This article examines the history of Erich Auerbach’s relationship with the DVjs, in which science and politics intersect. In the early phase of his career, Auerbach attributed great importance to the DVjs and developed a special relationship with Rothacker in particular. This is evident from his letters to the journal’s editors, which are the focus of this study. When Rothacker began to take sides with National Socialism, Auerbach turned his back on the DVjs. After the Second World War, he was (...) one of the emigrated academics whose cooperation the journal sought. The effects of the political upheavals of 1933/45 on the DVjs can be exemplified by the relationship Auerbach had with it. (shrink)

Hebb's theory of cell assemblies is a precursor of the neural network approach used as an implicit hypothesis by most contemporary neuroscientists. Applying this model to language representation leads to demanding predictions about the organization of semantic categories. Other implications of a Hebbian approach to language representation, however, may prove problematic with respect to both neurolinguistic concepts and the results of neuroimaging studies.

In the paper at hand I introduce Goethe’s ontology and methodology for the study of life as an alternative to current theories. ‘Life,’ in its individual, social and/or pan-natural form, has been a recurring topic in the social sciences for the last two centuries and may currently experience a renaissance, if we are to believe Scott Lash. Goethe’s approach is of particular interest because he formulated it as one of the first critical responses to the nascent discipline of biology. It (...) can be characterised broadly as phenomenology with a strong dose of life philosophy. For this reason, and to draw its contours more clearly, I compare his approach to the respective thoughts in Husserl’s and Simmel’s work. The comparison focuses on the two central concepts phenomenon and life but also discusses broader epistemological and methodological issues, such as the relationship between observer and observed, the relationship between culture and nature, the nature of causality as well as preferred methods of study. (shrink)

Artificial Intelligence as a buzzword and a technological development is presently cast as the ultimate ‘game changer’ for economy and society; a technology of which we cannot be the master, but which nonetheless will have a pervasive influence on human life. The fast pace with which the multi-billion dollar AI industry advances toward the creation of human-level intelligence is accompanied by an increasingly exaggerated chorus of the ‘incredible miracle’, or the ‘incredible horror’, intelligent machines will constitute for humanity, as the (...) human is gradually replaced by a technologically superior proxy, destined to be configured as a functional component at best, a relic at worst. More than half a century ago, Günther Anders sketched out this path toward technological obsolescence, and his work on ‘Promethean shame’ and ‘Promethean discrepancy’ provides an invaluable means with which to recognise and understand the relationship of the modern human to his/her technological products. In this article, I draw on Anders’s writings to unpack and unsettle contemporary narratives of our relation to AI, with a view toward refocusing attention on the responsibilities we bear in producing such immersive technologies. With Anders, I suggest that we must exercise and develop moral imagination so that the human capacity for moral responsibility does not atrophy in our technologically mediated future. (shrink)

Extending a strategy previously used by Clancy, Schacter, McNally, and Pitman , we administered a neutral and a trauma-related version of the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm to a sample of women reporting recovered or repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse , women reporting having always remembered their abuse , and women reporting no history of abuse . We found that individuals reporting recovered memories of CSA are more prone than other participants to falsely recalling and recognizing neutral words that were never presented. (...) Moreover, our study is the first to show that this finding even held when trauma-related material was involved. Correlational analyses revealed that fantasy proneness, but not self-reported traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms were related to false recall and false recognition. (shrink)

Current analytical philosophies of romantic love tend to identify the essence of such love with one specific element, such as concern for the beloved person, valuing the beloved person or the union between the lovers. This paper will deal with different forms of the union theory of love which takes love to be the physical, psychic or ontological union of two persons. Prima facie, this theory might appear to be implausible because it has several contra-intuitive implications, and yet, I submit, (...) it is more coherent and attractive than it seems to be. I shall distinguish three specific models and thereby offer a differentiated account of the union theory which has not previously been provided in the literature. I will claim that two of these models should be rejected. I shall then defend the third model against certain possible objections ; but nevertheless, I shall conclude by showing how this model, too, faces further significant objections which ultimately expose the limits of the union theory of love. In conclusion, I will sketch the outlines of a non-reductive cluster theory of love. (shrink)

Our contemporary condition is deeply infused with scientific-technological rationales. These influence and shape our ethical reasoning on war, including the moral status of civilians and the moral choices available to us. In this article, I discuss how technology shapes and directs the moral choices available to us by setting parameters for moral deliberation. I argue that technology has moral significance for just war thinking, yet this is often overlooked in attempts to assess who is liable to harm in war and (...) to what extent. This omission produces an undue deference to technological authority, reducing combatants, civilians and scenarios to data points. If we are to develop a maximally restrictive framework for harming civilians in war, which in my view should be a goal of just war thinking, then it is imperative that the scientific-technological dimension of contemporary war is given due attention. (shrink)

Im antiken Athen und Rom war moralkonformes Verhalten eine Ressource von Ansehen. Aber welche konkrete Relevanz hatte Moral in diesem Sinne als soziales Kapital? Welchen Stellenwert hatte sie in den sozialen Zusammenhängen des gegenseitigen Kennens und Anerkennens? Und in welchen Foren, durch welche Medien und in welchen Textgattungen wurden Verhaltensnormen definiert oder ausgehandelt und kommuniziert? 0Die Autorinnen und Autoren zeigen in ihren Beiträgen die nachweisbaren sozialen Konsequenzen eines guten oder schlechten Rufes auf und stellen verschiedene Moraldiskurse vor: von Majestätsprozessen und (...) aristokratischer Moral in der frühen Kaiserzeit über Freizeitbeschäftigungen als Spiegel moralischen Wandels im spätklassischen Athen bis hin zu Klatsch, Gerüchten und fama als moralischem Kapital im spätrepublikanischen und frühkaiserzeitlichen Rom. (shrink)

Definition of the problem: This article starts with a conceptual and factual discussion on the economic background of rationing in health care. The author tries to explain what rationing in health care means and how this problem can be estimated ethically. Rationing is defined as: the allocation and distribution of scarce goods in health care and of medical and nursing services under the condition that demand isgreater than supply. Arguments and conclusion: This definition gives the opportunity, to prove whether rationing (...) meets ethical criteria of justice concerning the allocation and distribution of basic goods. In order to ensure a human supply of necessary medical and nursing services, the author promotes an ethical reflection in terms of a theory of justice. (shrink)

Emotions shape judgments and decisions, including actions in response to climate change. Despite growing interest in the cognitive, social, and political determinants of climate (in)action, the role of emotions has received limited attention. This review discusses the role of hope in climate action. While many emotional states are oriented to the past or present, hope offers a positive vision of the future. In exploratory analyses of a nationally representative survey of US residents, we identify the most important predictors of hope, (...) climate action, and policy support from a large set of potential variables. We find suggestive evidence that hope, a construct comprised of cognitive, emotional, and contextual factors, is an important motivator of future-oriented action. (shrink)

This paper deals primarily with theDoctrine of Method(DM) of Kant’sDoctrine of Virtue. First, I present an overview of theDM(1.1) and an explanation of how it is possible to teach virtue (1.2). Second, I address the following issues: Why is aDMnecessary at all (2.1)? How does theDMrelate to what Kant calls casuistry (2.2)? I will argue that wide duties have two essential characteristics: They command the right kind of moral motivation in terms of a moral maxim, and they allow for latitude. (...) The fact that wide duties command the right kind of motivation leads to theDM; the latitude of wide duties, however, leads to casuistry. To unfold this interpretation, it must also be shown that both imperfect and perfect duties are wide duties. (shrink)

It has been hypothesized that illusory agency detection is at the basis of belief in supernatural agents and paranormal beliefs. In the present study a biological motion perception task was used to study illusory agency detection in a group of skeptics and a group of paranormal believers. Participants were required to detect the presence or absence of a human agent in a point-light display. It was found that paranormal believers had a lower perceptual sensitivity than skeptics, which was due to (...) a response bias to ‘yes’ for stimuli in which no agent was present. The relation between paranormal beliefs and illusory agency detection held only for stimuli with low to intermediate ambiguity, but for stimuli with a high number of visual distractors responses of believers and skeptics were at the same level. Furthermore, it was found that illusory agency detection was unrelated to traditional religious belief and belief in witchcraft, whereas paranormal beliefs were strongly related to illusory agency detection. These findings qualify the relation between illusory pattern perception and supernatural and paranormal beliefs and suggest that paranormal beliefs are strongly related to agency detection biases. (shrink)

Action semantics enables us to plan actions with objects and to predict others' object-directed actions as well. Previous studies have suggested that action semantics are represented in a fronto-parietal action network that has also been implicated to play a role in action observation. In the present fMRI study it was investigated how activity within this network changes as a function of the predictability of an action involving multiple objects and requiring the use of action semantics. Participants performed an action prediction (...) task in which they were required to anticipate the use of a centrally presented object that could be moved to an associated target object (e.g., hammer—nail). The availability of actor information (i.e., presenting a hand grasping the central object) and the number of possible target objects (i.e., 0, 1, or 2 target objects) were independently manipulated, resulting in different levels of predictability. It was found that making an action prediction based on actor information resulted in an increased activation in the extrastriate body area (EBA) and the fronto-parietal action observation network (AON). Predicting actions involving a target object resulted in increased activation in the bilateral IPL and frontal motor areas. Within the AON, activity in the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and the left premotor cortex (PMC) increased as a function of the level of action predictability. Together these findings suggest that the left IPL represents stored hand-postures that can be used for planning object-directed actions and for predicting other's actions as well. (shrink)

With a focus on how national identity impacts the decision-making of the European Court of Justice, Elke Cloots provides an innovative adjudication scheme that purports to assist the ECJ in its search for a proper balance between respect for national identity and European integration.

Das Werk ist ein neuer systematischer Gesamtentwurf fur eine Ethik postmoderner Gesellschaften aus christlicher Perspektive. Diese ist pluralismusfahig und kompatibel zu Erkenntnissen der politischen Philosophie, der Politikwissenschaft, der Soziologie und der Okonomie. Die Ergebnisse empirischer Gerechtigkeitsforschung stehen hier unverzichtbar am Beginn ethischen Argumentierens ebenso wie die Ergebnisse der Diskursethik. Daruber hinaus stellt sich die Autorin grundsatzlichen Fragen heutiger Ethik: "Haben Menschen einen naturlichen Sinn fur Gerechtigkeit und welchen? Ist Gerechtigkeit universal oder beliebig? Gehort Gleichheit zur Gerechtigkeit hinzu?" Das Neue einer (...) derartigen christlichen Ethik ist ihre Konsensorientierung mit globaler Reichweite. Die christliche Ethik vollzieht damit einen Paradigmenwechsel hin zum demokratietheoretisch fundierten Konsensparadigma moderner Ethik. Es wird klar herausgearbeitet, dass allgemeine Normen nicht mehr auf der Basis metaphysischer Wesensreflexionen uber die Natur der Dinge oder die Normalitat einer Handlung erfolgen durfen. Vielmehr sind alle potentiell Betroffenen in einer neutralen Vertragssituation nach ihrer Zustimmung zu Normen zu befragen. Deren Einigungsprozess stellt die Rekonstruktion einer normativen Ethik dar, ohne diese in die Beliebigkeit einzelner zu legen. Die Form fallt dann auch in der christlichen Ethik nicht mehr hinter den materiellen Anspruch auf Personenrechte zuruck. (shrink)

I. Die Differenz von Gut und (Ge- )recht - Eine ethische Grundunterscheidung -- II. Konsequenzen für die moderne Ethik -- III. Vier philosophische Lösungsversuche zur Klärung der Differenz -- IV. Der Umgang christlicher Ethik mit dem Zusammenhang von Gut und Gerecht -- V. Paradigmatische Impulse für die christliche Ethik -- VI. Politische Gerechtigkeit und eine umfassende christliche Theorie des Guten.

Name der Zeitschrift: Nietzsche-Studien Jahrgang: 43 Heft: 1 Seiten: 306-306.

Polyamorie ist romantische Liebe, die sich auf mindestens zwei Personen bezieht oder beziehen kann. Eine solche Definition klingt leichter als sie es tatsächlich ist. Um eine genaue und adäquate Analyse von Polyamorie zu leisten, muss, erstens, geklärt werden, was Liebe – die hier allein als romantische Liebe thematisiert wird – überhaupt ist. Sie ist, so soll gezeigt werden, ein spezifisches dispositionales Emotionsmuster, das eine besonders starke Form der subjektiven Bedeutsamkeit konstituiert. Auf dem Hintergrund dieses Verständnisses von romantischer Liebe im Allgemeinen (...) soll dann, zweitens, gezeigt werden, dass polyamore Liebe keine andere Form der Liebe ist als monoamore Liebe, sondern sich als romantische Liebe allein durch die divergierende Anzahl der Personen, die Gegenstand der Liebe sind, von monoamorer Liebe unterscheidet; besonderer Auszeichnungen wie verantwortlich oder konsensuell, wie sie in der Literatur geläufig sind, bedarf eine so verstandene polyamore Liebe, um sie hinreichend zu definieren, also nicht. Beachtet man aber, dass es eine Sache ist, polyamore Liebe, verstanden als emotionales Phänomen, zu definieren, und eine durchaus ganz andere Sache, polyamore Beziehungen zu definieren, bleibt Raum für die Frage, wann genau eine Beziehungskonstellation eigentlich polyamor ist, oder wann eine polyamore Person einfach nur mehrere Personen liebt, ohne dass die entstehende Beziehungskonstellation als solche aber polyamor wäre. Schließlich soll, drittens, das Verhältnis von Polyamorie und Sexualität beleuchtet werden. Auch wenn Sexualität für gewöhnlich als eines der hervorstechenden Elemente der romantischen Liebe verstanden wird, gehört sie gar nicht notwendig zu ihr – und jedenfalls hätte die Behauptung, dass eine notwendige Beziehung zwischen Polyamorie und gelebter Sexualität besteht, begrifflich-normative Konsequenzen, die man wohl gar nicht haben will. Es wird gezeigt, warum es keine notwendige Beziehung zwischen Liebe und Sexualität gibt – weder zwischen monoamorer noch zwischen polyamorer Liebe und Sexualität. Auch asexuelle polyamore (romantische) Liebe ist somit möglich. (shrink)

Born in Leipzig in 1646, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is an influential figure in the world of process philosophy. In addition to his philosophical contributions, Leibniz invented the infinitesimal calculus and binary numbers, along with mathematical and logical forms of notation still used today. Leibniz believed that the worlds of theory, praxis, nature, morals, and the divine as well as the human world all formed one perfect system. This chapter examines Leibniz’s philosophy in relation to process metaphysics and its relevance to (...) organization studies. It also discusses his responses to René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza concerning various issues, such as why he called the monads substances. It also considers which organization studies authors use Leibniz today. (shrink)

It is held that absolute poverty causes approximately one third of all human deaths, some 18 million annually, and blights billions of lives with hunger and disease. This book develops universalizable norms aimed at tackling absolute poverty and the complex and multilayered problems associated with it.