This paper contrasts the conceptions of "Nothigness" and "nihility" in Western continental philosophy and Japanese philosophy. The experience of the Self, and the experiences of the transcendent, are constructed upon the prevalent assumptions of the culture that the individual finds herself in. The question of the relationship between the "I" and the "World" is differently solved (or stabilized, fixed) in different cultures. I seek to defend and interrogate the claim that Japan's core metaphysical stance is that of non-dualistic non-essentialism. In (...) Takeuchi Yoshimi's words, "Japan is nothing." By contrast, Europe is "something" - e.g., history, space, structure, being. The European metaphysics of self-understanding, at least in some aspects of Continental thought, is based on the primacy of being over nothingness, whereas Japanese metaphysics is based on the non-duality of substance and insubstantiality. Japanese metaphysics, Japanese self-identity, is "zero." Japanese metaphysics, including Buddhism, is based on the idea of nonsubstantiality, i.e. groundlessness of Being. We could say that in Japan "the transcendental center that consolidates the system is absent" (Karatani 1990: 70). This analysis illuminates how differently, and still productively, the experience of nihilism can appear in Japan and in the West. (shrink)

In this paper, I assess John McDowell's paper "Avoiding the Myth of the Given" (2009) (AMG) and its theory of epistemological openness to the world. I trace its motivations back to Kantian, Sellarsian and Aristotelean roots. I argue that McDowell subscribes to a kind of Holistic Theory of Rationality (HTR). To explain the HTR, I will analyze the Sellarsian notions of the "Manifest Image," the "Myth of the Given" and the "logical space of reasons." I argue that the holistic nature (...) of McDowell's theory gives it particular properties that put it in need of conservatism, because all the elements of the theory "hang together" - i.e. cohere - in a dangerous fashion. I argue that McDowell cannot afford big changes without upsetting the apple-cart. With this in mind, I shall assess the merits and demerits of AMG, and its modified theory of perceptual content, as an attempted conservative reform of HTR. I want to argue that, taken independently, AMG is a good and important change, but taken holistically it is non-conservative, and disruptive, of the McDowellian picture. Thus, if we wish to proceed with the McDowellian path, we are led to a choice between rejecting the local reform (and retreating back to an earlier version) or demanding further explanations of its global implications. (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)

In his insightful book, Trust in a Polarized Age, Kevin Vallier (2021) convincingly shows that the legitimacy and sustainability of liberal democratic institutions are dependent upon the maintenance of social and institutional trust. This insight, I believe, has value beyond the illustrious halls of post-Rawlsian, post-Gausian thought. Indeed, while I remain skeptical towards some of the premises of public reason liberalism, I am convinced that any liberal democratic political philosopher who takes the trust literature seriously and who has made their (...) (pragmatic or principled) peace with redistribution has good reasons to sympathize with the general outlines of the institutional palette that emerges out of his book. In this article, I will take for granted Vallier’s assumption that the erosion of social and institutional trust is a serious problem. This motivates investigating the trust-bearing attributes of the redistributive welfare state and the “principle of social insurance” that underpins it. I reconstruct and critically analyse Vallier’s case for a liberal democratic welfare state. I show that he makes a convincing public reason argument for universal social insurance but proceeds too hastily to exclude the principle of unconditionality from consideration. The rest of my paper consists of defending this claim by presenting two kinds of arguments— empirical and theoretical—that I think public reason liberals like Vallier, according to their own commitments, should be motivated to incorporate into their comprehensive discussion of the public justifications for and against basic income. They will show that Universal Basic Income (UBI), although it remains contentious, has some features that could appeal to a diverse citizenry, and thus tilt the balance of public reason judgments towards UBI. (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)

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)

When the Association of German Scientists and Physicians last met in Düsseldorf exactly twenty-eight years ago on September 24, a debate took place following lectures by Felix Klein and Alfred Pringsheim on roughly the same topic to which I would like to direct your attention today. The printed report of the Düsseldorf debate only remarked that, “It is not possible to go into details here,” so one can only guess how two of the most powerful teacher personalities among German mathematicians (...) of that time had confronted one another with their diametrically opposed views on this topic and how they did so with their characteristically lively spirit. (shrink)

L'induction géneralisante et l'induction extrapolante : leur usage dans l'empirisme logique. La formation des théories et leur contrôle dépendent de la forme du langage. Dans l'empirisme scientifique, les prévisions, appropriées au contrôle, sont : 1° inductivement fondées et pratiquement contrôlables ; 2° ou bien inductivement fondées et pratiquement incontrôlables ; 3° ou bien non fondées inductivement et pratiquement contrôlables ; 4° ou bien non fondées inductivement et pratiquement incontrôlables. Nous ne disposons pas de règles générales d’induction ou de contrôle ; (...) l’évolution des sciences montre que nous ne pouvons être assurés d’avance de ce qui pourra nous soutenir ou nous ébranler dans l’acceptation ou le rejet des théories ou hypothèses. (shrink)

Ausgangspunkt des zum Spätwerk zählenden Dialogs ist die Fragestellung nach einer Wesensbestimmung des Sophisten, des Staatsmannes und des Philosophen. Im Verlauf steht jedoch die Frage nach dem Wesen der Philosophie im Vordergrund.

Keine ausführliche Beschreibung für "Das Grenz- und Auslanddeutschtum" verfügbar.