Suchergebnisse

On the basis of an examination of Kant's, Maimon's, and Schelling's metaphilosophies, this book investigates how, starting from Kant's diagnosis of a "groping metaphysics", a philosophical research program develops whose goal is to elucidate the nature and method of philosophy itself. Uniting their projects is the thesis that philosophy must begin with an investigation of its own nature, and that this investigation, because of its special object, must be accompanied by a reflection on its method. To this end, their methods are discussed on the assumption that they arise from a particular engagement with the theories and practices of the 18th century sciences. Finally, this discussion provides the basis for showing in what ways philosophical experiments, fictions, or models offer methodological solutions to the problem of developing a scientific metaphysics.

Philosophy typically ignores biographical, historical, and cultural aspects of theoriss lives in an attempt to take a supposedly abstract and objective view of their work. This book makes some new conclusions about Arendts theory by emphasizing how her experience of the world as displayed in her archival materials impacted her thought. Some aspects of Arendts life have been examined in detail before, including the fact she was stateless as well as her affair with Heidegger. Instead, this work explores different topics including the biographical and narrative moments of Arendt's own work, the role of archiving in her thought, pivotal events that have not been archived, her understanding of her own identities, and how it affected the role of identity politics in her work. Typically, group action is underemphasized in Arendt scholarship in comparison to individual action and often identity politics questions are considered to lie within the realm of the private. Although Arendts theory is problematic when discussing issues concerning identity politics, she did think identity politics could be public and political and that effective political actions may occur within groups. What makes this project unique are the innovative conclusions made by moving the archival and biographical evidence to the center in order to understand her theory more accurately and within its historical and cultural context. This volume will be of interest to professional scholars in Arendts work, but also to those who have a more general interest in her life and theory.

In this sequel to Bernard Suits' timeless classic philosophical work The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, published in its full and unabridged form for the first time, Suits continues to explore some of our most fundamental philosophical questions, including the value of sport and games, and their relationship to the good life. In Return of the Grasshopper, Suits puts his theoretical cards on the table, exploring the in-depth implications of his definition of utopia, assessing the merits of a gamified philosophy, and explaining how games can provide an existential balm against the fear of death. Perhaps most importantly, for the first time in print, Suits reveals his underlying worldview: that humanity is forever fated to endure a cyclical existence of privation, brought on by material scarcity, and boredom, resulting from material plenitude. An essential companion to The Grasshopper, this edition includes an introductory chapter that puts Suits' life and work into context, helping the reader to understand why Suits has had such a profound influence on contemporary philosophy and how his ideas still provide powerful insight into the human condition. This book is important reading for anybody with an interest in the philosophy of sport, leisure and play, political philosophy, ethics, existentialism or utopian studies.

This edited volume examines the critical issues of the 21st century through the prism of Ernest Gellners work. The contributors look critically at Gellners legacy, questioning whether he remains an inspiration for todays social theorists. Chapters proactively probe Gellners thoughts on a variety of pressing topicsmodernity, postcolonialsm, nationalism, and morewithout losing sight of current debates on these issues. This volume further brings these debates to life by having each chapter followed by a comment by an academic peer of the chapter author, thus transforming the text into a lively and dynamic conversation. Petr Skalnik is Emeritus Extraordinary Professor at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. Previously he taught at Comenius University, Leiden University, University of Cape Town, Charles University and the University of Pardubice. He has edited and co-edited over two dozen books over the course of his career, and is the 2006 recipient of the Chevalier dans lOrdre des Palmes Academiques. From 1992 to 1997 he served as the Ambassador of Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic to Lebanon, and from 2003 to 2013 he was Vice-President of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.

Gives accurate and reliable summaries of the current state of research. It includes entries on philosophers, problems, terms, historical periods, subjects and the cultural context of Renaissance Philosophy. Furthermore, it covers Latin, Arabic, Jewish, Byzantine and vernacular philosophy, and includes entries on the cross-fertilization of these philosophical traditions. A unique feature of this encyclopedia is that it does not aim to define what Renaissance philosophy is, rather simply to cover the philosophy of the period between 1300 and 1650.