Der Gedanke, der im Folgenden artikuliert und entfaltet werden soll, besagt, dass Sinn und Gedächtnis in einem internen Zusammenhang stehen. Das heißt näherhin: Sinn ist gedächtnishaft, und Gedächtnis ist nur richtig zu verstehen, wenn es von der zeitlichen Tiefenstruktur des Sinns aus expliziert wird. Die Weise, in der dieser Gedanke ausgeführt und begründet werden soll, ist eine systematische Entwicklung in zwei Zügen: Zum einen gilt es, die basale und implizite Gedächtnishaftigkeit des Sinns zu charakterisieren; zum anderen werden Formen (...) des expliziten Gedächtnisses auf dieser Grundlage neu verstanden und als Reflexionsfiguren der Zeitlichkeit des Sinns ausgewiesen. Die Absicht, die ich dabei verfolge, ist eine doppelte: die irreduzible, in der jüngeren Sprachphilosophie auffällig ignorierte Zeitlichkeit des Sinns ins Licht zu setzen; die Bedeutung und den Wert von Formen des Gedächtnisses zu erschließen, die auch Teilen der jüngeren kulturwissenschaftlichen Diskussion als defizient oder irrelevant erscheinen. (shrink)

This article (in German) presents a sustained critique of Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht's conceptual dichotomy of linguistic meaning and bodily or perceptual presence (as developed in his "Production of Presence: What Meaning Cannot Convey" and other writings). It is argued that Gumbrecht's fear of a "loss of presence" in contemporary philosophical reflection is based on a certain formalist-structuralist view of language that is, although predominant in some quarters during the 20th century, ultimately untenable. The right way to make room (...) for a contemplation of presence in Gumbrecht's sense is not to accept this mistaken view of language and then introduce presence as language's other, but rather to follow philosophers like Gadamer, later Wittgenstein, and McDowell in developing a post-formalist view of embodied language, according to which perceptual presence is essentially meaningful and linguistic meaning is essentially phenomenologically present. (shrink)

Purpose. The paper considered the explication of the concept of "Sinn des Lebens" within the framework of Western philosophy and psychology of the ХІХ-ХХІ centuries. On the basis of this, the role of this concept in contemporary theoretical discussions and psychological and psychotherapeutic practices is understood. Theoretical basis. The authors believe that understanding the concept of "Sinn des Lebens" is possible only based on the synthesis of modern analytical philosophy methods with the methodological guidelines of modern psychology, in (...) particular logotherapy. Originality. The authors have proved that the problem of "meaning of life" is not an "eternal problem" of philosophy, but arises only in the early nineteenth century as a reflection on European secularization and widespread individualistic values and becomes extremely relevant gaining different interpretations at the beginning of the twentieth century based on the crisis of the sensory values of modern man. Conclusions. The concept of "Sinn des Lebens" originated in the philosophy of the German Romantics and gained philosophical significance only in the works by Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Russian philosophy and literature give priority to the meaning of life in ethical and anthropological studies, focusing on its religious intentions. Analytical philosophy and existentialism appear to be diametrically opposed to the life-purpose anthropological problems, but they attempt to solve this problem by understanding the absurdity of human existence and language from different angles of view. The most reasonable concept of meaning in psychology can be considered Frankl’s logotherapy, which, despite certain drawbacks, remains the most significant in modern Western psychology. Modern philosophical studies on the problems of the meaning of life, despite their prudent analyticity and systematic nature, have not found credible criteria and means of human life self-reflection yet and have further incentives to develop their methodological and philosophical considerations. However, the diversity of interpretations of the concept of "meaning of life" that exists in modern scientific literature needs further reflection. (shrink)

Hegels Philosophie eröffnet einen tiefen Blick auf das Phänomen von Religion – ein Blick, der dem Feuer der aufklärerischen Kritik standhält. Die Religion vergegenwärtigt den Lebenssinn in seiner Totalität. Welche bleibende Relevanz hat dies? Hegel's philosophy offers a deep insight into the phenomenon of religion—one that withstands the fire of Enlightenment criticism. Religion reveals the meaning of life in its totality. What lasting relevance does this have?

Three stages can be identified in Heidegger's thought. First, he searchs fruitlessly for the meaning of being. In a second step truth emerges from a general unveilment process, which includes man. In the third stage the truth of being is a time-space event and destiny.

Die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens umfasst große Menschheitsfragen: Was hält die Welt im Innersten zusammen? Was wollen wir, und lohnt das, was wir wollen und was wir tun? Ist das Leben wert, gelebt zu werden? Und welche Rolle spielt, falls es ihn gibt, Gott?

Philosophical theories of the good life usually focus on at least one of three as- pects by which a human life can be assessed: well-being, meaning or morality. This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the idea of meaning in life. It argues that the dimension of meaning in a human life is conditioned by time; an idea which has so far not been sufficiently considered. Firstly, Susan Wolf's approach is presented, in which (...) class='Hi'>meaning is understood to be comple- tely "timeless". Next, based on considerations by Cheshire Calhoun and Antti Kauppinen, it is discussed why and how one should include temporal aspects so that one obtains an understanding of meaning that is "time-relative". Lastly, a concept of meaning that is "time-constituted" is outlined, which makes clear that a temporal reference structure is a condition for all meaning in life. (shrink)

This paper discusses two notational variance views with respect to indexical singular reference and content: the view that certain forms of Millianism are at bottom notational variants of a Fregean theory of reference, the Fregean Notational Variance Claim; and the view that certain forms of Fregeanism are at bottom notational variants of a direct reference theory, the Millian Notational Variance Claim. While the former claim rests on the supposition that a direct reference theory could be easily turned into a particular (...) version of a neo-Fregean one by showing that it is bound to acknowledge certain senselike entities, the latter claim is based upon the supposition that a neo-Fregean theory could be easily turned into a particular version of a Millian one by showing that De Re senses are theoretically superfluous and hence eliminable. The question how many accounts of singular reference and content are we confronted with here — Two different (and mutually antagonistic) theories? Or just two versions of what is in essence the same theory? — is surely of importance to anyone interested in the topic. And this question should be answered by means of a careful assessment of the soundness of each of the above claims. Before trying to adjudicate between the two accounts, one would naturally want to know whether or not there are indeed two substantially disparate accounts. Grosso modo, if the Fregean Claim were sound then we would have a single general conception of singular reference to deal with, viz. Fregeanism; likewise, if the Millian Claim were sound we would be facing a single general conception of singular reference, viz. Millianism. My view is that both the Fregean Notational Variance Claim and its Millian counterpart are wrong, though naturally on different grounds. I have argued elsewhere that the Fregean Notational Variance Claim - considered in its application to the semantics of propositional-attitude reports involving proper names — is unsound. I intend tosupplement in this paper such a result by trying to show that the Millian Claim - taken in its application to the semantics of indexical expressions — should also be rated as incorrect. I focus on a certain set of arguments for the Millian Claim, arguments which I take as adequately representing the general outlook of the Millian theorist with respect to neo-Fregeanism about indexicals and which involve issues about the cognitive significance of sentences containing indexical terms. (shrink)

According to Cassirer, humanity is defined by the activity of the spirit. In other places, he attempts to explain the transition from ›life‹ to ›spirit‹, but this proj- ect seems hampered by his taking spirit to be a phenomenon of consciousness. Plessner’s »aesthesiology« opens up an alternative route. He discloses the mean- ing of ›spirit‹ or ›understanding‹ by an inquiry concerning the work of the senses in the context of behavior. This paper shows that for Plessner behavior is closely related (...) to its environment while at the same time not restricted to a biological programme. (shrink)

The question of meaning is perceived as being at the root of religion. Philosophy presents secular competition with its radical criticism of the concretizations used in theological language and of the way meaning is derived from "holy" - in other words inviolable - values of a god. This consideration of meaning has not always dealt with worldly purposes and other-worldly goals. Rather it has revolved around achieving a reasonable understanding of the subject itself and the right position (...) in relation to it or - as in the case of the meaning of human life - living a good life overall. (shrink)

This paper is an exegetical study of Heidegger’s concept of Sinn (meaning). Heidegger’s comments regarding the notion is analysed from three different perspective: In the first section, the relationship between Sinn and worldhood is analysed. The conclusion is that an entity can have Sinn for Dasein, only insofar it can enter into the network of functional relations constituting the world. Since the world is constituted by social practices and customs, Sinn is also derivately thus constituted. (...) In the second section, the relationship between Sinn and understanding is analysed. The conclusion is that Sinn is a specific conceptuality that functions as the background of understanding. In the third section, the relationship between Sinn and language is analysed, with the result that Sinn is a conceptual scheme. It is concluded that Sinn is a socially and historically constituted conceptual scheme, which functions as the background of all understanding. (shrink)

In what is probably the most unwieldy volume of essays ever published, 50 contemporary authors address themselves to aspects of a theme whose generality invites an indefinite number of specifications: Being and Meaning. The closest thing to a perceptible trend in these various essays is the marked influence of Husserl and Heidegger. Authors from many countries have contributed, but with six exceptions their work is presented in German translation.--D. D. O.

Ist es sinnvoll, krank zu sein? – Diese seltsam anmutende Frage bietet den Auftakt für eine philosophische Untersuchung, was unter dem Sinn einer Krankheit verstanden werden kann und was das Interessante an diesen Konzeptionen ist. Ausgangspunkt ist die Feststellung, dass der Ausdruck „Sinn“ offenkundig mehrdeutig ist. Man kann damit sprachliche Bedeutung, Zwecke oder Motive meinen. Es kann aber auch um den narrativen Sinn im biographischen Leben oder um das Verhältnis der Krankheit zum Lebenssinn eines Menschen gehen. Gerade (...) die letzten beiden Lesarten erweisen sich als aufschlussreich: die Einbindung der Krankheiten in den Lebenslauf und Krankheiten als Anstoß, sich über das eigene Leben Gedanken zu machen. Krankheiten könnten so den Effekt haben, ein sinnvolleres Leben zu führen, sie könnten uns aber auch die ultimative Sinnlosigkeit unseres Daseins vor Augen führen. (shrink)

In this work, Michael Steinmann provides a systematic reconstruction of Heidegger's thoughts on language, based on his early works on logic, on 'Being and Time' and 'On the Way to Language.

This article is concerned with frege's "sinn und bedeutung", As an examination of (1) a statement and analysis of frege's argument, And (2) specification and justification of a meaning of 'sense' which fits the data of frege's discussion and does not make 'sense' a subsistent entity. (staff).

The Meaning of Things explores the meanings of household possessions for three generation families in the Chicago area, and the place of materialism in American culture. Now regarded as a keystone in material culture studies, Halton's first book is based on his dissertation and coauthored with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. First published by Cambridge University Press in 1981, it has been translated into German, Italian, Japanese, and Hungarian. The Meaning of Things is a study of the significance of material possessions (...) in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling. Translations: Il significato degli oggetti. Italian translation. Rome: Edizione Kappa, 1986. Der Sinn der Dinge. German translation. Munich: Psychologie Verlags Union, 1989. Japanese translation 2007. Targyaink tukreben. Hungarian translation, 2011. (shrink)

This dissertation concentrates on the problem of the meaning of dreams and hysterical representations according to Freud. As a result of his contacts with Breuer and his treatment of patients, Freud began to look for the psychical meaning of dreams and discovered a connection with previous traumatic experiences. The meaning of a symptom is the "where from," "to where," and "what for.".

In seinem Bestseller uber den Sinn des Sinns wagt der bekannte Philosoph Volker Gerhardt eine Neuvermessung des umkampften Terrains zwischen Glauben und Wissen - und erklart dem aufgeklarten Menschen, warum es auch heute noch vernunftig ist, mit Kopf und Herz nah bei Gott zu sein. In Auseinandersetzung mit Platon und Kant entwickelt Gerhardt dabei eine rationale Theologie des Sinns, die im unhintergehbaren Glauben an das Ganze die Vernunft immer wieder aus den Ruinen ihrer eigenen Dialektik auferstehen lasst. Die Beitrage (...) des vorliegenden interdisziplinaren Diskussionsbandes loten nun im direkten Austausch mit Gerhardt die Chancen und Risiken einer rationalen Sinn-Theologie aus. In der Vielfaltigkeit der angebotenen religionsphilosophischen und theologischen Stellungnahmen eignet sich der Band auch als eine exzellente Einfuhrung in die gegenwartigen Debattenlagen um den Postsakularismus. (shrink)

Unter ‚Sinn im Leben‘ verstehe ich einen persönlichen, intrinsischen Wert für einen Akteur A. Die auf den ersten Blick widersprüchlich erscheinende doppelte Intuition, dass ein SL nur subjektiv aufgefasst werden kann, zugleich aber objektiv ‚gut‘ ist, wird von Susan Wolf als ein Argument zugunsten einer ‚hybriden‘ subjektiv-objektiven Theorie des SL vorgebracht. Sie bringt ihr Verständnis von SL auf die mittlerweile sehr bekannte Formel „meaning in life arises when subjective attraction meets objective attractiveness“. In meinem Beitrag verteidige ich eine (...) Variante eines in einem weiten Sinne ‚hybriden‘, d. h. subjektive und objektive Merkmale verbindenden Verständnisses von SL. Ich entwickle diese Variante, die als ‚schwach objektivistisch‘ bezeichnet werden könnte, im Anschluss an Harry G. Frankfurt. Ich zeige, dass Frankfurts Position, der nicht zuletzt von Wolf ein ‚Subjektivismus‘ vorgehalten wird, mit dem hier skizzierten ‚schwachen‘ Objektivitätsverständnis kompatibel ist. Die Stärke des hier vorgeschlagenen SL-Verständnisses liegt darin, dass eine inhaltliche Evaluierung vermieden, zugleich aber der genannten doppelten Intuition entsprochen wird. Eine ethische oder moralische Evaluierung der von einem Akteur zum SL auserkorenen Werte bleibt davon unberührt. (shrink)

WEGE ZUM SINN WAYS TO SENSE. Generally known seems to be the fact that, somehow, sense and value are involved in purposes, aims and temporality. Less known are the details, the concrete forms of such connections. And even less: the thesis of certain philosophers pretending that values produce sense automatically. Yet: What are 'values'? What is 'sense'? How and why does it happen? Subjectively? Objectively? In situations? By means of Being and Nothing? Due to logics? So many questions!

My argument is that Chalmers’ Zombie fiction and his rigid-designator-argument going back on Kripke seems to come down to a petitio principii. Rather, at the core it appears to be more related to the essential ‘privacy’ of the phenomenal internal perspective. In return for Chalmers I argue that the ‘principle of self-preservation’ of living organisms necessarily implies subjectivity and the emergence of meaning. The comparison with a robot proves instructive. The mode of ‘mere physical’ being is transcended if, in (...) the form of phenomenal perception, meaning appears on the stage of higher animals – a transition explained here as an emergence phenomenon based on the systemic co-operation of perception, evaluation and action (‘percept-eval-act-system’). Some fundamental considerations are added: Those consequences implied by the principle of self-preservation reveal the natural-biological origin of the organism – primarily seeming a more insignificant circumstance – as a momentous fundamental difference (end-in-itself-character, subjectivity, constitution of meaning) compared to technical artefacts (robot). And the emergentist approach indicates the – maybe paradoxical – possibility of a dualism of physical and psychical phenomena in an overall physical system, that is not dualistic at the same time. (shrink)

The central theme of this volume is love, which conquers the rift between man and that which surrounds him. The meaning of human existence is sought in the awareness of the same, incomprehensible divine presence in man and in the other. Although this work owes too much to Heidegger to stand as an original contribution, it is nevertheless well written and sincere.--K. H.

In order to tackle the question of a meaningful life, the author is firstly concerned with how verbal expressions become meaningful. The meaning of a verbal expression consists in giving reasons for convictions, actions, and emotive attitudes. The giving and taking of reasons implies a permanent self-assurance of our own actions, our own convictions, and our own emotive attitudes. We assure ourselves of the meaning of life by weighing and exchanging reasons. Reasons never express merely subjective preferences or (...) epistemic states. Therefore, they always refer to something objective. (shrink)

‘道’와 ‘德’에 관한 한 리하르트 빌헬름은 자기 이전의 모든 역어들을 버리고 ‘의미(Sinn)’와 ‘생명(Leben)’이라는 낯선 역어를 택했다. 본 논문은『老子』의 ‘道’와 ‘德’이 빌헬름에 의해 ‘의미’와 ‘생명’으로 탈바꿈되는 경위와 그 사상적 배경을 밝힌다.BR 빌헬름의 ‘道’ 번역에 영감을 준 것은 요한복음과『파우스트』다. 파우스트는 요한복음 1장 1절의 “태초에 말씀이 있었다”를 “태초에 의미가 있었다”로 개역하는데, 빌헬름이 보기에 ‘로고스’와 ‘道’의 함의를 공유한 『파우스트』의 ‘Sinn’이야말로 ‘道’에 대응하는 독일어 단어로 안성맞춤이었다. 빌헬름의 ‘Sinn’과 『老子』의 ‘道’는 대개 길 · 방향 · 지향 · 의미 · 진리 · 말 · (...) 의식 · 사유 등의 함의를 공유한다.BR 빌헬름의 ‘德’ 번역에 영감을 준 것은『莊子』「天地」편과 요한복음 1장 4절이다. 빌헬름은 『莊子』의 “物得以生, 謂之德”라는 문장을 근거로 ‘德’에서 ‘생명’을 이끌어냈다. 요한복음 1장 4절의 “그(말씀) 안에 생명이 있었으니 그 생명은 사람들의 빛이었다”라는 구절은 ‘德’과 ‘생명’의 연결고리를 형성한다. ‘말씀’을 ‘道’로 바꾸어 읽으면 생명이 道안에 있다 하였으니 道는 생명의 근원이다. 생명이 道안에 있다 함은 곧 德이 道안에 있다는 말과 다르지 않다. ‘德’을 ‘생명’으로 번역한 이유다.BR 빌헬름은 중국 고전 번역 작업에서 그리스도교를 사상적 배경으로 삼고 필요에 따라 영감의 원천으로 활용했을지언정 중국 고전을 의도적으로 ‘그리스도교화’할 생각은 없었다.『성경』으로부터 영감을 얻었지만 끝내 그리스도교화 되지 않고 『老子』의 본의에 뿌리내리려 무던히 애쓴 번역, 이것이 빌헬름의 ‘道’ · ‘德’ 번역이고 『老子』 번역이다. (shrink)

The debate over whether the basic principles of Frege's philosophy of semantics committed him to the hierarchy of indirect senses is adjudicated. It is demonstrated by means of a simple device that Frege was indeed committed to the hierarchy.

What does it mean to lead a good life? This anthology examines this question from an interdisciplinary philosophical and theological perspective, assembling contributions from German and international experts. The individual essays are representative of the current state ofresearch. Suitable as an introductory work, the volume surveys the problems that prevail in this area of thought.

The article reviews the book Śmierć, nieśmiertelność, sens życia. Egzystencjalny wymiar filozofii Ludwiga Wittgensteina [Death, Immortality, the Meaning of Life: The Existential Dimension of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophy], by Ireneusz Ziemiński.

In modern times, religion seems to have taken leave of itself to the extent that, conversely, the scientific, rational view of the world has taken on this task. Apparently there is an exclusive relationship between the two, which makes peaceful and equal coexistence more or less impossible. In this volume of the "Philosophy and Psychology in Dialogue" series, Martin Klüners and Jörn Rüsen analyze the role religion plays in human existence and life. While Klüners interprets religion historically as a "pre-scientific" (...) soul science and sees the antagonism of the principle of reality and pleasure as responsible for the opposition of reason and belief, Rüsen locates religion within historical thought. Like history itself, religion appears to be a significant factor in the cultural orientation of human life practice. (shrink)

Geht es Ihnen auch manchmal so, dass Sie von grundsätzlichen Fragen angerührt werden? Fragen wie "Wer bin ich?" oder "Was ist der Sinn des Ganzen?" Dann sind Sie hier genau richtig! Identität und Sinn sind die Themen, um die dieses Buch kreist. Gekreist wird dabei in Form eines Gedankenspiels um die Identität eines Fussballs, der sich nacheinander in die Identitäten des Spielballs, des Einzelspielers, des Teammitglieds, des Zuschauers, des Publikums, des mit der Welt Verbundenen und des das All (...) Ahnenden versetzt und schliesslich lernt, aus dem Tanz auf verschiedenen Hochzeiten eine eigene Hyper-Identität und damit auch einen eigenen Hyper-Sinn zu schöpfen. Wir sind mehr liefert in lockerer Form Impulse für Ihre Suche nach Identität und Sinn - unabhängig davon, ob Sie sich für Fussball interessieren oder nicht... (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to show that the plasticity of sense, the fact that tokens of the same type frequently express different Sinne, does not constitute a threat to human linguistic communication. The first part presents the phenomenon. I try to make clear that the appropriate notion of meaning for natural languages is not the one developed in logical semantics; meanings in natural languages are not fixed once and for all, stable. Consequently, What Is Said by an (...) utterance is not something determined exclusively by literal meaning. The second part shows that the plasticity of sense was known in the ideational theories of language, especially that of Arnauld & Nicole. The third part introduces the notions of Plan and Mindreading and show how they contribute to the success of communication.O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar que a plasticidade do sentido, o fato de que os exemplares de um tipo, freqüentemente, não expressam o mesmo Sinn, não constitui uma ameaça para a comunicação lingüística humana. A primeira parte apresenta o fenômeno da plasticidade do sentido. Tentarei mostrar que a noção de significado apropriada para as línguas naturais não é aquela desenvolvida na semântica lógica; o significado, nas línguas naturais, não é estável, fixado de uma vez por todas. Conseqüentemente, o que é dito em uma enunciação não é algo determinado exclusivamente pelo significado literal. A segunda parte mostra que a plasticidade do sentido era conhecida nas teorias ideacionais da linguagem, particularmente a de Arnauld & Nicole. A terceira parte introduz as noções de Plano e Leitura de mente e mostra como elas contribuem a explicar o sucesso da comunicação. (shrink)

The author states: "in a recent article searle has shown the odd irrelevance of russell's criticisms of frege in the famous paper 'on denoting'. I here offer an explanation of the oddity: russell had excusably, But wrongly, Conflated frege's distinction between sinn and bedeutung with his own distinction between what an expression 'means' and what it 'denotes'.".

The paper aims to complete the epistemological opposition of genesis and validity by discussing two types of their interconnection. On the one hand, it deals with genealogical arguments in the context of practical reasoning. This applies for positive justification (e.g. by tradition) as well as for negative delegitimisation (for instance Nietzsche's genealogical critique of morality). On the other hand, it is about the hermeneutic explication of signification. Historical reflection offers ways to understand the meaning of an institution, the (perhaps (...) hidden) signification of a thesis or a tradition. An informative paradigm thereof is the self-understanding of philosophy concerning its own issues and definition. (shrink)