Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy

Anthropology and Infoautopoiesis

Jaime F. Cárdenas-García — 2024-07-26

A resemanticization of Anthropology, the scientific study of human culture, is needed as, since the mid-twentieth century, we live in the Information Age. An epoch prioritizing the primacy of information, on a par with matter and/or energy. A new anthropological understanding of the impact of information entails sidestepping the influence on society of particular scientific and technological developments, such as those considered in the Anthropology of Cyberculture or Technology. The goal is to discover the fundamental role of information in anthropology, in its origins and development, as well as in its present-day local and global manifestations. Infoautopoiesis is at the centre of resolving the fundamental problem of information of how we become what we become. This reconceptualization of information, making it accessible to our daily experience, allows its naturalization. Requiring, in our unavoidable homeorhetic recursive interactions with our environment, the finding of individuated meaning in all that surrounds us and of which we are a part. Necessitating all organisms-in-their-environment to labour to satisfy their physiological and relational needs. Elucidating how their interactions with their environment, from an anthropological perspective, are constitutive of information self-creation, information exchange, information relations and life.

Natural History and History

Noel Boulting — 2024-07-26

For Adorno, the only possibility for understanding history is to relate it to the natural through his idea of natural-history. Agreeing with Whitehead, for Adorno the natural lacks temporal existence and can only be accessed through a temporally affective sense – which can be illuminated through Charles Hartshorne’s distinction between existence and actuality – in his 1932 article Idea of Natural History. Adorno’s conception is related to the historical by demonstrating how standard interpretations of history, which can be cast within three broad approaches, are not historical since they fail to acknowledge the significance of ‘second nature’. Given that demonstration, it can then be shown how ‘all history is natural’ by employing Walter Benjamin’s notion of a constellation. A return can then be made to Hartshorne’s distinction to show how a past event’s existence can be related to Benjamin’s claims by means of his ‘dialectics at a standstill’

The Contours of Twenty-First Century Realism

Kadir Filiz — 2024-07-26

An interview with Graham Harman about his Object Oriented Ontology. He discusses its relation with phenomenology and other contemporary philosophers. Moreover, he comments on contemporary social problems such as xenophobia and his early academic years in Cairo.

Existential ontology

Christian Frigerio — 2024-07-26

The concept of "mode of existence" has recently experienced a great diffusion in both continental and analytic philosophy. However, philosophers do not pay much attention to the concept of mode of existence itself. This paper proposes to establish a branch of ontology entirely devoted to clarifying the use of such a concept. We will begin by showing how Husserl's framework for addressing the heterogeneity of being, based on the distinction between material and formal ontology, participates in two ideas that have defined the tradition of the univocity of being in Western philosophy: the decision in favor of identity in the "ontological tension" between conceiving of being in terms of identity or in terms of difference, left as a legacy of Aristotle's Metaphysics; and the correlative processes of the "logicization of being" and the "essentialization of existence", that allowed Duns Scotus to proclaim that the concept of being is univocal. Then, we follow Roman Ingarden in claiming that "existential ontology" should be added to Husserl's bifurcation of formal and material: existential ontology is a formal inquiry into the very meaning of there being modes of existence, which, unlike Husserl's formal ontology, does not subject all existence to the mode of logic. The main features of existential ontology are outlined, and some of the questions it must face are mentioned. Finally, an example of how it should work is given by addressing the question of the "existential difference" between being and existence. The idea of existential ontology that should emerge is that of a discipline that provides a "diplomatic" framework in which different understandings of modes of existence can be confronted and debated.

Mathematics, Narratives and Life

Arran Gare — 2024-07-26

The triumph of scientific materialism in the Seventeenth Century not only bifurcated nature into matter and mind and primary and secondary qualities, as Alfred North Whitehead pointed out in Science and the Modern World. It divided science and the humanities. The core of science is the effort to comprehend the cosmos through mathematics. The core of the humanities is the effort to comprehend history and human nature through narratives. The life sciences can be seen as the zone in which the conflict between these two very different ways of comprehending the world collide. Evolutionary theory as defended by Schelling developed out of natural history, but efforts have been made to formulate neo-Darwinism through mathematical models. However, it is impossible to eliminate stories from biology. As Stuart Kauffman argued, mathematical models attempt to pre-state all possibilities, but in evolution there can be adjacent possibles that can be embraced by organisms but cannot be pre-stated. To account for such actions it is necessary to tell stories. Mathematics provides analytic precision allowing long chains of deductions, but tends to deny temporal becoming and cannot do justice to the openness of the future, while narratives focus on processes and events, but lack exactitude that would provide precise deductions and predictions. In advancing mathematics adequate to life, Robert Rosen argued that living beings as anticipatory systems must have models of themselves, and strove to develop a form of mathematics able to model life itself. It has been convincingly argued that narratives are central to human self-creation and they are lived out before being explicitly told. Their models of themselves are first and foremost, stories or narratives. If this is the case, might not living beings as biological entities be characterized by proto-stories or narratives in their models of themselves? Biosemiotics, largely inspired by C.S. Peirce, provides a bridge between mathematical and narrative comprehension, conceiving them as different forms of semiosis. The study of life through biosemiotics could reveal how mathematics and narratives can be understood in relation to each other. This could have implications for how we understand science and the humanities and their relationship to each other. In this paper I will examine work in theoretical biology that might advance these efforts.

Intelligence Beyond Emancipation

Hilan Nissior Bensusan — 2024-07-26

This paper examines the connection between intelligence and the artificial by considering how intelligence is attached to the ideas of autonomy and emancipation. It opposes the prevalent assumption of a bifurcation of intelligence in a pole of agents on one side and a pole of (technical) slaves on the other to a different image of intelligence where heteronomy and affectability take center stage. It draws on the work of Denise Ferreira da Silva to criticize the ideas of autonomy, interiority and transparency from the perspective of the colonial total violence associated with slavery and its after-life. The paper proposes to contrast the account of intelligence in terms of a pair involving future free spirits and technical slaves with an attention to children. Childhood is then understood first in terms of our personal devices preparing to replace agents and slaves, constituting a cosmopolitical reproduction of (some of) the species, and later as a repository of experience of affectability. While the devices around us can be regarded as the offspring of (the so-called) humanity, real childhood brings to the fore a life of vulnerabilities.

Curation as Ontology, Or, Can We Fold Reality as an Object?

Jan Gresil Kahambing — 2024-07-26

I propose to open a discussion on a realist philosophy of curation. To do so, I plot premises that will move towards such a philosophy. While I am neither introducing a new ontology nor contributing to metaphysics, I deal with metaphysical and ontological issues as these engage in the philosophy of curation and the philosophy of museums. In particular, I start with a museological or curatorial realism towards a discussion on meeting curation with the broadness of reality. There are three core premises. First, while reality is ontologically mind-independent, it is anti-realist for reality to be curation-dependent. Second, curation has to be folded (contrary to Deleuze’s use of dynamic folding qua ‘an origami cosmos’) to address the anti-realist connotations of curation. To do this, I methodologically introduce the fold and state two-fold, three-fold, fourfold, and fifth-fold semantics of curation. While curatorial realism can be argued in a fourfold curation, the third premise is that the realist aspect lies in the fifth-folding of curation to match the extensivity of reality. This paper will attempt to introduce the philosophy of museums and the philosophy of curation with a bent on the realism/anti-realism debate. It will expose the inherit anti-realism of curation, and survey the need for objects in metaphysics and within contemporary forms of realism.

On -acãrájai and comparison

Leif Grünewald — 2024-07-26

Social anthropologists have long appreciated the notion of comparison as an important conceptual tool in the discipline. In this paper I ponder the meanings implicit to an Ayoreo (a Zamucoan speaking group living in Paraguayan Chaco) notion of ‘comparison’ through the idiom of what they describe as -acãrájai and the sets of transformations it enacts. In proposing that Ayoreo ontology is inherently comparative, the aim of this article is not just to provide an ethnographic account of different contexts of Ayoreo lived world, be that as it may, but also to optimistically present a daunting task to an anthropological way of thinking about the notion of comparison. By addressing a question on how we can experience ethnographically how the differences compared by Ayoreo people are themselves differently comparing and redefining everything as their variants, I attempt to list similarities and dissimilarities between the concept of -acãrájai and the anthropological notion of comparison and they appeared to me through my own comparative/ethnographic apparatus and to raise awareness of misunderstandings between them, to redefine our own way of making identities and differences through the notion of comparison by defining it by its differential relations to the notion of -acãrájai. For it, this paper examines how one intellectual object twists the other and how the background from which each one of them emerge are placed on the same footing, in a manner that -acãrájai and comparison are reciprocally constitutive of each other.

A Term Unseen, Unheard, Unspoken

Kobe Keymeulen — 2024-07-26

This paper investigates the possibility of an alternative reading Kant’s first text from Die Religion Innerhalb Der Grenzen Der Bloßen Vernunft (1793 Über Das Radicale Böse In Der Menschliche Natur. We argue that an approach which centres the ‘radical’ term in Kant’s argument, rather than treating the text within established ethical boundaries, is possible. We show how the assumption that Kant ‘meant nothing’ with the term Radical is grounded in a ‘common sense’ which is, at least partly, due to the history of the text’s reception in the 20^th century, spearheaded by Hannah Arendt. However, through the lens of Hardt and Negri’s ‘minor Kant’ dictum, the space opens up for a hypothetical, rather than deductive construction of the text instead; meaning that, rather than defending a particular thesis, Über Das Radical Böse is tracing the consequences of a particular conceptual construction. This reading presents us with a potential Kantian account of radicality itself. As a result, we argue that perhaps, rather than continuing to treat the radicality of evil as something commonly understood, an external demand which Kant must account for, Die Religion could be deployed as a way to challenge our contemporary understanding of radicality itself.

Arguments Against Methodological Naturalism and Their Roots in Metaphysics

Krzysztof Kilian — 2024-07-26

The article analyzes main arguments against methodological naturalism and shows their roots in specific metaphysics. A review of the arguments against this form of naturalism presented in this paper lends credence to the thesis that none of the arguments against methodological naturalism discussed here forces one to abandon naturalism.

On the Relationship Between Information and Heat

George Litchfield — 2024-07-26

Where information is measured by the total surface area of a system of objects, it thus has a physical representation or manifestation. Since all heating occurs at the boundary of a collection of objects, heat must be related to information in a very specific way so as to allow for phenomenon such as melting, cooling, and the thermal expansion of objects. This essay argues that information (entropy) is nothing less than proportional to the rate at which something is heated with respect to time, and attempts to draw meaningful implications therein.

Logomorphism

Landon Loftin — 2024-07-26

Owen Barfield believed that human consciousness has undergone significant changes over the course of history, and that those who fail to recognize these changes, or fail to correctly discern the nature and trajectory of these changes, are prone to the fallacy of projecting their own consciousness onto other, usually older states of consciousness. This fallacy, which especially threatens interpreters of ancient texts, is what Barfield called "logomorphism." In this essay, I examine passage in which Barfield uses the term "logomorphism" in order to justify and expand upon the general description offered above, and to show how the concept of logomorphism is integral to Barfield’s thought.

Paul Ricoeur’s Metaphoric Process as the Khōra of the Timaeus

Marina Marren — 2024-07-26

In this paper, I offer a comparative study of Paul Ricoeur’s analyses of metaphor and the role of the khōra in Plato’s Timaeus. My goal is twofold. First, I show that both metaphors and the khōra play a role in the structuration of the world and the possibility of its knowability. This role is much more significant than a merely ornamental or residual or subsidiary function. Second, I argue for a reading of Ricoeur and of Plato on which Ricoeur’s metaphorical process and the work of the khōra are closely aligned. The result is that I both offer a new view of the khōra and also explain how and why, on my view, the khōra already contains structural elements of the metaphorical process that Ricoeur works out.

The Argument From Addition for the Elimination of Ordinary Objects

Martin Orensanz — 2024-07-26

If tables exist, then a table is one more object in addition to the atoms that compose it. For example, if one billion atoms compose it, then there would be a total of one billion and one objects. But this seems wrong. Intuitively, a table should not be counted as one more object in addition to its parts. So, by modus tollens, it follows that tables do not exist. After presenting this eliminativist argument, I indicate why it should be distinguished from the problem of material constitution. Next I examine a series of strategies for resisting the argument, highlighting their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Finally, I present a new solution to this problem.

Idle Hands Are Not the Devil's Playthings

Alex Paterson — 2024-07-26

This paper extends upon Costica Bradatan's analysis of Emil Cioran in his book, In Praise of Failure. It provides a defence of Cioran's lifestyle - his refusal to engage in traditional concepts of work and his ideal of 'doing nothing'. I defend Cioran in three ways. First, I argue that Cioran's mantra of doing nothing enabled him to contemplate, to come closer to the absolute, and to contribute to the cultivation of civilisation through his thought. Second, I argue that Cioran's lifestyle enabled him to extricate himself from the damaging cycle of success and failure. By settling for failure from the very beginning, Cioran was able to live without the distractions and damages caused by fear of failure and desire for recognition or success. Third, I argue that Cioran's lifestyle is a radical expression of authenticity and freedom.

The Manifestation of Complex PTSD in Frankenstein’s Monster

Prisha Goyal — 2024-07-26

This research employs the Complex Trauma Screener to diagnose Frankenstein’s monster with Complex PTSD, attributed to trauma inflicted by both his creator and society. The creature exhibits all seven major symptoms of Complex PTSD, manifesting through vivid nightmares, intense feelings of loneliness and worthlessness, avoidance of populated areas due to fear of rejection, and eventual aggression resulting from persistent ostracization. Complex PTSD is an emerging topic of interest in modern psychology, especially in the context of childhood trauma. Hence, Frankenstein’s monster could potentially serve as a model to aid victims and medical professionals alike.

Astrobiology in Philosophy or Philosophy in Astrobiology?

Kristina Šekrst — 2024-07-26

This paper examines the interplay between astrobiology and philosophy, emphasizing how each field enriches the other and poses new questions. It argues that astrobiology’s study of the origins and distribution of life in the universe requires a broader philosophical framework, termed astrophilosophy. This discipline would address fundamental questions about reality, physical laws, and the nature of life beyond Earth. The paper highlights the educational importance of recognizing and redefining concepts such as life and intelligence in a universal context, critiquing the human-centric approach in current scientific and philosophical studies. It proposes that astrobiology’s educational scope should expand to include a universal perspective, fostering a deeper understanding of life and intelligence in the cosmos.

Schelling's 'Art in the Particular'

Nat Trimarchi — 2024-07-26

Schelling’s Principle of Art returns us to an ancient epic sensibility, laying the foundations for reversing the unrealistic ‘modern mythology’ arguably at the core of humanity’s ecological/existential crisis. This contribution examines how, by detailing his systematic approach to constructing art ‘in the particular’ (art-forms/works). ‘Particularity’ is subject only to the reason inherent in the potences (or consequences) of the affirmation of the whole unity (Principle). Hence Schelling’s ‘affirming principles’ determine boundary conditions for his ‘mythological categories’, revealing why their generalities inform a ‘scientific sequence’ for explaining the features of the Formative and Verbal arts (ie., all artforms, ‘for all time’). Examining specific examples shows how Schelling resolves key difficulties (appearance/reality, form/non-form, intentionality, and purpose) for assessing art’s higher meaning-value directionality; why phenomenology is key to understanding it; and how we arrived at the problematic modern ‘epic’ reversal of ancient universalising focusing our attention on ‘efficient’ over ‘final’ causes in art-making/admiring. Explaining practical application of the Principle-in-action expands on why Schelling’s ‘dialectical aesthetics’ presents a hitherto unrecognised radical advance on Kant’s. My conclusion summarises what shifts in attendance to the art object Schelling’s system demands, and why his Philosophy of Art offers a suitable framework for collectively re-worlding the world.