early march 2020: i'm in a french village on the Mediterranean near the Spanish border. The outdoor marché, thronged, is active twice a week. The cafés are crowded. On my morning walk, I am buoyed by the sounds of schoolchildren. The village's only grocery, a small outlet of a major chain, is well-stocked.Mid-March: pandemic. "Non-essential" vendors are banned from the marché. The cafés are shuttered. The school is closed. The little store has depleted shelves. There is a mandate to stay (...) home. Anyone venturing out must carry an attestation certifying the reason for being in public.Fortunately, there is the Internet. There are books. The local wine store offers home delivery. Fortunately, also, I'm in the final... (shrink)

Whitehead's response to the epistemological challenges of Hume and Kant, written in a style devoid of the metaphysical intricacies of his later works, Symbolism makes accessible his theory of perception and his more general insights into the function of symbols in culture and society.

ISBN 0-7914-3529-6 (hard : alk. paper). — ISBN 0-7914-3530-X (pbk. : alk. paper ) 1. Dewey, John, 1854-1952. I. Title. II. Series: SUNY series in philosophy of education. B945.D4B65 1997 191— dc 21 96-52291 CIP 10 987654321 For Jayne ...

As a professional philosopher, now well past his allotted years of three-score-and-ten, I am often asked for words of wisdom about the meaning of life. Yet no sooner do I begin to answer, than I'm asked further questions--questions about God, immortality and free will. Not surprising, really, since each of these bears upon our conception of reality and of our own status and significance within it.

The logic of partial terms (LPT) is a variety of negative free logic in which functions, as well as predicates, are strict. A companion paper focused on nonconstructive LPTwith definite descriptions, called LPD, and laid the foundation for tableaux systems by defining the concept of an LPDmodel system and establishing Hintikka's Lemma, from which the strong completeness of the corresponding tableaux system readily follows. The present paper utilizes the tableaux system in establishing an Extended Joint Consistency Theorem for LPDthat incorporates (...) the Robinson Joint Consistency Theorem and the Craig-Lyndon Interpolation Lemma. The method of proof is similar to that originally used in establishing the Extended Joint Consistency Theorem for positive free logic. Proof of the Craig-Lyndon Interpolation Lemma for formulas possibly having free variables is readily had in LPTand its intuitionistic counterpart. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the theory of definitions in LPD. (shrink)

The Logic of Partial Terms LPT is a strict negative free logic that provides an economical framework for developing many traditional mathematical theories having partial functions. In these traditional theories, all functions and predicates are strict. For example, if a unary function (predicate) is applied to an undefined argument, the result is undefined (respectively, false). On the other hand, every practical programming language incorporates at least one nonstrict or lazy construct, such as the if-then-else, but nonstrict functions cannot be either (...) primitive or introduced in definitional extensions in LPT. Consequently, lazy programming language constructs do not fit the traditional mathematical mold inherent in LPT. A nonstrict (positive free) logic is required to handle nonstrict functions and predicates. Previously developed nonstrict logics are not fully satisfactory because they are verbose in describing strict functions (which predominate in many programming languages), and some logicians find their semantics philosophically unpalatable. The newly developed Lazy Logic of Partial Terms LL is as concise as LPT in describing strict functions and predicates, and strict and nonstrict functions and predicates can be introduced in definitional extensions of traditional mathematical theories. LL is "built on top of" LPT, and, like LPT, admits only one domain in the semantics. In the semantics, for the case of a nonstrict unary function h in an LL theory T, we have $\models_T h(\perp) = y \longleftrightarrow \forall x(h(x) = y)$ , where $\perp$ is a canonical undefined term. Correspondingly, in the axiomatization, the "indifference" (to the value of the argument) axiom $h(\perp) = y \longleftrightarrow \forall x(h(x) = y)$ guarantees a proper fit with the semantics. The price paid for LL's naturalness is that it is tailored for describing a specific area of computer science, program specification and verification, possibly limiting its role in explicating classical mathematical and philosophical subjects. (shrink)

The article focuses on the ‘meaningfulness in work’ concept and addresses three theoretical gaps by investigating ‘meaningfulness in work’ from the perspective of Heidegger’s ‘authenticity’ and ‘Dasein’ constructs as well as virtue ethics. First, it adapts Heideggerian phenomenology and argues that meaningfulness in work may be revealed to an ‘authentic’ employee, while they performs everyday activities by ‘existing’ in their world and discovers their Dasein. Second, it emphasizes the normative, as opposed to instrumental implications of meaningfulness and invokes virtue ethics (...) towards this end. Third, it integrates the Heideggerian approach with virtue ethics to describe how an ‘authentic’ and ‘virtuous’ employee may achieve meaningfulness in work (conceptualized as ‘eudaimonia’). An ‘authentic virtuous employee’ ‘exists in their world’ and discovers what is truly meaningful in work to them. They also displays temperance and courage in terms of closing the gaps between current and desired levels of meaningfulness in work, and continually contemplates it. We describe a ‘professional’ as an example of an ‘authentic virtuous employee’. (shrink)

A key theme in Michael Pollan's first two books dealing with food, The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore's Dilemma, is the notion of "co-evolution." The first book deals with it somewhat humorously, suggesting that we are manipulated by our plants. These, the claim goes, have gotten us to co-evolve so that we will take good care of them. All they need to do in return is sort of relax and throw us bits of nutrition or beauty now and then. (...) In The Omnivore's Dilemma, a more mitigated tone prevails. This one lays out how important, for a vibrant farm, are all of the components that must function together. The book even highlights a plant whose relationship to humans is one great example of co-evolution: corn. Corn .. (shrink)

These are questions we won't even try to engage here. For whatever else the disputants may disagree about, they will almost certainly agree about this: that developing the skills of reading and writing (the first two "R"s) is not only a precondition of being well-educated, but also a precondition of being able to function satisfactorily in a civilized society. Someone who cannot read or write is said to be "illiterate" in a quite strict sense of the word (or perhaps "literacy (...) deprived", if one subscribes - as we shall not - to the passing fads of political correctness). And illiteracy, as we all know, is something to be deplored. It is one of the scourges - along with ignorance, hunger, disease, crime, social and political repression - from which most of us would like to see the world, and elements of our own society, freed. (shrink)

Availing ourselves of the previously introduced notion of a statementvariable, we can express Aristotle's point even more simply. We can say that, where the letter "P" stands for any statement whatever, the concept of truth is captured by the following schematic statement (we'll call it "Equivalence Schema" or "E" for short) of the necessary and sufficient conditions for a statement's being true: E: It is true that P iff P.2..

In contrast with Aristotle's assertoric logic, which became the logic of the west, suffering only minor modifications at the edges, Aristotle's modal logic appears to be rife with errors. It...

The author offers a modification and extension of existing organizational transformation approaches by drawing on values-oriented and stakeholder management paradigms currently popular in literature. Many of the current values-based change paradigms offer vague guidance as to how to actually create, implement and sustain a strategically and operationally excellent organization as an extension of a stakeholder-based cultural mindset. Sharing the belief that organizations should be operationally and strategically sound in addition to being stakeholder centred, the suggestions presented represent an attempt to (...) combine the altruism of stakeholder-based management with practical organizational transformation theory to suggest steps for transformation. The approach suggested here, which places a primary emphasis on the organization's moral standing from the individual employee's perspective, is also supported by existing literature on the need for values congruence between organizations and individuals. Thus, the paper's central premise is that organizational transformation, commonly called OT, should begin with a cultural transformation, aimed at raising the level of moral reasoning of the firm as a necessary precursor to a subsequent operational and strategic transformation. (shrink)

The paper anticipates increasing unethicalness of business in a hyper-competitive climate. An attempt is made to rediscover a core set of values and virtues reflective of traditional ethics to combat the crisis of business morality. The proposal for the 'common morals' view of ethics steers clear of the theoretical opposites of Kantian and Utilitarian ethics which seem to have little practical bearing on actual decision-making. The author quotes the findings of a research study in which 86 per cent of the (...) corporate executives were found to use traditional methods like prayer, meditation and scripture reading to enhance their moral imagination, to sharpen their judgment and to strengthen their sense of duty. Further, he advocates a culture of reward and punishment which reinforces moral excellence. According to him, 'leading by example' is the most important requisite for ethicality in organizations. (shrink)

This article addresses the issue of whether the traditional values of charity and philanthropy are ethically recommended, and how they may be reconciled with the sometimes contradictory profit maximization value of the capitalist ‘free market’.1 That is, what place does charity have in the context of the free market where profit maximization is the ruling value? In answering this question, the article contrasts the effects of ‘no mercy’ with that of ‘mercy’ behaviour on overall utility maximization, and argues that what (...) may be best ultimately from an economic efficiency point of view (no charity) may not in fact maximize overall net utility when defined qualitatively to include social capital such as psychological states and other quality of life indicators. The ethical imperative of love for one's fellow humans is also considered in the debate between the two approaches. To address this point, I introduce the concept of ‘loving altruism’, and in this context make the case for charitable acts of mercy that may nonetheless result in a loss of economic utility in a larger sense. The article concludes that there is a valid place for both charity and philanthropy at either the individual or corporate level, and that the efficiency loss may or may not be outweighed by the gains in overall life quality. The ultimate net outcome would be determined by the specifics of each particular case after an explicit consideration of the need for altruism. The article ends by suggesting an application of Aristotle's ‘Golden Mean’ in determining the optimal level of charity. (shrink)

The ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates (477-399 BCE), liked to pose questions in abstract terms. What is Justice? What is Beauty? What is Goodness? And so on. Not surprisingly, many who tried to answer tied themselves up in knots. And so it is also with the highly general question: What is truth?

The author posits that the value of individual freedom is best realized within the context of the Moral Imagination concept of philosopher Rudolph Steiner and that when freedom is seen more as a licence for deception and exploitation not only does the greater community suffer but also the party itself suffers character destruction. Thus, laissez-faire capitalism, as exemplified by the mortgage banking meltdown of 2008 and subsequent debt-based unemployment crisis, has not only impoverished millions, destroyed savings and bankrupted long-established investment (...) firms, but also has further bonded the perpetrators to the morally undeveloped self-centredness of Lawrence Kohlberg’s least advanced moral stage (Kohlberg, 1981). Following a discussion of the folly and futility of the consumerist culture, the author argues that the solution lies in practicing the time tested values of caring and social responsibility on the part of government and mortgage bankers coupled with self-restraint and moderation on the part of investors and borrowers. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:“Reason and Religion”: The Science of AnglicanismRaymond D. TumblesonThis essay explores a rhetoric of “reason” in Anglican anti-Catholic polemics during the short and turbulent reign of James II. This reign witnessed an intense propaganda battle between Catholic and Anglican pamphleteers because the former for the first time in over a century were permitted openly to put their case, and in response the latter defended their doctrine and status as (...) the established church with a new urgency. For the first time, the possibility, feared by English Protestants and hoped for by Catholics, that given encouragement many people would convert to Catholicism, “the most conspicuous deviant element in society,” seemed credible, although, unsurprisingly given the brevity of James’s rule, both hope and fear proved groundless. 1 In addition to reiterated claims to have scripture and antiquity on their side, apologists for the Church of England offered a third and clinching argument against Catholicism—that reason itself was with them. They saw no contradiction between what Richard Sherlock calls a “scripture-based argumentative framework” and “the priority of natural reason.” 2 In A Rational Account of the Grounds of Protestant Religion Edward Stillingfleet developed what would become the predominant Anglican theological case against Catholicism twenty years later, when he endorsed “the judgement of Sense” as the means to a “certainty “ independent of the Papal “Infallibility “ that “Destroy[s] the obligation to Faith which ariseth from the rational evidence of Christian Doctrine.” 3 Far from mutually [End Page 131] exclusive, Protestantism and reason seemed naturally complementary, even identical, to Anglican polemicists: only Popery, in its superstition, idolatry, and implicit faith, was antagonistic to reason. As Richard W. F. Kroll observes, the “defense of contingency, premised on a skeptical empiricism, becomes not the chief discourse of dissent but, again, its opposite: the language of the most visible institutions returned to power after the Restoration.” 4 Reason and the Anglican monopoly of worship are consistently identified by Anglican apologists of the 1680s, and Popery threatens both.What Terry Eagleton has called “the Enlightenment dream of a world entirely transparent to reason, free of the prejudice, superstition and ob-scurantism of the ancien regime” has unacknowledged antecedents in Protestant polemics against “the prejudice, superstition and obscurantism” of Catholicism. 5 This essay examines the differences between the polemical literatures of the reigns of Charles II and James II, the ways in which “reason” becomes an important force against Catholicism, and the method in which this usage entangles anti-Catholicism in the construction of modern science. In 1685, the year of James’s coronation, John Williams argued that religious services ought to be conducted “in a Tongue understood of the people,” recommending that “we consult the reason of the thing.” 6 In attacking Catholicism, Anglican theologians redefined religion itself as based more on reason than on faith, because Papists could lay equal claim to faith, but only the Church of England possessed reason as they defined it. Stillingfleet’s theological career is paradigmatic for Restoration Angli-canism’s enlistment of reason in sectarian disputes: his Originae Sacrae (1662) defends Christianity as rational, then in 1665 A Rational Account of the Grounds of Protestant Religion narrows religious rationality to exclude Catholicism; in the wake of the Exclusion Crisis, the 1681 The Unreasonableness of Separation chides Dissenters for being “unreasonable” because they do not conform to the Church of England; and finally in 1687 The Doctrine of the Trinity and Transubstantiation Compared, as to Scripture, Reason, and Tradition returns to the subject of A Rational Account, tightening its six hundred learned pages into colloquial propaganda aimed at lay readers. 7 In the clear light of reason, where the only static—in Michel [End Page 132] Serres’s sense—is corruption, disagreement (with Anglicanism) becomes impossible. 8This paper examines sectarian polemics in order to approach the relation between science, the paradigmatic modern intellectual structure, and theology, the paradigmatic premodern intellectual sructure, from an unaccustomed angle. The immense wave of propagandistic Anglican theologizing under James II establishes the superiority of the Church of England to Rome by re-borrowing the methods and conventions of rationality which scientific experimentalism itself had originally derived from theology. 9 In these tracts... (shrink)

He did so because he had long disagreed with a lot of the most important and influential physicists of his time, about the interpretation of that area of physics known as quantum physics that deals with the behaviour of objects in the microphysical, subatomic, world. Many of these physicists were committed to an interpretation from which it follows that nothing - the moon included - exists unless it is being observed. Einstein wanted to know whether Pais was on his side (...) or theirs. (shrink)

The Ancient Mariner’s killing of the albatross is described by Coleridge as a great act of “inhospitality.” The central virtue dealt with in The Odyssey is hospitality.Religious traditions and cultures throughout the world prize hospitality as a major virtue. Philosophy, for some reason, has proven the exception. Hospitalityis missing from just about any philosopher’s list of virtues. Few discussions of ethics pay attention to it. This essay explores why hospitality has been so prominent in literature but ignored in philosophy. What (...) Santayana called the “sedentary city mind,” typical of Modern thought, which replaced the medieval “pilgrim mind,”is seen as a key move leading philosophers to marginalize hospitality. The move to rehabilitate hospitality, I claim, can draw inspiration and sustenance from asurprising source: Jacques Derrida. (shrink)

First: there is ample precedent for what I am doing. Socrates, for example, examined the religious beliefs of his contemporaries-- especially the belief that we ought to do what the gods command--and showed them to be both ill-founded and conceptually confused. I wish to follow in his footsteps though not to share in his fate. A glass of wine, not of poison, would be my preferred reward.

This essay reads Camus’s novel The Fall as a reductio ad absurdum for two major strands in Western intellectual culture, the hyper-Augustinian “we are all depraved” strand and, more decisively, what I call the “hyper-Sartrean” strand of existentialist humanism. Many commentators have identified Sartre as a target of Camus’s novel, but a detailed exploration of the critique is rarely undertaken. Examining Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism reveals an understanding of the human condition as involving a double disconnection: from nature and (...) from other people. Camus’s protagonist is just such a doubly detached individual. With little subtlety, Camus depicts his protagonist, as “Satanic,” i.e., the fallen one, the universal accuser, the friend of destruction, the enemy of connection. Such a “Fall” into self-isolation represents the all too alluring temptation against which Camus wishes to warn us. (shrink)