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Ars Inveniendi as Philosophical Method. Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus (1651-1708) and his Applied Epistemology
Vrtílka, Pavel ; Palkoska, Jan (advisor) ; Makovský, Jan (referee) ; Plassmeyer, Peter (referee)
The primary topic of this dissertation is the theory of knowledge, and the logic which based on it, and contained in the main philosophical-logical work Medicina mentis, sive artis inveniendi præcepta generalia. Its author was philosopher, mathematician, naturalist, and inventor of the early Enlightenment Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus (1651-1708). Tschirnhaus' concept of inventive logic is denoted by the standard term ars inveniendi, i. e. the art of discovery, the art of invention, or the art of inventing something. In the introduction and conclusion of this thesis, Tschirnhaus's concept is placed in the context of traditional topica universalis (Τοπικά), which most often operate with the notion of ars inveniendi, coined by Cicero. Parts of this work are devoted to related topics such as philosophical anthropology and ethics, which the philosopher understands as special sciences derived from the four empirical principles. So far, only three sub-studies in the standard history of philosophy which could be classified under Spinozian and Leibnizian studies have been devoted to this historical topic. This paper aims to analyse the primary literature comprising the first and second editions of the Medicina mentis, including other relevant parts of the corpus of texts in question. Based on this...
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Gettier Problem and Redefinition of Knowledge
Leopold, Luboš ; Kolman, Vojtěch (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
The topic of this thesis is the Gettier problem, its significance to epistemology and its impact on the redefinition of knowledge understood as the key concept of this branch of philosophy. It conducts a survey of the history of the Gettier problem, whose roots go back to Plato's philosophy, analyses the Gettier's paper itself, published in 1963, in terms of its content and conditions that the author presumes in order to reach his ground-breaking conclusion; and finally, it presents the epistemological debate that arose after the publication of the Gettier's paper, its main trends, theories and authors, as well as the epistemological representative situations, the so called "Gettier cases".
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Inferentialism and the Normativity of Meaning
Pořízková, Barbora ; Kolman, Vojtěch (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
Inferentialism is a philosophical theory of language and meaning which inter alia under the influence of the later Wittgenstein's work turns away from the representational theory of meaning and is replaced by a holistic theory, according to which is the meaning of an expression determined by the inferential roles. Such a conception of meaning can be tied with the claim that meaning is normative. The roots of this can be traced back to Wittgenstein's language games and the implicit idea that meaning is determined by rules and attitudes rather than by names and descriptions. This thesis should first shortly introduce the core of the inferentialist doctrine via the works of Wilfrid Sellars and Robert Brandom and then explain the statement about the normativity of meaning on the basis of the authors that defend it as well as those who criticize it and set its own position to this topic. Keywords inferentialism, meaning, normativity, language, Sellars, Brando
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Wittgenstein on music
Šulc, Jaroslav ; Kolman, Vojtěch (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
Wittgenstein on music Wittgenstein is one of several great philosophers whose interest in music leads them to assign to it an extraordinary philosophical significance. At the same time, for his aphoristic style and also for the theory of the ineffable, he is relatively un-explicit about what this meaning should consist in. Thus, in the Tractatus, music occurs primarily as a case of a perspicuous representation, in the Philosophical Investigations as a case of a language game determined by the very fact that art is something that can be understood, and thus the problem of right and wrong rule-following arises with it. The aim of this paper is to frame Wittgenstein's attitude towards music, especially in relation to his theories of language. It may focus on early or late work as appropriate (including the cultural context of music as found especially in the Culture and Value), or consider what, if any, influence Schopenhauer's philosophy and theory of music may have had on Wittgenstein's views.
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Personal identity and memory (Locke's theory of personal identity and its critical interpretation in analytical philosophy)
Kollmann, Jan ; Hill, James (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
The thesis deals with the relations between Locke's theory of personal identity, its "classical" critic, performed by Butler and Reid and its critical adoption amongst some authors of analytic philosophy (Grice, Quinton, Perry, Shoemaker). In the first part of the thesis, Locke is shown as the founder of a tradition that lays stress on the fundamental relation between the identity of persons over time and its memory or consciousness. We also distinguish the identity of person and the identity of man, this means person is understood as identical so far as its consciousness reaches, independently of the identity of material and/or immaterial substance in which the identity of man consists. Serious problems with Locke's conception, such as amnesia and paramnesia are discussed in this part too. In the second part of the thesis, classical objections against Locke's theory are analyzed - Reid's "brave officer paradox" and Butler's objection of petitio principii; Reid's and Butler's distinction between 86 the identity of persons and other things. In the third part we discuss two conceptions by contemporary authors (Grice and Quinton) who defend Locke's attitude against the classical objections and who assert, that personal identity consists in a certain sort of psychological continuity (continuity of memory or...
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The human being out of the scope of the Descartes' metaphysical project of Meditations
Hulanová, Magda ; Hill, James (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
Velmi stručně bychom mohli shrnout výsledek dosavadního zkoumání do jediné věty: přijmeme-li Descartovo tvrzení, že metafyzické meditace mají vybudovat základy věd(ění) poznáním prvních principů, pak lze říci, že pojednání o lidské přirozenosti ze Šesté meditace svým diskursem do metafyzického rámce Meditací nepatří, ačkoliv jen díky němu tvoří Meditace jediný a organický celek. Ve své diplomové práci jsme si vytkli za cíl otestovat tvrzení, že pojednáním o lidské přirozenosti ze Šesté meditace překračuje Descartes svůj vlastní záměr, totiž záměr vybudovat jisté a nezpochybnitelné kořeny veškerého vědění. Právě Meditace o první filosofii, jak jsme ukázali ve druhé kapitole, se měly věnovat výhradně metafyzickému zkoumání, které by vedlo k nalezení prvních příčin neboli principů poznání. Meditace měly představovat naplnění Descartova úsilí založit vědu na zcela jistých a nezpochybnitelných základech. Má-li celá fyzikální přírodověda spíše pravděpodobnostní charakter, neboli je-li pravdivá pouze natolik, nakolik umožňuje bezrozporné vysvětlení přírodních jevů, pak to má být podle Descarta metafyzika, jejíž poznatky prvních principů budou mít zcela pravdivý charakter a která bude podkladem fyziky a veškeré vědy vůbec. A opíráme-li se ve fyzice i jiných vědách především o smíšené poznatky smyslového vnímání, v...
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Consciousness and the Self: the theories of John Searle and Antonio Damasio
Šebešová, Petra ; Hill, James (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
The thesis deals with the relationship of consciousness and the self, as it is present in the consciousness theories of John Searle and Antonio Damasio. Consciousness is taken by both authors as an essentially subjective phenomenon and it is analyzed as such. Yet at the same time, they take it to be a natural part of the physical world. First, Searle's arguments concerning the subjective nature of consciousness and the possibilities to study it scientifically are analyzed, together with objections against Searle's view. Then Searle's account of the self is presented. The author argues that this account is not sufficient to explain subjectivity more deeply. Presentation of Damasio's theory follows as a complement to Searle 's theory. Damasio takes the sense of self to be a necessary component of consciousness that is pre-reflectively present and appears in the form of feeling. This notion of the self is supported in the thesis for it allows for better understanding of the phenomenal aspects of consciousness and also forms a basis for a possible scientific research. Damasio's biological hypotheses concerning the emergence of the subjectivity is discussed and criticised though for presupposing the subject, which is yet to be explained by the theory.
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Does consciousness exhaust the nature of thought? The meaning of Descartes's term "cogitare"
Sedláková, Jana ; Palkoska, Jan (advisor) ; Švec, Ondřej (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to deal with the problems which arise from interpretations of Descartes' term "cogitare". It concentrates on the deconstruction of the orthodox interpretations which explain the term "cogitare" as "to be conscious". The thesis aims at introducing three alternative interpretations from Czech academic environment, the one of James Hill, of Petr Glombíček, and of Tomáš Marvan. I would like to refer to the problems of orthodox reading as well as to benefits and losses of the other interpretations. I will proceed through analysis of sensory perceptions, emotions and dream. The purpose of the thesis is not to find the definite meaning of "cogitare", but to make the readers familiar with these problems and their interpretations which I find more plausible than the orthodox interpretation. The term "consciousness" is a complex term which needs to be explained in order to be capable of explaining other philosophical problems. Keywords: Descartes, thinking, consciousness, sensory perceptions, emotions, dream, self-reflection, judgment, propositional content
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Philosophical possibilities of question of personal identity
Endrle, Jaroslav ; Palkoska, Jan (advisor) ; Hill, James (referee)
(in English): The topic of this thesis is the problem of personal identity. Its aim is to develop alternative approach to this question. To achieve this, the following course is choosen. Firstly, three most important assumptions are exposed. These assumptions steer debate about this topic in analytic philosophy and are regarded as main cause of its difficulties. These suppositions are - the ontological conception of identity, logical dissociability of mind and body and the method of thought experiment. Essential part of following thesis can be taken as proposal of technique that can overcome these assumptions and problems they cause. This attempt begins at the end of first part with development of general criticism of ontological conception of identity and with presentation of epistemic conception of identity. The second and crucial part deals with the theory of conceptual system. This theory provides a basis for alternative approach to question of personal identity. It will block the logical dissociability of criterions of personal identity - the dissociability of mind/consciousness and living body. It will also serve as fundament for epistemic conception of identity. Finaly, it is used for tracing the origin of concept "person". It will be shown that the concept of person descends from the...
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The concept of mind at the beginning of modern philosophy
Kadlec, David ; Hill, James (advisor) ; Palkoska, Jan (referee)
The essay concerns itself with the concept of mind in John Locke's and René Descartes' philosophy. The main focus lies on the abilities of human soul, that is understanding and will, and its ontological properties. The work tackles questions regarding personal identity, freedom of will, and the kind of substance that a mind is. Both systems are, after their introduction, critically examined, and their strengths and weaknesses are compared. The difference between both philosophers crystallizes towards the end of the piece in their view on the immateriality or materiality of mind. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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