Hobbes is a dualist, presenting both an inertial and non-inertial theory of motion. Hobbes advoca... more Hobbes is a dualist, presenting both an inertial and non-inertial theory of motion. Hobbes advocates a principle of inertial motion in his physics, including his physics of the human body. This view gives rise to a mechanistic theory of the emotions, a theory which would lead to a peculiarly non-Hobbesian political philosophy. In fact, Hobbes abandons the inertial theory of motion as he proceeds into his politics. Instead of being governed strictly by a principle of inertia, motion in the human body occurs in accordance with a will to power: a person has a "perpetual and restless desire of power after power". The will to power leads to a potency theory of the emotions, which Hobbes represents as a race in which every contestant has a "desire to be foremost". The race is the familiar "war of all against all", upon which Hobbes bases his politics. TWO PRINCIPLES OF MORAL PERFORMANCE -As long as nation-states exist, the political theories of Hobbes will be...
I gather and constructively criticize Nietzsche's writings on identity. Nietzsche treats iden... more I gather and constructively criticize Nietzsche's writings on identity. Nietzsche treats identity as a logical fiction. He denies that there are any enduring things (no substances); he denies that there are any indiscernible things in any respect (no universals, no bare particulars). For Nietzsche, the world consists of durationless events bearing non-universal properties and standing to one another in non-universal relations. Events are bundles of tropes. Nietzsche even denies self-identity. His events are selfdiffering trope-bundles. I link Nietzsche's denial of self-identity with modern treatments
I follow standard mathematical practice and theory to argue that the natural numbers are the fini... more I follow standard mathematical practice and theory to argue that the natural numbers are the finite von Neumann ordinals. I present the reasons standardly given for identifying the natural numbers with the finite von Neumann's (e.g., recursiveness; well-ordering principles; continuity at transfinite limits; minimality; and identification of n with the set of all numbers less than n). I give a detailed mathematical demonstration that 0 is { } and for every natural number n, n is the set of all natural numbers less than n. Natural numbers are sets. They are the finite von Neumann ordinals.
Theurgy was a system of magical practices in the late Roman Empire. It was applied Neoplatonism. ... more Theurgy was a system of magical practices in the late Roman Empire. It was applied Neoplatonism. The theurgists aimed to enable human bodies to assume divine attributes, that is, to become deities. I aim to show that much of the structure of theurgical Neoplatonism appears in transhumanism. Theurgists and transhumanists share a core Platonic-Pythagorean metaphysics. They share goals and methods. The theurgists practiced astrology, the reading of entrails, the consultation of oracles, channeling deities, magic, and the animation of statues. The transhumanist counterparts of those practices are genetics, self-tracking with biosensors, artificial intellects like Google and Siri, brain-computer interfaces, programming, and robotics. Transhumanist techno-theurgy shows how Neoplatonism can be a modern philosophical way of life.
I use modal logic and transfinite set-theory to define metaphysical foundations for a general the... more I use modal logic and transfinite set-theory to define metaphysical foundations for a general theory of computation. A possible universe is a certain kind of situation; a situation is a set of facts. An algorithm is a certain kind of inductively defined property. A machine is a series of situations that instantiates an algorithm in a certain way. There are
Pantheism claims: (1) there exists an all-inclusive unity; and (2) that unity is divine. I review... more Pantheism claims: (1) there exists an all-inclusive unity; and (2) that unity is divine. I review three current and scientifically viable ontologies to see how pantheism can be developed in each. They are: (1) materialism; (2) Platonism; and (3) class-theoretic Pythagoreanism. I show how each ontology has an all-inclusive unity. I check the degree to which that unity is: eternal, infinite, complex, necessary, plentiful, self-representative, holy. I show how each ontology solves the problem of evil (its theodicy) and provides for salvation (its soteriology). I conclude that Platonism and Pythagoreanism have the most divine all-inclusive unities. They support sophisticated contemporary pantheisms.
Hobbes is a dualist, presenting both an inertial and non-inertial theory of motion. Hobbes advoca... more Hobbes is a dualist, presenting both an inertial and non-inertial theory of motion. Hobbes advocates a principle of inertial motion in his physics, including his physics of the human body. This view gives rise to a mechanistic theory of the emotions, a theory which would lead to a peculiarly non-Hobbesian political philosophy. In fact, Hobbes abandons the inertial theory of motion as he proceeds into his politics. Instead of being governed strictly by a principle of inertia, motion in the human body occurs in accordance with a will to power: a person has a "perpetual and restless desire of power after power". The will to power leads to a potency theory of the emotions, which Hobbes represents as a race in which every contestant has a "desire to be foremost". The race is the familiar "war of all against all", upon which Hobbes bases his politics. TWO PRINCIPLES OF MORAL PERFORMANCE -As long as nation-states exist, the political theories of Hobbes will be...
I gather and constructively criticize Nietzsche's writings on identity. Nietzsche treats iden... more I gather and constructively criticize Nietzsche's writings on identity. Nietzsche treats identity as a logical fiction. He denies that there are any enduring things (no substances); he denies that there are any indiscernible things in any respect (no universals, no bare particulars). For Nietzsche, the world consists of durationless events bearing non-universal properties and standing to one another in non-universal relations. Events are bundles of tropes. Nietzsche even denies self-identity. His events are selfdiffering trope-bundles. I link Nietzsche's denial of self-identity with modern treatments
I follow standard mathematical practice and theory to argue that the natural numbers are the fini... more I follow standard mathematical practice and theory to argue that the natural numbers are the finite von Neumann ordinals. I present the reasons standardly given for identifying the natural numbers with the finite von Neumann's (e.g., recursiveness; well-ordering principles; continuity at transfinite limits; minimality; and identification of n with the set of all numbers less than n). I give a detailed mathematical demonstration that 0 is { } and for every natural number n, n is the set of all natural numbers less than n. Natural numbers are sets. They are the finite von Neumann ordinals.
Theurgy was a system of magical practices in the late Roman Empire. It was applied Neoplatonism. ... more Theurgy was a system of magical practices in the late Roman Empire. It was applied Neoplatonism. The theurgists aimed to enable human bodies to assume divine attributes, that is, to become deities. I aim to show that much of the structure of theurgical Neoplatonism appears in transhumanism. Theurgists and transhumanists share a core Platonic-Pythagorean metaphysics. They share goals and methods. The theurgists practiced astrology, the reading of entrails, the consultation of oracles, channeling deities, magic, and the animation of statues. The transhumanist counterparts of those practices are genetics, self-tracking with biosensors, artificial intellects like Google and Siri, brain-computer interfaces, programming, and robotics. Transhumanist techno-theurgy shows how Neoplatonism can be a modern philosophical way of life.
I use modal logic and transfinite set-theory to define metaphysical foundations for a general the... more I use modal logic and transfinite set-theory to define metaphysical foundations for a general theory of computation. A possible universe is a certain kind of situation; a situation is a set of facts. An algorithm is a certain kind of inductively defined property. A machine is a series of situations that instantiates an algorithm in a certain way. There are
Pantheism claims: (1) there exists an all-inclusive unity; and (2) that unity is divine. I review... more Pantheism claims: (1) there exists an all-inclusive unity; and (2) that unity is divine. I review three current and scientifically viable ontologies to see how pantheism can be developed in each. They are: (1) materialism; (2) Platonism; and (3) class-theoretic Pythagoreanism. I show how each ontology has an all-inclusive unity. I check the degree to which that unity is: eternal, infinite, complex, necessary, plentiful, self-representative, holy. I show how each ontology solves the problem of evil (its theodicy) and provides for salvation (its soteriology). I conclude that Platonism and Pythagoreanism have the most divine all-inclusive unities. They support sophisticated contemporary pantheisms.
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