This volume provides new sources of knowledge based on Michael Otte’s fundamental insight that understanding the problems of mathematics education – how to teach, how to learn, how to communicate, how to do, and how to represent ...

Following Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s epistemological concept we show how a generic element of synthetic biology, the “biological switch”, can be integrated into an experimental system. Here synthetic biology is assumed to be a technoscience. Hence, the biological switch becomes a technoscientific research object. Consequently, the experimental system has to be analyzed in a technoscientific experimental setting, showing differences in comparison with the former. To work out the specific properties of the technoscientific experimental system, biological switching behavior is compared with the scientific (...) research object laser light in its classical setting. For the analyses, both the laser light and bistability, enabling a biological switch, are considered as epistemic things connected by the same theoretical concept of phase transitions. The so-called Schlögl model is used to model both biological switching behavior and induced emission of radiation and becomes an epistemic thing in itself. It becomes clear that the answer, whether one is dealing with the emission of laser light or with bistable switching behavior, is linked to the perspective taken. The technoscientific orientation towards applications and the development of basic scientific theories require different perspectives on one and the same epistemic thing, here also represented by the model. The research objects of synthetic biology as a technoscience thus also enter into the corresponding experimental systems as techno-epistemic objects. Their analysis leads to a more complete understanding of what constitutes synthetic biology. (shrink)

The rich body of physical theories defines the foundation of our understanding of the world. Its mathematical formulation is based on classical Aristotelian logic. In the philosophy of science the ambiguities, paradoxes, and the possibility of subjective interpretations of facts have challenged binary logic, leading, among other developments, to Gotthard Günther’s theory of polycontexturality. Günther’s theory explains how observers with subjective perception can become aware of their own subjectivity and provides means to describe contradicting or even paradox observations in a (...) logically sound formalism. Here we summarize the formalism behind Günther’s theory and apply it to two well-known examples from physics where different observers operate in distinct and only locally valid logical systems. Using polycontextural logic we show how the emerging awareness of these limitations of logical systems entails the design of mathematical transformations, which then become an integral part of the theory. In our view, this approach offers a novel perspective on the structure of physical theories and, at the same time, emphasizes the relevance of the theory of polycontexturality in modern sciences. (shrink)

Scientists, engineers, and healthcare professionals are currently developing a variety of new devices under the category of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Current and future applications are both medical/assistive (e.g., for communication) and non-medical (e.g., for gaming). This array of possibilities comes with ethical challenges for all stakeholders. As a result, BCIs have been an object of both hope and concern in various media. We argue that these conflicting sentiments can be productively understood in terms of personhood, specifically the impact of BCIs (...) on what it means to be a person and to be recognized as such by others. To understand the dynamics of personhood in the context of BCI use and investigate whether ethical guidance is required, a meeting entitled "BCIs and Personhood: A Deliberative Workshop" was held in May 2018. In this article, we describe how BCIs raise important questions about personhood and propose recommendations for BCI development and governance. (shrink)

Johann Georg Sulzer gehorte zu den pragenden Gestalten der europaischen Aufklarung in den 1750er und 1760er Jahren, sowohl in der Philosophie als auch in einer Reihe von Einzelwissenschaften - wie der Mathematik und der Padagogik - sowie im Kontext literarischer und asthetischer Diskurse. Federfuhrend nahm er an den wichtigen Debatten, Kontroversen und Forschungsentwicklungen teil, die etwa in Berlin, in Leipzig oder in Paris die Aufklarung beschaftigte. Der vorliegende Band versammelt Studien von Philosophen, Literaturwissenschaftlern und Wissenschaftshistorikern zu allen Werkbereichen Sulzers, insbesondere (...) zur lange Zeit vernachlassigten Erkenntnistheorie und Psychologie. Zugleich wird seine bislang weitgehend unbekannte praktische Philosophie diskutiert. Daruber hinaus werden auch Sulzers Sprach- und Kunsttheorie sowie seine Enzyklopadistik analysiert. MIT BEITRAGEN VON: Elisabeth Decultot, Werner Euler, Frank Grunert, Jutta Heinz, Marion Heinz, Dieter Huning, Heiner Klemme, Hans-Peter Nowitzki, Udo Roth, Gideon Stiening, Udo Thiel, Achim Vesper und Falk Wunderlich.". (shrink)

InhaltVorwortSiglenverzeichnisEröffnung und GrußwortePlenarvorträgeGünter ZÖLLER: Fichte in Berlin in München Claudio CESA : Urfragen und Gestalten der Menschheitsgeschichte im Hinblick auf den späten FichteBernard BOURGEOIS: Über die Sich-selbst-Gleichheit der Fichteschen Rechts- und StaatslehreReinhard LAUTH: Zur grundsätzlichen Richtung der philosophischen Fichte-Forschung Fichtes letzte Darstellungen der Wissenschaftslehre Urs RICHLI: Die ursprüngliche Konstitution des Wissens in Fichtes später WissenschaftslehreAlexander SCHNELL: Schema – Soll – SeinAndreas SCHMIDT: Jenseits des Selbstbewußtseins. Zur intellektuellen Anschauung in Fichtes Wissenschaftslehre von 1810Daniel DOHRN: Freiheit und Gebundenheit in der Wissenschaftslehre 1811Christian (...) KLOTZ: Fichtes Deduktion der Bewußtseinsform in der Wissenschaftslehre 1811Kunihiko NAGASAWA: Gott und Wissen in der WL von 1810Hans-Peter FALK: Fichtes späte Wissenschaftslehre Hitoshi MINOBE: Die Freiheit der Erscheinung in der Wissenschaftslehre von 1811Anton A. IVANENKO: Der zweideutige Begriff des Seins im Vortrag der Wissenschaftslehre vom Jahre 1812 Michael Bastian WEISS: Das Als und das Nicht-Als, oder: Szenario des Bildens. Zu Fichtes theoretischem Appell zum Praktischen in der Wissenschaftslehre 1812Benedetta BISOL: Die Ich-Lehre in der Wissenschaftslehre 1812M. Jorge de CARVALHO: Reflexion und ReflexibilitätMartin BONDELI: Zum Begriff der Apperzeption in Fichtes Wissenschaftslehre 1813/1814Hartmut TRAUB: Liebe, Sein und Leben. Vom inneren Wesen der Wissenschaftslehre Cristiana SENIGAGLIA: Das Prinzip Individualität und seine praktische Bedeutung.Überlegungen zu Fichtes Diarien. (shrink)

Anhand einer klinischen Vignette wird ausgeführt, dass das psychoanalytische Geschehen sich in mehreren Dimensionen entfaltet. Drei solcher Dimensionen – als Bedeutung (Erkenntnis), Berührung (Kontakt) und Bewegung (Ereignis) bezeichnet – werden beschrieben und deren dimensionale Charakteristik auf die Sinnesqualitäten des Sehens, des Berührungssinnes und des Hörens bezogen. Es wird gezeigt, dass sie Raum und Zeit auf je eigene Weise konstituieren und somit einander inkommensurable, durch keine logische oder dialektische Operation in eine Einheit überführbare Aprioritäten darstellen. Mit deren Unvereinbarkeit ist auch auf (...) Grenzen theoretisch-begrifflicher Bemächtigung verwiesen, womit die Frage nach der Reichweite metapsychologischer Begriffe, etwa des Begriffs des Unbewussten, aufgeworfen ist. Von hier aus wird in einem Ausblick nach der Begegnung als organisierendem Phantasma der analytischen Situation gefragt und – auf dem Weg einer Erörterung des Begegnungsbegriffs bei Martin Buber – versucht, Begegnung dimensional näher zu bestimmen. (shrink)

Much of the debate on the ethics of self-driving cars has revolved around trolley scenarios. This paper instead takes up the political or institutional question of who should decide how a self-driving car drives. Specifically, this paper is on the question of whether and why passengers should be able to control how their car drives. The paper reviews existing arguments—those for passenger ethics settings and for mandatory ethics settings respectively—and argues that they fail. Although the arguments are not successful, they (...) serve as the basis to formulate desiderata that any approach to regulating the driving behavior of self-driving cars ought to fulfill. The paper then proposes one way of designing passenger ethics settings that meets these desiderata. (shrink)

In recent years, the construct of mindfulness has gained growing attention in psychological research. However, little is known about the effects of mindfulness on interpersonal interactions and social relationships at work. Addressing this gap, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of mindfulness in leader-follower-relationships. Building on prior research, we hypothesize that leaders’ mindfulness is reflected in a specific communication style (“mindfulness in communication”), which is positively related to followers’ satisfaction with their leaders. We used nested survey (...) data from 34 leaders and 98 followers from various organizations and tested mediation hypotheses using hierarchical linear modeling. Our hypotheses were confirmed by our data. Leaders’ self-reported mindfulness showed a positive relationship with several aspects of followers’ satisfaction. This relationship was fully mediated by leaders’ mindfulness in communication as perceived by their followers. Our findings emphasize the potential value of mindfulness in workplace settings. They provide empirical evidence for a positive link between leaders’ dispositional mindfulness and the wellbeing of their followers, indicating that mindfulness is not solely an individual resource but also fosters interpersonal skills. By examining leaders’ mindfulness in communication as an explanatory process, we created additional clarification about how leaders’ mindfulness relates to followers’ perceptions. Moreover, by suggesting mindfulness in communication as a behavioral correlate of mindfulness, we offered a promising starting point for indirect measures of mindfulness. (shrink)

Investment protection clauses, and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms they enable, have become a common feature of international agreements on trade and investment. Intended to promote foreign investment, these protections may also discourage governments from regulating in the public interest. This raises challenging normative questions about the rights of investors and distributive justice. In this paper, I argue that a global investment regime that disadvantages developing countries and socially disadvantaged groups is prima facie unfair. This conclusion must be defended against (...) the claim that investors have certain independent moral rights to have their property protected, regardless of the distributive consequences. Granting the premise that such investor rights exist, I argue that these cannot plausibly ground a general rule against public interest regulation that undermines the value of property. I conclude that even if foreign investors have rights that must be safeguarded, the current investment regime must be reformed. (shrink)

In this paper, we show that reproducibility is a severe problem that concerns simulation models. The reproducibility problem challenges the concept of numerical solution and hence the conception of what a simulation actually does. We provide an expanded picture of simulation that makes visible those steps of simulation modeling that are numerically relevant, but often escape notice in accounts of simulation. Examining these steps and analyzing a number of pertinent examples, we argue that numerical solutions are importantly different from usual (...) mathematical solutions. They are do not merely approximate the latter, but introduce new problems, including issues of artificiality, stability, and well-posedness. Consequently, simulation modelling can attain reproducibility only to a certain degree because it is working with numerical solutions. (shrink)

This article uses sociological role theory to help understand ethical challenges faced by Norwegian real estate agents. The article begins with an introductory case, and then briefly examines the strengths and limitations of using legal definitions and rules for understanding real estate agency and real estate agent ethics. It goes on to argue that the ethical challenges of real estate agency can be described and understood as a system of conflicting roles with associated rights and duties, in particular sales agent, (...) intermediary and adviser sub-roles. The arguments are developed using exploratory findings from a survey of Norwegian real estate agents and from several focus groups. The article then suggests the use of various intranet tools as a kind of action research aimed at putting ethics on the real estate agents' agenda, working to develop a collective conscience and collective selfcriticism among the agents, and, in doing so, building bridges between academic research and the practical working world of the agents. (shrink)

WHAT IS PRESENT TO THE MIND? Donald DAVIDSON The University of California at Berkeley There is a sense in which anything we think about is, ...

Brain-computer interfaces are envisioned to enable new abilities of action. This potential can be fruitful in particular when it comes to restoring lost motion or communication abilities or to implementing new possibilities of action. However, BCIs do not come without presuppositions. Applying the concept of ability expectations to BCIs, a wide range of requirements on the side of the users becomes apparent. We examined these ability expectations by taking the example of therapeutic BCI users who got enrolled into BCI research (...) studies due to particular physical conditions. Some of the expectations identified are quite explicit, like particular physical conditions and BCI “literacy”. Other expectations are more implicit, such as motivation, a high level of concentration, pain tolerance, emotion control and resources. These expectations may produce a conception of the human and a self-understanding among BCI users that objectify the body in favour of a brain-centred, cerebral notion of the subject which also plays its part in upholding a normality regime. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 99 Heft: 1 Seiten: 320-331.

I would like to look at some of the challenges of ethcis today. Therefore, in the first part I say something about ethics, the ethical theories and ethical concepts. Afterwords I am going to explain a little bit about the human dimensions, the dealing with experiences (i.e. work); because the human person has to decide the right thing in the right place on the right time, and in relatively freedom. In the end, there are some ideas about applied ethics which (...) is necessary to focusing on the practical issues, too. Otherwise people who do not like the ethical discussions they could think that ethical ideas are selfsufficient and do not make sense, but I will tell them something else... (shrink)

In the strategic document of the African Union approved in 2013 and spanning over 50 years, known as Agenda 2063, we find a blueprint for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse of the future. Many of the themes mentioned in Agenda 2063 are also mentioned in the New Testament, such as slavery, unity, poverty, women, children, discrimination and diversity. It is therefore clear that Christianity has something to contribute to Agenda 2063. Another word used throughout the Agenda 2063 document is (...) ‘transformation’. Concepts such as ‘transformative leadership’ and ‘radical transformation at all levels and in all spheres’ are mentioned. This contribution draws on the Agenda 2063 document to engage the missiological themes of unity, reconciliation and justice through the lens of the Belhar Confession. Deeply aware of the pain and disruption colonial Christianity has caused in many instances in Africa, the author contends that the Good News, particularly the New Testament themes of unity, reconciliation and justice, present a potentially transformative approach towards developing Africa. The research question that this article attends to is: how can the churches in Africa contribute to the aspirations of Agenda 2063 from the themes of unity, justice and reconciliation as declared in the Belhar Confession? By interrogating these key concepts of Agenda 2063 through the Confession of Belhar, the author concludes that the Belhar Confession can be regarded as a key African document, which could be explored further to facilitate unity, reconciliation and justice on the continent.Contribution: This article indicates the important relationship between church and state and the need for a partnership for the benefit of both. The need for a transforming state and a transforming church to participate in a transformed Africa is argued. The article promotes multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary aspects of studies as part of a mission praxis and application. (shrink)

The paper develops a precise account of a logic of truth and, in particular, the logic of truth of a given truth theory. On the basis of this account maximality considerations are employed for comparing and evaluating different classical logics of truth. It is argued that, perhaps surprisingly, maximality considerations lead to a fruitful criterion for evaluating logics of truth. The paper provides two different routes for motivating the application of maximality considerations in the truth case. The first route employs (...) the Maxim of Minimum Mutilation and suggests that we should vindicate as much of our basic truth intuition, that is, the transparency intuition, as it is consistently possible. The second route argues that maximality considerations underlie much of our logical theorizing and its application in the truth case is just one particular such instance. On this view maximality considerations do not implicitly depend on the basic truth intuition but rather explain how the intuition arises and why it is not fully reliable. (shrink)

Polygenic effects have more than one cause. They testify to the fact that several causal contributors are sometimes simultaneously involved in causation. The importance of polygenic causation was noticed early on by Mill (1893). It has since been shown to be a problem for causal-law approaches to causation and accounts of causation cast in terms of capacities. However, polygenic causation needs to be examined more thoroughly in the emerging literature on causal mechanisms. In this paper I examine whether an influential (...) theory of mechanisms proposed by Peter Machamer, Lindley Darden and Carl Craver can accommodate polygenic effects and other forms of causal interaction. This theory is problematic, I will argue, because it ascribes a central role to activities. In it, activities are needed not only to constitute mechanisms but also to perform the causal role of mechanisms. Any such mechanism-as-activity will be incompatible with causal situations where either no or merely another kind of activity occurs. But, as I will try to illustrate in this paper, both kinds of situation may be frequent. If I am right, the view that Machamer and colleagues suggest leads to an impoverished conception of mechanism. (shrink)

Researchers often aim to make correct inferences both about that which is actually studied and about what the results generalize to. The language of internal and external validity is not used by everyone, but many of us would agree that intuitively the distinction makes a lot of sense. Two claims are commonly made with respect to internal and external validity. The first is that internal validity is prior to external validity since there is nothing to generalize if the findings obtained (...) in, for instance, the experimental setting do not hold. The first claim is explicit in many writings. See for instance Francisco Guala’s influential book The methodology of experimental economics. And it is often implicitly relied on. The second claim is that researchers have to make a trade-off between internal and external validity. When one is increased, the other will decrease. The second claim was made already from the start by D.T Campbell in his classic Factors relevant to the validity of experiments in social settings. There is a certain tension between the first and the second claim. It has been argued before that it might be difficult to combine them. We intend to make the stronger point that both claims are misconstrued. Our hypothesis is that the relationship between internal and external validity has to be re-conceptualized, and we will briefly indicate how. (shrink)