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Philosophical Discussion (philosophical + discussion)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	88%

Selected Abstracts

The concept of health: beyond normativism and naturalism

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2010
Richard P. Hamilton BA (Hons) MPhil PhD PGCE
Abstract Philosophical discussions of health and disease have traditionally been dominated by a debate between normativists, who hold that health is an inescapably value-laded concept and naturalists, such as Christopher Boorse, who believe that it is possible to derive a purely descriptive or theoretical definition of health based upon biological function. In this paper I defend a distinctive view which traces its origins in Aristotle's naturalistic ethics. An Arisotelian would agree with Boorse that health and disease are ubiquitous features of the natural world and thus not mere projections of human interests and values. She would differ from him in rejecting the idea that value is a non-natural quality. I conclude my discussion with some comments of the normative character of living systems. [source]

Neutrality, Rebirth and Intergenerational Justice

JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2002
Tim Mulgan
A basic feature of liberal political philosophy is its commitment to religious neut-rality. Contemporary philosophical discussion of intergenerational justice violates this com-mitment, as it proceeds on the basis of controversial metaphysical assumptions. The Contractualist notion of a power imbalance between generations and Derek Parfit's non-identity claims both presuppose that humans are not reborn. Yet belief in rebirth underlies Hindu and Buddhist traditions espoused by millions throughout the world. These traditions clearly constitute what John Rawls dubs "reasonable comprehensive doctrines", and therefore cannot be dismissed by political liberals. In many societies, including the USA, the UK, and India, belief in rebirth exists alongside other traditions, as well as modern Western views. A liberal theory for such societies must be impartial regarding rebirth, and the after-life in general. Two alternatives forms of liberal neutrality are sketched, based on Contractualism and Consequentialism. [source]

PERSONAL ATTACHMENT TO BELIEFS

METAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2007
DALE LUGENBEHL
Abstract: There is a tendency in philosophical discussions to see beliefs as belonging to specific people,to see things in terms of "your" belief, or "my" belief, or "Smith's" belief. I call this "personal attachment to beliefs." This mindset is unconscious, deeply ingrained, and a powerful background stance in discussion and thinking. Attachment has a negative impact on the quality of philosophical discussion and learning: difficulties in acknowledging error and changing beliefs, blindness to new evidence, difficulties in understanding new ideas, entrenchment in views, rancorous behavior, and the encouragement of competitive personal contests rather than collaborative searches for the truth. This article investigates the nature of attachment and traces out some of the undesirable consequences for classroom philosophical discussion, thinking, writing, and learning. It presents an alternative model to attachment and offers constructive suggestions for implementing the results of the investigation in the philosophy classroom and elsewhere. [source]

On the Structure of Twentieth-Century Philosophy

METAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2004
Tom Rockmore
Abstract: It makes sense to ask from time to time where we are in the philosophical discussion. This article reviews the debate in the twentieth century. Michael Friedman has recently argued that the split between Continental and analytic philosophy is due to the inability, because of war, to carry forward a genuine debate begun by Heidegger and Carnap around the time of Heidegger's public controversy with Cassirer at Davos in 1929. I, however, argue that there was not even the beginning of a genuine debate between Heidegger and Carnap. I argue further that the split between analytic and Continental philosophy originated earlier, in the analytic attack on idealism at the beginning of the century. And finally I argue that the differences among analytic philosophy, Continental philosophy, and pragmatism, the third main current of twentieth-century philosophy, can be traced to differing reactions to Kant. [source]

Scandalous Family Relations: Dealing with Darwinism in Wilhelm Raabe's Der Lar

THE GERMAN QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2008
Silke Brodersen
This article discusses Wilhelm Raabe's 1889 story Der Lar as an important and long overlooked literary response to the cultural debate on Darwinism. It argues that the text conducts a narrative experiment that places a Darwinian object (a stuffed gibbon) at the center of a constellation of characters who interact with it in different ways, thereby drawing it into a broad cultural and philosophical discussion. As the ape becomes a figure of reflection for constructing the characters' identities in the story, it also serves as a trope for exploring the impact of Darwinism on bourgeois values and for discussing the proper relationship between science and literature in realism. Ultimately, Der Lar works towards a reconciliation of abstract theory with individual narrative and undertakes a critical assessment of the relevance of science in everyday human life. [source]

Assisted Suicide: Do We Own Our Bodies?

DIALOG, Issue 2 2004
Jarmo Tarkki
Abstract:, The ethics of physician-assisted suicide is explored here in light of classic philosophical discussions of the ownership of one's body plus biblical discussions of the relationship of body and soul. Motives for individual and group suicide are brought to bear on bioethical principles such as that of autonomy. Ethical analysis is here challenged by the case of a 91 year-old woman, Ragnhild, who lived after professional judgments that her life should be ended. [source]

PERSONAL ATTACHMENT TO BELIEFS

WRITING THE HISTORY OF HISTORIED THOUGHT

METAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 5 2005
Joanne B. Waugh
Abstract: In Historied Thought, Constructed World, Joseph Margolis identifies the philosophical themes that will dominate philosophical discussions in the twenty-first century, given the recognition of the historicity of philosophical thought in the twentieth century. In what follows I examine these themes, especially cognitive intransparency, and the arguments presented in favor of them, noting the extent to which they rest on a view of language that takes a written text, and not speech, as the paradigm of language. I suggest if one takes speech as a mutual embodied action in a shared space as a model for language, the theme of cognitive intransparency,and the problems it brings in its wake,does not loom so large for those of us working in the history of philosophy. I conclude by showing that if we adopt this suggestion in relation to early Greek philosophy, that is, the period in the history of historied thought in which philosophy itself emerges as a linguistic and intellectual activity, we can better understand how and why philosophy emerged as it did,in the form of dialogues by Plato. [source]