Does Aristotle's terminology provide some guidance when we inquire into the origins of the notion of thing? Naturally, one might think of Aristotle's notion of being, which is meant to capture everything that is. However, ‘being’ in Aristotle seems to be significantly broader than what we take to be a ‘thing’. I will take up a thesis introduced and defended by Rainer-Wolfgang Mann, namely that Aristotle is actually the inventor of the notion of thing in that (...) his Categories conceptualized the distinction between properties on the one hand and their bearers, individual substances, on the other. It will be argued though that Aristotle, when conceptualizing things as bearers of properties, depicts a notion that is actually stronger than what we usually mean by ‘thing’. (shrink)

A much-maligned feature of ancient and medieval political thought is its tendency to appeal to nature to establish norms for human communities. From Aristotle's claim that humans are "political animals" to Aquinas' invocation of "natural law," it may seem that pre-modern philosophers were all too ready to assume that whatever is natural is good, and that just political arrangements must somehow be natural. The papers in this collection show that this assumption is, at best, too crude. From very early, (...) for instance in the ancient sophists' contrast between nomos and physis, there was recognition that political arrangements may be precisely artificial, not natural, and it may be questioned whether even such supposed naturalists as Aristotle in fact adopt the quick inference from "natural" to "good." The papers in this volume trace the complex interrelations between nature and such concepts as law, legitimacy, and justice, covering a wide historical range stretching from Plato and the Sophists to Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophy, Cicero, the Neoplatonists Plotinus and Porphyry, ancient Christian thinkers, and philosophers of both the Islamic and Christian Middle Ages. (shrink)

Although he does not provide a general analysis of argumentation, Aristotle is a highly influential source of modern argumentation theory. In his treatises the Topics, the Sophistical Refutations and the Rhetoric, Aristotle presents complementary aspects of a theory of sound arguments that are seen as the most effective means of persuasion. Aristotle’s central notion of a deductive argument (sullogismos) does not include references to an addressee, the situative context or non-verbal aspects of communication, and thus differs from (...) some modern views on argumentation. A deductive argument in the Aristotelian sense is a sequence of intellectual steps where the conclusion follows of necessity from the premises. Aristotle does not relativize or relax this notion but takes other factors into account by providing supplementary theoretical elements. For example, he reflects on acceptable premises (endoxa), the adjustment of rhetorical arguments to the horizon of the audience, methods of finding premises on the basis of argumentative schemes (topoi), the use of non-argumentative means of persuasion, and a framework of implicit discourse rules. Many of these themes are, albeit under a different name, still discussed in modern argumentation theory. (shrink)

This paper suggests that within Aristotle’s well-known contribution to the history of ontology two different levels should be kept apart, an analytic-critical and a constructive level. On the first level Aristotle mainly provides analytic-critical tools for overcoming the main problems of all dealings with the notions of being and to be, while the second level consists in Aristotle’s ambitious project of conducting first philosophy (i.e. the specific part of his philosophy that is meant to continue the old (...) and time-honoured project of identifying what Aristotle calls ‘first principles and causes’) as ontology, i.e. as an inquiry into being qua being. (shrink)

The volumes of the Symposium Aristotelicum have become essential reference works for the study of Aristotle. In this twentieth volume, ten renowned scholars of ancient philosophy offer a running commentary on Aristotle's De motu animalium. It is in this text, one of his most intriguing works, that Aristotle sets out the general principles of animal locomotion. A philological and a philosophical introduction sketch the current state of research on this treatise, situating current thought in the context of (...) three decades of scholarly debates. The nine contributed essays together comment on each chapter of the Aristotelian text, discussing in detail the philosophical issues that are raised across the different sections of the text. Comprehensive analyses of Aristotle's doctrines and arguments, as well as critical discussion of rival interpretations, make this volume a valuable resource for scholars of Aristotle. The present volume also includes a newly reconstructed Greek text with a facing English translation by Benjamin Morison. (shrink)

Although Aristotle’s name is regularly mentioned when it comes to the question of where the notion of the will historically derives from and although one of the most influential exponents of philosophical theories of the will, Thomas Aquinas, seems to think that he is just applying the Aristotelian theory, many historians of philosophy explicitly deny that Aristotle had a notion of the will. If we think that the notion of the will is among the notions that have been (...) gradually developed in the history of philosophy, nothing is strange about saying that some philosophers prior to this development lacked this particular notion. However, Aristotle’s case is peculiar, because the same historians, who are reluctant to describe such a notion to Aristotle, admit that he played some role in the formation of the same notion. The line-up of more or less recent philosophers and scholars who are of the opinion that Aristotle had no notion of the will is a very remarkable one. This could almost be called a standard or default position, while the list of exponents of the opposed position, i.e. that Aristotle did have a notion or theory of the will, is much shorter. (shrink)

The program offered by Alasdair MacIntyre in answer to what he diagnoses as the moral crisis of the present, he understands to be Aristotelian. I will therefore attempt, by way of a consideration of MacIntyre’s approach and the Aristotle-interpretation entailed therein, to answer the question as to whether Aristotle’s practical philosophy itself in fact fulfills the requirements set by the communitarians or whether it can be drawn upon in a non-trivial way in the formulation of the communitarian standpoint.

Just as Aristotelian dialectic sharply distinguishes between real and fallacious arguments, Aristotelian rhetoric distinguishes between real and fallacious enthymemes. For this reason Aristotle’s Rhetoric includes a chapter – chapter II.24 – that is exclusively devoted to what Aristotle calls “topoi” of fallacious enthymemes. Thus, the purpose of this chapter seems to be equivalent to the purpose of the treatise Sophistici Elenchi, which attempts to give a complete list of all possible types of fallacious arguments. It turns out that, (...) although the Rhetoric’s list of fallacious types of rhetorical arguments basically resembles the list from the Sophistici Elenchi, there also are some striking differences. The paper tries to account for the relation between these two, more or less independent, Aristotelian approaches to the phenomenon of fallacious arguments. Can one of these two lists be seen as the basic or original one? And what is the point in deviating from this basic list? Are all deviations occasioned by the specific contexts of the rhetorical use on the one hand, and the dialectical on the other? Or do the two lists display different logical assumptions? Even an only tentative answer to this set of questions will help to clarify another but closely related scholarly problem, namely the relation between the Rhetoric’s list of topoi for real enthymemes and the Topics’ list of topoi for real dialectical arguments. It will also help to account for the general place of fallacious arguments within Aristotle’s dialectic-based approach the rhetoric. (shrink)

Ce texte traite de la définition aristotélicienne de la cité et des diverses constitutions, en Politique, I et III. On soutient ici (1) que la définition de la cité doit être extraite de deux passages du début du traité, (2) que la cité est définie par le but qui lui est propre et (3) que d’importants théorèmes politiques en Politique III se servent de cette définition initiale de la cité comme d’une prémisse. L’objectif ultime de cet article est de contribuer (...) à l’évaluation du rôle que jouent les définitions dans la méthode qui est celle d’Aristote dans sa philosophie morale et politique. (shrink)

In the epistemology of his middle period, Plato repeatedly describes the alleged ‘intellection of true reality’ in terms of sight, vision, illumination, or touch. Does this show more than Plato’s preference for optic and haptic metaphors? Should we assume that this goes back to a specific reason to be found in his underlying epistemological position? On the traditional reading, Plato actually wants to defend a sort of intuitionism. According to this still wide-spread reading, he claims that there is a very (...) particular way of grasping Forms: Philosophers manage to come into a sort of direct contact with intelligible objects. Intellection is thus conceived as a quasi-visual presence of intelligible Forms. In our contribution, we want to challenge this interpretation by raising several objections against it. Surprisingly, there exists a close parallel in Aristotelian scholarship: Although Aristotle’s epistemology is built on considerably different foundations, there is an interpretative tradition according to which one has to assume a strict discontinuity between the methodical procedure and the intellection of the highest epistemic objects. As for Plato, we want to refuse an interpretation of Aristotle based on a concept of intuition characterized by the following features: Intuition is a specific way of gaining knowledge. It is independent of empirical conditions and leads to apriori knowledge. It consists of some experience of evidence or is accompanied by it. Knowledge gained by this kind of intuition does not need any further argument or justification. (shrink)

Aristotelian philosophy played an important part in the history of 19th century philosophy and science but has been largely neglected by researchers. A key element in the newly emerging historiography of ancient philosophy, Aristotelian philosophy served at the same time as a corrective guide in a wide range of projects in philosophy. This volume examines both aspects of this reception history.

This chapter contains sections titled: The Dialectical Approach The Moral‐psychological Approach Rhetoric as Dealing with Accepted Beliefs (endoxa) The Stylistic Approach The Conventional Approach The Purpose Of Rhetoric Note Bibliography.

A survey of the major philosophical and religious views of human life from ancient Greece to the early 20th century. Includes discussions of Plato, Aristotle, Christianity, and existentialism, among other schools of thought. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may (...) freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Aristotle’s De motu animalium (hereafter MA) has enjoyed a curious fate: while it remained largely at the margins of the ancient critical engagement with Aristo.

Starting from a reconstruction of the origins of the concept of “modernity” in the late Nineteenth century and of the different interpretations of it in the context of the German social sciences, the essay articulates its radical ambivalences. After establishing that modernity cannot be measured on a scale of progress, neither can it be identified with a specific value, Christof Dipper suggests that there are many conceptions of modernity as there are societies, and that these are not necessarily following (...) a common path. The concept of modernity, that includes anti-modernity as well, embraces therefore actors, representations, and constellations, offering an overall reading of history. (shrink)

Im Gegensatz zum Idealbild des "mundigen Patienten" zeichnen sich viele Patienten gerade dadurch aus, dass sie die Fahigkeit zur Autonomieausubung vorubergehend oder dauerhaft verloren oder aber gar nicht erst erworben haben. Zu denken ist hier etwa an alte und demente Patienten, an Patienten, die sich aufgrund von Drogen- oder Medikamenteneinwirkung (z. B. auf der Intensivstation) nicht aussern konnen sowie auch an Kinder oder geistig behinderte Patienten. Daher besteht ein grosser Bedarf an ethisch gerechtfertigten und zugleich an der Praxis ausgerichteten Handlungsorientierungen (...) zur Entscheidungsfindung bei nicht einwilligungsfahigen Patienten. Das interdisziplinar angelegte Werk beleuchtet auf medizinethischer und rechtlicher Basis praxisorientiert die Frage sowie die Moglichkeiten, wie in Situationen, die keine eigene Entscheidung durch die Patienten uber die weitere Behandlung ermoglichen, dennoch die Patientenautonomie respektiert werden kann. (shrink)

Commons enjoy recognition as an alternative to the dichotomy of state and market. In contrast to liberal market theorists who frame the commons as resource-based, we build on alternative and critical conceptions that describe the commons as processual, social, and inherently relational. Our analysis adds to these accounts an articulation of the contemporary commons as “social infrastructure” in the urban spatial conditions where the social processes of commoning take place. We argue that the relational features of urban commons depend on (...) social interactions and cross-sector partnerships in physical places that promote social cohesion, suggesting that the urban commons fold together the spatial and social in hitherto undertheorized ways. To theorize this relationship, we articulate the idea of the relational urban commons as sites of social interaction and relationship building—social infrastructure. This conceptualization suggests that the commons can be governed indirectly by enabling access, participation, and partnerships across sectors, fostering mixed uses and the provision of maintenance and repair. As a result, the commons are both maintained by and conducive to place-based cross-sector partnerships, anchored in place in ways that transcend resources, issues, and ownership. (shrink)

In "The Quest for Consciousness," Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch explores the biological basis of consciousness.

An English language translation accompanies the original Greek text of Aristotle's book about the nature of the state, constitutions, revolutions, democracy, and oligarchy.

ZusammenfassungWährend die juristische und medizinethische Rechtfertigung des Verzichts auf Wiederbelebung in Deutschland akademisch hinreichend geklärt ist, zeigen sich doch erhebliche Unterschiede und zahlreiche Probleme bei der praktischen Umsetzung in der Klinik. Innerhalb des interdisziplinären Behandlungsteams gehören Kommunikationsdefizite und die Intransparenz der ethischen Entscheidungsprozesse zu den häufigsten Schwierigkeiten, die in der Medizinischen Klinik für Nephrologie und Hypertensiologie am Klinikum Nürnberg mit der Implementierung einer hausinternen Leitlinie, der Anordnung zum Verzicht auf Wiederbelebung, behoben werden sollten.Die Evaluationsstudie, die 118 VaW-Anordnungen bei 4718 Behandlungsfällen (...) im Zeitraum von November 2004 bis Juli 2005 einschloss, verfolgte einen dualen Forschungsansatz. Eine quantitative Dokumentationsanalyse aller VaW-Protokolle wurde mit der leitfadengestützten Befragung von 16 Ärzten und Pflegekräften kombiniert.Teambesprechungen waren in 62,4 %, Entscheidungsgründe in 74,6 % aller VaW-Protokolle dokumentiert. Die Interviews ergaben eine positive, aber berufsgruppendifferente Bewertung der Kommunikation, wobei die Pflegenden kritischer eingestellt waren als ihre medizinischen Kollegen. Die VaW-Dokumentation bewirkte nach Auffassung aller Befragten eine hohe Nachvollziehbarkeit und Transparenz. Die VaW-Anordnung wurde darüber hinaus als gut anwendbar und praxistauglich betrachtet. Nahezu alle Befragten sprachen sich für eine Beibehaltung des VaWVerfahrens in der Klinik aus.Die Implementierung der VaW-Anordnung als hausinterne Leitlinie und Dokumentationsstandard hat zu einer Förderung des interdisziplinären Dialogs und zu einer erheblichen Verbesserung der Transparenz der ethischen Entscheidungsprozesse im Rahmen des Verzichts auf Wiederbelebung geführt. Hilfreich und praxistauglich erfreut sich die VaW-Anordnung einer hohen Akzeptanz bei Pflegenden und Medizinern und wird seit drei Jahren in der Nephrologie am Klinikum Nürnberg konsequent angewendet. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungWährend die juristische und medizinethische Rechtfertigung des Verzichts auf Wiederbelebung in Deutschland akademisch hinreichend geklärt ist, zeigen sich doch erhebliche Unterschiede und zahlreiche Probleme bei der praktischen Umsetzung in der Klinik. Innerhalb des interdisziplinären Behandlungsteams gehören Kommunikationsdefizite und die Intransparenz der ethischen Entscheidungsprozesse zu den häufigsten Schwierigkeiten, die in der Medizinischen Klinik für Nephrologie und Hypertensiologie am Klinikum Nürnberg mit der Implementierung einer hausinternen Leitlinie, der Anordnung zum Verzicht auf Wiederbelebung, behoben werden sollten.Die Evaluationsstudie, die 118 VaW-Anordnungen bei 4718 Behandlungsfällen (...) im Zeitraum von November 2004 bis Juli 2005 einschloss, verfolgte einen dualen Forschungsansatz. Eine quantitative Dokumentationsanalyse aller VaW-Protokolle wurde mit der leitfadengestützten Befragung von 16 Ärzten und Pflegekräften kombiniert.Teambesprechungen waren in 62,4 %, Entscheidungsgründe in 74,6 % aller VaW-Protokolle dokumentiert. Die Interviews ergaben eine positive, aber berufsgruppendifferente Bewertung der Kommunikation, wobei die Pflegenden kritischer eingestellt waren als ihre medizinischen Kollegen. Die VaW-Dokumentation bewirkte nach Auffassung aller Befragten eine hohe Nachvollziehbarkeit und Transparenz. Die VaW-Anordnung wurde darüber hinaus als gut anwendbar und praxistauglich betrachtet. Nahezu alle Befragten sprachen sich für eine Beibehaltung des VaWVerfahrens in der Klinik aus.Die Implementierung der VaW-Anordnung als hausinterne Leitlinie und Dokumentationsstandard hat zu einer Förderung des interdisziplinären Dialogs und zu einer erheblichen Verbesserung der Transparenz der ethischen Entscheidungsprozesse im Rahmen des Verzichts auf Wiederbelebung geführt. Hilfreich und praxistauglich erfreut sich die VaW-Anordnung einer hohen Akzeptanz bei Pflegenden und Medizinern und wird seit drei Jahren in der Nephrologie am Klinikum Nürnberg konsequent angewendet. (shrink)

Recently, the increasing interest in responsible leadership (RL) has produced a research field rich in theoretical and conceptual potential, with diverse research foci, theoretical foundations, and methodological approaches. While these developments have demarcated the field from other leadership-oriented disciplines, they have equally courted fragmentation and ambiguity in terms of the field’s positioning within the greater body of leadership studies. To map the theoretical, methodological, and empirical state of the art of the RL field, we outline recent developments and delineate important (...) research gaps and directions for future theory development and empirical research. We emphasize the transition of RL research from micro-level perspectives with normative roots to research spanning multiple levels of analysis, vis-à-vis both antecedents and outcomes. We discuss the implications of our mapping, highlighting the necessity of not only conceptualizing RL across multiple levels of analysis, but also to actively focus on interactions among RL antecedents and outcomes across these levels. Through these, we aim to contribute to the field by strengthening its conceptual foundations and anchoring it more clearly within leadership studies overall. (shrink)

Is the concept of open society still relevant in the 21st century? Do the current social, moral, and political realities call for a drastic revision of this concept? Here fifteen essays address real-world contemporary challenges to open society from a variety of perspectives. What unites the individual authors and chapters is an interest in open society's continuing usefulness and relevance to address current problems. And what distinguishes them is a rich variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds, and a wide range (...) of academic disciplines and traditions.While focusing on probing the contemporary relevance of the concept, several chapters approach it historically. The book features a comprehensive introduction to the history and current 'uses' of the theory of open society. The authors link the concept to contemporary themes including education, Artificial Intelligence, cognitive science, African cosmology, colonialism, and feminism. The diversity of viewpoints in the analysis reflects a commitment to plurality that is at the heart of this book and of the idea of open society itself. (shrink)

Liebe und was du willst, das tue! Wollte man diesem beruhmten Satz des Augustinus im Wortlaut folgen, konnte man vermuten, dass vieles in unserer Welt sich normieren lasst, nur nicht die Liebe. Die Liebe scheint ihre eigene Norm zu sein. Tatsachlich jedoch ist kaum ein Feld menschlichen Zusammenlebens so stark reglementiert. Der Autor zeichnet die Geschichte der Ein- und Ausschlusse nach, die Menschen gegenuber der Liebe vorgenommen haben: Was durfte in welcher Gesellschaft und in welcher Zeit Liebe heissen, und was (...) nicht? Und vor allem: Warum durfte etwas einmal Liebe genannt werden und einmal nicht? Auf diese Weise tritt die vielfache Bedingtheit eines so "naturwuchsigen" Phanomens, wie es die Liebe zu sein scheint, zutage. Gleichzeitig hilft die historische Rekonstruktion, zu einer tragfahigen Gestalt einer Ethik der Liebe fur die Gegenwart zu gelangen. "Die Idee zu diesem Buch entstand schlichtweg aus dem Erstaunen heraus, dass kaum ein Feld menschlichen Zusammenlebens so stark normiert ist wie die Liebe. Das offentliche Leben hat sich in exzessiver Weise in das vielleicht privateste Erleben, das Menschen kennen, hineinbegeben; es hat sich, konnte man sagen, der Liebe vollstandig bemachtigt." (Aus dem Vorwort). (shrink)

Originally presented as the author's Habilitationsschrift--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitèat, Munich.

Purpose The paper aims to investigate whether dissent—within hospices and palliative care units—can be observed with regard to typical characteristics of “good dying”, how statements about dying processes that are not perceived as good are expressed, and finally which ethically significant normative consequences arise from this. Method The study is conducted on the basis of a qualitative interview study in different groups of actors and the relationships of these groups are compared with each other. Results Notions of good and bad (...) dying are articulated—even dissented upon—not so much by the patients and their relatives themselves as by the professional actors. This is connected with the requirements of a practice, which evidently evokes a need for accountability, namely for communicative assurance. Conclusion An abstract designation of “good dying” is in danger of losing sight of the contextual characteristics of the practice associated with it, which can lead to situations that are problematic from an ethical viewpoint. (shrink)