Moore’s Account of Vindictive Punishment: A Test Case for Theories of Organic Unities

2021 ◽  
pp. 338-354
Author(s):  
Jonathan Dancy

This paper discusses two conceptions of organic unities. Moore, who first brought the notion of an organic unity to prominence, argues for an intrinsicalist conception of the organic: items do not have different non-instrumental value in different contexts, but the value they contribute to a whole of which they are a part may vary according to other parts of that whole. In this sense, they can contribute value that they have not got. This paper contrasts that conception with a different, variabilist conception which is more friendly to a general holism in the theory of value. It argues that intrinsicalism gives an incoherent account of what Moore calls vindictive punishment.

Author(s):  
Alan Thomas

The theory of value has three main traditions: subjectivism, which holds that the only valuable goods are subjective states of sentient beings; objectivism, which claims that while values must be human-related, they exist independently of us; and Neo-Kantian rationalism, which suggests that value is postulated on the basis of practical reason. Central distinctions in the theory of value are between subjective and objective values, instrumental and final values, intrinsic and extrinsic values, organic unities and the idea of an ultimate or architectonic value. There are also distinctions drawn between different types of value, such as moral and aesthetic value.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
John Hyman

Abstract: Buildings and monuments are among the most important works of art. But the conception of the arts that emerged in the 18th century, and remained the orthodoxy in philosophy for about two centuries, either excludes architecture from the fine arts or relegates it to the intermediate or decorative arts. This essay addresses this puzzle, assesses the truth in certain formalist doctrines about architecture, and advances the view that works of art are organic unities, i.e. integrated sets of solutions to various problems, some aesthetic and others technical, mathematical, theological, political, etc.Key words: art, architecture, aesthetics, formalism.Resumen: Los edificios y monumentos se encuentran entre las obras de arte más importantes. Pero la concepción de las artes que surgió en el siglo XVIII y permaneció como la ortodoxia en la filosofía durante aproximadamente dos siglos excluye la arquitectura de las bellas artes, o la relega a las artes intermedias o decorativas. El presente ensayo aborda este enigma, evalúa la verdad en ciertas doctrinas formalistas sobre la arquitectura, y avanza la opinión de que las obras de arte son unidades orgánicas, es decir, conjuntos integrados de soluciones a diversos problemas, algunos estéticos y otros técnicos, matemáticos, teológicos, políticos, etc.Palabras clave: arte, arquitectura, estética, formalismo.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Renwick

Schubert's Impromptu in G-flat Major is a test case for the varied functions of the upper neighbour. After reviewing Schenker's notion of the upper neighbour, I propose that context is the key to a consistent reading of the upper neighbours in Schubert's Impromptu. The parallelism of neighbours at different levels accounts for much of the organic unity of the composition. Then I reconsider Schoenberg's notion of structural functions, demonstrating the complementary relationship of Schenker and Schoenberg. Finally I revisit the concept of productivity. I argue that most critical approaches employ productivity as a matter of course. The question arises as to which combinations of insight are the most productive.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Michael J. Zimmerman

Many philosophers have endorsed G. E. Moore’s principle of organic unities – according to which the value of a whole must not be assumed to be the same as the sum of the values of its parts – claiming this principle to be of fundamental importance to ethics. In this paper, I cast doubt on the principle. In Section 1, I provide a provisional reformulation of the principle of organic unities and contrast such unities with mere sums of value. In Section 2, I do some groundwork in order to arrive at an account of the part–whole relation with which the principle of organic unities is concerned. In so doing, I provide some further reformulations of that principle. In Section 3, I discuss the isolation method that Moore proposes for determining the value of something, and then, in Section 4, I begin an extended discussion of a particular example of an alleged organic unity, namely, Schadenfreude. I explain why some philosophers claim that such pleasure constitutes an organic unity, but I also present reasons for denying this claim. In Section 5, I pursue one of these reasons in particular, a reason that appeals to the concept of what I call evaluative inadequacy, and, in Section 6, I seek to motivate this appeal by drawing on the relation between value and fitting attitudes. In so doing, I provide still further reformulations of the principle of organic unities. In Section 7, I entertain objections to my account of Schadenfreude, one of which requires one final reformulation of the principle of organic unities, and then, in Section 8, I discuss the more general objection that, even if my reasons for denying that Schadenfreude constitutes an organic unity are cogent, these reasons do not extend to other alleged organic unities, such as the related phenomenon of Mitleid. In the final section, I address the significance of the debate about whether the principle of organic unities is true.


Author(s):  
Noah Lemos

Many attempts to respond to the problem of evil appeal to the concept of an organic unity. The first part of Chapter 8 explains Roderick Chisholm’s views on organic unities, the concept of defeat, and how he thinks they bear on the problem of evil. The second part examines three prominent and recent objections to the principle of organic unities. Roughly, the objections are that (1) the principle of organic unities is incoherent, (2) it leads to “evaluative schizophrenia,” and (3) the examples that allegedly support it, do not, in fact, do so. It is argued that these objections give us no good reason to reject the principle of organic unities.


2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Reisenzein ◽  
Irina Mchitarjan

According to Heider, some of his ideas about common-sense psychology presented in The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations ( Heider, 1958 ) originally came from his academic teacher, Alexius Meinong. However, Heider makes no reference to Meinong in his book. To clarify Meinong’s influence on Heider, we compare Heider’s explication of common-sense psychology with Meinong’s writings, in particular those on ethics. Our results confirm that Heider’s common-sense psychology is informed by Meinong’s psychological analyses in several respects: Heider adopts aspects of Meinong’s theory of emotion, his theory of value, and his theory of responsibility attribution. In addition, Heider more or less continues Meinong’s method of psychological inquiry. Thus, even without Meinong’s name attached, many aspects of Meinong’s psychology found their way into today’s social psychology via Heider. Unknowingly, some of us have been Meinongians all along.


2016 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-44
Author(s):  
Larry Schweikart ◽  
Lynne Pierson Doti

In Gold Rush–era California, banking and the financial sector evolved in often distinctive ways because of the Gold Rush economy. More importantly, the abundance of gold on the West Coast provided an interesting test case for some of the critical economic arguments of the day, especially for those deriving from the descending—but still powerful—positions of the “hard money” Jacksonians.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-211
Author(s):  
James Crossley

Using the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible as a test case, this article illustrates some of the important ways in which the Bible is understood and consumed and how it has continued to survive in an age of neoliberalism and postmodernity. It is clear that instant recognition of the Bible-as-artefact, multiple repackaging and pithy biblical phrases, combined with a popular nationalism, provide distinctive strands of this understanding and survival. It is also clear that the KJV is seen as a key part of a proud English cultural heritage and tied in with traditions of democracy and tolerance, despite having next to nothing to do with either. Anything potentially problematic for Western liberal discourse (e.g. calling outsiders “dogs,” smashing babies heads against rocks, Hades-fire for the rich, killing heretics, using the Bible to convert and colonize, etc.) is effectively removed, or even encouraged to be removed, from such discussions of the KJV and the Bible in the public arena. In other words, this is a decaffeinated Bible that has been colonized by, and has adapted to, Western liberal capitalism.


2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 105-109
Author(s):  
F. Pigeonneau ◽  
Francois Feuillebois
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