Name der Zeitschrift: Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialtheorie und Philosophie Jahrgang: 3 Heft: 2 Seiten: 364-378.

Properly understood, Kant’s moral philosophy is incompatible with constitutivism. According to the constitutivist, being subject to the moral law cannot be a matter of free choice, and failure to c...

Apologies. The purpose of the following talk is to give an overview of the present state of aims, methods and results in Pure Proof Theory. Shortage of time forces me to concentrate on my very personal views. This entails that I will emphasize the work which I know best, i.e., work that has been done in the triangle Stanford, Munich and Münster. I am of course well aware that there are as important results coming from outside this triangle and I (...) apologize for not displaying these results as well.Moreover the audience should be aware that in some points I have to oversimplify matters. Those who complain about that are invited to consult the original papers.1.1. General. Proof theory startedwithHilbert's Programme which aimed at a finitistic consistency proof for mathematics.By Gödel's Theorems, however, we know that we can neither formalize all mathematics nor even prove the consistency of formalized fragments by finitistic means. Inspite of this fact I want to give some reasons why I consider proof theory in the style of Gentzen's work still as an important and exciting field of Mathematical Logic. I will not go into applications of Gentzen's cut-elimination technique to computer science problems—this may be considered as applied proof theory—but want to concentrate on metamathematical problems and results. In this sense I am talking about Pure Proof Theory.Mathematicians are interested in structures. There is only one way to find the theorems of a structure. Start with an axiom system for the structure and deduce the theorems logically. These axiom systems are the objects of proof-theoretical research. Studying axiom systems there is a series of more or less obvious questions. (shrink)

Beginning with Erich Auerbach's reflections on the Goethean concept of world literature, Ottmar Ette unfolds the theory and practice of Literatures of the World. Today, only those literary theories which are oriented upon a history of movement are still capable of doing justice to the confusing diversity of highly dynamic, worldwide transformations. This is because they examine transareal pathways in the field of literature. This volume captures literary processes of exchange and transformation between the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific as (...) well as the interplay of different ways of narrating space and time. Thus, this volume speaks from a fractal point of view and unfolds multiple perspectives. Literatures of the World allow the reader to think in different logical frameworks at the same time, therefore shaping our future on the basis of the diversity of humankind. (shrink)

Life's Solution builds a persuasive case for the predictability of evolutionary outcomes. The case rests on a remarkable compilation of examples of convergent evolution, in which two or more lineages have independently evolved similar structures and functions. The examples range from the aerodynamics of hovering moths and hummingbirds to the use of silk by spiders and some insects to capture prey. Going against the grain of Darwinian orthodoxy, this book is a must read for anyone grappling with the meaning of (...) evolution and our place in the Universe. Simon Conway Morris is the Ad Hominen Professor in the Earth Science Department at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St. John's College and the Royal Society. His research focuses on the study of constraints on evolution, and the historical processes that lead to the emergence of complexity, especially with respect to the construction of the major animal body parts in the Cambrian explosion. Previous books include The Crucible of Creation (Getty Center for Education in the Arts, 1999) and co-author of Solnhofen (Cambridge, 1990). Hb ISBN (2003) 0-521-82704-3. (shrink)

Dieser Band entfaltet eine Theorie und Praxis der Literaturen der Welt ausgehend von Erich Auerbachs Auseinandersetzung mit dem von Goethe geprägten Weltliteratur-Konzept. Allein bewegungsgeschichtlich ausgerichtete Kultur- und Literaturtheorien sind heute in der Lage, der verwirrenden Vielfalt hochdynamischer Veränderungen in der Welt durch die Betrachtung transarealer Bahnungen im Feld der Literatur gerecht zu werden. Literarische Austausch- und Transformationsprozesse zwischen Mittelmeer, Atlantik und Pazifik sowie das Zusammenspiel verschiedener Erzählmöglichkeiten von Raum und Zeit werden hier aus einer gleichsam fraktalen und vielperspektivischen Sichtweise erfasst. (...) Die Literaturen der Welt erlauben uns dabei, in unterschiedlichen Logiken zugleich zu denken und damit Zukunft aus der Vielfalt zu gestalten. (shrink)

This chapter explores some fundamental consequences of the correspondence between physical process and computations. Most physical questions may be answerable only through irreducible amounts of computation. Those that concern idealized limits of infinite time, volume, or numerical precision can require arbitrarily long computations, and so be considered formally undecidable. The behavior of a physical system may always be calculated by simulating explicitly each step in its evolution. Much of theoretical physics has, however, been concerned with devising shorter methods of calculation (...) that reproduce the outcome without tracing each step. Computational irreducibility is common among the systems investigated in mathematics and computation theory, but it may well be the exception rather than the rule, since most physical questions may be answerable only through irreducible amounts of computation. (shrink)

We investigate connections between the syntactic and semantic distance of programs on an abstract, recursion theoretic level. For a certain rather restrictive notion of interdependency of the two kinds of distances, there remain only few and “unnatural” numberings allowing such close relationship. Weakening the requirements leads to the discovery of universal metrics such that for an arbitrary recursively enumerable family of functions a numbering compatible with such a metric can uniformly be constructed. We conclude our considerations with some implications on (...) learning theory. (shrink)

On the one hand, means of transport can be considered as media which shape the perception of space; on the other, they can be considered as milieus which produce certain forms of social interaction. In order to relate both perspectives to each other, the present contribution outlines a topology of vehicles, drawing upon contemporary French literature set in cities. Their detailed representation of certain means of transport shows that literary texts not only decipher modes of spatial perception that are specific (...) to certain vehicles, but also devise new ways of using vehicles through their involvement with an outdated culture of transport. German Verkehrsmittel lassen sich als Medien betrachten, die auf die Wahrnehmung des Raums einwirken, aber auch als Milieus, die bestimmte Formen sozialer Interaktion erzeugen. Um beide Perspektiven aufeinander zu beziehen, umreißt der Beitrag eine Topologie der Fahrzeuge anhand von Stadttexten aus der französischen Literatur der Gegenwart. Aus deren eingehender Darstellung bestimmter Verkehrsmittel geht hervor, dass literarische Texte nicht allein fahrzeugspezifische Weisen der Raumerfahrung entziffern, sondern darüber hinaus auch in Auseinandersetzung mit einer überkommenen Transportkultur originelle Praktiken des Fahrzeuggebrauchs ersinnen. (shrink)

Recent literature describing the process and pathways of the agrarian transition in Southeast Asia suggests that the rise of agricultural intensification and the growth of commodity markets will lead to the demise of swidden agriculture. This paper offers a longitudinal overview of the conditions that drive the agrarian transition amongst indigenous swidden cultivators and migrant paddy farmers in central Palawan Island, the Philippines. In line with regional agrarian change, we describe how a history of conservation policies has criminalized and pressured (...) swidden farmers to adopt more intensive “modern” agricultural practices. We examine how indigenous swidden cultivators adjust their practice in response to recent changes in policies, security of harvests, and socio-cultural values vis-à-vis intensification. Rather than suggest that this transition will lead to the demise of swidden, results reveal that farmers instead negotiate a shifting ground in which they lean on and value swidden as a means of negotiating agrarian change. (shrink)

Die Debatte um die Frage nach dem Lebenswissen hat weiter an Fahrt aufgenommen, seitdem der Begriff im Jahr 2007 von Ottmar Ette in die kulturwissenschaftliche Diskussion eingeführt wurde. Die im vorliegenden Band versammelten Beiträge versuchen, diese Diskussion entscheidend voranzutreiben und neue Horizonte aktuellen wie künftigen literatur- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Denkens und Handelns aufzuzeigen. Der Band geht auf ein internationales Symposium zurück, das im Juli 2010 am Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies stattfand. Der Stil wissenschaftlicher Konvivenz, der bei diesem Symposium geschaffen (...) wurde, kommt in allen hier versammelten Texten zum Ausdruck. Europäische wie außereuropäische, philologische wie philosophische, fachgeschichtliche wie medienhistorische, erzähltheoretische wie literarästhetische, transkulturelle wie transdisziplinäre Ansätze messen die Dimensionen eines Forschungsgebietes aus, dessen Wissensformen und Wissensnormen es selbst noch näher zu bestimmen gilt. Dieser Herausforderung ist der Band verpflichtet. (shrink)

The long-term scientific interests of Alexander von Humboldt ranged from anthropology and ancient American studies to geology and geography, climatology and cultural theory, physics and plant geography to language history, volcanology and zoology. As a scientist, he crossed different disciplines and explored new paths of knowledge. Humboldt developed a transdisciplinary and, in the widest sense, nomadic knowledge as a traveller through the sciences. Like a nomad, he did not seek to possess or destroy a territory (of knowledge): no wonder that (...) he became the co-founder of an ecological and geo-ecological thinking. Humboldt wrote and published his works in German as well as in French. In his American Travel Diaries, which returned to Berlin in November 2013, and which are still awaiting their scientific analysis, Humboldt constantly changes between German and French, but also between Latin and Spanish. The author of the Kosmos couldn’t be used for nationalist purposes. Thus, Alexander von Humboldt can be understood as a nomad of science in constant movement, and in this sense as a world citizen. This first theorist of globalization shifted between the words, between the sciences, between the worlds. For him, the greatest possible mobility was not only a scientific program, but also the program of a life – his life. Humboldt wasn’t concerned with any specialization that would lead to a fragmented dialogue with other specialists. He was concerned with a nomadic knowledge, which, thanks to his extensive network of correspondents, always delivered the opportunity to argue from different disciplinary standpoints at the same time. His thinking doesn’t know the limits of interdisciplinary or “disciplined” research oppressing us today, but it rather took aim at the creation of a new world, in which mankind would be able to live together on a planetary scale in freedom and peace. (shrink)

Apologies. The purpose of the following talk is to give an overview of the present state of aims, methods and results in Pure Proof Theory. Shortage of time forces me to concentrate on my very personal views. This entails that I will emphasize the work which I know best, i.e., work that has been done in the triangle Stanford, Munich and Münster. I am of course well aware that there are as important results coming from outside this triangle and I (...) apologize for not displaying these results as well.Moreover the audience should be aware that in some points I have to oversimplify matters. Those who complain about that are invited to consult the original papers.1.1. General. Proof theory startedwithHilbert's Programme which aimed at a finitistic consistency proof for mathematics.By Gödel's Theorems, however, we know that we can neither formalize all mathematics nor even prove the consistency of formalized fragments by finitistic means. Inspite of this fact I want to give some reasons why I consider proof theory in the style of Gentzen's work still as an important and exciting field of Mathematical Logic. I will not go into applications of Gentzen's cut-elimination technique to computer science problems—this may be considered as applied proof theory—but want to concentrate on metamathematical problems and results. In this sense I am talking about Pure Proof Theory.Mathematicians are interested in structures. There is only one way to find the theorems of a structure. Start with an axiom system for the structure and deduce the theorems logically. These axiom systems are the objects of proof-theoretical research. Studying axiom systems there is a series of more or less obvious questions. (shrink)

***Angaben zur beteiligten Person Kann: Christoph Kann ist Professor für Philosophie an der Universität Düsseldorf.

Name der Zeitschrift: Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie Jahrgang: 58 Heft: 3 Seiten: 325-336.

Name der Zeitschrift: Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie Jahrgang: 57 Heft: 4 Seiten: 501-520.