Massimo Vittorio

This paper focuses on the concept of symbol and tries to outline its function as a means of communication. In order to describe the communicative qualities of symbol, it is necessary to show its ethical nature. The paper analyses the role symbols play in intersubjective relations, in the construction of the individual’s reality, and in the human ability to attribute meanings and assign functions.The conceptual frame- work for the understanding of what symbol is, how it works, and how it is made is a particular combination of phenomenology and pragmatism, which lies on the theory of ‘appresentation’, as we can find it in Alfred Schütz’s viewpoint. The paper invites a reflection on the power of symbol, particularly on its power to communicate the incommunicable.

The paper focuses on the relationship between nature and eth- ics, particularly by considering nature as a convention, the result of a so- cial agreement, which is based on the criterion of social utility. In order to analyse this relationship, my assumption takes into consideration three pathways: evolutionary ethics, with reference to Paul Rée; error theo- ry, with reference to John Mackie; and the concept of commodification, with reference to Ralph W. Emerson. I try to connect these perspectives in order to re-define the concepts of judgment and objectivity, showing that both can be viewed as standard or criteria of evaluation according to specific context and needs. My final aim is to show that Emerson’s concept of commodification corroborates the interpretation of nature in relation with the concept of social utility.

This is a book about John Leslie Mackie’s ethics. Its aim is to offer an updated view on his thought and a global perspective on his philosophy, which has thusfar been seen from an exclusive standpoint within analytical philosophy. The book connects the main aspects of Mackie’s philosophy, which have basically been analyzed separately, and intertwines them within a consistent framework. The result is a new, wider perspective on Mackie’s thought, representing a precious tile within the puzzle of contemporary ethics and ontology. The book tries to render the whole of Mackie’s thought and its unity and, at the same time, it tries to locate it within a specific area between meta-ethics, logic, and ontology. "Principles and causes" should be of interest to a wide community of philosophy scholars, serving as a reference volume in contemporary ethics and ontology, a good connection to social ontology and essential reading for those interested in meta-ethics.

O artigo aborda a interação entre ética e ontologia, nomeadamente em matéria de ética e ontologia sociais. Ao apresentar alguns pressupostos iniciais, que se relacionam com Kant, Popper e Searle, o trabalho investiga o tema da realidade como uma atividade de significado humano. De acordo com a perspectiva da ontologia social, o artigo tem por hipótese a existência de um conjunto de objetos, cuja realidade depende do par de critérios: interação e sociabilidade. Tendo em conta estes dois critérios, o artigo analisa a relação entre ontologia social e ética, com o objetivo de mostrar se a moral pode ser concebida como uma produção humana e, portanto, como uma prática moral. Se este for o caso, então a ética não tem a ver com a verdade, mas com outro conteúdo. O artigo procura delinear um critério moral baseada na utilidade social, de acordo com uma tradição filosófica específica que segue as teorias de Darwin, passando por Rée, até o pragmatismo de Dewey. O objetivo do texto é delinear a possibilidade de uma nova abordagem para a ética como sistema de normas de avaliação, passando por uma nova definição da realidade, conectando verdade a utilidade, e considerando o papel desempenhado pelo acordo social, o que torna a ética uma questão das normas.

Here analyse I the problem of the relation between tradition and innovation through John Dewey’s most significant writings on this topic. In order to do that, I focus not only on the basic Darwinian background of Dewey’s thought, which is clearly stated in his works of the new century , but on two main dichotomies that mark a great part of Dewey’s interests: mind-body and philosophy-science. The first one, mind-body, let me show as Dewey’s idea of transaction conveys to the most recent studies, mainly those on the role of emotion and on the concept of interaction . The first dichotomy recalls the second one, philosophy-science, which it belongs to. And both the dualisms stand for a big one: old logic versus new logic. We could solve the perennial dispute between tradition and innovation assuming the new logic as the place where they can profitably merge, if we pay attention to the interactions between mind and body, that is between ambience and humans, otherwise none of those dichotomies can be solved. So, I end up by posing a capital question: are logic, education, politics, and ethics properly developed to foster a beneficial interaction between minds and bodies, between milieus and people, between tradition and innovation?

This chapter outlines Ortega y Gasset’s views on the role of culture in modern society and the malaises that affect it. The Spanish philosopher presents some flaws of modern culture in terms of bigotry and relates it to another phenomenon essential to modern science: specialization. The chapter shows how these traits of modern culture are the result of the emergence of a new kind of human being, a new anthropological category: the mass-man, as presented in his work The Revolt of the Masses. The idea of progressivism falls short: on the contrary, culture calls for problematicness, drama, danger, and uncertainty, all elements that also mark life. The chapter concludes by pinpointing the strict connection between culture and life.