Andrzeja J. Norasa badania nad neokantyzmem

The paper presents the scholarly profile and scientific accomplishments of Andrzej J. Noras, a distinguished philosopher and historian of philosophy. Noras was an indisputable authority in the area of Neo-Kantianism philosophy. He was particularly interested in the issue of the periodisation of history of philosophy, the issues of philosophical systems, the relation between philosophy and psychology, as well as the question of the method of history of philosophy. Outlining Noras’s contribution of to the interpretation of the neo-Kantian philosophy, the paper includes also an overview of his major works, Historia neokantyzmu [History of Neo-Kantianism] and Kłopoty filozofii [Problems of Philosophy].

The vector subject in the factual ontology of Q. Meillassoux

The concepts of contingency, factuality, and correlationism introduced by Meillassoux are clarified in the article. The question of the contingency of the forms of correlation is revealed in the context of the functioning of post-Kantian philosophy. The contingency of the correlationist theories of a subject is established. The article substantiates the thesis about the dual position of the subject in the factual ontology: Meillassoux reaches the antisubjectivist contingency through a radical overcoming of the various paradigms of the subject, then, the philosopher recovers the position of a strong subject from the non-human contingency. Basically, the article deals with the ontological status, characteristics and factual ethics of the vector subject. It reveals the way in which Meillassoux thinks of the subject in the context of the radical unreasonableness: this is the simultaneous holding, on the one hand, the order of the actual given and, on the other, the contingency of the given and the subject. The factual character of the subject-object dichotomy restored by Meillassoux is clarified. It’s established that non-Hegelian dialectics is the main manner of navigating the subject in the contingent universe. The key property of the subject, its “vectorness”, is determined. The main characteristics of the actual and virtual World are highlighted. Furthermore, it’s investigated how the subject is activated in the direction of the virtual World. It’s noted that the thinking of the vector subject is more focused on temporality than on space. The ontological foundations of the “spiritual exercises” prescribed to the vector subject are analyzed.

Conclusions

This chapter offers a concluding perspective by considering how Nietzsche’s philosophical psychology compares to the belief–desire psychology widely adopted by contemporary philosophers, on the one hand, and by contrasting (some of) Nietzsche’s most distinctive claims with (some of) those put forward by Kant and Hegel, on the other hand. The comparison with Kant and Hegel focuses in particular on the different claims these three thinkers put forward concerning the social dimension of the human mind, appreciation of that dimension being among the most original and substantial achievements of post-Kantian philosophy. Viewing Nietzsche’s philosophical psychology from that angle helps us to better appreciate its distinctive contribution to that tradition.

Narratives of Decadence in Post-Kantian Philosophy

Decadence is a perennial theme in philosophy. But tracing the arc of decline becomes an especially prominent focus of attention in European philosophy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This article explains and contrasts several “narratives of decadence” in the post-Kantian tradition. The article first lays out briefly the basics of G. W. F. Hegel’s optimistic view of progress and history as a foil and point of reference, then turns to expounding several narratives of decadence from other canonical philosophical figures in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—specifically, from Friedrich Nietzsche, from Martin Heidegger, and from Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. All of these thinkers see modern humanity as being, in some (often quite nuanced) sense, in a decadent state, but all have a rather different diagnosis of what that fallen state consists of, and of how (or whether) we might be able to extricate ourselves from it.

A Semi-Kantian Just War Theory

The chapter explores the Kantian philosophy of the law of war and how it is based on two normative claims. First, states are independent of each other in virtue of their duty to provide a legal order in a territory that they rule. Second, any use of non-defensive force by a state in a territory that it does not actually rule is illegal. Benbaji shows that there is a deep tension between these claims, and he sets out to offer a contractarian theory of the crime of aggression, which he characterizes as semi-Kantian: states are fully legitimate only if their right to rule over their territory is recognized by all other states. Semi-Kantians argue that Ripstein’s Kant misconstrues the standing of states vis-à-vis the territories over which they rule.

“I Will Not Be Dona Maria”: Rethinking Exploitation and Objectification in the Context of Work and Sex Work

In many feminist and sociological accounts of sex work, the concept of exploitation resides on the subjacent notion of objectification, codified in the omnipresent belief that the sex worker sells their body. Sexual objectification supposedly indicates the peculiar and particular effect that sex work is supposed to have on the bodies of human beings involved in this form of toil, being one of the keystones for the belief that sex work is inherently exploitative. In the present article, we intend to investigate the canonical concept of objectification and its (ab)uses in the light of a comparative ethnographic study of sex work and other jobs in the service economy in the cities of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and New Orleans (USA). Our argument is that the concept of sexual objectification has its roots in pre-capitalist morality, encoded in Kantian philosophy, that is hardly applicable to real life in the 21st century. A more general and intersectional understanding of objectification and agency in the broader field of engendered labor relations is necessary for us to understand why people choose to engage in sex work, why laws which see sex work as synonymous with exploitation and slavery must be rethought, and how they might be rethought.

Introduction

In this Introduction, I characterize the broader aim of this volume as showcasing women’s contributions to eighteenth-century German philosophy. Notably, these contributions range from topics in metaphysics, logic, and aesthetics, to moral and political philosophy, and pertain to the main philosophical movements in the period (the ‘Leibnizian-Wolffian’ philosophy, the Thomasian philosophy, the ‘popular’ philosophical movement, and the Kantian philosophy). They engage controversial issues such as atheism and materialism, but also women’s struggle for access to education and for recognition of their civic entitlements. The bulk of the Introduction is devoted to an overview of the figures and themes covered in the individual chapters. I conclude with a brief note relating to figures not represented in this volume, and offer a rationale for my choice of the volume's title.