scholarly journals Francis Hutcheson on Liberty

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 121-142
Author(s):  
Ruth Boeker
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Character Development ◽  
Francis Hutcheson ◽  
Detailed Treatment ◽  
Philosophical Writings ◽  
Philosophical Questions ◽  
Independent Thinking

AbstractThis paper aims to reconstruct Francis Hutcheson's thinking about liberty. Since he does not offer a detailed treatment of philosophical questions concerning liberty in his mature philosophical writings I turn to a textbook on metaphysics. We can assume that he prepared the textbook during the 1720s in Dublin. This textbook deserves more attention. First, it sheds light on Hutcheson's role as a teacher in Ireland and Scotland. Second, Hutcheson's contributions to metaphysical disputes are more original than sometimes assumed. To appreciate his independent thinking, I argue, it is helpful to take the intellectual debates in Ireland into consideration, including William King's defence of free will and discussions of Shaftesbury's views in Robert Molesworth's intellectual circle. Rather than taking a stance on the philosophical disputes about liberty, I argue that Hutcheson aims to shift the focus of the debates towards practical questions concerning control of desire, cultivation of habits, and character development.

Philosophy of Biology: A Very Short Introduction

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Philosophy Of Biology ◽  
Darwinian Evolution ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nature Vs Nurture ◽  
Core Issues ◽  
Philosophical Questions

Philosophy of Biology: A Very Short Introduction outlines the core issues with which contemporary philosophers of biology grapple. Over the last forty years the philosophy of biology has emerged as an important sub-discipline of the philosophy of science. Addressing difficult conceptual issues that arise within the biological sciences, it also encompasses areas where biology has impinged on traditional philosophical questions, such as free-will, essentialism, and nature vs nurture. The book also explores topics such as the logic of Darwinian evolution; the concepts of function and design; the nature of species; and the debate over adaptationism.

Berlin, Isaiah (1909–97)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Williams
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Free Will ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
Moral Self ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Philosophical Questions

Berlin said that he decided about 1945 to give up philosophy, in which he had worked up to that time, in favour of the history of ideas. Some of his best-known work certainly belongs to the history of ideas, but he continued in fact both to write philosophy and to pursue philosophical questions in his historical work. His main philosophical contributions are to political philosophy and specifically to the theory of liberalism. He emphasizes a distinction between ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ concepts of liberty: the former is a Hobbesian idea of absence of constraint or obstacle, while the latter is identified with a notion of moral self-government, expressed for instance in Rousseau, which Berlin finds politically threatening. His anti-utopian approach to politics is expressed also in his view that values necessarily conflict; this irreducible ‘value pluralism’ may be his most original contribution to philosophy, though advances it through example and historical illustration rather than in semantic or epistemological terms. He also expresses himself against necessitarian interpretations of history, and in favour of an anti-determinist conception of free will.

Neuroscience

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adina L. Roskies
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Philosophical Argument ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Mind And Brain ◽  
And Function ◽  
Philosophical Questions

This article examines whether, and in what ways, neuroscience can illuminate those questions associated with neurophilosophy. It begins by discussing the relation between philosophy and neuroscience, in particular how they can each influence each other. It then considers how neuroscience can illuminate philosophical questions about mind, including metaphysical questions about the relation of mind and brain, questions about the nature of mental representation and content, consciousness, and even moral theory. It also looks at some of the most prevalent techniques employed by neuroscience for investigating brain structure and function; how neuroscience provides potential counterexamples to philosophical claims, by showing how brains work and suggests new interpretations of data; and the influence of neuroscience on philosophy in the area of normativity. The article concludes by examining attempts to use neuroscience to inform philosophical argument about free will.

Introduction

1992 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Natural Connection ◽  
Freedom Of The Will ◽  
The Will ◽  
Physical Causation ◽  
Philosophical Writings ◽  
Freedom Of Action

This chapter focuses on Cicero's treatise titled On Fate (De fato), which is part of the second group of his philosophical writings that dates from the period of Julius Caesar's ascendancy at the end of the Civil War and the period immediately after his assassination. It explains how De fato considers the relation of the gods to human affairs and problems that arise therefrom. It also discusses the natural connection between different occurrences that the Stoics spoke of as “sympathy” that may have some influence on human behaviour but not remove the freedom of action altogether. The chapter describes how Cicero is characteristically scornful of the arguments by Stoics and favors the view of Carneades that free will could be defended against the Stoics. It talks about the freedom of the will in antiquity that can be divided into areas concerned with physical causation and questions of logic.

Future Philosophy

2019 ◽  
pp. 261-294
Author(s):  
Paul Thagard
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Scientific Realism ◽  
Constraint Satisfaction ◽  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Philosophical Questions

Philosophy hangs together by coherence relations tied to scientific evidence. Multilevel materialism in the philosophy of mind fits well bidirectionally with reliable coherentism in epistemology. Understanding the brain as operating with neural mechanisms of parallel constraint satisfaction supports and is supported by the view that knowledge is based on reliable coherence. Both of these views fit with scientific realism as the most plausible approach to metaphysics. There are internally coherent alternatives to my system of social cognitivism, such as religious philosophies that espouse faith and supernaturalism, but these are incompatible with centuries of accumulated evidence. This concluding chapter addresses three important philosophical questions that remain unresolved despite relevant advances in cognitive science: the existence of free will, the nature of mathematical knowledge, and the mental capacities of machines and nonhuman animals.

scholarly journals Chelpanov: The Psychologist as a Realist Neo-Kantian

2021 ◽  
pp. 84-113
Author(s):  
T. Nemeth
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Spatial Position ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Representation Of Space ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Transcendental Realism ◽  
Stark Contrast ◽  
Philosophical Writings

This essay explores the writings of Georgij Chelpanov, who recognized the value of both psychology and philosophy, much to the displeasure of all. Chelpanov only very guardedly expressed his own philosophical views, which stand, I conclude, in stark contrast with the neo-Kantianisms of both the Marburg and the Baden Schools. We see that in his earliest writings on spatial perception, he not so much differs with Kant as saw the matter from a different perspective. Nonetheless, he shares Kant’s affirmation that the universality and necessity associated with our representation of space affirms its apriority as a condition of cognition, particularly with respect to mathematics. Chelpanov departs from Kant in rejecting the exclusive subjectivity of space and time, arguing that there is something in noumenal reality that corresponds to our specific representations of an object’s temporal and spatial position. Otherwise, there is no way to account for their specificity, for why a perceived object is here and not there. Chelpanov argues this from a psychological viewpoint, but he acknowledges that Kant argues from a logical viewpoint. Turning to the issue of free will, he, in short, argues for a soft determinism that is quite consistent with Kantianism, even though Chelpanov’s argument is bereft of the metaphysics and the architectonic of Kant’s system. In conclusion, although scholars dispute his allegiance to neo-Kantianism, his philosophical writings demonstrate his subdued advocacy of a neo-Kantianism, albeit one more akin to the transcendental realism of Riehl and Paulsen.

Chisholm, Roderick Milton (1916–1999)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Benfield
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Personal Identity ◽  
Theory Of Knowledge ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Standard Text ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Analytic Philosopher ◽  
Philosophical Writings ◽  
Attention To Detail

Chisholm was an important analytic philosopher of the second half of the twentieth century. His work in epistemology, metaphysics and ethics is characterized by scrupulous attention to detail, the use of a few basic, undefined or primitive terms, and extraordinary clarity. One of the first Anglo-American philosophers to make fruitful use of Brentano and Meinong, Chisholm translated many of Brentano’s philosophical writings. As one of the great teachers, Chisholm is widely known for the three editions of Theory of Knowledge, a short book and the standard text in US graduate epistemology courses. An ontological Platonist, Chisholm defends human free will and a strict sense of personal identity.

Frontotemporal Dementia

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce L. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disease ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration ◽  
Personal Communication ◽  
The Rich ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Philosophical Questions

Frontotemporal Dementia provides an in-depth look at the history, various types, genetics, neuropathology and psychosocial aspects of one of the most common but least understood causes of dementia, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, from one of the world's leading centers for the study of dementia. Aided by the latest research in diagnosis, mechanism and treatment, this resource captures the rich and quickly changing landscape of a devastating neurodegenerative disease, and offers up-to-date clinical advice for patient care. Frontotemporal dementia, in particular, raises psychological and philosophical questions about the nature of self, free will, emotion, art and behavior - important topics for practitioners and families to appreciate as they care for the sufferer. It includes case studies, photographs and figures from the leaders in the field and personal communication from the researchers driving these developments.

Providence as Mystery, Providence as Revelation: Puritan and Anglican Modifications of John Calvin's Doctrine of Providence

1978 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. VanderMolen
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Modern Idea ◽  
Modern Thought ◽  
Philosophical Questions

Acceptance of providence, the belief that an ultimate being determines the course of events, has always created problems for moralists and advocates of free will, and for obivous reasons. If any events has been foreordained, how can hemans be free? If all is determined, why should humans try to do what is right? Aside from the philosophical questions raised by a belief in provedence, however, scholars such as the distinguished economists Jacob Viner have begun to examine the doctrine of providence from the point of view of its broad ideological and social impact. Though Professor Viner modestly claimed that his study of providence was simply an intellectual history pursued for its own sake, he demonstrated many of the doctrine's implications for early modern thought and social structures. Similar emphasis on the significance of the early modern idea of providence is also found in Keith Thomas' Religion and the Decline of Magic.

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