Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been considered a key mechanism in the ageing process but surprisingly little attention has been paid to the impact of mitochondrial number or density within cells. Recent reports suggest a positive association between mitochondrial density, energy homeostasis and longevity. However, mitochondrial number also determines the number of sites generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and we suggest that the links between mitochondrial density and ageing are more complex, potentially acting in both directions. The idea that increased density, (...) especially when combined with mitochondrial dysfunction, might accelerate ageing is supported by a negative correlation between mitochondrial density and maximum longevity in an interspecies comparison in mammals, and by evidence for an intimate interconnection between cellular ROS levels, mitochondrial density and cellular ageing. Recent data suggest that retrograde response, which activates mitochondrial biogenesis, accompanies cellular ageing processes. We hypothesise that increased mitochondrial biogenesis, and possibly also impaired degradation and segregation of mitochondria, if occurring as adaptation to pre‐existing mitochondrial dysfunction, might aggravate ROS production and thus actively contribute to ageing. BioEssays 29:908–917, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Darwins bahnbrechendes Werk 'Über die Entstehung der Arten' (1859) löste eine neue Debatte aus, die weniger durch wissenschaftliche Forschung als durch weltanschauliche Proklamationen geprägt war. Sie nahm in Deutschland einen anderen Verlauf als in England: Die dort noch starke Physikotheologie war in Deutschland bereits einflußlos geworden, und der vorangegangene Materialismus-Streit hatte den Boden für die Rezeption der Lehre Darwins vorbereitet. Von Seiten des weltanschaulichen Materialismus wurde der Darwinismus wegen seiner Eliminierung eines zwecksetzenden göttlichen Verstandes als unverhoffte Bestätigung angesehen und als (...) eine neue und zudem wissenschaftlich abgesicherte "Schöpfungstheorie" rezipiert und zum Schlüssel für die Lösung aller wissenschaftlichen und philosophischen Rätsel stilisiert. (shrink)

On the History of Modern Philosophy is a key transitional text in the history of European philosophy. In it, F. W. J. Schelling surveys philosophy from Descartes to German Idealism and shows why the Idealist project is ultimately doomed to failure. The lectures trace the path of philosophy from Descartes through Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Fichte, Jacobi, to Hegel and Schelling's own work. The extensive critiques of Hegel prefigure many of the arguments to be found in Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, (...) and Derrida. This is the first English translation of On the History of Modern Philosophy. In his introduction Andrew Bowie sets the work in the context of Schelling's career and clarifies its philosophical issues. The translation will be of special interest to philosophers, intellectual historians, literary theorists, and theologians. (shrink)

An Introduction to the Logic of the Computing Sciences provides an introduction to symbolic logic by creating connections with the diverse fields of philosophy, mathematics, computing sciences, law, business, popular culture, and ethics, so that students from varied backgrounds can grasp the ideas of logic. The author relates symbolic logic to computer science by introducing each logical principle by a truth table, flow chart, and algorithm. He emphasizes the connections between logic and the different subjects through over two hundred word (...) problems that relate to the different areas. Following a strategic plan that avoids intimidating students, the author introduces each new principle one at a time with a set of twenty exercises that require the use of that principle. He introduces the next principle with exercises that require the use of the new principle and the principles previously studied, gradually building on the knowledge of the student until he or she has a thorough understanding of symbolic logic. (shrink)

Scientists cannot take a neutral position regarding the way progress evolves. The environment, social justice and international order are the key factors for constructing peace.

This new edition of The Heart is the flagship volume in a series of Dietrich von Hildebrand's works to be published by St. Augustine's Press in collaboration with the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project. Founded in 2004, the Legacy Project exists in the first place to translate the many German writings of von Hildebrand into English. While many revere von Hildebrand as a religious author, few realize that he was a philosopher of great stature and importance. Those who knew von (...) Hildebrand as philosopher held him in the highest esteem. Louis Bouyer, for example, once said that "von Hildebrand was the most important Catholic philosopher in Europe between the two world wars." Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger expressed even greater esteem when he said: "I am personally convinced that, when, at some time in the future, the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." The Heart is an accessible yet important philosophical contribution to the understanding of the human person. In this work von Hildebrand is concerned with rehabilitating the affective life of the human person. He thinks that for too long philosophers have held it in suspicion and thought of it as embedded in the body and hence as being much inferior to intellect and will. In reality, he argues, the heart, the center of affectivity, has many different levels, including an eminently personal level; at this level affectivity is just as important a form of personal life as intellect and will. Von Hildebrand develops the idea that properly personal affectivity, far than tending away from an objective relation to being, is in fact one major way in which we transcend ourselves and give being its due. Von Hildebrand also developed the important idea that the heart "in many respects is more the real self of the person than his intellect or will." At the same time, the author shows full realism about the possible deformities of affective life; he offers rich analyses of what he calls affective atrophy and affective hypertrophy. The second half of The Heart offers a remarkable analysis of the affectivity of the God-Man. (shrink)