In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 41.1 (2003) 123-124 [Access article in PDF] Andrew Barker. Scientific Method in Ptolemy's Harmonics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp. viii + 281. Cloth, $69.95. Ptolemy's Harmonics is an important source not only for the history of music, but also for the history and philosophy of science. Two recent monographs, by J. Solomon, and A. Barker, now provide a basis for a (...) more widespread discussion of this much neglected work. Barker focuses on the part that is concerned with musical science proper (I, 1-III, 3), and more specifically on the scientific method it displays.Barker uses an analysis of Ptolemy's programmatic statements in I, 1/2, as a key to a reading of Ptolemy's treatise. His exposition has the format of a commentary, with special emphasis on the methodologically relevant passages. For the most part, he follows the order of Ptolemy's text closely, providing historical background information in excursus form. One needs to read a complete text of Ptolemy's treatise along with Barker's exposition in order to understand some of his arguments. It is preferable to also use Düring's [End Page 123] edition of the Greek text. One is rewarded with a detailed and in-depth analysis of the passages that helps one understand Ptolemy's method in harmonics as it unfolds in his treatise. This is so even if one disagrees with Barker's claims concerning Ptolemy's methodology.These claims are outlined in chapter 2, on the basis of I, 1/2 of the Harmonics. The methodological program Barker filters out of the text remains vague in a number of important respects. One misses, for example, a clear exposition on what will count as a sufficient integration of "empirical and theoretical phases," and on what will count as "empirical." This is a serious drawback, since Barker claims that Ptolemy instantiates a complex scientific methodology with a decisive, fully integrated empiricist trait. The drawback is aggravated by the fact that the already vague terms of the postulated methodology have to be watered down considerably in the subsequent chapters to make them fit with Ptolemy's actual procedures. Ptolemy does not seem to deliver even on the vague terms. One may very well remain unconvinced both by Barker's initial arguments concerning Ptolemy's methodology, and by his attempts to show that Ptolemy's procedure in the Harmonics can count as a satisfactory instantiation. Perhaps Ptolemy's intentions are less ambitious. When he states (5.13 ff. Düring, ed.) that "the aim of the student of harmonics must be to preserve the hupotheseis..., as never in any way conflicting with the perceptions that correspond to most people's estimation," he may just mean that he intends to vindicate an essentially Pythagorean (locally modified) account by showing it does not conflict with the phenomena. In my view, he certainly delivers on this less ambitious program. In fact, it seems to me that the understanding of Ptolemy's argumentative path is impeded by Barker's interpretation of Ptolemy's goal of "saving the hupotheseis" as a commitment to the integration of a genuine empiricist trait.Chapters 7 and 8 give an exposition of Ptolemy's tetrachord divisions. For the reader interested in an evaluation of the theoretical aspect of Ptolemy's scientific method, these are the central chapters of Barker's book. Barker provides a detailed analysis, together with an exposition of the historical and technical information needed for a non-specialist to follow both his and Ptolemy's argument. Barker's analysis reveals inter alia that a considerable part of Ptolemy's theory has no counterpart in the realm of phenomena perceived as musical, and that another part, concerning the single most important division of musical practice, is not justified, and not justifiable, by derivation from the principles. It is difficult to see how Ptolemy's account can nevertheless be viewed as a genuine integration of empirical and theoretical aspects. It appears to be an attempt at showing that an essentially Pythagorean theory... (shrink)

In this dissertation, I investigate the role of Aristotle's theory of science, and specifically the homogeneity criterion, for the set-up of Aristotle's metaphysics project as sketched in Met. IV, 1--3 and VI, 1. I argue that Aristotelian metaphysics takes shape through a dialectical argument stretching from Met. I to VI, 1. Along this path, both Aristotle's theory of science , and the Platonist competitor in metaphysics are constantly kept in view. They propel the argument at crucial stages. The resulting metaphysics (...) is compatible with Aristotle's theory of science, though it is not a direct application of it. Rather, metaphysics is a content-neutral complement to the content-specific sciences. The Platonist competitor remains refuted. Some of its central ideas and tools are nevertheless assimilated into Aristotelian metaphysics. ;Aristotle's postulate of a universal science of being seems to contradict a central requirement for a science: the homogeneity principle. According to the Posterior Analytics, every science has its specific subject matter , which it explores in terms of predicative content, and to which it is restricted. Being, does not constitute such a genos. Aristotle has to find a feature which can play a role for 'being' that is analogous to 'genos' in a special science. Aristotle finds it in the pros hen notion . Pros hen makes the content-neutral, focal structure of being transparent. It is not an extension of synonymy . With the help of pros hen, Aristotle can construct a content-neutral universal metaphysics project, solving the puzzles which arose in III, 1/2 precisely as a conflict between the questions which metaphysics should address and the homogeneity criterion for content-specific sciences. His theory of science remains fully intact for the sciences for which it was designed. The objections against Platonist metaphysics remain in place as well. The content-neutral analysis of being meets the expectations formulated for metaphysics in I, 1/2, on the basis of endoxa. Aristotle's project is constituted by what is commonly called 'general metaphysics'. It includes a consideration of the divine. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 41.3 (2003) 409-410 [Access article in PDF] Christoph Riedweg. Pythagoras: Leben, Lehre, Nachwirkung. Munich: Beck, 2002. Pp. 206. Cloth, € 19.90.Another book about Pythagoras? Hasn't it been shown that we do not have any precise information about him, especially about his contributions as a scholar and a philosopher? Maybe we have been overly skeptical about the information transmitted about Pythagoras. In Pythagoras: Leben, (...) Lehre, Nachwirkung, Christoph Riedweg suggests we should take a different perspective, and he shows what we might gain if we loosen our standards on what counts as information about Pythagoras's contribution to the history of philosophy and science. We can reconstruct a cluster of ideas, motifs, and motivations relevant for early Pythagoreanism. This will give us an idea of the factors influencing Pythagoras and those influenced in turn by him. Even if we will not know what exactly he claimed or achieved (whether he did or did not use the Pythagorean psephoi, for example), we can still get a reasonably informative (if somewhat fuzzy) picture of Pythagoras's contribution and his significance. Riedweg's book outlines the terrain for such an approach. It is what it announces to be: an introduction (Einführung). It does not promise, nor does it offer, any radically new theories on Pythagoras.I will focus on chapters 2 and 3 (61-149) of the book. After a survey of ancient reports and legends about Pythagoras (chapter 1), Riedweg approaches the historical Pythagoras through a sketch of the cultural setting in which he lived and worked, and through the reactions of his contemporaries and near contemporaries (chapter 2, sections 1-2). Unfortunately, a reference to the socio-political sphere is missing. This is a serious gap, given the poignancy of the socio-political changes in the sixth-century Ionian poleis, and given Pythagoras's cooperation with the local aristocratic elites, for political purposes. One is, however, provided with a sketch of the contemporary cultural setting in which Pythagoras put forth his religious and his philosophical teachings—philosophy, art, technology, contacts (chapter 2, section 1). Apparently (Riedweg documents this conclusively), Pythagoras provoked extreme reactions from the very beginning, even from people that lived far away. Riedweg's label "Charismatiker"—a borrowing from Weberian sociology of religion—seems fitting. The sixth- and fifth-century "outside" testimonies (chapter 2, section 2) are predominantly polemical. In the religious sphere, Pythagoras comes across as a mystic, with a guru-attitude. But he also constructed a sophia, using the writings and ideas of others. The contents of this sophia remain unclear. The witnesses accuse Pythagoras of foul trickery and plagiarism. Nevertheless, he must have produced some sort of systematic explanatory account of the world, its origin and its meaning. From the very beginning, both the "guru" and the "scholar" aspect are thus attested for Pythagoras. The content of the religious teachings is much more concrete than the content of Pythagoras's own philosophical and scientific doctrines. This trend continues as Riedweg examines later sources for the reconstruction of Pythagoras's ideas (chapter 2, section 3). As is already known, we get a relatively accurate picture of Pythagoras's position regarding rituals, lifestyle, and beliefs about the nature of the human soul (chapter 2, section 3, a-f), i.e., his ethical and religious [End Page 409] teachings. With regard to his contributions to science and philosophy, however, we are faced with the problem that we are no longer in the position to differentiate between early Pythagoreanism and Pythagoras himself—even if we leave the Platonic and the Platonist tradition out of the picture, and even where we can reconstruct details. Riedweg bases his outline predominantly on Aristotle's reports on pre-Platonic Pythagoreanism.Though Aristotle's evaluation rests mostly on Philolaus, the picture he develops for early Pythagoreanism throws some light also on Pythagoras himself. Riedweg thus uses Aristotle for an elucidation of a context for Pythagoras's contributions as a philosopher and scientist (chapter II, section 3, i). Another source of indirect information consists in comparisons with Orphic texts. Riedweg succeeds... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 41.3 (2003) 409-410 [Access article in PDF] Christoph Riedweg. Pythagoras: Leben, Lehre, Nachwirkung. Munich: Beck, 2002. Pp. 206. Cloth, € 19.90.Another book about Pythagoras? Hasn't it been shown that we do not have any precise information about him, especially about his contributions as a scholar and a philosopher? Maybe we have been overly skeptical about the information transmitted about Pythagoras. In Pythagoras: Leben, (...) Lehre, Nachwirkung, Christoph Riedweg suggests we should take a different perspective, and he shows what we might gain if we loosen our standards on what counts as information about Pythagoras's contribution to the history of philosophy and science. We can reconstruct a cluster of ideas, motifs, and motivations relevant for early Pythagoreanism. This will give us an idea of the factors influencing Pythagoras and those influenced in turn by him. Even if we will not know what exactly he claimed or achieved (whether he did or did not use the Pythagorean psephoi, for example), we can still get a reasonably informative (if somewhat fuzzy) picture of Pythagoras's contribution and his significance. Riedweg's book outlines the terrain for such an approach. It is what it announces to be: an introduction (Einführung). It does not promise, nor does it offer, any radically new theories on Pythagoras.I will focus on chapters 2 and 3 (61-149) of the book. After a survey of ancient reports and legends about Pythagoras (chapter 1), Riedweg approaches the historical Pythagoras through a sketch of the cultural setting in which he lived and worked, and through the reactions of his contemporaries and near contemporaries (chapter 2, sections 1-2). Unfortunately, a reference to the socio-political sphere is missing. This is a serious gap, given the poignancy of the socio-political changes in the sixth-century Ionian poleis, and given Pythagoras's cooperation with the local aristocratic elites, for political purposes. One is, however, provided with a sketch of the contemporary cultural setting in which Pythagoras put forth his religious and his philosophical teachings—philosophy, art, technology, contacts (chapter 2, section 1). Apparently (Riedweg documents this conclusively), Pythagoras provoked extreme reactions from the very beginning, even from people that lived far away. Riedweg's label "Charismatiker"—a borrowing from Weberian sociology of religion—seems fitting. The sixth- and fifth-century "outside" testimonies (chapter 2, section 2) are predominantly polemical. In the religious sphere, Pythagoras comes across as a mystic, with a guru-attitude. But he also constructed a sophia, using the writings and ideas of others. The contents of this sophia remain unclear. The witnesses accuse Pythagoras of foul trickery and plagiarism. Nevertheless, he must have produced some sort of systematic explanatory account of the world, its origin and its meaning. From the very beginning, both the "guru" and the "scholar" aspect are thus attested for Pythagoras. The content of the religious teachings is much more concrete than the content of Pythagoras's own philosophical and scientific doctrines. This trend continues as Riedweg examines later sources for the reconstruction of Pythagoras's ideas (chapter 2, section 3). As is already known, we get a relatively accurate picture of Pythagoras's position regarding rituals, lifestyle, and beliefs about the nature of the human soul (chapter 2, section 3, a-f), i.e., his ethical and religious [End Page 409] teachings. With regard to his contributions to science and philosophy, however, we are faced with the problem that we are no longer in the position to differentiate between early Pythagoreanism and Pythagoras himself—even if we leave the Platonic and the Platonist tradition out of the picture, and even where we can reconstruct details. Riedweg bases his outline predominantly on Aristotle's reports on pre-Platonic Pythagoreanism.Though Aristotle's evaluation rests mostly on Philolaus, the picture he develops for early Pythagoreanism throws some light also on Pythagoras himself. Riedweg thus uses Aristotle for an elucidation of a context for Pythagoras's contributions as a philosopher and scientist (chapter II, section 3, i). Another source of indirect information consists in comparisons with Orphic texts. Riedweg succeeds... (shrink)

This paper explores the cooperation mechanisms for the prisoner’s dilemma game, a canonical example for studying cooperation mechanisms, with Bayesian games. By the approach allowing simultaneous moves with the assumption that the players might be self-interested or norm-following, we establish four possible Bayesian game models, all of which are cooperation mechanisms for the prisoner’s dilemma game except for the model in which one of the two players must be self-interested.

In this article, we develop the concept of Transparency by Design that serves as practical guidance in helping promote the beneficial functions of transparency while mitigating its challenges in automated-decision making environments. With the rise of artificial intelligence and the ability of AI systems to make automated and self-learned decisions, a call for transparency of how such systems reach decisions has echoed within academic and policy circles. The term transparency, however, relates to multiple concepts, fulfills many functions, and holds different (...) promises that struggle to be realized in concrete applications. Indeed, the complexity of transparency for ADM shows tension between transparency as a normative ideal and its translation to practical application. To address this tension, we first conduct a review of transparency, analyzing its challenges and limitations concerning automated decision-making practices. We then look at the lessons learned from the development of Privacy by Design, as a basis for developing the Transparency by Design principles. Finally, we propose a set of nine principles to cover relevant contextual, technical, informational, and stakeholder-sensitive considerations. Transparency by Design is a model that helps organizations design transparent AI systems, by integrating these principles in a step-by-step manner and as an ex-ante value, not as an afterthought. (shrink)

本书包括:古朝鲜三国及统一新罗时期、高丽时期、朝鲜王朝(李朝)时期、近代时期四编。.

The article explores the underlying reasons for patients’ self‐perception of being a burden (SPB) in family settings, including its impact on relationships when wishes to die (WTD) are expressed. In a prospective, interview‐based study of WTD in patients with advanced cancer and non‐cancer disease (organ failure, degenerative neurological disease, and frailty) SPB was an important emerging theme. In a sub‐analysis we examined (a) the facets of SPB, (b) correlations between SPB and WTD, and (c) SPB as a relational phenomenon. We (...) analyzed 248 interviews with 62 patients, their family caregivers, and professionals using grounded theory and interpretive phenomenological analysis. SPB appeared as important empathic concern in care situations. Patients expressed many sorts of concerns for others, but also perceived an altered self‐understanding that did not meet mutual expectations within relationships. In SPB associated with WTD three constellations were found: (a) WTD to unburden others; (b) patients decided against hastening death to prevent being a further burden to others (in these cases, the SPB counteracted the wish to die); and (c) both wishes for and against dying were sustained by SPB. These patients often felt paralyzed and suffered deeply. Family caregivers felt emotionally touched by SPB and tried to unburden patients by caring and compassion. We concluded that the impact of SPB on a WTD and the various meanings the facets of SPB have in balancing relationships need to be worked out individually. An early palliative and narrative approach is warranted. (shrink)

What constitutes our number concept? What makes it possible for us to employ numbers the way we do; which mental faculties contribute to our grasp of numbers? What do we share with other species, and what is specific to humans? How does our language faculty come into the picture? This 2003 book addresses these questions and discusses the relationship between numerical thinking and the human language faculty, providing psychological, linguistic and philosophical perspectives on number, its evolution and its development in (...) children. Heike Wiese argues that language as a human faculty plays a crucial role in the emergence of systematic numerical thinking. She characterises number sequences as powerful and highly flexible mental tools that are unique to humans and shows that it is language that enables us to go beyond the perception of numerosity and to develop such mental tools. (shrink)

Natural selection is a general process that operates in different populations. To characterise natural selection as a mechanism within the framework of the new mechanistic philosophy, it is required to identify a pertinent phenomenon for which natural selection is responsible. Firstly, every case identified by evolutionary biologists as instances of natural selection must align with this mechanistic characterisation. Secondly, natural selection should genuinely be responsible for the attributed phenomenon. While philosophers often posit producing adaptation as the quintessential phenomenon, Pérez-González and (...) Luque challenge this perspective, contending that not all instances of natural selection are cases where natural selection produces adaptation. This paper further supports Pérez-González and Luque’s objection and demonstrates that natural selection is also not responsible for the increased frequency of traits with a greater expected number of offspring. Furthermore, the paper argues that even if there is a phenomenon that allows for the mechanistic characterisation of natural selection to encompass all instances, it is improbable that natural selection assumes responsibility for it. Consequently, characterising natural selection as a mechanism emerges as an implausible stance. (shrink)

Poetisierende Musikbeschreibungen werden von der Wissenschaft, von Musikern und Konzertbesuchern heute mehr belächelt als ernst genommen. Durch das Ansprechen von Einbildungskraft und Gefühl haben sie aber eine Unmittelbarkeit, die der kompositionstechnischen Analyse in der Regel fehlt. Die Wurzeln einer metaphorischen Musikbeschreibung um die Wende zum 19. Jahrhundert sind dabei gleichermaßen historisch wie systematisch zu fassen. Zahlreiche Zitate aus den Fachzeitschriften bis zur Jahrhundertmitte dokumentieren die Herausbildung eines festumrissenen Bildervorrats, um musikalische Eindrücke zur Sprache zu bringen. Der kreative Umgang mit Beschreibungskonventionen (...) ist für die Musikkritiken von E.T.A. Hoffmann, Adolf Bernhard Marx, Ludwig Rellstab und vor allem Robert Schumann kennzeichnend. (shrink)

We argue for a perspective on bilingual heritage speakers as native speakers of both their languages and present results from a large-scale, cross-linguistic study that took such a perspective and approached bilinguals and monolinguals on equal grounds. We targeted comparable language use in bilingual and monolingual speakers, crucially covering broader repertoires than just formal language. A main database was the open-access RUEG corpus, which covers comparable informal vs. formal and spoken vs. written productions by adolescent and adult bilinguals with heritage-Greek, (...) -Russian, and -Turkish in Germany and the United States and with heritage-German in the United States, and matching data from monolinguals in Germany, the United States, Greece, Russia, and Turkey. Our main results lie in three areas. We found non-canonical patterns not only in bilingual, but also in monolingual speakers, including patterns that have so far been considered absent from native grammars, in domains of morphology, syntax, intonation, and pragmatics. We found a degree of lexical and morphosyntactic inter-speaker variability in monolinguals that was sometimes higher than that of bilinguals, further challenging the model of the streamlined native speaker. In majority language use, non-canonical patterns were dominant in spoken and/or informal registers, and this was true for monolinguals and bilinguals. In some cases, bilingual speakers were leading quantitatively. In heritage settings where the language was not part of formal schooling, we found tendencies of register leveling, presumably due to the fact that speakers had limited access to formal registers of the heritage language. Our findings thus indicate possible quantitative differences and different register distributions rather than distinct grammatical patterns in bilingual and monolingual speakers. This supports the integration of heritage speakers into the native-speaker continuum. Approaching heritage speakers from this perspective helps us to better understand the empirical data and can shed light on language variation and change in native grammars. Furthermore, our findings for monolinguals lead us to reconsider the state-of-the art on majority languages, given recurring evidence for non-canonical patterns that deviate from what has been assumed in the literature so far, and might have been attributed to bilingualism had we not included informal and spoken registers in monolinguals and bilinguals alike. (shrink)

Despite decades of management and conservation efforts, we have seen only limited success in rebuilding marine life and restoring ocean ecosystems from human-inflicted damage on a global scale. I suggest that we need to harness both our emotional and rational sides to create a more powerful movement to heal the ocean and rebuild its abundance and diversity. Love and compassion fuel our desire and urge for change and provide a compass that can guide our actions. Science and knowledge provide ways (...) for collecting and interpreting data and information that can enhance our understanding and support our decisions and actions. Combining our emotional and rational sides can inspire our thinking and transform our actions in new, creative ways. In order to affect wide-ranging and long-lasting change, love and knowledge need to work together to transform our collective relationship with the ocean. (shrink)

本书研究了西方科学哲学中的八个主要问题,即:认知意义的判断标准、归纳与验证、科学说明模型及其问题、科学的发展模式、科学划界、科学实在论、科学与价值、社会科学哲学。.

Vādanyāya is one of the representative works of Dharmakīrti. It is concerned with debate logic and deals with win-or-lose reasoning rules in the broad sense of logic. In this paper, we will concentrate our discussion on Dharmakīrti’s theory of nigrahasthāna (fault) in his debate logic, a key issue in Vādanyāya. First, we point out that the justification of three logical reasons as proof conditions of debate constitutes the rational point of departure for Dharmakīrti’s debate logic. Second, we analyze the differences (...) between Dharmakīrti’s and the Naiyāyika’s notion of debate and point out that Dharmakīrti’s ‘debate’ involves two parties (the disputant and the opponent) attempting to rationally refute the other’s opinion to persuade the other to change their wrong ideas. Last, based on the discussion of Dharmakīrti’s concept of debate logic, we identify seven types of nigrahasthāna in Vādanyāya with regard to the two parties of a debate (the disputant and the opponent). (shrink)

分: 哲学与时代精神、现代自然科学与辩证唯物主义、马克思主义哲学与宗教等9个专题。.

This essay examines the depiction of French ragout in eighteenth-century English literature, arguing that the dish reflects social apprehension regarding ideological, cultural, and military conflicts between England and France. This essay first traces a brief history of ragout, along with an overview of the dish’s cultural connotation and complexity, in eighteenth-century English society. It next delves into the concept of eighteenth-century English Francophobia, demonstrating that this sentiment was a mixture of national pride and anxiety amid England’s identity crisis under the (...) potential French cultural threat. Finally, the essay examines ragout in eighteenth-century English literature and identifies the dish as the target of French pretension and cultural invasion. This research highlights the fact that eighteenth-century English authors’ satirical portrait of ragout underscored xenophobic gastronomy and cautioned against a simple interpretation of the dish. The caricature and representation of ragout as a feminized, artificial, and laughable dish reinforces eighteenth-century English writers’ concern for the invasion of foreign culture by emphasizing the contrast between authentic ‛Anglo’ meat consumption and ‛Franco’ sophistication. (shrink)

Nachdem der Zusammenhang zwischen Sprache und Emotion in der Linguistik lange Zeit vernachlässigt wurde, erhält diese Frage seit etwa 25 Jahren so hohe Aufmerksamkeit, dass von einem 'emotional turn' gesprochen werden kann. Der vorliegende Band dient als Zusammenfassung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes zu diesem komplexen Thema. Berücksichtigt werden Erkenntnisse aus verschiedenen Teildisziplinen, z.B. Semiotik, Lexikologie, Pragmatik, Kognitive Linguistik und Textlinguistik. Im methodischen Teil wird gezeigt, wie eine emotionslinguistische Analyse emotive Strukturen in Texten offenlegen kann, wobei die vorgeschlagene Methode leicht an verschiedene (...) Fragestellungen angepasst werden kann. Die empirische Überprüfung ergibt einen Vergleich von drei sehr unterschiedlichen Textkorpora: Untersucht werden Briefe von Franz Kafka als Beispiel für einen Individualstil, Nachrichtenartikel von verschiedenen Online-Plattformen als Beispiel für Medientexte und die Kommunikationsform Twitter als Beispiel für Online-Kommunikation. Forschende, Lehrende und Studierende finden hier sowohl einen umfassenden Überblick über theoretische Grundlagen als auch Anregungen für die Anwendung in der eigenen Forschung und Lehre. (shrink)

The respiration of oxygen, while essential to aerobic organisms for the generation of energy, leads to the formation of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) as harmful byproducts. ROIs damage nucleic acids, lipids and proteins. Therefore, protective mechanisms against elevated intracellular ROI levels, referred to as oxidative stress, have evolved. These include the activation of transcription factors which elevate the expression of protective enzymes. Eukaryotic cells have also evolved the ability to specifically generate ROIs are used as second messengers to activate gene (...) expression. Here we will discuss both prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcription factors that respond to ROIs. In addition, transcription factors will be described that are activated by either exposure to antioxidants, which reduce the intracellular ROI concentration, or by hypoxia, the absence of oxygen. (shrink)

本书主要是针对我国当前改革建设的实践,运用马克思主义的哲学原理,加以深入的论述,特别是关于改革与社会心理、人的本质和人的价值、思维方式的变革、宗教等问题的论述、有新意、有深度。.

Why Lazarus Laughed explicates the essential doctrine shared by the traditions of Zen Buddhism, Advaita, and Tantra. Wei Wu Wei has become an underground spiritual favorite whose fans anxiously await each reissued book.

Long description: Welche Triebkräfte und Möglichkeitsräume gesellschaftlicher Veränderung verbinden sich mit den Dynamiken des modernen Kapitalismus? Tino Heims breit angelegte Studie zielt auf die Überwindung analytischer Defizite der jüngsten Kapitalismusdebatte. In einer theoriesystematischen Verknüpfung und gegenstandsbezogenen Weiterentwicklung der Analyseraster von Marx, Foucault und Bourdieu - die auch als Kritik dominanter Rezeptionslinien antritt - werden zentrale kapitalistische Funktionslogiken und Krisendynamiken ebenso prägnant analysiert wie historische Transformationen konkreter Modi kapitalistischer Vergesellschaftung. Damit wird zugleich ein Beitrag zur Neubestimmung einer analytisch-kritischen Sozialwissenschaft jenseits normativer (...) Sozialkritik geleistet. (shrink)

German; one contribution each in English and French.

German; one contribution each in English and French.

This paper provides an introduction to ethical issues arising in children's research that takes place in school-settings. It addresses three main areas of ethical concern: the informed consent process, confidentiality, and harm and benefit. Informed consent in school settings is characterized by the involvement of multiple stakeholders, including not just researchers, parents and individual children but also school principals, teachers and the children's peer group. The added complexity of the setting has implications for the management of the informed consent process, (...) including the decision at what point and in which manner each stakeholder group needs to be involved in the process. The presence and divergent roles of these multiple stakeholders in the school setting also have implications for addressing issues of confidentiality, especially due to the group setting in which participants take part in the research and role expectations within school settings. Harm and benefit in school-based research are of a non-physical nature; relevant areas of concern relate primarily to the potential for psychological and social harm, realistic presentation of likely benefits from research and the issue of rewards for research participation. (shrink)

Drawing on data from a comparative ethnographic study on media usage in transnational families, this paper contributes to a reappraisal of polymedia theory. Two main theoretical assumptions are reconsidered. First, it is demonstrated why the equal availability assumption has to be revised in light of the complex interactions between the corporeal, communicative and social mobilities which together constitute transnational migration. Second, it is argued that the techno-socially accomplished co-presence in transnational families depends more on the creative appropriation and combination of (...) different media channels and communication forms than on the choice between them. In order to empirically investigate the specific needs for, and forms of co-presence in families, the concept of ‘registers of presence’ is proposed. It allows us to understand in detail in what ways and in which constellations transnational families create togetherness with the help of communication technologies. (shrink)

tRNA nucleotidyltransferase adds the invariant CCA‐terminus to the tRNA 3′‐end, a central step in tRNA maturation. This CCA‐adding enzyme is a specialized RNA polymerase that synthesizes the CCA sequence at high fidelity in all kingdoms of life. Recently, an additional function of this enzyme was identified, where it generates a specific degradation tag on structurally unstable tRNAs. This tag consists of an additional repeat of the CCA triplet, leading to a 3′‐terminal CCACCA sequence. In order to explain how the enzyme (...) catalyzes this extended polymerization reaction, Kuhn et al. solved a series of co‐crystal structures of the CCA‐adding enzyme from Archaeoglobus fulgidus in complex with different tRNA substrates. They show that the enzyme forces a bound unstable tRNA to refold the acceptor stem for a second round of CCA‐addition, while stable transcripts are robust enough to resist this isomerization. In this review, we discuss how the CCA‐adding enzyme uses a simple yet very elegant way to scrutinize its substrates for sufficient structural stability and, consequently, functionality. (shrink)

The article takes Helmuth Plessner’s Political Anthropology from 1931 as a postfoundationalist theory of society avant la lettre - which is very similar to the later works of Claude Lefort, Ernesto Laclau, and Chantal Mouffe. Or, the article takes Plessner’s essay as an ‘ontology’ of the Political. After introducing remarks on the historical debates, in which Plessner aimed to intervene, his theory of the Political is reconstructed, within the three categories of ‘unfathomability’, of the constitutive outside, and of the vulnerability (...) of the human body. In a third and last step, Plessner’s most central and most problematic category for the Political - the ‘popular existence’ - is discussed: The ‘people’ is made visible as being a key notion of postfoundational theories of modern democracy, for it is - beneath the ‘Individual’ - one of the imaginary foundations, one of the foundational outsides of a democratically instituted collective. (shrink)

Fields for Innovative Future Research in History of Science – A Historian of Technology's Perspective. The observations at hand present a historian of technology's perspective and sketch three fields for innovative future research: (past) ‘futures’ and future scenarios in themselves; the challenges as imposed by recent developments in science, technology, and society (e.g. digitization, climate change); and the twisting and flipping of established perspectives (e.g. by focusing on ‘failed’ or ‘old’ science and technology and their declension). Moreover, historians of science, (...) technology, and medicine should participate in emerging transdisciplinary fields such as Environmental Humanities. (shrink)

This article suggests evidence for and reasons why prior acquisition may either facilitate or inhibit acquisition of a new construction. It investigates acquisition of the German passive and future constructions which contain a lexical verb with either the auxiliary sein “to be” or werden “to become”, and are related through these to potential supporting constructions. We predicted that a supported construction should be acquired earlier, faster, and unusually rapidly. An inhibited construction should show an extended depressed usage. We analyzed a (...) dense corpus of a German boy between 2;0 and 5;0. He acquired the sein- before the werden-passive. The former was supported by his prior acquisition of the sein copula, whereas the werden-passive itself supported one werden copula construction. He acquired the werden-future extremely slowly due to the hindrance of a semantically identical construction. These results fit with an emergentist approach in which apparently “sudden” acquisition is still due to gradual learning mechanisms. (shrink)