Subjects and Simulations presents essays focused on suffering and sublimity, representation and subjectivity, and the relation of truth and appearance through engagement with the legacies of Jean Baudrillard and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe.

Wer kennt GOTTLOB FREGE (1848-1925)? Nur wenige verbinden mit seinem Namen einen der groaten Logiker aller Zeiten, ohne dessen "Logik von Funktion und Argument" die heutige Computertechnik kaum denkbar ist. Frege fuhlte sich zeitlebens zu seiner Heimat im Norden Deutschlands hingezogen. In Wismar verbrachte er seine Kindheit und in Bad Kleinen, in unmittelbarer Nahe, seinen Lebensabend. Das im Jahre 2000 gegrundete Gottlob-Frege-Zentrum der Hochschule Wismar organisierte ihm zu Ehren im Mai 2013 in seiner Geburtsstadt eine internationale Konferenz, an der Forscher (...) aus der mathematischen Grundlagenforschung und der Analytischen Philosophie teilnahmen. Im Konferenzband erfahren Sie von bekannten Wissenschaftlern u.a., begin{itemize} item was Frege zur Entwicklung der Mathematik, Logik und Philosophie leistete, item welche wissenschaftlichen Auffassungen Frege vertrat und welche er scharf kritisierte, item mit welchen bekannten Wissenschaftlern Frege korrespondierte und wer sein Werk fortsetzte oder in Frage stellte, item was wir heute noch aus Freges Arbeiten lernen konnen. (shrink)

In this article I discuss Claudia Card's treatment of war rape in relation to her discussion of the victim's moral power of forgiveness. I argue that her analysis of the victim's power to withhold forgiveness overlooks the paradoxical structure of witnessing, which implies that there is an ungraspable dimension of atrocity. In relation to this ungraspable element, the proposal that victims of atrocity have the power to either offer or withhold forgiveness may have little relevance.

This book contains the first complete interpretation of all aspects of Hobbes's philosophy which treat religious convictions and practices. Not only his philosophy of religion and his philosophical theology, but also his biblical theology are treated in extense. The main thesis is that, according to Hobbes, neither philosophy nor politics in any way need a religious fundament; but since religions establish institutions and thus accumulate means of power, they are necessarily an object of politics. It is for this reason that (...) religious convictions and practices are a - for a long time neglected - main topic of Hobbes's philosophy"--Publisher's pamphlet. (shrink)

Although panpsychism has had a very long history, one that goes back to the very origin of western philosophy, its force has only recently been appreciated by analytic philosophers of mind. And even if many still reject the theory as utterly absurd, others have argued that it is the only genuine form of physicalism. This paper examines the case for panpsychism and argues that there are at least goodprima faciereasons for taking it seriously. In a second step, the paper discusses (...) the main difficulty the theory has to face, the ‘composition problem’. This is the problem of explaining how the primitive experiences that are supposed to exist at the ultimate level of reality could give rise to the unified experience of a human being. What assumptions as to the nature of experience generate the composition problem? Is mental composition impossible in principle or do we simply lack at present any understanding of phenomenal parts and wholes? (shrink)

A thought-provoking meditation on food, family, identity, immigration, and, most of all, hospitality--at the table and beyond--that's part food memoir, part appeal for more authentic decency in our daily worlds, and in the world at large.

St. Basil was a towering figure in the fourth-century Church. In the midst of great controversy, he led the charge of those faithful to the doctrine proclaimed at Nicaea. For the bishop of Caesarea, the array of false teachings that plagued the Church was not merely a matter of conflicting opinions or interpretations. It was rather a result of the moral failure of so-called leaders of the Church to look first to the will of God revealed in Scripture as (...) their compass in all things-in matters of both theology and personal conduct. Here St. Basil lays out a consistent theological ethic, rooted in a nuanced appreciation for the supremacy of Scripture. These texts, presented with the Greek on the facing page, are essential reading for anyone interested in early Christian approaches to ethics as well as the right use and interpretation of the Bible. (shrink)

Biographical note: Pierfrancesco Basile, Zürich, Schweiz.

Cet ouvrage est le fruit d'une recherche approfondie dans le champ de l'esthétique et de l'herméneutique des traditions orales africaines. Il est remarquable par sa singularité et son niveau d'élaboration philosophique. Il aura fallu traverser le triple brouillage des codes culturels eux-mêmes, de l'acculturation notamment coloniale, et du particularisme des études ethnologiques et philosophiques alors disponibles. Il aura fallu, en outre, mettre en oeuvre une démarche d'analyse régressive permettant de décliner les catégories qui, en deçà des normes et des procédés (...) constituant le système des réponses, les font tenir ensemble. L'oeuvre n'est pas une invite à un repli passéiste de la culture négro-africaine sur elle-même. Il faut y voir plutôt une tentative de détermination d'un "fonds de sens" susceptible de réappropriations différentes. (shrink)

This essay examines Claudia Card's notion of misplaced gratitude, which she explores in one of her last papers, “Gratitude to the Decent Rescuer.” Whereas typically philosophers have been interested in the problems of the failures to honor obligations of gratitude, Card is more interested in the opposite fault of misplaced gratitude. Her interest reflects her social indignation and her fundamental commitment to opposing oppression, exploitation, and injustice in all its forms. The phenomenon of misplaced gratitude becomes visible from this perspective, (...) where one catches sight of what oppression does to people. The essay looks at the question, What does Card's analysis of misplaced gratitude tell us about her own philosophical methods and contributions? It discusses her engagement with both care ethics and Beauvoir's phenomenology of oppression to clarify the centrality of misplaced gratitude for Card's work in developing an ethics of oppression. (shrink)

The phenomenon of misplaced gratitude becomes visible from this perspective, where one catches sight of what oppression does to people. Only then can one see that if, for example, a woman is grateful for not being battered by her husband, her gratitude is misplaced because it is based on socially normative beliefs and practices that in themselves undermine the possibility of justice and moral integrity. One finds the problem of misplaced gratitude on the edges of Claudia Card's scathing and brilliant (...) critique of feminist care ethics as a form of slave morality. One of Card's achievements was to sustain a passionate engagement with issues of oppression coupled with close philosophical scrutiny. Care ethics risks including too much—as in the risk of caring for abusers. Misplaced gratitude is also dangerous because of its tendency to bind one to the abuser, and thereby to make one become complicit in one's own abuse. (shrink)

A thought-provoking meditation on food, family, identity, immigration, and, most of all, hospitality--at the table and beyond--that's part food memoir, part appeal for more authentic decency in our daily worlds, and in the world at large.

This book investigates various aspects of freedom as developed in the philosophical systems of Kant and Fichte. Freedom, both Kant and Fichte insist, does not mean that we can chose or think independently from all rules or necessity, but rather that we willingly accept a certain kind of submission under these rules. Therefore, the conditions of our knowledge affect and inform our self-understanding, our willing, and the ways we justify our practical choices. The essays in this volume explore both philosophers' (...) conceptions of human freedom as they relate to art, history, politics, and religion. They reveal how integrating freedom into a system of thought is crucial for our understanding of modern philosophy. System and Freedom in Kant and Fichte will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working on Kant, modern philosophy, and German Studies. (shrink)

Excerpt from The Discovery of God Generally speaking, this progress is made through some individual pioneer Of truth who gathers into himself the best in what previous generations have handed down to him, and goes on to richer understandings. These adventures occur all through the Bible's reflection Of the soul of man, and we shall pause at but a few of them. It shall be at such times as when to some sensitive spirit new qualities in God became evi dent, (...) as radium to Madame Curie, or to New ton the law Of gravitation. The experiences Of men like Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, St. Paul, are SO akin to discovery that there is no forcing Of language in the use Of the term. Developing their own insight into the Divine, they Opened up the way by which others could follow their example. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

This book offers new perspectives on the theoretical elements of the Opus postumum, Kant's project of a final work which remained unknown until eighty years after his death. The contributors read the OP as a central work in establishing the relation between Kant's transcendental philosophy, his natural philosophy, practical philosophy, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and his broader epistemology. Interpreting the OP is an important task because it helps reveal how Kant himself tried to correct and develop his critical philosophy. It (...) also sheds light on the foundational role of the three Critiques for other philosophical inquiries, as well as the unified philosophical system that Kant sought to establish. The chapters in this volume address a range of topics relevant to the epistemological and theoretical problems raised in the OP, including the transition from the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science to physics as an answer to a deficiency in critical thought; the notion of ether and, more specifically, its transcendental deduction; self-affection and the self-positing of the subject; and the idea of God and the system of ideas in the highest standpoint of transcendental philosophy. Perspectives on Kant's Opus postumum will be of interest to upper-level students and scholars working on Kant. (shrink)

To provlēma tēs philosophias -- Hē pneumatikē physē tou anthrōpou -- Hē paideia, to noēma tēs.

Printbegrænsninger: Der kan printes 10 sider ad gangen og max. 40 sider pr. session.

Mainstream cognitive neuroscience typically ignores the role of quantum physical effects in the neural processes underlying cogni¬tion and consciousness. However, many unsolved problems remain, suggesting the need to consider new approaches. We propose that quantum theory, especially through an ontological interpretation due to Bohm and Hiley, provides a fruitful framework for addressing the neural correlates of cognition and consciousness. In particular, the ontological interpretation suggests that a novel type of 'active information', connected with a novel type of 'quantum potential energy', (...) plays a key role in quantum physical processes. After introducing the ontological interpretation we illustrate its value for cognitive neuroscience by discussing it in the light of a proposal by Beck and Eccles about how quantum tunneling could play a role in controlling the frequency of synaptic exocytosis. In this proposal, quantum tunneling would enable the 'self' to control its brain without violating the energy conservation law. We argue that the ontological interpretation provides a sharper picture of what actually could be taking place in quantum tunneling in general and in synaptic exocytosis in particular. Based on the notions of active information and quantum potential energy, we propose a coherent way of understanding how mental processes (understood as involving non-classical physical processes) can act on traditional, classically describable neural processes without violating the energy conservation law. (shrink)

The "Nightcap," a relatively nonintrusive and "user-friendly" sleep monitoring system, was used by 11 subjects on 10 consecutive nights in their homes. Eighty-eight sleep mentation reports were obtained after spontaneous awakenings from Nightcap-identified REM sleep and 61 were obtained from NREM awakenings. Sleep mentation was recalled in 83% of REM reports and 54% of NREM reports. The median length of REM reports was 148 words compared to 21 words for NREM reports. Twenty-four percent of the REM reports were over 500 (...) words long; no NREM reports over 500 words were obtained. REM report lengths were lowest during the first 15 min of the REM cycle and longest 15–45 min into the period. In contrast, 7 of the 9 NREM reports more than 100 words long occurred within the first 15 min of NREM periods. The Nightcap thus appears to be an effective and efficient method of collecting large numbers of sleep mentation reports with correlated sleep staging under normal ecological conditions. (shrink)

This book represents part of an ongoing effort to understand the rules, practices, agencies and agents which shape and change the social construction of pedagogic discourse. It draws together and re-examines the findings of the author's earlier work.

David Bohm is one of the foremost scientific thinkers of today and one of the most distinguished scientists of his generation. His challenge to the conventional understanding of quantum theory has led scientists to reexamine what it is they are going and his ideas have been an inspiration across a wide range of disciplines. _Quantum Implications_ is a collection of original contributions by many of the world' s leading scholars and is dedicated to David Bohm, his work and the issues (...) raised by his ideas. The contributors range across physics, philosophy, biology, art, psychology, and include some of the most distinguished scientists of the day. There is an excellent introduction by the editors, putting Bohm's work in context and setting right some of the misconceptions that have persisted about the work of David Bohm. (shrink)

Waking hallucinations suggest mechanisms of dream initiation and maintenance. Visual association cortex activation, yielding poorly attended-to, visually ambiguous dream environments, suggests conditions favoring hallucinosis. Attentional and visual systems, coactivated during sleep, may generate imagery that is inserted into virtual environments. Internally consistent dreaming may evolve from successive, contextually evoked images. Fluctuating arousal and context-evoked imagery may help explain dream features.

Nielsen's concept of “covert REM sleep” accounts for more of the complexity in sleep psychophysiology than its conceptual predecessors such as the tonic-phasic model. With new neuroimaging findings, such concepts lead to more precise sleep psychophysiology including both traditional polysomnographic signs and neuronal activity in greater proximity to the actual point sources and distributed networks which generate dreaming. [Hobson et al.; Nielsen].