In un’epoca, come quella attuale, votata allo specialismo, pochi autori sono disposti a scrivere una storia della filosofia che ambisca a coprire un intero periodo, quale quello medievale e, ancor meno, quelli che si cimentino a stilare una storia globale della filosofia. La settorialità ha molti pregi, ma almeno un difetto, cioè di evitare una narrazione unitaria che, seppur necessariamente parziale e non completa, sia capace di offrire una visione di insieme mettendo in scena i filosofi principali, aggregati in correnti, (...) e i fondamentali indirizzi del pensiero speculativo. Il rischio di formulare una narrazione unitaria della filosofia, in qualità di unico autore, lo ha affrontato Anthony Kenny, dando alle stampe quattro volumi di una _Nuova storia della filosofia occidentale_. Il secondo di tali volumi è dedicato alla filosofia medievale e il presente contributo intende contestualizzarne la genesi, per poi esplicitare i criteri utilizzati da Kenny in quello che lui stesso definisce _racconto_ e vagliare criticamente i risultati raggiunti. _In an era, like the present one, devoted to specialism, few authors are willing to write a history of philosophy that aspires to cover an entire period, such as the medieval one and, even less, those who attempt to draw up a global history of philosophy. The sectoriality has many advantages, but at least one defect, that is to avoid a unitary narrative which, although necessarily partial and not complete, is capable of offering an overview by staging the main philosophers, aggregated into currents, and the fundamental directions of speculative thought. The risk of formulating a unitary narrative of philosophy, as the sole author, was faced by Anthony Kenny, publishing four volumes of a _New History of Western Philosophy_. The second of these volumes is dedicated to medieval philosophy and the present contribution intends to contextualize its genesis, __paying special attention to the two sources Kenny refers to __ to then clarify the criteria used by Kenny in what he himself defines as a _narration_ and to critically examine the results achieved_. (shrink)

Anthony Kenny e Orlando Todisco, in due diversi contesti, hanno proposto un originale accostamento tra Wittgenstein e alcuni filosofi francescani. Alla luce di questi studi è possibile chiedersi quale valore possa avere la nozione di francescanesimo wittgensteiniano e quale utilità essa ricopra nell’identificare i caratteri di una filosofia francescana. Nella prima parte considererò l’atteggiamento di Kenny nei confronti di Duns Scoto, le cui tesi, dapprima frettolosamente associate a quelle del neopositivismo, vengono poi adeguatamente contestualizzate all’interno della contrapposizione tra la tradizione (...) neoplatonica-agostiniana e l’aristotelismo radicale nell’Università di Parigi. Nella seconda parte, analizzerò il parallelo suggerito da Todisco tra Wittgenstein e Occam, con particolare attenzione alla filosofia del linguaggio, alla critica alla metafisica e alla nozione di ineffabilità. Dopo aver evidenziato i limiti storiografici di entrambe queste proposte, concluderò sostenendo che il francescanesimo wittgensteiniano non può essere considerato un progetto di ricerca autonomo capace di stabilire delle tesi comuni. Esso comunque non è una mera provocazione, in quanto offre interessanti considerazioni circa una affine modalità di porsi gli interrogativi filosofici da parte di Wittgenstein e dei filosofi francescani. Questo esito permette di identificare alcune condizioni necessarie perché si possa parlare di una filosofia francescana all’interno della storia della filosofia. In two very different contexts, Anthony Kenny and Orlando Todisco have proposed an original combination between Wittgenstein and some Franciscan thinkers. Thanks to their studies it is possible to question the value and the usability of the expression Wittgensteinian Franciscanism in order to identify the features of a Franciscan philosophy. In the first paragraph, I will take the approach of Kenny about Duns Scotus into consideration. At the beginning of his career, Kenny hastily associates Scotus’ theses to the Neo-Positivistic ones, but in his mature works, Kenny adequately contextualizes them within the contrast between, on the one hand, the Neoplatonic-Augustinian tradition and, on the other, the radical Aristotelism held at the Paris University. In the second paragraph, I will study in depth the parallelism suggested by Todisco between Wittgenstein and Occam, paying particular attention to the philosophy of language, to the criticism toward some types of metaphysics, and to the notion of ineffability. After having underlined the historiographic limits of both of these proposals, I will conclude arguing that Wittgensteinian Franciscanism cannot be appreciated as an autonomous research project able to establish common theses. All the same, it is not a mere provocation, in fact it presents interesting considerations about analogous modalities to submit philosophical questions shared between Wittgenstein and Franciscan thinkers. This outcome allows to distinguish some necessary conditions in order to identify a Franciscan philosophy in the history of Western thought. (shrink)

From an historical point of view, the Italian reception of Whitehead’s philosophy of religion turns out to be defective and the last translation of Process and Reality is the occasion to fill these gaps. The evaluation of Whitehead’s position in the field of analytical philosophy of religion, the right contextualization of his thought and a critical interpretation of the fifth part of Process and Reality show that regarding Whitehead only as the father of process theology is rather reductive and even (...) misleading. His legacy grows more fruitful considering the recent development of analytic philosophy of religion, with peculiar reference to his reflections on religious language and evil. (shrink)

Lo scopo del presente contributo è quello di riflettere da un punto di vista storiografico sull’interesse che la recente filosofia analitica ha mostrato nei confronti del pensiero tomista. Dopo aver contestualizzato la nascita di una vera e propria corrente denominata Tomismo analitico e averla adeguatamente definita, indicherò come essa si sia potuta sviluppare attraverso l’uso del criterio di ricorsività e di cinque massime storiografiche. Nella seconda parte prenderò in considerazione un caso particolare, analizzando la Serie metafisica tomista e metafisica analitica (...) attualmente in corso di pubblicazione presso la case editrice Carocci. Concluderò sottolineando come lo studio di domande ricorrenti, la commensurabilità dei paradigmi e una notevole consapevolezza storica siano i presupposti che rendono possibile il confronto tra due ontologia appartenenti a due epoche storiche così distanti. The aim of this paper is to ponder over the interest that more recent analytic philosophy has displayed for Thomism from a historiographical point of view. In the first section, the current called Analytical Thomism will be defined, and its origin will be adequately contextualized in order to underline how its existence and relevance are possible thanks to the use of the criterion of recursivity and of five historiographic precepts. In the following sections, a distinctive case will be taken into consideration; in fact the Collection of Thomistic Metaphysics and Analytic Metaphysics now published by Carocci will be analysed. In the conclusion, I will critically expound the posited criteria that make it possible to compare these two ontologies belonging to so different historical backgrounds: to pay attention to recurring requests, to consider different paradigms as commensurable as well as a great historic awareness. (shrink)

The rise of the phenomenon of virtue ethics in recent years has increased at a rapid pace. Such an explosion carries with it a number of great possibilities, as well as risks. This volume has been written to contribute a multi-faceted perspective to the current conversation about virtue. Among many other thought-provoking questions, the collection addresses the following: What are the virtues, and how are they enumerated? What are the internal problems among ethicists, and what are the objections and replies (...) to contemporary virtue ethics? Additionally, the practical implications following from the answers to these questions are discussed in new and fascinating research. Fundamental concepts such as teleology and eudaimonism are addressed from both a historical and dialectical approach. This tome will contribute not only to providing further clarity to the current horizons in virtue ethics, but also to the practical conclusion following from the study: to challenge the reader toward a greater pursuit of the virtuous life. (shrink)

A partire dalla metà del Novecento, dopo una modernità dominata da prospettive di stampo deontologistico o utilitaristico, la filosofia pratica contemporanea ha visto il sorgere di una ripresa di interesse per un’etica “in prima persona”, in grado di offrire una prospettiva integrale sul soggetto e centrata sullo sviluppo del suo carattere e della sua personalità; in breve, si è assistito a un nuovo potente ingresso in scena dell’idea del bene, e, con essa, della virtù quale via maestra per conseguire il (...) fine adeguato della vita umana. Il volume si propone di rendere conto – anche in correlazione al ruolo delle emozioni, ma non solo – del percorso filosofico della virtù: dall’indagine delle sue fonti “classiche”, all’inizio del suo declino nella modernità, al risorgere della sua vitalità negli ultimi decenni nelle diverse aree linguistico-culturali, tenendo anche conto delle differenti discipline con cui si è interfacciata. Esso non pretende di esaurire i percorsi e le suggestioni che una tematica così vasta presenta, né di coprirne tutta la storia; piuttosto, vuole rappresentare uno stimolo alla ricerca, ponendo in connessione tagli disciplinari e metodologici differenti per offrire una riflessione a tutto campo, che metta in dialogo studiosi provenienti da ambiti diversi ed apra nuove prospettive.Saggi di: Francesco Camera, Angelo Campodonico, Elisabetta Cattanei, Michel Croce, Elisa Cuttini, Marco Damonte, Elisa Grimi, Simona Langella, Alberto Masala, Alma Massaro, Letterio Mauro, Giacomo Samek Lodovici, Maria Silvia Vaccarezza, Paolo Vignola, Lodovica Maria Zanet, Matteo Zoppi. (shrink)

The present Festschrift was born as a tribute to the scientific production of Rémi Brague. This study collects the interventions of several thinkers, with different scientific profiles, who, fond of reality, have reflected on, and been in dialogue with his thought. Brague has explored many spheres: anthropology, metaphysics, religion, history of religions, aesthetics, ethics, politics, and cosmology – where he recalled those anchors in the sky where mankind throws its roots. We have decided to entitle this collection Europa cura te (...) ipsam! inspired by on the admonition of the famous Medice cura te ipsum. As Brague has repeatedly obser- ved, and recently with no little pessimism, it is now up to Europeans to recover their history and look to their future. We hope that the present work can be a stimulus for today’s thinkers and for generations to come, certain that the search for truth is an endless inquiry where harmony and cooperation among thinkers constitute progress. -/- Contributors: Leonardo Allodi, Rafael Alvira, Jean Baechler, Damiano Bondi, Thomas Buchheim, Virgil Ciomos, Rocio Daga Portillo, Marco Damonte, Chantal Delsol, Phil Devine, Thérèse-Anne Druart, Travis Dumsday, David C. Flatto, Michal Gierycz, Elisa Grimi, John F. X. Knasas, Hans Maier, Sante Maletta, Fr Antonio Malo, Fr Giulio Maspero, Ilaria Vigorelli, Fr Piotr Mazurkiewicz, Isabelle Moulin, José Ignacio Gómez Murillo, Maurits Potappel, John M. Rist, H. Em. Card. Angelo Scola, Hans Seitschek, Wilhelm Vossenkuhl. (shrink)

The central focus of this paper is to motivate and explore the question, when is it permissible to endorse a psychologizing explanation of a sincere interlocutor? I am interested in the moral question of when (if ever) we may permissibly dismiss the sincere reasons given to us by others, and instead endorse an alternative explanation of their beliefs and actions. I argue that there is a significant risk of wronging the other person, and so we should only psychologize when we (...) are in a position to know that they are in bad faith. (shrink)

In this benchmark five-volume study, originally published between 1922 and 1955, Surendranath Dasgupta examines the principal schools of thought that define Indian philosophy. A unifying force greater than art, literature, religion, or science, Professor Dasgupta describes philosophy as the most important achievement of Indian thought, arguing that an understanding of its history is necessary to appreciate the significance and potentialities of India's complex culture. Volume I offers an examination of the Vedas and the Brahmanas, the earlier Upanisads, and the six (...) systems of Indian philosophy. (shrink)

The point of formalisation is to model various aspects of natural language. Perhaps the main use to which formalisation is put is to model and explain inferential relations between different sentences. Judged solely by this objective, a formalisation is successful in modelling the inferential network of natural language sentences to the extent that it mirrors this network. There is surprisingly little literature on the criteria of good formalisation, and even less on the question of what it is for a formalisation (...) to mirror the inferential network of a natural language or some fragment of it. This paper takes some exploratory steps towards a quantitative account of the main ingredient in the goodness of a formalisation. We introduce and critically examine a mathematical model of how well a formalisation mirrors natural-language inferential relations. (shrink)

Objectives: Evidence based patient choice seems based on a strong liberal individualist interpretation of patient autonomy; however, not all patients are in favour of such an interpretation. The authors wished to assess whether ideals of autonomy in clinical practice are more in accordance with alternative concepts of autonomy from the ethics literature. This paper describes the development of a questionnaire to assess such concepts of autonomy.Methods: A questionnaire, based on six moral concepts from the ethics literature, was sent to aneurysm (...) patients and their surgeons. The structure of the questionnaire was assessed by factor analysis, and item reduction was based on reliability.Results: Ninety six patients and 58 surgeons participated. The questionnaire consisted of four scales. Two of the scales reflected the paternalistic and consumerist poles of the liberal individualist model, one scale reflected concepts of Socratic autonomy and of procedural independence, and the fourth scale reflected ideals of risk disclosure.Discussion: The Ideal Patient Autonomy Scale is a 14 item normative instrument. It is clearly distinct from the generally used psychological preference questionnaires that assess preferences for physician-patient roles. (shrink)

In The Idea of a Social Science Winch, argues that, sociology is more properly conceived as a branch of philosophy than of empirical science. Winch falls victim here to the Humean assimilation of the empirical to the generalizable. He notes that much of our talk about social practice is in terms of conventions, so that explanations of social action can be given without recourse to statistical or experimental findings. But such talk depends nonetheless on the accuracy and detail with which (...) the situations in which actions occur are? recorded, and this is surely an empirical enterprise. It is the misleading conception of sociology as a discipline, characterized by common procedures, that leads Winch to espouse the assimilation of sociology to conceptual inquiry. We need to see instead that sociology embraces a group of questions and subjects so loosely connected that it would be mistaken to speak of, and idle to project, a procedure common to all of them. (shrink)

(1976). PROBABILITY, LIKELIHOOD AND SUPPORT: A METAMATHEMATICAL APPROACH TO A SYSTEM OF AXIOMS FOR UPPER AND LOWER DEGREES OF BELIEF. Philosophical Papers: Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 153-161.

The nature of tragedy has always been felt to be a problem, not only by the philosopher, but also, and perhaps even more, by the ordinary man. The question so often asked is: why, if there is so much suffering already in the world, do we want to go to a theatre or read a story describing more suffering? Why indeed should the spectacle of suffering ever be pleasing to us? Yet it is obvious that olarge numbers of ordinary people (...) do like reading or seeing tragedies; and that there are some tragedies which are generally judged to be the most valuable works of literary art ever produced. What then is the nature of the value which we extract from these works? That is the question to which I would like to address myself. (shrink)

We investigate to what extent theorems about quantum mechanical or classical entropy can be generalized to functionals of the type ρ→Tr f(ρ), or ψ→∫f(ψ)dμ, respectively, wheref is an arbitrary concave function.

t. 1. Noosferizm : vvedenie v noosferizm, Noosferizm: dvizhenie, ideologii︠a︡ ili novai︠a︡ nauchno-mirovozzrecheskai︠a︡ sistema? -- t. 2. Noosferizm : Kapitalokratii︠a︡ mify liberizma ... -- t. 3. Noosferizm : Rossii︠a︡ v XXI veke v kontekste ... -- t. 4, kn. 1. Noosferizm : Noosfernoe ili neklassicheskoe chelovekovedeni; kn. 2. Noosfernoe ili neklassicheskoe chelovekovedenie: poisk osnovaniĭ -- t. 5, kn. 1. Noosfernoe ili neklassicheskoe chelovekovedenie: poisk osnovaniĭ; kn. 12. Noosfernoe ili neklassicheskoe chelovekovedenie: poisk osnovaniĭ -- t. 6. kn. 1. Obrazovanie--vysshiĭ imperativ noosfernogo (...) ili ustoĭchivogo razvitii︢a︡ Rossii v XXI veke; kn. 2 Obrazovanie--vysshiĭ imperativ noosfernogo ili ustoĭchivogo razvitii︢a︡ Rossii v XXI veke -- t. 7. Sistemologii︠a︡ obrazovanii︠a︡ i obrazovanievedenie. (shrink)

Israel Scheffler's ground-breaking essay, On Human Potential, deserves to be more widely known among educational policy analysts, especially in light of the popularity in educationist circles of W.E. Deming's organizational philosophy known as Total Quality Management . In what follows,I argue that the heuristical value of Deming's perscriptions are entailed in Scheffler's On Human Potential. More importantly, I argue, where Deming's work falls short, especially in being naive about the human condition, Scheffler's analysis provides a foundation for management theory in (...) education that insures the flourishing of an optimal number of contributing participants. In fashioning these ideas, Scheffler brings pioneering thinking to the emerging fields of management studies generally and educational policy specifically. (shrink)

It is commonly accepted by those who consider macroevolution as a process decoupled from microevolution that its apparent jerkiness (and, hence, incompatibility with principles of population genetics) results from the structural complexity of epigenetic systems, since all complex cybernetic systems are expected to behave discontinuously. To analyse the validity of this assumption, the process of self-improvement has been analysed in a complex cybernetic system by means of computer simulations. It turns out that the investigated system tends to develop by accumulation (...) of as small structural changes as possible, while larger changes are likely to result in the collapse of the system rather than in its persistence or improvement. This implies that cybernetic considerations alone cannot justify the claim that the very nature of epigenetic systems induces evolution by discrete steps rather than by gradual accumulation of small changes. (shrink)