?After the fall of the wall, the East German center of PEN, the worldwide association of writers, came under criticism. Its members were accused of collaboration with the dictatorial state power and of having failed as intellectuals. The book starts with considerations about the discourse on intellectuals and writers. On the basis of comprehensive source studies, it gives an overview of fifty years of East German PEN history, from the beginning of the German PEN and from its division as a (...) result of the Cold War to the reunification of the two German centers. (shrink)

Empirical and experiential investigations allow the distinction between observational and non-observational forms of subjective bodily experiences. From a first-person perspective, the biological body can be (1) an "opaque body" taken as an intentional object of observational consciousness, (2) a "performative body" pre-reflectively experienced as a subject/agent, (3) a "transparent body" pre-reflectively experienced as the bodily mode of givenness of objects in the external world, or (4) an "invisible body" absent from experience. It is proposed that pre-reflective bodily experiences rely on (...) sensori-motor integrative mechanisms that process information on the external world in a self relative way. These processes are identification-free in that the self is not identified as an object of observation. Moreover, it is defended that observational self-consciousness must be grounded on such identification-free processes and pre-reflective forms of bodily experience. (shrink)

This paper considers critically the enterprise of naturalizing the subjective experience of acting intentionally. I specifically expose the limits of the model that conceives of agency as composed of two stages. The first stage consists in experiencing an anonymous intention without being conscious of it as anybody's in particular. The second stage disambiguates this anonymous experience thanks to a mechanism of identification and attribution answering the question: "who is intending to act?" On the basis of phenomenological, clinical, methodological and empirical (...) considerations, I contrast the two-stage anonymity-attribution model of agency with an alternative view that intends to bypass these problems by defining agency as intrinsically subjective at the pre-reflective level. (shrink)

In the first part of this paper I characterize a minimal form of self-consciousness, namely pre-reflective self-consciousness. It is a constant structural feature of conscious experience, and corresponds to the consciousness of the self-as-subject that is not taken as an intentional object. In the second part, I argue that contemporary cognitive neuroscience has by and large missed this fundamental form of self-consciousness in its investigation of various forms of self-experience. In the third part, I exemplify how the notion of pre-reflective (...) self-awareness can be of relevance for empirical research. In particular, I propose to interpret processes of sensorimotor integration in light of the phenomenological approach that allows the definition of pre-reflective self-consciousness. (shrink)

Linguistic category learning has been shown to be highly sensitive to linear order, and depending on the task, differentially sensitive to the information provided by preceding category markers (premarkers, e.g., gendered articles) or succeeding category markers (postmarkers, e.g., gendered suffixes). Given that numerous systems for marking grammatical categories exist in natural languages, it follows that a better understanding of these findings can shed light on the factors underlying this diversity. In two discriminative learning simulations and an artificial language learning experiment, (...) we identify two factors that modulate linear order effects in linguistic category learning: category structure and the level of abstraction in a category hierarchy. Regarding category structure, we find that postmarking brings an advantage for learning category diagnostic stimulus dimensions, an effect not present when categories are non‐confusable. Regarding levels of abstraction, we find that premarking of super‐ordinate categories (e.g., noun class) facilitates learning of subordinate categories (e.g., nouns). We present detailed simulations using a plausible candidate mechanism for the observed effects, along with a comprehensive analysis of linear order effects within an expectation‐based account of learning. Our findings indicate that linguistic category learning is differentially guided by pre‐ and postmarking, and that the influence of each is modulated by the specific characteristics of a given category system. (shrink)

Philosophical considerations as well as several recent studies from neurophysiology, neuropsychology, and psychophysics converged in showing that the peripersonal space is structured in a body-centred manner and represented through integrated sensory inputs. Multisensory representations may deserve the function of coding peripersonal space for avoiding or interacting with objects. Neuropsychological evidence is reviewed for dynamic interactions between space representations and action execution, as revealed by the behavioural effects that the use of a tool, as a physical extension of the reachable space, (...) produces on visual–tactile extinction. In particular, tool-use transiently modifies action space representation in a functionally effective way. The possibility is discussed that the investigation of multisensory space representations for action provides an empirical way to consider in its specificity pre-reflexive self-consciousness by considering the intertwining of self-relatedness and object-directness of spatial experience shaped by multisensory and sensorimotor integrations. (shrink)

»Belonging« is usually discussed in the context of social participation. However, the English »belonging« also associates – similar to the German word ›zugehörig‹– the aspect of possession and property: it is also about »belongings«. In the following, various examples from religion, politics, literature, and film will be used to discuss the narratives that intertwine social belonging and material possession and reveal as well as conceal their (neo)mythical connection.

Name der Zeitschrift: Das Mittelalter Jahrgang: 22 Heft: 2 Seiten: 294-313.

According to Bowden (20121), anorectics’2 bodily experiences are characterized by a “corporealization,” which has notably been described as follows: “The exchange with the environment is inhibited, excretions cease; processes of . . . shrinking, and drying up prevail” (Fuchs 2005, 99). What is described here is melancholia, but a similar characterization would be applicable to anorexia. I think, however, that the notion of ‘corporealization’ is not fine-grained enough to capture the specificity of anorexic/pathological bodily experiences. To develop this point, I (...) here propose to apply some of Heidegger’s key notions to the conceptualization of bodily experience (Caron 2008). As currently defined, the .. (shrink)

Linguistic category learning has been shown to be highly sensitive to linear order, and depending on the task, differentially sensitive to the information provided by preceding category markers (premarkers, e.g., gendered articles) or succeeding category markers (postmarkers, e.g., gendered suffixes). Given that numerous systems for marking grammatical categories exist in natural languages, it follows that a better understanding of these findings can shed light on the factors underlying this diversity. In two discriminative learning simulations and an artificial language learning experiment, (...) we identify two factors that modulate linear order effects in linguistic category learning: category structure and the level of abstraction in a category hierarchy. Regarding category structure, we find that postmarking brings an advantage for learning category diagnostic stimulus dimensions, an effect not present when categories are non‐confusable. Regarding levels of abstraction, we find that premarking of super‐ordinate categories (e.g., noun class) facilitates learning of subordinate categories (e.g., nouns). We present detailed simulations using a plausible candidate mechanism for the observed effects, along with a comprehensive analysis of linear order effects within an expectation‐based account of learning. Our findings indicate that linguistic category learning is differentially guided by pre‐ and postmarking, and that the influence of each is modulated by the specific characteristics of a given category system. (shrink)

The notion of ‘givenness of consciousness’ needs further elucidation. On the one hand, I agree with Lyyra (this volume) that one sense for ‘givenness of consciousness’ is not enough to account for consciousness and self-consciousness. On the other hand, I will argue that Lyyra’s paper is problematic precisely because he fails to consider one basic sense for ‘givenness of consciousness’. Lyyra and I thus agree that there must be (at least) two senses for ‘givenness of consciousness’; we disagree, however about (...) which modes of givenness are involved. (shrink)

Genomic and neuro-scientific research into the causes and course of antisocial behaviour triggers bioethical debate. Often, these new developments are met with reservation, and possible drawbacks and negative side-effects are pointed out. This article reflects on these scientific developments and the bioethical debate by means of an exploration of the perspectives of one important stakeholder group: juveniles convicted of a serious crime who stay in a juvenile justice institution. The views of juveniles are particularly interesting, as possible applications of current (...) and future scientific findings are considered to be most effective if applied early in life. Based on their statements we come to the following provisional conclusions. Concerns about labelling and stigmatization are recognized and widely shared. Possible effects on one's identity are acknowledged too. Yet, a possible biological underpinning of one's antisocial behaviour is not considered to result in the development of a criminal identity. Nonetheless, psychopharmacological interventions are experienced as endangering one's current self. Concerns regarding the refusal of responsibility and the blaming of one's genes or brain can be put into perspective. Instead, participants emphasize the motive of own choice as underlying their criminal behaviour. Moreover, bioethical debate should pay attention to the role of parents of children at risk and the parent-child relationship in families at-risk. We argue that the short-term and long-term interests of children at risk, as well as their interests and those of society at large, may conflict. In order to deal appropriately with newly arising dilemmas, a normative framework needs to be developed. (shrink)

In french and english speaking countries, the articulation between epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and learning and pedagogical practices of secondary school teachers in the natural sciences and humanities has been little studied (Araújo-Oliveira, 2012 ; Bartos et Lederman, 2014 ; Wanlin et al., 2019). Yet, while teachers display predominantly constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning, their teaching practices remain rather passive (OECD, 2019). Like in Therriault et al. (2018-2023), this article explores the characteristics of epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching (...) and learning, and teaching practices among a population of 112 secondary school teachers (beginners, intermediate and experienced) in the humanities and natural sciences in French-speaking Belgium. In a second step, we explore the articulations between these three theoretical constructs either from statistical analyses or from a more interpretative perspective. Quantitative analysis of the data (PCA, factorial ANOVA, correlations and Chi-square) show that teachers’ epistemological beliefs are rather refined, that there is an effect of professional seniority on these beliefs and that there is a link between refined epistemological beliefs and traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Finally, teachers’ self-reported practices appear to be insensitive to the discipline being taught. (shrink)

It is the traditional view of psychology that the attributes of sensation show a one-to-one correspondence to the dimensions of the stimulus. Some such view is also implicit in the naïve epistemology of the physicist. He often thinks of pitch as if it were the perception of the frequency of a tone, but that view soon runs into difficulties. Within psychology it was Wundt who originally equipped sensation with two attributes, quality and intensity, thus making sensations mirror the more obvious (...) aspects of stimuli which differ as to kind and in degree. Later it became clear to Külpe that extension must be an attribute of visual and tactual sensations because the retina and the skin are areal organs and because extent enters into perception quite as ‘immediately’ as does intensity. A loud sound is not a congeries of faint sounds, nor is a perceived line a row of sensations. In a similar reaction against Wundtian atomism Külpe also added duration to the list, for a tone that lasts 0.8 sec. yields a different perception from one that lasts 0.6 sec. and yet there is no sense to saying that the first represents a greater number of seried sensations than the second. Thus the four classical attributes of sensation are quality, intensity, extensity and protensity. The conventional view has been that they are respectively correlated with four aspects of the stimulus, and this paper is written with the intention of refuting this view. (shrink)

Childhood self-control is currently receiving great scientific and public attention because it could predict much of adult’s life success and well-being. Specialized interventions based on findings in social psychology and neuroscience potentially enhance children’s capacity to exercise self-control. This perspective triggers hopes that self-control enhancement allows us to say good-bye for good to potentially unsafe psychopharmacological agents and electronic brain stimulants. This chapter provides an in-depth ethical analysis of pediatric self-control enhancement and points toward a series of serious conceptual and (...) ethical concerns. First, it gives an overview of current psychological as well as neuroscientific research on self-control, and it presents longitudinal studies that emphasize the importance of childhood self-control for adult life success. Second, it critically discusses the concept of self-control presupposed in these approaches and points to crucial limitations. Going beyond an understanding of self-control as a sophisticated means of goal-achievement, I will argue for a comprehensive understanding that takes the inherent normativity of self-controlled behavior seriously. In that context, self-control enhancement appears as not necessarily desirable and occasionally even detrimental. Finally, this chapter questions the notion of childhood implicit in current research and how values typically put on this phase of life could get affected by self-control enhancement. I finish with an exploration of the conditions under which pediatric self-control enhancement is either impermissible, permissible, or maybe obligatory. (shrink)

This paper is about one of the puzzles of bodily self-consciousness: can an experience be both and at the same time an experience of one′s physicality and of one′s subjectivity ? We will answer this question positively by determining a form of experience where the body′s physicality is experienced in a non-reifying manner. We will consider a form of experience of oneself as bodily which is different from both “prenoetic embodiment” and “pre-reflective bodily consciousness” and rather corresponds to a form (...) of reflective access to subjectivity at the bodily level. In particular, we argue that subjectivity is bodily expressed, thereby allowing the experience of the body′s subjectivity directly during perceptual experiences of the body. We use an interweaving of phenomenological explorations and ethnographical methods which allows validating this proposal by considering the experience of body experts (dancers). (shrink)

BackgroundFear of abandonment and aloneness play a key role in the clinical understanding interpersonal and attachment-specific problems in patients with borderline personality disorder and has been investigated in previous functional Magnet Resonance Imaging studies. The aim of the present study was to examine how different aspects of attachment representations are processed in BPD, by using for the first time an fMRI attachment paradigm including personalized core sentences from the participants’ own attachment stories. We hypothesized that BPD patients would show increased (...) functional involvement of limbic brain regions associated with fear and pain when presented personalized attachment relevant stimuli representing loneliness compared to healthy controls.MethodsWe examined the attachment classifications of 26 female BPD patients and 26 female HC using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System. We used an fMRI-adapted attachment paradigm to investigate the neural correlates of attachment. All participants were presented three personalized sentences extracted from their AAP attachment narrative, combined with standardized AAP pictures representing being alone or in interactive attachment situations.ResultsAs expected, the classification of unresolved attachment was significantly greater in BPD compared to HC. BPD patients showed increased fMRI-activation in brain areas associated with fear, pain, and hyperarousal than HC when presented with personalized attachment-relevant alone stimuli. In particular, pictures with monadic attachment situations induced greater anterior medial cingulate cortex, anterior insula, amygdala, thalamus and superior temporal gyrus activation in the patient group.ConclusionThe results point to increased fMRI-activation in areas processing emotional distress and painful experiences in BPD patients. In particular, the emotional cascade reflecting attachment distress was evoked by combining monadic pictures, representing abandonment and aloneness, with the patients’ personalized narrative material. Our results confirmed and replicated previous results that illustrate once again the high relevance of aloneness and feelings of abandonment for BPD in the context of attachment trauma. Moreover, our results support the hypothesis of hypermentalization in response to attachment distress as a core feature of social-cognitive impairment in BPD associated with common treatment implications across different therapeutic orientations. (shrink)

Qua hermeneutic-linguistic-pragmatic turn wurde die Freisetzung kommunikativen Handelns kommunikationslogisch, entwicklungstheoretisch und diskursethisch entwickelt und die Form der Verstandigung intersubjektivitatstheoretisch als Moglichkeit sozialer Identitat bestimmt. Mit Peirce kann man das Verstandigungstheorem als Intersubjektivitatsrelation lesen, Intersubjektivitat selbst strukturlogisch "deduzieren". So prazisiert wird die von Habermas vollzogene Umstellung von Subjektivitat auf formale Intersubjektivitat uber Kant, Hegel, Husserl und Mead rekonstruierbar. Dabei kann das begrundungstheoretische Defizit des nur postulierten Formganzen gesellschaftlicher Rationalitat behoben, der formalpragmatisch ausgedunnte Lebensweltbegriff substantiiert und die nicht konsequent ausgefuhrte Methodologie mit (...) der Trias von Metatheorie, empirischer Soziologie und Gesellschaftstheorie scharfer gestellt werden. Die relationenlogische Analyse drangt zur Neulekture des Intersubjektivitatsgedankens. (shrink)

This article explores the implications of cross-border migration for social work's normative commitment to social justice. Specifically, it interrogates Nancy Fraser's conceptualisation of social justice in guiding social work practice with refugees. The paper is grounded in an ethnographic study conducted from 2008 to 2009 in a South African church which had provided shelter to a group of refugees following their displacement by an outbreak of xenophobic violence. The study's findings reveal that various kinds of misframing created multiple forms of (...) voicelessness amongst its foreign participants. These filtered out to justify, perpetuate and deepen other types of injustice, particularly misrecognition and maldistribution. There was some evidence of resistance, solidarity, recognition and small acts of redistribution. However, such positive practices proved difficult to sustain. The paper confirms the central importance of the notion of misframing for conceptualising and responding to social injustice in the absence of citizenship?as required of practitioners in the field of social work with refugees and indeed other groups rendered vulnerable within current economic, social, political and cultural constellations. In this regard, Fraser's contribution looks set to enrich social work's commitment to social justice both in normative and practical terms. (shrink)

We discuss the justification of Bickle's “ruthless” reductionism. Bickle intends to show that we know enough about neurons to draw conclusions about the “whole” brain and about the mind. However, his reductionism does not take into account the complexity of the nervous system and the fact that new properties emerge at each significant level of integration from the coupled functioning of elementary components. From a methodological point of view, we argue that neuronal and cognitive models have to exert a mutual (...) constraint(MC) on each other. This approach would refuse to award any priority of cognitive approaches over neuroscience, and reciprocally, to refuse any priority of neuroscience over cognitive approaches. MC thus argues against radicalreductionism at the methodological level. (shrink)

We explore the idea that a testimony is always constituted by at least three parts—the word of the witness, the listening of the one to whom it is addressed, and language as a symbolic register where speaking and listening are inscribed. Thus, the structure of testimony would not be captured only by the subjective formula “I was there”—a subject designates himself in reference to a past experience—, nor by the intersubjective formula “I am speaking to you”—a subject designates himself and (...) his listener in the synchrony of the word addressing the other. What is also necessary to consider, in order to capture the structure of testimony, is that “there is language”—the testimony transcends diachronically the speaker and the hearer by inscribing them inseparably in the symbolic register that they share, namely language. (shrink)

This paper presents a novel methodological approach of how to design, conduct and analyse robot-assisted play. This approach is inspired by nondirective play therapy. The experimenter participates in the experiments, but the child remains the main leader for play. Besides, beyond inspiration from non-directive play therapy, this approach enables the experimenter to regulate the interaction under specific conditions in order to guide the child or ask her questions about reasoning or affect related to the robot. This approach has been tested (...) in a long-term study with six children with autism in a school setting. An autonomous robot with zoomorphic, dog-like appearance was used in the studies. The children’s progress was analyzed according to three dimensions, namely, Play, Reasoning and Affect. Results from the case-study evaluations have shown the capability of the method to meet each child’s needs and abilities. Children who mainly played solitarily progressively experienced basic imitation games with the experimenter. Children who proactively played socially progressively experienced higher levels of play and constructed more reasoning related to the robot. They also expressed some interest in the robot, including, on occasion, affect. Keywords: Human–Robot Interaction, Robot-Mediated Therapy, Robot-Assisted Play, Non-Directive Play Therapy, Assistive Technology, Autism, Children. (shrink)

Is there any witness to death? As detailed by Jacques Derrida, any testimony is detached from the direct perception of the event it reports. Thus, a testimony may report one’s encounter with death, not only with the death of the other, but also with one’s own death, even though it can never by experienced as such. In particular, reports from “survivors” ought to be taken un-metaphorically as they confront us with what Maurice Blanchot related as “the encounter of death with (...) death.” In line with such testimonies, Donald Woods Winnicott helps us here in considering an “anterior death,” a death that already happened without being experienced as such and which may haunt the subject until it remembers it. But how may one remember a past that has never been present? And how may one remember death without dying? In dialogue with Maurice Blanchot, we are guided toward a manner of considering silence as an oblivious remembrance of that which can be brought back from death. (shrink)

Neuroscientific findings have often been argued to undermine notions of free will and to require far-reaching changes of our political and legal systems. Making a difference between the metaphysical notion of free will and the political notion of autonomy,Dubljevi´c (2013) argues this switchover to be mistaken. While we appreciate attention to the social limits of neuroscientific findings, we also have a twofold concern with his proposal. The first covers the nontransparent way in which he either rejects or embraces certain scientific (...) findings, which renders the background andmotivation of his argument unclear. The second revolves around his idea of a “rational life-plan,” which, while it covers a person’s capacity to conform to social and external factors, misses out what it means to act for a reason or be the source of one’s actions. Revisiting the example of former addict Tommy McHugh and invoking the example of a resigned addict, we present the idea of an “autonomous life-plan,” which is metaphysically sound and practically relevant. (shrink)

Youth antisocial behaviour is frequently considered to be displayed by children and adolescents who suffer from behavioural disorders. Consequently, attempts to reduce ASB have increasingly comprised mental health interventions. Moreover, early signalling of children at risk and early prevention of behavioural problems are regarded as crucial remedies. Critical investigations of these developments, however, are in particular concerned with the consequent medicalization of society and the behaviour exhibited by infants, children and adolescents. Consequently, the new Dutch youth law even refers to (...) demedicalization as a central aim. From an ethical point of view, this article critically discusses the meaning and relevance of the medicalization reproach in the context of ASB. The aim is to show that the term medicalization can reasonably be attached to three different developments: the biomedical turn, an increase in youth mental health care and early signalling and prevention. The ethical implications of these developments, however, are diverse, referring to both risks and benefits. By itself, neither the term medicalization nor demedicalization carries a self-evident normative meaning. Therefore, a careful ethical analysis is needed to reveal which social developments are actually recommendable or disadvantageous. (shrink)

The articulation between epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and learning, and teaching practices of secondary school science and humanities teachers has been little studied, particularly in the francophone world (Araújo-Oliveira, 2012, 2019 ; Bartos & Lederman, 2 014 ; Wanlin et al., 2019). Yet, while teachers display predominantly constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning, their actual teaching practices remain rather passive (TALIS international survey - OECD, 2019). After characterizing these three theoretical constructs in a sample of 215 Quebec secondary school (...) teachers (beginners, intermediate and experienced) in the humanities and social sciences and natural sciences, the article explores their articulations either through statistical analysis or by putting them into perspective in an interpretative phase of the research. The results are based on the quantitative analysis of teachers’ responses to a three-part closed online questionnaire. Statistical analyses (PCA, factorial ANOVA, correlations and Chi-square tests) show that teachers’ epistemological beliefs are rather refined, that there is an effect of seniority in the profession and an effect of the discipline taught on these beliefs, as well as a link between refined epistemological beliefs and traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Finally, teachers’ self-reported practices appear to be insensitive to the discipline being taught. (shrink)

Mit From Value to Rightness liefert Vuko Andrić einen innovativen, scharfsinnigen und erfreulich klaren Beitrag zur Frage nach der Perspektivabhängigkeit moralischer Pflichten im Allgemeinen und dem angemessenen Verständnis des Konsequentialismus im Besonderen. Andrićs ideenreiches Buch geht der zentralen Frage, ob und in welchem Sinne konsequentialistische Theorien handlungsleitend sein sollten, dabei entlang dreier Argumentationsstränge nach. In diesem Kommentar konzentrieren wir uns auf den zweiten Argumentationsstrang, der die Vereinbarkeit von objektivem und subjektivem Konsequentialismus mit “ Sollen impliziert Können " behandelt. Wir möchten (...) einerseits auf Schwachstellen an Andrićs Kritik am objektiven Konsequentialismus und andererseits auf Probleme, die sich aus Andrićs Evidenzbegriff ergeben, hinweisen. (shrink)

Matthew's Christology is theocentric, presenting God's rule as manifest in the life of Jesus as an alternative to the sovereignty and power of this-worldly rulers. This Christology is expressed in the narrative mode. It can be appreciated and appropriated better in the context of the narratives in which contemporary interpreters are embedded.

Whether or not one is justified in speaking of a “third quest of the historical Jesus” is open to debate. Any historical quest for Jesus, however, involves three stages of research: (a) establishing a data base of authentic materials; (b) reconstructing a plausible picture of Jesus; and (c) assessing the significance of one's reconstructed Jesus for later history.

This article examines how non-linear time and circularity are deployed in the historical novel Nehanda, written by Zimbabwean author Yvonne Vera. Using Adriana Cavarero’s work on inclination...

Over the last few years, the amount of space occupied by bees in the French public debate together with the well-known benefits of the products of their hive has attracted the interest of social scientists. Indeed, bees have become a symbol of the biodiversity crisis. Social scientists, like us, are sometimes invited to join multidisciplinary projects run by biologists specializing in bees. The aim of such involvement is to help the biologists to convince professional beekeepers to make their practices greener, (...) notably with respect to their handling of the Varroa mite. However, the beekeepers we studied in the south of France are not keen to give up their conventional practices. Based on chemical products, these are efficient, simple, and cheap as opposed to environmentally friendly, chemical-free techniques, which are seen to be riskier and more complicated to implement. This article describes and analyzes these obstacles and the relationship to scientific and nonscientific knowledge they reveal. (shrink)