Words change meaning, usually in unpredictable ways. But some words’ meanings are revised intentionally. Revisionary projects are normally put forward in the service of some purpose – some serve specific goals of inquiry, and others serve ethical, political or social aims. Revisionist projects can ameliorate meanings, but they can also pervert. In this paper, I want to draw attention to the dangers of meaning perversions, and argue that the self-declared goodness of a revisionist project doesn’t suffice to avoid meaning perversions. (...) The road to Hell, or to horrors on Earth, is paved with good intentions. Finally and more importantly, I want to demarcate what meaning perversions are. This, I hope, can help us assess the moral and political legitimacy of revisionary projects. (shrink)

Concepts stand at the centre of human cognition. We use concepts in categorizing objects and events in the world, in reasoning and action, and in social interaction. It is therefore not surprising that the study of concepts constitutes a central area of research in philosophy and psychology, yet only recently have the two disciplines developed greater interaction. Recent experiments in psychology that test the role of concepts in categorizing and reasoning have found a great deal of variation, across individuals and (...) cultures, in categorization behaviour. Meanwhile, philosophers of language and mind have investigated the semantic properties of concepts, and how concepts are related to linguistic meaning and linguistic communication. A key motivation behind this was the idea that concepts must be shared across individuals and cultures. With the dawn of experimental philosophy, the proposal that the experimental data from psychology lacks relevance to semantics is increasingly difficult to defend. -/- This volume brings together leading psychologists and philosophers to advance the interdisciplinary debate on the role of concepts in categorizing and reasoning, the relationship between concepts and linguistic meaning and communication, the challenges conceptual variation poses to communication, and the social and political effects of conceptual change. (shrink)

Kaplan (1999) argued that a different dimension of expressive meaning (“use-conditional”, as opposed to truth-conditional) is required to characterize the meaning of pejoratives, including slurs and racial epithets. Elaborating on this, writers have argued that the expressive meaning of pejoratives and slurs is either a conventional implicature (Potts 2007) or a presupposition (Macià 2002 and 2014, Schlenker 2007, Cepollaro and Stojanovic 2016). We argue that an expressive presuppositional theory accounts well for the data, but that expressive presuppositions are not just (...) propositions to be added to a common ground. We hold that expressives, including pejoratives and slurs, make requirements on a contextual record governed by sui generis norms specific to affective attitudes and their expressions. (shrink)

Collective Action, Philosophy and Law brings together two important strands of philosophical analysis. It combines general philosophical inquiry into collective agency with analyses of specific questions about plural entities and activities in the legal domain. These are issues of growing interest in areas of philosophy like action theory and social ontology, as well as in philosophy of law. The book contains thirteen original chapters written by an international team of leading philosophers and legal theorists, and is divided into four clear (...) parts: The nature of law and of legislative intention Practical reasoning and duties Causality, blameworthiness, and responsibility Citizens, states, and institutions. These sections cut across, and build on, different accounts to advance the debate on classical and new issues in collective agency. Each part also features legal-philosophical analyses that draw on general accounts of collective agency to cast new light on the law, descriptive as well as normatively. Collective Action, Philosophy and Law is the first major interdisciplinary and multi-authored work bridging legal and philosophical approaches to collective agency. As such, it is essential reading for students and researchers of philosophy of law, ethics, political philosophy, jurisprudence, and legal theory. (shrink)

The important yet contradictory role of innovation in society calls for a philosophy of innovation. Critically exploring innovation in relation to values, the economy and social change, Rafael Ziegler proposes a collaborative theory and practice of innovation that aims to liberate possibilities for our common futures. Following cues from the arts and drawing on the innovation literature across the social sciences, this book exposes pro-innovation bias and the gospel of disruptive change. Not only entrepreneurs but also civic networks and (...) tinkerers are discussed as sources of innovation, and social change as a balancing act of innovation, exnovation and restoration. The discussion of capabilitarian, communitarian, liberal, republican and socialist ideas of justice and innovation leads Ziegler to a transformative proposal: 'enough innovation' based on enough for all and with respect for all. This is a thought-provoking read for scholars working on sustainability-transformation, democratic, responsible and social innovation, and philosophy of economics. (shrink)

This international series publishes outstanding philosophical monographs and edited volumes about Wittgenstein. Publications may focus on his work as a whole or on specific topics. The series also addresses Wittgenstein's life, his sources, and the impact of his works. The volumes are peer-reviewed and present state-of-the-art Wittgenstein research. German-language contributions will be published in the series Über Wittgenstein, and English-language contributions in the series On Wittgenstein.

Doutrina criteriológica de Lenine.--Reflexões a partir do Materialismo e empiriocriticismo.

Paraconsistency is the study of logical systems with a non-explosive negation such that a pair of contradictory formulas (with respect to such negation) does not necessarily imply triviality, discordant to what would be expected by contemporary logical orthodoxy. From a purely logical point of view, the significance of paraconsistency relies on the meticulous distinction between the general notions of contradictoriness and triviality of a theory—respectively, the fact that a given theory proves a proposition and its negation, and the fact that (...) a given theory proves any proposition (in the language of its underlying logic). Aside from this simple rationale, the formal techniques and approaches that meet the latter definitional requirement are manifold. Furthermore, it is not solely the logical-mathematical properties of such systems that are open to debate. Rather, there are several foundational and philosophical questions worth studying, including the very question about the nature of the contradictions allowed by paraconsistentists. This entry aims to advance a brief account of some distinct approaches to paraconsistency, providing a panorama on the development of paraconsistent logic. (shrink)

Changing paradigms about moving forward -- The notion of progress in the past -- The notion of progress today -- Self-leadership and progress -- Toward a moral compass -- The right thing in pre-millennial context -- The right thing in current context -- Defining and polishing our moral compass -- Moving forward while doing the right thing -- About choice and reality -- Five moral pitfalls to avoid -- Moral theories : some pros and cons -- Five moral handles for (...) every type of decision-making. (shrink)

This is a revised short overview of Plato’s “greatest thing to be learned” or the “greatest lesson” (megiston mathêma) – the Idea of the Good.

O artigo apresenta reflexões teóricas sobre a atividade de ensino que se torna práxis bem-sucedida. Essa discussão gira em torno de duas categorias teóricas: atividade e afetação. A atividade, categoria teórica de base marxista, é discutida a partir dos aportes da psicologia sócio-histórica. A categoria afetação é aqui analisada com base na filosofia de Baruc de Espinosa. Realizamos este estudo a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica que tem como objetivo refletir sobre o que contribui para que o professor consiga realizar um (...) ensino capaz de afetar com alegria seus alunos levando ao desenvolvimento de uma práxis bem-sucedida. A pesquisa bibliográfica é realizada a partir dos teóricos da psicologia sócio-histórica, sobretudo Vygotsky e Leontiev. Da filosofia de Espinosa pesquisamos a obra Ética. Os resultados revelam que professores e alunos são sujeitos que se constituem historicamente, a partir de múltiplas mediações. Significados, sentidos e afetações são parte das mediações que constituem professores e alunos envolvidos em atividades de ensino consideradas exitosas. O estudo aprofundado acerca dessas categorias poderá contribuir de forma determinante para que o ensino, como atividade social que se realiza entre pessoas, possa tornar-se um encontro alegre, gerador de afetos que potencializem desejos e aumentem a potência de agir e pensar de professores e alunos, fato que contribui para a emancipação humana. Palavras-chave: Atividade de ensinar. Sentido e significado. Encontros alegres. Afetação. (shrink)

Este livro instala-se no território do pensamento queer para cartografar suas linhas de constituição. Em movimentos abertos de experimentação, composição, montagem e desmontagem, Rafael Leopoldo lança o seu olhar nos entre-lugares das geografias dissidentes, criando um mapa possível da teoria queer. Trata-se, é preciso dizer, de um mapa aberto e em movimento. Um mapa de fluxos, devires, extratos, linhas de fuga, poderes e resistências. Uma escrita-menor que forja possibilidades potentes para compreender e analisar o pensamento queer nas paisagens micropolíticas (...) do presente."--Back cover. (shrink)

This volume offer a manifold approach to a less evident and until now much neglected undercurrent in the work of Hannah Arendt., namely her ambiguous relation to the Judeo-Christian relligious heritage. Arendt's dissertation was dedicated to the concept of love in the works of Augustine, where she set her tone and developmed her frame for approaching theological matters. Her understanding of secularity might provide a model for the reconciliation of secularization and the persistence of religious belief in the contemporary world. (...) Thought Hannah Arendt wad certainly and outspokenly a secular thinker, her work also harbors ways of understanding secularization as the possibility of a new, maybe even messianic, attitude towards finite life and earthly reality. She famously depicts this attitude as "faith in and hope for the world". --Book cover. (shrink)

Qué hacemos para reparar a las víctimas, hacer justicia, acabar con la impunidad y por la construcción de la memoria histórica. En la mayoría de países democráticos el conocimiento del pasado, así como la reparación y justicia para las víctimas de períodos represivos, son parte de los cimientos del propio sistema. Por el contrario, en el caso de España, la debilidad de la democracia tiene su raíz en la impunidad de la dictadura, el abandono de las víctimas y la ausencia (...) de políticas de memoria. Hablar de memoria histórica no es una vuelta al pasado: es una necesidad del presente, pues no seremos una democracia plena sin antes reparar y dignificar a las víctimas. Casi cuatro décadas después de la muerte de Franco, queda mucho por hacer. La insuficiente ley de memoria histórica, las vías judiciales abiertas, la acción del movimiento ciudadano; y la responsabilidad de los distintos agentes políticos y sociales, centran nuestras propuestas para construir una memoria democrática. Es decir, para construir democracia. (shrink)

Was ist eine gute Weltanschauung? Die Aufsätze behandeln einige der großen Themen der westlichen Philosophie unter neuen Gesichtspunkten, wie z. B. das Apeiron des Anaximander, das Leib-Seele-Problem bei Descartes und Wittgensteins Begriff der Sprache und Lebensform. Sie beleuchten aber auch Seitenwege wie z. B. einen Ausflug Schopenhauers, ein „Plagiat" Nietzsches und einige der Aphorismen Ludwig Hohls.

Yet precisely because the book is so foundational, if we want to understand Strauss’s notoriously careful and complex thinking in these essays, we must also consider them just as Strauss treated philosophers of the past: on their own ...

Puede decirse, sin ir demasiado lejos, que la obra del sociólogo francés de Pierre Bourdieu ha sido una de las más brillantes e imaginativas del panorma de las ciencias sociales en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Este libro trata de sacar a la luz la forma en la que las herramientas de su sociología fueron creadas. No obstante, este texto no comienza con un realto de sus obras, sino de su vida. Pierre Bourdieu no nace intelectual, se hace en (...) un contexto que -en su caso, especialmente durante sus primeros años de su vida- tiene poco de tal. Se trata, pues, de una investigación histórica de la figura de un intelectual que evita dos caminos ya trillados: la vía externalista, que toma a los eventos históricos, sociales o económicos como fuente de toda explicación de la vida intelectual y científica, y la vía internalista, que cosidera que sus miembros viven en una esfera aislada y ajena a toda influencia exterior. Está última vía es la que se suele transitar cuando un pensador ha legado una obra que despierta admiración. Para ello, el autor emplea algunas de las ideas que Randall Collins delineo en su opus magnum Sociología de las filosofías, quizá uno de los libros que mejor ha sabido captar las dinámicas que gobiernan el mundo intelectual. Más concretamente, el autor de este libro hace suya la idea de que son las interacciones cara a cara las relaciones fundamentales que gobiernan la vida intelectual. (shrink)

Resumo: Neste trabalho discute-se a crítica de István Mészáros à Lógica de Hegel. Aponta-se como o marxismo realiza a crítica aos pontos de partida e de chegada da Ciência da lógica, quais sejam, o pensamento sem pressupostos e o círculo auto-constituído da Lógica. Com isso, indica-se a diferença entre os modos hegeliano e marxista de conceber o enraizamento do conhecimento no processo de vida real. Discute-se ainda como István Mészáros realizou uma dura crítica à hipostasiação do método dialético em G. (...) Lukács, crítica esta que se apóia na rejeição de um método que deixa de prestar contas ao ser e que, por isso, acaba lidando com a identidade entre conhecimento e ser como uma mera postulação abstrata.: This paper discusses István Mészáros critique of Hegel’s Logic. We point out how Marxism criticizes the presuppositionless thinkingand self-constituted circle of reasoning of the Science of logic. We thereby show the difference between the Hegelian and Marxist ways of conceiving the rooting of knowledge in the process of real life. We also discuss how Mészáros made a scathing critique of the hypostatization of dialectical method in Lukács work. This critique is based on the rejection of a method that fails to be accountable to the real world and therefore ends up treating the identity of knowledge and being as a mere abstract postulation. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo consiste em analisar como Nietzsche, baseado na filosofia schopenhauriana, resolveu o problema do surgimento da tragédia grega através da elevação dos elementos Apolo e Dionísio a um estatuto ontológico, e como os gregos fizeram isso em seu tempo através da Música, além de revelar como, em Nietzsche, o pensamento de Sócrates surge como o “perverso algoz da arte”.O estudo foi realizado através de uma pesquisa bibliográfica com base nas seguintes obras do filósofo: A visão Dionisíaca de (...) Mundo e O nascimento da tragédia no espírito da Música. Na segunda parte, sugere-se como Nietzsche faz esse resgate do trágico em sua época e qual a recepção no século XIX de seu trabalho. (shrink)

El presente trabajo aborda la experiencia cotidiana de la violencia criminal entre estudiantes de preparatoria en la ciudad de Acapulco de Juárez en el Estado de Guerrero, en el sur de México. De forma particular, la investigación analiza el rol de la violencia en la conformación de campos de experiencia y horizontes de expectativas precarios entre esta población, mostrando cómo a través de dicho proceso se conforman lo que llamamos horizontes fragmentados, al interior de los cuales la producción de sentidos (...) contradictorios en torno a la experiencia de la inseguridad contribuye a los procesos de neoproletarización en el capitalismo contemporáneo. (shrink)

We articulate a distinction between ontology, understood as involving existence questions, and metaphysics, understood as either providing for metaphysical profiles of entities or else as dealing with fundamentality and/or grounding and dependence questions. The distinction, we argue, allows a better understanding of the roles of metaontology and metametaphysics when it comes to discussing the relations between ontology and science on the one hand, and metaphysics and science on the other. We argue that while ontology, as understood in this paper, may (...) have reasonable perspectives for naturalization, given its relation to science, the same cannot be said for metaphysics, given that it is typically understood as an additional theoretical layer over science, not participating in the scientific investigation. That may result either in skepticism over metaphysics, or else on accepting that metaphysics is an autonomous branch of investigation, depending on one’s concern for metaphysics. (shrink)