Weite Teile der katholischen Dogmatik und Fundamentaltheologie dieser Tage sind in nicht unerheblichem Maße von dem geprägt, was man”Letztbegründung“nennen könnte. Diese Denkrichtung sucht in der Tradition der Aufklärung und des deutschen Idealismus nach letzten, philosophisch ausweisbaren Gründen für die Glaubensinhalte der katholischen Theologie. Der Autor zeichnet Thomas Pröppers, Hansjürgen Verweyens und Klaus Müllers Angänge nach und prüft, ob ihr Anspruch auf einen letztgültigen Sinn gelingen kann. Die Lektüre ausgewählter Texten von Emmanuel Levinas und Jacques Derrida lässt erhebliche Zweifel am (...) Erfolg einer Letztbegründung aufkommen. Darüber hinaus gibt ein Durchgang durch lehramtliche und biblische Texte zu bedenken, ob ein solcher Anspruch theologisch überhaupt erhoben werden muss. Gilt nicht auch und gerade nach der philosophischen Aufklärung: "Mein Angesicht kannst Du nicht sehen. Nicht sieht mich der Mensch und lebt."? (shrink)

ABSTRACT Many people now believe that human reproductive cloning – once sufficiently safe and effective – should be permitted on the grounds that it will allow the otherwise infertile to have children that are biologically closely related to them. However, though it is widely believed that the possession of a close genetic link to our children is morally significant and valuable, we argue that such a view is erroneous. Moreover, the claim that the genetic link is valuable is pernicious; it (...) tends to give rise to highly undesirable consequences, and therefore should be combated rather than pandered to. The emphasis on the genetic is unwarranted and unfortunate; rather than giving us moral reason to support reproductive cloning in the case of infertility, the fact that cloning requests are likely to be motivated by the genetic argument gives us reason to oppose its availability. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Many people now believe that human reproductive cloning – once sufficiently safe and effective – should be permitted on the grounds that it will allow the otherwise infertile to have children that are biologically closely related to them. However, though it is widely believed that the possession of a close genetic link to our children is morally significant and valuable, we argue that such a view is erroneous. Moreover, the claim that the genetic link is valuable is pernicious; it (...) tends to give rise to highly undesirable consequences, and therefore should be combated rather than pandered to. The emphasis on the genetic is unwarranted and unfortunate; rather than giving us moral reason to support reproductive cloning in the case of infertility, the fact that cloning requests are likely to be motivated by the genetic argument gives us reason to oppose its availability. (shrink)

Christian Lotz shows in this book that Husserl's Phenomenology and its key concept--subjectivity--is based on a concrete anthropological structure, such as self-affection and the bodily experience of the other. The analysis of the sensual sphere and the lived Body forces Husserl to an ongoing correction of his strong methodological assumptions. Subjectivity turns out to be an ambivalent phenomenon, as the subject is unable to fully present itself to itself, and therefore is forced to allow for a fundamental non-transparency in (...) itself. (shrink)

Introduction The contributors to this volume were asked to write on some aspect of a problem area which has been the focus of much controversy, ...

Social health disparities are increasing in most countries around the world. During the past two decades, a large amount of evidence has emerged about the health consequences of social inequalities. Despite such evidence, the concept of medical fairness, as traditionally defined by the World Medical Association, has remained unchallenged and even reinforced by some scholars who emphasize that doctors should remain neutral to the socioeconomic status of their patients when providing clinical care. The inconsistency between public health and clinical care (...) perspectives raises tension between a narrow interpretation of the ethics of justice, which stresses the importance of equality and impartiality, and the ethics of care, which highlights the importance of particularity and individuality in clinical practice. This article analyzes the concept of medical fairness using the emerging evidence that demonstrates the impact of social health disparities on clinical care. It proposes a new approach of medical fairness based on equity rather than on equality and provides a consistent ethical framework based on Paul Ricoeur’s three levels of medical judgments. This integrative framework provides a better balance between public health and clinical care in medical practice. (shrink)

The article critically assesses Ulrich Beck’s body of work and its importance for contemporary sociology. It demonstrates that Beck’s elaboration of his original theory of the ‘risk society’ into a theory of the ‘world risk society’, ‘cosmopolitanism’ and ‘metamorphosis’ involved several key theoretical innovations. Firstly, Beck adjusted his notion of risk to include the threat of international terrorism in his diagnosis of the risk society. Secondly, he introduced a distinction between ‘cosmopolitanism’ and ‘cosmopolitization’ in order to capture the specificity of (...) contemporary social change. Thirdly and most recently, Beck outlined a theory of ‘the metamorphosis of the world’ which marks an important shift of emphasis from ‘the negative side effects of goods’ to ‘the positive side effects of bads’. In conclusion, the article identifies a number of theoretical ambiguities and unresolved questions in Beck’s theory. (shrink)

L'article est consacré à la procréation médicalement assistée et aux techniques médicales qui la concernent: les concepts bioéthiques, l'option anthropologique, le dialogue interdisciplinaire et la philosophie de la nature impliqués sont étudiés. Les problèmes concrets du diagnostic préimplantatoire, de la sélection de l'embryon, du clônage, et de la compétence du médecin en matière de conseil sont analysés par l'A.

BackgroundResearch using data from medical care promises to advance medical science and improve healthcare. Academia is not the only sector that expects such research to be of great benefit. The research-based health industry is also interested in so-called ‘real-world’ health data to develop new drugs, medical technologies or data-based health applications. While access to medical data is handled very differently in different countries, and some empirical data suggest people are uncomfortable with the idea of companies accessing health information, this paper (...) aims to advance the ethical debate about secondary use of medical data generated in the public healthcare sector by for-profit companies for medical research (ReuseForPro).MethodsWe first clarify some basic concepts and our ethical-normative approach, then discuss and ethically evaluate potential claims and interests of relevant stakeholders: patients as data subjects in the public healthcare system, for-profit companies, the public, and physicians and their healthcare institutions. Finally, we address the tensions between legitimate claims of different stakeholders in order to suggest conditions that might ensure ethically sound ReuseForPro.ResultsWe conclude that there are good reasons to grant for-profit companies access to medical data if they meet certain conditions: among others they need to respect patients’ informational rights and their actions need to be compatible with the public’s interest in health benefit from ReuseForPro. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Frühmittelalterliche Studien Jahrgang: 49 Heft: 1 Seiten: 49-90.

A Criticism of Poiëtical Reason. Remarks on Epistemological Philosophy of Technological Shaping. According to Aristoteles human reason can be divided into three independent properties: ϑεωρια,πραξισ, and πoιησισ. The latter is required for the technological construction of actuality. Scrutinizing to the conception of μιμησισ it can be figured out that technological acting intends a representation of truth, not an imitation of nature. The concept of nature developed by sciences of modern times is discussed in its lawful disposition. To give some features (...) of an epistemological philosophy of technological shaping first the difference between technological rules and laws of nature is examined. Second, three attributes of technological sciences in distinction to natural sciences are described. Finally, some shaping rules used by engineering sciences are presented. These rules need an epistemological investigation put through other wise than the philosophy of science. (shrink)

La présente étude se propose de repérer les traits principaux de la théorie des systèmes autopoïétiques qui a, depuis le début des années 80, fortement marqué les discours des sciences sociales en Allemagne. Notre analyse se réfère aux concepts-clé de ce nouveau paradigme, élaboré par Niklas Luhmann, et montre leur fonctionnement. La genèse du sens telle quelle s'opère dans la société moderne se trouve au centre de l'intérèt. Avec ses trois dimensions constituantes , le sens peut être mieux observé dans (...) l'ensemble des systèmes, qui est englobé par un environnement de plus en plus complexe. Finalement nous observerons, à titre d'essai, le système littéraire pour y relever les possibilités et les limites de cette nouvelle approche.In the past decade, the mainstream-discourses in German Social Sciences have been strongly influenced by the theoretical design proposed by Niklas Luhman, which is generally called Systems Theory. In the present article I will discuss the dominant conceptions of this extremely abstract approach and focalize my reflections on the problem of the sense : How does sense evolve in social systems and how can it be observed ? Is a better observation garanteed by the unfolding three dimensions of sense ? An exemple like the literary system will show the possibilities and limits of this new paradigm in Social Sciences. (shrink)

With the advent of powerful parallel computers, efforts have commenced to simulate complete mammalian brains. However, so far none of these efforts has produced outcomes close to explaining even the behavioral complexities of animals. In this article, we suggest four challenges that ground this shortcoming. First, we discuss the connection between hypothesis testing and simulations. Typically, efforts to simulate complete mammalian brains lack a clear hypothesis. Second, we treat complications related to a lack of parameter constraints for large-scale simulations. To (...) demonstrate the severity of this issue, we review work on two small-scale neural systems, the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion and the Caenorhabditis elegans nervous system. Both of these small nervous systems are very thoroughly, but not completely understood, mainly due to issues with variable and plastic parameters. Third, we discuss the hierarchical structure of neural systems as a principled obstacle to whole-brain simulations. Different organizational levels imply qualitative differences not only in structure, but in choice and appropriateness of investigative technique and perspective. The challenge of reconciling different levels also undergirds the challenge of simulating and hypothesis testing, as modeling a system is not the same thing as simulating it. Fourth, we point out that animal brains are information processing systems tailored very specifically for the ecological niches the respective animals live in. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Jahrbuch für Wissenschaft und Ethik Jahrgang: 21 Heft: 1 Seiten: 121-146.