Since its discovery in 1959 the Aharonov-Bohm effect has continuously been the cause for controversial discussions of various topics in modern physics, e.g. the reality of gauge potentials, topological effects and nonlocalities. In the present paper we juxtapose the two rival interpretations of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. We show that the conception of nonlocality encountered in the Aharonov-Bohm effect is closely related to the nonseparability which is common in quantum mechanics albeit distinct from it due to its topological nature. We propose (...) a third alternative interpretation based on the loop space of holonomies which serves to solve some of the problems and we trace back the topological nonlocality and thereby the Aharonov-Bohm effect to their quantum mechanical origin. All three discussed interpretations are, of course, empirically equivalent. In fact, they present us with an instructive case study for the thesis of theory underdetermination by empirical data. (shrink)

In this text, Giorgio Agamben argues that the concept of democracy attests to a political, ontological amphibology: on the one side, democracy describes a constitution of a political order ; on the other side, democracy is a certain form of administration. It is argued that this amphibology can be located in the political theories of Aristotle and Jean-Jacques Rousseau who have been instrumental in forming our present conception of politics. Consequently, we misunderstand the fundamental nature of politics, and any hopes (...) of genuine political life must therefore break with this tradition of Western political philosophy. (shrink)

Intellectual historians have tended to focus on the most radical intellectuals of the counter-revolution such as Joseph de Maistre and Louis de Bonald, but the counter-revolution was an intellectually composite movement with many intellectual currents and ideas. In this article, I shed light on the composite character of the counter-revolution by focusing on one of its most moderate members, the comte de Montlosier. The article presents contextualised analysis of Montlosier’s conception of moderation, his theory of politics, his critique of fellow (...) counter-revolutionaries, and his ideas for a new aristocratic order build on public opinion and separation of powers. I argue that Montlosier’s moderate politics reflected a moderate enlightenment approach to politics, which was neither wholly rationalist nor wholly traditionalist. Rather, it was an attempt to find a middle ground between the two integrating a conservative view of history with a sociological approach to power and politics. I furthermore argue that even if Montlosier was unsuccessful in his endeavours to moderate the counter-revolution, he nonetheless provided a moderate response to it that would become integral to nineteenth-century conservative and liberal ideas. (shrink)

This article investigates the theory of an imperative mandate as presented in the radical French revolutionary Jean-François Varlet’s text Project for a Special and Imperative Mandate from 1792. This text is taken as, and shown to be, representative for a widespread understanding of radical democracy during the French Revolution in which deputies were not understood as ‘representatives’ but as ‘mandataries’ who were legally bound to follow the instructions of their commettants. As an essential part of this radical conception of democracy, (...) social movements were to be constantly mobilized and able to supervise the political system. This entails a shift in the balance of power from the state to the social movements, and as such it expresses a different conception of democracy than that of liberal democracy with its rule of law and state monopoly of violence. (shrink)

The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s conception and critique of sovereignty has won him wide and well-deserved acclamation. In this article, however, it is argued that Agamben’s conception of sovereignty is somewhat misplaced, and, as a consequence, his positive political project of developing a ‘destituent power’ is highly deficient in terms of construing a popular and viable political alternative. The critique of Agamben is developed through a close reading of Aristotle’s Politics and his notion of kurion. It is argued that Agamben’s (...) flawed conception of sovereignty reemerges symptomatically in his extremely problematic reading of Aristotle’s Politics, and that a viable political alternative to both Agamben’s own project and the conception of politics that he criticizes can be developed through an alternative and closer reading of Aristotle. (shrink)

In this article, I analyze the relation between ontology and practical philosophy in Cicero’s work and the role Hellenistic philosophy plays within the work of Giorgio Agamben. I discuss the relation between life and ontology, between philosophy as a guide to living and philosophy as the study of being. Unlike philosophers who treat Hellenistic philosophy as a form of therapy, I show how Agamben interprets Hellenistic philosophy as oppressive by turning the theory of being into an injunction of having-to-be. For (...) Agamben, every philosophy implies a certain form of life, and it is thus impossible to distinguish between ontology and living. The aim of philosophy, therefore, is not to be therapeutic but rather to develop an ontology that will allow for humanity to live without oppression. Through a detailed reading of Cicero’s concept of “nature,” I develop the reading and critique of Cicero suggested by Agamben.Cet article analyse la relation entre l’ontologie et la philosophie pratique dans l’oeuvre de Cicéron et le rôle joué par la philosophie hellénistique dans l’oeuvre de Giorgio Agamben. Il discute la relation entre la vie et l’ontologie, entre la philosophie comme guide de savoir-vivre et la philosophie comme étude de l’être. Contrairement aux philosophes qui traitent la philosophie hellénistique comme une forme de thérapie, je montre que Agamben interprète la philosophie hellénistique comme essentielle-ment oppressive en transformant la théorie de l'être en une injonction normative de devoir-être. Pour Agamben, toute philosophie implique une certaine forme de vie, rendant alors la distinction entre l’ontologie et la vie impossible. Ainsi, le but de la philosophie n'est pas d’être thérapeutique mais plutôt de développer une ontologie qui permettra à l’humanité de vivre sans oppression. Par une lecture du concept de la « nature » de Cicéron, je développe l’interprétation et la critique de Cicéron proposé par Agamben. (shrink)

Iwan Kirejewskij--Konstantin Leontjew--Wassilij Rosanow.--Viktor Nesmelow.--Jewgenij Trubezkoj.--Lew Schestow.

1. Bd. Das dunkle Antlitz.--2. Bd. Vom Sinn des Lebens.

This article contributes to governmentality studies and state theory by discussing how to understand the centrality and importance of the state from a governmentality perspective. It uses Giorgio Agamben’s critique of Michel Foucault’s governmentality approach as a point of departure for re-investigating Foucault as a thinker of the state. It focuses on Foucault’s notion of the state as a process of ‘statification’ which emphasizes the state as something constantly produced and reproduced by processes and practices of government, administration and acclamation. (...) As a result of this, the state appears as a given entity which is necessary for the multiplicity of governmental technologies and practices in modern society to function. Only by reference to the state can governmental practices be effective and legitimized. Finally, the article conceptualizes the centrality of the state through Foucault’s notions of the state as a ‘practico-reflexive prism’ and a ‘principle of intelligibility’. (shrink)

This article proposes to interpret Surah 97 based on research undertaken in the framework of the Corpus Coranicum project. The first part scrutinizes Christopn Luxenberg’s seriously flawed argument that Surah 97 can be understood as a Qur’anic hymn on the Nativity of Jesus if some of its key expressions are read against the semantic background of Syriac, while the remainder of the article endeavours to develop a more tenable understanding of the text. This involves an attempt to date Surah 97 (...) relative to other Qur’anic texts and to detect possible additions to it. In addition, the article discusses the meaning and reference of its most central term, laylat al-qadr. Finally, special attention is given to the question whether the text might not, in spite of the circularity of Luxenberg’s reading, contain implicit references to the Nativity. (shrink)

Since its discovery in 1959 the Aharonov-Bohm effect has continuously been the cause for controversial discussions of various topics in modern physics, e.g. the reality of gauge potentials, topological effects and nonlocalities. In the present paper we juxtapose the two rival interpretations of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. We show that the conception of nonlocality encountered in the Aharonov-Bohm effect is closely related to the nonseparability which is common in quantum mechanics albeit distinct from it due to its topological nature. We propose (...) a third alternative interpretation based on the loop space of holonomies which serves to solve some of the problems and we trace back the topological nonlocality and thereby the Aharonov-Bohm effect to their quantum mechanical origin. All three discussed interpretations are, of course, empirically equivalent. In fact, they present us with an instructive case study for the thesis of theory underdetermination by empirical data. (shrink)

As the transaction cost theory of the firm was taking shape in the 1970s, another important movement in economics was emerging: a revival of the ‘Austrian’ tradition in economic theory associated with such economists as Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek . As Oliver Williamson has pointed out, Austrian economics is among the diverse sources for transaction cost economics. In particular, Williamson frequently cites Hayek , particularly Hayek’s emphasis on adaptation as a key problem of economic organisation . Following (...) Williamson’s lead, a reference to Hayek’s ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society’ has become almost mandatory in discussions of economic organisation . However, there are many other potential links between Austrian and transaction cost economics that have not been explored closely and exploited.This article argues that characteristically Austrian ideas about property, entrepreneurship, economic calculation, tacit knowledge, and the temporal structure of capital have important implications for theories of economic organisation, transaction cost economics in particular. Austrian economists have not, however, devoted substantial attention to the theory of the firm, preferring to focus on business-cycle theory, welfare economics, political economy, comparative economic systems, and other areas. Until recently the theory of the firm was an almost completely neglected area in Austrian economics, but over the last decade, a small Austrian literature on the firm has emerged. While these works cover a wide variety of theoretical and applied topics, their authors share the view that Austrian insights have something to offer students of firm organisation. (shrink)

Hartmann sah die Aufgabe der Philosophie nicht in der Überwindung, sondern in der kritischen Reformulierung der klassischen ontologischen Fragestellungen. In dem knappen, ausgereiften Traktat von 1949 umreißt er in dichter Zusammenschau noch einmal die Kerngedanken seines Versuchs einer neuen Grundlegung der Ontologie.

Frontmatter -- Einleitung -- Erster Teil: Allgemeiner Begriff der Kategorien -- I. Abschnitt. Die Kategorien and das ideale Sein -- 1. Kapitel. Gleichsetzung von Prinzipien und Wesenheiten -- 2. Kapitel. Aufhebung der Gleichsetzung. Die Abgrenzung -- 3. Kapitel. Die Kategorien des idealen Seins -- 4. Kapitel. Inhaltlicher Überschuß der Realkategorien -- II. Abschnitt. Ontologische Fassungen und Fehlerquellen -- 5. Kapitel. Didaktischer Wert der Vorurteile -- 6. Kapitel. Der kategoriale Chorismos und die Homonymie -- 7. Kapitel. Kategoriale Grenzüberschreitung und Heterogeneität -- (...) 8. Kapitel. Kategorialer Teleologismus und Normativismus -- 9. Kapitel. Kategorialer Formalismus -- III. Abschnitt. Erkenntnistheoretische Fassungen und Fehlerquellen -- 10. Kapitel. Neue Aufgaben der Vernunftkritik -- 11. Kapitel. Kategorialer Apriorismus und Rationalismus -- 12. Kapitel. Vorurteile in den Identitätsthesen -- 13. Kapitel. Das Vorurteil der logisch-ontologischen Identität -- 14. Kapitel. Konsequenzen aus der Kritik der Identitätsthesen -- IV. Abschnitt. Fehlerquellen der philosophischen Systematik -- 15. Kapitel. Das Vorurteil des Einheitspostulats -- 16. Kapitel. Das Vorurteil des kategorialen Dualismus -- 17. Kapitel. Das Vorurteil des Harmoniepostulats -- Zweiter Teil: Die Lehre von den Fundamentalkategorien -- I. Abschnitt. Die Schichten des Realen und die Sphären -- 18. Kapitel. Die Erkenntnissphäre und ihre Stufen -- 19. Kapitel. Das Hineinspielen der idealen und logischen Sphäre -- 20. Kapitel. Die Lehre von den Schichten des Realen -- 21. Kapitel. Schichten des Realen und Schichten der Kategorien -- 22. Kapitel. Einordnung der sekundären Sphären in die Schichten des Realen -- II. Abschnitt. Die elementaren Gegensatzkategorien -- 23. Kapitel. Die Stellung der Seinsgegensätze. Geschichtliches -- 24. Kapitel. Die Tafel der Seinsgegensätze -- 25. Kapitel. Die innere Bezogenheit in der Gegensätzlichkeit -- 26. Kapitel. Gegenseitige Überordnung und Implikation der Gegensätze -- III. Abschnitt. Die Abwandlung der Seinsgegensätze in den Schichten -- 27. Kapitel. Kategorien minimaler Abwandlung -- 28. Kapitel. Relation und Substrat, Form und Materie -- 29. Kapitel. Einheit und Mannigfaltigkeit -- 30. Kapitel. Gegensatz und Dimension, Diskretion und Kontinuität -- 31. Kapitel. Determination und Dependenz -- 32. Kapitel. Einstimmigkeit und Widerstreit -- 33. Kapitel. Element und Gefüge -- 34. Kapitel. Inneres und Äußeres -- IV. Abschnitt. Die Kategorien der Qualität -- 35. Kapitel. Das Positive und das Negative -- 36. Kapitel. Identität und Verschiedenheit -- 37. Kapitel. Allgemeinheit und Individualität -- 38. Kapitel. Die qualitative Mannigfaltigkeit -- V. Abschnitt. Kategorien der Quantität -- 39. Kapitel. Eines und Vieles -- 40. Kapitel. Das Unendliche und das Continuum der reellen Zahlen -- 41. Kapitel. Die Rechnung und das Berechenbare -- Dritter Teil: Die kategorialen Gesetze -- I. Abschnitt. Gesetze der kategorialen Geltung -- 42. Kapitel. Das Problem der kategorialen Gesetzlichkeit -- 43. Kapitel. Das Geltungsgesetz des "Prinzips" -- 44. Kapitel. Die drei übrigen Geltungssätze -- II. Abschnitt. Gesetze der kategorialen Kohärenz -- 45. Kapitel. Das Gesetz der Verbundenheit -- 46. Kapitel. Die Gesetzlichkeit der interkategorialen Relation -- 47. Kapitel. Das Wesen der kategorialen Implikation -- 48. Kapitel. Zur Geschichte und Metaphysik der kategorialen Kohärenz -- 49. Kapitel. Hegels Idee der Dialektik -- ¿II. Abschnitt. Gesetze der kategorialen Schichtung -- 50. Kapitel. Das Höhenverhältnis der Kategorien -- 51. Kapitel. Das Gesetz der Wiederkehr -- 52. Kapitel. Zur Metaphysik der kategorialen Wiederkehr -- 53. Kapitel. Gesetz der Abwandlung und Gesetz des Novums -- 54. Kapitel. Das Gesetz der Schichtendistanz -- IV. Abschnitt. Gesetze der kategorialen Dependenz -- 55. Kapitel. Schichtung und Abhängigkeit -- 56. Kapitel. Das kategoriale Grundgesetz -- 57. Kapitel. Das Gesetz der Indifferenz und die lnversionstheorien -- 58. K. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to discuss the relation between our experience in everyday life and ontological reflection. While many accounts in contemporary ontology still defend the idea that the world consists only of material objects, some new views on everyday metaphysics or social ontology which try to articulate the specific properties of the objects used and found in ordinary life have been established during the last years. In the critical ontology of Nicolai Hartmann, the social and cultural (...) dimension of our life is situated in the sphere of spiritual being [Geistiges Sein]. By investigating the methodical relation of phenomenology and critical ontology as well as specific entities (objective spirit, cultural objects), it is established that Hartmann offers a wide and methodologically reflected view which could be able to satisfy the practical significance of these entities. (shrink)

Nicolai Hartmann hat philosophische Studien zur Erkenntnistheorie, Ontologie, Ethik, Philosophie des Geistes und Naturphilosophie geschrieben. Die Beiträge des Bandes gehen davon aus, dass seine Arbeit auf all diesen Feldern im Zeichen der Verabschiedung der Systemphilosophie sowie der Begründung einer Konzeption systematischen Philosophierens steht. Im Zentrum von Hartmanns Denken steht das "Kategorienproblem", d. i. die Frage nach den elementaren Strukturen der Wirklichkeit und der menschlichen Erkenntnis. In seinem Bezug auf die philosophische Tradition und seiner Hinwendung zu den Natur- und Sozialwissenschaften (...) unter Einbeziehung auch der alltäglichen Erfahrung macht Hartmann deutlich, dass er an dem Anspruch festhält, die Phänomene der Lebenswelt, Wissenschaft und Geschichte in einem einheitlichen "Aufbau der realen Welt" zu integrieren, ohne ihre Heterogenität und Selbständigkeit zu leugnen. Die Beiträge konzentrieren sich daher auf das Konzept einer "Neuen Ontologie", das Programm der "Kategorienforschung", den Wissenschaftsbezug von Hartmanns Denken, dessen Relevanz für die philosophische Anthropologie und die Problematik des geistigen Seins, der Freiheit sowie der Geschichte. (shrink)

The founders of the Marburger Schule of Neo-Kantianism, Hermann Cohen and Paul Natorp, laid an emphasis upon a Platonic understanding of mathematics and logic as the paradigmatic epistemological basis of philosophy. Their successors, namely Ernst Cassirer and Nicolai Hartmann, made obvious, however, that new biological thinking can have a strong influence on ontology as well as on the theory of knowledge. They could show that biology was no longer to be treated as a metaphysical system in that pejorative meaning (...) of metaphysics which Kant had so severely been opposing. Against the anti-realistic approach of the older neo-Kantians who wanted to eliminate Kant's thing-in-itself (Ding an sich), both Cassirer and Hartmann returned to a form of realism by way of Hegel's philosophical results and reflections on his method. This makes clear that their realism is still to be taken as a more of less monistic idealism. However, considering that modern biology as an antimetaphysical force became influential in their system for the first time and that it did so in two different but - on second thoughts - complementary ways, it becomes clear that it was necessary to change the paradigms of any neo-Kantian philosophy. Cassirer proved this by his development as a philosopher with a strong historical impetus while Hartmann as a more systematical philosopher only pointed in that direction. (shrink)