The purpose of this article is to establish the modalities by which the long term memory processe... more The purpose of this article is to establish the modalities by which the long term memory processes become involved in aquiring and processing of the comercial ads. In our endevour, we have considered the model of associative memory since this has been found to be responsible for how the advertisment "reaches" the mind of the consumers. The main hypothesis of this model is that the information is organized as cognitive networks and product folders. Each individual cognitive network that is generated by a certain product contains a multitude of significant subnetworks consisting of and labeled by the brands relative to that specific product. When such a cognitive network is being accesed, its central processing hub, and to a certain extent, the cognitive subnetworks become involved in faciltating the processing of the newly aquired information. The first part of the article is dedicated to bringing light upon how advertising companies aquire knowledge about certain aspects related to the memories of the targeted consumers. In the second part, we analyze the role of associative memory from the perspective of its involvement in the long term storage of information, including the information pertaining to certain brands. In the third part, we look into determining what kind of changes ought to occur as a result of an advertising campaign which targets the semantic network of a product. In the last part of the article, we attempt to suggest a few fundamental conditions for each comerical ad to be able to ingrain and obtain a positive associative reaction from the targeted consumers in regard to a specific brand name.
The purpose of this article is to emphasize that the "how" of the process involved in the memoriz... more The purpose of this article is to emphasize that the "how" of the process involved in the memorization of a commercial message may influence the opinions across a population with regard to a given brand. Changing views of consumers towards a given brand does not imply that, perforce, the brand will be purchased or sold. This conclusion is based on findings from the field of experimental psychology. That is, the modification of the cognitive and emotional dimensions of an attitude does not necessarily lead to the amendment of its behavioural component. The messages presented in advertisement are not homogeneous stimuli, so to speak, purely cognitive stimuli. Commercials represent a complex of cognitive and emotional stimuli that may unequally affect the three aforementioned attitudinal components of consumers' behaviour towards a brand. Therefore, it's not surprising that sometimes people are absolutely fascinated by certain commercials, although mentally they have no drive or intention to buy the advertised brand or product.
The Scientific Annals of “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, May 22, 2015
The main purpose of this investigation is to identify counterarguments that can be made to the id... more The main purpose of this investigation is to identify counterarguments that can be made to the idea of truth understood as warranted assertability. From my point of view, this approach of truth has a number of drawbacks: the concept of assertability is unclear; there is no overlap between the meaning of the concept of truth and the concept of warranted assertability; warranted assertability may be equated with the local epistemic consensus, paving the way for epistemic relativism; warranted assertability involves a confusion between truth and foundation of knowledge; the theorists of warranted assertability accept as unproblematic the idea that we can talk about a "complete theory" or a "final stage of the research". My belief is that the idea of truth understood as warranted assertability has some undeniable merits: it promotes a fallible image about knowledge, it emphasizes that every epistemic effort depends on certain standards of foundation and it highlights that the possibility of reaching the truth depends on the efforts of the researcher to test and to found his opinions.
The Scientific Annals of “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, Dec 17, 2015
The aim of my research is to clarify the ontological status of brands among other types of artifa... more The aim of my research is to clarify the ontological status of brands among other types of artifacts. The effort to clarify this ontological problem follows three distinct lines of argumentation: First, I emphasize that there is a profound similarity between the way in which some philosophers understand the genesis of the artwork and how the genesis of a brand happens. Second, I argue that any brand is much more than what derives from tangible identity and from mental association. Any brand is a brandworld, a world resembling a fictional world. Finally, I advocate the autonomy of the brands as types of entities, arguing that brands do not have a shadowy existence and are not mere shadows of industrial products. If brands would not have autonomy and would not have a causal power, then many economic phenomena would become unintelligible.
The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specif... more The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specific of minimalist approach of truth as opposed to the specific of classical or metaphysical approach of truth. Secondly, I will try to present synthetic the main minimalist theories of truth. Thirdly, I will systematize the main virtues of minimalist theories of truth. I will argue that the main virtues of this approach are: understanding the truth as transparent property, removing unwanted metaphysical implications and eliminating unnecessary theorizing. Finally, I will indicate some difficulties of the minimalist approach of truth.
DOSSIER : POLITIQUE DE SANTE L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutiqu... more DOSSIER : POLITIQUE DE SANTE L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutique, exprimee deja depuis 1980 par Henry Gadsden, directeur executif de Merck, a ete que le potentiel des medicaments est limite a la seule categorie des malades. Il est dans la logique de l’industriel pharmacien d’une societe regie par la maximalisation du profit de produire des medicaments pour tous, y compris les sains. Ce reve de l’industrie pharmaceutique s’est fait realite non seulement par la mise sur le marche de supplements alimentaires que chacun peut s’auto-prescrire et consommer, mais aussi par la medicalisation de symptomes, reactions ou conduites presentes chez la plupart des hommes sains . Quelques considerations epistemologiques eclairent ce qui se joue derriere le diagnostic de la depression. Les antidepresseurs et « la psychiatrie sans preuve » et un biopouvoir en forme de monopole sur le discours de la verite qui agit par la reification de la souffrance psychique.
Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, si... more Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, since they fundamentally search for the essence (or true nature) of truth. The correspondence theory of truth is the most representative in this regard. There are several difficulties with the essentialist theories of truth, which led to the emergence of several alternatives. The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate three of them: the pragmatic theory of truth (the James-Rorty version), the deflationary theory and the pluralistic approach. I argue for overcoming monism and for accepting pluralism in our understanding of truth. At the same time, I argue-from a wittgensteinian point of view-for abandoning the attempt to build a general philosophical theory of truth. I plead for limiting the philosopher's role to the clarification of the specific ways in which the concept of truth is used in various forms of life and areas of scientific investigation. Multiple uses of the con...
The aim of this study is to determine several points of reference regarding the way in which Karl... more The aim of this study is to determine several points of reference regarding the way in which Karl Popper built up his philosophical discourse. I locate two specific ways in which Popper interpreted and used ideas belonging to other philosophers. Thus I distinguish in Popper between a projective hermeneutics (where the author uses a thesis that forms a part of his own philosophy in order to reconstruct and understand the ideas of another philosopher) and an ideological hermeneutics (where he uses a statement expressing an interest of the community whereof he is a member in order to interpret and reconstruct the text of another philosopher). In so doing I also highlight the considerable asymmetry between a representationalist hermeneutics, and a projective and, respectively, an ideological one. Whereas in the first case the interpreter wishes to unveil a truth about the philosophical text, in the other two he is rather expressing a desire to talk about himself, his own beliefs and con...
L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutique, exprimée déjà depuis 1980 ... more L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutique, exprimée déjà depuis 1980 par Henry Gadsden, directeur exécutif de Merck, a été que le potentiel des médicaments est limité à la catégorie seule des malades.1 Il est dans la logique du pharmacien de la société régie par la maximalisation du profit de produire des médicaments pour tous, y compris les sains. Ce rêve de l’industrie pharmaceutique s’est fait réalité non seulement par la mise sur le marché des marques de suppléments alimentaires que chacun peut s’auto-prescrire et consommer, mais aussi par la médicalisation de symptômes, réactions ou conduites présentes chez la plupart des hommes sains. Le spectre des maladies mentales a connu une véritable explosion : ergophobie, l’anxiété provoquée par la propreté, la phobie de surfaces lisses, la phobie de clowns, la phobie de vies antérieures, la peur des mots longs, etc. Tous ces syndromes ont été systématiquement accueillis par l’industrie pharmaceutique avec des remèdes chimiques, de larges gammes de pilules miracles. Notre objectif est d’évaluer dans une perspective critique quelques idées et pratiques dérivées de l’idéologie pharmacologique derrière la chimisation excessive de la dépression : en premier lieu, on fera une série d’observations relatives à la consistance et au raisonnable épistémologique des techniques de diagnostic de la dépression (et des anxiétés). En deuxième lieu, on évaluera la mesure dans laquelle la « psychiatrie fondée sur les preuves » est une réalité incontestable en ce qui concerne aussi les essais et l’autorisation des médicaments antidépressifs et anxiolytiques. Outre les témoignages de personnes avisées, on va présenter brièvement un cas (d’une série plus longue) où dans des hôpitaux roumains on a testé des médicaments appartenant au spectre psychiatrique en violant toute norme professionnelle et légale. En troisième lieu, on essaiera d’argumenter que la chimisation de la dépression est une forme de réductionnisme, propre à la rationalité occidentale, qui transforme des expériences subjectives, difficiles à investiguer scientifiquement, en une réalité chimique objective, plus facile à décrire et à systématiser scientifiquement. Ensuite, on va montrer comment la médicalisation et la chimisation excessive de certaines formes normales de souffrance humaine, qui n’ont aucune liaison évidente avec la dépression, transforment la dépression en une réalité pharmacologique extrêmement rentable. En quelque sorte, la consommation d’antidépresseurs modifie radicalement l’essence du biopouvoir : le pouvoir contrôle et administre les corps principalement non par des règles sociales très sévères ou par des établissements spécialisés (hôpitaux de psychiatrie, police, prisons), mais en transformant l’individu dans son propre gardien. Parce qu’il détient le contrôle sur le discours de la vérité médicale, le pouvoir réussit à faire une partie de l’individu surveiller l’autre en permanence. Le surmoi, jadis considéré comme le gardien de la civilisation devient – via marketing & antidépresseurs – gardien du fonctionnement rentable du corps. Le fonctionnement du corps quand même n’est pas rentable pour l’individu mais plutôt pour les entreprises pharmaceutiques.
Logos Architekton. Journal of Logic and Philosophy of Science, 2011
The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specif... more The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specific of minimalist approach of truth as opposed to the specific of classical or metaphysical approach of truth. Secondly, I will try to present synthetic the main minimalist theories of truth. Thirdly, I will systematize the main virtues of minimalist theories of truth. I will argue that the main virtues of this approach are: understanding the truth as transparent property, removing unwanted metaphysical implications and eliminating unnecessary theorizing. Finally, I will indicate some difficulties of the minimalist approach of truth.
Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, si... more Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, since they fundamentally search for the essence (or true nature) of truth. The correspondence theory of truth is the most representative in this regard. There are several difficulties with the essentialist theories of truth, which led to the emergence of several alternatives. The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate three of them: the pragmatic theory of truth (the James-Rorty version), the deflationary theory and the pluralistic approach. I argue for overcoming monism and for accepting pluralism in our understanding of truth. At the same time, I argue-from a wittgensteinian point of view-for abandoning the attempt to build a general philosophical theory of truth. I plead for limiting the philosopher's role to the clarification of the specific ways in which the concept of truth is used in various forms of life and areas of scientific investigation. Multiple uses of the concept of truth in different thematic areas cannot be synthesized, properly speaking, through a particular philosophical theory.
In this paper I pursue two goals. Firstly, I try to evaluate how Susan Haack receives and categor... more In this paper I pursue two goals. Firstly, I try to evaluate how Susan Haack receives and categorically rejects Rorty's anti-epistemological message from Philosophy and the Mirror of the Nature and some subsequent writings. I reconstruct Haack's counterarguments and Rorty's responses to these counterarguments. Secondly, I propose to deconstruct the theoretical position from which Haack orchestrates her attack on Rorty. On the one hand I show that she assumes a series of classical metaphysical presuppositions that are difficult to accept today, which predisposes her to a lack of hermeneutical flexibility and clarity. On the other hand, at least some of Haack's arguments against Rorty (i.e. those which are about the so-called relativism or the socalled Rortyan cynicism) are erroneous. Following Michael Williams, I point out that Rorty's position in Mirror is not against knowledge, since it raises questions about the legitimacy of epistemology. The challenge of my approach is not to defend Rorty (he does not need defense), but rather to examine the mechanism of a charge against him in the name of a pretended philosophical correctness. I call this type of charge "hermeneutics of annihilation". Haack's hermeneutics of annihilation is a pseudo-hermeneutics, since her goal is not to understand the stake of Rorty's philosophy exposed in Mirror. She only understood, from the point of view of an epistemologist ideology, that this work would be a threat to Truth, Knowledge, Epistemology, Science, and Reason.
The correspondence theory of truth was regarded for many centuries as the correct position in the... more The correspondence theory of truth was regarded for many centuries as the correct position in the problem of truth. The main purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which antirepresentationalist arguments devised by the pragmatists can destabilise the correspondence theory of truth. Thus, I identified three types of antirepresentationalist arguments: ontological, epistemological and semantic. Then I tried to outline the most significant varieties for each type of argument. Finally, I evaluated these counterarguments from a metaphilosophical perspective. The point I endeavoured to make is that these arguments are decisive neither in supporting the pragmatist theory of truth, nor in proving the failure of the correspondence theory of truth. Actually, we are dealing with two distinct modes of looking at the same problem, two theoretical approaches based on different sets of presuppositions. By examining the presuppositions of the classical theory of truth, the pragmatists engage in a theoretical undertaking with therapeutical qualities: they contributed significantly to the critical evaluation of a series of dogmas. The belief in the power of the human mind to mirror reality exactly as it is was one of these dogmas.
The purpose of this article is to establish the modalities by which the long term memory processe... more The purpose of this article is to establish the modalities by which the long term memory processes become involved in aquiring and processing of the comercial ads. In our endevour, we have considered the model of associative memory since this has been found to be responsible for how the advertisment "reaches" the mind of the consumers. The main hypothesis of this model is that the information is organized as cognitive networks and product folders. Each individual cognitive network that is generated by a certain product contains a multitude of significant subnetworks consisting of and labeled by the brands relative to that specific product. When such a cognitive network is being accesed, its central processing hub, and to a certain extent, the cognitive subnetworks become involved in faciltating the processing of the newly aquired information. The first part of the article is dedicated to bringing light upon how advertising companies aquire knowledge about certain aspects related to the memories of the targeted consumers. In the second part, we analyze the role of associative memory from the perspective of its involvement in the long term storage of information, including the information pertaining to certain brands. In the third part, we look into determining what kind of changes ought to occur as a result of an advertising campaign which targets the semantic network of a product. In the last part of the article, we attempt to suggest a few fundamental conditions for each comerical ad to be able to ingrain and obtain a positive associative reaction from the targeted consumers in regard to a specific brand name.
The purpose of this article is to emphasize that the "how" of the process involved in the memoriz... more The purpose of this article is to emphasize that the "how" of the process involved in the memorization of a commercial message may influence the opinions across a population with regard to a given brand. Changing views of consumers towards a given brand does not imply that, perforce, the brand will be purchased or sold. This conclusion is based on findings from the field of experimental psychology. That is, the modification of the cognitive and emotional dimensions of an attitude does not necessarily lead to the amendment of its behavioural component. The messages presented in advertisement are not homogeneous stimuli, so to speak, purely cognitive stimuli. Commercials represent a complex of cognitive and emotional stimuli that may unequally affect the three aforementioned attitudinal components of consumers' behaviour towards a brand. Therefore, it's not surprising that sometimes people are absolutely fascinated by certain commercials, although mentally they have no drive or intention to buy the advertised brand or product.
The Scientific Annals of “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, May 22, 2015
The main purpose of this investigation is to identify counterarguments that can be made to the id... more The main purpose of this investigation is to identify counterarguments that can be made to the idea of truth understood as warranted assertability. From my point of view, this approach of truth has a number of drawbacks: the concept of assertability is unclear; there is no overlap between the meaning of the concept of truth and the concept of warranted assertability; warranted assertability may be equated with the local epistemic consensus, paving the way for epistemic relativism; warranted assertability involves a confusion between truth and foundation of knowledge; the theorists of warranted assertability accept as unproblematic the idea that we can talk about a "complete theory" or a "final stage of the research". My belief is that the idea of truth understood as warranted assertability has some undeniable merits: it promotes a fallible image about knowledge, it emphasizes that every epistemic effort depends on certain standards of foundation and it highlights that the possibility of reaching the truth depends on the efforts of the researcher to test and to found his opinions.
The Scientific Annals of “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, Dec 17, 2015
The aim of my research is to clarify the ontological status of brands among other types of artifa... more The aim of my research is to clarify the ontological status of brands among other types of artifacts. The effort to clarify this ontological problem follows three distinct lines of argumentation: First, I emphasize that there is a profound similarity between the way in which some philosophers understand the genesis of the artwork and how the genesis of a brand happens. Second, I argue that any brand is much more than what derives from tangible identity and from mental association. Any brand is a brandworld, a world resembling a fictional world. Finally, I advocate the autonomy of the brands as types of entities, arguing that brands do not have a shadowy existence and are not mere shadows of industrial products. If brands would not have autonomy and would not have a causal power, then many economic phenomena would become unintelligible.
The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specif... more The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specific of minimalist approach of truth as opposed to the specific of classical or metaphysical approach of truth. Secondly, I will try to present synthetic the main minimalist theories of truth. Thirdly, I will systematize the main virtues of minimalist theories of truth. I will argue that the main virtues of this approach are: understanding the truth as transparent property, removing unwanted metaphysical implications and eliminating unnecessary theorizing. Finally, I will indicate some difficulties of the minimalist approach of truth.
DOSSIER : POLITIQUE DE SANTE L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutiqu... more DOSSIER : POLITIQUE DE SANTE L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutique, exprimee deja depuis 1980 par Henry Gadsden, directeur executif de Merck, a ete que le potentiel des medicaments est limite a la seule categorie des malades. Il est dans la logique de l’industriel pharmacien d’une societe regie par la maximalisation du profit de produire des medicaments pour tous, y compris les sains. Ce reve de l’industrie pharmaceutique s’est fait realite non seulement par la mise sur le marche de supplements alimentaires que chacun peut s’auto-prescrire et consommer, mais aussi par la medicalisation de symptomes, reactions ou conduites presentes chez la plupart des hommes sains . Quelques considerations epistemologiques eclairent ce qui se joue derriere le diagnostic de la depression. Les antidepresseurs et « la psychiatrie sans preuve » et un biopouvoir en forme de monopole sur le discours de la verite qui agit par la reification de la souffrance psychique.
Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, si... more Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, since they fundamentally search for the essence (or true nature) of truth. The correspondence theory of truth is the most representative in this regard. There are several difficulties with the essentialist theories of truth, which led to the emergence of several alternatives. The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate three of them: the pragmatic theory of truth (the James-Rorty version), the deflationary theory and the pluralistic approach. I argue for overcoming monism and for accepting pluralism in our understanding of truth. At the same time, I argue-from a wittgensteinian point of view-for abandoning the attempt to build a general philosophical theory of truth. I plead for limiting the philosopher's role to the clarification of the specific ways in which the concept of truth is used in various forms of life and areas of scientific investigation. Multiple uses of the con...
The aim of this study is to determine several points of reference regarding the way in which Karl... more The aim of this study is to determine several points of reference regarding the way in which Karl Popper built up his philosophical discourse. I locate two specific ways in which Popper interpreted and used ideas belonging to other philosophers. Thus I distinguish in Popper between a projective hermeneutics (where the author uses a thesis that forms a part of his own philosophy in order to reconstruct and understand the ideas of another philosopher) and an ideological hermeneutics (where he uses a statement expressing an interest of the community whereof he is a member in order to interpret and reconstruct the text of another philosopher). In so doing I also highlight the considerable asymmetry between a representationalist hermeneutics, and a projective and, respectively, an ideological one. Whereas in the first case the interpreter wishes to unveil a truth about the philosophical text, in the other two he is rather expressing a desire to talk about himself, his own beliefs and con...
L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutique, exprimée déjà depuis 1980 ... more L’une des frustrations les plus grandes de l’industrie pharmaceutique, exprimée déjà depuis 1980 par Henry Gadsden, directeur exécutif de Merck, a été que le potentiel des médicaments est limité à la catégorie seule des malades.1 Il est dans la logique du pharmacien de la société régie par la maximalisation du profit de produire des médicaments pour tous, y compris les sains. Ce rêve de l’industrie pharmaceutique s’est fait réalité non seulement par la mise sur le marché des marques de suppléments alimentaires que chacun peut s’auto-prescrire et consommer, mais aussi par la médicalisation de symptômes, réactions ou conduites présentes chez la plupart des hommes sains. Le spectre des maladies mentales a connu une véritable explosion : ergophobie, l’anxiété provoquée par la propreté, la phobie de surfaces lisses, la phobie de clowns, la phobie de vies antérieures, la peur des mots longs, etc. Tous ces syndromes ont été systématiquement accueillis par l’industrie pharmaceutique avec des remèdes chimiques, de larges gammes de pilules miracles. Notre objectif est d’évaluer dans une perspective critique quelques idées et pratiques dérivées de l’idéologie pharmacologique derrière la chimisation excessive de la dépression : en premier lieu, on fera une série d’observations relatives à la consistance et au raisonnable épistémologique des techniques de diagnostic de la dépression (et des anxiétés). En deuxième lieu, on évaluera la mesure dans laquelle la « psychiatrie fondée sur les preuves » est une réalité incontestable en ce qui concerne aussi les essais et l’autorisation des médicaments antidépressifs et anxiolytiques. Outre les témoignages de personnes avisées, on va présenter brièvement un cas (d’une série plus longue) où dans des hôpitaux roumains on a testé des médicaments appartenant au spectre psychiatrique en violant toute norme professionnelle et légale. En troisième lieu, on essaiera d’argumenter que la chimisation de la dépression est une forme de réductionnisme, propre à la rationalité occidentale, qui transforme des expériences subjectives, difficiles à investiguer scientifiquement, en une réalité chimique objective, plus facile à décrire et à systématiser scientifiquement. Ensuite, on va montrer comment la médicalisation et la chimisation excessive de certaines formes normales de souffrance humaine, qui n’ont aucune liaison évidente avec la dépression, transforment la dépression en une réalité pharmacologique extrêmement rentable. En quelque sorte, la consommation d’antidépresseurs modifie radicalement l’essence du biopouvoir : le pouvoir contrôle et administre les corps principalement non par des règles sociales très sévères ou par des établissements spécialisés (hôpitaux de psychiatrie, police, prisons), mais en transformant l’individu dans son propre gardien. Parce qu’il détient le contrôle sur le discours de la vérité médicale, le pouvoir réussit à faire une partie de l’individu surveiller l’autre en permanence. Le surmoi, jadis considéré comme le gardien de la civilisation devient – via marketing & antidépresseurs – gardien du fonctionnement rentable du corps. Le fonctionnement du corps quand même n’est pas rentable pour l’individu mais plutôt pour les entreprises pharmaceutiques.
Logos Architekton. Journal of Logic and Philosophy of Science, 2011
The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specif... more The investigation from this paper has several purposes. First, I will try to highlight the specific of minimalist approach of truth as opposed to the specific of classical or metaphysical approach of truth. Secondly, I will try to present synthetic the main minimalist theories of truth. Thirdly, I will systematize the main virtues of minimalist theories of truth. I will argue that the main virtues of this approach are: understanding the truth as transparent property, removing unwanted metaphysical implications and eliminating unnecessary theorizing. Finally, I will indicate some difficulties of the minimalist approach of truth.
Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, si... more Truths without Essence: Post-Theoretical Reflections Classical theories of truth are monistic, since they fundamentally search for the essence (or true nature) of truth. The correspondence theory of truth is the most representative in this regard. There are several difficulties with the essentialist theories of truth, which led to the emergence of several alternatives. The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate three of them: the pragmatic theory of truth (the James-Rorty version), the deflationary theory and the pluralistic approach. I argue for overcoming monism and for accepting pluralism in our understanding of truth. At the same time, I argue-from a wittgensteinian point of view-for abandoning the attempt to build a general philosophical theory of truth. I plead for limiting the philosopher's role to the clarification of the specific ways in which the concept of truth is used in various forms of life and areas of scientific investigation. Multiple uses of the concept of truth in different thematic areas cannot be synthesized, properly speaking, through a particular philosophical theory.
In this paper I pursue two goals. Firstly, I try to evaluate how Susan Haack receives and categor... more In this paper I pursue two goals. Firstly, I try to evaluate how Susan Haack receives and categorically rejects Rorty's anti-epistemological message from Philosophy and the Mirror of the Nature and some subsequent writings. I reconstruct Haack's counterarguments and Rorty's responses to these counterarguments. Secondly, I propose to deconstruct the theoretical position from which Haack orchestrates her attack on Rorty. On the one hand I show that she assumes a series of classical metaphysical presuppositions that are difficult to accept today, which predisposes her to a lack of hermeneutical flexibility and clarity. On the other hand, at least some of Haack's arguments against Rorty (i.e. those which are about the so-called relativism or the socalled Rortyan cynicism) are erroneous. Following Michael Williams, I point out that Rorty's position in Mirror is not against knowledge, since it raises questions about the legitimacy of epistemology. The challenge of my approach is not to defend Rorty (he does not need defense), but rather to examine the mechanism of a charge against him in the name of a pretended philosophical correctness. I call this type of charge "hermeneutics of annihilation". Haack's hermeneutics of annihilation is a pseudo-hermeneutics, since her goal is not to understand the stake of Rorty's philosophy exposed in Mirror. She only understood, from the point of view of an epistemologist ideology, that this work would be a threat to Truth, Knowledge, Epistemology, Science, and Reason.
The correspondence theory of truth was regarded for many centuries as the correct position in the... more The correspondence theory of truth was regarded for many centuries as the correct position in the problem of truth. The main purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which antirepresentationalist arguments devised by the pragmatists can destabilise the correspondence theory of truth. Thus, I identified three types of antirepresentationalist arguments: ontological, epistemological and semantic. Then I tried to outline the most significant varieties for each type of argument. Finally, I evaluated these counterarguments from a metaphilosophical perspective. The point I endeavoured to make is that these arguments are decisive neither in supporting the pragmatist theory of truth, nor in proving the failure of the correspondence theory of truth. Actually, we are dealing with two distinct modes of looking at the same problem, two theoretical approaches based on different sets of presuppositions. By examining the presuppositions of the classical theory of truth, the pragmatists engage in a theoretical undertaking with therapeutical qualities: they contributed significantly to the critical evaluation of a series of dogmas. The belief in the power of the human mind to mirror reality exactly as it is was one of these dogmas.
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