What’s the big deal with consistency? (Cross-posted at NewAPPS) It is no news to anyone that the concept of consistency is a hotly debated topic in philosophy of logic and epistemology (as well as elsewhere). Indeed, a number of philosophers throughout history have defended the view that consistency, in particular in the form of the principle of non-contradiction (PNC), is the most fundamental principle governing human rationality – so much so that rational debate about PNC itself wouldn’t even be possible, as famously stated by David Lewis. It is also the presumed privileged status of consistency that seems to motivate the philosophical obsession with paradoxes across time; to be caught entertaining inconsistent beliefs/concepts is really bad, so blocking the emergence of paradoxes is top-priority. Since the advent of dialetheism, and in particular under the powerful assaults of karateka Graham Priest, PNC has been under pressure. You cannot be believed, Meletus, even, I think, by yourself.
Dialetheism 1. Some Basic Concepts Though dialetheism is not a new view, the word itself is. It was coined by Graham Priest and Richard Routley (later Sylvan) in 1981 (see Priest, Routley and Norman, 1989, p. xx). The inspiration for the name was a passage in Wittgenstein's Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics, where he describes the Liar sentence (‘This sentence is not true’) as a Janus-headed figure facing both truth and falsity (1978, IV.59). Hence a di-aletheia is a two(-way) truth. Dialetheism should be clearly distinguished from trivialism. A general conception of entailment (and, by extension, a logic that captures such a conception) is explosive if, according to it, a contradiction entails everything (ex contradictione quodlibet: for all A and B: A,¬A ⊢ B). However, dialetheism should also be clearly distinguished from paraconsistency (see Berto, 2007a, Ch. 5). 2. In Western Philosophy, a number of the Presocratics endorsed dialetheism. 3. 3.1 The Paradoxes of Self-Reference 4. 5. 6.
Wired 8.05: Terence McKenna's Last Trip Terence McKenna's Last Trip The "altered statesman" emerged from Leary's long shadow to push a magical blend of psychedelics, technology, and revelatory rap. He had less time than he knew. By Erik Davis In May 1999, the psychedelic bard Terence McKenna returned to his jungle hideaway on Hawaii's Big Island after six weeks on the road. Soon after McKenna arrived home, however, he was hit with ferocious headaches. When McKenna came to, he was flat on his back, staring at the ceiling as his extremely agitated girlfriend called 911. The ambulance guys knew McKenna's rep and were convinced he had OD'd. McKenna was facing something that no shaman's rattle or peyote button was going to cure. At the same time, friends and comrades were stalking more ethereal treatments. From the wilds of Nevada, paranormal radio jock Art Bell was planning a different kind of intervention. Even after he went under the gamma knife, McKenna couldn't quite believe what was happening to him. "So what about it?"
John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, imperialist[5] and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy. In his lifetime Dee amassed one of the largest libraries in England. Biography[edit] Early life[edit] Rector at Upton-upon-Severn from 1553, Dee was offered a readership in mathematics at Oxford in 1554, which he declined; he was occupied with writing and perhaps hoped for a better position at court.[9] In 1555, Dee became a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, as his father had, through the company's system of patrimony.[10] That same year, 1555, he was arrested and charged with "calculating" for having cast horoscopes of Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth; the charges were expanded to treason against Mary.[9][11] Dee appeared in the Star Chamber and exonerated himself, but was turned over to the Catholic Bishop Bonner for religious examination.
Hermeneutics Hermes, messenger of the gods. Hermeneutics /hɜrməˈnjuːtɪks/ is the theory of text interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts.[1][2] The terms "hermeneutics" and "exegesis" are sometimes used interchangeably. Hermeneutics is a wider discipline that includes written, verbal, and nonverbal communication. Exegesis focuses primarily upon texts. Hermeneutics initially applied to the interpretation, or exegesis, of scripture. Etymology[edit] Hermeneutics is derived from the Greek word ἑρμηνεύω (hermeneuō, 'translate' or 'interpret').[6] It was introduced into philosophy mainly through the title of Aristotle's work On Interpretation, commonly referred to by its Latin title De Interpretatione. The early usage of "hermeneutics" places it within the boundaries of the sacred.[7] A divine message must be received with implicit uncertainty regarding its truth. Folk etymology[edit] Aristotle and Plato[edit] Talmudic hermeneutics[edit]
Hermeticism Philosophy based on the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth).[1] These teachings are contained in the various writings attributed to Hermes (the Hermetica), which were produced over a period spanning many centuries (c. 300 BCE – 1200 CE), and may be very different in content and scope.[2] In 1964, Frances A. Yates advanced the thesis that Renaissance Hermeticism, or what she called "the Hermetic tradition", had been a crucial factor in the development of modern science.[7] While Yates's thesis has since been largely rejected,[8] the important role played by the 'Hermetic' science of alchemy in the thought of such figures as Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580–1644), Robert Boyle (1627–1691) or Isaac Newton (1642–1727) has been amply demonstrated.[9] Etymology[edit] History[edit]
Antoine Fabre d'Olivet Antoine Fabre d'Olivet (December 8, 1767, Ganges, Hérault – March 25, 1825, Paris) was a French author, poet and composer whose Biblical and philosophical hermeneutics influenced many occultists, such as Eliphas Lévi, Gerard Encausse and Édouard Schuré. His best known works are on the research of the Hebrew language and the history of the human race entitled (1) The Hebraic Tongue Restored: And the True Meaning of the Hebrew Words Re-Established and Proved by their Radical Analysis, and (2) Hermeneutic Interpretation of the Origin of the Social State of Man and of the Destiny of the Adamic Race. Other works of renown are on the sacred art of music entitled Music Explained as Science and as Art and Considered in its Analog Relationship with Religious Mysteries, Ancient Mythology and the History of the Earth, and a translation and commentary of Pythagoras's thirty-six Golden Verses.
Albert Lautman Dialectics in Mathematics | Brendan Larvor - 4 -multiplication, unity, length and absolute value) all have, in some sense, one foot in eachof two camps. We shall see this pattern again in the fifth chapter of the Essay on thenotions of structure and existence in mathematics , in which Lautman explores anothercollection of mathematical ‘mixtures’ Notice, though, that the pairs of notions in this listare not pairs of conceptual opposites. He has this in common with the Eleaticphilosopher; swimming is not the opposite of walking, nor is fish the opposite of fowl.The fact that these pairs are not conceptual opposites raises the question why the Eleaticphilosopher divides categories into pairs (rather than triples, quadruples, etc .), with all theresulting awkwardness and arbitrariness. Timaeus , Plato divides living creatures into four classes according to habitat: gods inheaven, birds in the air, land animals and water animals (39-40). Philebus Sophist , but only in the figure of the genericEleatic philosopher. is rather indirect. and
Dialectics and Mathematics by Andy Blunden 1984 Andy Blunden. Labour Review February 1984 Dialectics and Mathematics WITH the publication in 1983, the centenary year of Karl Marx, of the first English edition of Marx’s Mathematical Manuscripts, the task of continuing Marx’s work in this field is squarely posed. It must be emphasised that Marx’s study of calculus and the manuscripts which have come down to us, cannot be dismissed as peripheral or outdated. The central position that the understanding of the nature of mathematics has played in the entire history of philosophy, the growing importance of mathematics within natural science as a whole prove that a Marxist analysis of the problems of the philosophy of mathematics cannot be postponed. It is when we move to a study of contemporary work on the philosophy of mathematics that the significance of what Marx is doing in the Manuscripts becomes clear. The dual character of mathematical entities This social practice, taken as a whole, existed prior to the work of any individual.
HEGEL AND MATHEMATICS Ernst Kol'man and Sonia Yanovskaya (1931) Source: Marx's Mathematical Manuscripts, New Park Publications, 1983;First published: in Unter dem Banner des Marxismus, 1931. The enormous interest shown in the study of Hegel by science in the Soviet Union is best justified in Lenin's philosophical legacy: 'Modern natural scientists (if they know how to seek, and if we learn to help them) will find in the Hegelian dialectics materialistically interpreted a series of answers to the philosophical problems which are being raised by the revolution in natural science and which make the intellectual admirers of bourgeois fashion "stumble" into reaction.' If materialism wishes to be militant materialism, it must set itself such a task and work systematically at solving it, otherwise 'eminent natural scientists will as often as hitherto be helpless in making their philosophical deductions and generalisations. But that does not mean that he completely overlooked this development.
Ludwig Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (July 28, 1804 – September 13, 1872) was a German philosopher and anthropologist best known for his book The Essence of Christianity, which provided a critique of Christianity which strongly influenced generations of later thinkers, including both Karl Marx and Frederich Engels. An associate of Left Hegelian circles, Feuerbach advocated liberalism, atheism and materialism. Many of his philosophical writings offered a critical analysis of religion. His thought was influential in the development of dialectical materialism,[1] where he is often recognized as a bridge between Hegel and Marx.[2] Life and career[edit] Feuerbach was the fourth son of the eminent jurist Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach, brother of mathematician Karl Wilhelm Feuerbach and uncle of painter Anselm Feuerbach.[3] Feuerbach's other brothers were almost all distinguished in scholarship or science: He also had three sisters: Education[edit] Early writings[edit] After "1848"[edit]