1. The classical mind.--2. The medieval mind.--3. Hobbes to Hume.--4. Kant to Wittgenstein and Sartre.

The different ways in which the three medieval societies of Byzantium, Latin Christendom, and Islam institutionalized the charitable impulse present in their respective faiths reflected the fundamentally different religious values which motivated these civilizations as well as their different levels of material and intellectual development. All three societies exalted the relief of human suffering, especially the care of the sick, as a religiously sanctioned gesture; and all three invented or adopted institutional means for attaining this pious objective. The various medieval (...) counterparts of the modern “hospital”—the Byzantine nosocomeion or xenodocheion, the European hospitale, and the Islamic maristan—differed significantly, however, with respect to their organization and operation, the clientele which they served, and the ultimate intent of their charitable efforts. Accordingly, a comparison of these social welfare institutions reveals the contrasting ways in which the two Christendoms and Islam defined and applied the ideals of “piety” and “charity” during the middle ages. (shrink)

The ethical problem in the present time.--The ethical principle.--A defence of the ethical principle.--Evolution of the ethical principle.--Morality and religion.--The present status of morality.

W. Tudor Jones's "An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy" is a thorough examination of the philosophical theories advanced by Rudolf Eucken, a notable German philosopher and Nobel laureate. Jones methodically dissects and clarifies Eucken's complicated philosophical principles in this outstanding work, making them accessible and understandable to a wider audience. W. Tudor Jones, a superb writer and thinker in his own right, takes on the mission of bridging the gap between complex philosophical analysis and layperson comprehension. His writing goes beyond (...) academic discourse, attempting to bring people together and assist a greater understanding of Eucken's profound thoughts. Readers are exposed to a riveting show of ingenuity and passion throughout the book. Jones expertly leads students through Eucken's metaphysical landscapes, bringing them to a diverse range of concepts and emotions. His style is both eloquent and relatable, allowing readers of many backgrounds to interact with the subject. In "An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy," W. Tudor Jones not only recognizes Eucken's contributions to philosophy, but also provides a portal for readers to study and understand the breadth of Eucken's philosophical legacy. This book demonstrates Jones' skill for making complex philosophical issues understandable and pleasant to all readers. (shrink)

The 2011 Thai general election was seen by many Thai political analysts as a watershed moment that would hopefully be the tipping point of socio-political reconciliation in the drawn out political struggle that has characterized Thai politics since 2005. The highly contested nature of Thai politics becomes salient when viewing campaign posters pictorial and linguistic content. The most controversial of which was the ``Vote No'' campaign taken on by the For Heaven and Earth Party, which is a political party nominally (...) associated with Thailand's conservative People's Alliance for Democracy. This study seeks to unwrap and decode the semiotics of this party's political campaign posters in Thailand's 2011 general election by providing cultural context to the application of multimodal discourse analysis and critical semiotics framework. I will argue that the ``Vote No'' campaign and its campaign posters depicting politicians as animals is a continuing political discourse of conservative Buddhist philosophers/scholars that reaches back to the 1980s. Furthermore, the ``Vote No'' campaign seeks to create dissonance and reinstate conservative rule via monarchial and/or military intervention by creating political deadlock thereby undermining democratic rights and rule by the exercising of democratic rights of voting, thus disenfranchising citizens by their own hand. (shrink)

Brings to light critiques of modern tyranny written by German socialist intellectuals before and during World War II about the definition, origins, nature, and means of overcoming totalitarianism.

The nature of self has been discussed for centuries, with myriad theories specifying propositions of the form ‘The self is X’. Recently, psychology and neuroscience have added further such propositions and have sought to specify neural correlates for X. In this thesis, theories leading to all such propositions are subjected to methodological criticism. Specifically targeted are those theories that construct metaphysical, essentialist propositions on the nature of the self, and all other abstract concepts, more generally. On this point, it is (...) concluded that theories of this type would benefit from taking into account the nature of language and the role it plays in the development of a theory. Theories that fail to consider language, run the risk of producing theoretical work affected by linguistic biases, those inherent to the language faculty. In this thesis, the biases of interest are referred to as ‘noun phrase reification’ and ‘clausal reification’, and an awareness of these is important for they can subvert the meanings of propositions, rendering them, and the theories built upon them, true by definition. In consideration of this methodological critique, a new theoretical approach to the self and to other abstract concepts is argued for. This new way of theorising combines aspects of basic scientific methodology with statistical modelling and linguistic theory, in which, the triangulation between two or more people, engaged in the act of naming objects and behaviours plays a formative role. Building on this new method in the context of the self, two experiments are performed using the electroencephalography neuroimaging technique; first in neurotypical adults, then in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, a disorder commonly associated with an attenuated selfhood. It is hoped that this body of theoretical and empirical work will facilitate and catalyse progress on abstract concepts and their associated problems. (shrink)

A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY examines the nature of philosophical enterprise and philosophy's role in Western culture. Jones and Fogelin weave key passages from classic philosophy works into their comments and criticisms, giving A HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY the combined advantages of a source book and textbook. The text concentrates on major figures in each historical period, combining exposition with direct quotations from the philosophers themselves. The text places philosophers in appropriate cultural context and shows how their theories reflect the (...) concerns of their times. (shrink)

… The original inspiration for linguistics in India was the need to preserve orally transmitted Sanskrit texts from the Vedic period (ca. 1200 BC to 1000 BC). Panini’s “Eight Books” (btw 600 BC and 300 BC) already indicate a rich linguistic tradition. (R H Robins).

The endowment of religious, charitable, and educational enterprises by the establishment of trusts in land, the income from which could be devoted to such uses, was an immensely popular form of pious expression in both medieval Christendom and the Islamic world. The motives for, and applications of such endowments differed markedly, however, between the two religious cultures. The endowment of prayers and masses for beneficiaries, living and dead, exemplified the sacramental and sacerdotal quality of pre-Reformation Christianity. This ritualistic and ecclesiastical (...) use of endowments in Latin Christian Europe and the Orthodox East, a use dependent on the existence of a sacramental system and an institutional church, contrasted sharply with the broader application of the Muslim waqf, by means of which pious individuals and groups sponsored a wide variety of charities, explicitly life-oriented and quite unconnected with a corporate clerical establishment. The infinite multiplication of private acts of charity by devout Muslims manifested the moralistic bent of Islam, which aspired to recast society according to the norms of the Qur'an and sacred law. The contrasting uses to which the two religious systems put the gifts and legacies of the faithful reflected the operation of fundamentally different religious premises, whereas the institutionalization of these premises in a shared legal fiction, the trust, assured their enforcement in society and life. (shrink)

This paper reports on selected attitudes of a sample of third-year undergraduate business students in a major urban university. The focus of the research is on respondent perceptions of certain aspects of the employee-employer relationship. Such issues as use of the company car for a personal trip, use of the company copy machine for personal copies, calling in sick when some personal time is needed, eating at the very best restaurant on a business trip and others are explored. Half of (...) the students surveyed were asked to respond as though they were employees of the company. The other half were asked to respond as though they were the President of the company. Both groups seemed to reflect a certain amount of flexibility in their responses to the issues presented. The assumed position of the respondent, the situation, did influence the responses given. (shrink)