18th Edition Now Published!
by
Mitch Hodge - This edition is the second of two editions
devoted to paradigms in philosophy. The first, edition 17, was
the presentation of the work of Herman Pietersen, associate
editor at TEL. This edition is devoted to the papers submitted
by other contributors to TEL. We think you will find the enclosed
both well informed and well developed reflections on the various
paradigms present in philosophy today and the past. We are proud
to present them for your consideration.
Since Thomas Kuhn first widely introduced academia
to the word “paradigm” in 1962 with the publication
of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, paradigm has become
a buzz word in most every discipline. Now all theories are considered
as part of a paradigm, and no theory can be considered alone,
but must be considered holistically—as the theory relates
to other theories which make up the paradigm. Regardless whether
you agree with the conclusions that Kuhn draws about how science
and its progression, you cannot deny that his theory of paradigms
has been astoundingly influential through out academic circles.
His work has enjoyed unprecedented success and citation. In
fact, if you type the word “paradigm” into Google,
more than 3 million sites will be available: If you narrow it
by typing “paradigm, kuhn” no less than 50 thousand
sites are available. What thinker would not like to enjoy such
success?
Paradigm talk is no less popular in philosophy.
In a recent search of The Philosophers’ Index, a search
under the word “paradigm” revealed nearly 2,000
entries. Philosophers like to talk about paradigms. Perhaps
what it is that we find so intriguing about the idea of a paradigm
is that once we realize that a train of thought is part of a
given paradigm, this allows us to attempt to step outside that
paradigm and exam it critically. We attain, almost, a god’s
eye view of our own thought. This, in-and-of-itself, is nothing
new. Philosophers have long identified schools of thought, but
prior to the rising in social consciousness of the word paradigm,
this identification normally applied to the thoughts of others,
and rarely their own. Paradigms were what other people had.
Now, with the help of Kuhn, we realize this is not true. Part
of what it is to be human is to think within a given paradigm.
Therefore, the most advantageous effect of
paradigm talk is its ability to give us a lens by which to view
our own thought. The ability to do this gives us new insight
into the assumptions we hold in connection with our theories.
We can examine our own theories in piecemeal or as a collective
whole, and judge it by a measure of consistency which rarely
was ever considered before. This is not to say that all applications
of paradigms have been beneficial. Surely, paradigm talk has
been as widely abused as it has been used—but that is
not a matter for us here.
This edition collects philosophers’ thoughts
about paradigms in their own discipline. Earlier this year,
a Think About It! was posted by Dr. Denny Bradshaw concerning
a new paradigm that is arising in academic analytic philosophy.
This paradigm is a shift from Cartesian first-person philosophy
to a third-person philosophy on the heels of cognitive science.[2]
This discussion enjoyed tremendous success, and it is partly
owing to Dr. Bradshaw, in conjunction with Dr. Pietersen ,that
the idea for this edition came to be. We wish to thank them
both for this contribution.
Beginning our look at paradigms is Wayne Borody.
Borody is a new contributor to TEL, and we wish to welcome him
aboard. His piece, “The Politics of Immediacy” gives
us an inside view of Heidegger’s critique of Plato during
the rise of Nazi Germany. He presents us a well researched and
informative work. We are confident that this work will enjoy
much success.
Following Borody is another new contributor
to TEL, Jack Marsh. Marsh presents another work focusing on
Heidegger, as well as the logic of Leibniz. He asks us to consider
the commitments and tradition that goes into the fundamental
theories of logic such as the principle of identity (A = A)
and the principle of non-contradiction (A v ~A).
Also joining us for the first time is Mr.
B.S. Murthy who presents an intriguing account of evolution
sponsored by Eastern religion and philosophy. “Addendum
to Evolution: Origins of the World by Eastern Speculative Philosophy”
is an interesting cross-cultural analysis of life’s earliest
beginnings.
Our last new contributor to TEL is Steven Michels.
Michels reviews for us The Shortest Shadow: Nietzsche’s
Philosophy of Two by Alenka Zupancic in “Nietzsche, Interrupted.”
We wish to welcome Borody, Marsh, Murthy, and Michels to TEL.
Rejoining us is Cynthia Nielsen with “Meaning
Normativity in Later Wittgensteinian Thought and Other Road
Blocks Along the Way” in which she examines Wittgenstein’s
thought by the lights of both Davidson and the Christian world
view.
Two others rejoin us continuing their work
which was published previously in TEL. We have parts two of
both D.R. Khashaba’s “Free Will as Creativity”
and Seyed Javad’s work in metasociology titled “Metasociology:
Metatheorizing in Social Sciences and Philosophy of Social Sciences.”
We thank you both for seeing fit to continue you work here with
us.
Also rejoining us, and joining in on a standing
debate, A.B. Kelly responds to Jim Bratone from the previous
edition concerning his rebuttal on the problem of evil. As many
of you will recall, this debate was fired off in edition 14
by a response I made to one of Chris Altieri’s papers
concerning Mackie’s treatment of the problem of evil.
This debate has legs, and it will be one to watch over the upcoming
editions.
We wish to warmly welcome all of our returning
authors for this edition: Our deepest thanks to you all.
Finally, I offer two works of my own for your
consideration. The first, “Plato’s Law of Nature:
Enki and Prometheus” is an examination of two classical
mythical gods that dramatically influenced Near-Eastern and
Greek world views, and the philosophy of Plato. While admittedly
not wholly philosophical, the paper is representative of an
on-going revolution in classical studies, the influence of Near-Eastern
culture on Greek society and thought. Lastly, I offer a review
of Colin McGinn’s recent autobiography, The Making of
a Philosopher: My Journey through Twentieth Century Philosophy.
My review, titled “The Philosopher and His (Ego) Trip
through the Twentieth Century” reflects not only on McGinn’s
book, but also on an unusual paradigmatic psychological trait
that many philosophers seem to share. It will be interesting
for me to see both the reception and feedback that this review
receives.
With all this having been said, it is with
great pleasure we, the editors, present to you Volume V, edition
18 Paradigms in Philosophy.
Mitch Hodge
25 April 2004
Arlington, TX USA
http://examinedlifejournal.com
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What
Happened to the 17th Edition?
Many
of you may be wondering what happened to the 17th edition, and
the book promised from Herman Pietersen. The two are one and
the same. Due to unforeseen problems, the publication of Herman's
book on philosophical paradigms, which was to be the 17th edition,
has been delayed. It is in the final stages, and we expect it
to be completed within approximately two weeks. Because of this
delay, we have also set back the publication of both the PDF
and the print versions of the 18th edition, but they will be
up shortly after the release of the book. Also, we have pushed
back the call for papers for the next two editions. Please see
"Call for Papers" for information concerning that.
We
apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused, and
we assure you that we are working with all speed to remedy the
situation. We thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
Mitch Hodge
and Chris Altieri
Examined
Life Merchandise Gets New Look and New Stuff!
By
Mitch Hodge - Examined Life Merchandise has been given
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In addition, new
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Thinker in your life.
In addition to getting
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Translate
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by
Mitch Hodge - As I am sure many of you have noticed by
now, there is a new feature at TEL. At the top of all
articles and many other materials at The Examined Life,
there is a drop down menu that allows the reader to translate
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This is
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Examined Life Philosophy Resource Browser!
by
Mitch Hodge - Clint Brown, of 4ComTech,
has created a browser especially for the readers of The
Examined Life! This smartly designed web browser gives
you fast access to all of your favorite pages of The
Examined Life, as well as to your Examined
Life Email, and several other philosophy sites on the internet
such as The
Meta-Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The
Philosophers' Magazine, and many others.* The browser
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Examined Life's Interdisciplinary Search Engine is built
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links to aid your study and research.
In addition,
you also get the UCMore Search
Accelerator Toolbar which provides additional links to sites
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This can reduce your search time for relevant material significantly.
If that
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And if that were
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To get this
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Quotations Program for your use and enjoyment!
If you
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If you have
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Thank you
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PDF
Version Now Available!
by
Mitch Hodge - The
Examined Life On-Line Philosophy Journal is now available
in PDF format! This format allows reading the journal as a book,
and preserves pagination for citation. In addition, it also
makes reading TEL possible off-line. As mentioned previously,
this version is currently free, so download your copy today!
Note:
The PDF version of the 18th edition has been delayed
Call
For Papers
NOTE
- Some
of the requirements for submissions have changed. Please find
out about these changes here:
http://examinedlifejournal.com/submit
/submit.shtml
Also,
there is a new submission and copyright agreement posted here:
http://examinedlifejournal.com/submit
/agreement.shtml
What
is a Philosophical Work?
- In considering what a philosophical work is, the contributors
are asked to treat of the status of philosophical writing, i.e.
what constitutes a properly philosophical work. Is methodological
rigor the criterion by means of an appeal to which we establish
the philosophical nature of a text? If so, what is the proper
philosophical method? What are the implications of such an understanding?
Is a work properly philosophical when it deals with certain
themes proper to philosophy? What can and cannot be said by
philosophy, as such? Submissions
should be sent to submit@examinedlifejournal.com
Deadline
for submission is 15 July 2004
Is
Christian Philosophy Possible? - In considering
the possibility of Christian Philosophy, contributors ought
to address the question of the relationship between faith and
reason, the history of thought in the West, the status of modern
attempts to rationalize Christian faith, or to de-rationalize
that same. Further questions of import are: what is faith? What
is reason? Is the Anglo-analytic tradition correct in asserting
that faith is essentially reducible to assertions (propositions),
so that, in order for faith to be philosophically relevant,
it must be stripped of its experiential contents and presented
propositionally? Is the fides quaerens intellectum, the modus
eessendi of the Christian philosopher, universally intelligible
in actu? What are the proper limits of natural theological discourse?
Given the Christian understanding of faith, can the Christian
engage in natural theology (itself a technical term coined by
a Christian thinker)? Submissions should be sent to
submit@examinedlifejournal.com
Deadline
for submission is 15 October 2004
Think About It!: We welcome
submissions from readers of philosophical arguments to be considered
in the Think About It! section. If you have an argument
to be considered, please send an email to editor@examinedlifejournal.com
Concluding
Remarks
by
Mitch Hodge- The Examined Life has now entered
its 5th year! This is an exciting time of growth for the journal,
and we now boast over 6 million readers! Quite incredible for
something that was only originally meant for a hobby! Thank
you to all who have made this possible.
I
would also like to give a public congratulations to Chris and
Ester Altieri on the birth of their son, Joseph Matthew, in
January. Mother, father and son are all doing fine. We wish
them all the best.
Partly
because of the arrival of our new member to TEL, the
delay suffered by the book project and 17th edition was inevitable.
We hope that you all understand that we are working feverishly
to get it to you in a timely fashion. We are sure that it will
be worth it to all.
I
am still looking for someone who is proficient in web design
and development to help me with the maintainence and updates
to the site. If you have experience in this, please contact
me.
Finally,
I would like to thank all whose continued support has been vital
to the continued success of TEL. I thank you for your
dedication and commitment over the past five years. Without
you none of this would be possible or necessary. My sincerest
thanks and gratitude.
Thank
you for your time and your interest in The Examined Life!
Mitch
Mitch
Hodge
editor/administrator
The Examined Life On-Line Philosophy Journal
http://examinedlifejournal.com
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TEL
Email Gets a New Look!
by
Mitch Hodge - Users of TEL's free email service
have no doubt noticed by now that it has a new look! This new
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than ever before. If you haven't checked your TEL email
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If
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Sign
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EXAMINED LIFE 