The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission’s in-house science and knowledge service, employing a substantial staff of scientists devoted to conducting research to provide independent scientific advice for EU policy. Focussed on various research areas aligned with EU priorities, the JRC excels in delivering scientific evidence for policymaking and has published numerous science-for-policy reports and scientific articles. Drawing on a scientific integrity statement, surveys among JRC’s research staff, and thematic discussions with JRC’s research leaders, the JRC has developed (...) a comprehensive Scientific Integrity and Research Ethics (SIRE) framework, including instruments, procedures, and guidelines to ensure high standards and independence in its research. Key components of the SIRE framework include a Scientific Integrity Officer, an Editorial Review Board, a Research Ethics Board, and guidelines for responsible conduct of research. This article provides an overview of the JRC’s SIRE framework and how it was developed, emphasising the importance of maintaining independence, integrity, and ethics in scientific research that supports EU policy. The article also discusses potential gaps in the framework and where additional efforts may be needed, comparing with the recent U.S. National Science and Technology Council report on Protecting the Integrity of Government Science. (shrink)

Biofilms can be viewed as tissue‐like structures in which microorganisms are organized in a spatial and functional sophisticated manner. Biofilm formation requires the orchestration of a highly integrated network of regulatory proteins to establish cell differentiation and production of a complex extracellular matrix. Here, we discuss the role of the essential Bacillus subtilis biofilm activator RemA. Despite intense research on biofilms, RemA is a largely underappreciated regulatory protein. RemA forms donut‐shaped octamers with the potential to assemble into dimeric superstructures. The (...) presumed DNA‐binding mode suggests that RemA organizes its target DNA into nucleosome‐like structures, which are the basis for its role as transcriptional activator. We discuss how RemA affects gene expression in the context of biofilm formation, and its regulatory interplay with established components of the biofilm regulatory network, such as SinR, SinI, SlrR, and SlrA. We emphasize the additional role of RemA played in nitrogen metabolism and osmotic‐stress adjustment. (shrink)

Climate change and decarbonization raise complex justice questions that researchers and policymakers must address. The distributions of greenhouse gas emissions rights and mitigation efforts have dominated justice discourses within scenario research, an integrative element of the IPCC. However, the space of justice considerations is much larger. At present, there is no consistent approach to comprehensively incorporate and examine justice considerations. Here we propose a conceptual framework grounded in philosophical theory for this purpose. We apply this framework to climate mitigation scenarios (...) literature as proof of concept, enabling a more holistic and multidimensional investigation of justice. We identify areas of future research, including new metrics of service provisioning essential for human well-being. [Can be freely read by clicking the ReadCube link below.]. (shrink)

BackgroundBiobanking biospecimens and consent are common practice in paediatric research. We need to explore children and young people’s (CYP) knowledge and perspectives around the use of and consent to biobanking. This will ensure meaningful informed consent can be obtained and improve current consent procedures.MethodsWe designed a survey, in co-production with CYP, collecting demographic data, views on biobanking, and consent using three scenarios: 1) prospective consent, 2) deferred consent, and 3) reconsent and assent at age of capacity. The survey was disseminated (...) via the Young Person’s Advisory Group North England (YPAGne) and participating CYP’s secondary schools. Data were analysed using a qualitative thematic approach by three independent reviewers (including CYP) to identify common themes. Data triangulation occurred independently by a fourth reviewer.ResultsOne hundred two CYP completed the survey. Most were between 16–18 years (63.7%, N = 65) and female (66.7%, N = 68). 72.3% had no prior knowledge of biobanking (N = 73).Acceptability of prospective consent for biobanking was high (91.2%, N = 93) with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘potential benefits outweigh individual risk’, 'frugality', and ‘(in)convenience’.Deferred consent was also deemed acceptable in the large majority (84.3%, N = 86), with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘body integrity’ and ‘sample frugality’. 76.5% preferred to reconsent when cognitively mature enough to give assent (N = 78), even if parental consent was previously in place. 79.2% wanted to be informed if their biobanked biospecimen is reused (N = 80).ConclusionProspective and deferred consent acceptability for biobanking is high among CYP in the UK. Altruism, frugality, body integrity, and privacy are the most important themes. Clear communication and justification are paramount to obtain consent. Any CYP with capacity should be part of the consenting procedure, if possible. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung Die rasanten Entwicklungen im Bereich der Künstlichen Intelligenz und Robotik stellen nicht nur die Ethik, sondern auch das Recht vor neue Herausforderungen, gerade im Bereich der Medizin und Pflege. Grundsätzlich hat der Einsatz von KI dabei das Potenzial, sowohl die Heilbehandlungen als auch den adäquaten Umgang im Rahmen der Pflege zu erleichtern, wenn nicht sogar zu verbessern. Verwaltungsaufgaben, die Überwachung von Vitalfunktionen und deren Parameter sowie die Untersuchung von Gewebeproben etwa könnten autonom ablaufen. In Diagnostik und Therapie können Systeme (...) die behandelnde Ärztin unterstützen. Intelligente Betten ermöglichen eine Frühmobilisierung der Patient:innen bei gleichzeitig geringerem Personalaufwand. Gleichwohl birgt der Einsatz der Systeme rechtliche Herausforderungen. So besteht das Risiko einer Verletzung der beteiligten Personen. Im Gegensatz zu herkömmlichen Technologien „leidet“ KI unter der „Black-Box-Problematik“: Die von den Systemen generierten Ergebnisse sind nicht mehr vollständig vorhersehbar und nachvollziehbar. Der Einsatz birgt unbekannte und unkalkulierbare Risiken, was sich insbesondere auf die zivilrechtliche Haftung und strafrechtliche Verantwortung auswirkt. Wem die Entscheidungen der Systeme normativ zuzurechnen sind, ist eine Kernfrage des juristischen Diskurses. Die aus praktikabilitätsgründen naheliegende Wahl, dem letztentscheidenden Menschen das Verhalten eines KI-Systems zuzurechnen, überzeugt nicht in allen Fällen, sondern degradiert ihn häufig zum symbolischen Haftungsknecht und legt ihm einseitig die Risiken der Technologien auf. Weiterhin ergeben sich im Bereich der Medizin und Pflege Fragen hinsichtlich der Zulassung von KI-Systemen, da die Maschinen während der Nutzung weiterlernen und so ihren strukturellen Aufbau kontinuierlich verändern. Es ist daher angebracht, sich frühzeitig mit dem Konfliktpotential aus ethischer und rechtlicher Sicht auseinander zu setzen, um einer potenziellen gesellschaftlichen Angst vor derartigen Systemen vorzubeugen und einen praxisgerechten Handlungsrahmen zu schaffen. (shrink)

Statistics constitute the social universe of which they are gathered. The foundation necessary to develop quantified knowledge about society is the population. If quantified knowledge changes society, the question arises on how individuals become to be represented as population. The population has to be extracted from individuals in a process that we call “populationisation.” This encompasses the development of the individual into a segment of a population through the compilation of individual data into population data and its analysis. To describe (...) the process of populationisation, we follow a statistical risk assessment tool, the German Diabetes Risk Score, from its inception in a cohort study to its entry into the public sphere of German society. The population is extracted from individuals that function as research subjects through an identification number. Preprocessed information is entered into a dynamic database that enables its rearrangement according to main aggregates. Through populationisation, a signified is enacted that can be sliced up and that is equal in all its parts. Now predictions can be computed and fed back to society as tools of moral judgment. The acting individual and “society” are—numerically and literally!—entangled in the production and enactment of risk knowledge. (shrink)

Background Older patients are often vulnerable and highly dependent on healthcare professionals’ assessment in the event of acute illness. In the context of ambulance services, this poses challenges as the assessment is normally conducted with a focus on identifying life-threatening conditions. Such assessment is not fully satisfactory in a patient relationship that also aims to promote and protect patient autonomy. Aim To describe ambulance clinicians’ understanding of older patients’ self-determination when the patient’s decision-making ability is impaired. Research design A qualitative (...) design with an inductive approach, guided by descriptive phenomenology. Participants In total, 30 ambulance clinicians, comprised of 25 prehospital emergency nurses, 1 nurse and 4 emergency medical technicians participated in 15 dyadic interviews. Ethical considerations The research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and permission was granted by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Findings The findings are presented in two themes: (1) Movement between explicit and implicit will; and (2) Contradictions about the patient’s best interests. The clinicians’ interpretations are based on an understanding of the patient’s situation using substitute decision-making in emergency situations and conversations that reveal the patient’s explicit wishes. Sometimes the clinicians collaborate to validate the patient’s implicit will, while they at other times subordinate themselves to others’ opinions. The clinicians find themselves in conflict between personal values and organisational values as they try to protect the patient’s self-determination. Conclusion The results indicate that older patients with an impaired decision-making ability risk losing the right to self-determination in the context of ambulance services. The clinicians face challenges that significantly affect their ability to handle the older patient’s unique needs based on a holistic perspective and their ability to be autonomous. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: A Network of Schools The Religious Climate Philosophy, Revelation, and Faith The Course in Philosophy: A Day in Proclus's Life Neoplatonic Pedagogical Thought The Doctrinal Fecundity of Exegetical Misinterpretations The “Symphonic” Presupposition: Syrianus, and the Harmony of Plato and Aristotle according to Simplicius The Explication of Texts: The Neoplatonic cursus of Study The Beginning of the Cursus: The Introductions Taught in the Framework of the Exegesis of Porphyry's Isagoge and Aristotle's Categories, and The General Principles (...) of Exegesis Questions Preliminary to the Study of Plato How Commentaries Were Composed Bibliography. (shrink)

This paper summarizes (in German) recent tendencies in the philosophy of the life sciences.

This article is about ‘genogeographic’ maps produced by late-Soviet geneticists and published during post-Soviet time. It focuses on the visual and numerical techniques scientists used to project genetic data onto geographic space. Rather than discussing their representational character, I follow these visuals as ‘folded objects’, describing the layering and realigning of measurements and temporalities as well as the shifts in the practices and meanings of genetics. In the 1970s Soviet biological anthropologists transformed scattered data points by means of spatial statistics (...) into visually coherent maps for a ‘genogeographical atlas’, by interpolating data for the entire USSR territory. Computer-aided modelling rendered ‘populations’ as systemic entities and enacted specific cybernetic versions of population, evolution and difference. Tracing the history of their making helps one in understanding what these folded objects hold in store, in terms of data ranging from Russian imperial and colonial anthropology, through early Soviet traditions, to cold war technologies. Folded into those maps in intricate ways, they have co-shaped post-Soviet human genetics as an ever-active site for possible reinscriptions of difference. (shrink)

Cognitively engaging physical activity has been suggested to have superior effects on cognition compared to PA with low cognitive demands; however, there have been few studies directly comparing these different types of activities. The aim of this study is to compare the cognitive effects of a combined physically and cognitively engaging bout of PA to a physical or cognitive activity alone in children. Children were randomized in pairs to one of three 20-min conditions: a cognitive sedentary activity; a non-cognitively engaging (...) PA; and a cognitively engaging PA. Executive function was assessed using a modified Eriksen flanker task immediately before and 10–15 min following the experimental condition. Children ages 6–8 years were included in the study. A repeated measures ANOVA found no significant difference between groups with respect to scores on the flanker task. The results do not support the hypotheses that a cognitively engaging bout of PA enhances cognitive performance over non-cognitively engaging PA or sedentary activities. Possible explanations for our findings include overexertion during the acute bout of PA and depletion of positive affect prior to performing the post-intervention EF tasks. (shrink)

I consider here several versions of finitism or conceptions that try to work around postulating sets of infinite size. Restricting oneself to the so-called potential infinite seems to rest either on temporal readings of infinity (or infinite series) or on anti-realistic background assumptions. Both these motivations may be considered problematic. Quine’s virtual set theory points out where strong assumptions of infinity enter into number theory, but is implicitly committed to infinity anyway. The approaches centring on the indefinitely large and the (...) use of schemata would provide a work-around to circumvent usage of actual infinities if we had a clear understanding of how schemata work and where to draw the conceptual line between the indefinitely large and the infinite. Neither of this seems to be clear enough. Versions of strict finitism in contrast provide a clear picture of a (realistic) finite number theory. One can recapture standard arithmetic without being committed to actual infinities. The major problem of them is their usage of a paraconsistent logic with an accompanying theory of inconsistent objects. If we are, however, already using a paraconsistent approach for other reasons (in semantics, epistemology or set theory), we get finitism for free. This strengthens the case for paraconsistency. (shrink)

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are arguably the most important period in philosophy’s history, given that they set a new and broad foundation for subsequent philosophical thought. Over the last decade, however, discontent among instructors has grown with coursebooks’ unwavering focus on the era’s seven most well-known philosophers—all of them white and male—and on their exclusively metaphysical and epistemological concerns. While few dispute the centrality of these figures and the questions they raised, the modern era also included essential contributions from (...) women—like Margaret Cavendish, Elisabeth of Bohemia, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Émilie Du Châtelet—as well as important non-white thinkers, such as Anton Wilhelm Amo, Julien Raimond, and Ottobah Cugoano. At the same time, there has been increasing recognition that moral and political philosophy, philosophy of the natural world, and philosophy of race—also vibrant areas of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—need to be better integrated with the standard coverage of metaphysics and epistemology. -/- A New Modern Philosophy: The Inclusive Anthology of Primary Sources addresses—in one volume—these valid criticisms. Weaving together multiple voices and all of the era’s vibrant areas of debate, this volume sets a new agenda for studying modern philosophy. It includes a wide range of readings from 34 thinkers, integrating essential works from all of the canonical writers along with the previously neglected philosophers. Arranged chronologically, editors Eugene Marshall and Susanne Sreedhar provide an introduction for each author that sets the thinker in his or her time period as well as in the longer debates to which the thinker contributed. Study questions and suggestions for further reading conclude each chapter. At the end of the volume, in addition to a comprehensive subject index, the book includes 13 Syllabus Modules, which will help instructors use the book to easily set up different topically structured courses, such as "The Citizen and the State," "Mind and Matter," "Education," "Theories of Perception," or "Metaphysics of Causation." -/- And an eresource offers a wide range of supplemental online resources, including essay assignments, exams, quizzes, student handouts, reading questions, and scholarly articles on teaching the history of philosophy. (shrink)

Law has been a close partner to sociology from its very beginning, and the partnership often has proven to be extremely prolific for sociology. Grand theories as well as vital conceptual tools can be counted among its offspring. Both disciplines share the common ground of socio-legal studies, which has developed into a nearly independent interdisciplinary enterprise where legal scholars and sociologists happily meander between the normative and the analytical. From the vast array of topics in the field of socio-legal studies (...) I select the sociology of criminal justice and punishment in order to demonstrate the characteristics of this relationship. The partnership between sociology and law emerged as part of the modernization project in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the sociology of punishment was part of this endeavour. Rooted in a strong tradition of old (Durkheim) and new (Elias, Foucault) classics, recent developments in this field are leaving the idea of an `unproblematically modern punishment' (Whitman, 2005a) behind, and new fields of inquiry for comparative lawyers and sociologists are opening up. (shrink)

Die interdisziplinär angelegte Untersuchung befaßt sich mit John Barclays (1582-1621) neulateinischem Staatsroman "Argenis" (1621), einem tagespolitischen Schlüsselroman auf dem Hintergrund der französischen Religionskriege. Die "Argenis" ist ein parteipolitisches Pamphlet gegen die Monarchomachen, speziell gegen die militanten Hugenotten; zugleich wird untersucht, inwiefern dieser höchst komplexe Roman aber auch Entwurf und Utopie des idealen Staates, Fürstenspiegel für Ludwig XIII. sowie Manifest und Proklamation der absolutistischen Staatslehre ist. Grundlage der Interpretation, die den Roman im Kontext des politischen Denkens und der 'politischen' Schriften seines (...) Autors untersucht, ist die Beschäftigung mit denjenigen staatstheoretischen Werken aus Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit, die Barclays Denken prägten (u.a. die Schriften seines Vaters William, Jean Bodins und Jakobs I. von England). Als unabdingbar erwies sich dabei auch eine gründliche Auseinandersetzung mit dem Themenkomplex Staatsrechtfertigung, also der Frage nach dem Grund und der Grenze des dem Staat geschuldeten Gehorsams, vor dem Hintergrund der konfessionellen Bürgerkriege und der Suprematieansprüche des Papsttums über die weltlichen Fürsten. Hier wurden erstmals auch die im vatikanischen Geheimarchiv und in der Vatikanbibliothek aufbewahrten Quellen zu Barclay herangezogen. (shrink)

Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA präsentieren seit ihrer Gründung durch Paul Wilpert im Jahre 1962 Arbeiten des Thomas-Instituts der Universität zu Köln. Das Kernstück der Publikationsreihe bilden die Akten der im zweijährigen Rhythmus stattfindenden Kölner Mediaevistentagungen, die vor über 50 Jahren von Josef Koch, dem Gründungsdirektor des Instituts, ins Leben gerufen wurden. Der interdisziplinäre Charakter dieser Kongresse prägt auch die Tagungsakten: Die MISCELLANEA MEDIAEVALIA versammeln Beiträge aus allen mediävistischen Disziplinen - die mittelalterliche Geschichte, die Philosophie, die Theologie sowie die Kunst- und Literaturwissenschaften (...) sind Teile einer Gesamtbetrachtung des Mittelalters. (shrink)

The Delegation for Medical Ethics within the Swedish Society of Medicine has taken the initiative to create national ethical guidelines on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The reasons behind this initiative were indications of differences in the way decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation were made and documented and requests expressed by health-care professionals for new national ethical guidelines. During the process of creating the guidelines, a number of workshops were held with representatives from the delegation and clinical experts from various branches of medicine. Several (...) versions of the working document were sent to consultation bodies with requests for comments. We therefore believe that the final guidelines are well supported by the medical profession in Sweden. The purpose of this article is to present ethical issues on which it was difficult to reach consensus due to divergent opinions expressed by the people and organisations involved. The arguments for and against a particular point of... (shrink)

Semantics of Detachment A Review of Burkhard Hasebrink, Susanne Bernhardt, and Imke Früh, eds., Semantik der Gelassenheit: Generierung, Etablierung, Transformation [Semantics of detachment: Formation, establishment, transformation] Silke Schwandt Beyond the Untranslatability of Concepts A Review of Martin J. Burke and Melvin Richter, eds., Why Concepts Matter: Translating Social and Political Thought László Kontler Emotional Modernities A Review of Ute Frevert, Monique Scheer, Anne Schmidt, Pascal Eitler, Bettina Hitzer, Nina Verheyen, Benno Gammerl, Christian Bailey, and Margrit Pernau, Gefühlswissen: Eine lexikalische (...) Spurensuche in der Moderne [Emotional knowledge: In search of lexical clues in modernity] Anu Korhonen Beyond Peace as a Process A Review of Julia Harfensteller, The United Nations and Peace: The Evolution of an Organizational Concept Marie-Christine Boilard Human Rights as Conceptual History A Review of Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann, ed., Human Rights in the Twentieth Century Johan Strang. (shrink)

Semantics of Detachment A Review of Burkhard Hasebrink, Susanne Bernhardt, and Imke Früh, eds., Semantik der Gelassenheit: Generierung, Etablierung, Transformation [Semantics of detachment: Formation, establishment, transformation] Silke Schwandt Beyond the Untranslatability of Concepts A Review of Martin J. Burke and Melvin Richter, eds., Why Concepts Matter: Translating Social and Political Thought László Kontler Emotional Modernities A Review of Ute Frevert, Monique Scheer, Anne Schmidt, Pascal Eitler, Bettina Hitzer, Nina Verheyen, Benno Gammerl, Christian Bailey, and Margrit Pernau, Gefühlswissen: Eine lexikalische (...) Spurensuche in der Moderne [Emotional knowledge: In search of lexical clues in modernity] Anu Korhonen Beyond Peace as a Process A Review of Julia Harfensteller, The United Nations and Peace: The Evolution of an Organizational Concept Marie-Christine Boilard Human Rights as Conceptual History A Review of Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann, ed., Human Rights in the Twentieth Century Johan Strang. (shrink)

Cyfryzacja i związane z nią nowe technologie dynamicznie wkroczyły do wielu dziedzin naszego życia – zarówno publicznego (administracji, gospodarki, wojskowości, łączności, szkolnictwa itd.), jak i prywatnego. Symptomatycznym wyznacznikiem tej ekspansji są coraz szersze wykorzystywanie słabej (wąskiej) sztucznej inteligencji (_Artificial Narrow Intelligence _– ANI) oraz intensywne prace nad silną (ogólną) sztuczną inteligencją (_Artificial General Intelligence _– AGI), która pozostaje w sferze szczególnych zainteresowań transhumanizmu. AGI – według transhumanistów – byłaby pierwszym krokiem do stworzenia sztucznej superinteligencji (_Artificial Superintelligence _– ASI), która przekroczyłaby (...) intelektualne możliwości człowieka, prowadząc do powstania „informatycznej osobliwości” (_singu__larity_), której można byłoby przypisać cechy boskie. W niniejszym artykule podnoszę kwestię, czy transhumanizm jest w stanie wyeliminować Boga i zastąpić Go jakąś sztuczną inteligencją (z jej cyfrową superświadomością) oraz czy w erze cyfrowej chrześcijańskim prawdom wiary grozi dezaktualizacja. Opowiadam się za uprawnionym mówieniem o Bogu i prawdach wiary o stworzeniu, odkupieniu oraz zbawieniu w społeczeństwie cyfrowym. Uważam, że kultura ery cyfrowej nie tylko nie przynosi szkody życiu wiary, ale może pobudzać człowieka do głębszego rozumienia jej prawd. (shrink)

Znane z Traktatu wypowiedzi na temat „Ja" i „świata": „świat jest moim światem", „Sam jestem swoim światem", czy tez „Świat i życie to jedno", są istotne dla zrozumienia kwestii solipsyzmu, omawianych przez „wczesnego" Wittgensteina. Pod „solipsyzm" rozumie się zazwyczaj krańcową formę subiektywnego idealizmu głoszącego, że istnieje tylko Ja sam, a wszystko inne jest moim wyobrażeniem. Solipsysta uznaje, ze jego własna subiektywność jest czymś jedynie możliwym do poznania, co oznacza doprowadzenie idealizmu do subiektywnej skrajności: wszystko co nam się ukazuje, jest traktowane (...) jako coś wyobrażonego. Pytanie o solipsyzm pojawia się w dzisiejszych analizach subiektywności świadomości. Solipsysta neguje chociażby możliwość ustalenia, czy jakiś inny podmiot są siebie świadome. Rzeczywistość obcych stanów świadomości jest przez solipsysta ignorowana, gdyż wychodząc z istnienia własnej świadomości, może on jedynie przez analogię wnioskować o istnieniu obcych stanów świadomości. W argumentacjach przeciwko solipsyzmowi podkreśla się, ze stanowisko to wikła się w sprzeczność, gdyż w celu sformułowania swoich własnych też musi używać języka, co z kolei zakłada obecność intersubiektywnego świata, którego istnienie neguje. (shrink)

Na pytanie o rozumienie pojecia przyrody udzielano w historii filozofii różnych odpowiedzi. W książce Mutschlera możemy znaleźć obszerny przegląd współczesnego rozumienia tego pojecia. Zasadniczy przełom w poglądach na przyrodę dokonał się na początku XVII wieku, kiedy to przy jej badaniu zaczęto się odwoływać do powtarzalnych eksperymentów, do metod ilościowych oraz do matematyki. Przykładem takiego postępowania jest metoda zaproponowana przez Galileusza, dla którego „księga przyrody" jest napisana w języku matematyki. Przed Galileuszem nikt nie wpadł na pomysł, zęby przyrody traktować jako księgę (...) napisaną w języku matematyki. Zwrotu „księga przyrody" lub „księga natury" używano już w średniowieczu i przeciwstawiano „księdze objawienia". Tego rodzaju przeciwstawienie odpowiadało równocześnie podziałowi na to, co „naturalne" i na to, co „ponadnaturalne". (shrink)

In this talk I consider two problems for conceptual atomism. Conceptual atomism can be defended against the criticism that it seems to contend that all concepts are simply innate (even technical concepts to pre-technological humanoids) by specifying the innateness thesis as one of mechanisms of hooking up mental representations (concepts as language of thought types) to properties in the world (§1). This theory faces a problem with non-referring expressions/concepts, it seems. Conceptual atomism can, however, deal with non-referring expressions/concepts (§2). Hooking (...) up concepts with properties raises, further on, broader metaphysical problems of making concepts correspond to (natural) properties. These questions are much harder to answer (§3). (shrink)

Fr. Paweł Siwek, SJ may be considered the only Polish Jesuit philosopher of the 20th century to have achieved worldwide recognition. This article surveys his work from a broad perspective reflecting philosophy, psychology and theology as pursued in Catholic circles in the 19th and 20th centuries. We review his achievements, while also offering an interpretation. We put forward the thesis that he found his own way of practising neo-Thomism in the spirit of Pope Leo XIII’s Aeterni Patris. To substantiate our (...) claims, we first briefly sketch his biography, providing a synthetic overview of the relevant contexts for his philosophical oeuvre. We then identify his four main areas of interest: namely, the history of philosophy, systematic philosophy, the scientific psychology of religion and spirituality, and Christian apologetics in the face of world religions and spiritual movements. In our conclusion, we discuss the main traits of his intellectual work, along with its impact. (shrink)

Elements... is a collection of seventeen, rather informal talks closely dependent on the aristotelian and thomist metaphysical setting. The author explicitly disregards a historical approach to the subject and in an essentially systematic way tries to argue in favor of a metaphysically pluralist and epistemologically optimist - realist solution. These two options constitute, therefore, the specific limits of the textbook.

W liście do B. Russella z 19 VIII 1919 r. L. Wittgenstein pisze: „Zasadniczy sprawy jest teoria o tym, co można wypowiedzieć w zdaniach - to znaczy za pomocy języka -, a czego nie można wyrazić w zdaniach lecz tylko pokazać. Jest to, moim zdaniem, główny problem filozofii." Tym właśnie problemem zajmuje się w swojej pracy H. Watzka, wykładowcy historii filozofii w Wyższej Szkole Filozoficzno-Teologicznej Sankt Georgen we Frankfurcie nad Menem. Omawiana książka jest skróconą wersją rozprawy doktorskiej: Logik und Metaphysik. (...) Zur Statusbestimmung der Philosophie bei Wittgensein, obronionej przez Autora w 1997 roku w Uniwersytecie Humboldta w Berlinie. (shrink)

The article reviews the book Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, by Thomas Nagel.

Jedynie na okolicznościowych wystawach ma się okazję zobaczyć żmudny proces powstawania od strony warsztatowej dzieła filozoficznego: kolejne szkice, uzupełnienia, podkreślenia, przekreślenia, doprecyzowania, notatki na marginesach. Omawiane elektroniczne wydanie prac Ludwiga Wittgensteina - jednego z największych filozofów minionego stulecia - dostarcza nam takiej możliwości. Na ekranie własnego komputera możemy zobaczyć nie tylko „końcowe" wersje znanych jego prac, lecz również prowadzące do nich poszukiwania właściwej formy językowej. Wystarczy „kliknąć" i ukazują nam się zapisane w komputerze „pożółkle" poliniowane strony zeszytów zapełnionych zamaszystym pismem, (...) luźne kartki maszynopisów. Teksty są zasadniczo w oryginale niemieckim, niektóre są po angielsku. (shrink)

Der Schwerpunkt der wissenschaftlichen Forschung von Krzysztof Stachewicz liegt im Bereich der thomistischen und fenomenologischen Ethik. Das vorliegende Buch spiegelt diesen Interessenkreis des Autors wieder und es stellt zwei, auf den ersten Blick weit auseinander liegende Auffassungen über Ethik und Moral kritisch gegenüber: die Theorie des Naturrechts und die klassische Wertethik. Die beiden bilden zugleich zwei führende Traditionen, wenn es um die Begründung der Moral geht. Die Ethik des Naturrechts gründet in einer objektiven Ordnung und stützt die Moral auf die (...) - wie der Autor es nennt - Seinsgrundlage. Die klassische Wertethik geht bei der Begründung von einer subjektiven Basis aus und konzentriert sich auf die Analysen des Subiektes. Die erste Auffassung der Ethik ist ihres Wesens nach naturalistisch, die zweite intuitionistisch. (shrink)

Die in der analytischen Philosophie vorgeschlagenen Lösungen des Leib-Seele-Problems, d.h. des Problems, in welchem Verhältnis der menschliche Geist zu dem Leib steht, sind überwiegend materialistischer bzw. physikalistischer Art. Hinter der Bezeichnung „physikalistische Art“ steckt normalerweise eine reduktionistische These, die besagt, daß alle realen Dinge und Ereignisse in der letzten Analyse nichts anderes sind als mikrophysikalische Partikel oder Ereignisse und sich allein mit Hilfe von rein physikalistischen Methoden und Prinzipien beschreiben bzw. erklären lassen. Ein so verstandener Reduktionismus ist keine naturwissenschaftliche, sondern (...) eine philosophische Theorie. Die jetzt folgende Darstellung der geschichtlichen Entwicklungsstufen dieser Theorie soll in die unten ausgearbeiteten reduktionistischen Thesen von W. Sellars einführen. Diese Darstellung konzentriert sich auf die in der analytischen Philosophie vorgeschlagenen Lösungen des Leib-Seele-Problems, oder in unserem Fall Leib-Sensorium-Problems, da wir uns vor allem auf die Reduktion der Sinneseindrücke konzentrieren wollen. (shrink)

This article combines thoughts about childhood, visual culture and education. It is known that we live among multiple images that shape the way we see our reality, and researchers in the visual culture field investigate how this role is played out in our culture. The goal is to make some applications those ideas, to think about the relationship between the images and education. This article tries to grasp what visual culture is and in what ways presumptions about childhood generate and (...) are generated by this association. It also discusses the genesis of these presumptions and the images they generate through a philosophical approach, questioning the role of education in a culture tied to the media, and about how children, who are familiar with multiple screens, presage a new visual literacy. We see how images play a fundamental role in the way children give meaning to the world around them and to themselves, in the context of their local culture. Given this context, it is necessary to consider how visual culture is tied to the elementary school, and what challenges confront the generation of wider and more creative ways to approach visual framing in children’s education. (shrink)