Maimonides and the Pre-Maimonidean Jewish Philosophical Tradition According to Hermann Cohen

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron W. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Prime Matter ◽  
Hermann Cohen ◽  
Aristotelian Metaphysics ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis paper examines Hermann Cohen’s idiosyncratic construction of a medieval Jewish philosophical tradition, focusing primarily, though not exclusively, on his Charakteristik der Ethik Maimunis. This construction, not unlike modern accounts, is filtered through the central place of Maimonides. For Cohen, however, Maimonides’ centrality is defined not by his systematization of Aristotelianism, but by his elevation of ethics over metaphysics. The ethical and pantheistic concerns of Maimonides’ precursors, according to this reading, anticipate his uniqueness. Whereas Shlomo ibn Gabirol’s pantheistic doctrine of emanation, for example, assigned little weight to ethics, Abraham ibn Daud rebelled against such a doctrine. Ibn Daud—much like Bahya ibn Paquda and Abraham ibn Ezra—becomes part of a Jewish philosophical tradition that culminates in Maimonides’ rejection of Aristotelian metaphysics. In particular, this paper examines the way in which Cohen envisaged the pre-Maimonidean philosophical tradition, putting his highly critical reading of Shlomo ibn Gabirol and his pantheistic obsession with prime matter in counterpoint with his more favorable readings of Abraham ibn Daud and Bahya ibn Paquda.

The Art of Chinese Philosophy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Goldin
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Han Feizi ◽  
Textual History ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
History Of ◽  
Crucial Characteristic ◽  
The Way

This book provides an unmatched introduction to eight of the most important works of classical Chinese philosophy—the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Sunzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. The book places these works in rich context that explains the origin and meaning of their compelling ideas. Because none of these classics was written in its current form by the author to whom it is attributed, the book begins by asking, “What are we reading?” and showing that understanding the textual history of the works enriches our appreciation of them. A chapter is devoted to each of the eight works, and the chapters are organized into three sections: “Philosophy of Heaven,” which looks at how the Analects, Mozi, and Mencius discuss, often skeptically, Heaven (tian) as a source of philosophical values; “Philosophy of the Way,” which addresses how Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Sunzi introduce the new concept of the Way (dao) to transcend the older paradigms; and “Two Titans at the End of an Age,” which examines how Xunzi and Han Feizi adapt the best ideas of the earlier thinkers for a coming imperial age. In addition, the book presents explanations of the protean and frequently misunderstood concept of qi—and of a crucial characteristic of Chinese philosophy, nondeductive reasoning. The result is an invaluable account of an endlessly fascinating and influential philosophical tradition.

Anthropocentrism without a centre?

1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Being And Time ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Unusual Structure ◽  
Western Philosophical Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
Unique Relationship ◽  
Made In ◽  
Number Of Authors ◽  
The Way

I am grateful to Håkan Karlsson for his thoughtful commentary on some of the issues concerning Heidegger and archaeology which were raised in a previous issue of this journal, and find myself fascinated by his project of a ‘contemplative archaeology’. However, one or two points of clarification could be made in relation to Karlsson's contribution. Firstly, as a number of authors have pointed out (e.g. Anderson 1966, 20; Olafson 1993), the gulf between Heidegger's early work and that which followed the Kehre may have been more apparent than real. While his focus may have shifted from the Being of one particular kind of being (Dasein) to a history of Being (Dreyfus 1992), the continuities in his thought are more striking. Throughout his career, Heidegger was concerned with the category of Being, and the way in which it had been passed over by the western philosophical tradition. It is important to note that in Being and time the analysis of Dasein essentially serves as an heuristic: the intention is to move from an understanding of the Being of one kind of being to that of Being in general. What complicates the issue is the very unusual structure of this specific kind of being, for Heidegger did not choose to begin his analysis with the Being of shoes or stones, but with a kind of creature which has a unique relationship with all other worldly entities. ‘Dasein’ serves as a kind of code for ‘human being’ which enables Heidegger to talk about the way in which human beings exist on earth, rather than becoming entangled in biological or psychological definitions of humanity. In this formulations, what is distinctive about human beings is that their own existence is an issue for them; Dasein cares, and this caring is fundamentally temporal.

Who is pulling the strings in the platform economy? Accounting for the dark and unexpected sides of algorithmic control

Organization ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 135050842097452
Author(s):  
Edouard Pignot
Keyword(s):  
Digital Control ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Labour Process ◽  
Structuralist Theory ◽  
Ideological Fantasy ◽  
Platform Economy ◽  
The Way

This paper aims to address the dark side perspective on digital control and surveillance by emphasizing the affective grip of ideological control, namely the process that silently ensures the subjugation of digital labour, and which keeps the ‘unexpectedness’ of algorithmic practices at bay: that is, the propensity of users to contest digital prescriptions. In particular, the theoretical contribution of this paper is to combine Labour Process with psychoanalytically-informed, post-structuralist theory, in order to connect to, and further our understanding of, how and why digital workers assent to, or oppose, the interpellations of algorithmic ideology at work. To illustrate the operation of affective control in the Platform Economy, the emblematic example of ride-hailing platforms, such as Uber, and their algorithmic management, is revisited. Thus, the empirical section describes the way drivers are glued to the algorithm (e.g. for one more fare, or for the next surge pricing) in a way that prevents them, although not always, from considering genuine resistance to management. Finally, the paper discusses the central place of ideological fantasy and cynical enjoyment in the Platform Economy, as well as the ethical implications of the study.

scholarly journals SUBJETIVAÇÕES RIZOMÁTICAS E A IDEIA DE CORPO SEM ÓRGÃOS EM A FÚRIA DO CORPO, DE JOÃO GILBERTO NOLL

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-275
Author(s):  
Francisca Gilmara da Silva Almiro ◽  
Roniê Rodrigues da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
The Body ◽  
Felix Guattari ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Deleuze And Guattari ◽  
Brazilian Literature ◽  
Body Without Organs ◽  
The Way

O trabalho apresenta uma leitura da obra A Fúria do corpo, de João Gilberto Noll, a partir dos conceitos de Corpo sem Órgãos e Rizoma propostos pelos filósofos franceses Gilles Deleuze e Félix Guattari. Nesse sentido, objetiva estudar a construção identitária das personagens da referida narrativa, estabelecendo uma associação com essas noções filosóficas, problematizando, sobretudo, a errância das personagens e a linguagem utilizada para a composição da obra. Ao longo da leitura crítica, destacaremos como o texto de Noll nos desafia à construção de sentidos através de uma subjetividade constituída a partir de linhas de fuga, ideia discutida pelos filósofos supracitados. Ao adentrarmos no texto ficcional pelo viés de tais linhas, é possível entender como as personagens percebem e vivem suas experimentações rizomáticas. Desse modo, não se pretende aqui atribuir sentidos fechados à narrativa, mas sugerir que o Corpo sem Órgãos e o Rizoma são características que representam as experiências errantes das personagens encontradas na escrita de Noll. Palavras-chave: Literatura Brasileira Contemporânea. João Gilberto Noll. Identidade. Corpo sem Órgãos. Rizoma. THE RHIZOME AND THE IDEA OF BODY WITHOUT ORGANS IN THE FURY OF THE BODY, BY JOÃO GILBERTO NOLL Abstract: This paper presents a reading of The Fury of the Body, by João Gilberto Noll, based on the concepts of Body without Organs and Rhizome proposed by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. It aims to study the characters’ identity construction, establishing an association with these philosophical notions, exploring, especially, the characters’ wandering nature and the language used in the composition of the work. Throughout this critical reading, emphasis will be given on the way Noll’s text challenge us to construct directions through a subjectivity built from escape lines, a concept defined by Deleuze and Guattari. By reading the narrative through these lenses, it is possible to understand how the characters perceive and live their rhizomatic trials. Thus, the intention here is not to attribute closed meanings to the narrative, but to suggest that the Body without Organs and the Rhizome are features that represent the characters’ wandering experiences in The Fury of the Body. Keywords: Contemporary Brazilian Literature. João Gilberto Noll. Identity. Body without Organs. Rhizome.

scholarly journals 功夫與家庭

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-96
Author(s):  
Si XIAO
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Way

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.In this response essay, Xiaosi, the author of [Philosophy of Family], made five points in response to Ni Peimin’s article, “The Way of the Family and the Gongfu of Regulating the Family.”1. Gongfu is indeed a philosophically significant concept that uniquely reflects the features of the Chinese Philosophical tradition. Ni’s recent works that advocate this concept provide a valuable contribution to philosophy.2. In his additional notes on Gongfu, Xiaosi points out that a sense of “enduring” or “lasting” and a sense of spending time in an accumulative fashion are two indispensible elements for an appropriate understanding of Gongfu.3. Greek philosophy does not seem to be included in this concept, which is unfortunate.4. Gongfu and familization may well be connected, each facilitating understanding of the other.5. Xiaosi also made two criticisms against Ni Peimin’s article.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 27 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

scholarly journals Senses of Echo Lake: Michael Palmer, Stanley Cavell, and the Moods of an American Philosophical Tradition

Humanities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Richard Deming
Keyword(s):  
Ralph Waldo Emerson ◽  
Henry David Thoreau ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Stanley Cavell ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
American Philosophy ◽  
Active Reading ◽  
Moral Perfectionism ◽  
The Way

This essay explores a philosophical tradition that Stanley Cavell has traced out and which he emphasizes as being American inasmuch as it is arises out of the thinking of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. It then investigates how the poems of the avant-garde poet Michael Palmer link with, overlap with, this strain of American philosophy in terms of how it enacts an understanding of what we might call “philosophical mood,” on outlook based on the navigation of representation, generative self-consciousness, and doubt that amounts to a form of epistemology. The essay does not trace the influence—direct or otherwise of Cavell and his arguments for philosophy on the poems, despite a biographical connection between Cavell and Palmer, his former student. Instead it brings out the way that one might fruitfully locate Palmer’s work within an American literary/philosophical continuum. The article shows how that context opens up the work to a range of important existential and ethical implications. I endeavor to show that Notes for Echo Lake, Palmer’s most important collection, locates itself, its language, within such a frame so as to provide a place for readerly encounters with the limitations of language. These encounters then are presented as an opportunity for a deeper understanding of subjectivity and for attuning oneself to the role that active reading and interpretation might play in moral perfectionism.

James Turner Johnson's Just War Idea: Commanding the Headwaters of Tradition

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cian O'Driscoll
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Just War ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Critical Commentary ◽  
Christian Love ◽  
Just War Tradition ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
The Way

James Turner Johnson is the foremost scholar of the just war tradition working today. His treatment of the historical development of the just war tradition has been hugely important, influencing a generation of theorists. Despite this, Johnson's work has not generated much in the way of critical commentary or analysis. This paper aims to rectify this oversight. Engaging in a close and critical reading of Johnson's work, it claims that his historical reconstruction of the just war tradition is bounded by two key thematic lines — the imperative of vindicative justice and the ideal of Christian love — and occasionally betrays an excessive deference to the authority of past practice. By way of conclusion, this paper sums up the promise and limits of Johnson's approach, and reflects upon its contribution to contemporary just war scholarship.

Cautionary Notes on Whiteness and Sport Studies

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Richard King
Keyword(s):  
Whiteness Studies ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Blind Spots ◽  
The Way

This essay offers a critical reading of whiteness studies and its implications for the study of sporting worlds. It argues that, as promising as the deconstruction of whiteness might be, a series of epistemological and political problems accompany such inquiry. After reviewing the emergence of whiteness studies and the recent integration of this field into sport studies, I enumerate the liabilities and blind spots associated with the way many scholars conceptualize whiteness and its proper study. The essay closes with a set of alternatives designed to enhance understandings of race, culture, and power in sporting worlds.

scholarly journals Nicolas Bouvier: The Way of a World Without History?

Viatica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume BRIDET ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
The World ◽  
Cultural Intermediary ◽  
The Way

This article studies the historical referential dimension of Nicolas Bouvier's The Way of the World. Through three main axes, the study reveals that History, in all its dimensions, occupies a central place in this polyphonic text. Indeed, Bouvier brings depth to his narrative by evoking multiple temporalities in the course of his travels. Favouring certain fields, such as collective history in its cultural dimension, he takes on the role as a cultural intermediary by seeking to promote awareness of people and cultures that are often forgotten.

scholarly journals Hermann Cohen w drodze ku „Religii rozumu ze źródeł judaizmu”. Przystanek Breslau

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Ryszard Różanowski
Keyword(s):  
Academic Career ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Special Point ◽  
Theological Seminary ◽  
The Future ◽  
Religion Of Reason ◽  
The University ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Hermann Cohen ◽  
The Way

Hermann Cohen on the Way to „Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism” Breslau Stop On the way leading Hermann Cohen from his family Coswig to Marburg and — later — to Berlin, from a Jewish province to a multicultural metropolis, Breslau is a special point. The future philosopher came here in 1857, hoping for the future of fice of the rabbi, to begin studies at the newly established Jewish Theological Seminary. Here too, four years later, he enrolled at the university, opening up the prospect of an academic career. A special point, which allowed him to create in the next years an “impressive system” which is a bold attempt to present German and Judaism as identical or connected. Jewish and religious content was a permanent and constant component of Cohen’s works, and Religion of Reason and System of Philosophy form a whole. Already before the creation of works devoted to Kant, some features of Cohen’s philosophy of religion are revealed, which originated in his studies at Breslau, one of the most important Haskalah centers in the middle of the 19th century. Cohen found there an atmosphere conduciveto the later shaping of the science of the universal religion of reason. After many years, Cohen assessed the Jewish Theological Seminary as “the most important educational institution [of his] youth.”

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