The study of culture from an evolutionary perspective has been slowed by resistance from some quarters of anthropology, a poor appreciation of the fidelity of cultural transmission, and misunderstandings about human intentionality. (Published Online November 9 2006).

Bei Kant tauchen viele antike Autoren und Theorien auf. In dieser ersten Gesamtbearbeitung zum Thema wird gegen eine langjährige Forschungsmeinung gezeigt, dass nicht so sehr Platon und Aristoteles als vielmehr der hellenistischen Philosophie die entscheidende Rolle für sein Denken zukommt. Anhand der drei Kritiken werden Konstanzen und Umbrüche seines Antikeverständnisses herausgearbeitet und in ihren Konsequenzen für die Kantdeutung beleuchtet.

Two meta-analyses of pharmacological research are presented, demonstrating that psychoactive drugs have consistent effects on EEG and sleep outside of their effects on REM sleep, and demonstrating that drugs other than those affecting sleep neurotransmitter systems and REM sleep can also alter reported nightmare occurrence. These data suggest that the neurobiology data terrain outside activation-synthesis may include sleep and dream electrophysiology, cognitive reports of dreaming, effects of alterations in consciousness on dreaming, immunology and host defense, and clinical therapies for sleep (...) disorders. (shrink)

The Jewish authors Robert Neumann and Soma Morgenstern, both forced to leave Austria during the Nazi period, have dealt with the subject of Exodus in their writing. Their novels,,By the Waters of Babylon" and,,The Third Pillar" attempt to come to terms with the experience of exile and the Shoah. The reception of texts from the Bible and the composition of language are specific characteristics of both novels.

Modern society makes extensive use of automated algorithmic decisions, fueled by advances in artificial intelligence. However, since these systems are not perfect, questions about fairness are increasingly investigated in the literature. In particular, many authors take a Rawlsian approach to algorithmic fairness. This article aims to identify some complications with this approach: Under which circumstances can Rawls’s original position reasonably be applied to algorithmic fairness decisions? First, it is argued that there are important differences between Rawls’s original position and a (...) parallel algorithmic fairness original position with respect to risk attitudes. Second, it is argued that the application of Rawls’s original position to algorithmic fairness faces a boundary problem in defining relevant stakeholders. Third, it is observed that the definition of the least advantaged, necessary for applying the difference principle, requires some attention in the context of algorithmic fairness. Finally, it is argued that appropriate deliberation in algorithmic fairness contexts often require more knowledge about probabilities than the Rawlsian original position allows. Provided that these complications are duly considered, the thought-experiment of the Rawlsian original position can be useful in algorithmic fairness decisions. (shrink)

Our paper addresses the question of what exactly the contribution of the humanities to management education could or should be, suggesting the concept of Literacy as both this contribution’s goal and method. Though there seems to emerge a consensus in the debate about the future of management education that the humanities should be involved with shaping it, some misconceptions about the humanities obscure the understanding of the why and how of it, most notably as to the manner in which they (...) are to provide for ethical values. Our paper in a first step endeavours to clear those misconceptions up drawing on some historical aspects of their development. It then proceeds to introducing the concept of Literacy and, based on it, the teaching framework of Critical Management Literacy we designed to operationalize the concept towards management students` needs. Our leading hypothesis is that the contribution of the humanities should focus on the cultivation of the capacity for epistemological doubt in order to prepare students for the complexity and indeterminacy of reality, thus at the same time laying the groundwork for ethical reflectivity. (shrink)

In this essay I examine the debate between Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor on the post-secular state. I argue that, although their views on the relation of religion and politics converge in certain respects, a profound difference remains between their overall approaches. Their disagreement on the epistemic status of religious as opposed to secular moral reasons, and on the role religious arguments can play in the public sphere testify to a deeper schism. Thus what might at first seem like a (...) quarrel about details proves to be a fundamental philosophical divide on the issue of modernity. I conclude that Taylor’s model of post-secularism is more promising as an approach to the challenge posed by growing religious and cultural diversity, for, if understood as a version of “reiterative universalism,” it avoids both moral relativism and Eurocentrism. (shrink)

Background: Recent research has demonstrated that depressed individuals show impairments in inhibiting irrelevant emotional material, and that these impairments are linked to rumination. Cognitive inhibition, however, is not a unitary construct but consists of several components which operate at different stages of information processing. The present study was designed to assess two components of inhibition and examine their relation to depression and rumination in a sample of clinically depressed and healthy control participants. Methods: Twenty-two individuals diagnosed with a current depressive (...) episode and 27 never-disordered control participants completed an Emotional Flanker Task to assess individual differences in interference control and a modification of the Working Memory Selection Task to assess individual differences in the ability to discard no longer relevant emotional material from working memory. Participants completed self-report measures to assess depressive symptoms and rumination. Results: Clinically depressed compared to control participants showed significantly reduced interference control of irrelevant negative information. The groups, however, did not differ in their ability to discard no longer relevant negative information from working memory. In contrast, rumination was associated with difficulty removing no longer relevant negative material from working memory but not with deficits in interference control. Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of differentiating among components of inhibition to gain a better understanding of cognitive mechanisms underlying depression and rumination. (shrink)

Aus philosophischer Perspektive diskutiert Ulrike Kleemeiers Studie einer Reihe auch aktuelle wieder sehr brisanter Probleme. Analysiert werden der Begriff des Krieges ebenso wie die Ursachen von Kriegen und die Kriegsprävention. Dabei untersucht die Autorin auch den Zusammenhang von Krieg und Gerechtigkeit bzw. Krieg und Recht, das Verhältnis von Krieg und Politik, das Problem des Bürgerkriegs sowie die Bedeutung kriegerisch-militärischer Tugenden und Kompetenzen. Die Auseinandersetzung erfolgt in exemplarischer Form anhand der Theorien von Platon, Hobbes und Clausewitz. Der Arbeit liegt die (...) Annahme zugrunde, dass eine Theorie des Krieges sinnvoll nur in einem interdisziplinären Bezugsrahmen entwickelt werden kann. Deshalb wendet sich dieses Buch an Fachphilosophen genauso wie an alle anderen am Thema Krieg interessierten Forscher, etwas an Historiker, Politologen und Sozialwissenschaftler. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Cognitive Linguistics Jahrgang: 26 Heft: 2 Seiten: 211-260.

Das Placebo - konzipiert, um die Wirksamkeit des Arzneimittels objektiv zu überprüfen - entfaltet selbst unterschiedliche Eigenschaften und erzeugt vielfältige Effekte. Anhand von Vertreter_innen der Philosophie, wie Fleck, Rheinberger, Foucault, Baudrillard, Latour und Haraway, zeigt Ulrike Neumaier, dass sich - stellt man das Placebo in den Mittelpunkt einer Untersuchung - nicht nur in der Medizin Begriffe wie »Krankheit« und »Körper« verändern. Vielmehr wird sichtbar, wie Wissenschaft, Technik und Gesellschaft sich vernetzen, wie sich dadurch der Begriff von »Wissenschaft« wandelt und (...) warum vom Zeitalter der Technowissenschaften gesprochen werden kann. (shrink)

In this paper, I comment on Waismann’s view of ‘motivational explanations’ as he develops it in his unfinished, posthumously published essay ‘Will and Motive’. According to a traditional view, when we act, the motive is an internal psychological state of which we can know through introspection, and it triggers or causes the action. Thus the motive causally explains an independent event which is the action. As Waismann sees it, everything here is false. The motive is (1) not an internal psychological (...) state. (2) We do not know it through introspection. (3) It does not trigger an action, and (4) there is no causal explanation in which the motive is the cause and the action the effect. I analyze Waismann’s arguments for these claims and work out his positive view. Waismann draws our attention to two features: the uncertainty and instability of motives, and the fact that they are often ascribed on the basis of the action even when the agent wasn’t aware of them prior to acting. Might this hold only for certain motives: viz. ‘Triebfedern’ (drives), in particular those that are unconscious, but not for motives in the sense of ‘Beweggrund’ (reason, purpose)? If action explanations in the light of an agent’s purposes or reasons are unaffected by Waismann’s arguments for the instability and uncertainty of motives, then perhaps the traditional view would not be false for this kind of explanation: it is not uncertain, or unstable. However, I understand Waismann as trying to show (in particular through his interpretation of Dostojevki’s Raskolnikov) that even if a reason for which a person acts or a purpose is something that the agent is aware of prior to action, we get the same kind of instability and uncertainty that occurs with unconscious motives. Here is why: agents are normally aware of quite a number of reasons for and against acting in a certain way. But for any one of those reasons, they may deny – as Raskolnikov does – that that is the reason for which they did it. It was a reason, all right, and even one that they considered, but not the one for which they acted. Thus the problems of instability and uncertainty that Waismann points out affects motives not only insofar as they are unconscious and mere drives. They affect motives in the sense of ‘Beweggrund’ as well. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel geht es darum, die Genealogie im Anschluss an Michel Foucault für die Religionswissenschaft fruchtbar zu machen und ihr Programm zu schärfen. Dazu hebe ich zuerst einige wesentliche Aspekte hervor, welche die Genealogie ausmachen. Im Folgenden untersuche ich den Artikel „Umkämpfte Historisierung“ von Michael Bergunder als ein aktuelles Beispiel für die Anwendung der Genealogie in der Religionswissenschaft. Diesem stelle ich im letzten Teil des Artikels meine eigene Genealogie von Religion gegenüber. Ich zeige, wie sich die Konstitution eines (...) spezifisch religiösen Bereichs und die nominalistische Auffassung seiner Zeichen innerhalb des Ritenstreits im Kontext von Mission in Asien seit dem 16. Jh. vollzogen hat. Wie Religion verstanden wurde, hing dabei unmittelbar davon ab, welche kolonialen Interessen durchgesetzt werden sollten. Die Verstrickung von Religion in den Zusammenhang von Macht-Subjekt-Wissen muss deshalb zukünftig konsequenter auch durch die Religionswissenschaft untersucht werden. Religion ist keine unschuldige Kategorie der Beobachtung, sondern über sie wurden und werden Kämpfe um Macht und gesellschaftlichen Einfluss ausgetragen. (shrink)

SINCE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, THE DEBATE ON RELIGION AND POLITICS HAS attracted considerable attention. One of the problems in this discussion has been the challenge to find a common ground of discourse while maintaining the identity of diverse worldviews. In this essay I argue—from a Christian viewpoint—that a reformulated understanding of the secular, understood as saeculum, may serve as the source of a view of the plenitude of human reality that overcomes this tension. Drawing on the theologies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (...) and John Milbank, I argue that human reality is always partaking in divine reality, and as such there is no being apart from God. In the light of this view, I endorse a Christological affirmation of reality that enables us to move beyond an antagonism of secular and religious worldviews and ethics. (shrink)

An organizing model of ‘the self’ emerges from applying various kinds of brain injury to recent cognitive science and philosophical work on ‘the self’. This model unifies various contents and mechanisms central to current notions of the self. The article then highlights several criteria and aspects of this notion of self. Qualities of the right type and level of psychological significance delineate ‘the self’ as an organizing concept useful for recent philosophical work and cognitive science research.

Freuds Entwurf von »Trauer und Melancholie« vom Februar 1915, der 1996 publiziert wurde, steht im Zentrum der Untersuchung. Nach einer Zusammenfassung der Thesen des Entwurfs werden Ferenczis und Abrahams Reaktionen auf den Text sowie Freuds Kommentar zu ihren Stellungnahmen dargestellt. Freuds partielle Übernahme von Ferenczis Introjektion und seine Zurückhaltung gegenüber Abrahams »Munderotik und Sadismus« werden erörtert sowie die Frage, ob und inwiefern die Einwürfe der Schüler in die Endfassung von »Trauer und Melancholie« einflossen, insbesondere Abrahams theoretischer Ansatz. Abschließend wird der (...) Begriff der narzisstischen Identifizierung, der den Kern von Freuds Verständnis der Depression bildet, mit seinen aus der gleichen Zeit stammenden Ausführungen über die »Vorstufen der Liebe« zu einem Bild der narzisstischen Beziehung zwischen Subjekt und Objekt zusammengefügt, unter Betonung der klinischen Relevanz der von Freud entwickelten Differenz zwischen der narzisstischen und libidinösen Besetzung des Objekts. (shrink)

Zwischen 1920 und 1925 kam es nach Vorarbeiten von Jones, Abraham, Stärcke, van Ophuijsen und Alexander sowie in Abrahams Hauptwerk, dem Versuch einer Entwicklungsgeschichte der Libido, zu einer Veränderung der psychoanalytischen Theorie, die sich vor allem auf die Stellung der Aggression bezog. Die stärkere Gewichtung der präödipalen Aggression wurde in London in erster Linie von Abrahams Analysanden James und Edward Glover durchgeführt. Ihre Arbeiten bereiteten den Boden für die Rezeption von Melanie Klein, einer weiteren Abraham-Analysandin, die ihrerseits von Alix Strachey, (...) auch sie eine Analysandin Abrahams, sowie von Ernest Jones unterstützt wurde. Klein entwickelte in der Analyse mit Kindern eine Technik, die sich bevorzugt auf die Wahrnehmung und Deutung der Aggression in der Stunde bezog. All dies, ohne dass Freud die neue Linie begrüßt hätte, was aber seit dem Erstarken der lokalen Gruppen in Berlin und London nicht mehr so stark ins Gewicht fiel. Gleichwohl blieb die Frage nach der Stellung der Aggression in der Schwebe, während sich Freud bis zuletzt für das Primat des Sexuellen aussprach und sich von den Positionen der hier erwähnten Schüler zwischen 1920 und 1925 mehrere Male ausdrücklich distanzierte. (shrink)

In this paper, it is argued that the most fruitful approach to developing normative models of argument quality is one that combines the argumentation scheme approach with Bayesian argumentation. Three sample argumentation schemes from the literature are discussed: the argument from sign, the argument from expert opinion, and the appeal to popular opinion. Limitations of the scheme-based treatment of these argument forms are identified and it is shown how a Bayesian perspective may help to overcome these. At the same time, (...) the contributions of the standard scheme-based approach are highlighted, and it is argued that only a combination of the insights of different traditions will yield a complete normative theory of argument quality. (shrink)

Our beliefs and opinions are shaped by others, making our social networks crucial in determining what we believe to be true. Sometimes this is for the good because our peers help us form a more accurate opinion. Sometimes it is for the worse because we are led astray. In this context, we address via agent-based computer simulations the extent to which patterns of connectivity within our social networks affect the likelihood that initially undecided agents in a network converge on a (...) true opinion following group deliberation. The model incorporates a fine-grained and realistic representation of belief and trust, and it allows agents to consult outside information sources. We study a wide range of network structures and provide a detailed statistical analysis concerning the exact contribution of various network metrics to collective competence. Our results highlight and explain the collective risks involved in an overly networked or partitioned society. Specifically, we find that 96% of the variation in collective competence across networks can be attributed to differences in amount of connectivity and clustering, which are negatively correlated with collective competence. A study of bandwagon or “group think” effects indicates that both connectivity and clustering increase the probability that the network, wholly or partly, locks into a false opinion. Our work is interestingly related to Gerhard Schurz’s work on meta-induction and can be seen as broadly addressing a practical limitation of his approach. (shrink)

A. EInleitung: Politische Hermeneutik als Ausweg aus der "entzauberten Welt" B. "Die dialogische Stadt" Das "theologisch-politische Problem" - Das Politische - Politische Philosophie - Politische Rhetorik - Schriftlichkeit und Philosophie - Politische Philosophie und die "Kunst des Lesens" C. "Von der Geschichte zur Natur" Historisches Verstehen - Gadamers unvollkommener "Vorgriff auf Vollkommenheit" - Hermeneutische Politik - Theologische Politische Hermeneutik Literaturverzeichnis Namensregister.

'Walter Pagel's last book is more arcane and difficult, certainly as erudite and inimitable, and perhaps as rewarding as all his others. In a strange alchemical mixture of alter ego, familiar and doppelgänger, Paracelsus was Pagel's cross and his torch.' With 'The Smiling Spleen', Walter Pagel reconfirms his position as a leading authority on Paracelsus and the influence of his doctrines and practice on the development of modern science and medicine. In this final work of his life, (...) Pagel concentrates on Paracelsianism as a historical phenomenon, giving major attention to the lesser-known figures who characterized the 'storm and stress' of the Paracelsian reform movement during the 16th and 17th centuries. (shrink)