This volume addresses issues in epistemology, ethics and political philosophy. It contains new papers on issues such as semantic theory of truth, sandwich theory of knowledge, American pragmatism and scepticism, arguments from ignorance, infallibilism and fallibilism, justification and confirmation, Tarski’s T-schema, experimental results and ordinary truth, epistemic comparativism and experiments, epiphenomenlism and eliminativism about the mental, the identity theory of truth, thoughts and facts, metaontological maximalism and minimalism, morality and rights, aggregation of value judgements and aggregation of preferences, conditional and unconditional ethics, the role of the theory of evolution in moral epistemology, global and international political community, Rawls' views on cosmopolitanism and global justice, international distributive justice. Contributors are: Tomasz Bigaj, Krzysztof Brzechczyn, Tadeusz Buksiński, Robin Cameron, Jan B. Deręgowski, Nigel Dower, Adam Grobler, Jesper Kallestrup, Adrian Kuźniar, Justyna Miklaszewska, Joanna Miksa, Joanna Odrowąż-Sypniewska, Katarzyna Paprzycka, Krzysztof Posłajko, Wlodek Rabinowicz, John Skorupski, Leslie Stevenson, Piotr Szałek, Tadeusz Szubka, Joseph Ulatowski, Jan Woleński, Rafał Wonicki, Anna Wójtowicz, Renata Ziemińska

This book offers a comparative analysis of the theories of justice developed by Rawls, Sen and Nussbaum, and aims to demonstrate their mutual relationship. All three liberal theories significantly enrich the set of fundamental principles of morality that concerns the sphere of political action. The novelty of Sen’s and Nussbaum’s capability approach in comparison with Rawls is that they discuss the problem of social justice on a global scale. They do not try to extend and adjust the two principles of justice to the whole of mankind, nor do they treat the difference principle as to be applied everywhere. Instead, they present their own cosmopolitan approach to applying their theories of justice to take into account issues which are neglected or insufficiently developed by Rawls, such as global inequalities, discrimination against women, the rights of people with disabilities, and animal rights. These theories can be described as an alternative to the crucial objection towards Rawls’ work that this theory of justice does not address these important global problems.

The relatively new movement of Experimental Philosophy applies different systematic experimental methods to further illuminate classical philosophical issues. This book brings together experts from the field to give the reader a compact yet extensive overview, offering a ready at hand introduction to the state of the art.

Krzysztof Poslajko offers a novel version of an anti-realist view about beliefs, rejecting the extreme proposal of eliminativism that beliefs do not exist. He shows us we should rather say that beliefs exist, but they are not real. Poslajko demonstrates how we might make sense of this idea by providing a unified account of the debates in philosophical psychology. The antirealist view interprets beliefs as being causally irrelevant, that they do not constitute a natural kind, and that their content cannot be naturalized. Exploring the status of folk psychology, Poslajko raises key questions in the analytic metaphysics of mind: Are beliefs real? Do people really possess mental states which are causally efficacious bearers of propositional content? By arguing for the antirealist view and revising our common-sense view about the nature of mind, he makes a compelling case for adopting a pragmatic metaphilosophy when we deal with questions about belief.

The book provides a historical (with an outline of the history of the concept of truth from antiquity to our time) and systematic exposition of the semantic theory of truth formulated by Alfred Tarski in the 1930s. This theory became famous very soon and inspired logicians and philosophers. It has two different, but interconnected aspects: formal-logical and philosophical. The book deals with both, but it is intended mostly as a philosophical monograph. It explains Tarski’s motivation and presents discussions about his ideas (pro and contra) as well as points out various applications of the semantic theory of truth to philosophical problems (truth-criteria, realism and anti-realism, future contingents or the concept of correspondence between language and reality).

Building on the seminal work of Kit Fine in the 1980s, Leon Horsten here develops a new theory of arbitrary entities. He connects this theory to issues and debates in metaphysics, logic, and contemporary philosophy of mathematics, investigating the relation between specific and arbitrary objects and between specific and arbitrary systems of objects. His book shows how this innovative theory is highly applicable to problems in the philosophy of arithmetic, and explores in particular how arbitrary objects can engage with the nineteenth-century concept of variable mathematical quantities, how they are relevant for debates around mathematical structuralism, and how they can help our understanding of the concept of random variables in statistics. This fully worked through theory will open up new avenues within philosophy of mathematics, bringing in the work of other philosophers such as Saul Kripke, and providing new insights into the development of the foundations of mathematics from the eighteenth century to the present day.

This is a collection of new investigations and discoveries on the history of a great tradition, the Lvov-Warsaw School of logic and mathematics, by the best specialists from all over the world. The papers range from historical considerations to new philosophical, logical and mathematical developments of this impressive School, including applications to Computer Science, Mathematics, Metalogic, Scientific and Analytic Philosophy, Theory of Models and Linguistics.

Song-Chong Lee’s Ham Sok Hon's Ssial Philosophy for a Cosmopolitan Vision offers an introduction to the philosophy of Ham Sok Hon (함석헌), an iconic figure in the intellectual and political history of modern Korea, and a discussion of the contributions of his ssial (씨알/seeds, people) philosophy to cosmopolitanism. Known as Gandhi of Han’guk, Ham (1901–1989) was at the epicenter of a series of tumultuous political events in Korea and played a pioneering role in progressive social activism, including the independence movement, promotion of nationalist education, protests against military regimes, and pietistic, religious liberalism. According to Lee, Ham developed his own syncretic, authentic philosophy of ssial and applied it to his understanding and assessment of theology, history, politics, and even international relations. His syncretism culminated at his anthropology of ssial and his expanded notion of community. Lee argues that Ham’s ssial philosophy, which reconstructed the citizen’s identity as an active agent for political progress, led him to defy the excessively parochial nationalism, romanticized patriotism, and indoctrinated religiosity with which he believed the whole society was infatuated during the mid-twentieth century--and ultimately to advocate for a cosmopolitan community.

With more than 300 entries, these two volumes provide a one-stop source for a comprehensive overview of communication theory, offering current descriptions of theories as well as the background issues and concepts that comprise these theories. This is the first resource to summarize, in one place, the diversity of theory in the communication field. Key Themes Applications and Contexts Critical Orientations Cultural Orientations Cybernetic and Systems Orientations Feminist Orientations Group and Organizational Concepts Information, Media, and Communication Technology International and Global Concepts Interpersonal Concepts Non-Western Orientations Paradigms, Traditions, and Schools Philosophical Orientations Psycho-Cognitive Orientations Rhetorical Orientations Semiotic, Linguistic, and Discursive Orientations Social/Interactional Orientations Theory, Metatheory, Methodology, and Inquiry

Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Sartre, and many more. Who were they? What did they say? Why should we care? How did changing philosophical thought affect the history of civilization? How does philosophy affect pop culture, politics and government, and our everyday lives? Combining a basic history of philosophical thought with the often quirky personal stories of famous philosophers, The Handy Philosophy Answer Book introduces the reader to the world of philosophy. This comprehensive survey analyzes the collective effort of philosophers throughout history in the pursuit of truth and wisdom. It explores the tangible significance of philosophical thought to modern society and civilization as a whole, and answers more than 1,000 questions, including … What was the Enlightenment? Why did the Pythagorians avoid fava beans? How was Skepticism related to the scientific revolution? Was Søren Kierkegaard’s life “cursed”? How did philosopher A. J. Ayer defeat professional heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson? What are the current trends in philosophy and how are they related to feminism, environmentalism, and African American studies? How is Confucianism relevant to contemporary Western philosophy? The Handy Philosophy Answer Book explains philosophical fundamentals. It looks at the various schools of thought. It explores the deep--and sometimes odd--questions posed by philosophers. This comprehensive survey brings us the lives and the impacts of philosophy's greatest thinkers. With more than 130 photos and illustrations, this tome is richly illustrated, and its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.