Leonard Lawlor
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823226535
- eISBN:
- 9780823235742
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823226535.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book develops a philosophy of life in opposition to the notion of “bio-power,” which reduces the human to the question of power over what Giorgio Agamben terms “bare life,” mere ...
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This book develops a philosophy of life in opposition to the notion of “bio-power,” which reduces the human to the question of power over what Giorgio Agamben terms “bare life,” mere biological existence. Breaking with all biologism or vitalism, the book attends to the dispersion of death at the heart of life, in the “minuscule hiatus” that divides the living present, separating lived experience from the living body and, crucially for phenomenology, inserting a blind spot into a visual field. This book charts a post-phenomenological French philosophy. What lies beyond phenomenology is “life-ism,” the positive working out of the effects of the “minuscule hiatus” in a thinking that takes place on a “plane of immanence,” whose implications cannot be predicted. Life-ism means thinking life and death together, thinking death as dispersed throughout life. The book sets out the surpassing of phenomenology and the advent of life-ism in Merleau–Ponty, Derrida, and Foucault, with careful attention to the writings by Husserl and Heidegger to which these thinkers refer. A philosophy of life has direct implications for present-day political and medical issues. The book takes its point of departure from the current genocide in Darfur and provides conceptual tools for intervening in such issues as the AIDS epidemic and life-support for the infirm. Indeed, the investigations contained in this book are designed to help us emerge once and for all out of the epoch of bio-power.Less
This book develops a philosophy of life in opposition to the notion of “bio-power,” which reduces the human to the question of power over what Giorgio Agamben terms “bare life,” mere biological existence. Breaking with all biologism or vitalism, the book attends to the dispersion of death at the heart of life, in the “minuscule hiatus” that divides the living present, separating lived experience from the living body and, crucially for phenomenology, inserting a blind spot into a visual field. This book charts a post-phenomenological French philosophy. What lies beyond phenomenology is “life-ism,” the positive working out of the effects of the “minuscule hiatus” in a thinking that takes place on a “plane of immanence,” whose implications cannot be predicted. Life-ism means thinking life and death together, thinking death as dispersed throughout life. The book sets out the surpassing of phenomenology and the advent of life-ism in Merleau–Ponty, Derrida, and Foucault, with careful attention to the writings by Husserl and Heidegger to which these thinkers refer. A philosophy of life has direct implications for present-day political and medical issues. The book takes its point of departure from the current genocide in Darfur and provides conceptual tools for intervening in such issues as the AIDS epidemic and life-support for the infirm. Indeed, the investigations contained in this book are designed to help us emerge once and for all out of the epoch of bio-power.
Henk W. de Regt
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190652913
- eISBN:
- 9780190652944
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190652913.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter presents a full-fledged pluralistic, contextual theory of scientific understanding that is built on the analysis of intelligibility offered in chapter 2. The basic idea of this ...
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This chapter presents a full-fledged pluralistic, contextual theory of scientific understanding that is built on the analysis of intelligibility offered in chapter 2. The basic idea of this contextual theory of understanding is captured by the Criterion for the Understanding of Phenomena, which is articulated in section 4.1. Subsequently, in sections 4.2 and 4.3, the theory is further developed in terms of criteria for intelligibility and an analysis of the role of conceptual tools, and is supported by examples from scientific practice. Section 4.4 elaborates on various aspects of the contextuality of scientific understanding: its historical dynamics, the role of intuitions, and the relation of the theory to existing pragmatic theories of explanation. The theory’s implications for the issues of reductionism and scientific realism are discussed in section 4.5, and the final section defends the contextual theory against the charge that it implies relativism.Less
This chapter presents a full-fledged pluralistic, contextual theory of scientific understanding that is built on the analysis of intelligibility offered in chapter 2. The basic idea of this contextual theory of understanding is captured by the Criterion for the Understanding of Phenomena, which is articulated in section 4.1. Subsequently, in sections 4.2 and 4.3, the theory is further developed in terms of criteria for intelligibility and an analysis of the role of conceptual tools, and is supported by examples from scientific practice. Section 4.4 elaborates on various aspects of the contextuality of scientific understanding: its historical dynamics, the role of intuitions, and the relation of the theory to existing pragmatic theories of explanation. The theory’s implications for the issues of reductionism and scientific realism are discussed in section 4.5, and the final section defends the contextual theory against the charge that it implies relativism.
Mark A. Bedau and Paul Humphreys (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262026215
- eISBN:
- 9780262268011
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262026215.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Emergence, largely ignored just thirty years ago, has become one of the liveliest areas of research in both philosophy and science. Fueled by advances in complexity theory, artificial life, physics, ...
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Emergence, largely ignored just thirty years ago, has become one of the liveliest areas of research in both philosophy and science. Fueled by advances in complexity theory, artificial life, physics, psychology, sociology, and biology, and by the parallel development of new conceptual tools in philosophy, the idea of emergence offers a way to understand a wide variety of complex phenomena in ways that are intriguingly different from more traditional approaches. This reader collects classic writings on emergence from contemporary philosophy and science. The chapters cover the major approaches to emergence. Each of the three sections (“Philosophical Perspectives,” “Scientific Perspectives,” and “Background and Polemics”) begins with an introduction putting the chapters into context and posing key questions for further exploration. A bibliography lists more specialized material, and an associated website (http://mitpress.mit.edu/emergence) links to downloadable software and to other sites and publications about emergence.Less
Emergence, largely ignored just thirty years ago, has become one of the liveliest areas of research in both philosophy and science. Fueled by advances in complexity theory, artificial life, physics, psychology, sociology, and biology, and by the parallel development of new conceptual tools in philosophy, the idea of emergence offers a way to understand a wide variety of complex phenomena in ways that are intriguingly different from more traditional approaches. This reader collects classic writings on emergence from contemporary philosophy and science. The chapters cover the major approaches to emergence. Each of the three sections (“Philosophical Perspectives,” “Scientific Perspectives,” and “Background and Polemics”) begins with an introduction putting the chapters into context and posing key questions for further exploration. A bibliography lists more specialized material, and an associated website (http://mitpress.mit.edu/emergence) links to downloadable software and to other sites and publications about emergence.
Rachel Thomson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847420510
- eISBN:
- 9781447304104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847420510.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter asks what can be learned by juxtaposing the accounts of Sherleen, Stan, Karin, and Devon. The case studies capture some of the microprocesses and practices of social and personal change ...
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This chapter asks what can be learned by juxtaposing the accounts of Sherleen, Stan, Karin, and Devon. The case studies capture some of the microprocesses and practices of social and personal change that make up individual biographies. Although the cases cannot be understood as representative in any direct way, they are nevertheless emblematic of certain patterns of youth transitions, expressing hotspots in the emergence of new biographical forms. The approach taken in the chapter is to bring the four case studies into conversation. The first section of the chapter discusses the temporal dimension, focusing on biographical methods of living through which these young people's biographies are animated in narrative. In it, the conceptual tools that can be employed across case histories and the notion of reflexive project of self as an umbrella term are discussed. In the second section, the focus moves from the projects of self to the wider genre order within which these projects are situated and to which they contribute. This section seeks to identify the mediums within and through which these young people's unfolding biographies are played out, privileging a focus on structural elements that emerge from these case histories. It focuses on the fields of existence that characterise their accounts, the technologies of self made available therein, the investments and identifications that constrain their adoption, and the social and spatial features which frame their biographies.Less
This chapter asks what can be learned by juxtaposing the accounts of Sherleen, Stan, Karin, and Devon. The case studies capture some of the microprocesses and practices of social and personal change that make up individual biographies. Although the cases cannot be understood as representative in any direct way, they are nevertheless emblematic of certain patterns of youth transitions, expressing hotspots in the emergence of new biographical forms. The approach taken in the chapter is to bring the four case studies into conversation. The first section of the chapter discusses the temporal dimension, focusing on biographical methods of living through which these young people's biographies are animated in narrative. In it, the conceptual tools that can be employed across case histories and the notion of reflexive project of self as an umbrella term are discussed. In the second section, the focus moves from the projects of self to the wider genre order within which these projects are situated and to which they contribute. This section seeks to identify the mediums within and through which these young people's unfolding biographies are played out, privileging a focus on structural elements that emerge from these case histories. It focuses on the fields of existence that characterise their accounts, the technologies of self made available therein, the investments and identifications that constrain their adoption, and the social and spatial features which frame their biographies.
Mo Yee Lee and Amy Zaharlick
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199846597
- eISBN:
- 9780199315918
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199846597.003.0002
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation, Communities and Organizations
In chapter 2 the terms “culture” and “cultural knowledge” are examined. The term “culture” has been defined in hundreds of ways and each definition has implications for conducting cultural research. ...
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In chapter 2 the terms “culture” and “cultural knowledge” are examined. The term “culture” has been defined in hundreds of ways and each definition has implications for conducting cultural research. Having an appropriate definition is critical because it will allow social work researchers to ask the most appropriate questions, design the most successful research study, select the most relevant data and research techniques, perform the most penetrating analyses and interpretations, and prepare the most relevant findings for various audiences—that is, to conduct culturally competent research. An historical overview provides a context for understanding the connections and influences the various concepts of culture have had on research. An appropriate definition for culturally competent social work research, is provided, pointing out its essential characteristics. In addition, some conceptual tools for guiding cultural research are discussed. The chapter concludes with a brief presentation of the methodological framework used in the design of culturally competent social work research described in subsequent chapters.Less
In chapter 2 the terms “culture” and “cultural knowledge” are examined. The term “culture” has been defined in hundreds of ways and each definition has implications for conducting cultural research. Having an appropriate definition is critical because it will allow social work researchers to ask the most appropriate questions, design the most successful research study, select the most relevant data and research techniques, perform the most penetrating analyses and interpretations, and prepare the most relevant findings for various audiences—that is, to conduct culturally competent research. An historical overview provides a context for understanding the connections and influences the various concepts of culture have had on research. An appropriate definition for culturally competent social work research, is provided, pointing out its essential characteristics. In addition, some conceptual tools for guiding cultural research are discussed. The chapter concludes with a brief presentation of the methodological framework used in the design of culturally competent social work research described in subsequent chapters.
Jessica Gurevitch and Julia Koricheva
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691137285
- eISBN:
- 9781400846184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691137285.003.0027
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter argues that despite the strong advocates of the application of meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology, it is important to recognize that meta-analysis is not always ...
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This chapter argues that despite the strong advocates of the application of meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology, it is important to recognize that meta-analysis is not always appropriate; it is useful for some applications and not in others, as with any other statistical or conceptual tool. It is inappropriate when it makes no sense to combine studies. Other cases in which meta-analysis is not a useful tool include those where data are insufficient. The remainder of the chapter discusses current challenges for meta-analysis in ecology and evolution, factors facilitating progress of meta-analysis in ecology and related disciplines, and the potential and future of meta-analysis in ecology.Less
This chapter argues that despite the strong advocates of the application of meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology, it is important to recognize that meta-analysis is not always appropriate; it is useful for some applications and not in others, as with any other statistical or conceptual tool. It is inappropriate when it makes no sense to combine studies. Other cases in which meta-analysis is not a useful tool include those where data are insufficient. The remainder of the chapter discusses current challenges for meta-analysis in ecology and evolution, factors facilitating progress of meta-analysis in ecology and related disciplines, and the potential and future of meta-analysis in ecology.
Elaine Landry
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198748991
- eISBN:
- 9780191811593
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198748991.003.0018
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Structural realists have made use of category theory in three ways. The first is as a meta-level formal framework for a structural realist account of the structure of scientific theories, either ...
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Structural realists have made use of category theory in three ways. The first is as a meta-level formal framework for a structural realist account of the structure of scientific theories, either syntactic or semantic. The second is an appeal to the category-theoretic structure of some successful, successive or fundamental, physical theory to argue that this is the structure we should be physically committed to, either epistemically or ontically. The third is to use category theory as a conceptual tool to argue that it makes conceptual sense to talk of relations without relata and structures without objects. After a brief overview of structural realism, I consider how each appeal to the use of category theory stands up against the aims of the structural realist.Less
Structural realists have made use of category theory in three ways. The first is as a meta-level formal framework for a structural realist account of the structure of scientific theories, either syntactic or semantic. The second is an appeal to the category-theoretic structure of some successful, successive or fundamental, physical theory to argue that this is the structure we should be physically committed to, either epistemically or ontically. The third is to use category theory as a conceptual tool to argue that it makes conceptual sense to talk of relations without relata and structures without objects. After a brief overview of structural realism, I consider how each appeal to the use of category theory stands up against the aims of the structural realist.
Stefan Neubert
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823230181
- eISBN:
- 9780823235339
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823230181.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, American Philosophy
This chapter discusses some of the central theoretical perspectives on culture and cultural practices implied in Pragmatism and interactive constructivism. The first part ...
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This chapter discusses some of the central theoretical perspectives on culture and cultural practices implied in Pragmatism and interactive constructivism. The first part of the chapter highlights three major perspectives on cultural theory to be found in Dewey's thought: culture and experience, culture and habit, and culture and communication. The chapter then compares basic conceptual tools and interpretive approaches and shows that Dewey's work continues to provide fundamental resources in this field. Through this connection, it presents a brief introduction to theories of discourse and power and discusses some implications for current controversies regarding multiculturalism. It argues that Dewey's Pragmatism and the Cologne program of interactive constructivism share a robust interest in culture and cultural diversity.Less
This chapter discusses some of the central theoretical perspectives on culture and cultural practices implied in Pragmatism and interactive constructivism. The first part of the chapter highlights three major perspectives on cultural theory to be found in Dewey's thought: culture and experience, culture and habit, and culture and communication. The chapter then compares basic conceptual tools and interpretive approaches and shows that Dewey's work continues to provide fundamental resources in this field. Through this connection, it presents a brief introduction to theories of discourse and power and discusses some implications for current controversies regarding multiculturalism. It argues that Dewey's Pragmatism and the Cologne program of interactive constructivism share a robust interest in culture and cultural diversity.
Eduardo Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520276109
- eISBN:
- 9780520956865
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520276109.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Theory and Practice
Can forests think? Do dogs dream? This book challenges the very foundations of anthropology, calling into question our central assumptions about what it means to be human—and thus distinct from all ...
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Can forests think? Do dogs dream? This book challenges the very foundations of anthropology, calling into question our central assumptions about what it means to be human—and thus distinct from all other life forms. Based on four years of fieldwork among the Runa of Ecuador’s Upper Amazon, the book draws on ethnographic research to explore how Amazonians interact with the many creatures that inhabit one of the world’s most complex ecosystems. Whether or not we recognize it, our anthropological tools hinge on those capacities that make us distinctly human. However, when we turn our ethnographic attention to how we relate to other kinds of beings, these tools (which have the effect of divorcing us from the rest of the world) break down. This book seizes on this breakdown as an opportunity. Avoiding reductionistic solutions, and without losing sight of how our lives and those of others are caught up in the moral webs we humans spin, it skillfully fashions new kinds of conceptual tools from the strange and unexpected properties of the living world itself. The work takes anthropology in a new direction—one that offers a more capacious way to think about the world we share with other kinds of beings.Less
Can forests think? Do dogs dream? This book challenges the very foundations of anthropology, calling into question our central assumptions about what it means to be human—and thus distinct from all other life forms. Based on four years of fieldwork among the Runa of Ecuador’s Upper Amazon, the book draws on ethnographic research to explore how Amazonians interact with the many creatures that inhabit one of the world’s most complex ecosystems. Whether or not we recognize it, our anthropological tools hinge on those capacities that make us distinctly human. However, when we turn our ethnographic attention to how we relate to other kinds of beings, these tools (which have the effect of divorcing us from the rest of the world) break down. This book seizes on this breakdown as an opportunity. Avoiding reductionistic solutions, and without losing sight of how our lives and those of others are caught up in the moral webs we humans spin, it skillfully fashions new kinds of conceptual tools from the strange and unexpected properties of the living world itself. The work takes anthropology in a new direction—one that offers a more capacious way to think about the world we share with other kinds of beings.
Rob Kitchin and Martin Dodge
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262042482
- eISBN:
- 9780262295239
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262042482.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
After a little more than half a century since its initial development, computer code is extensively and intimately woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. From the digital alarm clock that wakes ...
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After a little more than half a century since its initial development, computer code is extensively and intimately woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. From the digital alarm clock that wakes us to the air traffic control system that guides our airplane in for a landing, software is shaping our world: It creates new ways of undertaking tasks, speeds up and automates existing practices, transforms social and economic relationships, and offers new forms of cultural activity, personal empowerment, and modes of play. This book examines software from a spatial perspective, analyzing the dyadic relationship of software and space. The production of space, the authors argue, is increasingly dependent on code, and code is written to produce space. Examples of code/space include airport check-in areas, networked offices, and cafés that are transformed into workspaces by laptops and wireless access. The book argues that software, through its ability to work universally, transduces space. The authors have developed a set of conceptual tools for identifying and understanding the interrelationship between software, space, and everyday life, and illustrate their arguments with empirical material. Finally, they issue a manifesto, calling for critical scholarship into the production and workings of code rather than simply the technologies it enables—a new kind of social science focused on explaining the social, economic, and spatial contours of software.Less
After a little more than half a century since its initial development, computer code is extensively and intimately woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. From the digital alarm clock that wakes us to the air traffic control system that guides our airplane in for a landing, software is shaping our world: It creates new ways of undertaking tasks, speeds up and automates existing practices, transforms social and economic relationships, and offers new forms of cultural activity, personal empowerment, and modes of play. This book examines software from a spatial perspective, analyzing the dyadic relationship of software and space. The production of space, the authors argue, is increasingly dependent on code, and code is written to produce space. Examples of code/space include airport check-in areas, networked offices, and cafés that are transformed into workspaces by laptops and wireless access. The book argues that software, through its ability to work universally, transduces space. The authors have developed a set of conceptual tools for identifying and understanding the interrelationship between software, space, and everyday life, and illustrate their arguments with empirical material. Finally, they issue a manifesto, calling for critical scholarship into the production and workings of code rather than simply the technologies it enables—a new kind of social science focused on explaining the social, economic, and spatial contours of software.
