Are physicians sometimes morally required to ease caregiver burden? In our paper we defend an affirmative answer to this question. First, we examine the well-established principle that medical care should be centered on the patient. We argue that although this principle seems to give physicians some leeway to lessen caregivers' suffering, it is very restrictive when spelled out precisely. Based on a critical analysis of existing cases for transcending patient-centeredness we then go on to argue that the medical ethos should (...) indeed contain a rule requiring physicians to alleviate caregiver burden under certain circumstances. Finally, we apply our findings to deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease. We present empirical data from a recent study of DBS indicating that spousal caregivers of Parkinson patients treated with DBS are sometimes deeply troubled by the effects of the therapy and discuss what moral obligations the treating physicians may have in such cases. (shrink)

Ethical evaluation of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease is complicated by results that can be described as involving changes in the patient’s identity. The risk of becoming another person following surgery is alarming for patients, caregivers and clinicians alike. It is one of the most urgent conceptual and ethical problems facing deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease at this time. In our paper we take issue with this problem on two accounts. First, we elucidate what is (...) meant by “becoming another person” from a conceptual point of view. After critically discussing two broad approaches we concentrate on the notion of “individual identity” which centers on the idea of “core attitudes”. Subsequently we discuss several approaches to determine what distinguishes core attitudes from those that are more peripheral. We argue for a “foundational-function model” highlighting the importance of specific dependency relations between these attitudes. Our second aim is to comment on the possibility to empirically measure changes in individual identity and argue that many of the instruments now commonly used in selecting and monitoring DBS-patients are inappropriate for this purpose. Future research in this area is advised combining a conceptual and an empirical approach as a basis of sound ethical appraisal. (shrink)

Background The significance of medical implants goes beyond technical functioning and reaches into everyday life, with consequences for individuals as well as society. Ethical aspects associated with the everyday use of implants are relevant for individuals’ lifeworlds and need to be considered in implant care and in the course of technical developments. Methods This scoping review aimed to provide a synthesis of the existing evidence regarding ethically relevant psychosocial and cultural aspects in cochlear, glaucoma and cardiovascular implants in patient-centered empirical (...) research. Systematic literature searches were conducted in EBSCOhost, Philpapers, PsycNET, Pubmed, Web of Science and BELIT databases. Eligible studies were articles in German or English language published since 2000 dealing with ethically relevant aspects of cochlear, glaucoma and passive cardiovascular implants based on empirical findings from the perspective of (prospective) implant-wearers and their significant others. Following a descriptive-analytical approach, a data extraction form was developed and relevant data were extracted accordingly. We combined a basic numerical analysis of study characteristics with a thematically organized narrative synthesis of the data. Results Sixty-nine studies were included in the present analysis. Fifty were in the field of cochlear implants, sixteen in the field of passive cardiovascular implants and three in the field of glaucoma implants. Implant-related aspects were mainly found in connection with autonomy, freedom, identity, participation and justice, whereas little to no data was found with regards to ethical principles of privacy, safety or sustainability. Conclusions Empirical research on ethical aspects of implant use in everyday life is highly relevant, but marked by ambiguity and unclarity in the operationalization of ethical terms and contextualization. A transparent orientation framework for the exploration and acknowledgment of ethical aspects in “lived experiences” may contribute to the improvement of individual care, healthcare programs and research quality in this area. Ethics-sensitive care requires creating awareness for cultural and identity-related issues, promoting health literacy to strengthen patient autonomy as well as adjusting healthcare programs accordingly. More consideration needs to be given to sustainability issues in implant development and care according to an approach of ethics-by-design. (shrink)

In der Neonatologie—wie auch in anderen Bereichen der Intensivmedizin—müssen Ärzte und Pflegende häufig die ethisch schwierige Entscheidung treffen, ob die Therapie eines schwer kranken Patienten intensiviert oder eingeschränkt werden soll. In der Literatur existieren verschiedene Instrumente zur Entscheidungsfindung, die, angewandt im Rahmen ethischer Konsile, die Nachvollziehbarkeit einer ausgesprochenen Empfehlung gewährleisten sollen. Zwei dieser verfügbaren Modelle („Schema zur ethischen Urteilsbildung nach dem Muster der aristotelischen Ethik“, Honnefelder 1994 und die „Nimwegener Methode für ethische Fallbesprechung“, Gordijn 1998) wurden anhand klinischer Fälle auf (...) ihre Anwendbarkeit in der Neonatologie hin untersucht. Unsere Studie zeigt, dass die Verwendung eines Entscheidungshilfeinstruments zwar grundsätzlich sinnvoll ist, deckt aber gleichzeitig den Konkretisierungsbedarf der oben genannten Modelle beim Einsatz in der Neonatologie auf. Der daraufhin entwickelte „Kölner Arbeitsbogen zur ethischen Entscheidungsfindung in der Neonatologie“ stellt ein auf die speziellen Bedürfnisse der Neonatologie ausgerichtetes Schema dar und könnte damit eine Lücke für den rasant expandierenden Bereich der Früh- und Neugeborenenmedizin schließen. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungIn der Neonatologie—wie auch in anderen Bereichen der Intensivmedizin—müssen Ärzte und Pflegende häufig die ethisch schwierige Entscheidung treffen, ob die Therapie eines schwer kranken Patienten intensiviert oder eingeschränkt werden soll. In der Literatur existieren verschiedene Instrumente zur Entscheidungsfindung, die, angewandt im Rahmen ethischer Konsile, die Nachvollziehbarkeit einer ausgesprochenen Empfehlung gewährleisten sollen. Zwei dieser verfügbaren Modelle („Schema zur ethischen Urteilsbildung nach dem Muster der aristotelischen Ethik“, Honnefelder 1994 und die „Nimwegener Methode für ethische Fallbesprechung“, Gordijn 1998) wurden anhand klinischer Fälle auf (...) ihre Anwendbarkeit in der Neonatologie hin untersucht. Unsere Studie zeigt, dass die Verwendung eines Entscheidungshilfeinstruments zwar grundsätzlich sinnvoll ist, deckt aber gleichzeitig den Konkretisierungsbedarf der oben genannten Modelle beim Einsatz in der Neonatologie auf. Der daraufhin entwickelte „Kölner Arbeitsbogen zur ethischen Entscheidungsfindung in der Neonatologie“ stellt ein auf die speziellen Bedürfnisse der Neonatologie ausgerichtetes Schema dar und könnte damit eine Lücke für den rasant expandierenden Bereich der Früh- und Neugeborenenmedizin schließen. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungIn der Neonatologie—wie auch in anderen Bereichen der Intensivmedizin—müssen Ärzte und Pflegende häufig die ethisch schwierige Entscheidung treffen, ob die Therapie eines schwer kranken Patienten intensiviert oder eingeschränkt werden soll. In der Literatur existieren verschiedene Instrumente zur Entscheidungsfindung, die, angewandt im Rahmen ethischer Konsile, die Nachvollziehbarkeit einer ausgesprochenen Empfehlung gewährleisten sollen. Zwei dieser verfügbaren Modelle („Schema zur ethischen Urteilsbildung nach dem Muster der aristotelischen Ethik“, Honnefelder 1994 und die „Nimwegener Methode für ethische Fallbesprechung“, Gordijn 1998) wurden anhand klinischer Fälle auf (...) ihre Anwendbarkeit in der Neonatologie hin untersucht. Unsere Studie zeigt, dass die Verwendung eines Entscheidungshilfeinstruments zwar grundsätzlich sinnvoll ist, deckt aber gleichzeitig den Konkretisierungsbedarf der oben genannten Modelle beim Einsatz in der Neonatologie auf. Der daraufhin entwickelte „Kölner Arbeitsbogen zur ethischen Entscheidungsfindung in der Neonatologie“ stellt ein auf die speziellen Bedürfnisse der Neonatologie ausgerichtetes Schema dar und könnte damit eine Lücke für den rasant expandierenden Bereich der Früh- und Neugeborenenmedizin schließen. (shrink)

This paper maps out various options for thinking about two issues: the structural relationship between practical wisdom and the moral virtues, and the various functions of practical wisdom. With the help of a case study of the virtue of honesty, three main concerns are raised for what I call the Standard Model of practical wisdom. Two other models, the Socratic Model and the Fragmentation Model, are also critically evaluated. I end by taking seriously an eliminativist approach according to which the (...) trait of practical wisdom does not exist. (shrink)

Humean Laws for Human Agents presents cutting-edge research by leading experts on the Humean account of laws, chance, possibility, and necessity. A central question in metaphysics and philosophy of science is: What are laws of nature? Humeans hold that laws are not sui generis metaphysical entities but merely particularly effective summaries of what actually happens. The most discussed recent work on Humeanism emphasizes the laws' usefulness for limited agents and uses pragmatic considerations to address fundamental and long-standing problems. The current (...) volume develops and critically examines pragmatic Humean accounts, with innovative new work on the epistemology of laws and chance, the problem of induction, counterfactuals, special science laws, and a Humean account of essence. Taken together, the papers provide a roadmap for developing pragmatic Humeanism and connate views, setting the agenda for future research. (shrink)

This article examines the methodology of a core branch of contemporary political theory or philosophy: “analytic” political theory. After distinguishing political theory from related fields, such as political science, moral philosophy, and legal theory, the article discusses the analysis of political concepts. It then turns to the notions of principles and theories, as distinct from concepts, and reviews the methods of assessing such principles and theories, for the purpose of justifying or criticizing them. Finally, it looks at a recent debate (...) on how abstract and idealized political theory should be, and assesses the significance of disagreement in political theory. The discussion is carried out from an angle inspired by the philosophy of science. (shrink)

Most people who are regular consumers of psychoactive drugs are not drug addicts, nor will they ever become addicts. In neurobiological theories, non-addictive drug consumption is acknowledged only as a “necessary” prerequisite for addiction, but not as a stable and widespread behavior in its own right. This target article proposes a new neurobiological framework theory for non-addictive psychoactive drug consumption, introducing the concept of “drug instrumentalization.” Psychoactive drugs are consumed for their effects on mental states. Humans are able to learn (...) that mental states can be changed on purpose by drugs, in order to facilitate other, non-drug-related behaviors. We discuss specific “instrumentalization goals” and outline neurobiological mechanisms of how major classes of psychoactive drugs change mental states and serve non-drug-related behaviors. We argue that drug instrumentalization behavior may provide a functional adaptation to modern environments based on a historical selection for learning mechanisms that allow the dynamic modification of consummatory behavior. It is assumed that in order to effectively instrumentalize psychoactive drugs, the establishment of and retrieval from a drug memory is required. Here, we propose a new classification of different drug memory subtypes and discuss how they interact during drug instrumentalization learning and retrieval. Understanding the everyday utility and the learning mechanisms of non-addictive psychotropic drug use may help to prevent abuse and the transition to drug addiction in the future. (shrink)

A pioneer in the field, Christian Metz applies insights of structural linguistics to the language of film. "The semiology of film . . . can be held to date from the publication in 1964 of the famous essay by Christian Metz, 'Le cinema: langue ou langage?'"--Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Times Literary Supplement "Modern film theory begins with Metz."--Constance Penley, coeditor of Camera Obscura "Any consideration of semiology in relation to the particular field signifying practice of film passes inevitably through a reference to (...) the work of Christian Metz. . . . The first book to be written in this field, [ Film Language ] is important not merely because of this primacy but also because of the issues it raises . . . issues that have become crucial to the contemporary argument."--Stephen Heath, Screen. (shrink)

Christian Georg Martin offers an argumentative reconstruction of the whole work, reading it as a critical ontology, namely as the attempt to abstract from all presuppositions and to immanently unfold conceptual determinations characterizing ...

This article examines the methodology of a core branch of contemporary political theory or philosophy: “analytic” political theory. After distinguishing political theory from related fields, such as political science, moral philosophy, and legal theory, the article discusses the analysis of political concepts. It then turns to the notions of principles and theories, as distinct from concepts, and reviews the methods of assessing such principles and theories, for the purpose of justifying or criticizing them. Finally, it looks at a recent debate (...) on how abstract and idealized political theory should be, and assesses the significance of disagreement in political theory. The discussion is carried out from an angle inspired by the philosophy of science. (shrink)

"Man ist nicht umsonst Philologe gewesen, man ist es vielleicht noch" - Nietzsches Bekenntnisse zur Philologie sind zahlreich. Auf der Grundlage von Quellenstudien beschreibt die Abhandlung Nietzsches tiefe Prägung durch die historisch-kritische Methode der Bonner Schule. Um Philosoph zu werden, musste er sich nicht, wie bisher angenommen, von der Philologie lösen, sondern sprach ihr gerade im Spätwerk eine zentrale Rolle zu. Diese Einsicht führt zur Neubestimmung von Begriffen wie Text, Genealogie, Interpretation, Perspektivismus und zur Zurückweisung herrschender Auffassungen der Wissenschaftsgeschichte, der (...) Hermeneutik und des Dekonstruktivismus. Die Studie endet mit einem von Nietzsche ausgehenden, historisch begründeten Plädoyer für die skeptisch-philologische Literaturwissenschaft. (shrink)

This collection provides the first in-depth introduction to the theory of the religious imagination put forward by renowned philosopher Douglas Hedley, from his earliest essays to his principal writings. Featuring Hedley's inaugural lecture delivered at Cambridge University in 2018, the book sheds light on his robust concept of religious imagination as the chief power of the soul's knowledge of the Divine and reveals its importance in contemporary metaphysics, ethics and politics. Chapters trace the development of the religious imagination in Christian (...) Platonism from Late Antiquity to British Romanticism, drawing on Origen, Henry More and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, before providing a survey of alternative contemporary versions of the concept as outlined by Karl Rahner, René Girard and William P. Alston, as well as within Indian philosophy. By bringing Christian Platonist thought into dialogue with contemporary philosophy and theology, the volume systematically reveals the relevance of Hedley's work to current debates in religious epistemology and metaphysics. It offers a comprehensive appraisal of the historical contribution of imagination to religious understanding and, as such, will be of great interest to philosophers, theologians and historians alike. (shrink)

I first summarize the main line of argument used by Harman and Doris against Aristotelian virtue ethics in particular. In section two I present what seems to me to be the most promising response to their argument. Finally in section three I briefly review and assess the other leading responses in the now sizable literature that has developed in this area.

The turn of the century saw a significant increase in the amount of attention being paid by philosophers to empirical issues about moral character. Dating back at least to Plato and Aristotle in the West, and Confucius in the East, philosophers have traditionally drawn on empirical data to some extent in their theorizing about character. One of the main differences in recent years has been the source of this empirical data, namely the work of social and personality psychologists on morally (...) relevant thought and action. -/- This entry briefly examines four recent empirical approaches to moral character. It will draw on the psychology literature where appropriate, but the main focus will be on the significance of that work for philosophers interested in better understanding moral character. The four areas are situationism, the CAPS model, the Big Five model, and the VIA. The remainder of this entry devotes a section to each of them. (shrink)

Die sogenannte Syphilisfrage ist von Beginn an ein Thema der Nietzscheforschung. Das vorliegende Buch versucht diese Frage zu beantworten, indem es sich auf eine aufwändige Spurensuche bis zurück zur Syphilis der Renaissance-Päpste begibt. Wie war in verschiedenen Zeiten der Umgang mit der Krankheit und der fortwährenden Furcht, infiziert zu sein? Mit welchen Subtexten bringen Dichter und Denker zur Zeit Nietzsches das Thema zur Sprache? Und wie gab Nietzsche selbst in seinen Werken und Briefen davon Kunde? Das Buch betrachtet Nietzsche im (...) europäischen Kontext des 19. Jahrhunderts, in dem die Angst vor der Lustseuche allgegenwärtig war. Christian Niemeyers Nietzsche-Lektüre im Zeichen der Syphilis eröffnet überraschende Deutungsmöglichkeiten im Werk Friedrich Nietzsches. (shrink)

How should you decide what to do when you’re uncertain about basic normative principles? A natural suggestion is to follow some "second-order:" norm: e.g., obey the most probable norm or maximize expected choiceworthiness. But what if you’re uncertain about second-order norms too—must you then invoke some third-order norm? If so, any norm-guided response to normative uncertainty appears doomed to a vicious regress. This paper aims to rescue second-order norms from the threat of regress. I first elaborate and defend the claim (...) some philosophers have made that the regress problem forces us to accept normative externalism, the view that at least one norm is incumbent on all agents regardless of their normative beliefs. But, I then argue, we need not accept externalism about first-order norms, thus closing off any question of how agents should respond to normative uncertainty. Rather, we can head off the threat of regress by ascribing external force to a single second-order norm: the enkratic principle. (shrink)

Distributed cognition refers to processes which are (i) cognitive and (ii) distributed across multiple agents or devices rather than performed by a single agent. Distributed cognition has attracted interest in several fields ranging from sociology and law to computer science and the philosophy of science. In this paper, I discuss distributed cognition from a social-choice-theoretic perspective. Drawing on models of judgment aggregation, I address two questions. First, how can we model a group of individuals as a distributed cognitive system? Second, (...) can a group acting as a distributed cognitive system be ‘rational’ and ‘track the truth’ in the outputs it produces? I argue that a group’s performance as a distributed cognitive system depends on its ‘aggregation procedure’ – its mechanism for aggregating the group members’ inputs into collective outputs – and I investigate the properties of an aggregation procedure that matter. (shrink)

This volume deals with the connection between thinking-and-speaking and our form of life. All contributions engage with Wittgenstein’s approach to this topic. As a whole, the volume takes a stance against both biological and ethnological interpretations of the notion "form of life" and seeks to promote a broadly logico-linguistic understanding instead. The structure of this book is threefold. Part one focuses on lines of thinking that lead from Wittgenstein’s earlier thought to the concept of form of life in his later (...) work. Contributions to part two examine the concrete philosophical function of this notion as well as the ways in which it differs from cognate concepts. Contributions to part three put Wittgenstein’s notion of form of life in perspective by relating it to phenomenology, ordinary language philosophy and problems in contemporary analytic philosophy. (shrink)

Neutrality, liberalism, and islam integration in Europe and America -- Limits of excluding: the French burqa law of 2010 -- Limits of including: Germany's reticence to "cooperate" with organized Islam -- "Reasonable accommodation" and the limits of multiculturalism in Canada -- The dog that didn't bark: Islam and religious pluralism in the United States -- Islam and identity in the liberal state.

Ellen Ripley stands out from the ordinary, stereotypical women in horror and science fiction movies up until the release of Alien in 1979. It isn't hard to interpret Ripley's fight against the Xenomorphs as a metaphor for the feminist struggle against sexual violence directed at women, or to see her actions as violent opposition to those who would deny her sexual self‐determination. Proponents of care‐focused approaches observe that women have a special way of moral reasoning, whereas status‐oriented thinkers seek to (...) overcome gender‐based inequalities and unjust social relationships through criticizing status differences between men and women, like stereotypes and differences in pay for the same work. Two brief examples from Aliens illustrate the difference between these approaches. This chapter considers whether Ripley exercises a feminist ethics of care. In the last scene of Alien, Ripley's strong identification with her professional role shows itself again when she makes a final entry in the Nostromo's log. (shrink)

This paper connects work in psychology on the Big Five Model to the recent debate in philosophy on the empirical adequacy of virtue ethics and virtue epistemology.

European Journal of Philosophy, EarlyView.

Über die weitreichende Bedeutung von Briefwechseln für die Formierung der frühneuzeitlichen Gelehrtenrepublik besteht seit längerem ein für geisteswissenschaftliche Verhältnisse ungewöhnlicher Konsens. Die großen Briefwechsel von Grotius, Leibniz oder Haller machen deutlich, dass die Innovationsdynamik der Gelehrtenkultur im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert im Wesentlichen auf Kommunikationsstrukturen zurückzuführen ist, die durch Korrespondenzen und durch die damit verbundenen Netzwerke etabliert wurden. Obwohl der in Halle lehrende Jurist und Philosoph Christian Thomasius (1655-1728) zu den,,schlechthin zentralen Persönlichkeiten" der deutschen und - über deren Rezeption - (...) auch der europäischen Aufklärung gehört, ist eine Edition seiner Korrespondenz zwar verschiedentlich als Desiderat benannt, tatsächlich aber noch nie in Angriff genommen worden. Die hier vorgelegte Ausgabe will diesem Desiderat abhelfen und bietet eine vollständige und kommentierte Edition der aktiven und passiven Korrespondenz von Christian Thomasius. Damit soll bislang unbekanntes Quellenmaterial erschlossen und über die Kommentierung ausgewertet werden, das einerseits der Erforschung des Oeuvre von Christian Thomasius und seinem Umfeld neue Impulse geben wird und andererseits geeignet ist, wichtige Aufschlüsse über die frühaufklärerische Gelehrtenkultur im Übergang vom 17. zum 18. Jahrhundert zu verschaffen. Hierbei ist sowohl an die Veränderungen innerhalb der Kommunikationsstrukturen der Res publica litteraria zu Beginn der Aufklärung als auch - und zwar in erster Linie - an die Rekonstruktion der Genese und der Lösung von einzelnen theoretischen wie praktischen Problemen im Kontext der im ausgehenden 17. Jahrhundert sich vollziehenden sozialen und politischen Veränderungen zu denken. (shrink)

Die Debatte um den wissenschaftlichen Realismus spielt seit einigen Jahrzehnten eine prominente Rolle in der Wissenschaftsphilosophie. In ihrem Mittelpunkt steht die Frage, ob die erfolgreichen Theorien der modernen Naturwissenschaften eine mindestens annäherungsweise wahre Beschreibung einer von uns unabhängigen physischen Wirklichkeit liefern. In der vorliegenden Studie wird der Versuch unternommen, eine Strategie zur Verteidigung des wissenschaftlichen Realismus zu entfalten, die einige der gängigen Einwände zu entkräften vermag. Die entscheidende Rolle kommt dabei der Ausarbeitung eines realistischen Beobachtungsbegriffs für die Naturwissenschaften zu. Des (...) weiteren werden empiristische und konstruktivistische Gegenpositionen zum wissenschaftlichen Realismus kritisch untersucht. (shrink)

How should you decide what to do when you're uncertain about basic normative principles (e.g., Kantianism vs. utilitarianism)? A natural suggestion is to follow some "second-order" norm: e.g., "comply with the first-order norm you regard as most probable" or "maximize expected choiceworthiness". But what if you're uncertain about second-order norms too -- must you then invoke some third-order norm? If so, it seems that any norm-guided response to normative uncertainty is doomed to a vicious regress. In this paper, I aim (...) to rescue second-order norms from this threat of regress. I first elaborate and defend the suggestion some philosophers have entertained that the regress problem forces us to accept normative externalism, the view that at least one norm is incumbent on agents regardless of their beliefs or evidence concerning that norm. But, I then argue, we need not accept externalism about first-order (e.g., moral) norms, thus closing off any question of what an agent should do in light of her normative beliefs. Rather, it is more plausible to ascribe external force to a single, second-order rational norm: the enkratic principle, correctly formulated. This modest form of externalism, I argue, is both intrinsically well-motivated and sufficient to head off the threat of regress. (shrink)

This article introduces the Verbal Irony Procedure (VIP), a first systematic method for identifying irony in natural discourse. The first section discusses previous operationalizations of irony and demonstrates that these are not explicit about which criteria were used to separate irony from non-irony. The second section argues why irony can be defined as an “utterance with a literal evaluation that is implicitly contrary to its intended evaluation.” This section also explains why ironic utterances can be placed on an evaluation scale. (...) In the third section, clauses are proposed as a good unit of analysis when looking at irony in natural discourse. The different steps of the VIP are then introduced in the fourth section and subsequently applied in a sample analysis of a natural text in the fifth section. The sixth section discusses a reliability analysis of the VIP protocol. The article ends with an outlook on how future research on verbal irony might benefit from applying the VIP. (shrink)

This paper examines three approaches to the relationship between our moral reasons to bear costs for others’ sake before and beyond the call of duty. Symmetry holds that you are required to optimise your beneficial sacrifices even when they are genuinely supererogatory. If you are required to bear a cost C for the sake of a benefit B, when they are the only costs and benefits at stake, you are also conditionally required to bear an additional cost C, for the (...) sake of an additional benefit B, when enough other costs and benefits are at stake that both of your alternatives are presumptively supererogatory. Disconnection rejects the requirement to optimise when your options are presumptively supererogatory and maintains that you have an entirely free hand to choose as you will among them. Asymmetry holds that when acting beyond the call of duty you are entitled to a measure of additional freedom compared to when you are not taking on supererogatory costs—you can prioritise your own well-being and reasons to a greater degree—but places constraints on the options that you may permissibly choose. We defend a version of Asymmetry and explore its implications for recent debates on charitable giving. (shrink)

Theories of quantum gravity generically presuppose or predict that the reality underlying relativistic spacetimes they are describing is significantly non-spatiotemporal. On pain of empirical incoherence, approaches to quantum gravity must establish how relativistic spacetime emerges from their non-spatiotemporal structures. We argue that in order to secure this emergence, it is sufficient to establish that only those features of relativistic spacetimes functionally relevant in producing empirical evidence must be recovered. In order to complete this task, an account must be given of (...) how the more fundamental structures instantiate these functional roles. We illustrate the general idea in the context of causal set theory and loop quantum gravity, two prominent approaches to quantum gravity. (shrink)

In this paper I will introduce a practical explication for the notion of expertise. At first, I motivate this attempt by taking a look on recent debates which display great disagreement about whether and how to define expertise in the first place. After that I will introduce the methodology of practical explications in the spirit of Edward Craig’s Knowledge and the state of nature along with some conditions of adequacy taken from ordinary and scientific language. This eventually culminates in the (...) respective explication of expertise according to which this term essentially refers to a certain kind of service-relation. This is why expertise should be considered as a predominantly social kind. This article will end up with a discussion of advantages and prima facie plausible objections against my account of expertise. (shrink)

The doctrine of the moral equality of combatants holds that combatants on either side of a war have equal moral status, even if one side is fighting a just war while the other is not. This chapter examines arguments that have been offered for and against this doctrine, including the collectivist position famously articulated by Walzer and McMahan’s influential individualist critique. We also explore collectivist positions that have rejected the moral equality doctrine and arguments that some individualists have offered in (...) its favor. We defend a non-categorical version of the moral equality doctrine, according to which combatants on either side of a just war sometimes (but not always) have equal moral status. On our view, some degree of culpability is necessary for liability, and non-culpable combatants may therefore sometimes remain non-liable even when they fight for an unjust cause. (shrink)

Christian Niemeyers "Nietzsche. Werk und Wirkung eines freien Geistes" geht der Frage nach, wie Nietzsches Werk heute gelesen werden soll. Für Philosophen und für interessierte Laien bietet dieser Band eine Antwort auf die Frage, wieso Nietzsche auch noch im 21. Jahrhundert wichtig ist. Christian Niemeyers Werk "Nietzsche. Werk und Wirkung eines freien Geistes" konzentriert sich auf Nietzsches Spätwerk ab Menschliches, Allzumenschliches. In dieser Phase ist Nietzsche frei von den Einflüssen Schopenhauers oder Wagners; es handelt sich um den echten Nietzsche. Was (...) an diesem Nietzsche ist auch heute noch relevant, und wo und warum verliert der späte Nietzsche die Spur? Warum geht er auch in der Rezeptionsgeschichte zunehmend verloren? Und was war seine Intention? Der renommierte Nietzsche-Forscher Christian Niemeyer geht auf diese Fragen ein und zeigt dem Leser, wie Nietzsche heute gelesen werden muss. Klar und verständlich führt Niemeyer sowohl Philosophen als auch interessierte Laien an den authentischen Nietzsche jenseits von Pathos, Rhetorik und Selbststilisierung heran. (shrink)

The present collection of essays is devoted to the Christian philosophy of the most prolific and most speculatively ambitious of the Cambridge Origenists, Henry More. Not only did More revere Origen, whom he extolled as a "holy sage" and "that miracle of the Christian world", but he also developed a philosophical system which hinged upon the Origenian notions of universal divine goodness and libertarian human freedom. Throughout his life, More subscribed to the ancient theology of the pre-existence of souls and (...) took issue with the early modern philosophies of Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes and Baruch de Spinoza. His vision of God's goodness, experienced in his early school years at Eton, became the cornerstone of an Origenist rationalism which envisaged an extended world animated by divine thought and inhabited by self-moving rational agents. More's philosophy is the crowning attainment of the early modern rediscovery of Origen as well as a neglected major rationalist system in its own right which went on to exert decisive influence upon all subsequent western metaphysics. The essays collected in the first part provide a detailed introduction to More's voluminous writings. After a comprehensive general overview of his metaphysical and ethical system, the essays expound More's historical context and his philosophical development from his early poetry in the 1640s to his mature philosophical and theological prose works of the 50s, 60s and 70s. In addition, the reception of More and Origen in the later Cambridge Origenists and in Isaac Newton is outlined. The second part contains several excerpts from More's influential Latin works first translated into English by the editor. (shrink)