After the corporate scandals at the beginning of the new millennium, corporate governance codes were drafted and implemented in national laws and regulations. Unfortunately, due to an ongoing supply of new financial scandals and societal deceptions, our society increasingly distrusts executive directors, non-executive directors and supervisory board members, as they often appeared to play a significant role in these scandals. Nonexecutive directors (NEDs) and supervisory directors (SDs) are often accused of having overlooked the important issues in their supervising role or (...) having failed to intervene in company decision making. Previous research has shown that many NEDs and SDs operate on the basis of their own unwritten rules, which may very well be different from those of their colleagues. In this article we examine whether and how a code of conduct or code of ethics might help to further clarify how NEDs/SDs should act. We also investigated the views of NEDs/SDs themselves. It appears that current corporate governance codes are not sufficient to guide directors on behavioral aspects of their supervisory role. This article shows that a code of conduct could provide this guidance to NEDs/SDs on several issues. First, a code of conduct would compel the Supervisory Board to reflect on its own values. Second, it would compel NEDs/SDs to verbalize their unwritten rules. The results may be applied internationally and could have relevance to the experience of executive directors in addition. This article may serve as a discussion document for other jurisdictions in addition. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung Doping taucht im öffentlichen Diskurs meist als Problem des Hochleistungssports auf. Diese Aufmerksamkeitsfokussierung wird - angesichts der Dopingpraktiken hunderttausender Breiten- und Freizeitsportler - der Komplexität und Diversität des realen Dopingausmaßes nicht gerecht. Im Schatten des im Mittelpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit stehenden Hochleistungssports und der dort vorfindbaren Dopingpraktiken hat sich insbesondere in Fitness-Studios seit Jahrzehnten ein Milieu etabliert, in dem Medikamente missbräuchlich und ohne Skrupel eingesetzt werden, um den als „defizitär“ wahrgenommenen Körper zu überarbeiten und in eine hypermuskulöse Gestalt zu transformieren. (...) Der vorliegende Artikel verfolgt die Zielsetzung, die nach außen weitgehend intransparente Lebenswelt gedopter Kraftsportler und Bodybuilder im Sinne einer verstehenden Soziologie zu durchleuchten und zu erhellen. Die hierbei dargestellten Kenntnisse über die Einstellungen und biographischen Verlaufsfiguren der Dopingnutzer sowie über bestehende Netzwerke, konspirative Praktiken und eskalatorische Suchtspiralen sind frappierend und erschreckend zugleich. Sie zeigen, wie sehr Techniken der medikamentösen Körpermodellierung unter Ignorierung von Gesundheitsschäden und Nebenwirkungen bereits im modernen Alltag angekommen sind. (shrink)

Cet article interroge le rapport entre la pensée métaphysique et les propositions politiques de Spinoza. Il soutient, contre une interprétation fondée sur la systématicité de sa pensée, qu’elles ne sont pas dans un rapport de continuité déductive. En étudiant dans le détail l’effort du jeune cartésien, dans ses premiers écrits, pour déduire toute la philosophie naturelle à partir d’une seule idée première, on met en valeur une évolution dans la pensée de Spinoza : à partir de 1664, il semble admettre (...) deux modes distincts de progression – l’un déductif, l’autre historique. On montre alors que ses traités de la maturité s’éloignent progressivement du « déductionnisme » initial pour tenir compte de la variété de divers modes de penser ; cela se reflète dans l’Éthique en une conception divisée entre la « nature de l’esprit », considéré comme rationnel par une nécessité interne, et la « nature de l’homme », considéré comme irrationnel par une nécessité externe. Cette lecture permet de limiter la valeur des prescriptions que les philosophes peuvent émettre en politique. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Millennium Jahrgang: 9 Heft: 1 Seiten: 187-254.

Spinoza n’a pas élaboré de grande pensée sur le commerce, mais il l’a activement pratiqué. Le présent article mesure l’impact de cette pratique sur sa philosophie politique, en prenant en compte la manière dont l’histoire des idées s’articule à l’histoire de l’auteur, et en suivant comment l’élaboration d’une métaphysique du commerce le conduit à évacuer le négoce de son anthropologie.

This paper aims to investigate the equivalent of Epicurus’ πρόληψις, the second criterion of the Epicurean Canonic (DL X 31 = fr. 35 Usener), in Lucretius’ De rerum natura (DRN). Taking stock of the several occurrences of the Latin terms notitia and notities in the six books of the poem, I show that Lucretius’ view about preconception remains faithful to Epicurus’ πρόληψις, and that the poet does not endorse a less empiricist position than his Master because of some influence of (...) the Stoic ἔννοια. To this end, I will also briefly address an important case in which πρόληψις, albeit not clearly mentioned, plays an essential role, namely the prolepsis of the deity (DRN V 1169–1182). Finally, I explain how Lucretius can be of some help in grasping the controversial relationship between the criterion of πρόληψις and that of ἐπιβολὴ τῆς διανοίας (animi inectus/iactus), showing in which way the poet seems to consider the latter as a criterion of truth in its own right. (shrink)

Cet article aborde le problème des « fake news » à partir des interactions qui permettent leur circulation, sans supposer que quiconque adhère aux « fake news » par une « croyance » intellectualisée. À la bêtise, à la crédulité ou à l’ignorance supposée des populations victimes de la malveillance des dirigeants, l’auteur substitue un autre modèle explicatif fondé sur un système complexe de représentations. La difficulté individuelle à maintenir la certitude de sa propre valeur fournit un élément causal décisif. (...) En intégrant à sa réflexion la posture scientifique elle-même, cet article propose un aperçu d’une théorie générale (« interactionnelle ») des échanges discursifs et linguistiques complexes, et une conception de l’intelligence et de la bêtise comme phénomènes émergents. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungAnhand unterschiedlicher Fallbeispiele aus dem 5. Jahrhundert wird gezeigt, dass die Mobilität barbarischer Verbände in der Regel ein temporäres Phänomen darstellte. Der Alterungsprozess der Kerngruppen kriegerischer mobiler Verbände erhöhte mit der Zeit den Druck auf den Anführer, nach Ansiedlungsmöglichkeiten zu suchen. Der Prozess der Ansiedlung selbst überführte den Anführer einer mobilen Kriegergemeinschaft in die neue Rolle eines Herrschers über ein stehendes Heer. Er war mit enormem ökonomischem Aufwand verbunden und führte offenbar dazu, dass die Herrscher sich verstärkt um dynastische Absicherung (...) bemühten, obwohl eine solche während der liminalen Phase des Übergangs in der Regel zum Scheitern tendierte. (shrink)

Franciscus Van den Enden is commonly considered as the man who taught Latin to B. de Spinoza. It is unknown if he actually taught him something else, but we do know he used a pedagogy of his own and made the young philosopher aware of the importance of pedagogical issues. The present article helps to document their relationship from a historical and theoretical perspective, by clarifying Van den Enden’s ideas on a most debated subject: the use of honorary titles to (...) distinguish pupils in the classroom. In particular, it shows how the rejection by Van den Enden of titles commonly used in Jesuits schools finds echoes in Spinoza’s philosophy. At the same time, the article argues that through their common participation in theatrical plays, Van den Enden and Spinoza shared a pedagogical experience that helped to overcome the problems linked to the introduction of a hierarchy, not theoretically, but in practice. (shrink)

According to Plato’s Timaeus, time is ‘an arithmetically progressing, eternal image of eternity which stays still in unity’, a likeness made by the corporeal living world’s manufacturer to furnish the cosmic animal. Plotinus keeps this Platonic conception of time. His own concept, however, is aimed to put in terms the temporal dimension or substratum rather than the orderly running time: Time is ‘the soul’s life in a movement shifting from one state of life to another’. The soul sets up the (...) temporal dimension and fulfills it. Time thus conceived is a life which resembles not only another, complete life above time but also the principle of that perfect life. Within time, the soul unfolds itself and her original mindlike nature with its tendency towards the One Principle. One part of the soul keeps company with the perfect mind while another part bends down to the realm where one comes after another. She experiences happiness instantaneously, above time – an experience which she can not, and is not obliged to, bring about, keep hold of or repeat within temporal limits. Therefore, the individual living thing, with its tendency towards happiness, may keep calm and sure. Men can share time in such calmness. The cosmos as conceived by Plotinus and Plato – shared by the living things, moved and besouled – can be read as an image of the practical knowledge that we have time for each other. Keywords: Plotinus; Plato; Timaeus; mysticism; time; the One; eternity; soul; life; mind; happiness; cosmos. (shrink)

The concept of autonomy is crucial for the theoretical characterization of robots and, more in general, complex technological artifacts. The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual and logical framework in which it is possible to define two concepts of autonomy: autonomy of performance and autonomy of process. The analysis is carried out exploiting the logical resources of the counterfactual semantics-developed by Lewis' and Stalnaker's seminal works-and branching structures of the possible courses of actions. It allows to differentiate (...) the autonomy of a robotic arm from the autonomy of a highly complex machine-like rovers for the explorations of the planets. The clarification of the concept of autonomy is, moreover, an essential precondition for the investigation concerning the ethics of artificial agents. (shrink)

In meinem Artikel versuche ich die theoretische Verbindung zwischen dem Programm der diltheyschen Kritik der historischen Vernunft und dem Einsatz der hermeneutischen Logik von Georg Misch zu finden. Diese Relation ist eher kompliziert. Da gibt es sowohl Kontinuität als auch einen radikalen Bruch. Georg Misch, von einer Seite, weiter entwickelt Wilhelm Diltheys Programm von Lebensphilosophie als Herstellung des theoretischen Zusammenhanges von Logos und Ethos, von anderer Seite aber findet eine ganz neue Form dafür. Und zwar die Form der Logik des (...) Ausdrucks – hermeneutischen Logik. Damit ist Mischs neue Lebensphilosophie sehr tief verbunden mit dem sprachphilosophischen Bruch in der Philosophie des XX Jahrhunderts. (shrink)

This collection of original essays by both artists and academics explores the significance of Wittgenstein's writings across a diverse field of performance practices, including poetics and choreography, theatre, and psychotherapy, as well as reflections on political thought and ChatGPT.

The European refugee crisis is an important topic on media, political, and public agendas. Due to its scope and impact, its continuing prevalence on the media-agenda and the divisiveness of public debate, new research is needed to understand the media’s framing of the issue. This study inductively analyzes framing of the refugee crisis of 2015–2016 by two Dutch newspapers. Portrayal of the refugee crisis consists of ten different frames and counter frames. The frames are communicated on the level of the (...) refugee, on the level of the crisis as an event, and on a societal level. Results show that recent reporting on the refugee crisis is relatively nuanced and portrays the crisis from a variety of perspectives. Framing changes following certain transitory events, but only slight differences were found between popular and quality papers. (shrink)

Die überarbeitete Wiener Dissertation erhebt den Anspruch, einen grundsätzlichen Fortschritt in der Forschung darzustellen. Stathakopoulos (S.) geht es darum, die Bedeutung von Versorgungskrisen und epidemischen Krankheiten im spätantik-frühbyzantinischen Reich während eines Zeitraumes von 284 bis 750 herauszuarbeiten. Sein Buch soll dabei einen gesunden Mittelweg zwischen allzu großer Vernachlässigung dieser Faktoren und unkritischer Sensationshistorie beschreiten – der Verf. lehnt in diesem Fall insbesondere die übertriebenen und nur wenig fundierten Thesen von D. Keys mit Recht ab (2). Es handele sich, so S. (...) über seine Arbeit, um die erste Behandlung der Spätantike unter dem Blickwinkel von Hungerkrisen und Epidemien; seine Untersuchung basiere „on an exhaustive catalogue recording all such phenomena from 284 to 750. It is meant to offer a complementary view of this period beyond the turmoil of political and military history, and comments on themes such as continuity and change of social and economic structures and mentalities“ (2). Damit versucht S. zentrale Fragen anzugehen und in aktuellen Diskussionen Stellung zu beziehen. Der Autor hat neben den literarischen Quellen auch das epigraphische und papyrologische Material herangezogen (vgl. 10f.) und weist mehrfach darauf hin, wichtige Anregungen aus der Annales-Schule erhalten zu haben (etwa 4, 12). Ebenso selbstbewußt wird das Ziel der Untersuchung dargelegt: „We can, however, expect that certain patterns concerning the causes, effects and reaction within the phenomenon, or combinations of the above that are common in many cases will emerge – in short, that a typology of crises will be revealed“ (13f.). (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 99 Heft: 1 Seiten: 391-394.

Name der Zeitschrift: Byzantinische Zeitschrift Jahrgang: 107 Heft: 1 Seiten: 139-174.

The article tries to contribute to a more concrete embedding of early Islam into the context of late antique, in particular late Roman history. It takes its starting point in a description of the phenomenon of liturgification as an overarching process of religious permeation and internalization that swept across Eastern Roman society since the second half of the sixth century and saved society from collapse. During the early seventh century, when the Romans suffered from immense territorial losses to the Persians, (...) liturgification contributed to the survival of the Empire as well. Liturgification, however, radiated out into the territory of the immediate neighbors of the Romans, and thus also reached Arabia by various ways, not least via trade and military contacts, but probably above all through the mediation of the Ǧafnids, who energetically supported Christianization in their area of influence, which extended deep into the Arabian Peninsula. In this way, liturgification itself created the enabling space in which Islam could come into being. The restitutio crucis by Heraclius in Jerusalem, March 21, 630, then lent these developments concrete reference points and impetus. It should be viewed as the culmination of a process that was driven in turn by liturgification and characterized especially by the grave threats that the Eastern Roman-Byzantine Empire faced in its war against the Persians in the early decades of the seventh century. It led to a reconceptualization of the imperial monarchy, which now attributed a messianic quality to the emperor in a highly eschatologically charged context. The emperor, in turn, first effectively tapped the representational potential of this quality in the act of restoring the relics of the True Cross in Jerusalem in 630. This brought about a situation of messianic rivalry, since the rise of the Prophet Muhammad – which was made possible in turn by the penetration of liturgification into Arabian territory – was based on claims similar to those that Heraclius had claimed for himself. The first attacks on Byzantine outposts in the years 629/30 may have been a direct response to the emperor’s self-representation in Jerusalem. They were the beginning of the Muslim armies’ excursions beyond the Arabian Peninsula and thus the beginning of the great Muslim-Arabian Empire that would come into being in the ensuing century. Against this background, the restitutio crucis proves to be vitally important as a turning point in developments both within the Byzantine Empire and beyond its borders. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 96 Heft: 1 Seiten: 355-358.

The growth of information acquisition, storage and retrieval capacity has led to the development of the practice of lifelogging, the undiscriminating collection of information concerning one’s life and behaviour. There are potential problems in this practice, but equally it could be empowering for the individual, and provide a new locus for the construction of an online identity. In this paper we look at the technological possibilities and constraints for lifelogging tools, and set out some of the most important privacy, identity (...) and empowerment-related issues. We argue that some of the privacy concerns are overblown, and that much research and commentary on lifelogging has made the unrealistic assumption that the information gathered is for private use, whereas, in a more socially-networked online world, much of it will have public functions and will be voluntarily released into the public domain. (shrink)

Propose une hypothèse originale sur les sources de la pensée de Bergson et sa portée profonde, sur le mouvement de son oeuvre et la méthode qui s'impose pour la lire, sur la place de sa philosophie dans l'histoire.

Razón, poesía, historia.--La cuestión del estoicismo español.--El querer.

The paper provides a reconstruction of the notion of material Apriori while exhibiting the anti-Kantian inspiration and factual grounding thereof. The attempt is made to show that a non-formal Apriori obtains because the sensuous has a normative character; further, that the difference between material and formal eidetic laws is rooted in the difference between sensuous contents, given in experience, and intellectual contents, originating in activities of judgement. The material Apriori is not independent of all experience, since it is grounded on (...) sensuous eidetic contents and thus depends on the latter’s givenness and characteristics. It is thanks precisely to this ,contingency‘ that it has an ontological significance. (shrink)