The project explores questions and problems of intelligence as considered in Plato's philosophy and the philosophical tradition of Platonism, comparing these with results of contemporary research in psychology, neurophysiology, educational theory, neural and cognitive science. Taking as point of departure the unique literary and philosophical monuments known as Plato's dialogues, we follow the development of theories of human intelligence in Platonist philosophy from the its origins in the fragments of the Presocratics to modern representatives of rationalist and idealist philosophy belonging to or influenced by the Platonist tradition. Their differentiation of levels and forms of intelligence, and a corresponding diversity in the quality and content of experience, i.e. specific aspects of reality accessed in a specific way by distinct aspects (levels, forms) of intelligence, is compared with complex structures and functioning of human intelligence revealed anew by empirical results regarding intelligence in the sciences, arts, and education. We explore the origins of rational investigation, logic, and scientific method in Plato and Platonist philosophy and their rootedness in the structures of human intelligence. The method of philosophical inquiry engendered by the Platonic dialogues and developed thematically by the Platonist tradition of philosophy permit us furthermore to advance a rational approach to the discovery and specification of "boundary conditions" of intelligence and of our experience of reality, as well as of the conditions of transcendence of those boundaries, that is: of the self-transcendent nature of intelligence itself.

Philosophical inquiry by project members concerning forms of intelligence and questions of human values and existence, as well as metaphysical and epistemological themes, theories of mind and educational theory, form the basis for pedagogical, social, ecological, and cultural initiatives aimed at improving the lives of individuals and society today, by helping them attain the skills and insights needed in order to find and implement effective, long-term solutions for urgent economic, social, political, and ecological issues. Among the intitiatives founded by the project are Project Stohrenschule, founded 2006, a project on philosophizing with children youth and adults, promoting individual creativity, innovativeness, self-confidence and self-esteem, mutual respect, tolerance, solidarity, responsibility, diversity, intercultural dialogue and participatory democracy, by the cultivation of a a permanent attitude of questioning and wonder, and a dialogical culture of learning; University of Zagreb Writing Project, a cross-disciplinary initiative offering seminars and resources to students and members of the academic community, as well as secondary school teachers and professionals, for the advancement of good writing practice, improved problem-solving and critical, creative and constructive thinking; and the Zagreb New School of Philosophical Discourse, a reading, discussion and philosophical practice group devoted to shared investigation and research of philosophical topics (human values, metaphysics, theory of knowledge and language, existential, and social questions), intended as the basis for a future Center for Philosophy, Culture and Humanity, modelled on humanities' centers at internationally renowned universities, and fostering inter- and crossdisciplinary study in philosophy, the humanities, and their fruitful interrelationships with the sciences, arts, education, society and culture.

The question of Cusanus' influence on Croatian Renaissance philosophy has hitherto been neglected by philosophical research. Cusanus' works, in fact, do not exist a Croatian translation, as neither does a monographical study or introduction to his philosophy in Croatian. It is the aim of this project to fill this void by investigating some aspects of the influence of Nicolas Cusanus on Croatian Renaissance philosophy and preparing the groundwork for a study of the essential characteristics of Cusanus' philosophy in Croatian.

This project is devoted to an investigation of the metaphysical implications of Plato's so-called doctrine of principles, that is, to an investigation of the possible role of the two principles postulated as forming the basis of that doctrine, the one and indeterminate duality, in the structuration of Plato's philosophy as a whole. The point of departure for research on this project is the school of thought which originated in Tübingen under H.-J. Krämer and K. Geiser and which has recently been further developed by representatives of that school. The basic hypothesis of recent research in this direction is that the second of the two principles named, indeterminate duality, multiplicity or indefinity, ought to be accorded a greater significance in the interpretation of Plato's philosophy, and that by this new emphasis the philosophy of Plato as a whole is made to appear in an entirely new light and in a systematic form which is radically different than that which was prevalent in standard historical studies of Plato's philosophy in previous centuries.

This project has as its theme the connection between practical philosophy and aesthetics, especially with regard to Croatian philosophy in the first half of the 20^th century and the reception of Croatian philosophers from that period in the world at large. Taking as a point of departure axiological discourse in the field of practical philosophy in Croatia during the 19^th and the first half of the 20^th century, especially as represented in the work of Pavao Vuk Pavlović and Vladimir Filipović, the problems of value, virtue and freedom, as well as the central question of  the foundation of practical philosophy, are to be considered. With respect to the connection between practical philosophy and aesthetics, research on this topic focuses on Croatian neoscholastic philosophy in the first half of the 20th century.

This project aims, first of all, to diagnose some insufficiencies in Gettier's counterexamples and demonstrate that at least some of those examples do not refute the traditional definition of knowledge; second, to elaborate the interrelationships among moderate forms of naturalism and coherentism (externalism and internalism); and, finally, to show the importance, for contemporary research in the field of epistemology, of employing a combined approach, incorporating the achievements of cognitive psychology and the philosophy of science, as well as careful study of classic works on the theory of knowledge. In this overall context, the attempt will be made, using the conceptual appparatus of naturalistic and coherentistic epistemology, to clarify the concept of knowledge as justified valid belief. Research being conducted unter the auspices of this project concerns further: the naturalistic understanding of a priori knowledge; the interrelationships among reliablism and coherentism, externalism and pragmatism; the epistemology of Plato and a hermeneutic theory of coherency; and contemporary epistemology of virtue. Besides the project director, Zvonimir Čuljak, research on this project is being conducted by Jure Zovko, and project assistent Laura Blažetić.

Within its broader framework, research on this project will focus on the following topics: skepticism and Hellenistic epistemology; medical empiricism and its relationship to philosophical skepticism; Stoic and peripatetic psychology and the influence of Hellenistic medicine on them; and Stoic epistemology. Therewith, the project aims to shed light not only on the influence of medical theory on philosophy,  but also on the epistemological conflict concerning the status of medicine as a science or discipline, a conflict which during the Hellenistic period was conducted within the field of medicine itself.

0191006 Renaissance Peripatetic Polemic

- Project Director Dr. Mihaela Girardi Karšulin

The aim of research on this project is to shed light on one segment of Renaissance philosophy and the contribution of Croatian thinkers to that particular segment. With this focus in mind, the concept of the Renaissance is taken in its character as a transitional or intermediary phase in the history of philosophy, during which traditional forms of philosophy are being dismantled, while a modern concept of science in the full sense has yet to be formulated. The hypothesis to be examined is that central aspects of the Renaissance opposition to tradition are confirmed in the polemical discourse conducted by F. Petrić and M. Frkić. The analyses and interpretations found in the works of Petrić and Frkić, however, not only confirm the philosophical interpretation of the Renaissance cited above, they also contribute to a broader understanding of Renaissance polemics directed against traditional forms of philosophy. At the same time, research on this theme uncovers new elements in the work of Petrić and Frkić yet to be considered in a philosophical investigation. Besides the project director, Dr. Karšulin, Dr. Luka Boršić is also employed on the project as assistent researcher.

 

The purpose of this project ist to elaborate the main elements of Matija Vlačić Ilirik's hermeneutics, to investigate those elements in their historical context and to reflect upon them from the standpoint of contemporary hermeneutic theory, a task which presupposes a hermeneutic evaluation of the thought of Martin Heidegger. Among the aims of research on this topic is the investigation of the problem of original sin and the historical dimension of the understanding of the scriptures according to Vlačić, as well as his treatment of the question of tradition and its role in revelation of truth. These aspects of Vlačić's hermeneutics are to be compared with Heidegger's understanding of being, time and temporality, historicity and the indefiniteness of the question of the sense of being. The reception of Vlačić and Heidegger and their effect on other, similar theological and philosophical theories from the reformation until the present, especially in the 19th and 20th century, will also be considered.

The aim of this project is to investigate the philosophical presuppositions of Gödel's ontological proof, particularly as concerns the destruction of modal differences implied by that proof. Taking as its point of departure the concept of change, the project investigates the logical and semantic relationships among sentences of differing modes, with the goal of constructing a system of imperative logic. Meršić's critique of Aristotle's theory of the syllogism will be considered in the light of algebraic logic. The project thus aims to evaluate the role of Croatian logicians in the development of modern logic, to promote an understanding of the philosophical (ontological) consequences and the significance of modal logic, and to establish what are the connections between imperative and indicative logic and certain aspects of deontological and propositional logic, as well as between logical communication, practical reasoning and human action.

The aim of this project is to consider the continuity of Croatian natural philosophy from Herman Dalmatin to the followers of Bošković at the end of the 18th century, to evaluate Bošković's work in its various genres and to systematically describe the earliest reception of Bošković's work both in the works of Croatian thinkers of the 18th century and in Europe as a whole, particularly in Italy and Hungary

This project attempts to address certain faults in contemporary theories concerning the nature of intelligent processes – for example, their exaggerated emphasis on cognitivism – and to affirm other, previously neglected aspects of those processes, such as the operative role of the subject in its environment, intentionality and social conditioning. A critical examination of the said theories in light of the findings of evolutionary biology and cognitive neuroscience will provide the basis for the development of an independent model of intelligence. 

Carrying forward research devoted to both older and more recent Croatian philosophical tradition to date, this project aims to expand and intensify efforts on the historiography of Croatian philosophers of the 16^th to 18^th century, utilizing previous gains with the intention of attaining an greater depth of insight into both the individual philosophers and their works. Emphasis will be placed on the alternation of schools of thought and on pioneering new developments characteristic of the epoch, both in themselves and with a view towards their relevance for contemporary philosophical research.

This project takes both an historical and a comparative approach to Zimmerman's concept of knowledge. That is, Zimmerman's epistemology will be considered both in its relationship to Neoscholastic philosophy as a whole and the role it apportions to noetics and metaphysics, and in comparison with the problem of knowledge as dealt with in other, much different philosophies, like that of Brentano, Wittgenstein and Ayer. The basis for such a comparison is provided by certain common themes shared by the philosophers in question, such as the opposition of truth and appearance, and the position of skepticism and objectivism, realism and metaphysics regarding it.

The aim of this project is to investigate the problem of the moral and extramoral foundations of three classical types of ethical theory: Kantian, Stoic and contemporary evolutionary ethics. These three systems of ethics are taken as together providing the paradigm for a new attempt at a complete philosophical justification of morals, one which would combine deontological and virtue ethics by means of an integrated theory of rationality (Kant), cosmology (Stoics) and naturalised subjectivity (evolutionary epistemology and sociobiology). The hypothesis which the project puts forward is that deontological and virtue ethics, as representated by the classical theories of Kant and the Stoics, as well as in the metaethical theory of evolutionary sociobiology, find their common, extramoral foundation in a unified theory of human nature.

Research on this project is concerned with the significance and continuity of Platonism as a philosophical tradition, from its beginnings in the opposition of rational thought to sense experience evidenced by the fragments of Parmenides and Heraclitus, to the reception of Platonic and Neoplatonic thought in the philosophy of Schelling, Hegel and Baader. The project aims to identify elements common to Platonic thought from its origins in Socrates and the Presocratics to modern representatives of Platonism; to differentiate among variant positions developed within the tradition of Platonism, from the Academy to the Renaissance of Platonism in the philosophy of Plotinus, and the Athenian and Alexandrian schools of Neoplatonism; and to trace the conceptual evolution of Platonism as a system of thought in the philosophies of its most significant modern representatives, Nicolas Cusanus, Spinoza, Baader and Schelling. Central philosophical problems, such as the relationship of mind and body, freedom and necessity, law and justice, the finite and the infinite will be considered in the light of the Platonic philosophical tradition.