Human Knowledge And Human Nature

Author : Peter Carruthers
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Human Knowledge and Human Nature written by Peter Carruthers and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1992 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary debates in epistemology devote much attention to the nature of knowledge, but neglect the question of its sources. The distinctive focus of Human Knowledge and Human Nature is on the latter, especially on the question of innateness. Peter Carruthers's aim is to transform and reinvigorate contemporary empiricism, while also providing an introduction to a range of issues in the theory of knowledge. He gives a lively presentation and assessment of the claims of classical empiricism, particularly its denial of substantive a priori knowledge and also of innate knowledge. He argues that we would be right to reject the substantive a priori but not innateness, and then presents a novel account of the main motivation behind empiricism, which leaves contemporary empiricists free to accept innate knowledge and concepts. He closes with a discussion of scepticism, arguing that acceptance of innate concepts may lead to a decisive resolution of the problem in favour of realism. The book will be of equal interest to students of the history of modern philosophy and the theory of knowledge, and their teachers. It provides a new way of looking at classical empiricism, and should lead to a renewal of interest in the innateness issue in epistemology.

Author : Ana-Maria Crețu
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030270416
Total Pages : 164 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Knowledge from a Human Point of View written by Ana-Maria Crețu and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-11-29 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book – as the title suggests – explores some of the historical roots and epistemological ramifications of perspectivism. Perspectivism has recently emerged in philosophy of science as an interesting new position in the debate between scientific realism and anti-realism. But there is a lot more to perspectivism than discussions in philosophy of science so far have suggested. Perspectivism is a much broader view that emphasizes how our knowledge (in particular our scientific knowledge of nature) is situated; it is always from a human vantage point (as opposed to some Nagelian "view from nowhere"). This edited collection brings together a diverse team of established and early career scholars across a variety of fields (from the history of philosophy to epistemology and philosophy of science). The resulting nine essays trace some of the seminal ideas of perspectivism back to Kant, Nietzsche, the American Pragmatists, and Putnam, while the second part of the book tackles issues concerning the relation between perspectivism, relativism, and standpoint theories, and the implications of perspectivism for epistemological debates about veritism, epistemic normativity and the foundations of human knowledge.

Author : Gerald M. Edelman
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300133650
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Second Nature written by Gerald M. Edelman and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Burgeoning advances in brain science are opening up new perspectives on how we acquire knowledge. Indeed, it is now possible to explore consciousness - the very centre of human concern - by scientific means. In this illuminating book, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman offers a new theory of knowledge based on striking scientific findings about how the brain works. And he addresses the related compelling question: does the latest research imply that all knowledge can be reduced to scientific description? Edelman's brain-based approach to knowledge has rich implications for our understanding of creativity, of the normal and abnormal functioning of the brain, and of the connections among the different ways we have of knowing. While the gulf between science and the humanities and their respective views of the world has seemed enormous in the past, the author shows that their differences can be dissolved by considering their origins in brain functions. He foresees a day when brain-based devices will be conscious, and he reflects on this and other fascinating ideas about how we come to know the world and ourselves.

Author : Robert Greene
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0698184548
Total Pages : 626 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Laws of Human Nature written by Robert Greene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power comes the definitive new book on decoding the behavior of the people around you Robert Greene is a master guide for millions of readers, distilling ancient wisdom and philosophy into essential texts for seekers of power, understanding and mastery. Now he turns to the most important subject of all - understanding people's drives and motivations, even when they are unconscious of them themselves. We are social animals. Our very lives depend on our relationships with people. Knowing why people do what they do is the most important tool we can possess, without which our other talents can only take us so far. Drawing from the ideas and examples of Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others, Greene teaches us how to detach ourselves from our own emotions and master self-control, how to develop the empathy that leads to insight, how to look behind people's masks, and how to resist conformity to develop your singular sense of purpose. Whether at work, in relationships, or in shaping the world around you, The Laws of Human Nature offers brilliant tactics for success, self-improvement, and self-defense.

Author : Alfred Adler
Publisher : New York : Greenberg
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Understanding Human Nature written by Alfred Adler and published by New York : Greenberg. This book was released on 1927 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adler explores the development of our personality, introducing all his key themes to explore the nature of the psyche, how character forms, how we see the world, and how we become who we are.

Author : Roger Smith
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231512909
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.02/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Being Human written by Roger Smith and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenging commonly held biological, religious, and ethical beliefs, internationally well known historian of science Roger Smith boldly argues that human nature is not some "thing" awaiting discovery but is active in understanding itself. According to Smith, "being human" is a self-creation made possible through a reflective circle of thought and action, with a past and a future, and studying this "history" from a range of perspectives is fundamental to human self-understanding. Smith's argument brings together historical and contemporary debates concerning materialism and human nature and the relations of the different fields of knowledge. He draws on classic writings from across the human sciences, touching on sociology, anthropology, brain sciences, history, philosophical hermeneutics, and critical theory, and demonstrates that there is no position outside history for an absolutely objective or eternally valid view of human nature. The question "what is human?" does not have and could not possible have one answer. Instead, there exists a variety of answers for different purposes, and there are good reasons for the many conceptions of what it is to be human. Smith does not treat human nature as only biological, economic, or moral, but as a multidimensional subject that should be considered in its proper historical context. By understanding this context, Smith believes, we can come to a truer understanding of ourselves. Persuasively and elegantly written, Being Human takes an important new turn in the philosophical study of being human.

Author : Maria Kronfeldner
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262549689
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book What's Left of Human Nature? written by Maria Kronfeldner and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-10-31 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A philosophical account of human nature that defends the concept against dehumanization, Darwinian, and developmentalist challenges. Human nature has always been a foundational issue for philosophy. What does it mean to have a human nature? Is the concept the relic of a bygone age? What is the use of such a concept? What are the epistemic and ontological commitments people make when they use the concept? In What's Left of Human Nature? Maria Kronfeldner offers a philosophical account of human nature that defends the concept against contemporary criticism. In particular, she takes on challenges related to social misuse of the concept that dehumanizes those regarded as lacking human nature (the dehumanization challenge); the conflict between Darwinian thinking and essentialist concepts of human nature (the Darwinian challenge); and the consensus that evolution, heredity, and ontogenetic development result from nurture and nature. After answering each of these challenges, Kronfeldner presents a revisionist account of human nature that minimizes dehumanization and does not fall back on outdated biological ideas. Her account is post-essentialist because it eliminates the concept of an essence of being human; pluralist in that it argues that there are different things in the world that correspond to three different post-essentialist concepts of human nature; and interactive because it understands nature and nurture as interacting at the developmental, epigenetic, and evolutionary levels. On the basis of this, she introduces a dialectical concept of an ever-changing and “looping” human nature. Finally, noting the essentially contested character of the concept and the ambiguity and redundancy of the terminology, she wonders if we should simply eliminate the term “human nature” altogether.

Author : George Berkeley
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.67/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge written by George Berkeley and published by . This book was released on 1887 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Robert B. Louden
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199877580
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Kant's Human Being written by Robert B. Louden and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-07-25 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Kant's Human Being, Robert B. Louden continues and deepens avenues of research first initiated in his highly acclaimed book, Kant's Impure Ethics. Drawing on a wide variety of both published and unpublished works spanning all periods of Kant's extensive writing career, Louden here focuses on Kant's under-appreciated empirical work on human nature, with particular attention to the connections between this body of work and his much-discussed ethical theory. Kant repeatedly claimed that the question, "What is the human being" is philosophy's most fundamental question, one that encompasses all others. Louden analyzes and evaluates Kant's own answer to his question, showing how it differs from other accounts of human nature. This collection of twelve essays is divided into three parts. In Part One (Human Virtues), Louden explores the nature and role of virtue in Kant's ethical theory, showing how the conception of human nature behind Kant's virtue theory results in a virtue ethics that is decidedly different from more familiar Aristotelian virtue ethics programs. In Part Two (Ethics and Anthropology), he uncovers the dominant moral message in Kant's anthropological investigations, drawing new connections between Kant's work on human nature and his ethics. Finally, in Part Three (Extensions of Anthropology), Louden explores specific aspects of Kant's theory of human nature developed outside of his anthropology lectures, in his works on religion, geography, education ,and aesthetics, and shows how these writings substantially amplify his account of human beings. Kant's Human Being offers a detailed and multifaceted investigation of the question that Kant held to be the most important of all, and will be of interest not only to philosophers but also to all who are concerned with the study of human nature.

Author : Peter T. Struck
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691183457
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Divination and Human Nature written by Peter T. Struck and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divination and Human Nature casts a new perspective on the rich tradition of ancient divination—the reading of divine signs in oracles, omens, and dreams. Popular attitudes during classical antiquity saw these readings as signs from the gods while modern scholars have treated such beliefs as primitive superstitions. In this book, Peter Struck reveals instead that such phenomena provoked an entirely different accounting from the ancient philosophers. These philosophers produced subtle studies into what was an odd but observable fact—that humans could sometimes have uncanny insights—and their work signifies an early chapter in the cognitive history of intuition. Examining the writings of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Neoplatonists, Struck demonstrates that they all observed how, setting aside the charlatans and swindlers, some people had premonitions defying the typical bounds of rationality. Given the wide differences among these ancient thinkers, Struck notes that they converged on seeing this surplus insight as an artifact of human nature, projections produced under specific conditions by our physiology. For the philosophers, such unexplained insights invited a speculative search for an alternative and more naturalistic system of cognition. Recovering a lost piece of an ancient tradition, Divination and Human Nature illustrates how philosophers of the classical era interpreted the phenomena of divination as a practice closer to intuition and instinct than magic.