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Biologist and Philosopher Zdeněk Neubauer. Studies on Intellectual Biography.
Nováková, Lucie ; Hermann, Tomáš (advisor) ; Palouš, Martin (referee) ; Frei, Jan (referee)
Dissertation abstract Biologist a philosopher Zdeněk Neubauer Studies on Intellectual Biography The subject of the dissertation research is the personality and work of the Czech biologist and philosopher Zdeněk Neubauer in contemporary scientific and social contexts, in selected aspects, concentrating mainly on the period from the beginning of his scientific activity to the 1990s. It focuses on his intellectual biography in general, with an attempt to capture, describe and informatively complete those aspects of his work and professional activities where the necessary coherent information has not been available so far. The basic methodology of the thesis is qualitative research with as much critical objectivity as possible. The necessary evaluation and interpretation procedures are subordinated to this basic approach and objectives. The text of the dissertation is divided into ten chapters, which structure Neubauer's life into thematic units. The chapters are partly arranged chronologically, but most of the themes are interwoven throughout the work, so this structure is only ancillary. The breakdown of the chapters is as follows: Childhood, Naples Stay, Serratia Marcescens, Letter on Biology, Paul Ricoeur and the Rehabilitation of the Subject, Spirit and Nature, Clash of Paradigms, and The Science Wars,...
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Friedrich August von Hayek on the Evolution of Liberal Rules
Doleček, Pavel ; Znoj, Milan (advisor) ; Profant, Martin (referee) ; Hříbek, Tomáš (referee)
The present dissertation deals with the topic of the relationship between political and moral philosophy and the epistemological and methodological arguments of Friedrich August von Hayek. The aim of the dissertation is to defend in general the assertion that Hayek's philosophy is the application of epistemological and methodological positions to moral and political philosophy and that this application is implemented through the continuous process of defining the basic theoretical positions towards philosophical tradition. This general statement is elaborated on in several perspectives. The first perspective puts the concept of knowledge in the forefront, both in the sense of a certain concept of rationality, i.e. the nature of reason and human thinking, and also in the sense of defining the nature and limits of scientific inquiry. The latter follows the development of Hayek's thinking, pointing out the aspects of his philosophy, which are the elaboration of the theories of his predecessors in thought within the Austrian economic school or classical sociology. This perspective also shows that, at a certain stage of his thinking, Hayek considerably moves away from these predecessors, particularly in the context of grasping individualism. The third perspective shows the deeper roots of some of...
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Thoughts on Epistemology
Novotný, Vojtěch ; Hogenová, Anna (advisor) ; Blažková, Miloslava (referee)
Topic of the Magister thesis is study of human knowledge about the real world. Thesis focuses on the establishment of Epistemology, a philosophical discipline that focuses on theory of knowledge, introduces its history and its relation to other philosophical disciplines, mainly onthology. Thesis thoroughly studies all epistemological conceptions, both from the epistemological and ontological points of view, including conception of subject-object relationship. Thesis studies different sources of knowledge, i.e. empirical, rational, irational, and also analytical philosophy and critical rationalism of the 20th century. Thesis includes a list of the most influencial philosophers and their concepts of human knowledge - Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. Thesis studies the relationship of epistemology and axiology, the philosophical study of value. Thesis studies concepts of truth of knowledge. Thesis sudies evolutionary epistemology, its theoretical starting points, principles of natural and cultural evolution, phylogenetics and epigenetics and conceptual knowledge.
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Fallibilism and Semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce
Macháček, Martin ; Karľa, Michal (advisor) ; Švantner, Martin (referee)
This thesis consists of the analysis of Peirce's essays Questions Concering Certain Faculties Claimed for Man and Some Consequences of Four Incapacities focused on the genesis of fallibilism and its dependence on the theory of representation. Peirce's epistemological position here is articulated as a rejection of foundationalism and its conditions (e.g. intuition and introspection) that are understood to be unfounded hypotheses due the character of our knowledge of the outside world. The aim of this thesis is to find out how Peirce's epistemology can work without the certainty of foundationalism. Keywords: Peirce, fallibilism, representation, critique of foundationalism, inference, epistemology
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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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Narrative Structures in Virginia Woolf's Shorter Fiction
Kovačeva, Elizabet ; Wallace, Clare (advisor) ; Nováková, Soňa (referee)
Thesis Abstract One of the basic principles of modernism was to evaluate existing traditions and cultural norms, to innovate them, and to get rid of them if necessary. The need and urge to innovate proved to be immensely productive in the short story genre. The short story is now perceived as independent of other prose forms precisely thanks to the modernists. Virginia Woolf was one of the most enthusiastic innovators of the form, her work in the genre is nevertheless often overlooked in comparison to her novels, or even in comparison to other short story writers, such as Katherine Mansfield or James Joyce. This thesis deals with selected narrative structures in Virginia Woolf's shorter fiction. It works with the basic assumption that when Woolf's short stories are read, her novels have to be taken into account as well due to numerous thematic and other affinities. However, it is also of importance to evaluate Woolf's short fiction without measuring them against her novels as these are two distinct genres. The thesis introduction presents an overview of the literary and cultural context of the times in which Woolf lived and wrote, with emphasis on her familiarity with the Russian writers, primarily Chekhov, and the first Post-Impressionist painters. The thesis then carries out four separate analyses of four...
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David Hume's analysis of causality
Pakandl, Martin ; Rybák, David (advisor) ; Hauser, Michael (referee)
This diploma thesis is focused on David Hume's analysis of causality. The two major philosophical works about this topic are A Treatise of Human Nature and Enquiries concerning Human Understanding. The first chapter is about intellectual background which Hume came from when he is dealing with cause-effect problem. At that time there were two main epistemological theories: rationalism and empirism. Both will be discuss there. The next chapter is about Hume's way of thinking about human understanding. This chapter is important for us beacuse there are many terms which will be useful for understanding causality. Crucial role plays The Theory of Ideas, according to each content of a mind has a source in experience. The first perceptions are called impresions and their copies are called ideas. Ideas are processed by memory and imagination. There are two categories of contents of human understanding: relations of ideas and matters of facts. We will focus on matters of facts because they are based on causality. Hume as a empirist is searching for a source of idea of causality in our experience. He finds out that we cant find it in objects of our minds themselves, but is based on relations among them. These relations are: contiguity, constant conjunction, priority of time in the cause before the effect and...
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