El artículo plantea distintas concepciones que algunas tradiciones filosóficas y religiosas, tanto de Oriente como de Occidente, han mantenido en torno a lo que es el espíritu y la manera de concebirlo. Se analiza la noción de Alianza entre Dios y el hombre y la personalización del espíritu que deriva de ello en el judaísmo; además, se exponen los argumentos que confrontan tal posición y se debate en torno al finalismo espiritual, aludiendo tanto a Spinoza como a Nagarjuna. Con todo (...) ello, se observará que la filosofía, ya sea como herramienta o modo de vida, constituye un antecedente necesario para considerar la metafilosofía, la cual se alude en la tercera parte del texto. (shrink)

El judaísmo posee diversos matices culturales, con características implícitas de la vivencia religiosa según la perspectiva filosófica de Abraham Heschel. Se repasan aspectos biográficos y contextuales de Heschel, a la vez que alude a la importancia que tienen el conocimiento, el compromiso y la celebración en la cosmovisión judía. Se vincula el misticismo con algunas actitudes concretas de la observancia judía, tales como la disposición al estudio, el seguimiento de la Torá y la piedad, y se señala la asociación entre (...) el compromiso espiritual del judaísmo y su concepción de entrecruce de lo infinito y lo finito. (shrink)

This article boards some of the central aspects of the philosophy proposed by Philip Mainländer. The intent is centered on glimpsing the implications that arise from the explored author’s thoughts, primarily in regards to the attitude that is derived from the contemplation of human extermination as a consequent solu­tion to the suicide and death of God. The intention of man in the world from said perspective is analyzed and links are offered to authors who have adopted for themselves the scabrous (...) and complex paths of committed Nihilism. The text ends with a series of human redemption alternatives through a philosophy about death and not as a function of death itself. (shrink)

RESUMEN El presente artículo pretende ofrecer un breve recorrido por algunos aspectos del pensamiento filosófico y teológico de Abraham Heschel, un rabino polaco del siglo XX, conocido por ser asesor y maestro espiritual de Luther King. El texto inicia presentando algunos aspectos biográficos y contextuales de la vida de Heschel. Luego de ello se aluden las pautas centrales de su crítica a la religión, resaltando la intención auténtica de la misma y mostrando los peligros de separarla de la razón. Se (...) denuncia la simulación de Dios en las religiones y el daño social que estas ocasionan cuando no favorecen la autocrítica y eluden su colaboración en el desarrollo social. ABSTRACT This article aims to provide a brief summary of some aspects of the philosophical and theological thought of Abraham Heschel, a Polish rabbi of the 20th century, known for being an advisor and spiritual teacher to Luther King. The text begins with some biographical and contextual aspects of Heschel's life. After that, the central guidelines of Heschel's critique of religion are alluded to, highlighting the authentic intention of religion and showing the dangers of separating it from reason. The simulation of God in religions and the social damage that these cause when they do not favor self-criticism and avoid their collaboration in social development are denounced. (shrink)

This article addresses some of the central aspects of the philosophy proposed by Philip Mainländer. The intention is focused on glimpsing the implications of this author’s thinking, mainly with regard to the attitude derived from the contemplation of the extermination of the human as a consequent solution to the suicide and death of God. The intention of man in the world is analyzed from this perspective and links are offered with authors who have welcomed the rugged and complex paths of (...) compromised nihilism. The text ends with a series of alternatives for the redemption of the human through a philosophy about death and not as a function of death itself. (shrink)

El artículo inicia con un análisis respecto a la posición de Nishitani en la escuela de Kioto y el peso de la misma en la filosofía occidental. Análogamente, la intención del texto es favorecer la distinción entre los conceptos de nihilidad y vacuidad, ambos presentes en Nishitani, particularmente en su concepción sobre la religión; en tal sentido, se aborda la función de la vivencia de nihilidad y la inapropiada estrategia religiosa de eludir la vivencia de la vacuidad, con lo cual (...) se obstaculiza la experiencia trascendental auténtica. Contrariamente, se propone que cuando la religión es un camino facultativo, orienta a la noción de una nada absoluta o una nada de la Deidad, preámbulo obligado para la comprensión de la filosofía espiritual de Nishitani. (shrink)

The reader will find a proposal of philosophical comprehension of nothingness. The intent of this article is to express in nineteen concrete categories that which can be understood by nothingness in the realm of metaphysics. Among other things: that nothingness is, that there is no manner of directly knowing it, that it contains the world without a will, that it is neither deity nor creator, at the same time that it is un-created, incontingent, atimely, absolute, generator of uncertainty, conditioning, and (...) pre-existing to everything that is; in that sense, nothingness implies movement, is enabling, and is associated to chaos and the cosmos. (shrink)

Resumen El principal objetivo de este escrito reside en mostrar algunos de los elementos esenciales del proyecto eckhartiano que están fusionados con una mística nihilista que observa en la nada una manifestación de la deidad, es decir, una Nadeidad. De hecho, en este artículo se introduce el término referido, comprendiéndolo como una propuesta sobre las maneras de concebir a lo sagrado a partir de la contemplación de la Nada. La atención se centra en algunos sermones elaborados por Eckhart, en dos (...) de sus tratados y en la Bula con la que fueron prohibidos sus escritos.The main objective of this piece resides in demonstrating some of the essential elements of the Eckhartian Project that are fused to a nihilistic mysticism that observes a manifestation of the deity in nothingness; this is to say, a Nothingeity. In fact, said term is introduced in this article, understanding it as a proposal about the manners in which to conceive that which is sacred, based on the contemplation of Nothingness. The attention is centered on some of the sermons elaborated by Eckhart, on two of his treaties and on the Bull, with which his writing was prohibited. (shrink)

The reader will find a proposal of anthropological conception derived from philosophically assuming nothingness. The intention of this article is to express nineteen concrete consequences derived from being a committed nihilist in the contemporary world. Among other things, the anthropological conception proposed along these lines is congruent with the fact that man is because of his own nothingness and can only believe that he knows, that he is hurled into the world, that his will is imaginary, and that he is (...) un-created, finite, contingent, timely, and light, without certainties and without sense. The article likewise explains the human need of creating gods and what man lives after knowing himself to be mobile in a world that is inserted simultaneously into chaos and the cosmos. (shrink)

El artículo contiene un conjunto de reflexiones en torno al cambio que corresponde al hombre cuando es capaz de reconocerse ante el abismo de la nada. Obviamente, este encuentro con la nada genera angustia, la cual puede ser un obstáculo para la liberación. De tal modo, la intención de este texto es presentar a la angustia como una consecuencia de la incertidumbre, la cual es propiciada por la necesidad humana de tener todo bajo control; en ese sentido, superar la angustia (...) ante la nada permitirá que el hombre la reconozca como una pauta y posibilidad de liberarse de las estructuras que asfixian y condicionan al individuo. Bajo esa óptica, el artículo termina refiriendo el carácter ineludible del cambio y la importancia de reconocer, como seres humanos del mundo contemporáneo, la nada implícita en el ser. (shrink)

El asombro ante lo sublime no siempre produce una reacción teísta; de hecho, el reconocimiento de lo absoluto puede conducir a la desacreditación de las representaciones sobre la divinidad e, incluso, a la suspensión del juicio en torno a su existencia. Cuando absoluto no se asocia con algún tipo de personificación, produce incertidumbre. Si nuestros conocimientos están construidos a partir de elaboraciones ficticias, lo único que resta es reconocer la ignorancia. Aceptarlo así no conduce a la negación de los saberes, (...) sino a mostrar escepticismo ante lo sabido. En otras palabras: no saber implica mantener la incertidumbre. Contamos con saberes que delimitan nuestro posicionamiento ante lo que creemos que es real, pero no somos poseedores, en el punto de vista del escéptico, de ningún saber que se sustente en una verdad de la que no se pueda dudar. Visto así, el escéptico muestra respeto a lo absoluto al desistir de afirmar cualquier cosa sobre tal. (shrink)

En el presente artículo se pretende clarificar el significado del pathos de lo divino como atributo de la emocionalidad en Dios. Son señalados algunos aspectos esenciales de la tradición judía, refiriendo los vínculos y controversias temáticas entre Heschel, Maimónides y Spinoza en torno a los atributos de Dios y su relación con los hombres. También se alude la crítica que Spinoza dirigió a la tradición judía y las consecuencias de esa actitud para el pensador holandés, incluyendo el rechazo de otros (...) eruditos del judaísmo. Por último, se explican algunas de las confrontaciones recientes hacia la concepción antropomórfica de lo divino y las implicaciones de asumir que Dios tiene emociones. (shrink)

En las siguientes páginas el lector encontrará una propuesta de concepción antropológica derivada de asumir filosóficamente a la nada. La intención de este artículo es expresar veinte consecuencias concretas derivadas de ser un nihilista comprometido en el mundo contemporáneo. Entre otras cosas, la concepción antropológica propuesta en estas líneas es congruente con el hecho de que el humano es debido a su propia nada y que sólo puede creer que conoce, que es arrojado al mundo, que su voluntad es imaginaria (...) y que es increado, finito, contingente, temporal, leve, sin certezas y sin sentido; en el artículo se explica, igualmente, la necesidad humana de crear dioses y lo que el hombre vive tras saberse móvil en un mundo que está inserto en el caos y en el cosmos simultáneamente. (shrink)

Los textos compilados en este libro hablan fundamentalmente de "Leibniz en diálogo", es decir, de Leibniz en su lectura de la tradición, en su confrontación con la filosofía y la ciencia de sus coetáneos; pero también hablan de la recepción y transformación de sus ideas por parte de las corrientes de pensamiento que le siguieron y de este modo se nutrieron de su espíritu intelectual. No pretende esta ser una edición exhaustiva, pero no por ello deja de significar la presente (...) una amplia selección de estudios de ámbito internacional sobre el significado filosófico de Leibniz como pensador abierto, plural y conciliador. Son aquí objeto de estudio las diferentes vías de comunicación entabladas por Leibniz con la tradición, con su época o con la filosofía posterior. Este volumen pretende ser una contribución a la difusión del pensamiento leibniziano entre los profesores y estudiantes de filosofía, a la promoción del debate entre los especialistas y a la mayor consolidación de la comunidad internacional de investigadores sobre Leibniz. (shrink)

We present a generalization of the problem of pattern recognition to arbitrary probabilistic models. This version deals with the problem of recognizing an individual pattern among a family of different species or classes of objects which obey probabilistic laws which do not comply with Kolmogorov’s axioms. We show that such a scenario accommodates many important examples, and in particular, we provide a rigorous definition of the classical and the quantum pattern recognition problems, respectively. Our framework allows for the introduction of (...) non-trivial correlations between the different species involved, opening the door to a new way of harnessing these physical resources for solving pattern recognition problems. Finally, we present some examples and discuss the computational complexity of the quantum pattern recognition problem, showing that the most important quantum computation algorithms can be described as non-Kolmogorovian pattern recognition problems. (shrink)

'Computationalism' is a relatively vague term used to describe attempts to apply Turing's model of computation to phenomena outside its original purview: in modelling the human mind, in physics, mathematics, etc. Early versions of computationalism faced strong objections from many (and varied) quarters, from philosophers to practitioners of the aforementioned disciplines. Here we will not address the fundamental question of whether computational models are appropriate for describing some or all of the wide range of processes that they have been applied (...) to, but will focus instead on whether `renovated' versions of the \textit{new computationalism} shed any new light on or resolve previous tensions between proponents and skeptics. We find this, however, not to be the case, because the 'new computationalism' falls short by using limited versions of "traditional computation", or proposing computational models that easily fall within the scope of Turing's original model, or else proffering versions of hypercomputation with its many pitfalls. (shrink)

Haben Gebote der Moral, denen Gebote anderer Art entgegenstehen, stets Vorrang? Gelten moralische Regeln, wie es im Anschluss an Kant oft angenommen wird, kategorisch - wahrend alle anderen Regeln nur hypothetische Verbindlichkeit beanspruchen konnen? Oder ist die Skepsis gegenuber der These vom Vorrang der Moral berechtigt? In diesem Buch beziehen vierzehn Philosophinnen und Philosophen in der metaethischen Kontroverse uber den Vorrang der Moral Position. Dabei wird deutlich: Ob wir der Vorrangthese Uberzeugungskraft zuerkennen oder nicht, hat weitreichende Folgen fur unser Verstandnis (...) von Moral. (shrink)

Modern zoos strive to educate visitors about zoo animals and their wild counterparts’ conservation needs while fostering appreciation for wildlife in general. This research review examines how zoos influence those who visit them. Much of the research to-date examines zoo visitors’ behaviors and perceptions in relation to specific exhibits, animals and/or programs. In general, visitors have more positive perceptions and behaviors about zoos, their animals and conservation initiatives the more they interact with animals, naturalistic exhibits, and zoo programming/staff. Furthermore, zoo (...) visitors are receptive to conservation messaging and initiatives at zoos, and are more likely to participate in on-site conservation opportunities as opposed to after their visits. The research also suggests that repeat visitors are even more inclined to seek out conservation efforts compared to those visiting zoos for the first time. While current research suggests that repeat-visitors are more likely to engage in conservation efforts, little is known about causal factors related to such findings, and almost no research exists to-date comparing the conservation efforts of visitors vs. non-visitors. This latter comparison will likely play a greater role in future zoo visitor research, since it poses one of the most important metrics for evaluating the specific effects visiting a zoo can have on people engaging in conservation efforts in general. (shrink)

This article builds on the growing literature on the Kyoto School of Philosophy and its influences on the field of Education. First, I argue that the influence of the Kyoto School of Philosophy is historically significant in Japan, and that the connection between this philosophical school and the philosophy of education is by no means superficial. Second, I suggest that this school contributes a unique view of ‘negative education’ founded in the philosophical idea of ‘nothingness’. I examine how this negative (...) education is manifest both in religious cultivation and in more general views of education, and I develop these ideas through the models of self-negation proposed by Nishitani Keiji and Hisamatsu Shin'ichi. Third, taking up the Herbartian idea of ‘pedagogical tact’, I analyse the characteristics of the I-Thou relationship, in the vector of nothingness, implicit in the above-mentioned view of education. I examine two approaches to this relationship—one of ‘sharing in nothingness’ as found in Nishitani and Hisamatsu, and one that goes beyond the idea of ‘sharing’ and accommodates alterity, as found in Nishida Kitarô and Nishihira Tadashi. By threshing out these three points, I hope to highlight the continued pedagogical relevance of the philosophical ideas of the Kyoto School. (shrink)

In this paper the influence of John Duns Scotus’s thought in Gilles Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition is outlined, centering the analysis in the concepts of “univocal being” and “intrinsic mode”. The novelty of this work lies on its effort to accurately locate the thesis of the univocity of being and the theory of intrinsic mode that goes along with it in the work of Duns Scotus. Subsequently, an attempt is made to determine the horizon of appropriation and the conceptual displacement (...) operated by Gilles Deleuze in his own work. (shrink)

Explores the complexity of truth and the ways that people take advantage of this complexity to use and abuse neutral truths to suit their own agendas in politics, business, the media, and everyday life. -- Provided by publisher.

La celebración del centenario de la publicación de las Meditaciones del Quijote ofrece la oportunidad única de reflexionar sobre una obra que creó un nuevo tipo de reflexión filosófica contemporánea en lengua castellana, reflexión caracterizada por una forma de “ontología del presente”.

Pró logo de Ana Marí a Gonzá lez Garza Tal como lo hizo Aristó teles con Nicó maco, o Savater con Amador, Hé ctor Sevilla ofrece un libro de é tica a Sofí a. No se trata de un conjunto de reglas para vivir de manera moral, sino de una invitació n a reflexionar con libertad. No se necesita ser Sofí a, ser mujer o transitar la adolescencia para encontrar provecho en las ideas vertidas en cada una de las (...) cartas. Valentí a, prudencia, cuidado de sí, solidaridad, desapego, resiliencia, gratitud y perseverancia, son solo algunos de los tó picos que se abordan con sencillez y soltura. Este cariñ oso legado pretende hablar en nombre de todos los padres, incluso de aquellos que han partido. (shrink)

A Computable Universe is a collection of papers discussing computation in nature and the nature of computation, a compilation of the views of the pioneers in the contemporary area of intellectual inquiry focused on computational and informational theories of the world. This volume is the definitive source of informational/computational views of the world, and of cutting-edge models of the universe, both digital and quantum, discussed from a philosophical perspective as well as in the greatest technical detail. The book discusses the (...) foundations of computation in relation to nature. It focuses on two main questions: What is computation? How does nature compute? The contributors are world-renowned experts who have helped shape a cutting-edge computational understanding of the universe. They discuss computation in the world from a variety of perspectives, ranging from foundational concepts to pragmatic models to ontological conceptions and their philosophical implications. The volume provides a state-of-the-art collection of technical papers and non-technical essays representing a field that takes information and computation to be key to understanding and explaining the basic structure underpinning physical reality. It also includes a new edition of Konrad Zuse's "Calculating Space", and a panel discussion transcription on the topic, featuring worldwide experts (including a Nobel prize) in quantum mechanics, physics, cognition, computation and algorithmic complexity.A Computable Universe is a collection of papers discussing computation in nature and the nature of computation, a compilation of the views of the pioneers in the contemporary area of intellectual inquiry focused on computational and informational theories of the world. This volume is the definitive source of informational/computational views of the world, and of cutting-edge models of the universe, both digital and quantum, discussed from a philosophical perspective as well as in the greatest technical detail. The book discusses the foundations of computation in relation to nature. It focuses on two main questions: What is computation? How does nature compute? The contributors are world-renowned experts who have helped shape a cutting-edge computational understanding of the universe. They discuss computation in the world from a variety of perspectives, ranging from foundational concepts to pragmatic models to ontological conceptions and their philosophical implications. The volume provides a state-of-the-art collection of technical papers and non-technical essays representing a field that takes information and computation to be key to understanding and explaining the basic structure underpinning physical reality. It also includes a new edition of Konrad Zuse's "Calculating Space", and a panel discussion transcription on the topic, featuring worldwide experts (including a Nobel prize) in quantum mechanics, physics, cognition, computation and algorithmic complexity. (shrink)

La resistencia de la memoria. Un recorrido por el proyecto: Se rebelan, se revelan, de Estudio Biopus.

Si bien se han escrito una cantidad relativamente grande de artículos y libros sobre diversos aspectos del pensamiento filosófico de Ignacio Ellacuría, hasta ahora no se cuenta con un sistemático de toda su producción filosófica que muestre la unidad de todos esos aspectos y que defina con claridad lo propio y original de su pensamiento, más allá de lo que pueda haber de la filosofía de Xavier Zubiri, filósofo vasco, de quien Ellacuría fue su amigo y su más estrecho colaborador. (...) Esta investigación se ha realizado con un doble objetico: en primer lugar, analizar y sistematizar los aspectos centrales del pensamiento filosófico de Ignacio de Ellacuría; y, en segundo lugar, estudiar la génesis y constitución de su proyecto filosófico de liberación. Queda de manifiesto cuál es la ubicación y el aporte específico de Ellacuría dentro del conjunto de las principales corrientes de la filosofía de la liberación latinoamericana. (shrink)

This article is based on a perspective on circulation of knowledge that allows the consideration of science as the result of the encounter between diverse communities. We tell a story that constantly changes places, scales, and cultures in order to stress the importance of networks as an alternative to the centre/periphery trope, which entangles world histories of science. The result is a picture much more complex and intertwined than the one suggested by these simplifying dichotomies. We focus on a case (...) study that illuminates the process of knowledge production in non-European spaces of modernity. The return of the Society of Jesus to the newly independent nation-states of Latin America is the point of departure to analyse the circulation of a specific scientific idea in Ecuador: Darwin’s theory of biological evolution through natural selection. The article follows the paths of three different knowledge makers whose encounters are seen as sites of knowledge production: a religious order, a Latin American... (shrink)

ArgumentThis article examines the medical and political discussions regarding a controversial medicinal bark from Ecuador – cundurango – that was actively sponsored by the Ecuadorian government as a new botanical cure for cancer in the late nineteenth century United States and elsewhere. The article focuses on the commercial and diplomatic interests behind the public discussion and advertising techniques of this drug. It argues that diverse elements – including the struggle for positioning scientific societies and the disapproval of the capacities of (...) Ecuadorian doctors, US abolitionist history, regional and local political struggles – played a role in the quackery accusations against cundurango and its promoters. The development and international trade of this remedy offer interesting insights into the global history of drugs, particularly how medical knowledge was challenged during a period when scientific medicine was struggling for hegemony. It explores how newspapers expanded “the public interest” in a possible cancer cure. (shrink)

En este trabajo utilizaremos la tipología schmittiana de pares conceptuales teológico-políticos como marco interpretativo para estudiar cómo el panteísmo fue considerado en la Alemania decimonónica como una doctrina revolucionaria en un sentido político. Esto lo haremos presentando brevemente los antecedentes ilustrados de esta problemática y analizando tanto los debates sobre la personalidad de Dios surgidos a raíz de la publicación de Das Leben Jesu de Strauß como los textos de la izquierda hegeliana en los que se reconoce explícitamente un proyecto (...) político revolucionario vinculado al panteísmo. (shrink)

This is a presentation about joint work between Hector Zenil and Jean-Paul Delahaye. Zenil presents Experimental Algorithmic Theory as Algorithmic Information Theory and NKS, put together in a mixer. Algorithmic Complexity Theory defines the algorithmic complexity k(s) as the length of the shortest program that produces s. But since finding this short program is in general an undecidable question, the only way to approach k(s) is to use compression algorithms. He shows how to use the Compress function in Mathematica to (...) give an idea about the compressibility of various sequences. However, the idea of applying a compression algorithm breaks down for very short sequences. This is true not only for the Compress function, but also for any other compression algorithm. Zenil's approach is to construct a metric of algorithmic complexity for short sequences from scratch. He defines the algorithmic probability as the probability that an arbitrary program produces a sequence. The basic idea is to run a whole class of computational devices such as Turing Machines or Cellular Automata, and compute the distributions of the sequences they generate. Zenil presents a comparison of frequency distributions of sequences generated by 2-state 3-color Turing Machines and 2-color radius 1 Cellular Automata. He also compared these distributions to distributions found in data from the real world, and found that not only there is correlation across different systems, but also that the distributions are rather stable, and the difference between the distributions in abstract systems and real-world data can be attributed to noise. In his paper Zenil elaborates on the nature of the noise he has encountered. Zenil conjectures that the correlation distances between different systems decreases with a larger number of steps, and converge in the infinite limit case. (shrink)

Evolutionists studying human cooperation disagree about how to best explain it. One view is that humans are predisposed to engage in costly cooperation and punishment of free-riders as a result of culture/gene coevolution via group selection. Alternatively, some researchers argue that context-specific cognitive mechanisms associated with traditional neo-Darwinian self- and kin-maximization models sufficiently explain all aspects of human cooperation and punishment. There has been a great deal of research testing predictions derived from both positions; still, researchers generally agree that more (...) naturalistic data are needed to complement mathematical modeling and laboratory and field experiments. Most of these data have been obtained from small-scale forager and other societies, but modern intentional communities offer another productive source of information. This exploratory study describes context-specific patterns of punishment in 46 American intentional communities that cast doubt on the prediction that people are predisposed to punish free-riders in naturalistic interactions. (shrink)

In this essay, we explore the possibility to find affinities, parallelisms and analogue functions in some aspects of the philosophies of Edmund Husserl and Arthur Schopenhauer. In order to achieve this, we begin taking into consideration the question about Husserl’s relation with Schopenhauer’s works by the means of some biographical facts on the first one; then we analyze the similarities between the concept of “better consciousness” and the liberation from the principle of sufficient reason through “aesthetic contemplation” in the philosophy (...) of Schopenhauer, and Husserlian “phenomenological attitude” and “ἐποχή”. Finally, we show the differences between both authors concerning the ultimate goal pursued with such concepts. (shrink)

Class, race and gender are three of the most salient factors in society. They determine to an important extent the opportunities we have, e.g. to access public.

In seinen moralphilosophischen Schriften hat Kant immer wieder die Selbsttötung als Beispiel für die Erläuterung ethischer Grundsätze gewählt. Daraus darf man schließen, daß er dem moralischen Problem des Suizids große Bedeutung beimaß. Dennoch liegt bis heute keine vollständige Darstellung seiner Argumente gegen die Erlaubtheit der Selbstvernichtung vor. Der vorliegende Aufsatz beabsichtigt, diese Lücke zu schließen. Zwar wird auch in der Literatur über Kants Ethik gelegentlich sein Suizidverbot behandelt, dabei überwiegt aber, wie mir scheint, das Interesse an der Interpretation des kategorischen (...) Imperativs die Aufmerksamkeit für die größeren Zusammenhänge, in die Kants Ablehnung der Selbsttötung zu stellen ist. Sicherlich kommt dem kategorischen Imperativ als einem Kernstück der Kantschen Moralphilosophie eine große Bedeutung zu; jedoch zwingt gerade die Analyse des Suizidverbots dazu, auch andere Probleme in Betracht zu ziehen. Sie führt nämlich erstens auf die wichtige Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Vernunft und Leben und zweitens auf Überlegungen zum Verhältnis von Natürlichkeit und Freiheit des Menschen, also direkt in die Anthropologie. (shrink)

Contra recent, inflationary views, the paper submits a deflationary approach to legal ontology. It argues, in particular, that to answer ontological questions about legal entities, we only need conceptual analysis and empirical investigation. In developing this proposal, it follows Amie Thomasson’s ‘easy ontology’ and her strategy for answering whether ordinary objects exist. The purpose of this is to advance a theory that, on the one hand, does not fall prey to sceptical views about legal reality (viz., that ontological truths about (...) legal entities are established by metaphysical principles); and, on the other, is compatible with common-sense jurisprudence (viz., that there in fact exist legal entities, and they all have important practical implications). While this methodology is common to legal philosophers interested in elucidating the ‘artifactual nature’ of law, the paper departs from their projects by taking a step forward in connecting this deflationary approach to legal ontology with an expressivist account of legal discourse, thus providing enough resources to satisfy the general ambition of jurisprudence, viz., to establish the conditions for the analysis of legal reality and its normative character. (shrink)