Filosofiska
Notiser Årgång 3, Nr 3, Oktober 2016
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Angela Shepherd
Simone de Beauvoir on Freedom
Abstract
While accepting ontological freedom, anchored in her existentialism,
Simone de Beauvoir also shows how, material conditions limit women's
freedom. I suggest we read de Beauvoir's account of freedom, not
only alongside existentialism but importantly Marxism. De Beauvoir's
account makes clear that although women's situation allows for some
choices, the range of possibilities open to them is different from,
and more restricted than the majority of men. Her notion of freedom
is gendered. Freedom varies with circumstances, and women's freedom
in society is curtailed. She draws attention to the ways in which
social position can produce damaging situations of alienation and
oppression. Marx stressed that in all circumstances agency was possible
but constrained by circumstances. He was also concerned with what
changes in material conditions would enable the proletariat to have
possibilities which would reduce alienation and facilitate human
potential. De Beauvoir took up this issue with regard to women.
She however, adds the way in which ideologies of femininity become
internalised and frame the possibilities which seem open
to women. I argue, there is no neat distinction between ontological
and practical freedom in de Beauvoir's account, and that changes
in circumstances can improve ontological freedom.
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Jarno Hietalahti
Humor and Disobedience: Understanding Controversial Humor
Abstract
In this article, I analyze controversial humor and argue that
the concept of disobedience is of central importance when evaluating,
for instance, harsh or potentially hurtful jokes. Following social
critic Erich Fromm (1900-1980) I claim that disobedience is a
dialectic concept: that is, it includes the possibilities both
to affirm and to reject. This observation connects humor to other
values, and pivotal is how humor is related to the question of
what it means to be a human being. Through this insight, I argue
that controversial humor may shock and be offensive, or it can
be amusing and even have a cathartic effect. In the end, in evaluating
humor it is necessary to analyze the values behind humor, that
is, what humor obeys and what it disobeys.
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Deidre Nelms
Splitting the Subject: Carnap, Heidegger, and the Tractatus
Abstract
An oblique confrontation occurs, in 1931, between Rudolf Carnap
and Martin Heidegger, within Carnap's essay "The Elimination of
Metaphysics through the Logical Analysis of Language." Carnap
and Heidegger's fundamental disagreement is here articulated in
terms of competing answers to the following question: can metaphysics
be excised from the practice of philosophy? Whereas Carnap insists
that the statements of metaphysics can be delimited and eliminated
from philosophy without loss, Heidegger maintains that philosophy
and metaphysics belong to each other intrinsically. In what follows,
I trace the indebtedness of this problematic to Ludwig Wittgenstein's
Tractatus. I argue that, due to the remarks made in Wittgenstein's
preface, Carnap is not unjustified in interpreting the Tractatus
as an attempt to articulate criteria of sense and nonsense, by
means of which a "strictly correct" philosophy might sharply delimit
sensible propositions from metaphysical pseudo-propositions. However,
I argue further, if the Tractatus is interpreted along
Carnap's lines, as an attempt to definitively excise metaphysics
from philosophy, it must be deemed a failure.
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Seyyed Bahram Borgheai,
Mehdi Golshani
A Bergsonian Approach toward Phenomenal Externalism: Rendering
Unity
Abstract
Phenomenal Externalism (PE) is one proposed framework for resolving
the problems associated with the intentional aspect of mental
content. However, by privileging external objects over internal
structure in identifying the characteristics of experience (qualia),
PE is limited in its ability to explain the introspective (phenomenal)
aspect of experience. This has become an Achilles' heel for PE,
to which many of its opponents have formulated significant objections.
In this paper, we consider some possible ways of modifying and
equipping PE to answer these objections. It will be shown that
a degree of subjectivity can be returned to the qualia conception
within a PE framework. This will be achieved by following Bergson,
who claims that perception is made in things and that, though
not identical, pure perception and objective reality are united.
To explain this unity, we propose a computer rendering analogy,
according to which qualia look like the products of mental rendering,
which raises the possibility of locating some phenomenal properties
in things. On this modified view, on the one hand qualia turn
out to be objective, in the sense that they are unified with external
entities, and on the other hand they are subjective, since they
are unified with the mind. To be "in" the thing in the sense discussed
means being "united with" and "inseparable from" both the thing
and the mind.
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Vanessa Bowns Poulsen
Søren Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary: The Socratic Seduction
of a Young Woman
Abstract
In this paper I will present and discuss what I consider to be
a new interpretation of Søren Kierkegaard's "The Seducer's Diary".
I will demonstrate how the Socratic "maieutic" method isn't only
implemented in Kierkegaard's method as the indirect message to
the reader, but also to the main character's seduction of the
young woman Cordelia. With support from historical literature
on 19th century society, I argue that Kierkegaard, with the help
of the Socratic method, indirectly points out the exclusion of
women from intellectual matters and encourages a discussion hereof.
I haven't found an interpretation which specifically combines
the conception of the female gender in 19th century with the use
of the Socratic method exercised by Johannes the Seducer. As far
as I know, this interpretation is new and contributes significantly
to our understanding of "The Seducer's Diary".
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This is a special issue
of Filosofiska Notiser that includes contributions by some "young"
scholars. The editor would like to thank the authors who submitted
papers to this issue.
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