Mortality as a Philosophical-Anthropological Issue: Thanatology, Normativity, and "Human Nature"

Mortality as a Philosophical-Anthropological Issue: Thanatology, Normativity, and "Human Nature" This paper examines mortality—the fact that we humans are all going to die—as an issue in philosophical anthropology, by applying a fourfold typology of some key forms of philosophical anthropology to the topic of death and mortality. First, this typology, originally suggested by Heikki Kannisto, is outlined; the mortality issue is, then, viewed from the perspective it opens. Finally, the challenges to our understanding of death and mortality that this perspective may help us meet are discussed. The treatment of mortality from the perspective of philosophical anthropology may make it more unders…

A recent guide to the study of pragmatism

A Recent Guide to the Study of Pragmatism

Etiikan ja metafysiikan yhteydestä

"Ensimmäiseksi filosofiaksi" mainittu, Aristoteleen termein "olevaa olevana" ja sen yleisimpiä määreitä tutkiva metafysiikka sekä hyvää elämää ja moraalisesti oikeaa ja väärää tutkiva etiikka on perinteisesti erotettu toisistaan kahdeksi selkeästi erilliseksi filosofian osa-alueeksi. Ensin mainittu kuuluu teoreettiseen ja jälkimmäinen käytännölliseen filosofiaan. Erottelu ei kuitenkaan ole ongelmaton. Voisi olla kiinnostavampaa ja (meta)filosofisesti hedelmällisempää tarkastella etiikkaa ja metafysiikkaa tiiviimmin toisiinsa liittyneinä, jopa erottamattomasti yhteen kietoutuneina. Yhden kiinnostavan esimerkin tällaisesta yhteenkietoutumisesta tarjoaa Kantin oppi käytännöllisen järjen postul…

Morton White’s philosophy of culture: Holistic pragmatism and interdisciplinary inquiry

Abstract This paper explicates and defends Morton White’s holistic pragmatism, the view that descriptive and normative statements form a “seamless web” which must be tested as a “unified whole”. This position, originally formulated as a methodological and epistemic principle, can be extended into a more general philosophy of culture, as White himself has shown in his book, A Philosophy of Culture (2002). On the basis of holistic pragmatism, the paper also offers a pragmatist conception of metaphilosophy and defends the need for interdisciplinary inquiry.

How (Not) to Write the History of Pragmatist Philosophy of Science?

This survey article discusses the pragmatist tradition in twentieth century philosophy of science. Pragmatism, originating with Charles Peirce's writings on the pragmatic maxim in the 1870s, is a background both for scientific realism and, via the views of William James and John Dewey, for the relativist and/or constructivist forms of neopragmatism that have often been seen as challenging the very ideas of scientific rationality and objectivity. The paper shows how the issue of realism arises in pragmatist philosophy of science and how some pragmatists, classical and modern, have attempted to deal with it. Various dimensions of the realism dispute are thus discussed, especially realism as c…

Pragmatist Perspectives on Theological and Religious Realism

This essay first applies the general issue of realism vs. antirealism to theology and the philosophy of religion, distinguishing between several different ‘levels’ of the realism dispute in this context. A pragmatic approach to the problem of realism regarding religion and theology is sketched and tentatively defended. The similarities and differences of scientific realism, on the one hand, and religious and/or theological realism, on the other hand, are thereby also illuminated. The concept of recognition is shown to be crucially relevant to the issue of realism especially in its pragmatist articulation.

Filosofian paikattomuudesta : mitä filosofia ei ole ja mitä se (ehkä) voisi olla

The Problem of Mind and Other Minds in William James’s Pragmatism

The chapter explicates William James’s pragmatist conception of the human mind and his way of approaching the problem of other minds. James’s pragmatism is usually classified among empiricist and associationist philosophies of mind, but as is shown, it can also be understood according to its Kantian features. In James’s view, the mind is really an active and a purpose-oriented organizing principle which structures our lifeworld. The main difference between James’s pragmatism and Kant’s transcendental philosophy is that James does not make any explicit distinction between psychological and philosophical inquiries into the mind; he based his philosophy of mind on the same introspective method…

Maailma

Suomen Filosofi nen Yhdistys on jo vuodesta 1980 lähtien järjestänyt yhden sanan kollokvioita, joissa paneudutaan johonkin eri aikakausia ja fi losofi sia suuntauksia askarruttavaan teemaan. Mutta vasta globalisaation muutettua maapallon maailmankyläksi SFY lähtee maailmalle järjestämällä kollokvion aiheesta ”Maailma”. Ehkä näin maailmojasyleilevän teeman tiivistäminen yhteen sanaan on vaikuttanut vaikealta. Miten voidaan valita tarkastelutapa ja näkökulma maailmaan, kun jo olemme maailman sisällä? Mikä olisi sopiva fi losofi nen lähestymistapa maailmaan, kun me kaikki jo olemme maailmassa? Mikään kohde ei kuitenkaan ole fi losofeille vieras tai liian maailmallinen – ei edes maailma itse. N…