The human intestinal ecosystem, previously called the gut microflora is now known as the Human Gut Microbiota. Microbiome research has emphasized the potential role of this ecosystem in human homeostasis, offering unexpected opportunities in therapeutics, far beyond digestive diseases. It has also highlighted ethical, social and commercial concerns related to the gut microbiota. As diet factors are accepted to be the major regulator of the gut microbiota, the modulation of its composition, either by antibiotics or by food intake, should be (...) regarded as a fascinating tool for improving the human health. Scientists, the food industry, consumers and policymakers alike are involved in this new field of nutrition. Defining how knowledge about the HGM is being translated into public perception has never been addressed before. This raises the question of metaphors associated with the HGM, and how they could be used to improve public understanding, and to influence individual decision-making on healthcare policy. This article suggests that a meeting of stakeholders from the social sciences, basic research and the food industry, taking an epistemological approach to the HGM, is needed to foster close, innovative partnerships that will help shape public perception and enable novel behavioural interventions that would benefit public health. (shrink)

In this chapter, we develop the claim that today, in light of the distributed catastrophe called the Anthropocene, the question of ethics first and foremost becomes a question of economy and energy. Supplementing existing ethical approaches to the question of economy and energy, we offer what we understand to be a more fundamental economical interpretation of the Anthropocene by way of Georges Bataille’s philosophical thought on economy. We will argue that inasmuch as it results from what has come to be (...) known as “the great acceleration”, the Anthropocene can be understood as a consequence of an economic consideration of energy that is oriented towards scarcity and utility, which is to say to Bataille’s “restricted economy”. Additionally, we show how for Bataille, such a ‘restricted’ consideration of energy is an ethical affair, since it misunderstands the constitutive abundance of energy associated with “the general economy”, thereby simultaneously and catastrophically misunderstanding the ethos of human existence in servile terms of labour and efficiency. Finally, we investigate how Bataille’s concept of sovereignty seeks to surpass such servility and efficiency by way of a consideration of energy that is oriented towards expenditure. We offer a reinterpretation of the ethics of sovereignty by confronting it with our contemporary deteriorating oikos inhabited in the Anthropocene. We close by arguing that notwithstanding its irrevocable difficulties, the question of ethics in the Anthropocene must be considered as an energetic ethics of sovereignty. (shrink)

[W]e might despair of despair itself, rather than of life, and cast that off, and begin, and so reverse our direction.This is a finely conceived, elegantly written, and exquisitely executed work. At its center, there is Naoko Saito ’s creative appropriation of one of Cavell’s most fecund suggestions—philosophy is first and foremost an activity and, as such, it is either akin to or, more strongly, identifiable with practices of translation.1 Everything I have to say concerns translation, if only implicitly. Moreover, (...) I offer everything as a friendly amendment. That is, I take my reflections on her book to be in accord with both the spirit and, in most instances, even the letter of her texts. Whether or not she... (shrink)

This book will be a rewarding reading for everybody who is interested in logical aspects of scientific knowledge acquisition. The presentation of the issues discussed in the book is exemplary. The author was able to present in parallel way three different perspectives under which the issues discussed in the book might be approached.

This article offers a unified theory of the licensing of Negative and Positive Polarity Items, focusing on the acceptability conditions of PPIs of the some-type, and NPIs of the any-type. It argues that licensing has both a syntactic and a semantic component. On the syntactic side, the acceptability of PIs is checked in constituents; in fact, for any given PI, only some constituents, referred to as `domains', are eligible for the evaluation of that PI. The semantic dimension of licensing consists (...) in the sensitivity of PIs to the monotonicity properties of the syntactic environments they find themselves in. Two pieces of evidence support the semantic dimension of what I call the ‘environment-based’ approach defended here: PIs are subject to flip-flop and certain inferences affect their acceptability by modifying the monotonicity of their environment. A third property, called ‘entanglement’ and so far unnoticed, is described: the acceptability of PIs depends on the acceptability of other PIs in the same syntactic environment. The latter property is exploited to determine what semantic property some is sensitive to: it turns out that, contrary to the consensus among researchers, some is acceptable in the complement of the set of environments in which any is acceptable, and vice versa. (shrink)

The purpose of this survey is twofold: (1) to place some centralthemes of epistemic logic in a general epistemological context,and (2) to outline a new framework for epistemic logic developedjointly with S. Andur Pedersen unifying some key ``mainstream''epistemological concerns with the ``formal'' epistemologicalapparatus.

This book provides a valuable look at the work of up and coming epistemologists. The topics covered range from the central issues of mainstream epistemology to the more formal issues in epistemic logic and confirmation theory. This book should be read by anyone interested in seeing where epistemology is currently focused and where it is heading. - Stewart Cohen , Arizona State University..

Criminal law as public law -- Criminal law as public law -- Criminal law as public law -- Mass incarceration and the theory of punishment -- Reasons to criminalize -- Formalism and pragmatism in criminal procedure -- Responsibility without resentment.

" Où placez-vous l'esprit? " demandons-nous aux philosophes qui nous parlent du mental. Or il y a deux réponses qui s'offrent à nous dedans, selon les héritiers mentalistes de Descartes, de Locke, de Hume et de Maine de Biran, héritiers parmi lesquels on peut compter les phénoménologues et les cognitivistes ; dehors, selon les philosophes de l'esprit objectif et de l'usage public des signes, comme l'ont soutenu par exemple Peirce et Wittgenstein. Mon propos dans ce livre est double. Il est (...) d'abord de soutenir la thèse de l'extériorité de l'esprit : l'esprit doit être placé dehors, dans les échanges entre les personnes, plutôt que dedans, dans un flux interne de représentations. Il est ensuite d'apprécier la différence entre ces deux réponses du point de vue des sciences morales, ou " sciences de l'esprit ". Cela permet de considérer dans des termes nouveaux la controverse sur les sciences humaines qui n'a pas cessé pendant tout ce siècle : herméneutique contre positivisme, philosophie du sujet contre structuralisme, individualisme méthodologique contre holisme du mental. (shrink)

Both Dewey and Bourdieu emphasize the extent to which human practices are inherited practices, and the extent to which inheritance is a function of imitation. Affinities between Dewey's concept of habit and Bourdieu's notion of habitus are explored. This essay focuses on four variations on the theme of doing the done thing: philosophers doing philosophy in a recognizable form , nations perpetuating war as the unwitting enactment of a repetition compulsion, cultures fostering such democratic practices as communal deliberation, and simply (...) the done thing as an integral part of human practices. (shrink)

In metaphysics, there are a number of distinct but related questions about the existence of “further facts”—facts that are contingent relative to the physical structure of the universe. These include further facts about qualia, personal identity, and time. In this article I provide a sequence of examples involving computer simulations, ranging from one in which the protagonist can clearly conclude such further facts exist to one that describes our own condition. This raises the question of where along the sequence the (...) protagonist stops being able to soundly conclude that further facts exist. (shrink)

Recht en politiek in de klimaatzaken: Een sleutelrol voor het internationaal recht in de argumentatie van de nationale rechter Ever since it was published in 2015, the judgment of the The Hague court in the so-called Urgenda-case, and the subsequent decisions of the appellate and cassation courts confirming it, have been met with repeated and vivid critiques. By recognizing the necessity of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and furthermore imposing a certain reduction level on the Dutch state, the judgments (...) in the cases at hand gave rise to many questions concerning the position of the judiciary in the matter, and in Dutch society as a whole. This article attempts in the first place to situate the positions of the different actors intervening in the Urgenda-case within a legal-theoretical framework. The contribution subsequently explores the strategic possibilities that an alternative understanding of law could offer to the judges, focusing specifically on the use of legal instruments stemming from international law, brought into the reasoning of the national judge. (shrink)

The aim of this thematically unified anthology is to track the history of epistemic logic, to consider some important applications of these logics of knowledge and belief in a variety of fields, and finally to discuss future directions of research with particular emphasis on 'active agenthood' and multi-modal systems. It is accessible to researchers and graduate students in philosophy, computer science, game theory, economics and related disciplines utilizing the means and methods of epistemic logic.

This chapter contains sections titled: Why Authority? The Forms and Limits of Authority The Paradoxes of Authority The Justification of Authority Authority and the Obligation to Obey the Law Legal Authority Conclusion References.

The author of this paper contends that Kathleen Wallace’s model of the self is a highly original contribution to contemporary thought. He, however, highlights important respects in which Wallace is adumbrating themes highlighted by Justus Buchler’s scattered insights into human selfhood. In addition, the author identifies two possible lines of inquiry rooted in Wallace’s project calling for further pursuit. Questions regarding self‐division, ones importantly bearing upon the topic of autonomy, and also questions regarding the somatic mechanisms, processes, and practices by (...) which embodied selves maintain themselves as cumulative networks are ones that, above all else, he tries to throw into sharp relief through the defining features of Wallace’s network model and to underscore the inherent power of Wallace’s nuanced approach to a highly contested and intricately complex topic. (shrink)

Engineering science is a scientific discipline that from the point of view of epistemology and the philosophy of science has been somewhat neglected. When engineering science was under philosophical scrutiny it often just involved the question of whether engineering is a spin-off of pure and applied science and their methods. We, however, hold that engineering is a science governed by its own epistemology, methodology and ontology. This point is systematically argued by comparing the different sciences with respect to a particular (...) set of characterization criteria. (shrink)

Abstract: Pluralistic ignorance is a nasty informational phenomenon widely studied in social psychology and theoretical economics. It revolves around conditions under which it is "legitimate" for everyone to remain ignorant. In formal epistemology there is enough machinery to model and resolve situations in which pluralistic ignorance may arise. Here is a simple first stab at recovering from pluralistic ignorance by means of knowledge transmissibility.

Positive Polarity indefinites, such as some in English, are licensed in simplex negative sentences as long as they take wide scope over negation. When it surfaces under a clausemate negation, some can in principle take wide scope either by movement or by some semantic mechanism; e.g., it can take pseudoscope if it is interpreted as a choice function variable. Therefore, there is some uncertainty regarding the way in which PPI indefinites get licensed: can pseudoscope suffice? In this article we show, (...) using novel data from Hindi-Urdu and English, that pseudoscope is not sufficient, and that it is the syntactic position of PPI indefinites at LF, rather than their actual scope, which is relevant for licensing. These facts support a unified view of PPI indefinites as generalized quantifiers, and disfavor analyses where they are, or can be, interpreted as choice function variables. (shrink)

Formal Philosophy is a collection of short interviews based on 5 questions presented tosome of the most influential and prominent scholars in formal philosophy.

Some of the most important achievements in the field of empiricist ethics were made by the School of Moral Sentiment, comprising Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, and Adam Smith. This book throws new light on their consensus theory of virtue. Hope works some of their ideas into a merit theory of rights applicable to conventional rights, defends ethical cognitivism, and analyzes pleasure.

Comment la philosophie doit-elle traiter de l'actualité? De tous côtés, on invite les philosophes à se prononcer sur le sens de l'époque. Mais en quoi un philosophe serait-il plus qualifié que d'autres pour rédiger l'éditorial de votre journal quotidien? En réalité, la notion d'un " discours philosophique de la modernité " doit être rejetée. Le sujet de la modernité appartient aux écrivains, aux critiques des mœurs, aux sociologues de l'individualisme. C'est d'ailleurs ainsi que Baudelaire l'entendait dans ses pages sur la (...) poésie de la vie moderne. A la racine des confusions sur le sens philosophique du temps présent, il y a une assimilation abusive du moderne au rationnel. Ceux qui ont posé cette équivalence ont été partout placés devant un paradoxe : le rationnel tel qu'ils le définissent ne parvient plus à se distinguer de l'arbitraire que par une différence elle-même arbitraire. Position connue aujourd'hui sous le nom générique de " post-structuralisme ". Il appartient maintenant aux philosophes de concevoir autrement les principes de la raison, de façon à éviter l'outrecuidance d'en réserver l'intelligence à la disposition légitime aux seuls citoyens du monde moderne. (shrink)

Montaigne est un philosophe et un philosophe difficile. Un philosophe ce n'est pas parce que les Essais ne suivent pas un ordre systématique, qu'ils ne relèvent pas de l'histoire de la philosophie. Un philosophe difficile. Pourquoi, en effet, les Essais ont-ils été souvent laissés dans les marges inexploitées de l'histoire de la philosophie? À cause d'une particularité, consciemment revendiquée, de leur auteur: pour comprendre Montaigne lui-même, sa propre situation philosophique nous impose de le comprendre immédiatement. Il était donc urgent de (...) s'appliquer à retrouver certains des contextes des Essais, en particulier l'arrière-fond scolastique, trop longtemps exclu des études montanistes. Mais aussi de leur appliquer un principe herméneutique, aussi simple qu'indiscutable en histoire de la philosophie : aller du plus clair au plus obscur, de ce qui est conceptuellement le mieux établi au plus problématique. En l'occurrence, aller du XVIIe siècle, singulièrement de Descartes, aux Essais : accéder au je de Montaigne à partir de l'ego cartésien et par différence avec lui ; plus encore, y accéder, avec et par-delà l'ego cartésien, à partir de l'ego transcendantal et de la réduction phénoménologique. Bref, lire conceptuellement et philosophiquement un philosophe. Le présent volume réunit donc des études d'approches différentes et complémentaires. Il vise d'abord à rapprocher Montaigne de ses lectures antiques - y compris celles dont on ne soupçonne pas ordinairement que Montaigne les a faites. Il entend ensuite confronter les Essais à la scolastique - le Dieu de Montaigne n'est peut-être pas si éloigné qu'on l'a cru du Dieu de certains Nominalistes, voire du Dieu cartésien, libre créateur des vérités éternelles. En résulte une détermination nouvelle du scepticisme de Montaigne, qui permet de mieux mesurer son irréductibilité à ses modèles antiques. Enfin, il s'interroge sur la pertinence actuelle de l'attitude philosophique de Montaigne, en le faisant dialoguer avec d'autres philosophes qui ne furent pas ses contemporains, mais qui sont les nôtres, et sans lesquels il n'est pas aujourd'hui de philosophie - singulièrement la phénoménologie. C'est en excédant les catégories dans lesquelles l'historiographie a voulu l'enfermer et les faux problèmes qu'elle ne cesse de lui poser, qu'un philosophe se révèle pleinement, Montaigne. (shrink)

Pascal a revendique l'abandon de l'etude des sciences au profit de celle de l'homme. Qu'entendre par l'etude de l'homme? D'abord la recherche de la nature du moi humain. La fecondite que L'art de persuader accorde au je pense donc je suis, en tant que principe d'une physique entiere, est telle qu'en est deniee toute portee au cogito augustinien. Mais si Pascal prend acte de l'innovation radicale des Meditationes en creant en francais le moi, c'est pour dessaisir ce moi de sa (...) primaute metaphysique et ne le trouver que dans la depravation de la volonte. Le moi donc, mais pas encore l'homme. Ensuite, apres l'echec des Provinciales, le dessein apologetique pascalien consiste a montrer la superiorite de la vraie religion sur les philosophies, qui seule peut rendre raison de la double condition de l'homme. Ce projet s'enracine dans une premiere anthropologie qu'on qualifiera d'abstraite en ce qu'elle a pour objet de definir l'essence contradictoire de l'homme. Enfin, Pascal en vient a envisager les hommes dans leur existence meme. Les deux themes de la gloire (humaine) et du divertissement permettent de caracteriser cette anthropologie existentielle, au terme de laquelle s'eclaire la puissance d'alienation de l'imagination. L'analytique de l'existence humaine constitue des lors ce qu'on appellera la seconde anthropologie de Pascal. (shrink)

Lorsqu’elle apparaît au milieu du XVIIe siècle, l’expression « le moi » vise-t-elle un phénomène nouveau ou son sens est-il réductible aux concepts anciens que sont l’âme, l’esprit, le sujet, l’individu, la personne, etc.? Si les faits de la langue philosophique sont gouvernés par des décisions philosophiques, le moi doit se distinguer de ces concepts. Notre hypothèse est que le rapport ambivalent que le Dasein entretient avec l’ego cartésien peut nous éclairer sur cette distinction. D’une part, en effet, l’ego n’est (...) pas le Dasein, en ce que, se pensant lui-même selon la Vorhandenheit, il reste aveugle au phénomène du monde : de ce point de vue l’ego n’est, dans l’histoire de l’ontologie, qu’un exemple parmi d’autres, tous disqualifiés. D’autre part, le Dasein peut se reconnaître dans l’ego, ne fût-ce qu’au titre de la mienneté : mais cette reconnaissance tourne court, dès lors que l’ego est interrogé, comme tous les étants intramondains, avec la question quid? et non pas avec la question quis?, de laquelle seule part l’analytique existentiale. Or, même si, dans les Meditationes, la première question en vient à se substituer subrepticement à la seconde, c’est bien en demandant quis sum? que l’ego s’interroge initialement lui-même : le déploiement de cette question suffit à distinguer radicalement le moi de l’âme, la conscience, l’individu, etc. – même si l’incapacité de l’ego à saisir son mode d’être comme être-au-monde exclut de voir dans la pertinence de la question initiale plus qu’une indication de la constitution ontologique du Dasein. Il appartiendra en revanche à la description pascalienne de l’existence humaine d’anticiper l’analyse heideggérienne de l’être-au-monde impropre du Dasein.Qui est le moi?Allorché, alla metà del secolo XVII, l’espressione « il me » fa la sua comparsa, essa indicherà un fenomeno nuovo o il suo senso sarà riconducibile a vecchi concetti come quelli di anima, spirito, soggetto, individuo, persona, e cosî via? Se i fatti della lingua filosofica sono governati da decisioni filosofiche, il me si deve distinguere da questi concetti. La mia ipotesi è che il rapporto ambivalente che il Dasein intrattiene con l’ego cartesiano può chiarire questa distinzione. Da una parte, infatti, l’ego non è il Dasein, in quanto, pensandosi secondo la Vorhandenheit, resta cieco al fenomeno del mondo : da questo punto di vista, l’ego non è, nella storia dell’ontologia, che un esempio tra altri, tutti rifiutati. D’altra parte, il Dasein si può riconoscere nell’ego, almeno per l’aspetto della meità : ma questo riconoscimento cade non appena l’ego viene interrogato, come tutti gli enti intramondani, con la questione : quid? e non con la questione : quis?, dalla quale soltanto muove l’Analitica esistenziale. Ora, nelle Meditazioni, anche se la prima questione si sostituisce surrettiziamente alla seconda, è proprio domandandosi quis sum? che l’ego si interroga inizialmente su se stesso : il dispiegarsi di tale questione basta a distinguere radicalmente il me dall’anima, dalla coscienza, dall’individuo e cosî via, anche se l’incapacità dell’ego di conoscere il suo modo di essere come essere-nel-mondo interdice di vedere nella pertinenza della questione iniziale più che un’indicazione della costituzione ontologica del Dasein. Spetterà invece alla descrizione pascaliana dell’esistenza umana anticipare l’analisi heideggeriana dell’essere-nel-mondo inautentico del Dasein. (shrink)

Additional Contributors Are James Collins And Anton C. Pegis.

Le regain de la réflexion philosophique contemporaine sur l'art se caractérise par une polarisation exclusive sur la seule dimension esthétique (jugement de goût, réception), ce qui a pour conséquence de subordonner l'art à l'esthétique et de ne pouvoir le penser que par elle. Contre cette réduction, nous rappelons la question de Lukács - il existe des oeuvres d'art, comment sont-elles possibles ? Nous en esquissons brièvement quelques développements possibles, en particulier la dialectique immanente et réciproque de l'esthétique et de l'artistique, (...) y reliant également les profondes transformations de l'art et de ses pratiques - l'esthétique incluse -, du XXe siècle. (shrink)

No âmago deste artigo há uma comparação entre a investigação sobre o entendimento de Peirce o relato de interpretação de Royce. Estrutura-se por uma consideração do desentendimento de si e, ligada a esta discussão do desentendimento de si, uma consideração sobre o próprio entendimento. Para Peirce, em razão de sua abordagem da investigação e Royce em sua meta-interpretação alguma forma de entendimento está em jogo. Por exemplo, a tarefa do investigador científico é inacabada se ela para na descoberta de fatos (...) nus. Enquanto para ambos os pensadores, as ciências não um corpo de conhecimento seguro, mas uma forma de investigação contínua, ela visa principalmente o entendimento. Tanto Peirce quanto Royce estão animados por um compromisso com a inteligibilidade do cosmos em sua varredura plena e nos mínimos detalhes. A abordagem de Peirce sobre a investigação e a concepção de interpretação de Royce são esforços para detalhar como os atores humanos tornam cada vez mais profunda e amplamente inteligível o mundo de sua experiência. Muito pode ser aprendido comparando-os a este respeito. (shrink)

No philosopher in the second half of the twentieth century or the opening decade of the twenty-first did more to recover the voice of philosophy in the conversation of humankind than John Edwin Smith (1921-2009). From The Social Infinite (1950), his landmark study of Josiah Royce, to "Niebuhr's Prophetic Voice" (2009), he has shown in compelling detail how philosophical reflection is relevant to contemporary life. Indeed, virtually all of the eventual developments within contemporary philosophy in recent decades worthy of our (...) unqualified support (above all, the acknowledgment of history, the abiding importance of the religious dimension of human experience, the hermeneutic character of all our intellectual understandings, including those of experimental inquirers, the irreducibility of persons, the ubiquity of symbols, and the cutting edge of philosophical critique) were ones to which Smith was committed at the outset of his career. He not only anticipated these developments but also pointed the way forward beyond the stultifying impasses of so much contemporary thought. In particular, his conceptions of subjectivity, symbolization, interpretation, experience and philosophy itself provide invaluable resources for twisting free from our present impasses. The essays in this volume make the salience and implications of Smith's writings on these and other topics manifest. The authors assembled here bear eloquent witness to the wit of the man no less than the depth of the philosopher from whom they learned how to take up the urgent task of philosophical reflection in a world riven by seemingly intractable conflicts and characterized by mutual misunderstanding. John E. Smith was a widely learned man; he was also a deeply wise one. Hence, it should be no surprise that he aids us in creating ways to address such conflicts and to counter such misunderstanding. (shrink)

I will compare Huayan Buddhism's metaphysical vision ith that of A.N. Whitehead, both of them emphasizing that events in dynamic relation constitute the fundamental elements of reality. In Huayan Buddhism, all events are organically related to each ot and thereby constitute a harmonious and dynamic network of existents as metaphorized by Indra's Net of Jewels, in which one jewel reflects many other jewels and many reflect one. In Whitehead's view, events, or actual entities in Process and Reality, constitute the basic (...) elements of the universe that are in the proces of creativity in which many are integrated into one while adding a new one to the many. The purpose of this comparative work is to philoophically articulate an ontology ofdynamic relation in support of a theory of strangification. (shrink)

In this paper, the establishment of "modern" features, as subjectivity, representation and rational, and thus a concise statement of the post-modern critique of modernity, questioned and denied, in order to outline the negative characteristics of post-modern micro. However, more importantly, this will be more committed to master the modern mark out exactly what is very different from the new vision of modernity, made ​​any new way of life and ethical principles. This claim, post-modern addition to the challenge of modernity, critical (...) and negative, but also made ​​a positive value and vision. In other words, the "postmodern" will not just be a negative concept, puts a positive concept, can provide a positive value and ethical life. Which were open to him, to him who care for him who, for his generous and selfless person, and in which the pottery into the self, will be a future source of ethical principles and values ​​of life. Moreover, the rise of art from the post-modern sense of the sublime, it will be innovative and more importantly, aesthetic value, or is linked religious, ethical and artistic value of the key. Finally, out for the post-modern dualistic thinking, while offering more serious plight of relativism, we are trying to address the use of comparative philosophy, the problem of dualism, and advocated the micro-world and multi-cultural world, the ongoing language extrapolated to take and mutual learning, as a solution to relativism, to promote mutual understanding and a wealth of positive way. (shrink)

In the end of the century atmosphere in which the whole world is entering the valley of nihilism. It seems from a human dilemma, Buddhist and Christian spiritual resources should be jointly developed through conversation, contribute their ideas, values ​​and practices, to promote recovery of people's lives meaning. This article deals Christianity and Buddhism way of talking, is to use my "comparative philosophy." This is a basic way of thinking and practice, must be differences in the surface or the opposite (...) situation were found complementary to each other, on the one hand respect for differences, on the one hand to find complementary. The so-called "contrast" is the difference and complementarity, continuity and rupture, to take distance and common membership of the question of the dialectical game, constitutes the object of study of the structure and dynamics of development. I put as Christianity and Buddhism are different but can still be complementary, but still there is a gap between the two religions together. This article focuses on Buddhism, the so-called "consciousness" and the so-called Christian "salvation" two important doctrines, and the creative interpretation of the two considered to be conducive to human through the modern / postmodern nihilism Glen. I will focus on the following four questions: First, the two major religions of common concern for human suffering and the root causes of human suffering. Second, the Christian religion, the so-called "salvation" and Buddhism, the so-called "consciousness," the contrast between the mainly concentrated in the so-called "transcendental principles" and "The internal principles." Third, to teach the theory of Christianity, "there are successful" and Buddhism so-called "empty" or "origins of the air." Fourth, the moral ethics of Christianity and Buddhism are all for a total of method, can be seen as way to overcome nihilism, the practice of road domination and alienation. (shrink)

This article aims to "System" and "other" under the two intertwined ideas, revisit ideas of Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi is a big system builders, building systems on the performance in terms of a responsible thinker, Zhu Xi should be post-modern thought for inspiration. On the other hand, the "other" is an important dimension of life and existence, particularly in the post-modern thought to be emphasized as an alternative to over-expansion of the subject in modern times, and "other" relationship will help (...) us more in-depth understanding of Zhu Xi . Used in this article, "thank you" word, can be regarded as a token of appreciation of the compound verb, the word can also be split as: "a sense of" who has suffered in his person; "thank" those who, for those who suffered in his gratitude. Were able to grow, and even constitute the personality of harmony or system, the damage of his very public. His acceptance of those who have a positive, of course, joy; to have suffered a sense of, and can also responded with gratitude, joy is even more gain. Thanksgiving know who always keep the inner joy, and is double joy. Words in a sense, it can be said in this article to inquire: the sense of otherness and Xie, whether it is building its philosophy of Zhu Xi serves as a source. Feeling he who thanks to him who is both a source of spiritual double joy, the personality and mature as those of Zhu Xi, or should have realized that this practice of double joy as its moral and ideological sources of creation. In this paper, from an ethical relationship, he who, in his teachings were , and Germany's side into harmony with other aspects of me that he thought were to be assessment of Zhu Xi. (shrink)

Shows that value system is a desirable mode of behavior or the existence of the state, according to their relative needs of the sequences, some lasting organization. This so-called desirable patterns of behavior or the existence of the state, should bear some yet to be achieved, and wish to pursue and to achieve the ideal state. Accordingly, the value system can be divided into two aspects: First, the value of the ideal surface, because the total value includes the "ought" of (...) the ingredients, so in traditional Chinese culture and contemporary changes in value systems are ideal and should be However, the side, you can use philosophy and humanities research methods to be presented. Second, the value of face cards in fact, the performance of personal value system is also pursuing the target of real natural state, have to use empirical methods to be presented. Value system of traditional Chinese culture to the Republic since the change, I can not go back the way empirical research, only the literature of interpretation and historical reconstructions were; the mainland since 1949 for the value system, due to limited conditions , I can not discourse, expect more than Zhumo mainland scholars. For the value system in Taiwan, there are many empirical results can be presented in this article. (shrink)

Contemporary scholars in Chinese philosophy, Thaddaeus particularly concerned about Chinese philosophy and methodological issues. Of this paper is designed to make way for the study of Chinese philosophy, the discussion to commemorate him, the first part will describe Thaddaeus study of Chinese philosophy, methods and contribution to the idea, the latter part of the study will be my personal view of Chinese philosophy, methods to further to call upon and complement. Thaddaeus based on the fundamental principles of truth and goodness, (...) the dominant theme proposed research method will be grouped into eight themes of Chinese philosophy, including political, moral, dominate the day, nature and personnel mutual induction, root cause of all things, all things and personnel often said, heaven and earth and man were one, nature, etc., as the dominant theme. According to his own analysis, the subject of legislation contains several levels: first, tracing the history of philosophy, including research. Second, as stressed by modern hermeneutics domain blend method, should not abuse their own perspective on things not related. Third, the logic and meaning of words in semantic analysis. Fourth, and Western philosophy for appropriate comparison. Furthermore, I propose, study Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophy begins with the reading and interpretation of the text. I was reading Chinese philosophy of the original Code's fundamental idea, known as "dynamic context ism", in this fundamental principle, read the philosophy of the original Code, one must first follow the general text interpretation of the principles, including 1, the context within the principles of, 2, Combines the same principle, 3, minimum change principle 4, the maximum reading principles. Secondly, to respect the characteristics of Chinese philosophical texts, as opposed to harass the landlords like to use the concept of metaphor in philosophy like to use the text; like to use relative Seeger argument, in philosophy like to use narrative, to show the image of the concept of root causes, rather than pure ideas. Finally, the text should also be considered provided by the author or school of their own interpretation of the principle. In accordance with the above method, after reading the text can be more broad philosophical texts on the historical context, and even on different philosophical traditions to be compared. The most important thing is to play the role of analysis and critique of reason, to make their own original ideas. Among contemporary scholars of Chinese Philosophy, Thaddeus Hang is most famous for his concern with methodological problems in studying Chinese Philosophy. This paper contains two parts: first, an exposition of Thaddeus Hang's own method of studying Chinese Philosophy; second, a deeper reflections on methodology in studying Chinese philosophy. Thaddeus Hang proposes a method of studying Chinese Philosophy by dominant themes. For him there are eight major dominant themes in Chinese philosophy: Politics, Morality, Heaven as Ruler, Mutual affection / response between All things and Human Affairs, the Origin of all things, the Constant Way of all things and Human Affairs, Unity of Heaven, Earth and Man, and, he added later, the Nature. For him, we can take these eight dominant themes as criteria to judge the difference and development of different schools and philosophers in Chinese philosophy. These eight dominant themes should be applied on the following four methodological lines: first, one should trace the origin in the history of philosophy, including the investigation by evidences; second, one should look for the fusion of horizons as emphasized by contemporary hermeneutics and avoid subjective arrogance by emphasizing one's idiosyncrasies on irrelevant matters; third, one should use logical analysis and semantic analysis; fourth, one should do some comparison with Western philosophy. In the second part, I redefine Chinese philosophy and propose several levels of methodological principles in reading and philosophizing on Chinese philosophical texts: First, on the level of general hermeneutic, I propose the principle of intra-textuality; the principle of coherence, the principle of minimum emendation, and the principle of maximal reading. Second, we should pay attention to the hermeneutic characteristics of Chinese philosophy: targeting Idea-Image rather than Pure Ideas, Chinese philosophy prefers to show the movement of meaning by metaphors more than concepts, narrative of inner connected events more than logical argumentation. Third, one should pay attention to the hermeneutic principles or philosophy of language proposed by the author or the school of thoughts under investigation. The historical contextualization and comparative studies should base themselves on the previous work. Most importantly, an original way of philosophizing, based on analytic and critical skills, is invited in any philosophical study, no matter Chinese or Western. (shrink)