Hartmut Rosa advances an account of the temporal structure of society from the perspective of critical theory. He identifies three categories of change in the tempo of modern social life: technological acceleration, evident in transportation, communication, and production; the acceleration of social change, reflected in cultural knowledge, social institutions, and personal relationships; and acceleration in the pace of life, which happens despite the expectation that technological change should increase an individual's free time. According to Rosa, both the structural and (...) cultural aspects of our institutions and practices are marked by the "shrinking of the present," a decreasing time period during which expectations based on past experience reliably match the future. When this phenomenon combines with technological acceleration and the increasing pace of life, time seems to flow ever faster, making our relationships to each other and the world fluid and problematic. It is as if we are standing on "slipping slopes," a steep social terrain that is itself in motion and in turn demands faster lives and technology. As Rosa deftly shows, this self-reinforcing feedback loop fundamentally determines the character of modern life. (shrink)

The paper starts by identifying dynamic stabilization as a defining feature of modern societies. This term refers to the fact that such a society requires (material) growth, (technological) augmentation and high rates of (cultural) innovation in order to reproduce its structure and to preserve the socioeconomic and political status quo. The subsequent sections explore the mechanisms and consequences of this mode of social reproduction, proceeding in three steps. First, three key aspects or ‘motors’ of dynamization are identified, namely the mechanisms (...) of (socio-economic) appropriation, (socio-cultural) acceleration and (socio-political) activation. In the second step, we argue that this ‘Triple-A-Mode’ of dynamic stabilization necessarily entails a logic of incessant escalation which eventually threatens to undermine itself, leading to a multifaceted process of destabilization. Unmistakable signs of this can be seen in the current financial, democratic, ecological and psychosocial crises. The third and last part briefly and very preliminarily sketches out the possible contours of a ‘post-growth’ society which could move beyond the current mode of dynamic stabilization. (shrink)

Die TransplantationsmedizinOrgantransplantation findet in der heutigen medizin-ethischen Debatte hohe Aufmerksamkeit. Das liegt sicherlich auch daran, dass es sich um einen recht spektakulären Bereich der sogenannten ‚High-Tech-Medizin‘ handelt. Besondere Schwierigkeiten entstehen dadurch, dass Menschen nicht nur als Empfänger von Geweben (im Folgenden generell als Begriff verwendet, der auch Organe umfasst), sondern als Gewebespender involviert sind. Das gilt für die Übertragung von Geweben Lebender und für die Übertragung von Leichengewebe (bzw. Leichenorganen).

Abastract The article analyses the intense public debate between the author Martin Walser and Ignatz Bubis caused by Walser's speach on the occasion of the award of the »Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 1998«. lt argues that the conflict is based on two different conceptions of democratic public, public moral, and the function of moral elites in public. Both conceptions have religious implications and analogies in traditional theological conceptions of social corporations.

Dans ce texte, l’auteur se propose de mettre en évidence le concept transcendantal des Lumières dans la Doctrine de la Science de 1805 et de clarifier en particulier l’idée selon laquelle la Doctrine de la Science serait une véritable philosophie des Lumières. La thèse fondamentale étant que l’essence des Lumières ne découle pas de son histoire, mais que les Lumières sont originellement et substantiellement l’événement du penser vivant. Cette doctrine des Lumières est fondée dans la doctrine fichtéenne de la lumière (...) qui est précisément le principe de ce penser vivant. En en exposant les éléments principaux, l’auteur défend l’idée que Fichte est le philosophe par excellence des Lumières.The author intends to emphasize the transcendental concept of Enlightenment in Fichte’s Science of Knowledge of 1805 and to particularly clarify the idea that Science of Knowledge would be a genuine philosophy of the Enlightenment. The basic thesis is that the essence of Enlightenment does not follow its history, but that Enlightenment is the event of living thinking. This doctrine of Enlightenment is based on the Fichtean doctrine of light which is the principle of that living thinking. With his exposition of its main elements, the author supports the idea that Fichte is the philosopher of the Enlightenment par excellence. (shrink)

Für eine ethische Beurteilung des Einsatzes moderner Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien sowie autonomer Assistenzsysteme im Berufsfeld Pflege empfiehlt es sich zunächst, empirische Informationen über Wirkungen und Folgen dieser Technologien aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven einzuholen. Allerdings ist die Studienlage erweiterungsbedürftig. Auch wenn die Diskussion eher tentativ auf der Grundlage von vorsichtigen Annahmen geführt werden kann, so schälen sich dennoch in der internationalen pflegewissenschaftlichen Debatte sehr ambivalente Bewertungen heraus. Eine der Kontroversen betrifft die Frage, inwieweit und in welchem Maße Pflege als Beziehungsarbeit technisch substituiert (...) werden kann oder darf; inwieweit sich dadurch nicht nur Strukturen der Wahrnehmung und Aufmerksamkeit wandeln, sondern soziokulturelle Bedingungen von Hilfe, Unterstützung und Befähigung grundlegend verändern. Assistenztechnologien werden nicht nur das widersprüchliche Verhältnis von Sicherheit, Überwachung, Kontrolle und Entmündigung verschärfen. Unter dem Einfluss moderner Informationstechnologien wird sich auch der Status professionellen Wissens wandeln. Von erheblichem Gewicht ist schließlich, ob möglicherweise sozialanthropologische Grundannahmen wie beispielsweise die der leiblichen Responsivität und personalen Authentizität obsolet werden. Die ethische Beurteilung erfolgt aus verschiedenen Bewertungsperspektiven. Aus deontologischer Sicht hat sich die Akzeptanz neuer Technologien daran zu bemessen, inwieweit deren Wirkungen mit normativen Ansprüchen und Integritätsinteressen (Selbstbestimmung, Sicherheit) betroffener Personen vereinbar sind. Aus Sicht einer Ethics of Care wird es darum gehen, inwieweit durch den Einsatz von Assistenztechnologien nicht nur psychophysische Entlastungen (Pflegepersonal, Patient*innen, ältere Menschen), nicht nur bessere Informationsflüsse bewirkt werden können. Nicht weniger bedeutsam ist die Frage, ob soziale Netzwerke entwickelt, Möglichkeiten der Teilhabe verbessert und kreative Potenziale der Selbstorganisation und der Selbstwirksamkeit gefördert werden können. (shrink)

The Convention on Biological Diversity opens the possibility to negotiate a legally binding Biosafety Protocol to assess and minimize risks in the field of transboundary transfer, handling, and use of organisms modified by genetic engineering. Two principles— the Precautionary Principle and the Principle of Familiarity—guiding the risk assessment as basis of import decisions on such organisms are discussed. Developing and European industrialized countries favor the Precautionary Principle. The U.S., Australia, Japan, and some others call for the Principle of Familiarity. These (...) two principles exhibit opposite effects on scientific progress in general and on scientific methodology of risk assessment in particular. With the example of risk assessment by the U.S. company Monsanto discussed below, it could be illustrated that the Principle of Familiarity opens the way for superficial evaluations based on citing arbitrary references while the Precautionary Principle is an incentive for developing and applying sound methodology in experimental risk assessment. on the transboundary transfer of such LMOs, for example, on the international exchange of and trade with transgenic seeds, grains, animals, or bacteria. The negotiations are based on Articles 19.3 and 8(g) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, elaborated during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, and on Decision II/5 of the Second Conference of the Parties to this Convention in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1995 (see the appendix; for more documents, see www.biodiv.org). Until the Fourth Conference of the Parties in 1998, 172 states ratified this convention. This conference decided to finish the Biosafety Protocol in February 1999. In 1998, transgenic crops were allowed to be planted in eight (75%) countries of the world. As the country with the largest acreage of transgenic crops and as the main trader of LMOs, the United States cannot become a member of the protocol until it has ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity. (shrink)

Angesichts der gegenwärtigen ökonomischen, ökologischen und sozialen Krisen zeichnet sich ab, dass die Wachstumsdynamik moderner Gesellschaften nicht mehr stabilisierend wirkt, sondern selbst zum Krisentreiber geworden ist. In diesem Band diskutieren die Philosophin Nancy Fraser und die Soziologen Klaus Dörre, Stephan Lessenich und Hartmut Rosa, was dies für die Gegenwart und die Zukunft der Demokratie bedeutet und welche Konzeptionen und Wege hin zu einer demokratischen Transformation vorstellbar sind. Aus ihrer demokratietheoretischen Perspektive intervenieren Viviana Asara, Banu Bargu, Ingolfur Blühdorn, Robin Celikates, (...) Lisa Herzog, Brian Milstein, Michelle Williams und Christos Zografos. (shrink)

In this paper one aspect of Leibniz' optical ideas, the law of refraction, is the main topic. This law had been formulated before him by Snellius, Descartes and Fermat. Their mathematical equations are analogous in the relations between the geometrical parameters and the optical resistances, but they differ concerning the velocities of light. From the Leibnitian point of view this situation has its reasons in uncompletely developed principles. Leibniz had shown that the solution of this problem requires a new metaphysics (...) as well as other mathematical, namely infinitesimal methods, which are connected in Leibniz by his dynamics. As one of the influences of his dynamical statement, the beginning of a new type of physical explanation will be demonstrated, which replaced the construction of mechanical models in the 18th century. (shrink)

The greatest risks of Covid-19 are not arising from its direct effects on morbidity and mortality but from exaggerated aspirations to control such effects politically. A swift transformation from an epidemic to an endemic state of affairs may in case of a disease with comparatively low and unequally distributed mortality like covid-19 be an option, too. This needs to be laid out but it is not the task of science to plead for this or any other option.

O cuidado espiritual é um componente essencial para a qualidade dos serviços em cuidados paliativos (CP). Este artigo apresenta a revisão da literatura empírica sobre cuidadores(as) espirituais que atuam nos Cuidados Paliativos. O método utilizado foi a revisão integrativa, com levantamento nas bases Periódicos CAPES, PsycARTICLES e PubMed. Após exame das 643 publicações encontradas, 54 estudos foram selecionados para análise, categorizados em quatro grandes temas: “identidade dos(as) cuidadores(as) espirituais”, “capacitação dos(as) cuidadores(as) espirituais”, “atuação dos(as) cuidadores(as) espirituais” e “impactos da atuação (...) dos(as) cuidadores(as) espirituais”. O suporte espiritual é fator vital para o bem-estar e a qualidade de vida no fim da vida, sendo que o cuidado paliativo transdisciplinar é fundamental para prover atendimento às necessidades espirituais e psicossociais, o que será facilitado pela adoção de métodos padronizados. Currículos de treinamento e ferramentas de avaliação específicos permitem a avaliação sistemática nos resultados dos pacientes, familiares e clínicos. Considerando a importância da religiosidade no contexto cultural brasileiro, o aprofundamento do tema do cuidado espiritual é de grande relevância para profissionais que trabalham em CP. A Bioética e a Teologia são chamadas a contribuir com estudos nessa área a fim de que o cuidado espiritual possa ser efetivamente integrado nas equipes de CP. (shrink)

William of Sherwoods Einführung in die Logik zählt zu den herausragenden und wirkungsgeschichtlich fruchtbarsten Beiträgen des Mittelalters zur philosophischen Bewältigung dieses Themas. Die Introductiones gleichen in ihrem Aufbau den beiden anderen bedeutenden Logik-Kom-pendien aus dem 13. Jahrhundert, denen von Petrus Hispanus und Lambert von Auxerre. In den fünf Traktaten werden die Grundbegriffe der Logik behandelt und die Aussage- wie die Schlußformen. Deutlich zeigen sich in den Introductiones der Einfluß aristotelischer Tradition und deren scholastische Umformung.

The theory of games, though at first greeted with great expectations by some social scientists, soon became a source of frustrated hopes to many of them. Too much of the theory seemed to be devoted to “zero-sum” and “one-shot” games. But most social contexts are not zero-sum and involve repeated interaction too. There was a certain lack of such game theoretic models which could be successfully adapted to social phenomena as were apt to appear in reality. Recently the theory of (...) games seems to be on its way to closing this gap within a special branch devoted to “repeated games” or “supergames”. Very promising is the approach of Michael Taylor which is surveyed and discussed in the subsequent paper. This approach has two main merits: First it can be understood with a modest mathematical background, secondly it can be adapted easily to a more precise reconstruction of classical topics in political theory. Though one might not agree with some of Taylor’s conclusions it seems to be worthwhile to get acquainted at least with the basics of his analysis and to take it as a first step to opening avenues for future social research. (shrink)

The Arthaśāstra: Selections from the Classic Indian Work on Statecraft. Edited and Translated, with an Introduction, by Mark McClish and Patrick Olivelle. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2012. Pp. lxvi + 169. $52, £37.95 ; $16.95, £12.95.

The bourgeois public sphere and its critics -- Nurturing communicative action -- Media for deliberative democracy -- Mediated public spheres -- Deliberative qualities of news and discussion media -- Non-deliberative media discourse -- Counterpublics and the role of emotions.