Author: Alexander R. Pruss
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1441120629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Actuality, Possibility and Worlds is an exploration of the Aristotelian account that sees possibilities as grounded in causal powers. On his way to that account, Pruss surveys a number of historical approaches and argues that logicist approaches to possibility are implausible. The notion of possible worlds appears to be useful for many purposes, such as the analysis of counterfactuals or elucidating the nature of propositions and properties. This usefulness of possible worlds makes for a second general question: Are there any possible worlds and, if so, what are they? Are they concrete universes as David Lewis thinks, Platonic abstracta as per Robert M. Adams and Alvin Plantinga, or maybe linguistic or mathematical constructs such as Heller thinks? Or is perhaps Leibniz right in thinking that possibilia are not on par with actualities and that abstracta can only exist in a mind, so that possible worlds are ideas in the mind of God?
Actuality, Possibility, and Worlds
Author: Alexander R. Pruss
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1441120629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Actuality, Possibility and Worlds is an exploration of the Aristotelian account that sees possibilities as grounded in causal powers. On his way to that account, Pruss surveys a number of historical approaches and argues that logicist approaches to possibility are implausible. The notion of possible worlds appears to be useful for many purposes, such as the analysis of counterfactuals or elucidating the nature of propositions and properties. This usefulness of possible worlds makes for a second general question: Are there any possible worlds and, if so, what are they? Are they concrete universes as David Lewis thinks, Platonic abstracta as per Robert M. Adams and Alvin Plantinga, or maybe linguistic or mathematical constructs such as Heller thinks? Or is perhaps Leibniz right in thinking that possibilia are not on par with actualities and that abstracta can only exist in a mind, so that possible worlds are ideas in the mind of God?
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1441120629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Actuality, Possibility and Worlds is an exploration of the Aristotelian account that sees possibilities as grounded in causal powers. On his way to that account, Pruss surveys a number of historical approaches and argues that logicist approaches to possibility are implausible. The notion of possible worlds appears to be useful for many purposes, such as the analysis of counterfactuals or elucidating the nature of propositions and properties. This usefulness of possible worlds makes for a second general question: Are there any possible worlds and, if so, what are they? Are they concrete universes as David Lewis thinks, Platonic abstracta as per Robert M. Adams and Alvin Plantinga, or maybe linguistic or mathematical constructs such as Heller thinks? Or is perhaps Leibniz right in thinking that possibilia are not on par with actualities and that abstracta can only exist in a mind, so that possible worlds are ideas in the mind of God?
Ways of Being
Author: Charlotte Witt
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501711504
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
Charlotte Witt continues her highly regarded exploration of Aristotle's metaphysics in a book devoted to the ontological distinction between potentiality and actuality. She focuses on Metaphysics book ix, which provides the most sustained discussion of this distinction. Witt rejects the conventional reading of this key text—that Aristotle differentiated between the two concepts solely to further the investigation of substance. Instead, in an original interpretation of his work, she argues that his development of the distinction between "being x potentially" and "being x actually" allowed Aristotle to develop an intrinsically hierarchical and normative vision of reality.For Witt, Aristotle's views about being shed light on his puzzling use of gender language in his descriptions of reality. This language has become an important issue for feminist scholars who have noted that in Aristotle's metaphysics of substance form is sometimes associated with the male, and matter with the female. Witt's interpretation that Aristotelian reality is intrinsically hierarchical and normative, but not intrinsically gendered, offers a new, important understanding of a controversial aspect of Aristotle's metaphysics.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501711504
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
Charlotte Witt continues her highly regarded exploration of Aristotle's metaphysics in a book devoted to the ontological distinction between potentiality and actuality. She focuses on Metaphysics book ix, which provides the most sustained discussion of this distinction. Witt rejects the conventional reading of this key text—that Aristotle differentiated between the two concepts solely to further the investigation of substance. Instead, in an original interpretation of his work, she argues that his development of the distinction between "being x potentially" and "being x actually" allowed Aristotle to develop an intrinsically hierarchical and normative vision of reality.For Witt, Aristotle's views about being shed light on his puzzling use of gender language in his descriptions of reality. This language has become an important issue for feminist scholars who have noted that in Aristotle's metaphysics of substance form is sometimes associated with the male, and matter with the female. Witt's interpretation that Aristotelian reality is intrinsically hierarchical and normative, but not intrinsically gendered, offers a new, important understanding of a controversial aspect of Aristotle's metaphysics.
Aristotle's Theory of Actuality
Author: Z. Bechler
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791422397
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
This is an attack on Aristotle showing that his misplaced drive toward the consistent application of his actualistic ontology (denying the reality of all potential things) resulted in many of his major theses being essentially vacuous.
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791422397
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
This is an attack on Aristotle showing that his misplaced drive toward the consistent application of his actualistic ontology (denying the reality of all potential things) resulted in many of his major theses being essentially vacuous.
The Actuality
Author: Paul Braddon
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504093623
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Fear makes her human . . . “The Actuality is smart, literary science fiction.” —Infinite Speculation She belongs to me. Property rights will prevail . . . Evie is a near-perfect bioengineered human. In a broken-down future where her kind has been outlawed, her ‘husband’, Matthew, keeps her safely hidden. But when Evie’s existence is revealed, she must take her chances on the dark and hostile streets, where more than one predator is on the hunt . . . “Written with flair and humanity . . . mesmerizing.” —The Times (London) “Exquisite. . . . Not since Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? have I felt so strongly about where artificial intelligence might lead us. Highly recommended.” —Christina Dalcher, author of Vox “Engaging, fast-moving and surprising . . . gives familiar science fiction themes a fresh and compassionate look, and makes of them something new.” —Ken MacLeod, BSFA Award–winning author of the Lightspeed Trilogy
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504093623
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Fear makes her human . . . “The Actuality is smart, literary science fiction.” —Infinite Speculation She belongs to me. Property rights will prevail . . . Evie is a near-perfect bioengineered human. In a broken-down future where her kind has been outlawed, her ‘husband’, Matthew, keeps her safely hidden. But when Evie’s existence is revealed, she must take her chances on the dark and hostile streets, where more than one predator is on the hunt . . . “Written with flair and humanity . . . mesmerizing.” —The Times (London) “Exquisite. . . . Not since Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? have I felt so strongly about where artificial intelligence might lead us. Highly recommended.” —Christina Dalcher, author of Vox “Engaging, fast-moving and surprising . . . gives familiar science fiction themes a fresh and compassionate look, and makes of them something new.” —Ken MacLeod, BSFA Award–winning author of the Lightspeed Trilogy
Truth and Actuality
Author: J. Krishnamurti
Publisher: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd.
ISBN: 9788187326182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
these deal with the problem of truth, the actuality in which we live as perceived by the senses, reality as appears to our consciousness, and the relationship between them. In the main part of the book Krishnamurti considers how man's consciousness is made up of all sorts of misconceptions about the 'me', or the ego centre; he also points out how solidly conditioned it is. 'You cannot go through reality to come to truth; you must understand the limitation of reality, which is the whole process of though, ' he says. The book ends with some questions and answers which throw light on certain issues previously touched upon
Publisher: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd.
ISBN: 9788187326182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
these deal with the problem of truth, the actuality in which we live as perceived by the senses, reality as appears to our consciousness, and the relationship between them. In the main part of the book Krishnamurti considers how man's consciousness is made up of all sorts of misconceptions about the 'me', or the ego centre; he also points out how solidly conditioned it is. 'You cannot go through reality to come to truth; you must understand the limitation of reality, which is the whole process of though, ' he says. The book ends with some questions and answers which throw light on certain issues previously touched upon
Cinema of Actuality
Author: Yuriko Furuhata
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822355043
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese avant-garde filmmakers intensely explored the shifting role of the image in political activism and media events. Known as the "season of politics," the era was filled with widely covered dramatic events from hijackings and hostage crises to student protests. This season of politics was, Yuriko Furuhata argues, the season of image politics. Well-known directors, including Oshima Nagisa, Matsumoto Toshio, Wakamatsu Kōji, and Adachi Masao, appropriated the sensationalized media coverage of current events, turning news stories into material for timely critique and intermedial experimentation. Cinema of Actuality analyzes Japanese avant-garde filmmakers' struggle to radicalize cinema in light of the intensifying politics of spectacle and a rapidly changing media environment, one that was increasingly dominated by television. Furuhata demonstrates how avant-garde filmmaking intersected with media history, and how sophisticated debates about film theory emerged out of dialogues with photography, television, and other visual arts.
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822355043
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 277
Book Description
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese avant-garde filmmakers intensely explored the shifting role of the image in political activism and media events. Known as the "season of politics," the era was filled with widely covered dramatic events from hijackings and hostage crises to student protests. This season of politics was, Yuriko Furuhata argues, the season of image politics. Well-known directors, including Oshima Nagisa, Matsumoto Toshio, Wakamatsu Kōji, and Adachi Masao, appropriated the sensationalized media coverage of current events, turning news stories into material for timely critique and intermedial experimentation. Cinema of Actuality analyzes Japanese avant-garde filmmakers' struggle to radicalize cinema in light of the intensifying politics of spectacle and a rapidly changing media environment, one that was increasingly dominated by television. Furuhata demonstrates how avant-garde filmmaking intersected with media history, and how sophisticated debates about film theory emerged out of dialogues with photography, television, and other visual arts.
Living Thought
Author: Roberto Esposito
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804786488
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
The work of contemporary Italian thinkers, what Roberto Esposito refers to as Italian Theory, is attracting increasing attention around the world. This book explores the reasons for its growing popularity, its distinguishing traits, and why people are turning to these authors for answers to real-world issues and problems. The approach he takes, in line with the keen historical consciousness of Italian thinkers themselves, is a historical one. He offers insights into the great "unphilosophical" philosophers of life—poets, painters, politicians and revolutionaries, film-makers and literary critics—who have made Italian thought, from its beginnings, an "impure" thought. People like Machiavelli, Croce, Gentile, and Gramsci were all compelled to fulfill important political roles in the societies of their times. No wonder they felt that the abstract vocabulary and concepts of pure philosophy were inadequate to express themselves. Similarly, artists such as Dante, Leonardo Da Vinci, Leopardi, or Pasolini all had to turn to other disciplines outside philosophy in order to discuss and grapple with the messy, constantly changing realities of their lives. For this very reason, says Esposito, because Italian thinkers have always been deeply engaged with the concrete reality of life (rather than closed up in the introspective pursuits of traditional continental philosophy) and because they have looked for the answers of today in the origins of their own historical roots, Italian theory is a "living thought." Hence the relevance or actuality that it holds for us today. Continuing in this tradition, the work of Roberto Esposito is distinguished by its interdisciplinary breadth. In this book, he passes effortlessly from literary criticism to art history, through political history and philosophy, in an expository style that welcomes non-philosophers to engage in the most pressing problems of our times. As in all his works, Esposito is inclusive rather than exclusive; in being so, he celebrates the affirmative potency of life.
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804786488
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
The work of contemporary Italian thinkers, what Roberto Esposito refers to as Italian Theory, is attracting increasing attention around the world. This book explores the reasons for its growing popularity, its distinguishing traits, and why people are turning to these authors for answers to real-world issues and problems. The approach he takes, in line with the keen historical consciousness of Italian thinkers themselves, is a historical one. He offers insights into the great "unphilosophical" philosophers of life—poets, painters, politicians and revolutionaries, film-makers and literary critics—who have made Italian thought, from its beginnings, an "impure" thought. People like Machiavelli, Croce, Gentile, and Gramsci were all compelled to fulfill important political roles in the societies of their times. No wonder they felt that the abstract vocabulary and concepts of pure philosophy were inadequate to express themselves. Similarly, artists such as Dante, Leonardo Da Vinci, Leopardi, or Pasolini all had to turn to other disciplines outside philosophy in order to discuss and grapple with the messy, constantly changing realities of their lives. For this very reason, says Esposito, because Italian thinkers have always been deeply engaged with the concrete reality of life (rather than closed up in the introspective pursuits of traditional continental philosophy) and because they have looked for the answers of today in the origins of their own historical roots, Italian theory is a "living thought." Hence the relevance or actuality that it holds for us today. Continuing in this tradition, the work of Roberto Esposito is distinguished by its interdisciplinary breadth. In this book, he passes effortlessly from literary criticism to art history, through political history and philosophy, in an expository style that welcomes non-philosophers to engage in the most pressing problems of our times. As in all his works, Esposito is inclusive rather than exclusive; in being so, he celebrates the affirmative potency of life.
Happiness as Actuality in Nicomachean Ethics
Author: Sorin Sabou
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 153265992X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
This is a study about the meaning of happiness (εὐδαιμονία) in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (EN). It is argued that εὐδαιμονία in EN means actuality, and it has to be interpreted through the lenses of two metaphors used by Aristotle in EN 1.7 1098a21 and 10.6 1176a30: the "perimeter of good" and the "imprint of happiness." To explain the meaning of happiness Aristotle first has to delineate the "perimeter of good" of human beings, and he does that with the help of two criteria: the final end [τέλος] and the function of humanity [ἔργον ἀνθρώπου]. These two criteria are metaphysical concepts which describe the "good" as the final metaphysical aim of every person, and the best every person can be. This metaphysical teleological aim is the "actuality of the soul" according with excellence. This is the "perimeter" within which Aristotle enquires about εὐδαιμονία--the good of humans.
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 153265992X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
This is a study about the meaning of happiness (εὐδαιμονία) in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (EN). It is argued that εὐδαιμονία in EN means actuality, and it has to be interpreted through the lenses of two metaphors used by Aristotle in EN 1.7 1098a21 and 10.6 1176a30: the "perimeter of good" and the "imprint of happiness." To explain the meaning of happiness Aristotle first has to delineate the "perimeter of good" of human beings, and he does that with the help of two criteria: the final end [τέλος] and the function of humanity [ἔργον ἀνθρώπου]. These two criteria are metaphysical concepts which describe the "good" as the final metaphysical aim of every person, and the best every person can be. This metaphysical teleological aim is the "actuality of the soul" according with excellence. This is the "perimeter" within which Aristotle enquires about εὐδαιμονία--the good of humans.
Hegel's Actuality Chapter of the Science of Logic
Author: Nahum Brown
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498560571
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 127
Book Description
This book explores Hegel’s theory of modality (actuality, possibility, necessity, contingency) through extremely close textual analysis of the “Actuality” chapter of Hegel’s Science of Logic. The “Actuality” chapter is the equivalence of Aristotle’s momentous Metaphysics book 9. Because of this, Hegel’s chapter deserves the same thorough investigation into its complex insights and argumentation. This book situates Hegel’s insights about possibility and necessity within historical and contemporary debates about metaphysics, while analyzing some of the most controversial themes of Hegel’s theory, such as the question of the ontological status of unactualized possibilities, the relationship between contradiction and possibility, and the claim that necessity leads to freedom. This book also contributes to an ongoing philosophical inquiry into the nature of dialectics by articulating Hegel’s “Actuality” chapter as a coherent argument divided into twenty-seven premises.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498560571
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 127
Book Description
This book explores Hegel’s theory of modality (actuality, possibility, necessity, contingency) through extremely close textual analysis of the “Actuality” chapter of Hegel’s Science of Logic. The “Actuality” chapter is the equivalence of Aristotle’s momentous Metaphysics book 9. Because of this, Hegel’s chapter deserves the same thorough investigation into its complex insights and argumentation. This book situates Hegel’s insights about possibility and necessity within historical and contemporary debates about metaphysics, while analyzing some of the most controversial themes of Hegel’s theory, such as the question of the ontological status of unactualized possibilities, the relationship between contradiction and possibility, and the claim that necessity leads to freedom. This book also contributes to an ongoing philosophical inquiry into the nature of dialectics by articulating Hegel’s “Actuality” chapter as a coherent argument divided into twenty-seven premises.
Name and Actuality in Early Chinese Thought
Author: John Makeham
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 143841174X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
This is the first Western study of the philosophy of Xu Gan (170-217), a Confucian thinker who lived at a nodal point in the history of Chinese thought, when Han scholasticism had become ossified and the creative and independent quality that characterized Wei-Jin thought was just emerging. As the theme of his study, Makeham develops an original and richly detailed account of ming shi, 'name and actuality,' one of the key pairs of concepts in early Chinese thought. He shows how Xu Gan's understanding of the 'name and actuality' relationship was most immediately influenced by Xu Gan's understanding of why the Han dynasty had collapsed, yet had its roots in a tradition of discourse that spanned the classical period (circa 500-150 B.C.E.). In reconstructing the philosophical background of Xu Gan's understanding of the relationship between 'name and actuality,' Makeham identifies two antithetical theories of naming in early Chinese thought—nominalist and correlative—a distinction that is as great as the Realist-Nominalist distinction of Western thought. He shows how Xu Gan's views on the name and actuality relationship were animated, on the one hand, by a rejection of nominalist theories of naming, and on the other hand, by a novel appropriation of correlative theories of naming. The study also analyzes two of the more immediate social and intellectual issues in the late Eastern Han (25-220) period that had prompted Xu Gan to discuss the name and actuality relationship: the ethos of the scholar-gentry (ming jiao) and Han approaches to classical scholarship. Makeham demonstrates how Xu Gan's critique of these matters is valuable not only as a late Han philosophical account of what had led to the demise of the 400-year-old Han dynasty, but also as a mode of conceptualizing that contributed to the new direction that philosophical thinking took in the third century C.E..
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 143841174X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
This is the first Western study of the philosophy of Xu Gan (170-217), a Confucian thinker who lived at a nodal point in the history of Chinese thought, when Han scholasticism had become ossified and the creative and independent quality that characterized Wei-Jin thought was just emerging. As the theme of his study, Makeham develops an original and richly detailed account of ming shi, 'name and actuality,' one of the key pairs of concepts in early Chinese thought. He shows how Xu Gan's understanding of the 'name and actuality' relationship was most immediately influenced by Xu Gan's understanding of why the Han dynasty had collapsed, yet had its roots in a tradition of discourse that spanned the classical period (circa 500-150 B.C.E.). In reconstructing the philosophical background of Xu Gan's understanding of the relationship between 'name and actuality,' Makeham identifies two antithetical theories of naming in early Chinese thought—nominalist and correlative—a distinction that is as great as the Realist-Nominalist distinction of Western thought. He shows how Xu Gan's views on the name and actuality relationship were animated, on the one hand, by a rejection of nominalist theories of naming, and on the other hand, by a novel appropriation of correlative theories of naming. The study also analyzes two of the more immediate social and intellectual issues in the late Eastern Han (25-220) period that had prompted Xu Gan to discuss the name and actuality relationship: the ethos of the scholar-gentry (ming jiao) and Han approaches to classical scholarship. Makeham demonstrates how Xu Gan's critique of these matters is valuable not only as a late Han philosophical account of what had led to the demise of the 400-year-old Han dynasty, but also as a mode of conceptualizing that contributed to the new direction that philosophical thinking took in the third century C.E..