Search

[German Version] (Oct 18, 1859, Paris – Jan 4, 1941) became professor of philosophy …

1. Term “Symbol” (Gk. symbolon, Lat. symbolum) is a broad term with various senses and applications. Symbols are like signs in that they represent, or refer to, something that is other, or more, than themselves. The category of symbols is usually said to overlap that of signs. Some interpreters use the two terms almost interchangeably; others treat symbols as special kinds of signs with characteristics of their own. Still others seek to distinguish clearly between the two (Sign 1). Symbols and signs point beyond themselves. The conventional kind of sign usually has a single or uniform meaning. A red, octagonal road sign signals the motorist to stop. The word “dog,” whether written or spoken aloud, indicates a certain type of animal. Other objects or terms could have served these signifying purposes just as well, had society chosen to use them instead. Many symbols, however, are capable of multiple meanings. Their physical characteristics, whether as object or as executed action, are often especially ¶ suited to the meanings that the symbols convey, namely, suited to that to which the symbol points. For instance, the United States flag consists of stripes and stars, standing respectively for the original colonies and the current number of states. Flags of some Muslim-majority countries display the crescent moon and star, symbolism associated with Islam. For citizens of these countries, substitution of other elements on their flags would not convey the same messages. Paul Tillich (1886–1965) states in his Dynamics of Faith (1957) that a religious symbol participates …

1. Term A sign in the most general sense is something understood to stand for something else, for something other than the sign itself. To serve as a sign, it must be recognized as signifying what it stands for. People and computer programs recognize and employ signs. To determine whether other animals do too depends on what counts as a sign, and on the assessment of their cognitive and instinctual functions. There is no unanimity as to what counts as a sign or how to classify different sorts of signs. Some signs have a direct or natural connection between their characteristics or occurrence, and what they signify. For instance, thunder is a common but not infallible sign of imminent rainfall. Although our experience strongly connects the two, thunder is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for rain. Sometimes there is rain without thunder, sometimes thunder without rain. Other signs rely on convention to make them signifiers. For instance, a red octagonal sign tells a motorist to come to a stop before proceeding. Society picked this sign t…

1. Antiquity Skepticism (from Gk. skeptomai, “examine”) is a principle of thought, constantly modified in the history of philosophy, whereby doubt is cast on everything. It originated with the founder of the third post-Aristotelian school, Pyrrho of Elis (…

1. Classic Definition The term “causality” is used to identify a natural event or action as the effect of a cause. In conflict with the skepticism of D. Hume (1711–76), the principle that all that happens has a cause has been a basic epistemological formula from the time of I. Kant (1724–1804). Strictly speaking, its general validity became possible and meaningful only with Kant’s epistemology. According to Kant, causality is one of the necessary conditions…

1. Term and Concept In a secular context “nature” refers to “all that there is,” all the matter and energy in the universe, all the objects and forces that can be studied by the physical sciences. A narrow and popular sense, as in “nature study,” concerns mainly the plant and animal species, as well as the geology and meteorology, of earth’s environments. Philosophy of nature in the broad sense involves theoretical consideration not only of the kinds of natural entities that exist but also their interconnections and functions or ways of acting, expressed in terms of general laws. It is not science as such but a more general understanding of the world as science depicts it and of the scientific methods used in doing so. Philosophy of nature will therefore be part of any systematic philosophy or comprehe…