Author: Paul Kjellberg
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438409214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
The Chinese philosophical text Zhuangzi, written in part by a man named Zhuangzi in late fourth century B.C.E. China, is gaining recognition as one of the classics of world literature. Writing in beautiful prose and poetry, Zhuangzi mixes humor with relentless logic in attacking claims to knowledge about the world, particularly evaluative knowledge of what is good and bad or right and wrong. His arguments seem to admit of no escape. And yet where does that leave us? Zhuangzi himself clearly does not think that our situation is utterly hopeless, since at the very least he must have some reason for thinking we are better off aware of our ignorance. This book addresses the question of how Zhuangzi manages to sustain a positive moral vision in the face of his seemingly sweeping skepticism. Zhuangzi is compared to the Greek philosophers Plato and Sextus Empiricus in order to pinpoint more exactly what he doubts and why. Also examined is Zhuangzi's views on language and the role that language plays in shaping the reality we perceive. The authors test the application of Zhuangzi's ideas to contemporary debates in critical theory and to issues in moral philosophical thought such as the establishment of equal worth and the implications of ethical relativism. They also explore the religious and spiritual dimensions of the text and clarify the relation between Zhuangzi and Buddhism.
Essays on Skepticism, Relativism, and Ethics in the Zhuangzi
Author: Paul Kjellberg
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438409214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
The Chinese philosophical text Zhuangzi, written in part by a man named Zhuangzi in late fourth century B.C.E. China, is gaining recognition as one of the classics of world literature. Writing in beautiful prose and poetry, Zhuangzi mixes humor with relentless logic in attacking claims to knowledge about the world, particularly evaluative knowledge of what is good and bad or right and wrong. His arguments seem to admit of no escape. And yet where does that leave us? Zhuangzi himself clearly does not think that our situation is utterly hopeless, since at the very least he must have some reason for thinking we are better off aware of our ignorance. This book addresses the question of how Zhuangzi manages to sustain a positive moral vision in the face of his seemingly sweeping skepticism. Zhuangzi is compared to the Greek philosophers Plato and Sextus Empiricus in order to pinpoint more exactly what he doubts and why. Also examined is Zhuangzi's views on language and the role that language plays in shaping the reality we perceive. The authors test the application of Zhuangzi's ideas to contemporary debates in critical theory and to issues in moral philosophical thought such as the establishment of equal worth and the implications of ethical relativism. They also explore the religious and spiritual dimensions of the text and clarify the relation between Zhuangzi and Buddhism.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438409214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
The Chinese philosophical text Zhuangzi, written in part by a man named Zhuangzi in late fourth century B.C.E. China, is gaining recognition as one of the classics of world literature. Writing in beautiful prose and poetry, Zhuangzi mixes humor with relentless logic in attacking claims to knowledge about the world, particularly evaluative knowledge of what is good and bad or right and wrong. His arguments seem to admit of no escape. And yet where does that leave us? Zhuangzi himself clearly does not think that our situation is utterly hopeless, since at the very least he must have some reason for thinking we are better off aware of our ignorance. This book addresses the question of how Zhuangzi manages to sustain a positive moral vision in the face of his seemingly sweeping skepticism. Zhuangzi is compared to the Greek philosophers Plato and Sextus Empiricus in order to pinpoint more exactly what he doubts and why. Also examined is Zhuangzi's views on language and the role that language plays in shaping the reality we perceive. The authors test the application of Zhuangzi's ideas to contemporary debates in critical theory and to issues in moral philosophical thought such as the establishment of equal worth and the implications of ethical relativism. They also explore the religious and spiritual dimensions of the text and clarify the relation between Zhuangzi and Buddhism.
Essays on Relativism
Author: Crispin Wright
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019266106X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
The classical Protagorean idea that the idea of absolute truth is an illusion — that there is only 'your truth' and 'my truth', or perhaps 'our truth' and 'their truth' — was until quite recently widely regarded as thoroughly and deservedly discredited. However there has recently been a sea change among professional philosophers in the analytical tradition, with a number of distinguished specialists arguing that, when suitably disciplined and refined, relative truth can play a central and illuminating role in the theory of the workings of a number of important regions of thought and discourse. Crispin Wright has been a leading protagonist in the resulting debates. The papers gathered here chart the development of his ideas over the last two decades on three interconnected sets of issues in which the renaissance of relative truth has intensified interest: · the general metaphysics of relativism and whether it has the resources to rebut the traditional objections to it. · the significance of the “standards-variability” phenomena that seem to afflict ascriptions of knowledge and claims featuring epistemic 'mights' and 'coulds'. · the challenge to find the best formulation of anti-realism about certain areas of our thought and discourse — taste, humour, or etiquette, perhaps, — in such a way as to make sense of the intuitive idea that disagreement about matters within these areas can be and often is “faultless”. The overall tendency of the chapters is to call into question the claimed theoretical advantages of 'New Age' relativism. As so often in Philosophy, however, it is the journey rather than the destination from which we learn.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019266106X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
The classical Protagorean idea that the idea of absolute truth is an illusion — that there is only 'your truth' and 'my truth', or perhaps 'our truth' and 'their truth' — was until quite recently widely regarded as thoroughly and deservedly discredited. However there has recently been a sea change among professional philosophers in the analytical tradition, with a number of distinguished specialists arguing that, when suitably disciplined and refined, relative truth can play a central and illuminating role in the theory of the workings of a number of important regions of thought and discourse. Crispin Wright has been a leading protagonist in the resulting debates. The papers gathered here chart the development of his ideas over the last two decades on three interconnected sets of issues in which the renaissance of relative truth has intensified interest: · the general metaphysics of relativism and whether it has the resources to rebut the traditional objections to it. · the significance of the “standards-variability” phenomena that seem to afflict ascriptions of knowledge and claims featuring epistemic 'mights' and 'coulds'. · the challenge to find the best formulation of anti-realism about certain areas of our thought and discourse — taste, humour, or etiquette, perhaps, — in such a way as to make sense of the intuitive idea that disagreement about matters within these areas can be and often is “faultless”. The overall tendency of the chapters is to call into question the claimed theoretical advantages of 'New Age' relativism. As so often in Philosophy, however, it is the journey rather than the destination from which we learn.
Ontological Relativity and Other Essays
Author: Willard Van Orman Quine
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231083577
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
Intended to clarify the meaning of the philosophical doctrines propounded by W. V. Quine in Word and Objects, the essays included herein are intimately related and concern themselves with three philosophical preoccupations: the nature of meaning, the meaning of existence and the nature of natural knowledge.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231083577
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
Intended to clarify the meaning of the philosophical doctrines propounded by W. V. Quine in Word and Objects, the essays included herein are intimately related and concern themselves with three philosophical preoccupations: the nature of meaning, the meaning of existence and the nature of natural knowledge.
Essays on Skepticism, Relativism, and Ethics in the Zhuangzi
Author: Paul Kjellberg
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791428917
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
The Chinese philosophical text Zhuangzi was written by Zhuangzi in the fourth century BCE. With humor and relentless logic Zhuangzi attacks claims to knowledge about the world, especially evaluative knowledge of what is good and bad or right and wrong. This book is about the man and the text.
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791428917
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
The Chinese philosophical text Zhuangzi was written by Zhuangzi in the fourth century BCE. With humor and relentless logic Zhuangzi attacks claims to knowledge about the world, especially evaluative knowledge of what is good and bad or right and wrong. This book is about the man and the text.
Relativism
Author: Michael Krausz
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231144105
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 593
Book Description
The essays in this volume grapple with one of the most intriguing, enduring, and far-reaching philosophical problems of our age. Relativism comes in many varieties. It is often defined as the belief that truth, goodness, or beauty is relative& mdash;relative, that is, to some context or frame of reference& mdash;and that no absolute standards can adjudicate between competing reference frames. This anthology captures the significance and range of relativistic doctrines, rehearsing their virtues and vices and reflecting a spectrum of attitudes toward relativism. Invoking diverse philosophical orientations, these doctrines concern conceptions of relativism in relation to pluralism and moral relativism; facts and conceptual schemes; realism and objectivity; solidarity and rationality; universalism and foundationalism; and feminism and poststructuralism. The thirty-three essays in this book include nine original works and many classical articles.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231144105
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 593
Book Description
The essays in this volume grapple with one of the most intriguing, enduring, and far-reaching philosophical problems of our age. Relativism comes in many varieties. It is often defined as the belief that truth, goodness, or beauty is relative& mdash;relative, that is, to some context or frame of reference& mdash;and that no absolute standards can adjudicate between competing reference frames. This anthology captures the significance and range of relativistic doctrines, rehearsing their virtues and vices and reflecting a spectrum of attitudes toward relativism. Invoking diverse philosophical orientations, these doctrines concern conceptions of relativism in relation to pluralism and moral relativism; facts and conceptual schemes; realism and objectivity; solidarity and rationality; universalism and foundationalism; and feminism and poststructuralism. The thirty-three essays in this book include nine original works and many classical articles.
Explaining Value and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy
Author: Gilbert Harman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198238041
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
In this selection of Gilbert Harman's shorter writings in moral philosophy, the essays are divided into four sections, focusing on moral relativism, values and valuing, character traits and virtue ethics, and ways of explaining aspects of morality.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198238041
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
In this selection of Gilbert Harman's shorter writings in moral philosophy, the essays are divided into four sections, focusing on moral relativism, values and valuing, character traits and virtue ethics, and ways of explaining aspects of morality.
The Specter of Relativism
Author: Lawrence Kennedy Schmidt
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
ISBN: 9780810112575
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Specter of Relativism addresses the timely topic of relativism from the perspective of Gadamer's hermeneutics. This collection of essays explores several of the key issues in contemporary philosophy--the nature of truth, the model of conversation, and the possibility of an ethics in postmodern conditions--in the context of the work of Gadamer. Although centered on Gadamer and including the first English translation of one of his essays, the volume does not narrowly define or defend the approach of philosophical hermeneutics; the contributors present a broad range of views, in some cases championing a Gadamerian perspective, in others challenging it.
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
ISBN: 9780810112575
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Specter of Relativism addresses the timely topic of relativism from the perspective of Gadamer's hermeneutics. This collection of essays explores several of the key issues in contemporary philosophy--the nature of truth, the model of conversation, and the possibility of an ethics in postmodern conditions--in the context of the work of Gadamer. Although centered on Gadamer and including the first English translation of one of his essays, the volume does not narrowly define or defend the approach of philosophical hermeneutics; the contributors present a broad range of views, in some cases championing a Gadamerian perspective, in others challenging it.
International Human Rights Law
Author: Olivier De Schutter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139993267
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1123
Book Description
The leading textbook on international human rights law is now better than ever. The content has been fully updated and now provides more detailed coverage of substantive human rights, along with new sections on the war on terror and on the progressive realization of economic and social rights, making this the most comprehensive book in the field. It has a new, more student-friendly text design and has retained the features which made the first edition so engaging and accessible, including the concise and critical style, and questions and case studies within each chapter, as well as suggestions for further reading. Written by De Schutter, whose extensive experience working in the field and teaching the subject in both the US and EU gives him a unique perspective and valuable insight into the requirements of lecturers and students. This is an essential tool for all students of international human rights law.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139993267
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1123
Book Description
The leading textbook on international human rights law is now better than ever. The content has been fully updated and now provides more detailed coverage of substantive human rights, along with new sections on the war on terror and on the progressive realization of economic and social rights, making this the most comprehensive book in the field. It has a new, more student-friendly text design and has retained the features which made the first edition so engaging and accessible, including the concise and critical style, and questions and case studies within each chapter, as well as suggestions for further reading. Written by De Schutter, whose extensive experience working in the field and teaching the subject in both the US and EU gives him a unique perspective and valuable insight into the requirements of lecturers and students. This is an essential tool for all students of international human rights law.
Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society
Author: Mikael Stenmark
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331996559X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Book Description
This book approaches post-truth and relativism in a multidisciplinary fashion. Researchers from astrophysics, philosophy, psychology, media studies, religious studies, anthropology, social epistemology and sociology discuss and analyse the impact of relativism and post-truth both within the academy and in society at large. The motivation for this multidisciplinary approach is that relativism and post-truth are multifaceted phenomena with complex histories that have played out differently in different areas of society and different academic disciplines. There is hence a multitude of ways in which to use and understand the concepts and the phenomena to which they refer, and a multitude of critiques and defenses as well. No single volume can capture the ongoing discussions in different areas in all their complexity, but the different chapters of the book can function as exemplifications of the ramifications these phenomena have had.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331996559X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Book Description
This book approaches post-truth and relativism in a multidisciplinary fashion. Researchers from astrophysics, philosophy, psychology, media studies, religious studies, anthropology, social epistemology and sociology discuss and analyse the impact of relativism and post-truth both within the academy and in society at large. The motivation for this multidisciplinary approach is that relativism and post-truth are multifaceted phenomena with complex histories that have played out differently in different areas of society and different academic disciplines. There is hence a multitude of ways in which to use and understand the concepts and the phenomena to which they refer, and a multitude of critiques and defenses as well. No single volume can capture the ongoing discussions in different areas in all their complexity, but the different chapters of the book can function as exemplifications of the ramifications these phenomena have had.
Relativism Refuted
Author: H. Siegel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401577463
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Book Description
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401577463
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Book Description