Nikolaus von Kues, eine Schwellengestalt zwischen Mittelalter und Neuzeit, gewinnt in einer Zeit, die sich selbst als Ubergangsepoche wahrnimmt, wieder starkere Aufmerksamkeit. Er steht in dem noch ungewissen Morgenlicht einer Epoche, deren Abenddammerung gegenwartig vielfach diagnostiziert wird. Wichtige Themen, an denen Stellung und Bedeutung des Cusanus immer wieder aufbrechen, sind der Individualitatsbegriff, der cusanische Beitrag zur Ausbildung der modernen Naturwissenschaften, die Kreativitat des Denkens, die Reichweite seiner konjekturalen Erkenntnislehre und die gesellschaftliche Rolle der Toleranz im Dialog der Kulturen. Die kulturwissenschaftliche (...) Neuorientierung der Geisteswissenschaften schuf auch in der Cusanusforschung Raum fur neue Forschungsfelder wie das Verhaltnis von Malerei und Philosophie. Die sich seit Jahrzehnten anbahnende Neubewertung der cusanischen Philosophie wird im vorliegenden Band umfassend dokumentiert und weitergefuhrt. Alle Beitrage eint die Uberzeugung, dass die Hinterlassenschaften des Theologen, Philosophen, Naturwissenschaftlers, Mystikers, Juristen und Politikers Nicolaus Cusanus fur ein an der Praxis des menschlichen Lebens orientiertes gegenwartiges Philosophieren fruchtbar gemacht werden kann. Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert Ergebnisse von sechs selbstandigen, aber koordinierten Tagungen der internationalen Cusanusforschung aus dem Jubilaumsjahr 2014. (shrink)

Les femmes, à l’époque moderne, admettent, en règle générale, la soumission requise par le clergé masculin. Mais il en est qui résistent. Ce sont des chrétiennes aux fortes personnalités – Thérèse d’Avila, au xvie siècle, ou Gabrielle Suchon, au xviie siècle – mais aussi des communautés religieuses féminines, comme celle de Port-Royal, au xviie siècle et d’autres, moins connues. Ces manifestations d’indépendance, plutôt que de rébellion ouverte, sont particulièrement visibles lorsque ces femmes se sentent investies d’une mission divine, c’est le (...) cas, par exemple, des mystiques. (shrink)

This article investigates the meaning of doing good and doing well in positive business. It examines the relationship between the two expressions and discusses their relevance, shedding new light on the significance of ‘positive’ in positive business and positive organizational scholarship. Thus, this article illuminates the ultimate end of positive states and practices. ‘Positive’ primarily represents values and assumptions. These lead to the creation of beneficial situations and marked improvements, which put individuals and organizations on an upward trajectory toward achieving (...) excellent functioning, assuring profitability in addition to sustainability and social well-being. Doing well, with reference to economic performance and profits, is partly constitutive of doing good. This presents a new approach regarding the role of economic outcomes in positive business and POS. It means that financial criteria do not have priority. Profits are considered vital and necessary, but the final ‘raison d'être’ of positive states and practices is the overall well-being of the stakeholders. (shrink)

El modelo viquiano propuesto en este trabajo tiene hoy día implicaciones concretas para la lingüística y las ciencias cognitivas. A nuestro parecer, hoy las investigaciones en estos campos no hacen otra cosa que verificar la existencia de un vínculo gnoseológico entre sentido, concepto y metáfora que Vico exponía en la Scienza nuova. Vico demostró, ante todo, que la lógica poética constituye la facultad preliminar que permite el comportamiento simbólico humano. Dicha noción falta del todo en las actuales investigaciones sobre la (...) metáfora; y falta claramente la noción de Homo Poeticus en todas las visiones hasta ahora expuestas en lingüística. La concepción viquiana de la lógica poética permitirá a estas ciencias trazar el recorrido científico que deberán seguir en el futuro.Recent researches in linguistics and cognitive sciences may be brought as to show that there exist a empistemological bound between sense, concept and metaphor which Vico already acknowledged in his Scienza nuova. While Vico clearly showed that poetical logic helps to developing the human symbolic behavior; the concept of Homo poeticus is lacking in recent scholar contributions on issues related with metaphors and linguistics. It is assumed that the Vichian conception on poetical logic may improve a better understanding of the problems with which those sciences have hitherto been concerned. (shrink)

Journal Name: Semiotica Issue: Ahead of print.

The concept of accuracy in mathematics is something that is rarely discussed. It is taken for granted, mainly because the various symbolic tools of the discipline, such as the digits and its equations, are meant to have a precise interpretation within the primary referential field. Yet, mathematics is full of inaccuracies and imprecise notions and techniques. The science of limits or the calculus, for example, is the science of imprecision, since it is based on the notions of “approximation”. Yet, the (...) calculus is a marvelous tool of science and discovery. This paper looks at this paradox in a general way considering the relation between mathematics as a sign system and its ability to glean discoveries from within its own system. (shrink)

It can be assumed that value judgements, which are needed to judge what is ‘good’ or ‘better’ and what is ‘bad’ or ‘worse’, are involved in every decision-making process. The theoretical understanding and analysis of value judgements is, therefore, important in the context of bioethics, for example, to be able to ethically assess real decision-making processes in biomedical practice and make recommendations for improvements. However, real decision-making processes and the value judgements inherent in them must first be investigated empirically (‘empirical (...) bioethics’). For this to succeed, what exactly a ‘value judgement’ is and of what components it might consist must initially be theoretically clarified. A corresponding conceptual model can then support or even enable empirical data collection and analysis and, above all, subsequent ethical analysis and evaluation. This paper, therefore, presents a value judgement model with its theoretical derivation. It also illustrates its application in an interview study of decision-making between animal experimentation and alternative methods in the context of biomedical research. Though the model itself can be theoretically deepened and extended, the application of the model works in general and helps to uncover what value judgements can enter into decision-making. However, the empirical methods, for example, qualitative interviews, can also be better oriented towards eliciting value judgements (as understood according to the model). Further applications of the model to other topics or by means of other empirical methods are conceivable. (shrink)

The study explains the perception of the nation in the political thinking of Svetozár Hurban Vajanský, which is founded on primordialist starting points and has a holistic character. In this context, the relationship between the nationally conscious elite and the people is analysed in more detail. The ambivalence of Vajanský’s political thinking is evident in the fact that, in many ways, he formally promotes Ľudovít Štúr’s original idea of unity, but, within Slovak political discourse, he promotes the idea of programme (...) uniformity. Subsequently, this becomes a source of cultural and political isolationism. This fact is complemented in parallel by reflecting the primary acculturation importance of the national elite in developing the national consciousness of the population. Vajanský also incorporated the idea of Slavic mutuality into the national emancipation concept of developing Slovak national identity. Its content is in line with Štúr’s ethnic romanticism. The historicist concept of the development of Slavs under Russian protection also appears in his thinking. Vajanský’s Russophilism was, thus, loosely tied to the ideas of Russian Slavophiles and the idealising perspective of the Slavs’ civilisational mission, who were to form a new, more spiritual and culturally advanced, civilisation circle compared with the morally declining nations of the West. (shrink)

L'expression « jeune fille » n'est pas très fréquente avant le XIXe siècle, tout au moins dans son sens actuel désignant spécifiquement une « fille nubile » ou une « femme jeune non mariée » (Robert). Mais ces définitions elles-mêmes restent approximatives : va-t-on prendre en compte la « nubilité » biologique liée à la menstruation, si variable selon les peuples, les climats, les personnes, et qui semble avoir été nettement plus tardive qu'aujourd'hui ? Ou une nubilité juridique, par..

This is an agenda-setting exploration of the relationship between green politics and liberal ideology. Ecological problems provide unique challenges for liberal democracies.; This challenge is examined by the author who aims to fill the gap between short-term ecological modernization and the politically infeasible longer term utopian approaches.

The notion of the unconscious is central to Freudian theory, and is at the same time dependent on a network of other concepts and assumptions. The theory as a whole is best understood as a historical anthropology, in the double sense that it reflects a historical transformation of the human condition and that its frame of reference is embedded in the cultural universe of a historical epoch. A critical reconstruction of the psychoanalytical project, now urgently needed, therefore faces a double (...) task: it must confront new experiences and developments which have changed the structures of human subjectivity and being-in-the-world, and it must involve a thoroughgoing examination of the conceptual blockages and imbalances built into Freud's successive systems. Both the 20th-century history of psychoanalysis and the new critical perspectives must be situated in the context of a long-term process of individualization; but they also reflect changing perceptions and interpretations of otherness, internal as well as external, and are, in that regard, related to the transformations of art and religion. (shrink)

This paper critically reviews and discusses the concept of organizational virtuousness as presented in positive organizational scholarship. It identifies Kim S. Cameron, David S. Bright, and Arran Caza as the most influential researchers within this field and portrays commonalities, differences, and inconsistencies among the various notions of organizational virtuousness offered in positive organizational literature throughout the last 15 years. While the commonalities refer to attributes, levels of analyses, outcomes, and methodology, the variances concern the locus of residence, the priority of (...) outcomes, indicators, supporting features and the virtues included in positive organizational virtuousness. The analysis further discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these differences and stresses the challenges which the POS movement needs to face in order to clarify its definition of organizational virtuousness and, maybe, converge on one unified meaning. Finally, these challenges are summarized and linked to future research proposals which offer potential ideas on how to further develop the concept of positive organizational virtuousness. (shrink)

L’assurance de mort qu’enveloppe notre condition d’êtres finis nous expose à la tentation d’adhérer à une doctrine de désespoir qui considère toute chose sous le signe du non-être. Il appartient à la pensée dialectique de préparer la commutation de cette systématique négative en une méta-prgblé- matique de l’être ; mais cette commutation elle-même ne peut être que l’oeuvre d’une liberté qui choisit de s’ouvrir au transcendant, dont elle reconnaît la sollicitation a tergo dans l’acte même par lequel elle le salue (...) et l’invoque. (shrink)

Background In bioethics, especially nursing ethics, systematic reviews are increasingly popular. The overall aim of a systematic review is to provide an overview of the published discussions on a specific topic. While a meta-review on systematic reviews on normative bioethical literature has already been performed, there is no equivalent for systematic reviews of empirical literature on ethical topics. Objective This meta-review aims to present the general trends and characteristics of systematic reviews of empirical bioethical literature and to evaluate their reporting (...) quality. Research design Literature search was performed on PubMed and Google Scholar. Qualitative content analysis and quantitative approaches were used to evaluate the systematic reviews. Characteristics of systematic reviews were extracted and quantitatively analyzed. The reporting quality was measured using an adapted PRISMA checklist. Findings Seventy-six reviews were selected for analysis. Most reviews came from the field of nursing (next to bioethics and medicine). Selected systematic reviews investigated issues related to clinical ethics (50%), followed by research ethics (36%) and public health ethics or organizational ethics (14%). In all, 72% of the systematic reviews included authors’ ethical reflections on the findings and 59% provided ethical recommendations. Despite the heterogeneous reporting of the reviews, reviews using PRISMA tended to score better regarding reporting quality. Discussion The heterogeneity currently observed is due both to the interdisciplinary nature of nursing ethics and bioethics, and to the emerging nature of systematic review methods in these fields. These results confirm the findings of our previous review of systematic reviews on normative literature, thereby highlighting a recurring methodological gap in systematic reviews of bioethical literature. This also indicates the need to develop more robust methodological standards. Conclusion Through its extensive overview of the characteristics of systematic reviews of empirical literature on ethical topics, this meta-review is expected to inform further discussions on minimal standards and reporting guidelines. (shrink)

An exposition in five parts of the character of existentialist philosophy, including an analysis of the theories of Jean-Paul Sartre. Author Gabriel Marcel, a famous French dramatist, philosopher, and author of Le Dard, was a leading exponent of Christian existentialism.

Music plays an important role in business because it affects consumer behavior. However, companies do not only value music as a tool to engrain their brands in the mind of their customers, they have also discovered the positive effects that music at work can have on employees’ job performance. The challenges of today’s organizations, nevertheless, are manifold and their responsibilities go much further than just to assure some reasonable financial results. Nowadays most stakeholders and customers expect companies to be run (...) ethically and in strict compliance with the law. Today’s leaders need to be equipped with strategies and instruments that ensure ethical behavior within their organizations. In this paper I argue that music can also represent a practical tool to foster ethical conduct at work. Music helps organizations to do good and well. (shrink)

This article provides an introduction to what the Old Testament has to say regarding displacement and displaced people – refugees, migrants and the marginalized members of society. It surveys the instructions regarding the correct attitude and protective actions owed to ‘the stranger’ found in the Old Testament Law and it points to the divine preference to side with the suffering and the vulnerable evident in the Old Testament Prophets. Although not an exhaustive treatment of Old Testament passages tackling this topic, (...) the discussion helps make clear the fact that God is particularly concerned with justice and care for the disadvantaged members of the society, including aliens, refugees and migrants. The conclusion of the article calls the readers to consider some of the missiological-ethical implications of such concern in our contexts today. (shrink)

By establishing a link between Homer’s, Hesiod’s and Empedocles’ similar textual expressions, we are allotted to assert that the fourth line of Empedocles’ fragment 115 (FVS 31) is authentic. We must read the first words of this line so: ὅς κεν ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον… This emendation of Empedocles’ text implies that the guilty god (or man or Blessed) whom Empedocles’ fragment mentions, is not urged by an (positive or negative) outside element, nor is deceived by a god or a man, acts (...) quite willingly and like the Hatred to which he adheres, and behaves like an human being. However he differs from the disloyal man; for, once punished and cleansed, he is allotted to go back to the society of the Gods or the Blessed, whereas the disloyal man becomes blind or dies, as the myth of the Sicilian Palici testifies. Empedocles refers to this myth when he is speaking over the goddess Nestis. (shrink)

Sous l'influence d'Anaximandre, Parménide radicalise la pensée d'Héraclite : comme tout ce qui est au monde, le monde lui-même est à la merci de la puissance universelle et annihilante du temps. Reste pourtant ce sur sur quoi le temps n'a aucune prise : non ce qu'il y a, mais le fait même qu'il y ait.

Medizinethische Entscheidungsfindungsmodelle müssen nachweisen können, weshalb die mit ihnen getroffenen Entscheidungen richtig oder zumindest „belastbar“ sind. Hierfür sind theoretische Rechtfertigungsansätze aus der Ethik unverzichtbar. Der Klinischen Ethik wird aber mitunter ein Mangel an theoretischer Fundierung vorgeworfen. Um diesem Vorwurf entgegenzutreten, soll unter Bezugnahme auf ein Projekt der Klinischen Ethik („METAP“) die ethische Unterstützung in Form der ethischen Fallbesprechung und der Ethikkonsultation mittels Prinzipienethik und Diskursethik gerechtfertigt werden. Prinzipienethik und Diskursethik können einander über das Medium der ethischen Fallbesprechung oder Ethikkonsultation fruchtbar (...) ergänzen. So können einige theoretische und praktische Schwächen der beiden Ansätze durch den jeweils anderen abgefedert werden. Die Diskursethik übernimmt bspw. die Sicherung der ethischen Gültigkeit von moralischen Entscheidungen bzw. Handlungsnormen und vermindert dadurch ein Rechtfertigungsdefizit, welches bei einem rein prinzipienorientierten Verfahren auftritt. Umgekehrt antwortet die Prinzipienethik u. a. auf Fragen der ethischen Angemessenheit und dient v. a. der adäquaten Einzelfallentscheidung. Durch die Integration des einen Ansatzes in den anderen ist eine umfassendere Rechtfertigungsleistung erzielbar als bei einem alleinigen Einsatz von Prinzipienethik oder Diskursethik. Selbst wenn einige Herausforderungen bestehen bleiben und auch das integrierte Modell moralische Dissense nicht immer verhindern kann, vermag es durch seine „doppelte“ Absicherung (Prinzipien und Diskurs) ein praktisches Vertrauen in die getroffene ethische Entscheidung zu stärken und so der Klinischen Ethik mehr „Robustheit“ zu geben, als sie bisher besitzt. (shrink)