Currently, there is not yet a full-fledged philosophical sub-discipline devoted to artifacts. In order to establish such a general philosophical discourse on artifacts, two topics are of special importance: artifact functionality and artifact categorization. Both are central to the question of what artifacts are in general and in particular. This introduction first presents the current state of the art in the debates on functions, both in general and in the domain of artifacts in particular. It then unfolds the three debates (...) relevant for artifact kinds, namely the ontological, epistemological and semantic debates on artifact categorization, and presents the most important theory options currently under scrutiny in these fields. It proceeds by introducing the contributions in this special issue on the functions and kinds of art works and other artifacts, and discusses possible perspectives for a general philosophy of artifacts. (shrink)

In philosophy – especially in philosophy of technology and philosophy of art –, several specific accounts of artifact functionality have been developed. These accounts usually have a restricted scope: they are clearly limited to either technical artifacts or entities of art. In this paper, a contrasting account will be developed, which aims at covering both functions of technical artifacts and functions of art works as well as their instances. The paper is in two parts: In the first part, the method (...) of specifying desiderata that Houkes and Vermaas have introduced to develop their theory of technical functions is adopted. Drawing on exemplary function ascriptions referring to items of art and technology, four desiderata are presented, all of which an account has to meet to provide a convincing analysis of both function ascriptions to technical artifacts and function ascriptions to art works and their instances. In the second part, an account that meets these desiderata is developed. (shrink)

Als zentrale Untersuchungsgegenstände sind Werke in den Geisteswissenschaften omnipräsent. Befragen wir geisteswissenschaftliche Disziplinen danach, was Werke eigentlich auszeichnet, sind wir allerdings mit einer Vielfalt disparater Auffassungen konfrontiert. Der Beitrag plädiert für einen begründet restriktiven Umgang mit dieser Vielfalt geisteswissenschaftlicher Werkkonzepte, um der je individuellen Leistungsfähigkeit der Konzepte angemessen Rechnung zu tragen. Funktionen des Werkbegriffs kommt dabei eine Schlüsselrolle zu: Innerhalb geisteswissenschaftlicher Praktiken erfüllt der Werkbegriff je unterschiedliche Funktionen, deren Explikation in doppelter Hinsicht von Nutzen ist. Zum einen können diese Funktionen (...) als Gründe dafür dienen, bestimmte Praktiken der Verwendung des Werkbegriffs gegenüber anderen zu privilegieren. Zum anderen befördert es den (inter)disziplinären Austausch, wenn wir uns der Funktionen gewahr werden, die dem Werkbegriff innerhalb unserer Praktiken zukommen. (shrink)

Copies of artefacts are ubiquitous in our lifeworld and have gained influence on several domains such as economy, culture and science. This development has induced wide-ranging public debates about how to evaluate copying processes regarding their legitimacy, which up to the present day have not reached consensus. This situation calls for an ethics of copying. However, such an ethics has not been elaborated in detail up to the present day. This paper aims at creating foundations of an artefact-related ethics of (...) copying by giving a sketch of an answer to the question of what it means to illegitimately copy an artefact. In order to achieve this, I firstly define “artefact copy” to limit the subject area of such an ethics. Secondly, I answer the question of where to draw the line between legitimate and illegitimate processes of copying. (shrink)

This volume provides the reader with exclusive insights into Ernest Sosa’s latest ideas as well as main aspects of his philosophical work of the last 50 years. Ernest Sosa, one of the most distinguished contemporary philosophers, is best known for his ground-breaking work in epistemology, and has also contributed greatly to metaphysics, metaphilosophy and philosophy of language.

Der erste der auf vier Bände angelegten Sichtungen der Bestimmung,Leben' stellt in chronologischer Folge wichtige Grundkonstellationen des Begriffsfeldes Leben von Aristoteles bis Schelling vor. Exemplarisch wird herausgearbeitet, wie in der europäischen Kulturgeschichte vom Leben geredet wurde, wann und weshalb der Lebensbegriff an Bedeutung gewann und warum die Rede vom Leben mit einer eigenen Konfliktgeschichte verbunden ist. Von besonderem Interesse sind dabei jene Diskussionen, die für christliche Traditionen direkt oder latent relevant wurden. Damit soll den Lebensdiskursen innerhalb der bioethischen Debatten ein (...) diese anregendes Gegengewicht gegeben werden. Denn um entscheiden zu können, was zum Wohl von Lebewesen mit Lebendem getan und gelassen werden sollte, dürfte hilfreich sein, zu klären, was genau gesteigert, geschützt, renaturalisiert, kultiviert oder in Frieden gelassen werden soll. Mit Beiträgen von:Petra Bahr, Christoph Ellsiepen, Matthias Freudenberg, Gerald Hartung, Christina Hoegen-Rohls, Tom Kleffmann, Dietrich Korsch, Christof Landmesser, Christoph Markschies, Peter McLaughlin, Jörn Müller, Hanns Nissing, Enno Rudolph, Stephan Schaede, Konrad Schmid, Christian Senkel, Joachim von Soosten, Philipp Stoellger. (shrink)

English summary: How can something which is absolutely unrepresentable be represented for the senses? In her studies of historical semantics of the concept of representation between 1750 and 1800, Petra Bahr shows that in the fields of aesthetics and religious theory this was a central question in the 18th century. From the perspective of the philosophy of religion, the significance of Baumgarten's Aesthetica and Kant's Critique of Judgment, two works which as a rule are perceived as competing philosophies of (...) art, has been reconstructed here in such a manner that Kant's lasting reference to Baumgarten's insights remains visible even in his overcoming of them. The discussion concerning the role of the productive power of imagination and the redefinition of the understanding of symbols functions as a link between the two philosophers. German description: Wie wird das schlechthin Undarstellbare sinnlich darstellbar? Petra Bahr zeigt in ihren Studien zur historischen Semantik des Darstellungsbegriffs zwischen 1750 und 1800, dass diese Frage das 18. Jahrhundert nicht nur in asthetischer, sondern auch in religionstheoretischer Perspektive beschaftigt. Die religionsphilosophische Dignitat von Baumgartens Aesthetica und Kants Kritik der Urteilskraft, zweier in der Regel nur als konkurrierende Philosophien der Kunst wahrgenommenen Werke, wird dabei so rekonstruiert, dass der bleibende Bezug Kants auf die Einsichten Baumgartens auch noch in deren Uberwindung sichtbar bleibt: die Rolle der produktiven Einbildungskraft, die Neubestimmung des Symbolverstandnisses und die Umbesetzung des Begriffs der sinnlichen Reprasentation. Mit einem sinngeschichtlichen Zugang wird die reiche und wechselvolle Vorgeschichte rekonstruiert, die die Kritik der Urteilskraft zu allererst als die Antwort Kants auf ausstehende Probleme der sinnlichen Darstellung des Undarstellbaren verstehbar macht. (shrink)

German description: Wie wird das schlechthin Undarstellbare sinnlich darstellbar? Petra Bahr zeigt in ihren Studien zur historischen Semantik des Darstellungsbegriffs zwischen 1750 und 1800, dass diese Frage das 18.

¿Podría un dios hacer aparecer como verdaderas cosas que son falsas? Esta pregunta que Cicerón formula en las Cuestiones académicas y en el contexto de su objeción al concepto estoico de sabiduría, adquiere una fuerza impensada en el seno de la civilización cristiana, civilización gobernada por la idea de un Dios omnipotente. Así, es objeto de discusión en la Edad Media y llega a Filosofía Moderna a través de René Descartes. En este trabajo, comenzamos por presentar la objeción de Cicerón (...) y, en un segundo momento, mostramos la renovación que la misma experimenta en ciertas disputas medievales. Llegamos finalmente a Descartes, en quien analizamos la hipótesis de un Dios engañador así como algunas de las objeciones que se le hacen y las respuestas que el autor ofrece ante ellas. Nuestra conclusión es que esta hipótesis súper escéptica, consecuencia de la idea de un Dios omnipotente, se encuentra en la médula del cartesianismo, algo que Pierre Bayle hará notar con claridad medio siglo más tarde. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialtheorie und Philosophie Jahrgang: 3 Heft: 1 Seiten: 3-25.

This article introduces the discovery of a “Sonet in the commendation of Sir Thomas More Knyght” found in a copy of the 1557 English Workes printed by Richard Tottel and edited by William Rastell. It argues the sonnet was written by a Tudor Catholic early in Elizabeth's reign and should also be read in light of its 1557 print context: its physical place in Workes alongside Rastell's Preface, and in conjunction with Tottel's Miscellany printed the same year. Read through such (...) a lens, this newly discovered sonnet helps illuminate the idiosyncratic complexity of Catholic experience in Elizabethan England concerning memory, martyrdom, censorship and repression. (shrink)

A particular problem of traditional Rational Choice Theory is that it cannot explain equilibrium selection in simple coordination games. In this paper we analyze and discuss the solution concept for common coordination problems as incorporated in the theory of Team Reasoning (TR). Special consideration is given to TR’s concept of opportunistic choice and to the resulting restrictions in using private information. We report results from a laboratory experiment in which teams were given a chance to coordinate on a particular pattern (...) of behavior in a sequence of HiLo games. A modification of the stage game offered opportunities to improve on the team goal through changing this accustomed pattern of behavior. Our observations throw considerable doubt on the idea of opportunistic team reasoning as a guide to coordination. Contrary to what TR would predict, individuals tend to stick to accustomed behavioral patterns. Moreover, we find that individual decisions are at least partly determined by private information not accessible to all members of a team. Alternative theories of choice, in particular cognitive hierarchy theory may be more suitable to explain the observed pattern of behavior. (shrink)

In their classic study of differences in mating strategies, Clark and Hatfield (1989, Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 39–54) found that men and women demonstrated a striking difference in interest in casual sex. The current study examined the role of an imagined requestor’s physical attractiveness (slightly unattractive, moderately attractive, and exceptionally attractive) on men’s and women’s willingness to accept three different requests (go out, come to apartment, go to bed) as reflected in answers to a questionnaire. We tested (...) two hypotheses with a sample of 427 men and 443 women from three countries. Hypothesis 1 states that men, relative to women, will demonstrate a greater willingness to accept the “come to apartment” and “go to bed” requests but not the “go out” request for all three levels of requestor attractiveness. This hypothesis reflects Clark and Hatfield’s main findings. Hypothesis 2 states that the physical attractiveness of a potential partner will have a greater effect on women’s than on men’s willingness to accept all three requests, and particularly for the explicit request for casual sex. The results partially supported Hypothesis 1 and fully supported Hypothesis 2. The discussion highlights limitations of the current research and presents directions for future research. (shrink)

Este artículo busca reconstruir en lo que consideramos sus tres momentos principales el ideal renacentista y moderno de una República literaria. Conforme a esos momentos, el trabajo se divide en tres secciones. La primera estará dedicada a la República literaria tal como la concibieron los humanistas del Renacimiento y la temprana Modernidad. La segunda, buscará comprender el peso que tuvieron los periódicos literarios en la transformación de aquella República. En la tercera, finalmente, trataremos de reconstruir la República literaria en la (...) España de mediados del siglo XVIII, la España del Padre Feijoo, quien asume buena parte del pasado erudito europeo buscando recrearlo en la medida de lo posible conforme a las circunstancias locales. (shrink)