E-LOGOS, 2008 (vol. 15), issue 1

Action and Hamartia in Aristotle's Poetics

Philip Tonner

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-23  

In what follows we outline Aristotle's philosophy of tragedy in his Poetics paying particular attention to his account of action and hamartia. We situate his account of tragedy in terms of his ethical philosophy and philosophy of action generally. We argue that tragedy is disclosive of the frailty of the human situation in its precarious contingence. By this, we link Aristotle's philosophy of tragedy to twentieth century aesthetic, ethical and European philosophy.

Beyond Intellectual Blackmail: Foucault and Habermas on Reason, Truth, and Enlightenment

Stuart Dalton

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-16  

In this essay I consider how Habermas and Foucault understand the nature of truth and reason in fundamentally different ways, and I argue that Habermas' misunderstanding of Foucault's position on these issues undermines his critique of Foucault. I argue that a strong response to Habermas' criticism is implicit in Foucault's work, and that this implicit response also offers us an occasion for reinterpreting all of Foucault's work as a single, unified project with roots in the Enlightenment.

Pragmatism's Alternative to Foundationalism and Relativism

Jonathan Langseth

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-19  

In this paper I examine how pragmatism-in the works of Peirce, James, Dewey, and Rorty-rejects foundationalism while not resorting to "radical relativism," in which no is no justifiable claim for a belief. Instead of attempting to establish antecedent, a priori, or eternal principles that make evident truths, goods, or justifications thereof, independent of experience, pragmatists look towards the consequent, effective result of the maintaining of a belief as criteria for its claim as truthful or good. They emphasize trial and error experimentation and continual reflection/revision of beliefs given new information and experiences. I argue this basic...

Subjectless Change Revisited

Xiaoqiang Han

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-23  

This paper seeks to formulate the idea of subjectless change in the established conceptual scheme, which is so often thought to necessarily exclude it. The idea, first espoused by some pre-Socratic thinkers in the form of the universal flux doctrine, was subsequently abandoned due to its alleged logical incoherence. Its reintroduction in contemporary metaphysics is essentially part of a massive revolt against the established conceptual scheme; it serves as a conceptual tool to reinterpret the world and to represent it in an entirely new picture. In this paper I argue, however, that the idea of subjectless change need not be associated with the dissolution...

The False Dilemma: Bayesian vs. Frequentist

Jordi Vallverdú

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

There are two main opposing schools of statistical reasoning, frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Until recent days, the frequentist or classical approach has dominated the scientific research, but Bayesianism has reappeared with a strong impulse that is starting to change the situation. Recently the controversy about the primacy of one of the two approaches seems to be unfinished at a philosophical level, but scientific practices are giving an increasingly important position to the Bayesian approach. This paper eludes philosophical debate to focus on the pragmatic point of view of scientists' day-to-day practices, in which Bayesian methodology is...

Čas pohledem (nejen) fenomenologické filosofie

Marek Vích

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-36  

The theme of the following text is time - that clear and simultaneously mysterious eternal theme of philosophy since its very beginnings. If we speak of it we know about what we speak but we are not able to explain what is its sense. "Quid est ergo tempus? si nemo ex me quaerat, scio; si quaerenti explicare velim, nescio," says St. Augustine. The analysis of this phenomenon is especially difficult in our times when there exists a lot of cummulated ideas (frequently very incongruous each to other). The article is thus focused on such attempts which are considered to be indispensable for anybody who deals with the question of time. After an introduction...

Time Preferences in the Perspective of Cognitive Neurosciences

Petr Houdek

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-9  

An application of findings of cognitive science and neuroscience revealing function of brain processes can already introduce analytical tools for estimating human behavior in real environment. This paper reviews research of neural correlates of intertemporal decision making. The results show that intertemporal decision-making is not an integral phenomena as implied by the exponential discounting model, however it employs several distinct neural systems in the brain (e.g. the data shows the structural relevance of hyperbolic utility discounting) and causes that intertemporal decision-making focused on long term objectives is quantitatively different,...

Outline of a General Ontology for Cousciousness Research

Silvia Galikova

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-24  

Lack of a coherent general starting point in consciousness studies is a major obstacle in explaining consciousness. I argue that consciousness considered as a capacity of a living organism is a fruitful explanandum. Consciousness is a reducible third person and first person phenomenon. It is existentially dependent on the activity of a nervous systém (brain) profoundly shaped by the socio-cultural environment. This paper rejects theoretical usefulness of ontological and epistemological gaps between first person and third person approaches on consciousness. Treating consciousness as a natural phenomenon open to empirical research is a necessary prerequisite...

The Halo Effect Fallacy

Joseph Grcic

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-6  

The halo effect fallacy is the fallacy of concluding from a perceived single positive trait of a person to the conclusion of a generally positive assessment of that person. The halo effect fallacy is based on the "halo effect," a psychological tendency many people have in judging others based on one trait that they approve of and concluding that the person must have other attractive traits. This one trait leads to the formation of an overall positive opinion of the person on the basis of that one perceived positive trait. For example, people judged to be "attractive" are often assumed to have other qualities such as intelligence or moral virtue to...

Lesk a bieda konečného riešenia otázky miesta metafyziky v systéme vedenia prostredníctvom logickej analýzy jazyka

Ján Nikel

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

A fundamental aspect of Rudolf Carnap´s work in the period of Vienna Circle was accent for logical and syntactical analysis of science language. Tendencies of neopositivistic movement clearly presented in his effort to determine the pseudo-problems of metaphysics through the criterion of verification. Carnap´s starting point was the principle of empiricism physical conception. In accordance with this principle the philosophical problems are mostly the problems of language. The sentence has a sense only if circumstances expressly determining its truth or untruth can be stated. They are pseudo-arguments, because sentences of metaphysics cannot be verified...

Hiding Behind the Hypothetical: The Unjustifiability of Torture

Richard H. Corrigan

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

In this paper I argue that interrogational torture is never morally justifiable. I highlight the many flaws inherent in using 'ticking-bomb' scenarios to justify the legalisation of torture in 'exceptional' circumstances. I argue that the damage that would be done to the ethical foundations of the state and the sanctity of the person should be sufficient to deter us from assuming that torture is ever morally permissible, or should be officially sanctioned. I further contend that the traditional scenarios used to justify arguments for the moral acceptability of torture suffer from the dual deficiency of abstraction and idealisation, and that lesser...

De propagando

Martin Hemelík

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-2  

In his leading short article M. Hemelík represents the next till to this time not publicated study of F. Marek. M. Hemelík treats a short description and concise characterization of Marek´s study, which he added some explicative notes and commentaries.

Making Polders: Social Communication, Religion, and the Global Environmental Crisis

Arthur Saniotis

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-13  

This paper examines the nexus between social communication, religion and the global environmental crisis and is based on the ideas of the philosopher Ervin Laszlo. I locate social communication and religion in relation to new approaches to tackling global environmental problems. This paper also calls for the need for a macroshift in social communication and religion. This will be based on a shift in worldviews from a logos driven to a holos driven evolution.

The Psychology of Propaganda

František Marek

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):3-39  

The comprehensive study of František Marek has two main aims: 1. to set out exact definition of concept of propaganda 2. to elucidate the most important psychological precondition of propaganda or publicity campaign The author completed correctly both aims. His study is very convincing although he wrote this text about before fourty years or so. In his analysis, considerations and reflections of propaganda or publicity campaign F. Marek is very provident and his study has special urgency for recent readers too.

A Brief Comment on the Debate over BioCosmology

Ervin Laszlo

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

The debate on the relationship between cosmic, biological, and human personal-social processes is extremely important and timely. The key to relating these processes is evolution: progressive, irreversible change over time. The principles of what I have called "general evolution theory" (GET) apply to all evolutionary phenomena and all philosophical-cosmological traditions and currents. Bringing traditional and modern Russian and modern Western philosophy into the compass of this discussion constitutes an additional factor of interest.

Biocosmology and Informational Anthropology: Some Common Aspects

C. Guja

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

This paper is the result of the collaboration with Dr. Khroutski for several years. The presented analysis (and synthesis) firstly aims at reflecting common points that belong to both approaches (of BioCosmology and Informational Anthropology), chiefly in the aspect of fundamental (ontological and gnoseological) issues. Likewise, this work illustrates the fact that modern culture has arrived at the recognition threshold (in our knowledge) of realizing new real exploratory approaches that are capable of obtaining the true universalizing knowledge, first of all in relation to a human being.

BioCosmology as a New Sign and its Possible Meanings

Anna Makolkin

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-11  

The unresolved universal human existential dilemmas, both the Biologically given and Culturally induced, even in today's context of human knowledge and pseudo-knowledge, dictate new paradigms, which unavoidably make a recourse to the past. And Dr. Konstantin Khroutski's BioCosmology, despite its ambiguities and some questionable claims, does offer a much needed today sound analytical beginning, amidst the postmodern confusion, the crisis of creativity and consciousness, and futile attempts to connect the disconnected. Dr. K. Khroutski's "Russian" BioCosmology represents a very intriguing and ambitious neo-Aristotelian model -synthesis of Nature and...

BioCosmology and Informational Anthropology: Some Common Aspects

Cornelia Guja

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-12  

This paper is the result of the collaboration with Dr. Khroutski for several years has. The presented analysis (and synthesis) firstly aims at reflecting common points that belong to both approaches (of BioCosmology and Informational Anthropology), chiefly in the aspect of fundamental (ontological and gnoseological) issues. Likewise, this work illustrates the fact that modern culture has arrived at the recognition threshold (in our knowledge) of realizing new real exploratory approaches that are capable of obtaining the true holistic, unity knowledge, first of all in relation to a human being.

Theory of Totalitarianism in Fascist Italy

Pavel Janda

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

Conception of totalitarianism has emerged in Italy at the beginning of 20th in the 20th century. The creators have not been fascists, which lately proudly indetified themselves as authors, but just opposite - the anatagonists of fascist´s regime. I contrast two approaches to theory of totalitarianism in the presented essay. First I made an attempt to make explicit original idea of totalitariansim as exposed by three non-fascist thinkers and politicians. Consequently I outlined description of fascist conception of totalitarianism as exposed in works of fascists´ thinkers and politicians.

Falsification of Popper and Lakatos

Vladimir Halás

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1)  

uctive method and introduction of deductive method as mean of scientific progresis discussed. Furthermore, paper briefly touches on main aspects of Popper's theory such as demarcation criterion, universal and existential concepts and falsifiability. Lakatos in his work introduced continual growth of theories for which he used Popper's falsification as a basis. Progressive and degenerating problemshifts are discussed as well.

Simulácia ako vedecká metóda

Igor Paholok

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-19  

This article deals with computer simulation as a scientific method. Essay starts with allocation of computer simulations among general scientific methods, continues with basic methods and rules of correct computer simulation realization, refers about common scientific usage of computer simulation and finally summarizes its strengths and weaknesses.

Tracks in the Woods. F.A. Hayek's Philosophy of History

Graham Baker

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-7  

"Nietzsche and history"

Martin Kružík

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-13  

An essay is trying to deal with chosen fragments of Nietzsche's philosophy in a new way. It considers inner bipolarity of philosopher's conception, which comes to coincidence in the end, behind the border of rationality. Text also introduces conception of tragedy as a conjunction of apollonian and dionysian and tries to interpret an eternal return as Nietzsche's conception of history in this border. The one's lines are tragic, as the essense of history is. Another problem mentioned in an essay is bipolarity of philosopher's opinion on Christ: on one hand Christ is a symbol of decadent chrisendom as religio, on the other hand he represents cipher of...

Základné princípy štrukturálnej analýzy C. Lévi-Straussa

Ján Nikel

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-10  

This paper deals with Lévi-Strauss´conception of structural analysis. The structural study of myths emphasized that essentials have no intrinsic meaning, but only acquire significance in relation to other elements of narration. Lévi-Strauss´own approach to myths is based on assuming mytheme as a purely differential and contentless sign. Mythemas are linked through syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations. The result of his investigationes is that various taxonomies are guided by universal structures.

Understanding Perpetua

Peter Winsley

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-16  

Martyrdom involves a public sacrifice of one's own life in favor of a higher or transcendental cause. Acts of martyrs can change the world. The martyrdom of Vibia Perpetua in 203 can be seen as an act of Christian faith that overrode concerns for family, material security and individual survival. Perpetua was put to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith and her diaries written in the days leading up to her execution are the oldest surviving texts by a Christian woman. Perpetua's story reflects the leadership role some women played in the early Christian church and gives insight into why Christianity came to take hold in the Roman Empire....

Machiavelli's Roman Nostalgia and his Critique of Christianity

Anna Makolkin

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):1-29  

The name of Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) has been long accepted by the grand historic pantheon of the recognized names-metaphors. These names, despite their status in the collective memory bank of our shared cultural history and being the driving force in the intellectual advancement, carry such a plethora of multiple meanings, that they still confuse with their allusions and mythology-based conceptions. And, Machiavelli, as one of such iconic figures in the intellectual history, still stands in world historiography as a giant sphinx, a person-enigma, posing an exciting intellectual challenge and being worthy of the scholarly scrutiny even in the...

De Somnio

Martin Hemelík

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):2-3  

In his leading short article M. Hemelík represents the next till to this time not publicated study of F. Marek. M. Hemelík treats a short description and concise characterization of Marek´s study, which he added some explicative notes and commentaries.

On the Psychological Nature of Dream

František Marek

E-LOGOS 2008, 15(1):4-38  

Dreams and dreaming - the phenomenons since time immemorial attendant on the mankind and without intermission arousing enormous interest. Psychologists, psychiatrists, philosophers, but also many occultists deal with this phenomenon. F. Marek in his study wanted put forward no exhaustive explication of human dreaming and dreams. His main aim is modest, but precise and founded on the scientific approach. He is intent on well-arranged clasification of dreams and the criterion of clasifying of dreams is their source and origin. Therefore he distinguishes the dreams of impulses, the emotional dreams, the associative dreams, the perseverating dreams etc....