Lynne Rudder Baker
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199914722
- eISBN:
- 9780199347483
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199914722.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Chapter 10 sets out a seriously nonreductive alternative to scientific naturalism: near-naturalism. Near-naturalism includes an account of ontological levels in terms of constitution of ...
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Chapter 10 sets out a seriously nonreductive alternative to scientific naturalism: near-naturalism. Near-naturalism includes an account of ontological levels in terms of constitution of property-instances. Any instance of any property—intentional, social, legal and so on—is constituted by instances of lower-level properties, down to physical particles. With many comparisons to Kim's views, I try to clear the path for near-naturalism by removing a priori barriers—supported by notions like supervenience and mereology—that serve to squeeze the world rather than to illuminate it. The near-naturalism that remains gives onto a generous reality, with ontological room for us and our first-person perspectives. From the point of view of near-naturalism, the everyday world—the world of getting and spending and of laying waste our powers—is as real as the subatomic world.Less
Chapter 10 sets out a seriously nonreductive alternative to scientific naturalism: near-naturalism. Near-naturalism includes an account of ontological levels in terms of constitution of property-instances. Any instance of any property—intentional, social, legal and so on—is constituted by instances of lower-level properties, down to physical particles. With many comparisons to Kim's views, I try to clear the path for near-naturalism by removing a priori barriers—supported by notions like supervenience and mereology—that serve to squeeze the world rather than to illuminate it. The near-naturalism that remains gives onto a generous reality, with ontological room for us and our first-person perspectives. From the point of view of near-naturalism, the everyday world—the world of getting and spending and of laying waste our powers—is as real as the subatomic world.
Alex Ling
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748641130
- eISBN:
- 9780748652631
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748641130.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This book offers an in-depth examination of cinema and its philosophical significance. It employs the philosophy of Alain Badiou to answer the question central to all serious film scholarship – ...
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This book offers an in-depth examination of cinema and its philosophical significance. It employs the philosophy of Alain Badiou to answer the question central to all serious film scholarship – namely, ‘can cinema be thought?’ Treating this question on three levels, the author first asks if we can really think what cinema is, at an ontological level. Second, he investigates whether cinema can actually think for itself; that is, whether or not it is truly ‘artistic’. Finally, the author explores in what ways we can rethink the consequences of the fact that cinema thinks. In answering these questions, he uses well-known films ranging from Hiroshima mon amour to Vertigo to The Matrix to illustrate Badiou's philosophy, as well as to consider the ways in which his work can be extended, critiqued and reframed with respect to the medium of cinema.Less
This book offers an in-depth examination of cinema and its philosophical significance. It employs the philosophy of Alain Badiou to answer the question central to all serious film scholarship – namely, ‘can cinema be thought?’ Treating this question on three levels, the author first asks if we can really think what cinema is, at an ontological level. Second, he investigates whether cinema can actually think for itself; that is, whether or not it is truly ‘artistic’. Finally, the author explores in what ways we can rethink the consequences of the fact that cinema thinks. In answering these questions, he uses well-known films ranging from Hiroshima mon amour to Vertigo to The Matrix to illustrate Badiou's philosophy, as well as to consider the ways in which his work can be extended, critiqued and reframed with respect to the medium of cinema.
Christian List and Valentini Laura
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- March 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198852636
- eISBN:
- 9780191887031
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198852636.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Just as different sciences deal with different facts—say, physics versus biology—so we may ask a similar question about normative theories. Is normative political theory concerned with the same ...
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Just as different sciences deal with different facts—say, physics versus biology—so we may ask a similar question about normative theories. Is normative political theory concerned with the same normative facts as moral theory or different ones? By developing an analogy with the sciences, this chapter argues that the normative facts of political theory belong to a higher—more coarse-grained—level than those of moral theory. The latter are multiply realizable by the former: competing facts at the moral level can underpin the same facts at the political one. Consequently, some questions that moral theories answer are indeterminate at the political level. This proposal offers a novel interpretation of John Rawls’s idea that, in public reasoning, we should abstract away from comprehensive moral doctrines. The chapter contrasts its distinction between facts at different levels with the distinction between admissible and inadmissible evidence, and discusses some implications for the practice of political theory.Less
Just as different sciences deal with different facts—say, physics versus biology—so we may ask a similar question about normative theories. Is normative political theory concerned with the same normative facts as moral theory or different ones? By developing an analogy with the sciences, this chapter argues that the normative facts of political theory belong to a higher—more coarse-grained—level than those of moral theory. The latter are multiply realizable by the former: competing facts at the moral level can underpin the same facts at the political one. Consequently, some questions that moral theories answer are indeterminate at the political level. This proposal offers a novel interpretation of John Rawls’s idea that, in public reasoning, we should abstract away from comprehensive moral doctrines. The chapter contrasts its distinction between facts at different levels with the distinction between admissible and inadmissible evidence, and discusses some implications for the practice of political theory.
Michael Bland Simmons
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- June 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190202392
- eISBN:
- 9780190202415
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190202392.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
The differences and similarities between Porphyry and Iamblichus on the nature of the soul and the role played by philosophy and religion in enabling its purification and ultimate ascent to the One ...
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The differences and similarities between Porphyry and Iamblichus on the nature of the soul and the role played by philosophy and religion in enabling its purification and ultimate ascent to the One are the major themes examined in this chapter. Whereas Porphyry accentuated a “soteriology of ascent” in which philosophy represented the summit of the soul’s progression toward intelligible reality and the unio mystica, Iamblichus stressed the importance of theurgy and viewed the salvific process as one of descent to the world of becoming. The fine points of the three paths of Porphyry’s system are delineated with respect to the conventional tripartite soul of Platonism. Iamblichus’ letters provide invaluable insight into how Porphyry’s second path trajectory would have been lived out by the novice philosopher. This path required many years of studying mathematics and the dialogues of Plato and most likely required more than one life to complete.Less
The differences and similarities between Porphyry and Iamblichus on the nature of the soul and the role played by philosophy and religion in enabling its purification and ultimate ascent to the One are the major themes examined in this chapter. Whereas Porphyry accentuated a “soteriology of ascent” in which philosophy represented the summit of the soul’s progression toward intelligible reality and the unio mystica, Iamblichus stressed the importance of theurgy and viewed the salvific process as one of descent to the world of becoming. The fine points of the three paths of Porphyry’s system are delineated with respect to the conventional tripartite soul of Platonism. Iamblichus’ letters provide invaluable insight into how Porphyry’s second path trajectory would have been lived out by the novice philosopher. This path required many years of studying mathematics and the dialogues of Plato and most likely required more than one life to complete.