Showing papers on "Enlightenment published in 2021"
Book•
19 Feb 2021
TL;DR: The most extensive critical Italian edition of Dei delitti e delle pene was published in 1984 as mentioned in this paper, with an excellent introduction to Beccaria and to the modern beginnings of criminology.
Abstract: Beccarria's influential Treatise On Crimes and Punishments is considered a foundation work in the modern field of criminology. As Newman and Marongiu note in their introduction to the work, three master themes of the Enlightenment run through the Treatise: the idea of the social contract, the idea of science, and the belief in progress. The idea of the social contact forms the moral and political basis of the work's reformist zeal. Th e idea of science supports a dispassionate and reasoned appeal for reforms. The belief in progress is inextricably bound to the idea of science. All three provide the necessary foundation for accepting Beccaria's proposals.It is virtually impossible to ascertain which of several versions of the Treatise that appeared during his lifetime best reflected Becccaria's own thought. His use of many ideas of Enlightenment thinkers also makes it diffi cult to interpret what he has written. While Enlightenment thinkers wanted to break the chains of religion and advocated free men and free minds, there was considerable disagreement as to how this might be achieved, except in the most general terms.The editors have based this translation on the Francioni (1984) text, by far the most exhaustive critical Italian edition of Dei delitti e delle pene. This edition is undoubtedly the last that Beccaria personally oversaw and revised. This new translation, which includes an outstanding opening essay by the editors, is a welcome introduction to Beccaria and to the modern beginnings of criminology.
587 citations
Book•
25 Jun 2021
34 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the former's conceptualisation of humanity bore the indelible impression of the latter's, and they argue that, by trai cation, the former was inseparably entwined with the latter.
Abstract: Scotland’s Enlightenment and Britain’s Empire were inseparably entwined, such that the former’s conceptualisation of humanity bore the indelible impression of the latter. We argue here that, by tra...
18 citations
TL;DR: From Carl Becker's The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers to recent work on religion in the Enlightenment, it has been argued that the Enlightenment has significant religious elem....
Abstract: From Carl Becker’s The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers to recent work on religion in the Enlightenment, it has been argued that the Enlightenment has significant religious elem...
18 citations
TL;DR: Many Enlightenment freethinkers undermined the immortality of the soul by declaring that it could not be demonstrated by philosophy, and that its origins were inseparable from ancient superstition as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Many Enlightenment freethinkers undermined the immortality of the soul by declaring that it could not be demonstrated by philosophy, and that its origins were inseparable from ancient superstition....
15 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the religious projection and ethical appeal in the art and literature of Leda and the Swan created from ancient times to the contemporary era, so as to make a comparative review and reading on it, providing religious reflection and ethical enlightenment to today's society.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that women are not currently enlightened and that this exclusion is due to certain legal restrictions guiding Kant's conception of enlightenment, and that it thus seems unlikely that Kant intended women to take an active part in enlightenment.
Abstract: In ‘What is Enlightenment?’, Kant claims that no women are currently enlightened. Here I argue that this exclusion is due to certain legal restrictions guiding Kant’s conception of enlightenment. As enlightenment is intended to take place in society, it appears that Kant has a specific legal context in mind that affects its enactment. His twofold conception of citizenship and the dimension of subordination he puts forward by restricting the private use of reason will prove useful in clarifying those legal restrictions. It thus seems unlikely that Kant intended women to take an active part in enlightenment.
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored continuities between the antiquarian erudition of humanist historians and Enlightenment philosophical histories, showing that supposedly revolutionary developments in eighteenth-century historiography emerged from an older scholarly tradition.
Abstract: This article explores continuities between the antiquarian erudition of humanist historians and Enlightenment philosophical histories, showing that supposedly revolutionary developments in eighteenth-century historiography emerged from an older scholarly tradition. It focuses on the research of the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Letters, a learned society in seventeenthand eighteenth-century France that went from serving as a propaganda tool for promoting King Louis XIV’s absolutist regime to becoming the first modern historical research institute and a cradle of the Enlightenment. The article examines the emergence of what might be called “cultural history” or “the history of culture” (histoire des moeurs, as eighteenth-century authors called it). It analyzes how the academicians studied pagan beliefs and speculated about the functions of ancient myths and cults, thus transforming the views about the origin of religion and its role in society. The article also discusses how the academicians made sense of customs and daily practices and how they understood the causes of the progress and decline of civilizations.
10 citations
TL;DR: It can be argued that a humanistic enlightenment approach to leadership emerged as a counter to the historical prevalence of totalitarian elitism where leaders were often autocratic and authoritarians.
Abstract: It can be argued that a humanistic enlightenment approach to leadership emerged as a counter to the historical prevalence of totalitarian elitism where leaders were often autocratic and authoritari...
8 citations
TL;DR: The debate about the reality of spirits and the "Invisible world" which flared up in the 1690's helped define the early Enlightenment as discussed by the authors, and all sides in this debate, from Spinoza and Bek...
Abstract: The fierce debate about the reality of spirits and the “Invisible World” which flared up in the 1690’s helped define the early Enlightenment. All sides in this debate—from Spinoza and Balthasar Bek...
8 citations
TL;DR: A viable socialist strategy will not be oriented around an encompassing central plan but rather an agenda of human-centred goals, the creation of preconditions for all individuals to fully realise their personal capacities and to function as free citizens, exercising control individually and collectively, at the workplace and in society as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A vision of universalised human freedom, equality, security and democracy emerged in the wake of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, the British Industrial Revolution, and the French Revolution. This vision, not even approximately practicable at the time, is now well within reach. A viable socialist strategy will not be oriented around an encompassing central plan but rather an agenda of human-centred goals – the creation of preconditions for all individuals to fully realise their personal capacities and to function as free citizens, exercising control individually and collectively, at the workplace and in society. Central to the realisation of such a programme will be a focus on the crucial role played by the first years of life in shaping human development and in the formation of class hierarchies.
JEL codes: B51, H40, P16
TL;DR: This article explored how religious adherents construct their ideas regarding gender in Buddhist faith communities, and found that two temples, one in China and the other in the United States, both affiliated with the same denomination, were used for the same purpose.
Abstract: This study explores how religious adherents construct their ideas regarding gender in Buddhist faith communities. Two temples, one in China and the other in the United States, both affiliated with ...
TL;DR: The Sudanese thinker Mahmud Muhammad Taha (d. 1985) was a bold advocate of Arab enlightenment, which he based on a synthesis of Sufism, democracy and socialism that in his view represented the idea as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Sudanese thinker Mahmud Muhammad Taha (d. 1985) was a bold advocate of Arab enlightenment, which he based on a synthesis of Sufism, democracy and socialism that in his view represented the idea...
TL;DR: The authors made a case that disability, particularly visual, hearing, and speech impairments, played a significant role in Scottish Enlightenment thought and argued that disability was a deep preoccupation of Scottish Enlightenment thinkers who used it as a test case for various important philosophical questions including those concerning human nature and the limits of humanity.
Abstract: This article makes a case that disability, particularly visual, hearing, and speech impairments, played a significant role in Scottish Enlightenment thought. Focusing on the work of Dugald Stewart, and in particular on his essay ‘Some account of a boy born blind and deaf’, we argue that disability was a deep preoccupation of Scottish Enlightenment thinkers who used it as a test case for various important philosophical questions including those concerning ‘human nature’ and the limits of humanity. The article starts by situating the philosophical debate in the context of lived experiences of, and proximity to, impairment. The second part offers a close reading of Stewart's text ‘Some account’, about James Mitchell, a fourteen-year-old deafblind boy living in the Scottish Highlands. The third part examines how disability operated in relation to other hierarchies of difference that have been demonstrated to have been central to Enlightenment thought, in particular that of race. Overall, the contribution this article makes is to introduce disability as an important, if currently overlooked, category in Scottish Enlightenment thought that needs further investigation.
TL;DR: The Newhailes House on the outskirts of Edinburgh is surrounded by an 18th-century designed landscape which encapsulates the philosophical and aesthetic concerns of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Abstract: SUMMARY: Newhailes House on the outskirts of Edinburgh is surrounded by an 18th-century designed landscape which encapsulates the philosophical and aesthetic concerns of the Scottish Enlightenment....
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: From the First Century AH to the seventh: Muhammad and the Companions as discussed by the authors, jurists and theologians, from the first century AH through the seventh century AH, were divided into two groups: Jurists and Theologians and Fiqh versus Falasifa.
Abstract: From the First Century AH to the seventh: Muhammad and the Companions. Jurists and Theologians. Fiqh versus Falasifa. Al-Qushayri, Al-Hallaj and Ṣufi mystic sages to al-Ghazali versus Averroes. Ibn ‘Arabi and Ibn Taymiyyah.
TL;DR: A foundation stone of Hans Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics is the notion of the sensus communis as mentioned in this paper, which was taken up in earnest in Enlightenment thought and in German idealism, but it became more of an individual faculty lacking the deep sense of community and tradition found in earlier formulations.
Abstract: A foundation stone of Hans Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics is the notion of the sensus communis. The philosophical significance of a “sensus communis” (common sense) begins with Aristotle, who offered scattered reflections. The topic was taken up in earnest in Enlightenment thought and in German idealism, but it became more of an individual faculty, lacking the deep sense of community and tradition found in earlier formulations. In this paper, the author demonstrates Gadamer’s debt to Pietist thought, examining his appropriation and use of the theology of Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1702–1782), a leading figure in Swabian Pietism, whose ideas had a significant impact in theological circles and broader cultural life. Gadamer’s critique of the Enlightenment’s ‘prejudice against prejudice,’ owes a debt to the Pietist conception of the sensus communis and his practical philosophy to Pietism’s emphasis on ‘application’ as a fundamental aspect of a hermeneutical triad.
03 Sep 2021
TL;DR: For instance, this paper described John Millar as one of the most accomplished thinkers to anticipate the nineteenth century's Scottish Enlightenment, and regarded him as a first-rate figure of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Abstract: 1. If John Millar was ever deemed a first-rate figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, it was chiefly when he was described as one of the most accomplished thinkers to anticipate nineteenth century h...
TL;DR: In this paper, the cultural history that led to the suppression of religion in bioethics is discussed, and the authors criticize both the irreligious and religious bioethicists as both presume Enlightenment myths and consequently neuter religion.
Abstract: Full-Blooded religion is not acceptable in mainstream bioethics. This article excavates the cultural history that led to the suppression of religion in bioethics. Bioethicists typically fall into one of the following camps. 1) The irreligious, who advocate for suppressing religion, as do Timothy F. Murphy, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins. This irreligious camp assumes American Fundamentalist Protestantism is the real substance of all religions. 2) Religious bioethicists, who defend religion by emphasizing its functions and diminishing its metaphysical commitments. Religious defenders empty religion of its theology to present its feel-good functions in a way that is acceptable to the irreligious. However, religion reduced to its functions dissolves into a counter-culture that may counteract materialism but lacks the power to motivate much more. This article criticizes both camps, as both presume Enlightenment myths and consequently neuter religion. Both irreligious and religious bioethicists commonly presume Enlightenment myths about secularity and religion. Secularity is presumed neutral and rational. Religion is presumed divisive and irrational. This myth provides built-in value-judgements; we have already judged secularity as good and religion as bad. Much of the debate over religion in bioethics is arguing over false stereotypes of religion. Consequently, mainstream bioethics neuters religion, while the irreligious are gifted political power to define the field.
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was a Dutch, Portuguese-born philosopher who focused on biblical criticism, the concepts of enlightenment and innovative concepts of self and the universe.
Abstract: Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) was a Dutch, Portuguese-born philosopher who focused on biblical criticism, the concepts of enlightenment and innovative concepts of self and the universe. Born into the Portuguese-Jewish community, he developed controversial ideas on Judaism and the nature of the Divine, leading to being excommunicated from the Jewish community at the age of 23.
DOI•
17 Jul 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors aim to answer the question: what is the concept of enlightenment according to the Buddhist wheel of life, also known as Bhavacakra, and how to attain the highest happiness that is Nirvana.
Abstract: This paper aims to answer the question: what is the concept of enlightenment according to the Buddhist wheel of life, also known as Bhavacakra. The very aim of Buddhism is to attain Nirvana, not a temporary rebirth in happy realms such as heaven or gods. There are few ways to understand enlightenment (bodhi) and several levels according to either Pali scripture. The Sanskrit scripture represents by the Tibetan and Chinese scripture also given a various range of interpretation. In order to have a broader view then it will be logical to look at those sources. Buddhists aim to attain the highest happiness that is Nirvana. Buddha himself and many teachers have laid down so many methods for us. Our ancestor teachers such as Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, and Buddhaghosa also gave many significant commentaries on this matter, especially those recorded in the Buddhist Wheel of life, teaching the twelve interdependent links.
TL;DR: Hunter has brought together decades' worth of teaching and research experience to offer a detailed re-examination of the purported "disenchantment of the world" -the abandonment of belief in magic as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Hunter has brought together decades’ worth of teaching and research experience to offer a detailed re-examination of the purported “disenchantment of the world” – the abandonment of belief in magic...
TL;DR: The Enlightenment comprises various processes occurring in Europe from the middle of the eighteenth century to at the beginning of the nineteenth century as mentioned in this paper, and this era was a breakthrough in social, ide...
Abstract: The Enlightenment comprises various processes occurring in Europe from the middle of the eighteenth century to at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This era was a breakthrough in social, ide...
26 Oct 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between technology and religion is discussed considering the genesis and essence of this connection, its role in the development of culture and the solution of anthropological issues.
Abstract: The study aims to update knowledge on the relationship between technology and religion considering the genesis and essence of this connection, its role in the development of culture and the solution of anthropological issues. The religious philosopher Pavel Florensky defines the significance of technology for the culture as a means of achieving the harmony established by God and lost by humans. The philosopher and theologian Friedrich Dessauer associates the genesis and development of technology with the ability of Being, created by God, toward formation. In the concept of Gilbert Simondon, the source of religious and technical thought is the pre-individual human consciousness in a state of “magical unity”. The use of information technologies for the activities of religious communities is becoming more and more widespread and covers many areas of their life and function. Confessions are interested in the development of this kind of activity for performing the general tasks taken up by religious organizations, such as attracting adherents, religious enlightenment, ritual activities, organizational and communication activities. “Online Religions” that have no offline analogs are of particular interest, for example, Buddhist Geeks Sangha and The Terasem Faith. To understand the nature and consequences of world religions mastering high technologies, it is necessary to address the fundamental problem of the relationship between the religious and the technical in the system of culture while taking into account changes in society, science, and religion itself.
TL;DR: The authors show that the Treatise on Probability is deeply rooted in the history of probabilistic thinking, particularly in the Early Enlightenment (roughly between 1650 and 1750), before mathematicians claimed ownership over the subject.
Abstract:
In the brief preface to A Treatise on Probability, Keynes states, ‘It may be perceived that I have been greatly influenced by W. E. Johnson, G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell, that is, by Cambridge, which, with great debts to the writers of Continental Europe, yet continues in direct succession the English tradition of Locke, Berkeley and Hume, of Mill and Sidgwick’ (J. M. Keynes, 1921, p. v). The authors who have recently stressed the relevance of Keynes ideas on probability have paid special attention to the influence of the former, but not to that of the latter. This article intends to show that the Treatise on Probability is deeply rooted in the history of probabilistic thinking, particularly in the Early Enlightenment (roughly between 1650 and 1750), before mathematicians claimed ownership over the subject. We find that important aspects of Keynes’ notions were already present in Locke and other Early Enlightenment writers, albeit with some note-worthy differences.
TL;DR: Most historians studying the evolution of the concept of nation and national idea in East Central Europe, assume that through the nineteenth century the political meaning was gradually giving place to the ethnic understanding of 'nation' as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Most historians studying the evolution of the concept of nation and national idea in East Central Europe, assume that through the nineteenth century the political meaning was gradually giving place to the ethnic understanding of ‘nation’ Without radically questioning this evolution of the meaning, I would like to stress that it is far from obvious Starting with the Enlightenment, the term and concept of ‘nation’ were used so widely in the Polish public debates that it is relatively easy to find quotations to support any generalisation Any decision about choosing some source materials and discarding some others is inevitably grounded in certain methodological and philosophical assumptions Some assumptions have to be accepted (for otherwise, a historian would not be able to say anything), but we need to be conscious that their choice is, in the last resort, arbitrary
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: The authors traces the origin of cultural studies as a scholarly field that conjoins, centrally, anthropology, sociology, feminism, and philosophy, characterised by its opposition to scientism, its explicit epistemological relativism, its rejection of the Enlightenment project, and, in places, its ontological idealism and distrust of science.
Abstract: The chapter traces the origin of Cultural Studies as a scholarly field that conjoins, centrally, anthropology, sociology, feminism, and philosophy. It is characterised by its opposition to scientism, its explicit epistemological relativism, its rejection of the Enlightenment project, and, in places, its ontological idealism and distrust of science. From the early 1990s cultural studies has become institutionalised in science education with the establishment of a journal and creation of strands in major research conferences. Its links to the philosophy and pedagogy of constructivism are explicit, so too its links to Critical Theory. Arguments against the radical idealism of cultural studies are advanced. The contrast is made with the ontological realism of the physicist/philosopher Mario Bunge whose arguments for the symbiosis philosophy and physics, for a realist interpretation of quantum physics, for the Enlightenment project, and for informed scientism are outlined.
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider domestic and non-Russian roots of enlightenment thinking before 1760 and focus on enlightened attitudes toward good government and the law (Catherine's Nakaz, the projects of Panin and Fonvizin, Desnitskii's legal ideas); enlightened attitudes towards questions of Church and state (Prokopovich and Orthodox “modernism,” Platon (Levshin) and the Catherinian Church); enlightened attitude toward social justice (Fonvizein, Shcherbatov, Radishchev);
Abstract: This chapter will consider domestic and non-Russian roots of enlightenment thinking before 1760. It will focus, in particular, on (1) enlightened attitudes toward good government and the law (Catherine’s Nakaz, the projects of Panin and Fonvizin, Desnitskii’s legal ideas); enlightened attitudes toward questions of Church and state (Prokopovich and Orthodox “modernism,” Platon (Levshin) and the Catherinian Church); enlightened attitudes toward social justice (Fonvizin, Shcherbatov, Radishchev); the phenomenon of “enlightened conservatism” (Derzhavin and Karamzin); and differences between the Russian, French, Scottish, and German Enlightenments.