Fateful Shapes of Human Freedom

Fateful Shapes of Human Freedom

Author: Vincent Michael Colapietro

Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780826514332

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John William Miller's radical revision of the idealistic tradition anticipated some of the most important developments in contemporary thought, developments often associated with thinkers like Heidegger, Benjamin, Foucault, Derrida, and Rorty. In this study, Vincent Colapietro situates Miller's powerful but neglected corpus not only in reference to Continental European philosophy but also to paradigmatic figures in American culture like Lincoln, Emerson, Thoreau, and James. The book is not simply a study of a particular philosopher or a single philosophical movement (American idealism). It is rather a philosophical confrontation with a cluster of issues in contemporary life. These issues revolve around such topics as the grounds and nature of authority, the scope and forms of agency, and the fateful significance of historical place. These issues become especially acute given Colapietro's insistence that the only warrant for our practices is to be found in these historically evolved and evolving practices themselves.


Book Synopsis Fateful Shapes of Human Freedom by : Vincent Michael Colapietro

Download or read book Fateful Shapes of Human Freedom written by Vincent Michael Colapietro and published by Vanderbilt University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John William Miller's radical revision of the idealistic tradition anticipated some of the most important developments in contemporary thought, developments often associated with thinkers like Heidegger, Benjamin, Foucault, Derrida, and Rorty. In this study, Vincent Colapietro situates Miller's powerful but neglected corpus not only in reference to Continental European philosophy but also to paradigmatic figures in American culture like Lincoln, Emerson, Thoreau, and James. The book is not simply a study of a particular philosopher or a single philosophical movement (American idealism). It is rather a philosophical confrontation with a cluster of issues in contemporary life. These issues revolve around such topics as the grounds and nature of authority, the scope and forms of agency, and the fateful significance of historical place. These issues become especially acute given Colapietro's insistence that the only warrant for our practices is to be found in these historically evolved and evolving practices themselves.


The Active Life

The Active Life

Author: Michael J. McGandy

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 0791482863

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The ancient antagonism between the active and the contemplative lives is taken up in this innovative and wide-ranging examination of John William Miller's effort to forge a metaphysics of democracy. The Active Life sheds new light on Miller's actualist philosophy—its scope, its systematic character, and its dialectical form. Michael J. McGandy persuasively sets Miller's actualism in the context of Hannah Arendt's understanding of the active life and skillfully presents actualism as a response to Whitman's challenge to craft a democratic form of metaphysics. McGandy concludes that Miller reveals how the philosophical and the political are inextricably connected, how there is no active life without the contemplative life, and that the contemplative life is founded in the active life.


Book Synopsis The Active Life by : Michael J. McGandy

Download or read book The Active Life written by Michael J. McGandy and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ancient antagonism between the active and the contemplative lives is taken up in this innovative and wide-ranging examination of John William Miller's effort to forge a metaphysics of democracy. The Active Life sheds new light on Miller's actualist philosophy—its scope, its systematic character, and its dialectical form. Michael J. McGandy persuasively sets Miller's actualism in the context of Hannah Arendt's understanding of the active life and skillfully presents actualism as a response to Whitman's challenge to craft a democratic form of metaphysics. McGandy concludes that Miller reveals how the philosophical and the political are inextricably connected, how there is no active life without the contemplative life, and that the contemplative life is founded in the active life.


The Cage

The Cage

Author: David Weissman

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 0791481190

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Hume argued that is does not entail ought; that we cannot infer necessity or obligation from any description of actual states of affairs. His philosophical heirs continue to argue that nothing outside ourselves constrains us. The Cage maintains, contrary to Humean tradition, that reality is a set of nested contexts, each distinguished by intrinsic norms. Author David Weissman offers an innovative exploration of these norms intrinsic to human life, including practical affairs, morals, aesthetics, and culture. In this critical examination of character formation and the conditions for freedom, Weissman suggests that eliminating context (because of regarding it as an impediment to freedom) impoverishes character and reduces freedom. He concludes that positive freedom—the freedom to choose and to act—has no leverage apart from the contexts where character forms and circumstances provide opportunities to express one's thoughts, tastes, or talents.


Book Synopsis The Cage by : David Weissman

Download or read book The Cage written by David Weissman and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hume argued that is does not entail ought; that we cannot infer necessity or obligation from any description of actual states of affairs. His philosophical heirs continue to argue that nothing outside ourselves constrains us. The Cage maintains, contrary to Humean tradition, that reality is a set of nested contexts, each distinguished by intrinsic norms. Author David Weissman offers an innovative exploration of these norms intrinsic to human life, including practical affairs, morals, aesthetics, and culture. In this critical examination of character formation and the conditions for freedom, Weissman suggests that eliminating context (because of regarding it as an impediment to freedom) impoverishes character and reduces freedom. He concludes that positive freedom—the freedom to choose and to act—has no leverage apart from the contexts where character forms and circumstances provide opportunities to express one's thoughts, tastes, or talents.


Being a Presence for Students

Being a Presence for Students

Author: Jeff Frank

Publisher: Lever Press

Published: 2019-01-03

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1643150073

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This book offers a lived defense of liberal education. How does a college professor, on a daily basis, help students feel the value of liberal education and get the most from that education? We answer this question, as professors, each day in the classroom. John William Miller, a philosophy professor at Williams College from 1924-1960 and someone noted for his exceptional teaching, developed one form that this lived defense can take. Though Miller published very little while he was alive, the archives at Williams College hold unpublished notes and essays of this master teacher. In this book, Jeff Frank offers an extended commentary on one of these unpublished essays where Miller develops his thinking on liberal education. Frank develops the idea that presence is central to liberal education and offers suggestions for how professors can become an educative presence for students. The goal of this book is an invitation to other professors who value liberal education to think with Miller about how to develop their own lived defense of liberal education, each day, in their own classrooms. The tone of the book is meant to be invitational, at times even conversational, and the book concludes with some direct suggestions for how professors can live their own defense of liberal education.


Book Synopsis Being a Presence for Students by : Jeff Frank

Download or read book Being a Presence for Students written by Jeff Frank and published by Lever Press. This book was released on 2019-01-03 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a lived defense of liberal education. How does a college professor, on a daily basis, help students feel the value of liberal education and get the most from that education? We answer this question, as professors, each day in the classroom. John William Miller, a philosophy professor at Williams College from 1924-1960 and someone noted for his exceptional teaching, developed one form that this lived defense can take. Though Miller published very little while he was alive, the archives at Williams College hold unpublished notes and essays of this master teacher. In this book, Jeff Frank offers an extended commentary on one of these unpublished essays where Miller develops his thinking on liberal education. Frank develops the idea that presence is central to liberal education and offers suggestions for how professors can become an educative presence for students. The goal of this book is an invitation to other professors who value liberal education to think with Miller about how to develop their own lived defense of liberal education, each day, in their own classrooms. The tone of the book is meant to be invitational, at times even conversational, and the book concludes with some direct suggestions for how professors can live their own defense of liberal education.


Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy

Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy

Author: Marcia Morgan

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2016-12-24

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1498530117

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Thinking The Plural: Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy is a text devoted to highlighting, scrutinizing, and deploying Bernstein’s philosophical research as it has intersected and impacted American and European philosophy. Collecting essays written explicitly for the volume from former students of Bernstein’s, the book shows the breadth and scope of his work while expanding key insights into new contexts and testing his work against thinkers outside the canon of his own scholarship. In light of urgent contemporary ethical and political problems, the papers collected here show the continuing relevance of Bernstein’s lifelong focus on democracy, dialogue, pragmatism, fallibilism, and pluralism. Bernstein has always contested the supposed Analytic/Continental divide, insisting on the pluralism of philosophical discourses and styles that contribute to genuine debate and save philosophy from stale academicism. This book enacts Bernstein’s pluralistic spirit by crossing traditions and generating new avenues for ongoing research. A central argument of the book is that thinkers of different backgrounds, using diverse, and even clashing methodologies, contribute to the understanding of a given problem, issue, or theme. This argument lies at the heart of Bernstein’s published works and is central to the fallibilistic pragmatism of his pedagogy. This book therefore does not rest on a single answer to a question or a univocal theme, but shows the differentiation of Bernstein’s scholarship through the extension of pluralism into territory Bernstein himself did not enter. The chapters, individually and collectively, demonstrate the force of Bernstein’s pluralism beyond mere commentary on his works. This book will be of interest to many people: 1) scholars, students and others in American philosophy who have worked on or with Richard J. Bernstein or in the tradition of American Pragmatism widely construed, 2) those interested in the intersections between American and European philosophy or between the Analytic and Continental traditions, 3) professional philosophers, philosophy students, and public intellectuals concerned with the application of theory to contemporary ethical and political problems, and 4) those interested in an introduction to the key concepts animating Bernstein’s work and their relationship to the history of philosophy.


Book Synopsis Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy by : Marcia Morgan

Download or read book Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy written by Marcia Morgan and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-12-24 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thinking The Plural: Richard J. Bernstein and the Expansion of American Philosophy is a text devoted to highlighting, scrutinizing, and deploying Bernstein’s philosophical research as it has intersected and impacted American and European philosophy. Collecting essays written explicitly for the volume from former students of Bernstein’s, the book shows the breadth and scope of his work while expanding key insights into new contexts and testing his work against thinkers outside the canon of his own scholarship. In light of urgent contemporary ethical and political problems, the papers collected here show the continuing relevance of Bernstein’s lifelong focus on democracy, dialogue, pragmatism, fallibilism, and pluralism. Bernstein has always contested the supposed Analytic/Continental divide, insisting on the pluralism of philosophical discourses and styles that contribute to genuine debate and save philosophy from stale academicism. This book enacts Bernstein’s pluralistic spirit by crossing traditions and generating new avenues for ongoing research. A central argument of the book is that thinkers of different backgrounds, using diverse, and even clashing methodologies, contribute to the understanding of a given problem, issue, or theme. This argument lies at the heart of Bernstein’s published works and is central to the fallibilistic pragmatism of his pedagogy. This book therefore does not rest on a single answer to a question or a univocal theme, but shows the differentiation of Bernstein’s scholarship through the extension of pluralism into territory Bernstein himself did not enter. The chapters, individually and collectively, demonstrate the force of Bernstein’s pluralism beyond mere commentary on his works. This book will be of interest to many people: 1) scholars, students and others in American philosophy who have worked on or with Richard J. Bernstein or in the tradition of American Pragmatism widely construed, 2) those interested in the intersections between American and European philosophy or between the Analytic and Continental traditions, 3) professional philosophers, philosophy students, and public intellectuals concerned with the application of theory to contemporary ethical and political problems, and 4) those interested in an introduction to the key concepts animating Bernstein’s work and their relationship to the history of philosophy.


In Dewey's Wake

In Dewey's Wake

Author: William J. Gavin

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0791487237

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In a pluralistic tapestry of approaches, eminent Dewey scholars address his pragmatic philosophy and whether it should be reinterpreted, reconfigured, or "passed-by," so as to better deal with the problems posed by the twenty-first century. For some, Dewey's contextualism remains intact, requiring more to be amended than radically changed. For others, his work needs significant revision if he is to be relevant in the new millennium. Finally, there are those who argue that we should not be so quick to pass Dewey by, for he has much to offer that has still gone unnoticed or unappreciated. This rich narrative indicates both where the context has changed and what needs to be preserved and nurtured in Dewey as we advance into the future.


Book Synopsis In Dewey's Wake by : William J. Gavin

Download or read book In Dewey's Wake written by William J. Gavin and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a pluralistic tapestry of approaches, eminent Dewey scholars address his pragmatic philosophy and whether it should be reinterpreted, reconfigured, or "passed-by," so as to better deal with the problems posed by the twenty-first century. For some, Dewey's contextualism remains intact, requiring more to be amended than radically changed. For others, his work needs significant revision if he is to be relevant in the new millennium. Finally, there are those who argue that we should not be so quick to pass Dewey by, for he has much to offer that has still gone unnoticed or unappreciated. This rich narrative indicates both where the context has changed and what needs to be preserved and nurtured in Dewey as we advance into the future.


Sign Studies and Semioethics

Sign Studies and Semioethics

Author: Susan Petrilli

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2014-10-09

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 1614515220

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This book examines the issues surrounding the problematic perpetuation of dominant sign systems through the framework of ‘semioethics’. Semioethics is concerned with using semiotics as a powerful tool to critique the status quo and move beyond the reproduction of the dominant order of communication. The aim is to present semioethics as a method to engage semiotics in an active rethink of our ability as humans to affect change.


Book Synopsis Sign Studies and Semioethics by : Susan Petrilli

Download or read book Sign Studies and Semioethics written by Susan Petrilli and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2014-10-09 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the issues surrounding the problematic perpetuation of dominant sign systems through the framework of ‘semioethics’. Semioethics is concerned with using semiotics as a powerful tool to critique the status quo and move beyond the reproduction of the dominant order of communication. The aim is to present semioethics as a method to engage semiotics in an active rethink of our ability as humans to affect change.


The Task of Criticism

The Task of Criticism

Author: John William Miller

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780393327335

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A new chapter in American thought devoted to the authority of critique and the defense of democracy.


Book Synopsis The Task of Criticism by : John William Miller

Download or read book The Task of Criticism written by John William Miller and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2005 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new chapter in American thought devoted to the authority of critique and the defense of democracy.


The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis

The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis

Author: Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2018-06-11

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1527512991

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The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis: Descartes and the Modern Worldview traces the conceptual sources of the present environmental degradation within the worldview of Modernity, and particularly within the thought of René Descartes, universally acclaimed as the father of modern philosophy. The book demonstrates how the triple foundations of the Modern worldview – in terms of an exaggerated anthropocentrism, a mechanistic conception of the natural world, and the metaphysical dualism between humanity and the rest of the physical world – can all be largely traced back to Cartesian thought, with direct ecological consequences.


Book Synopsis The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis by : Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam

Download or read book The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis written by Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-11 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis: Descartes and the Modern Worldview traces the conceptual sources of the present environmental degradation within the worldview of Modernity, and particularly within the thought of René Descartes, universally acclaimed as the father of modern philosophy. The book demonstrates how the triple foundations of the Modern worldview – in terms of an exaggerated anthropocentrism, a mechanistic conception of the natural world, and the metaphysical dualism between humanity and the rest of the physical world – can all be largely traced back to Cartesian thought, with direct ecological consequences.


John Lachs's Practical Philosophy

John Lachs's Practical Philosophy

Author: Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-07-10

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9004367640

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John Lachs (1934-) has been one of the most interesting American philosophers for nearly sixty years. His philosophical, educational, and public activity has been an attempt to show the relevance of philosophy to life. This is the first book dedicated to his thought.


Book Synopsis John Lachs's Practical Philosophy by : Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński

Download or read book John Lachs's Practical Philosophy written by Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-07-10 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Lachs (1934-) has been one of the most interesting American philosophers for nearly sixty years. His philosophical, educational, and public activity has been an attempt to show the relevance of philosophy to life. This is the first book dedicated to his thought.