Green, Thomas Hill (1836–82)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bellamy
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Empirical Reality ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Herbert Spencer ◽  
The World ◽  
Positive Liberty ◽  
The Individual

Green was a prominent Oxford idealist philosopher, who criticized both the epistemological and ethical implications of the dominant empiricist and utilitarian theories of the time. He contended that experience could not be explained merely as the product of sensations acting on the human mind. Like Kant, Green argued that knowledge presupposes certain a priori categories, such as substance, causation, space and time, which enable us to structure our understanding of empirical reality. Physical objects and even the most simple feelings are only intelligible as relations of ideas constituted by human consciousness. However, unlike Kant, he did not draw the conclusion that things in themselves are consequently unknowable. Rather, he argued that reality itself is ultimately spiritual, the product of an eternal consciousness operating within both the world and human reason. Green adopted a similarly anti-naturalist and holistic position in ethics, in which desires are seen as orientated towards the realization of the good – both within the individual and in society at large. In politics, this led him to criticize the laissez-faire individualist liberalism of Herbert Spencer and, to a lesser extent, of J.S. Mill, and to advocate a more collectivist liberalism in which the state seeks to promote the positive liberty of its members.

scholarly journals Spiritual and moral values: an anthropological study of the duty and desire categories

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 01008
Author(s):  
Elena A. Shtekhman ◽  
Yuliya A. Melnik ◽  
Alina V. Biyakaeva ◽  
Anna V. Baskakova ◽  
Olga V. Shkurko
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Cultural Ideal ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual

The article is devoted to the study of phenomena, such as duty and desire. These phenomena are interpreted in different ways within the framework of various philosophical trends, starting from antiquity and ending with modernity. The authors emphasize the lack of consensus in the philosophical and scientific community in the interpretation of these categories. Thus, R. Descartes believed that the phenomenon of debt arose in the human mind under the influence of social conditions. On the contrary, I. Kant and C. Cordner argued that duty was a priori concept not associated with practice and life. In turn, L.Yu. Nikolaeva understood duty as the basis for forming the national-cultural ideal. Plato explained the phenomenon of desire by the imperfection of a human, whereas Aristotle understood desire as the product of a pleasant sensation. In turn, Spinoza argued that desire was an individual form of cognition of the world. Descartes and J. Locke believed that desire was a need for something that was not currently available. In general, the categories of duty and desire were clearly distinguished. Most philosophers consider duty as a characteristic of the social being of the individual, whereas desire is considered to be an empirical category, i.e., generated by the sensory experience of the individual. However, it is necessary not only to study these concepts more deeply but also to reveal their role in forming spiritual and moral values.

Kant’s ‘Transcendental Deduction’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Stroud
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
Structural Description ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Transcendental Deduction ◽  
The World ◽  
Empirical Realism

This chapter presents a straightforward structural description of Immanuel Kant’s conception of what the transcendental deduction is supposed to do, and how it is supposed to do it. The ‘deduction’ Kant thinks is needed for understanding the human mind would establish and explain our ‘right’ or ‘entitlement’ to something we seem to possess and employ in ‘the highly complicated web of human knowledge’. This is: experience, concepts, and principles. The chapter explains the point and strategy of the ‘deduction’ as Kant understands it, as well as the demanding conditions of its success, without entering into complexities of interpretation or critical assessment of the degree of success actually achieved. It also analyses Kant’s arguments regarding a priori concepts as well as a posteriori knowledge of the world around us, along with his claim that our position in the world must be understood as ‘empirical realism’.

Should We Freeze Our Bodies for Future Resuscitation?

2021 ◽  
pp. 235-242
Author(s):  
Francesca Minerva
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Nitrogen ◽  
Human Mortality ◽  
Future Technology ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Major Objection

This chapter examines the ethical implications of cryopreservation. Cryopreservation is usually performed soon after the heart has stopped beating, and after the individual has been pronounced legally dead. A few hundred people in the world had been “cryopreserved” — that is, fully immerged in liquid nitrogen at -196 C — in the hope that science will eventually discover a therapy for the disease that has killed them, and that future technology will succeed in bringing them back to life. Understandably, the root of many objections to cryonics seem to be its perceived weirdness. Another major objection to cryonics is that it is a waste of money, or a scam, i.e. a way to make money by promising dying people something that cannot possibly be achieved. The chapter then considers the concepts of human mortality and immortality.

scholarly journals Ethics in Classical Hindu Philosophy: Provinces of Consequence, Agency, and Value in the Bhagavad Gītā and Other Epic and Śāstric Texts

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1029
Author(s):  
Jessica Frazier
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Bhagavad Gita ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Emergent Phenomena ◽  
The World ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Bhagavad Gītā ◽  
Interpersonal Concerns

The idea of a univocal property of ‘goodness’ is not clearly found in classical Sanskrit sources; instead, a common ethical strategy was to clarify the ontological nature of the self or world in such a way that ethical implications naturally flow from the adjustment in our thinking. This article gives a synoptic reading of sources that treat features of ethics—dispositions, agents, causal systems of effect, and even values themselves—as emergent phenomena grounded in complex, shifting, porous configurations. One conclusion of this was that what ‘goodness’ entails varies according to the scope and context of our concern. Firstly, we examine how the Bhagavad Gītā fashions a utilitarianism that assumes no universal intrinsically valuable goal or Good, but aims only to sustain the world as a prerequisite for choice. Recognising that this pushes problems of identifying the Good onto the individual; secondly, we look at accounts of malleable personhood in the Caraka Saṃhitā and Book 12 of the Mahābhārata. Finally, the aesthetic theory of the Nāṭya Śāstra hints at a context-constituted conception of value itself, reminding us that evaluative emotions are themselves complex, curate-able, and can expand beyond egoism to encompass interpersonal concerns. Together these sources show aspects of an ethical worldview for which each case is a nexus in a larger ethical fabric. Each tries to pry us away from our most personal concerns, so we can reach beyond the ego to do what is of value for a wider province of which we are a part.

5. Reanimating the World

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Frédérique Apffel-Marglin
Keyword(s):  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
The World ◽  
Human World ◽  
The Individual

This chapter advocates for integral ecological healing, particularly by attending to the practices of indigenous Amazonian communities. The use of psychedelic plant medicines in Amazonian shamanism exemplifies the kind of non-rational ways of knowing that expand human consciousness beyond the individual ego and into intimate communion with the more-than-human world.

scholarly journals ВОЗМОЖНО ЛИ ГОВОРИТЬ О РАЦИОНАЛЬНОСТИ ЙОГИ?

2019 ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
В. В. Лобас
Keyword(s):  
Design Thinking ◽  
Human Life ◽  
A Priori ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
Eastern Culture ◽  
Domestic Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual

In world philosophical practice, yoga is given great attention: courses are given at leading universities of the world, various kinds of projects are being opened to study this type of spiritual technique, research in history continues, and of course, there are a number of scientists who associate knowledge about it as a scientific character. , and with its practical application in modern culture. Unfortunately, in domestic literature not enough attention paid to such an ancient and relevant philosophy in the modern world. In the article we set the task to analyze this aspect of multifaceted human life from the standpoint of the modern European researcher. Eastern culture can be viewed in the context of art, religion, mythology, but the question arises: can it be viewed and evaluated in the context of mental, rational discourse? On the basis of ancient texts, on the basis of works of famous Indologists, modern European philosophers, an attempt was made to describe the rationality of yoga and give it a definition. The author goes to the general nature of the rationality of the East, represented by a cosmological-mythological worldview. He concludes that for a man of the East there are other norms and criteria of rationality than for a European-oriented worldview. The author also analyzes the nature of the design thinking of a person with this form of worldview. For a person of the East, there are other norms and criteria for rationality than for a European-oriented worldview. The rationality of the philosophy of yoga should be the basis for research practices and technologies of yoga. It can be given a conditional definition, but its meaning is deep and rooted in hoary antiquity, and requires careful and thorough analysis. The union of all ascetic practices and religious teachings takes place in the Gita, so without analyzing its texts, it is impossible to understand the rationality of yoga. Yoga rationality is mythological and cosmological in nature: it is an a priori scheme of man’s perception of the world and himself, in which ideas about karma and nirvana were central to world orientation and activity, and the mystic of cosmic and biological emphasized the polyvalence of these apriorisms. Such rationality allows the yogi to mentally move from the world of carnal beings into the world of gods and into the world of transcendental gods. The last world appears as an intermediate between the phenomenal world and the non-world of nirvana. Various Indian practices, techniques, and methods aimed at freeing the spirit through separation acquired their followers, because after the “Upanishads” the rejection of life due to socio-political structures and history became the most worthy soteriological solution. Hence the orientation of the yogi to internal self-improvement and indifference to the outside world. Moral decency and cosmic order here are concepts of the same level, starting with the moral positions of the individual soul, which is akin to the spiritual essence of the Cosmos, and Good and Evil act as metaphors for the rhythmic nature of life, both of Cosmos and of Man.

scholarly journals Hil dig, Frelser og Forsoner!, et nærlæsningsforsøg

1972 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
William Michelsen
Keyword(s):  
Human Mind ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Literary Expression ◽  
Trace Back ◽  
The World ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Individual ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
As If

Hil dig, Frelser og Forsoner. An essay in close readingBy William MichelsenThis article should be read as a reply to Niels Egebaks interpretation of the same hymn in Grundtvig-Studier 1971. Jørgen Elbek3s characterisation of Grundtvig’s Sang-Værk - the point that it “demands to be regarded as the unanimous hymn of praise of the Danish church of today” (ibid. 1959) - and Magnus Stevns’s analysis of the difference between Grundtvig’s and Kingo’s Easter hymns are adduced in support of the claim that from beginning to end this hymn aims at the paradoxical goal of loving life while bearing in mind the reality of death. It is only in the beginning of the poem, however, that this aim is enigmatic, where the image of winding a rose garland round the Cross is employed. - Egebak seems to regard the religious feelings expressed in Grundtvig’s hymns as an ideology created by the human mind, that is, something that man can trace back to himself. Instead, the claim is made that faith is confidence in something beyond man. Man cannot live without a greater or lesser amount of confidence in his environment. Confidence in an extra-human outside world is a condition for existence, which manifests itself in religion or religious feelings. The Gospel of Christ presupposes this situation. So does the hymn we are concerned with.The writer of a poem is speaking for himself, but the hymn writer is speaking on behalf of any Christian. In this point lies the difference in kind between the poem “De Levendes Land” and the hymn “O Christelighed!” - A hymn presupposes faith. A poem may lead towards faith or away from faith or be indifferent towards faith. A poem may express nihilism, a hymn may not. – An ideology or theology may be a conceptual superstructure on the fundamental faith. But neither ideology nor theology is faith. It is inconceivable that the word “ troer” in st. 2 should express a mere assumption, let alone st. 8 and st. 11.The reason that the Danish Hymn Book leaves out st.2-4 may be certain offending expressions, or that they express a belief that is not common to all worshippers (“Thi jeg troer, Du er tilstæde” ). Here, then, we have an aspect of faith that is disputed, but not an assumption. Egebak identifies the “ I” of the hymn with “the writer” rather than with the individual Christian singing the hymn, and he confronts the two persons with each other. This confrontation is at odds with the concept of “hymn” as a literary genre. But it is particularly unreasonable when, as here, we are dealing with a new version of an old hymn.Egebak’s opposition between “ the world” and “ I” (of st. 1) as if it covertly pervaded the whole hymn presupposes a pietistic line of thought that is alien to the hymn. I cannot change “Hjertets Haardhed, Hjertets Kulde” – only God can. Egebak is right that death is the personal cause of the despair and doubts of human being - and this is true not only in the case of the hymn writer. Faith is an answer to this, but to man it remains an insoluble mystery. The poet cannot redeem himself; but a hymn is the literary expression of faith, frequently wavering, in a superhuman power.

scholarly journals Faith, Understanding, Proof

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 72-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Razumov
Keyword(s):  
Finite Number ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
The World ◽  
Characteristic Case ◽  
Inner World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Relationship Of

Faith and understanding are in a complex relationship with each other; they are living in their own way in the depths of every developed human consciousness. I believe in something and I understand something, but I do not understand everything I believe in, but sometimes I believe in something I don’t understand at all. Add the problem of proof to this. Not all that we believe in can be supported by proof. Relationship of faith, understanding and proof are designated as “intimate” by the author of the article because they are immersed in the depth of consciousness of each of the individual characters-personalities. Thus, it is proposed to call “faith” a certain directed state of the psyche, subordinate not to the dictatorship of external influences but to the internal intentions of the personality determining one of the directions of his inner world. “Understanding” is the ability, the skill of consciousness to establish a causal relationship placing the “phenomenon” in the frame of one of the existing pictures of the world or creating a new one. “Understanding” can also be attributed to the inner world of another person. Do you understand me…“Proof” is the ability to confirm something with certain constructions: arguments and theories, including axioms that do not require proof. The article expands on the content of the entire designated triad, but, most of all, the author pays attention to the questions of faith. Faith is mentioned in the article, above all, in connection with the theory and practice of religions, but faith, the author believes, is present even in the most rigorous sciences. The most common, characteristic case is the belief in the semantic ability of mathematics. One can also call the judgment of faith in a sufficiently finite number of expert checks to finally confirm the law relating to an infinite (in potency) number of cases. As a result of the movement on the topic, the author comes to the thought of immersing himself in the inner world of the individual. He immerses and imagines it both as an intimate property of the personality, and as the thing capable of covering outer space with the thought. My world is a gift from Heaven or Nature. Whose exactly is a matter of faith.

scholarly journals Education as a Way of Human Existence in a Postmodern Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-14
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Bekh ◽  
Viktor Vashkevych ◽  
Alla Kravchenko ◽  
Alla Yaroshenko ◽  
Valerii Akopian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Human Soul ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
The World ◽  
Important Means ◽  
Reliable Knowledge ◽  
The Individual

Without exaggeration, learning problems are among the most complex and most controversial not only in pedagogical and philosophical science but also in other scientific areas. We are talking about the philosophy of education as a general paradigm of the organization and content of all that knowledge - scientific and non-scientific - that we pass on to pupils and students through education, about worldview values that are brought up, merged in the process of educational and educational activities, the certainty of the spiritual world of the individual which is formed at school and university and determines her personal position, role and ways of behavior in postmodern society. Education is an important stage in the formation of the human soul, his spiritual world. Consciousness, like other qualities of the human psyche, results from education and acquisition of social experience. An important means of forming a person's consciousness is the educational system, which contributes to the spiritual development of a person. Since it is education that is that social institution, it performs the functions of preparing and including the individual in various spheres of the life of postmodern society and attracting him to culture. Human consciousness is the ideological foundation of aim and reliable knowledge. In this context, consciousness is the possibility and condition of the world, the individual can perceive and develop his spirituality. Education in this case is the most effective way to form a person's spirituality. Since, besides a certain profession, education gives a person the opportunity to spiritually improve himself.

Mind and Machine

Mind Shift ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 396-410
Author(s):  
John Parrington
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Machine Intelligence ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Technologies

This chapter explores how future technologies might impact on human consciousness. It begins by discussing how new techniques are continuing to add to the understanding of the human mind. There are many exciting technologies available now to the neuroscientist, such as genomic analysis, optogenetics, gene editing, and brain organoids. To what extent could such technologies be used to investigate the model of human consciousness outlined in this book? The chapter then considers whether artificial intelligence might come to rival that of human beings, and possible interfaces between human and machine intelligence. Our growing ability to develop functioning robots raises the question of whether an artificial human brain might be used to control such a robot, creating in effect a cyborg. However, the creation of such an entity could make a big difference in terms of an artificial brain’s sense of identity in the world, as well as its rights.

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