Gianluigi Segalerba
gianluigisegalerba@gmail.com
ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6127-4248
Wer kämpft, kann verlieren. Wer nicht kämpft, hat schon verloren.
Genoa CFC Supporter -> Hero or Masochist? Both of the above.
MA Philosophy - University of Pisa and Diploma Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa 1991.
Grant - University of Tübingen 1990-1991.
PhD Philosophy - University of Pisa 1998.
Postdoc Philosophy - University of Berne 1999-2000.
Researcher University of Berne October 2004 - December 2004.
Postdoc Philosophy - University of Vienna 2005-2006.
Lecturer - University of Vienna 2007-2012.
Wiener Volkshochschulen 2009-2018.
AP-GC Alternative Perspectives & Global Concerns October 2017-September 2021 Member; September 2021-present Co-director.
Member of the International Mariinskaya Academy named after M.D. Shapovalenko, Moscow, Russia; from 22nd July 2022: 6th Vice-President of the International Mariinskaya Academy named after M.D. Shapovalenko, Moscow, Russia.
Member of the aka - Arbeitskreis Kulturanalyse Universität Wien / working group cultural analysis University of Vienna.
Member of AFL - Associazione Filosofica Ligure.
Member and Co-nurturer of the Vishwaneedam Center for Asian Blossoming, Puducherry and Chennai.
Societas Ethica – European Society for Research in Ethics.
Member of the scientific committee of the Journal EON – Sibiu –.
Member of the Editorial Team of the Journal Advance Knowledge for Executives.
Member of the Comité científico internacional of Encuentro, Revista del Departamento de Filología Moderna, Universidad de Alcalá.
Member of the editorial board of ND: Natura Docet: la Natura Insegna.
Evaluator for SAGE Open.
Evaluator for ISJ – International Scholars Journals.
Evaluator for the Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia.
Evaluator for The Polish Journal of Aesthetics.
Evaluator for Academia Letters.
Evaluator for the Revue Roumaine de Philosophie.
Evaluator for Academic Voices.
Evaluator of the Journal of IJETZ – International Journal of Education and Teaching Zone.
Evaluator for Journal El-Baheth in Human and Social Sciences.
Evaluator for Arts.
Evaluator for Encyclopedia.
Evaluator for International Journal on Studies in Education.
Evaluator for Religions.
Evaluator for Qeios.
Evaluator for Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies.
Supervisors: Walter Leszl, Vittorio Sainati, Andreas Graeser, Kathrin Bouvot, Mahmoud Masaeli, Ananta Kumar Giri, Oleg Latyshev-Maysky, Valentina Gennadievna Rumyantseva, Elena Nikolaevna Sobolnikova
ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6127-4248
Wer kämpft, kann verlieren. Wer nicht kämpft, hat schon verloren.
Genoa CFC Supporter -> Hero or Masochist? Both of the above.
MA Philosophy - University of Pisa and Diploma Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa 1991.
Grant - University of Tübingen 1990-1991.
PhD Philosophy - University of Pisa 1998.
Postdoc Philosophy - University of Berne 1999-2000.
Researcher University of Berne October 2004 - December 2004.
Postdoc Philosophy - University of Vienna 2005-2006.
Lecturer - University of Vienna 2007-2012.
Wiener Volkshochschulen 2009-2018.
AP-GC Alternative Perspectives & Global Concerns October 2017-September 2021 Member; September 2021-present Co-director.
Member of the International Mariinskaya Academy named after M.D. Shapovalenko, Moscow, Russia; from 22nd July 2022: 6th Vice-President of the International Mariinskaya Academy named after M.D. Shapovalenko, Moscow, Russia.
Member of the aka - Arbeitskreis Kulturanalyse Universität Wien / working group cultural analysis University of Vienna.
Member of AFL - Associazione Filosofica Ligure.
Member and Co-nurturer of the Vishwaneedam Center for Asian Blossoming, Puducherry and Chennai.
Societas Ethica – European Society for Research in Ethics.
Member of the scientific committee of the Journal EON – Sibiu –.
Member of the Editorial Team of the Journal Advance Knowledge for Executives.
Member of the Comité científico internacional of Encuentro, Revista del Departamento de Filología Moderna, Universidad de Alcalá.
Member of the editorial board of ND: Natura Docet: la Natura Insegna.
Evaluator for SAGE Open.
Evaluator for ISJ – International Scholars Journals.
Evaluator for the Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia.
Evaluator for The Polish Journal of Aesthetics.
Evaluator for Academia Letters.
Evaluator for the Revue Roumaine de Philosophie.
Evaluator for Academic Voices.
Evaluator of the Journal of IJETZ – International Journal of Education and Teaching Zone.
Evaluator for Journal El-Baheth in Human and Social Sciences.
Evaluator for Arts.
Evaluator for Encyclopedia.
Evaluator for International Journal on Studies in Education.
Evaluator for Religions.
Evaluator for Qeios.
Evaluator for Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies.
Supervisors: Walter Leszl, Vittorio Sainati, Andreas Graeser, Kathrin Bouvot, Mahmoud Masaeli, Ananta Kumar Giri, Oleg Latyshev-Maysky, Valentina Gennadievna Rumyantseva, Elena Nikolaevna Sobolnikova
less
InterestsView All (104)
Uploads
The printed text can be read and downloaded at the following address: https://journals.unibuc.ro/index.php/aub-philosophy/article/view/496.
In my contribution, I analyse some aspects of Aristotle’s interpretation of the organisation of ontology. Aristotle, in many of his works, is looking for a new ontology: through his investigation, Aristotle aims to discover the correct components of the ontology and to put them in the right place. Aristotle’s way of proceeding consists in a progressive opening of the curtains of ontology: concepts such as categories, one, being this something, such, this such, quality, universals and so on are clarified, step by step, in the different works of Aristotle. In the present analysis, I concentrate my attention on the two districts of entities and on the four levels of entities present in Aristotle’s ontology. The two-district scheme is the structure of reality composed of individual and universal entities; the four-level scheme consists in the structure of reality composed of individual substantial entities, individual non-substantial entities, universal substantial properties, and universal non-substantial properties. In both schemes, entities should be put in the due ontological places and, conversely, they should not be assigned to false ontological places. Individual entities are instances of properties (or: instantiated properties); universal properties are programmes/dispositions instantiated by individual entities. The field of the instances is always constituted by individuals (by individual entities), while the whole field of existence is constituted both by individuals (by individual entities) and by universal properties (in the case of the universals connected to biological properties, universals are deputies for properties inscribed in the reality).
Keywords: Realms of reality, Aristotle, Categories, Metaphysics, De Ideis, typological ontology, One Over Many, Third Man.
https://cis01.ucv.ro/analele_universitatii/filosofie/2024/Anale53_1.pdf
The intent of our investigation is to expose and interpret aspects of Gandhi’s meditation on the Bhagavad Gita. One of the aims of Gandhi’s meditation on the Gita consists in searching for the foundations of the right moral thought and for the foundations of the right individual education. The revelation of the Gita is for the individual, among other things, a journey towards the discovery of himself and of his position in the reality; it is a journey towards the discovery of the possible developments of his own soul. The foundation of the right individual education has immediate social aspects: the right education proves to represent the very foundation of the right political action. In Gandhi’s view, the political doctrine and the political action ought to have as their own foundation the teachings of the Gita. The revelation of the Gita gives the individual the right moral education and the right moral foundation: it gives the knowledge of truth, of God, of reality, and of the individual nature. Through and thanks to the teachings of the Gita, the individual’s education finds the due foundation. The correct moral education is the basis of a right political and social order; it represents the basis for the dialogue between individuals and for the peaceful coexistence between individuals. The morally right order of the society is the consequence of the morally right order of the individual. Thus, the meditation on the Gita constitutes the foundation of the possibility of a right political strategy. Thanks to the education obtained through the meditation on the Gita, the individual is able to understand the right moral behaviour: this has an immediate effect on the structure and organisation of the whole society. In order that the society can be morally changed, the individual ought to develop his moral constitution in a right way. There may not be any right political programme without a previous individual right moral education. The analysis of the position of individuals within the reality and the investigation on the individual soul constitution enables the individual to reach an appropriate strategy for a right moral education. Since individuals consist of the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas —, individuals are, as such, complex entities. Individuals are, moreover, dynamic entities: the development of the three gunas inside the individual soul, the relationships between the gunas in the soul, and the prevalence of a guna over the other gunas within the souls are not given once and for all; they depend on the education and on the life choices of the individuals. The prevalence of a guna over the other ones is due to the free decision of the individual; depending on how the individual decides to orientate his own life and depending on which parts of the soul the individual decides to cultivate, the soul of the individual will take a corresponding direction and will have a corresponding development. The responsibility for the development of one’s one life belongs to the individual. The corporeal dimension puts precise limits on the individual capacity of self-improvement within the corporeal life. Individuals ought to accept the limits due to their bodily dimension. At the same time, individuals ought to steadily try to improve themselves by promoting the virtues connected to sattva; the being-limited of individuals does not imply an absence of responsibility of the individuals as regards the moral value of their own actions. Individuals have the responsibility for being aware of their own constitution and for fighting against the limitations of their own condition. The fact that individuals are constitutively imperfect entails that individuals ought to educate themselves continuously; the individual ought to reach a moral foundation and ought to steadily pay attention to the stability of his own character.
The main works analysed throughout our inquiry are Gandhi’s Discourses on the “Gita”, contained in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), pp. 94–376, and the work of Mahadev Desai, The Gospel of selfless action or The Gita according to Gandhi.
Keywords: Gandhi, Bhagavad Gita, Atman, Moksha, Gita, Sattva, Tamas, Rajas, Desai, Mahabarata, Satyagraha.
In our inquiry, we aim to investigate the analogies, correspondences, and similarities between Indian Cultural Heritage and Ancient Greek philosophy. Our study deals with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad as regards Indian Cultural Heritage and with Plato’s Phaedrus as regards Ancient Greek philosophy. We will concentrate our attention on the image of the individual soul as a charioteer leading a chariot with two horses exposed in Plato’s Phaedrus. This image has strong analogies with the image of the individual contained in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad I, 3. Within this part of our analysis, we investigate the figure of the charioteer and the two horses of the chariot. We point out the difference between the souls of the human beings, on the one hand, and the souls of the gods, on the other hand. The allegory of the soul as the chariot in Plato’s Phaedrus proves to be a description of the human condition; the dimension of the earthen existence turns out to be the consequence of the imperfection of the human soul. This imperfection is connected to the absence of an adequate level of knowledge. Knowledge is, within Plato’s image of the chariot, a factor which hinders the fall of the human being in the earthen dimension. Knowledge is necessary to avoid the decadence of the human soul. Furthermore, knowledge is necessary for the soul in order that the soul can return to its original dimension. The earthen dimension is not the original dimension of the human soul; it is not a dimension in which the human soul ought to remain. The earthen dimension is a dimension which should be abandoned. The nostalgia for the authentic dimension of reality is one of the characteristics of the soul enslaved in the earthen dimension. The image of the chariot of Phaedrus has analogies with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3–1.3.9. Through the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can observe that understanding is necessary for the human being to reach a dimension of reality which is different from the average life dimension; understanding is necessary for the individual to be free from the chain of rebirths. Constitutively, there can be a contrast between elements composing the human being, i.e. between the intellect and the senses. If the senses are not subdued to a discipline, they hinder the journey of the human being to the authentic dimension of reality. Only the development of understanding can enable the human being to train the senses in an adequate way. In this context, too, the idea is present that the human being should reach a different dimension if the human being wishes to be free from the chain of rebirths; the initial condition of the human being is a condition which should be abandoned. The average dimension in which the human being lives is not the authentic dimension of the human being. The image of the chariot introduces us, therefore, to a frame of correspondences between Plato’s Phaedrus and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad which can be listed as follows: - The average life of the human being is not the authentic dimension of the individual. - The human being is, as such, a composed entity. - Any human being has a plurality of factors in himself. - The human being is enslaved in a chain of rebirths. - The enslavement in the average life dimension is not definitive; an alternative dimension can be reached by the human being. - Only through a process of education can the human being reach the correct disposition of the intellect. - Knowledge and understanding are necessary for the human being to be able to lead his life.
The emergent trend of granting legal personhood to natural entities – environmental personhood – is a promising approach to nature’s conservation. This inquiry explores its philosophical foundations and prerequisites for successful implementation. It argues that, along with a strong legal framework, its efficacy largely depends on the transition from anthropocentric to ecocentric values and on the appearance of a new ecological identity or eco-self. Critical for implementing the rights of nature are the ecocentric shift in culture and the consequent abandoning the “skin-encapsulated ego” in favor of the ecological self. This shift is what environmentalists strive for but couldn’t achieve until now. To fill this gap, attention is given to one among the several traditions which can practically guide the identity transformation, namely Tantra yoga with its embeddedness in the natural world. It explains Tantra yoga’s psycho-somatic methodology as a promising eco-spiritual practice to deal with current ecological challenges and to restore our planet’s health by evoking biophilia.
In our analysis, we would like to expose some ideas on creativity, promotion of creativity and destruction of creativity. Our general intent is to show that creativity is not reserved for geniuses but, on the contrary, belongs to all individuals. Moreover, we aim to describe how creativity can be promoted in individuals in different ages of their life. Finally, we wish to expose that creativity is a disposition which always needs to be cultivated with all possible care: for creativity can be easily damaged or even destroyed because of a false education of the individuals or due to negatively organised work environments.
For our investigation, we shall take elements from different sources: we shall analyse ideas expressed in the works of Teresa Amabile, we shall consider the criticism of traditional pedagogy exposed in the meditation of Paulo Freire, we shall propose some examples of the black – namely the poisonous – pedagogy contained in the work of Katharina Rutschky, we shall present Alice Miller’s criticism of determined models of education, and we shall the inquiry into the concept of innovation exposed in the research of Tina Seelig.
The works of Teresa Amabile will show that creativity is a faculty which belongs to all individuals, not only to the most endowed ones. Amabile shows in her book different examples of the ways in which creativity and motivation are improved both in schools and in companies; she analyses how, on the contrary, creativity and motivation are damaged and destroyed in schools and in companies. With the help of Amabile’s inquiries, we shall show the importance of making progress in the work both in schools and in the work environments: people and their progress ought always to be supported in order that the disposition to creativity can function. People always need positive consideration in schools and in work environments.
Rutschky’s analysis of the poisonous pedagogy will show us how certain methods of education lead to the destruction of any creativity whatsoever and of the whole personality of the individual. Alice Miller’s works will give further examples regarding the destruction of autonomy through traditional methods of education. Thanks to Paulo Freire’s meditation we shall see how creativity depends on the models of society: in particular, concepts like the bank account of education and internalisation can teach us how the individuals in the schools are transformed into a completely passive audience, thus losing any capacity whatsoever of proposing innovation in the work and in the society. The structure of society and the aims of society determine the models of schools operating in society. The works of Tina Seelig will finally give us the possibility of seeing the different components needed for the development of creativity: for instance, imagination, knowledge, resources, and culture will prove to be essential components of creativity.
Bibliography
Amabile, T., Growing Up Creative: Nurturing a Lifetime of Creativity, Crown Amabile, T.M. & Stubbs, M.L., 1989.
Amabile, T., Creativity In Context: Update To The Social Psychology Of Creativity, Westview Press, Boulder, CO 1996.
Amabile, T.M. & Kramer, S.J., The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston 2011.
Freire, P., Pedagogia do Oprimido, Paz e Terra, Rio de Janeiro 1974.
Freire, P., Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Myra Bergman Ramos, Trad.). (Original work published in 1970), The Continuum Publishing Company, New York 1992.
Miller, A., Am Anfang war Erziehung. Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main 1980.
Miller, A., Du sollst nicht merken. Variationen über das Paradies-Thema. 1. Auflage. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1981.
Rutschky K. (ed.), Schwarze Pädagogik. Quellen zur Naturgeschichte der bürgerlichen Erziehung, Ullstein, Berlin 1977; Neuausgabe ebd. 1997.
Seelig, T., inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. HarperCollins, 2012.
For our investigation, we shall take elements from different sources: we shall analyse ideas expressed in the works of Teresa Amabile, we shall consider the criticism of traditional pedagogy exposed in the meditation of Paulo Freire, we shall propose some examples of the black – namely the poisonous – pedagogy contained in the work of Katharina Rutschky, we shall present Alice Miller’s criticism of determined models of education, and we shall the inquiry into the concept of innovation exposed in the research of Tina Seelig.
The works of Teresa Amabile will show that creativity is a faculty which belongs to all individuals, not only to the most endowed ones. Amabile shows in her book different examples of the ways in which creativity and motivation are improved both in schools and in companies; she analyses how, on the contrary, creativity and motivation are damaged and destroyed in schools and in companies. With the help of Amabile’s inquiries, we shall show the importance of making progress in the work both in schools and in the work environments: people and their progress ought always to be supported in order that the disposition to creativity can function. People always need positive consideration in schools and in work environments.
Rutschky’s analysis of the poisonous pedagogy will show us how certain methods of education lead to the destruction of any creativity whatsoever and of the whole personality of the individual. Alice Miller’s works will give further examples regarding the destruction of autonomy through traditional methods of education. Thanks to Paulo Freire’s meditation we shall see how creativity depends on the models of society: in particular, concepts like the bank account of education and internalisation can teach us how the individuals in the schools are transformed into a completely passive audience, thus losing any capacity whatsoever of proposing innovation in the work and in the society. The structure of society and the aims of society determine the models of schools operating in society. The works of Tina Seelig will finally give us the possibility of seeing the different components needed for the development of creativity: for instance, imagination, knowledge, resources, and culture will prove to be essential components of creativity.
The printed text can be read and downloaded at the following address: https://journals.unibuc.ro/index.php/aub-philosophy/article/view/496.
In my contribution, I analyse some aspects of Aristotle’s interpretation of the organisation of ontology. Aristotle, in many of his works, is looking for a new ontology: through his investigation, Aristotle aims to discover the correct components of the ontology and to put them in the right place. Aristotle’s way of proceeding consists in a progressive opening of the curtains of ontology: concepts such as categories, one, being this something, such, this such, quality, universals and so on are clarified, step by step, in the different works of Aristotle. In the present analysis, I concentrate my attention on the two districts of entities and on the four levels of entities present in Aristotle’s ontology. The two-district scheme is the structure of reality composed of individual and universal entities; the four-level scheme consists in the structure of reality composed of individual substantial entities, individual non-substantial entities, universal substantial properties, and universal non-substantial properties. In both schemes, entities should be put in the due ontological places and, conversely, they should not be assigned to false ontological places. Individual entities are instances of properties (or: instantiated properties); universal properties are programmes/dispositions instantiated by individual entities. The field of the instances is always constituted by individuals (by individual entities), while the whole field of existence is constituted both by individuals (by individual entities) and by universal properties (in the case of the universals connected to biological properties, universals are deputies for properties inscribed in the reality).
Keywords: Realms of reality, Aristotle, Categories, Metaphysics, De Ideis, typological ontology, One Over Many, Third Man.
https://cis01.ucv.ro/analele_universitatii/filosofie/2024/Anale53_1.pdf
The intent of our investigation is to expose and interpret aspects of Gandhi’s meditation on the Bhagavad Gita. One of the aims of Gandhi’s meditation on the Gita consists in searching for the foundations of the right moral thought and for the foundations of the right individual education. The revelation of the Gita is for the individual, among other things, a journey towards the discovery of himself and of his position in the reality; it is a journey towards the discovery of the possible developments of his own soul. The foundation of the right individual education has immediate social aspects: the right education proves to represent the very foundation of the right political action. In Gandhi’s view, the political doctrine and the political action ought to have as their own foundation the teachings of the Gita. The revelation of the Gita gives the individual the right moral education and the right moral foundation: it gives the knowledge of truth, of God, of reality, and of the individual nature. Through and thanks to the teachings of the Gita, the individual’s education finds the due foundation. The correct moral education is the basis of a right political and social order; it represents the basis for the dialogue between individuals and for the peaceful coexistence between individuals. The morally right order of the society is the consequence of the morally right order of the individual. Thus, the meditation on the Gita constitutes the foundation of the possibility of a right political strategy. Thanks to the education obtained through the meditation on the Gita, the individual is able to understand the right moral behaviour: this has an immediate effect on the structure and organisation of the whole society. In order that the society can be morally changed, the individual ought to develop his moral constitution in a right way. There may not be any right political programme without a previous individual right moral education. The analysis of the position of individuals within the reality and the investigation on the individual soul constitution enables the individual to reach an appropriate strategy for a right moral education. Since individuals consist of the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas —, individuals are, as such, complex entities. Individuals are, moreover, dynamic entities: the development of the three gunas inside the individual soul, the relationships between the gunas in the soul, and the prevalence of a guna over the other gunas within the souls are not given once and for all; they depend on the education and on the life choices of the individuals. The prevalence of a guna over the other ones is due to the free decision of the individual; depending on how the individual decides to orientate his own life and depending on which parts of the soul the individual decides to cultivate, the soul of the individual will take a corresponding direction and will have a corresponding development. The responsibility for the development of one’s one life belongs to the individual. The corporeal dimension puts precise limits on the individual capacity of self-improvement within the corporeal life. Individuals ought to accept the limits due to their bodily dimension. At the same time, individuals ought to steadily try to improve themselves by promoting the virtues connected to sattva; the being-limited of individuals does not imply an absence of responsibility of the individuals as regards the moral value of their own actions. Individuals have the responsibility for being aware of their own constitution and for fighting against the limitations of their own condition. The fact that individuals are constitutively imperfect entails that individuals ought to educate themselves continuously; the individual ought to reach a moral foundation and ought to steadily pay attention to the stability of his own character.
The main works analysed throughout our inquiry are Gandhi’s Discourses on the “Gita”, contained in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), pp. 94–376, and the work of Mahadev Desai, The Gospel of selfless action or The Gita according to Gandhi.
Keywords: Gandhi, Bhagavad Gita, Atman, Moksha, Gita, Sattva, Tamas, Rajas, Desai, Mahabarata, Satyagraha.
In our inquiry, we aim to investigate the analogies, correspondences, and similarities between Indian Cultural Heritage and Ancient Greek philosophy. Our study deals with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad as regards Indian Cultural Heritage and with Plato’s Phaedrus as regards Ancient Greek philosophy. We will concentrate our attention on the image of the individual soul as a charioteer leading a chariot with two horses exposed in Plato’s Phaedrus. This image has strong analogies with the image of the individual contained in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad I, 3. Within this part of our analysis, we investigate the figure of the charioteer and the two horses of the chariot. We point out the difference between the souls of the human beings, on the one hand, and the souls of the gods, on the other hand. The allegory of the soul as the chariot in Plato’s Phaedrus proves to be a description of the human condition; the dimension of the earthen existence turns out to be the consequence of the imperfection of the human soul. This imperfection is connected to the absence of an adequate level of knowledge. Knowledge is, within Plato’s image of the chariot, a factor which hinders the fall of the human being in the earthen dimension. Knowledge is necessary to avoid the decadence of the human soul. Furthermore, knowledge is necessary for the soul in order that the soul can return to its original dimension. The earthen dimension is not the original dimension of the human soul; it is not a dimension in which the human soul ought to remain. The earthen dimension is a dimension which should be abandoned. The nostalgia for the authentic dimension of reality is one of the characteristics of the soul enslaved in the earthen dimension. The image of the chariot of Phaedrus has analogies with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3–1.3.9. Through the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can observe that understanding is necessary for the human being to reach a dimension of reality which is different from the average life dimension; understanding is necessary for the individual to be free from the chain of rebirths. Constitutively, there can be a contrast between elements composing the human being, i.e. between the intellect and the senses. If the senses are not subdued to a discipline, they hinder the journey of the human being to the authentic dimension of reality. Only the development of understanding can enable the human being to train the senses in an adequate way. In this context, too, the idea is present that the human being should reach a different dimension if the human being wishes to be free from the chain of rebirths; the initial condition of the human being is a condition which should be abandoned. The average dimension in which the human being lives is not the authentic dimension of the human being. The image of the chariot introduces us, therefore, to a frame of correspondences between Plato’s Phaedrus and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad which can be listed as follows: - The average life of the human being is not the authentic dimension of the individual. - The human being is, as such, a composed entity. - Any human being has a plurality of factors in himself. - The human being is enslaved in a chain of rebirths. - The enslavement in the average life dimension is not definitive; an alternative dimension can be reached by the human being. - Only through a process of education can the human being reach the correct disposition of the intellect. - Knowledge and understanding are necessary for the human being to be able to lead his life.
The emergent trend of granting legal personhood to natural entities – environmental personhood – is a promising approach to nature’s conservation. This inquiry explores its philosophical foundations and prerequisites for successful implementation. It argues that, along with a strong legal framework, its efficacy largely depends on the transition from anthropocentric to ecocentric values and on the appearance of a new ecological identity or eco-self. Critical for implementing the rights of nature are the ecocentric shift in culture and the consequent abandoning the “skin-encapsulated ego” in favor of the ecological self. This shift is what environmentalists strive for but couldn’t achieve until now. To fill this gap, attention is given to one among the several traditions which can practically guide the identity transformation, namely Tantra yoga with its embeddedness in the natural world. It explains Tantra yoga’s psycho-somatic methodology as a promising eco-spiritual practice to deal with current ecological challenges and to restore our planet’s health by evoking biophilia.
In our analysis, we would like to expose some ideas on creativity, promotion of creativity and destruction of creativity. Our general intent is to show that creativity is not reserved for geniuses but, on the contrary, belongs to all individuals. Moreover, we aim to describe how creativity can be promoted in individuals in different ages of their life. Finally, we wish to expose that creativity is a disposition which always needs to be cultivated with all possible care: for creativity can be easily damaged or even destroyed because of a false education of the individuals or due to negatively organised work environments.
For our investigation, we shall take elements from different sources: we shall analyse ideas expressed in the works of Teresa Amabile, we shall consider the criticism of traditional pedagogy exposed in the meditation of Paulo Freire, we shall propose some examples of the black – namely the poisonous – pedagogy contained in the work of Katharina Rutschky, we shall present Alice Miller’s criticism of determined models of education, and we shall the inquiry into the concept of innovation exposed in the research of Tina Seelig.
The works of Teresa Amabile will show that creativity is a faculty which belongs to all individuals, not only to the most endowed ones. Amabile shows in her book different examples of the ways in which creativity and motivation are improved both in schools and in companies; she analyses how, on the contrary, creativity and motivation are damaged and destroyed in schools and in companies. With the help of Amabile’s inquiries, we shall show the importance of making progress in the work both in schools and in the work environments: people and their progress ought always to be supported in order that the disposition to creativity can function. People always need positive consideration in schools and in work environments.
Rutschky’s analysis of the poisonous pedagogy will show us how certain methods of education lead to the destruction of any creativity whatsoever and of the whole personality of the individual. Alice Miller’s works will give further examples regarding the destruction of autonomy through traditional methods of education. Thanks to Paulo Freire’s meditation we shall see how creativity depends on the models of society: in particular, concepts like the bank account of education and internalisation can teach us how the individuals in the schools are transformed into a completely passive audience, thus losing any capacity whatsoever of proposing innovation in the work and in the society. The structure of society and the aims of society determine the models of schools operating in society. The works of Tina Seelig will finally give us the possibility of seeing the different components needed for the development of creativity: for instance, imagination, knowledge, resources, and culture will prove to be essential components of creativity.
Bibliography
Amabile, T., Growing Up Creative: Nurturing a Lifetime of Creativity, Crown Amabile, T.M. & Stubbs, M.L., 1989.
Amabile, T., Creativity In Context: Update To The Social Psychology Of Creativity, Westview Press, Boulder, CO 1996.
Amabile, T.M. & Kramer, S.J., The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston 2011.
Freire, P., Pedagogia do Oprimido, Paz e Terra, Rio de Janeiro 1974.
Freire, P., Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Myra Bergman Ramos, Trad.). (Original work published in 1970), The Continuum Publishing Company, New York 1992.
Miller, A., Am Anfang war Erziehung. Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main 1980.
Miller, A., Du sollst nicht merken. Variationen über das Paradies-Thema. 1. Auflage. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1981.
Rutschky K. (ed.), Schwarze Pädagogik. Quellen zur Naturgeschichte der bürgerlichen Erziehung, Ullstein, Berlin 1977; Neuausgabe ebd. 1997.
Seelig, T., inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. HarperCollins, 2012.
For our investigation, we shall take elements from different sources: we shall analyse ideas expressed in the works of Teresa Amabile, we shall consider the criticism of traditional pedagogy exposed in the meditation of Paulo Freire, we shall propose some examples of the black – namely the poisonous – pedagogy contained in the work of Katharina Rutschky, we shall present Alice Miller’s criticism of determined models of education, and we shall the inquiry into the concept of innovation exposed in the research of Tina Seelig.
The works of Teresa Amabile will show that creativity is a faculty which belongs to all individuals, not only to the most endowed ones. Amabile shows in her book different examples of the ways in which creativity and motivation are improved both in schools and in companies; she analyses how, on the contrary, creativity and motivation are damaged and destroyed in schools and in companies. With the help of Amabile’s inquiries, we shall show the importance of making progress in the work both in schools and in the work environments: people and their progress ought always to be supported in order that the disposition to creativity can function. People always need positive consideration in schools and in work environments.
Rutschky’s analysis of the poisonous pedagogy will show us how certain methods of education lead to the destruction of any creativity whatsoever and of the whole personality of the individual. Alice Miller’s works will give further examples regarding the destruction of autonomy through traditional methods of education. Thanks to Paulo Freire’s meditation we shall see how creativity depends on the models of society: in particular, concepts like the bank account of education and internalisation can teach us how the individuals in the schools are transformed into a completely passive audience, thus losing any capacity whatsoever of proposing innovation in the work and in the society. The structure of society and the aims of society determine the models of schools operating in society. The works of Tina Seelig will finally give us the possibility of seeing the different components needed for the development of creativity: for instance, imagination, knowledge, resources, and culture will prove to be essential components of creativity.
This is the PDF-PowerPoint of the lecture which I held on 27 July 2024 at the webinar "Integral Development, Social Healing and a New Upanishad of Life: New Horizons of Social Theorizing, Social Transformations and Planetary Realizations and Dialogues with Ananta Kumar Giri”.
In my study, I examine aspects of Plato’s description of the healthy and unhealthy conditions of the soul. My inquiry is mainly directed to Plato’s illustration of the progressive degeneration of the soul up to the explosion of mental illness and criminal actions. Throughout my investigation, I point out that the origin and the cause of the unhealthy and healthy conditions of the soul lie in the components of the soul. Due to its components, the soul can both reach a morally healthy condition, on the one hand, and degenerate, on the other hand. The components of the soul are given, but the development of the parts of the soul is not given: the part of the soul which prevails organises the whole soul. Individual actions are a consequence of the disposition of the individual’s soul. The possibility of being evil and of falling into a state of criminal madness is directly rooted in one of the components of the soul. The structure of the society depends on the tendency of development of the souls of the individuals living in the society and, vice versa, the development of the individual soul depends on the organisation of the society: the development of the society and the development of the individual soul steadily influence each other. The text of Plato on which I concentrate my attention is the Republic.
Keywords: Illness, health, soul, Republic, society, individual, constitution, degeneration
The intent of my investigation is to expose and interpret aspects of Gandhi’s meditation on Gita. One aim of Gandhi’s meditation on Gita consists in the search for the foundations of the right moral thought and of the right individual education. The Revelation of Gita is for the individual, among other things, a journey towards the discovery of himself and of his position in the reality; it is a journey towards the discovery of the possible developments of his own soul. The foundation of the right individual education has immediately social aspects: the right education proves to represent the very foundation of the right political action. In Gandhi’s view, the political doctrine and the political action ought to have, as their own fundament, the teachings of Gita. The Revelation of Gita gives to the individual the right moral education and the right moral foundation: it gives the knowledge of Truth, of God, of reality and of the individual essence. Through and thanks to the teachings of Gita, the individual education finds the due foundation: the individual education is then the basis of a right political and social order; it represents the basis for the dialogue between individuals and for the pacific coexistence between individuals. The morally right order of the society is the consequence of the morally right order of the individual. Thus, the meditation on Gita constitutes as such the foundation of the possibility of a right political strategy. Thanks to the education obtained through the meditation on Gita, the individual becomes able to understand the right moral behaviour and the way to reach the right moral behaviour: this has an immediate effect on the structure and organisation of the whole society. In order that the society can be morally changed, the individual ought to develop his moral constitution in a right way. There may not be any right political programme without a previous individual right moral education. The reform of the society presupposes the right moral individual education. The analysis of the position of individuals within the reality and the investigation on the individual soul constitution enables to reach an appropriate strategy for a right moral education. Since individuals consist of the three gunas sattva, rajas, and tamas, individuals are, as such, complex entities. Individuals are, moreover, dynamic entities: the development of the three gunas inside the individual soul, the relationships between the gunas in the soul and the prevalence of one guna over the other gunas within the souls are not given once and for all: they depend on the education and on the life choices of the individuals. The individual development is a question of the responsibility of the individual. The prevalence of a guna over the other ones is due to the free decision of the individual: depending on how the individual decides to orientate his own life, and depending on which dispositions of the soul the individual decides to cultivate, the soul of the individual will take a corresponding direction and will have a corresponding development. The responsibility of the development of one’s own life belongs to the individual. The development of the individual is open, at least within specific limits related to the individual nature. The corporeal dimension puts precise limits to the individual capacity of self-improvement within the corporeal life. Ahimsa cannot be fully followed within the corporeal condition; Moksha cannot be completely reached due to the influence of the senses. Individuals ought to accept the limits due to their bodily dimension; at the same time, individuals ought to steadily try to improve themselves by promoting the virtues connected to sattva: the being-limited of individuals does not imply an absence of responsibility of the individuals as regards their own actions. Individuals have the responsibility of being aware of their own constitution and of fighting against the limitations of their own condition. Individual being constitutively imperfect entails that individuals ought to educate themselves continuously: the individual ought to reach a moral foundation; he ought to steadily pay attention to the stability of his own character.
The main works analysed throughout my analysis will be Gandhi’s Discourses on the “Gita”, contained in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), pp. 94-376, and the work of Mahadev Desai, The Gospel of selfless action or The Gita according to Gandhi.
In my inquiry, I shall analyse the Stoic notion of impulse and of passion: the main interest of the study will be dedicated to the Stoic description of the progressive disappearance of reason due to the corresponding progressive domination of negative passions. My investigation will deal with the process of the emergence of the impulses, with the role of the assent to the impulses and with the formation of the passions. The connection of the false assent to the formation of the passions, the influence of the opinion on the false assent, and the consequent dominance of the passions within the soul will be analysed. The centre of the exposition will be represented by the loss of any power formerly possessed by reason: the dominance of the passions in the individual’s soul brings about the complete collapse of reason. I shall then inquire into the difference between negative passions and positive passions. The cognitivist positions of the Stoics and the instruments of liberation from the passions will belong to my study.
Graf, Gunter & Schweiger, Gottfried: Ethics and the Endangerment of Children’s Bodies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2017. vi + 283 Seiten. [ISBN 978-3-319-40212-3].
The text will be published in a short time.
Elements contained in the PowerPoint can be found in the already uploaded publication "The Drama of the Human Condition. Notes on the Causes and Origins of Evil in Plato's Republic".
Abstract
In my analysis, I would like to expose some suggestions on Plato’s interpretation of the origins and the causes of Evil in the human dimension. I shall mainly base my analysis on some passages of Plato’s Republic. The thesis of my analysis is that the root of the existence of Evil in the human dimension lies in the structure of the human soul as such. The human condition consists in being imperfect, suspended, exposed: Human beings are exposed to the risk of moral degeneration because of the very nature of their own soul, since the soul’s being composed of different parts and the mutual relations holding between the three parts cause the emergence of justice or of injustice. The origin of Evil is within us; we are the cause of any moral degradation in the human dimension, no matter whether we speak of individuals, of societies or of human history in general. Hence, we do not need to seek far away from ourselves in order to find the cause of any bad deed whatsoever. Plato is searching, in the Republic, a way out from all the negative dispositions connected to the human soul.
We can see, through Plato’s observations on the structure of the soul, that the soul is composed of three potencies (the rational part, the spirited part, the appetitive part). Every individual is, as such, a plurality of at least partially independent entities. We are borne divided in ourselves: a reunification of the parts of our soul is morally indispensable. The soul’s being composed of different parts shows us into the moral question of justice and injustice. The main problem concerning our soul is that we ought to seek a morally correct equilibrium between the parts of our soul: this equilibrium is not given; it will not arise by itself; it must be reached, and it can be reached only through an appropriate education.
The relations between these three parts can be characterized by harmony, if the rational part exercises the leading authority: this state is the condition of justice. The parts can find themselves, though, in conflict with each other, without, consequently, the rational part being able to exercise the duty of leadership: Whenever a condition of conflict between parts comes about, the soul is thrown in the condition of injustice.
Both good and evil in the individual come about from the correct or incorrect condition of the soul. Philosophical education exercises the decisive role in the development of justice, since only this kind of education can produce the development of the rational part; without the correct development of the rational part, individuals will be always exposed to the risk of moral degeneration. The strengthening of the rational part is, therefore, necessary. The book IV of the Republic needs the extension represented by the Book V, in oder that the instability of the dimension of opinion and the stability of the dimension of Being and of Truth is analysed. Furthermore, Book IV is connected to book VII: the programme of education is thought out in order to strengthen the rational part of the individuals. Moreover, Books VIII and IX show the consequences that would happen in case of the lack of an appropriate education.
In my analysis, the causes of the presence of Evil will be shown through some passages of the Republic: I shall first describe Plato’s definition of justice and of injustice; then, I shall examine a passage in which Plato describes the presence of criminal instincts within us; afterwards, I shall take into consideration images of the soul confirming the presence of morally difficult elements within our own nature. The way out from the problems represented by the structure of our soul consists, in my opinion, in the progressive assimilation to the realm of Being.
The whole description of the degeneration both of individuals and of constitutions in Republic Books VIII and IX shows that something within us morally does not function: this produces every kind of troubles in individuals, in nations and, in general, in human history. Actually, men are always exposed to the risk of moral degeneration: the weaker the philosophical education is, the greater is the risk of the moral degeneration. The common point in the different forms of degeneration is the absence of the factor of education, that is, without education there is a degeneration of individuals and of society. It is true that the degeneration can happen in any case; without education, though, the degeneration cannot be limited.
The title of my lecture will be: "Development as Freedom, Development as Responsibility: Amartya Sen and Ananta Kumar Giri"
https://progettomontecristo.editorialedelfino.it/analogies-between-plato-and-ka%e1%b9%adha-upani%e1%b9%a3ad-knowledge-duties-human-condition-part-one-of-three/
https://progettomontecristo.editorialedelfino.it/analogies-between-plato-and-ka%e1%b9%adha-upani%e1%b9%a3ad-knowledge-duties-human-condition-part-two-of-three/
https://progettomontecristo.editorialedelfino.it/analogies-between-plato-and-ka%e1%b9%adha-upani%e1%b9%a3ad-knowledge-duties-human-condition-part-three-of-three/
In our inquiry, we investigate the analogies, correspondences, and similarities between Indian Cultural Heritage and Ancient Greek philosophy. Our study deals with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad as regards Indian philosophy and with Plato’s Phaedrus as regards Ancient Greek philosophy. We concentrate our attention on the image of the individual soul as a charioteer leading a chariot with two horses exposed in Plato’s Phaedrus. This image has strong analogies with the image of the individual contained in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad I, 3. Within this part of our analysis, we investigate the figure of the charioteer and the two horses of the chariot. We point out the difference between the souls of human beings, on the one hand, and the souls of the gods, on the other hand. The allegory of Plato’s Phaedrus proves to be a description of the human condition. The human being is constitutively an imperfect entity: he is exposed to the risk of intellectual and moral decadence. Knowledge of the authentic dimension of the reality is needed in order that the human being could avoid the intellectual and moral decadence. Furthermore, knowledge is necessary for the soul in order that the soul can return to its original dimension. The earthen dimension is not the original dimension of the human soul; it is not a dimension in which the human soul ought to remain. The earthen dimension is a dimension which should be abandoned. The nostalgia for the authentic dimension of reality is one of the characteristics of the soul enslaved in the earthen dimension. The image of the chariot of Phaedrus has analogies with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3–1.3.9. Through the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can observe that understanding is necessary for the human being to reach a dimension of reality which is different from the customary life dimension; understanding is necessary for the individual to be free from the chain of rebirths. Constitutively, there can be a contrast between elements composing the human being, i.e. between the intellect and the senses. If the senses are not subdued to a discipline, they hinder the journey of the human being to the authentic dimension of reality. Only the development of understanding can enable the human being to train the senses in an adequate way. In this context, too, the idea is present that the human being should reach a different dimension if the human being wishes to be free from the chain of rebirths; the initial condition of the human being is a condition which should be abandoned. The customary dimension in which the human being lives is not the authentic dimension of the human being. The image of the chariot introduces us, therefore, to a frame of correspondences between Plato’s Phaedrus and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad which can be listed as follows: - The customary life of the human being is not the authentic dimension of the individual. - The human being is, as such, a composed entity. - Any human being has a plurality of factors in himself. - The human being is enslaved in a chain of rebirths. - The enslavement in the customary life dimension is not definitive; an alternative dimension can be reached by the human being. - Only through a process of education can the human being reach the correct disposition of the intellect. - Knowledge and understanding are necessary for the human being to be able to lead his life.
In my study, I examine aspects of Plato’s description of the healthy and unhealthy conditions of the soul. My inquiry is mainly directed to Plato’s illustration of the progressive degeneration of the soul up to the explosion of mental illness and criminal actions. Throughout my investigation, I point out that the origin and the cause of the unhealthy and healthy conditions of the soul lie in the components of the soul. Due to its components, the soul can both reach a morally healthy condition, on the one hand, and degenerate, on the other hand. The components of the soul are given, but the development of the parts of the soul is not given: the part of the soul which prevails organises the whole soul. Individual actions are a consequence of the disposition of the individual’s soul. The possibility of being evil and of falling into a state of criminal madness is directly rooted in one of the components of the soul. The structure of the society depends on the tendency of development of the souls of the individuals living in the society and, vice versa, the development of the individual soul depends on the organisation of the society: the development of the society and the development of the individual soul steadily influence each other. The text of Plato on which I concentrate my attention is the Republic.
Keywords: Illness, health, soul, Republic, society, individual, constitution, degeneration.
https://progettomontecristo.editorialedelfino.it/analogies-between-plato-and-ka%e1%b9%adha-upani%e1%b9%a3ad-knowledge-duties-human-condition-part-one-of-three/
https://progettomontecristo.editorialedelfino.it/analogies-between-plato-and-ka%e1%b9%adha-upani%e1%b9%a3ad-knowledge-duties-human-condition-part-two-of-three/
https://progettomontecristo.editorialedelfino.it/analogies-between-plato-and-ka%e1%b9%adha-upani%e1%b9%a3ad-knowledge-duties-human-condition-part-three-of-three/
In our inquiry, we investigate the analogies, correspondences, and similarities between Indian Cultural Heritage and Ancient Greek philosophy. Our study deals with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad as regards Indian philosophy and with Plato’s Phaedrus as regards Ancient Greek philosophy. We concentrate our attention on the image of the individual soul as a charioteer leading a chariot with two horses exposed in Plato’s Phaedrus. This image has strong analogies with the image of the individual contained in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad I, 3. Within this part of our analysis, we investigate the figure of the charioteer and the two horses of the chariot. We point out the difference between the souls of human beings, on the one hand, and the souls of the gods, on the other hand. The allegory of Plato’s Phaedrus proves to be a description of the human condition. The human being is constitutively an imperfect entity: he is exposed to the risk of intellectual and moral decadence. Knowledge of the authentic dimension of the reality is needed in order that the human being could avoid the intellectual and moral decadence. Furthermore, knowledge is necessary for the soul in order that the soul can return to its original dimension. The earthen dimension is not the original dimension of the human soul; it is not a dimension in which the human soul ought to remain. The earthen dimension is a dimension which should be abandoned. The nostalgia for the authentic dimension of reality is one of the characteristics of the soul enslaved in the earthen dimension. The image of the chariot of Phaedrus has analogies with the Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.3–1.3.9. Through the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can observe that understanding is necessary for the human being to reach a dimension of reality which is different from the customary life dimension; understanding is necessary for the individual to be free from the chain of rebirths. Constitutively, there can be a contrast between elements composing the human being, i.e. between the intellect and the senses. If the senses are not subdued to a discipline, they hinder the journey of the human being to the authentic dimension of reality. Only the development of understanding can enable the human being to train the senses in an adequate way. In this context, too, the idea is present that the human being should reach a different dimension if the human being wishes to be free from the chain of rebirths; the initial condition of the human being is a condition which should be abandoned. The customary dimension in which the human being lives is not the authentic dimension of the human being. The image of the chariot introduces us, therefore, to a frame of correspondences between Plato’s Phaedrus and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad which can be listed as follows: - The customary life of the human being is not the authentic dimension of the individual. - The human being is, as such, a composed entity. - Any human being has a plurality of factors in himself. - The human being is enslaved in a chain of rebirths. - The enslavement in the customary life dimension is not definitive; an alternative dimension can be reached by the human being. - Only through a process of education can the human being reach the correct disposition of the intellect. - Knowledge and understanding are necessary for the human being to be able to lead his life.
In my inquiry, I should like to develop some aspects of E.J. Lowe’s ontological project. The foundations of Lowe’s four-category ontology will be described, and the realistic feature of Lowe’s categories will be underlined. My analysis will present the components of this ontology, represented by substantial particulars, non-substantial particulars, substantial universals, and not-substantial universals. Moreover, I shall discuss Lowe’s use of the distinction between substance and property, on the one hand, and between particular and universal, on the other hand, which lies at the basis of the construction of the ontological square. Thereafter, the notions of objects, kinds, modes, and properties together with the relations, which hold between entities, of instantiation, characterization and exemplification will be analysed. The ontological structure consisting in occurrence and in disposition will be investigated. Particular attention will be dedicated to Lowe’s interpretation of the indispensability of universals both for a correct ontology and for a correct explanation of the scientific phenomena. Furthermore, Lowe’s strategy for the defence of universals and of their existence against all theories which aim to eliminate any presence whatsoever of universals from the ontological field will receive due attention. The application of the ontological square to the theory of scientific explanation will be, afterwards, dealt with. Comparisons between Lowe’s four-category ontology and alternative ontologies such as Armstrong’s concept of ontology based on individuals and on universals, or Campbell’s tropes ontology will likewise make part of my exposition. In particular, Lowe’s interpretation of the laws of nature as such, founded on the concept of the dispositions possessed by the entities will be compared with Armstrong’s interpretation of the laws of nature, which is founded on the relationships of necessitation between universals. Furthermore, I should like to dedicate my attention to Lowe’s meditation on the criteria for being substance. In connection with this subject, I shall analyse Lowe’s interpretation of the indispensability of metaphysics for every interpretation of the entities and of the phenomena regarding entities. I shall first examine Lowe’s criteria of ontological dependency in their connection to the concept of substance. Then, I shall investigate Lowe’s interpretation of substance and of the entities which can be correctly regarded as being substances. Finally, I shall analyse Lowe’s differentiation between substantial change and phase change together with the connection between substantial change and ontological categories. This last subject will be bound to the question of the unavoidability of the metaphysics for a correct interpretation of the different possible sorts of changes, since, for instance, in order that substantial change and phase change can be correctly differentiated from each other, the understanding of the organization of the reality in kinds proves to be indispensable. The main work of Lowe that I will refer to for my exposition will be “The Four-Category Ontology”; nonetheless, I shall, of course, consider concepts exposed by Lowe in his works “Kinds of Being”, “A Survey of Metaphysics”, “More Kinds of Being” and “The Possibility of Metaphysics”. As works of authors maintaining an alternative or, at least, a different ontological theory and an alternative, or, at least, a different theory of scientific explanation in comparison with Lowe’s interpretation, I shall refer, for instance, to Armstrong’s “A Theory of Universals” (volume 1 and 2), to Armstrong’s “What is a Law of Nature”, to Armstrong’s “A World of States of Affairs”, to Campbell’s “Abstract Particulars”, to Ellis’ “Scientific Essentialism” and to Ellis’ “The Metaphysics of Scientific Realism”. These comparisons will aim to show the points of advantage which, in my opinion, Lowe’s ontology possesses both over alternative models of ontology and alternative models for scientific explanations. Furthermore, in order to show the problem of the determination of criteria for being substance in contemporary ontology, I shall compare Lowe’s criteria for an entity’s being substance with the criteria for an entity’s being substance exposed in the works of Hoffman and Rosenkrantz “Substance among other categories” and “Substance: Its Nature and Existence”; my main attention will, however, always be concentrated on Lowe’s analyses.
Bibliography
D.M. Armstrong, Universals & Scientific Realism, Volume I: Nominalism and Realism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1978; Volume II: A Theory of Universals, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1978.
D.M. Armstrong, Universals: An Opinionated Introduction, Westview Press, 1989.
D.M. Armstrong, What is a Law of Nature?, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1983.
D.M. Armstrong, A world of states of affairs, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1997.
P. Butchvarov, Resemblance and Identity. An Examination of the Problem of Universals, Indiana University Press, Bloomington & London, 1966.
K. Campbell, Abstract Particulars, Blackwell, Oxford / Cambridge, MA, 1990.
R.M. Chisholm, A Realistic Theory of Categories: An Essay on Ontology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1996.
B. Ellis, Scientific Essentialism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2001.
B. Ellis, The Metaphysics of scientific realism, Acumen Publishing, Durham, 2009.
J. Hoffman and G.S. Rosenkrantz, Substance among other categories, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1994.
J. Hoffman and G.S. Rosenkrantz, Substance: Its Nature and Existence, Routledge, London, 1997.
E.J. Lowe, Kinds of Being: A study of individuation, identity and the logic of sortal terms, Blackwell, London, 1989.
E.J. Lowe, The Possibility of Metaphysics: Substance, Identity, and Time, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1998.
E.J. Lowe, A Survey of Metaphysics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002. E.J. Lowe, The Four-Category Ontology: A Metaphysical Foundation for Natural Science, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2006.
E.J. Lowe, More Kinds of Being: A Further Study of Individuation, Identity, and the Logic of Sortal Terms, John Wiley & Sons, Malden, MA, 2009.
D. Wiggins, Sameness and Substance, Blackwell, Oxford 1980.
D. Wiggins, Sameness and Substance Renewed, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2001.
N. Wolterstorff, On Universals: An Essay in Ontology, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1970.