Sensationalistic Phenomenalism and Economy of Thought. On Ernst Mach's Concept of Science. Ernst Mach, natural scientist and major precursor of the Vienna Circle, never wants to be a philosopher. Nevertheless his writings are full of valuable hints for a modern theory of human knowledge – with respect to economical, historical and evolutionary aspects. His kind of phenomenalism is sensationalistic, monistic and instrumentalistic. This article deals with some contributions of his approach to actual debates in the general philosophy of (...) science. (shrink)

The present papers brings up Cassirer’s idea of philosophy through the few and scattered remarks that he makes about non-European traditions of thought. While Cassirer’s philosophy of culture theorizes symbolic functions through an examination of symbolic forms, he only implicitly talks about culture as such. However, since culture is the unity of symbolic forms and in and by itself a cultural form, culture is always related to other cultures. And hence, one culture is not the sole possible and implies – (...) to cite Wilhelm von Humboldt – a particular Weltansicht. So, firstly, how does Cassirer’s philosophy of culture relate to what is always present as its background, i.e. to European culture? And, secondly, how does his notion of philosophy relate to the cultural setting that it emerges from? To address these question, two paths seem possible: on the one hand, the top-down analysis from his philosophy of culture through to a determination of cultures based on different, but complementary modes of symbolization; and on the other hand, a bottom up analysis by beginning from Cassirer’s own comments and thoughts on non-European traditions. Since this path is rather unsystematic, it can serve as a counter narrative to Cassirer’s own systematic position. While both paths are pertinent and not mutually exclusive, in the present paper only the bottom-up analysis will be discussed. (shrink)

„Es gibt nur ein wirklich ernstes philosophisches Problem: den Selbstmord.“ Mit diesem Satz beginnt Albert Camus Buch „Der Mythos des Sisyphos“, „Alles andere – ob die Welt drei Dimensionen und der Geist neun oder zwölf Kategorien hat – kommt später.“ Camus hat Recht, dass es wichtig ist, philosophisch über den Suizid nachzudenken, wichtiger jedenfalls als über die Dimensionen der Welt oder die Kategorien des Geistes. Worin er allerdings Unrecht hat ist, dass der Suizid ein wirklich ernstes philosophisches Problem darstellt. Wie (...) sich im Verlauf des folgenden Textes zeigen wird, wirft die Möglichkeit, sich selbst zu töten, eine ganze Reihe von philosophischen Problemen auf. Da es sich bei diesem Beitrag ursprünglich um meine Antrittsvorlesung an der Universität Potsdam handelte, hat der Text allerdings weniger einen resümierenden als vielmehr einen programmatischen Charakter. Er beschäftigt sich mit Fragen und Schwierigkeiten, die eine philosophische Beschäftigung mit dem Suizid erforderlich machen, nicht so sehr mit den entsprechenden Antworten. (shrink)

Gegenstand des Bandes ist eine Profilierung der Kulturphilosophie mit dem Ziel ihrer notigen Selbstbehauptung gegenuber einem gegenwartigen Naturalismus. Ein zentrales Ratsel der Gegenwartsphilosophie ist das Verhaltnis unseres Bewusstseins, der Perspektive der ersten Person machtig und Urheber der Kultur zu sein, zu den Erkenntnissen der Kognitions- sowie der Evolutionswissenschaften seit Darwin. In diesen scheint von der Natur her auf die Kultur ein neues Licht zu fallen. Dies ist ebenso faszinierend wie interessant. Es ist aber auch eine Herausforderung: Der Begriff der "Welt" (...) wird naturwissenschaftlich praokkupiert, Extrapolationen ins Ontologische wie die "kausale Geschlossenheit der Welt" breiten sich auf Kosten fruherer, starker zuruckgenommener Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorien aus. Wie steht es demgegenuber mit den Beitragen von Kulturphilosophie und Kulturwissenschaften / Geisteswissenschaften? Deutlich wird in den Beitragen im Anschluss an Dilthey, Cassirer, Simmel und weitere Autoren: Die Notwendigkeit und der Eigencharakter kultureller Arbeit mussen offentlich wie in den Wissenschaften wieder bewusst werden. Mit Beitragen von Katharina Bauer, Jorn Bohr, Gunter Dux, Ralf Glitza, Kinga Golus, Julia Gruevska, Ralph Kohnen, Gudrun Kuhne-Bertram, Hans-Ulrich Lessing, Kevin Liggieri, Ernst Wolfgang Orth, Annika Schlitte, Gunter Scholtz und Rene Torkler. (shrink)

Ernst Cassirer’s (1874–1945) lecture ≫Structuralism in Modern Linguistics≪, given in 1945, not only represents a kind of late return to his intellectual origins in thetradition of Leibniz, Kant and Humboldt. It also provides a diagnosis of the importance of linguistics in his time. This diagnosis should prove far-sighted from the vantage point of both the history and philosophy of science. The thesis presented in this article is that for Cassirer, modern linguistics represents a scientific paradigm that encompasses various fields (...) in academia and even transcends the divide between the humanities and the sciences, i. e. Geisteswissenschaften and Naturwissenschaften. In order to verify this thesis, the present essay analyzes Cassirer’s lecture and places him in a dialogue with the most important addressee of Cassirer’s: the linguist Roman Jakobson (1896–1982), who lived in New York at the same time as Cassirer. (shrink)

Ueda Shizuteru (born 1926) draws both on „Asian“ and „Western“ ideas to highlight the importance of silence as a mode of expression, especially in the Zen Buddhist tradition. This paper seeks to sort out the basic idea that stands behind his analysis: the idea of articulation, a term – implicitly or explicitly – taken from Wilhelm von Humboldt. Though Ueda acknowledges the importance of language, and – in line with Ernst Cassirer – of non-linguistic, i.e. symbolic forms of articulation, (...) the way in which he presents his concept of silence remains in itself opaque and contests partly his basic assumption that the human being is essentially linguistic. It will therefore be shown how Humboldt’s and Cassirer’s idea of articulation can help to clarify Ueda’s usage of the term, while its application by Ueda in a number of analyses can help to rethink the idea of articulation from its inception in voicing (Verlautlichung) and vocalizing (Verlautbarung) and hence the relation of language and silence. The paper finally aims at an interpretation of Ueda’s analysis of how silence in sitting meditation is drawn towards articulating the very idea of silent meditation in words. (shrink)

Ernst Cassirer’s (1874–1945) lecture »Structuralism in Modern Linguistics«, given in 1945, not only represents a kind of late return to his intellectual origins in thetradition of Leibniz, Kant and Humboldt. It also provides a diagnosis of the importance of linguistics in his time. This diagnosis should prove far-sighted from the vantage point of both the history and philosophy of science. The thesis presented in this article is that for Cassirer, modern linguistics represents a scientific paradigm that encompasses various fields (...) in academia and even transcends the divide between the humanities and the sciences, i. e. Geisteswissenschaften and Naturwissenschaften. In order to verify this thesis, the present essay analyzes Cassirer’s lecture and places him in a dialogue with the most important addressee of Cassirer’s: the linguist Roman Jakobson (1896–1982), who lived in New York at the same time as Cassirer. (shrink)

Der Rückgriff auf die Menschenwürde ist in der modernen angewandten Ethik verbreitet, sein Stellenwert ist aber, wie sich auch in vielen Beiträgen dieses Buches zeigt, moraltheoretisch höchst umstritten. Es ist nicht nur unklar, ob die Menschenwürde tatsächlich ein eigenständig zu respektierendes Gut ist, sondern vor allem, was Menschenwürde überhaupt ist und welches Verhalten sie von uns fordert. Diese Unklarheiten wecken wiederum Zweifel daran, ob es sinnvoll ist, der Menschenwürde einen prominenten Platz in der Ethik zuzuweisen (jenseits eines „Präambel- und Bekenntnisdaseins“, (...) wie Martina Herrmann es in ihrem Beitrag ausgedrückt hat). Das Ziel meines Beitrags ist es, zu zeigen, dass dies nicht nur sinnvoll, sondern sogar notwendig ist, weil man ohne Rückgriff auf die Menschenwürde dem besonderen ethischen Charakter bestimmter Handlungen nicht gerecht werden kann, deren Verwerflichkeit darin liegt, ihre Opfer zu demütigen, zu erniedrigen, zu entwürdigen. Die Konzentration auf Missachtungen der Menschenwürde macht aber nicht nur die Notwendigkeit deutlich, die Würde moralphilosophisch ernst zu nehmen, sie eröffnet zugleich eine Chance für ein angemessenes Verständnis. (shrink)

Wie denkt Dogen (1200-1253) Sprache im Horizont der sprachkritischen Tradition des Zenbuddhismus? Die vorliegende Studie widmet sich dieser Frage und rekonstruiert umfassend das Sprachdenken des philosophisch fruchtbarsten Autors der japanischen Vormoderne. Dazu wählt der Autor einen doppelten Zugang: zum einen rezeptionsgeschichtlich unter Einschluss von Philosophen des modernen Japans, zum anderen systematisch mithilfe der Symboltheorie Ernst Cassirers in der Theoretisierung eines adäquaten Sprachbegriffs. So verschränken sich mit Interpretationen zum Hauptwerk Dogens, dem Shobogenzo, Außen- und Innenperspektive auf ein zenbuddhistisches Sprachdenken und (...) erweisen es in seiner Kommensurabilität zum philosophischen Diskurs. (shrink)

The conference in a nutshell: philosophy in times of crises returned to a crisis in philosophy. The pandemic throws us back on our feet and makes us rethink the question raised at the Davos Disputation between Martin Heidegger and Ernst Cassirer in 1929: “What is a human being?” While both had agreed that the initial question was the crucial question to tackle, neither of them could put forth a solution to the question given that their own thought paths proved (...) to have led them into a dead end and to the necessity to turn in a new direction in order to overcome a philosophical crisis. So, in 2020, why not move beyond the scope of this German–German disputation in Davos, and even beyond the horizon of Europe to look for new pathways of thought? (shrink)

Ueda Shizuteru (born 1926) draws both on „Asian“ and „Western“ ideas to highlight the importance of silence as a mode of expression, especially in the Zen Buddhist tradition. This paper seeks to sort out the basic idea that stands behind his analysis: the idea of articulation, a term – implicitly or explicitly – taken from Wilhelm von Humboldt. Though Ueda acknowledges the importance of language, and – in line with Ernst Cassirer – of non-linguistic, i.e. symbolic forms of articulation, (...) the way in which he presents his concept of silence remains in itself opaque and contests partly his basic assumption that the human being is essentially linguistic. It will therefore be shown how Humboldt’s and Cassirer’s idea of articulation can help to clarify Ueda’s usage of the term, while its application by Ueda in a number of analyses can help to rethink the idea of articulation from its inception in voicing (Verlautlichung) and vocalizing (Verlautbarung) and hence the relation of language and silence. The paper finally aims at an interpretation of Ueda’s analysis of how silence in sitting meditation is drawn towards articulating the very idea of silent meditation in words. (shrink)

The famous debate between Ernst Cassirer and Martin Heidegger of 1929 in Davos was set on a global stage and, yet, inherently Eurocentric. This volume explores how the hypothetical presence of the Kyoto school founder Nishida Kitarō would have overcome this limitation.

Ernst Wiechert’s prose written in the 1930s is best symbolized by Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem "Abendphantasie", in which the persona describes his loneliness and resignation, describing them as a thorn in his chest. The question of the identification of these feelings with the East Prussian writer is a major problem raised in the article. Wiechert certainly belongs to the group of writers associated with the so called Inner Emigration, and the studies by Herbert Wiesner, Ralf Schnell, Reinhold Grimm and (...) Friedrich Denka support this thesis. Also, the method developed by Hubert Orlowski allows us to include or exclude literary works from inner emigration literature. This method turns out to be helpful in the interpretation of Wiechert’s works. Moreover, the question of Wiechert’s position on National Socialism is considered, which is full of contradictions, as well as his coming close to the Inner Emigration. On the basis of selected prose works created in the 1930s, the writer’s evolution from the ‘breakthrough of grace’ to becoming an inner emigrant will be presented. Particularly noteworthy are some relevant themes in his works such as World War I, the mother figure as a prefiguration of the ‘Great Mother’ myth, the writer’s stand on National Socialism or the Mazurian landscape. (shrink)

Dating Egyptian Literary Texts. Edited by Gerald Moers; Kai Widmaier; Antionia Giewekmeyer; Arndt Lümers; and Ralf Ernst. Lingua Aegyptia, Studia Monographica, vol. 11. Hamburg: Widmaier Verlag, 2013. Pp. xiv + 653. Linguistic Dating of Middle Egyptian Literary Texts. By Andréas Stauder. Lingua Aegyptia, Studia Monographica, vol. 12. Hamburg: Widmaier Verlag, 2013. Pp. xx + 568.

ABSTRACT:The extant literature on cross-national differences in approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) has mostly focused on developed countries. Instead, we offer two inter-related studies into corporate codes of conduct issued by developing country multinational enterprises (DMNEs). First, we analyse code adoption rates and code content through a mixed methods design. Second, we use multilevel analyses to examine country-level drivers of differences in code content—specifically, elements of a country’s National Business System (NBS). We find that DMNEs are much more likely (...) to adopt a code of conduct than their domestic counterparts; however, this does not translate into greater code comprehensiveness. We also find support for the ‘substitute view’ of CSR in developing countries, i.e. that MNEs from poorer countries and from countries with lower governance effectiveness tend to express more comprehensive commitments. However, this dynamic does not extend to a country’s labour system; instead, CSR appears here to match the efficiency of a country’s labour market, thus reflecting the ‘mirror view’ of CSR. (shrink)

The notion of the highest good used to occupy a primary role in ethical theorising, but has largely disappeared from the contemporary landscape. The notion was central to both Aristotle's and Kant's ethical theories, however--a surprising observation given that their approaches to ethics are commonly conceived as being diametrically opposed. The essays in this collection provide a comprehensive treatment of the highest good in Aristotle and Kant and show that, even though there are important differences in terms of content, there (...) are also important similarities in terms of the structural features of Aristotle's and Kant's value theories. By carefully analysing Aristotle's and Kant's theories of the highest good, a team of experts in the field shed light on their respective ethical theories and highlight the richness, complexity, and fruitfulness of the notion of the highest good. (shrink)

If the Bounded Proper Forcing Axiom BPFA holds, then Mouse Reflection holds at N₂ with respect to all mouse operators up to the level of Woodin cardinals in the next ZFC-model. This yields that if Woodin's ℙ max axiom (*) holds, then BPFA implies that V is closed under the "Woodin-in-the-next-ZFC-model" operator. We also discuss stronger Mouse Reflection principles which we show to follow from strengthenings of BPFA, and we discuss the theory BPFA plus "NS ω1 is precipitous" and strengthenings (...) thereof. Along the way, we answer a question of Baumgartner and Taylor. [2, Question 6.11]. (shrink)

LetZ2,Z3, andZ4denote 2nd, 3rd, and 4thorder arithmetic, respectively. We let Harrington’s Principle, HP, denote the statement that there is a realxsuch that everyx-admissible ordinal is a cardinal inL. The known proofs of Harrington’s theorem “$Det\left$implies 0♯exists” are done in two steps: first show that$Det\left$implies HP, and then show that HP implies 0♯exists. The first step is provable inZ2. In this paper we show thatZ2+ HP is equiconsistent with ZFC and thatZ3+ HP is equiconsistent with ZFC + there exists a remarkable (...) cardinal. As a corollary,Z3+ HP does not imply 0♯exists, whereas Z4+ HP does. We also study strengthenings of Harrington’s Principle over 2ndand 3rdorder arithmetic. (shrink)

An abridged and translated edition of two of Wolfgang Ernst’s major works, representing the ambitious claim of a comprehensive knowledge-oriented analysis of media temporalities.

Wolfgang Ernst, Professor of Media Theories at the Humboldt University in Berlin, has become known through his work on media archaeology. Hence the inclusion of this translation represents an alternative take on cultural techniques. It places the legacy of cultural studies, or Kulturwissenschaften, in an interesting tension with the different epistemological demands that technical media impose. After Vico and Dilthey, argues Ernst, we need to investigate the specific modes of knowledge that technical media propose to cultural techniques. (...) class='Hi'>Ernst’s media archaeology and the slightly different approach to cultural techniques found in some other contributions in this issue can be seen as two of the most intriguing ways in which current German media studies has been developing in relation to Friedrich Kittler’s impact. For Ernst, this has resulted in a more technical focus and also in the development of critiques of temporality that go beyond media history. Ernst argues that media temporality is not to be understood only through the cultural history of media technologies, but also how media technologies produce time. Machines have their own specific temporality, Eigenzeit. It is in this context that the article discusses the different approaches to cultural techniques, taking into consideration the specific time-critical and epistemic implications of technical media. (shrink)

Im Janner 2003 starb Ernst Topitsch, der zu den namhaftesten Vertretern der Weltanschauungsanalyse der zweiten Halfte des 20. Jahrhunderts zahlt. Auf diesem Feld der wissenschaftlichen Forschung hat er sich geradezu den Rang eines Gegenwartsklassikers erworben. Die hier vorgelegten letzten beiden Abhandlungen des Autors bundeln noch einmal einige der zentralen Themen aus dem Schrifttum dieses international hoch geachteten Autors. Dabei wird die lebenspraktische Bedeutsamkeit gewisser erkenntnistheoretischer Uberlegungen eindrucksvoll vor Augen gefuhrt. Der Band enthalt neben "Uberprufbarkeit und Beliebigkeit" auch den Text (...) "Ein Blick zuruck auf die philosophische Welt von gestern". (shrink)

We show that if I is a precipitous ideal on ω₁ and if θ > ω₁ is a regular cardinal, then there is a forcing P = P(I, θ) which preserves the stationarity of all I-positive sets such that in $V^P $ , is a generic iterate of a countable structure . This shows that if the nonstationary ideal on ω₁ is precipitous and $H_\theta ^\# $ exists, then there is a stationary set preserving forcing which increases $\delta _2^1 $ (...) · Moreover, if Bounded Martin's Maximum holds and the nonstationary ideal on ω₁ is precipitous, then $\delta _2^1 $ = u₂ = ω₂. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

Die vorliegende Arbeit ist aus Studien übel' das Problem des Natur rechtes entstanden, in deren Verlauf sich immer deutlicher hera~sgestellt hat, daß dieses Problem nur einen Teilaspekt universell verbreiteter und das vor- und außerphilosophische Denken ebenso wie die sogenannte traditionelle Philosophie zumindest maßgeblich mitbestimmender Formen der Weltauffassung darstellt. Der Fortgang _~ieser Untersuchungen hat in einer Reihe von Aufsätzen seinen Niederschlag gefUhden, die seit 1950 erschienen sind und auf die hier fallweise zurückgegriffen wird. Während eines Studienaufenthaltes an der Harvard-University (1953/54) ist (...) der Plan des Buches endgültig ausgereift, doch verzögerte sich der Abschluß des Manuskriptes infolge anderweitiger beruflicher Inanspruchnahme bis zum Beginn dieses Jahres. Dem Verfasser ist bewußt, daß der Ausdruck "Metaphysik" äußerst vieldeutig ist, so daß vielleicht mancher Leser hier nicht das behandelt finden wird, was er unter Metaphysik versteht. Doch beziehen sich die folgenden Untersuchungen zweifellos auf Doktrinen, die nach einem sehr verbreiteten Sprachgebrauch als metaphysisch bezeichnet werden wld die in der traditionellen Philosophie eine hervorragende Rolle gespielt haben bzw. heute noch spielen. (shrink)

Thukydides wird in diesem Band als Analytiker staatlicher und ordnungspolitischer Konzepte behandelt. Ein interdisziplinärer Ansatz, der die Perspektiven von Philologie, Geschichts-, Rechts- und Politikwissenschaft zusammenführt, trägt sowohl dem Rang des Geschichtsschreibers wie auch dessen divergierender Rezeption bis in die heutige Zeit Rechnung.