2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title In this book, Philipp von Wussow argues that the philosophical project of Leo Strauss must be located in the intersection of culture, religion, and the political. Based on archival research on the philosophy of Strauss, von Wussow provides in-depth interpretations of key texts and their larger theoretical contexts. Presenting the necessary background in German-Jewish philosophy of the interwar period, von Wussow then offers detailed accounts and comprehensive interpretations of Strauss's early masterwork, Philosophy and Law, (...) his wartime lecture "German Nihilism," the sources and the scope of Strauss's critique of modern "relativism," and a close commentary on the late text "Jerusalem and Athens." With its rare blend of close reading and larger perspectives, this book is valuable for students of political philosophy, continental thought, and twentieth-century Jewish philosophy alike. It is indispensable as a guide to Strauss's philosophical project, as well as to some of the most intricate details of his writings. (shrink)

Jeffery Aubin ,Marie Chantal ,Dianne Cole ,Julio Chaves ,Cathelyne Duchesne ,Christel Freu ,Steve Johnston ,Brice Jones ,Amaury Levillayer ,Stéphanie Machabée ,Paul-Hubert Poirier ,Philippe Therrien ,Jonathan von Kodar ,Martin Voyer ,Jennifer Wees ,Eric Crégheur.

Counterfactual reasoning -- envisioning hypothetical scenarios, or possible worlds, where some circumstances are different from what (f)actually occurred (counter-to-fact) -- is ubiquitous in human cognition. Conventionally, counterfactually-altered circumstances have been treated as "small miracles" that locally violate the laws of nature while sharing the same initial conditions. In Pearl's structural causal model (SCM) framework this is made mathematically rigorous via interventions that modify the causal laws while the values of exogenous variables are shared. In recent years, however, this purely interventionist (...) account of counterfactuals has increasingly come under scrutiny from both philosophers and psychologists. Instead, they suggest a backtracking account of counterfactuals, according to which the causal laws remain unchanged in the counterfactual world; differences to the factual world are instead "backtracked" to altered initial conditions (exogenous variables). In the present work, we explore and formalise this alternative mode of counterfactual reasoning within the SCM framework. Despite ample evidence that humans backtrack, the present work constitutes, to the best of our knowledge, the first general account and algorithmisation of backtracking counterfactuals. We discuss our backtracking semantics in the context of related literature and draw connections to recent developments in explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). (shrink)

Eine große Leidenschaft von Siegfried Kracauer war es, mit jüngeren, gleichsam noch unfertigen Denkern zu „symphilosophieren“. Dies hat etwa in den neueren Adorno-Biographien zu vielerlei Spekulationen und mitunter schlüpfrigen Anspielungen auf vermeintliche homoerotische Beziehungen zwischen Kracauer und Adorno geführt – Spekulationen, die sich nur im Deutschen Literaturarchiv überprüfen ließen, da das Material bislang nicht zitiert werden darf. Der Briefwechsel mit Leo Löwenthal legt nahe, dass es sich bei seiner Vorstellung vom „Symphilosophieren“ tatsächlich um eine subtile geistige Homoerotik handelt, mehr aber (...) auch nicht. Geradezu beschwört wird „das Philosophieren zu zweien, das immer und ewig schön“ sei. Am 16. Oktober 1921 schreibt Kracauer: „Träumen Sie nicht auch jeden Menschen in seiner Art vollendet?“ Um der Perfektionierung des Leo Löwenthal willen scheut er auch vor sachlich scharfer Kritik nicht zurück, die sich jedoch mit unverbrüchlicher persönlicher Loyalität paart. Zu den Aspekten, die die frühen Briefe Kracauers so lesenswert machen, gehört es, wie er den jungen Löwenthal von der Bahn eines „wilden“, schwärmerischen Messianismus zu einer säkularen Wahrnehmung religiöser Inhalte zu lenken versucht. (shrink)

Musical performance requires the ability to master a complex integration of highly specialized motor, cognitive and perceptual skills developed over years of practice. It often means also being able to deal with a large amount of pressure within dynamic environments. Consequently, many musicians suffer from health-related problems and have a large number of physical and psychological complaints. Research has shown that making music can present challenges for musicians’ wellbeing. Therefore, our research aims to evaluate and analyze the wellbeing of two (...) distinct groups of respondents, college music students compared with amateur musicians in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, this second group serving as our comparison group. This article presents the results of a sample of 126 musicians (mean age ± SD = 22.4 ± 4.5 years, 71 male). The wellbeing was assessed through the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire evaluating two general measures, Quality of Life and General health, and four specific dimensions, Physical health, Psychological health, Social relationships and Environment. The respondents’ Quality of Life was high on each measure: median scores were higher than 4 for the first two measures and higher than 70 for the four specific dimensions. Among the dimensions, respondents had the highest mean score for Social relationships and Physical health (74.0 and 73.8, respectively) and, finally, on Psychological health (70.3). Our overview of musicians’ wellbeing in Western Switzerland underlines the importance of helping musicians to be aware of their health in order to take care of themselves. This research offers an important insight into musicians’ health and point out the importance of involving different actors (teachers, administrators or support staff) to promote their wellbeing and empower musicians. (shrink)

This archive-based study of the philosophy of Leo Strauss provides in-depth interpretations of key texts and their larger theoretical contexts.

I Leben und Objektivierung Die Hegelsche Forderung, „in der Sache zu sein und ‚nicht immer darüber hinaus‘ “, hat Adorno nicht nur als Anweisung für die philosophische Arbeit verstanden. Sein ganzes Leben galt dem Versuch, sich zu objektivieren – in der Doppelbedeutung objektiv, das heißt konkret gegenständlich zu denken und Gegenstände, nämlich Werke zu produzieren. Der Bezug zur Sache ist für Adorno Maßnahme, um noch im „Freiluftgefängnis“ der Moderne seiner selbst mächtig zu bleiben. Das Subjekt gewinnt sich, indem es sich (...) an das Objekt entäußert – dieser klassischen Idee der Bildung hat er eine neue Fassung gegeben, die explizit als Gegenmittel zu den Regressionen des 20. Jahrhunderts formuliert ist. Denn umgekehrt ist der Ausbruch des Bösen eine Folge der Objektlosigkeit, und der Antisemitismus wird als Projektion verstanden, in der die Beziehung zum Objekt verloren gegangen und die Reflexion ausgefallen sei. Adornos Leben und Werk enthält demgegenüber das anspruchsvolle Programm, es mit der komplexen und schlechten Welt intellektuell aufzunehmen, indem man ihre kulturellen Objektivationen deutet: die großen Kunstwerke und Philosophien ebenso wie die Formen der Popkultur, bis hin zu Umfragen in Frauenzeitschriften und zur Horoskopspalte der Los Angeles Times. Nicht der schlechteste Grund, sich heute mit Adorno zu beschäftigen, ist sein Denken an den Gegenständen entlang. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Naharaim Jahrgang: 8 Heft: 2 Seiten: 172-209.

Leo Strauss’s early book Philosophy and Law has remained a stumbling block in current Strauss scholarship. This article seeks to explore the text by way of the ensuing debate between Strauss and Julius Guttmann concerning the historical and systematic presuppositions of Jewish philosophy. In decisive respects Guttmann was unable to follow Strauss’s argument, particularly because he could not solve the riddle whether Philosophy and Law was a precursor of the “exoteric” Strauss or not. Furthermore, he miscast the perspective of political (...) philosophy as an all-out politicization of philosophy. Examining these fallacies of interpretation, the article argues for a better understanding of the philosophical and rhetorical strategies employed in Strauss’s Philosophy and Law. (shrink)

Emotion expressions of outgroup members inform judgements and prompt affective responses in observers, shaping intergroup relations. However, in the context of political group conflicts, emotions are not always directly observed in face-to-face interactions. Instead, they are frequently linguistically ascribed to particular actors or groups. Examples of such emotion ascriptions are found, among others, in media reports and political campaign messaging. For instance, anger and fear are frequently evoked in connection with and ascribed to right-wing populist groups. Yet not much is (...) known about the specific effects that ascriptions of discrete emotions to outgroups can have on intergroup relations. With this pre-registered study, we contribute to bridging this gap by analysing the effects of ascriptions of anger and fear to a right-wing populist outgroup. In an online survey experiment, administered to a sample of the German general population (N = 3500), we manipulated the emotions ascribed to these outgroups using brief vignettes. Our findings suggest that ascriptions of anger to right-wing populist outgroups increase reactive anger in observers, whereas ascriptions of fear reduce anger as well as contempt towards populists. Effects of ascribed emotions on stereotype content and action tendencies could not be identified. (shrink)

Many works intended to introduce interpretive issues in quantum mechanics present John von Neumann as having a view in which measurement produces a physical collapse in the system being measured. In this paper I argue that such a reading of von Neumann is inconsistent with what von Neumann actually says. I show that much of what he says makes no sense on the physical collapse reading, but falls into place if we assume he does not have such a view. I (...) show that the physical collapse view is based on an understanding of ‘state’ which von Neumann does not share. Introduction The standard reading of von Neumann The standard reading of von Neumann and Chapter VI The Chapter VI argument The Chapter V argument The Chapters III and IV argument Conclusion. (shrink)

Auch in der katholischen Kirche nimmt ein Lagerdenken zu: eine "moderne", "linke" Seite gegen eine "konservative", "traditionalistische". Becker zeichnet nach, wie sich die Kontroverse um die zugrunde liegenden ungleichen Wahrheitsverstandnisse durch die europaische Philosophiegeschichte zieht. Er nimmt so der innerkirchlichen Polarisierung die Scharfe und zeigt, wie das vorherrschende relativistische Wahrheitsverstandnis mit dem Wahrheitsanspruch der christlichen Botschaft vereint werden kann.

GoalThis paper presents an immersive Virtual Reality system to analyze and train Executive Functions of soccer players. EFs are important cognitive functions for athletes. They are a relevant quality that distinguishes amateurs from professionals.MethodThe system is based on immersive technology, hence, the user interacts naturally and experiences a training session in a virtual world. The proposed system has a modular design supporting the extension of various so-called game modes. Game modes combine selected game mechanics with specific simulation content to target (...) particular training aspects. The system architecture decouples selection/parameterization and analysis of training sessions via a coaching app from an Unity3D-based VR simulation core. Monitoring of user performance and progress is recorded by a database that sends the necessary feedback to the coaching app for analysis.ResultsThe system is tested for VR-critical performance criteria to reveal the usefulness of a new interaction paradigm in the cognitive training and analysis of EFs. Subjective ratings for overall usability show that the design as VR application enhances the user experience compared to a traditional desktop app; whereas the new, unfamiliar interaction paradigm does not negatively impact the effort for using the application.ConclusionThe system can provide immersive training of EF in a fully virtual environment, eliminating potential distraction. It further provides an easy-to-use analyzes tool to compare user but also an automatic, adaptive training mode. (shrink)

Aus kunsthistorischer, literaturwissenschaftlicher und wissensgeschichtlicher Perspektive analysiert Mira Becker-Sawatzky bildkünstlerische Praxis und textverfasste Theorie in ihrem teils dialogischen, teils diskrepanten Verhältnis zueinander. Dazu werden in thematischen Clustern Malerei, Zeichnung, Bildhauerei, Dichtung und Traktatistik mit ihrer je spezifischen Medialität und Materialität zueinander ins Verhältnis gesetzt. Betrachtet werden Um-Ordnungen der Wissenshierarchie, die Pluralität des Paragone, die Virulenz grotesker Ästhetik, die Konzeption künstlerischer Stile, die Bedeutungsdimensionen von vaghezza und die Wurzeln der Mailänder Ambrosiana.

Pia Becker entwirft eine Konzeption von Patientenautonomie, die sich im Gegensatz zu in der Medizinethik bisher dominierenden Konzeptionen an der grundsätzlichen Fähigkeit des Patienten zur Autonomie orientiert. Ausgangspunkt bildet die Notwendigkeit der informierten Einwilligung, die neben der Patientenautonomie vor allem auch die körperliche Integrität des Patienten schützt. Als Adäquatheitsbedingungen dienen die beiden normativen Funktionen der Patientenautonomie als Barriere und Schlüssel einer medizinischen Behandlung. Diese Konzeption von Patientenautonomie hat den Vorteil, Patienten besser vor Überforderungen zu bewahren und deren Bedarf an (...) Unterstützungsangeboten zur Förderung der Patientenautonomie deutlicher hervorzuheben. (shrink)

The article examines the explicit and implicit role that Kierkegaard played in the cultural criticism developed in the literary circle of the Danish journal Heretica (1948 – 1954). The cultural criticism of Kierkegaard and eminent Danish post-war authors (Martin A. Hansen, Vilhem Grønbech, Bjørn Poulsen, Tage Skou-Hansen and Ole Wivel) is contextualized in the tradition of Western cultural criticism. An analysis of central concepts such as crisis, rationality, spirit and reflection as well as alienation, individuality and community, demonstrates the original (...) contributions these authors make to the modern understanding of culture. Furthermore, the article addresses the reservations that some of the Heretica- authors had towards Kierkegaard. The accusation of solipsism, however, turns out to be unwarranted. Rather, it becomes clear that Kierkegaard’s emphasis on the individual, like the post-war authors’ critique of fascism, is directed against the power of the masses and the increasing bureaucratization of life. Finally, Kierkegaard as well as the 20th century authors depict neighbor love as decisive for a post-restitutive, forward-oriented way out of a severe cultural crisis. (shrink)

During the Nazi era, the Protestant Church in Germany was challenged by the so-called church struggle between the German Christian Movement and the Confessing Church. This article interprets the church struggle in a new way by taking up concepts from Niklas Luhmann’s Systems Theory and ambiguity research. It becomes clear that the church struggle was ultimately about the fundamental problem of the relationship between the religious and political system.

Das Buch bietet eine systematische Aufarbeitung der Forschung zum moralpsychologischen Ansatz von Lawrence Kohlberg und insbesondere seiner zahlreichen Kritiker.

The present study aimed to examine the relations between physical self-concept, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as physical performance of 1,082 children aged 7–8 years. The central objective of this study was to contrast a mediation model assuming physical self-concept as a mediator of the relations between both types of motivation and physical performance to a mediation model assuming both types of motivation as mediators of the relations between physical self-concept and physical performance. Physical self-concept and both types of (...) motivation were measured by using self-reported questionnaires, while physical performance was measured with 10 motor skill tests. All tests were carried out during regular school hours (8–12 A.M.) by qualified test personnel. Beyond correlation analyses, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to find evidence for the predictive relations between the variables under study. Results showed that physical self-concept was significantly positively related to both types of motivation and physical performance (allp< 0.001). In contrast, results of SEM revealed that only physical self-concept (p< 0.001) and intrinsic motivation (p< 0.05) were significantly positively linked to physical performance. Furthermore, physical self-concept proved to significantly mediate the relations of both types of motivation to physical performance (p< 0.001), while only intrinsic motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, proved to significantly mediate the relation between physical self-concept and physical performance (p< 0.05). These results suggest that school-based or extracurricular interventions targeted at improving younger children's physical performance only by means of an increased level of physical activity or by external factors without supporting children's physical self-concept and intrinsic motivation may have less or no effects on their physical performance. (shrink)

Lee and Schwarz propose that grounded procedures can also be related to connection rather than separation. Drawing on consumer behavior research, we point to different grounded procedures of connection – in terms of the motor actions involved, their salient properties, and their motivational conditions – and discuss how procedures of separation may be affected by the procedures of connection that precede them.