A Hobbesian Model. If ever possible the modelling of the abstract pattern of the item of a philosophical theory belongs, alas!, to its interpretation. In the case of the Hobbesian theory of the natural right and the natural laws (Lev c. XIV, XV) the mathematics of the covenant-model and of its interpretation by an model of preferences and utilities is a neglect task till now. Its performance shows certain shortcomings of the Hobbesian theory.

On Typology and Deontics of Private Institutes of Law. In continuation of my treatise "Grundlegung zu einer Strukturtheorie des Rechts" Part I of this paper develops a typology of the fundamental patterns of institutes of law belonging to the relations of persons to move (movable or fixed)) assets. In Part II some reflections deal with the deontics of Gestalten of actions (in the sense of Part I) and related models in economics.

The chemist Max von Pettenkofer studied with Justus von Liebig, and after leaving Giessen in 1844 did not immediately find an academic position. During the period 1844/1845 he wrote a cycle of 16 Chemical Sonnets, but published them only in 1886. The Sonnets have with few exceptions a historiographical character. We present a translation of the Sonette into Portuguese as well as commentaries about their content and their philosophical significance. We also comment rather briefly on Pettenkofer’s career as an empirical (...) chemist and later as a somewhat heterodox hygienist. (shrink)

On Typology and Deontics of Private Institutes of Law. In continuation of my treatise "Grundlegung zu einer Strukturtheorie des Rechts" Part I of this paper develops a typology of the fundamental patterns of institutes of law belonging to the relations of persons to move ) assets. In Part II some reflections deal with the deontics of Gestalten of actions and related models in economics.

Drawing on a rich digitalized corpus of early modern texts, Hans-Juergen Diller argues that the concepts expressed by the English words >passion emotion emotion passion emotion<. But there are two concepts of a concept. According to the first, the meaning of a word expressing a concept is not sharply distinguished from the complete discourse in which it figures. According to the second, meaning is more narrow. For instance, it is restricted to the explicit definition an author provides. I show that (...) Descartes provides an explicit definition of passion and emotion in purely physical, a-moral terms. So Diller's method is not apt to trace concepts in the second, more restricted sense which Descartes himself has in mind. (shrink)

The “Cambridge pragmatists”, Charles S. Peirce, William James and Josiah Royce, are at least in two respects significantly indebted to Kant: first, as von Kempski, Apel and Murphey have shown, with regard to the epistemological issues investigated in pragmatism; secondly, with regard to the various pragmatic approaches to religion, something which has been long overlooked. These approaches are best understood as innovative re-readings of Kant’s postulates of freedom, immortality, and God. Since Hilary Putnam pointed out — in his 1992 (...) book Renewing Philosophy — that James’s essay, “The Will to Believe”, in spite of having received a great deal of hostile criticism, is in “its logic, in fact, precise and impeccable”, James’s thoughts are considered by many contemporary philosophers as particularly inspiring. James’s approach is based on the modern experience of secularism and interprets Kant’s “postulate” as the “option” to believe. A deepening of the debate on the relevance of Kant’s analysis of the horizon of religious hope with regard to human praxis for a pragmatism-inspired philosophy of religion can be expected from a detailed discussion of the thoughts of Peirce and Royce, of thoughts, which, in complex ways, relate to, as well as criticise, James’s individuum-focused interpretation of religious faith. (shrink)

Ausgehend von Kant, wird der Charakter der Jurisprudenz als Wissen- schaft für die beiden Hauptgebiete des Rechts, Zivilrecht und öffent- liches Recht, getrennt dargestellt und zwar im Zivilrecht anhand der Strukturtheorie des Rechts von Kempskis und im öffentlichen Recht durch den eigenen Versuch der «festgeschriebenen Politiktheorie».

This book represents the views of one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century on the analogies between computing machines and the living human brain.

After a general remark about Armstrong’s conception of ontology, I raise objections against this view and defend an alternative account of the connection between particulars and their properties, involving a kind of ontological dependence which is different from Armstrong’s necessary connection between particulars and their properties.

We challenge the idea that a cognitive perspective on therapeutic change concerns only memory processes. We argue that inclusion of impairments in more generative cognitive processes is necessary for complete understanding of cases such as depression. In such cases what is identified in the target article as an “integrative memory structure” is crucially supported by processes of mental model construction.

El resurgimiento de la educación tradicional en los Estados Unidos ha generado un intenso debate en la esfera pública. Este artículo examina el debate discursivo que rodea este fenómeno. A medida que las críticas hacia los enfoques educativos progresistas se intensifican, defensores de la educación tradicional argumentan a favor de un retorno a métodos pedagógicos más tradicionales. Este resumen destaca el papel de la esfera pública como espacio de conflicto y negociación de ideas en torno a la educación. Al explorar (...) las perspectivas y los argumentos en disputa, el artículo busca arrojar luz sobre el resurgimiento de la educación tradicional y su impacto en el sistema educativo de los Estados Unidos. (shrink)

This Article outlines a vision of responsible innovation and outlines a public policy and implementation strategy for it.

In this article we argue that self-deception evolved to facilitate interpersonal deception by allowing people to avoid the cues to conscious deception that might reveal deceptive intent. Self-deception has two additional advantages: It eliminates the costly cognitive load that is typically associated with deceiving, and it can minimize retribution if the deception is discovered. Beyond its role in specific acts of deception, self-deceptive self-enhancement also allows people to display more confidence than is warranted, which has a host of social advantages. (...) The question then arises of how the self can be both deceiver and deceived. We propose that this is achieved through dissociations of mental processes, including conscious versus unconscious memories, conscious versus unconscious attitudes, and automatic versus controlled processes. Given the variety of methods for deceiving others, it should come as no surprise that self-deception manifests itself in a number of different psychological processes, and we discuss various types of self-deception. We then discuss the interpersonal versus intrapersonal nature of self-deception before considering the levels of consciousness at which the self can be deceived. Finally, we contrast our evolutionary approach to self-deception with current theories and debates in psychology and consider some of the costs associated with self-deception. (shrink)