Sterbehilfe ist ein weites, vielschichtiges Themenfeld, in das eine Reihe von grundsätzlichen Debatten der modernen Moralphilosophie hineinspielen. In dem folgenden Überblick möchte ich deshalb vier verschiedene Formen der Sterbehilfe betrachten - Sterbenlassen, Tötung auf Verlangen, Inkaufnahme des Todes, ärztlich assistierter Suizid - und jeweils eine Brücke zu einer entsprechenden Debatte schlagen: Patientenautonomie, Tötungsverbot, Tun und Geschehenlassen sowie Sterben in Würde.

We show that L absoluteness for semi-proper forcings is equiconsistent with the existence of a remarkable cardinal, and hence by [6] with L absoluteness for proper forcings. By [7], L absoluteness for stationary set preserving forcings gives an inner model with a strong cardinal. By [3], the Bounded Semi-Proper Forcing Axiom is equiconsistent with the Bounded Proper Forcing Axiom , which in turn is equiconsistent with a reflecting cardinal. We show that Bounded Martin's Maximum is much stronger than BSPFA in (...) that if BMM holds, then for every X ∈ V , X# exists. (shrink)

Gegenstand des Bandes ist eine Profilierung der Kulturphilosophie mit dem Ziel ihrer notigen Selbstbehauptung gegenuber einem gegenwartigen Naturalismus. Ein zentrales Ratsel der Gegenwartsphilosophie ist das Verhaltnis unseres Bewusstseins, der Perspektive der ersten Person machtig und Urheber der Kultur zu sein, zu den Erkenntnissen der Kognitions- sowie der Evolutionswissenschaften seit Darwin. In diesen scheint von der Natur her auf die Kultur ein neues Licht zu fallen. Dies ist ebenso faszinierend wie interessant. Es ist aber auch eine Herausforderung: Der Begriff der "Welt" (...) wird naturwissenschaftlich praokkupiert, Extrapolationen ins Ontologische wie die "kausale Geschlossenheit der Welt" breiten sich auf Kosten fruherer, starker zuruckgenommener Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorien aus. Wie steht es demgegenuber mit den Beitragen von Kulturphilosophie und Kulturwissenschaften / Geisteswissenschaften? Deutlich wird in den Beitragen im Anschluss an Dilthey, Cassirer, Simmel und weitere Autoren: Die Notwendigkeit und der Eigencharakter kultureller Arbeit mussen offentlich wie in den Wissenschaften wieder bewusst werden. Mit Beitragen von Katharina Bauer, Jorn Bohr, Gunter Dux, Ralf Glitza, Kinga Golus, Julia Gruevska, Ralph Kohnen, Gudrun Kuhne-Bertram, Hans-Ulrich Lessing, Kevin Liggieri, Ernst Wolfgang Orth, Annika Schlitte, Gunter Scholtz und Rene Torkler. (shrink)

Currently, two frameworks of causal reasoning compete: Whereas dependency theories focus on dependencies between causes and effects, dispositional theories model causation as an interaction between agents and patients endowed with intrinsic dispositions. One important finding providing a bridge between these two frameworks is that failures of causes to generate their effects tend to be differentially attributed to agents and patients regardless of their location on either the cause or the effect side. To model different types of error attribution, we augmented (...) a causal Bayes net model with separate error sources for causes and effects. In several experiments, we tested this new model using the size of Markov violations as the empirical indicator of differential assumptions about the sources of error. As predicted by the model, the size of Markov violations was influenced by the location of the agents and was moderated by the causal structure and the type of causal variables. (shrink)

Sensationalistic Phenomenalism and Economy of Thought. On Ernst Mach's Concept of Science. Ernst Mach, natural scientist and major precursor of the Vienna Circle, never wants to be a philosopher. Nevertheless his writings are full of valuable hints for a modern theory of human knowledge – with respect to economical, historical and evolutionary aspects. His kind of phenomenalism is sensationalistic, monistic and instrumentalistic. This article deals with some contributions of his approach to actual debates in the general philosophy of science.

Strong dispositional monism, the position that all fundamental physical properties consist in dispositional relations to other properties, is naturally construed as property structuralism. J. Lowe’s circularity/regress objection constitutes a serious challenge to SDM that questions the possibility of a purely relational determination of all property essences. The supervenience thesis of A. Bird’s graph-theoretic asymmetry reply to CRO can be rigorously proved. Yet the reply fails metaphysically, because it reveals neither a metaphysical determination of identities on a purely relational basis nor (...) a determination specifically of identities in the sense of essences. Asymmetry is thus not by itself sufficient for a solution to CRO. But it cannot even help to answer CRO when a model for the determination of essences is taken as a basis. Nor is asymmetry necessary for a reply, as property structures may well be symmetric. A metaphysics of dispositional properties as grounded in a purely relational structure faces serious obstacles, and the properties would not be fundamental. Since essence and grounding are notions of metaphysical priority, there can be no essentially dispositional metaphysically fundamental properties, and the prospects of a “coherentist” metaphysics of basic properties are dim. A modal retreat that refrains from a post-modal conception of essence and simply claims that fundamental properties play dispositional roles by metaphysical necessity is unsatisfactory. (shrink)

Der Begriff der Menschenwürde ist einer der prominentesten ethischen Begriffe überhaupt und bildet den Angelpunkt für heiß umstrittene Themen der angewandten Ethik. Umso verblüffender ist es, dass die moralphilosophische Theorie bis heute große Probleme hat, ihm eine geeignete Rolle zuzuweisen. Die in diesem Buch versammelten internationalen Beiträge setzen bei diesem prinzipiellen Problem an, um den Begriff der Menschenwürde dann auf ganz unterschiedlichen Wegen an einen passenden theoretischen Ort zu führen.

Homology is the similarity between organisms due to common ancestry. Introduced by Richard Owen in 1843 in a paper entitled “Lectures on comparative anatomy and physiology of the invertebrate animals”, the concept of homology predates Darwin's “Origin of Species” and has been very influential throughout the history of evolutionary biology. Although homology is the central concept of all comparative biology and provides a logical basis for it, the definition of the term and the criteria of its application remain controversial. Here, (...) I will discuss homology in the context of the hierarchy of biological organization. I will provide insights gained from an exemplary case study in evolutionary developmental biology that indicates the uncoupling of homology at different levels of biological organization. I argue that continuity and hierarchy are separate but equally important issues of homology. BioEssays 30:653–658, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Given the many marvelous things animals can do and moreover the success we have in employing the intentional stance towards animals, it seems to be almost unthinkable to say that animals could not act at all. Nonetheless, this is exactly what I argue for. I claim that strictly speaking there is no animal action, only behaviour. I defend this claim in three steps. Firstly, I recapitulate some of the weighty grounds that speak in favour of animal agency. Secondly, I explain (...) why I still doubt that animals act. The argument is that the account of agency that I take to be the most attractive one entails that animals can't act. Since this account of agency is non-standard, I spend the bulk of the paper with providing a sketch of what, according to it, actions are. Finally, I explain why it is still so natural and promising to regard animals as agents, although in fact they aren't. As one might put it: of course they act, only strictly speaking they don't. (shrink)

Coall & Hertwig (C&H) suggest that, because grandparental investments do not impact on child mortality in low-risk societies, fitness effects are not plausible any more. We found that grandparental investments could very well alleviate contemporary constraints on fertility. Cultural factors may influence both the occurrence and impact of grandparental investments.

This chapter provides an account of the Kantian theory of value, showing how a plurality of incommensurable values, namely the fundamentally heterogeneous values of morality and prudence, can be integrated into a complete ordering by appealing to the conditionality of the value of happiness, which allows us to explain how the claims of prudence can be silenced by the claims of morality, thereby solving the Sidgwickian problem of the dualism of practical reason. Moreover, it establishes that the Kantian understanding of (...) silencing is the only way of rendering dualism coherent, given that the question as to what one ought to do, considering all the normative demands to which one is subject, requires either that these demands be commensurable, which presupposes monism, or that these demands never conflict, which can only be ensured in principle by means of conditional value structures. (shrink)

Microinsurance is the provision of insurance services to the poor, usually in developing countries. One of the key criteria of poverty is vulnerability even to minor events. In such cases, even micro coverage can make a major difference, yet still be funded by an affordable contribution by the insured. Like any kind of insurance, microinsurance can cover different risks to life, health, farming, property among other things. Our paper sketches how one could address and develop microinsurance business ethics. First, we (...) introduce microinsurance to the business ethics community and business ethics to the microinsurance community. Our draft of microinsurance ethics is then developed from two angles: as a holistic understanding of ideals and possible ethical conflicts in key stakeholder relationships and by distinguishing eight challenges when targeting the poor and when marketing microinsurance. As an open ending, the article suggests a three-stage action research design focusing on how microinsurance could (and should) internalize ethics, respecting rather than neglecting national- and local-cultural conditions. (shrink)

Inhalt Einfuhrung - Staat im Wandel. Rudiger Voigt zum 65. Geburtstag I. Konzeptualisierung und Systematisierung von Staatswandel Ralf Walkenhaus: Entwicklungslinien moderner Staatlichkeit.

First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Im Rahmen psychiatrischer Behandlungen ergeben sich immer wieder Situationen, in denen ärztliche Interventionen zwar dringend erforderlich sind, die Patientinnen und Patienten aber krankheitsbedingt nicht aufgeklärt in die Behandlung einwilligen können oder sie sogar ablehnen. In dem Beitrag soll erstens gezeigt werden, dass es sich bei derartigen Situationen tatsächlich um moralische Dilemmata handelt. Das liegt daran, dass das medizinethische Prinzip, Behandlungen nur nach aufgeklärter Einwilligung durchzuführen, nicht nur auf dem Recht auf Selbstbestimmung beruht, sondern auch auf dem Recht auf Integrität des (...) Körpers und der Intimsphäre sowie dem Recht, keinem Zwang ausgesetzt zu werden. Alle drei Rechte sind wiederum eng mit dem Schutz der Würde der Patienten verbunden. Zweitens soll gezeigt werden, dass der Abschluss von Behandlungsvereinbarungen einen ethisch attraktiven Ausweg aus derartigen Dilemmata bieten kann, weil Behandlungsvereinbarungen eine Unterform sogenannter Odysseus-Verträge sind, die dazu geeignet sind, auch im Rahmen von Zwangsmaßnahmen die Würde der Patientinnen und Patienten zu wahren. (shrink)

Die Qualität der psychoanalytischen Praxis ist eine immer aktuelle Frage für den einzelnen Psychoanalytiker und die analytischen Institutionen. Ausgehend von den Grundelementen der psychoanalytischen Situation werden Basiskompetenzen des Analytikers postuliert und beschrieben, die die Herstellung und Bewahrung der analytischen Situation garantieren. Im Zentrum der Überlegung steht dann die analytische Deutungsfunktion, um die immer wieder gerungen werden muss, weil sie auch der Dynamik von Übertragung und Widerstand unterworfen ist. Es wird festgestellt, dass diese Überlegungen in Übereinstimmung mit modernen Auffassungen der psychoanalytischen (...) Haltung und Kompetenz stehen. (shrink)

Let N be a transitive model of ZFC such that ωN ⊂ N and P(R) ⊂ N. Assume that both V and N satisfy "the core model K exists." Then KN is an iterate of K. i.e., there exists an iteration tree J on K such that J has successor length and $\mathit{M}_{\infty}^{\mathit{J}}=K^{N}$. Moreover, if there exists an elementary embedding π: V → N then the iteration map associated to the main branch of J equals π ↾ K. (This answers (...) a question of W. H. Woodin, M. Gitik, and others.) The hypothesis that P(R) ⊂ N is not needed if there does not exist a transitive model of ZFC with infinitely many Woodin cardinals. (shrink)

The present paper investigates the power of proper forcings to change the shape of the universe, in a certain well-defined respect. It turns out that the ranking among large cardinals can be used as a measure for that power. However, in order to establish the final result I had to isolate a new large cardinal concept, which I dubbed “remarkability.” Let us approach the exact formulation of the problem—and of its solution—at a slow pace.Breathtaking developments in the mid 1980s found (...) one of its culminations in the theorem, due to Martin, Steel, and Woodin, that the existence of infinitely many Woodin cardinals with a measurable cardinal above them all implies that AD, the axiom of determinacy, holds in the least inner model containing all the reals, L. One of the nice things about AD is that the theory ZF + AD + V = L appears as a choiceless “completion” of ZF in that any interesting question seems to find an at least attractive answer in that theory. Beyond that, AD is very canonical as may be illustrated as follows.Let us say that L is absolute for set-sized forcings if for all posets P ∈ V, for all formulae ϕ, and for all ∈ ℝ do we have thatwhere is a name for the set of reals in the extension. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses the problem of opaque sweetening and argues that one should use stochastic dominance in comparing lotteries even when dealing with incomplete orderings that allow for non-comparable outcomes.

A core thesis of Kitcher's is that thinking about objects requires awareness of necessary connections between one's object-directed representations ‘as such’ and that this is what Kant means by the transcendental unity of apperception. I argue that Kant's main point is the spontaneity or ‘self-made-ness’ of combination rather than the requirement of reflexive awareness of combination, that Kitcher provides no plausible account of how recognition of representations ‘as such’ should be constituted and that in fact Kant himself appears to lack (...) the theoretical resources to clearly distinguish between consciousness and self-consciousness or apperception properly so-called. (shrink)

Fish stocks, as common pool resources, are more and more managed by giving fishermen exclusive access rights as Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ). These have been widely discussed, with focus on social, economic and ecological issues. While equity aspects have been of great concern, there is very limited analysis about how to assess issues of equity and fair distribution when introducing ITQs. This paper applies an existing framework for assessing equity in resource use systems to tradable quota systems in fisheries. The (...) framework defines the perspectives of distributive fairness, the stakeholders who are bound by fair practice rules, and instruments of fairness, and identifies metrics to assess equity in practice. We assess if the framework provides practical guidance for evaluating whether a given ITQ system operates under an equitable framework programme. (shrink)

This paper distinguishes bruteness from fundamentality by developing a theory of stochastic grounding that makes room for non-fundamental bruteness. Stochastic grounding relations, which only underwrite incomplete explanations, arise when the fundamental level underdetermines derivative levels. The framework is applied to fission cases, showing how one can break symmetries and mitigate bruteness whilst avoiding arbitrariness and hypersensitivity.

Let L[E] be an iterable tame extender model. We analyze to which extent L[E] knows fragments of its own iteration strategy. Specifically, we prove that inside L[E], for every cardinal K which is not a limit of Woodin cardinals there is some cutpoint t K > a>ω1 are cardinals, then ◊$_{K.\lambda }^* $ holds true, and if in addition λ is regular, then ◊$_{K.\lambda }^* $ holds true.