Descartes, Galilei, Newton - die alten >Helden.

Zusammenfassung Um Veränderungen im sportlichen Handeln als solche kennzeichnen und analysieren zu können, schlägt das Forschungsprogramm Sport der Medialen Moderne vor, sportliche Phänomene in den Kontext einer Gesellschaftstheorie zu stellen. Der Artikel stellt einen ersten Entwurf dieser Gesellschaftstheorie dar. Anliegen ist es, bestimmte, für die moderne Gesellschaft basale Kategorien herauszustellen. Denn Begriffe bilden die Wirklichkeit nicht unmittelbar ab, sondern Wirklichkeit ist immer vermittelt durch Kategorien, die den Begriffen zu Grunde liegen. Die Herausstellung ermöglicht eine bedingte Bestimmung des Verhältnisses von klassischer (...) Moderne und Postmoderne. Des Weiteren ermöglicht sie einen Vergleich verschiedener empirischer Begriffe. Beides ermöglicht die Analyse von Veränderungen z.B. des Olympismus in der Postmoderne im Vergleich zur klassischen Moderne. (shrink)

In the post-metaphysical climate of the modern Western academy, Chinese thought is often seen as a happy pragmatism free from transcendental pretense. The article shows, on the contrary, that the early Daoist thinker Zhuangzi had not only one but at least two distinct notions of transcendence. The focus is on Zhuangzi's notion of transcendental life, or the life of Heaven as opposed to the life of man. Based on the explication of Zhuangzi's notion of transcendental life, the article provides a (...) new understanding of Zhuangzi's crucial notion of ?wandering? (you). Finally it is argued that Zhuangzi's thought does not, as it is often thought, fall into naturalism. (shrink)

This book critically examines the Confucian political imagination and its influence on the contemporary Chinese dream of a powerful China. It views Confucianism as the ideological supplement to a powerful state that is challenging Western hegemony, and not as a political philosophy that need not concern us. Eske Møllgaard shows that Confucians, despite their traditionalist ways, have the will to transform the existing socio-ethical order. The volume discusses the central features of the Confucian political imaginary, the nature of Confucian (...) discourse, Confucian revivals, Confucian humanism and civility, and the political ideal of the Great Unity. It concludes by considering if Confucianism can be universalized as an ideology in competition with liberal democracy. (shrink)

This is the first work available in English which addresses Zhuangzi’s thought as a whole. It presents an interpretation of the Zhuangzi, a book in thirty-three chapters that is the most important collection of Daoist texts in early China. The author introduces a complex reading that shows the unity of Zhuangzi’s thought, in particular in his views of action, language, and ethics. By addressing methodological questions that arise in reading Zhuangzi, a hermeneutics is developed which makes understanding Zhuangzi’s religious thought (...) possible. A theoretical contribution to comparative philosophy and the cross-cultural study of religious traditions, the book serves as an introduction to Daoism for graduate students in religion, philosophy, and East Asian Studies. (shrink)

Recently some philosophers have claimed that it is a scandal that non-Western traditions are excluded from the curriculum in Western philosophy departments. I consider the case of Confucianism and argue that the central features of Confucian discourse are different from those of philosophical discourse, that the historical conditions that gave rise to Confucian discourse sets it apart from the formation of Western philosophy, and that Western philosophers often misread Confucian discourse because they assimilate it to philosophical discourse. I conclude that (...) in order to do justice to the Confucian masters we must read their discourse in accord with its own nature and aims.The question whether there was... (shrink)

Through the 1980s Confucian studies in the United States tended to present Confucianism as compatible with liberal democratic values. Since the 1990s, after the rise of China as a global power, Confucianism is increasingly defended as a political alternative to liberal and democratic values. This essay argues that Confucianism is not compatible with liberal democratic values, and that the rise of political Confucianism opposed to liberal democracy is a return to a more authentic Confucianism. Furthermore, it is argued that the (...) defense of this undemocratic and illiberal Confucianism in the West, notably by Stephen C. Angle and Daniel A. Bell, reflects and reveals the precarious state of democracy in our present historical moment. (shrink)

The article considers the relation between Chinese philosophy as an academic discipline and Western philosophy. In the academy there are three ways Chinese philosophy can relate to Western philosophy: Chinese philosophy may see itself as the other of Western philosophy, Chinese philosophy may seek recognition from Western philosophy, and Chinese philosophy may refuse to see Western philosophy as the measure for what is philosophy. I consider scholars from each of these three positions as well as the debate between them. Through (...) this review it becomes clear that the relation between Chinese and Western philosophy is an uneasy one. In conclusion I suggest that the relation between Chinese and Western philosophy is not a relation between two separate entities; the rise of Chinese philosophy is rather a symptom of the decline of Western learning. (shrink)

This is the first work available in English which addresses Zhuangzi’s thought as a whole. It presents an interpretation of the Zhuangzi, a book in thirty-three chapters that is the most important collection of Daoist texts in early China. The author introduces a complex reading that shows the unity of Zhuangzi’s thought, in particular in his views of action, language, and ethics. By addressing methodological questions that arise in reading Zhuangzi, a hermeneutics is developed which makes understanding Zhuangzi’s religious thought (...) possible. A theoretical contribution to comparative philosophy and the cross-cultural study of religious traditions, the book serves as an introduction to Daoism for graduate students in religion, philosophy, and East Asian Studies. (shrink)

The Confucian notion of civility has for thousands of years guided all aspects of socio-ethical life in East Asia. Confucians express their central concern for civility in their notion of li, which is commonly translated ?ritual? and refers to the conventions and courtesies through which we submit to the socio-ethical order, as we do, for example, in performing sacrifices, weddings, and funerals, and various daily acts of deference. Since the rise of China and other East Asian countries as economic powers, (...) it has been suggested that we have in East Asia a ?Confucian? ritual-based culture that is opposed to the law-based culture of the West, a culture of rites opposed to a culture of rights, and that this ritual-based culture can be carried into modernity as another way to secure social harmony. I argue that the values central to Confucian ritual ? deference, repayment, and harmony ? are incompatible with the freedom enacted in modern civility. It is unlikely, therefore, that Confucian ritual can be carried into modernity and, as some suggest, remedy the fragmentation, and indeed lack of civility, characteristic of modern societies. (shrink)

Confucianism is a kind of humanism. Confucian humanism presupposes, however, a divisive act that separates human and nonhuman. This paper shows that the split between the human and the nonhuman is central to Mencius' moral psychology, and it argues that Confucianism is an anthropological machine in the sense of the term used by Giorgio Agamben. I consider the main points of early Daoist critique of Confucian humanism. A comparative analysis of Herman Melville's novella 'Bartleby the Scrivener' reveals the limitation of (...) the moral will in Mencius. Finally, I refer to an incident that recently captured the imagination of Chinese netizens, and shows the contested influence of Confucian humanism in contemporary China. (shrink)

Wei-ming’s discourse has been badly understood by some Western philosophers who study Confucianism. I suggest that this misunderstanding stems from the fact that these philosophers fail to realize that Confucian discourse is in an entirely different register from Western philosophical discourse. I then propose my own preliminary definition of Confucian discourse in five points and present a structural analysis of a text by Tu Wei-ming. Finally, I consider which features of Tu’s discourse can properly be called Confucian. The answer to (...) this question reflects not only on Tu but also on Confucian discourse and the study of Confucianism in general. (shrink)

The chapter considers the relation between language and logic in early Daoism. It explains the Daoist experience of language, which is closely related to the Daoist experience of the Way. It is shown how Daoist logic differs from the Confucian logic of correctness and the Mohist logic of naming. Even if Daoist discourse does not follow these more familiar forms of logic, it does not negate the law of non-contradiction nor does it fall into the performative contradiction. Through readings of (...) significant Daoist stories the Daoist logic beyond logic is brought to view. (shrink)

Bai Tongdong and I agree on the most important point: not everything is philosophy. With this initial agreement we can begin to discuss whether Confucian discourse is philosophy, and with determination and discipline in our proposals and replies we can clear up misunderstandings and overcome disagreements, and so hopefully come closer to the fact of the matter. I am happy that Bai has provided me this opportunity to clarify my position, and I shall first address the points where Bai misunderstands (...) my argument and then the points where we disagree and there is need for further discussion.First the misunderstandings. Bai writes that "Confucianism can be read philosophically, in spite of Møllgaard's argument," and the... (shrink)

Traditional Chinese commentators rightly see that understanding Zhuangzi's way with words is the presupposition for understanding Zhuangzi at all. They are not sure, however, if Zhuangzi's words are super-effective or pure nonsense. I consider Zhuangzi's experience with language, and then turn to Heidegger's word of being to see if it may throw light on Zhuangzi's way of saying. I argue that a conversation between Heidegger and Zhuangzi on language is possible, but only by expanding Heidegger's notion of Gestell and through (...) a destruction of the dominant Confucian discourse that obscures Zhuangzi's way of saying. (shrink)

Horizontal gene transfer in the form of long DNA fragments has changed our view of bacterial evolution. Recently, we discovered that such processes may also occur with the massive amounts of short and damaged DNA in the environment, and even with truly ancient DNA. Although it presently remains unclear how often it takes place in nature, horizontal gene transfer of short and damaged DNA opens up the possibility for genetic exchange across distinct species in both time and space. In this (...) essay, we speculate on the potential evolutionary consequences of this phenomenon. We argue that it may challenge basic assumptions in evolutionary theory; that it may have distant origins in life's history; and that horizontal gene transfer should be viewed as an evolutionary strategy not only preceding but causally underpinning the evolution of sexual reproduction. (shrink)

Bu araştırmanın esas amacı 1875-1877 yılları arasında meydana gelen Osmanlı-Sırp, Karadağ Savaşları esnasında bölgede yaşanan eşkıyalık faaliyetlerine tarihsel bir bakış açısı ile yaklaşmaktır. Çalışmada gerek 1875 Hersek Ayaklanması, gerekse 1876’da Bulgaristan’da Müslüman Türkler aleyhine Rusların kışkırtmaları neticesinde meydana gelen bazı eşkıyalık olayları ele alındı. Bu olaylar neticesinde ortaya çıkan konjonktürde Avrupalı devletler, Osmanlı Devleti karşısında Sırbistan ve Karadağ’ın bağımsızlık süreçlerini desteklediler. Bu dönemde Sırbistan ve Karadağ Osmanlı Devleti karşısında bazı konularda Avrupalı devletlerle birlikte hareket etti. Yaşanan olaylar sonucunda önce Sırbistan, (...) sonra da Karadağ aralarındaki ittifak antlaşması sonucu Osmanlı Devleti’ne savaş açtı. Bu durumda Rusya oldukça etkili oldu. Savaşın başlaması ile Bosna, Sırplar tarafından, Hersek de Karadağlılar tarafından işgal edildi. İngiltere bölgedeki çıkarları gereği Balkanlardaki statükonun korunmasından yana bir tavır takınarak Rusya’nın Panslavist politikasına karşı çıktı. İngiltere’nin bu politikasındaki temel dayanak noktası ise Balkanlarda ve Akdeniz’de Rus yayılmacılığını engelleme düşüncesiydi. Ayrıca Rusya’nın Panslavizm ideolojisi doğrultusunda geliştirdiği politikalarına karşılık Avusturya, orta ve güney Avrupa’da Almanya ve İtalya’ya karşı kaybettiği toprakları ve prestijini geri kazanmak amacıyla, Balkanlardaki siyasetini yeni bir temele oturtmuştu. Bu temel, Bosna ve Hersek’i ele geçirdikten sonra, Arnavutluk ve Makedonya’ya uzanıp oradan da Selanik’e kadar olan yerleri ele geçirmekti. Buna mukabil Almanya, bu dönemde Balkanlarda doğrudan herhangi bir çıkarı olmamasına rağmen Fransa’nın kendisine karşı bir intikam politikası takip etmesine engel olmak düşüncesindeydi. Bu sebepten dolayı Almanya, Fransa’nın Balkanlardaki sorunlarla meşgul olmasını kendi çıkarları adına faydalı görüyordu. (shrink)

Franz. Zsfassung u.d.T.: La philosophie et la science-fiction.