In his preface to the English edition, Apel (identified with critical theory) explains that the title of his two-volume German collection connotes both a reconstruction of the process of hermeneutic transformation in recent philosophy and the author's semiotical transformation of transcendental logic. The emphasis here is on the latter with discussions of the a priori nature of language per Wittgenstein, Peirce, and Chomsky, and its implications for a rational foundation for ethics in modern science. Includes a new foreword. Name index (...) only. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR. (shrink)

When this edition was published, all competent students of the history of jurisprudence and political thought at once recognized that Professor Barker had made ...

We explore the finite model theory of the characterisation theorems for modal and guarded fragments of first-order logic over transition systems and relational structures of width two. A new construction of locally acyclic bisimilar covers provides a useful analogue of the well known tree-like unravellings that can be used for the purposes of finite model theory. Together with various other finitary bisimulation respecting model transformations, and Ehrenfeucht–Fraïssé game arguments, these covers allow us to upgrade finite approximations for full bisimulation equivalence (...) towards approximations for elementary equivalence. These techniques are used to prove several ramifications of the van Benthem–Rosen characterisation theorem of basic modal logic for refinements of ordinary bisimulation equivalence, both in the sense of classical and of finite model theory. (shrink)

The movement for the Unity of Science has been making headway for a number of years, and each year more workers in the various scientific domains have expressed their interest in it by participating in the discussion of its aims and its specific problems. A characteristic feature of this movement which explains this growing interest is that it does not propose a “super-science” which is to legislate to the special sciences. Its proposal of a Unity of Science is of a (...) different kind, not based upon some grand metaphysical view of any sort. Those who are active within this movement are emphatic in their insistence that instead of aiming at a synthesis of the different sciences on the basis of a prior and independent philosophy, the special sciences will themselves supply their own synthesizing glue. For appreciating the significance of this movement it is therefore necessary to keep in mind that its tendency is toward a unified science, departmentalized into special sciences, and not toward an artificial and speculative juxtaposition of an autonomous philosophy and an autonomous group of sciences. (shrink)

How can we prove that some fragment of a given logic has the power to define precisely all structural properties that satisfy some characteristic semantic preservation condition? This issue is a fundamental one for classical model theory and applications in non-classical settings alike. While methods differ greatly, and while the classical methods can usually not be matched for instance in the setting of finite model theory, this note surveys some interesting commonality revolving around the use and availability of tractable representatives (...) in the relevant model classes. The construction of models in which simple invariants like partial types based on some weak fragment control all the relevant structural properties, may be seen at the heart of such questions. We highlight some constructions involving degrees of acyclicity and saturation that can be achieved in finite model constructions, and discuss their uses towards expressive completeness w.r.t. bisimulation based equivalences in hypergraphs and relational structures. The emphasis is on the combinatorial challenges in such more constructive approaches that work in non-classical settings and especially in finite model theory. One new result concerns expressive completeness w.r.t. guarded negation bisimulation, a back-and-forth equivalence involving local homomorphisms. (shrink)

This text presents a broad scope of philosophical issues and primary sources from the history of philosophy with the intent of providing students with a general introduction to significant and relevant questions in philosophy, the humanities, and the history of thought.

This paper puts forward the hypothesis that consciousness might be linked to matter in a way which is more sophisticated than the traditional macroscopic Cartesian hypothesis suggests.Advances in the biophysics of the nervous system, not only on the level of its macroscopic functioning but also on the level of individual ion channels, have made the question of how finely consciousness is tied to matter and its dynamics more important. Quantum mechanics limits the attainable resolution and puts into doubt the idea (...) of an infinitely fine-woven attachment. A recent approach to physics rekindles such a rationalist hope. Endophysics focuses on the global implications of microscopic computer simulations of chemical and biophysical processes. A complete artificial universe can be set up in the computer. It produces non-classical and nonlocal effects inside — on the interface that exists between an internal observer (fluid neuron) and the rest of the world. This interface is finer than any brain property to which the status of the mind-body interface has been attributed hitherto. A new class of experiments becomes possible in the artificial world and, by analogy, in the real world. Magnetic resonance imaging experiments, routinely performed under open-loop conditions, can be repeated under psychophysical (closed-loop) conditions — in search for microscopically induced changes in the perceived and measured structure of the world. (shrink)

A teologia de Karl Rahner teve um grande impacto no concílio Vaticano II e no tempo que se Ihe seguiu. Em ordem a compreender-se o seu argumento teológico é importante tomar em conta as suas bases filosóficas, especialmente a sua compreensão do "método transcendental". Neste sentido, opresente artigo começa por prestar atenção à abordagem transcendental de Kant. Em seguida investiga a transformação do método transcendental operada na obra de Joseph Maréchal, o qual fez uso dele em ordem a demonstrar a (...) orientação dinâmica do conhecimento humano e da sua decisão em favor do "Absoluto do Ser". Deste modo, o autor do artigo demonstra até que ponto Maréchal fornece uma fundação para a metafísica, a qual é bem diferente da metafísica do racionalismo que Kant tinha criticado. Inspirado por Heidegger, Rahner deu a esta abordagem transcendental uma viragem fenomenológica, ao mesmo tempo que forneceu uma reinterpretação de termos-chave da metafísica clássica, a qual encara como não dependente de uma cosmologia ultrapassada e que ao mesmo tempo é de grande relevância existencial para a vida humana. O artigo visa demonstrar, deste modo, até que ponto esta reinterpretação influenciou o pensamento teológico de K. Rahner. /// The theology of Karl Rahner had an enormous impact on Vatican II and the time following. In order to understand his theological reasoning it is important to take into account his philosophical foundations, especially his understanding of the "transcendental method". This article pays attention to the transcendental approach of Kant. Then it investigates the transformation of transcendental method in the work of Joseph Maréchal who used it to show the constitutive function of the dynamic orientation of human knowledge and decision towards the "Absolute of Being". He thereby provides a foundation for metaphysics, which is quite different from the metaphysics of rationalism which Kant had criticised. Inspired by Heidegger, Rahner gave this transcendental approach a phenomenological turn. He provided a reinterpretation of key terms of classical metaphysics, which is not dependent on an outmoded cosmology and which is at the same time of existential relevance for human life. This reinterpretation influenced the theological thinking of K. Rahner. (shrink)