Download or read book Idealism and the Harmony of Thought and Reality written by Thomas Hofweber and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-02-23 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do human beings have a special and distinguished place in reality? In Idealism and the Harmony of Thought and Reality Thomas Hofweber contends that they do. We are special since there is an intimate connection between our human minds and reality itself. This book defends a form of idealism which holds that our human minds constrain, but do not construct, reality as the totality of facts. Reality as the totality of facts is thus not independent of our minds, and our minds play a metaphysically special role in all of reality. But reality as the totality of things is taken to be completely independent of us. Hofweber's proposed form of conceptual idealism is formulated via the notion of a harmony between our minds and reality. This harmony is defended through considerations in the philosophy of language. How can one possibly defend a metaphysical thesis like idealism from considerations about our own representation? A key step in the book's argument is to consider a special class of concepts--inescapable concepts--which we cannot rationally replace with different ones. This leads to a new approach for making progress in metaphysics--immanent metaphysics--which is broadly neo-Kantian in spirit.
Download or read book Idealism and the Harmony of Thought and Reality written by Thomas Hofweber and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-01-24 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do human beings have a special and distinguished place in reality? In Idealism and the Harmony of Thought and Reality Thomas Hofweber contends that they do. We are special since there is an intimate connection between our human minds and reality itself. This book defends a form of idealism which holds that our human minds constrain, but do not construct, reality as the totality of facts. Reality as the totality of facts is thus not independent of our minds, and our minds play a metaphysically special role in all of reality. But reality as the totality of things is taken to be completely independent of us. Hofweber's proposed form of conceptual idealism is formulated via the notion of a harmony between our minds and reality. This harmony is defended through considerations in the philosophy of language. How can one possibly defend a metaphysical thesis like idealism from considerations about our own representation? A key step in the book's argument is to consider a special class of concepts--inescapable concepts--which we cannot rationally replace with different ones. This leads to a new approach for making progress in metaphysics--immanent metaphysics--which is broadly neo-Kantian in spirit.
Download or read book The Idea of the World written by Bernardo Kastrup and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2019-03-29 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rigorous case for the primacy of mind in nature, from philosophy to neuroscience, psychology and physics. The Idea of the World offers a grounded alternative to the frenzy of unrestrained abstractions and unexamined assumptions in philosophy and science today. This book examines what can be learned about the nature of reality based on conceptual parsimony, straightforward logic and empirical evidence from fields as diverse as physics and neuroscience. It compiles an overarching case for idealism - the notion that reality is essentially mental - from ten original articles the author has previously published in leading academic journals. The case begins with an exposition of the logical fallacies and internal contradictions of the reigning physicalist ontology and its popular alternatives, such as bottom-up panpsychism. It then advances a compelling formulation of idealism that elegantly makes sense of - and reconciles - classical and quantum worlds. The main objections to idealism are systematically refuted and empirical evidence is reviewed that corroborates the formulation presented here. The book closes with an analysis of the hidden psychological motivations behind mainstream physicalism and the implications of idealism for the way we relate to the world.
Download or read book The Physics of Idealism written by Edgar Lenderson Hinman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-10-09 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Introduction. In discussing the attitude of idealism towards the metaphysics of natural science one is embarrassed at the outset by the indeflniteness of the term idealism. Systems which are called idealistic differ radically in character, as do those of Leibniz and Berkeley. Many, of them exhibit features which are supposed to be characteristic of realism. Yet the distinction between realism and idealism is a time-honored one, and cannot be without significance. It is therefore important to determine with some precision in what this distinction consists. Two criteria often used to make the distinction appear to the writer to be of very inferior value. According to one, an idealist is a thinker who denies that the external world and the objects of knowledge possess a reality independent of the perception or thought by which they form a part of his consciousness. Their esse is percipi, and in addition to their reality as perception no sort of existence can be ascribed to them. The realist, on the other hand, urges that things exist by themselves, and that afterwards a knowing mind may happen to perceive them-or it may not, the incident being of no great significance. There is no doubt much excuse for resting the distinction upon the denial of an objective world independent of consciousness. The general contention of idealism, both in England and Germany, has been that the reality of the object consists in nothing else than being perceived. Except as related to consciousness, it is urged, no meaning can be ascribed to objectivity. With Berkeley insisting that the esse of things is nothing but their percipi, and with Fichte striving to show how the Ego constructs the world by its own spontaneity, the foregoing characterization has seemed just and has won wide acceptance. The extreme subjectivism which this statement of the idealistic position entails is a matter of regret. Wherever it is dominant idealism fights at a marked disadvantage. The suppression of subjectivism has been the perennial struggle of the idealist. The idealist does not actually mean that the mind of the individual constructs for itself a field of consciousness which is its universe, and that the universe so known carries with it no implication or evidence of an existent reality external to the consciousness of the individual mind. He can no more dispense with such a reality than his opponent can dispense with the material world. It is the principle which makes the world a system, and causes the universe constructed by one mind to harmonize with that constructed by another. From the standpoint of the individual, this may be called an external world. It is not exter.nal to the mind, if by external we understand something opposed to the mind and distinct from it. On the contrary, for most forms of idealism this universal principle must be immanent in the mind, and may in this sense be called internal. It is external, however, in the sense that it involves immensely more than the consciousness of the single individual. Its sphere of activity lies largely outside the consciousness of the finite subject, and it is in this extra-mental sphere that we must find the ground and explanation of the cosmic order.
Download or read book Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics written by Thomas Hofweber and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many significant problems in metaphysics are tied to ontological questions, but ontology and its relation to larger questions in metaphysics give rise to a series of puzzles that suggest that we don't fully understand what ontology is supposed to do, nor what ambitions metaphysics can have for finding out about what the world is like. Thomas Hofweber aims to solve these puzzles about ontology and consequently to make progress on four central metaphysical problems: the philosophy of arithmetic, the metaphysics of ordinary objects, the problem of universals, and the question whether reality is independent of us. Crucial parts of the proposed solution include considerations about quantification and its relationship to ontology, the place of reference in natural languages, the possibility of ineffable facts, the extent of empirical evidence in metaphysics, and whether metaphysics can properly be esoteric. Overall, Hofweber defends a rationalist account of arithmetic, an empiricist picture in the philosophy of ordinary objects, a restricted from of nominalism, and realism about reality, understood as all there is, but idealism about reality, understood as all that is the case. He defends metaphysics as having some questions of fact that are distinctly its own, with a limited form of autonomy from other parts of inquiry, but rejects several metaphysical projects and approaches as being based on a mistake.
Download or read book Idealism written by Tyron Goldschmidt and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Idealism is a family of metaphysical views each of which gives priority to the mental. The best-known forms of idealism in Western philosophy are Berkeleyan idealism, which gives ontological priority to the mental (minds and ideas) over the physical (bodies), and Kantian idealism, which gives a kind of explanatory priority to the mental (the structure of the understanding) over the physical (the structure of the empirical world). Although idealism was once a dominant view in Western philosophy, it has suffered almost total neglect over the last several decades. This book rectifies this situation by bringing together seventeen essays by leading philosophers on the topic of metaphysical idealism. The various essays explain, attack, or defend a variety of idealistic theories, including not only Berkeleyan and Kantian idealisms but also those developed in traditions less familiar to analytic philosophers, including Buddhism and Hassidic Judaism. Although a number of the articles draw on historical sources, all will be of interest to philosophers working in contemporary metaphysics. This volume aims to spark a revival of serious philosophical interest in metaphysical idealism.
Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Idealism and Immaterialism written by Joshua Farris and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-12 with total page 829 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The influence of materialist ontology largely dominates philosophical and scientific discussions. However, there is a resurgent interest in alternative ontologies from panpsychism (the view that at the base of reality exists potential minds, minds, or mind-lets) to idealism and dualism (the view that all of reality is material and mental). The Routledge Handbook of Idealism and Immaterialism is an outstanding reference source and the first major collection of its kind. Historically grounded and constructively motivated, it covers the key topics in philosophy, science, and theology, providing students and scholars with a comprehensive introduction to idealism and immaterialism. Also addressed are post-materialism developments, with explicit attention to variations of idealism and immaterialism (the view that reality depends on a mind or a set of minds). Comprising 44 chapters written by an international and interdisciplinary team of contributors, the Handbook is organised into five clear parts: Idealism and the history of philosophy Important figures in idealism Systematic assessment of idealism Idealism and science Idealism, physicalism, panpsychism, and substance dualism Essential reading for students and researchers in metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of mind, The Routledge Handbook of Idealism and Immaterialism will also be of interest to those in related discplines where idealist and immaterialist ontology impinge on history, science, and theology.
Download or read book Idealism Metaphysics and Community written by William Sweet and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2001. Idealism, Metaphysics and Community examines the place of idealism in contemporary philosophy, and its relation to problems of metaphysics, political thought, and the study of the history of philosophy. Following an extensive introduction by the editor, and drawing on the work of the Canadian idealist, Leslie Armour, the book is divided into three main parts: Part 1 focuses on F.H.Bradley; Part 2 examines metaphysical issues and idealism, such as the realism/anti-realism debate, the relation of classical and idealist metaphysics, rational psychology, time and eternity, and the divine; Part 3 draws on idealism to address contemporary concerns in ethical theory, political philosophy, social philosophy and culture and the history of philosophy. Presenting new insights into the work of classical and contemporary authors, this book provides a better understanding of classical idealism and addresses important areas of contemporary philosophical, social and political concern.
Download or read book Idealism written by Jeremy Dunham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-05 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Idealism is philosophy on a grand scale, combining micro and macroscopic problems into systematic accounts of everything from the nature of the universe to the particulars of human feeling. In consequence, it offers perspectives on everything from the natural to the social sciences, from ecology to critical theory. Heavily criticised by the dominant philosophies of the 20th Century, Idealism is now being reconsidered as a rich and untapped resource for contemporary philosophical arguments and concepts. This volume provides a comprehensive portrait of the major arguments and philosophers in the Idealist tradition. The book demonstrates how Idealist philosophy provides a fruitful way of understanding contemporary issues in metaphysics, the philosophy of science, political philosophy, scientific theory and critical social theory.
Download or read book Studies in Idealism written by Nicholas Rescher and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2013-05-02 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: set of studies of various ideas and theories that play a key role in contemporary idealism and are important for the pragmatic idealism that Nicholas Rescher long was developing.
Download or read book An Idealist View Of Life written by S. Radhakrishnan and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most profoundly religious books of our time - The Spectator Science is a system of second causes, which cannot describe the world adequately, much less account for it. In this remarkable treatise, Radhakrishnan explores aspects of the modern intellectual debate on science vis-a-vis religion and the vain attempts to find a substitute for religion. He discusses, drawing upon the traditions of East and West, the nature and validity of religious experience.Finally, he creates a fine vision of mans evolution and the emergence of higher values. The range of subjects combined with the authors own faith, undogmatic and free of creed, makes this book a philosophical education in itself.
Download or read book A Defence of Idealism written by May Sinclair and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Context and Coherence written by Una Stojnić and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2021-02-25 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural languages are riddled with context-sensitivity, yet how do we understand one another so effortlessly? Contrary to the dominant position, this book argues that meaning is determined entirely by discourse conventions, as we draw on a broad array of subtle linguistic conventions that determine the interpretation of context-sensitive items.
Download or read book Epistemic Values written by Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book collects 20 papers in epistemology by Linda Zagzebski, covering her entire career of more than 25 years. She is one of the founders of contemporary epistemology and is well-known for broadening the field and re-focusing it on epistemic virtue and epistemic value. The subject areas of most of epistemology are included in these papers: (1) knowledge and understanding, (2) intellectual virtue, (3) epistemic value, (4) virtue in religious epistemology, (5) intellectual autonomy and authority, and (6) skepticism and the Gettier problem"--
Download or read book Idealism as a Practical Creed written by Sir Henry Jones and published by . This book was released on 1909 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Philosophical System of Theistic Idealism written by James Lindsay and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
