(1993). Reply to Ernhart, Scarr, and Geneson. Ethics & Behavior: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 95-101.

v. 1. Assessment methods -- v. 2. Developments and social problems -- v. 3. Extensions and limitations.

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Two approaches have characterized the study of Kierkegaard in English; the first is biographical, the second synoptic. Walter Lowrie, Kierkegaard, Eduard Geismar, Lectures on the Religious Thoughts of Soren ...

My purpose in this study is to explore various forms of irrationality and to name some true irrationals in order to find the bounds of reason. The irrational-if there is such -sets a priori limits to philosophical investigation, for reason must stop before unreason's province. I begin by defining a primary meaning of rational. Forming, then, by opposition, the genus irrational, I analyze the various species of the irrational traditionally offered as true irrationals. I then judge which irrationals do inhere (...) in in nature or in spirit. PART I THE IRRATIONALITY OF THE WORLD CHAPTER] REASON To understand a primary and consistent meaning of the "rational" it is necessary to see how the term has been used. In the Theaetetus, Socrates, interested in what it means to have knowledge, sets about finding a rational answer and, by his analysis, illustrates a primary meaning of reason. In answer to Socrates' question. What is knowledge, Theaetetus responds with instances of knowledge: Then I think the things one can learn from Theodorus are knowledge - geometry and all the sciences you mentioned just now; and then there are the crafts of the cobbler and other workmen. Each and all of these are knowledge and nothing else. ' Yet a mere enumeration of particulars does not satisfy Socrates. (shrink)

This article analyzes the concept of the legal mobilization of laws and institutions for the redressal of “justiciable” problems—problems for which a remedy can potentially be obtained through legal processes. The dispute-processing approach initiates the naming, blaming, claiming framework, to understand the reasons that substantial “perceived injurious experiences” do not mature into lawsuits. This article proceeds further with the discussion of the idea of a “dispute pyramid.” This method presents a real problem of asserting injuries that are unperceived, subjective in (...) nature. Broad methodological approaches are applied in empirical research regarding claiming. The expansive methodological spectrum includes, structured surveys, institutional records ethnography etc. This article then examines the explanations that have been advanced for variations in claiming patterns, both at the individual and the aggregate levels. It analyses the points of general agreement and issues where agreement is lacking and proposes an agenda for future research related to claiming. (shrink)

This article attempts at a close appraisal of legal research, dating back to the pre-war times. It begins by discussing the burst of research in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s as well as the dash of such research prior to 1920. Following this, it considers the funding dilemmas that confronted the undertaking of this research, why the research was found almost exclusively in the United States, and the methodologies employed for this research. It discusses a variety of (...) themes found in the early empirical legal research with a particular focus on projects and findings that presage debates and concerns in contemporary empirical legal research. Finally, it concludes with a discussion of why empirical work seemed to fade out in the late 1930s and what lead to its revival in the 1950s. (shrink)

Vieles deutet darauf hin, dass das 21. Jahrhundert die Epoche des Gehirns werden könnte - samt einer wissenschaftlichen und kulturellen Revolution. Die anstehenden Veränderungen im Zusammenhang mit Künstlicher Intelligenz und der aufstrebenden Weltanschauung des Transhumanismus werfen die grundsätzliche Frage auf, ob ein System in der Lage ist, sich selbst zu durchschauen. In einer essayistischen Aufschlüsselung dieser Problematik widmet sich Herbert M. Hurka der Selbstthematisierung des Gehirns und zeigt: Mit jeder Äußerung, gleich in welchem Medium, betreibt das Gehirn in einer (...) selbstreferentiellen Schleife immer auch aktiv seine Selbsterforschung - und bleibt dabei als Subjekt der Erkenntnis immer auch ihr Objekt. (shrink)