Since Freges terms were meant to refer always to sets, that is, entities composed of individuals. Classical philosophy up to Leibniz and Kant had a different view on this questionBegriffes syntaxhighercorresponding to the idea which Leibniz used in the construction of his characteristic numbers. Thus, this paper is an addendum to Corcorans theory via predicate logic.

The theory of nonlinear complex systems has become a successful and widely used problem-solving approach in the natural sciences - from laser physics, quantum chaos and meteorology to molecular modeling in chemistry and computer simulations of cell growth in biology. In recent times it has been recognized that many of the social, ecological and political problems of mankind are also of a global, complex and nonlinear nature. And one of the most exciting topics of present scientific and public interest is (...) the idea that even the human mind is governed largely by the nonlinear dynamics of complex systems. In this wide-ranging but concise treatment Prof. Mainzer discusses, in nontechnical language, the common framework behind these endeavours. Special emphasis is given to the evolution of new structures in natural and cultural systems and it is seen clearly how the new integrative approach of complexity theory can give new insights that were not available using traditional reductionistic methods. (shrink)

Friedrich Nietzsche has emerged as one of the most important and influential modern philosophers. For several decades, the book series Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung (MTNF) has set the agenda in a rapidly growing and changing field of Nietzsche scholarship. The scope of the series is interdisciplinary and international in orientation reflects the entire spectrum of research on Nietzsche, from philosophy to literary studies and political theory. The series publishes monographs and edited volumes that undergo a strict peer-review process. The (...) book series is led by an international team of editors, whose work represents the full range of current Nietzsche scholarship. (shrink)

In this paper the author criticizes the way Robert Alexy reconstructs the relationship between legal and practical reasoning. The core of Alexy's argumentation (Alexy 1978) is considered the claim that legal argumentation is a “special case” of general practical discourse. In order to question this claim, the author analyzes three different types of argument: (1) that legal reasoning is needed by general practical discourse itself, (2) that there are similarities between legal argumentation and general practical discourse, (3) that there is (...) a correspondence between certain types of argument in general practical discourse and in legal argumentation.**. (shrink)

Even beginners and young graduate students will have something to learn from this book." (Andre Hautot, Physicalia, Vol. 57 (3), 2005)"All-in-all, this highly ...

In this paper concerns the adequacy of competing models of the people in the sociological, socio-economic and socio-biological theory tradition for the explanation of complex social phenomena. It is proposed that in the mainstream sociological theory tradition preferred model to modify the socialized man by embedding in an evolutionary theoretical concept which receives the objections of the economic tradition with regard to individual decisions on actions and objections from the biological tradition with regard to genetic influences, without the independent importance (...) of culture to eliminate social science explanations. In an evolutionary sketch is shown that an application of Darwin's theory on socio-cultural phenomena of man is possible to cooperate in the genetic, situational and cultural factors as causal factors unrelated. Culture is seen in it as an adaptive process in which the genetically inherited organism-environment relationships in emergent forms of social systems and cultural environments are expanded. With regard to causal explanations through evolutionary mechanisms, the proportion of human individuals for the dynamic aspects of socio-cultural phenomena is emphasized. (shrink)

The essay presents Saul Kripke's argument for mind/body-dualism and makes the suppositions explicit on which it rests. My claim, inspired by Richard Boyd, is that even if one of Kripke’s central suppositions - the principle of necessity of identities using rigid designators - is shared by the non-traditional identity theorist, it is still possible for her to rebut Kripke’s dualism.

The article critically assesses Ulrich Beck’s body of work and its importance for contemporary sociology. It demonstrates that Beck’s elaboration of his original theory of the ‘risk society’ into a theory of the ‘world risk society’, ‘cosmopolitanism’ and ‘metamorphosis’ involved several key theoretical innovations. Firstly, Beck adjusted his notion of risk to include the threat of international terrorism in his diagnosis of the risk society. Secondly, he introduced a distinction between ‘cosmopolitanism’ and ‘cosmopolitization’ in order to capture the specificity of (...) contemporary social change. Thirdly and most recently, Beck outlined a theory of ‘the metamorphosis of the world’ which marks an important shift of emphasis from ‘the negative side effects of goods’ to ‘the positive side effects of bads’. In conclusion, the article identifies a number of theoretical ambiguities and unresolved questions in Beck’s theory. (shrink)

L'article est consacré à la procréation médicalement assistée et aux techniques médicales qui la concernent: les concepts bioéthiques, l'option anthropologique, le dialogue interdisciplinaire et la philosophie de la nature impliqués sont étudiés. Les problèmes concrets du diagnostic préimplantatoire, de la sélection de l'embryon, du clônage, et de la compétence du médecin en matière de conseil sont analysés par l'A.

Molecules have more or less symmetric and complex structures which can be defined in the mathematical framework of topology, group theory, dynamical systems theory, and quantum mechanics. But symmetry and complexity are by no means only theoretical concepts of research. Modern computer aided visualizations show real forms of matter which nevertheless depend on the technical standards of observation, computation, and representation. Furthermore, symmetry and complexity are fundamental interdisciplinary concepts of research inspiring the natural sciences since the antiquity.

In this article, I would like to clarify Austin's thesis that illocutionary acts are essentially conventional and to show, how this idea is connected with his concept of securing uptake. Contrary to what most critics believe, I will show that Austin provides a criterion characterising the nature of all illocutionary acts and allowing to distinguish them from perlocutionary acts.