Peter Strawson’s Descriptive Metaphysics and its Cosmological Implications

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Open Access
by Sergii Rudenko1 and Pavlo Sobolievskyi2
1 Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine)
2 Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/32/12
Received: 18 November 2023 / Accepted: 25 December 2023 / Published: 5 February 2024

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Abstract

The focus of this article is the examination of potential applications of linguistic philosophy, particularly the philosophy of natural language, to elucidate certain aspects of cosmology. Using the foundational principles of Strawson’s descriptive metaphysics as a guide, the article suggests plausible strategies for employing the tools of linguistic philosophers in analyzing key concepts within, for example, Chinese cosmology. The vast majority of researchers of Chinese cosmology used one of the two most common approaches – historical or philosophical. The historical approach involved the analysis of the cosmological concept of crises through the prism of the history of the development of socio-cultural and political factors, as well as through the analysis of the historical development of the main ideas and texts. The philosophical approach considered the cosmological concept as a “philosophical school”, tending to consider cosmology in the context of comparison with the Western tradition of philosophy and science. Both approaches have significant limitations. Strawson is not a classic representative of linguistic philosophy, because his approach to using the methodology of the school of everyday language is original and allows returning metaphysics to the field of view of analytical philosophy. His metaphysical essay on the model of the relationship between language and the world does not raise questions about the criteria of existence. This is important because Chinese cosmology is closely related to cultural factors and rituals. It is the analysis of cosmology as a complete system that should become the main task of the researcher. The methodology of the school of everyday language in Strawson’s interpretation is seen as promising for providing an original interpretation and clarification of some main points of non-European cosmology. The goal is to assess whether the methodology of Ordinary Language Philosophy remains relevant for advancing cosmological and metaphysical accounts.

Keywords: ordinary language philosophy, philosophy of cosmology, linguistic philosophy, descriptive metaphysics, cosmology and culture, Chinese cosmology.

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Rudenko, Sergii and Pavlo Sobolievskyi (2024) Peter Strawson’s Descriptive Metaphysics and its Cosmological Implications. Philosophy and Cosmology, Volume 32, 155-164. https://doi.org/10.29202/phil-cosm/32/12
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