Hannah Arendt and the Meaning of Politics. Edited by Craig Calhoun and John McGowan, viii + 362 pp. $54.95 cloth $21.95 paper. Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss: German Emigrés and American Political Thought after World War II. Edited by Peter Graf Kielmansegg, Horst Mewes, and Elisabeth Glaser‐Schmidt, x + 208 pp. $49.95/£35.00 cloth, $16.95 paper. Hannah Arendt: Twenty Years Later. Edited by Larry May and Jerome Kohn, viii + 384 pp. $40.00 cloth, $17.50 paper.

(2005). Freedom in Responsibility: On the Relevance of “Sin” As a Hermeneutic Guiding Principle in Bioethical Decision Making. Christian Bioethics: Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 147-165.

Friedrich Schleiermacher war eine zentrale Figur des geistigen Lebens in Berlin im ersten Drittel des 19. Jahrhunderts und ein wichtiger Protagonist im preußischen Reformprozess. Der Band widmet sich insbesondere dem zweiten Jahrzehnt zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts. Er untersucht Schleiermachers Denken und Wirken in den entscheidenden Jahren während und nach den Befreiungskriegen und konturiert seine Position während des Umbruchs von der Reform zur Restauration in einzelnen Schlaglichtern. Die interdisziplinären Beiträge geben eine historische Analyse des politischen Kontextes, beleuchten das Berliner Stadtleben (...) sowie Schleiermachers berufliche und private Netzwerke, die sich nicht zuletzt aus den an der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften historisch-kritisch edierten Korrespondenz und Tageskalender F. Schleiermachers erschließen. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser gesellschaftspolitischen Matrix wird deutlich, wie eng Schleiermachers wissenschaftliche Werke und die Genese seiner wissenschaftlichen Systematik mit seinem konkreten Handeln als Wissenschafts- und Kirchenpolitiker, als Gemeindeleiter und Prediger, aber auch als Freund, Kollege und Familienmensch verzahnt ist. (shrink)

Current analytical philosophies of romantic love tend to identify the essence of such love with one specific element, such as concern for the beloved person, valuing the beloved person or the union between the lovers. This paper will deal with different forms of the union theory of love which takes love to be the physical, psychic or ontological union of two persons. Prima facie, this theory might appear to be implausible because it has several contra-intuitive implications, and yet, I submit, (...) it is more coherent and attractive than it seems to be. I shall distinguish three specific models and thereby offer a differentiated account of the union theory which has not previously been provided in the literature. I will claim that two of these models should be rejected. I shall then defend the third model against certain possible objections ; but nevertheless, I shall conclude by showing how this model, too, faces further significant objections which ultimately expose the limits of the union theory of love. In conclusion, I will sketch the outlines of a non-reductive cluster theory of love. (shrink)

This paper deals primarily with theDoctrine of Method(DM) of Kant’sDoctrine of Virtue. First, I present an overview of theDM(1.1) and an explanation of how it is possible to teach virtue (1.2). Second, I address the following issues: Why is aDMnecessary at all (2.1)? How does theDMrelate to what Kant calls casuistry (2.2)? I will argue that wide duties have two essential characteristics: They command the right kind of moral motivation in terms of a moral maxim, and they allow for latitude. (...) The fact that wide duties command the right kind of motivation leads to theDM; the latitude of wide duties, however, leads to casuistry. To unfold this interpretation, it must also be shown that both imperfect and perfect duties are wide duties. (shrink)

The debate between moral realism and antirealism plays an important role in contemporary metaethics as well as in the interpretation of Kant’s moral philosophy. This volume aims to clarify whether, and in what sense, Kant is a moral realist, an antirealist, or something in-between. Based on an explication of the key metaethical terms, internationally recognized Kant scholars discuss the question of how Kant’s moral philosophy should be understood in this regard. All camps in the metaethical field have their inhabitants: Some (...) contributors read Kant’s philosophy in terms of a more or less robust moral realism, objectivism, or idealism, and some of them take it to be a version of constructivism, constitutionism, or brute antirealism. In any case, all authors introduce and defend their terminology in a clear manner and argue thoughtfully and refreshingly for their positions. With contributions of Stefano Bacin, Jochen Bojanowski, Christoph Horn, Patrick Kain, Lara Ostaric, Fred Rauscher, Oliver Sensen, Elke Schmidt, Dieter Schönecker, and Melissa Zinkin. (shrink)

Polyamorie ist romantische Liebe, die sich auf mindestens zwei Personen bezieht oder beziehen kann. Eine solche Definition klingt leichter als sie es tatsächlich ist. Um eine genaue und adäquate Analyse von Polyamorie zu leisten, muss, erstens, geklärt werden, was Liebe – die hier allein als romantische Liebe thematisiert wird – überhaupt ist. Sie ist, so soll gezeigt werden, ein spezifisches dispositionales Emotionsmuster, das eine besonders starke Form der subjektiven Bedeutsamkeit konstituiert. Auf dem Hintergrund dieses Verständnisses von romantischer Liebe im Allgemeinen (...) soll dann, zweitens, gezeigt werden, dass polyamore Liebe keine andere Form der Liebe ist als monoamore Liebe, sondern sich als romantische Liebe allein durch die divergierende Anzahl der Personen, die Gegenstand der Liebe sind, von monoamorer Liebe unterscheidet; besonderer Auszeichnungen wie verantwortlich oder konsensuell, wie sie in der Literatur geläufig sind, bedarf eine so verstandene polyamore Liebe, um sie hinreichend zu definieren, also nicht. Beachtet man aber, dass es eine Sache ist, polyamore Liebe, verstanden als emotionales Phänomen, zu definieren, und eine durchaus ganz andere Sache, polyamore Beziehungen zu definieren, bleibt Raum für die Frage, wann genau eine Beziehungskonstellation eigentlich polyamor ist, oder wann eine polyamore Person einfach nur mehrere Personen liebt, ohne dass die entstehende Beziehungskonstellation als solche aber polyamor wäre. Schließlich soll, drittens, das Verhältnis von Polyamorie und Sexualität beleuchtet werden. Auch wenn Sexualität für gewöhnlich als eines der hervorstechenden Elemente der romantischen Liebe verstanden wird, gehört sie gar nicht notwendig zu ihr – und jedenfalls hätte die Behauptung, dass eine notwendige Beziehung zwischen Polyamorie und gelebter Sexualität besteht, begrifflich-normative Konsequenzen, die man wohl gar nicht haben will. Es wird gezeigt, warum es keine notwendige Beziehung zwischen Liebe und Sexualität gibt – weder zwischen monoamorer noch zwischen polyamorer Liebe und Sexualität. Auch asexuelle polyamore (romantische) Liebe ist somit möglich. (shrink)

Gesellschaftliche Veränderungen in grossem Massstab, von der Pluralisierung der Gesellschaft, der Digitalisierung, die als Vierte Kulturtechnik bezeichnet wird, bis hin zur Widerfahrnis von Kontingenzen wie Armut und Flüchtlingsströmen oder Umweltkatastrophen, stellen die Verantwortungsfähigkeit des Menschen vor neue Herausforderungen. Es wird dabei deutlich: Humanität und Vernunft, Würde und Freiheit verdanken ihren Gehalt und ihre Gestalt einem die Vernunft selbst übersteigenden Transzendenten, in dem die Vernunft je und je ihres eigenen Grundes ansichtig werden kann. Dass dieses Verhältnis zwischen Vernunft und ihrem transzendenten (...) Grund alle Wissens- und Lebensbereiche durchdringt, zeigen die interdisziplinären Beiträge dieses Bandes, die Fragen der Weltentstehung und Anthropologie, der Logik und Mystik, des Glaubens und des Gottesbildes, des Sinns und der Religion, der Gottesdienstpraxis und der Architektur behandeln. (shrink)

Gegenstand der Erörterung ist die Offenlegung des faktischen und potentiellen Ethikbezugs von Technik. Grundlegend für jede Ethik ist ein je bestimmtes Verständnis des Menschen und seiner Wirklichkeit. Diese prinzipielle Positionalität ist gegenüber diskurs- und verfahrensethischen Ansätzen ebenso festzuhalten wie gegenüber utilitaristischen Nivellierungen grundlagentheoretischer Fragen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung aus evangelischer Perspektive zeigt anhand der Analyse zweier technikphilosophischer Konzeptionen der Gegenwart (G. Ropohl, W. Ch. Zimmerli) die Relevanz von Technikethik nicht nur für Techniker, sondern bezüglich menschlichen Handelns im allgemeinen.

ABSTRACTThe ability to evaluate scientific claims and evidence is an important aspect of scientific literacy and requires various epistemic competences. Readers spontaneously validate presented information against their knowledge and beliefs but differ in their ability to strategically evaluate the soundness of informal arguments. The present research investigated how students of psychology, compared to scientists working in psychology, evaluate informal arguments. Using a think-aloud procedure, we identified the specific strategies students and scientists apply when judging the plausibility of arguments and classifying (...) common argumentation fallacies. Results indicate that students, compared to scientists, have difficulties forming these judgements and base them on intuition and opinion rather than the internal consistency of arguments. Our findings are discussed using the mental model theory framework. Although introductory students validate scientific information against their knowledge and beliefs, the.. (shrink)

Este livro apresenta-se como o resultado da contribuição de professores e pesquisadores de diversos campos da filosofia e de diferentes universidades brasileiras durante a ocasião do I Encontro "Vozes femininas na Filosofia", ocorrido em junho de 2017, na UFRGS, em Porto Alegre, RS. Nossa motivação parte da constatação que a área de filosofia nas universidades brasileiras sofre uma evidente crise de representatividade: tanto nos cursos de graduação como nos programas de pós-graduação em filosofia, nos quais menos de 30% são mulheres, (...) entre docentes e discentes. Procura-se, por meio dos textos organizados neste volume, entender a produção e a contribuição de filósofas cujas presenças se mostram diminuídas – senão totalmente esquecidas – na história de filosofia e na atualidade. (shrink)

This edited collection brings together thirteen inaugural lectures given at the 'old' philosophical faculty of the University of Vienna. It presents the voices of important representatives of humanities, cultural and natural sciences through programmatic texts from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. Some published for the first time, the lectures have been annotated by renowned scholars in terms of disciplinary, scientific and academic history as well as socio-political context. Hence, this volume contributes substantially to the so far under-researched history (...) of the inaugural lecture as a university ritual, academic practice and text-genre. With inaugural lectures by Alexander Conze, Erich Schmidt, Ernst Mach, Elise Richter, Ludwig Boltzmann, Moritz Schlick, Erwin Schrödinger and others. (shrink)

Elisabeth Pacherie is a research fellow in philosophy at Institut Jean Nicod, Paris. Her main research and publications are in the areas of philosophy of mind, psychopathology and action theory. Her publications include a book on intentionality (_Naturaliser_ _l'intentionnalité_, Paris, PUF, 1993) and she is currently preparing a book on action and agency.

Today's climate models are supported in a couple of ways that receive little attention from philosophers or climate scientists. In addition to standard 'model fit', wherein a model's simulation is compared to observational data, there is an additional type of confirmation available through the variety of instances of model fit. When a model performs well at fitting first one variable and then another, the probability of the model under some standard confirmation function, say, likelihood, goes up more than under each (...) individual case of fit alone. Thus, two instances of fit of distinct variables of a global climate model using distinct data sets considered collectively will provide stronger evidence for a model than either one of the instances considered individually. This has consequences for model robustness. Sets of models that produce robust results will, if their assumptions vary enough and they each are observationally sound, provide reasons to endorse common structures found in those models. Finally, independent empirical support for aspects and assumptions of the model provides an additional confirmational virtue for climate models, contrary to what is implied by some current philosophical writing on this topic. (shrink)

The theory of evolution by natural selection is, perhaps, the crowning intellectual achievement of the biological sciences. There is, however, considerable debate about which entity or entities are selected and what it is that fits them for that role. This article aims to clarify what is at issue in these debates by identifying four distinct, though often confused, concerns and then identifying how the debates on what constitute the units of selection depend to a significant degree on which of these (...) four questions a thinker regards as central. (shrink)

I argue that four of the fundamental claims of those calling themselves `genic pluralists'Philip Kitcher, Kim Sterelny, and Ken Watersare defective. First, they claim that once genic selectionism is recognized, the units of selection problems will be dissolved. Second, Sterelny and Kitcher claim that there are no targets of selection. Third, Sterelny, Kitcher, and Waters claim that they have a concept of genic causation that allows them to give independent genic causal accounts of all selection processes. I argue that each (...) one of these claims is either false or misleading. Moreover, the challenge that arises from the availability of genic causal accounts, namely, the inability to choose on rational grounds among genic and higher-level accounts, is unsupported. (shrink)

This paper is concerned with the possibility of an objectivism for aesthetic judgements capable of incorporating certain ‘subjectivist’ elements of aesthetic experience. The discussion focuses primarily on a desired cognitivism for aesthetic judgements, rather than on any putative realism of aesthetic properties. Two cognitivist theories of aesthetic judgements are discussed, one subjectivist, the other objectivist. It is argued that whilst the subjectivist theory relies too heavily upon analogies with secondary qualities, the objectivist account, which allows for some such analogies at (...) the epistemological level, is too quick to ground aesthetic judgements in perceptual experiences alone. Further, it is held that aesthetic justification can, contra the objectivist theory under scrutiny, be based on an appeal to generally available justifying reasons without overthrowing the non-inferential character of aesthetic judgements. This possibility relies on a clearly established delineation between (i) aesthetic perception and aesthetic judgement, (ii) justifying reasons and explaining reasons, and (iii) judgement-making and judgement-justification. (shrink)

True,Kant takes the conclusions of his ethical work for granted in his political theorizing; he treats corollaries of the categorical imperative as conclusive principles of political right.However,in his political theory his concern is not simply to lay ...