RésuméLes modernistes arabes et les humanistes occidentaux considèrent souvent le philosophe musulman Averroès comme l’un des premiers précurseurs de Kant et des Lumières européennes. Contrairement à cette réputation, cet article soutient que ce sont les critiqueurs de Kant, Herder et Tiedemann, qui ont redécouvert Averroès. Tiedemann a été le premier historiographe allemand à donner un compte rendu précis de la pensée d’Averroès. Cela s’est accompagné d’une réévaluation d’Averroès par Herder dans ses Lettres sur les progrès de l’humanité, dans lesquelles il (...) reconnaît la similitude entre son propre concept de l’esprit du temps en tant que raison historique – son alternative au concept des Lumières d’une raison universelle et anhistorique – et le concept d’Averroès d’un intellect matériel unique pour tous les esprits humains individuels. Enfin, l’article expose les liens possibles entre l’interprétation d’Averroès de l’intellect d’Aristote et le concept de raison historique de Hegel. (shrink)

Los descubrimientos de las neurociencias permiten intervenir en el cerebro humano para mejorar su estado o sus capacidades sin indicación médica. Este fenómeno es conocido como “Neuroenhancement” y está sujeto a un amplio debate ético. Como “Neuroenhancement” es un fenómeno evolutivo, el debate de aspectos éticos está necesariamente orientado al futuro y depende de la información sobre el posible desarrollo de la tecnología y sus consecuencias para la sociedad. Sin embargo, hay que establecer límites para la formulación de previsiones especulativas (...) en argumentos éticos y justificaciones políticas. Propongo distinguir argumentos con tres propósitos distintos: la formación de intuiciones éticas, el reflejo sobre el futuro de la sociedad y justificación de normativas y políticas. Para cada uno de ellos necesitamos estándares adecuados. Es tarea de la filosofía política desarrollar un estándar para los argumentos justificadores.: Neuroscientific findings allow interventions in the human brain to improve its function or modify mental states even without medical indication. This procedure, termed as neuroenhancement, is subject to a broad ethical debate. As neuroenhancement is an evolving phenomenon, the debate is necessarily future-oriented and highly dependent on information about future developments. It remains an open question to what degree uncertain forecasting or even speculation should be considered in the ethical debate and policy-making. I propose to distinguish between arguments with three different purposes: intuition-forming, self-reflecting and justifying arguments. Adequate standards are required for all kinds of future-oriented arguments. The development of these standards for justifying arguments is a task for political philosophy. (shrink)

Between 1918 and 1933, the masses became a decisive preoccupation of European culture, fueling modernist movements in art, literature, architecture, theater, and cinema, as well as the rise of communism and fascism and experiments in radical democracy. Spanning aesthetics, cultural studies, intellectual history, and political theory, this volume unpacks the significance of the shadow agent known as "the mass" during a critical period in European history. It follows its evolution into the preferred conceptual tool for social scientists, the ideal slogan (...) for politicians, and the chosen image for artists and writers trying to capture a society in flux and a people in upheaval. This volume is the second installment in Stefan Jonsson's epic study of the crowd and the mass in modern Europe, building on his work in _A Brief History of the Masses_, which focused on monumental artworks produced in 1789, 1889, and 1989. (shrink)

In this thesis the connection between coherence and reliability is investigated. The question may be phrased as follows: does the fact that a set of testimonies is coherent imply that the witnesses who have reported these testimonies are reliable? The same question may also be expressed in terms of beliefs: does the fact that a set of beliefs is coherent imply that the beliefs were reliably produced? Traditionally, coherence theorists have thought that coherence is connected to truth, but in this (...) dissertation the thesis is that it is rather connected to reliability. The investigation proceeds within a probabilistic framework, the so-called witness scenario, where a number of partially reliable witnesses give independent reports. Hence it is primarily coherent sets of testimonies that are discussed, but coherence of beliefs is taken to function similarly, and thus the results acquired using the witness scenario are, it is argued, relevant for the traditional discussion which mostly concerns coherence of beliefs. Using this scenario a notion of reliability-conduciveness, similar to the much-discussed notion of truth-conducivenes, is formally defined. This definition says, roughly, that a measure of coherence C is reliability-conducive if and only if the more coherent a set of testimonies is, as measured by C, the higher is the probability that a witness who has given one of these testimonies is reliable. In Papers I and II it is tested whether a number of coherence measures proposed in the literature are reliability-conducive in various salient scenarios. It is shown that the only coherence measure that is reliability-conducive in all of those scenarios is the so-called Shogenji measure. This observation is then used to argue that the Shogenji measure is a fruitful explication of the notion of coherence. However, in Paper III it is shown that in the most general scenario neither the Shogenji measure nor any other measure of coherence is reliability-conducive. In Paper IV, the use of coherence reasoning in court is investigated. It is shown that we often use the notion of coherence in judicial reasoning, for example to find out whether certain witnesses are reliable or not. Using the results from Papers I and II, as well as additional formal results that strengthen the connection between coherence and reliability, it is argued that this line of reasoning is valid. Also, it is argued in the introductory chapter that these findings show that coherence is indeed closely connected to reliability, even though it is not generally reliability-conducive, and that this connection is much closer than that between coherence and truth. In Paper V, coherent sets of so-called higher order testimonies are examined, where a higher order testimony is defined as a testimony concerning some other witness’s reliability . Such sets have hitherto not been examined within formal coherence theory. It is shown that coherence must be defined in a non-standard way to account for all our intuitions regarding sets involving higher order testimonies. It is then argued that this shows that in order to correctly estimate the degree of coherence of a set of beliefs, the believer must have a firm grasp of her own reliability; a fact that in turn is taken to be problematic for the coherence theory of justification. (shrink)

The concept of event is one of the key notions of many theories dealing with causality or agency. In this paper we study different approaches to events that share the basic assumption that events can be analyzed fruitfully in branching-time structures. The terminological framework developed thereby may be helpful for further analyses in the fields of causality and agency and also in those fields of computational semantics, where similar concepts are considered.

Two questions are the starting point for the discussion contained in this article: (a) Does the future exist? (b) What is the future? A preliminary analysis of these questions leads to the conclusion that their solution needs to introduce three different principal modes of existence characterized for objects belonging to the time sphere of being. They are: real (actual) existence (i.e. existence of „now”), postreal existence (the past) and potential (prereal) existence. In accordance with this differentiation the answer to point (...) (a) is generally determined by the following theses: (1) The future exists in potentiality, (2) The future exists neither in reality nor in postreality. The notion of potential existence includes two categories of objects. The first one - objects which in fact will become real objects (present). They may be described as potential objects sensu stricto. The second category constists of the quasi-potential objects, that is the objects whose potentiality of becoming real (actual) ones will never come into existence. The differentiation of categories mentioned above makes possible to formulate three definitions of the future: (D1) The future is the domain of potential, or quasi-potential objects, (D2) The future is the domain of the potential objects, (D3) The future is the domain of quasi-potential objects. The definition (D3) is obviously inadequate, hence the solution of the problem, what is the future, may be reduced to the choice between definitions (D1) and (D2). The arguments of the paper convince us that the adequate definition of the future is the definition (D2). First - contrary to (D1) - it describes the future as ontologically homogeneous domain containing only objects which will become objects of the present and subsequently past objects. Second, when the future is defined by the competitive definition (D1) it is doubtful whether the language systems, referring to the time sphere of being, can fulfill the basic principles of the classical logig: the principle of contradiction and the principle of excluded middle. (shrink)

In this article, I wish to show that Kaufmann was right, when he claimed that “nobody has ever found a better characterization of Nietzsche” than his own, when he talked about the “music-making Socrates” in the Birth of Tragedy. Firstly, I make some general remarks on the Birth of Tragedy. Secondly, I analyse Nietzsche’s understanding of music in the Birth of Tragedy. Thirdly, I describe the particular conception of “Socrates” as Nietzsche develops it in The Birth of Tragedy. Lastly, I (...) bring these two concepts together, showing that there are various parts of Nietzsche’s mature philosophy which demonstrate a correspondence between the qualities of the “music making Socrates” and the qualities of the later Nietzsche. In this way, I establish that the later Nietzsche is very similar to the “music-making Socrates”, whom he mentioned in his Birth of Tragedy. (shrink)

It is not uncommon to hear parents say in discussions they have with their children ‘Look at it this way’. And called upon for their advice, counsellors too say something to adults with the significance of ‘Try to see it like this’. The change of someone's perspective in the context of child rearing is the focus of this paper. Our interest in this lies not so much in giving an answer to the practical problems that are at stake, but at (...) disentangling the issues on a conceptual level. Within the so‐called second part of his Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein deals with shared practices and with concepts such as ‘seeing’ and ‘seeing as’. What he says there is in terms of content linked with his earlier Tractatus position concerning ethics, a matter which will first be dealt with. After that, the relevant sections of his later work are discussed. Following Cavell, it is concluded that to try to get someone to see what one sees, necessarily presupposes giving it out of one's hands. The passivity this points at highlights what Erziehung in the end comes down to. (shrink)

_Marx for a Post-Communist Era_ combines a deep understanding of Marxist thought with journalistic engagement in real-world themes. This comprehensive and timely book will be of interest to students and academics in the areas of philosophy, sociology, politics and cultural studies, and to anyone with an interest in Marx and his legacy.

It is one of the crucial insights of pragmatism that our judging is itself a discursive practice. Our judgments are normatively determined performances for which we are responsible. Therefore, judgments are a species of action. For in both actions and judgments, we subject ourselves and others to justifiable norms. Since these insights can already be found in Hegel, Hegel is now often interpreted as a champion of pragmatism. Hegel’s logic is thereby mainly understood as the continuation of the Kantian project (...) of transcendental philosophy. Based upon this pragmatist interpretation of Hegel, the paper reads F. H. Jacobi’s philosophy as an alternative pragmatism which is explicitly founded on our life praxis rather than our practice of judgment. (shrink)

German law is commonly assumed to be strongly influenced by legal scholarship. This was certainly true in the past, and this article explores whether it is still the case today. But what is actually meant by ‘influence’ in the context of law? Who exerts it on whom, and how? These questions are analysed in the first part of the article. It is then shown, by drawing on biographical material, legislative history and case law, how legal scholarship contributes to both the (...) legislative and the judicial lawmaking process in Germany—and where it does not. Finally it is asked how the specific relationship between legal academics and lawmakers in the German legal system can be explained and whether this model can be transferred to other systems. (shrink)

Das Verhältnis von westdeutscher Außenwirtschaftspolitik und Wirtschaftsbeziehungen mit Indien veränderte sich ab den frühen 1950ern auf besondere Weise. Nach einem kräftigen Wirtschaftswachstum sahen deutsche Politiker und Unternehmer den Handel mit Schwellen- und Entwicklungsländern als Unterstützung für einen anhaltenden Wirtschaftsaufschwung. In einer programmatischen Schrift trug Wirtschaftsminister Ludwig Erhard 1953 diesem Gedanken mit Bezug zum währungspolitisch wichtigen Sterling-Raum und Indien als seinem größten Wirtschaftsblock Rechnung. In ordnungspolitischer Tradition sollte der Export deutscher technischer Hilfe und Kapitalgüter die indische Wirtschaftskraft erhöhen und so langfristig (...) einen neuen Markt für deutsche Konsumgüter erschließen. Dieses neue Verständnis von Außenwirtschaftspolitik war gewissermaßen symptomatisch für die Zeit, stand aber auch der späteren Herausbildung einer Entwicklungshilfepolitik nicht entgegen. Auswirkungen dieser Politik fanden sich nicht nur im deutschen Handelsregelwerk für Indien, sondern vor allem in der staatlichen Durchsetzung privatwirtschaftlicher Initiativen in Indien. Hilfeleistungen und Investitionen etablierten die BRD als führende Wirtschaftsnation in Indien. Allerdings war das westdeutsche Ringen um neue Märkte in blockfreien Staaten wie Indien vornehmlich Ausdruck wachsender politischer Konkurrenz mit Ländern des Ostblocks. Für die BRD war Indien aufgrund des Alleinvertretungsanspruchs gegenüber der DDR und aufgrund des Ost-West-Konflikts gegenüber anderen Ostblock-Staaten wichtig. -/- Trotz dieser prägnanten Entwicklung im deutsch-indischen Wirtschaftsaustausch in der Frühzeit des Kalten Krieges gibt es wenige historische Betrachtungen über das Gesamtbild und über einzelne Unternehmensinitiativen. Bisherige Arbeiten behandeln die Entwicklung der bundesdeutschen Südasienpolitik und die von Wirtschaftsinteressen geleiteten Grundlagen westdeutscher Entwicklungshilfe in Indien. Überblicksbetrachtungen thematisieren beide Aspekte selten zusammen. Zudem benennen die genannten Arbeiten bundesdeutsche und privatwirtschaftliche Initiativen, diskutieren dann aber hauptsächlich staatliche Interessen. Für das deutsch-indische Wirtschaftsgeschehen war aber gerade das Verhältnis von Akteuren und Institutionen der deutschen Politik und Wirtschaft relevant. Gab es hier ein Ungleichgewicht der Kräfte oder traten gar Konflikte auf? Für andere Weltregionen streicht die Literatur beispielsweise besondere Fürsprecher innerhalb der deutschen Industrie heraus. Gab es auch einen direkten Fürsprecher für Indien? Obwohl die indische Wirtschaft nach 1947 neuerdings als dynamischer und offener betrachtet wird, gehen lokale und globale Wirtschaftsentwicklungen und der Einfluss ausländischer Politik- und Wirtschaftsinteressen auf die indische Wirtschaftsentwicklung bisher kaum in die Analysen ein. -/- Diese Forschungslücken nimmt der vorliegende Beitrag zum Anlass, die Entwicklung deutsch-indischer Wirtschaftsbeziehungen in der Frühzeit des Kalten Krieges genauer zu untersuchen. Dabei wird insbesondere gefragt, wie sich westdeutsche Wirtschaftsbeziehungen mit Indien zwischen den 1950er und 1970er Jahren unter dem Einfluss außenwirtschaftspolitischer Maßgaben veränderten. Wie einleitend erwähnt, waren diese Wirtschaftsbeziehungen das Resultat einer dynamischen Beziehung von Außenwirtschaftspolitik und Wirtschaftsinteressen während des Ost-West-Konflikts. Da sich politische und wirtschaftliche Umstände auf besondere Weise in der Förderung dieses Wirtschaftsaustausches niederschlugen, fokussiert der Artikel vor allem auf die Verschränkung verschiedener für den Wirtschaftsaustausch wichtiger Themen und Akteure auf der höheren Ebene von Politik und Wirtschaft als auch auf der Mikroebene bestimmter Unternehmensinitiativen. -/- Der Artikel gliedert sich in zwei Teile. Der erste Teil betrachtet den größeren politischen und wirtschaftlichen Rahmen deutsch-indischer Wirtschaftsbeziehungen vor dem Hintergrund neuer lokaler, globaler und transnationaler Verschiebungen. Dabei wird Entwicklungshilfe als Kristallisationspunkt von westdeutscher Außenwirtschaftspolitik und Wirtschaftsbeziehungen mit Indien verstanden. Im zweiten Teil fokussiert der Artikel auf das damals größte westdeutsche Industrieprojekt in Indien – den Aufbau des Hüttenwerks in Rourkela. An diesem Beispiel wird sowohl das steigende deutsche Interesse an Indien als auch die Veränderungen außenwirtschaftspolitischer Leitlinien und wirtschaftlicher Interessen behandelt. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Das Mittelalter Jahrgang: 21 Heft: 1 Seiten: 123-144.

Die Fähigkeiten, nachzudenken und sich denkend auf Wirkliches zu beziehen, werden in der heutigen Philosophie des Geistes unter dem Begriff "Intentionalität" zusammengefasst. Wie können diese Fähigkeiten im Rahmen unseres naturwissenschaftlich geprägten Weltbildes erklärt werden? Stefan Kappner beantwortet diese Frage, indem er auf die Zeichentheorie von Charles Sanders Peirce zurückgreift.