John Marenbon (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265499
- eISBN:
- 9780191760310
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265499.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
The usual division of philosophy into ‘medieval’ and ‘modern’ obscures the continuities in philosophy up until 1700. This book examines three areas where these continuities are particularly clear: ...
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The usual division of philosophy into ‘medieval’ and ‘modern’ obscures the continuities in philosophy up until 1700. This book examines three areas where these continuities are particularly clear: knowledge, the mind, and language. It does so through three chapters, by different authors, each followed by a detailed response. The first chapter shows how Descartes attacked faculty psychology and thus separated himself from one strand of the medieval tradition, represented by Suárez. At the same time, Descartes was closely following another strand, found in Ockham. Thus, the discontinuity between medieval and modern may not be as sharp as first appears. The second chapter considers discussions of whether knowledge should be kept for the elite. In the Christian world medieval and seventeenth-century thinkers alike rarely advocated esotericism, but Jewish and Muslim scholars such as al-Ghazâlî, Averroes, and Maimonides strongly defended it. The main chapter of Part III argues that a version of such esotericism may be a defensible philosophical position today. The main chapter of Part II shows how Locke's philosophy of language fits into a long medieval tradition of thought based on Aristotle's On Interpretation. Locke introduced the requirement that a word be linked to an idea in the speaker's mind, but the chapter argues that this does not mean that Locke was proposing that we each have a private language.Less
The usual division of philosophy into ‘medieval’ and ‘modern’ obscures the continuities in philosophy up until 1700. This book examines three areas where these continuities are particularly clear: knowledge, the mind, and language. It does so through three chapters, by different authors, each followed by a detailed response. The first chapter shows how Descartes attacked faculty psychology and thus separated himself from one strand of the medieval tradition, represented by Suárez. At the same time, Descartes was closely following another strand, found in Ockham. Thus, the discontinuity between medieval and modern may not be as sharp as first appears. The second chapter considers discussions of whether knowledge should be kept for the elite. In the Christian world medieval and seventeenth-century thinkers alike rarely advocated esotericism, but Jewish and Muslim scholars such as al-Ghazâlî, Averroes, and Maimonides strongly defended it. The main chapter of Part III argues that a version of such esotericism may be a defensible philosophical position today. The main chapter of Part II shows how Locke's philosophy of language fits into a long medieval tradition of thought based on Aristotle's On Interpretation. Locke introduced the requirement that a word be linked to an idea in the speaker's mind, but the chapter argues that this does not mean that Locke was proposing that we each have a private language.
Robert Fogelin
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195177541
- eISBN:
- 9780199850143
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177541.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Human beings are both supremely rational and deeply superstitious, capable of believing just about anything and of questioning just about everything. Indeed, just as our reason demands that we know ...
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Human beings are both supremely rational and deeply superstitious, capable of believing just about anything and of questioning just about everything. Indeed, just as our reason demands that we know the truth, our skepticism leads to doubts we can ever really do so. This book guides us through a contradiction that lies at the very heart of philosophical inquiry. The book argues that our rational faculties insist on a purely rational account of the universe; yet at the same time, the inherent limitations of these faculties ensure that we will never fully satisfy that demand. As a result of being driven to this point of paradox, we either comfort ourselves with what Kant called “metaphysical illusions” or adopt a stance of radical skepticism. No middle ground seems possible and, as the book shows, skepticism, even though a healthy dose of it is essential for living a rational life, “has an inherent tendency to become unlimited in its scope, with the result that the edifice of rationality is destroyed.” In much Postmodernist thought, for example, skepticism takes the extreme form of absolute relativism, denying the basis for any value distinctions and treating all truth-claims as equally groundless. How reason avoids disgracing itself, walking a fine line between dogmatic belief and self-defeating doubt, is the question the book seeks to answer.Less
Human beings are both supremely rational and deeply superstitious, capable of believing just about anything and of questioning just about everything. Indeed, just as our reason demands that we know the truth, our skepticism leads to doubts we can ever really do so. This book guides us through a contradiction that lies at the very heart of philosophical inquiry. The book argues that our rational faculties insist on a purely rational account of the universe; yet at the same time, the inherent limitations of these faculties ensure that we will never fully satisfy that demand. As a result of being driven to this point of paradox, we either comfort ourselves with what Kant called “metaphysical illusions” or adopt a stance of radical skepticism. No middle ground seems possible and, as the book shows, skepticism, even though a healthy dose of it is essential for living a rational life, “has an inherent tendency to become unlimited in its scope, with the result that the edifice of rationality is destroyed.” In much Postmodernist thought, for example, skepticism takes the extreme form of absolute relativism, denying the basis for any value distinctions and treating all truth-claims as equally groundless. How reason avoids disgracing itself, walking a fine line between dogmatic belief and self-defeating doubt, is the question the book seeks to answer.
Fiona Cowie
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195159783
- eISBN:
- 9780199849529
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195159783.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This book reconsiders the influential nativist position toward the mind. Nativists assert that some concepts, beliefs, or capacities are innate or inborn: “native” to the mind rather than acquired. ...
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This book reconsiders the influential nativist position toward the mind. Nativists assert that some concepts, beliefs, or capacities are innate or inborn: “native” to the mind rather than acquired. The author argues that this view is mistaken, demonstrating that nativism is an unstable amalgam of two quite different—and probably inconsistent—theses about the mind. Unlike empiricists, who postulate domain-neutral learning strategies, nativists insist that some learning tasks require special kinds of skills, and that these skills are hard-wired into our brains at birth. This “faculties hypothesis” finds its modern expression in the views of Noam Chomsky. The author, marshalling recent empirical evidence from developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, computer science, and linguistics, provides a critique of Chomsky's nativism and defends in its place a moderately nativist approach to language acquisition. Also, in contrast to empiricists, who view the mind as simply another natural phenomenon susceptible to scientific explanation, nativists suspect that the mental is inelectably mysterious. The author addresses this second strand in nativist thought, taking on the view articulated by Jerry Fodor and other nativists that learning, particularly concept acquisition, is a fundamentally inexplicable process. She challenges this explanatory pessimism, and argues that concept acquisition is psychologically explicable.Less
This book reconsiders the influential nativist position toward the mind. Nativists assert that some concepts, beliefs, or capacities are innate or inborn: “native” to the mind rather than acquired. The author argues that this view is mistaken, demonstrating that nativism is an unstable amalgam of two quite different—and probably inconsistent—theses about the mind. Unlike empiricists, who postulate domain-neutral learning strategies, nativists insist that some learning tasks require special kinds of skills, and that these skills are hard-wired into our brains at birth. This “faculties hypothesis” finds its modern expression in the views of Noam Chomsky. The author, marshalling recent empirical evidence from developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, computer science, and linguistics, provides a critique of Chomsky's nativism and defends in its place a moderately nativist approach to language acquisition. Also, in contrast to empiricists, who view the mind as simply another natural phenomenon susceptible to scientific explanation, nativists suspect that the mental is inelectably mysterious. The author addresses this second strand in nativist thought, taking on the view articulated by Jerry Fodor and other nativists that learning, particularly concept acquisition, is a fundamentally inexplicable process. She challenges this explanatory pessimism, and argues that concept acquisition is psychologically explicable.
Michael Devitt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199250967
- eISBN:
- 9780191603945
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250960.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Is Chomsky right about the psychological reality of language? What is linguistics about? What role should linguistic intuitions play in constructing grammars? What is innate about language? Is there ...
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Is Chomsky right about the psychological reality of language? What is linguistics about? What role should linguistic intuitions play in constructing grammars? What is innate about language? Is there “a language faculty”? The book gives controversial answers to such questions: that linguistics is about linguistic reality and not part of psychology; that linguistic rules are not represented in the mind; that speakers are largely ignorant of their language; that speakers’ intuitions do not reflect information supplied by the language faculty and are not the main evidence for grammars; that thought is prior to language in various ways; that linguistics should be concerned with what idiolects share, not with idiolects; that language processing is a fairly brute-causal associationist matter; that the rules of “Universal Grammar” are largely, if not entirely, innate structure rules of thought; and that there is little or nothing to the language faculty.Less
Is Chomsky right about the psychological reality of language? What is linguistics about? What role should linguistic intuitions play in constructing grammars? What is innate about language? Is there “a language faculty”? The book gives controversial answers to such questions: that linguistics is about linguistic reality and not part of psychology; that linguistic rules are not represented in the mind; that speakers are largely ignorant of their language; that speakers’ intuitions do not reflect information supplied by the language faculty and are not the main evidence for grammars; that thought is prior to language in various ways; that linguistics should be concerned with what idiolects share, not with idiolects; that language processing is a fairly brute-causal associationist matter; that the rules of “Universal Grammar” are largely, if not entirely, innate structure rules of thought; and that there is little or nothing to the language faculty.
Michael Devitt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199250967
- eISBN:
- 9780191603945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250960.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
In Chomsky’s view, linguistics is about a psychological state, the speaker’s knowledge of language which constitutes her linguistic competence. This knowledge is said to underlie her linguistic ...
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In Chomsky’s view, linguistics is about a psychological state, the speaker’s knowledge of language which constitutes her linguistic competence. This knowledge is said to underlie her linguistic intuitions. The rules (principles) of the language are thought to be “psychologically real” in that they are represented — the Representational Thesis (RT) — or otherwise embodied in the language faculty. This book’s plan is described, which is to look critically at these views and propose others. The chapter concludes with some clarifications of the book’s relation to I-languages, to grammatical levels and to linguistic details; and of the importance of its conclusions.Less
In Chomsky’s view, linguistics is about a psychological state, the speaker’s knowledge of language which constitutes her linguistic competence. This knowledge is said to underlie her linguistic intuitions. The rules (principles) of the language are thought to be “psychologically real” in that they are represented — the Representational Thesis (RT) — or otherwise embodied in the language faculty. This book’s plan is described, which is to look critically at these views and propose others. The chapter concludes with some clarifications of the book’s relation to I-languages, to grammatical levels and to linguistic details; and of the importance of its conclusions.
Michael Devitt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199250967
- eISBN:
- 9780191603945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250960.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This chapter starts by arguing against the received view that the intuitive judgments of speakers are the main evidence for a grammar. Still, they are evidence and an explanation for this is ...
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This chapter starts by arguing against the received view that the intuitive judgments of speakers are the main evidence for a grammar. Still, they are evidence and an explanation for this is required. The Chomskian explanation involves the Representational Thesis (RT): that intuitions are derived by a rational process from a representation of linguistic rules in the language faculty, a representation that constitutes the speaker’s linguistic competence. The chapter argues for a different view of intuitions in general, and hence of linguistic intuitions: they do not reflect information supplied by represented or even unrepresented rules in the language faculty. Rather, they are empirical central-processor responses to linguistic phenomena differing from other such responses only in being fairly immediate and unreflective.Less
This chapter starts by arguing against the received view that the intuitive judgments of speakers are the main evidence for a grammar. Still, they are evidence and an explanation for this is required. The Chomskian explanation involves the Representational Thesis (RT): that intuitions are derived by a rational process from a representation of linguistic rules in the language faculty, a representation that constitutes the speaker’s linguistic competence. The chapter argues for a different view of intuitions in general, and hence of linguistic intuitions: they do not reflect information supplied by represented or even unrepresented rules in the language faculty. Rather, they are empirical central-processor responses to linguistic phenomena differing from other such responses only in being fairly immediate and unreflective.
Michael Devitt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199250967
- eISBN:
- 9780191603945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250960.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This chapter argues that the view that conceptual competence is part of linguistic competence is not undermined by the well-known dissociation of cognitive impairment and linguistic impairment. In ...
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This chapter argues that the view that conceptual competence is part of linguistic competence is not undermined by the well-known dissociation of cognitive impairment and linguistic impairment. In light of the evidence from brain impairment and the proposal that the structure rules of thought are similar to those of the language, the chapter proposes that there is little or nothing to the language faculty. A critical view is taken of Chomsky’s apparently very different views of thought and its relation to language, and of some puzzling claims he makes against linguistic conventions and in favor of an interest in idiolects. These criticisms lead to the conclusion that the primary concern in linguistics should be with linguistic expressions that share meanings in idiolects. These views are developed by contrasting them with Rey’s antirealism about linguistic entities.Less
This chapter argues that the view that conceptual competence is part of linguistic competence is not undermined by the well-known dissociation of cognitive impairment and linguistic impairment. In light of the evidence from brain impairment and the proposal that the structure rules of thought are similar to those of the language, the chapter proposes that there is little or nothing to the language faculty. A critical view is taken of Chomsky’s apparently very different views of thought and its relation to language, and of some puzzling claims he makes against linguistic conventions and in favor of an interest in idiolects. These criticisms lead to the conclusion that the primary concern in linguistics should be with linguistic expressions that share meanings in idiolects. These views are developed by contrasting them with Rey’s antirealism about linguistic entities.
Thomas Albert Howard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199266852
- eISBN:
- 9780191604188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266859.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the shake-up of educational institutions throughout Europe in the early 19th century. The objectives of this study are then presented ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the shake-up of educational institutions throughout Europe in the early 19th century. The objectives of this study are then presented followed by a discussion of German university development and theology. It is argued that the Prussian state in general, and its policies towards the church and university in particular, were of great consequence for the operations of theological faculties and the shaping of Protestant academic theology. By promoting confessional harmony, emphasizing critical scholarship over apologetics, standardizing and mandating state-run accrediting procedures, and maintaining a firm grip on hiring procedures, the state managed to exercise tremendous influence over the religious sphere in society.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the shake-up of educational institutions throughout Europe in the early 19th century. The objectives of this study are then presented followed by a discussion of German university development and theology. It is argued that the Prussian state in general, and its policies towards the church and university in particular, were of great consequence for the operations of theological faculties and the shaping of Protestant academic theology. By promoting confessional harmony, emphasizing critical scholarship over apologetics, standardizing and mandating state-run accrediting procedures, and maintaining a firm grip on hiring procedures, the state managed to exercise tremendous influence over the religious sphere in society.
Thomas Albert Howard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199266852
- eISBN:
- 9780191604188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266859.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter begins with an examination of the 18th-century university and the forces of inertia and novelty, stagnation, and innovation that characterized it. German universities were in major ...
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This chapter begins with an examination of the 18th-century university and the forces of inertia and novelty, stagnation, and innovation that characterized it. German universities were in major decline in the 18th century, intellectually ossifying and beset by myriad administrative and financial difficulties. At the same time, the century witnessed the establishment of several important new universities — particularly the University of Halle (1694) in Prussia and the University of Göttingen (1737) in Hanover — that introduced vigorous new impulses to higher education. These ‘reform universities’ are examined for their incipiently modernizing characteristics. The statutory, curricular, and scholarly contributions made to them by theologians, foremost August Hermann Francke (1663-1727) at Halle and Johann Lorenz von Mosheim (1694-1755) at Göttingen are emphasized.Less
This chapter begins with an examination of the 18th-century university and the forces of inertia and novelty, stagnation, and innovation that characterized it. German universities were in major decline in the 18th century, intellectually ossifying and beset by myriad administrative and financial difficulties. At the same time, the century witnessed the establishment of several important new universities — particularly the University of Halle (1694) in Prussia and the University of Göttingen (1737) in Hanover — that introduced vigorous new impulses to higher education. These ‘reform universities’ are examined for their incipiently modernizing characteristics. The statutory, curricular, and scholarly contributions made to them by theologians, foremost August Hermann Francke (1663-1727) at Halle and Johann Lorenz von Mosheim (1694-1755) at Göttingen are emphasized.
Thomas Albert Howard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199266852
- eISBN:
- 9780191604188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266859.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter focuses on the establishment of the University of Berlin (1810), its early years of operation, and this institution’s implications for the future of theological instruction and ...
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This chapter focuses on the establishment of the University of Berlin (1810), its early years of operation, and this institution’s implications for the future of theological instruction and scholarship. One feature that distinguishes Berlin’s founding from those of older universities was the energetic outpouring of theoretical treatises on higher education that preceded the actual event. Together, these writings provide a remarkable window onto a variety of intellectual trends and cultural realities of the time; they also bear witness to an acute sense of modernity, an idealist and post-revolutionary sense that ‘the human spirit’ possessed an entirely new range of individual and institutional possibilities. The analysis of these documents concentrates on the question of what role the theological faculty was to play in the new university. Should it be drastically reduced or even eliminated, as some suggested, or should it be given a new academic lease so long as it could demonstrate an ability to adapt to the post-1789 world order and the new scholarly demands of Wissenschaft?Less
This chapter focuses on the establishment of the University of Berlin (1810), its early years of operation, and this institution’s implications for the future of theological instruction and scholarship. One feature that distinguishes Berlin’s founding from those of older universities was the energetic outpouring of theoretical treatises on higher education that preceded the actual event. Together, these writings provide a remarkable window onto a variety of intellectual trends and cultural realities of the time; they also bear witness to an acute sense of modernity, an idealist and post-revolutionary sense that ‘the human spirit’ possessed an entirely new range of individual and institutional possibilities. The analysis of these documents concentrates on the question of what role the theological faculty was to play in the new university. Should it be drastically reduced or even eliminated, as some suggested, or should it be given a new academic lease so long as it could demonstrate an ability to adapt to the post-1789 world order and the new scholarly demands of Wissenschaft?
Thomas Albert Howard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199266852
- eISBN:
- 9780191604188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266859.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter examines the conflicted renown of 19th-century German academic theology even as it charts the theological faculty’s steady diminution as a component of the overall university system. ...
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This chapter examines the conflicted renown of 19th-century German academic theology even as it charts the theological faculty’s steady diminution as a component of the overall university system. Five principal lines of inquiry contribute to this broader task. First, the chapter calls attention to how dominant intellectual, political, and social trends of the mid- and late 19th century affected university development. Second, in an effort to penetrate the internal dynamics of university theology, it focuses on Protestant theological education, that is, to what young theology students actually were supposed to learn during their university years. Third, it examines a number of histories of universities written in the late 19th and early 20th century, along with various documents from university commemorative celebrations and from international exhibitions on German higher education. Fourth, it examines the reactions of a number of foreigners to German universities, broaching also the broader international influence of German theology. Finally, it considers several issues that precipitated a crisis of identity for theology in the late 19th century.Less
This chapter examines the conflicted renown of 19th-century German academic theology even as it charts the theological faculty’s steady diminution as a component of the overall university system. Five principal lines of inquiry contribute to this broader task. First, the chapter calls attention to how dominant intellectual, political, and social trends of the mid- and late 19th century affected university development. Second, in an effort to penetrate the internal dynamics of university theology, it focuses on Protestant theological education, that is, to what young theology students actually were supposed to learn during their university years. Third, it examines a number of histories of universities written in the late 19th and early 20th century, along with various documents from university commemorative celebrations and from international exhibitions on German higher education. Fourth, it examines the reactions of a number of foreigners to German universities, broaching also the broader international influence of German theology. Finally, it considers several issues that precipitated a crisis of identity for theology in the late 19th century.
Thomas Albert Howard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199266852
- eISBN:
- 9780191604188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266859.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The theological faculty’s passage into modernity has been characterized as ‘Janus-faced’ on a number of occasions. The expression has helped convey both the scholarly virtuosity attained by ...
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The theological faculty’s passage into modernity has been characterized as ‘Janus-faced’ on a number of occasions. The expression has helped convey both the scholarly virtuosity attained by Protestant academic theology in the 19th century and also theology’s institutional diminution (and near eviction) in the context of the expanding and modernizing university system. Adolf von Harnack’s eloquent and successful apologia for the theological faculty in the Preussische Jahrbücher (1919) marked in many respects a culminating statement for 19th-century university theology: the theological faculty’s public, national vindication despite much criticism and amid dizzying social and political changes. It is argued that modern theological phenomena require both synchronic and diachronic contextualization, for the consideration of a remoter past helps bring into relief the shared assumptions and general tendencies of any given present.Less
The theological faculty’s passage into modernity has been characterized as ‘Janus-faced’ on a number of occasions. The expression has helped convey both the scholarly virtuosity attained by Protestant academic theology in the 19th century and also theology’s institutional diminution (and near eviction) in the context of the expanding and modernizing university system. Adolf von Harnack’s eloquent and successful apologia for the theological faculty in the Preussische Jahrbücher (1919) marked in many respects a culminating statement for 19th-century university theology: the theological faculty’s public, national vindication despite much criticism and amid dizzying social and political changes. It is argued that modern theological phenomena require both synchronic and diachronic contextualization, for the consideration of a remoter past helps bring into relief the shared assumptions and general tendencies of any given present.
Thomas Kjeller Johansen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199658435
- eISBN:
- 9780191742231
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199658435.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Aristotle may be considered the founder of ‘faculty psychology’, the attempt to explain a variety of psychological phenomena by reference to a few inborn capacities. This study investigates his main ...
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Aristotle may be considered the founder of ‘faculty psychology’, the attempt to explain a variety of psychological phenomena by reference to a few inborn capacities. This study investigates his main work on psychology, the De Anima, from this perspective. It is shown how Aristotle conceives of the soul's capacities and how he uses them to account for the souls of living beings. An account is offered of how Aristotle defines the capacities in relation to their activities and proper objects. The relationship of the body to the definition the soul's capacities is also considered. Against the background of his theory of science, it is argued that the capacities of the soul serve as causal principles in the explanation of the various life forms. Detailed readings are developed of Aristotle's treatment of nutrition, perception, and intellect, which show the soul's various roles as formal, final and efficient causes. The so‐called ‘agent’ intellect is interpreted as falling outside the scope of Aristotle's natural scientific approach to the soul. Other psychological activities, various kinds of perception (including ‘perceiving that we perceive’), memory, imagination, are accounted for in their explanatory dependency on the basic capacities. The ability to move spatially is similarly explained as derivative from the perceptual or intellectual capacities. It is argued that these capacities together with the nutritive may, as basic to the definition and explanation of the various kinds of soul, be understood as ‘parts’ of the soul. The book finally considers how the account of the capacities in the De Anima is adopted and adapted in Aristotle's biological and minor psychological works.Less
Aristotle may be considered the founder of ‘faculty psychology’, the attempt to explain a variety of psychological phenomena by reference to a few inborn capacities. This study investigates his main work on psychology, the De Anima, from this perspective. It is shown how Aristotle conceives of the soul's capacities and how he uses them to account for the souls of living beings. An account is offered of how Aristotle defines the capacities in relation to their activities and proper objects. The relationship of the body to the definition the soul's capacities is also considered. Against the background of his theory of science, it is argued that the capacities of the soul serve as causal principles in the explanation of the various life forms. Detailed readings are developed of Aristotle's treatment of nutrition, perception, and intellect, which show the soul's various roles as formal, final and efficient causes. The so‐called ‘agent’ intellect is interpreted as falling outside the scope of Aristotle's natural scientific approach to the soul. Other psychological activities, various kinds of perception (including ‘perceiving that we perceive’), memory, imagination, are accounted for in their explanatory dependency on the basic capacities. The ability to move spatially is similarly explained as derivative from the perceptual or intellectual capacities. It is argued that these capacities together with the nutritive may, as basic to the definition and explanation of the various kinds of soul, be understood as ‘parts’ of the soul. The book finally considers how the account of the capacities in the De Anima is adopted and adapted in Aristotle's biological and minor psychological works.
Peter Carruthers
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199207077
- eISBN:
- 9780191708909
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207077.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter outlines some of the key modules that are likely to be unique to the human mind. These include a sophisticated mind-reading system, a language faculty, a variety of adaptations that ...
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This chapter outlines some of the key modules that are likely to be unique to the human mind. These include a sophisticated mind-reading system, a language faculty, a variety of adaptations that facilitate cultural learning, and a system for normative reasoning and motivation. It is argued that at some length, we should expect there to be multiple modules distinctive of the human mind (rather than just one), and that our current understanding of brain evolution, brain organization, and brain development in no way count against the massive modularity hypothesis.Less
This chapter outlines some of the key modules that are likely to be unique to the human mind. These include a sophisticated mind-reading system, a language faculty, a variety of adaptations that facilitate cultural learning, and a system for normative reasoning and motivation. It is argued that at some length, we should expect there to be multiple modules distinctive of the human mind (rather than just one), and that our current understanding of brain evolution, brain organization, and brain development in no way count against the massive modularity hypothesis.
Julee T. Flood and Terry L. Leap
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781501728952
- eISBN:
- 9781501728969
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501728952.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Higher Education
Using a risk management framework, the book discusses the landscape of U.S. higher education and faculty employment decisions. Topics include institutional differences, challenges facing colleges and ...
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Using a risk management framework, the book discusses the landscape of U.S. higher education and faculty employment decisions. Topics include institutional differences, challenges facing colleges and universities, the erosion of academic standards, administrative bloat, changing promotion and tenure standards, sexual harassment, and Title IX concerns about campus safety. Attention is also given to the manner in which faculty members are hired and mentored and the decision-making biases that affect the way in which faculty members are granted promotion and tenure. The social psychological aspects of faculty employment decisions have been largely ignored in the literature, and we attempt to shed some light on these issues as we deconstruct promotion and tenure decisions. Traditional legal concepts of contract and employment law are examined as they pertain to hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions along with the cherished, but changing, ideals of free speech, academic freedom, and collegiality that have altered how faculty must deal with the rising tensions of political correctness on campus.Less
Using a risk management framework, the book discusses the landscape of U.S. higher education and faculty employment decisions. Topics include institutional differences, challenges facing colleges and universities, the erosion of academic standards, administrative bloat, changing promotion and tenure standards, sexual harassment, and Title IX concerns about campus safety. Attention is also given to the manner in which faculty members are hired and mentored and the decision-making biases that affect the way in which faculty members are granted promotion and tenure. The social psychological aspects of faculty employment decisions have been largely ignored in the literature, and we attempt to shed some light on these issues as we deconstruct promotion and tenure decisions. Traditional legal concepts of contract and employment law are examined as they pertain to hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions along with the cherished, but changing, ideals of free speech, academic freedom, and collegiality that have altered how faculty must deal with the rising tensions of political correctness on campus.
Holden Thorp and Buck Goldstein
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469646862
- eISBN:
- 9781469646886
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646862.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Higher Education
American higher education is strong because of a special relationship with the American public and the federal government. Misunderstandings about how higher education works have strained the ...
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American higher education is strong because of a special relationship with the American public and the federal government. Misunderstandings about how higher education works have strained the partnership, which has animated and driven American higher education. Carefully describing the roles of faculty, students, trustees, and administration can clear up some of these misunderstandings and position universities to deal with the pressures caused by changing demographics of incoming students, financial challenges associated with these changes, and differences in learning brought on by technological advances. Greater clarity sets the stage for an important conversation about the future of higher education and the United States.Less
American higher education is strong because of a special relationship with the American public and the federal government. Misunderstandings about how higher education works have strained the partnership, which has animated and driven American higher education. Carefully describing the roles of faculty, students, trustees, and administration can clear up some of these misunderstandings and position universities to deal with the pressures caused by changing demographics of incoming students, financial challenges associated with these changes, and differences in learning brought on by technological advances. Greater clarity sets the stage for an important conversation about the future of higher education and the United States.
Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195323443
- eISBN:
- 9780199869145
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323443.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Academics across America are rethinking the place of religion on college and university campuses, and religion has become a hot topic of conversation. Some conversations focus on religious literacy, ...
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Academics across America are rethinking the place of religion on college and university campuses, and religion has become a hot topic of conversation. Some conversations focus on religious literacy, while others contrast religion with spirituality; some understand religion in light of specific traditions or communities of faith, while others focus attention on concerns such as personal meaning and civic engagement. The American University in a Postsecular Age brings together these divergent conversations. Three of the fourteen essays in the volume are written by the editors, including an introductory essay that explains the term “postsecular,” another on church‐related higher education, and a concluding essay that suggests a framework for talking about religion in the academy. The other authors represented in the book are all well known scholars in the fields of religion and higher education including, for example, Amanda Porterfield, past president of the American Society of Church History, Lee Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Robert Wuthnow, the prolific sociologist of religion from Princeton. The volume is divided into two parts: a first group of essays focuses on religion, institutions, and faculty roles; the second group deals with the place of religion in the curriculum and in student learning. The book as a whole assumes that increased attention to religion will enhance the work of the academy, but a wide variety of perspectives are included.Less
Academics across America are rethinking the place of religion on college and university campuses, and religion has become a hot topic of conversation. Some conversations focus on religious literacy, while others contrast religion with spirituality; some understand religion in light of specific traditions or communities of faith, while others focus attention on concerns such as personal meaning and civic engagement. The American University in a Postsecular Age brings together these divergent conversations. Three of the fourteen essays in the volume are written by the editors, including an introductory essay that explains the term “postsecular,” another on church‐related higher education, and a concluding essay that suggests a framework for talking about religion in the academy. The other authors represented in the book are all well known scholars in the fields of religion and higher education including, for example, Amanda Porterfield, past president of the American Society of Church History, Lee Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Robert Wuthnow, the prolific sociologist of religion from Princeton. The volume is divided into two parts: a first group of essays focuses on religion, institutions, and faculty roles; the second group deals with the place of religion in the curriculum and in student learning. The book as a whole assumes that increased attention to religion will enhance the work of the academy, but a wide variety of perspectives are included.
Dominik Perler
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265499
- eISBN:
- 9780191760310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265499.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Descartes famously claimed that a human soul is a single substance without any parts. But he also affirmed that the soul has two faculties, namely intellect and will, which act as ‘two concurrent ...
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Descartes famously claimed that a human soul is a single substance without any parts. But he also affirmed that the soul has two faculties, namely intellect and will, which act as ‘two concurrent causes’. This looks quite puzzling. How can there be two causes in a single and indivisible substance? What is their ontological status? And how do they act? This chapter discusses these questions, paying particular attention to Descartes' scholastic background. It argues that there was no unified scholastic doctrine. Descartes rejected Suárez's theory, which took faculties to be really distinct parts and inner agents of the soul, while defending Ockham's theory, which considered them to be mere ways of acting of a single soul. The two explanatory models gave rise to different accounts of the unity of the soul.Less
Descartes famously claimed that a human soul is a single substance without any parts. But he also affirmed that the soul has two faculties, namely intellect and will, which act as ‘two concurrent causes’. This looks quite puzzling. How can there be two causes in a single and indivisible substance? What is their ontological status? And how do they act? This chapter discusses these questions, paying particular attention to Descartes' scholastic background. It argues that there was no unified scholastic doctrine. Descartes rejected Suárez's theory, which took faculties to be really distinct parts and inner agents of the soul, while defending Ockham's theory, which considered them to be mere ways of acting of a single soul. The two explanatory models gave rise to different accounts of the unity of the soul.
Andrew Pyle
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265499
- eISBN:
- 9780191760310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265499.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter seeks to do three things. It raises a few remaining difficulties for Perler's account of the soul and its faculties in Suarez and Descartes. The chapter then proceeds to discuss the ...
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This chapter seeks to do three things. It raises a few remaining difficulties for Perler's account of the soul and its faculties in Suarez and Descartes. The chapter then proceeds to discuss the early modern critique of faculties and suggests a modest response for the defender of faculty-talk. Faculty-talk, it argues, may serve two modest but useful taxonomic roles in our thinking both about nature and about the mind. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Malebranche's critique of the notion of faculties of the mind, and his contention that the supposed faculties of intellect and will are really distinct neither from one another nor from the substance of the mind itself.Less
This chapter seeks to do three things. It raises a few remaining difficulties for Perler's account of the soul and its faculties in Suarez and Descartes. The chapter then proceeds to discuss the early modern critique of faculties and suggests a modest response for the defender of faculty-talk. Faculty-talk, it argues, may serve two modest but useful taxonomic roles in our thinking both about nature and about the mind. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Malebranche's critique of the notion of faculties of the mind, and his contention that the supposed faculties of intellect and will are really distinct neither from one another nor from the substance of the mind itself.
Lucy O'Brien
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199261482
- eISBN:
- 9780191718632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261482.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter explores the claim that bodily awareness is a perceptual faculty or, more realistically, set of faculties. It shows that there are a number of ways to construe the widely accepted claim ...
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This chapter explores the claim that bodily awareness is a perceptual faculty or, more realistically, set of faculties. It shows that there are a number of ways to construe the widely accepted claim that bodily awareness is a perceptual faculty. Bodily awareness can be construed as a faculty which enables us to perceive properties of our bodies — its shape, location, movement, as well as phenomenal pain properties, tickle properties, and the like. Unless one is a sceptic about secondary properties, or has a specific reason for thinking that there could not be phenomenal perceptible properties of our bodies, there is no impediment to doing so.Less
This chapter explores the claim that bodily awareness is a perceptual faculty or, more realistically, set of faculties. It shows that there are a number of ways to construe the widely accepted claim that bodily awareness is a perceptual faculty. Bodily awareness can be construed as a faculty which enables us to perceive properties of our bodies — its shape, location, movement, as well as phenomenal pain properties, tickle properties, and the like. Unless one is a sceptic about secondary properties, or has a specific reason for thinking that there could not be phenomenal perceptible properties of our bodies, there is no impediment to doing so.
