The ability to recognise others’ emotions from nonverbal cues is measured with performance-based tests and has many positive correlates. Although researchers have...

In the Philosophy of Sport literature, play has been widely conceived, in whole or part, as an autotelic activity; that is, an activity pursued for intrinsic factors. I examine several versions of the conception of play as an autotelic activity. Given these different accounts, I raise the question whether the concept of autotelic play is tenable. I examine three possibilities: (i) accept the concept of autotelic play and reject the possibility of satisfying the conditions for play activities; (ii) accept the (...) concept and acknowledge that play refers to a range of activities ranging from the purely autotelic to something less; and, (iii) reject the definition of play as an autotelic activity and redefine play. I argue that the third option is the best avenue for constructing a viable account of play. In defending this third option, I argue that play activities are value laden, that the value of play is an empirical matter, and that the effect of motivating reasons on behavior is the basis for determining which motivating reasons count as intrinsic or extrinsic. I conclude that the weight of the arguments suggest we would be well-served to redefine and move beyond the notion of autotelic play. (shrink)

This book critically assesses arguments for the existence of the God of classical theism, develops an innovative account of objects’ persistence, and defends new arguments against classical theism. The authors engage the following classical theistic proofs: Aquinas’s First Way, Aquinas’s De Ente argument, and Feser’s Aristotelian, Neo-Platonic, Augustinian, Thomistic, and Rationalist proofs. The authors also provide the first systematic treatment of the ‘existential inertia thesis’. By connecting the thesis to relativity theory and recent developments in the philosophy of physics, and (...) by developing a variety of novel existential-inertia-friendly explanations of persistence, they mount a formidable new case against classical theistic proofs. Finally, they defend new arguments against classical theism based on abstract objects and changing divine knowledge. The text appeals to students, researchers, and others interested in classical theistic proofs, the existence and nature of God, and the ultimate explanations of persistence, change, and contingency. (shrink)

This paper argues that Maimon’s metaphilosophy presents a distinctive view on what the scientific role and method of philosophy should consist in: in the production of fictions of systematicity. It shows how Maimon’s philosophy of science links to metaphilosophical views, and ultimately leads him to adopt the so-called “method of fictions” to transform philosophy into a proper science. By connecting his remarks on scientific fictions and their methodological role with Kant’s doctrine of regulative ideas and the latter’s conception of systematicity, (...) the paper develops a systematic account of the method of fictions, its employment in theoretical philosophy and the scientific image resulting from this view. (shrink)

The present volume contains a selection of papers presented at the Fifth Conference on Collective Intentionality held at the University of Helsinki August 31 to September 2, 2006 and two additional contributions. The common aim of the papers is to explore the structure of shared intentional attitudes, and to explain how they underlie the social, cultural and institutional world. The contributions to this volume explore the phenomenology of sharedness, the concept of sharedness, and also various aspects of the structure of (...) collective intentionality in general, and of the intricate relations between sharedness and normativity in particular. Concepts of Sharedness shows how rich and lively the philosophical research focused on the analysis of collective intentionality has become, and will provide further inspiration for future work in this rapidly evolving field. (shrink)

Winner of Fichte-Preis für Nachwuchsforscher*innen. In this paper I develop an account of Fichte’s conception of philosophical construction. Following the latter’s definition of philosophy as the ‘science of science’, philosophy is to be understood as a normative theory of what should qualify as science. In order to ground scientific knowledge-production as such, philosophy itself has to acquire a scientific method, through the application of which the constitution of scientific knowledge is secured. In systematic continuity to Kant’s account of geometrical construction, (...) Fichte develops a philosophical method that exploits the special epistemic conditions of performativity. Construction is then defined as an experimental, self-reflexive performance that exemplifies consciousness. Throughout its acts of exemplification this reflexive kind of self-observation yields a particular type of experience, which ultimately satisfies the Science of Knowledge’s demand for certainty, that is intellectual intuition. (shrink)

We work in set theory without the Axiom of Choice ZF. We prove that the Principle of Dependent Choices (DC) implies that the closed unit ball of a uniformly convex Banach space is weakly compact and, in particular, that the closed unit ball of a Hilbert space is weakly compact. These statements are not provable in ZF and the latter statement does not imply DC. Furthermore, DC does not imply that the closed unit ball of a reflexive space is weakly (...) compact. (shrink)

The main question on which this essay focuses is: What expectations should a Christian social ethics form concerning a constructive education strategy which can adequately respond to social needs within a globalised world? In order to do so, the first task is to identify the signs of the times: What are the impacts challenging education? What is essentially needed to help secure the necessary requirements for people to live together in a humane and peaceful way under conditions of socio-economic and (...) socio-cultural differences, manifold experiences of alienation, and the potentials for conflict that these bring about? If education as a major means of social participation ought to contribute to this, it must first of all be concerned with the personal identity of young people. The crucial point of education for ‘the citizens of the world’ will be to connect experiences that form identity with the capability to transcend one’s own horizon without fearing the loss of one’s identity. (shrink)

Un recueil consacré à l’époque où Hegel séjourne à Francfort, dans la proximité de son ami Hölderlin, est sûr de susciter un intense intérêt tant les enjeux, les énigmes et les exigences philosophiques s’y attachant demeurent passionnants. Cet intérêt s’accroît encore davantage depuis la parution du volume 2 de l’édition critique des œuvres de Hegel : la nouvelle présentation de ces « écrits de jeunesse », qui s’était au demeurant fait attendre pendant plusieurs décennie...

In the second book of theConfessions, Augustine flabbergasts his interpreters by exaggerating an adolescent escapade (a pear theft) and making it a monstrosity. He conjectures that the pear thieves might have commited the theft purely for the sake of thieving, and thus, that they displayed a kind of evil that is not even presented by the arch-villain of Ciceronian antiquity, the conspirer Catilina. Following Aquinas’ interpretation this comparison has been considered a reductio in most of the relevant literature up to (...) now. This paper presents a different interpretation: Augustine is mostly serious about his claim–and there might be more to his argument than meets the eye. The interpretation developed in the present paper is based on a construal of the pear theft as collective agency. (shrink)

L’essai trace un parallèle entre la conception du langage et son rapport à l’art chez Croce et Cassirer. Bien que tous deux partent d’une position essentiellement idéaliste, Croce identifie le langage à l’art et donne ainsi à l’art la position hiérarchiquement la plus élevée dans le cadre des activités de l’esprit, alors que Cassirer considère le langage et l’art comme des formes symboliques autonomes et de même valeur. L’essai aborde la question des répercussions de cette différence sur la définition du (...) rôle et des fonctions de l’esthétique en analysant, entre autres, les écrits dans lesquels Cassirer se confronte à la pensée esthétique de Croce. (shrink)

Es wird auf einige Mißverständnisse in B. Juhos' Interpretation der Popperschen Ansichten zum Falsifikationsproblem verwiesen und betont, daß B. Juhos' Hauptthese der Symmetrie von Verifikation und Falsifikation, woraus auf die Berechtigung verifikationistischer Forschungspraktiken geschlossen wird, auf einer Verwechslung von Falsifizierbarkeit und Falsifikation beruht.

RÉSUMÉ Dans le Panoptique, Jeremy Bentham expose ses vues sur la réhabilitation des criminels. Un important aspect de son projet repose sur l’idée que le regard du public sur le châtiment est nécessaire à l’éducation morale de la société. Lors de la rencontre entre les visiteurs et les prisonniers, Bentham exige de chaque détenu le port d’un masque. Cet essai suggère que le masque joue un rôle fondamental dans la mise en scène du châtiment. ABSTRACT In the Panopticon Writings, Jeremy (...) Bentham exposes his project for the criminals’ rehabilitation. An important aspect of his project is based on the idea that the confinement of criminals has to be displayed before the eyes of visitors. Thus, when prisoners encounter the public’s gaze, they are forced to wear a mask. This paper suggests a reading of the mask as a central instrument of redemption and general moral education. (shrink)

In the past few years, two new DNA topoisomerases have been discovered in bacteria, bringing the total number of DNA topoisomerases in E. coli to four. Two classes of topoisomerases, type 1 and type 2, are distinguishable by their amino acid homology and their apparent reaction mechanism. Of the four E. coli topoisomerases, there are two type 1 and two type 2 enzymes. In eukaryotes, the existence of multiple type 1 and type 2 enzymes has also become apparent. The existence (...) of these multiple enzymes provokes a question whose answer has both evolutionary and physiological implications: are these topoisomerases functionally redundant, or have they acquired sufficient specialization that they now perform unique biological reactions? In bacteria, there is evidence for both specialization and redundancy in the functions of topoisomerases. (shrink)

Der Band rekonstruiert und kritisiert die verstreuten Vorschläge, die Karl R. Popper zur Philosophie der Sozialwissenschaften gemacht hat. Dabei stehen drei Themenbereiche im Vordergrund: Zum einen wird der von Popper verteidigte Methodologische Individualismus in der Absicht untersucht, dessen begrenzte heuristische Fruchtbarkeit sichtbar zu machen; zum weiteren wird die von Popper favorisierte Logik von Handlungserklärungen einer nachhaltigen Revision unterzogen, was eine umfassendere handlungstheoretische Erklärungspraxis erlaubt, als sie Popper im Auge hatte; und zum dritten diskutiert der Autor die Frage, inwieweit Poppers Theorie (...) des Wissensfortschritts für die sozialwissenschaftliche Theoriebildung verbindlich ist; auch in diesem Falle werden Mängel diagnostiziert und Wege zu deren Beseitigung erkundet. Relevanz und Reichweite der Popperschen Gedanken zur Philosophie der Handlungswissenschaften lassen sich damit deutlicher abstecken, als dies der bisherigen Popper-Rezeption möglich war. Es stellt sich heraus, daß Poppers sozialwissenschaftliche Methodenvorschläge in revidierter Form durchaus Beachtung verdienen und manchem neueren Versuch, der sozialwissenschaftlichen Theoriebildung Halt und Richtung zu verleihen, vorzuziehen sind. (shrink)

On the basis of an examination of Kant's, Maimon's and Schelling's metaphilosophies, this book investigates how, starting from Kant's diagnosis of a "groping metaphysics", a philosophical research program, whose goal is to elucidate the nature and method of philosophy itself, develops. What unites theirprojects is the thesis that philosophy must begin with an investigation of its own nature, and that this investigation, because of its special object, must be accompanied by a reflection on its method. To this end, their methods (...) are discussed on the assumption that these methods arise from a particular engagement with the theories and practices of the 18th century sciences. Finally, this discussion provides the basis for showing in what ways philosophical experiments, fictions, or models offer methodological solutions to the problem of developing a scientific metaphysics. (shrink)

Behaviourist Learning Theory and Utility Theory. Comparisons between theories are rare, especially in social theory which is believed to be a "multi-paradigmatic" science. Against this prevailing impression it is shown that there are logically reconstructable inter-theory-relations at least between different basic theories of individual action. Following Wladyslaw Krajewski a formal model of theory-approximation is developed and applied to behaviourist learning theory and utility theory. Comparing both theories leads to the result that the latter has to be preferred to Behaviourism. That (...) utility theory has a richer content than learning theory helps to explain why George Caspar Homans explanatory programme which leans on a Skinnerian version of learning theory finally did not succeed in becoming the leading approach in social science. (shrink)