There is something attractive in the thought that our language of universals was preceded by an Adamitic language which makes use only of proper names. Such a language acknowledges the importance of individuals, as they are perceived, as opposed to the categories they fall under. We are more interested in our friend Mary than in…

Crimes make images Perceptions do not produce images, or mental representations, in the mind. The images are out there. We see the things before us and the events which take place around us directly. If we remind ourselves of an event from the past somehow we re-perceive it. Even in such cases, it makes no…

(Found this on the internet.) Dear Mr. President, I cannot imagine that you do not know what to do. You have my full support in doing it (which is easy to say, I know).

(English down) Oproep voor bijdragen aan een expertmeeting bedoeld om promovendi en postdocs in de filosofie van de kunsten bijeen te brengen. Gevolgd door een dag met publieke lezingen over de Grenzen van de Esthetica. Utrecht, 17-18 november. (Gevorderde Masters-studenten met een ambitie om te promoveren kunnen ook reageren). Download voor je eigen gemak de…

So, we are our brains? And everything we think, feel and do has a neural counterpart? Is it the brains which cause us to think, feel and do things? Wittgenstein once remarked

Deconstruction is not a Method. It is, rather the tragedy of philosophical thinking, and meant as such by its name-giver Jacques Derrida. See, if one demolishes a television-set with an axe, say,

Art has something to do with communication, as Anthony Savile (2001) argued. Richard Wollheim (2001) objected explicitly against treating art as communication. Yet Savile’s claim seems compatible with certain other arguments in Wollheim’s thought (1988, 1993). The connection would be this:

Pro-active Explanation and Retrograde Understanding The difference between the natural sciences on the one hand, and, on the other the social sciences and humanities is in their subject matter. Yet, people’s evaluations of the two groups of sciences is based in a difference in methodologies.

Aan het einde van de “Analytik des Schönen”, in een “Allgemeine Anmerkung”, onderscheidt Kant mooie dingen van mooie uitzichten met het argument (in mijn verwoording) dat mooie uitzichten alleen op empirische gronden mooi genoemd worden, louter omdat ze het vrije spel van de verbeelding aan de gang houden. Ze doen dat echter niet vanwege de…

If you want to see what the Cloud on the internet thinks about Libia, and Ghadaffi, you might want to check the Guardian. Scrolling over the terms provides you with a list of relevant links pointing to pieces including … these terms. Isn’t it beautiful, and responsive to the latest? Sure it is. But what…