If we call something ‘natural’ that occurs by itself without human intervention, and if cultural philosophy is interested precisely in what depends on human poiesis (production), praxis (action) and synthesis (conceptualization), then cultural philosophy refers ex negativo to the other of human intervention in the world. In this specific sense cultural philosophy can be understood as a negative philosophy of nature and is important for any kind of positive philosophy of nature insofar as it provokes natural facts to show themselves (...) in human poiesis, praxis and synthesis. (shrink)

Mechanistic explanations – especially mechanistic models – are commonly used to describe living beings. But their usage should be scrutinised closely. This text elucidates the motives, conditions and implications of a so called ‘methodical mechanism’. Due to the fact that humans cannot properly explain certain biotic processes, they have to rely on their technical knowledge to explain them. The history of philosophy and scientific thinking is, therefore, intertwined with the history of technology: the way humans interpret and explain natural phenomena (...) is subject to the technological knowledge of a given time. The danger of this mechanistic approach, however, is that it can lead to false ontological assumptions about nature and humankind’s place therein, resulting in a subjugation of natural processes to instrumental reason. (shrink)