This contribution studies the Egyptian phonetic change between “Ꜣ” and “ḥ,” a question so far dealt with only marginally. Therefore, the phonetic change is considered here for the first time from a broader perspective. An important role has likely been played by the fact that both sounds belong to the laryngals. This phonetic change is also known from other Hamito–Semitic languages—particularly Akkadian and Punic. Furthermore, the phenomenon continued in Coptic. The investigation adduces two different types of material. First, the phonetic (...) change is documented in eleven examples of writings of single words. In this way, a solid foundation is laid for the following procedure. Second, seventeen examples of plays on words are examined which confirm the influence of the phonetic change. These examples demonstrate that the phonetic change occurred in both directions. (shrink)

The Awakening of Osiris and the Transit of the Solar Barques: Royal Apotheosis in a Most Concise Book of the Underworld and Sky. By Joshua Aaron Roberson. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, vol. 262. Fribourg: Academic Press, 2013. Pp. xi + 175, illus. FS 57.

Caesar in the City of Amun: Egyptian Temple Construction and Theology in Roman Thebes. By David Klotz. Monographies Reine Élisabeth, vol. 15. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012. Pp. xvi + 476, illus. €95.

Das ägyptische Investiturritual. By Martin Bommas. BAR International Series, vol. 2562. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2013. Pp. xvi + 244, illus. £41.

The etymology of the Egyptian word ṯwn.w ‘fighting bull’ is treated once again. The connection of this word with the root ṯwn ‘to stab’ by Morenz is supported with new arguments. Goring by bulls can be demonstrated in textual sources as well.

Forschung in der Papyrussammlung: Eine Festgabe für das Neue Museum. Edited by Verena M. Lepper. Ägyptische und Orientalische Papyri und Handschriften des Ägyptischen Museums und Papyrussammlung Berlin, vol 1. Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2012. Pp. 512. $238.

Les hymnes au dieu Khnoum de la façade ptolémaїque du temple d’Esna. By Abraham I. Fernández Pichel. Studien zur spätägyptischen Religion, vol. 23. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2018. Pp. xiv + 217, 21 pls. €94.

The Notebook of Djuthmose, P. Vienna ÄS 10321. By Regina Hölzl, Michael Neumann, and Robert J. Demarée. Probleme der Ägyptologie, vol. 37. Leiden: Brill, 2018. Pp. viii + 72, 23 pls. €145.

Rage like an Egyptian: Möglichkeiten eines kognitiv-semantischen Zugangs zum altägyptischen Wortschatz am Beispiel des Wortfelds [Wut]. By Ines Köhler. Beihefte zur Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur, vol. 18. Hamburg: Buske, 2016. Pp. xi + 442. €178.

The phonetic change between b and w is analyzed in a new way. The phenomenon can be considered as firmly established in current research and the list of examples is here enriched by further material. The objects of investigation consist of writings of single words, as well as plays on words.

The Hieratic Ritual Books of Pawerem (P. BM EA 10252 and P. BM EA 10081) from the Late 4th Century BC. By Ann-Katrin Gill. 2 vols. Studien zur Spätägyptischen Religion, vol. 25. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2019. Pp. xvii + 1075. €248.

The Edwin Smith Papyrus: Updated Translation of the Trauma Treatise and Modern Medical Commentaries. By Gonzalo M. Sanchez and Edmund S. Meltzer. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012. Pp. xviii + 379, illus. $250. [Distributed by ISD, Bristol, CT].

Raumkonzeptionen in antiken Religionen: Beiträge des internationalen Symposiums in Göttingen, 28. und 29. Juni 2012. Edited by Kianoosh Rezania. Philippika, vol. 69. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz verlaG, 2014. Pp. xi + 261. €58.

Die Grabanlage des Monthemhet (TT 34) I: Der Weg zur Sargkammer (R 44.1 bis R 53). By Louise Gestermann, Carolina Teotino, and Mareike Wagner. Mit einem Beitrag von Farouk Gomaà und Zeichnungen von Natalie Schmidt. 4 vols. Studien zur spätägyptischen Religion, vol. 31. Wies baden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2021. Pp. xxv + 1454, pls. €298.

Résurrection d’Osiris—Naissance d’Horus: Les papyrus Berlin P. 6750 et Berlin P. 8765, témoignages de la persistance de la tradition sacerdotale dans le Fayoum à l’époque romaine. By Ghislaine Widmer. Ägyptische und Orientalische Papyri und Handschriften des Ägyptischen Museums und Papyrussammlung Berlin, vol. 3. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2016. Pp. 444, 16 pls. $210.

productive Traditions in Ancient Egypt: Proceedings of the Conference Held at the University of Liège, 6th–8th February 2013. Edited by Todd Gillen. Aegyptiaca Leodiensia, vol. 10. Liege: Presses Universiraires de Liège, 2017. Pp. v + 621. €74.

This book evaluates the widespread preference in philosophy of mind for varieties of property dualism over other alternatives to physicalism. It takes the standard motivations for property dualism as a starting point and argues that these lead directly to nonphysical substances resembling the soul of traditional metaphysics. In the first half of the book, the author clarifies what is at issue in the choice between theories that posit nonphysical properties only and those that posit nonphysical substances. The crucial question, he (...) argues, is whether one posits nonphysical things that satisfy an Aristotelian-Cartesian independence definition of substance: nonphysical things that could exist in the absence of anything else. In the second half, the author argues that standard and Russellian monist forms of property dualism are far less plausible than we usually suppose. Most significantly, the presuppositions of one of the leading arguments for property dualism, the conceivability argument, lead by parity of reasoning to the view that conscious subjects are nonphysical substances. He concludes that if you posit nonphysical properties in response to the mind-body problem then you should be prepared to posit nonphysical substances as well. Mainstream philosophy of mind must take nonphysical substances far more seriously than it has done for the best part of a century. The Mind-Body Problem and Metaphysics will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and the history of philosophy. (shrink)

The manuscripts and writings of the fifteenth-century astronomer and physician Lewis Caerleon (d. c. 1495) have been largely overlooked. To fill this gap, this article focuses on his writings and working methods through a case study of his canons and table for the equation of time. In the first part, an account of his life and writings is given on the basis of new evidence. The context in which his work on the equation of time was produced is explored in (...) detail by reviewing the three key periods of his scientific production. His heavy reliance on Simon Bredon’s Commentum super Almagesti is also analyzed. The article also provides editions of Lewis Caerleon’s canons for calculating his table for the equation of time and a critical edition of Simon Bredon’s Commentum super Almagesti, III, 22–24. In the second part of this article, we analyze the table for the equation of time derived by Lewis around 1485. In addition to the final table, there is a unique table with intermediate results that records every step of his derivation. By following and discussing the details of this derivation, we shed a new light on tabular practices in mathematical astronomy. Following Lewis in his historical mathematical procedure, we argue, offers a novel historiographical approach that allows us to identify different sources and practices used by historical actors. Therefore, beyond the exchange of parameters residing in modern mathematical analysis, this novel approach offers a promising refinement for the analysis of the transmission of knowledge across space, time, and culture. (shrink)

A major challenge with the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence applications is to manage the long-term societal impacts of this technology. Two central concerns that have emerged in this respect are that the optimized goals behind the data processing of AI applications usually remain opaque and the energy footprint of their data processing is growing quickly. This study thus explores how much people value the transparency and environmental sustainability of AI using the example of personal AI assistants. The results from (...) a choice-based conjoint analysis with a sample of more than 1.000 respondents from Germany indicate that people hardly care about the energy efficiency of AI; and while they do value transparency through explainable AI, this added value of an application is offset by minor costs. The findings shed light on what kinds of AI people are likely to demand and have important implications for policy and regulation. (shrink)

When making an assessment of animal welfare, it is important to take environmental (housing) or animal-based parameters into account. An alternative approach is to focus on the behavior and appearance of the animal, without making actual measurements or quantifying this. None of these tell the whole story. In this paper, we suggest that it is possible to find common ground between these (seemingly) diametrically opposed positions and argue that this may be the way to deal with the complexity of animal (...) welfare. The model will have to be acceptable for the different parties that will be affected by it and real benefits for the animal should result from it. This will be the basis of a practical ethical approach. All this can be condensed into a model that essentially is made up out of three basic elements: the classical welfare analysis with an existing welfare assessment tool, an assessment of the stockholder, and an implementation of the Free Choice Profiling technique. This new framework does not pretend to be a different or better animal welfare matrix; it is intended to integrate existing knowledge and to provide a practical tool to improve animal welfare. It identifies whether there are welfare problems on a farm, if present whether these problems are caused by the housing system or the stockholder, and what can be done to improve the situation. (shrink)

A measure of coherence is said to be reliability conducive if and only if a higher degree of coherence (as measured) results in a higher likelihood that the witnesses are reliable. Recently, it has been proved that several coherence measures proposed in the literature are reliability conducive in a restricted scenario (Olsson and Schubert 2007, Synthese 157:297–308). My aim is to investigate which coherence measures turn out to be reliability conducive in the more general scenario where it is any finite (...) number of witnesses that give equivalent reports. It is shown that only the so-called Shogenji measure is reliability conducive in this scenario. I take that to be an argument for the Shogenji measure being a fruitful explication of coherence. (shrink)

A vernacular fifteenth-century sermon tells us, in order to warn of the threats to spiritual welfare posed by dance, that cyclic motion and centering of sensory impressions – amongst them intimate conversation – are essential elements of dance. When blending out the parenesis, implicit poetics of medieval dance can be distilled from that sermon. The way how these essential elements of dance are used for generating disruptions within literary plots will be demonstrated in three literary texts dating from the thirteenth (...) to the fifteenth century: Disruptions in connection with dance occur when contrary concepts of motion clash with each other, for example the linearity of the chivalrous way through the Other World with the cyclicity of round dances. ‚Der Württemberger‘, however, collides two contrary concepts of time which can be paraphrased as spatial metaphors, namely the linearity of earthly life which collides with the cyclicity of eternal damnation, a collision symbolized by the expulsion of life out of the dance of the death. Finally in ‚Ritter Sociabilis‘, dance generates a virtual space which subverts the courtly society. The protagonists of all these texts differently manage to resolve disruptions, namely by redemption, by repentance, or by continuing disruptions which they have caused themselves. (shrink)

For anyone interested in the world on the cusp of the seventeenth-eighteenth century “le Père” Coronelli is simply unavoidable. He has his own learned society today (Coronelli Weltbund...

A measure of coherence is said to be reliability conducive if and only if a higher degree of coherence (as measured) among testimonies implies a higher probability that the witnesses are reliable. Recently, it has been proved that several coherence measures proposed in the literature are reliability conducive in scenarios of equivalent testimonies (Olsson and Schubert 2007; Schubert, to appear). My aim is to investigate which coherence measures turn out to be reliability conducive in the more general scenario where the (...) testimonies do not have to be equivalent. It is shown that four measures are reliability conducive in the present scenario, all of which are ordinally equivalent to the Shogenji measure. I take that to be an argument for the Shogenji measure being a fruitful explication of coherence. (shrink)

A measure of coherence is said to be reliability conducive if and only if a higher degree of coherence (asmeasured) of a set of testimonies implies a higher probability that the witnesses are reliable. Recently, it has been proved that the Shogenji measure of coherence is reliability conducive in restricted scenarios (e.g., Olsson and Schubert, Synthese, 157:297–308, 2007). In this article, I investigate whether the Shogenji measure, or any other coherence measure, is reliability conducive in general. An impossibility theorem is (...) proved to the effect that this is not the case. I conclude that coherence is not reliability conducive. (shrink)

This article considers the prospects of inference to the best explanation as a method of confirming causal claims vis-à-vis the medical evidence of mechanisms. I show that IBE is actually descriptive of how scientists reason when choosing among hypotheses, that it is amenable to the balance/weight distinction, a pivotal pair of concepts in the philosophy of evidence, and that it can do justice to interesting features of the interplay between mechanistic and population level assessments.

For Aristotle, a just political community has to find similarity in difference and foster habits of reciprocity. Conventionally, speech and law have been seen to fulfill this role. This article reconstructs Aristotle’s conception of currency as a political institution of reciprocal justice. By placing Aristotle’s treatment of reciprocity in the context of the ancient politics of money, currency emerges not merely as a medium of economic exchange but also potentially as a bond of civic reciprocity, a measure of justice, and (...) an institution of ethical deliberation. Reconstructing this account of currency in analogy to law recovers the hopes Aristotle placed in currency as a necessary institution particular to the polis as a self-governing political community striving for justice. If currency was a foundational institution, it was also always insufficient, likely imperfect, and possibly tragic. Turned into a tool for the accumulation of wealth for its own sake, currency becomes unjust and a serious threat to any political community. Aristotelian currency can fail precisely because it contains an important moment of ethical deliberation. This political significance of currency challenges accounts of the ancient world as bifurcated between oikos and polis and encourages contemporary political theorists to think of money as a constitutional project that can play an important role in improving reciprocity across society. (shrink)

Argues that content-independent reasons are intentions. Relies on Grice's distinction between natural and non-natural meaning. Rejects previous accounts, and argues that his account can understand the force of such reasons appropriately, through the conept of enabling-conditions. Illustrates through several paridigmatic types of content-independent reasons.

In der Auseinandersetzung mit Nietzsches Kritik der Menschenwürde nimmt dieses Buch zugleich Stellung zur aktuellen Diskussion. Wie ist die gegenwärtige Norm der Menschenwürde, wie sie auch im Grundgesetz enthalten ist, vor dem Hintergrund der Theorien des vehementen Moralkritikers Nietzsche einzuschätzen? Welchen Stellenwert hat die Würde des Menschen im Zeitalter des Posthumanismus überhaupt? Im ersten Teil skizziert der Autor zunächst die wichtigsten philosophischen Konzeptionen der Menschenwürde von Cicero bis Kant. Dabei macht er deutlich, welche Probleme die gegenwärtige Rezeption historischer Konzeptionen aufwirft. (...) Der zweite Teil ist der ausführlichen Darstellung von Nietzsches Kritik der Menschenwürde gewidmet. Daraus ergeben sich wichtige Impulse für die gegenwärtige Diskussion und konkrete Hinweise, wie ein tragbarer Begriff der Menschenwürde für die Zukunft aussehen könnte. (shrink)

Spoken communication between social robotic devices, powered by generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, and the senior population offers great potential for researching social interaction and robot identity perceptions as well as exploring the potential opportunities and challenges when implementing this human-machine interactions in real life situations and health care. In this paper we explore people’s perceptions of the social robot Furhat when administering verbal tasks similar to those used in screening for Alzheimer’s disease. We describe the Slovak system mounted (...) on the robot that includes a speech recognizer, the scenarios powered by generative large language model ChatGPT, and a speech synthesizer. We tested the functionality of the proposed approach with two groups of participants: attendees of a large science fair and a scientific conference. The observations from 87 collected questionnaires suggest good potential and applicability of such an approach for the given task and more positive attitudes of older subjects compared to younger ones. (shrink)

Heute tritt die berühmte Gretchenfrage in das Bewusstsein der Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften vor allem durch die Diskussionen um die"Rückkehr der Religionen" und die Frage nach dem Umgang mit den verschiedenen Spielarten des politisch-religiösen Fundamentalismus. Die zahlreichen Diskussionen dieser Themen in der breiteren Öffentlichkeit machen eines deutlich: Wenn über das Verhältnis von autonomer Vernunft und Religion diskutiert wird, steht zumindest implizit nahezu immer die monotheistische Offenbarungsreligion im Zentrum. Der Anspruch dieses Typs von Religion scheint am stärksten mit dem Anspruch autonomer Rationalität (...) zu kollidieren. Der Frage nach dem Verhältnis von monotheistischer Religion und Vernunft kann besonders gut durch das Studium der religionsphilosophisch relevanten Schriften Immanuel Kants nachgegangen werden. Denn Kants Religionsphilosophie ist ein Exempel dafür, wie das Verhältnis von Vernunft und Religion in einer Weise gefasst werden kann, so dass weder Religion noch Vernunft ihre genuinen Rechte bestritten oder gar genommen werden. Der vorliegende Band ist als Vorschlag zu verstehen, wie Kants Religionsphilosophie in Hinsicht auf ihren Gehalt und ihre Relevanz angemessen erfasst werden kann. *** Today Gretchen s famous question to Faust about religion is asked in cultural and social studies primarily as part of the discussion about the "return of religion and the question of how to approach different forms of religious-political fundamentalism. The many discussions about these themes in the wider public sphere make one thing clear: when the relationship between autonomous reason and religion is discussed the monotheistic revealed religions are almost always at least implicitly the focus of debate. The demands of this form or religion seem to collide most powerfully with the demands of autonomous rationality. Immanuel Kant s works on the philosophy of religion form a particularly good basis for the investigation of this relationship between monotheistic religion and reason since Kant s religious philosophy is an example of how reason and religion can be conceived without the genuine rights of either being disputed or even lost. This volume should be seen as a proposal for understanding Kant s philosophy of religion with regard its content and relevance. (shrink)