Browsing Philosophic Exchange by Title
Now showing items 140-159 of 273
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On the Proper Interpretation of Indian Religion and PhilosophyThis paper opposes Professor Potter’s idealistic interpretation of Indian philosophy. By contrast, I defend a Marxist, historical materialist interpretation of Indian philosophy.
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On Understanding Indian Philosophical ThinkingProfessor Potter interprets Indian philosophy as mainly concerned with moksa or transcendental freedom. Professor Riepe offers a Marxist interpretation of Indian philosophy. The aim of this paper is to identify the strengths and limitations of each of these two views.
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On Weiss on Records and on the Significance of Athletic RecordsAthletic records cannot provide complete insight into the nature of an athletic event. However, certainly they can provide at least some approximation of what happened, and that is enough to justify the significant interest that we take in athletic records.
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On Weiss on Records, Athletic Activity, and the AthleteProfessor Weiss and I agree in denying that the end or goal of athletic activity can be adequately characterized in terms of setting records. However, we seem to disagree about the fundamental nature and goal of athletic activity. Professor Weiss’s athlete strikes me as a kind of fanatic, whose athletic activity excludes other goals and projects. By contrast, I would argue that the goal of athletic activity is the intrinsic enjoyment that one may derive from it, and this goal is perfectly compatible with having many other goals and projects in life.
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One is not Born but Becomes a Person: The Importance of Philosophical MotheringAnnette Baier is my philosophical foremother. This paper examines Baier’s views on such topics as personal identity and philosophical methodology. It also examines the idea of motherhood, and the various forms that it takes.
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Ontological Possibilties: Sport as PlayIt is often thought that sport is highly incompatible with play, since the competitiveness of sport requires a degree of seriousness and commitment that are at odds with the freedom of play. However, this paper will argue that the competitive fullness of sport is compatible with play, even if not perfectly coextensive with it.
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Philosophy and Exploration of the Solar SystemThe search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI) raises several questions in the philosophy of science, especially in relation to artificial intelligence and biology. This paper explores these questions.
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Philosophy and the CurriculumThere are many ways in which philosophy can contribute to the improvement of education. This paper proposes one particular contribution. Those who are studying to be teachers should be taught some of the philosophy that is related to the discipline that they will teach. There are four ways in which this can contribute to their education. First, it will give an analytical description of the forms of thought employed in their discipline. Second, it will provide some evaluation and criticism of those same forms of thought. Third, it will analyze some specific materials in such a way as to systematize them and illustrate these forms of thought. Fourth, it will provide an interpretation of these forms of thought that is accessible to the novice.
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Philosophy of Perception and the Phenomenology of Visual SpaceMy aim in this paper is to consider various forms of perceptual realism, including, for purposes of comparison, the largely abandoned indirect or representative realism. After surveying the variety of perceptual realisms and considering their various commitments, I introduce some considerations concerning the phenomenology of visual space that cause trouble for most forms of direct realism. These considerations pertain to the perception of objects in the distance and, secondarily, to the perception of shapes at a slant. I argue that one of the lesser known varieties of perceptual realism, critical direct realism, can meet the challenges offered by the facts of spatial perception.
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Polar Terms and Interdependent ConceptsThe notion of polarity, of polar terms and concepts, has been extensively used in the history of philosophy. However, there has never been a careful analysis or elucidation of the very concept of polarity itself. This paper aims to provide just such an elucidation of the concept of polarity.
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Political Responsibility and Resistance to Civil GovernmentThis paper has two aims. One is to gain a clearer view of Thoreau’s ideas about political responsibility, especially what I shall call individual accountability, or the duty to address political wrongs; for I believe that the common understanding of Thoreau’s position is inaccurate. Another aim is to suggest and to encourage discussion of a broader conception of political responsibility – a conception capable of supporting a duty of disobedience in view of social wrongs.
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Pragmatism in Philosophy: The Hidden AlternativeThis paper contrasts two ways of understanding the function of human thought and language. According to representationalism, the function of thought and language is to refer to entities in the world and assert truths about them. By contrast, pragmatism seeks to understand the function of thought and language without any such appeal, at the most fundamental level, to the concepts of truth or reference.
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Predictability and Explanation in the Social SciencesScientific explanation requires a certain type of predictability. The particulars that are studied by the social sciences do not possess that kind of predictability. Therefore the aspiration to construct scientific explanations in the social sciences is bound to fail.
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Preemption, Prevention and Predation: Why the Bush Strategy is DangerousIn September of 2002, the administration of President George W. Bush announced its policy of preemption. This policy is actually equivalent to a policy of preventive war. The principal difficulty with this policy is that it will incite fear in governments who would not otherwise attack us, and thereby incite them to hostile action. Thus the policy actually makes the world a more dangerous place.
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Preference by Race is Neither Just Nor WiseThis paper argues that preference by race is neither just nor wise. The paper argues that, as it was originally intended, the policy of affirmative action does not involve preference by race, nor is such a system justified.
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Professor Ayer’s Honest GhostProfessor Ayer is right that Ryle’s strongest thesis is incorrect. However, I do not agree with all of Ayer’s arguments for that conclusion. I also wish that Professor Ayer had examined some other mental concepts, which also seem to resist any kind of behaviorist reduction.
