scholarly journals The pragma-dialectical approach to circularity in argumentation

2011 ◽  
pp. 265-280
Author(s):  
Jan Albert van Laar ◽  
David M. Godden
Keyword(s):  

Back in the late 1950s, C.P. Snow famously defined science negatively by separating it from what it was not, namely literature. Such polarization, however, creates more problems than it solves. By contrast, the two co-editors of the book have adopted a dialectical approach to the subject, and to the numerous readers who keep asking themselves “what is science?”, we provide an answer from an early modern perspective, whereby “science” actually includes such various intellectual pursuits as history, poetry, occultism, or philosophy. Each essay illustrates one particular aspect of Shakespeare’s works and links science with the promise of the spectacular. This volume aims at bridging the gap between Renaissance literature and early modern science, focusing as it does on a complex intellectual territory, situated at the point of juncture between humanism, natural magic and craftsmanship. We assume that science and literature constantly interacted with one another, making clear the fact that what we now call “literature” and what we choose to see as “science” were not clearly separated in Shakespeare’s days but rather part of a common intellectual territory.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 991-1016
Author(s):  
A.G. Lukin

Subject. This article explores the main points of the theory of financial management, developed within the framework of the Western general theory of finance, and the theory of financial management developed in the Soviet Union. Objectives. The article aims to substantiate an idea that these theories are complementary, and their harmonious application can help build the most effective system of financial relations management at both the macro-and microeconomic levels. Methods. For the study, I used a dialectical approach and the methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis, and historical analysis. Results. The article substantiates the point that the methodology of Western financial management theory is aimed at managing external financial flows and combating external financial risks. It notes that the Soviet theory regulates methods and techniques of financial management within the business entity or the State. Conclusions. Theoretical updating of the Soviet practices of financial management combined with the modern achievements of financial management theory will create conditions for the formation of an optimal financial management structure at both the micro-and macroeconomic levels. This can improve the efficiency of financial management, in general. Renewed interest in the theoretical developments of the Soviet Union will contribute to the development of financial science at the present stage.


Libri ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-237
Author(s):  
Mahdi Zeynali-Tazehkandi ◽  
Mohsen Nowkarizi

AbstractEvaluation of information retrieval systems is a fundamental topic in Library and Information Science. The aim of this paper is to connect the system-oriented and the user-oriented approaches to relevant philosophical schools. By reviewing the related literature, it was found that the evaluation of information retrieval systems is successful if it benefits from both system-oriented and user-oriented approaches (composite). The system-oriented approach is rooted in Parmenides’ philosophy of stability (immovable) which Plato accepts and attributes to the world of forms; the user-oriented approach is rooted in Heraclitus’ flux philosophy (motion) which Plato defers and attributes to the tangible world. Thus, using Plato’s theory is a comprehensive approach for recognizing the concept of relevance. The theoretical and philosophical foundations determine the type of research methods and techniques. Therefore, Plato’s dialectical method is an appropriate composite method for evaluating information retrieval systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-244
Author(s):  
Mikhailo KOBCHENKO

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to define methodological grounds of assessment of agricultural land using efficiency. The article is devoted to definition of the indicators system of land using efficiency. Methods of research. The solution of the tasks in the article is carried out with the help of such scientific and special research methods as: analysis and synthesis, systematization and generalization, the dialectical approach. Results. The structural balance between cost of land and production resources has been investigated, which leads to the need of many alternatives for the purpose and use of the respective territories on the basis of the modern system of land using efficiency assessment when determining the benefits of land resources using for agricultural production. Originality. It has been proved that to create and enforce a uniform indicators system of land using efficiency is necessary to determine all the factors that affect land use, to reflect the degree and type of each factor influence using the indicators of efficiency of the land use. Indicators of economic efficiency of land using and the intensity of land use are systemized. Practical importance. The methodical approach of agricultural lands using evaluation in the following areas has been justifed in the article: completeness of land use, rational land use, the level of land use intensity, efficient land use. The methodical approach has been presented to the calculation of potential losses from specific land uses in specific circumstances. It is proposed to assess the land using efficiency on the basis of indicators calculations of environmental and economic damage. Basic scientific principles can be used in the practice of agricultural enterprises. Keywords: management, methodological bases, evaluation, efficiency, and agricultural land use.


Author(s):  
Alexander A. Somkin

Introduction. The paper analyzes the specificity of the dialectical development of the integrated social systems of such a personality and society. The presence of positive (natural) contradictions is recognized as a necessary and creative factor in social practice. Under the influence of this type of contradiction, the old, outdated forms of social structure (individual components of the social system) are denied and transformed to new, more perfect ones occurs as a result of their successful resolution. Methods. In the analysis, the author relied on a system-holistic approach, traditional general philosophical methods: induction and deduction, theoretical analysis and synthesis, extrapolation, etc. Discussion. The social system as an integrated unity goes through a number of stages from inception, formation and maturity to the transition to a qualitatively new state. Accordingly, the process of the emergence and development of dialectical contradictions also has several stages: from insignificant differences between opposite sides at the beginning of the emergence of the system to their strengthening and exacerbation. The nature of the contradictions depends on the specifics of the opposing sides, as well as on the conditions in which their interaction unfolds. The determining factor here, in the opinion of the author, is the positive (natural) direction of social opposition, under the influence of which the essence of the contradictions themselves is formed. Conclusion. According to the dialectical approach, the source of social development is the unity and struggle of opposites within the social system. However, the presence of opposite sides is a necessary but insufficient condition for development. They create the preconditions for it, but do not act as its driving force. Only a change in one opposition relative to another creates alternative tension, giving rise to a dialectical contradiction. Therefore, the antagonistic or non-antagonistic character of the latter is due to the positive (natural) or negative character of the social opposition itself.


Humanities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 78 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Baumlin ◽  
Craig Meyer

The aim of this essay is to introduce, contextualize, and provide rationale for texts published in the Humanities special issue, Histories of Ethos: World Perspectives on Rhetoric. It surveys theories of ethos and selfhood that have evolved since the mid-twentieth century, in order to identify trends in discourse of the new millennium. It outlines the dominant theories—existentialist, neo-Aristotelian, social-constructionist, and poststructuralist—while summarizing major theorists of language and culture (Archer, Bourdieu, Foucault, Geertz, Giddens, Gusdorf, Heidegger). It argues for a perspectivist/dialectical approach, given that no one theory comprehends the rich diversity of living discourse. While outlining the “current state of theory,” this essay also seeks to predict, and promote, discursive practices that will carry ethos into a hopeful future. (We seek, not simply to study ethos, but to do ethos.) With respect to twenty-first century praxis, this introduction aims at the following: to acknowledge the expressive core of discourse spoken or written, in ways that reaffirm and restore an epideictic function to ethos/rhetoric; to demonstrate the positionality of discourse, whereby speakers and writers “out themselves” ethotically (that is, responsively and responsibly); to explore ethos as a mode of cultural and embodied personal narrative; to encourage an ethotic “scholarship of the personal,” expressive of one’s identification/participation with/in the subject of research; to argue on behalf of an iatrological ethos/rhetoric based in empathy, care, healing (of the past) and liberation/empowerment (toward the future); to foster interdisciplinarity in the study/exploration/performance of ethos, establishing a conversation among scholars across the humanities; and to promote new versions and hybridizations of ethos/rhetoric. Each of the essays gathered in the abovementioned special issue achieves one or more of these aims. Most are “cultural histories” told within the culture being surveyed: while they invite criticism as scholarship, they ask readers to serve as witnesses to their stories. Most of the authors are themselves “positioned” in ways that turn their texts into “outings” or performances of gender, ethnicity, “race,” or ability. And most affirm the expressive, epideictic function of ethos/rhetoric: that is, they aim to display, affirm, and celebrate those “markers of identity/difference” that distinguish, even as they humanize, each individual and cultural storytelling. These assertions and assumptions lead us to declare that Histories of Ethos, as a collection, presents a whole greater than its essay-parts. We conceive it, finally, as a conversation among theories, histories, analyses, praxes, and performances. Some of this, we know, goes against the grain of modern (Western) scholarship, which privileges analysis over narrative and judges texts against its own logocentric commitments. By means of this introduction and collection, we invite our colleagues in, across, and beyond the academy “to see differently.” Should we fall short, we will at least have affirmed that some of us “see the world and self”—and talk about the world and self—through different lenses and within different cultural vocabularies and positions.


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