ZusammenfassungDas Bekanntwerden der Schriften des Aristoteles im 13. Jahrhundert hat zu einer lebhaften Kommentierung seiner Schriften durch die abendländischen Philosophen und Theologen geführt. Zu ihnen zählt Dietrich von Freiberg. Es fällt auf, daß er häufig in seinen Schriften nicht nur den antiken Philosophen zitiert, sondern auch arabische Philosophen, vor allem Averroes. Das gilt für philosophische Fragen wie die Erkenntnislehre, kaum aber für theologische wie die Eschatologie.Er scheut sich jedoch nicht, die Möglichkeit des selbständigen Bestehens der Akzidentien philosophisch zu untersuchen, (...) da Thomas von Aquin das Transsubstantiationsdogma von 1215 philosophisch zu begründen versuchte. Er zieht, wie Thomas, Aristoteles und seinen arabischen Kommentator heran und weist nach, daß – philosophisch gesehen – die Abtrennbarkeit der Akzidentien von der Substanz unmöglich ist. Damit wird deutlich, daß jedenfalls mit Hilfe der aristotelisch-averroistischen Philosophie die Lehraussage des Transsubstantiationsdogma nicht bewiesen werden kann.SummaryThe introduction of Aristoteles' writings during the 13th century led to a vibrant commentating of his writings by western philosophers and theologians. Among them is Dietrich of Freiberg. One notices, that Dietrich not only quote this antique philosopher, but also Arab philosophers, especially Averroes. This is the case in philosophical questions like the field of realisation, less in theological questions like eschatological ones.Nevertheless, Dietrich does not hesitate to examine from a philosophical point of view the possibility of the independent existence of the akzidenz, as Thomas of Aquin tried to support the doctrine of transubstantiation of 1215 with philosophical arguments. Dietrich uses, like Thomas, Aristotles' and his Arab commentaries and proves – from a philosophical point of view – the impossibility of separating the akzidenz from the substanz. It becomes obvious, that it is of no help to use the Aristotelian-Averroes philosophy to prove the doctrine of transubstantiation. (shrink)

Through modern driver assistant systems, algorithmic decisions already have a significant impact on the behavior of vehicles in everyday traffic. This will become even more prominent in the near future considering the development of autonomous driving functionality. The need to consider ethical principles in the design of such systems is generally acknowledged. However, scope, principles and strategies for their implementations are not yet clear. Most of the current discussions concentrate on situations of unavoidable crashes in which the life of human (...) beings is existentially affected. In this paper, we argue that ethical considerations should be mandatory for any algorithmic decision of autonomous vehicles, instead of a limitation to hazard situations. Such an ethically aligned behavior is relevant because autonomous vehicles, like any other traffic participants, operate in a shared public space, where every behavioral decision impacts the operational possibilities of others. These possibilities concern the fulfillment of a road-user’s safety, utility and comfort needs. We propose that, to operate ethically in such space, an autonomous vehicle will have to take its behavior decisions according to a just distribution of operational possibilities among all traffic participants. Using an application on a partially-autonomous prototype vehicle, we describe how to apply and implement concepts of distributive justice to the driving environment and demonstrate the impact on its behavior in comparison to an advanced but egoistic decision maker. (shrink)

While attention is widely recognised as central to perception, the term is often used to mean very different things. Prominent theories of attention — notably the premotor theory — relate it to planned or executed eye movements. This contrasts with the notion of attention as a gain control process that weights the information carried by different sensory channels. We draw upon recent advances in theoretical neurobiology to argue for a distinction between attentional gain mechanisms and salience attribution. The former depends (...) upon estimating the precision of sensory data, while the latter is a consequence of the need to actively engage with the sensorium. Having established this distinction, we consider the intimate relationship between attention and salience. (shrink)

There is a steadily growing literature on the role of the immune system in psychiatric disorders. So far, these advances have largely taken the form of correlations between specific aspects of inflammation (e.g. blood plasma levels of inflammatory markers, genetic mutations in immune pathways, viral or bacterial infection) with the development of neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression. A fundamental question remains open: why are psychiatric disorders and immune responses intertwined? To address this would require a (...) step back from a historical mind–body dualism that has created such a dichotomy. We propose three contributions of active inference when addressing this question: translation, unification, and simulation. To illustrate these contributions, we consider the following questions. Is there an immunological analogue of sensory attenuation? Is there a common generative model that the brain and immune system jointly optimise? Can the immune response and psychiatric illness both be explained in terms of self-organising systems responding to threatening stimuli in their external environment, whether those stimuli happen to be pathogens, predators, or people? Does false inference at an immunological level alter the message passing at a psychological level (or vice versa) through a principled exchange between the two systems? (shrink)

Kann die Kritische Theorie im erziehungswissenschaftlichen und bildungspolitischen Diskurs noch Aktualität beanspruchen? In ihren Beiträgen befassen sich die Autorinnen und Autoren mit einzelnen erziehungs- und bildungstheoretischen Aspekten des aktuellen Diskurses sowie mit pädagogisch relevanten Themen aus dem gesellschaftspolitischen Bereich. Im Fokus steht die Frage, ob die Denkinstrumente der Kritischen Theorie noch zur Analyse von Entwicklungen und zur Aufklärung über Widersprüche im erziehungswissenschaftlichen Diskurs beitragen können.

Central parts of the natural law theories of Grotius and Pufendorf assume that persons by nature have individual realms of their own, violations of which constitute a wrong. This is the basis for their accounts of promises, ownership and reactions against wrongs. These accounts are significantly independent of any assumption that a superior being imposes obligations: rather, the individuals themselves create obligations by their own acts of will. The translator's introducton draws attention to the author's relation to Hägerström, and remarks (...) briefly on related points in Ames, Köhler and Georges Davy. (shrink)

In this paper we consider the possibility of a Quantum Molinism : such a view applies an analogue of the Molinistic account of free will‘s compatibility with God’s foreknowledge to God’s knowledge of (supposedly) indeterministic events at a quantum level. W e ask how (and why) a providential God could care for and know about a world with this kind of indeterminacy. We consider various formulations of such a Quantum Molinism, and after rejecting a number of options arrive at one (...) seemingly coherent formulation. (shrink)

In this study the theory of risk factors is discussed. The risk-concept is essential in cardiology and is, furthermore, important not only in medicine in general, but also and particularly in ecology. Since environmental risk factors endanger our health, ecological risks have to be taken as medical problems. If a factor or a set of factors is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a disease we speak of a risk factor or of risk factors. Statistical analysis of risk (...) factors can be performed by multivariate methods. A method which is particularly useful for finding the most important of a set of risk factors, is discriminant analysis. (shrink)

Bd. 1. Erfahrung des Denkens : Kapitel 1-3 -- Bd. 2. Erkennen und Wirklichkeit : Kapitel 4-7.

This article proposes a formal model that integrates cognitive and psychodynamic psychotherapeutic models of psychopathy to show how two major psychopathic traits called lacks remorse and self-aggrandizing can be understood as a form of abnormal Bayesian inference about the self. This model draws on the predictive coding (i.e., active inference) framework, a neurobiologically plausible explanatory framework for message passing in the brain that is formalized in terms of hierarchical Bayesian inference. In summary, this model proposes that these two cardinal psychopathic (...) traits reflect entrenched maladaptive Bayesian inferences about the self, which defend against the experience of deep-seated, self-related negative emotions, specifically shame and worthlessness. Support for the model in extant research on the neurobiology of psychopathy and quantitative simulations are provided. Finally, we offer a preliminary overview of a novel treatment for psychopathy that rests on our Bayesian formulation. (shrink)

We present a new road map for research on “How the Brain Got Language” that adopts an EvoDevoSocio perspective and highlights comparative neuroprimatology – the comparative study of brain, behavior and communication in extant monkeys and great apes – as providing a key grounding for hypotheses on the last common ancestor of humans and monkeys and chimpanzees and the processes which guided the evolution LCA-m → LCA-c → protohumans → H. sapiens. Such research constrains and is constrained by analysis of (...) the subsequent, primarily cultural, evolution of H. sapiens which yielded cultures involving the rich use of language. (shrink)

We present a new road map for research on “How the Brain Got Language” that adopts an EvoDevoSocio perspective and highlights comparative neuroprimatology – the comparative study of brain, behavior and communication in extant monkeys and great apes – as providing a key grounding for hypotheses on the last common ancestor of humans and monkeys and chimpanzees and the processes which guided the evolution LCA-m → LCA-c → protohumans → H. sapiens. Such research constrains and is constrained by analysis of (...) the subsequent, primarily cultural, evolution of H. sapiens which yielded cultures involving the rich use of language. (shrink)

Called by Karl Barth the brilliant Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this book is finally being recognized as Bonhoeffers magnum opus and one of the most important works of Christian ethics of the last century.

This book is a collection of secondary essays on America's most important philosophic thinkers—statesmen, judges, writers, educators, and activists—from the colonial period to the present. Each essay is a comprehensive introduction to the thought of a noted American on the fundamental meaning of the American regime.

T. 1. Erwägungen zu Ort, Bedeutung und Funktion der Lehre von der Königsherrschaft Christi in Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan".