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Regimes of Truth and Production of Subjectivity in Genealogy of Modern Subject
Raševová, Simona ; Švec, Ondřej (advisor) ; Thein, Karel (referee)
The bachelor thesis focuses on the issue of complementarity between two approaches to a subject developed by Michel Foucault within the genealogy of a modern individual. While, in the 1970s, he turned his attention to the analysis of how power produces subjects that appear to be completely subordinate to power relations and practices, in a later so-called ethical period, Foucault highlights the various forms of self-forming practice or technologies of the self, which are not reduced to external norms. The thesis attempts to expose the problem of subjectivity from the perspective of a more general framework of the history of truth, which more or less covers all Foucault's genealogical investigations. Interpretation will take into consideration the following questions: 1) How can both of these approaches to subjectification processes be seen as complementary? 2) If Foucault himself declares that his genealogy of ethics is not intended to find direct inspiration for today in ancient self-care, in which respect can then critic-historical excursions to the diverse forms of ethical self-relationship be the starting point for seeking new forms of self-forming practice in today's society? 3) What is the relationship of disciplinary and regulatory techniques that form the modern individual to the practices of...
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Close Truth of Distant Metaphors: How Metaphors Create the World
Picková, Kateřina ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Petříček, Miroslav (referee)
The thesis deals with a metaphor and its place in philosophy. It engages in a concept of metaphor as a transference with a help of Aristotle, Nietzsche, Ricoeur, and others, and explores consequences which follow from such a concept in the perspective of truth conditions. Firstly, it focuses on an exploration of a nature of the metaphor with a relation to an earlier philosophical tradition. Secondly, it examines categories of similarity, reference and imagination as fundamental constituents of metaphorical utterances. Furthermore, it also re-evaluates the distinction between literal and figurative meaning and living and dead metaphors to uncover the metaphor as a creative principle of language, which is characteristic by its actualizing and approaching power.
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Resemblance, Imagination and Pleasure
Hanzal, Tomáš ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Hill, James (referee)
This thesis deals with David Hume's conception of resemblance, chiefly in the context of his theory of association of ideas. There, resemblance has a great theoretical significance for explanation of, besides other things, general ideas (or concepts). With connection to them the principal problem dealt with in this thesis shows itself best: If we interpret resemblance as sharing of properties, then by using it in explanation of concepts (that means properties as well) we are begging the question. One of the claims of this thesis is that Hume understands resemblance neither solely, nor primarily as sharing of properties but he regards it as a primitive relation, whose place is mainly in the imagination. It is therefore "perceived" resemblance. Hume's theory of association consequently presupposes "form" of the given, one aspect of which is resemblance (or similarity) in the abstract which is a "condition of possibility" of perceived resemblances. Particular resemblances fill this form with various content, which means that resemblance is in this sense relative (different individuals can perceive the resemblance between the same things differently). It appears that Hume's conception of resemblance is, according to this interpretation, basically in agreement with Nelson Goodman's conception of similarity, in...
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Constantly Think: A Philosophical Interpretation of Thinking in Thomas Bernhard and Friedrich Nietzsche
Foltinová, Daniela ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Pelcová, Naděžda (referee)
Daniela Foltinová: Constantly Think: A Philosophical Interpretation of Thinking in Thomas Bernhard and Friedrich Nietzsche The thesis presents a philosophical interpretation on the problem of thinking acquired through the thorough analysis of Thomas Bernhards' novels Gehen, Verstörung and Alte Meister and an interpretation of knowledge, fallacy and thinking in the works of Friedrich Nietzsches' Menschliches, Allzumenschliches and Fröhliche Wissenschaft. The focal question of the thesis is: What does it mean to think? Interpretations of Bernhard held in three lines are always connected with the character in the novel. The fourth interpretation focuses solely on Nietzsches' thinking. There are four interpretations of thinking then. The first one characterizes thinking as a state of chaos taking place in the madmans' mind. The second one leads to the conception of reflective thinking of an observer. Both of them present a negative way of treating thinking as non-thinking. The third one with a storyteller taking thinkers' position shows procesual part of thinking: it is necessarily an activity with no further need for reflecttion or conceptualization. Therefore, it is to be found in the literary form of the novels. The analysis of Nietzsches' thinking emphasizes the need to dispute over the conceptual...
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Animal and Play
Jánoška, Tomáš ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Petříček, Miroslav (referee)
The main aim of this work is to examine Fink's concept of play with regard to animals, or the justification of his thesis that animals do not play. The work is divided into three parts. The first one deals with the Fink's concept of play. The key concept in this section is "play world". The chapter is concluded by the analysis of the structural moments of the play world. The second part presents the game in the current ethology and definition of the game at Burghardt. The chapter also deals with the greatest problems of ethological exploration, such as anthropomorphism and consciousness and thought of animals. The results of contemporary etological research and their comparison with the structural moments of play at Fink's concept are presented at the end. The third part offers a philosophical reflection and sketching other possible ways for thinking about play. The work provides clear analysis of Fink's concept of play and an overview of the results of contemporary ethological explorations. The comparison shows that we cannot deny animals play as such, but also more complex relationship to the world. Thus play offers new possibilities of the problem of human-animal difference.
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Aristotle's solution of Zeno's paradoxes
Tříska, Jiří ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Špinka, Štěpán (referee)
(in English): Aim of present paper is to reconstruct and compare Aristotle's solution of Zeno's paradoxes of motion from Books VI and VIII of his Physics. Aristotle claims that there is difference between these two solutions. There is difference in charakter of question which is posed by Zeno. In book VI. the question is concerning the possibility of traversing infinite distance in finite time. In book VIII. this question is asked about time itself. It is here, in book VIII, where we should find the right solution to paradoxes of motion. In this paper I shall look into the nature of this difference between solution in book six and in book VIII, and I will find out if there si some consquence for Aristotle's conception of magnitudes.
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Animal Mind and Consciousness
Richterová, Klaudie ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Jirsa, Jakub (referee)
Název diplomové práce: Mysl a vědomí u zvířat Vedoucí práce: prof. Karel Thein, Ph.D. Vypracovala: Bc. Klaudie Richterová Abstract This thesis examines the issue of cognition, mind and consciousness of living beings other than humans. It starts with the attitudes of two contemporary thinkers: Thomas Nagel and Daniel C. Dennett. In connection with their opinions, this thesis examines a certain number of questions: Might there be something like a subjective experience of life or being? How can one know that others have mental states that are like one's own? How important is a fact that nonhuman animals cannot describe their mental states in language? Is it possible to connect the observable characteristics of animals (behavioral or neurological) to consciousness? Nagel assumes that individuals have a proprietary perspective on their own perceptual, cognitive and emotive processes. Dennett argues that consciousness is essentially an illusion created by language, which is why he concludes that consciousness is uniquely human. What complicates the whole issue is the essential inwardness of the conscious experience. We objectivize this inwardness per our aim to know, and thus deprive it of its essence. Thereby, very often, we lose sight of what we want to examine.
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What Do We Do When We Walk?
Brázda, Mikuláš ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Petříček, Miroslav (referee)
In short, this thesis presents walking as absent thinking. It constructs one situation via deconstruction of scores of spectacles. To stage this thought as a dialogue: What do we do when we walk? We seem to be thinking. If I would be, in subsequent conversation, asked about the scientific merit of this thesis, I would reply - at once politely, providing pointers for orientation, and provocatively, raising a deliberate red flag to incite attention - that it successfully demonstrates the applicability of Benjamin's ideas of messianic communism and turning art into philosophy and, against Plato's intentions, the unity of Plato's philosophy.
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Animal Mind and Consciousness
Richterová, Klaudie ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Jirsa, Jakub (referee)
Název diplomové práce: Mysl a vědomí u zvířat Vedoucí práce: prof. Karel Thein, Ph.D. Vypracovala: Bc. Klaudie Richterová Abstrakt v anglickém jazyce This thesis examines the issue of cognition, mind, and consciousness of living beings other than humans. What complicates the whole issue is the essential inwardness of the conscious experience. We objectivize this inwardness per our aim to know, and thus deprive it of its essence. Thereby, very often, we lose sight of what we want to examine. This problem is related to the theme of speech as a form of communication that plays an ambivalent role here. Speech in the sense of articulated form of communication can easily become a barrier that separates human beings from other living creatures; the so-called less articulated forms of communication may, on the other hand, be an opportunity to overcome this barrier. Part of the thesis thus offers a critical reflection on the scientific research whose focus is on animal abilities, but which forgets to take into account the human element contained in the apparently scientific method. The final part of the thesis deals with modern research of a canine abilities and offers a reflection on the influence of the domestication process on what we call intelligence.
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Aristotle's conception of space: Phys. IV 208a27-213a11
Císař, Karel ; Kouba, Pavel (advisor) ; Thein, Karel (referee) ; Mráz, Milan (referee)
Aristotelovo zkoumání bytnosti místa z Fyziky IV 1-5 se stalo předmětem polemické diskuse již v textech jeho starověkých komentátorů. N arozdíl od jiných témat se navíc takřka žádný z nich nepokusil Aristotelovo pojetí místa hájit. Uzavírá-li Aristotelés své zkoumání definicí, podle které je místo "první nepohyblivou hranici obklopujícího tělesa", a vymezuje je tím jako dvojrozměrnou nepohyblivou mez, v níž se s umístěným tělesem stýká obklopující těleso či agregát těles, většina jeho následovníků má místo za trojrozměrnou rozlehlost. Jak víme ze Simplikiova svědectví, již Theofrastos poukazoval na obtíže spojené s dvojrozměrností a nepohyblivostí místa, i na skutečnost, že ne všechno bude podle této definice v místě. 1 Novoplatónští komentátoři se zase zaměřovali na Aristotelovo odmítnutí možnosti připsat místu příčinnost, což se podle nich neshodovalo s Aristotelovou koncepcí vlastního místa.2 Dalším zdrojem obtíží je pak zdánlivý vnitřní rozpor mezi jednotlivými koncepcemi místa, které Aristotelés zastává v různých spisech. V Kategoriích je místo vykládáno v kontextu nepřetržité kvantity jako trojrozměrná rozlehlost soumístná s tělesem. 3 Ve spisu O nebi Aristotelés pracuje s koncepcí vlastních míst, jejichž směrem se pohybují jednoduchá tělesa. Lehký oheň se pohybuje nahoru a těžká země dolů, zatímco...
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