Borges and the philosophical problems

Abstract

The next article tries to show how the arguments of some Borges' tales follow the structure of the philosophical problems. The philosophical problems are described as some inconsistencies in the patterns of beliefs that provide a basic image about the way of being of nature and men. “Las tres versiones de Judas” and “Las ruinas circulars”, from the book “Ficciones”, recreate the philosophical problems of determinism and skepticism, respectively. The first one shows that we can't have a consistent image of our self-determination capacity, when we assume that both, history and natural behavior are not the result of a consecutive performance of cravings phenomena; the second one, recreate the real possibility of confusing the dreams scenario with reality, which becomes unsteady any knowledge theory.