Teoriju anticke komedije Hegel neprestano razvija tokom svoje akademske karijere, od ranog spisa o prirodnom pravu, preko Fenomenologije duha do svojih berlinskih predavanja iz estetike. Hegel uvek razmatra komediju u bliskoj vezi sa svojom teorijom tragedije, te otuda u kontekstu politickih, religioznih i filozofsko-istorijskih odredjenja. Imajuci to u vidu, ovaj rad istrazuje Hegelov pojam dramskog zanra komedije u odnosu na duhovno-filozofske kategorije obicajnosti i supstancijalnosti kao kraja klasicne umetnosti i ujedno nastanka moderne subjektivnosti u njenom slobodnom samoodnosenju. Centralno pitanje je, (...) na koji nacin se razvijanje apsolutnog duha reflektuje u domenu estetskog na razvijanje objektivnog duha u sferi drzave i drustva, kao sto je, recimo, u grckoj komediji dovedena do svesti buduca propast svetsko-obicajnog statusa polisa. Samo razvijanje Hegelove filozofije umetnosti, od ranih spisa do zrelog filozofskog sistema, daje nam mogucnost da uvidimo estetsku formu komedije kao jednog vanrednog oblika umetnosti kao i da razmotrimo duhovno-filozofske linije rascepa moderne. (shrink)

Teoriju anticke komedije Hegel neprestano razvija tokom svoje akademske karijere, od ranog spisa o prirodnom pravu, preko Fenomenologije duha do svojih berlinskih predavanja iz estetike. Hegel uvek razmatra komediju u bliskoj vezi sa svojom teorijom tragedije, te otuda u kontekstu politickih, religioznih i filozofsko-istorijskih odredjenja. Imajuci to u vidu, ovaj rad istrazuje Hegelov pojam dramskog zanra komedije u odnosu na duhovno-filozofske kategorije obicajnosti i supstancijalnosti kao kraja klasicne umetnosti i ujedno nastanka moderne subjektivnosti u njenom slobodnom samoodnosenju. Centralno pitanje je, (...) na koji nacin se razvijanje apsolutnog duha reflektuje u domenu estetskog na razvijanje objektivnog duha u sferi drzave i drustva, kao sto je, recimo, u grckoj komediji dovedena do svesti buduca propast svetsko-obicajnog statusa polisa. Samo razvijanje Hegelove filozofije umetnosti, od ranih spisa do zrelog filozofskog sistema, daje nam mogucnost da uvidimo estetsku formu komedije kao jednog vanrednog oblika umetnosti kao i da razmotrimo duhovno-filozofske linije rascepa moderne. (shrink)

Seit jeher treibt das Lachen als anthropologische Grundkonstante Philosophen, Wissenschaftler und Kunstler um. Obwohl sich der Mensch im Lachen nonverbal verstandigt, bleibt diese soziale Geste hochst komplex, da in ihr Limitation sowie Transgression, Einschliessung wie Ausgrenzung stecken. Lachen wurde in der Geschichte teils als wahnsinnig, blasphemisch oder destruktiv, ebenso haufig aber auch als gutmutig, heilig und heilend konnotiert; Lachen ist ein paradoxes Phanomen. Im Band soll durch Interdisziplinaritat diesem Paradoxon Rechnung getragen werden. Mit Beitragen von Nina Bartsch, Peter Friedrich, Holger (...) Glinka, Niklas Hebing, Felix Huttemann, Alexander Jaklitsch, Anna-Sophie Jurgens, Nicola Kaminski, Peter Kuhlmann, Hans-Ulrich Lessing, Kevin Liggieri, Lenz Prutting, Linda Simonis und Klaus Thomalla. (shrink)

This is part 2 och an interview with Prof. J. Conant, conducted by Niklas Forsberg. This article will be published at the end of June 2016.

This chapter brings together Murdoch’s thoughts about language with other central aspects of her thought such as love, attention, perfectionism and morality. By making clear how Murdoch’s variety of linguistic philosophy differs from contemporary philosophy of language, this paper also shows that Murdoch’s philosophy contains the seeds for a fruitful form of philosophizing which brings the moral and aesthetic dimensions of language into view. “Taking the linguistic method seriously” means making clear the ways in which all concepts belong to a (...) fabric that is changing on a personal level as well as an historical one. One of the things that Murdoch can help us see is that one problem with contemporary philosophy of language, is that it does not take the linguistic method seriously enough. (shrink)

This book involves an in-depth analysis of the ethical, political and philosophical issues related to health-oriented screening programs.

What is it we do when we philosophize about a word? How are we to act as we ask the philosophical question par excellence, “What is …?” These questions are addressed here with particular focus on Troy Jollimore's Love's Vision and contemporary theories of love. Jollimore's rationalist account of love, based on a specific understanding of “reasons for love,” illustrates a particular philosophical mistake: When we think about a word, we are prone to believe that even though “the sense of (...) the word” that we investigate may be up for grabs, the other words we use when we do these investigations are not. Jollimore's exploration of love is guided by specific conceptions of “reasons” and “rationality” that remain unquestioned. The article argues that we may have to rethink a great number of words as we embark on the task of uncovering the sense of one word. (shrink)

Massimiliano Tomba’s Insurgent Universality traces a global history of revolutionary institution-building as ‘theory in action’, pushing radical democracy beyond an ontology of the political. This contribution aims to clarify the place of ‘insurgent institutions’ in Tomba’s work and suggests that an unresolved tension persists between insurgent universality as popular institutions on the one hand, and as a negative dis-ordering on the other. Exploring the promise and limitations of ‘insurgent institutions’ in light of their durability, its first part reads Insurgent Universality (...) alongside Santi Romano, the legal pluralist whose concept of the institution Tomba adopts. Secondly, the article turns to Hannah Arendt’s understanding of authority and Miguel Abensour’s discussion of ‘insurgent institutions’ as two potentially helpful accounts of democratic practice within durational time. Where Tomba remains focused on constellations between moments of rupture, Arendt and Abensour offer a politically generative understanding of durability specific to radical-democratic institutions. (shrink)

Ever since the inception of its academic career, sociology has approached its subject-matter in two different ways; one positivist, the other critical. Important theories, such as those of Karl Marx or Emile Durkheim, have always emphasized either one of these perspectives, but could never completely ignore the other one. The result was that as an empirical science, sociology has been interested in latent structures, while as critical theory, it has pointed out that social reality is not what it seems to (...) be. Therefore, all attempts at building a unified theory of society on the basis of the critical/positivist distinction had to lead into the paradox of treating appearance and reality, or latent and manifest structures, as one and the same thing. This situation is now changing in radical ways which sociology has yet to appreciate. I am referring to recent interdisciplinary discussions about theories of self-referential systems, autopoietic system closure, the second-order cybernetics of observing systems, and constructivist epistemology and information processing. We can draw upon these recent discussions in order to understand society as a self-observing system that defines its own identity while, at the same time, leaving an "unmarked space" for the possibility to describe society in quite different ways. (shrink)

This is part 2 of an interview with Prof. J. Conant, conducted by Niklas Forsberg.

Language Lost and Found takes as its starting-point Iris Murdoch's claim that "we have suffered a general loss of concepts." By means of a thorough reading of Iris Murdoch's philosophy in the light of this difficulty, it offers a detailed examination of the problem of linguistic community and the roots of the thought that some philosophical problems arise due to our having lost the sense of our own language. But it is also a call for a radical reconsideration of how (...) philosophy and literature relate to each other on a general level and in Murdoch's authorship in particular. (shrink)

Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. Belief in genetic determinism is an educational problem because it contradicts scientific knowledge, and is a societal problem because it has the potential to foster intolerant attitudes such as racism and prejudice against sexual orientation. In this article, we begin by investigating the very nature of belief in genetic determinism. Then, we investigate whether (...) knowledge of genetics and genomics is associated with beliefs in genetic determinism. Finally, we explore the extent to which social factors such as gender, education, and religiosity are associated with genetic determinism. Methodologically, we gathered and analyzed data on beliefs in genetic determinism, knowledge of genetics and genomics, and social variables using the “Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics” instrument. Our analyses of PUGGS responses from a sample of Brazilian university freshmen undergraduates indicated that belief in genetic determinism was best characterized as a construct built up by two dimensions or belief systems: beliefs concerning social traits and beliefs concerning biological traits; levels of belief in genetic determination of social traits were low, which contradicts prior work; associations between knowledge of genetics and genomics and levels of belief in genetic determinism were low; and social factors such as age and religiosity had stronger associations with beliefs in genetic determinism than knowledge. Although our study design precludes causal inferences, our results raise questions about whether enhancing genetic literacy will decrease or prevent beliefs in genetic determinism. (shrink)

Niklas Luhmann is widely recognized as one of the most original thinkers in the social sciences today. This major new work further develops the theories of the author by offering a challenging analysis of the relationship between society and the environment. Luhmann extends the concept of "ecology" to refer to any analysis that looks at connections between social systems and the surrounding environment. He traces the development of the notion of "environment" from the medieval idea--which encompasses both human and (...) natural systems--to our modern definition, which separates social systems from the external environment. In Luhmann's thought, human beings form part of the environment, while social systems consist only of communications. Utilizing this distinctive theoretical perspective, Luhmann presents a comprehensive catalog of society's reactions to environmental problems. He investigates the spheres of the economy, law, science, politics, religion, and education to show how these areas relate to environmental issues. Ecological Communication is an important work that critically examines claims central to our society--claims to modernity and rationality. It will be of great importance to scholars and students in sociology, political science, philosophy, anthropology, and law. (shrink)

A number of factors-new research into human and animal consciousness, a heightened awareness of the methods and consequences of intensive farming, and modern concerns about animal welfare and ecology-have made our relationship to animals an area of burning interest in contemporary philosophy. Utilizing methods inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein, the contributors to this volume explore this area in a variety of ways. Topics discussed include: * scientific vs. non-scientific ways of describing human and animal behaviour * the ethics of eating particular (...) animal species * human nature, emotions, and instinctive reactions * responses of wonder towards the natural world * the moral relevance of literature * the concept of dignity * the question of whether non-human animals can use language This book will be of great value to anyone interested in philosophical and interdisciplinary issues concerning language, ethics and humanity's relation to animals and the natural world. (shrink)

This work represents Niklas Luhmann's definitive application of systems theory to the understanding of law. In it Luhmann reviews past attempts to create a theory of law and argues they all fail to capture how law operates in modern society. He presents an alternative, critical theory through analysing law as a system of communication.

Recent years have seen a continual rise of interest in the empirical study of questions traditionally located in moral philosophy, i.e., studies in Experimental Ethics. In this chapter we briefly outline the recent history of this field. To do so we have to cross disciplinary borders to quite some extent. Tracing the beginnings of Experimental Ethics back to early works in moral psychology, we delineate a sequence of theories which eventually flow into current Experimental Ethics. We then briefly review four (...) topics which are intensively investigated in Experimental Ethics at the moment: moral relativism, individual and cross-cultural differences in moral judgment, and interactions of moral evaluation with other philosophical concepts. We conclude with a short historically informed comment on the demarcation problem of Experimental Ethics. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Nordic Wittgenstein Review Jahrgang: 2 Heft: 1 Seiten: 131-160.