Research methods and their developers play a crucial role in bringing together scientific fields. Scientists, who wish to have their methods acknowledged and used in another discipline have to bridge the gaps between different practices and worldviews, and they often experience hostility, incredulity, and in general feelings of ‘otherness’, while changing the established practice in a scientific field. Researchers representing newly emerging fields such as materials science have to overcome obstacles that are caused more by feelings of threat and fear (...) than by arguments rooted in epistemic or social considerations. In using the habitus concept of Pierre Bourdieu, I analyze in this article statements and observations of the scientists who in the 1950s and 1960s have introduced physical methods into chemistry and in so doing merged characteristic features of research communities into a new unit. The habitus of physicists, chemists and method-oriented researchers are shaped by hierarchical relationships inside the disciplines, and between them. Studying emotional expressions in interviews and self-descriptions gives access to hitherto neglected parts of the historical processes leading to new disciplines and fields. The brief case studies presented are seen as exemplars, and the analysis offered is intended more to provide a possible model for further research than as giving conclusive answers. (shrink)

Rich with analyses of concepts from deconstruction, systems theory, and post-Marxism, with critiques of fundamentalist thought and the war on terror, this ...

Flickering light induces visual hallucinations in human observers. Despite a long history of the phenomenon, little is known about the dependence of flicker-induced subjective impressions on the flicker frequency. We investigate this question using Ganzfeld stimulation and an experimental paradigm combining a continuous frequency scan with a focus on re-occurring, whole percepts. On the single-subject level, we find a high degree of frequency stability of percepts. To generalize across subjects, we apply two rating systems, a set of complex percept classes (...) derived from subjects’ reports and an enumeration of elementary percept features, and determine distributions of occurrences over flicker frequency. We observe a stronger frequency specificity for complex percept classes than elementary percept features. Comparing the similarity relations among percept categories to those among frequency profiles, we observe that though percepts are preferentially induced by particular frequencies, the frequency does not unambiguously determine the experienced percept. (shrink)

Wie viele der monumentalen Fotoarbeiten Jeff Walls ist The Flooded Grave (1998- 2000) ein Werk, dem das Medium Fotografie selbst zum Thema wird – auf gedan- kenweckend paradoxe, Gesten dokumentarischer Kontingenz und Markierungen fiktionalen Arrangements amalgamierende Weise. Analysen, die vorrangig oder exklusiv auf diesen Befund abstellen, können die Komplexität und Individualität der Bilderfindung Walls freilich nicht angemessen erfassen. Hierfür bedarf es viel- mehr der Einsicht in allusiv fundierte Reflexionsstrukturen, die The Flooded Grave auf ikonografischer und bildtypologischer Ebene zu historisch indizierten (...) Formen christlicher Kunst in Beziehung setzen. Der vorliegende Beitrag unternimmt den Versuch, sie zu identifizieren, ihre werk-interne Synergie zu beschreiben und im Wege »denkender Betrachtung« (Hegel) über ihre ästhetische, künstlerische und spirituelle Bedeutung Auskunft zu geben. (shrink)

The different versions of the Kochen-Specker Theorem show that quantum mechanics cannot be supplemented by hidden variables given two constraints. These results are generally interpreted as showing that QM is complete in the following way. A QM system S has only those values of observables for which the state yields probability 1. For all other probabilities S adopts a value during the measurement interaction. But this interpretation is fundamentally problematic. In fact it cannot yield a general and coherent interpretation of (...) the trace formula. I present an argument to this effect, discuss a possible objection and sketch implications. (shrink)

: This article addresses the fact of possible and impossible determination of the I or the self-reflective I. In this context, two questions in particular are discussed: What epistemic functions of the I can be legitimately identified, and what kinds of determination of the I are invalid? A theoretical proof of the immortality of a single, persistent substance of the soul is not possible, because no material substance that corresponds to the I can be found or determined. As this article (...) shows, however, at least a specific form of knowledge of the I, with a view to Kant’s unity of apperception and its actions, can be observed and is therefore epistemically justified. (shrink)

The linkages and interactions of scientific disciplines with industry, politics, and society have long been a staple in the history of science, the history of technology, and science studies. However, it is arguable that the impact of this intertwining on the epistemic and social core of scientific disciplines has not yet been sufficiently explored. Chemistry is an ideal case in point, given that it has emerged as one of the largest scientific disciplines while at the same time becoming one of (...) the world’s most powerful technologies. Specifically, chemistry’s power lies in its ability to gain knowledge of the natural world by transforming it, along with the society in which it is embedded. The four contributions to this Focus section all address chemistry’s border permeability, based on its transformative powers; they focus on the feedback mechanisms that transformed chemistry and thereby altered the very concept of a scientific discipline. So successful has this “nonclassical approach” become that, in the opinion of the contributors to this Focus section, it is now both necessary and advisable to study the history of chemistry’s embeddedness and power in science and technology. (shrink)

When experimental philosophers carry out studies on thought experiments, some participants are excluded based on certain exclusion criteria, mirroring standard social science vignette methodology. This involves excluding people that do not pay attention or who miscomprehend the scenario presented in thought experiments. However, experimental philosophy studies sometimes exclude an alarmingly high number of participants. We argue that this threatens the external and internal validity of the conclusions being drawn and we show how a simple visualization of thought experiments can reduce (...) exclusion rates significantly. Furthermore, we argue that focus should not merely be on how many are excluded, but also why they are excluded, and we highlight the role of comprehension questions in this regard. Philosophical thought experiments often rely on the acceptance of certain key premises that may be regarded contestable, and asking comprehension questions involving such key assumptions could be problematic as that may result in some participants being inadvertently excluded from the study, potentially creating a selection bias. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie Jahrgang: 61 Heft: 3 Seiten: 354-369.

Name der Zeitschrift: Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie Jahrgang: 58 Heft: 2 Seiten: 176-189.

1. Auf den Spuren von Nietzsche, Bataille, Adorno und Benjamin -- 2. Vom Willen nicht regiert zu werden in 10 Variationen -- 3. Der tragische und der rauschhafte Ton in der Musik.

For an indicative conditional to be true it is not generally sufficient that its antecedent be false or its consequent true. I propose to analyse such a conditional as strong, i.e. as containing a tacit quantification over a domain of possible situations, with the if-clause specifying that domain such that the conditional gets assigned the appropriate truth conditions. Now, one definition of logical consequence proceeds in terms of a natural-language conditional. Interpreting it as strong leads to a paraconsistent consequence relation, (...) though the motivation behind it is not to reason coherently about contradictions but to reason entirely without them. (shrink)

Kants Anliegen, Erfahrung zu begr nden als eine Verbindung von Anschauung und Begriff, erweist sich als ein komplexes Unterfangen, insofern hierzu viele Synthesisleistungen des Verstandes und der Einbildungskraft strukturell notwendig sind. Die Arbeit setzt sich zum Ziel, diese isoliert und in ihrer Bezogenheit aufeinander zu untersuchen. Ausgehend von einer Betrachtung der Anschauungsformen Raum und Zeit und einer Analyse der urspr nglich-synthetischen Einheit der Apperzeption, wird der Bogen geschlagen zu den einzelnen Synthesen der Einbildungskraft und der synthetischen Reflexion durch den Verstand. (...) Dabei hat insbesondere das Kapitel zum Schematismus der reinen Verstandesbegriffe eine tragende Bedeutung; hier soll ein neues Licht auf die Schemata als Schnittstelle zwischen Begriff und Anschauung geworfen werden. Trotz der mittlerweile schwer zu berschauenden Zahl an Forschungsliteratur finden sich nur wenige Untersuchungen speziell zur Synthesis, weshalb die Arbeit als ein Desiderat der Kant-Forschung gelten kann. Ein Desiderat ist sie auch deshalb, weil Kants Theorie seit Strawson immer wieder Angriffen speziell sprachanalytischer Interpretationen ausgesetzt ist, die "Synthesis" f r obsolet erkl ren wollen. (shrink)

Laudan famously argued that neither truth nor approximate truth can be part of an explanation of a scientific theory's predictive success because in the history of science there were theories that enjoyed some limited success but now are considered outright false. The power of his argument lay in the many historic examples he listed . Realists have disputed that all theories on Laudan's list can be regarded as predictively successful but let's suppose momentarily that at least some exist that support (...) his point. In this case, there are historic false theories that made some true predictions. We are aiming for a general explanation of a theory's predictive success and hence these false theories necessarily are on board. Now, Laudan also argues that historic false theories – the downright false ones and the ones we nowadays judge as strictly false, but approximately true – do not in any principled sense differ from the ones we presently accept. These theories seem to present a good basis for inductively inferring that any presently accepted scientific theory is actually false. Many presently accepted theories certainly are predictively successful to a great extent and certainly their success should be covered by an acceptable explanation. Since there seems to be inductive support for the conclusion that …. (shrink)

While early optimists have seen online discussions as potential spaces for deliberation, the reality of many online spaces is characterized by incivility and irrationality. Increasingly, AI tools are considered as a solution to foster deliberative discourse. Against the backdrop of previous research, we show that AI tools for online discussions heavily focus on the deliberative norms of rationality and civility. In the operationalization of those norms for AI tools, the complex deliberative dimensions are simplified, and the focus lies on the (...) detection of argumentative structures in argument mining or verbal markers of supposedly uncivil comments. If the fairness of such tools is considered, the focus lies on data bias and an input–output frame of the problem. We argue that looking beyond bias and analyzing such applications through a sociotechnical frame reveals how they interact with social hierarchies and inequalities, reproducing patterns of exclusion. The current focus on verbal markers of incivility and argument mining risks excluding minority voices and privileges those who have more access to education. Finally, we present a normative argument why examining AI tools for online discourses through a sociotechnical frame is ethically preferable, as ignoring the predicable negative effects we describe would present a form of objectionable indifference. (shrink)

Studies in experimental philosophy claim to document intuition variation. Some studies focus on demographic group-variation; Colaçoet al., for example, claim that age generates intuition variation regarding knowledge attribution in a fake-barn scenario. Other studies claim to show intuition variation when comparing the intuition of philosophers to that of non-philosophers. The main focus has been on documenting intuition variation rather than uncovering what underlying factor(s) may prompt such a phenomenon. We explore a number of suggested explanatory hypotheses put forth by Colaçoet (...) al., as well as an attempt to test Sosa's claim that intuition variance is a result of people ‘filling in the details’ of a thought experiment differently from one another. We show (i) that people respond consistently across conditions aimed at ‘filling in the details’ of thought experiments, (ii) that risk attitude does not seem relevant to knowledge ascription, (iii) that people's knowledge ascriptions do not vary due to views about defeasibility of knowledge. Yet, (iv) we find no grounds to reject that a large proportion of people appear to adhere to so-called subjectivism about knowledge, which may explain why they generally have intuitions about the fake-barn scenario that vary from those of philosophers. (shrink)

PurposeThe paper aims to explore future and emerging information and communication technologies. It gives a general overview of the social consequences and ethical issues arising from technologies that can currently be reasonably expected. This overview is used to present recommendations and integrate these in a framework of responsible innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe identification of emerging ICTs and their ethical consequences is based on the review and analysis if several different bodies of literature. The individual features of the ICTs and the ethical issues identified (...) this way are then aggregated and analysed.FindingsThe paper outlines the 11 ICTs identified. Some of the shared features that are likely to have social relevance include an increase in natural interaction, the invisibility of technology, direct links between humans and technology, detailed models and data of humans and an increasing autonomy of technology that may lead to power over the user. Ethical issues include several current topics such as privacy, data protection, intellectual property and digital divides. New problems may include changes to the way humans are perceived and the role of humans and technology in society. This includes changing power structures and different ways of treating humans.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper presents a piece of foresight research which cannot claim exact knowledge of the future. However, by developing a detailed understanding of possible futures it provides an important basis for current decisions relating to future technology development and governance.Practical implicationsThe paper spells out a range of recommendations for both policy makers and researchers/industry. These refer to the framework within which technology is developed and how such a framework could be designed to allow the development of ethical reflexivity.Social implicationsThe work described here is likely to influence EU policy on ICT research and technology research and innovation more broadly. This may have implications for the type of technologies funded and broad implications for the social use of emerging technologies.Originality/valueThe paper presents a novel and important broad view of the future of ICTs that is required in order to inform current policy decisions. (shrink)

In this paper we study the logic , which is first-order logic extended by quantification over functions (but not over relations). We give the syntax of the logic as well as the semantics in Heyting categories with exponentials. Embedding the generic model of a theory into a Grothendieck topos yields completeness of with respect to models in Grothendieck toposes, which can be sharpened to completeness with respect to Heyting-valued models. The logic is the strongest for which Heyting-valued completeness is known. (...) Finally, we relate the logic to locally connected geometric morphisms between toposes. (shrink)

In keiner geisteswissenschaftlichen Disziplin hat Gadamers Hermeneutik tiefere Spuren hinterlassen als in der Literaturwissenschaft. Bezugnahmen auf 'Wahrheit und Methode' bilden langst eine Art 'Koine' der Selbstverstandigung des Fachs. Der aus einem Kolloquium im Deutschen Literaturarchiv Marbach hervorgegangene Band bilanziert diesen Bestand: Im ersten Teil diskutieren Jean Grondin, Dieter Teichert, Norbert Groeben, Tilmann Koppe u.a. Gadamers Theorievorschlage und deren Rezeption durch so wirkungsmachtige Literaturwissenschaftler wie Hans-Robert Jauss, E.D. Hirsch und Frank Kermode. Dabei geht es nicht nur um wissenschaftsgeschichtliche Befunde, sondern um (...) eine aktuelle Kritik der Leistungen Gadamers. Im zweiten Teil des Bandes befassen sich David Wellbery, Rudiger Gorner, Sandra Kluwe, Gerhard Buhr u.a. mit Gadamers Interpretationen zu Goethe, Holderlin, George, Rilke und Paul Celan. Neben vergleichenden Perspektiven, so auf die Interpretationsmanier Heideggers, werden auch hier die Pramissen der Gadamerschen Auslegungspraxis herausgearbeitet und auf ihre hermeneutische Produktivitat hin befragt. Eine Podiumsdiskussion, in der Dieter Henrich, Glenn Most, Karlheinz Stierle und Rainer Warning Gadamers interpretationstheoretische Zentralmetapher des Text-Leser-Gesprachs erortern, rundet den Band ab. (shrink)

Philosophy & Social Criticism, Volume 48, Issue 2, Page 153-154, February 2022.