), Nobel Laureate 1977 in chemistry, was one of the great visionaries of our time. Not content to rest on his laurels, he continued hard technical scientific publication, often with junior colleagues, for 25 years after the Nobel Prize was awarded to him. His fields of work included non-equilibrium thermodynamics, the emergence of dissipative structures and complex behavior, and the foundations of the arrow of time in natural science. He directed two (...) major research institutions: the Center for Studies in Statistical Mechanics and Complex Systems at the University of Texas at Austin and the International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry at Brussels. (shrink)

Provides a thorough background study of the postmodern assault on the standpoint of the subject as a foundation for philosophy, and assesses what remains today of the philosophy of subjectivity.