I first characterize a moral mistake in coercion. The principle of independence with which I criticize coercion seems also to condemn exchange. I propose an account of exchange from which it follows that exchange upholds independence after all. In support of that account I argue that, of the accounts of exchange that occur to me, only this one has the consequence that, on general assumptions, a person can take part in exchange while acting, intending, and believing with sufficient reason. I (...) argue that the hiring of very poor people by very rich people for labor from which the rich draw a substantial surplus does not give rise to an exchange of this kind. These instances of the wage labor relation resemble coercion insofar as they violate independence. (shrink)

According to the acousmatic thesis defended by Roger Scruton and others, to hear sounds as music is to divorce them from the source or cause of their production. Non-acousmatic experience involves attending to the worldly cause of the sound; in acousmatic experience, sound is detached from that cause. The acousmatic concept originates with Pythagoras, and was developed in the work of 20th century musique concrète composers such as Pierre Schaeffer. The concept yields important insights into the nature of musical experience, (...) but Scruton's version of the acousmatic thesis cannot overcome objections arising from timbral and spatial aspects of music, which seem to relate sounds to the circumstances of their production. These objections arise in part from music's status as a performing art rooted in human gesture and behaviour. Hence I defend a two-fold thesis of "hearing-in", which parallels Richard Wollheim's concept of "seeing-in": both acousmatic and.. (shrink)

La nature de la conscience est au centre de la discussion actuelle sur la personne humaine. Bien que certains philosophes fassent de la conscience la clef fondamentale et de toute l'épistémologie, la plupart des scientifiques la réduisent aux intéractions complexes du cerveau. Le présent article tire sa matière de l'analyse que saint Thomas d'Aquin fait de cette notion dans son De Veritate . Il caractérise la conscience en termes de connaissance et d'application de la connaissance à l'agir. L'A. cherche à (...) donner une définition pour montrer que la conscience dépend directement d'un syllogisme pratique. (shrink)

Le but de cet article est de démontrer que l’étymologie faisait intégralement partie de la théologie stoïcienne. Suivant leur conception panthéiste et hylozoiste du cosmos, les stoïciens utilisaient l’étymologie pour découvir diverses manifestations de Dieu dans l’univers. Ainsi, la thèse principale de cet article est de montrer que, dans le stoïcisme, l’étymologie était moins une étude sur l’histoire des mots que l’étude de la façon dont Dieu se développe et se manifeste à travers divers phénomènes de notre monde. Attendu que (...) pour les stoïciens le fait d’étudier les noms des dieux équivalait à rechercher Dieu, l’étymologie jouait un triple rôle : premièrement, elle était un moyen de rendre un culte à Dieu; deuxièmement, elle était une manière d’interpréter la poésie; et, enfin, elle était un outil de transformation de sa propre existence. Par conséquent, cet article se veut une recherche sur la dimension théologique, allégorique et existentielle de l’étymologie stoïcienne. (shrink)

Author: Domaradzki Mikołaj Title: HUMANISTIC INTERPRETATION AND THE PROBLEM OF ANCIENT ALLEGORESIS (Interpretacja humanistyczna a problem starożytnej alegorezy) Source: Filo-Sofija year: 2011, vol:.12, number: 2011/1, pages: 361-372 Keywords: ANCIENT ALLEGORESIS, HERMENEUTICS, METRODORUS OF LAMPSACUS, HUMANISTIC INTERPRETATION, JERZY KMITA Discipline: PHILOSOPHY Language: POLISH Document type: ARTICLE Publication order reference (Primary author’s office address): E-mail: www:The purpose of the article is to present the phenomenon of allegorical interpretation as one of most important cultural events that has ultimately resulted in the emergence (...) of modern hermeneutics. More specifically, the paper argues that the hermeneutical activity of Metrodorus of Lampsacus embodies the practice that is nowadays commonly referred to as ‘humanistic interpretation’. Having established that the exegesis of Metrodorus can be characterized as a type of humanistic interpretation, the article proceeds to demonstrate that the allegoresis in question was in fact adaptive in its nature. While Metrodorus’ ideas are suggested to have possibly contributed to the philosophical overcoming of the so called syncretic-magical thinking, the allegorical support of the transformation of mythos into logos is analyzed within the framework of Jerzy Kmita’s theory of culture. (shrink)

Author: Domaradzki Mikołaj Title: SYMBOL AND ALLEGORY IN THE PHILOSOPHICAL EXEGESIS OF THE STOICS (Symbol i alegoria w filozoficznej egzegezie stoików) Source: Filo-Sofija year: 2011, vol:.13/14, number: 2011/2-3, pages: 719-736 Keywords: STOIC EXEGESIS, SYMBOL, ALLEGORY, CHRYSIPPUS, CORNUTUS, HERACLITUS THE ALLEGORIST Discipline: PHILOSOPHY Language: POLISH Document type: ARTICLE Publication order reference (Primary author’s office address): E-mail: www:The present paper aims to ascertain whether, and if so, to what extent the modern distinction between the concepts of ‘symbol’ and ‘allegory’ can be (...) applied to Stoic hermeneutical activity. The philosophy of the Stoics invites such a discussion, since the philosophers were the first thinkers in antiquity to actually have used the terms with reference to the process of retrieving the hidden meaning of various literary constructions. Thus, Chrysippus’ interpretation of the myth of Athena’s birth provides the point of departure for our considerations, since it is in the philosopher’s exegesis that we find the very first use of the word ‘symbol’ understood as a theoretical tool for interpreting texts. Subsequently, the article proceeds to discuss the interpretations of the same myth that were presented by Cornutus and Heraclitus who use the words ‘symbol’ and ‘allegory’ interchangeably. While the paper argues that in none of the cases analyzed do we find an understanding of the terms ‘symbol’ or ‘allegory’ that would entirely correspond to modern definitions of the terms, it also stresses that the impossibility of classifying Stoic interpretations as either solely ‘symbolical’ or solely ‘allegorical’ does not diminish the cultural import of Stoic hermeneutical activity. (shrink)

The aim of the article is to confront normative pre-assumptions of Marx’s and Freud’s emancipatory projects. Considerations on axiological presuppositions of the projects under discussion come to the conclusion that an argument between psychoanalysis and Marxism has its source in the two mutually exclusive systems of values whereas the psychoanalytical critique of Marxism remains the legacy of a conflict dating back to the beginnings of the Enlightenment. The article claims that a confrontation of Freud’s emancipatory project with that of Marx’s (...) means a confrontation of two traditions: according to the first one — pessimistic and referring to Hobbes — man is bad by nature, whereas the other — optimistic and deriving from Locke — man is good by nature. The final conclusion, thus, is a statement that though both Marx and Freud were certain that their emancipatory projects were devoid of not only metaphysical presuppositions, but also metaphysical conclusions, a Freudian critique of Marxism refers to an axiological argument between Locke and Hobbes. Because both in psychoanalysis and Marxism a descriptive order is intricately intertwined with a normative one. The conflict between the two emancipatory projects must remain ilsolluble owing to the antagonistic axiological presuppositions. (shrink)

The purpose of the present article is to show that there is a clear line of continuity between the early Stoics’ and Cornutus’ works, as all of them assumed that the ancient mythmakers had transformed their original cosmological conceptions into anthropomorphic deities. Hence, the Stoics from Zeno to Cornutus believed that the names of the gods reflected the mode of perceiving the world that was characteristic of the people who named the gods in this way. Accordingly, the major thesis advanced (...) in the paper proposes that the Stoics conducted their etymological analyses so as to gather ethnographical information about the origin and development of the existing religion. When doing so, they treated the conventional mythological narratives as sources of information about the early conceptions of the cosmos. Th us, the Stoics from Zeno to Cornutus employed etymology as a certain research strategy: they analyzed the names of traditional deities so as to extract the physical and moral beliefs that constituted the ancients’ world picture. Treated as ethnologists, the Stoics seem to equate piety with retrieving philosophical truths obscured under the guise of primitive mythical formulations. Furthermore, when unravelling the original worldview inadvertently transmitted by the poets in their poems, the Stoics reconstruct the history of religion and contribute to the development of ancient anthropology. (shrink)

Koncepcja ryzyka należy do podstawowych kategorii współczesnej medycyny. Wskazując na trzy typy ryzyka: środowiskowe, związane ze stylem życia i genetyczne, medycyna podkreśla zarazem osobistą odpowiedzialność za zdrowie i zarządzanie ryzykiem. Efektem jest redukcja złożonych problemów społecznych do perspektywy jednostkowej. Taka polityka kozła ofiarnego jest wzmacniana przez genetykę, która kreuje swoistą „optykę molekularną”. Akcentuje ona genetyczne predyspozycje chorób organicznych, zaburzeń psychicznych i zachowań ludzkich, przerzucając odpowiedzialność za zdrowie z państwa na jednostki. Twierdzi bowiem, że zdrowie czy choroba zależą zarówno od praw (...) biochemicznych i genetycznych, jak i od osobistych wyborów. Powszechność informacji sprawia, że trudno być nieświadomym ryzyka, zaś bierność i obojętność uznaje się za przejaw nieodpowiedzialności. I tak medycyna szerzy ideę, że choroby można uniknąć, i obliguje w ten sposób jednostki do poszukiwania wiedzy i niwelacji ryzyka. Odwraca to jednak uwagę od społecznych uwarunkowań chorób i maskuje konieczność reform. (shrink)

The aim of the present article is to demonstrate that the hermeneutical activity of Lucius Annaeus Cornutus is best characterized as ‘ethnographical’ rather than merely ‘allegorical.’ Without denying the presence of allegorical interpretation in the philosopher’s work, the paper establishes that Cornutus’ etymological interpretations aimed first and foremost to extract the archaic vision of the world that motivated every theogony. Thus, the philosopher regarded conventional mythology and traditional religion as sources of information about the primeval accounts of the cosmos: his (...) analyses of various etymologies discovered not merely the origin of the word in question but, first of all, the origin of the ancient world picture that underlay the particular system of beliefs. As a result of this, interpreting myths was for Cornutus tantamount to gaining profound insights into the mind of primordial man and his world. Key words CORNUTUS, ALLEGORY, MYTH. (shrink)

[…] Głównym wnioskiem płynącym z niniejszej próby syntetycznego zestawienia wybranych analogii pomiędzy sceptyczną a Nietzscheańską krytyką poznania jest, iż rzeczonych krytyk nie należy traktować jako rozważań jałowych, nieproduktywnych czy wręcz czysto destruktywnych. Podnosząc problem konstruowania świata, obie krytyki zwiększyły bowiem naszą samoświadomość interpretacji. Jeżeli zaś sceptycy i Nietzsche zgadzają się w tym, iż dostępne nam są jedynie perspektywiczne przekłamania rzeczywistości, a nie „prawdziwa rzeczywistość”, to oba projekty łączy gruntowna krytyka naiwnego realizmu. […] pragniemy podkreślić – wbrew wielokrotnie wygłaszanym sądom, podług (...) których sceptycyzm był przejawem upadku greckiej myśli – iż naszym zdaniem sceptycyzm jest jednym z najważniejszych wydarzeń nie tylko w historii filozofii starożytnej, ale w dziejach historii filozofii w ogóle. Jest on bowiem pierwszą na taką skalę przeprowadzoną, systematyczną próbą zakwestionowania wszelkich roszczeń do posiadania prawdy absolutnej. Co sofistyka rozpoczęła, w sceptycyzmie osiągnęło swą akme, a wedle perspektywy proponowanej w niniejszym artykule otwiera się możliwość spojrzenia na sceptyków jako na myślicieli, którzy występując przeciwko absolutnej prawdzie dogmatyków, przygotowali grunt pod myślenie pluralistyczne. (shrink)