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Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:05:30 -0800 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:05:30 -0800 editors@plato.stanford.edu webmaster@plato.stanford.edu http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rosenstock-huessy/ [Revised entry by Wayne Cristaudo on September 8, 2008. Changes to: Main text] Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (1888 - 1973) was a sociologist and social philosopher who, along with his close friend Franz Rosenzweig, and Ferdinand Ebner and Martin Buber, was a major exponent of speech thinking or dialogicism. The central insight of speech thinking is that speech or language is not merely, or even primarily, a descriptive act, but a responsive and creative act which is the basis... Wayne Cristaudo Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:57:49 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rosenstock-huessy/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plotinus/ [Revised entry by Lloyd Gerson on September 5, 2008. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography] Plotinus (204/5 - 270 C.E.), is generally regarded as the founder of Neoplatonism. He is one of the most influential philosophers in antiquity after Plato and Aristotle. The term 'Neoplatonism' is an invention of early 19th century European scholarship and indicates the penchant of historians for dividing 'periods' in history. In this case, the term... Lloyd Gerson Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:07:56 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plotinus/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism-contemporary/ [Revised entry by Fred D'Agostino and Gerald Gaus on September 5, 2008. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography] The idea of the social contract goes back, in a recognizably modern form, to Thomas Hobbes; it was developed in different ways by John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant. After Kant the idea largely fell into disrepute until it was resurrected by John Rawls. It is now at the heart of the work of a number of moral and political philosophers. The basic idea seems simple: in some way, the agreement... Fred D'Agostino and Gerald Gaus Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:22:37 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism-contemporary/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/private-language/ [Revised entry by Stewart Candlish and George Wrisley on September 5, 2008. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography, notes.html] The idea of a private language was made famous in philosophy by Ludwig Wittgenstein, who in s243 of his book Philosophical Investigations explained it thus: "The words of this language are to refer to what can be known only to the speaker; to his immediate, private, sensations. So another cannot understand the language."[1]... Stewart Candlish and George Wrisley Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:56:31 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/private-language/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasons-internal-external/ [New Entry by Stephen Finlay and Mark Schroeder on September 4, 2008.] Often, when there is a reason for you to do something, it is the kind of thing to motivate you to do it. For example, if Max and Caroline are deciding whether to go to the Alcove for dinner, Caroline might mention as a reason in favor, the fact that the Alcove serves onion rings the size of doughnuts, and Max might mention as a reason against, the fact that it is so difficult to get parking there this... Stephen Finlay and Mark Schroeder Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:45:18 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasons-internal-external/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/intuitionism/ [New Entry by Rosalie Iemhoff on September 4, 2008.] Intuitionism is a philosophy of mathematics that was introduced by the Dutch mathematician L.E.J. Brouwer (1881 - 1966). Intuitionism is based on the idea that mathematics is a creation of the mind. The truth of a mathematical statement can only be conceived via a mental construction that proves it to be true, and the communication between mathematicians only serves as a means to create the same mental process... Rosalie Iemhoff Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:59:24 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/intuitionism/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/diagrams/ [Revised entry by Sun-Joo Shin and Oliver Lemon on September 3, 2008. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography, Internet resources] All of us engage in and make use of valid reasoning, but the reasoning we actually perform differs in various ways from the inferences studied by most (formal) logicians. Reasoning as performed by human beings typically involves information obtained through more than one medium. Formal logic, by contrast, has thus far been primarily concerned with valid reasoning which is based on information in one form only, i.e. in... Sun-Joo Shin and Oliver Lemon Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:12:09 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/diagrams/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/ [New Entry by Sven Ove Hansson on September 3, 2008.] The demarcation between science and pseudoscience is part of the larger task to determine which beliefs are epistemically warranted. The entry clarifies the specific nature of pseudoscience in relation to other forms of non-scientific doctrines and practices. The major proposed demarcation criteria are discussed and some of their weaknesses are pointed out. In conclusion, it is emphasized that there... Sven Ove Hansson Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:18:42 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/ [Revised entry by Robert Young on August 27, 2008. Changes to: Bibliography] The entry sets out five individually necessary conditions for anyone to be a candidate for legalized voluntary euthanasia (or, in some usages, physician-assisted suicide), outlines the moral case advanced by those in favour of legalizing voluntary euthanasia, and discusses five of the more important objections made by those opposed to the legalization of voluntary euthanasia.... Robert Young Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:44:19 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/naturalism-mathematics/ [New Entry by Alexander Paseau on August 24, 2008.] Contemporary philosophy's three main naturalisms are methodological, ontological and epistemological. Methodological naturalism states that the only authoritative standards are those of science. Ontological and epistemological naturalism respectively state that all entities and all valid methods of inquiry are in some sense natural. In philosophy of mathematics of the past few decades methodological naturalism has... Alexander Paseau Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:51:57 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/naturalism-mathematics/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reichenbach/ [New Entry by Clark Glymour and Frederick Eberhardt on August 24, 2008.] Described as perhaps "the greatest empiricist of the 20th century" (Salmon, 1977a), the work of Hans Reichenbach (1891 - 1953) provides one of the main statements of empiricist philosophy in the 20th century. Provoked by the conflict between (neo-) Kantian a priorism and Einstein's relativity of space and time, Reichenbach developed a scientifically inspired philosophy and... Clark Glymour and Frederick Eberhardt Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:52:07 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reichenbach/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/ [Revised entry by Sharon A. Lloyd and Susanne Sreedhar on August 23, 2008. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography, Internet resources] The 17th Century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes is now widely regarded as one of a handful of truly great political philosophers, whose masterwork Leviathan rivals in significance the political writings of Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Rawls. Hobbes is famous for his early and elaborate development of what has come to be known as "social... Sharon A. Lloyd and Susanne Sreedhar Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:15:12 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/xenocrates/ [Revised entry by Russell Dancy on August 22, 2008. Changes to: Bibliography] Xenocrates (of Chalcedon), according to Diogenes Laertius (D.L.) iv 14, became head of the Academy after Speusippus died, in 339/338 ("in the second year of the 110th Olympiad"). D.L. says he held that position for twenty-five years, and died at 82. So his dates work out to 396/395-314/313.... Russell Dancy Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:58:27 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/xenocrates/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/peirce-benjamin/ [Revised entry by Ivor Grattan-Guinness and Alison Walsh on August 22, 2008. Changes to: Bibliography] Benjamin Peirce (b. April 4, 1809, d. October 6, 1880) was a professor at Harvard with interests in celestial mechanics, applications of plane and spherical trigonometry to navigation, number theory and algebra. In mechanics, he helped to establish the (effects of the) orbit of Neptune (in relation to Uranus). In number theory, he proved that there is no odd perfect number with fewer than four distinct prime factors. In... Ivor Grattan-Guinness and Alison Walsh Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:42:43 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/peirce-benjamin/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lucretius/ [Revised entry by David Sedley on August 19, 2008. Changes to: Main text, Bibliography] Titus Lucretius Carus (died c. 50 BC) was an Epicurean poet writing in the middle years of the first century BC. His six-book Latin hexameter poem De rerum natura (DRN for short), variously translated On the nature of things and On the nature of the universe, survives virtually intact, although it is disputed whether he lived to put the finishing touches to it. As well... David Sedley Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:47:07 -0800 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lucretius/