Chords are not pure sets of tones or notes. They are mainly characterized by their matrices. A chord matrix is the pattern of all the lengths of intervals given without further context. Chords are well-structured invariants. They show their inner logical form. This opens up the possibility to develop a molecular logic of chords. Chords are our primitive, but, nevertheless, already interrelated expressions. The logical space of internal harmony is our well-known chromatic scale represented by an infinite line of integers. (...) Internal harmony is nothing more than the pure interrelatedness of two or more chords. We consider three cases: chords inferentially related to subchords, pairs of chords in the space of major–minor tonality and arbitrary chords as arguments of unary chord operators in relation to their outputs. One interesting result is that chord negation transforms any pure major chord into its pure minor chord and vice versa. Another one is the fact that the negation of chords with symmetric matrices does not change anything. A molecular logic of chords is mainly characterized by combining general rules for chord operators with the inner logical form of their arguments. (shrink)

Die Frage nach dem Ursprung des Bösen spielt nicht nur für die Theodizee (" Warum lässt Gott das zu?"), sondern auch für das Selbstverständnis des Menschen und die Beweggründe zu (un-)moralischem Handeln eine entscheidende Rolle. Was aber ist genau unter dem Bösen zu verstehen? Wo liegt sein Ursprung? Mit seinen drei Beiträgen, des Theologen und Religionsphilosophen Ingolf U. Dalferth, des früheren Dogmatik-Professors und jetzigen Bischofs Karl Kardinal Lehmann und des Orientalisten und Schriftstellers Navid Kermani, bietet dieser Band Antworten aus (...) der Sicht verschiedener Konfessionen und Religionen. Dabei geht es u.a. um die Unterscheidung zwischen vermeidbaren und unvermeidbaren Übeln, um die Freiheit des Menschen und seine Verantwortung für das Böse und um die Tradition der Gottesklage im Islam. (shrink)

The ideas of love and justice have received a lot of attention within theology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and neuroscience in recent years. In theology, the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love have become a widely discussed topic again. In philosophy, psychology and neuroscience research into the emotions has led to a renewed interest in the many kinds and forms of love. And in moral philosophy, sociology, and political science questions of justice have been a central issue of debate for (...) decades. But many views are controversial, and important questions remain unanswered. In this volume the authors focus on issues that take the relations between the two topics into account. The contributions move from basic questions about the relationships between love and justice through specific, but central problems of a just practice of love to social and political issues of the practice of justice in today's society. Contributors:Richard Amesbury, Ingolf U. Dalferth, Trisha M. Famisaran, Thomas Jared Farmer, Everett Fullmer, Duncan Gale, Kirsten Gerdes, Deidre Green, Eric E. Hall, W. David Hall, Trevor W. Kimball, Ulrich H. J. Körtner, Richard Livingston, Thaddeus Metz, Anselm K. Min, Rob Overy-Brown, Raymond E. Perrier, Panu-Matti Pöykkö, Stephen J. Pope, T. Raja Rosenhagen, Jonathan Russell, Regina M. Schwarz, Roberto Sirvent, Justina M. Torrance, Nicholas Wolterstorff. (shrink)

Is it true that insistence on autonomy and diversity weakens social cohesion, or that striving for justice, equity and equality undermines individual freedom? A long tradition has seen the common good as the social order in which individuals and groups can best strive for perfection. Liberal societies insist that this perfecting must not be done at the cost of others or by restricting the right to such a striving only to some and not granting it also to others. However, in (...) a time of growing social and cultural diversity and inequality the traditional tensions between individual freedom and social responsibility have increased to a point where the binding forces of our societies seem to be exhausted. How much individuality and what kinds of diversity are we ready to accept? How much autonomy and diversity are possible without destroying social cohesion and human solidarity? And how much social commonality is necessary to be able to live an autonomous life and do justice to diversity? (shrink)

Die Metaphysik ist in weiten Kreisen der Philosophie und Theologie wieder salonfahig. Ob aber tatsachlich erledigt ist, was unter dem "Ende der Metaphysik" zu denken versucht wurde, wird gegenwartig hochst kontrovers diskutiert: Schon was unter "Metaphysik" und "Metaphysikkritik" verstanden wird, ist umstritten. Erst recht aber scheiden sich die Geister an der Frage, ob das Ende der Metaphysik auch die Auflosung des Gottesgedankens bedeutet: Ist es wahr, dass Metaphysik treibt, wer Gott denkt? Geht es darum, schlechte Metaphysik durch bessere zu ersetzen (...) oder ist das Setzen auf Metaphysik insgesamt als Irrweg des Denkens Gottes zuruckzuweisen? Zu wenig wird bedacht, dass das Denken Gottes selbst Quelle und Kritik metaphysischen Denkens sein kann. Gerade deshalb ist zu klaren, was es heisst, Gott nichtmetaphysisch oder metaphysikkritisch zu denken. (shrink)

English summary: The eleven articles of the present volume are to a large extent based upon papers delivered at a conference about Religion and Conflict, organized by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Religionsphilosophie (DGR). The book containing these papers, plus a number of additional articles, is divided into two parts, both of which tackle conflicts within one or among different religion(s). Whereas the first part is primarily devoted to major ontological, ethical and anthropological - and thus, in effect, more abstract and general (...) - questions (for instance, questions about the nature, cause(s) and anthropological implications of religious conflicts), the second addresses a number of more specific issues, all of which are focused upon the chief question of how adequately to perceive and/or to solve religious conflicts in the sense described above. Discussed are, among other things, the concept of and the conflict between so-called 'sacred texts' in Christianity, Judaism and Islam; the conflict between naturalism and theology; the purported 'absolutism' of Christian monotheism as a source of interreligious conflict, etc. German text. German description: Die Beitrage des vorliegenden Bandes gehen grosstenteils auf eine Tagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Religionsphilosophie zuruck. Die erste Halfte ('Grundlagen: Zur Theorie religioser Konflikte') behandelt das Thema in sechs Beitragen aus philosophischer und fundamentaltheologischer Perspektive, und zwar primar mit Blick auf die ontologischen bzw. semantischen, handlungstheoretischen, ethischen, geschichtsphilosophischen, erkenntnistheoretischen und anthropologischen Implikationen religioser Konflikte. Der zweite Teil (Fallanalysen: Zur Wahrnehmung und Bewaltigung von Konflikten in und mit der Religion) bietet funf religionsphilosophische und hermeneutisch-theologische Analysen exemplarischer religioser Konfliktfelder unter der Leitfrage der Konfliktwahrnehmung und -bewaltigung. Diskutiert wird das Problem heiliger Schriften in Judentum, Christentum und Islam; der Konflikt zwischen Theologie und Naturalismus; der Absolutheitsanspruch des christlichen Monotheismus; das religiose Konfliktpotential politischer Umbruche am Beispiel Sudafrika; die dialogorientierte Interaktion als Konfliktbewaltigungsstrategie im Religionsunterricht. (shrink)

To understand reality in terms of what is possible has methodological implications which a contemplative philosophy makes explicit. The goal is no longer to determine how things are or must be but rather to provide an overview of how they could be and the diversity with which they already appear. The function of philosophy is not the discovery of a single answer but rather a careful description of the diversity and the heterogeneity of possible answers in different contexts and practices. (...) This approach, inspired by Wittgenstein, was applied to the philosophy of religion by Dewi Z. Phillips in particular. This volume explores his contemplative philosophy of religion in an intense and lively discussion, showing how the description of religious faith and the access to its practice and language change unexpectedly and provocatively in this way of thinking. (shrink)

Der Aristotelismus in Ontologie und Metaphysik muss vor dem Hintergrund der sich ändernden Haltung zu metaphysischen Fragen ab 1950 gesehen werden. Nach einer Phase grundsätzlicher Metaphysik-Feindlichkeit der beiden Zweige der frühen analytischen Philosophie, des Logischen Positivismus und des Ansatzes der Normalen Sprache, wird das Interesse an Themen und Thesen aus Aristoteles’ Metaphysik im Zuge der etwa 1950 einsetzenden Rehabilitierung metaphysischer Fragen wieder geweckt. Die beiden dominierenden Protagonisten der neuen metaphysischen Ernsthaftigkeit sind der vom Logischen Positivismus her kommende Amerikaner Willard Quine (...) und der in der Philosophie der Normalen Sprache verwurzelte Brite Peter Strawson. (shrink)

Abstract“Let us think of the intention to play chess”. On the Role of Chess Analogies in Wittgenstein’s Philosophy starting from 1929. Chess analogies represent a neglected topic in the studies on Wittgenstein. However, already a closer look at the Philosophical Investigations shows the great variety of contexts in which there are analogies to very different aspects of chess. An examination of the entire Nachlass illustrates Wittgenstein’s ongoing interest in chess which began in 1929 and lasted until his death in 1951. (...) The integration of a thorough analysis of the references to chess sheds new light on an adequate understanding of the transition from his early philosophy of the Tractatus logico-philosophicus to his later philosophy, especially in the years 1929 to 1931. In our language of analysis, chess is understood as a codex-based strategy game. In this context and in contrast to it, we consider selected instructive uses of chess analogies in Wittgenstein's Nachlass. By means of such analogies similarities as well as filigree or significant differences in the meanings of linguistic expressions can be very convincingly illustrated, misunderstandings can be removed and complete clarity can be attained. Starting from Wittgenstein's considerations, the method of finding and inventing chess analogies can be developed in perspective into a creative form of practice of linguistic-analytic philosophizing. (shrink)

Ingolf U. Dalferth bietet in diesem Buch den Grundriss einer orientierungsphilosophischen Theorie der Hermeneutik, die Hermeneutik als Kunstlehre der Kunstpraxis des Verstehens in den Blick fasst und Verstehen als Tätigkeit und Vermögen von Menschen, sich durch das Kommunizieren mit anderen gemeinsam in den Sinn-Welten des menschlichen Lebens verlässlich zu orientieren. Das erste Kapitel bietet Grundlinien einer philosophischen Hermeneutik am Leitfaden der Frage nach dem Verstehen des Verstehens. Das zweite Kapitel skizziert eine Texthermeneutik, die dem Verstehen von Sinn in der (...) Kommunikation durch Texte nachgeht. Das dritte Kapitel verankert dieses Sinnverstehen in einer Daseinshermeneutik, in der Verstehen als ein grundlegender Modus menschlicher Orientierung in den Sinn-Welten des Lebens in den Blick genommen wird. Das vierte Kapitel bietet Grundzüge einer theologischen Hermeneutik des christlichen Glaubens, der als Resultat der Kommunikation des Wortes Gottes durch Texte analysiert wird und sein Verstehen als hermeneutische Dynamik des Mehrfachsinns, die durch das Setzen orientierender Unterscheidungen zum Aufbau der Sinn-Welten des Glaubens führt. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie Jahrgang: 97 Heft: 2 Seiten: 196-233.

Ontological commitments and other problems concerning existence arise in connection with various aspects of logical theories. The semantics of quantification theory is usually formulated in such a manner that theorems are all and only those formulae which come out true under all interpretations in all non-empty domains. There are several approaches to include the empty domain. Paradoxically this apparent semantic extension means surrendering several formulae which are valid and intuitively plausible.

The paper discusses the problem of self-sacrifice as posed by Derrida in Foi et Savior and by Schiller in the Theosophie des Julius. Whereas Derrida understands self-sacrifice as an act of violence against oneself in order not to subject others to violence, Schiller rightly insists that one must distinguish between egotistical and altruistic self-sacrifice. But even this doesn’t go far enough: Altruistic self-sacrifice is different from suffering death as the consequence of an entirely unselfish love. Whoever loses his life out (...) of love does not give it up for others, whether selfishly or unselfishly. He loves the other—to death. Such a death is not a (self-)sacrifice. It results from a passion of love, not an act of violence against oneself. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook Jahrgang: 2013 Heft: 1 Seiten: 159-180.

The article proposes a new solution to the long-standing problem of the universality of essences in Spinoza's ontology. It argues that, according to Spinoza, particular things in nature possess unique essences, but that these essences coexist with more general, mind-dependent species-essences, constructed by finite minds on the basis of similarities that obtain among the properties of formally-real particulars. This account provides the best fit both with the textual evidence and with Spinoza's other metaphysical and epistemological commitments. The article offers new (...) readings of how Spinoza understands not just the nature of essence, but also the nature of being, reason, striving, definitions, and different kinds of knowledge. (shrink)

The prospective introduction of autonomous cars into public traffic raises the question of how such systems should behave when an accident is inevitable. Due to concerns with self-interest and liberal legitimacy that have become paramount in the emerging debate, a contractarian framework seems to provide a particularly attractive means of approaching this problem. We examine one such attempt, which derives a harm minimisation rule from the assumptions of rational self-interest and ignorance of one’s position in a future accident. We contend, (...) however, that both contractarian approaches and harm minimisation standards are flawed, due to a failure to account for the fundamental difference between those ‘involved’ and ‘uninvolved’ in an impending crash. Drawing from classical works on the trolley problem, we show how this notion can be substantiated by reference to either the distinction between negative and positive rights, or to differences in people’s claims. By supplementing harm minimisation with corresponding constraints, we can develop crash algorithms for autonomous cars which are both ethically adequate and promise to overcome certain significant practical barriers to implementation. (shrink)

Recent developments in neuroscience have inspired proposals to perform deep brain stimulation on psychopathic detainees. We contend that these proposals cannot meet important ethical requirements that hold for both medical research and therapy. After providing a rough overview of key aspects of psychopathy and the prospects of tackling this condition via deep brain stimulation, we proceed to an ethical assessment of such measures, referring closely to the distinctive features of psychopathic personality, particularly the absence of subjective suffering and a lack (...) of moral motivation. Scrutiny of these factors reveals that two essential bioethical criteria, individual medical benefit and voluntary informed consent, cannot be met in performing neurosurgical experiments or treatments on psychopathic inmates. (shrink)

The paper argues that God does not act but is creative activity, which helps to overcome evil by the possibilities of the good that it opens up for creatures in the face of evil.

How cool is the philosophy of religion? Content Type Journal Article Category Article Pages 3-19 DOI 10.1007/s11153-011-9330-5 Authors John Churchill, Phi Beta Kappa National Office, Washington, DC, USA Ingolf Dalferth, Institute of Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Religion, University of Zurich, Kirchgasse 9, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland Patrick Horn, Claremont Graduate Center, Claremont, CA, USA Jeffery Willetts, Leland School of Ministries, Richmond, VA, USA Journal International Journal for Philosophy of Religion Online ISSN 1572-8684 Print ISSN 0020-7047 Journal Volume Volume 71 Journal (...) Issue Volume 71, Number 1. (shrink)

Spinoza claims both that a thing’s essence is identical to power, and that emotions are fundamentally variations in this power. The conjunction of these two theses creates difficulties for his metaphysics and ethics alike. The three main worries concern the coherence of Spinoza’s accounts of essence, diachronic identity, and emotional “bondage,” and put in question his ability to derive ethical and psychological doctrines from his metaphysical claims. In response to these difficulties, this paper offers a new interpretation of Spinoza’s account (...) of affects and his doctrine of the identity of power and essence. It shows that what is fundamental to his ontology of affects is the relation of modification or determination, a relation central to his ontology more generally. The paper argues that we cannot simply identify power and essence but should instead take affects to modify or determine essences as particular exercises of power (particular desires, appetites, and volitions). That is, Spinozistic essences should be viewed as intrinsically determinable, with affects supplying the determinations, and as consisting not in rigid sets of determinate properties, but in ranges of variable properties. (shrink)

Este artigo tem como objetivo compreender a institucionalização e o funcionamento do Conselho de Alimentação Escolar enquanto um conselho gestor de política pública no município de Ijuí, localizado no Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, bem como analisar sua atuação e os desafios da gestão. O referencial teórico utilizado foi de conselhos gestores de políticas públicas na perspectiva da gestão social. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória, cuja estratégia de investigação foi o estudo de caso único, com abordagem qualitativa (...) dos dados coletados por meio de pesquisa documental e entrevistas. Os resultados apontam a atuação do CAE em Ijuí/RS como efetiva, apesar dos entraves enfrentados. O principal desafio identificado foi quanto à recomposição de seus membros, processo que está ocorrendo com êxito. Conclui-se que a institucionalização de um CAE ocorre a partir da interação entre os diferentes órgãos que compõem um programa governamental, como no caso do PNAE, e que o seu funcionamento depende da atuação efetiva de todos os atores envolvidos. (shrink)

It is usually assumed that individuals base their preferences for products or other items on the utility or value associated with the items. However, there is evidence that the attentional selection of an item alone already modulates the preference for that item. For instance, Janiszewski, Kuo, and Tavassoli (2013, Journal of Consumer Research) used unknown consumer products in a series of studies and found that, in a preference choice task, former target products in a visual-search task were preferred to former (...) distractor products. However, it remained unclear whether such effects can be observed when individuals have pre-existing attitudes towards products and whether attentional-selection can change the perceived value of products. Hence, the aim of the present research was to replicate the attentional-selection effect on choice with known products and examine whether selective attention affects the perceived value of products beyond choosing the items. In two experiments, we replicated the attentional-selection effect on item preference in a choice task. Items that had served as targets in the search task were preferred to previous distractors. Introducing a response deadline in the preference-choice task in Experiment 2 did not further increase this effect. However, the value of former targets was rated higher than that of former distractors. Hence, the present results indicate that attentional selection not only affects preference choices but can also increase the value of attended and selected items. (shrink)

The authors of this volume rethink our usual understanding of the relationship between faith, belief and skepticism. For some, skeptical faith is an oxymoron and faith and skepticism are mutually exclusive states or attitudes. Others argue that there is no proper faith without skepticism about faith. Taking John Schellenberg's recent work on the possibility of a skeptical faith as a starting point, the authors respond to and in some cases seek to go further than Schellenberg. In a variety of ways, (...) the papers take up the following questions: How are we to construe the relationship between faith, belief, and skepticism if we seek to understand what is characteristic of a life of faith, or of unfaith? Is belief in God necessary for faith in God to be possible? Does one need to have sufficient reasons for believing something before one is rationally entitled to having faith in something? In short, what is the relationship between faith and belief, belief and understanding, understanding and experience, and experience and skepticism? (shrink)

The article proposes a new solution to the long-standing problem of the universality of essences in Spinoza's ontology. It argues that, according to Spinoza, particular things in nature possess unique essences, but that these essences coexist with more general, mind-dependent species-essences, constructed by finite minds on the basis of similarities that obtain among the properties of formally-real particulars. This account provides the best fit both with the textual evidence and with Spinoza's other metaphysical and epistemological commitments. The article offers new (...) readings of how Spinoza understands not just the nature of essence, but also the nature of being, reason, striving, definitions, and different kinds of knowledge. (shrink)

Papers presented at a symposium held Oct. 13-14, 2000, at the Institut f'ur Hermeneutik und Religionsphilosophie in Z'urich.