History, Metaphors, Fables

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Blumenberg
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Hans Blumenberg ◽  
Conceptual Thought ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Post War

This book collects the central writings by Hans Blumenberg and covers topics such as on the philosophy of language, metaphor theory, non-conceptuality, aesthetics, politics, and literary studies. The book demonstrates Blumenberg's intellectual breadth and gives an overview of his thematic and stylistic range over four decades. Blumenberg's early philosophy of technology becomes tangible, as does his critique of linguistic perfectibility and conceptual thought, his theory of history as successive concepts of reality, his anthropology, or his studies of literature. The book allows readers to discover a master thinker whose role in the German intellectual post-war scene can hardly be overestimated.

Introduction: The crisis of African Studies and Philosophy in the epoch of The Fourth Industrial Revolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
M. John Lamola
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
African Philosophy ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Unique Approach ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
And Robotics

The very claim of the historical instance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is increasingly being subjected to critical interrogation from a variety of cultural and ideological perspectives. From an Afrocentric theory of history, this questioning of the ontology of the 4IR is sharpened by Africa’s experience of the claimed progressive mutation of global industrial progress from the “first” to this “fourth” revolution. Africa experienced the first industrial revolution as a European revolution in the exploitation of her natural and human resources, as well as the despoliation of her cultural-epistemic sovereignty. The challenge to fully engage in the theorisation of this 4IR, given the overwhelming and inexorable effects of its digital technologies on the personhood, sociality and geopolitical state of Africa has exposed the critical need for a set of rigorous Africanist analytical tools and epistemological approaches capable of guiding Africa’s appropriation of this techno-social revolution. This essay introduces the collection of research papers that have been selected for their endeavour to meet this challenge. It is highlighted that all of them move from a unique approach that asserts that technological progress is historical-cultural and socially embedded. Some of them address the question of the historico-ontological status of the 4IR innovatively with original African methodological tools, while others demonstrate how an African epistemology can be applied to issues such a digital virtual communities and robotics. This contribution to the bourgeoning field of African Philosophy of Technology is admired as work in progress.

scholarly journals Benjamin’s Profane Uses of Theology: The Invisible Organon

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Francisco Naishtat
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Jorge Luis Borges ◽  
Philosophy Of History ◽  
Language Theory ◽  
Historical Time ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
The One ◽  
Historical Past

Invisible, but suggestive and fruitful; deprived of any reference to doctrine or ultimate assertive foundations, but nevertheless used in Benjamin like written images, crystallized as “images of thought”; as doctrinally mute as it is heuristically audible, Benjamin’s use of theology reminds us of the ironical use that Jorge Luis Borges himself made of theology and metaphysics as part of his own poetic forms. As such, these images of thought are located both in the place of philosophical use and in the one of methodological cunning or Metis, across the various levels of the corpus: a metaphysics of experience, literary criticism, philosophy of language, theory of history and Marxism. Therefore, accepting that criticism (Kritik) is the visible organon and the object of Benjaminian philosophy, is not theology, then, its invisible organon? What seems to be particular to Benjamin, however, is the agonistic but nevertheless heuristic way in which he intends to use theology in order to upset, disarray, and deconstruct the established philosophy, and specially its dominant trends in the field of the theory of history: historicism, positivism, and the evolutionary Hegelian–Marxist philosophy of history. In this article we try to demonstrate how this theological perspective is applied to a Benjaminian grammar of time. We conclude agonistically, confronting the resulting Benjaminian notion of historical past against Heiddeger’s own vision of historical time.

Literary Appreciation in the Framework of Positivism

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-93
Author(s):  
Vincenz Pieper
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Literary Interpretation ◽  
Literary Scholarship ◽  
Evaluative Language ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Value Neutrality

AbstractSome literary scholars assume that appreciation, if it is to take a central position in literary studies, must be defined as a complement to value-neutral understanding. It is often claimed that positivists are unable to do justice to literary value since their engagement with works of literature is restricted to historical inquiry. They can only do the preparatory work for the proper goal of literary interpretation, i. e. aesthetic appreciation. On this basis, a distinction is introduced between historical scholarship and criticism. The former is supposedly concerned with factual questions, while the latter is concerned with aesthetic qualities. I argue that this picture of literary studies is fundamentally misguided. My central thesis is that positivists, though committed to value-neutrality, can nonetheless recognise the qualities that make a work of literature effective or rewarding. Literary appreciation is a form of understanding that involves evaluative terms. But if these terms are duly relativised to the interests of the historical agents, they can be used to articulate empirically testable statements about the work in question.In the first section, I set out some principles to define a positivist philosophy of the humanities. I use the term ›positivism‹ to designate an approach exemplified by Otto Neurath, who systematically opposes the reification of meanings and values in the humanities. While some scholars in the analytical tradition call into question positivism by invoking Wittgenstein, I will suggest that his later philosophy is for the most part compatible with Neurath’s mindset. The following sections attempt to spell out a positivist account of literary appreciation. I develop this account by examining the philosophy of criticism proposed by Stein Haugom Olsen and Peter Lamarque, the most prominent advocates of the idea that appreciation goes beyond mere understanding. In discussing their misappropriation of Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language, it will become apparent that they tend to idealise literary practice and its rules. Their description of the institution of literature mixes factual questions with personal value judgements. Positivists, by contrast, seek to distinguish factual matters from subjective judgements and to limit the study of literature as far as possible to the former. They advise critics to approach works of literature in the spirit of scientific inquiry. This does not mean, however, that there is no place for emotional experience and evaluative behaviour in the framework of positivism. To account for these aspects of literary scholarship, a theory of historical empathy is needed that clarifies the function of evaluative expressions in the explanation of literature. I will argue that value terms are used not solely or primarily to articulate what makes the work under consideration pleasurable for the scholar who uses them; their principal function is to indicate what makes a work satisfying from the perspective of the writer or from the perspectives of the groups the author seeks to impress. Empathy is exhibited in the willingness to use evaluative language to make sense of the writer’s behaviour, regardless of whether one finds the work personally rewarding or not.

scholarly journals The Worldwide Famous and Unknown to Us Philosopher Dieter Henrich (a brief Overview of His Creative Path)

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Rimma I. Sokolova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Great Influence ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
International Colloquium ◽  
Original Theory ◽  
The World ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Classical Philosophy ◽  
Post War

The review briefly examines the main milestones of the creative path of the outstanding German philosopher Dieter Henrich (b. 1927), who in Germany is considered the greatest thinker of the post-war period, along with H.G. Gadamer and Yu. Habermas. Henrich is not only a deep researcher of German classical philosophy, but also the creator of his own original theory on the problem of subjectivity. This review pays special attention to this problem. Henrich had a great influence on many fields of knowledge – sociology, psychology, literary studies, and others. His works have been translated into many languages around the world; in July 2020, an international colloquium dedicated specifically to his work was held in Bielefeld. However, in Russia, due to historical and socio-political reasons, Henrich was almost unknown to the Russian reader. Only in 2018, one of his books, “Thinking and Self-Existence”, was published in Russian. In addition to this book, the review also mentions major works of recent years – “Being and Nothing” (2016), “This is Me and this is all said. Reflections on Fichte’s Insight" (2019). They develop the ideas contained in many of his previous works, but also present a new argument that presents the problem under study from an unexpected, sometimes opposite side. The purpose of this review is to introduce the reader to this philosopher and to arouse interest in further research of his work.

scholarly journals ANALITINĖ KALBOS IR MOKSLO FILOSOFIJA LIETUVOJE

Problemos ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
Jonas Dagys ◽  
Evaldas Nekrašas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Considerable Influence ◽  
Analytical Philosophy ◽  
Language Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama analitinės kalbos ir mokslo filosofijos raida Lietuvoje. Konstatuojama, kad analitinė filosofija Lietuvoje pradėta plėtoti XX amžiaus aštuntajame dešimtmetyje, kai Evaldas Nekrašas ir Rolandas Pavilionis paskelbė savo pirmųjų mokslo filosofijos ir kalbos filosofijos tyrinėjimų, kuriuose remiamasi analitine tradicija, rezultatus. Straipsnyje analizuojami jų ir kitų tyrėjų, kurie rėmėsi ta pačia tradicija, pirmiausia Algirdo Degučio ir Albino Plėšnio darbai. Analitinė filosofija buvo pirmoji nemarksistinės filosofijos kryptis, pradėta plėtoti pokarinėje Lietuvoje, todėl aštuntajame ir devintajame dešimtmečiuose ji atliko svarbų vaidmenį plečiant šalyje filosofinių tyrinėjimų tematiką ir keičiant jų metodologinius pagrindus. Nors pastaruoju metu jos įtaka Lietuvos filosofijoje kiek sumažėjo, ji aiškiai juntama kai kuriuose pastarojo meto darbuose, kuriuose nagrinėjamos sąmonės filosofijos, priežastingumo, humanitarinių ir socialinių mokslų metodologijos problemos. Ji padarė nemažą poveikį ir pozityvizmo raidos bei politinės filosofijos problemų tyrimui.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: Lietuvos filosofija, analitinė filosofija, kalbos filosofija, mokslo filosofija, pozityvizmas.Analytical Philosophy of Language and Science in LithuaniaJonas Dagys, Evaldas Nekrašas SummaryThe paper presents an overview of analytical philosophy in Lithuania. It is observed that analytical philosophy had not been studied or developed in Lithuania before the 1970s, when Evaldas Nekrašas and Rolandas Pavilionis began their work in philosophy of science and philosophy of language, rooted in analytical tradition. The article discusses the works of Nekrašas and Pavilionis, as well as those of others (e.g., Degutis and Plėšnys). It notes that analytical philosophy was the first non-Marxist trend of philosophy to be developed in post-war Lithuania, and thus it was of considerable influence at the time when the Marxist methodology had to be overthrown. Although the influence of analytical philosophy in Lithuania has diminished during later years in favour of postmodern trends, it is still evident in some recent works on philosophy of mind, philosophy of causation, and methodology of the humanities and social sciences. It has also made a strong impact upon the development of political philosophy and research in the history of positivism.Keywords: Lithuanian philosophy, analytical philosophy, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, positivism.

Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Animal Ethics ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Philosophical Significance ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
Introductory Essay ◽  
Relative Neglect ◽  
Philosophical Poetics ◽  
Critical Perspectives

Rilke’s “Sonnets to Orpheus”: Philosophical and Critical Perspectives sheds new light on the philosophical significance of Rilke’s late masterpiece The Sonnets to Orpheus (1923), which Rilke wrote during an intensive period of inspiration in the winter of 1922. While the Duino Elegies (completed during the same period) have historically received more critical and philosophical attention than the Sonnets, this volume serves to remedy the relative neglect and illustrates the unique character and importance of the Sonnets as well as their significant connections to the Elegies. The volume features eight essays by philosophers, literary critics, and Rilke scholars, which explore a number of the central themes and motifs of the Sonnets as well as the significance of their formal qualities. An introductory essay (coauthored by the editors) situates the book in the context of philosophical poetics, the reception of Rilke as a philosophical poet, and the place of the Sonnets in Rilke’s oeuvre. The book’s premise is that an interdisciplinary approach to poetry, and more specifically to Rilke’s Sonnets, can facilitate crucial insights with the potential to expand the horizons of philosophy and criticism. The wide-ranging essays elucidate the relevance of the Sonnets to phenomenology and existentialism, hermeneutics and philosophy of language, philosophical poetics, philosophy of mythology, metaphysics, modernist aesthetics, feminism, ecocriticism, animal ethics, and philosophy of technology.

Using Philosophy of Language in Philosophy of Technology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Coeckelbergh
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Social Ontology ◽  
Technological Artifacts ◽  
Technology Focus ◽  
Empirical Turn

Many philosophers of technology focus on technological artifacts, especially after the empirical turn; this has led to a neglect of the roles language plays with regard to technology. But it could be helpful for further theory development to reflect more on relations between language and technology and to learn from philosophy of language. This chapter contributes to filling this gap and explores how philosophy of language can be used in philosophy of technology. It distinguishes between a number of ways in which language and technology are connected and makes some fruitful links between philosophy of language and philosophy of technology via Searle’s social ontology, Wittgenstein’s view of language, and Ricoeur’s theory of narrativity.

scholarly journals Experimental Philosophy of Technology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Kraaijeveld
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Experimental Philosophy ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Empirical Methods ◽  
Language Philosophy

AbstractExperimental philosophy is a relatively recent discipline that employs experimental methods to investigate the intuitions, concepts, and assumptions behind traditional philosophical arguments, problems, and theories. While experimental philosophy initially served to interrogate the role that intuitions play in philosophy, it has since branched out to bring empirical methods to bear on problems within a variety of traditional areas of philosophy—including metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. To date, no connection has been made between developments in experimental philosophy and philosophy of technology. In this paper, I develop and defend a research program for an experimental philosophy of technology.

Answering the Call: Telephonic Fascism and Faulkner’s Angel of History

2019 ◽  
pp. 208-230
Author(s):  
Myka Tucker-Abramson
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War ◽  
Far Right ◽  
War Fiction ◽  
The Road ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Road Novel

As Nazism was securing its grip on Germany, Walter Benjamin wrote of the "necessity of a theory of history from which fascism can become visible." With the election of Trump and the resurgence of hyper-nationalist and far-right politics globally, we too need a theory that can bring the neofascism of the present into relief. This chapter suggests that William Faulkner's post-war fiction can help generate such a theory, by illuminating the path from the Cold War to the neofascism of Trumpism. Drawing on AiméCésaire's insights that fascism's origins lie in colonialism, and critical scholarship that reads the post-Reconstruction South as emblematic of US necolonial policy, this chapter argues that it is in Faulkner's literary engagements with the post-World War II modernization of the South via the genres of the noir and the road novel that Faulkner's most important engagements with fascism are to be found.

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