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Im Zentrum der traditionellen analytischen Philosophie steht die Suche nach hinreichenden und notwendigen Bedingungen des jeweils zu untersuchenden Begriffs. Craig zeigt, daß solche Untersuchungen im Hinblick auf den Wissensbegriff zwar nützliche Daten liefern können, bisher aber gescheitert sind und im Grunde genommen am Witz dieses Begriffs vorbeigehen. Statt der analytischen Untersuchung will Craig verstehen, auf welches (praktische) Bedürfnis die Menschen mit der Entwicklung des Wissensbegriffs reagieren. Dieser Ansatz wird im Sinne einer pragmatischen Untersuchung ausgebaut und anhand von Beispielen unter steter Berücksichtigung der klassischen Analyse (»Wissen« = »wahre Überzeugung mit triftiger Begründung«) erörtert. Der so gewonnene »pragmatische« Wissensbegriff wird sodann mit Gegenbeispielen konfrontiert, und es wird gezeigt, daß ein für Menschen brauchbarer Wissensbegriff objektiv sein muß. Der bei diesen Untersuchungen in Anspruch genommene und begründete Pragmatismus steht in gespannter Beziehung zu allen Formen des Skeptizismus. Bei der durch dieses Spannungsverhältnis ausgelösten Auseinandersetzung mit dem Skeptizismus unterscheidet Craig zwischen kulturgeschichtlichen Gründen für die skeptizistische Einstellung und solchen, die auf den pragmatischen Ursprung des Wissensbegriffs und die Deutung des Objektivierungsprozesses zurückgehen. Erörtert werden dabei einerseits theologisch/religiös und naturwissenschaftlich motivierte Formen des Skeptizismus und andererseits solche, die im Umkreis der Zweckfrage bezüglich des Wissens entstehen, womit der Zusammenhang zwischen der nie zur Ruhe kommenden skeptischen Problematik und den Ergebnissen der vorangehenden Untersuchungen hergestellt wird.
Die Kybernetik war angetreten, die »zwei Kulturen« der Geistes- und Naturwissenschaften im Rahmen eines neuen Erklärungsversuchs miteinander zu versöhnen. Begriffe wie »Regelung« oder »Selbststeuerung« wurden auf den Menschen übertragen mit dem Ziel, eine »kybernetische Anthropologie« zu ermöglichen, mit deren Hilfe eine letzte einheitliche Bestimmung des Menschen gelingen sollte. Stefan Rieger entziffert in seiner materialreichen Studie diesen Entwurf einer Anthropologie als Episteme im Sinne Foucaults, in deren Zentrum der Begriff des »Bildes« alle Erklärungsanliegen bündeln soll: der Status des Menschen, seine Stellung im Kosmos, seine Abgrenzung von Tier, Maschine und Umwelt. Der Mensch ist auf Bilder und Bildtypen angewiesen, und diese Struktur wird zum Definiens von Virtualität. Im Namen der Virtualität wird dem Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts noch einmal der Versuch einer wesensmäßigen Bestimmung zuteil.
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This book provides a powerful diagnosis of why the global governance of science struggles in the face of emerging powers. Through unpacking critical events in China and India over the past twenty years, it demonstrates that the 'subversiveness' assumed in the two countries' rise in the life sciences reflects many of the regulatory challenges that are shared worldwide. It points to a decolonial imperative for science governance to be responsive and effective in a cosmopolitan world. By highlighting epistemic injustice within contemporary science, the book extends theories of decolonisation.
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Medien konstruieren Wirklichkeit, vermitteln als Realität, was Kommunikatoren beobachten und kommunizieren, erzeugen in kommunikativen Formen und Mustern menschlicher Rationalität, was als Geschehen in der Welt externalisiert wird. Medien und Kommunikation erweisen sich als Schlüsselfunktionen sozialer Wirklichkeitskonstruktion unter den Bedingungen kognitiver Autonomie. Kognition, Kommunikation, Medien und Kultur verschränken sich zu komplementären Momenten onto-, phylo- und soziogenetischer Prozesse, die wir verkörpern und deren Zeugen wir deshalb nicht sein können. Die Kommunikations- und Medienwisseschaft hat die konstruktivistische Herausforderung in den letzten Jahren immer deutlicher angenommen. Sie hat in der Kommunikations- und Verstehenstheorie, in der Wirkungsforschung, in der Medien-, Kultur- und Systemtheorie, in der Journalistik und in der Diskussion um virtuelle Wirklichkeiten konstruktivistische Einsicht fruchtbar gemacht: Die Kommunikationsmodelle sind komplexer geworden. Der hermeneutisch geprägte Verstehensbegriff wird kognitiv-sozial entmystifiziert. Die Modelle der Medienwirkung werden multifaktoriell. Die Medien- und Kommunikationskultur gewinnt immer stärker Implikationen für die Episteme, die Ethik, die soziale und politische Kultur. Die Virtualität auch der menschengenerierten Wirklichkeit kommt immer klarer zu Bewußtsein. Der Band versammelt repräsentative Beispiele nicht nur für diesen konstruktiven Dialog, sondern auch für die kritischen Stimmen, die ihn begleiten. Literarische und künstlerische Arbeiten komplettieren den DELFIN in gewohnter Manier.
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"Lao Tzu", also known as "moral classics," Taoist classics, according to legend, is the late Spring and Autumn Chu people Lao Ji, all received a total of 81 chapters. Lao Tzu is a speech collection of Lao Tzu's philosophical thoughts, systematically expounding Lao Tzu's outlook on the universe, politics and epistemology. "Tao" is the basic category in which Lao Zi-Zhe does not think. Lao-tzu believes that "Tao" is the origin of the universe. It is independent of anything else and changes constantly and continuously. And "virtue" Is the concrete application of "Tao" in life, social and political life. The English translation of this book is one of the more influential English versions, with some revisions made in the book. The book is accompanied by the silk book Laozi unearthed in the Mawangdui Han Tomb of Changsha in 1972.
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Developing the concept of 'disobedient knowledge', this book provides new perspectives on activism and everyday struggles against racism and bordering. Drawing on empirical material from distinct contexts in Northern, Western and Southern Europe, the chapters explore how different kinds of (b)orders are challenged and possibly also maintained in everyday antiracism, activism and struggles against borders. The book examines resistance and disobedience in relation to borders, social orders, conventional practices and hegemonic discourses. It underscores the importance of studying racism and bordering as intertwined phenomena. With a focus on the historical layers of resistance, disobedient practices and ways of building shared struggles, the book provides invaluable knowledge about postcolonial Europe and its future possibilities.
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This volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society series explores the arguments between critical theory and epistemology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Focusing on the first and second generations of critical theorists and Luhmann's systems theory, the book examines how each approaches epistemology. It opens by looking at twentieth-century epistemology, particularly the concept of lifeworld (Lebenswelt). It then moves on to discuss structuralism, poststructuralism, critical realism, the epistemological problematics of Foucault's writings and the dialectics of systems theory. This unique work takes a comparative look at structuralism and post-structuralism's epistemological theory with special reference to scientific reason. It also investigates Luhmann's works in epistemology. The aim is to explore whether the focal point for epistemology and the sciences remain that social and political interests actually form a concrete point of concern for the sciences as well.
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In the wake of 9/11, the Asian crisis and the 2004 tsunami, traditional analytical frameworks are increasingly unable to explain how individuals and communities are rendered insecure, or advance individual, global or environmental security. In the Asia-Pacific, the accepted wisdom of realism has meant that analyses rarely move beyond the statist, militarist and exclusionary assumptions that underpin traditional realpolitik. This innovative new book challenges these limitations and addresses the missing problems, people and vulnerabilities of the Asia-Pacific region. It also turns a critical eye on traditional interstate strategic dynamics. Critical security in the Asia-Pacific applies both a critical theoretical approach that interrogates the deeper assumptions underpinning security discourses, and a human-centred policy approach that focuses on the security, welfare and emancipation of individuals and communities. Leading Asia-Pacific researchers combine to apply these frameworks to the most pressing issues in the region, from the Korean peninsula to environmental change, Indonesian conflict, the 'war on terror' and the plight of refugees. The result is a sophisticated and accessible account of often-neglected realities of marginalization in the region, and a compelling argument for the empowerment and security of the most vulnerable.
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Bajautopia is a book that aims to reflect on both the struggles and hopes of the Bajau Laut community. Bajautopia is both a manifesto and a provocation. This edited volume contains a collection of inspiring essays to reveal the life and culture of the Bajau Laut. The book brings together a wide range of essay contributors, led by the foremost writers and scholars from the fields of architecture, history, film studies, anthropology, tourism, political science, and urban planning in Malaysia. Considered as a dialogue between scholars/writers from different cultural backgrounds and epistemological contexts, this book explores a diverse range of topics integral to the livelihood of the Bajau Laut.
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This volume brings together insights which look at the intersection of governance, culture and conflict resolution in India and the European Union. Two very different but connected epistemic, cultural and institutional settings, which have been divided by distance, colonialism and culture; yet have recently been brought closer together by ideas and practices of what is known as liberal peace, neoliberal state and development projects. The differences are obvious in terms of geography, culture, the nature and shape of institutions, and historical forces: and yet the commonalities between the two are surprising. This is the first book to compare contemporary Indian and European Union approaches to peace and is based on strong case studies and rigorous analysis. Postgraduate students, peace and conflict researchers, policy-makers and practitioners will benefit immensely from insights provided in this book. ;
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This volume collects and revises the key essays of Gunther Teubner, one of the world's leading sociologists of law. Written over the past twenty years, these essays examine the 'dark side' of functional differentiation and the prospects of societal constitutionalism as a possible remedy. Teubner's claim is that critical accounts of law and society require reformulation in the light of the sophisticated diagnoses of late modernity in the writings of Niklas Luhmann, Jacques Derrida and select examples of modernist literature. Autopoiesis, deconstruction and other post-foundational epistemological and political realities compel us to confront the fact that fundamental democratic concepts such as law and justice can no longer be based on theories of stringent argumentation or analytical philosophy. We must now approach law in terms of contingency and self-subversion rather than in terms of logical consistency and rational coherence.
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This book aims to examine the nature of and resistance to gendered urban violence among Brazilian women in London and in the favelas of Maré, Rio de Janeiro. Drawing on the conceptualisation of translocational gendered urban violence framework, it highlights the importance of examining direct forms of gender-based violence across private, public and transnational spheres as interlinked with structural, symbolic and infrastructural violence. The book also explores the embodied and spatialised nature of gendered urban violence, explored through artistic engagements and arts-based methods. In developing a translocational feminist tracing methodological and epistemological approach across the social sciences and the arts, the book argues for the importance of a collaborative approach among academic, civil society organisations, artists and creative researchers with a view to engendering empathetic transformation to address gendered urban violence in the long-term.
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Many early modern plays use poison, most famously Hamlet, where the murder of Old Hamlet showcases the range of issues poison mobilises. Its orchard setting is one of a number of sinister uses of plants which comment on both the loss of horticultural knowledge resulting from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and also the many new arrivals in English gardens through travel, trade, and attempts at colonisation. The fact that Old Hamlet was asleep reflects unease about soporifics troubling the distinction between sleep and death; pouring poison into the ear smuggles in the contemporary fear of informers; and it is difficult to prove. This book explores poisoning in early modern plays, the legal and epistemological issues it raises, and the cultural work it performs, which includes questions related to race, religion, nationality, gender, and humans' relationship to the environment.
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Saramago's labyrinths is the first book-length study to focus on the relationship between form and the content in Saramago's writing, paying particular attention to Ensaio sobre a Cegueira (Blindness) and Todos os Nomes (All the Names). Atkin provides a close textual analysis of Blindness and All the Names, and suggests that the labyrinth pervades Saramago's work, both in the form of the text, and as a literary and philosophical trope. She makes clear connections between these novels and Saramago's other literary works, and identifies ways in which Saramago causes the reader to return to and consider the philosophical, epistemological and ethical concerns and dilemmas that are recurrent in his literary output. Atkin's jargon-free approach to Saramago's complex ideas, and her thorough understanding of Portuguese history, culture and society, make this an accessible yet challenging guide to Saramago's fiction, for undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars with or without prior knowledge of the Portuguese context. ;
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Tensions in the struggle for sexual minority rights in Europe, newly available in paperback, is the first queer and poststructuralist reading of political rights concepts in the specific European transnational context. In the last thirty years Europe has seen the rise of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movements fighting nationally and transnationally for participation rights in society. In addition academic theorists have increasingly paid attention to the epistemological and ontological roles gender and sexuality play in modern politics. However, in the political process of arguing for rights the centrality of those roles is mostly hidden from view in official institutional and movement discourses. This book investigates the conceptual themes of lesbian, gay and transgender rights and lobby politics in Europe and their open and hidden relations to binary and hierarchical orders of dominance. It contributes to an understanding of the conditions upon which politics of inclusion, participation, social justice and equality rest and why struggles for sexual minority rights have been so difficult and slow. It illuminates how the paradigms of political discourse constitute, consolidate and contest the meaning and cultural significance of gender and sexuality on modern, democratic, capitalist European societies. ;
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This new edition examines some of the philosophical and theoretical issues underlying the 'democratic project' which increasingly dominates the fields of comparative development and international relations. The first concern presented here is normative and epistemological: as democracy becomes more widely accepted as the political currency of legitimacy, the more broadly it is defined. But as agreement decreases regarding the definition of democracy, the less we are able to evaluate how it is working, or indeed whether it is working at all. The second issue is causal: what are the claims being made regarding how best to secure a democratic system in developing states? To what extent do our beliefs and expectations of how political relations ought to be governed distort our understanding of how democratic societies do in fact emerge; and, conversely, to what extent does our understanding of how democracy manifests itself temper our conception of what it ought to be? The volume will be of interest to those in international development studies, as well as political theorists with an interest in applied ethics. ;
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African modernity is the result of original combinations that involve a figurative dimension. Hidden beneath the overt forms of domination, there is an ongoing, subtle war of signs. These symbolic conflicts manifest themselves in the stage of modernity as a means of creating ordinary social bonds. The competitive construction of this public space begins from the early moments of African incorporation into European imaginaries, with military campaigns serving as the realization of this soon-to-be colonizing imagination. Photographic space becomes a part of this silent process of inventing and/or subverting identities, contributing to the marking of social evolution. The photographs are studied here not to showcase exotic postures of indigenous people, characterized as clumsy and innocent, which underlie a certain primitivist aesthetics, but to facilitate a distancing that allows for the observation of the internal dynamics of contemporary African societies. This approach raises significant epistemological issues that challenge the heuristic function of images, imaginations, and imaginaries. Through the medium of images, this book sheds new light on the distinctions, frictions, and strategies of African modernity, which has been the subject of many misinterpretations.
In this book, in addition to the epistemological and anthropological chapters, texts that problematize coloniality and decoloniality are included. These conceptions dynamize the approach of world critical thinking from the place of reflection of authors from the African and Latin American continents. The topics discuss the role that epistemic racism played in the reproduction of privileges in the social structure of contemporary thought. Thus, epistemological presuppositions worked here indicate a vision of the world and of being human. Those who appreciate a good read will identify new horizons and the breaking of boundaries of Afrocentricity and epistemological ancestry of diasporic thought in the four axes (Philosophy, Bioethics,Theology and Human Rights).
