2,199 research outputs found
Early Modern Philosophical Systems
The occurrence of an entry on early modern
philosophical systems in an encyclopaedia of
Neo-Latin studies is fraught with complications,
if only on account of the gradual disappearance
during the early modern period of
Latin as the main vehicle of philosophical
communication. What is more, historians of
philosophy find it difficult to agree on exactly
which period should count as ‘early modern’,
and finally, experts on the period involved have
raised serious doubts concerning the suitability
of the notion of a ‘system’ in the historiography
of philosophy in the period under review
Smaak en distinctie: elites in de achttiende eeuw
In this paper Marcel Proust’s celebrated analysis of taste and distinction among the upper crust portrayed in À la recherche du temps perdu serves as an introduction to Pierre Bourdieu’s La Distinction and to more recent research into contemporary
Dutch elites. Finally, the prevailing image of the Dutch Republic as a state dominated by ‘burgers’ is called into question, for i t would seem that Dutch eighteenth-century culture in particular cannot be fully appreciated without taking into account some
of its more aristocratic aspects
Spinoza’s Life: 1677–1802
Few issues in the history of early modern philosophy have recently drawn
as much attention as Spinoza’s role in the European Enlightenment. Jonathan
Israel’s attempts to situate Spinoza at the heart of the Radical Enlightenment,
which according to Israel took the lead in the major debates
defining the Enlightenmen
'Bayle's Skepticism Revisited'
Current historiography tends to present the Huguenot intellectuals as a relatively isolated group within Dutch society. In this article it is argued that it is vitally important to reconnect the exiled Huguenots, intellectuals as well as entrepreneurs and craftsmen, with their Dutch environment, a society in transition, politically and economically, and far les
Axiomatic foundations of quantum mechanics revisited: the case for systems
We present an axiomatization of non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics for a
system with an arbitrary number of components. The interpretation of our system
of axioms is realistic and objective. The EPR paradox and its relation with
realism is discussed in this framework. It is shown that there is no
contradiction between realism and recent experimental results.Comment: submitted to International Journal of Theoretical Physics, uses
Latex, no figure
New remarks on the Cosmological Argument
We present a formal analysis of the Cosmological Argument in its two main
forms: that due to Aquinas, and the revised version of the Kalam Cosmological
Argument more recently advocated by William Lane Craig. We formulate these two
arguments in such a way that each conclusion follows in first-order logic from
the corresponding assumptions. Our analysis shows that the conclusion which
follows for Aquinas is considerably weaker than what his aims demand. With
formalizations that are logically valid in hand, we reinterpret the natural
language versions of the premises and conclusions in terms of concepts of
causality consistent with (and used in) recent work in cosmology done by
physicists. In brief: the Kalam argument commits the fallacy of equivocation in
a way that seems beyond repair; two of the premises adopted by Aquinas seem
dubious when the terms `cause' and `causality' are interpreted in the context
of contemporary empirical science. Thus, while there are no problems with
whether the conclusions follow logically from their assumptions, the Kalam
argument is not viable, and the Aquinas argument does not imply a caused
origination of the universe. The assumptions of the latter are at best less
than obvious relative to recent work in the sciences. We conclude with mention
of a new argument that makes some positive modifications to an alternative
variation on Aquinas by Le Poidevin, which nonetheless seems rather weak.Comment: 12 pages, accepted for publication in International Journal for
Philosophy of Religio
Exact Philosophy of Space-Time
Starting from Bunge's (1977) scientific ontology, we expose a materialistic
relational theory of space-time, that carries out the program initiated by
Leibniz, and provides a protophysical basis consistent with any rigorous
formulation of General Relativity. Space-time is constructed from general
concepts which are common to any consistent scientific theory and they are
interpreted as emergent properties of the greatest assembly of things, namely,
the world.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Version compatible with the published one. arXiv
admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:gr-qc/971006
Hudde en Spinoza: waarom er maar één God is.
In 1666 Johannes Hudde had a brief but important epistolary exchange with the philosopher Spinoza.
Hudde had probably been triggered by Spinoza’s demonstration of God’s uniqueness, delivered in his
introduction to Cartesianism of 1663. Hudde turned out to be a tenacious correspondent, not easily
satisfied and he inspired Spinoza to elucidate his own metaphysics which at the time had not been published
yet.
Meanwhile, Spinoza had to be careful: he was fully aware of the heterodox nature of his own
metaphysics, according to which for instance extension is one of God’s attributes. Hudde on the other
hand deserves credit for identifying a major puzzle in Spinoza’s metaphysics, for if God’s attributes
are indeed as autonomous as Spinoza wants them to be, how are they able to constitute a single God
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