Volume 63 (2008), 5

The paper presents the problem of norms and normativity in its broad scope and relevance for philosophy and social theory. In section one, the author provides a brief outline of his topic as present in the history of philosophy. Section two deals with a variety of approaches towards defining the concept of norms. Section three is devoted to the concept of social… Read more

The paper gives an explanation of some ontological and epistemological commitments of a cognitive research program dealing with the social representations, which has been coined by Dan Sperber, namely of the epidemiology of representations. Social representations are described as causal chains linking together mental representations and public productions. The… Read more

The aim of the paper is to examine the analytical potential of the concept of „historical representations“ as it was developed by Roger Chartier in his approach to the „new cultural history“. Further, the author outlines the epistemological foundations, which this project shares with Quentin Skinner’s approach to „contextual“ and „intentional“ interpretations of… Read more

Bayesian reasoning is considered to be the prototype of rational judgment. The differences between the descriptive and normative models of reasoning used to be interpreted as supporting the thesis of the principal irrationality of humans. The paper shows the possible re-interpretations of this research evidence by means of focusing on the contexts of individual… Read more

The paper deals with the philosophical terminology of the poem Royal Crown by the Jewish neo-Platonist Solomon ben Judah Gabirol (1022 – 1057). In the poem the influence of philosophy and science on Jewish liturgical poetry is reflected. The analysis of the poem leads the author to the conclusion, that it represents the synthetic character of Ibn Gabirol’… Read more

For Duns Scotus the relationship between metaphysics and theology is the one between „the natural“ and „the supra-natural“. „The theology in itself“ as well as „the metaphysics in itself“ are the examples of a perfect cognition of their subjects: they grasp all truths embodied in their subjects „propter quid“. „Our theology“ and „our metaphysics“, however, grasp… Read more

The paper offers a comparison of two different approaches in Medieval thought to a theoretical science, both drawing from Aristotle. It also discusses the influence these approaches exercised on the understanding of the scientific status of theology. It outlines Thomas Aquinas’s conception of the theology as a science, followed by its critique by John Duns Scotus… Read more