• I like sushi
    4.3k
    Dewey eventually came to believe that conventional philosophical terms such as “truth” and “knowledge” were burdened with so much baggage, and had become so fossilized, that it was difficult to grasp the practical role these terms had originally served. As a result, in his later writings Dewey largely avoids speaking of “truth” or “knowledge” while focusing instead on the functions played by these concepts. By his 1938 Logic: The Theory of Inquiry Dewey was speaking of “warranted assertibility” as the goal of inquiry, using this term in place of both “truth” and “knowledge” (1938 [2008: 15–16]). In 1941, in a response to Russell entitled “Propositions, Warranted Assertibility, and Truth”, he wrote that “warranted assertibility” is a “definition of the nature of knowledge in the honorific sense according to which only true beliefs are knowledge” (1941: 169). Here Dewey suggests that “warranted assertibility” is a better way of capturing the function of both knowledge and truth insofar as both are goals of inquiry. His point is that it makes little difference, pragmatically, whether we describe the goal of inquiry as “acquiring more knowledge”, “acquiring more truth”, or better yet, “making more warrantably assertible judgments”.

    https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth-pragmatic/#DewePragTheoTrut

    I'm interested to hear about other terms, or sets of terms, that have a habit of stagnating discussions in philosophy and of ideas about how to deal with this.

    Thank you :)
  • thewonder
    1.4k

    Contentious bid for "subjectivity", here. It's either the feigned ekstatic celebration of what is not, but is often called "différance", actually the rather veritable concept of what I recall Gilles Deleuze identifying as "differenciation", at least, according to the translator, in Difference and Repetition, in the eyes of French philosophers or or solipsistic idealism in those of English or American ones respectively. Empiricism just seems to necessarily entail subjectivity and no one ascribes to solipsistic idealism. It's just kind of Analytic philosophy in this regard.

    Another one, though, is "justice". Cicero was rad as all hell to point out that justice was the only virtue via the "Sword of Damocles", an allegory that kind of a lot of people unfortunately don't get, but, justice seems to carry all of these connotations that have little to nothing to do with stilting the scales for good over evil in the world.
  • thewonder
    1.4k
    Also, "aesthetics". I must say that I am only revolted by conversations about the "aesthetics of violence" and, perhaps, even more, about those so-inclined to invoke what you might call an odd kind of "neo-classism". The inclusion of the "aesthetic" within discourse on biopolitics, though, perhaps, beginning as a veritable critique of symbolic power, now reminds me of the implicit closing line to Breathless, the injunction to vomit.
  • thewonder
    1.4k
    Also, the favored whipping post of critical theorists and Christian moralists alike, "romanticism". They have, again, outlawed what the best of Victoria novelists sought to liberate. Some things never change, y'know what I mean?
  • baker
    5.6k
    I'm interested to hear about other terms, or sets of terms, that have a habit of stagnating discussionsI like sushi

    Rational, rationality.


    Irrational, iirationality.
  • Mww
    4.5k
    terms, or sets of terms, that have a habit of stagnating discussions in philosophyI like sushi

    Take the guy making the greatest impression of his time, find the premier terms he uses....done deal.

    Regarding Western philosophy, Classical: matter/form; Medieval: mind/body; Enlightenment: synthetic/analytic; Modern: meaning/use.

    Loosely speaking.
  • TheMadFool
    13.8k
    Gennaion Pseudos/Pious Fiction/Noble Lie

    White Lie

    Truth is not the only game in town. Hedonism is a strong contender to the title of ultimas meta. It seems crucial to bear in mind that these rather dubious, morally speaking that is, ideas are closely related to politics, basically dirty games, big and small.

    Agnoiology (unknownables)

    God of the gaps

    Red Pill Or Blue Pill

    I'll end this haphazard list with a quote:

    Our senses evolved really for one purpose - survival - but survival and the true nature of reality are two different subjects. — Brian Greene (physicist)
  • T Clark
    13k
    I'm interested to hear about other terms, or sets of terms, that have a habit of stagnating discussions in philosophy and of ideas about how to deal with this.I like sushi

    A couple of thoughts. First - I'm not so much bothered by terms being "fossilized" as I am by the fact that they have taken on so many different meanings it is hard to have a coherent discussion. Solution - define your terms well in the OP and enforce that meaning throughout the thread.

    Second - There is a difference between "truth" and "warranted assertibility." They mean different things. They represent different metaphysical approaches to reality. There wouldn't be such a problem with fossilization if people would accept that different metaphysical approaches are not right or wrong, just more or less useful in particular situations.

    There - I just got to bang on two of my favorite drums at once.
  • Yohan
    679
    I'd say any ambiguous term like 'philosophy', especially when its used in a limited way to mean, for example, western philosophy, yet such isn't specified.
  • TheMadFool
    13.8k
    I prefer Peter GreenI like sushi

    Who that?
  • Olivier5
    6.2k
    To the OP, the adjective 'continental' is dead, as it should be.
  • Gnomon
    3.5k
    I'm interested to hear about other terms, or sets of terms, that have a habit of stagnating discussions in philosophy and of ideas about how to deal with this.I like sushi
    We could always go back to the grunts & gestures of cavemen. :joke:
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