Interpretaciones de Wittgenstein por marxistas ingleses: una crítica

Resumen: Tanto Perry Anderson como Alex Callinicos y Terry Eagleton han desarrollado un trabajo cultural y filosófico sobresaliente. Sin embargo, los tres han malinterpretado la obra de Ludwig Wittgenstein. La concepción de la filosofía de Wittgenstein no está en tensión con la filosofía marxista en el modo en el que ellos lo sugirieron y Wittgenstein no cometió los errores que le atribuyeron Anderson, Callinicos e Eagleton. Los marxistas se beneficiarían si consideraran más seriamente la obra de Wittgenstein porque ello los ayudaría a comprender más claramente la naturaleza de los problemas epistemológicos y metafísicos como así también los ayudaría a fortalecer y complementar sus propias concepciones de las confusiones filosóficas. En este trabajo examinaré los errores de sus interpretaciones de Wittgenstein y espero también poder proporcionar alguna indicación de las razones por las cuales Wittgenstein es considerado por muchos como el filósofo más importante del siglo XX

Was Wittgenstein a conservative philosopher?

J. C. Nyiri has argued in a series of papers that Ludwig Wittgenstein is a conservative philosopher. In ‘Wittgenstein 1929-31: The Turning Back’ Nyiri cites Wittgenstein’s admiration for Grillparzer as well as overtly philosophical passages from On Certainty in support of that thesis. I argue, in opposition to Nyiri, that we should separate Wittgenstein’s political remarks from his philosophical remarks and that nothing Wittgenstein says in his philosophical work obviously implies a conservative viewpoint, or any other kind of political viewpoint. In his philosophical work Wittgenstein was concerned with untangling conceptual confusions rather than with putting forward a political viewpoint and the two kinds of activities are quite different. There is, however, some evidence of elements of conservatism in the stances that Wittgenstein took on political issues although there is also some evidence of sympathy for left-wing views, particularly during the ‘late’ period of Wittgenstein’s work after he returned to philosophy at the end of the 1920s. Wittgenstein’s philosophical work cannot be claimed by people of any particular political persuasion as their own but it can be used to untangle philosophical problems in the work of a great variety of political philosophies

Whistleblowing internal auditors : a contradiction in terms?

The topic of whistleblowing is achieving unprecedented prominence in official reports, publications, research, legislation and the media. Some influential voices are suggesting that far from whistleblowing - informing on organizations that commit illegal or unethical acts - being subversive and undesirable, it may in certain circumstances deserve high praise. Inevitably it entails huge risks, and these risks need to be personally and carefully considered. The first part of this thesis examines the case of external audit, a close cousin of internal audit. There should be fewer opportunities for the external auditor to blow the whistle, although such instances are likely to be highly material. There has been much international debate on the role and purpose of external audit, and this has tended to exclude whistleblowing. However there are winds of change, and tightening of legislation and recent ethical guidance suggests that there are occasions when whistleblowing is either required or seriously to be contemplated. Attention then turns to the central theme of internal audit. For practitioners the issue is far from clear-cut, and the Code of Ethics of the Institute of Internal Auditors and its other guidance is found to be ambiguous and even prejudicial to the interests of the individual member. Case studies of internal audit whistleblowing highlight the issues. Participant observation and social audit are explored, since both result in the possession insights that are the substance from which whistleblowing revelations are derived. Generalized examples of whistleblowing are then presented to shed light on the wider context. Disaster situations by their life-threatening nature receive more widespread assent as to their societal value . The extent of legal protection for whistleblowers follows. Finally come criteria for valid forms of whistleblowing, the formulation of codes of ethics for whistleblowers, and suggest the way forward for the internal audit professio

Mackie’s error theory: A Wittgensteinian critique

I start by arguing that Mackie’s claim that there are no objective values is a nonsensical one. I do this by ‘assembling reminders’ of the correct use of the term ‘values’ and by examining the grammar of moral propositions à la Wittgenstein. I also examine Hare’s thought experiment which is used to demonstrate “that no real issue can be built around the objectivity or otherwise of moral values” before briefly looking at Mackie’s ‘argument from queerness’. In the final section I propose that Robert Arrington’s ‘conceptual relativism’, inspired by Wittgenstein, helps to make our use of moral language more perspicuous and avoids the problems faced by Macki

What Are the Implications of Wittgenstein´s Philosophy for Social Philosophy?

Nesta tese procuro responder à questão: quais são as implicações da filosofia de Wittgenstein para a filosofia social? A tese está dividida em três partes. Na primeira parte discuto a natureza da filosofia de Wittgenstein e das ciências sociais. Concluo que a filosofia de Wittgenstein envolve investigações gramaticais com vista à dissolução de problemas filosóficos. A filosofia, na ótica de Wittgenstein, enriquece ou alarga o nosso entendimento em vez de adicionar elementos ao nosso conjunto de conhecimentos, como as ciências sociais fazem. Na segunda parte considero a relação de Wittgenstein com a ideologia: com o conservadorismo, o liberalismo e o socialismo. Defendo que Wittgenstein não era um conservador mas que também não era um liberal ou um socialista. Na parte final da tese considero o valor de Wittgenstein em ajudar a dissolver problemas em filosofia social e política. Concluo que a filosofia de Wittgenstein tem algumas implicações negativas para a filosofia social e política. Ela dissolve confusões filosóficas e destrói castelos de cartas. Mas a sua filosofia tem também implicações positivas. A filosofia de Wittgenstein enriquece o nosso entendimento de questões sociais e políticas e pode ser de grande benefício no quadro da epistemologia social e política.In this thesis I set out to answer the question: what are the implications of Wittgenstein’s philosophy for social philosophy? The thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part I discuss the nature of Wittgenstein’s philosophy and of the social sciences. I conclude that Wittgenstein’s philosophy involved grammatical investigations aimed at dissolving philosophical problems. Philosophy, on Wittgenstein’s view enriches or broadens our understanding rather than adding to our stock of knowledge, as social sciences do. In the second part I look at Wittgenstein’s relation to ideology: to conservatism, liberalism, and socialism. I argue that Wittgenstein was not a conservative but nor was he a liberal or a socialist. In the final part of the thesis I look at Wittgenstein’s value in helping to dissolve problems in social and political philosophy. I conclude that Wittgenstein’s philosophy has some negative implications for social and political philosophy. It dissolves philosophical confusions and knocks down houses of cards. But his philosophy also has positive implications. Wittgenstein’s philosophy enriches our understanding of social and political issues and can be of great benefit within social and political epistemology

Co-incorporation of biodegradable wastes with crop residues to reduce nitrate pollution of groundwater and decrease waste disposal to landfill

Return of high nitrogen (N) content crop residues to soil, particularly in autumn, can result in environmental pollution resulting from gaseous and leaching losses of N. The EU Landfill Directive will require significant reductions in the amounts of biodegradable materials going to landfill. A field experiment was set up to examine the potential of using biodegradable waste materials to manipulate losses of N from high N crop residues in the soil. Leafy residues of sugar beet were co-incorporated into soil with materials of varying C:N ratios, including molasses, compactor waste, paper waste, green waste compost and cereal straw. The amendment materials were each incorporated to provide approximately 3.7 t C per hectare. The most effective material for reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) production and leaching loss of NO3− was compactor waste, which is the final product from the recycling of cardboard. Adding molasses increased N2O and NO3− leaching losses. Six months following incorporation of residues, the double rate application of compactor waste decreased soil mineral N by 36 kg N per hectare, and the molasses increased soil mineral N by 47 kg N per hectare. Compactor waste reduced spring barley grain yield by 73% in the first of years following incorporation, with smaller losses at the second harvest. At the first harvest, molasses and paper waste increased yields of spring barley by 20 and 10% compared with sugar beet residues alone, and the enhanced yield persisted to the second harvest. The amounts of soil mineral N in the spring and subsequent yields of a first cereal crop were significantly correlated to the lignin and cellulose contents of the amendment materials. Yield was reduced by 0.3–0.4 t/ha for every 100 mg/g increase in cellulose or lignin content. In a second year, cereal yield was still reduced and related to the cellulose content of the amendment materials but with one quarter of the effect. Additional fertilizer applied to this second crop did not relieve this effect. Although amendment materials were promising as tools to reduce N losses, further work is needed to reduce the negative effects on subsequent crops which was not removed by applying 60 kg/ha of fertilizer N

An investigation into the clinical reasoning development of veterinary students

Clinical reasoning is a fundamental skill for veterinary clinicians and a competency required of graduates by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. However, it is unknown how veterinary students develop reasoning skills and where strengths and shortcomings of curricula lie. This research aimed to use the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (SVMS) as a case study to investigate the development of clinical reasoning among veterinary students. The analysis was framed in consideration of the taught, learned, and declared curricula. Sixteen staff and sixteen students from the SVMS participated separately in a total of four focus groups. In addition, five interviews were conducted with recent SVMS graduates. Audio transcriptions were used to conduct a thematic analysis. A content analysis was performed on all curriculum documentation. It was found that SVMS graduates feel they have a good level of reasoning ability, but they still experience a deficit in their reasoning capabilities when starting their first job. Overarching themes arising from the data suggest that a lack of responsibility for clinical decisions during the program and the embedded nature of the clinical reasoning skill within the curriculum could be restricting development. In addition, SVMS students would benefit from clinical reasoning training where factors influencing ‘‘real life’’ decisions (e.g., finances) are explored in more depth. Integrating these factors into the curriculum could lead to improved decision-making ability among SVMS graduates and better prepare students for the stressful transition to practice. These findings are likely to have implications for other veterinary curricula

¿Era Wittgenstein un filósofo liberal?

La pregunta si Wittgenstein fue un filósofo liberal ha recibido menos atención que la de si fue un filósofo conservador, pero, como Robert Greenleaf Brice ha defendido recientemente, hay muchos indicios de liberalismo en algumas de sus observaciones, y algunos filósofos, como Richard Eldridge, han sostenido que hay un cierto tipo de liberalismo que se sigue de la filosofía de su última etapa. Richard Rorty ha sacado también conclusiones liberales a partir de la perspectiva filosófica que se basa en la obra de Wittgenstein y Alice Crary ha sugerido que las lecciones aprendidas de su propria interpretación de Wittgenstein "reflejan en formas de vida social que incorporan los ideales de la democracia liberal"

Response to Critics

Cosmos+Taxis published a special issue with a symposium discussing Robert Vinten's book Wittgenstein and the Social Sciences. The symposium was edited by Richard Eldridge and it contains contributions from Paul Roth (Distinguished Professor, UC Santa Cruz), Daniel Little (Professor, University of Michigan, Dearborn), Rafael Azize (Associate Professor, Federal University of Bahia), Richard Raatzsch (Professor, EBS Universität), and Rupert Read (Associate Professor, UEA) - with a response by Robert Vinten ('Response to Critics). Within the issue the papers compare Wittgenstein's philosophy to art, compare Wittgenstein to Brecht, and examine the nature of the social science