Rauprich O, Marckmann G, Vollmann J: Gleichheit und Gerechtigkeit in der modernen Medizin Content Type Journal Article Pages 71-75 DOI 10.1007/s10202-007-0032-0 Authors Elisabeth Weisser-Lohmann, Institut für Philosophie FernUniversität Hagen 58084 Hagen Germany Journal Poiesis & Praxis: International Journal of Technology Assessment and Ethics of Science Online ISSN 1615-6617 Print ISSN 1615-6609 Journal Volume Volume 5 Journal Issue Volume 5, Number 1.

Spatial, physical, and semantic magnitude dimensions can influence action decisions in human cognitive processing and interact with each other. For example, in the SNARC effect, semantic numerical magnitude facilitates left-hand or right-hand responding dependent on the small or large magnitude of number symbols. SNARC-like interactions of numerical magnitudes with the radial spatial dimension (depth) were postulated from early on. Usually, the SNARC effect in any direction is investigated using fronto-parallel computer monitors for presentation of stimuli. In such 2D setups, however, (...) the metaphorical and literal interpretation of the radial depth axis with seemingly close / far stimuli or responses are not distinct. Hence, it is difficult to draw clear conclusions with respect to the contribution of different spatial mappings to the SNARC effect. In order to disentangle the different mappings in a natural way, we studied parametrical interactions between semantic numerical magnitude, horizontal directional responses, and perceptual distance by means of stereoscopic depth in an immersive virtual reality (VR). Two VR experiments show horizontal SNARC effects across all spatial displacements in traditional latency measures and kinematic response parameters. No indications of a SNARC effect along the depth axis, as it would be predicted by a direct mapping account, were observed, but the results show a non-linear relationship between horizontal SNARC slopes and physical distance. Steepest SNARC slopes were observed for digits presented close to the hands. We conclude that spatial-numerical processing is susceptible to effector-based processes but relatively resilient to task-irrelevant variations of radial-spatial magnitudes. (shrink)

Donald Green and Ian Shapiro argue that rational choice scholarship in political science is excessively theory?driven: too few of its theoretical insights have been subjected to serious empirical scrutiny and survived. But rational choice theorizing has the potential to identify and correct logical inconsistencies and slippages. It is thus valuable even if the resulting theories are not tested empirically. When Green and Shapiro's argument concerning collective dilemmas and free riding is formalized, it turns out to be deeply flawed and in (...) many respects outright false. Their mistake is common enough: they misclassify a variety of collective dilemmas as prisoner's dilemmas. Because they misunderstand the theory of rational choice, Green and Shapiro allege that it is refuted by empirical findings that, in fact, support it. (shrink)

In Germany the question whether to uphold or repeal the judicial prohibition on Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis is being debated from quite different standpoints. This paper differentiates the major arguments according to their reasons as a) moral, b) evaluative , and c) legal. The arguments for and against PGD can be divided by content into three groups: arguments relating to the status of the embryo, focusing on individual actions in the implementation of PGD, and relating to the foreseeable or probable consequences (...) of PGD.In Germany, from a legal perspective, the status of the embryo does not permit the intervention of PGD; from a purely moral perspective, a prohibition on PGD does not appear defensible. It remains an open question, however, whether the moral argument permitting PGD should be restricted for evaluative reasons. The paper discusses the species-ethical reasons, for which Jürgen Habermas sees worrisome consequences in the wake of PGD to the extent that we comprehend it as the forerunner of a ‘positive eugenics’. It would so disrupt the natural preconditions of our universal morality. The question of whether to prohibit or allow PGD is not merely a question of simple moral and/or legal arguments, but demands a choice between evaluative, moral and species-ethical arguments, and the question remains open. (shrink)

The paper clarifies first a critical understanding of “progress”. Progress implies a development for the better, the comprehensive definition of which must be a conception of justice if progress is to justify global developments and political rule. Therefore a somewhat minimal but complex definition of “human rights justice”, as formulated in the international human rights pacts since 1948, is explained. Through this, the different but systematically interrelated human rights (liberty rights, justice rights, political rights, economic, cultural and social rights) can (...) allow for reflected and more comprehensive assessments of progress in different areas of development. But it is also necessary to integrate the specific progress developments into a comprehensive conception of human rights justice, the precise definition of which requires not only the observance of social but ultimately of all human rights, and in particular political participation rights. In the final section some problems of this approach will be discussed. (shrink)

„Das Leben zu erkennen“ (II,5,112) bestimmt Fichte als Gegenstand der „Wissenschaftslehre“ (1794 ff.). Die Aufgabe der Philosophie besteht für ihn nicht darin, „durch die Kraft (der) Syllogismen neue Objekte des natürlichen Denkens“ (II,5,112) zu erschaffen. Er gewichtet seine Philosophie dergestalt, daß sie „das Leben, das System der Gefühle und das Begehren zum Höchsten (macht) und... der Erkenntnis überall nur das Zusehen (läßt)“ (II,5,137). Die herausragende Stellung des Gefühls besteht darin, daß es einerseits als begrifflich explizierbarer Teilaspekt der Reflexionen über die (...) Grundbedingungen der unterschiedlichen Bewußtseins- bwz. Lebensformen des Menschen selbst Bestandteil der „Wissenschaftslehre“ ist und daß es andererseits zugleich als die ausgezeichnete Weise der Selbstmanifestation dieser Lebensformen zu bestimmen ist, deren Genese in der „Wissenschaftslehre“ rekonstruiert wird. Fichte entwickelt im System der „Wissenschaftslehre“ eine weitreichende und complex strukturierte Theorie des Gefühls, die die Bereiche des theoretischen und praktischen, sinnlichen, intellektuellen und intelligiblen Lebens umfaßt. In einem systematisch angelegten Untersuchungsstrang werden Genese, Stellenwert und Funktion des Gefühls in der „Wissenschaftslehre“ und ihren Teildisziplinen entwickelt. In historischer Hinsicht wird Fichtes Lehre vom Gefühl im Kontext der zeitgenössischen Diskussion (Kant, Jacobi u.a.) erörtert. Systematische und historische Zielsetzungen werden parallel aus einer entwicklungsgeschichtlichen Perspektive entfaltet. Im Ausgang von den Jugendschriften bis zur „Wissenschaftslehre 1801“ wird der Begriff des Gefühls in seinen pädagogischen, erkenntnistheoretischen, moralischen und religiösen Bedeutungen untersucht. (shrink)

The essay is a critical revision of various of Marx’s approaches in his analysis of capitalism in “Das Kapital”. One can distinguish immanent, normative critiques from transcendental and objectivistic ones. The review of the normative standards used in each case leads to the questions of how Marx determined and used the relationships of justice and law and the capitalist mode of production. Orthodox Marxist views (most recently C. Menke) claim that Marx did not criticise capital as unjust and understood the (...) law of capital only as private law that stabilised domination. Against this, it is shown that he certainly bases his “critical presentation” on an (almost Kantian) constitutional (“rechtsstaatliches”) concept of private law and public law. Thus the “popular prejudice” of “human equality”, defined by Marx as an epochal and systematic condition of the capitalist exchange of goods, becomes apparent as a covert reference to the historical (America, French Revolution),public-lawdeclarations of human rights. And in the chapter “Struggle for the length of the working day” Marx presents the decisions of this dispute between “equal rights” first and foremost in the systematic historical actions of the constitutional powers (legislature, executive and judiciary). At the same time, however, he attempts to ironise and defame this public-law and deliberative, democratic dispute and then to misinterpret it as a violent “civil war”. Because Marx in his further presentation ignores this legal-democratic dispute, including a potential human-rights critique and (possible!) future regulation of capitalism, focussing instead on objectivist concepts of history and development, he can only insufficiently grasp the still challenging relationship between democracy and capitalism. (shrink)

In connection with research on humans, the term “vulnerability” is only appropriate to identify the special need for protection of certain sections of the population and individuals, if this term refers to the additional risk of certain groups of subjects. Authors who focus on the additional risk suffering of a subject group when defining vulnerability succeed in considering the specific worthiness of protection in a context-sensitive way. The attempt to define the risk–benefit assessment for vulnerable subject groups on a binding (...) basis faces considerable difficulties. This assessment depends both on the research situation and on the test subject. The normative aspect of this decision could be solved by referring to Rawl’s decision model of an original position. In cases where there is no benefit for the subject, arguments in the discussion of the risks and benefits that are based on a “group or overall benefit” and an “objective interest,” cannot be fully sustained. (shrink)

Selected Readings in the Anthropology of Religion. Edited by Stephen D. Glazier and Charles A. Flowerday. Westport, Praeger, 2003. 304 pp. ISBN 0313300909. $72.95 (cloth).

No entendimento de Habermas, "direito", na expressão "direitos humanos", é um conceito jurídico, donde direitos humanos, para ele, serem direitos jurídicos, normas legais declaradas em atos defundações do Estado ou anunciadas em convenções do direito internacional e/ou constituições estatais. Ao conceber assim os direitos e tematizar os direitos humanos numa abordagem tríplice (focando-os entre moral, direito e política), ele fornece diferentes definições teóricas dos direitos humanos. O texto apresenta uma exposição sistemática dessas definições e focaliza os diferentes problemas que motivaram (...) Habermas a alterar e ampliar suas concepções de direitos humanos. (shrink)

Pacifism is an active form of resistance, and therefore not to be criticised as a passive withdrawal from the world. The defining characteristic of pacifism, in both the institutional and the witness approach, is its categorical commitment to nonviolence. Therefore, pacifism’s discourse on violence deserves special attention. This article identifies incoherencies and developments in pacifism’s discourse on violence, which are due to the almost unbearable burden of thinking and acting categorically in a nonviolent manner. It furthermore identifies two presuppositions in (...) pacifist thinking on the consequences of the use of violence which turn out to be rather myths than reality. It cannot be proven that violence always begets violence nor that violence cannot be tamed in military operations. Therefore, the belief of pacifism that peace can be brought about effectively only when refusing any kind of violent means turns out to be an irrational myth as well. (shrink)

The paper clarifies first a critical understanding of “progress”. Progress implies a development for the better, the comprehensive definition of which must be a conception of justice if progress is to justify global developments and political rule. Therefore a somewhat minimal but complex definition of “human rights justice”, as formulated in the international human rights pacts since 1948, is explained. Through this, the different but systematically interrelated human rights (liberty rights, justice rights, political rights, economic, cultural and social rights) can (...) allow for reflected and more comprehensive assessments of progress in different areas of development. But it is also necessary to integrate the specific progress developments into a comprehensive conception of human rights justice, the precise definition of which requires not only the observance of social but ultimately of all human rights, and in particular political participation rights. In the final section some problems of this approach will be discussed. (shrink)

Die Universalität der Menschenrechte wird seit Jahren zwischen den verschiedenen Kulturkreisen kontrovers diskutiert. Die vorliegende Untersuchung geht der Frage nach, ob ethische Normen, wie z.B. die Menschenrechte, universal oder nur partikular (für eine bestimmte Wertgemeinschaft) begründbar sind. Zur Klärung werden Beiträge aus dem Protestantismus (u.a. W. Herrmann, E. Troeltsch, K. Barth und T. Rendtorff) und der Philosophie (Naturrechtstradition, R. Alexy, O. Höffe) analysiert. Der Verfasser kommt zu dem Ergebnis, daß ethische Normen immer in einem bestimmten, etwa dem christlichen, Menschenbild fundiert (...) sind, aber zugleich auf universale, im Weltanschauungsdiskurs zu erweisende Plausibilität zielen. (shrink)

Collection of original essays on human rights Content: Höffe, Otfried: Transzendentaler Tausch. Eine Legimitationsfigur für Menschenrechte? Tugendhat, Ernst: Die Kontroverse um die Menschenrechte. Lohmann, Georg: Menschenrechte zwischen Moral und Recht. Koller, Peter: Der Geltungsbereich der Menschenrechte. Wildt, Andreas: Menschenrechte und moralische Rechte. Gosepath, Stefan: Zu Begründungen sozialer Menschenrechte. O'Neill, Onora: Transnationale Gerechtigkeit. Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang: Ist Demokratie eine notwendige Forderung der Menschenrechte?. Alexy, Robert: Die Institutionalisierung der Menschenrechre im demokratischen Verfassungsstaat. Wellmer, Albrecht: Menschenrechte und Demokratie. Dworkin, Ronald: Freiheit, Selbstregierung und (...) der Wille des Volkes. Okin, Susan Moller: Konflikte zwischen Grundrechten. Shue, Henry: Menschenrechte und kulturelle Differenz. Pogge, Thomas: Menschenrechte als moralische Ansprüche an globale Institutionen. (shrink)

Modal dependence logic was introduced recently by Väänänen. It enhances the basic modal language by an operator = (). For propositional variables p 1, . . . , p n , = (p 1, . . . , p n-1, p n ) intuitively states that the value of p n is determined by those of p 1, . . . , p n-1. Sevenster (J. Logic and Computation, 2009) showed that satisfiability for modal dependence logic is complete for nondeterministic (...) exponential time.In this paper we consider fragments of modal dependence logic obtained by restricting the set of allowed propositional connectives. We show that satisfiability for poor man’s dependence logic, the language consisting of formulas built from literals and dependence atoms using ${\wedge, \square, \lozenge}$ (i. e., disallowing disjunction), remains NEXPTIME-complete. If we only allow monotone formulas (without negation, but with disjunction), the complexity drops to PSPACE-completeness.We also extend Väänänen’s language by allowing classical disjunction besides dependence disjunction and show that the satisfiability problem remains NEXPTIME-complete. If we then disallow both negation and dependence disjunction, satisfiability is complete for the second level of the polynomial hierarchy. Additionally we consider the restriction of modal dependence logic where the length of each single dependence atom is bounded by a number that is fixed for the whole logic. We show that the satisfiability problem for this bounded arity dependence logic is PSPACE-complete and that the complexity drops to the third level of the polynomial hierarchy if we then disallow disjunction.In this way we completely classify the computational complexity of the satisfiability problem for all restrictions of propositional and dependence operators considered by Väänänen and Sevenster. (shrink)

Despite decades of research, morphogenesis along the various body axes remains one of the major mysteries in developmental biology. A milestone in the field was the realisation that a set of closely related regulators, called Hox genes, specifies the identity of body segments along the anterior–posterior (AP) axis in most animals. Hox genes have been highly conserved throughout metazoan evolution and code for homeodomain‐containing transcription factors. Thus, they exert their function mainly through activation or repression of downstream genes. However, while (...) much is known about Hox gene structure and molecular function, only a few target genes have been identified and studied in detail. Our knowledge of Hox downstream genes is therefore far from complete and consequently Hox‐controlled morphogenesis is still poorly understood. Genome‐wide approaches have facilitated the identification of large numbers of Hox downstream genes both in Drosophila and vertebrates, and represent a crucial step towards a comprehensive understanding of how Hox proteins drive morphological diversification. In this review, we focus on the role of Hox genes in shaping segmental morphologies along the AP axis in Drosophila, discuss some of the conclusions drawn from analyses of large target gene sets and highlight methods that could be used to gain a more thorough understanding of Hox molecular function. In addition, the mechanisms of Hox target gene regulation are considered with special emphasis on recent findings and their implications for Hox protein specificity in the context of the whole organism. BioEssays 30:965–979, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

With Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotical theory two different kinds of creative metaphorical reasoning in science can be identified. The building of remainder metaphors is especially important for creating new scientific models. We show that the conveyor belt metaphor provides an excellent example for Peirce's theory. The conveyor belt metaphor has recently been invented in order to describe the oceanic transport system. The paradigm of the oceanic conveyor belt strongly influenced the geoscience community and the climate change discussion.

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 66 Heft: 4 Seiten: 558-572.

Contingent valuation surveys have tended to yield results that seem to go contrary to what is standardly seen as 'rational choice'. We argue that some of the inconsistencies arise because bids for public environmental goods in contingent valuation surveys are often motivated by moral considerations and ethical beliefs. We analyse the expected results of CV surveys given the existence of such ethical motivations, including the valuation of actions as well as states. It is found that we cannot expect bids made (...) on this basis to reveal preferences which obey the rules commonly assumed in the theory of consumer choice. The two standard reactions to these anomalies have been to attack the validity of the method, or to urge greater rigour in survey design and application. By contrast, we conclude that the usefulness of the method for evaluating options concerning environmental public goods depends critically on the problem definition. The method should be used for the direct evaluation of realistic policy packages, rather than to try to extract abstract values for invaluable goods. The conclusion accords with current trends, including the move towards the use of deliberative methodologies. (shrink)