v. 1. Religion and the powers of the common life -- v. 2. The spirit and the modern authorities -- v. 3. Christ and the dominions of civilization -- v. 4. Globalization and grace.

Wat maakt iemand tot een goede politicus? Welke eigenschappen moet hij hebben en welke juist niet? In Webers ogen moet hij in ieder geval reiken naar het onmogelijke. Feitelijk moet hij een held zijn.

This philosophy book is written for students who are not interested in philosophy or who are struggling to understand it. Professor Malikow makes it easy to understand the sophisticated ideas and profound truths of philosophy by his use of everyday language, analogies, examples, and humor.

In what sense is logic relevant for self-knowledge? This question shall be addressed by virtue of an integrative concept of logic which contains formal, transcendental, and dialectical logic as necessary forms of self-interpretation of thought (I). This will disclose a teleological horizon which grounds both man's theoretical and practical self-interpretation (II). Finally, this will be fleshed out in further detail with regard to formal logic (III). /// Welche Relevanz hat Logik für die Selbsterkenntnis? In Beantwortung dieser Frage wird ein integrativer (...) Begriff von Logik herausgestellt, der formale, transzendentale und dialektische Logik als notwendige Formen der Selbstinterpretation des Denkens fasst (I). Dabei eröffnet sich ein von der Teleologie her zu fassender Horizont, innerhalb dessen sich die theoretische wie praktische Selbst- und Weltinterpretation des Menschen bewegt (II). Dies wird in Bezug auf die formale Logik konkretisiert (III). (shrink)

It is controversial whether a property can both be dispositional and causally efficacious. Mackie and Armstrong hold that dispositions can be causes, Prior, Pargetter and Jackson argue that they cannot. However, all parties of the debate agree on two ideas: 1) The dispositional properties at issue are macroscopic, and in principle reducible to a microscopic reduction base. 2) Only the microphysical base properties are causally efficacious. The disagreement is about whether the macroscopic disposition inherits this efficacy by being identical to (...) its reduction base (Armstrong) or is epiphenomenal because not identical to its reduction base (Prior, Pargetter and Jackson). I challenge thesis 2, which seems plausible only if one conflates two senses of the word “basis” that can be clearly distinguished thanks to the predicate/property distinction. I show that the categorical basis of a disposition need not be its microscopic reduction basis. This allows me to defend the idea that macroscopic dispositional properties can be distinct from their microscopic base properties and nevertheless efficacious. Part of the importance of this topic lies in its bearing on the nature of mental properties: If I am correct about macroscopic dispositions in general, it becomes plausible to argue that mental properties of a subject are dispositional properties which are nevertheless causally efficacious for the subject's actions. (shrink)

This anthology includes 42 selections from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds and historical periods. The text is not limited to Western material; it also includes Native American, African-American, Hispanic and feminist selections. While quite diverse historically and culturally, the readings are chosen for their readability and philosophical significance. To facilitate incorporation into existing courses, the selections are arranged in six chapters that correspond to traditional philosophical categories: self identity, knowledge and truth, creation and reality, ethics, politics and religion.