Die Kategorie des Heiligen schlieat - im Anschluss an Rudolf Otto - sowohl faszinierende als auch erschreckende Seiten des Numinosen ein. Mit der uberraschenden Wiederkehr der Religionen ins private und offentliche Leben, die sich vielfach in Konflikten ereignet und zunehmend durch religios motivierte Gewalt Bahn bricht, wird es immer wichtiger, sich dem Heiligen in den Religionen neu zu widmen. Der vorliegende Band diskutiert diese Kategorie deshalb in phanomenologischer und interkultureller Perspektive und zeigt auf, wie sie in religionswissenschaftlichen, theologischen und philosophischen (...) Kontexten anschlussfahig an aktuelle gesellschaftliche Debatten ist. Mit Beitragen von Roderich Barth, Gertrude Deninger-Polzer, Johann Figl, Wolfgang Gantke, Adelheid Herrmann-Pfandt, Manfred Hutter, Hans Kessler, Markus Luber, Jurgen Mohn, Thomas M. Schmidt, Perry Schmidt- Leukel, Michael Stausberg, Bernd Trocholepczy, Udo Tworuschka, Hans Waldenfels, Edmund Weber, Knut Wenzel, Hamid Reza Yousefi. (shrink)

Literature on maternal exposures and the risk of epigenetic changes or diseases in the offspring is growing. Paternal contributions are often not considered. However, some animal and epidemiologic studies on various contaminants, nutrition, and lifestyle‐related conditions suggest a paternal influence on the offspring's future health. The phenotypic outcomes may have been attributed to DNA damage or mutations, but increasing evidence shows that the inheritance of environmentally induced functional changes of the genome, and related disorders, are (also) driven by epigenetic components. (...) In this essay we suggest the existence of epigenetic windows of susceptibility to environmental insults during sperm development. Changes in DNA methylation, histone modification, and non‐coding RNAs are viable mechanistic candidates for a non‐genetic transfer of paternal environmental information, from maturing germ cell to zygote. Inclusion of paternal factors in future research will ultimately improve the understanding of transgenerational epigenetic plasticity and health‐related effects in future generations. (shrink)

Idealism and relativism were designed to assess different ethical ideological views. Their relation with attitudes toward a variety of outgroups has not been previously studied. Understanding how concerns over ethical principles and consequences are related to prejudiced attitudes could provide some insight into these constructs and into the nature of prejudice. In two studies totaling 311 participants, participants completed measures on ethical ideologies, right-wing authoritarianism, and attitudes toward various outgroups. The differential predictive validities of ethical ideologies, in comparison to right-wing (...) authoritarianism, on prejudicial attitudes toward dangerous, derogated, and dissident outgroup members were examined. We found that both idealism and relativism contributed to predicting attitudes regarding outgroup members, over and above right-wing authoritarianism. As such, people’s personal moral standards and code of conduct for dealing with interpersonal problems and transgressions can partly explain their negative attitudes toward outgroup members. More research is required to determine the unique influence of ethical ideologies over other constructs previously shown to predict prejudice. (shrink)

As large language models (LLMs) continue to demonstrate remarkable abilities across various domains, computer scientists are developing methods to understand their cognitive processes, particularly concerning how (and if) LLMs internally represent their beliefs about the world. However, this field currently lacks a unified theoretical foundation to underpin the study of belief in LLMs. This article begins filling this gap by proposing adequacy conditions for a representation in an LLM to count as belief-like. We argue that, while the project of belief (...) measurement in LLMs shares striking features with belief measurement as carried out in decision theory and formal epistemology, it also differs in ways that should change how we measure belief. Thus, drawing from insights in philosophy and contemporary practices of machine learning, we establish four criteria that balance theoretical considerations with practical constraints. Our proposed criteria include accuracy, coherence, uniformity, and use, which together help lay the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding of belief representation in LLMs. We draw on empirical work showing the limitations of using various criteria in isolation to identify belief representations. (shrink)

In this article, I argue that Hegel’s concept of recognition and Levinas’ concept of responsibility complement each other and lead to the idea of an asymmetrical reciprocity in which the origin of our social relations is not mutual equality, but rather mutual inequality. I will unfold this argument in three steps. I will first work out a fundamental asymmetry of recognition in Hegel by means of the figure of the bondsman before elucidating in a second step the asymmetry of responsibility (...) in Levinas by means of the figure of the hostage. In the last and third step, I will correlate both asymmetries and show how far the asymmetry of recognition and the asymmetry of responsibility constantly develop from and transition into one another in our social relationships. (shrink)

This text is an ambitious intellectual enterprise to build a naturalistic foundation for economics, with vast knowledge of physical, biological, social sciences and philosophy. Readers will discover that approaches and insights emergent in institutional studies, (social)-neuroscience, network theory, ecological economics, bio-culture dualistic evolution, etc. are persuasively placed in a grand unified frame.

Liebes Fräulein Hermann! Über den Empfang Ihres Briefes und Ihrer Abhandlung habe ich mich sehr gefreut. Haben Sie für beides schönen Dank!

It may seem trivial to state that one of the major trends in biological investigation consists in an attempt to explain the structural and functional aspects of living matter in chemical terms, in an effort to obtain insight into the equivalent of macroscopic phenomena on the molecular level. I am sure you are aware of, and this meeting of the Association has brought ample additional evidence, in how many fields this tendency has become apparent. It can be recognized in genetics (...) with the molecular analysis of chromosomes and the enzymatic or metabolic interpretation of hereditary properties like the eyecolor of Drosophila. In a purely morphological branch like histology we do not ask merely for a differentiation of stained cell structure but we ask for the nature of the staining reaction; in nerve physiology we try to interpret conduction as alterations of protein lipoid layers; or in pathology where the age old syndrome of inflammation is explored with biochemical methods. I should mention molecular models of membranes and cell surfaces, the molecular interpretation of secretion and of the macroscopic phenomena of metabolism. Yet insofar as this yield of data could be designated as a trend, it would rather seem to be the natural outcome to be expected from the application of the analytic method of science. In one instance, however, this approach has been carried farther than in all the other fields, and it would seem to be worthwhile to pause for one moment to ask whether this case is important merely because of its technical implications or whether it is meaningful in a wider sense. (shrink)

The structure of the l-degrees included in an m-degree with a maximal set together with the l-reducibility relation is characterized. For this a special sublattice of the lattice of recursively enumerable sets under the set-inclusion is used.

The economic sciences want to explain economical phenomena scientifically, which presupposes a causality concept. But the distinction between causes and reasons makes causal approaches problematic. While it is true that the question of the naturalizability of causal arguments is undecided, the significance of causal explanations of economic phenomena remains unaffected.

Noncoding RNA has arrived at centre stage in recent years with the discovery of “hidden transcriptomes” in many higher organisms. Over two decades ago, noncoding transcripts were discovered in Drosophila Hox complexes, but their function has remained elusive. Recent studies1-3 have examined the role of these noncoding RNAs in Hox gene regulation, and have generated a fierce debate as to whether the noncoding transcripts are important for silencing or activation. Here we review the evidence, and show that, by taking developmental (...) timing into account, some of these apparently conflicting results can be resolved. We examine current models that explain these data and explore alternative interpretations. BioEssays 30:110–121, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

What are the effects of our environment on human development and the next generation? Numerous studies have provided ample evidence that a healthy environment and lifestyle of the mother is important for her offspring. Biological mechanisms underlying these environmental influences have been proposed to involve alterations in the epigenome. Is there enough evidence to suggest a similar contribution from the part of the father? Animal models provide proof of a transgenerational epigenetic effect through the paternal germ line, but can this (...) be translated to humans? To date, literature on fathers is scarce. Human studies do not always incorporate appropriate tools to evaluate paternal influences or epigenetic effects. In reviewing the literature, I stress the need to explore and recognize paternal contributions to offspring's health within the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis, and coin this new concept the Paternal Origins of Health and Disease paradigm. A better understanding of preconceptional origins of disease through the totality of paternal exposures, or the paternal exposome, will provide evidence-based public health recommendations for future fathers. A father's hereditary contribution exceeds that of his DNA sequence. The environment can regulate systems such as the sperm epigenome, which is inheritable as well and may steer the genome and health status of his offspring. We here suggest a new concept, the Paternal Origins of Health and Disease, as part of the DOHaD theory. (shrink)

The starting-point is the distinction between concept and conception. Our conceptions of gold, for instance, are the different understandings we get when we hear the word ‘gold’ whereas the concept of gold consists in the scientific determination of what gold is. It depends on the context whether it is more reasonable to claim a concept or to look for fitting conceptions. By arguing against metaphysical realism and for non-metaphysical realism, I will elaborate on some philosophical reasons for dealing with conceptions (...) instead of concepts of God, and secondly, I will discuss how such conceptions should be critically assessed. (shrink)

Eine wesentliche Aufgabe der Lehrtätigkeit in der hochschulmässigen Lehrerbildung ist die Erziehung der künftigen Lehrer zu selbständigem Fragen und Arbeiten. Anregungen und Impulse dafür werden für den Dozenten der Pädagogischen Hochschule stark von der eigenen wissenschaftlichen Arbeit ausgehen. Darum ist es erforderlich, dass der Lehrerbildner im Kontakt mit der Forschung seiner Wissenschaft bleibt.

Die Historische Kommission zu Berlin betreibt die Erforschung der Landesgeschichte und der Historischen Landeskunde Berlin-Brandenburgs bzw. Brandenburg-Preußens in Form von wissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen, Vorträgen, Tagungen und Veröffentlichungen sowie durch Serviceleistungen. Dabei kooperiert die Kommission auch mit anderen Institutionen und begleitet wissenschaftliche und praktische Vorhaben von allgemeinem öffentlichen Interesse. In der Schriftenreihe werden die Ergebnisse der einzelnen wissenschaftlichen Projekte der Kommission veröffentlicht.