In this paper, we give a comprehensive summary of the discussion on the Epicurean critique of mathematics and in particular of Euclid’s geometry. We examine the methodological critique of the Epicureans on mathematics and we assess whether a “mathematical atomism” was proposed, and its implications. Finally, we examine the Epicurean philosophical stance on mathematics and evaluate whether it wa...

We often try to infer reality of objects, or concepts, by assuming their existence or consistence and deducing consequences so extreme in appearance, with respect to the starting assumptions, to imply the searched reality, once their truth can be be checked. This process has been behind many of the great advances in Science, in Physics at least. As an example I am thinking of the "aristotelian"...

Theoretical Neuroscience seeks to delineate conceptualizations which would generate explanatory and predictive accounts of empirical observations in the Neurosciences. At its inception in the late part of the 19th Century, it dealt creatively with what one could call 'virtual objects'. For instance Sherrington's Synapse and 'central excitatory/inhibitory states' were ideas whose actualization i...

Mirror neurons have been hailed as the key to understanding social cognition. I argue that three currents of thought-relating to evolution, atomism and telepathy-have magnified the perceived importance of mirror neurons. When they are understood to be a product of associative learning, rather than an adaptation for social cognition, mirror neurons are no longer mesmerising, but they continue to...

The article reviews Althusser’s Philosophy of the Encounter, examining in turn the problem of the Epistemological Break and the idea of matérialisme aléatoire. It looks at Althusser’s critique of the concept of commodity fetishism and suggests a possible response. It goes on to situate the matérialisme aléatoire in the context of the history of atomism with particular reference to the work of B...

N.Athavan Department of Physics, H.H. The Rajah’s College, Pudukottai 622 001, Tamilnadu, India Abstract In this manuscript we present a brief life history of Ludwig Edward Boltzmann and his achivements. Particularly, we discuss his H-theorem, his work on entropy and statistical interpretation of second-law of thermodynamics. We point out his some other contributions in physics, characteristics...

Inspired by Habermasian critiques of liberalism, supporters of deliberative democracy seek an extension of social democratic institutions to further a reinvigorated communicative rationality against the ‘atomism’ of market processes. This paper offers a critique of deliberative democratic theory from a Hayekian perspective. For Hayek, the case against the social democratic state rests with the ...

While holism and atomism are often treated as mutually exclusive approaches to semantic theory, the apparent tension between the two usually results from running together distinct levels of semantic explanation. In particular, there is no reason why one can’t combine an atomistic conception of what the semantic values of our words are (one’s “descriptive semantics”), with a holistic explanation...