Earthy Realism

Author: Mary Midgley
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1845403851
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
GAIA, named after the ancient Greek mother-goddess, is the notion that the Earth and the life on it form an active, self-maintaining whole. By its use of personification it attacks the view that the physical world is inert and lifeless. It has a scientific side, as shown by the new university departments of earth science which bring biology and geology together to study the continuity of the cycle. It also has a visionary or spiritual aspect. What the contributors to this book believe is needed is to bring these two angles together. With global warming now an accepted fact, the lessons of GAIA have never been more relevant and urgent.

The Limits of Realism

Author: Tim Button
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199672172
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Book Description
Tim Button explores the relationship between minds, words, and world. He argues that the two main strands of scepticism are deeply related and can be overcome, but that there is a limit to how much we can show. We must position ourselves somewhere between internal realism and external realism, and we cannot hope to say exactly where.

Natural Realism and Contact Theory of Perception

Author: Chittaranjan Naik
Publisher: Notion Press
ISBN: 1646780132
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Book Description
If you were told that we perceive the world directly without the causal intervention of the physical brain, or that we see the distant stars instantaneously without their light having to reach our sense organs, would the idea sound incredible to you? Farfetched as it may seem, this idea, the author argues, comes from the time-tested contact theory of perception. Upheld by the Indian philosophical tradition for over 2000 years, it unfolds a definitively coherent process of perception, unlike the stimulus-response theory of perception espoused by empirical science which suffers from a host of logical inconsistencies. The contact theory of perception is a paradigm-changing theory and it has the potential to take us to a domain of knowledge beyond science and to cause a radical transformation in the way we look at the universe we live in. Although a serious philosophical work, the language and lucid style of the presentation should appeal to a wide spectrum of people - from academic philosophers to curious aspirants. If philosophy or the philosophical traditions of India interests you, you cannot afford to ignore this book. But be forewarned: it will challenge the deep-rooted ideas that have become integral to your personal consciousness!

The Nature of Contingency

Author: Alastair Wilson
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198846215
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
This book defends a radical new theory of contingency as a physical phenomenon. Drawing on the many-worlds approach, it argues that quantum theories are best understood as telling us about the space of genuine possibilities, rather than as telling us solely about actuality.

Formal Ontology and Conceptual Realism

Author: Nino B. Cocchiarella
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402062044
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Book Description
Theories about the ontological structure of the world have generally been described in informal, intuitive terms. This book offers an account of the general features and methodology of formal ontology. The book defends conceptual realism as the best system to adopt based on a logic of natural kinds. By formally reconstructing an intuitive, informal ontological scheme as a formal ontology we can better determine the consistency and adequacy of that scheme.

Critical Realism, Feminism, and Gender: A Reader

Author: Michiel van Ingen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351621114
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Book Description
In assessing the current state of feminism and gender studies, whether on a theoretical or a practical level, it has become increasingly challenging to avoid the conclusion that these fields are in a state of disarray. Indeed, feminist and gender studies discussions are beset with persistent splits and disagreements. This reader suggests that returning to, and placing centre-stage, the role of philosophy, especially critical realist philosophy of science, is invaluable for efforts that seek to overcome or mitigate the uncertainty and acrimony that have resulted from this situation. In particular, it claims that the dialectical logic that runs through critical realist philosophy is ideally suited to advancing feminist and gender studies discussions about broad ontological and epistemological questions and considerations, intersectionality, and methodology, methods, and empirical research. By bringing together four new and eight existing writings this reader provides both a focal point for renewed discussions about the potential and actual contributions of critical realist philosophy to feminism and gender studies and a timely contribution to these discussions.

Those Fantastic Lives

Author: Bradley Sides
Publisher: City of Light Publishing
ISBN: 1952536219
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 147

Book Description
Prepare to be transported to the edge of the world in Bradley Sides' affecting and haunting debut collection of magical realism short stories, Those Fantastic Lives and Other Strange Stories. In Sides' tender, brilliantly-imagined collection, a young boy dreams of being a psychic like his grandmother, a desperate man turns to paper for a miracle, a swarm of fireflies attempts the impossible, scarecrows and ghosts collide, a mother and child navigate a forest plagued by light-craving monsters, a boy's talking dolls aid him in conquering a burning world, and a father and mother deal with the sudden emergence of wings on their son's back. Brimming with our deepest fears and desires, Sides' dazzling stories examine the complexities of masculinity, home, transformation, and loss. Bradley Sides is an exciting new voice in fiction, and Those Fantastic Lives, which glows with the light of hope and possibility amidst dark uncertainties, will ignite imaginations.

Truth and Realism

Author: Patrick Greenough
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199288885
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
Is truth objective or relative? What exists independently of our minds? This book is about these two questions. The essays in its pages variously defend and critique answers to each, grapple over the proper methodology for addressing them, and wonder whether either question is worth pursuing. In so doing, they carry on a long and esteemed tradition - for our two questions are among the oldest of philosophical issues, and have vexed almost every major philosopher, from Plato, to Kant to Wittgenstein. Fifteen eminent contributors bring fresh perspectives, renewed energy and original answers to debates which have been the focus of a tremendous amount of interest in the last three decades both within philosophy and the culture at large.

Thomist Realism and the Critique of Knowledge

Author: Etienne Gilson
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1586176854
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Book Description
The highly regarded French philosopher, tienne Gilson, brilliantly plumbs the depths of Thomistic Realism, and false Thomisms as well, in this answer to Kantian modernism. The important work, exquisitely translated by Mark Wauck, brings the essential elements of philosophy into view as a cohesive, readily understandable, and erudite structure, and does so rigorously in the best tradition of St. Thomas. Written as the definitive answer to those philosophers who sought to reconcile critical philosophy with scholastic realism, Gilson saw himself as an historian of philosophy whose main task was one of restoration, and principally the restoration of the wisdom of the Common Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas. Gilsons thesis was that realism was incompatible with the critical method and that realism, to the extent that it was reflective and aware of its guiding principles, was its own proper method. He gives a masterful account of the various forces that shaped the neo-scholastic revival, but Gilson is concerned with the past only as it sheds light on the present. In addition to his criticisms, Gilson presents a positive exposition of true Thomist realism, revealing the foundation of realism in the unity of the knowing subject.

The Revival of Pragmatism

Author: Morris Dickstein
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822322450
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Book Description
DIVAn assessment, by a distinguished panel of experts, on the impact of pragmatism on contemporary thought./div