Die Beiträge des Bandes unterziehen Hegels 'Phänomenologie des Geistes' nicht vorrangig einer erneuten historischen und philologisch-hermeneutischen Interpretation. Sie lesen Hegels Frühwerk vielmehr primär kritisch aus der Erfahrung seiner Nachgeschichte und systematisch aus der Perspektive gegenwärtiger Philosophien. Das von den Autoren behandelte Spektrum reicht von der Anthropologie seit Ludwig Feuerbach über den symbolphilosophischen Ansatz Ernst Cassirers bis zu an Michel Foucault und Jacques Lacan orientierten Lesarten des Herr-Knecht-Kapitels. Mit Beiträgen von: Andreas Arndt, Wolfgang Bergande, Harald Bluhm, Brady Bowman, Veit Friemert, (...) Christian Iber, Walter Jaeschke, Reinhard Mehring, Christian Möckel, Patience Moll, Ernst Müller, Erzsébet Rózsa, Christine Weckwerth u.a. (shrink)

The essays reflect the work of a broad spectrum of disciplines in humanities and cultural studies. They present a new vision of the early modern era, which attempts to register the diverse and contradictory nature of early modern culture, transcending unambiguous notions of development such as "modernization" or "secularization.".

Zusammenfassung: Obwohl sich die „Philosophie der Stadt“ in den letzten Jahrzehnten dynamisch entwickelt hat, stellt sie noch keine klar konturierte philosophische Teildisziplin dar. Dieser Zustand birgt Chancen und Probleme: Die aktuellen Debatten sind vielschichtig und kreativ, die Potentiale verschiedener Theorien, Traditionen und Methoden zur philosophischen Erschließung der Stadt werden erprobt und kombiniert. Zugleich zeigt sich nach wie vor eine gewisse Unsicherheit hinsichtlich der genauen Ziele und Aufgaben einer Philosophie der Stadt sowie hinsichtlich ihres Verhältnisses zu anderen Disziplinen der Stadtforschung. Die (...) Einleitung in den Schwerpunkt gibt Einblicke in den Stand der Debatte, arbeitet auf dieser Basis drei Ansätze der Beschreibung der Ziele und Aufgaben einer Philosophie der Stadt heraus, und ordnet die Beiträge des Schwerpunktes in diese Systematik ein. (shrink)

All spaces are assumed to be separable and metrizable. We show that, assuming the Axiom of Determinacy, every zero-dimensional homogeneous space is strongly homogeneous (i.e. all its non-empty clopen subspaces are homeomorphic), with the trivial exception of locally compact spaces. In fact, we obtain a more general result on the uniqueness of zero-dimensional homogeneous spaces which generate a given Wadge class. This extends work of van Engelen (who obtained the corresponding results for Borel spaces), complements a result of van Douwen, (...) and gives partial answers to questions of Terada and Medvedev. (shrink)

This paper offers an account of Susan Haack’s philosophy of law and points out several aspects within the legal pragmatist tradition that deserve further discussion. Firstly, a systematic presentation of legal pragmatism as it is defended by Haack, who follows Justice Oliver W. Holmes here, is given. Secondly, the limits of an evolutionary perspective of law recommended by legal pragmatism are considered. Finally, the paper discusses whether legal pragmatism is able to handle different legal traditions, thereby focusing on Anglo-American common (...) law and European civil law. (shrink)

We show that, assuming the Axiom of Determinacy, every non-selfdual Wadge class can be constructed by starting with those of level $\omega _1$ and iteratively applying the operations of expansion and separated differences. The proof is essentially due to Louveau, and it yields at the same time a new proof of a theorem of Van Wesep. The exposition is self-contained, except for facts from classical descriptive set theory.

Wie wollen wir sterben? Diese Frage steht im Mittelpunkt zahlreicher Diskurse und Publikationen: Was ist ein 'guter Tod' fuer den individuellen Patienten, was versteht unsere Gesellschaft darunter? Welche 'Sterbekultur' hat die Gegenwart? Autoren aus Medizin, Philosophie, Theologie, Psychologie, Soziologie, Geschichte, Ethik, Palliativmedizin, Hospizbewegung und weiteren Gebieten diskutieren im vorliegenden Band eine sinnvolle und menschenwuerdige Gestaltung am Lebensende. Der Vorschlag der Herausgeber zu einer "Ars moriendi nova" als neue Sterbekultur wird interdisziplinär eingebettet und mit Bezug zur gesellschaftlichen Praxis erörtert.

In his critical comment on our paper in this journal, Shaw argues that ‘false assumptions’ which we have criticised are in fact correct . He suggests that the risk of addiction to neuroenhancers may not be relevant, and that safety and research in regard to neuroenhancement do not pose unique ethical problems. Here, we demonstrate that Shaw ignores key empirical research results, trivialises addiction, commits logical errors, confuses addictions and passions, argues on a speculative basis, and fails to distinguish the (...) specific ethical conditions of clinical research from those relevant for research in healthy volunteers. Therefore, Shaw's criticism cannot convince. (shrink)

Does reasoning to a certain conclusion necessarily involve a normative belief in support of that conclusion? In many recent discussions of the nature of reasoning, such a normative belief condition is rejected. One main objection is that it requires too much conceptual sophistication and thereby excludes certain reasoners, such as small children. I argue that this objection is mistaken. Its advocates overestimate what is necessary for grasping the normative concepts required by the condition, while seriously underestimating the importance of such (...) concepts for our most fundamental agential capacities. Underlying the objection is the observation that normative thoughts do not necessarily cross our minds during reasoning. I show that proponents of the normative belief condition can accommodate this observation by taking the required normative belief to guide the reasoning process and offer a novel account of what such guidance consists in. (shrink)

Late antique Christian mysticism is a way of transcending consciousness. The culmination of the approaches of the time is represented by the writings of Gregory of Nyssa (approx. 335–390) and Pseudo-Dionys of the Areopagus (5th c.). According to them, God cannot be expressed in discursive language. Theology therefore serves to ultimately transcend consciousness and verbal language and to describe the unspeakable only in negation.

Name der Zeitschrift: Jahrbuch für Wissenschaft und Ethik Jahrgang: 20 Heft: 1 Seiten: 5-28.

A recent study by McGee from the University of Oregon has led to discussions in international media and on the web. This study addresses an interesting question and applies advanced statistics for its analysis. However, we identify several methodological flaws that invalidate the results. First, McGee tests a hypothesis that does not correspond to his main question and which does not allow McGee to derive the conclusions that are drawn in his paper and reported in the media coverage. Second, the (...) data used are not adequate for the analysis because: i) the dependent variable does not reflect the greenhouse gas emissions characteristics of organic agriculture, ii) the explanatory variables neglect the livestock sector, and iii) trade aspects are missing. Third, McGee fails to discuss his findings in the light of quite a substantial body of experimental, bio-physical research from the US and elsewhere. (shrink)

Background: As a non–European Union member state, Albania is increasingly orienting itself on Western models regarding human rights, patient rights, and legal regulations for healthcare. Due to its limited fiscal and legal power, enforcing legal and ethical regulations poses a major problem. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate nurse’s knowledge and experiences regarding ethical and legal issues in Albanian elder care in state-funded and privately run institutions. Research design: The study was conducted using an inductive and qualitative (...) design, utilizing a focused ethnographic approach, based on Roper and Shapira’s framework. Method: Data were collected between June 2017 and September 2018 using participant observation, field notes, and semi-structured interviews with 15 nurses in seven different elder care institutions. In total, 100 h of observation and 15 interviews were performed. Data analysis was based on Mayring’s qualitative content analysis. Ethical consideration: The approval for the study was obtained from UMIT—The Health and Life Sciences University, Austria. Findings: The findings of the study fell into the following main categories: “Everyday care issues,” “End-of-life issues,” “Legal issues,” and “Ethical-legal education and conflicts.” Discussion: The participants reported many ethical and legal issues when describing their everyday challenges and displayed a strong lack of ethical and legal education. Despite a wide spectrum in the quality of care between private and state-funded nursing homes, older people mostly do not know their own diagnosis. Conclusion: This study indicates that further ethical and legal education is needed. Furthermore, nurses need to be better prepared for ethical conflicts with families, as strengthening patient rights could come into conflict with traditional rights of the Albanian family. (shrink)

This chapter discusses various attempts at deriving metaethical conclusions from claims about the function of morality. In doing so, it will, for the most part, grant the truth of such function claims and focus on what metaethical theses they do and do not support. After briefly surveying various recent proposals that rely on functions claims in an attempt to debunk the possibility of robust moral truth and knowledge, the chapter focusses on the contrary, vindicatory project. The proponents of this project (...) argue that a proper understanding of morality’s function not only supports the idea that there are moral truths that we can gain knowledge of, but also provides us with a better understanding of the grounds of those truths, an understanding, moreover, that reconciles the existence of such truths with a naturalistic worldview. A critical assessment of their proposals reveals that while a promising vindicatory role for a function claim can be found in elaborating a non-representationalist conception of the truth of moral judgments, grounding moral truth in morality’s function in that way allows for naturalizing ethics in a modest sense at the most. (shrink)

Nicht zuletzt der Krieg in der Ukraine zeigt die herausragende Bedeutung des Weltraumes für unsere Gesellschaft sowie die militärische Operationsführung im Allgemeinen. Bereits in 2019 wurde durch die NATO dieser Bedeutung Rechnung getragen, in dem der Weltraum als fünfte Dimension neben Luft, Land, See und Cyber anerkannt wurde. Die für den Weltraum notwendige Infrastruktur wird gemeinhin als kritisch betrachtet und fällt damit auch unter die Abschreckungssystematik der NATO. Der Beitrag diskutiert die Abschreckungspolitik der NATO im Kontext Weltraum entlang der zwei (...) vorherrschenden Paradigmen – deterrence by punishment und deterrence by denial. In der Folge wird diskutiert, inwieweit die Förderung einer tragfähigen Responsive Space-Mentalität und deren Umsetzung in anwendbare Strategien von wesentlicher Bedeutung für die Übertragung auf eine kollektive Abschreckungsstrategie der NATO sein wird. Reaktionsfähige Weltraumkapazitäten werden es allen Mitgliedstaaten ermöglichen, zu den kollektiven Verteidigungsanstrengungen des Bündnisses beizutragen und den Grundsatz der deterrence by denial zu stärken. (shrink)

Aufmerksamkeit - ein Schlüsselkonzept gegenwärtiger humanwissenschaftlicher Forschung - ist als grundlegendes Phänomen menschlicher Intentionalität mit individuellen und sozialen Prozessen der Selektion und der Fokussierung verknüpft: Was weckt bzw. lenkt unsere Aufmerksamkeit, insbesondere unter den Bedingungen der digitalen Mediengesellschaft, und wie wird dadurch unser Bewusstsein geprägt oder sogar gesteuert? Der Band versammelt neuere Forschungsbeiträge aus Philosophie, Psychologie und Erziehungswissenschaften, die diese Fragen unter interdisziplinären Gesichtspunkten näher untersuchen.

Zusammenfassung: Zur Funktion der Vita Zusammenfassend läßt sich also festhalten, daß Daniel mit seiner Vita weder eine historische Abhandlung im Sinne der biographischen bruta facta, noch eine ausschließlich hagiographisch orientierte Darstellung bieten will, die die Verehrung eines Heiligen begründen helfen soll. Natürlich bemüht sich Daniel um die Darstellung eines Weges zur Gottesschau des Johannes, der ihn dahin geführt hat, auch noch in der Gegenwart seines Biographen Heil zu wirken. Aber es geht noch um mehr. Die Vita selbst übernimmt die Funktion (...) eines Paradigmas. Hier wird ein Mönchsleben vorgestellt, wie es im Idealfall sein soll. Dabei werden auch die Früchte genannt, die ein solches Mönchsleben hervorbringt. Geprägt ist ein solches Mönchsleben einerseits durch die (monastische) Tradition. Durch den indirekten Rückbezug des Lebens des Sinaiten auf diese Tradition wird dessen Bedeutung und Heiligkeit besonders hervorgehoben. Andererseits ist die Vita durch das monastische Ideal der Klimax bestimmt, die sie zu veranschaulichen bemüht ist. Die beiden Texte befinden sich also in enger Interdependenz. Diese Interdependenz dürfte zweierlei Absicht dienen: Zum einen der Zusammenfassung und dem Überblick, wie Daniel im letzten Satz der Vita selber hervorhebt. Zum anderen aber auch als Erweis von der Umsetzbarkeit. Stark elementarisierend macht die Vita deutlich, daß alles folgende wirklich umsetzbar ist, daß der Autor der Klimax das, was er in seiner Programmschrift fordert, auch selbst gelebt hat. Darüberhinaus hat die Vita noch eine letzte, zentrale Funktion: Sie autorisiert die Klimax gleichermaßen. Der Autor der folgenden Schrift ist eben nicht irgendein beliebiger Mönchsschriftsteller. Er wird vielmehr als zweiter, den ersten noch überbietender Moses dargestellt. Dieser Moses, der sich mühsam auf seine Gottesschau vorbereitet hat, der hat den folgenden Text gegeben. Durch die Schilderung des Lebens und der Taten seines Autors gewinnt der nun folgende Text der Klimax somit noch einmal eine besondere Bedeutung. (shrink)

Christine Tiefensee und Felix Koch formulieren in ihren Kommentaren eine Reihe interessanter Fragen und herausfordernder Einwände. Ich bin dankbar für die Gelegenheit, meine Überlegungen im Lichte ihrer Kritik zu präzisieren und zu verteidigen.

According to the traditional textbook account, the coming into existence of States is a fact, depending on the realization of effective government over territory and people. Against this background, the present contribution argues that while the formation of States is a predominately fact-based phenomenon, it is not limited to a mere test of effectiveness. The formation of States has always incorporated elements of legitimacy and even more so by virtue of the development of international law in the wake of World (...) War II. Issues of legitimacy become relevant in particular in extreme situations, i.e. in the event that the foundational principles of the contemporary international legal order as manifested in the concept of peremptory norms of general international law are at stake. (shrink)

While the importance of Consent has been discussed widely over the last few decades, interest in its study has received renewed attention in recent years, particularly regarding medical treatment, clinical research and sexual acts. The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Consent is an outstanding reference source to this exciting subject and the first collection of its kind. Comprising over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into five main parts: General Questions Normative Ethics Legal (...) Theory Medical Ethics Political Philosophy ¿ Within these sections central issues, debates and problems are examined, including: the nature and normative importance of consent, paternalism, exploitation and coercion, privacy, sexual consent, consent and criminal law, informed consent, organ donation, clinical research, and consent theory of political obligation and authority. ¿ The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Consent is essential reading for students and researchers in moral theory, applied ethics, medical ethics, philosophy of law and political philosophy. This volume will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as political science, law, medicine and social science. (shrink)

BackgroundEverybody has the right to decide whether to receive specific medical treatment or not and to provide their free, prior and informed consent to do so. As dementia progresses, people with Alzheimer’s dementia (PwAD) can lose their capacity to provide informed consent to complex medical treatment. When the capacity to consent is lost, the autonomy of the affected person can only be guaranteed when an interpretable and valid advance directive exists. Advance directives are not yet common in Germany, and their (...) validity is often questionable. Once the dementia diagnosis has been made, it is assumed to be too late to write an advance directive. One approach used to support the completion of advance directives is ‘Respecting Choices’®—an internationally recognised, evidence-based model of Advance Care Planning (ACP), which, until now, has not been evaluated for the target group of PwAD. This study’s aims include (a) to investigate the proportion of valid advance directives in a memory clinic population of persons with suspected AD, (b) to determine the predictors of valid advance directives, and (c) to examine whether the offer of ACP can increase the proportion of valid advance directives in PwAD.MethodWe intend to recruit at leastN = 250 participants from two memory clinics in 50 consecutive weeks. Of these, the first 25 weeks constitute the baseline phase (no offer of ACP), the following 25 weeks constitute the intervention phase (offer of ACP). The existence and validity of an advance directive will be assessed twice (before and after the memory clinic appointment). Moreover, potential predictors of valid advance directives are assessed.DiscussionThe results of this study will enhance the development of consent procedures for advance directives of PwAD based on the ACP/Respecting Choices (R) approach. Therefore, this project contributes towards increasing the autonomy and inclusion of PwAD and the widespread acceptance of valid advance directives in PwAD.Trial RegistrationDRKS, DRKS00026691, registered 15th of October 2021,https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00026691. (shrink)

BackgroundThe UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the reformed guardianship law in Germany, require that persons with a disability, including people with dementia in Alzheimer’s disease (PwAD), are supported in making self-determined decisions. This support is achieved through communication. While content-related communication is a deficit of PwAD, relational aspects of communication are a resource. Research in supported decision-making (SDM) has investigated the effectiveness of different content-related support strategies for PwAD but has only succeeded in improving understanding, (...) which, although one criterion of capacity to consent, is not sufficient to ensure overall capacity to consent. The aim of the ‘spatial intervention study’ of the DECIDE project is to examine an innovative resource-oriented SDM approach that focuses on relational aspects. We hypothesise that talking to PwAD in their familiar home setting (as opposed to a clinical setting) will reduce the complexity of the decision-making process and enhance overall capacity to consent. MethodsPeople with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease will be recruited from two memory clinics (N = 80). We will use a randomised crossover design to investigate the intervention effect of the decision-making place on capacity to consent. Besides reasoning capacity, which is part of overall capacity to consent and will be the primary outcome, various secondary outcomes (e.g., other aspects of capacity to consent, subjective task complexity, decisional conflict) and suspected moderating or mediating variables (e.g., meaning of home, demographic characteristics) will be assessed.DiscussionThe results of the study will be used to develop a new SDM strategy that is based on relational resources for PwAD. If a change in location achieves the anticipated improvement in capacity to consent, future research should focus on implementing this SDM strategy in a cost-effective manner in clinical practice.Trial registration: DRKS00030799. (shrink)

Psychiatric disorders share an excess of seasonal birth in winter and spring, suggesting an increase of neurodevelopmental risks. Evidence suggests season of birth can serve as a proxy of harmful environmental factors. Given that prenatal exposure of these factors may trigger pathologic processes in the neurodevelopment, they may consequently lead to brain volume alterations. Here we tested the effects of season of birth on gray matter volume in a transdiagnostic sample of patients with schizophrenia and depression compared to healthy controls. (...) We found a significant effect of season of birth on gray matter volume with reduced right hippocampal volume in summer-born compared to winter-born patients with depression. In addition, the volume of the right hippocampus was reduced independent from season of birth in schizophrenia. Our results support the potential impact of season of birth on hippocampal volume in depression. (shrink)