KEMANUSIAAN
The Asian Journal of Humanities
Published by
Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia
| Past Issue - Volume 23, No. 2, 2016 |
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- Relation of Mutuality
Burhanuddin Baki
- Problems with the Essentialist Definitions and the Institutional Theory of Art
Lok Chong Hoe
Abstract: This paper investigates the major weaknesses in essentialist art theories including a transformed new version known as the institutional theory. Proponents of the institutional theory like Danto and Dickie believe that the essence of art is a relational (rather than physical) property, with Dickie arguing that the two common characteristics are: (i) the work must be an artefact; and (ii) there must be someone or institution that confers on it the status of object for appreciation. I will show that such institutional theories may describe a necessary property, but never the sufficient property of art. This means that like traditional essentialist theories, they (also) fail to identify the essence of art. I will then argue in support of Morris Weitz's claim that art is an open concept, and its capacity for incorporating very novel and different objects or activities makes it impossible (and a waste of effort) to describe the necessary and sufficient conditions of art.
Keywords and phrases: essence, necessary and sufficient properties, essentialist definition, institutional theory of art, open concept
- Examining the Convergences between Marx and Sen on Freedom and Institutions: Some Interpretive Notes and Issues
Eda Lou I. Ochangco
Abstract: This paper examines points of convergences between Karl Marx and Amartya Sen's conception of freedom. It begins by providing a brief interpretation of Karl Marx's ideas on freedom, and brings in some of these interpretations as complementary perspectives to Sen's conception of freedom. While it can be said that Marx did not intentionally develop systematic ideas on freedom and rights, it is however arguable that Marx himself had a very strong position on these issues, and that his ideas and perspectives may be used to further enlighten critical reflections on Sen's suggestions. One goal of this undertaking is to raise some theoretical ideas in the conceptualisation of solidarity specifically couched in Marx and Sen's language of freedom and rights.
Keywords and phrases: functionings and capabilities, positive freedom, agency, rights, Karl Marx
- Ethics Precedes Religious Beliefs: The Basis of Solidarity
Peter Chong-Beng Gan
Abstract: In this paper, I attempt to engage with the evidentialist principle of William Clifford in conjunction with the normative that the doctrinal and practical correlates of religious beliefs ought not to endorse any serious moral violations. This in turn facilitates the articulation of a structure for the basis of solidarity amongst people of different faiths. With the help of Kant's reflections on the concept of faith and on religion, I argue that ethics ought to have priority over religious beliefs, and this is essential in establishing a foundation for fostering an integrative existence amongst members of a multi-religious polity.
Keywords and phrases: ethics of belief, religion, ethics, solidarity, evidentialist
- On the Priority of Relational Ontology: The Complementarity of Heidegger's Being-With and Ethics of Care
Wu Shiu-Ching
Abstract: This paper aims to propose that Heidegger's Being and Time, in particular Heidegger's conceptions of Sorge (care) and Fürsorge (concern for others), and the ethics of care can be complementary. As I argue, insofar as Heidegger's fundamental ontology can be shown to deepen theoretical and ontological grounds for the ethics of care, the normativity of care, developed by care ethicists, that is founded upon the ontology of relationships is related to Heidegger's conception of authentic care, solicitude (Fürsorge). The complementary contributions of Heidegger's fundamental ontology and the ethics of care, in my argument, are essential to the success of each tradition of care. In addition, the complementary view is understood as co-disclosures of Mitsein between the ontological structure of Mitsein and the caring practices within the ontic home of everydayness. Insofar as the pursuit of one's well-being could include the well-being of others, we are heading for a shared political solidarity where Mitsein will always be an issue for the caring citizens.
Keywords and phrases: Relational ontology, ethics of care, Heidegger's Dasein, care (Sorge), concern for others (Fürsorge)
- Solidarity in Globalisation: When "I's" Live as "We"
Maybelle Marie O. Padua
Abstract: This paper explores the theme of community and its connection with solidarity. In an age of globalisation that tends to socio-economic development alone, Edith Stein's theory of community brings to the fore the relational character of our being persons who live with others. Stein's concept of community points to the experience of being and living with others in a way that helps us "promote a person-based and community-oriented process of world-wide integration that is open to transcendence," a project that Benedict XVI proposes in Caritas in Veritate. While many theories on community stress collectivism and the common good as being above the individual person, Stein's theory of community helps us regard both the individual person and community as central to achieving solidarity.
Keywords and phrases: Community, solidarity, empathy, spirit, experience, consciousness
- Dialectics and the Sublime in Evelyn Underhill's Mysticism: The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness
(PhD Abstract, 2014)
Peter Chong-Beng Gan
- Forcing and the Event: A Reconstruction of Alain Badiou's Mathematical Philosophy in Being and Event
(PhD Abstract, 2012)
Burhanuddin Baki
