E-LOGOS, 2016 (vol. 23), issue 1

History of Philosophy

"My singular Friend…" (The first czech translations of two letters, which B. Spinoza wrote to his friend J. Bouwmeester.)

Martin Hemelík

E-LOGOS 2016, 23(1):1-5 | DOI: 10.18267/j.e-logos.427  

In the frame of this paper are published the first czech translations of two letters, which B. Spinoza wrote to his friend, the physician in the Amsterdam J. Bouwmeester. Once these two letters J. Hrůša didn´t include in his czech translation of selected Spinoza´s letters. In the second letter Dutch philosopher formulated his opinions on the method of true knowledge.

Impure Infinitism and the Evil Demon Argument

Husein Inusah

E-LOGOS 2016, 23(1):13-24 | DOI: 10.18267/j.e-logos.428  

The central thesis of this paper is that the modus ponens reductio argument does not clearly favour impure versions of infinitism. The nub of the modus ponens reductio argument is as follows: an infinite series of justified reasons by itself is vulnerable to the modus ponens reductio in the sense that one can construct an infinite chain of reasons supporting both an affirmative and denial of proposition, say p. The problem here is that, as Aikin urges, pure versions of infinitism do not possess the requisite resource to eliminate one of these chains of infinite reasons. The upshot is that pure versions of infinitism are not able to differentiate between...

Philosophy of Science

CRITICAL REVIEW OF SEVERAL ASPECTS OF POPPER'S WORK IN RELATION TO THE DEMARCATION PROBLEM

Petr Jedlička

E-LOGOS 2016, 23(1):25-45 | DOI: 10.18267/j.e-logos.429  

The opening section briefly examines Popper's theory of demarcation and his views on inductive methods, the role of metaphysics in science, and falsification. Upon publication the work of this Viennese philosopher met a wide range of reactions, from partial modifications to proposals of new theories inspired by his work to complete dismissal. The main lines of critical argument against Popper's doctrine will be outlined here: I will argue that his complete rejection of inductive methodology is unjustified and will call for its partial acceptance in science. I will also challenge the shortcomings of Popper's idea of falsifiability and his demarcation...

Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy

Is the Autonomous Soul Possible? The Role of the State in Regulating the Self in the Thought of Michel Foucault from 1968-1984

Bohdana Kurylo

E-LOGOS 2016, 23(1):46-52 | DOI: 10.18267/j.e-logos.430  

This paper challenges the notion of "sexual liberation" prevalent in the post-1968 period in the West, based on the philosophy of Michel Foucault. The idea of the autonomous self is put under a thorough interrogation, as Foucault showed that it has become a powerful tool used by the state to control and normalise the population. Despite the paradoxes in Foucault's thinking about the possibility of liberation, it is the ethnical value of freedom that eventually led him to see the need for resistance to power and self-cultivation, or rather self-cultivation through resistance in his later writings.

CARL SCHMITT'S CRITIQUE OF CO-CALLED MODERN MAN AND ITS OVERLAPS

Petr Slováček

E-LOGOS 2016, 23(1):53-68 | DOI: 10.18267/j.e-logos.431  

The presented article deals with the Carl Schmitt´s critique of modernity and modern man with the consideration of its antisemitic moments, which emerged explicitly after 1933. Author shows the anthropological fundaments of Schmitt´s position, which was laid down in his early writings such as Der Wert des Staates und die Bedeutung des Einzelnen or "Nordlicht", as to prepare to read the main texts of the Weimar era, which are especially Die politische Theologie and Der Begriff des Politischen. From this perspective, some crucial (and also shameful) texts published by Schmitt after the 1933 year are analyzed in order to state and answer the question...