Leibniz on the Empty Term ‘Nothing’

This paper discusses Leibniz’s treatment of the term ‘nihil’ that appears in some logical papers about the notion of Real Addition. First, the paper argues that the term should be understood as an empty (singular) term and that sentences with empty terms can be true (§2). Second, it sketches a positive free logic to describe the logical behaviour of empty terms (§3). After explaining how this approach avoids a contradiction that threatens the introduction of the term ‘nihil’ in the Real Addition calculus (§4), and how this approach should be understood within Leibniz’s philosophy (§5), the paper assesses the prospects of such an approach with regard to two fundamental issues in Leibniz’s thought: the fictional nature of infinitesimals (§6), and the occurrence of the term ‘nothing’ in the proof of the existence of God that we find in the New Essays (§7).

Reading for Senseation in Poetry

The article, as part of ongoing research, is a theoretical account of the workings of affect and affectivity in the process of reading poetry, closing with an illustrative reading. It takes heed of the criticism of the terminology employed in affect studies and the employability of affect in critical discourse as an operative category. The study shows that the difficulty in the applicability of affect in discursive situations lies in its nature – in its being at once experienceable, yet impalpable. As a consequence, the article proposes the need to relocate the perspective within the reading for affect as an empty term and foregrounds the ways in which concentrating on Deleuzian sensation and sense, rather than affect alone, allows it to become operative.

Religion, Politics, History, and Culture

In his critique of my 2007 monograph Discourse on Civility and Barbarity: a Critical History of Religion and Related Categories, Daniel Miller attributes me with the error of transcendental historicism and an illusion of cultural authenticity. Miller’s challenge leads me to the question ‘what is history?’—what does it mean to be ‘in history’, or to be ‘out of history’, or to be a ‘historical agent’? I also defend myself against the charge of cultural essentialism by questioning the essentially empty term ‘culture’. First, though, I challenge Miller for his continual insistence that my work is ‘political’. Miller seems to accept at least some aspects of my critique of ‘religion’. However, he does not mention that DCB is as much concerned with the invention of a noun word discourse on ‘politics’ as it is with the invention of ‘religion’. ‘Politics’ and the ‘nation state’ were invented by men of substantial property ambitions to organise, normalise and protect male private property accumulation. Rather than being the foundation of our democratic rights, a gateway to equality and emancipation, ‘politics’ promotes and globally facilitates the processes of ‘accumulation by dispossession’.

Dialog Sebagai Cara Hidup Menggereja di Kultur Indonesia

Dialogue is not a mere empty term or theory; it is evident in religious life and even becomes a necessity in the attitude of participation as a knot of kenosis thought (A. Pieris) and Asian theology (C.S. Song). The ideal dialogue model has been narrated in the story of Emmaus' journey which also became a model of the Lord's Supper. Thus, the ideal of dialogue is the story of the Eucharist. Indonesia as part of Asia has its own diversity context. The method in this article is qualitative, using the method of analyzing literature from various figures' thoughts about the dialogue that can be applied in the Indonesian context. As a result, there are four forms of dialogue that can be applied in the context of Indonesia's diversity, by specializing in a dialogue of work and dialogue of life. Abstrak: Dialog bukanlah istilah kosong atau teori belaka; kata ini nyata dalam kehidupan beragama dan, bahkan, menjadi keharusan dalam sikap partisipasi sebagai simpul pemikiran kenosis (A. Pieris) dan teologi Asia (C.S. Song). Model dialog ideal telah dinarasikan dalam kisah perjalanan Emaus yang juga menjadi model perjamuan kudus. Dengan demikian, idealitas dialog adalah kisah perjamuan kudus. Indonesia sebagai bagian dari Asia memiliki konteks keberagamannya sendiri. Metode dalam artikel ini adalah kualitatif, dengan menggunakan metode analisis literatur dari berbagai pemikiran tokoh tentang dialog yang dapat diterapkan dalam konteks Indonesia. Hasilnya, ada empat bentuk dialog yang bisa diterapkan dalam konteks keberagaman Indonesia, dengan mengkhususkan dialog karya dan dialog kehidupan.

Term Logic

The predominant form of logic before Frege, the logic of terms has been largely neglected since. Terms may be singular, empty or plural in their denotation. This article, presupposing propositional logic, provides an axiomatization based on an identity predicate, a predicate of non-existence, a constant empty term, and term conjunction and negation. The idea of basing term logic on existence or non-existence, outlined by Brentano, is here carried through in modern guise. It is shown how categorical syllogistic reduces to just two forms of inference. Tree and diagram methods of testing validity are described. An obvious translation into monadic predicate logic shows the system is decidable, and additional expressive power brought by adding quantifiers enables numerical predicates to be defined. The system’s advantages for pedagogy are indicated.

Understanding Melayu (Malay) as a Source of Diverse Modern Identities

This article attempts to bring together recent literature about the typology of nationalism, with the ways in which ‘Malay’ or ‘Melayu’ have been used as the core of an ethnie or a nationalist project. Different meanings of ‘Melayu’ were salient at different times in Sumatra, in the Peninsula and in the eastern Archipelago, and the Dutch and British used their respective translations of it very differently. Modern ethno-nationalist projects in Malaysia and Brunei made ‘Melayu’ a contested and often divisive concept, whereas its translation into the hitherto empty term ‘Indonesia’ might have provided an easier basis for territorial, or even ultimately civic, nationalism in that country.

The Sanction of International Law

In a recent editorial of one of the legal periodicals, the author quotes Alexander Hamilton’s statement in the Federalist, that “it is essential to the idea of law that it be attended with a sanction, or in other words, a penalty or punishment for disobedience,” and from this premise draws the following conclusion: “The law of nations, so-called, is a mere empty term or phrase, a high resounding name for something in and of itself vain and impotent.”To most authorities and students of international law, the author’s conclusion is somewhat astounding, but the fact that the statement could be made by a prominent legal editor, illustrates the extent of the present popular distrust of the science.