In der Tugendlehre Kants findet die allgemeine ethische Orientierung, wie sie der Kategorische Imperativ ausdrückt, Anwendung auf die Bedingungen der menschlichen Existenz. Die vorliegende Untersuchung rekonstruiert den Kantischen Ansatz vor dem Hintergrund der gegenwärtigen, vor allem aristotelischen Tugendethik und löst dabei den Kantischen Tugendbegriff kritisch von seinen zeitbedingten Prägungen. Auf so erneuerter Grundlage wird eine transzendentalphilosophische Ethikkonzeption entfaltet, die den methodischen und inhaltlichen Einsichten der jüngeren Theorieentwicklung Rechnung trägt. Zu den Ergebnissen zählt die Bestimmung einzelner Tugenden, deren ethische Orientierung an (...) konkreten Strukturen unserer alltäglichen Praxis demonstriert wird. (shrink)

Many classical philosophical texts contain passages that are to be judged as discriminatory and degrading, and by today’s standards even as racist, sexist or anti-Semitic. How we should deal appropriately with this heritage – be it in teaching or in research – is by no means undisputed. Some researchers are of the opinion that the passages in question are terminological idiosyncrasies of the respective authors related to the time they lived in and therefore philosophically irrelevant: they can be disregarded. Others (...) doubt that such a separation can actually be made. They are of the opinion that the philosophical parts of the respective work are always affected if racist, sexist or anti-Semitic ideas can be detected in passages. In analogy to the current discussion on how to deal with problematic works of art, memorials, street names or linguistic expressions, the question can also be addressed to philosophical works: what should be done with philosophical texts if they contain racist, sexist and anti-Semitic thoughts and their reception preserves so-called racist knowledge in our society? The contributions in the section ‘Philosophie aktuell’ take a stand on these questions from different perspectives and thereby show that one can also deal critically with this topic on the basis of philosophical methods. (shrink)

AbstractKant’s formal conditions for aesthetic judgment do not limit aesthetic reflection to certain aesthetic traditions and cultures. Moreover, these conditions open up the possibility of applying aesthetic reflection in the context of different approaches. From this perspective, Kant’s analytic of aesthetic judgment might furnish a useful basis for trans-cultural dialogues in the field of aesthetics and reflection on the arts. Yet the theory also has its limits, especially insofar as it neglects the somatic dimension of aesthetic experience. These two questions (...) are the primary concerns of the paper. (shrink)

Kant’s famous motto of enlightenment, “Sapere aude!”, is inseparably entwined with the demand for the “public use of reason”. There is no doubt that this also embraces the notion of a free and unrestricted exchange of ideas and indicates the potential beginning of a process in which “subjects” of the state and passive citizens are capable of developing into citizens of the world, and in which nation states are capable of developing into a kind of world community. This conception of (...) the public sphere also receives further concrete articulation in Kant’s Critique of Judgement, as Hannah Arendt already clearly recognized. In particular, the doctrine of reflective judgement, which is developed in that work, also allows us to derive several critical insights from Kant’s conception of enlightenment and the public sphere which are highly relevant to the contemporary intercultural discussion regarding the issue of the “Public Sphere”. (shrink)

Ein sicheres Kriterium für den menschlichen Tod gibt es nicht. Die neu entfachte Diskussion über den Hirntod zeigt, dass allein aus einem medizinisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Verständnis heraus keine angemessene Bestimmung des Todes zu gewinnen ist. Die Beiträge des Bandes verdeutlichen: Um den Tod begrifflich angemessen zu fassen, muss die personale Dimension des menschlichen Lebens berücksichtigt werden.

The concept of autonomy was and still is one of the central notions of practical philosophy. The current discussion often identifies autonomy with free or rational self-determination of a person. But a person must always be seen as being integrated in social and institutional contexts. Therefore the concept of autonomy has to be developed from an integrative perspective which includes both perspectives: the individual and the institutional one. Moreover, this integration cannot be constituted by shared affects and feeling of individuals, (...) but has to refer to the idea of “lawfulness” and guiding norms and orientations. This essay tries to show that Hermann Cohen′s understanding of “autonomy as a task” is a theory worthy of being followed, as it develops the principles as well as the concrete conditions of an integrative concept of autonomy on the basis of a “hypothetical” method which is both: critical and dynamical. (shrink)

Dealing with the reform of the Transplantation Law, the first issue of the new rubric “Philosophie aktuell” met with strong and lively interest from our readers. Subsequent to this discussion a growing number of reports were published dealing with violations of mandatory rules of conduct in transplantation medicine. Therefore the topic is revisited here from the slightly different vantage point “organ transplantation II: elucidation and confidence”.

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 65 Heft: 6 Seiten: 975-998.

Der Beitrag stellt die Frage nach den Bedingungen eines im moralischen Sinne angemessenen Umgangs mit dem toten menschlichen Körper. In unserem gegenwärtig geltenden Recht sind bereits entsprechende Normierungen etabliert, die aber, bedingt durch die gesellschaftliche Entwicklung und den wissenschaftlichen Fortschritt, einer erneuten Grundlagenreflexion ausgesetzt werden müssen. Aus philosophischer Perspektive stellt sich die Frage, ob wir den toten menschlichen Körper unter einen besonderen Schutz stellen sollen, um ihm Respekt und Achtung zu sichern und ob sich überhaupt moralische Pflichten gegen den Leichnam (...) begründen lassen. Diese Fragen lassen sich allerdings weder unabhängig von der begrifflichen Bestimmung des Todes noch ohne Klärung des anthropologischen Verhältnisses, in dem Person und Leib bzw. Leib und Leichnam stehen, entwickeln. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 64 Heft: 3 Seiten: 375-379.

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 64 Heft: 6 Seiten: 947-950.

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 65 Heft: 6 Seiten: 1025-1030.

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 64 Heft: 1 Seiten: 140-149.

After a short history of the Akademie-Ausgabe der Werke Immanuel Kants, it is shown that the edition is incomplete in some essential parts: The central topic of the first part of the article is the Opus postumum. Here we have a new critical transcription which differs not only in the composition but even in many details. The second project is focused on Nachschriften of Kant’s lectures on Physische Geographie. The three volumes will show that Kant continually actualized the material for (...) this complex area of problems, for which he presented the outlines of a new academic discipline . The other central topic is the new edition of the three Critiques. The second part of the article demonstrates principle steps of critical editing using the example of Kant’s third Critique, the Critique of Judgment. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 65 Heft: 2 Seiten: 302-336.