Browsing by Subject "philosophy"
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Item Deep Platonism(Wiley, 2015) Carmichael, Chad; Department of Philosophy, School of Liberal ArtsItem How to Solve the Puzzle of Dion and Theon Without Losing Your Head(Oxford, 2020-01) Carmichael, Chad; Philosophy, School of Liberal ArtsThe ancient puzzle of Dion and Theon has given rise to a surprising array of apparently implausible views. For example, in order to solve the puzzle, several philosophers have been led to deny the existence of their own feet, others have denied that objects can gain and lose parts, and large numbers of philosophers have embraced the thesis that distinct objects can occupy the same space, having all their material parts in common. In this paper, I argue for an alternative approach: I claim that human beings have ordinary parts—hands, heads, feet, and so on—but no extraordinary parts, such as ‘foot-complements’, the existence of which is essential to the puzzle. I rebut three objections to this approach: an objection that it is unacceptably metaphysically arbitrary, an objection that the view is incompatible with versions of the puzzle involving decapitation, and an objection concerning masses of matter. If we can believe that there are such things as hands and feet without involving ourselves in paradox, and without accepting large numbers of co-located material objects that share all their material parts, then that is what we should do. My view is the only known alternative which allows this.Item Ideal Friendship, Actual Friends(2023) Coleman, Martin; Philosophy, School of Liberal ArtsFriendship, on George Santayana’s account, is a form of human society made possible by consciousness of ideals while simultaneously rooted in the experience of embodied creatures spontaneously drawn to each other. His philosophical and autobiographical writings on friendship (particularly his friendship with Frank Russell) exemplify a practice of cultivating wisdom and suggest how we can come to understand our own actual friendships and the opportunities for self-knowledge and sanity in them.Item Navigating through "a nightmare of meaninglessness without end": a semi-structural reading of Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan(2009-06-23T13:54:49Z) Cook, Joshua; Marvin, Thomas F.; Rudy, John; Eller, Jonathan R., 1952-In Vonnegut's second novel, the author sets up distinct character-based binaries that represent methods of looking for meaning in the universe. This paper attempts to show that outward-focused searches for purpose, i.e. those that are directed toward a "higher power," bring only division and harm into the world. As the novel's characters operate within their assigned binaries, most of them are able to abandon their nocuous philosophies in favor of an inward-focused search for meaning, which allows them to embrace a radically humbled humanistic perspective that places equal importance upon all creatures.Item On The Critical Edition of _The Letters of George Santayana_(2008-01-24) Coleman, M. A.This presentation recounts the history and content of the eight books of _The Letters of George Santayana_, Volume 5 of _The Works of George Santayana_.Item On The Critical Edition of George Santayana's _The Life of Reason_(2017-04-13) Coleman, M. A.In 1905–06, American philosopher George Santayana published the five books of The Life of Reason, confirming his reputation as a serious thinker. One hundred and ten years after The Life of Reason was completed, the Santayana Edition completed the critical edition of this work in 2016. The five books, Reason in Common Sense, Reason in Society, Reason in Religion, Reason in Art, and Reason in Science survey the history of ideas in their origin and significance as natural expression of human life. The aim is to determine what wisdom is possible for human beings and to articulate a vision of human life lived sanely. In Reason in Common Sense, Santayana described reason reason as impulse modified by reflection in harmony with past judgments. To live the Life of Reason is to perceive and pursue ideals such that the direction of conduct and the interpretation of sense promote natural human happiness. He ended the first book with a promise that “[t]o give a general picture of human nature and its rational functions will be the task of the following books” (LR1, 175). He sought to fulfill the promise by examining the human activities, endeavors, and institutions that constitute society, religion, art, and science and to give account of their place in the Life of Reason. The newly published critical edition establishes a text consistent with the author’s original intention and provides readers with a stable and reliable basis for interpretation.Item A Reply to Rose, Livengood, Sytsma, and Machery(2011) Sripada, Chandra; Gonzalez, Richard; Kessler, Daniel; Laber, Eric; Konrath, Sara H.; Nair, VijayItem Review of Kremplewska’s Life as Insinuation(Santayana Society, 2019) Coleman, Martin; Philosophy, School of Liberal Arts