In diesem Aufsatz stelle ich mir die Aufgabe, den Einfluß von Leibniz' Idee einer lingua characterica und eines calculus ratiocinator auf Gottlob Freges Projekt einer Begriffsschrift im groben Aufriß auf Grund begrifflicher Parallelen darzulegen.

Zusammenfassung Die Konstruktion sozialer Probleme folgt rekonstruierbaren sozialen Mustern und verläuft in der Regel wert- und interessengeleitet. Dies gilt auch für den Diskurs um einen Bewegungsmangel von Kindern und Jugendlichen nebst den erwarteten gesundheitlichen Folgen. Der Frage, welche Deutungen die öffentliche Diskussion dieses Problems dominieren und welche Akteure maßgeblich zu dieser Etablierung beigetragen haben, wird ebenso Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wie der Frage nach der im Zuge steigender Drittmittelbedeutung zunehmend interessengetriebenen Position des Wissenschaftlers. Zudem zeigt sich dabei auch eine besondere Funktion von (...) Krisen- und Defizitannahmen im Rahmen pädagogischer Argumentationen. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Kant-Studien Jahrgang: 107 Heft: 2 Seiten: 219-255.

Mitte der 1870er Jahre vollzieht Nietzsche eine folgenreiche Wende in seinem Denken, die eben sowohl Ausdruck einer Krise wie eines theoretischen Neubeginns, ist; wobei insbesondere Menschliches, Allzumenschliches dabei einen Scheitelpunkt markiert, der auch sein Verhältnis zu Wagner und zu Schopenhauer – den Säulenheiligen der frühen Jahre –, grundstürzend verändert. Distanziert er sich einerseits von Wagners dramatischer Musikkonzeption, so bei Schopenhauer von dessen Willensmetaphysik und substituiert sie durch einen Topos eines grundlegend agierenden Willens zu Macht. Wenn wir uns auf die Suche (...) nach Nietzsches aufklärerischer Motivation in diesem Buch machen, dann könnte ein Aphorismus aus dem ersten Teil helfen: „Die eherne Nothwendigkeit ist ein Ding, von dem die Menschen im Verlauf der Geschichte einsehen, dass es weder ehern noch nothwendig ist". Mit dieser zweibändigen, zugleich umfangreichsten Schrift betritt der Nietzsche die Bühne, der er sein will: Ein freier Geist. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Conceptual Issues Decision Issues Conclusion References Further reading.

The article investigates the astonishing volte-face that Timon performs in Shakespeare and Middleton's Timon of Athens. The main character is not, as is often claimed, unaware of what is going on around him, he is not simply the naïve victim of his avaricious guests, but rather complicit in his own delusions. My reading is informed by two different theoretical concepts: Thorstein Veblen’s concept of “conspicuous consumption” on the one hand, and Octave Mannoni’s concept of “croyance” on the other. By combining (...) these two distinct theories, I want to account for the characteristics of both Timon’s individual and public behaviour, and its radical change between Acts 1–2 and Acts 3–5 of the play. I argue that in Timon of Athens, Shakespeare and Middleton explore the different forms of capital and its limited convertibility in the early modern mercantilist society. (shrink)

Die "Lebensschutz"-Bewegung will in die Offensive: Sie möchte nicht nur die Zugänge zu Schwangerschaftsabbrüchen erschweren, sondern führt auch einen Kulturkampf zur Retraditionalisierung der Geschlechter- und Familienverhältnisse, um christliche Moral und das ärztliche Gewissen. Damit ist sie Teil eines konservativen bis extrem rechten, in Teilen antidemokratischen, Aufwindes. Die Autor innen analysieren die neuen medizinethischen Strategien der "Lebensschutz"-Bewegung, ihre Stärken, Schwächen und internen Widersprüche. Damit liefern sie das Material für eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit den "Lebensschützern" - und die Grundlage für den nötigen (...) Widerstand."-- Back cover. (shrink)

Monitoring and assistive technologies (MATs) are being used more frequently in healthcare. A central ethical concern is the compatibility of these systems with the moral preferences of their users—an issue especially relevant to participatory approaches within the ethics-by-design debate. However, users’ incapacity to communicate preferences or to participate in design processes, e.g., due to dementia, presents a hurdle for participatory ethics-by-design approaches. In this paper, we explore the question of how the value preferences of users in the field of dementia (...) care can be integrated into AI-based MATs. First, we briefly introduce different ethics-by-design approaches and explain the challenges they face in dementia care. Next, we introduce a novel approach for addressing these challenges. Through a qualitative content analysis of interviews with persons with dementia and their family caregivers (n = 27), we identified multiple ideal–typical value preference profiles. We then applied these profiles in a computer simulation, by which we also introduce the concept of ethical compliance quantification to scale the moral preferences of the interviewees for the simulation. Finally, we discuss study results, the advantages of using computer simulations, and general study limitations before drawing conclusions for further research. The study contributes to the ongoing debate on participatory ethics-by-design by defining on the basis of empirical data ideal–typical value preference frameworks that can be used to guide MAT actions and their outcomes. Going forward, MAT end-users with dementia and other communication-impaired persons could be enabled to choose a value profile that best fits their moral preferences. (shrink)

Responsibility is a central juridical, moral and social concept that calls on individuals to act in ways that are necessary and morally right. It represents a fundamental normative relationship that bridges abstract philosophical ideas with empirical social realities. Despite its everyday importance, the derivation and application of responsibility are complex and often contested. This article explores the meaning and conditions under which responsibility can be justifiably demanded, as well as its practical enforceability. Responsibility is understood as a normative relationship with (...) both moral and legal dimensions, constructed through social interactions. A responsible practice requires intersubjective agreement on the reasons and motives for actions, enabling the formulation and implementation of ethical justifications. (shrink)

In vision research metacontrast masking is a widely used technique to reduce the visibility of a stimulus. Typically, studies attempt to reveal general principles that apply to a large majority of participants and tend to omit possible individual differences. The neural plasticity of the visual system, however, entails the potential capability for individual differences in the way observers perform perceptual tasks. We report a case of perceptual learning in a metacontrast masking task that leads to the enhancement of two types (...) of adult human observers despite identical learning conditions. In a priming task both types of observers exhibited the same priming effects, which were insensitive to learning. Findings suggest that visual processing of target stimuli in the metacontrast masking task is based on neural levels with sufficient plasticity to enable the development of two types of observers, which do not contribute to processing of target stimuli in the priming task. (shrink)

Definition of the problemThe concept of privacy has been astonishingly absent in the discussion about dementia care. In general, questions of privacy receive a lot of attention in nursing ethics; however, when it comes to dementia care, hardly any systematic ethical debate on the topic can be found. It almost seems as though people with dementia had lost any comprehensible interest in privacy and no longer had any private sphere that needed to be considered or protected. However, this not only (...) contradicts widespread moral intuitions but also ignores the views and needs of those affected.ArgumentsWe first outline the origins and dimensions of the concept of privacy and point out problems and limitations in the context of dementia. Especially the prevalent liberal conceptions’ dependence on the idea of autonomy poses significant challenges to an adequate conceptualization of the moral significance of privacy for people with dementia. Therefore, we subsequently explore alternative ways of conceptualizing the “value of privacy” in the context of dementia care.ConclusionAutonomy-based concepts of privacy may still be valid in the early stages of dementia. However, in the further course of the syndrome, the relevance of other normative aspects comes to the fore, especially respect for remaining personal preferences as well as objective criteria of dignity and well-being. Thus, we outline in a differentiated manner how and to what extent privacy can be of normative importance beyond the purview of autonomy and should consequently be taken into consideration in dementia care. (shrink)

This paper argues that Adorno's metaphysics can be rescued from the constellation of his messianic materialism. The recovery of metaphysics in this context also means that it is rescued as the basis of possible critique. Rescue here entails that the ideas of truth, freedom, justice and democracy should be seen as transcending whatever is empirically given, while remaining immanently operative within society. These ideas can still be drawn on for a critique of the present, thus renewing the original project of (...) critical theory. (shrink)

An empirical case study is used here to analyze linguistic meaning as it is embedded in complex social behavior. The whole of a natural signalling system - its nonlinguistic conventions, pragmatics and semantics - is considered. Three sections analyze: the relevant conventional facts; conventional utterance meaning in terms of conventional facts; and, finally, sentence meaning in terms of conventional utterance meaning. Linguistic meaning is seen to be derived from meaningful social behavior rather than from goal-directed behavior of individuals. A number (...) of new results on pragmatic and semantic meaning are reached. (shrink)

Dieses Buch trägt die Nietzsche-Rezeption im deutschsprachigen Raum anhand der bedeutendsten Autorinnen und Autoren zusammen, wobei neben der philosophischen auch die soziologische Rezeption berücksichtigt wird. Es dokumentiert die spannenden Veränderungen des Nietzsche-Verständnisses im Wandel der Zeiten und eröffnet im selben Atemzug neue Perspektiven für die Interpretation von Nietzsches Philosophie. Nicht zuletzt ist der Band eine exklusive Informationsquelle und Orientierungshilfe für Nietzsche-Forscherinnen und -Forscher und – ganz nebenbei – eine etwas andere Geschichte der deutschen Philosophie des 20. Jahrhunderts.

Public appeals for organ donation to an identified individual raise serious ethical questions about the role of the media, the physician, the prospective recipient, and the donor in the procurement process.

Die Beitrage dieses Buches knupfen an Stanley Cavells psychoanalytisch inspirierte Studien zu Literatur, Drama und Film als Beitrage zu einer Anthropologie der Endlichkeit an. Cavell interpretiert Kunstformen wie Shakespeares Tragodien, die Hollywood-Komodien der Wiederverheiratung und die Melodramen der Unbekannten Frau als experimentelle Narrative von Menschen, die mit ihrer Endlichkeit hadern. Dabei geht es um die alte philosophische Frage nach dem guten Leben, was die Analyse der Spielarten der Lebensverfehlung einschliesst. Dazu gehort etwa die Unfahigkeit, sich uber die eigenen Wunsche, Anspruche (...) und Interessen in der Beziehung zu einer anderen Person zu verstandigen, was dazu fuhrt, dass man die eigene Perspektive mit einer allgemeinen unparteiischen Sicht der Vernunft und personliches Vertrauen mit Wissen uber eine Person verwechselt, nach einer unerreichbaren Einheit strebt, die Selbststandigkeit der anderen Person als Bedrohung erlebt oder sich selbst in der Beziehung verliert. Dementgegen rekonstruiert Cavell unter dem Titel "moralischer Perfektionismus" eine philosophische und kunstlerische Tradition, die sich mit der Erfahrung einer unbefriedigenden sozialen und privaten Wirklichkeit auseinandersetzt - wobei das Genre Komodie besondere Beachtung findet. Mit Beitragen von Elisabeth Bronfen, Eike Brock, Lorenz Engell, Josef Fruchtl, David Gern, Michael Hampe, Lars Leeten, Dimitri Liebsch, Maria-Sibylla Lotter, Ludwig Nagl und Jochen Schuff. (shrink)

Substitute decision-makers for severely disabled neonates who can be kept alive but who will require constant medical interventions and will die at the latest in their teens are faced with a difficult decision when trying to decide whether to keep the infant alive. By and large, the primary focus of their decision-making centers on what is in the best interests of the newborn. The best-interests criterion, in turn, is importantly conditioned by quality-of-life considerations. However, the concept of quality of life (...) is logically and ethically different for patients with a developing as opposed to a developed awareness. Unfortunately, this difference is ignored by current quality-of-life considerations, there are no quality-of-life measures that take this difference into account, and decision-making proceeds entirely without acknowledging this fact. This note outlines why this is a problem and why there is a need for a new set of tools that incorporates this distinction if the substitute decision-makers are to apply the best-interest criterion in a meaningful way. (shrink)

Es ist allgemein bekannt, daß Frege stark von Leibniz beeinflußt worden ist; jedoch behauptet Patzig (Frege, Leibniz u. d. sogenannte ,lingua characteristica universalis', in: Studia Leibnitiana, Suppl., vol. III no. 3 (1969), pp. 103-112), daß seine Leibniz-Kenntnisse nur auf indirekten Quellen fußten und im Grunde äußerst gering waren. Dieser Aufsatz soll zeigen, daß solche und ähnliche Behauptungen auf ungenügender Kenntnis von Freges Schriften beruhen.

Introduction: Laughter as an expression of human nature in the Middle Ages and the early modern period: literary, historical, theological, philosophical, and psychological reflections -- Judith Hagen. Laughter in Procopius's wars -- Livnat Holtzman. "Does God really laugh?": appropriate and inappropriate descriptions of God in Islamic traditionalist theology -- Daniel F. Pigg. Laughter in Beowulf: ambiguity, ambivalence, and group identity formation -- Mark Burde. The parodia sacra problem and medieval comic studies -- Olga V. Trokhimenko. Women's laughter and gender politics (...) in medieval conduct discourse -- Madelon Köhler-Busch. Pushing decorum: uneasy laughter in Heinrich von Dem Türlîn's Diu crône -- Connie L. Scarborough. Laughter and the comic in a religious text -- John Sewell. The son rebelled and so the father made man alone: ridicule and boundary maintenance in The Nizzahon vetus -- Birgit Wiedl. Laughing at the beast: the judensau: anti-Jewish propaganda and humor from the Middle Ages to the early modern period -- Fabian Alfie. Yes . . . but was it funny? Cecco Angiolieri, Rustico Filippi and Giovanni Boccaccio -- Nicolino Applauso. Curses and laughter in medieval Italian comic poetry -- Feargal Béarra. Tromdhámh guaire: a context for laughter and audience in early modern Ireland -- Jean E. Jost. Humorous transgression in the non-conformist fabliaux: a Bakhtinian analysis of three comic tales -- Gretchen Mieszkowski. Chaucerian comedy: Troilus and Criseyde -- Sarah Gordon. Laughing and eating in the fabliaux -- Christine Bousquet-Labouérie. Laughter and medieval stalls -- Scott L. Taylor. Esoteric humor and the incommensurability of laughter -- Jean N. Goodrich. The function of laughter in The second shepherds' play -- Albrecht Classen. Laughing in late-medieval verse and prose narratives -- Rosa Alvarez perez. The workings of desire: Panurge and the dogs -- Elizabeth Chesney Zegura. Laughing out loud in the Heptaméron: a reassessment of Marguerite de Navarre's ambivalent humor -- Lia B. Ross. You had to be there: the elusive humor of the Sottie -- Kyle Diroberto. Sacred parody in Robert Greene's Groatsworth of wit -- Martha Moffitt Peacock. The comedy of the shrew: theorizing humor in early modern Netherlandish art -- Jessica Tvordi. The comic personas of Milton's Prolusion VI: negotiating masculine identity through self-directed humor -- John Alexander. Ridentum dicere verum (using laughter to speak the truth): laughter and the language of the early modern clown "pickelhering" in German literature of the late seventeenth century (1675-1700) -- Thomas Willard. Andreae's ludibrium: Menippean satire in The chymische hochzeit -- Diane Rudall. The comic power of illusion-allusion -- Allison P. Coudert. Laughing at credulity and superstition in the long eighteenth century. (shrink)

Eike Bohlken stellt entsprechend der Methodik transzendentaler Philosophie die Rückfrage nach den Bedingungen von »Interkulturalität«, die er als allen Menschen zuzusprechenden Hintergrund von einer anthropologischen, semantischen und handlungsbezogenen Dimension her begreift. Der entsprechende Ansatz, der auch Fragen interkultureller Ethik mit einbezieht, versteht sich als »hypothetischer Universalismus«, der sich auf die strukturellen Voraussetzungen interkulturellen Verstehens bezieht, ohne inhaltliche Vorgaben zu machen.