Since the English translation first appeared in 1923, Rudolf Otto's volume has established itself as a classic in the field of religious philosophy. It offers an in-depth inquiry into the non-rational factor in the idea of the divine and its relation to the rational.

Der Wissenschaftskonzeption der "kritischen Theorie" der zu verändernden Gesellschaft wird im wesentlichen zugestimmt. Sie wird verteidigt insbesondere gegen ein Selbstverständnis der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften, das sich im Namen der "Freiheit von Forschung und Lehre" auf einen Begriff "der" interesse- bzw. wertfreien Wissenschaft zurückzieht. Andererseits will der Autor die genannte Konzeption ergänzen bzw. präzisieren: Zwar stellt die Einheit von Theorie und Praxis ein Postulat philosophischer Reflexion dar, letztere erweist aber auf ihrer höchsten Stufe das politisch interessierte Engagement und das wissenschaftliche Interesse (...) an entdogmatisierender Reflexion jedes Engagements unter den Bedingungen menschlicher Endlichkeit als polar-entgegengesetzte, auseinandertretende Momente. (shrink)

The movement for the Unity of Science has been making headway for a number of years, and each year more workers in the various scientific domains have expressed their interest in it by participating in the discussion of its aims and its specific problems. A characteristic feature of this movement which explains this growing interest is that it does not propose a “super-science” which is to legislate to the special sciences. Its proposal of a Unity of Science is of a (...) different kind, not based upon some grand metaphysical view of any sort. Those who are active within this movement are emphatic in their insistence that instead of aiming at a synthesis of the different sciences on the basis of a prior and independent philosophy, the special sciences will themselves supply their own synthesizing glue. For appreciating the significance of this movement it is therefore necessary to keep in mind that its tendency is toward a unified science, departmentalized into special sciences, and not toward an artificial and speculative juxtaposition of an autonomous philosophy and an autonomous group of sciences. (shrink)

Abstract2 Enoch 58–59 provides an esoteric and somewhat eccentric delineation of attitudes toward the mistreatment of animals within some sect of Egyptian Judaism, in all probability. Three attitudes, having to do with the mistreatment of animals in failing to feed them properly, the wrongful binding of animals for sacrifice, and possible secret sexual exploitation of animals, are delineated along with warnings regarding the effects of such treatment on the human soul at the great judgment. This linking of how humans treat (...) animals with how humans will be judged in “the great age” is unique in the literature of this period and demonstrates a deep concern for animal welfare that has been largely dormant in many facets of religion until more recent times. (shrink)

In what follows I wish to raise and eventually to suggest an answer to the following question: What is the rationality of human communication? Why should we ask this question? By way of a first approach I would place the problem within the context of the so called “pragmatic turn” of analytic philosophy, i.e. within a context in which the concept of the rationality of logical syntactics and logical semantics of language systems has been integrated into, or superseded by, the (...) rationality concept of the human use of language—say, e.g., of arguments. (shrink)

Much research has been done on the economic effects of self-employment, environmental conditions for entrepreneurial success, as well as attributes if the person him-/herself fits to this career path. To successfully run a business, however, is contingent on the health of the entrepreneur. In particular, small business owners (being solo self-employed without personnel) face financial uncertainties, a high workload, long working hours, and are often unable to call in sick. This study aimed at exploring the working situation considering resources (e.g., (...) autonomy), strain (e.g., dependency on contracts with clients) and health and career outcomes of small business owners. This study used a qualitative approach to comprehensively mirror the working situation. Participants who were 29 small business owners from Germany gave permission for recording expert interviews in which they reported, for example, on health complaints, recovery opportunities, obstacles and resources while running their businesses. The interviews emphasize the meaning of active actions and own responsibility for creating working conditions and enabling autonomy. Small business owners yet have to be able to use the autonomy. Besides personal preferences regarding the career path as being pulled into self-employment and not pushed by situational circumstances also marketability and flexibility played a role and explained health and career issues. Our findings underline that the social network is of utmost importance to small business owners and that social support – even or despite of being solo self-employed – is a key to sustaining health and satisfaction. As voluntariness played an essential role for selecting this specific career path those being pulled into self-employment as no other jobs are available should receive particular support through career counseling. One shortcoming of prior research is that the concrete working situation of small business owners and its impact on health and career has not adequately been taken into account. Based on work-related stress models we developed a frame model specific for the situation of small business owners which allows concrete hypotheses for further quantitative research. (shrink)

Despite the growing interest in perfectionism and its many facets, there is a lack of research on this phenomenon in the context of leadership. Attending to this deficit, the present study is the first to investigate the relationship between the three facets of perfectionism and three types of self-rated leadership behavior. In Study 1, leaders’ perfectionism and its association to their organizational, goal-oriented leadership behavior—self-rated as transactional and transformational leadership—is explored. In Study 2, the relationship of leaders’ perfectionism to their (...) servant leadership as a people-centered leadership behavior is investigated. In line with the perfectionism social disconnection model, we assume other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism to be positively related to management by exception and negatively related to transformational and servant leadership, whereas the opposite pattern is primarily predicted for self-oriented perfectionism. Our findings in Study 1 reveal a negative relationship between leaders’ self-oriented perfectionism as well as positive relationships to their other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism in management by exception, while no substantial correlations with transformational leadership have emerged. In Study 2, a negative association between other-oriented perfectionism and the forgiveness dimension of servant leadership is revealed, indicating a possible barrier to building interpersonal relationships of acceptance and trust. Additionally, self-oriented perfectionism has been proven to be a rather favorable trait in servant leadership. (shrink)

Peirce conceived of methodology, or methodeutic, as he preferred to call it, as one of the three major parts of logic taken broadly--the other two being the theory of signs and formal logic. Unlike these two, however, his theory of methodology remained mostly programmatic, and there is little more than fragmentary suggestions about it scattered through his writings. But by gathering them together and pursuing their insights, it is possible to indicate how he might have divided and developed it: 1) (...) The nature of scientific discourse and how it differs from non-scientific. 2) The logic of inquiry, both heuristic and systematic, according to the modes of argument as deductive, inductive, or abductive (i.e. hypothesis) or a combination or all three. 3) The assurance of science considered in the factors that thwart or promote inquiry. (shrink)

As a response to the COVID-19 crisis, governments have turned to various discretionary measures such as cash transfers to consumers and businesses with mixed results. Universal Basic Income (UBI) is back on the agenda as well. One of the main advantages of UBI, as scholars like F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, and James M. Buchanan have argued, is that it does not depend upon competent and benevolent government discretion—which is often in short supply—but upon pre-established rules. This paper argues that the (...) UBI scheme holds tentative promise from the point of view of improving the institutional crisis preparedness of a complex socioeconomic order. The pre-established rules of UBI buttress the rule of law framework that improves the ability of economic agents to spontaneously coordinate their actions in times of crisis characterized by radical uncertainty, disequilibrium shocks, and institutional instability. Furthermore, UBI combines the distribution of fungible resources with the delegation of independent decision-making power to millions of crisis-struck individuals and communities. Compared to discretionary tax-and-transfer schemes, the rules of UBI therefore appear more compatible with the polycentric discovery of novel solutions from the bottom-up. In times of crisis, UBI may be relied upon as one cornerstone of what I shall call the permanent crisis management framework. Having such a permanent scheme may minimize - although it does not altogether eliminate - the need for discretionary transfers, targeted intervention, and technocratic management in times of crisis. However, this theoretical model of UBI as a facilitator of polycentric crisis preparedness faces several practical challenges that need to be addressed in further research. (shrink)

The Finnish experiment of 2017–18 is a crucial test case. It provides one of the most robust experimental tests of a universal basic income (UBI) in the context of an advanced industrialised society. And it is a real milestone, since it represents a nonutopian approach to UBI that can be palatable to middle class voters. But its partial success is also a partial failure. Although it is too early to render judgement, the Finnish case shows that there are many obstacles (...) for the successful implementation of theoretical models. Experiments often fall short of the ideal experimental conditions. This speaks against taking too optimistic a view on the next steps. (shrink)

In the field of educational administration there have been several years of active debate over how America's school systems are run. Contemporary educational administrators have been forced to reflect not only on educational policy and practice, but on the very nature of their position. How does administration contribute to the type of society we have? In what ways does it impede or enhance our cultural ideals and values? "Paradigms and Promises" offers an unorthodox solution by presenting administration as an arena (...) for critical reflection and humanistic action, rather than a more technically-oriented style of management. Foster's critical analysis is premised on an understanding of the relationship of theory to practice, and as he provides alternative theories, he sheds new light on educational administration. Orthodox administrative theory receives heavy criticism in this text. Foster employs progressive critical theory as well as conventional analyses in critical appraisal, and advocates a dialectical concept, through which administrators, teachers and students are encouraged to challenge and question each other - the eventual result being a more responsive, democratically-run system. (shrink)

Platons Politeia (347 v. Chr.), der utopische Entwurf eines gerechten Staats, gilt nicht nur als sein "Hauptwerk", sondern auch als das wirkungsgeschichtlich bedeutendste Werk der politischen Philosophie in der Geschichte des europäischen Denkens. Für die 11. Auflage überarbeitete K. Bormann die Apeltsche Übersetzung anhand der Oxforder Ausgabe von Burnet und anderen. Beigegeben wurde eine ausführliche Literaturübersicht, Anmerkungen und Register sowie eine Einleitung.

Nachdruck der Vorlesungsreihe aus dem Jahr 1916.

Otto A. Böhmer erzählt von Leben und Werk des Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855), der, wie Ernst Bloch einmal anmerkte, einer „der größten Witzemacher im hohen Stil war, die es gegeben hat“. Wer sich heute, aus welchen Gründen auch immer, nicht mehr auf Kierkegaards christliche Grundüberzeugung einlassen möchte, kann dennoch von ihm lernen – denn die Kunst der Selbstfindung hat er auf ein Niveau gebracht, das von heutigen Sinnsuchern kaum mehr erreicht wird. Selbsterfahrung bedeutet für Kierkegaard eine erst behutsame, dann unnachgiebige (...) Seelenerkundung, die sich als vertrauensbildende Maßnahme erweist und zu bewähren hat. Das Ich, das aus dieser Selbsterfahrung hervorgeht, ist demütig und stolz zugleich. es schaut zum Himmel auf und steht mit beiden Beinen auf der Erde. (shrink)

Amsterdam University Press is a leading publisher of academic books, journals and textbooks in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our aim is to make current research available to scholars, students, innovators, and the general public. AUP stands for scholarly excellence, global presence, and engagement with the international academic community.

La juridicisation croissante de notre vie publique et le fonctionnement de l'Etat de droit ont rendu nécessaire de reposer la question des modes de raisonnement fondant désormais les décisions judiciaires, de plus en plus importantes, de plus en plus nombreuses, qui régissent notre activité quotidienne. L'enjeu n'en est pas négligeable. Au-delà d'une vision "technologique" du droit - le droit, une technique, un outil... -, c'est aussi, et de manière peut-être plus inquiétante, une vision plus politique qui en est souvent suggérée (...) : la mort annoncée du droit comme technique autonome, capable de résister au politique - simple habillage, habile camouflage, d'une décision dont la motivation ne serait jamais - ne pourrait jamais être - mise en échec, orientée, ou commandée par les contraintes du droit. Entre positivisme et réalisme, l'oscillation risque d'être catastrophique. Entre ces deux abîmes, cet ouvrage tente d'ouvrir les voies d'une réflexion rigoureuse et scientifique sur les moyens intellectuels les plus nécessaires à l'affirmation - et à l'affermissement - de l'Etat de droit. (shrink)