Theses on television

Television has failed: failed because we are no longer dealing with information, but with stage‐management; failed because the viewer looks for the picture before looking for analysis, looks for effect before truth.     

Practical Arguments for Theoretical Theses

Pascals wager is expounded as a paradigm case of a practical,decision-theoretical argument for acting as if a proposition is true when wehave no theoretical reasons to accept or reject it (1.1.–1.2.). Thoughthe paradigm is fallacious in various respects there are valid and adequatearguments for acting as if certain propositions are true: that theoreticalentities exist, that there are material perceptual objects, that the worldis uniform across time (1.3). After this analysis of examples the authorsgeneral approach for developing criteria for the validity and adequacy oftypes of argument (2.1.) is applied: Having discussed some problems(2.2.–2.3.), a general epistemic principle for such pascal argumentsis developed, which characterizes their premisses and, if introduced as anadditional premiss, can make them deductively valid (2.4).     

《肇论》的现象学阐释

本文应用现象学的方法紧扣僧肇提出的“即物”和“照”两个范畴 ,将《肇论》诸篇联结为一个有机整体 ,从而确定《肇论》的如下顺序 :一、般若无知论 ,二、物不迁论 ,三、不真空论 ,四、涅无名论。《肇论》成为一个以般若照真谛从而明了物不迁和名不真之理 ,进而达涅之境的佛教认识论体系。从而为重新树立肇论在中国哲学史上的地位与意义提供一些启示。     

汤用彤留学汉姆林大学时期哲学文稿探微

汤用彤在美国汉姆林大学时所写哲学、心理学论文手稿，幸承汤一介先生保藏，使我们得以了解他留学期间所受严格学术训练，领略那个时代前辈学者对西方哲学的系统研究和深刻理解。这些成果成为汤用彤后来著述的来源，反映出学衡派形成的思想轨迹。留关所学新知奠定了汤用彤的治学基础和方向，通过其传介，推进了国人的文化研究，具有思想启蒙和为现代中国学术奠基的历史作用。它的整理与发掘，为我们重新审视西学东渐史上一些重要问题提供了珍贵资源。     

From Metaphysics and Philosophical Theses to Grammar: Wittgenstein's Turn

The paper discusses the question ‘what does Wittgenstein mean by not having theses in philosophy?’ His conception of philosophy without theses, as this is articulated in his later work, is understood as a response to the problem of dogmatism in philosophy and a non‐metaphysical form of philosophy. I argue that although already the Tractatus aims at a philosophy devoid of theses, it involves a relapse back to such theses. Its conception of philosophical clarification involves a particular conception of the essence of propositions. This way the form of the activity of clarification is determined by a philosophical/metaphysical thesis. In his later philosophy Wittgenstein, however, manages to solve this problem. His solution, explained with the help of the metaphor of ‘turning our whole investigation around’, consists of a change in the comprehension of the status of philosophical statements. For instance rules (e.g. definitions) and examples are understood as what he calls ‘objects of comparison’. Such objects of comparison are something that cases of language use (to be investigated with the purpose of clarification) are to be compared with, but the philosopher is not to make the claim that such objects of comparison show what the cases of language use under examination must be. The modality (expressed by ‘must’) is a characteristic of the philosopher's mode of presentation. It should not be claimed to be a feature of his object of investigation (the uses of language to be clarified).     

The Concept of Dreaming: On Three Theses by Malcolm

In his monograph Dreaming (1959), Normal Malcolm puts forward the following three theses:
(1) The temporal location of dreams as taking place in one's sleep is not an empirical fact, but determined by grammar.
(2) This grammatical determination does not allow dreams a precise date in physical time.
(3) Dreams do not consist of mental occurrences.
I argue that (1) is indeed perfectly true, whereas (2) is false; (3) is not borne out by Malcolm's verificationist main argument, although it can be shown to be largely true for other considerations.     

Seven Theses on Dogmatics and Patristics in Catholic Theology☆

These seven theses suggest the centrality of reflection on Patristic theology for the enterprise of dogmatic theology in a Catholic context. Dogmatic theology itself is used here as an alternative to the modern use of “systematic” theology. In order to see why and how Patristic theology should occupy this place, reflection is necessary on the theology of tradition—and the continual authority of Patristic texts for Catholic theologians—and then on the importance of post-Renaissance modes of historiography. These discussions constitute part of a theological reflection on the nature of theology itself. Although the aim of this piece is to discuss the configuration of (Latin) Catholic theology, the questions raised should be of interest to theologians across a broad ecumenical range.