Provides a critical and analytical history of ancient Greek theories on the nature of pleasure, and of its value and rolein human lfie, from the ealriest times down to the period of Epicurus and the early Stoics.

Incompatibilism, the view that free will and determinism are incompatible, subsists on two widely accepted, but deeply confused, theses concerning possibility and causation: (1) in a deterministic universe, one can never truthfully utter the sentence "I could have done otherwise," and (2) in such universes, one can never really take credit for having caused an event, since in fact all events have been predetermined by conditions during the universe's birth. Throughout the free will.

Socrates is one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy, but also one of the least known, since he wrote nothing himself, and is known to us only via the writings of others. This book examines the relation of these portrayals, especially Plato's, to the historical person, and also discusses the significance of Socrates' thought to the development of Western philosophy as we know it today.

Incompatibilism, the view that free will and determinism are incompatible, subsists on two widely accepted, but deeply confused, theses concerning possibility and causation: (1) in a deterministic universe, one can never truthfully utter the sentence “I could have done otherwise,” and (2) in such universes, one can never really receive credit or blame for having caused an event, since in fact all events have been predetermined by conditions during the universe’s birth. Throughout the free will literature one finds variations on (...) these two themes, often intermixed in various ways. When Robert Nozick2 describes our longing for “originative value” he apparently has thesis (2) in mind, and thesis (1) may underlie his assertion that “we want it to be true that in that very same situation we could have done (significantly) otherwise.” John Austin, in a famous footnote, flirts with thesis (1). (shrink)

Konrad Cramer, in “ Reflections on the Logical Structure of a Kantian Moral Argument ”, argues that the Universal Law Formulation of the Categorical Imperative is best understood as providing us with an indirect method for determining the moral permissibility of acting on our maxims. He then goes on argue, however, that no interpretation of UL is consistent with Kant’s epistemic claim that we can easily discover what morality demands of us. In response I argue that Cramer relies on an (...) excessively demanding interpretation of Kant’s epistemic claim and that his indirect interpretation of UL rests on a problematic account how our maxims relate to the actions that we perform on their basis. I then turn to the question of the overall plausibility of UL, and stress the need to interpret it within the context of Kant’s overall moral system. (shrink)

We investigate expansions of Heyting algebras in possession of a unary term describing the filters that correspond to congruences. Hasimoto proved that Heyting algebras equipped with finitely many normal operators have such a term, generalising a standard construction on finite-type boolean algebras with operators. We utilise Hasimoto’s technique, extending the existence condition to a larger class of EHAs and some classes of double-Heyting algebras. Such a term allows us to characterise varieties with equationally definable principal congruences using a single equation. (...) Moreover, in the presence of a dual pseudocomplement operation, discriminator varieties are characterised by a pair of equations. We also prove that a variety of dually pseudocomplemented EHAs with a normal filter term is semisimple if and only if it is a discriminator variety. This generalises two known results, one by Kowalski and Kracht for finite-type varieties of BAOs, and the other by the present author for dually pseudocomplemented Heyting algebras without additional operations. (shrink)

We investigate expansions of Heyting algebras in possession of a unary term describing the filters that correspond to congruences. Hasimoto proved that Heyting algebras equipped with finitely many normal operators have such a term, generalising a standard construction on finite-type boolean algebras with operators. We utilise Hasimoto’s technique, extending the existence condition to a larger class of EHAs and some classes of double-Heyting algebras. Such a term allows us to characterise varieties with equationally definable principal congruences using a single equation. (...) Moreover, in the presence of a dual pseudocomplement operation, discriminator varieties are characterised by a pair of equations. We also prove that a variety of dually pseudocomplemented EHAs with a normal filter term is semisimple if and only if it is a discriminator variety. This generalises two known results, one by Kowalski and Kracht for finite-type varieties of BAOs, and the other by the present author for dually pseudocomplemented Heyting algebras without additional operations. (shrink)

This first volume in the series traces the development of philosophy over two-and-a-half centuries, from Thales at the beginning of the sixth century BC to the death of Plato in 347 BC.

This chapter, which concentrates on the violent imaginaries that informed the reports and deeds of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, reviews the perseverance of pre-colonial notions of a sacred king whose “wild sovereignty” and inability to promote the flow of imaana earns him fateful sacrifice. The term imaana denotes a supreme being and, in a more generalized way, a “diffuse, fecundating fluid” of celestial origin whose activity upon livestock, land, and people brought fertility and abundance. As imaana's earthly representative, the king (...) channeled fertility to the rest of humanity. The chapter also discusses symbolism of the sovereign's body and its implicit link with the process of liquid flow. Habyarimana is an inadequate conduit of imaana and thus not a worthy king. He is the antithesis of Ruganzu Ndori. -/- . (shrink)

The question of concentration, or to use a word more in tune with the true nature of this essay, the heart, of this work is to explore the constructs surrounding the very nature and essence of the human heart. By heart I mean not the organ of flesh and blood, or the muscle that pumps life through out our corporal beings. But rather I mean to speak of an emotion that exists in parallel to the spirit or soul of the (...) human cognitive existence. I have chosen the title of this essay for a very specific reason, being that love and the human heart are two different concepts that I find to be closely related and essential for the other to exist. However, I findthat they are different and should be treated as such, for this reason I have given this essay a two-fold thesis. In that its main function will be to incorporate the idea of love with the ideologies of the human heart but also that they should be discussed separately. To most accurately address these points there will be three sections to this essay; the first will be an address on love and its meaning and purpose, the second will be in regards to the mystics of the heart, while the third will be a link between the two and act as a bridge from the psychological emotions of love to the physical and real emotions of man. (shrink)

Volume 1 of the _Routledge History of Philosophy_ covers one of the most remarkable periods in human thought. In the space of two and a half centuries, philosophy developed from quasi-mythological speculation to a state in which many of the most fundamental questions about the universe, the mind and human conduct had been vigorously pursued, and some of the most enduring masterworks of Western thought had been written. The essays present the fundamental approaches and thinkers of Greek philosophy in chronological (...) order. Each is written by a recognised authority in the particular field, and takes account of the large amount of high-quality work done in the last few decades on Platonic and pre-Platonic philosophy. All write in an accessible style, meeting the needs of the non-specialist without loss of scholarly precision. Topics covered range from early Greek speculative thought, its cultural and social setting, to the Sophists, Socrates and culminate in three chapters on Plato's lasting contribution to all central areas of philosophy. Supplemented with a chronology, a glossary of technical terms and an extensive bibliography, this volume will prove an invaluable and comprehensive guide to the beginnings of philosophy. (shrink)

Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy. His influence on Plato is credited with the development of Western philosophy. In this book Christopher Taylor explores the relationship between the historical Socrates and the Platonic character--and examines the enduring image of Socrates as the ideal exemplar of the philosophic life.