A Philosophical Life

A Philosophical Life
Author: William C. Gentry (Prof.)
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2008
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780761839965

Socrates said that true philosophy could not be written down because it dies, lying sterile and static on the page. True philosophy takes place in conversation. Twentieth-century academic philosophy strays very much from this ancient insight and admonition and survives mainly through the journals, essays, books, and other written materials scrutinized by student and colleague alike. William C. Gentry was both an academic philosopher, perfectly willing to engage in the philosophical "conversations" of the written word and, more importantly, a true philosopher, in the Platonic and Socratic style. Engaging with those around him in discourse, in live conversations, which are the vehicle of actual philosophical inquiry and discovery. These essays are the product of those conversations. Gentry's thoughts consisted of investigations into the deepest and most profound questions of human nature, ethics, and knowledge. This volume is a tribute to his role as both a teacher and philosopher. As a teacher, friend, and colleague, Gentry was the epitome of the philosopher: questioning, exploring, critiquing, discovering. Book jacket.

Epiphenomenal Mind

Epiphenomenal Mind
Author: William S. Robinson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2018-10-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0429787707

According to epiphenomenalism, our behavior is caused by events in our brains that also cause our mentality. This resulting mentality reflects our brains’ organization, but does not in turn cause anything. This book defends an epiphenomenalist account of philosophy of mind. It builds on the author’s previous work by moving beyond a discussion of sensations to apply an epiphenomenalist outlook to other aspects of mental causation such as beliefs, desires, pleasure, and displeasure. The first four chapters of the book argue for a dualistic theory of sensations and develop an epiphenomenalist version of dualism. The remaining chapters discuss propositional attitudes and valence. The author also responds to potential objections to epiphenomenalism by considering how sensations, intelligence, or understanding might be built into a robot. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in philosophy of mind who are interested in consciousness, mental causation, and how our mentality is situated in the world.

Interpreting Education

Interpreting Education
Author: Abraham Edel
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 362
Release: 1985-01-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781412826525

What is meant by education? How are educational institutions and processes evaluated, and how can they be improved? What curriculum is best? How are philosophy and education related? Abraham Edel answers these questions in the course of exploring education. He considers the problems of educational philosophy under conditions of rapid social change in the twentieth century and argues that too many of the traditional approaches to education were set in an effort to delineate a permanent structure rather than to work out ways of handling rapid change. Older models of education have worn thin and new approaches have to be constructed. Interpreting Education clears away old confusions and indicates the conditions that fresh modes of thought will have to satisfy. Contents: "Education and Schooling in Cultural Perspective"; "Grading: Tracking the Philosophical Roots of a Specific Problem"; "A Philosophical Outlook as an Educational Resource"; "Current Critiques of the Schools"; "Politicized Schools and the Ideal of Impartiality"; "Ideals and Their Assessment"; "Toward a Moral Agenda for Contemporary Education"; "Rationality, Autonomy, Relativism"; "Teacher and Student in the Contemporary World"; "Learning and Teaching: Conceptual Problems"; "Forms of Learning"; "The Pedagogical Encounter"; "Scientific Knowledge and the Humanities"; "Social and Moral Education"; "Complexities of the Familiar: Sport and Physical Education; Crafts, Arts, and Technology; Basic Skills"; "The Confrontation of the Liberal and Vocational-Technical"; "The Social Character of Dewey's Philosophy"; "Aims of Education: A Comparison Instead of a Controversy."

Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology

Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology
Author: James G. Lennox
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2001
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521659765

In addition to being one of the world's most influential philosophers, Aristotle can also be credited with the creation of both the science of biology and the philosophy of biology. He was the first thinker to treat the investigations of the living world as a distinct inquiry with its own special concepts and principles. This book focuses on a seminal event in the history of biology - Aristotle's delineation of a special branch of theoretical knowledge devoted to the systematic investigation of animals. Aristotle approached the creation of zoology with the tools of subtle and systematic philosophies of nature and of science that were then carefully tailored to the investigation of animals. The papers collected in this 2001 volume, written by a pre-eminent figure in the field of Aristotle's philosophy and biology, examine Aristotle's approach to biological inquiry and explanation, his concepts of matter, form and kind, and his teleology.

The Cambridge Companion to Philosophical Methodology

The Cambridge Companion to Philosophical Methodology
Author: Giuseppina D'Oro
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2017-02-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107121523

The volume provides clear and comprehensive coverage of the main methodological debates and approaches within philosophy. The book gives equal weight to analytical and continental approaches, and pays attention to approaches that are often overlooked.

Aristotle and His Philosophy

Aristotle and His Philosophy
Author: Abraham Edel
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 508
Release: 1995-01-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781412817462

Abraham Edel fashions a sound comparative way of using current analysis to deepen our understanding of Aristotle rather than argue with or simply appropriate him. Edel examines how Aristotle's basic ideas operated in his scientific and humanistic works, what they enabled him to do, what they kept him from doing, and what in turn we can learn from his philosophical experimentation. The purpose of this volume is twofold: to provide a comprehensive introduction to Aristotle's thought, and to throw fresh light on its patterned and systematic character. Tracing the pattern in Aristotle's metaphysical and physical writings, the author explores the psychology, epistemology, ethics and politics, rhetoric and poetics. In the process, Edel discusses the way interpretations of Aristotle are built up and how different philosophical outlooks - Catholic, Hegelian, Marxian, linguistic, naturalistic, and pragmatic - have affected the reading of Aristotelian texts and ideas.

Dictionary Of Modern American Philosophers

Dictionary Of Modern American Philosophers
Author: John R. Shook
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 2759
Release: 2005-05-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1847144705

The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers includes both academic and non-academic philosophers, and a large number of female and minority thinkers whose work has been neglected. It includes those intellectuals involved in the development of psychology, pedagogy, sociology, anthropology, education, theology, political science, and several other fields, before these disciplines came to be considered distinct from philosophy in the late nineteenth century. Each entry contains a short biography of the writer, an exposition and analysis of his or her doctrines and ideas, a bibliography of writings, and suggestions for further reading. While all the major post-Civil War philosophers are present, the most valuable feature of this dictionary is its coverage of a huge range of less well-known writers, including hundreds of presently obscure thinkers. In many cases, the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers offers the first scholarly treatment of the life and work of certain writers. This book will be an indispensable reference work for scholars working on almost any aspect of modern American thought.

Critical Excess

Critical Excess
Author: Colin Davis
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2010-04-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0804763062

This lucidly written book looks at the interpretative audacity of five major "overreaders"Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, Emmanuel Levinas, Slavoj i ek and Stanley Cavelland asks what is at stake and what is to be gained by their approaches to literature and film."

The Legal Philosophy and Influence of Jeremy Bentham

The Legal Philosophy and Influence of Jeremy Bentham
Author: Guillaume Tusseau
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2014-06-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317664752

Gathering together an impressive array of legal scholars from around the world, this book features essays on Jeremy Bentham’s major legal theoretical treatise, Of the Limits of the Penal Branch of Jurisprudence, reassessing Bentham’s theories of law as well as his impact on jurisprudence. While offering a suggestive picture of contemporary Bentham studies, the book provides a thorough examination of concepts such as legal discourse, legal norms, legal system, and subjective legal positions. The book compares Bentham’s approach with other landmark theories and the works of major legal philosophers including Austin, Hart and Kelsen, and explores Bentham’s treatise through major trends in contemporary legal thought, such as the imperative theory of law, deontic logic, Scandinavian and American legal realisms, the pure theory of law, and critical legal thought. Resisting any apologetic stance, the book elucidates how consistent with Bentham’s all-encompassing project of utilitarian reform ‘Limits’ turns out to be, and how this sheds light on contemporary modes of governance. The book will be great use and interest to scholars and students of contemporary jurisprudence, legal theory, 19th century philosophy, and public law.