Skepticism and the Philosophy of Language in Early Modern Thought Essay

Skepticism and the Philosophy of Language in Early Modern Thought ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the importance of skeptical arguments for the philosophy of language in early modern thought. It contrasts the rationalist conception of language and knowledge with that of philosophers who adopt some sort of skeptical position, maintaining that these philosophers end up by giving language a greater importance than rationalists. The criticism of the rationalists' appeal to natural light is examined, as well as skeptical arguments limiting knowledge such as the so-called 'maker's knowledge' argument. This argument is then seen as capital for favoring a positive interpretation of the importance of language for knowledge. The revival of ancient skepticism in early XVIth century has been considered one of the major forces in the development of modern thought, especially as regards the discussion about the nature of knowledge and the sciences. Richard Popkin in his History of Skepticism from Erasmus to Spinoza (1979) has shown that skeptical arguments were influential in the attack against traditional scholastic conceptions of science, opening the way to the development of the new scientific method. The dispute between those who embraced skepticism and those who tried to refute or surpass it was central to the philosophical scene well into the XVIIIth century. However, the importance of the discussion of the nature and role of language in this process and its relation to skeptical arguments has scarcely been examined. My objective in this paper is to extend Popkin's analysis of the role of skepticism in the formation of modern thought to the consideration, in general lines, of some of the main features of early modern theories a... ...ld,A. et Nicole, P (1981). Logique, ou l'Art de Penser, Paris, Vrin. Descartes,R., (1996) RÃ ¨gles pour la direction de l'esprit, Principes de la Philosophie, in Ouevres, Paris,Vrin,. Kant,I. (1952) Critique of pure reason, Great Books of the Western World, Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica. Jolley,N. (1988) The light of the soul, Oxford, Clarendon Press. Lennon, T. (1993) The battle of gods and giants, Princeton Univ.Press. Montaigne,M. (1952) Essais, Great Books of the Western World, Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica. Perez-Ramos,A. (1988) Francis Bacon's idea of science and the maker's knowledge tradition, Oxford Univ.Press. Popkin,R. (1979) The history of scepticism from Erasmus to Spinoza, Berkeley & Los Angeles, Univ.of California Press. Zagorin, Perez (1984) "Vico's Theory of Knowledge: A Critique," Philosophical Quarterly, vol.34, no.134.

The Clash of Civilizations?

The Clash of Civilizations? It is Samuel Huntington’s opinion that conflict in the post-Cold War world would be caused by cultural differences, conflicts amongst nations and groups of different civilizations. In today’s time, it is more common to group countries in terms of their civilization aspects, such as religion or culture, versus that of their economic systems. Huntington explained how interaction amongst the different civilizations will shape the world we live in and any conflicts will occur amongst the differences of each civilization. Huntington gives five reasons for his beliefs. The first reason is because civilizations are basic.The differences occur amongst traditions, culture, language, religion, etc. Secondly, civilizations are seeing increase interaction so people are becoming more aware of those differences. Third, economic transformation and social change are changing how people view certain civilizations from the way they may have been viewed before. Fourth, the West has caused an increase of more people being familiar of other civilizations. Fourth, the differences and characteristics of civilizations are less changeable; those of one civilization cannot simply become part of another civilization. Finally, there is an increase in economic regionalism.Similar to the second point, there is an increase interaction amongst civilizations. Trade has increased, making people dependent upon other civilizations to lead to their success. Huntington uses the Cold War as the time period where the differences between civilizations would cause conflict, replacing the differences between political or ideological boundaries. Huntington breaks the world into â€Å"major civilizations†, The West, Latin America, The Orthodox, The Eastern World, The Muslim World of the greater Middle East, The civilization of sub-Saharan Africa, â€Å"Lone† countries, and â€Å"Cleft† countries.Huntington explains how the West is a superpower compared to other civilizations and it is often reflected in global decisions, such as that of the International Monetary Fund, going in favor of the West. This allows the West to control the world, not only with their interests, but with their beliefs as well. As a result, there is conflict amongst the West and other civilizations. As we compare this article to today’s world in 2012, I believe that issues that are arising are differences in civilization beliefs.Huntington’s hypothesis, in my opinion has been proven true. For example, The West believes in equality, freedom of speech, human rights, etc. Was that not the entire purpose for entering Iraq, to eliminate the power of Saddam Hussein, who did not have any beliefs of the Western ways? The West is truly a powerhouse who believes the world should operate as they do which I do not believe will change. Civilizations have held strong in their beliefs; especially comparing The West to other civilizations, leaving te nsion amongst them.

Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mills Opinion of the Iraq War †Humanities Essay

Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mills Opinion of the Iraq War – Humanities Essay Free Online Research Papers Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mills Opinion of the Iraq War Humanities Essay The Iraq war is began in 2002 and still continues today. The editorial from The Economist, 26 November 2005, explains why American soldiers should stay in Iraq. The author explains how Americans are helping and people do not see or share Pres. Bush’s vision. His vision is for one day to have democracy and freedom throughout the Middle East. The article states, â€Å"The cost to America of staying in Iraq may be high, but the cost of retreat would be higher† (11). What does the author mean in this statement? He means that the money cost may be high now, but if America retreats, the moral cost and reputation will be higher. America will be seen as weak. America has been in it for too long to quit. What do philosophers such as Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mill have to say about these issues? Although these philosophers have been dead for a long time, what their philosophy on life and government still holds true today. Aristotle believes that the act of the state isn’t the state, but its government. Citizens are what make up the state. They select people to run it, whether it is a council of elders, or a larger democratic government, or even a monarchy. Citizens are people of the state, not resident aliens, or slaves. They have more rights than people who are not citizens. Do you have to hold an office in the government to be a citizen? The answer is no. Aristotle says if they are not resident aliens or foreigners, they are citizens. Citizens do not have to hold an office. They can contribute to the state is other ways. It is a symbiotic relationship. In Iraq’s case, they had a tyrannical form of government. Saddam Hussein basically ruled the country, although he had a cabinet who would advise him what to do and how to handle situations. The relationship between the citizens and the state is that the citizens live in fear of the state. The citizens have no rights and the result of outspoken comments against the government is punishable by death. It does not follow what Aristotle says. The purpose for American forces in Iraq is to make things better for the people. Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote the social contract. He believes that man is good and is free from tyrannical government. He states that the citizens of the state have a non-verbal agreement. They have to obey the laws of the country. In turn, the state must protect the people. The citizens agree to pay their taxes, abide by the laws, and support the government. Rousseau discusses the will. What is â€Å"the will†? It is an opinion or feeling someone gets and does something to change it. The general will of the people is the overall feeling of the government from the people. He explains that if the people are unhappy with a decision the government made, they can try to reverse, change, or make a friendly amendment to the decision. Looking at the will at a smaller scale, individual wills are different from one another and differs from the general will. The individual person has different interests to fit his needs. Looking at Iraq before the war, the citizens could not speak. The government does not tolerate difference of opinion. The citizens could not have a general will. It is difficult to decipher what the actual will is. The citizens had to be forced into having a positive outlook on the government. They would be killed if their opinion was different. They may have individual wills because the government or anybody else can not put a stop to individual thinking. What the government can do is program or brainwash the people into thinking what they are doing is right. It hinders free thinking but it may not stop it. While the war is being fought, the general will is different in Iraq. There are groups of people that are happy with the Americans being in Iraq. In contracts, there are militants who don’t want Americans in Iraq and they go and do suicide bombings or attacks. How about the will of the people at home in America? Many people believe the war is justified and support the gove rnment in any action. Other people believe that the government is wrong and protest the war. That is the beauty about free thinking. In America, two general wills are at work. The government does not put a stop to it because this country is founded on freedom ideals. Our country’s constitution is a social contract. They are the laws of the land. Citizens must obey these laws or the police, or law enforcers, must take action. Social contracts are designed to have a good relationship with the government, while it protects them. It makes the government and its citizens to work together. John Stuart Mill explains his philosophy on liberty. He believed in utilitarianism. Mill often felt that everything’s worth is base on the usefulness. He wanted man to work for the happiness for the greatest amount of people. He believes that achieving the greatest happiness causes a moral end. Mill believes that having freedom of opinion and expression is essential for any society to flourish and to have happiness. It is important because the people can discuss their own thoughts and feeling to an issue. It provokes human thought process and independent thinking. People need to have independent thoughts. How must one learn from another if all of their thoughts and feelings were the same? Having the freedom of expression and expressing them, either by publishing them or acting them out, will have a snowball effect. Once one person does it, and then others will do it, and then a mass amount of people will begin to do it. Mill says it would be immoral to suppress the truth. The only reason they would do that would be if the suppressor wants to hide the truth. Mill believes in the liberty of people’s thoughts and expression, and press. These philosophers have their own ideas on a working society. Is it perfect? Maybe not, but they want to have a society not ruled by a tyrannical government. Different countries have different societies. Their nations were built on different ideas. We can apply Mill’s standard to other nations. It is important to have a good relationship between the citizen and the state. Opinions play a big role in the actions of the state. For example, President Bush’s opinion in the Iraq war was that America should be there fighting Saddam and the terrorists. Opinions are made to be debated upon. Although Bush needed approval, it was still his opinion and decision to go fight in Iraq. I would say that Aristotle would disagree because there is no symbiotic relationship with this decision about the war. Ideas, such as health care, social security, etc, Aristotle would agree with because the citizens benefit from the state. The decision of the war is not. Rousseau would agree because if it is the general will of the people to go to war, then the state will go to war. If I were the president, and if I wanted to fight in Iraq that was justified, then I would make that decision. The people will support the decision, unless it is entirely wrong. If the general will is much greater than my personal will, I would have to set aside my personal goals to make the citizens happy. Mill will agree with the people. He believed in freedom of speech and press. The citizens should not be silenced. Mill encourages people to stand up for what they believe in. Mill would agree with me if I set aside what I wanted and did what was for the good of the people. Mill believes in achieving a greater will to have a moral end. Everything that these philosophers base their ideas on is morality. 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Theories About Female Sexuality and Race from the Past essays

Theories About Female Sexuality and Race from the Past essays The past of the medical profession has some albatrosses scattered throughout its revered history. This report focuses on two of those not so bright beginnings. The report attempts to provide an insight into how the nineteenth century's medical and scientific communities used scientific discrimination techniques such as the theories about female sexuality and race. Although the report is not a full review of the two assigned journal articles, they were the source for answer the assigned questions concerning nineteenth century medical philosophies. Each article presented historical accounts of the opinions of professionals at the time. The opinions were degrading to both the female gender and to men and women of different races such as the Irish and Blacks of England. The first article presented historical accounts about female nymphomania and male Satyriasis. The definition of nymphomania in the nineteenth century was very different from what we know as nymphomania today. "In the nineteenth century, however, nymphomania was believed to be a specific organic disease, classifiable, with an assumed set of symptoms, causes, and treatments. Like alcoholism, kleptomania, and pyromania - diseases that were identified in the mid-nineteenth century - a diagnosis of nymphomania was based on exhibited behavior. "Excessive" female sexual desire is, however, a much more ambiguous concept than habitual drunkenness, shoplifting, or setting fires. Consider the following cases of nymphomania diagnosed in the second half of the nineteenth century." Over the course of the nineteenth century, nymphomania was diagnosed in different ways. Nymphomania was considered as a woman having or desiring too much coitus or masturbating too much. But by today's standards, the women diagnosed were probably quite normal and or healthy. Nymphomania was actually seen as a symptom or a cause of disease. ...

Marketing Management First Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Management First Assessment - Essay Example Virginia Community Capital Inc. is however unique because it is a non-profit motivated bank. The bank target mostly low income and middle income earning individuals to empower them. While at this, the bank often earn considerable amount of profit that is majorly given back to the community with regard to communal services (Savitz, 2013 p.12). This is the first pillar of the Triple Bottom Line analysis that is to be employed to analyze the overall performance of Virgin Community Capital Inc. (VCC). The bank’s greatest source is the interests it earns from the loans it advances to the community for various activities they take. VCC is approximated to have issued out loans worth a total of $419 million. Below is analysis of the financial statement that reveals the ideal position of the organization (Chhabra, D., 2010 p.13). The bank is believed to have reported an earnings ratio of about 66% in the year 2012. This is higher than the 35% registered in 2011. This implies that the expense of interest increased more than the increase of the interest earned by the bank. Deposition amount obviously was higher than the amount of loans in the year before. This depicts that at that particular juncture; the bank was working towards a negative ground and was registering a loss (Savitz, 2013 p.13). This is also portrayed by a trend analysis whereby the income interest increased as from the year before, 2011, 50%, compared to a lesser value in 2012, 17%. However, the interest from expense rose from 65% to 121% by 2012. It is prudent to note that the profit ratio is seen to have increased from 0.056 to 0.072 and is an indicator that bank is self sustainable due to the earned profit. The provision rate of loans in VCC is seen to have gone down. This depict that solvency of the bank in situations of default would be prudent since the bank is at less riskier loans in the current year. This is clear when you look at the decreasing loan loss provision ratio

In the movie lions for lambs write an essay of argument in which you

In the movie lions for lambs write an of argument in which you assert your position on Americas future if the population continues to avoid involvement in politics and public affairs - Essay Example Despite the presence of many followers in political rallies conducted by popular political figures, there are more individuals – on the back end – who couldn’t care less, are less concerned and would just like to go on with their normal routine of getting on with their personal, family and work lives and not be bothered by other issues which are â€Å"not really their problem†. But what about the overall picture? Americas future is certainly doomed if it continues to avoid involvement in politics and public affairs, hence, it is recommended that more active participation should take place among its citizenry. This is exactly the subject that is brought forward in the movie Lions for Lambs, a 2007 movie directed by Robert Redford. From the movie’s title, you wouldn’t have the faintest idea what the movie is really about unless you get to see the film from beginning to end. Some argue that the film is preachy is more ways than one since it is a hackneyed topic (about war) and the discussions between Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) and the popular journalist Janine Roth (Meryl Streep), plus the dialogues between Professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) and his students Todd, Arian and Ernest seem to just go on and on in circles. Nevertheless, the film’s climax when Arian and Ernest stand up bravely to meet their end in enemy territory is the film’s saving grace, and is remarkably one of the film’s more unforgettable highlights. In spite of the film’s flaws, the issue of apathy in society is a significant concern which this movie raises and which actually requires urgent attention. In the face of the seemingly never-ending battle for supremacy in these Middle East territories, the US still continues to forge on with the arms race and assert its continuing existence in the region. The war issue has become an everyday fare with regards to the

Greek and Roman Cultures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Greek and Roman Cultures - Assignment Example Moreover, a large component of the Roman civilization emerged from the Greeks (Sayre, 2013). People from both the Greek and Roman civilizations are individuals of the two most renowned early cultures. While the Greek and Roman civilizations made tremendous progress in social organizations, politics, art, and literature, their political organization, geographical terrain, and way of life differed considerably. The Romans largely succeeded in establishing an amalgamated territory while the Greeks considerably succeeded in activities that involved artistic elements. In addition, the Greek and Roman cultures shared a large amount of closeness with one another. It cannot be denied that the Greeks had a tremendous influence on the Roman culture despite both of them developing into a highly distinct culture (Sayre, 2013). This paper will be a comparison between the Greek and Roman cultures and will address components, for example, government, art and architecture, economics and trade activities, religious and philosophical beliefs, and geographical terrain. Their arts are visible in the pottery made by the Dorian Greeks. This form of decoration is, in particular, geometric and is neatly arranged into regions on areas of each pot. These features are also evident in architecture. Additionally, human figures were utilized in decorating motifs. Several works were incorporated in temples, for example, the statues of Zeus at the temple of Zeus and Athena at Parthenon. The domestic architecture utilized walls of wooden frames full of fibrous materials and roofs were covered with leaves. They also built temples (Willis, 2000). They largely pursued visual art. The majority of their styles of painting draw inspiration from Etruscan. Numerous homes were beautified using Greek artists backdrops.