Epistemology

Ernst Cassirer's Philosophy of Symbolic Forms and Its Place in Democratic & Anthropocentric Legal Thought

by Daniel Buk

I wrote this paper for a class at the end of 2010. Both the professor I wrote it for and my adviser wanted me to try and get it published, after I edited it down from 50 pages to a journal-length article, and to present it at a conference. Unfortunately, I didn't find the time as of yet.

After I had published this paper, I would have uploaded it here for all who are interested to see. Unfortunately, I don't know when I can find the time to edit them and otherwise make it presentable, so after almost two years, I gave up on the idea of putting up published work on here and finally figured I may as well upload my unedited draft onto here before too long.

The reason that many of you may notice that my argument centers around the American Pragmatists is because the class I wrote this for revolved around the Pragmatists' contributions to democratic thought.

I will attempt to discover a complete Pragmatist interrelation between idea and action- what Hegel refers to as Geist,... more I will attempt to discover a complete Pragmatist interrelation between idea and action- what Hegel refers to as Geist, and of praxis (literally “practice”).

First, I agree with the general proposition that political philosophy nearly always ends in a philosophy of knowledge (and in a Hegelian sense, conversely implicitly begins in a philosophy of knowledge), and thus I will therein argue that, as Cassirer propounds, the end of all philosophy is anthropology- it is the study of how humanity lives and interacts by and through their social contexts and how humanity synthesizes these into evermore contexts in a continuum that defines itself. How we perceive the world, how we acquire knowledge, how we understand our place in the world is essential to the creation of society.

We arguably need “The Other” as a reference to know ourselves- to define or characterize ourselves against or in tandem with (“knowing oneself likewise in the other”- Hegel), thus the whole project of epistemology can be directed toward political philosophy by way of social epistemology- society/civilization is arguably the product of such a consensus of epistemological reference points.

The Confluence and Presumptions of Liberalism & Humanism in Ernst Cassirer's Philosophy of Symbolic Forms

by Daniel Buk

This is a an unedited second paper.

In this paper, which I treat in second in the same series the previous one started, I further make explicit the... more In this paper, which I treat in second in the same series the previous one started, I further make explicit the democratic principles inherent in Cassirer's philosophy. I look for the source of Cassirer's initial engagement with liberal thought and trace it to his eyewitness account of the growing völkisch movements and later the political ascent of the Nazis in Germany.

I particularly focus on Cassirer's observations of aphasia, which he defines as the absence of symbolic thought. I examine my own question whether or not the cultural destruction that preceded the Final Solution (such as library destruction and book burning) was a calculated attempt to induce aphasia in the German public so they would become literally unable to detect a symbolic indebtedness in their own intellectual environment or national context to those the Nazis wanted to persecute.


I briefly examine a similar development in the Russian Revolution and the transition from the Soviet Union to the new Russia.

To briefly sum up, I look at how the corruption of language leads to the manipulation and the corruption of civic discourse, leading to a gradual perversion of any notion of a social contract. This aforementioned theme is continued from the first paper as it sharpens in this.

Statistical Evidence, Sensitivity, and the Legal Value of Knowledge

by David Enoch

How Are Basic Belief‐Forming Methods Justified?

by David Enoch

Meaning and justification: The case of modus ponens

by David Enoch

Not Just a Truthometer: Taking Oneself Seriously (but not Too Seriously) in Cases of Peer Disagreement

by David Enoch

Contextualism Relativism Disagreement BPPA

by Robin McKenna

Forthcoming in a special issue of 'Philosophical Writings'.

« Le bien-être : notion scientifique ou principe éthique ? », Grison, B., (dir.), Bien-être ou être bien, Paris, L’Harmattan, à paraître.

by Klein Alexandre

« De l’éducation du corps à l’éducation au corps : genèse et critique de l’éducation en santé », Carrefours de l’éducation, n°32, p. 25-41.

by Klein Alexandre

Overview of research of personal epistemologies: Analysis of research metaphors

by Jelena Pavlovic

Published in Zbornik Instituta za pedagoška istraživanja (Journal of the Institut for Educational Research)

This paper presents developmental, cognitive and psychometric tradition in research of personal epistemologies.... more This paper presents developmental, cognitive and psychometric tradition in research of personal epistemologies. Instead of a “neutral” approach, we offer the analysis of research metaphors underlying the studying of personal epistemologies. Metaphor
“pilgrim’s progress” assumes understanding epistemological development as a “temptation” leading towards “enlightenment” and abandoning faith in Absolute truth. Metaphor “regulatory software” narrows down researcher’s subject of interest
to epistemic cognition in the specific problem situation, whereby evaluation of functioning of “regulatory software” and its improvement are observed as the most important tasks. Finally, within the metaphor “decent outfit” the starting assumption is
that epistemological beliefs are relatively fixed and that personal epistemologies which are “balanced” and “decent” are privileged. By analysing research metaphors, light was shed on basic assumptions and implications of research of personal epistemologies. The following questions were explored: which ways of “seeing” were pledged in the approaches to research of personal epistemologies, which methodological choices arise from those ways of “seeing”, as well as which are the functions or
effects of different ways of “seeing”. In this way, a new perspective was offered for the assessment of multiple conceptualisations in research of personal epistemologies.

Key words: personal epistemologies, analysis of research metaphors.

Know ways in knowledge management

by Deborah Blackman

Епистемологичните устои на политикономията на Австрийската икономическа школа.

by Momtchil Karpouzanov

Послеслов на превода на Паскал Сален (2010), "Назад към капитализма... за да избегнем кризите".
Post face for the Bulgarian translation of Pascal Salin (2010) "Revenir au capitalisme pour éviter les crises".

Уповавайки се на определението на термина „политическа икономия” дадено от Антоан дьо Монкретиен , който първи го... more Уповавайки се на определението на термина „политическа икономия” дадено от Антоан дьо Монкретиен , който първи го използува през 1615 г., можем да припомним на читателя, че основният въпрос на тази „царска наука на управлението (science royale de gouverner)” се отнася именно до производството и разпределянето на богатствата в дадена икономика, взимайки предвид ролята и влиянието на социалните и политически структури. Така, от самото начало е нужно да подчертаем солидната връзка която съществува между икономическата дейност на дадено общество от една страна, и политическата дейност на държавния и управленчески апарат от друга. В това ѝ разбиране изпъква двойствената същност на политикономията, като научен парадигъм разглеждащ взаимодействията и взаимозависимостите които се образуват и се развиват между „държавата” и „пазара”.

Isten, más világok és a ‛lét’ értelme. A tradicionális metafizika lehetőségéről

by Ferenc Ruzsa

God, other worlds and the meaning of ‘existence’
On the feasibility of traditional metaphysics

It has been repeatedly asserted on various grounds that traditional metaphysical concepts are not (and cannot be)... more It has been repeatedly asserted on various grounds that traditional metaphysical concepts are not (and cannot be) objects of rational discourse. Either because propositions about them cannot be verified (or falsified) and are therefore meaningless, or because, not having the right kind of causal connection to them, we cannot refer to them. These positions of Carnap and Putnam are rejected here on various grounds, e.g. that they would exclude unproblematic everyday sentences as well as fundamental scientific concepts and also mathematics from meaningful communication. Also their position is self-refuting: if they were right, their own position would be meaningless or inexpressible.
The human ability of abstraction and generalisation has greater power than normally supposed by the analytical tradition. An important aspect of it is the ability to look at the world from a different viewpoint: we can consider what it would be like from another place, time, and even through another person’s eyes. And this makes it possible to think and speak of physically inaccessible events, counterfactuals, and even of known or supposed impossibilities. Using the thought experiment of two parallel and mutually unreachable two-dimensional worlds it is shown that their inhabitants could meaningfully speak of, and refer to, the other world, although that is absolutely and finally inaccessible for them and their statements can never be verified or refuted.

Considering 'best practice': the social construction of teacher activity and pupil learning as performance

by Paul Adams

Published in Cambridge Journal of Education

Since the 1997 election of the Labour Party to political power in the UK the foci for educational change have been... more Since the 1997 election of the Labour Party to political power in the UK the foci for educational change have been widespread. One area that has received particularly intense scrutiny is that of teacher activity. In particular, the profession has seen a marked rise in the identification of ‘best practice’. As a term ‘best practice’ has entered the parlance of English educational policy to describe that which seemingly has ‘official’ approval. This paper uses a social constructionist perspective to consider how increases in pupil attainment on national tests are currently used to demonstrate better pupil learning. Specifically, it identifies that the use of such data to describe the plausibility, veracity and legitimacy of teaching before the test as ‘best practice’ is questionable. In so doing, the critique argues that ‘best practice’ confers and retains legitimacy due to its self‐perpetuation within the discourse of performance. The paper concludes by offering three areas for further research and debate.

Belief and certainty

by Dylan Dodd

draft only

I argue that one believes that p only if one's credence in p is 1. I argue that one believes that p only if one's credence in p is 1.

Wundt contested: The first crisis declaration in psychology

by Annette Mülberger

Published in: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.11.002

When reflecting on the history and the present situation of their field, psychologists have often seen their... more When reflecting on the history and the present situation of their field, psychologists have often seen their discipline as being in a critical state. The first author to warn of a crisis was, in 1897, the now scarcely known philosopher Rudolf Willy. He saw a crisis in psychology resulting, firstly, from a profuse branching out of psychology. Adopting a radical empiriocriticist point of view, he, secondly, made the metaphysical stance of scholars like Wilhelm Wundt responsible for the crisis. Meanwhile, the priest Constantin Gutberlet responded to the claim of crisis arguing, on the contrary, that the crisis resulted from research that was empirical only.

Throughout the discipline psychologists felt troubled by a widespread sense of fragmentation in the field. I will argue that this is due to psychology’s early social success and popularization in modern society. Moreover the paper shows that the first declaration of crisis emerged at a time when a discussion of fundamentals was already underway between Wundt and the empiriocriticist Richard Avenarius. The present historical research reveals the depth of the confrontation between Wundt and Willy, entailing a clash of two worldviews that embrace psychological, epistemological, and political aspects

Wundt contested: The first crisis declaration in psychology

by Annette Mülberger

Published in: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.11.002

When reflecting on the history and the present situation of their field, psychologists have often seen their... more When reflecting on the history and the present situation of their field, psychologists have often seen their discipline as being in a critical state. The first author to warn of a crisis was, in 1897, the now scarcely known philosopher Rudolf Willy. He saw a crisis in psychology resulting, firstly, from a profuse branching out of psychology. Adopting a radical empiriocriticist point of view, he, secondly, made the metaphysical stance of scholars like Wilhelm Wundt responsible for the crisis. Meanwhile, the priest Constantin Gutberlet responded to the claim of crisis arguing, on the contrary, that the crisis resulted from research that was empirical only.

Throughout the discipline psychologists felt troubled by a widespread sense of fragmentation in the field. I will argue that this is due to psychology’s early social success and popularization in modern society. Moreover the paper shows that the first declaration of crisis emerged at a time when a discussion of fundamentals was already underway between Wundt and the empiriocriticist Richard Avenarius. The present historical research reveals the depth of the confrontation between Wundt and Willy, entailing a clash of two worldviews that embrace psychological, epistemological, and political aspects

Traditionalizing Philosophical Hermeneutics: Gadamer and Ricoeur on Textual Interpretation

by Jens Olesen

Introduction to the draft chapter. Comments welcome.

Term Sufi: Spiritualizing Simple Words

by Maxim Romanov

Romanov, Maxim G. “The Term Ṣūfī: Spiritualizing Simple Words.” Pismennye Pamyatniki Vostoka (Written Monuments of the Orient) 2, no. 5 (2006): 149-159.

Every scholarly book that deals with Islamic mysticism contains at least some details on the etymologies of the tenn... more Every scholarly book that deals with Islamic mysticism contains at least some details on the etymologies of the tenn Sufi and its derivatives. The origin of this term was a matter of debates among the scholars of Sufism in the West from the very inception of Sufi studies until it has become widely accepted that it is derived from the Arabic word for "wool," suf, i.e. a woolen garment that was commonly worn by ascetics in the Middle East. While the Sufis themselves are not interested in the academic studies of the etymology of their denomination, they nevertheless have taken great pains to explain its meaning. Major Sufi authorities of the late 4th/5th-10th/11th centuries, who endeavored to systemize and assert the legitimacy of the Sufi tradition and who claimed to possess the knowledge of the true realities of Islamic faith (haqa'iq), found it hard to accept this quite prosaic name, all the more so since it was most likely given to them by outsiders. That is not to say that all medieval Sufi authors rejected the idea that their name, sufiyya, takes its origin in the practice of wearing woolen gannents. However, almost all of them (except Abu Talib al-Makki) sought to endow this mundane name with a more subtle and spiritual meaning in order to bring it in line with the complexity of their esoteric teaching. Besides, many Muslims considered this name to be an innovation (mubdath), so Sufis had to make every effort to prove its antiquity.

excerpt of »Pictorial Ambiguity«

by Nicolas Romanacci

exycerpt of my Master Thesis, based on a presentation at the conference: »Bilder–Sehen–Denken«, Chemnitz 2009.

Abstract: Ambiguity commonly counts as a specific feature of art, implying quite general importance. Though authors... more Abstract: Ambiguity commonly counts as a specific feature of art, implying quite general importance. Though authors like Gombrich did stress its importance for an aesthetic analysis, there’s no comprehensive study at hand regarding ambiguity in art that offers an investigation of the symbol theoretical, the media-specific and the epistemological aspects of ambiguity. My investigation aims to contribute to a view on ambiguity that explores these aspects (or ›levels‹) and particularly also tries to relate these levels to each other – presuming that a differentiated theoretical discourse serves as an important point of departure for a differentiated description of different types of ambiguity, to be precisely elaborated through analysing specific and concrete works of art. Subsequently, it is intended that only differentiated results of investigating the ›theoretical level‹ and the ›media level‹ can serve as a sound reference for statements on a ›general level‹. One basic point of departure for my investigation is the view on interpreting aesthetic experience in terms of treating an artwork as a symbolic object (understood in a conceivable broad sense). Therefore we have to look closely at the ways of reference an artwork has to offer, for this is one important way to analyse how an artwork can be understood. I want to forge an application of this general ›cognitive‹ approach to an analysis of concrete artworks and propose to interprete my investigation as exemplifying an approach to an ›applied cognitive aesthetics‹. This article is an excerpt from my study providing some examples from the applied ›media level‹ and closing with some epistemological considerations.