Critical theory is a school of thought that stresses the examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism.
Category: Philosophy
Binary opposition – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Binary opposition – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In critical theory, a binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of terms or concepts that are theoretical opposites. In structuralism, a binary opposition is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language.
Structure, Sign, Play
The function of this center was not only to orient, balance, and organize the structure-one cannot in fact conceive of an unorganized structure-but above all to make sure that the organizing principle of the structure would limit what we might call the freeplay of the structure.
No doubt that by orienting and organizing the coherence of the system, the center of a structure permits the freeplay of its elements inside the total form. And even today the notion of a structure lacking any center represents the unthinkable itself.
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Ship of Theseus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
via Ship of Theseus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus’ paradox, or various variants, notably grandfather’s axe and (in the UK) Trigger’s Broom (based upon the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses) is a paradox that raises the question of whether an object which has had all its component parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object.
The paradox is most notably recorded by Plutarch in Life of Theseus from the late 1st century. Plutarch asked whether a ship which was restored by replacing all its wooden parts remained the same ship.
The paradox had been discussed by more ancient philosophers such as Heraclitus, Socrates, and Plato prior to Plutarch’s writings; and more recently by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. This problem is “a model for the philosophers”; some say “it remained the same, some saying it did not remain the same”
Geist – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geist – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Geist (German pronunciation: [ˈɡaɪst]) is a German word.
Depending on context it can be translated as the English words mind, spirit, or ghost, covering the semantic field of these three English nouns. Some English translators resort to using “spirit/mind” or “spirit (mind)” to help convey the meaning of the term.
Edmund Spenser‘s usage of the English-language word ‘ghost’, in his 1590 The Faerie Queene, demonstrates the former, broader meaning of the English-language term. In this context, the term describes the sleeping mind of a living person, rather than a ghost, or spirit of the dead.
The word Geist is etymologically identical to the English ghost (from a Common Germanic *gaistaz) but has retained its full range of meanings, while some applications of the English word ghost had become obsolete by the 17th century, replaced with the Latinate spirit.[3] For this reason, English-language translators of the term Geist from the German language face some difficulty in rendering the term, and often disagree as to the best translation in a given context.
Comparative literature – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Comparative literature (sometimes abbreviated “Comp. lit.”) is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups.
While most frequently practiced with works of different languages, comparative literature may also be performed on works of the same language if the works originate from different nations or cultures among which that language is spoken. Also included in the range of inquiry are comparisons of different types of art; for example, a relationship of film to literature. It is one of the degrees in English.
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General semantics – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General semantics is a program begun in the 1920’s that seeks to regulate the evaluative operations performed in the human brain.
General semantics is a program begun in the 1920’s that seeks to regulate the evaluative operations performed in the human brain.
General semantics – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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