In this important study D. M. Armstrong offers a comprehensive system of analytical metaphysics that synthesises but also develops his thinking over the last twenty years. Armstrong's analysis, which acknowledges the 'logical atomism' of Russell and Wittgenstein, makes facts the fundamental constituents of the world, examining properties, relations, numbers, classes, possibility and necessity, dispositions, causes and laws. All these, it is argued, find their place and can be understood inside a scheme of states of affairs. This is a comprehensive and (...) rigorously this-worldly account of the most general features of reality, argued from a distinctive philosophical perspective, and it will appeal to a wide readership in analytical philosophy. (shrink)

Este artigo tem como objetivo pensar as figurações feministas e o devir-mulher a partir da arte para refletir sobre subjetividades inventivas. Em seu conteúdo, aborda-se o contexto do lugar da mulher na arte, desde o apagamento das mulheres até a reapropriação desse espaço pelos movimentos feministas. Para refletir sobre a arte, são apresentados os conceitos de devir e de figuração, bem como artistas que dialogam com esses conceitos. Sob o aporte teórico feminista, o trabalho aponta a arte como um meio (...) de resistência na produção de novas narrativas pelas figurações, além de um estado de devir como resistência, desconstrução e reconstrução, e um modo de viver mais libertário por parte das mulheres.Palavras-chave: Estética feminista. Arte. Devir-mulher. Subjetivação. AbstractThis article aims to think over the feminist figurations and the becoming-woman through art, in order to reflect on inventive subjectivities. In its content, women's place in art's context is addressed, from their erasure until their reappropriation by feminist movements. The concepts of becoming and figurations are presented to think over art, as well as artists that dialogue with those concepts. Under the feminist theoretical contribution, the present work features art as a way of resistance in the production of new narratives through figurations, while also recognizing the state of becoming as a means of resistance, a deconstruction and reconstruction process, and ultimately a more liberating way of life by women.Keywords: Feminist Aesthetics. Art. Becoming-woman. Subjectification. (shrink)

The dissertation does not attempt to develop a critical policy science. It attempts to investigate the possibility of one raised by writers such as Habermas. The question arises because the policy sciences are increasingly beset by aporias. These aporias are occasioned by widening perception of the limits of societal rationalization, by worries about "destructuration," and by the increasingly ideological nature of policy science. ;The first section traces the origins of the policy sciences and their development, particularly during the late nineteenth (...) and early twentieth centuries. In this period, as today, governments, foundations, and professional societies, as well as economic, political, and social events, were instrumental in defining social- and policy-scientific problems and methodologies. From this, I extrapolate the fundamental assumptions of conventional policy science--the default theory. ;The next section criticizes basic elements of the default theory as to the nature of social science and social explanation. I argue that social sciences are sciences of various aspects of intentionality and the policy sciences are best conceived of as disciplinary technologies, in Foucault's sense. I then analyze intentionality more closely and develop a theory of social explanation that accommodates it. ;The third section criticizes the elements of the default theory as to morality and legitimacy, particularly claims that rational choice theory tells us something useful about morality. It does this only indirectly by contributing to a better theory of moral error. I next discuss the duality of moral standpoints and the difficulties this creates for solving the problem of legitimacy. The discussion shows, among other things, why utilitarianism fails. ;The concluding chapter argues that Habermas' proposal for a critical policy science based on undistorted rational agreement also fails. It is a self-estrangement theory and, however attractive it is to contemplate this ideal, it fails to project a system that is motivationally reasonable to live by. As Foucault says, critical task today is "to promote new forms of subjectivity through refusal of kind of individuality which has been imposed on us for several centuries.". (shrink)

A comprehensive introduction to the ways in which meaning is conveyed in language. Alan Cruse covers semantic matters, but also deals with topics that are usually considered to fall under pragmatics. A major aim is to highlight the richness and subtlety of meaning phenomena, rather than to expound any particular theory. Rich in examples and exercises, Meaning in Language provides an invaluable descriptive approach to this area of linguistics for undergraduates and postgraduates alike.

Authors philosophical notes on life, conduct of life from the perspective of a life.

This book: * assumes no mathematical background and keeps the technicalities to a minimum * explains the most important applications of probability theory to ...

In this entry we provide a critical review of recent work on the nature and ethics of blame, including issues of moral standing.