Comments on the paradox of analysis

A version of the so‐called paradox of analysis is enunciated which involves two principles of synonymy, referred to respectively as that of substitution and that of triviality. It is argued that for most “familiar” concepts of synonymy the former principle can be maintained whereas the latter one has to be rejected. I deal with some solutions to the paradox that have been proposed or discussed by Carnap, Lewy, Feyerabend and Hare, and adhere to Carnap's view that the puzzle arises from the use of unclarified and imprecise notions of synonymy.     

Salmon on Fregean approaches to the paradox of analysis

I wish to thank Nathan Salmon, Matthew Hanser and Chris Belshaw for comments on an earlier version of this piece.     

Primary qualities, secondary qualities and the truth about intention

In this paper I will argue that Crispin Wright’s defence of the claim that the truth about intention is judgement-dependent is unstable because it can serve also to establish that the truth about shape is judgement-dependent, thereby violating his constraint that in developing the distinction between judgement-independent and judgement-dependent subject matters we have to be driven by the assumption that colour and shape will fall on different sides of the divide.     

Gestalt psychology in the soviet union

Summary The influence of the Berlin school of Gestalt psychology on Soviet psychology in the period before the reactological debate (1931) is analyzed. A review of the channels of communication (congresses personal visits, translations, review papers) shows that Soviet psychologists were well informed about Gestalt psychology, and that the members of L.S. Vygotskij's circle were the main promotors of Gestalt ideas in the Soviet Union. Gestalt psychology was welcomed as a potential ally in the construction of a Marxist psychology first outlined by K.N. Kornilov. The initial enthusiasm for Gestalt psychology was stimulated by the system concept as developed by Wolfgang Köhler, and A.R. Luria made an attempt to demonstrate the compatibility between Köhler's theory and some general methodological implications of dialectical materialism. Later on, the focus of interest shifted to Köhler's investigations of intelligent behavior in apes, which formed part of the empirical base of the historico-cultural theory of mental development. The impact of Gestalt ideas served an important function in the struggle against mechanistic theories of behavior which were at that time predominant in Soviet psychology.Thanks are due to Josef Broek and Sonia Argyle, who have kindly agreed to polish my English. The remaining teutonisms are not their fault. All translations from Russian or German sources were done by the author. Please address offprint requests to Eckart Scheerer, Universität Oldenburg, FB 1 - Psychologie, Birkenweg 3, 2900 Oldenburg, Federal Republic of Germany     

Contractualism and the paradox of deontology

Philosophical Studies - Scanlonian contractualism rejects the consequentialist assumptions about morality, value, and rationality in virtue of which deontological constraints appear paradoxical....