Online research in philosophy

In the age of globalization, economic growth and the welfare of nations decisively depend on basic innovations. Therefore, education and knowledge is an important advantage of competition in highly developed countries with high standards of salaries, but raw material shortage. In the twenty-first century, innovations will arise from problem-oriented research, crossing over traditional faculties and disciplines. Therefore, we need platforms of interdisciplinary dialogue to choose transdisciplinary problems (e.g., environment, energy, information, health, welfare) and to cluster new portfolios of technologies. The (...) clusters of research during the excellence initiative at German universities are examples of converging sciences. The integration of natural and engineering sciences as well as medicine can only be realized if the research training programs (e.g., graduate schools) generate a considerable added value in terms of multidisciplinary experience, international networking, scientific and entrepreneurial know-how, and personality development. The Carl von Linde-Academy is presented as an example of an interdisciplinary center of research and teaching at the Technical University of Munich. (shrink)

Even beginners and young graduate students will have something to learn from this book." (Andre Hautot, Physicalia, Vol. 57 (3), 2005)"All-in-all, this highly ...

No kind of technology has had such a profound effect upon our lives and society as the new knowledge-based systems which start to overcome the traditional computer technology. Few areas of science raise such high expectations and meet with so much sceptical resistance as Artificial Intelligence (AI). So it is the task of philosophy of science and technology to analyze the factual methodological possibilities of AI-technology. After a historical sketch of AI-development (Chapter 2), the technological foundations of expert systems are (...) described (Chapter 3). It is a surprising result of analysis that expert systems are technical realizations of well-known philosophical methodologies. In this very sense, AI is not only technology, but philosophy too (Chapter 4). On the other hand the question arises if knowledge-based systems can support the work of philosophers of science who want to explain the process of scientific research, inventions, and discoveries. This application of AI for the philosophical professionals is discussed in the 5th chapter. In the 6th chapter some scenarios of AI-technology are described which are expected in the nineties. Then, besides philosophy of science and technology, we have to consider the ethical questions which arise in evaluating the factual impact of AI-technology on our lives and society. (shrink)

Mit P. Bernays geht S. Körner in der Nachfolge von I . Kant und J.F. Fries davon aus, "daß eine gewisse Art rein-anschaulicher Erkenntnis als Ausgangspunkt der Mathematik genommen werden muß." Andererseits betont Körner einen Wechsel z.B. der geometrischen Anschauung in den nicht-euklidischen Geometrien, der durch die Unabhängigkeitsbeweise für geometrische Axiome (z.B. Parallelenaxiom) möglich wurde. Analog könnte man von einem Wechsel der mengentheoretischen Anschauung in nicht-cantorschen Mengenlehren sprechen, der durch Unabhängigkeitsbeweise mengentheoretischer Axiome (z.B. Auswahlaxiom, Kontinuumshypothese) eingeleitet wurde. In der Algebra (...) werden Axiomensysteme untersucht, in denen nicht mehr alle anschaulichen Rechengesetze der (reellen) Zahlen (z.B. Kommutativgesetz bei Quaternionen, Assoziativgesetz bei Oktaven) gelten. Für die Analysis lassen sich nonstandard Modelle (A. Robinson) angeben. Angesichts dieses Pluralismus der Modelle und Axiomensysteme kann man nicht mehr von der einen anschaulichen Mathematik sprechen — wie in den Tagen von Euklid, Piaton, Leibniz und Kant. Es stellt sich daher die Aufgabe einer Erkenntnistheorie der Mathematik, deren Kategorien den modernen Problementwicklungen Rechnung tragen, aber auch ihre anschaulich-konstruktiven Grundlagen aufzeigen. (shrink)