(1979). THE SCIENCE OF LITERATURE METHOD OF PROF. M. WEISS IN CONFRONTATION WITH FORM CRITICISM, EXAMPLIFIED ON THE BASIS OF Ps. 49. Bijdragen: Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 152-167.

After having defined the KARO logic for specifying intelligent agents in earlier work we now turn to the question how to realise agents specified in the KARO framework. To this end we look at agent programming languages that we have defined, and investigate how programs in these languages can be linked to the KARO logic.

In this volume specialists of medieval music and philosophy put the medieval 'musica' into the context of ideas and institutions in which it existed. The significance of 'musica' cannot be understood from a modern point of view since 'music' does not match the medieval 'musica'.

Das 12. Jahrhundert gilt als eine Epoche gro.

Biology is the most extensive field in the Corpus Aristotelicum. In his fundamental work De anima, Aristotle tries to fix the borders of this life science. The term ψυχή has a twofold explanatory status. On the one hand, ψυχή is understood as a principle of all living beings. On the other hand, it is understood as a cause of the fact that all living beings are alive. The paper is divided into three sections. The first part shows why Aristotle discusses (...) these issues in a work entitled Περὶ ψυχῆς. Since Pythagoras and Heraclitus, ψυχή was understood as a life principle: Pythagoras believed that men, animals and plants share the same nature: they are all ἔμψυχα and they are homogenous qua ψυχή. The second part of this article deals with Aristotle’s definition of the soul in DA II: ψυχή is the principle of all living things. This establishes the external criteria to divide living and non-living beings and the internal criteria to divide living beings. The third part of this paper is concerned with the methodological consequences of this definition: the life functions are the central explanandum in Aristotle’s biology. De anima II defines such various life-functions as nourishment, sense-perception and locomotion. These capacities contour the main fields of the philosopher’s biological investigation. For Aristotle, the faculty of reproduction is a subtype of nourishment. Reproduction is the most important and most natural function of all living beings. Genetics is, therefore, the most important field in Aristotle’s biology. (shrink)

The core thesis of the paper is that the constitution of biological science begins with a conceptual innovation with far-reaching consequences with effect up to the present: by conceiving the parts of living beings as organs (that is, as tools), Aristotle laid the foundation stone for a functional explanation of animate nature. Comparative anatomy is thus transformed from a merely descriptive to an explanatory theory. The point of the discussion is above all that a functional explanation must not be confused (...) with the sort of teleology according to which the function of an organ is understood as the cause of its existence. The first section outlines the theoretical motives that Aristotle adduces in arguing for biology (against contemporary contempt for biological research). The second step addresses the significance of the parts of animals in Aristotle's larger collection of zoological material, the Historia animalium . The third section demonstrates how in the major explanatory work De partibus animalium the term organon takes on the status of a key methodological concept. Finally, the fourth section discusses the significance of the Aristotelian determination of the organic with respect to current discourses in natural science. (shrink)

What made Socrates so special that he became the object of mockery, slander and hate? The answer in the Apology is expressed in the formula of the ‘Socratic pragma’. Plato claims that Socrates’ philosophical enterprise was a reaction to the Delphic oracle according to which no living Greek was wiser than Socrates. But does this really explain what it pretends to explain? The paper argues that this explanation tells us more about Plato’s philosophical approach than about this alleged turning point (...) in Socrates’ life. Our understanding of Socrates’ philosophical development should be based on other Platonic dialogues and the Old Comedy as well, for they inform us about the historical shift of philosophical interest from questions of physics to questions of ethics and political anthropology. (shrink)

Martin F. Meyer untersucht die Entwicklung des lebenswissenschaftlichen Denkens von den frühsten Anfängen bis zur Geburt der wissenschaftlichen Biologie bei Aristoteles. Der Autor zeigt im ersten Teil, wie sich zentrale biologische Begriffe (Leben, Lebewesen, Mensch, Tier, Pflanze) im frühgriechischen Denken, bei den Vorsokratikern und in der sogenannten Hippokratischen Medizin entwickelt haben. Im zweiten Teil beleuchtet er die Ziele, Methoden und die Systematik der von Aristoteles begründeten Biologie im Kontext seines naturwissenschaftlichen Programms.​.

Cet article débute par quelques brèves considérations sur la notion même de l'économie dirigée et sur les limitations inévitables d'une économie dirigée du type capitaliste. Les auteurs cherchent ensuite à démontrer que dans les conditions actuelles une économie dirigée socialiste est parfaitement possible au point de vue économique. Ils étudient les principaux types d'essais de solutions, différenciant entre les deux types fondamentaux („Verwaltungssozialismus“ et „Marktsozialismus“) ainsi que pour chaque type entre les formes pures et les formes modifiées. Il n'y a (...) pas d'opposition irréductible entre ces deux types ; T article montre au contraire F existence de relations entre eux. Dans une exposition objective des problèmes essentiels, il examine en détail la question de savoir si et comment on peut établir des calculs économiques dans les différentes conditions et assurer un développement sans crises deFéconomie. L’analyse est complétée par des recherches sur la productivité d’une économie dirigée socialiste et sur les principes de l’intégration de l’individu, en tant que consommateur et bénéficiaire de revenus, dans l’économie planée. Il résulte de l’étude que les objections de principe soulevées par la critique libérale ne se justifient aucunement. Les différences existant entre les divers types sont purement de nature „technique“, et les véritables oppositions dans la théorie du socialisme ne résident pas du tout dans le mode d’organisation de l’économie dirigée, mais dans les conditions sociologiques et politiques préalables. Pour terminer, les auteurs critiquent sévèrement l’introduction dans le socialisme d’un „secteur d’économie privée“.After a short exposition of the concept of economic planning, and of the definite limits to capitalist planning, it is shown how on the basis of present-day suppositions, socialist planning is economically possible. A typology of the most important solutions offered distinguishes between „administrative“ and „market“ socialism, and between the pure and modified forms in both types. Between these two main types there does not exist an opposition that cannot be bridged — indeed passages of contact run from one to the other. A positive analysis of the main problems offered in reply to a criticism treats in detail of the problem of whether and how under several suppositions we can economically calcutate and ensure a planned economic society free from crises. There then follow investigations into the productivity of a socialistically planned society, and into the principles governing individuals as consumers and income receivers in the totality of economic life. It is seen that the basic objections raised by liberal criticism do not meet the case. The differences between the types are only of a technical nature. The essential antitheses in the theory of socialism is not to be sought in the kind of organization of the planned economy, but in fundamental sociopolitical suppositions. Finally concessions towards a private economy section under socialism receive a thorough criticism. (shrink)

Hauser, H. La response de Jean Bodin à M. de Malestroit.--Levron, J. Jean Bodin et sa famille.--Kamp, M. E. Die Staatswirtschaftslehre Jean Bodins.--Mesnard, P. La pensée religieuse de Bodin.--Bezold, F. von, Jean Bodin als Occultist und seine Démonomanie.--Bezold, F. von. Jean Bodins Colloquium Heptaplomeres und der Altheismus des 16.--Feist, E. Weltbild und Staatsidee bei Jean Bodin.--Mayer, J. P. Jefferson as reader of Bodin.

Na tentativa de resolver problemas concretos para a ciência, Max Weber toma por objeto de estudo o trabalho histórico, em especial o de um renomado historiador, Eduard Meyer. Para demonstrar e fundamentar o trabalho histórico, Eduard Meyer torna-se um exemplo para Weber da confusão lógica em que se encontram as ciências especializadas. Partindo deste fato, este artigo pretende mostrar como Max Weber fundamenta os conceitos lógico metodológicos que o auxiliam na construção da objetividade das ciências histórico-sociais. Nosso objetivo (...) é demonstrar como, através das operações lógicas, a metodologia weberiana distingue a conexão entre aqueles elementos “essenciais” da cadeia causal e outros elementos “acidentais” que se situam entre os infinitos momentos que compõem a determinação de um evento. (shrink)

A number of passages in ancient texts suggest that for much of the archaic and classical periods Eleia was considered a sacred and inviolable land, immune from invasion. While contemporary scholars, referring to the work of Georg Busolt and Eduard Meyer, reject the testimony of Polybios, Strabo, Diodoros and Phlegon in regard to the Eleian asylia, a careful examination of Busolt’S arguments reveals that they are highly speculative. MEYER offers little in addition. Instances of Eleian warfare in the (...) ancient sources, furthermore, are not the conclusive evidence against the asylia that they appear at first glance. (shrink)

According to Giorgio Agamben, the messianic thinking of Saint Paul opens a new way of understanding our human existence. Paul’s ho nyn kairos or ‘the time of the now’ is a specific experience of time in which new possibilities of conceiving human lifeare unfolded. Agamben furthermore argues that we should not interpret the Pauline letters as testimonies of the past, but rather as texts that point to a radical contemporary experience. In this article, this radical actualisation of the Pauline heritage (...) is analyzed. It is argued that Agamben infuses Pauline thinking in his own understanding of contemporary political life. By applying a methodology of displacement to both the contemporary experience of human political life and the past messianic experience of Pauline community, a new interpretation of the human form of life is introduced by Agamben. This new form of life testifies of a non-representable human residue beyond every possible political representational act. This human residue is according to Agamben the true ‘subject’ of a new political ethos. In his philosophical thinking, Paul’s ‘time of the now’ thereby becomes a messianic possibility of our own ‘present’ or our own current historical moment. (shrink)

Barba non facit philosophum. L'habit ne fait pas le moine. In those proverbs, Latin and French, we find the classical opposition between appearance and reality—between the accessory (the superficial, the beard, the clothing) and the essential (the profound, the philosopher, the monk), the latter being independent from and unchanged by the former. Berliner questions this dichotomy. As an anthropologist, he reviews many situations in which humans wear masks or use other techniques to cover their identities: cosplaying, puppy play, historical reenactments, (...) live-action role-playing, and the use of pseudonyms. Cosplayers, the subject of Berliner's first case study, impersonate characters from movies or video games. On the basis of lengthy interviews, he concludes that role-players change when they wear the costumes of their favorite heroes, behaving, for instance, with more self-confidence. A little psychological experiment not cited in this book suggests the same. In 2012, Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky asked a group of students to perform a task demanding concentration. Those given a white medical coat to wear during the experiment performed better, probably because they were more prone to adopt traits and postures attributed to doctors—postures thought to enhance concentration. Berliner believes that, in the case of more immersive games, such changes are not necessarily temporary. They can persist after the acting is done. In other words, in some contexts at least, clothes can change the man.To impersonate a historical figure such as Napoleon, another case covered in Berliner's book, the reenactor must pay attention to minute details of the figure's life, habits, and social environment. The reenactor may then experience a moment de bascule, during which he is so much absorbed in his role that he forgets he is playing a character. As such, the activity of imitating is a way of learning some particular forms of paying attention to the individual serving as model. I regret that this aspect of disguise is not discussed when Berliner approaches animal role-playing. He affirms instead that identification with animals “rests upon our imagining what an animal is.” To imitate animals, however, we must first learn about, watch, and interact with them. Imitation is never fully based on the imagination; our imaginations are opened by prior, more or less proximate interactions with the beings that serve as models. It is far from easy to imagine, out of the blue, using our bodies in the ways that imitating animals requires.Despite the book's title, Becoming Other, Gilles Deleuze is barely mentioned in it, probably because he was very critical of the concept of imitation, which is omnipresent in Berliner's thought. Still, the way in which Berliner uses the concept is Deleuzian to a degree. Deleuze is skeptical of the concept of imitation because the success of an imitation is usually judged by whether the model and the imitation correspond in appearance—the imitation, in that case, does not bring any novelty to the world. In contrast to Deleuze, who proposes to abandon the concept of imitation, Berliner invites us to study it in new ways. Indeed, his book teaches us how creative imitation can be. What counts is not whether an imitation is successful but whether it is fruitful, and that we measure by whether it transforms us. The imitator does not become an alter ego of the model impersonated but a superego, an ego more aware of all its capacities. Even if it is never made explicit, the contrast between successful and fruitful—a contrast dear to Vinciane Despret—structures Berliner's analyses, which are a valuable contribution not only to anthropology but also to philosophy. (shrink)

In France the XVIIIth century was characterized by the Enlightenment as a philosophical phenomenon and Physiocracy as an expression of new economic thinking. But the Physiocrats were not merely a school of economic thought; they were also a school of political action. Kings, princes and high public servants were among their pupils. The great French Revolution itself was influenced by their writings. And the force of their work is still not wholly sprent. In order to appreciate the theory and significance (...) of the Physiocracy it is necessary to take into account the circumstances of its time. Physiocracy is a doctrine which esteems that agriculture is of more importance than industry and commerce. In this article following subjects of the physiocratic doctrine are dealt with : the natural order, property and liberty ; the relations between the government and the individual citizen ; the theory of the produit net and the Tableau Economique of François Quesnay. The evaluation also includes the question about the expansion of Physiocracy. Indeed, it had many followers in several countries of Europe and was also the first real School of economic thinking. By its systematic approach, Physiocracy established the economy as a science. All the aspects of Physiocracy which have been mentioned above are intimately bound together and are in several aspects the economic precursor of the French Revolution. (shrink)