Expressions and Interpretations.
Our perceptions in Competition. - A Russian case
Our perceptions in Competition. - A Russian case
Presentation of the book “Expressions and Interpretations”
06.09.2006
"Expressions and Interpretations started as a study on Russian law, but developed to be a philosophical study of the most general nature. Due to its origins the work remains philosophy through Russia and Russia through philosophy.
We may call this a philosophy of Competitionism – people need names that encode thinking, so this name might serve as well to fill the need in this case. We could also use other names, such as Scientific Pragmatism, Philosophy of Infinite Variances, or why not Interpretationism, and even Expressionism (for we are really dealing with subjective feelings that are raised to the level of explanation of the objective observations) "
Jon Hellevig
Expressions and Interpretations.
Our perceptions in competition. – A Russian Case
This book deals with philosophy, language, philosophy of law and political sciences, all which are aspects (perceptions) of one. The book is a unique presentation starting with the basic elements of philosophy and language and then building up to a description of social and political life dealing with dimensions such as: democracy, law, economy and moral, which are all showed to be perceptions resulting from social practices. Competition is the key denominator for all these aspects of social life. With the fundaments laid the presentation moves on to deal with post-Soviet Russian social reality and especially with the emergence of Russian law from the ashes of Soviet past. – It is argued that democracy is a function of competition, and therefore a good political leadership manages society at whole the same way the economy is managed; by creating maximum possibilities for free non-monopolistic competition free of any abuse of dominant market position The main theses the book builds on are that: - Language represents interpretation of feelings and there is nothing more fundamental to it
- We need to make a sharp distinction between natural sciences and social sciences; natural sciences deal with things and their movements while social sciences do not have objects like things, but deal with expressions and interpretations (those fundamentally stemming from feelings) – (Inspired by the sorry state of contemporary academic moral theories and law I took in use the term ‘social science fiction’).
- Meaning is a current balance of competing expressions and interpretations
- Competition like we understand it in Economics is the organizing idea of all social cognition and sciences (although we have to be on our guard with the notion science)
- We do not even have a ‘scientific method’, but a ‘competitive method’
- The result is that in social sciences we are dealing with expressions and interpretations which in the mind create perceptions; these perceptions in turn being in constant competition.
- Law is first time ever properly defined as a Competition of Arguments
- Moral is not a separate set of rules (norms), but a the mode of relating
- Law is the result of social practices (legal practices). Law in an emerging country such as Russia will develop only with the development of people’s practices, not by mere issuance of laws and instructions as it is usually claimed.
- It is claimed that the Russian leadership has been successfully tackling these issues.
The author builds on the philosophy of Wittgenstein’s. In discussion of law there are frequent references to the work of Richard Posner. The Platonic – Kantian traditions are subjected to heavy criticism (Kant’s Copernican Contra-Revolution), while the opposite tradition of treat the British empiricists, most notably David Hume and Adam Smith are treated very favorably.
You can read further information from Jon Hellevig's home site: www.hellevig.ru
06.09.2006
"Expressions and Interpretations started as a study on Russian law, but developed to be a philosophical study of the most general nature. Due to its origins the work remains philosophy through Russia and Russia through philosophy.
We may call this a philosophy of Competitionism – people need names that encode thinking, so this name might serve as well to fill the need in this case. We could also use other names, such as Scientific Pragmatism, Philosophy of Infinite Variances, or why not Interpretationism, and even Expressionism (for we are really dealing with subjective feelings that are raised to the level of explanation of the objective observations) "
Jon Hellevig
Expressions and Interpretations.
Our perceptions in competition. – A Russian Case
This book deals with philosophy, language, philosophy of law and political sciences, all which are aspects (perceptions) of one. The book is a unique presentation starting with the basic elements of philosophy and language and then building up to a description of social and political life dealing with dimensions such as: democracy, law, economy and moral, which are all showed to be perceptions resulting from social practices. Competition is the key denominator for all these aspects of social life. With the fundaments laid the presentation moves on to deal with post-Soviet Russian social reality and especially with the emergence of Russian law from the ashes of Soviet past. – It is argued that democracy is a function of competition, and therefore a good political leadership manages society at whole the same way the economy is managed; by creating maximum possibilities for free non-monopolistic competition free of any abuse of dominant market position The main theses the book builds on are that: - Language represents interpretation of feelings and there is nothing more fundamental to it
- We need to make a sharp distinction between natural sciences and social sciences; natural sciences deal with things and their movements while social sciences do not have objects like things, but deal with expressions and interpretations (those fundamentally stemming from feelings) – (Inspired by the sorry state of contemporary academic moral theories and law I took in use the term ‘social science fiction’).
- Meaning is a current balance of competing expressions and interpretations
- Competition like we understand it in Economics is the organizing idea of all social cognition and sciences (although we have to be on our guard with the notion science)
- We do not even have a ‘scientific method’, but a ‘competitive method’
- The result is that in social sciences we are dealing with expressions and interpretations which in the mind create perceptions; these perceptions in turn being in constant competition.
- Law is first time ever properly defined as a Competition of Arguments
- Moral is not a separate set of rules (norms), but a the mode of relating
- Law is the result of social practices (legal practices). Law in an emerging country such as Russia will develop only with the development of people’s practices, not by mere issuance of laws and instructions as it is usually claimed.
- It is claimed that the Russian leadership has been successfully tackling these issues.
The author builds on the philosophy of Wittgenstein’s. In discussion of law there are frequent references to the work of Richard Posner. The Platonic – Kantian traditions are subjected to heavy criticism (Kant’s Copernican Contra-Revolution), while the opposite tradition of treat the British empiricists, most notably David Hume and Adam Smith are treated very favorably.
You can read further information from Jon Hellevig's home site: www.hellevig.ru
