To Be Or Not to Be? Is That the Question?

To Be Or Not to Be? Is That the Question?
Author: Leon Gumański
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2023-03-27
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9004457666

This volume may be of interest for all those who wish that philosophy had a scientific character. As an adherent of the Polish Lvov-Warsaw Philosophical School, the author of this collection of papers endeavours to clarify some basic notions of epistemology, ontology and psychology of cognitive acts, such as judgment, existence, being etc. In his investigations he refrains from unnecessary rejection of common-sense knowledge but at the same time searches for suitable patterns in contemporary sciences. Regarding formal logic as a fundamental tool for the precise expression and justification of thoughts, the author tries to clear logic from ontological commitments, shows how to construct logic of norms and how to use safely different definitions in research works. The book presents a new conception of antinomies and an innovatory approach to realistic epistemology. Moreover, some applications of logical methods are illustrated by examples of semantical analyses of the general notion of similarity and the biological concept of homology.

Essays in Logic and Ontology

Essays in Logic and Ontology
Author: Jacek Malinowski
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2006
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9042021306

The aim of this book is to present essays centered upon the subjects of Formal Ontology and Logical Philosophy. The idea of investigating philosophical problems by means of logical methods was intensively promoted in Torun by the Department of Logic of Nicolaus Copernicus University during last decade. Another aim of this book is to present to the philosophical and logical audience the activities of the Torunian Department of Logic during this decade. The papers in this volume contain the results concerning Logic and Logical Philosophy, obtained within the confines of the projects initiated by the Department of Logic and other research projects in which the Torunian Department of Logic took part.

On Actions, Products and Other Topics in Philosophy

On Actions, Products and Other Topics in Philosophy
Author: Kazimierz Twardowski
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 326
Release: 1999
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9789042007888

Kazimierz Twardowski (20/10/1866, Vienna - 11/02/1938, Lvov) is most commonly known as the teacher of great philosophers and the founder of the Lvov-Warsaw School. As a philosopher however, he is primarily remembered for his famous comparison of the contents and objects of various kinds of representations, a comparison that remains enshrined in European thought. In fact, he attained important results in many other branches of philosophy as well. For instance, in (descriptive) ontology, he laid the foundations for the modern theory of formal structure of objects, and he introduced the theoretically fruitful pair of terms, action-product. In epistemology, he developed a profound analysis of the notion and criteria of truth; and he provided a forceful account of the errors underlying relativist theories of truth. In methodology, he drew an explicit distinction between the processes of discovering, systematising, and grounding in science, and he offered accurate descriptions of the nature of psychology and other humanities. In (philosophical) logic, he offered decisive arguments on behalf of the idiogenetic conception of judgement, and he improved the traditional typology of adjectives. These achievements are of significance that is not only historical. Kazimierz Twardowski's work, formulated in plain, precise language, are instructive and inspiring for contemporary students of philosophy.

The Rationality of Theism

The Rationality of Theism
Author: Adolfo García de la Sienra
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2000
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9789042012127

This is a controversial collection of brand new papers by some outstanding philosophers and scholars. Its aim is to offer comprehensive theistic replies to the traditional arguments against the existence of God.

Things, Facts and Events

Things, Facts and Events
Author: Jan Faye
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 552
Release: 2000
Genre: Events (Philosophy)
ISBN: 9789042015333

The volume deals with ontological and semantical issues concerning things, facts and events. Ontology tells us about what there is, whereas semantics provides answers to how we refer to what there is. Basic ontological categories are commonly accepted along with basic linguistic types, and linguistic types are accepted as basic if and because they refer to acknowledged ontological categories. In that sense, both disciplines are concerned with structure - the structure of the world and the structure of our language. An extended introduction overviews the topic as a whole, presenting in detail its history and the main contemporary approaches and discussions. More than 20 contributions by internationally acknowledged scholars make the volume a comprehensive study of some very fundamental philosophical entities.

Knowledge Cultures

Knowledge Cultures
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2016-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 940120294X

This volume compares the western ideas of knowledge with the African. It aims at creating a mirror through which the western knowledge culture can look at itself through an unusual and interesting angle. The culture of Sub-Saharan Africa is the substance from which we, in this book, have tried to construe an epistemological mirror.

Knowledge, Science, and Values

Knowledge, Science, and Values
Author: Tadeusz Czeżowski
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2000
Genre: Ethics
ISBN: 9789042014336

From the contents: Some ancient problems in modern form. - On the humanities. - On the method of analytic description. - On the problem of induction. - On discussion and discussing. - On happiness. - How to understand the meaning of life'. - How to construct the logic of goods? - The meaning and the value of life. - Conflicts in ethics. - What are values? - Three attitudes towards the world. - On two views of the world. - A few remarks on rationalism and empiricism. - Identity and the individual in its persistence. - Sensory cognition and reality. - Philosophy at the crossroads."

Knowledge and Faith

Knowledge and Faith
Author: Jan Salamucha
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2022-06-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9004457828

Jan Salamucha was born on the 10th of June 1903 in Warsaw and murdered on the 11th of August 1944 in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising very early on in his scholarly career. He is the most original representative of the branch of the Lvov-Warsaw School known as the Cracow Circle. The Circle was a grouping of scholars who were interested in reconstructing scholasticism and Christian philosophy in general by means of mathematical logic. As Jan Lukasiewicz’s successor in the area of logic and Konstanty Michalski’s student in the area of the history of medieval thought, Salamucha had an excellent preparation for this task. His main achievements include a masterful logical analysis of the proof ex motu for the existence of God, a modern interpretation of analogical notions and a comprehensive approach to the problem of essence. He also contributed several historical studies: he examined Aristotle’s theory of deduction (and found contradictions in it), he reconstructed William Ockham’s propositional logic and established the authenticity of his treatise on insolubilia, and he identified the historical sources of the antinomies in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. He did not shy away from popularizing philosophy, and in that work he was able to elucidate rather than oversimplify the complexities of philosophy.