【Philosophy】African philosophy cannot be a thing
This essay unpacks several arguments about the metaphilosophic nature of African philosophy and charts a way through the problems these arguments enco... [more]
【Philosophy】Fusion Philosophy and Epistemic Injustice
I use the concept of epistemic injustice to think through the practice and methodology of comparative, or fusion, philosophy. I make two related claim... [more]
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Fields and theology: A response to John Polkinghorne
In this statement, the author poses a number of questions that he believes John Polkinghorne left untouched in his response to Pannenberg's article God as Spirit-and Natural Science. These questions include the role of philosophy in the interaction betwe
Medicine and care of the sick in Utopia
These two excerpts from Utopia have the medical world as a common denominator: in one, Raphael tells us how medicine is, in Utopia, considered a branch of philosophy and a homage to the Creator; in the other, he describes the spacious hospitals where the
The pleasures of anticipation: Enriching intuitionistic logic
We explore a relation we call 'anticipation' between formulas, where A anticipates B (according to some logic) just in case B is a consequence (according to that logic, presumed to support some distinguished implicational connective -->) of the formula
Virtue ethics, the 'Analects', and the problem of commensurability (Structural similaritie
In support of the thesis that virtue ethics allows for a more comprehensive and consistent interpretation of the Analects than other possible models, the author uses a structural outline of a virtue ethic (derived from Alasdair MacIntyre's account of the
The reshaping of conventional farming: A North American perspective
Debates over the future of agriculture in North America establish a dialectical opposition between conventional, industrial agriculture and alternative, sustainable agriculture. This opposition has roots that extend back to the 18th century in the United
The 'Popperian programme' and mathematics. Part I: The fallibilist logic of mathematical d
Lakatos's Proofs and Refutations is usually understood as an attempt to apply Popper's methodology of science to mathematics. This view has been challenged because despite appearances the methodology expounded in it deviates considerably from what would
How rational can a polemic across the analytic-continental 'divide' be?
In spite of the widespread belief that there is (or at least there was) a clearcut and deep opposition between two forms of philosophizing vaguely characterized as 'continental' and 'analytic', it is not easy to find actual examples of debates between
Paul Tillich's realistic stance toward the vital trends of nature
Many scientists have argued forcefully for the pointlessness of nature, something that challenges any doctrine of Creation. However, apparent design and comprehensibility are also to be found in nature; it is ambivalent. This trait is nowhere more evident
The philosophical origins of Mitchell's chemiosmotic concepts - The personal factor in scientif
Mitchell's formulation of the chemiosmotic theory of oxidative phosphorylation in 1961 lacked any experimental support for its three central postulates. The path by which Mitchell reached this theory is explored. A major factor was the role of Mitchell'
Psychologism revisited in logic, metaphysics, and epistemology
Psychologism is a philosophical ideology that seeks to explain the principles of logic, metaphysics, and epistemology as psychological phenomena. Psychologism has been the storm center of concerted criticisms since the nineteenth century, and is thought b
Russell and the neo-Kantians
The paper discusses neo-Kantian commentaries on Russell's views on logic and the philosophy of mathematics at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although Russell and the neo-Kantians had similar philosophical interests at this time, their views were
The concept of social construction
The present paper attempts to clarify the social constructionist position by way of an analysis of its central concept, namely 'social construction'. (1) Three central theses connected with this concept as used in epistemological debates are identified:
Three modern enemies of science: materialism, existentialism, constructivism
Considers that of the three ideologies - materialism, existentialism and constructivism - that materialism is the least scientific. Believes that it has caused the greatest harm by virtue of political control Sees existentialism as more hostile to science
Situatedness and problematic boundaries: Conceptualizing life's complex ecological context
A key challenge in conceptualizing ecological complexity is to allow simultaneously for particularity, contingency, and structure, and for such structure to be internally differentiated, dynamically tied to its context, and subject to restructuring. Becau
The role of rules
The question of rules is not an issue that separates the 'analytical' and 'Continental' traditions from one another; rather it is an issue that is a source of division within each tradition. Within Continental philosophy the problem of the rule-govern