Many philosophical disputes, most prominently disputes in ontology, have been suspected of being merely verbal and hence pointless. My goal in this paper is to offer an account of merely verbal disputes and to address the question of what is problematic with such disputes. I begin by arguing that extant accounts that focus on the semantics of the disputed statement S do not capture the full range of cases as they might arise in philosophy. Moreover, these accounts bring in heavy (...) theoretical machinery. I attempt to show that we can capture the full range of cases with an approach that is theoretically lightweight. This approach explains verbal disputes as a pragmatic phenomenon where parties use the same utterance type S with different speaker’s meaning. Moreover, it provides an answer to the crucial question Jackson’s pragmatic account leaves, at best, highly implicit. Based on my account, we can distinguish between different ways in which disputes can be verbal and different extents to which they are defective. Distinguishing between these varieties of verbalness furthermore allows us to specify what kind of substantive issues remain to be discussed once the linguistic confusion is resolved. (shrink)

Two recent arguments purport to find a new and firmer foundation for evidentialism in the very nature of the concept of belief. Evidentialism is claimed to be a conceptual truth about belief, and pragmatism to be ruled out, conceptually. But can the conclusion of such conceptual arguments be regarded as the denial of pragmatism? The pragmatist traditionally conceived belief through its motivational role. Therefore, when confronted with conceptual evidentialism, the pragmatist should cede the term ‘belief,’ but insist that pragmatism be (...) understood as a claim about another attitude, a motivational duplicate of belief. Thus, the original dispute is simply relocated terminologically. (shrink)

This is not a work of mine. For some reason, I am unable to remove it from my page. It is a list of Dr. Reiner Schürmann's lecture notes for courses that he taught at the New School for Social Research (aka The New School).

The notion of exemplification is essential for Goodman’s theory of symbols. But Goodman’s account of exemplification has been criticized as unclear and inadequate. He points out two conditions for an object x exemplifying a label y: (C1) y denotes x and (C2) x refers to y. While (C1) is uncontroversial, (C2) raises the question of how “refers to” should be interpreted. This problem is intertwined with three further questions that consequently should be discussed together with it. Are the two necessary (...) conditions (C1) and (C2) conjointly sufficient? Do they amount to a definition of “exemplification”? Which notions of Goodman’s theory are basic, and hence undefined? In this paper, we address these questions and defend a reconstruction of the notion of exemplification that interprets “refers to” in (C2) as exemplificational reference and hence treats “exemplification” as a basic notion of Goodman’s theory. Firstly, we argue that even though the notion of exemplification is not defined, it is still sufficiently clear. This ensures its contribution to Goodman’s theory of symbols. Secondly, we show that our account is plausible as an interpretation of Goodman’s and Elgin’s writings, although it implies that some of Goodman’s theorems about self-reference have to be weakened. Thirdly, we argue that it is the only materially adequate reconstruction of Goodman’s notion of exemplification, whereas the alternative definitional accounts fail. (shrink)

On the basis of an interdisciplinary approach linking taxation, marketing, and corporate social responsibility, the present research investigates the effects of media reports on aggressive and responsible corporate tax strategies (CTSs) on corporate success with consumers. By means of two laboratory experiments (N = 150, 360), we analyze the effects of the CTSs on corporate reputation, consumer purchase intention, and the consumer’s willingness to pay. Our results suggest that aggressive CTSs diminish corporate success with consumers, whereas responsible CTSs enhance it. (...) Nevertheless, consumers are not willing to pay a price premium for products sold by responsible tax-planning companies, but rather punish aggressive tax-planning companies through a slightly lower willingness to pay. Finally, consumers’ tax morale and their attitude toward tax avoidance are important moderating variables. Given the growing level of media interest in taxation, our findings are crucial for assessing consumer-related non-tax costs and the benefits of different CTSs. (shrink)

World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement includes the Annex 2 Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) that reveals with WTO dispute settlement rules and procedures. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) is hereby established to administer these rules and procedures. The article analyses the problematic issues of the direct effect of the DSB decisions in the European Union (EU) legal order. ECJ concluded that an individual does not have the right to challenge, the incompatibility of Community measures with WTO rules, even if the DSB (...) had previously declared the EU legislation to be incompatible with those rules. The position of the ECJ is based on the WTO dispute settlement system specifics—the importance of the negotiation between the parties, even after the DSB decision-making and lack of reciprocity, which means that major commercial partners of the EU does not recognize the direct effect of DSB decisions. (shrink)

"... elegant and provocative... Exhibit[s] a subtle mastery of Heidegger's works." —Review of Metaphysics "... splendidly precise study of Heidegger... to be recommended not only to Heidegger scholars but also to those interested in the question of what philosophical thinking has as its task in the modern technological world." —Religious Studies Review "... indispensable to understanding the later Heidegger." —Choice.

Clendinnen, Inga I want to begin with the question 'what is a humanist?' largely because you answered that question superbly and succinctly with your Australian Humanist of the Year choice last year.

Reiner Schürmann a été appelé « l’un des philosophes majeurs du xx e siècle » et « le continuateur peut-être le plus important d’une pensée de la mystique dans la lignée d’Eckhart et de Heidegger ». Nombre des chercheurs qui connurent Schürmann ou s’intéressent aujourd’hui à son œuvre souscriraient volontiers à de tels jugements, dans la mesure où cette œuvre déploie, comme nulle autre, les conséquences philosophiques et politiques de ce que Maître Eckhart et Heidegger appellent le délaissement ou le (...) laisser être ( Gelassenheit ). Pourtant, presque rien n’a été dévoilé des deux bornes entre lesquelles s’inscrit le cheminement personnel de Schürmann quant au délaissement : sa découverte de ce concept – ou, plus exactement, de ce mode de vie – lors de ses études auprès des dominicains du Saulchoir, et la manière dont le délaissement a pu façonner sa mort trois décennies plus tard. Ces parties précoce et tardive de son œuvre, consacrées au délaissement et à sa mise en acte, sont toutefois cruciales pour comprendre le parcours de Schürmann et donc pour apprécier ce qu’il peut aujourd’hui offrir à la pensée et à l’existence. Si, dans ses œuvres publiées, Schürmann minimise l’importance de l’expérience chrétienne du délaissement, voire critique en elle une figure dérivée et même trompeuse de la Gelassenheit, c’est bien elle qui lui a permis de s’engager sur son chemin de pensée. C’est elle aussi qui, à plus d’un titre, l’attendait au terme de son parcours, lequel apparaît alors comme un cercle faisant retour en soi. (shrink)

This paper reassess the evaluation of ethical, legal and social issues in relation to the agile development of information systems in the domain of crisis management. The authors analyse the differing assessment needs of a move from a traditional approach to the development of information systems to an agile approach, which offers flexibility, adaptability and responds to the needs of users as the system develops. In turn, the authors argue that this development requires greater flexibility and an iterative approach to (...) assessing ELSI. The authors provide an example from the Horizon 2020 EU-funded project iTRACK to exemplify this move to an iterative approach in practice, drawing on the process of undertaking an ethical and privacy impact assessment for the purpose of this project. (shrink)

The paper argues that human dignity is the normative, legally binding base of human rights. Since the Declarations of human rights in 1776/1789 it is no longer possible to base dignity on a universal morality. This results in two main consequences. Firstly, it is necessary to strictly shift the concept of dignity away from a dignity of the human creature, human nature or mankind to the dignity of personality and citizenship, respectively. Secondly, determining the rights of the individual is a (...) definite political practice and not only the application of a correct understanding of what constitutes dignity in theory. Slavery is not a problem of false thinking or morality, but a degrading practice. (shrink)

« La déconstruction, c’est la pulvérisation d’un socle spéculatif où la vie trouverait son assise, sa légitimation, sa paix. » Autrefois son élève, Reiner Schürmann identifie dans l’oeuvre de Heidegger un impensé, le principe d’anarchie. Contre cette métaphysique occidentale qu'il s'applique à déconstruire, le penseur de la présence aurait fait de l'être et de l'agir une seule et même question. Et sapé ainsi toute possibilité de définir un fondement rationnel sur lequel construire une philosophie pratique. Que l'agir humain, à l'époque (...) technologique, se trouve privé d'arché : voilà ce que cette étude majeure, lisant Heidegger à rebours, a permis de dévoiler. (shrink)

Definiciones de epistemología hay muchas, al igual que clases y estilos. Sin embargo, más allá de esta diversidad, es necesario contar con una definición básica que guíe nuestra comprensión del tema. Dos serán las preguntas que nos ayuden a ello en este artículo: a) ¿qué es la epistemología? y b) ¿para qué le sirve al científico?

The article follows dynamic changes and evolutions in the history of research theories in the field of humanities. It begins with an analysis of studies on group identity, and drawing from ideas by Ewa Domanska, it employs the metaphor of the see as the space in which one can navigate for new themes and ideas. A special importance is attached to the concept of autobiography, especially in reference to the researcher’s life and experience. Boleslaw Prus’s The Doll and its critical (...) reception offers a good case study to illustrate this approach of analysis which draws on private lives of interpreters and critics. The influence of autobiography on literary theory is analysed using Susan Faludi’s Backlash and In the Darkroom. (shrink)

The article compares the philosophies of Ernst Cassirer and Helmuth Plessner concerning the modes of modernity. Plessner is one of those thinkers, who are most consistent in accepting modernity, whereas Cassirer is not. The point that generates this different level is the explicit self-reflection of Plessner in contrast to a systematic silence of Cassirer. One can see this difference by analysing the role of scepticism within these two modes of anthropology.

ABSTRACT It is obvious that Arne Naess had his most important philosophical experience, and quite possibly made his most significant achievement, in confrontation with the variety of philosophical scepticism known as Pyrrhonism. Naess maintained, however, that he did not defend scepticism as a philosophical position, and he was concerned to distinguish Pyrrhonism from the inverse form of dogmatism often associated with the term ?scepticism?. Naess was primarily preoccupied with the practical implications of this radical form of scepticism, in which he (...) thought peace of mind and serious inquisitiveness could be combined. In this article, I introduce some central aspects of Naess's Pyrrhonian scepticism, to illustrate how his philosophy may contribute to a relevant form of anti-dogmatism. (shrink)

ABSTRACT I here explore how an ethics of rhythm can shed light on what promotes and inhibits recognition between people across our vulnerable lives, and the need for a renewal of the philosophy of pedagogy. I argue that philosophy itself has contributed to a certain oblivion regarding how we follow and create rhythmic societies, the need for a more profound and fine-tuned listening attitude as a philosophical-ethical marker, using among others Barthes concept of rhuthmos, Kierkegaards concept of repetition, Herbart’s concept (...) of pedagogical tact and Kristeva’s existential relationship. What forms of imposed rhythms of life can be said to cast light on new ways of living together today? I argue that rhythms affect, shape and set boundaries for interpersonal relationships. Moreover, that they serve as incentives for an ethic, or better; as views, perspectives and concepts to think with when describing the rhythm of the Anthropocene. (shrink)

This article reports a study exploring the meaning of the complex phenomenon of moral responsibility in nursing practice. Each of three focus groups with a total of 14 student nurses were conducted twice to gather their views on moral responsibility in nursing practice. The data were analysed by qualitative thematic content analysis. Moral responsibility was interpreted as a relational way of being, which involved guidance by one’s inner compass composed of ideals, values and knowledge that translate into a striving to (...) do good. It was concluded that, if student nurses are to continue striving to do good in a way that respects themselves and other people, it is important that they do not feel forced to compromise their values. Instead they should be given space and encouragement in their endeavours to do good in a relational way that advances nursing as a moral practice. (shrink)

Die forensische Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie steht in einem komplexen Spannungsfeld medizinischer, rechtlicher und sozialer Anforderungen. Die ethischen Herausforderungen, die sich daraus für den stationären Maßnahmenvollzug ergeben, sind bisher kaum untersucht, spezifische Hilfestellungen für Behandelnde fehlen. Diese Studie hat zum Ziel, ethische Themenfelder und Probleme in diesem Bereich zu identifizieren und ein Instrument zur Früherkennung und -intervention ethischer Probleme im Klinikalltag zu entwickeln. Methode: Eine systematische Literaturrecherche sowie eine Beobachtungstudie in der Jugendforensik der Universitären Psychiatrischen Kliniken Basel werden durchgeführt. Die Beobachtungsdaten (...) werden mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet. Das Instrument wird auf der Basis der Resultate nach einer neuen Methode entwickelt. In der Literaturrecherche wurden 14 valide Publikationen identifiziert, die hauptsächlich ethische Probleme der Gerichtspsychiatrie thematisieren wie professionelle Rollenkonflikte, ethische Probleme der Diagnostik und Begutachtung oder der Umgang mit vertraulichen Informationen. Empirische oder empirisch-normative Studien fehlen. In der Beobachtungsstudie wurden 24 ethische Themen und spezifische Probleme identifiziert, besonders häufig sind ethische Fragen zu Moralkompetenzen der Jugendlichen, zur Behandlungsqualität, zum Umgang mit Regeln und Sanktionen und zur Freiheits- und Privatsphäre. Das Instrument zur Früherkennung und -intervention ethischer Probleme enthält die vier Kernelemente Risikofaktoren, Indikatoren, Interventionsplanung und Entscheidungsfindung. Der Maßnahmenvollzug der forensischen Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie offenbart ein breites Spektrum ethischer Themen mit spezifischen ethischen Problemen, welche in der Literatur bisher nur unzureichend untersucht sind. Das hier entwickelte Instrument FIEP unterstützt Behandelnde dabei, ethische Probleme frühzeitig zu erkennen und effizient zu bearbeiten. (shrink)

Background and aim Child and adolescent forensic psychiatry is fraught with complex medical, legal, and social tensions. The ethical challenges this entails for inhospital treatment have hardly been investigated, and specific support for health care professionals is lacking. This study identifies ethical issues and problems in this area and develops a tool for early detection and intervention of ethical problems in clinical practice. Methods A systematic literature search and an observational study in adolescent forensics at the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel (...) are conducted. The observation data are evaluated using a qualitative content analysis. The instrument is developed based on the results using a new method. Results In the literature search, 14 valid publications were identified that mainly address ethical conflicts in legal psychiatry, such as professional role conflicts, ethical problems in diagnostics and assessment, or confidentiality issues. Empirical or empirical–normative studies are missing. In the observational study, 24 ethical issues and specific conflicts were identified. Ethical questions about moral competencies of the adolescents, the quality of treatment, the handling of rules and sanctions, and freedom and privacy are particularly common. The Instrument for Early Detection and Intervention of Ethical Problems (FIEP) contains the four core elements risk factors, indicators, intervention planning and decision-making. Conclusions Inhospital treatment in forensic child and adolescent psychiatry reveals a broad spectrum of ethical issues with specific ethical problems, which are hardly investigated in literature so far. The FIEP instrument developed here supports health care practitioners in recognizing ethical problems at an early stage and addressing them efficiently. (shrink)

This article aims to deepen the understanding of courage through a theoretical analysis of classical philosophers’ work and a review of published and unpublished empirical research on courage in nursing. The authors sought answers to questions regarding how courage is understood from a philosophical viewpoint and how it is expressed in nursing actions. Four aspects were identified as relevant to a deeper understanding of courage in nursing practice: courage as an ontological concept, a moral virtue, a property of an ethical (...) act, and a creative capacity. The literature review shed light on the complexity of the concept of courage and revealed some lack of clarity in its use. Consequently, if courage is to be used consciously to influence nurses’ ethical actions it seems important to recognize its specific features. The results suggest it is imperative to foster courage among nurses and student nurses to prepare them for ethical, creative action and further the development of professional nursing practices. (shrink)

We consider the Heisenberg uncertainty principle of position and momentum in 3-dimensional spaces of constant curvature K. The uncertainty of position is defined coordinate independent by the geodesic radius of spherical domains in which the particle is localized after a von Neumann–Lüders projection. By applying mathematical standard results from spectral analysis on manifolds, we obtain the largest lower bound of the momentum deviation in terms of the geodesic radius and K. For hyperbolic spaces, we also obtain a global lower bound (...) \, which is non-zero and independent of the uncertainty in position. Finally, the lower bound for the Schwarzschild radius of a static black hole is derived and given by \, where \ is the Planck length. (shrink)

Intercultural discourse (especially via a lingua franca when interlocutors have a false impression that they are speaking one and the same language) adds a new dimension – facework (the establishment of culture-sensitive politeness strategies) – to the theory and practice of argumentation from a number of perspectives: its specificity as compared to ordinary argumentational discourse, the interpretation of the concept of incommensurability, and the conduct of international negotiations. Politeness systems relevant for different cultures are not unpredictable, but represent linguistically and (...) cognitively a highly generalised universal system which can be adopted by interlocutors and used in practical discourse. Politeness expressions are governed by linguistic components – by language forms of a certain type and by specific discourse patterns. The proper choice of language forms and discourse patterns adds a special dimension to argumentative schemata. The politeness-relevant packaging of discourse adds a zero-step to the normative stages of an argumentative discussion (establishing hierarchical relations as such), and needs permanent alignment of these relations, by using correct language forms and discourse patterns. (shrink)

Cognitive modeling of human behavior has advanced the understanding of underlying processes in several domains of psychology and cognitive science. In this article, we outline how we expect cognitive modeling to improve comprehension of individual cognitive processes in human-agent interaction and, particularly, human-robot interaction (HRI). We argue that cognitive models offer advantages compared to data-analytical models, specifically for research questions with expressed interest in theories of cognitive functions. However, the implementation of cognitive models is arguably more complex than common statistical (...) procedures. Additionally, cognitive modeling paradigms typically have an explicit commitment to an underlying computational theory. We propose a conceptual framework for designing cognitive models that aims to identify whether the use of cognitive modeling is applicable to a given research question. The framework consists of five external and internal aspects related to the modeling process: research question, level of analysis, modeling paradigms, computational properties, and iterative model development. In addition to deriving our framework from a concise literature analysis, we discuss challenges and potentials of cognitive modeling. We expect cognitive models to leverage personalized human behavior prediction, agent behavior generation, and interaction pretraining as well as adaptation, which we outline with application examples from personalized HRI. (shrink)

Fictionalists claim that instead of believing certain controversial propositions they accept them nonseriously, as useful make-believe. In this way they present themselves as having an austere ontology despite the apparent ontological commitments of their discourse. Some philosophers object that this plays on a distinction without a difference: the fictionalist’s would-be nonserious acceptance is the most we can do for the relevant content acceptance-wise, hence such acceptance is no different from what we ordinarily call ‘belief’ and should be so called. They (...) conclude that it is subject to the norms applicable to paradigmatic empirical beliefs, and hence, pace fictionalists, ontological commitments must be taken seriously. I disentangle three strands in the objector’s thought: the ‘What more can you ask for?’ intuition, a linguistic/ conceptual claim, and a claim about norms. I argue that the former two are compatible with ontological deflationism, and therefore do not entail applicability of the norms. Nevertheless, if indeed there is no more robust acceptance with which to contrast the supposed nonserious acceptance, then the fictionalist’s claim to austere ontology must be abandoned. Is there a reason to suppose there is any merit to the distinction-without-a-difference charge? I argue that there is, clarify it, and defend against objections, focusing on Daly 2008. (shrink)

Two modes of reasoning are used by humans – the `theoretical' (formal) and the `empirical' (non-formal), the first operating with inside-the-syllogism information, the second utilising out-of-the-syllogism information. Cross-cultural research (since Lévy-Bruhl, and especially after Luria) and developmental research (since Piaget) discovered respectively that members of `traditional' societies and children up to a certain age are able to operate only in the empirical mode.The paper brings together diverse discussions about usage of these modes in actual discourse (Ennis, Johnson-Laird, Moore, Olson, Ong, (...) etc.). It concentrates on contradictory opinions as to whether contemporary individuals after they acquire the formal mode preserve and utilise the empirical mode. In this connection it discusses results of neurological experiments investigating performance in solving syllogisms under conditions of transitory suppression of the left or the right hemisphere (Deglin et al.) which demonstrated that one and the same person, depending on which hemisphere is suppressed, uses both strategies. The activated right hemisphere utilizes the `empirical' pattern, the activated left hemisphere utilizes the `logical' pattern. Thus both mechanisms of reasoning are present in the brain simultaneously, but each of them is controlled by different hemispheres. (shrink)

Sensory dysfunction has been shown to be a part of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Nowadays we have an objective, non-invasive tool with which to measure neural manifestations of sensory dysfunction. Defined as time-locked changes to external stimuli in the EEG, event-related potentials (ERPs) provide an objective index of information processing in the human brain. Importantly, ERPs may be analyzed through a variety of approaches such as conventional ERP analysis, analysis in the time-frequency domain, microstate segmentation and topographical analysis, as well (...) as source localisation analysis. Each of the methods gives distinct information; they also supplement each other. Here, an attempt is made to verify the validity of combining different approaches to study sensory dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders. For example, the data from a schizophrenic patient and an age- and sex-matched healthy subject generate a picture of the events which emerges after visual, proprioceptive and simultaneous presentation of stimuli in both modalities. This approach, though time-consuming, allows the visualisation of changes appearing in the malfunctioning brain as compared to the healthy brain. These methods could ultimately lead to a better establishment of one or more endophenotypes for the schizophrenic disorders. They might also serve as a way to track changes in response to various medications and therapies. (shrink)

This research investigates the impact of corporate tax strategies on consumers’ corporate social responsibility perceptions, willingness to pay, and attitude toward the firm in two laboratory experiments in the United States and Germany. Using the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak incentive-compatible mechanism, which avoids a social desirability bias found in prior research, our results indicate only a minor indirect effect of corporate tax strategies on WTP by way of the mediator CSR perceptions. However, we find a strong effect on attitude toward the firm again (...) mostly mediated by CSR perceptions. In contrast to German consumers, U.S. consumers’ CSR perceptions of tax avoidance are independent of whether a strategy is likely accepted by the tax authorities. Overall, we conclude that CSR perceptions are highly relevant when it comes to consumer responses to tax avoidance. (shrink)

Cette contribution présente des types de petits corpus très hétérogènes, qui ne sont toujours pas clairement définis : les petits corpus oraux bilingues et plurilingues. Elle envisage d’abord de donner un aperçu de petits corpus et discute l’insécurité terminologique du domaine des corpus bi- et plurilingues. Ensuite, les bases de données de petits corpus bilingues Talkbank, HZSK, Sketchengine et CLAPOTY sont brièvement décrites pour discuter les possibilités de visualisation ainsi que de mise en disposition des données de corpus. Finalement, un (...) exemple concret est présenté : le corpus FM, un petit corpus bilingue français-anglais d’une variété du français canadien, parlée au Manitoba. (shrink)

In this article the phenomenon of an icon (as described by Jean-Luc Marion) is considered in relation with its media of appearance. Asking whether it can appear and be recognized as such in any medium or only in “iconic” media, attention is directed towards electronic media, namely the television, film and computer screens. The main question is whether “crossing of gazes” and recognition of the face is possible on screen. If not, the screen remains univocally a medium of an idol. (...) -/- Relation of an invisible icon to its medium (or environment) is found to be twofold: on the one hand, an icon itself is of ‘mediatic’ structure, since it implements the “medium is the message” phrase, given by Marshall McLuhan. The visible side of an icon is fully subservient to its invisible message – in other words, it becomes its message. On the other hand, an icon uses some kind of (additional) medium for its appearing. The medium can become an obstacle or a means due to its capabilities of presenting a situation of image and certain image logic with it. -/- Although, J.-L. Marion is strictly sceptical about the possibilities of audio-visual technologies to transmit the phenomenon of the face, several occasions for a doubt and further investigation are found. Firstly, the liberation from the status of an idol to a certain extent and hence a suggestion of an icon is found where the ‘content’ of the medium reveals the medium itself. Thus, it enables recognising the image as image and implies the segmentation of ‘layers’ of images. Secondly, strong suggestion of the face of the other addressing me (the viewer) personally is observed in the situation of accepted prayer. However, this possibility is only discovered in examples and it is still lacking theoretical background. Except of this, the screen remains a medium which ‘filters out’ the phenomenon of an icon. -/- On the whole, at least a suggestion of an icon is thought to be able to use the screen as its medium. (shrink)

Es ist keine bloße Metapher, wenn wir sagen, etwas stelle sich jemandem dar. Vielmehr kommt darin zum Ausdruck, dass sprachliche oder bildliche Darstellungen bestimmte Auffassungsweisen ihrer jeweiligen Gegenstände buchstäblich vor-stellen. Auf diese Weise vermitteln Darstellungen zwischen Geist und Welt bzw. zwischen Selbst und Anderen. Gleichgültig, ob wir selbst etwas erzählen oder etwas in der Zeitung lesen, ob wir ein Bild ins Netz stellen oder einen Film schauen, stets haben wir es mit Darstellungen zu tun, die Vorstellungen artikulieren und erzeugen. Der (...) Doppelsinn von Repräsentation als mentale Vorstellung und mediale Darstellung hat darin seinen guten Grund. Das Buch entfaltet eine Darstellungstheorie in therapeutisch-kritischer Absicht. Es zielt darauf, Darstellungspraxen als spezifisch menschlich, weil geistig und freiheitlich zu qualifizieren, um im Streit der Interpretationen bessere von schlechteren unterscheiden zu können. How it is that the mind is directed at the world? Far differently, the world exists in the minds of anyone, because it is mediated through perspectives and perceived only in aspects. No matter whether we tell a story, read something in the newspaper, or watch a movie, we always deal with representations that articulate and generate imaginations. This is the origin of the double meaning of representation as mental imagination and medial presentation. The book develops a theory of representation with a critical and therapeutic intention. It aims at qualifying representational practices as specifically human due to their mental and liberal character in order to be able to distinguish better from worse interpretations. (shrink)

What distinguishes aesthetic thinking from other forms of thinking, such as logical, for instance? In order to clarify this question, the following contribution deals with a reception-aesthetic problem that has been controversially discussed in English-language aesthetics for decades as the ‘paradox of fiction’. It will be shown that the intentional orientation of mind and imagination towards the non-existent, the counterfactual, and the fictive belongs to the decisive peculiarity of aesthetic thinking. Its productivity consists in the process of playing through the (...) possible and imaginable and thereby transcending and thwarting the given and the existing. (shrink)

Cette " contribution à la très ancienne doctrine des principes"s'effectue sous forme de topologie : elle cherche à relever les lieux d'extraction phénoménaux et langagiers des principes qui ont exercé les hégémonies qu'elle examine, c'est-à-dire qui ont fonctionné comme des normes pour l'agir et le savoir. Les hégémonies sont celles sous et par lesquelles l'Occident a jusqu'à présent vécu (à savoir agir, pensé et acquis des connaissances). Elles délimitent l'ère de la métaphysique dont notre âge vit le dépérissement. Il y (...) en a trois : la grecque, la latine et la moderne, chacune régie par un principe : respectivement, l'Un, la nature et la conscience de soi. Chacune se déploie dans une langue, qui lui donne ses paramètres : le grec, le latin et le moderne vernaculaire. Ces trois régimes articulent à la fois l'histoire de l'Occident et de la philosophie. En quoi ces hégémonies sont-elles brisées? La topologie discerne trois sortes de principes : d'une part les ultimes, à savoir la natalité ou l'être-pour-la-naissance, et la mortalité ou l'être-pour-la-mort, qui perdurent au travers des âges ; d'autre part les suprêmes et les dernières, qui ont des destins, temporels limités. Les principes suprêmes sont entitatifs : par exemple, chez Kant, Dieu, l'âme et le monde. Les principes derniers sont relationnels. Plus souvent appelés " fantasmes hégémoniques " ou " référents derniers " - un vocabulaire que l'auteur élucide dans l'introduction - ils constituent les hégémonies. Par son effet sur le langage, la natalité institue les principes derniers en nous les faisant poser, tandis que la mortalité les destitue en les brisant de l'intérieur. Co-originaires, les deux principes ultimes forment " le phénomène absolument premier ", le différend tragique. Leur étude appartient à l'analytique des ultimes, qui sert d'outillage à la topologie, et par-là précède. La topologie n'analyse les principes derniers qu'au moment de leur émergence ou institution, et de leur disparition ou destitution (d'où l'organisation de l'ouvrage). Le souci directeur de la topologie est de nous en apprendre plus sur les nuits qui ont assombri notre terrible siècle (en particulier sur les souffrances que l'Occident s'est infligé au cours de la seconde guerre mondiale) et sur celles qui nous menacent (par exemple l'asphyxie à laquelle nous mène la destruction de l'environnement). En effet, elle part de la conviction que ces assombrissements ne peuvent avoir que " des origines lointaines et profondes ". (shrink)

In seinem neuen Buch vertieft Steven Crowell seine Auffassung der Phänomenologie als Transzendentalphilosophie, die es mit dem normativen Raum des Sinnes (space of meaning) zu tun habe (vgl. Crowell 2001). Sowohl Husserl als auch Heidegger führen aus seiner Sicht innerhalb der Phänomenologie die kantische Tradition der Transzendentalphilosophie weiter, indem sie der Frage nach den „transzendentalen Bedingungen der Konstitution oder Enthüllung des Sinnes“ (S. 1) nachgehen.Vgl. auch den von Steven Crowell mit herausgegebenen Band Transcendental Heidegger (2007). Da der Sinn aber Crowell (...) zufolge Normativität impliziert, hat die von ihm vertretene phänomenologische Transzendentalphilosophie einen neukantianischen Zug (vgl. S. 10). Von den vier Teilen des Buches befassen sich die ersten beiden im Wesentlichen mit Husserl, während der dritte und vierte Teil auf Heidegger eingehen. Dieser Aufbau begründet sich dadurch, dass Crowell anstatt des Bruches vielmehr die Kontinuität zwischen Husserl. (shrink)

Yablo argued that some metaphors are representationally essential: they enable us to express contents that we would not be able to express without them. He defended a fictionalist view of mathematical language by making the case that it similarly serves as a representational aid. Against this, Colyvan argued that metaphorical/figurative language can never play an essential role in explanation and that mathematical language often does, hence concluding that Yablo’s fictionalism is untenable. I show that Colyvan’s thesis about explanation is highly (...) implausible in the absence of a challenge to Yablo’s position on representationally essential metaphors, which Colyvan does not attempt. I also briefly discuss other attempts to produce a simple knock-out argument against fictionalism and show them wanting. (shrink)

This book draws new connections between twentieth-century German and French film theory and practice and vitalist conceptions of life from biology and philosophy. Inga Pollmann shows how the links between the two created a modernist, experimental, and cinematic strand of vitalism in and around the movie theatre. Articulated by film theorists, filmmakers, biologists and philosophers, this cinematic vitalism maps out connections among human beings, milieus, and technologies that continue to structure our understanding of film.

This book examines philosophical approaches to linguistic vagueness, a puzzling feature of natural language that gives rise to the ancient Sorites paradox and challenges classical logic and semantics. -/- The Sorites, or Paradox of the Heap, consists in three claims: (1) One grain of sand does not make a heap. (2) One billion grains of sand do make a heap. (3) For any two amounts of sand differing by at most one grain: either both are heaps of sand, or neither (...) one is. The third claim is rendered plausible by an initial conviction that vague predicates like ‘heap’ tolerate small changes. However, the repeated application of a tolerance principle to the second claim yields the further proposition that one grain of sand does make a heap – which contradicts claim number one. Consequently, many philosophers reject or modify tolerance principles for vague predicates. -/- Inga Bones reassesses prominent responses to the Sorites and defends a Wittgensteinian dissolution of the paradox. She argues that vague predicates are, indeed, tolerant and discusses how this finding relates to the paradox itself, to the notion of validity and to the concept of a borderline case . (shrink)