Fr. Seidel sees "the crisis of creativity" as a perennial issue facing man, forcing him to make decisive choices that ultimately affect his destiny. The basic concern of the book is to analyze the creative process itself which Seidel does not accept as an irrational, brute eruption into consciousness. While recognizing the importance of the unconscious, he attempts to bring out those factors that are not immune to analysis. Drawing on insights of Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Freud, James, and (...) Bergson, Seidel discusses the significance of "selective forgetting," remembering, and the association of ideas. According to the author, creativity is a process that should be taken account of in the conscious reflections of philosophers. He feels its neglect in much modern and contemporary philosophy can be attributed to a fundamentally misleading conception of the importance of methodology that found its way into philosophy with Bacon and Descartes. The search for the single right method, which when found and exercised would yield "truth," is thus seen as concomitant with the denigration of an intuitive basis for knowledge. For Seidel, this is a reversal of the Aristotelian view which acknowledges the instrumental character of any method and its subordination to prior insight. Because of its non-technical nature, the book can be read with profit by both professional philosophers and the generally educated public.—L. W. (shrink)

As part of his program to unify linear algebra and geometry using the language of Clifford algebra, David Hestenes has constructed a (well-known) isomorphism between the conformal group and the orthogonal group of a space two dimensions higher, thus obtaining homogeneous coordinates for conformal geometry.(1) In this paper we show that this construction is the Clifford algebra analogue of a hyperbolic model of Euclidean geometry that has actually been known since Bolyai, Lobachevsky, and Gauss, and we explore its wider invariant (...) theoretic implications. In particular, we show that the Euclidean distance function has a very simple representation in this model, as demonstrated by J. J. Seidel.(18). (shrink)

This book is built upon the premiss that there is more than a heuristic connection between Heidegger's thought and his accounts of the Pre-Socratics. Accordingly, by studying what Heidegger has said about them and why he has said it, Seidel offers explanations of some key Heideggerian themes, such as history, being, truth, and language. Seidel brings to this task a sound and thorough reading of both the Pre-Socratics and Heidegger and succeeds in illuminating some of Heidegger's basic concepts.—W. (...) G. E. (shrink)

This book is built upon the premiss that there is more than a heuristic connection between Heidegger's thought and his accounts of the Pre-Socratics. Accordingly, by studying what Heidegger has said about them and why he has said it, Seidel offers explanations of some key Heideggerian themes, such as history, being, truth, and language. Seidel brings to this task a sound and thorough reading of both the Pre-Socratics and Heidegger and succeeds in illuminating some of Heidegger's basic concepts.—W. (...) G. E. (shrink)

The fifth and sixth volume of the _Adagia_ (Proverbs) of the Amsterdam edition of the Latin texts of Erasmus give an introduction in German and a critical edition of the Latin text of the third thousand _Adages_.

This study of the dialogue "Iulius" aims to put an end to the centuries-long controversy on the work's paternity; to open a new phase of reflection on how it got into print; and to promote a revised image of Erasmus, removing the slur of complacency and dullness that has become attached to him. The volume also contains Conflictus and De civlitate.

In this paper I will introduce a practical explication for the notion of expertise. At first, I motivate this attempt by taking a look on recent debates which display great disagreement about whether and how to define expertise in the first place. After that I will introduce the methodology of practical explications in the spirit of Edward Craig’s Knowledge and the state of nature along with some conditions of adequacy taken from ordinary and scientific language. This eventually culminates in the (...) respective explication of expertise according to which this term essentially refers to a certain kind of service-relation. This is why expertise should be considered as a predominantly social kind. This article will end up with a discussion of advantages and prima facie plausible objections against my account of expertise. (shrink)

In this paper, we will discuss Peter van Inwagen’s contribution to the epistemological debate about revealed peer disagreement. Roughly, this debate focuses on situations in which at least two participants disagree on a certain proposition based on the same evidence. This leads to the problem of how one should react rationally when peer disagreement is revealed. Van Inwagen, as we will show, discusses four possible reactions, all of which he rejects as unsatisfying. Our proposal will be to point to hidden (...) assumptions in van Inwagen’s reasoning and ask whether he is willing to reject at least one of these to get rid of the problem. In short, our thesis amounts to the following: Of the two epistemological claims, which we call “Weak” and “Full-blown Fallibilism”, van Inwagen cannot simultaneously accept the first and reject the latter, while this is what he seems to suggest. Revealing this potential dilemma for van Inwagen’s position will lead to a more detailed discussion of how “rationality”, “truth”, “evidence” and “justification” interrelate and how a closer look at their relation might help solving the puzzle of revealed peer disagreement. (shrink)

The link between justice and climate change is becoming increasingly prominent in public debates on climate policy. This clear and concise philosophical introduction to climate justice addresses the hot topic of climate change as a moral challenge. Using engaging everyday examples the authors address the core arguments by providing a comprehensive and balanced overview of this heated debate, enabling students and practitioners to think critically about the subject area and to promote discussion on questions such as: Why do anything in (...) the face of climate change? How much do we owe our descendants – a better world, or nothing at all? How should we distribute the burden of climate action between industrialized and developing countries? Should I adopt a green lifestyle even if no one else makes an effort? Which means of reducing emissions are permissible? Should we put hope in technological solutions? Should we re-design democratic institutions for more effective climate policy? With chapter summaries, illustrative examples and suggestions for further reading, this book is an ideal introduction for students in political philosophy, applied ethics and environmental ethics, as well as for practitioners working on one of the most urgent issues of our time. (shrink)

The Deontic Transfer Principle states that if it is permissible for a person A to cause another person B harm H then, other things being equal, it is permissible for A to impose a risk of harm H on B. In this article we show that the Deontic Transfer Principle is vulnerable to counterexamples, and that the same is true of a range of closely related principles. We conclude that the deontic status of a risk imposition is not directly inherited (...) from the deontic properties of deterministic acts. (shrink)

Selected Logic Papers, long out of print and now reissued with eight additional essays, includes much of the author's important work on mathematical logic and ...

One third of all materials extracted from the Earth is used in the furniture industry. Of these, timber counts for 25%: the furniture industry is key to save one of the most important commons – our forest. Starting from the assumption that a better knowledge of consumers’ attitude and behaviour towards sustainable furniture is essential to spur the industry all along the chain to take action towards more sustainable operations, this study explores the actual offer of sustainable furniture in the (...) Netherlands and consumers’ attitude towards it in order to determine opportunities for the furniture sector to take a more sustainable stance. (shrink)

This volume provides the reader with exclusive insights into Ernest Sosa’s latest ideas as well as main aspects of his philosophical work of the last 50 years. Ernest Sosa, one of the most distinguished contemporary philosophers, is best known for his ground-breaking work in epistemology, and has also contributed greatly to metaphysics, metaphilosophy and philosophy of language.

A complete translation of Aristotle's classic that is both faithful and readable, along with an introduction that provides the modern reader with a means of understanding this seminal work and its impact on our culture. In this volume, Joe Sachs (translator of Aristotle's _Physics, Metaphysics,_ and the _Nicomachean Ethics _)also supplements his excellent translation with well-chosen notes and glossary of important terms. Focus Philosophical Library translations are close to and are non-interpretative of the original text, with the notes and a (...) glossary intending to provide the reader with some sense of the terms and the concepts as they were understood by Aristotle’s immediate audience. (shrink)

Festschrift with papers by Stephan Otto, Michel Malherbe, Jean-Marie Pousseur, Wolfgang Bartuschat, Rita Widmaier, Franco Volpi, Guiseppe Micheli, Han-ding Hong, Esther Seidel, Gregorio Piaia, Mario Longo, Larry Steindler, Ulrich Charpa, Anne Mylott, Rudolf A. Makkreel, Frederick Gregory, Lucien Braun and Hardy Boullion. - The three parts of the book are related to the categories Metaphysics and History of Ideas, Cultural Identities in History of Philosophy, and Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Science.