The aim of the paper is to present and evaluate Bolzano's theory of grounding, that is, his theory of the concept expressed and the relation brought into play by 'because'. In the first part of the paper (Sections 1-4) the concept of grounding is distinguished from and related to three other concepts: the concept of an epistemic reason}, the concept of causality, and the concept of deducibility (i.e., logical consequence). In its second part (Sections 5-7) Bolzano's positive account of grounding (...) is reconstructed in axiomatic form and critically discussed. (shrink)

Schon seit ihrer Gründung in den 1970er-Jahren ist die Reihe Germanistische Linguistik (RGL) exponiertes Forum des Faches, dessen Namen sie im Titel führt. Hinsichtlich der thematischen Breite (Sprachebenen, Varietäten, Kommunikationsformen, Epochen), der Forschungsperspektiven (Theorie und Empirie, Grundlagenforschung und Anwendung, Inter- und Transdisziplinarität) und des methodologischen Spektrums ist die Reihe offen angelegt. Das Aufgreifen neuer Trends hat in ihr ebenso Platz wie das Fortführen von Bewährtem. Die Publikationsformen reichen von Monographien und Sammelbänden bis zu Wörterbüchern. Wissenschaftlicher Beirat (ab November 2011): Prof. (...) Dr. Karin Donhauser (Berlin) Prof. Dr. Stephan Elspaß (Augsburg) Prof. Dr. Helmuth Feilke (Gießen) Prof. Dr. Jürg Fleischer (Marburg) Prof. Dr. Stephan Habscheid (Siegen) Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Harnisch (Passau). (shrink)

Confabulations are memories of events and experiences that have never actually happened. Such false memories have fascinated scientists for over a century, and in recent years been the subject of much debate. This is the first book to provide an in-depth analysis of an extraordinary and controversial subject.

In the wake of the emergence and rapid development of nanoethics there swiftly followed fundamental criticism: nanoethics was said to have become much too involved with speculative developments and was concerning itself too little with actually pending questions of nanotechnology design and applications. If this diagnosis is true, then large parts of nanoethics are misguided. Such fundamental criticism must surely either result in a radical reorientation of nanoethics or be refuted for good reasons. In this paper, I will examine the (...) critics’ central arguments and, building on this scrutiny, formulate an answer to these alternatives. The results lead to conclusions which allow explaining and unfolding the thesis of this paper that instead of speculative nanoethics we should better speak of and develop explorative philosophy of nanotechnology. (shrink)

Three facts are widely thought to be key to the characterization of human cognitive uniqueness (though a number of other factors are often cited as well): (a) humans are sophisticated cultural learners; (b) humans often rely on mental states with rich representational contents; and (c) humans have the ability and disposition to make and use tools. This article argues that (a)–(c) create a positive feedback loop: Sophisticated cultural learning makes possible the manufacture of tools that increase the sophistication of representational (...) decision-making, which in turn allows for yet further increases in the sophistication of cultural learning and tool manufacture. (shrink)

Key Terms in Logic offers the ideal introduction to this core area in the study of philosophy, providing detailed summaries of the important concepts in the study of logic and the application of logic to the rest of philosophy. A brief introduction provides context and background, while the following chapters offer detailed definitions of key terms and concepts, introductions to the work of key thinkers and lists of key texts. Designed specifically to meet the needs of students and assuming no (...) prior knowledge of the subject, this is the ideal reference tool for those coming to Logic for the first time. (shrink)

Recent research has detailed the use of neuroscience in several jurisdictions, but Australia remains a notable omission. To fill this substantial void we performed a systematic review of neuroscience in Australian criminal cases. The first section of this article reports the results of our review by detailing the purposes for which neuroscience is admitted into Australian criminal courts. We found that neuroscience is being admitted pre-trial, at trial, and during sentencing. In the second section, we evaluate these applications. We generally (...) found that courts admit neuroscience cautiously, and to supplement more well-established forms of evidence. Still, we found some instances in which the court seemed to misunderstand the neuroscience. These cases ranged from interpreting neuroscience as “objective” evidence to admitting neuroscience when the same non-neuroscientific psychiatric evidence would be inadmissible for being common sense. Furthermore, in some cases, neuroscientific evidence presents a double-edged sword; it may serve to either aggravate or mitigate a sentence. Thus, the decision about whether or not to tender this evidence is risky. (shrink)

We present a model of computation for string functions over single-sorted, total algebraic structures and study some basic features of a general theory of computability within this framework. Our concept generalizes the Blum-Shub-Smale setting of computability over the reals and other rings. By dealing with strings of arbitrary length instead of tuples of fixed length, some suppositions of deeper results within former approaches to generalized recursion theory become superfluous. Moreover, this gives the basis for introducing computational complexity in a BSS-like (...) manner. Relationships both to classical computability and to Friedman's concept of eds computability are established. Two kinds of nondeterminism as well as several variants of recognizability are investigated with respect to interdependencies on each other and on properties of the underlying structures. For structures of finite signatures, there are universal programs with the usual characteristics. For the general case of not necessarily finite signature, this subject will be studied in a separate, forthcoming paper. (shrink)

In their book Unto Others, Sober and Wilson argue that various evolutionary considerations (based on the logic of natural selection) lend support to the truth of psychological altruism. However, recently, Stephen Stich has raised a number of challenges to their reasoning: in particular, he claims that three out of the four evolutionary arguments they give are internally unconvincing, and that the one that is initially plausible fails to take into account recent findings from cognitive science and thus leaves open a (...) number of egoistic responses. These challenges make it necessary to reassess the plausibility of Sober & Wilson’s evolutionary account—which is what I aim to do in this paper. In particular, I try to show that, as a matter of fact, Sober & Wilson’s case remains compelling, as some of Stich’s concerns rest on a confusion, and those that do not are not sufficiently strong to establish all the conclusions he is after. The upshot is that no reason has been given to abandon the view that evolutionary theory has advanced the debate surrounding psychological altruism. (shrink)

Antonio Gramsci - mit diesem Namen assoziieren wir zunächst ein philosophisches Modell, sprach- und kulturtheoretische Analysen, Gesellschaftskritik, emanzipatorische Politikvorstellungen. Weniger bekannt ist die pädagogische Grundlinie, die sich durch die gesamte theoretische und praktische Tätigkeit des italienischen Philosophen zieht. Die vorliegende Studie erschließt die pädagogische Vorstellungswelt und die Bildungsmodelle Gramscis sowohl im Sinne einer geschichtlichen Rekonstruktion, als auch im Hinblick auf ihre Gegenwarts- und Zukunftsrelevanz. Analysiert werden Gramscis pädagogische und bildungspolitische Überlegungen vor der Inhaftierung sowie die in den Gefängnisschriften und -heften (...) vorgenommenen erziehungs- und bildungstheoretischen Reflexionen. Zugleich wird die Frage aufgegriffen, wie Gramscis Bildungs- und Erziehungsvorstellungen heute weiterzudenken wären und welche Bereicherung in seinem Denken für eine emanzipative Erziehungswissenschaft liegt. - Armin Bernhard, Jg. 1957, ist Professor für Allgemeine Pädagogik am Fachbereich Bildungswissenschaften der Universität Duisburg-Essen, Standort Essen. Forschungsschwerpunkte: Allgemeine Pädagogik, Erziehungs- und Bildungstheorie, Geschichte der Pädagogik. (shrink)

There are different possibilities for defining the areas for the application of ethics to engineering. They range from descriptive analysis of engineers’ relationship to moral criteria and extend to normative issues on how engineers should design more “sustainable” technology. In this paper, a frame of reference is proposed, which makes it possible to elaborate in a transparent manner goals for analysis of the scope of ethics in engineering. Its point of departure is marked by two questions: 1) which types of (...) situation in the practice of engineering require ethical reflection? and 2) to what extent are engineers expected to assume moral responsibility in the practice of their profession? The answers to both of these questions presuppose reflection on the societal processes of setting definitions and of making ascriptions. Understanding these processes of societal “construction” of demands for ethical reflection in engineering and of engineers’ moral responsibilities should be an important objective of the analysis of ethics in engineering. (shrink)

Dynamic stability of the knee and weakness of the extensor muscles are considered to be the most important functional limitations after anterior cruciate ligament injury, probably due to changes at the central level of motor control rather than at the peripheral level. Despite general technological advances, fewer contraindicative surgical procedures, and extensive postoperative rehabilitation, up to 65% of patients fail to return to their preinjury level of sports, and only half were able to return to competitive sport. Later, it becomes (...) clear that current rehabilitation after knee surgery is not sufficient to address the functional limitations after ACL reconstruction even years after surgery. Therefore, new therapeutic tools targeting the central neural system, i.e., the higher centers of motor control, should be investigated and integrated into current rehabilitation practice. To improve motor performance when overt movement cannot be fully performed, several techniques have been developed to increase physical and mental activation without the need to perform overt movements. Among the most popular cognitive techniques used to increase physical performance are motor imagery and action observation practices. This review, which examines the available evidence, presents the underlying mechanisms of the efficacy of cognitive interventions and provides guidelines for their use at home. (shrink)

The 18 contributions to this volume deal with a variety of 'tropes', such as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, irony, euphemism, antonomasia and hyperbole. Using various approaches or paradigms the authors aim to find answers to the crucial epistemological questions, namely whether and to what extent utterances containing tropes can be said to be true or false.

Was ist das Wesen des schopferischen Geistes? Diese Frage steht im Zentrum des Eranos-Bandes. Die sieben Beitrage legen Zeugnis von ausgewahlten Aussenseitern, Sinnsuchern und Visionaren ab. Sie berichten von eigenen Erfahrungen und laden die Leser ein, ihnen in ihrem Diskurs zu folgen. Dieser Band eroffnet ein Spannungsfeld uber die Kulturgrenzen hinaus, das eng mit den Wurzeln der Eranos-Tagungen verbunden ist: Seit dem Beginn 1933 stehen die Tagungen im Zeichen der Begegnung der Kulturen, aber auch des Dialoges zwischen den Geistes- und (...) Naturwissenschaften. Dabei kommt der Psychologie und der Religionswissenschaft eine wichtige Mittlerrolle zu. Der Band enthalt die folgenden Beitrage: Ronald Steckel: Jacob Bohme - ein Wissender Gottes Gunhild Porksen: Wer ist der Mensch? Paracelsus' Entwurf einer umfassenden Anthropologie Marianne Katterfeldt: Die Urschonheit des Menschen - Der Mensch als Mikrokosmos bei Emanuel Swedenborg Akira Ishii: NAIKAN - Innenschau. Eine aus dem Buddhismus erwachsene Meditationsmethode Gerhard M. Walch: Erich Neumann - Leben und Werk eines Aussenseiters und Visionars Christian Jung: Meister Eckharts Philosophie des Nichts Nikolaus Koliusis: Blaupause. (shrink)

Vorbemerkung: Das Staunen -- Die Scholastik -- Héloïse (um 1099-1164): Die Logik der Liebe -- Mystik als Schau göttlicher Weisheit -- Hildegard von Bingen (1998-1179): "Scivias--Wisse die Wege" -- Die "Querelle du Roman de la Rose" -- Christine de Pizan (um 1364-um 1430): "die Stadt der Frauen" -- Die Aufklärung -- Émilie du Châtlet (1706-1749): "Rede vom Glück" -- Romantik und Neuromantik -- Ricarda Huch (1864-1947): Der Mensch der Zukunft aus dem Geiste der Romantik -- Die Phänomenologie -- Edith Stein (...) (1891-1942): Philosophin der Phänomenologie, Märtyrerin, Heilige -- Philosophie der Pflichten dem Menschen gegenüber -- Simone Weil (1909-1943): Sozialistische Aktivistin, Philosophin, Mystikerin -- Philosophie des Politischen -- Hannah Arendt (1906-1975): Philosophisches Engagement im Zeitalter des Totalitarismus -- Der Existenzialismus -- Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): Freiheit und Emanzipation -- Philosophie der Verantwortung in einer globalisierten Welt -- Jeanne Hersch (1910-2000): Freiheit und Verantwortung. (shrink)

recent defence of the massive modularity thesis. However, as this paper seeks to show, there are major flaws in its structure. If construed deductively, it is unsound: modular mental architecture is not necessarily the best architecture, and even if it were, this alone would not show that this architecture evolved. If construed inductively, it is not much more convincing, as it then appears to be too weak to support the kind of modularity Carruthers is concerned with. The upshot of this (...) is that whatever reason we might have for believing that the mind is massively modular, it is not based on the argument from design. Introduction Carruthers’ Argument from Design Modularity and Optimality: Problems for the Deductive Argument from Design Degrees of Modularity: Problems for the Inductive Argument from Design Conclusion CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? (shrink)

Notions of democracy and nationhood constitute the pivotal legacy of the American Revolution, but to understand their development one must move beyond a purely American context. Citizens of a Common Intellectual Homeland explores the simultaneous emergence of modern concepts of democracy and the nation on both sides of the Atlantic during the age of revolutions. Armin Mattes argues that in their origin the two concepts were indistinguishable because they arose from a common revolutionary impulse directed against the prevailing hierarchical (...) political and social order. The author shows how the reconceptualization of democracy and the nation, which resulted from this revolutionary impulse, received its decisive form from the French Revolution. Although the French Revolution was instrumental in redefining the two terms, however, neither were these changes confined to France, nor did the new meanings merely radiate from France to other countries. To illustrate the transatlantic emergence of these ideas, Mattes considers the works of pairs of prominent intellectual contemporaries--one in America and the other in Europe--each writing on a common topic. The thinkers and topics include Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke on the transatlantic revolutions, John Adams and Friedrich von Gentz on the mixed constitution, James Madison and Immanuel Kant on perpetual peace, and Thomas Jefferson and Destutt de Tracy on the nation. Mattes's approach highlights the significant impact that the French Revolution had on the evolution of thought in the period, demonstrating that the emergence and early development of modern concepts of democracy and the nation in America were intimately tied to revolutionary events and processes in the larger Atlantic world. Preparation of this volume has been supported by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Jeffersonian America. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.