BEING AND BECOMING

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I do not think, therefore I am

I Introduction: Situating the Critique of Western Modernity In an era defined by rapid technological acceleration and deepening socio-political divides, a critical examination of the foundational philosophical tenets of Western modernity is not merely an academic exercise but a strategic necessity. It is within this context that Boaventura de Sousa Santos, an Emeritus Professor of Sociology, offers a potent and timely intervention. In his work, "I do not think, therefore I am," Santos presents a compelling critique that inverts Descartes' famous dictum to diagnose a profound contemporary crisis. The text's central thesis posits that the core principles of Western modernity, derived from Cartesian philosophy, are not only historically and culturally situated as Eurocentric but have degenerated into a pathological contemporary state. This state is marked by the dominance of neoliberal individualism, a "great disarmament" of cognitive and critical faculties, an...

The Physical Basis of Conscious Life: A Synthesis of William James's Physiological Psychology

I Introduction: Bridging Physiology and Psychology William James, in his landmark work The Principles of Psychology, provides a foundational framework connecting the brain's physiological mechanisms to the purposive, selective, and unified nature of conscious mental life. This blog analyzes James’s synthesis, which grounds psychological phenomena in the material workings of the nervous system without reducing consciousness to a mere epiphenomenon. We will explore his hierarchical model of the brain, which evolves from simple reflex actions in the lower nerve centers to the complex, deliberative functions of the cerebrum. Key themes include the role of the cerebrum as an organ of foresight and prudence, the physiological mechanism of habit as the process by which experience physically imprints itself upon the brain’s plastic matter, and consciousness's essential function as a “selecting agency” that is causally efficacious in steering the organism toward its own interests. Ultim...

Secular Age: Charles Taylor Analysis of the Disenchantment of the World

I Introduction: The Story About Unbelief The story we tell ourselves about our modern secular world is simple and straightforward: science advanced, reason prevailed, and the old world of religious belief slowly receded like a tide going out. In this common narrative, science and rational thought simply crowded out faith, leaving us with the disenchanted, secular reality we inhabit today. It seems obvious. But what if that story is wrong? In his monumental work, A Secular Age, the philosopher Charles Taylor challenges this simple narrative at its foundations. He argues that the shift to our secular age was not a matter of losing old beliefs, but of inventing entirely new ways of experiencing the world and ourselves. This blog will distill four of the most surprising and impactful ideas from Taylor's work. This is a journey into the hidden architecture of the modern self, revealing how we often unwittingly constructed the very walls and windows of our secular age. II Sublimation o...

The Reciprocal Grounding of Freedom and Moral Law in Kant's Critique of Practical Reason

I Introduction: The Problem of Transcendental Freedom In Immanuel Kant's practical philosophy, transcendental freedom and the moral law are established not as independent concepts but as reciprocally determinant principles. This blog examines the central thesis of the Critique of Practical Reason, which posits that the moral law serves as the ratio cognoscendi (the reason for knowing) of freedom, while freedom is the ratio essendi (the reason for being) of the moral law. We become aware of our freedom only because we are first conscious of the moral law as an unconditional command; the "ought" reveals the "can." Conversely, the moral law itself could not exist as a binding principle were freedom not a real property of the will. Through a critical analysis of Kant’s text, this paper traces his argument from the rejection of all empirical moral theories to the establishment of a purely formal law, known as a "fact of reason." This analysis reveals how Ka...

Formal Legality and Substantive Justice: The Evolution of Law in Modern Societies

"Whenever the certainties of interactional law begin to dissolve, human beings seem relegated to the situation of the nonhuman primates-denied the experience of an unreflective order, they are yet powerless to create another. But there is a crucial difference between the nonhuman and the human predicament: what other primates encounter as an unspeakable fate, men must confront in the terror of consciousness”.~ Roberto M. Unger I Introduction The "rule of law" is not a universal ideal but a historically specific legal form born from the unique conditions of liberal society. Roberto Unger argues that liberal society creates an unsolvable crisis of legitimacy, which the rule of law attempts to manage through a commitment to formal legality, the impartial application of general and autonomous rules. However, as liberal societies transition into a post-liberal phase, the rise of the welfare state and corporatism prioritizes substantive justice and direct social management, ma...

The Architecture of Cognition: Kant on Typology of Judgment

“A man abandoned by himself on a desert island would adorn neither his hut nor his person; nor would he seek for flowers, still less would he plant them, in order to adorn himself therewith. It is only in society that it occurs to him to be not merely a man, but a refined man after his kind (the beginning of civilization). For such do we judge him to be who is both inclined and apt to communicate his pleasure to others, and who is not contented with an object if he cannot feel satisfaction in it in common with others. Again, every one expects and requires from every one else this reference to universal communication of pleasure, as it were from an original compact dictated by humanity itself”.~ Immanuel Kant I Introduction In the intricate philosophical system of Immanuel Kant, the power of judgment—the Urteilskraft (power of judgment)—occupies a role of singular importance. It is neither a mere subordinate of the Verstand (understanding) nor a simple tool of the Vernunft (reason...