We would first of all like to thank Thor Grünbaum and Andrea Raballo for their thoughtful and lively commentary on our work. We would also like to thank Daniel Rubin for taking this opportunity to describe in detail some of the research carried out in this domain since our paper was first written. Although their commentaries may seem to fall on opposite ends of the critical scale, so to speak, taken together they provide an opportunity to take stock of the (...) progress that has been made in this endeavor as well as some of the challenges that remain to be overcome. In this short response, we focus primarily on what we believe to be the most serious of Grünbaum and Raballo's criticisms to our work, arguing that our .. (shrink)

The word "ontology" presently encompasses two different meanings. In the philosophical sense, ontology has been defined since the days of Aristotle as the "science of being," also called "metaphysics." In this sense, ontology is concerned with categorizing discrete entities in reality and the relationships that hold between those entities (Aristotle 1952). Ontology, in the tradition of philosophical realism, aims to describe every day, mesoscopic entities and relations as they are in themselves, and not from the specific viewpoint of some particular (...) domain or conceptual schema. The type of entities realist ontology concerns are those that exist "out there" in the world (such as tables, chairs, mountains, streams .. (shrink)

There are a number of existing classifications and staging schemes for carcinomas, one of the most frequently used being the TNM classification. Such classifications represent classes of entities which exist at various anatomical levels of granularity. We argue that in order to apply such representations to the Electronic Health Records one needs sound ontologies which take into consideration the diversity of the domains which are involved in clinical bioinformatics. Here we outline a formal theory for addressing these issues in a (...) way that the ontologies can be used to support inferences relating to entities which exist at different anatomical levels of granularity. Our case study is the colon carcinoma, one of the most common carcinomas prevalent within the European population. (shrink)

‘Know-that’, like so many natural language expressions, exhibits patterns of use that provide evidence for its context-sensitivity. A popular family of views – call it prag- matic invariantism – attempts to explain the shifty patterns by appeal to a pragmatic thesis: while the semantic meaning of ‘know-that’ is stable across all contexts of use, sentences of the form ‘S knows [doesn’t know] that p’ can be used to communicate a pragmatic content that depends on the context of use. In this (...) paper, the author argues that pragmatic invariantism makes inaccurate predictions for a wide range of well- known use data and is committed to attributing systematic pragmatic error to ordinary speakers. But pragmatic error is unprecedented, and it is doubtful that speakers are systematically wrong about what they intend to communicate. (shrink)

We show that it is impossible in quantum mechanics to describe two separated physical systems. This is due to the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics. It is possible to give a description of two separated systems in a theory which is a generalization of quantum mechanics and of classical mechanics, in the sense that this theory contains both theories as special cases. We identify the axioms of quantum mechanics that make it impossible to describe separated systems. One of these axioms (...) is equivalent to the superposition principle. We show how these findings throw a different light on the paradox of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen. (shrink)

In "Plato's Ghost" Jeremy Gray presented many connections between mathematical practices in the nineteenth century and the rise of mathematical platonism in the context of more general developments, which he refers to as modernism. In this paper, I take up this theme and present a condensed discussion of some arguments put forward in favor of and against the view of mathematical platonism. In particular, I highlight some pressures that arose in the work of Frege, Cantor, and Gödel, which support adopting (...) a platonist position. The aim of this discussion is to provide an historically informed introduction to the philosophical position of mathematical platonism and to point at some of its mathematical and philosophical roots in the nineteenth century. (shrink)

We propose a characterization of mathematical experiments in terms of a setup, a process with an outcome, and an interpretation. Using a broad notion of process, this allows us to consider arithmetic calculations and geometric constructions as components of mathematical experiments. Moreover, we argue that mathematical experiments should be considered within a broader context of an experimental research project. Finally, we present a particular case study of the genesis of a geometric construction to illustrate the experimental use of hand drawings (...) and computers in mathematical practice. (shrink)

There has recently been a wave of attempts to make sense of the role of de se thoughts in linguistic communication. A majority of the attempts assume a Perryan or a Lewisian view of de se thought. Views with these assumptions, I suggest, come in four varieties: uncentering (Egan 2007, Kölbel 2013, Moss 2012), recentering (Heim 2004, Weber 2012), multicentering (Kindermann 2014, Ninan 2010, Torre 2009), and no centering (Kaplan 1989, Perry 1979). I argue first that all four varieties of (...) centering are committed to what I call a shifting operation on the hearer's part. I argue second that, against common assumption, there is no real choice to make between the views. By showing that attempts to establish an advantage for some view over the others fail across the board, I make the case for neutralism regarding the varieties of centering – the claim that coverage of the empirical data is exactly the same for each view, and that the views are broadly equal in simplicity and elegance. (shrink)

In this paper we examine some of the astrological content in Proclus' exegesis of the 'nuptial number' in Republic 545d, ff. The downfall of the best city-state is said by Socrates to be due to the fact that the Guardians, for all their wisdom, make a mistake about the timing of the breeding of future rulers and this mistake is somehow due to perception. We argue that Proclus' Republic Commentary is best understood as supposing that the Guardians are highly capable (...) astrologers who can -- up until one fateful day -- reliably hit the astrological trifecta: they combine conception astrology with natal and katarchic astrology. The marriage festivals are timed so that future Guardians are conceived under the right stars, with pregnancies of the right duration, and are born under the right stars, with guardian daemons whose names and natures are known through an astrologically-oriented theurgic practice. All this (and more) Proclus took to be hinted at through Socrates' opaque specification of the marriage number. (shrink)

Was sind systematische Metaphern? Wie intelligent ist die Buchstabenschrift? Müssen Wahrheitstheorien wahr sein? Wie ist das Verhältnis von Sachen (i.e. kulturellen Gegenständen) und Sätzen (d.h. sprachlichen Einheiten) zu beschreiben? Dirk Westerkamps grundlegende Untersuchung widmet sich dem noch kaum systematisch behandelten Verhältnis von Sprach- und Kulturphilosophie. - Die Aufgabe der Kulturphilosophie besteht in der theoretischen Reflexion kultureller Tatsachen. Sprache wird ihr dabei nicht nur als Medium des kulturellen Gedächtnisses zum Thema: Die Sprache ist sowohl selbst eine kulturelle Tatsache als auch (...) Bedingung der Möglichkeit kultureller Faktizität überhaupt. Die Kulturphilosophie muss sich daher der Sprachanalyse bedienen, um ihren Gegenstand, das sich ständig neu anordnende Ensemble kultureller Tatsachen, angemessen bestimmen zu können. In einer Reihe von gründlichen Einzelstudien untersucht Dirk Westerkamp das Verhältnis von Sachen und Sätzen als systematisches Problem, das die Formen der symbolischen Reflexivität der Sprache in zwei ihrer wichtigsten philosophischen Facetten zu diskutieren erlaubt: in sowohl sprachphilosophischer wie wahrheitstheoretischer Hinsicht. Sprache und Schrift werden damit auf doppelte Weise thematisch: einmal als symbolische Ordnung kultureller Tatsachen und zweitens als Medien unseres Wahrheitsverständnisses. Entsprechend geht es im ersten Teil des Buches anhand des Leitbegriffs der symbolischen Reflexion um Verstehen und Nichtverstehen, Metaphern und Schrifttheorie und im zweiten um die Problematik einer sprachpragmatischen Wahrheitstheorie kultureller Tatsachen. In der hierfür gewählten Perspektive wechseln nicht nur historische und systematische, sondern auch methodische Zugänge: Sprachanalyse, Hermeneutik und Kulturphilosophie gehen eine ebenso spannungsreiche wie produktive Verbindung ein. (shrink)

Typisierungsleistungen der Massenkultur treten exemplarisch im Film hervor. Filme sind Formen, mit denen die Gesellschaft sich in ihren eigenen Wirklichkeiten und Möglichkeiten für die Augen eines Massenpublikums beschreibt. Sie richten die Wahrnehmung und die Kommunikation auf die Beobachtung kohärenter Möglichkeitsräume aus. Ihr Publikum laden sie dazu ein, sein Leben mit dem Leben in den Filmwelten zu vergleichen, denn die Differenz zwischen Leben und Kino steht nicht in Frage. Filme besitzen dieses Potential dank ihrer diagrammatischen Form. Bilder, Worte und Musik verschränken (...) sich in ihnen zu einer komplexen Einheit, deren Prägnanz und sinn-liche Wucht Erfahrungen innerweltlicher Transzendenz erlauben. Dieses Buch plädiert dafür, mit zeichenphilosophischen Mitteln zur Einheit der Differenz von Metaphysik, Religionsphilosophie und politischer Philosophie zurückzukehren. Aus der Beobachtung der modernen Kultur heraus entfaltet es einen systematischen philosophischen Anspruch. Exemplarisch werden”starke“Bilder analysiert, die scheinbar so weit Auseinanderliegendes wie Metaphysik, Religion und Politik in ihrer semiotischen Funktion verschränken. In seiner Darstellung hebt Rustemeyer charakteristische Züge der modernen westlichen Kultur hervor, indem er sie in den Horizont abendlän-discher Sinnformen stellt. Vorstellungen von Gott, Staat und Vernunft, von Individuum und Gesellschaft oder vom guten Leben, die uns in Filmen begegnen, sind in einer abendländischen Tradition verwurzelt, die Religion, Metaphysik und Politik in einen engen Zusammenhang rückt. (shrink)

Plato's Tim. 90b1-c6 describes a pathway to the soul's salvation via the study of the heavens. This paper poses three questions about this theme in Platonism: 1. The epistemological question: How is the paradigmatic function of the visible heavenly bodies to be reconciled with various Platonic misgivings about the faculty of perception? 2. The metaphysical question: How can »assimilation« to the motions of bodies in the realm of Becoming provide for the salvation of souls when souls are »higher«- a mid-point (...) between Being and Becoming? 3. The psychological question: What can it mean for an incorporeal soul to utilise the motions of a body for an ethical and cognitive paradigm? And provides an account of how Proclus and some of his fellow Neoplatonists answered these questions. (shrink)

Volume IV (which comprises two half-volumes) focuses on the life sciences, whose object of research is life itself, that which (necessarily) mediates between the physical and the psyche. Typical philosophical questions in this context include: What is “life” in the sense of the term relevant to the life sciences? How do we know that life has not “always existed” but must have arisen in the course of abiogenesis from inanimate nature? And how is it possible to know something about how (...) evolution has occurred? These are explored in the first half-volume. In its second half-volume, the book first deals with methodological and conceptual questions regarding the concrete natural history of mankind. Examples for pertinent questions in this context are: "What would be adequate criteria for singling out autapomorphic traits defining the genus "homo"?" and "Has the concept of "race" biological meaning and reality?" (Spoiler: The answer to the latter question is "no".) In the context of that question, a considerable part of the second half-volume deals with the history of "scientific" theories of race from the 17th century up until the 1990ies. In particular, Kant's theory of race and his racism (as well as his sexism) are discussed thoroughly. Pertinent questions are: "Did Kant invent the concept of race?", "Was Kant the founder of "scientific racism"?", "Did Kant invent and promote a concept of "racial purity"?" and "Did Kant endorse slave trade?". Furthermore, for anyone whose own philosophical positions rest on Kantian premises, the following questions will be of special importance: "Is Kant's racism implied by his transcendental philosophy?" and "Is Kant's racism implied by his ethics?" Regarding all these questions, the contributions of important authors like Eze, Bernasconi, Kleingeld and Mills are discussed and critically examined. Finally, the second half-volume closes with a thorough exploration of the methodological foundations of neuroscience and its limitations as a contribution to philosophy of mind (which as such will have its say in Volume VI). (shrink)

Die vorliegende Studie erforscht den Zusammenhang zwischen den Konzepten des höchsten Gutes und des kategorischen Imperativs in Kants praktischer Philosophie. Nach einer originiellen Lesart des Autors gebietet der kategorische Imperativ, das eigene Glück stets nur als Bestandteil allgemeinen Glücks zu verfolgen. Das höchste Gut ist nun derjenige Zustand der Welt, der erreicht würde, wenn alle Menschen diesem Prinzip gemäß handeln würden und ihrem gemeinsamen Streben nach allgemeiner Glückseligkeit auch Erfolg beschieden wäre. Dieser Zustand ist ein notwendiges Ziel vernünftigen Handelns, das (...) sich aus dem kategorischen Imperativ ergibt, dessen Verfolgung aber trotzdem über das bloße Handeln nach verallgemeinerbaren Maximen hinausgeht. Durch eine Neuinterpretation von Kants These, im höchsten Gut sei das Glück stets proportional zur Tugend, gelingt es dem Autor, nicht nur diese These, sondern auch Kants Aussagen über Gerechtigkeit, Glückswürdigkeit und Hoffnung argumentativ an den kategorischen Imperativ zu binden und damit im Kontext des höchsten Guts zu rechtfertigen. Dem Autor zufolge hat das höchste Gut somit eine wichtige eigenständige Funktion in der kantischen Ethik, ohne ihren deontologischen Charakter in Frage zu stellen. (shrink)

In honour of Detlef Dürr, we report on a mathematical rigorous computation of the electric vacuum polarisation current and extract the well-known expression for the second order perturbation. Intermediate steps in the presented calculation demonstrate, to the knowledge of the authors for the first time, mathematical rigorous versions of the combined dimensional and Pauli-Villars regularisation schemes. These are employed as computational tools to infer convenient integral representations during the computation. The said second order expression is determined up to a remaining (...) degree of freedom of a real number–without ill-defined terms from start to end. (shrink)

Aus den wirtschaftlichen Turbulenzen des vergangenen Jahrzehnts leitet sich die Frage nach der Verantwortung fur die Gestaltung der Wirtschaftslandschaft ab. Die Arbeit untersucht daher, ob betriebswirtschaftliche Hochschullehrer die Werte ihrer Studierenden beeinflussen wollen und entwickelt ein detailliertes konzeptionelles Modell. Zur Modellvalidierung werden deskriptive Analysen, Strukturgleichungsmodelle und Clusteranalysen auf Daten aus einer weltweiten Befragung von 1.741 betriebswirtschaftlichen Hochschullehrern angewendet. Die Analysen zeigen weltweit eine starke Intention zur Wertebeeinflussung, mit besonderer Werteskepsis in Deutschland. Die Unterstutzung von Kollegen und Verbanden erwies sich als (...) wichtige Voraussetzung fur die Steigerung der Beeinflussungsintention.". (shrink)

To this day, there persists a widespread assumption that Adorno's references to Marx - and especially to Marx's critique of political economy - represent a relic from an early and short-lived stage of Adorno's theoretical development. On the basis of relevant and largely unpublished textual sources, this book refutes this thesis while showing that the centre of Adorno's critical theory of society is occupied by a critique not only of political economy, but of economy in general.

Dirk Paul Bogner widmet sich der Frage, welche Relevanz Kurt Lewins Feldtheorie im Bereich der pädagogischen Diagnostik haben könnte. Er untermauert die These, dass die Lewin’sche Feldtheorie eine völlig neue Sicht auf Lern-, Entwicklungs- und Erziehungsprozesse eröffnen würde, und legt dar, inwiefern die Einbeziehung der Dimension des Raumes die Analyse dieser erziehungswissenschaftlich relevanten Topoi verfeinern könnte. Er erörtert mittels hermeneutischer Textauslegung und vergleichender Dokumentenanalyse, warum Lewin keine erziehungswissenschaftliche Resonanz erzeugen konnte, obwohl in der Erziehungswissenschaft auch heute noch intensiv Begriffe, (...) die entweder direkt aus der Feldtheorie stammen oder aber von dieser konsequent definiert wurden, verwendet werden. (shrink)

Gesprekken tussen filosoof en ecoloog Johan Braeckman en moraalfilosoof Dirk Verhofstadt over de evolutietheorie van Darwin, religie, irrationalieit, humanisme en atheïsme."--Publisher information.

This book offers a penetrating analysis of issues raised by the perennial question, 'Are We Special?' It brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines, from astronomy and palaeontology to philosophy and theology, to explore this question. Contributors cover a wide variety of issues, including what makes humans distinct from other animals, the possibilities of artificial life and artificial intelligence, the likelihood of life on other planets, and the role of religious behavior. A variety of religious and scientific perspectives are (...) brought to bear on these matters. As a whole, the book addresses whether the issue of human uniqueness is one to which sciences and religions necessarily offer differing responses. (shrink)

In der synthetischen Biologie werden Methoden insbesondere der Molekularbiologie, der Ingenieurwissenschaften und der Informationstechnik miteinander verbunden. Ziel dieser Kooperation ist die Erzeugung von biologischen Konstrukten, die weder eindeutig der Kategorie eines naturlich gewachsenen Organismus noch der einer technisch geschaffenen Maschine zuzuordnen sind. Die synthetische Biologie wirft damit ethische und naturphilosophische Fragen auf und stellt zudem neue Anforderungen an die bisherigen rechtlichen Regelungen.

'Risquons-Tout' is an ambitious, thematic group exhibition that explores the potential of transgression and unpredictability. It examines how art challenges the homogenisation of thought in the now infamous echo chambers of our overcrowded info-sphere. 'Risquons-Tout' presents some of the most innovative and influential artists and authors from the Eurocore region, which extends between Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne, Düsseldorf and London, with Brussels at its centre. The title is borrowed from a place located on the Belgian-French border, a real yet liminal space (...) of transition, passage and informal exchanges, notably smuggling. The invited artists negotiate different dynamics of bridging, passing, translating and transgressing. In doing so they burst the safe bubbles generated by prediction algorithms, designed to avoid any risk, whether intellectual, financial, emotional or physical. The exhibition's geographic and political scope addresses today's global connectivity, trans-national circulation and diasporic movements. 'Risquons-Tout' will occupy the entire WIELS building and range out into neighbouring exhibition and performance spaces. It will present the works of 38 internationally recognised or emerging artists. The exhibition proposes a rich array of practices that defy easy categorisation. 'Risquons-Tout' will also include a performative section and an Open School that will serve as a laboratory for artists and scholars to draw upon questions of risk, unpredictability and borders through a range of alternative methods for the transmission of knowledge. Exhibition: WIELS, Brussels, Belgium (12.09.2020 - 10.01.2021). (shrink)

The thesis of mental fragmentation has recently attracted increased attention as a way of explaining facts about mind and language. This volume provides an accessible introduction and essays on foundations and applications of fragmentation.

In Miletus, about 550 B.C., together with our world-picture cosmology was born. This book tells the story. In Part One the reader is introduced in the archaic world-picture of a flat earth with the cupola of the celestial vault onto which the celestial bodies are attached. One of the subjects treated in that context is the riddle of the tilted celestial axis. This part also contains an extensive chapter on archaic astronomical instruments. Part Two shows how Anaximander (610-547 B.C.) blew (...) up this archaic world-picture and replaced it by a new one that is essentially still ours. He taught that the celestial bodies orbit at different distances and that the earth floats unsupported in space. This makes him the founding father of cosmology. Part Three discusses topics that completed the new picture described by Anaximander. Special attention is paid to the confrontation between Anaxagoras and Aristotle on the question whether the earth is flat or spherical, and on the battle between Aristotle and Heraclides Ponticus on the question whether the universe is finite or infinite. (shrink)

It has been argued that organizational structures (the way tasks are defined, allocated, and coordinated) can influence moral agency in organizations. In particular, low values on different structural parameters (functional concentration, specialization, separation, and formalization) are said to foster an organizational context (allowing for relating to the goals and output of the organization, moral deliberation, and social connectedness) that is conducive to moral agency. In this paper, we investigate the relation between the organizational structure and moral agency in the case (...) of a.s.r. (a large Dutch insurance company). While our empirical results fit the thesis that low values on structural parameters positively relate to moral agency, they also refine our understanding of the influence of structural parameters. In particular, our data suggest that the influence of functional concentration not only depends on whether it is low, but also on the type of criterion used for identifying business units; they suggest that the specific organizational context may put a limit to lowering design parameters and points at several non-structural factors that have an influence on the relation between structure and moral agency. In all, the paper contributes to a more detailed understanding of the conditions conducive to moral agency in organizations. (shrink)

Rechtsgeschichte ist ein Teil der Kulturgeschichte. Rechtsentwicklungen werden in Kunstwerken reflektiert, mitunter auch vorweggenommen. Umgekehrt vermögen juristisches Handwerk und juristische Reflexion häufig bei der Erschließung literarischer Werke Hilfestellung zu leisten. Die Abteilung,,Recht in der Kunst" bietet diese Hilfestellung an. Sie enthält neben sekundärwissenschaftlichen Textsammlungen und Abhandlungen vor allem Textausgaben literarischer Werke, in deren Mittelpunkt Fragen des Rechts stehen und die mit je einem Kommentar aus literaturwissenschaftlicher Sicht und aus rechtlicher und / oder rechtshistorischer Sicht versehen werden.

Scheitern wie Gelingen sind ambivalente und zugleich existentielle Erfahrungen des Menschen. Die Sehnsucht, das eigene Leben als gelingend zu erfahren, ist dabei Ausdruck des menschlichen Strebens nach Glück. Das Wagnis einer unwiderruflichen Lebensentscheidung ist dabei der verbindlichste Ausdruck individueller Sinnstiftung für ein gelingendes Leben. Zur Frage, welche Gründe dem Gelingen oder Scheitern eines biografischen Lebensprojektes zugrunde liegen, hat Klaus Demmer wesentliche Überlegungen angestellt, denen in dieser Arbeit nachgegangen wird. Zentral ist dabei die Verhältnisbestimmung von sittlicher Persönlichkeit und Identität. Indem das (...) vorgelegte Konzept aus philosophischer, soziologischer und psychologischer Perspektive befragt wird, zeigt der Autor die Anschlussfähigkeit der moraltheologischen Erwägungen für den gegenwärtigen Diskurs um denBegriff der Identität auf. (shrink)