POPULISM AND ELITISM IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

African-American political thought finds its premises in European philosophical traditions. But these traditions often challenge African-American humanity which African-American political thought defends. African-American political thought is therefore an extended commentary on the consistency of European philosophical traditions.     

THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

Abstract: This article seeks to explain how thought experiments work, and also the reasons why they can fail. It is divided into four sections. The first argues that thought experiments in philosophy and science should be treated together. The second examines existing accounts of thought experiments and shows why they are inadequate. The third proposes a better account of thought experiments. According to this account, a thought experimenter manipulates her worldview in accord with the “what if” questions posed by a thought experiment. When all necessary manipulations are carried through, the result is either a consistent model or a contradiction. If a consistent model is achieved, the thought experimenter can conclude that the scenario is possible; if a consistent model cannot be constructed, then the scenario is not possible. The fourth section of the article uses this account to shed light on the circumstances in which thought experiments fail.     

RE-SITUATING SCOTIST THOUGHT

In "Duns Scotus: His Historical and Contemporary Significance", Catherine Pickstock presents several levels of a critique against Scotist thought. My response focuses upon the assumptions that ground her critique. In sum, I think that Pickstock's argument errs on two counts. While her contemporary critique may be better lodged upon the interpreters and not the Franciscan himself, her much more elaborated critique of Scotus is not well founded. I conclude my essay with a few comments about the danger of historical categories such as "voluntarism" or "intellectualism" for any authentic retrieval of a medieval thinker.     

INTERNAL SPEECH AND THOUGHT

L'auteur passe en revue les recherches théoriques et expérimentales qui concernent le problème de la parole intérieure et de la pensée. Parmi les nombreux aspects de ce problème, L'auteur examine tout d'abord le rôle des kinesthésies verbales; elles constituent un “code kinesthésique” de la pensée à L'aide duquel les diverses informations sensorielles sont fixées et traitées logiquement. Cette conception s'appuie sur des expériences de blocage temporaire et d'inhibition de la parole intérieure, ainsi que sur des recherches électro-physiologiques relatives à L'articulation latente au cours de L'activité mentale (résolution de problèmes verbaux et perceptifs, lecture silencieuse et compréhension de textes, etc.). Les résultats ici consignés sont relatifs à différentes catégories de sujets: adultes normaux, enfants, sourds, aphasiques. L'analyse de ces résultats expérimentaux permet de conclure à L'existence d'une connexion indissoluble entre pensée et langage: L'émission verbale intérieure se réduit progressivement et elle est remplacée par des “complexes sémantiques” qui fonctionnent sous la forme de “mots clés” en combinaison avec de nombreux autres symboles. Les “complexes sémantiques” décrits dans L'article sont tout à fait distincts et agissent comme des “quantas de pensée”. Ces études permettent de considérer la pensée comme une activité dont le but est de traiter L'information sensorielle à L'aide de la logique et du langage: il est nécessaire de prendre en considération tous les aspects de son fonctionnement, y compris les divers codes de la parole intérieure.     

COMPARATIVE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY: CATEGORIZING POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES USING TWELVE ARCHETYPES

Abstract: Comparative political philosophy can be stimulated by imposing a categorization scheme on possible varieties of political philosophies. This article develops a categorization scheme using four essential features of political philosophies, resulting in twelve archetypal political philosophies. The four essential features selected are a political philosophy's views concerning human nature, the proper function of morality, the best form of society, and the highest responsibility of citizenship. The twelve archetypal political philosophies range from the communal (Rousseau), the democratic (J. S. Mill), the representative (Aristotle), the aristocratic (Plato), and the autocratic (Calvin), along with seven more archetypes: the aloof anarchy, social anarchy, contractarian, progressive, natural law, sage ruler, and tyrannical political forms. A wide variety of Western political philosophers are assigned their places within this categorization scheme to illustrate its utility and comprehensiveness.     

EQUAL POLITICAL LIBERTIES

Formal guarantees of political equality are compatible with inequalities in the value of political liberties, as individuals may convert their socioeconomic advantages into political advantages. Perhaps the predominant strategy for limiting substantive political inequalities recommends limiting inequalities in the means of acquiring political power for private gain – most notably, economic means. I express a worry that measures instituted to restrict economic inequalities may do more to frustrate the cause of political equality than to further it. I argue that attempts to decrease individuals' means to capture political power will systematically increase their motives to capture political power.     

COSMOLOGY AND HINDU THOUGHT

Abstract. This paper outlines some major ideas concerning cosmogony and cosmogony and cosmology that pervade the Hindu conceptual world. The basic source for this discussion is the philosophical literature of some of the principal schools of Hindu thought, such as VaiVaiśika, Sānkhya, and Advaita Vedānta, focusing on the themes of cosmology, time, and soteriology. The core of Hindu philosophical thinking regarding these issues is traced back to the Rk Vedic cosmogonical speculations, analyzed, and contrasted with the "views of the opponent." The relevance of the Hindu worldview for overcoming the conflict between science and religion is pointed out.