This article deploys Peircean approach to bodily skills, foregrounding motricity as a semiotically mediated and a “suprasubjective” process. By examining two contrasting skills – javelin and martial arts – I draw out the relevance of dynamic movement to the semiotics of sport and embodiment. These contrasting movements expose different epistemological assumptions since they emerge in distinct cultural traditions. To attend to the cultural dimension of movement practices – including the mediation of signs making certain movement forms seem reasonable or desirable (...) in the first place – I highlight ecological dimensions of each somatic tradition. This ecological focus aligns with Peirce’s project of tracking how semiotic signs are positioned and mediated. To make ecological factors of motricity more recognizable, I contrast somatic engagements that take place on synthetic, predictable substrates and somatic engagements that take place on variable, unpredictable ground. In a similar way to the classic gestalt figure-ground relations, where perception of a figure depends on the particulars of the ground, I suggest that the ground upon which somatic action occurs shapes the way we make sense of it epistemologically. These different grounds – both literally and figuratively – operate representationally via thirdness: they lead us to conceptualize movement in culturally and historically particular ways. (shrink)

We investigated whether inconsistencies in previous studies regarding emotional experiences in dreams derive from whether dream emotions are self-rated or externally evaluated. Seventeen subjects were monitored with polysomnography in the sleep laboratory and awakened from every rapid eye movement sleep stage 5 min after the onset of the stage. Upon awakening, participants gave an oral dream report and rated their dream emotions using the modified Differential Emotions Scale, whereas external judges rated the participants’ emotions expressed in the dream reports, using (...) the same scale. The two approaches produced diverging results. Self-ratings, as compared to external ratings, resulted in greater estimates of emotional dreams; positively valenced dreams; positive and negative emotions per dream; and various discrete emotions represented in dreams. The results suggest that this is mostly due to the underrepresentation of positive emotions in dream reports. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. (shrink)

The Stoics’ theory of kataleptic impressions looks different once we attend to their analysis of the Sorites paradox. In defending this view, I reject the long-standing assumption that the Stoics develop their theory by focusing on sensory impressions. The Stoic approach to vagueness shows, for example, that non-sensory impressions can be seemingly indistinguishable by belonging to a series. It also draws attention to an understudied dimension of Stoic theory: in aiming to assent only to kataleptic impressions, one aims to avoid (...) not only assent to false impressions but also assent to those that are neither true nor false. (shrink)

The tendency towards an increasing integration of the informational web into our daily physical world (in particular in so-called Ambient Intelligent technologies which combine ideas derived from the field of Ubiquitous Computing, Intelligent User Interfaces and Ubiquitous Communication) is likely to make the development of successful profiling and personalization algorithms, like the ones currently used by internet companies such as Amazon, even more important than it is today. I argue that the way in which we experience ourselves necessarily goes through (...) a moment of technical mediation. Because of this algorithmic profiling that thrives on continuous reconfiguration of identification should not be understood as a supplementary process which maps a pre-established identity that exists independently from the profiling practice. In order to clarify how the experience of one’s identity can become affected by such machine-profiling a theoretical exploration of identity is made (including Agamben’s understanding of an apparatus, Ricoeur’s distinction between idem- and ipse-identity, and Stiegler’s notion of a conjunctive–disjunctive relationship towards retentional apparatuses). Although it is clear that no specific predictions about the impact of Ambient Intelligent technologies can be made without taking more particulars into account, the theoretical concepts are used to describe three general scenarios about the way wherein the experience of identity might become affected. To conclude, I argue that the experience of one’s identity may affect whether the cases of unwarranted discrimination resulting from ubiquitous differentiations and identifications within an Ambient Intelligent environment, will become a matter of societal concern. (shrink)

In this paper I will show that you can distinguish two main types of argumentation in respect to feeling and emotions in the philosophy of religion of William James, which point to two different kind of criticism of religion. Especially in his early works, James argues that you may lawfully adopt religious beliefs on the basis of passional grounds. This argumentation points to a type of criticism of religion, which denies that beliefs based on such emotional grounds may be justified. (...) In his famous study The Varieties of Religious Experience, James defines religious experience as an experience of inner conversion, where the individual gets in touch with a higher self. The philosophical interpretation of religious experience points not at least to a type of criticism of religion in the tradition of Ludwig Feuerbach, which is known as the theory of projection. (shrink)

In the terms of ancient epistemology, Pyrrho is a dogmatist, not a skeptic, simply on account of putting forward a metaphysical theory. His most contested claim is that things are indifferent, unmeasured, and indeterminate—or, on a competing reconstruction, that things are indifferentiable, unmeasurable, and indeterminable. This paper argues that Pyrrho’s position, which I call Pyrrhonian Indeterminacy, belongs to a rich tradition of revisionist metaphysics that includes ancient atomism, flux metaphysics, Plato’s analysis of becoming, and today’s discussions of indeterminacy and vagueness. (...) This tradition, my argument continues, makes room for a kind of metaphysics that proceeds in epistemological terms. Pyrrho’s indeterminacy claim says that things are indeterminate insofar as they do not have features by reference to which we can determine them to be such-and-such. We should not waver or be inclined to see things one way or another—we should see things, and describe them, as “no more this than that.”. (shrink)

The Stoics identify the law with the active principle, which is corporeal, pervades the universe, individuates each part of the world, and causes all its movements. At the same time, the law is normative for all reasoners. The very same law shapes the movements of the cosmos and governs our actions. With this reconstruction of Stoic law, I depart from existing scholarship on whether Stoic law is a set of rules. The question of whether ethics involves a set of rules (...) is rich and fascinating. In the 1970s and 80s, the observation that ancient ethics might do without rules was part of philosophy’s rediscovery of virtue ethics. This debate, however, neglects that Stoic law is a corporeal principle pervading the world. The key puzzle regarding Stoic law, I argue, is how it is possible that the very same law is a corporeal principle in the world and normative for us. (shrink)

Examining movement learning though Piercean semiotics, this article affirms the basic embodied notion that to utilize one’s body constitutes a form of thought. Through a case study that focuses on theorization of skilled movement in a Japanese martial art that has been transported into North America, I examine processes involved in somatic learning, including both ontological as well as epistemological aspects. I suggest that embodied skills are passed on through story telling, rather than through more conventional models of “passing down (...) information.” Learning somatic skills, or learning more generally, can thereby be conceptualized as a process of attuning judgment, in contrast to acquiring a set of internalized representations about the world. (shrink)

In the context of late capitalism, cultural producers have contributed to the process of precarisation by embracing ideas of autonomy, concomitantly contributing to neoliberal policies and political-economy. I scrutinise the claim for the autonomy of the arts in Eastern Europe, a context that exemplifies the transition from socialism to the neoliberal era. The analysis foregrounds the precarious working conditions of cultural producers during the transition from self-managed socialism to the independent nation-state of Slovenia. In Slovenia, the precarisation of artists had (...) already begun in the 1980s when the socialist government implemented the Law for the Independent Cultural Workers, still in place today. I demonstrate that cultural producers address their working conditions in ideological terms, instead of approaching them in terms of class relations that govern cultural production. Hence, the claim for autonomy is a strategically misguided response to the dismantling of the welfare state. (shrink)

Despite widespread support for the idea of measuring EI as an ability based on Mayer and Salovey’s model, only a few performance-based EI tests have been developed. I argue that both the original and updated ability EI model provide little guidance for a theory-driven generation of items and their scoring, as the functions and processes associated with high and low EI are not specified in enough detail. One solution is to draw on theories from other fields when creating a measurement (...) rationale for a new EI test. I illustrate this approach by describing two new tests measuring emotional understanding and emotion management. (shrink)

The question in this article is how citizenship is reinvented and recontextualized in a newly founded European Union after the launching of Union Citizenship. What kind of conceptions of citizenship are produced in this new and evolving organization? The research material consists of documents presented by EU organs from 1994 to 2007 concerning eight EU programs on citizenship and culture. I will analyze conceptual similarities and differences between these documents and previous conceptualizations in various contexts, including citizenship discussions in the (...) history of integration since the 1970s as well as theories of democracy and nation-states. Based on the analysis of participation, rights, and identity as central dimensions of citizenship, I will discuss the relationship of Union Citizenship to democracy and nationality. (shrink)

Biological realism (Revonsuo, 2001, 2006) states that dreaming is a biological phenomenon and therefore explainable in naturalistic terms, similar to the explanation of other biological phenomena. In the biological sciences, the structure of explanations can be described with the help of a framework called 'multilevel explanation'. The multilevel model provides a context that assists to clarify what needs to be explained and how, and how to place different theories into the same model. Here, I will argue that the multilevel framework (...) would be useful when we try to construct scientific explanations of dreaming. (shrink)

Rachel Barney proposes that Plato’s theory of the tripartite soul is plausibly compared to scientific theories today. I depart from Barney by proposing that the tripartite soul is a model and that its status is hypothetical. And I raise four questions: What follows from the Plato-science comparison, as Barney conceives of it? Which questions emerge if science is looked at in the sophisticated mode that Barney employs in her discussion of Plato? Current science invokes a multitude of subsystems relevant to (...) motivation. Why compare it with tripartition? Stoic psychology may share more fundamental ideas with current science, including the premise that all goings-on in the soul are physiological movements. If tripartition is a model, why would one expect it to account for all dimensions of epistemic activity? (shrink)

I argue that Plato’s account of hunger and thirst in Republic IV, 437d–439a uncovers a general feature of desire: desire has an unqualified and a qualified dimension. This proposal, which I call Two Dimensions, captures recognizable motivational phenomena: being hungry and aiming to determine what one is hungry for, or wanting to study and still figuring out what field it is that one wants to study. Two Dimensions is a fundamental contribution to the theory of desire. It is compatible, I (...) argue, with the better known premise that desire is for the good, because the objects of paradigmatic desires are inherently valuable. (shrink)

Albert and Aquinas present beatitude in their Commentaries on the Sentences in strikingly different ways. While Albert’s theory of beatitude is an account purely based on theological conceptions and sources, Aquinas makes extensive use of philosophers such as Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Avicenna, and Averroes. Recent scholarship has shown that Aquinas derived his philosophical argumentation for the beatific vision from Averroes’s conjunction theory. Yet the reasons for Albert’s and Aquinas’s disparate theories of beatitude have not yet been investigated. In this (...) paper, I shall show that Albert’s and Aquinas’s divergent conceptions of the relationship between the two sciences of philosophy and theology explain their disparate theories of beatitude. (shrink)

Albert and Aquinas present beatitude in their Commentaries on the Sentences in strikingly different ways. While Albert’s theory of beatitude is an account purely based on theological conceptions and sources, Aquinas makes extensive use of philosophers such as Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Avicenna, and Averroes. Recent scholarship has shown that Aquinas derived his philosophical argumentation for the beatific vision from Averroes’s conjunction theory. Yet the reasons for Albert’s and Aquinas’s disparate theories of beatitude have not yet been investigated. In this (...) paper, I shall show that Albert’s and Aquinas’s divergent conceptions of the relationship between the two sciences of philosophy and theology explain their disparate theories of beatitude. (shrink)

Albert and Aquinas present beatitude in their Commentaries on the Sentences in strikingly different ways. While Albert’s theory of beatitude is an account purely based on theological conceptions and sources, Aquinas makes extensive use of philosophers such as Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Avicenna, and Averroes. Recent scholarship has shown that Aquinas derived his philosophical argumentation for the beatific vision from Averroes’s conjunction theory. Yet the reasons for Albert’s and Aquinas’s disparate theories of beatitude have not yet been investigated. In this (...) paper, I shall show that Albert’s and Aquinas’s divergent conceptions of the relationship between the two sciences of philosophy and theology explain their disparate theories of beatitude. (shrink)

This paper aims to analyze the ethical challenges in experimental drug use during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, using Germany as a case study. In Germany uniform ethical guidelines were available early on nationwide, which was considered as desirable by other states to reduce uncertainties and convey a message of unity. The purpose of this ethical analysis is to assist the preparation of future guidelines on the use of medicines during public health emergencies. The use of hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir (...) and COVID-19 convalescent plasma in clinical settings was analyzed from the perspective of the ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy. We observed that drug safety and drug distribution during the pandemic affects all four ethical principles. We therefore recommend to establish ethical guidelines (i) to discuss experimental treatment options with patients from all population groups who are in urgent need, (ii) to facilitate the recording of patient reactions to drugs in off-label use, (iii) to expand inclusion criteria for clinical studies to avoid missing potentially negative effects on excluded groups, and (iv) to maintain sufficient access to repurposed drugs for patients with prior conditions. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s conception of the art of acting, and his views on the new actor’s conduct towards their craft, as a pedagogical model for Brechts’ broader view on how we should live our lives. Drawing on his key writings – most importantly, his famous street scene essay – I will show that Brecht’s conception of the theory-practice connection in his approach to actor training/acting bears some deeper insight into Brecht’s conception of the art (...) of living a flourishing life. The new actor is called to develop a conduct of careful observation and imitation of human action, one that is marked by the pleasure and lightness of exploring the contradictory workings of the social world. By placing the actor’s craft at the heart of his educational philosophy, Brecht invites us (the audience) into the theatre as a pedagogical space. Here, not unlike Brecht’s actors, we are summoned to hone our ability to boldly engage with a complex world of human actions and ideas. Brecht maintains that there resides an intellectual as well as sensual delight in being challenged to not simply accept theatre’s presentations as ‘truth’; instead, we are to learn to ‘weigh up’, ‘test’, and ‘improvise’ joyfully with theatre’s proposed ideas and practices—so that we may find out if they serve, or hinder, the creation of a larger flourishing life (beyond the theatre): a life in which we can move together, pleasurably. (shrink)

Plato’s Euthyphro, I argue, lays out a metaethics that responds to persistent and unresolved value disagreement. The dialogue’s analysis of disagreement leads to the distinction between three kinds of value, exemplified by the good, the god-loved, and the pious. With this proposal, I reject centuries of scholarship, which ascribe a realist metaethics to the Plato of the Euthyphro. But only the good and the just require a ‘realist’ analysis: we relate to them as features of the world to which we (...) have attitudes, not as features of the world that are conferred by our attitudes. The god-loved is overtly attitudinal, thus calling for an anti-realist account. A compelling account of the pious has both realist and anti-realist dimensions. All three kinds of value, I argue, are to be found in the domain of law. Here, too, the good and the just require a realist, the legal an anti-realist, and the lawful a realist and anti-realist analysis. As important as piety was for millennia, it is a non-issue in today’s metaethics. But its analogue in the domain of the law, the lawful, plays a crucial role in our lives today. While we recognize legality as potentially flawed, respect for the law is an indispensable attitude if we are to strive towards improved lives and improved societies. (shrink)

This paper explores the mystical structure of education as Bildung in medieval theologian and Dominican friar Meister Eckhart’s work and the 2010 French film Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et Des Dieux). I start this paper with a short introductory sketch of the Bildung tradition, in order to situate my discussion of Eckhart within the more well-known humanist tradition. Here, I claim that Bildung (as we understand it today through the classic Bildung philosophers) points back to its theological heritage (...) and horizon of meaning, when it is claimed as the general tekhnê (art, craft) of making oneself at home in the world with and through others. In my first step, I then explore the intellectual heritage of this mystical structure of Bildung. Drawing on a range of Meister Eckhart’s writings (esp. his German sermons), I elaborate three features pivotal to his concept of Bildung (as image-ing) of the imago Dei (image of God) in the human soul/action: (1) divine grace, (2) human cultivation and (3) the harmonisation of both in (what I shall call) ‘careful gestures'. In my concluding second step, I illustrate this mystical structure of Eckhartian Bildung—with a particular focus on the emergence of careful gestures—through the motion picture Des Hommes et Des Dieux. (shrink)

In the essay ‘Sexual Differing’ from their book New Materialism: Interviews and Cartographies, Rick Dolphijn and Iris van der Tuin develop their new materialist take on sexual difference through their rereading of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex. I propose to read this essay as deploying the ‘analytical tool’ of ‘jumping generations’ articulated in the homonymous paper by van der Tuin as signature of the ‘new materialist’ ‘third wave’ of feminist theory. By pointing to the immediate textual context of the (...) passages from The Second Sex quoted in ‘Sexual Differing’, to the philosophical underpinning of Beauvoir's work, and to the historical context of its reception, I argue that while the tool of ‘jumping generations’, as put to use in ‘Sexual Differing’, might produce unexpected outcomes, it also risks confining to dusty feminist archives segments of feminist philosophy that might still be relevant for thinking gendered oppression and liberation today: Beauvoir's understanding of the social ontogenesis of freedom, the collective and egalitarian nature of political transformation and the genealogy of materialist feminist thought theoretically and historically linked to Beauvoir and The Second Sex. The issue is not merely one of historical and theoretical accuracy, but of enabling a capacious materialist analysis of gendered oppression and liberation. I conclude by pointing at how Dolphijn and van der Tuin's approach expressly discards understandings of history and scholarship that it nevertheless necessarily performs, and propose that this can be taken as a starting point to rethink sexual differing in terms of a political and ethical commitment beyond its originary metaphysical new materialist articulation. This is where, I propose, the above-mentioned conceptual resources linked to The Second Sex and muted by ‘Sexual Differing’ could prove fruitful, and timely. (shrink)

The tendency towards an increasing integration of the informational web into our daily physical world (in particular in so-called Ambient Intelligent technologies which combine ideas derived from the field of Ubiquitous Computing, Intelligent User Interfaces and Ubiquitous Communication) is likely to make the development of successful profiling and personalization algorithms, like the ones currently used by internet companies such as Amazon , even more important than it is today. I argue that the way in which we experience ourselves necessarily goes (...) through a moment of technical mediation. Because of this algorithmic profiling that thrives on continuous reconfiguration of identification should not be understood as a supplementary process which maps a pre-established identity that exists independently from the profiling practice. In order to clarify how the experience of one’s identity can become affected by such machine-profiling a theoretical exploration of identity is made (including Agamben’s understanding of an apparatus , Ricoeur’s distinction between idem - and ipse -identity, and Stiegler’s notion of a conjunctive–disjunctive relationship towards retentional apparatuses ). Although it is clear that no specific predictions about the impact of Ambient Intelligent technologies can be made without taking more particulars into account, the theoretical concepts are used to describe three general scenarios about the way wherein the experience of identity might become affected. To conclude, I argue that the experience of one’s identity may affect whether the cases of unwarranted discrimination resulting from ubiquitous differentiations and identifications within an Ambient Intelligent environment, will become a matter of societal concern. (shrink)

Whistleblowing is a controversial yet socially significant topic of interest due to its impact on employees, organizations, and society at large. The purpose of this paper is to integrate knowledge of whistleblowing with theoretical advancements in the broader domain of business ethics to propose a novel approach to research and practice engaged in this complex phenomenon. The paper offers a conceptual framework, i.e., the wheel of whistleblowing, that is developed to portray the different features of whistleblowing by applying the whistleblower’s (...) perspective. The framework is based on five “W” questions: Who, What, hoW, Why, and to Whom? The answers to the proposed questions clarify the main aspects of whistleblowing, provide insights into existing studies of the subject, and identify relevant gaps in the literature which, in turn, offer opportunities for future research. (shrink)

Unlängst ist Band II,12 der von Reinhard Lauth, Erich Fuchs, Peter K. Schneider und Ives Radrizzani unter Mitwirkung von Hans Georg von Manz edierten kritischen Ausgabe des Werks von Johann Gottlieb Fichte in der Fichte-Gesamtausgabe der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften erschienen. Erscheinungsjahr ist 1999, Erscheinungsort wie zuvor Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt bei Frommann-Holzboog. Der Band enthält Fichtes philosophische Leistung aus dem Jahr 1811. Primär zu nennen sind »Die Thatsachen des Bewussstseyns«, welche Fichte als Einleitung in die Wissenschaftslehre im Wintersemester 1810/11 gelesen hat, (...) die Wissenschaftslehre von 1811, welche Fichte vom 30. Januar bis 6. April vorgetragen hatte, sowie die populären »Vorlesungen über die Bestimmung des Gelehrten«, von denen anzunehmen ist, Fichte habe sie im Frühjahr 1811 gelesen. Fichte hat »Ueber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten« im Verlauf seiner Lehrtätigkeit dreimal im Rahmen seiner Vorlesungszyklen vorgetragen: ein erstes Mal zu Beginn seiner Lehrtätigkeit in Jena 1794/95. Hiervon sind fünf Vorlesungen in GA I,3 von 1966 wiedergegeben, eine weitere Gruppe um das Thema »Ueber den Unterschied des Geistes und des Buchstabens in der Philosophie« findet sich in GA II,3. Ein zweites Mal las Fichte »Ueber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten, und seine Erscheinungen im Gebiete der Freiheit« vom 25. Mai bis wohl Ende August 1805 in Erlangen. Dieser Zyklus umfaßt zehn Vorlesungen und findet sich in Band I,8 der Akademie-Ausgabe. Ein drittes Mal las Fichte »Ueber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten« wohl im Frühjahr/sommer 1811. Die genauen Daten sind nicht bekannt. Reinhard Lauth verweist im Vorwort zum Text auf ein längeres Schreiben des Studenten August Twesten, vom 28. Mai 1811, worin dieser berichtet, er höre bei Fichte »Reden über das Wesen des Gelehrten«, sowie auf die »Miszellen für die Neueste Weltkunde« vom 25. Mai 1811, wo es heißt: »Unsere Universität hat mit diesem Semester bedeutenden Zuwachs erhalten: man zählt jetzt beinahe vierhundert Studenten, grösstentheils Mediziner. Hufeland lieset über seine Makrobiotik, und Fichte über die Bestimmung des Gelehrten«. Beispiel für künstlerische Tätigkeiten pflegen für Fichte die der Dichter, der Maler, der Bildhauer zu sein, in den Vorlesungen über die Bestimmung des Gelehrten ist es ebenfalls die der Bildhauer. In den Vorlesungen von 1811 hingegen ist es der Musiker, welcher mit dem Denkkünstler verglichen wird: »so jemand in der Musik es zur Meisterschaft bringen will, so bedarf er dazu zu allererst der innern Erregbarkeit durch die Form des Uebersinnlichen, wodurch seine Kunst erst zur Kunst wird«. Nun verweist Reinhard Lauth darauf, daß Fichte vom 4. bis 30. August 1811 in Teplitz zur Badekur weilte, wo vom 4. August bis zum 18. September auch Ludwig van Beethoven sich aufhielt und möglicherweise Fichte musikalisch beeindruckte. Daß es zu einer persönlichen Begegnung gekommen sei, läßt sich jedoch dokumentarisch nicht nachweisen. Als Einführung in die Wissenschaftslehre las Fichte im Wintersemester 1810/11 »Ueber das Studium der Philosophie« und »Ueber die Thatsachen des Bewusstseyns«. Wie Reinhard Lauth rekonstruiert hat, hatte Fichte vom 22. bis 26. Oktober 1810 »Ueber das Studium der Philosophie« gelesen. Der Vorlesungstext ist nicht erhalten. Vom 29. Oktober 1810 bis 14. Januar 1811 trug Fichte erstmals »Ueber die Thatsachen des Bewusstseyns« vor. Diese Vorlesung übernahm, wie Reinhard Lauth im Vorwort erläutert, in der Spätphase Fichtes zusammen mit den Ausführungen über »Transzendentale Logik« die Rolle der Jenaer und Erlanger Vorlesungen über Logik und Metaphysik. Sie sollte auf die genetische Darstellung der Phänomene des Bewußtseins in der WL vorbereiten. Durch Fichte von Beginn an zum Druck bestimmt, erschien die Vorlesungsreihe erstmals nach seinem Tod 1817 in der Cottaischen Buchhandlung. 1845 veröffentlichte auch Immanuel Hermann Fichte in Band 2, S. 534–691 der von ihm herausgegebenen »sämmtlichen Werke« die »Thatsachen« von 1810/11 ein zweites Mal, allerdings nicht ohne unausgewiesene Veränderung ihrer Gliederung, da, wie er ausführte: »das Manuscript, wiewohl ursprünglich für den Druck bestimmt, dennoch die letzte Hand und Feile vom Verfasser nicht erhalten hatte«. Band II,12 der Akademie-Ausgabe enthält nun auch erstmals eine gedruckte Veröffentlichung der WL 1811. Immanuel Hermann Fichte hatte sie in seiner Ausgabe von des Vaters Werken nicht berücksichtigt, ja, nicht einmal erwähnt. Die von fünfundsiebzig Hörern besuchte Vorlesung hatte am 30. Januar begonnen und wurde nach 25 Vorlesungsstunden am 6. April 1811 abgeschlossen. Da sie sorgfältiger ausgeschrieben ist als die späteren und nicht zuletzt als die von 1810, vermutet Reinhard Lauth - gestützt auch auf das Zeugnis von Fichtes Hörer August Twesten –, daß Fichte an eine Veröffentlichung gedacht habe. Twesten, selbst kein schlechter Kopf, hatte 1810 bis 1812 in Berlin studiert. Die These einer geplanten Veröffentlichung wird unterstützt durch das Faktum, daß Fichte schon zum Abschluß seines Vortrags der Wissenschaftslehre 1810 für seine Hörer »Die Wissenschaftslehre in ihrem Umriss« publiziert hatte und daß auch die »Thatsachen des Bewusstseyns« von 1810/11 zum Druck bestimmt waren. Auch ist die WL 1811 sehr viel ausgefeilter und sorgsamer ausgearbeitet als die vorangehende WL 1810, die ein bloßes Vorlesungsskelett darstellt, teilweise aus bloßen Stichworten bestehend. Es gibt somit berechtigten Anlaß zu vermuten, daß Fichte wieder an eine breitere Öffentlichkeit dringen wollte. Zum Inhalt der Wissenschaftslehre von 1811 wäre zu sagen, daß sie von drei Grundthemen dominiert wird: von dem der »Freiheit«, dem der »Fünffachheit« möglicher Standpunkte und dem des »Schemas«. Obgleich „Freiheit“ schon gedankliches Zentrum des frühen Fichte ist, so kommt es doch in seinen ersten Veröffentlichungen so wenig zum Ausdruck, daß Fichte sich in seinem Brief an Reinhold vom 8. Januar 1800 aus einer Position der Defensive zu betonen veranlaßt sieht: »Mein System ist vom Anfange bis zum Ende nur eine Analyse des Begriffs der Freiheit«. Schon in der WL 1801/02 spielt dieser Begriff dann eine bedeutende Rolle. In der WL 1811 hingegen wird der Begriff der Freiheit zentral und zwar im Zusammenhang mit einem zweiten: dem Begriff des „Reflexes“. Es gilt: Die absolute Sichvollziehung der Freiheit bringt das Faktum des Wissens zum Vorschein. Das Wissen führt - - seinen Reflex bei sich: es ist ein sich als Denken verstehenden Denken. Erst so entsteht Bewußtsein. Denn Denken ohne Sich-Sehen wäre ein Wissen ohne Licht, ein Bewußtsein ohne Gehalt. Von „Reflex“ war auch schon in der WL 1801/02 im Zusammenhang mit der »intellektuellen Anschauung« die Rede: »Der Sprung durch das absolute, der Reflex, das für ich seyn desselben, ist in der Mitte«. Dagegen wird die »intellektuelle Anschauung« - noch zentral in der WL 1810 - in der WL 1811 überhaupt nicht mehr genannt. Sie wird verdrängt durch den „Reflex“. In der Wissenschaftslehre 1811 findet also eine gewissen »Intellektualisierung« statt: Es gibt nicht mehr einerseits Anschauung, andererseits Denken, wie in den frühen Fassungen der Wissenschaftslehre, sondern es ist der Verstand, der »Bilder« entwirft. (shrink)

Unlängst ist Band II,12 der von Reinhard Lauth, Erich Fuchs, Peter K. Schneider und Ives Radrizzani unter Mitwirkung von Hans Georg von Manz edierten kritischen Ausgabe des Werks von Johann Gottlieb Fichte in der Fichte-Gesamtausgabe der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften erschienen. Erscheinungsjahr ist 1999, Erscheinungsort wie zuvor Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt bei Frommann-Holzboog. Der Band enthält Fichtes philosophische Leistung aus dem Jahr 1811. Primär zu nennen sind »Die Thatsachen des Bewussstseyns«, welche Fichte als Einleitung in die Wissenschaftslehre im Wintersemester 1810/11 gelesen hat, (...) die Wissenschaftslehre von 1811, welche Fichte vom 30. Januar bis 6. April vorgetragen hatte, sowie die populären »Vorlesungen über die Bestimmung des Gelehrten«, von denen anzunehmen ist, Fichte habe sie im Frühjahr 1811 gelesen. Fichte hat »Ueber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten« im Verlauf seiner Lehrtätigkeit dreimal im Rahmen seiner Vorlesungszyklen vorgetragen: ein erstes Mal zu Beginn seiner Lehrtätigkeit in Jena 1794/95. Hiervon sind fünf Vorlesungen in GA I,3 von 1966 wiedergegeben, eine weitere Gruppe um das Thema »Ueber den Unterschied des Geistes und des Buchstabens in der Philosophie« findet sich in GA II,3. Ein zweites Mal las Fichte »Ueber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten, und seine Erscheinungen im Gebiete der Freiheit« vom 25. Mai bis wohl Ende August 1805 in Erlangen. Dieser Zyklus umfaßt zehn Vorlesungen und findet sich in Band I,8 der Akademie-Ausgabe. Ein drittes Mal las Fichte »Ueber die Bestimmung des Gelehrten« wohl im Frühjahr/sommer 1811. Die genauen Daten sind nicht bekannt. Reinhard Lauth verweist im Vorwort zum Text auf ein längeres Schreiben des Studenten August Twesten, vom 28. Mai 1811, worin dieser berichtet, er höre bei Fichte »Reden über das Wesen des Gelehrten«, sowie auf die »Miszellen für die Neueste Weltkunde« vom 25. Mai 1811, wo es heißt: »Unsere Universität hat mit diesem Semester bedeutenden Zuwachs erhalten: man zählt jetzt beinahe vierhundert Studenten, grösstentheils Mediziner. Hufeland lieset über seine Makrobiotik, und Fichte über die Bestimmung des Gelehrten«. Beispiel für künstlerische Tätigkeiten pflegen für Fichte die der Dichter, der Maler, der Bildhauer zu sein, in den Vorlesungen über die Bestimmung des Gelehrten ist es ebenfalls die der Bildhauer. In den Vorlesungen von 1811 hingegen ist es der Musiker, welcher mit dem Denkkünstler verglichen wird: »so jemand in der Musik es zur Meisterschaft bringen will, so bedarf er dazu zu allererst der innern Erregbarkeit durch die Form des Uebersinnlichen, wodurch seine Kunst erst zur Kunst wird«. Nun verweist Reinhard Lauth darauf, daß Fichte vom 4. bis 30. August 1811 in Teplitz zur Badekur weilte, wo vom 4. August bis zum 18. September auch Ludwig van Beethoven sich aufhielt und möglicherweise Fichte musikalisch beeindruckte. Daß es zu einer persönlichen Begegnung gekommen sei, läßt sich jedoch dokumentarisch nicht nachweisen. Als Einführung in die Wissenschaftslehre las Fichte im Wintersemester 1810/11 »Ueber das Studium der Philosophie« und »Ueber die Thatsachen des Bewusstseyns«. Wie Reinhard Lauth rekonstruiert hat, hatte Fichte vom 22. bis 26. Oktober 1810 »Ueber das Studium der Philosophie« gelesen. Der Vorlesungstext ist nicht erhalten. Vom 29. Oktober 1810 bis 14. Januar 1811 trug Fichte erstmals »Ueber die Thatsachen des Bewusstseyns« vor. Diese Vorlesung übernahm, wie Reinhard Lauth im Vorwort erläutert, in der Spätphase Fichtes zusammen mit den Ausführungen über »Transzendentale Logik« die Rolle der Jenaer und Erlanger Vorlesungen über Logik und Metaphysik. Sie sollte auf die genetische Darstellung der Phänomene des Bewußtseins in der WL vorbereiten. Durch Fichte von Beginn an zum Druck bestimmt, erschien die Vorlesungsreihe erstmals nach seinem Tod 1817 in der Cottaischen Buchhandlung. 1845 veröffentlichte auch Immanuel Hermann Fichte in Band 2, S. 534–691 der von ihm herausgegebenen »sämmtlichen Werke« die »Thatsachen« von 1810/11 ein zweites Mal, allerdings nicht ohne unausgewiesene Veränderung ihrer Gliederung, da, wie er ausführte: »das Manuscript, wiewohl ursprünglich für den Druck bestimmt, dennoch die letzte Hand und Feile vom Verfasser nicht erhalten hatte«. Band II,12 der Akademie-Ausgabe enthält nun auch erstmals eine gedruckte Veröffentlichung der WL 1811. Immanuel Hermann Fichte hatte sie in seiner Ausgabe von des Vaters Werken nicht berücksichtigt, ja, nicht einmal erwähnt. Die von fünfundsiebzig Hörern besuchte Vorlesung hatte am 30. Januar begonnen und wurde nach 25 Vorlesungsstunden am 6. April 1811 abgeschlossen. Da sie sorgfältiger ausgeschrieben ist als die späteren und nicht zuletzt als die von 1810, vermutet Reinhard Lauth - gestützt auch auf das Zeugnis von Fichtes Hörer August Twesten –, daß Fichte an eine Veröffentlichung gedacht habe. Twesten, selbst kein schlechter Kopf, hatte 1810 bis 1812 in Berlin studiert. Die These einer geplanten Veröffentlichung wird unterstützt durch das Faktum, daß Fichte schon zum Abschluß seines Vortrags der Wissenschaftslehre 1810 für seine Hörer »Die Wissenschaftslehre in ihrem Umriss« publiziert hatte und daß auch die »Thatsachen des Bewusstseyns« von 1810/11 zum Druck bestimmt waren. Auch ist die WL 1811 sehr viel ausgefeilter und sorgsamer ausgearbeitet als die vorangehende WL 1810, die ein bloßes Vorlesungsskelett darstellt, teilweise aus bloßen Stichworten bestehend. Es gibt somit berechtigten Anlaß zu vermuten, daß Fichte wieder an eine breitere Öffentlichkeit dringen wollte. Zum Inhalt der Wissenschaftslehre von 1811 wäre zu sagen, daß sie von drei Grundthemen dominiert wird: von dem der »Freiheit«, dem der »Fünffachheit« möglicher Standpunkte und dem des »Schemas«. Obgleich „Freiheit“ schon gedankliches Zentrum des frühen Fichte ist, so kommt es doch in seinen ersten Veröffentlichungen so wenig zum Ausdruck, daß Fichte sich in seinem Brief an Reinhold vom 8. Januar 1800 aus einer Position der Defensive zu betonen veranlaßt sieht: »Mein System ist vom Anfange bis zum Ende nur eine Analyse des Begriffs der Freiheit«. Schon in der WL 1801/02 spielt dieser Begriff dann eine bedeutende Rolle. In der WL 1811 hingegen wird der Begriff der Freiheit zentral und zwar im Zusammenhang mit einem zweiten: dem Begriff des „Reflexes“. Es gilt: Die absolute Sichvollziehung der Freiheit bringt das Faktum des Wissens zum Vorschein. Das Wissen führt - - seinen Reflex bei sich: es ist ein sich als Denken verstehenden Denken. Erst so entsteht Bewußtsein. Denn Denken ohne Sich-Sehen wäre ein Wissen ohne Licht, ein Bewußtsein ohne Gehalt. Von „Reflex“ war auch schon in der WL 1801/02 im Zusammenhang mit der »intellektuellen Anschauung« die Rede: »Der Sprung durch das absolute, der Reflex, das für ich seyn desselben, ist in der Mitte«. Dagegen wird die »intellektuelle Anschauung« - noch zentral in der WL 1810 - in der WL 1811 überhaupt nicht mehr genannt. Sie wird verdrängt durch den „Reflex“. In der Wissenschaftslehre 1811 findet also eine gewissen »Intellektualisierung« statt: Es gibt nicht mehr einerseits Anschauung, andererseits Denken, wie in den frühen Fassungen der Wissenschaftslehre, sondern es ist der Verstand, der »Bilder« entwirft. (shrink)

Researchers in applied ethics, and some areas of bioethics particularly, aim to develop concrete and appropriate recommendations for action in morally relevant real-world situations. When proceeding from more abstract levels of ethical reasoning to such concrete recommendations, however, even with regard to the very same normative principle or norm, it seems possible to develop divergent or even contradictory recommendations for action regarding a certain situation. This may give the impression that such recommendations would be arbitrary and, hence, not well justified. (...) Against this background, we, first, aim at showing that ethical recommendations for action, although being contingent in some sense, are not arbitrary if developed appropriately. For this purpose, we examine two types of contingencies arising in applied ethics reasoning based on recent examples of recommendations for action in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, we refer to a three-step model of ethical reasoning towards recommendations for actions. This, however, leaves open the question of how applied ethics may cope with contingent recommendations for action. Therefore, in a second step, we analyze the role of bridge principles for developing ethically appropriate recommendations for action, i.e., principles which connect normative claims with relevant empirical information to justify certain recommendations for action in a given morally relevant situation. Finally, we discuss some implications for reasoning and reporting in empirically informed ethics. (shrink)

Language’s intentional nature has been highlighted as a crucial feature distinguishing it from other communication systems. Specifically, language is often thought to depend on highly structured intentional action and mutual mindreading by a communicator and recipient. Whilst similar abilities in animals can shed light on the evolution of intentionality, they remain challenging to detect unambiguously. We revisit animal intentional communication and suggest that progress in identifying analogous capacities has been complicated by (i) the assumption that intentional (that is, voluntary) production (...) of communicative acts requires mental-state attribution, and (ii) variation in approaches investigating communication across sensory modalities. To move forward, we argue that a framework fusing research across modalities and species is required. We structure intentional communication into a series of requirements, each of which can be operationalised, investigated empirically, and must be met for purposive, intentionally communicative acts to be demonstrated. Our unified approach helps elucidate the distribution of animal intentional communication and subsequently serves to clarify what is meant by attributions of intentional communication in animals and humans. (shrink)

_Repeating Žižek_ offers a serious engagement with the ideas and propositions of philosopher Slavoj Žižek. Often subjecting Žižek's work to a Žižekian analysis, this volume's contributors consider the possibility of formalizing Žižek's ideas into an identifiable philosophical system. They examine his interpretations of Hegel, Plato, and Lacan, outline his debates with Badiou, and evaluate the implications of his analysis of politics and capitalism upon Marxist thought. Other essays focus on Žižek's approach to Christianity and Islam, his "sloppy" method of reading (...) texts, his relation to current developments in neurobiology, and his theorization of animals. The book ends with an afterword by Žižek in which he analyzes Shakespeare's and Beckett's plays in relation to the subject. The contributors do not reach a consensus on defining a Žižekian school of philosophy—perhaps his idiosyncratic and often heterogeneous ideas simply resist synthesis—but even in their repetition of Žižek, they create something new and vital. Contributors. Henrik Jøker Bjerre, Bruno Bosteels, Agon Hamza, Brian Benjamin Hansen, Adrian Johnston, Katja Kolšek, Adam Kotsko, Catherine Malabou, Benjamin Noys, Geoff Pfeifer, Frank Ruda, Oxana Timofeeva, Samo Tomšic, Gabriel Tupinambá, Fabio Vighi, Gavin Walker, Sead Zimeri, Slavoj Žižek. (shrink)

_Repeating Žižek_ offers a serious engagement with the ideas and propositions of philosopher Slavoj Žižek. Often subjecting Žižek's work to a Žižekian analysis, this volume's contributors consider the possibility of formalizing Žižek's ideas into an identifiable philosophical system. They examine his interpretations of Hegel, Plato, and Lacan, outline his debates with Badiou, and evaluate the implications of his analysis of politics and capitalism upon Marxist thought. Other essays focus on Žižek's approach to Christianity and Islam, his "sloppy" method of reading (...) texts, his relation to current developments in neurobiology, and his theorization of animals. The book ends with an afterword by Žižek in which he analyzes Shakespeare's and Beckett's plays in relation to the subject. The contributors do not reach a consensus on defining a Žižekian school of philosophy—perhaps his idiosyncratic and often heterogeneous ideas simply resist synthesis—but even in their repetition of Žižek, they create something new and vital. Contributors. Henrik Jøker Bjerre, Bruno Bosteels, Agon Hamza, Brian Benjamin Hansen, Adrian Johnston, Katja Kolšek, Adam Kotsko, Catherine Malabou, Benjamin Noys, Geoff Pfeifer, Frank Ruda, Oxana Timofeeva, Samo Tomšic, Gabriel Tupinambá, Fabio Vighi, Gavin Walker, Sead Zimeri, Slavoj Žižek. (shrink)

The volume brings together ancient-philosophy specialists and Kant scholars to advance our understanding of the significance of Stoicism for Immanuel Kant's ethical thought. Kant and Stoic Ethics -/- Contents: -/- Introduction -/- 1 Ethical Formulae in Ancient Stoicism — Brad Inwood -/- 2 Duties and Permissible Actions in the Early Stoics and Kant — Iakovos Vasiliou -/- 3 The Stoics and Kant on the Motive of Duty — Jacob Klein -/- 4 Kant on the Unity and Plurality of the Virtues (...) — Katja Maria Vogt -/- 5 Perfection and Morality — Stephen Engstrom -/- 6 The Stoical Sublime — I.S. Blecher 7 Kant’s Rejection of Stoic Eudaimonism — Michael Vazquez -/- 8 Life as a Game of Skill? Kant and the Stoics about the Results of Human Agency — Jens Timmermann -/- 9 Living in accordance with Nature: Kant and Stoicism — Paul Guyer -/- 10 On the Relationship between Orientation and Agency: From the Stoics’ Oikeiōsis to Kant’s Orientierung — Alix Cohen -/- 11 “Everyone has a price at which he sells himself”: Epictetus and Kant on Self-respect — Melissa Merritt -/- 12 Anger Reinstated: Stoics and Kant on Anger — Nancy Sherman 13 Kant’s Philosophy of History as Stoic Consolation — Rachel Zuckert -/- Bibliography Index . (shrink)

The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism. R. Bett (Ed.), New York: Cambridge University Press 2010, pp. 380+xii, ISBN 780521697545. -/- The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism, edited by Richard Bett, consists of an Introduction and fifteen papers written by international authors (three of them have been diligently translated into English by the editor). The volume presents the major figures of ancient skepticism and the major interpretational problems. Separate papers are devoted to Pyrrho of Elis (Svavar Hrafn Svavarsson), Arcesilaus and Carneades (...) (Harald Thorsrud), Aenesidemus (R.J. Hankinson) and Sextus Empiricus (Pierre Pellegrin). Agrippa seems to be the only missing figure on the list. Moreover, we can also find a lot of information about the minor figures of ancient skepticism. Mi-Kyoung Lee presents skeptical ideas in early Greek philosophy and Carlos Levy writes about the later academic skeptics, especially Clitomachus, Philo of Larissa and Cicero. Richard Bett in his Introduction lists the most important problems in interpreting ancient skepticism: What kinds of belief, if any, are open to a skeptic? Can a skeptic allow for choice and action and if so, then how? Is skepticism compatible with an ethical outlook? Is there a real difference between the Academic and Pyrrhonist varieties of skepticism? Casey Perin takes on the first one, Katja Maria Vogt—the second, Richard Bett—the third, and Gisela Striker—the last one. We also have the next five papers presenting other important aspects of ancient skepticism. Paul Woodruff writes about skeptical modes, James Allen about the relation between Pyrrhonism and medical schools, Emidio Spinelli about the critique of specialized sciences, Luciano Floridi about the modern rediscovery of ancient skepticism, and Michael Williams about its Cartesian transformation. The Companion is very rich in content and very up-to-date, presenting the latest hypotheses. Here I would like to discuss the problem of Pyrrho’s place within the skeptical tradition. (shrink)

Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʼ ; Islamic philosophy ; Islam -- Doctrines.

Uju ŭi chuin ŭn nugu in'ga -- Kwahak ch'ŏrhak iran muŏt in'ga (1993) -- Kwahak kisul ŭi ch'ukpok kwa chaeang (Kwahak, ch'ukpok in'ga chaeang in'ga, 2009) -- Munmyŏng ŭi mirae -- Saengmyŏng -- Hwan'gyŏng kwa hwan'gyŏng ch'ŏrhak -- Saengt'ae.

Islamic ethics - Early works to 20th century.

Marina Gustavovna Shtorkh is a daughter of Gustav Shpet (1879-1937), one of the most important Russian philosophers of the 20th century. He spent the last two years of his life (1935-1937) in exile in Siberia. M.G. Shtorkh shares her memories in a documentary film about her father and his circle, the intellectual leaders of the Silver Age, philosophers, actors, artists: A. Belyi, V. Kachalov, I. Moskvin, A. Shchusev, B. Pil`niak, etc. This book by Elena Iakovich is a transcript of the (...) film. (shrink)