There is growing interest in tissue procurement for cancer research through autopsy. Establishing an autopsy/tissue donation programme for breast cancer research within an academic medical centre i...

How can what we view as morally correct be the motive force for our actions? This work investigates this question with a view to Kant's action theory and moral philosophy, based on a close textual reading. In addition to a historical and systematic framework, it provides a comprehensive textual analysis of Kant's arguments, which also takes into account aspects of the history of his works. The result is a rich picture of Kant's theory of moral motivation, which is not only (...) rooted in Kant's concept of moral justification, but also supports it. Respect for the law is thus to be understood as a way in which human beings make the practical norm their own. According to the interpretation proposed here, moral reasons turn out to be unconditional, universally valid rules whose practical significance as subjective principles of action and motive can only be understood through Kant's theory of moral-rational sensibility. Kant's approach is thus not only of interest within his own work, but also makes an inspiring contribution to a contemporary theory of practical normativity. (shrink)

The view that morality consists of laws has a rich, particularly religious, tradition. In current debates on ethics, however, it is anything but philosophical commonsense. Not least due to the return to the advantages of virtue ethics, principle-oriented ethics such as the moral law approach have lost popularity. Despite this, the advantages of law-based ethics can also be defended; one paradigm here is still Immanuel Kant’s attempt to ground the objectivity of morality on the concept of a moral law. Accordingly, (...) the aim of this text is to explore the systematic potential of ethics based on the concept of law. For this purpose, I will examine the historical roots of a connection between the concept of morality and that of law and then focus on Kant’s approach to morality. Finally, I will outline the advantages of his conception of morality as autonomy over alternative models of justification of morality. (shrink)

According to Kant, to be morally obliged is to be aware of a moral principle, which in turn is 'constituted' by reason. We feel subjectively obliged because we are aware of an objective moral principle by virtue of our sensual-rational dual nature through the feeling of respect. The demand of the moral law is in turn objectively justified by the fact that it is a law of reason.

The contribution focuses on Kant's distinction between right and ethics. According to Kant, ethical as well as juridical laws are laws of freedom. As such they can be recognized by rational beings as unconditionally binding. The decisive difference between right and ethics consists in the way that obligations are required in their respective realms of legislation. While ethical legislation cannot be external and ethics is also concerned with inner motivations, juridical duties do not command dispositions but specific actions. Thus, for (...) Kant, an essential characteristic of ethical normativity is that the autonomous subject compels itself. (shrink)

In the search for an alternative to a Kantian conception of morality based on reason, Stemmer's impressively precise defence of a contractualist morality is convincing in many respects. However, the advantage of Stemmer's conception seems to be that it avoids the difficulties of moral realism without having to accept the disadvantages of ethical scepticism. But this is also the reason for the vulnerability of Stemmer's position.

Worldwide, a significant proportion of teachers retires prematurely for health reasons or at their own request. The study examines whether male and female teachers differ in terms of working conditions and coping with high work demands as well as individual factors that promote early retirement. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from 6,109 full-time teachers in high schools (56% women). Weekly working hours from a four-week working time record and psychosocial work stress (effort-reward model, ER ratio) were used (...) as workloads. In addition, emotional exhaustion (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and coping strategies that endangered health were recorded in the form of overcommitment and inability to recover. Also, the teachers gave a prediction and reasons for early retirement and made their own suggestions on how to prevent this. The results show that both workloads and emotional exhaustion are comparable between the genders, but women have a greater tendency than men to overcommit and be unable to recover. As ER ratio and emotional exhaustion increase, the chances for both genders to reach the regular retirement age decrease significantly; for health-endangering coping strategies, the relationship is somewhat weaker. The majority of male and female teachers (79%) indicates excessive workloads as the main reason for leaving the profession early. In order to protect teachers from high workloads, measures at the organizational, social, and individual level are necessary. Proposals for schools and policy makers are critically discussed on the basis of teacher recommendations. (shrink)

In Kant scholarship, the concept of maxims is discussed, for the most part, from the perspective of the universalization procedure of the Categorical Imperative. In fact, however, it has a much wider relevance. As is shown in this contribution, maxims are fundamental to Kant’s theory of action and value. Since the agent expresses her pro-attitudes, i.e., interests, preferences, and life-plans based on maxims, they figure as constitutive elements of her practical identity. After some general and historical considerations on Kant’s concept (...) of maxims, it is shown that their function in the theory of the ‘practical syllogism’ implies that maxims play an important role in considerations on the agent’s ends, goals, and purposes. Additionally, I will discuss the function of maxims in Kant’s action theory. I will defend an interpretation of the Kantian idea according to which practical deliberation can be understood based on a hierarchical order of maxims. Finally, the problem of higher-order maxims and the issue of the unity and inner consistency of maxims is debated. (shrink)

Owen Ware is already well-known among Kant scholars since he published several insightful contributions on Kant’s practical philosophy. Ware has now collected five of his essays on Kant’s practical philosophy in a book. Kant’s Justification of Ethics, OUP 2021, largely refers back to some of his previously published papers. The guiding idea of the book, and a crucial feature of Ware’s approach, is the claim that Kant’s ethics and metaphysics form a unit and that the central questions of Kant’s moral (...) philosophy have to be analyzed against this methodological background. With this assertion he opposes what he believes has been an observable research trend for a long time. (shrink)

In her much debated article Modern Moral Philosophy Elizabeth Anscombe is known to argue that we are best advised to abandon the concept of moral obligation from moral discourse. This paper offers a step by step analysis of her argument against the concept of moral obligation by considering all of her relevant writings in moral philosophy and action theory. In doing so, it discusses her critical account of morality which turns out to be based on a non-homogeneous theory of practical (...) normativity that has fundamental roots in Modern Moral Philosophy. Finally, it appears that Anscombe’s arguments against central concepts of modern moral philosophy show inner inconsistencies and weaknesses that give also reason to criticize her general philosophical position. (shrink)

Hume's concept of justice as an artificial virtue is still controversial. In contrast to the more traditional research debate, the text defends a new reading of Hume's peculiar conception of justice, which understands his argument for justice as a special form of an internalism of practical reasons. It shows that his motivational justification for the virtue of justice proves to be consistent within his affect theory and yet systematically vulnerable.

The ribosomal polypeptide tunnel exit is the site where a variety of factors interact with newly synthesized proteins to guide them through the early steps of their biogenesis. In mitochondrial ribosomes, this site has been considerably modified in the course of evolution. In contrast to all other translation systems, mitochondrial ribosomes are responsible for the synthesis of only a few hydrophobic membrane proteins that are essential subunits of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Membrane insertion of these proteins occurs co‐translationally and is (...) connected to a sophisticated assembly process that not only includes the assembly of the different subunits but also the acquisition of redox co‐factors. Here, we describe how mitochondrial translation is organized in the context of respiratory chain assembly and speculate how alteration of the ribosomal tunnel exit might allow the establishment of a subset of specialized ribosomes that individually organize the early steps in the biogenesis of distinct mitochondrially‐encoded proteins. (shrink)

In Kant scholarship, the concept of maxims is discussed, for the most part, from the perspective of the universalization procedure of the Categorical Imperative. In fact, however, it has a much wider relevance. As is shown in this contribution, maxims are fundamental to Kant’s theory of action and value. Since the agent expresses her pro-attitudes, i.e., interests, preferences, and life-plans based on maxims, they figure as constitutive elements of her practical identity. After some general and historical considerations on Kant’s concept (...) of maxims, it is shown that their function in the theory of the ‘practical syllogism’ implies that maxims play an important role in considerations on the agent’s ends, goals, and purposes. Additionally, I will discuss the function of maxims in Kant’s action theory. I will defend an interpretation of the Kantian idea according to which practical deliberation can be understood based on a hierarchical order of maxims. Finally, the problem of higher-order maxims and the issue of the unity and inner consistency of maxims is debated. (shrink)

Conscience expresses the human being’s practical relationship to himself in judging his own actions and thoughts and is therefore one of the prerequisites for moral action. Conscience can, firstly, play a prospective-warning role in moral judgement and secondly a retrospective-reflective one. In the latter case, the judgement of conscience, which occurs in a forum internum, leads either to the acquittal or condemnation of the moral subject, which indicts itself in the judgement of conscience.

In Kant, conscientiousness denotes a practical demeanour to conduct oneself, in one’s judgements and actions, according to the demands of conscience. It consists in our “readiness” (Fertigkeit, MoVi, 27:575 [1793-4]/CELE:327) to utilise our natural capacities of conscience, which are given to every human being.

Someone is morally motivated precisely when his moral judgment or a moral fact arouses in him the intention to perform an action corresponding to the judgment or fact; we also speak of someone being moved to perform an action because of a moral attitude. For example, Sarah believes that it is moral to donate a portion of her income to solidarity causes, and this belief moves her to donate a certain amount of money to a charity each month. The philosophical (...) question of moral motivation illuminates two fundamental aspects here: First, it aims at analyzing the nature of moral judgments: Do they motivate by themselves or only by reference to a non-cognitive state? Is Sarah's belief that donation is morally required already a motive, or must Sarah additionally desire to donate in order for her judgment to motivate her? Second, the question of moral motivation aims to analyze the relationship between moral judgments and motives: Is it necessary or contingent? Does Sarah's judgment that donating is morally required (possibly in combination with a desire to donate or be moral) necessarily mean that she is morally motivated, or can the motivation be absent? (shrink)

Aus dem Zusammentreffen der Philosophischen Anthropologie mit der interdisziplinären Rhetorikforschung sind heute zwei neue komplementäre Tochterdisziplinen entstanden. Die eine ist die fundamentalrhetorische Anthropologie, welche den Menschen generell als homo rhetoricus definiert. Die andere klärt als rhetorische Metakritik die Philosophie selbst über ihre eigene, immanente Rhetorizität auf. Der vorliegende Band präsentiert exemplarische Beiträge zu diesem neuen rhetorischen Denken in zwei Teilen. Der erste enthält unter dem Titel „Zur Philosophie der Rhetorik“ die Arbeiten zur fundamentalrhetorischen Anthropologie. Ausgehend von grundlegenden Thesen zur Homo-rhetoricus-Anthropologie (...) behandeln sie Themen wie z.B. Pithanologie, Pathelogie, Polypersonalität, Anthropotechnik, Autoinvenienz oder die Rekonstruktion des Subjektbegriffes durch interne Rhetorik. Der zweite Teil „Zur Rhetorik der Philosophie“ umfasst die Beiträge, welche der rhetorischen Metakritik der Philosophie und ihrer Geschichte zuzurechnen sind. Hier finden sich u.a. Abhandlungen zur Topographie der klassischen Metaphysik und ihren sophistischen und pararhetorischen Gegenspielern sowie metakritische Detailstudien zu Pseudo-Longin, Kant, Hegel, Fichte und Heidegger. (shrink)

»daß der Philosophiebegriff Fichtes viel weiter ausholt, als bisher gesehen wurde: er ist nicht nur der Begriff der Wissenschaftslehre in sich, sondern zugleich auch der Begriff der Vermittlung von Philosophie und Leben«.