In vision research metacontrast masking is a widely used technique to reduce the visibility of a stimulus. Typically, studies attempt to reveal general principles that apply to a large majority of participants and tend to omit possible individual differences. The neural plasticity of the visual system, however, entails the potential capability for individual differences in the way observers perform perceptual tasks. We report a case of perceptual learning in a metacontrast masking task that leads to the enhancement of two types (...) of adult human observers despite identical learning conditions. In a priming task both types of observers exhibited the same priming effects, which were insensitive to learning. Findings suggest that visual processing of target stimuli in the metacontrast masking task is based on neural levels with sufficient plasticity to enable the development of two types of observers, which do not contribute to processing of target stimuli in the priming task. (shrink)

A syntactic formalism for the modeling of belief revision in perfect information games is presented that allows to define the rationality of a player's choice of moves relative to the beliefs he holds as his respective decision nodes have been reached. In this setting, true common belief in the structure of the game and rationality held before the start of the game does not imply that backward induction will be played. To derive backward induction, a “forward belief” condition is formulated (...) in terms of revised rather than initial beliefs. Alternative notions of rationality as well as the use of knowledge instead of belief are also studied within this framework. Footnotes1 I would like to thank Wlodek Rabinowicz and three anonymous referees for very helpful comments. (shrink)

This paper offers a detailed reconstruction of Frege’s theory of side-thoughts and its relation to other parts of his pragmatics, most notably to the notion of colouring, to the notion of presupposition, and to his implicit notion of multi-propositionality. I also highlight some important differences between the subsemantic categories employed by Frege and those used in contemporary pragmatics.

Many scholars claim that Frege's theory of colouring is committed to a radical form of subjectivism or emotivism. Some other scholars claim that Frege's concept of colouring is a precursor to Grice's notion of conventional implicature. I argue that both of these claims are mistaken. Finally, I propose a taxonomy of Fregean colourings: for Frege, there are purely aesthetic colourings, communicative colourings or hints, non-communicative colourings.

In den letzten drei Dekaden ist es zu einer Renaissance des Republikanismus gekommen. Ein spezifisch republikanisches Freiheitsverstandnis und die Debatte um entpolitisierende Wirkungen komplexer liberaler Demokratien haben sich dabei als in hohem Masse anschlussfahig an eine Vielzahl gegenwartiger Diskurse - von Global Governance bis hin zu Postdemokratie - erwiesen. Das Verstandnis von Republikanismus als einer modernen politischen Theorie wurde so weiter gestarkt und republikanische Ansatze gelten wieder als der zentrale Gegenspieler eines liberalen Staats- und Politikverstandnisses. Der Sammelband greift diese Renaissance (...) auf und bietet einen fur den deutschen Sprachraum bis dato fehlenden Uberblick uber Entwicklungstendenzen und Debatten im modernen republikanischen Denken. Er liefert eine Systematisierung von Ansatzen und Stromungen und erortert die Leistungsfahigkeit republikanischer Theorie gerade mit Blick auf Gegenwartsfragen. Mit Beitragen von: Richard Bellamy, Dorothea Gadeke, Philip Holzing, Sebastian Huhnholz, Marcus Llanque, Horst Mewes, Andreas Oldenbourg, Emanuel Richter, Daniel Schulz, Winfried Thaa, Thorsten Thiel, Christian Volk, Florian Weber und Sabrina Zucca-Soest. (shrink)

The relation between conscious recollection and source memory for perceptual details was investigated in three experiments that combined the remember–know paradigm with a multidimensional source monitoring test. Experiment 1 replicated that source memory for perceptual details is better in the case of “remember” than “know” judgments. Experiment 2 showed that the relation between “remember” judgments and source memory for perceptual details is diminished by a semantic orienting task during encoding. Experiment 3 demonstrated that “remember” judgments are related to enhanced source (...) memory for specific and unique kinds of perceptual source information, whereas memory for incomplete and global perceptual source information does not differentiate between “remember” and “know” judgments. The results show that the attentional focus during encoding and the specificity of retrieved source information form boundary conditions for the use of source memory for perceptual details as a basis of “remember” judgments. (shrink)

To analyze the role of automatic processes in the fulfilment of delayed intentions, we extended a typical prospective memory setting with a context signal to indicate whether the intended action is to be carried out or not. Building on dual-process models of cognition, we hypothesized that automatic and controlled processes are in opposition when the action is to be suppressed, because automatic processes trigger the associated response whereas controlled processes exert inhibition. Experiment 1 demonstrates the occurrence of false prospective memory (...) responses to cues with the “suppress” signal. Experiment 2 shows that the rate of false prospective memory responses is sensitive to a manipulation that strengthens the role of automatic processes in prospective memory. The findings support the use of false prospective memory responses for the study of automatic processes in the execution of delayed intentions. (shrink)

In diesem Aufsatz soll der Takt als ein moral- und tugendrelevantes Phänomen bestimmt werden. Ausgehend von einer kontrastierenden Abgrenzung gegenüber anderen Umgangsformen, wendet er sich wichtigen Theoriestücken zu, die sich explizit mit dem Takt befassen, um an ihnen entscheidende problematische Aspekte aufzuzeigen und zu korrigieren. Anschließend erfolgt die handlungstheoretische Erklärung als einer Form des Perspektivenwechsels. Diese erlaubt es zugleich, auch die moralische Dimension des Takts und seinen Status als Tugend zu fokussieren, die zwar nicht nur, aber vor allem in einer (...) multidimensional charakterisierbaren demokratischen Gesellschaft ihren relevanten Ort hat. (shrink)

Against the backround of Tomasello’s theory of the origins of human communication, Herder’s theory of the origin of human language might appear as a curiosity. In this paper I want to show that appearances are deceiving and that Herder’s thoughts are useful and can be integrated in Tomasello’s approach to bridge a gap in his theory.

In metacontrast masking target visibility is modulated by the time until a masking stimulus appears. The effect of this temporal delay differs across participants in such a way that individual human observers’ performance shows distinguishable types of masking functions which remain largely unchanged for months. Here we examined whether individual differences in masking functions depend on different response criteria in addition to differences in discrimination sensitivity. To this end we reanalyzed previously published data and conducted a new experiment for further (...) data analyses. Our analyses demonstrate that a distinction of masking functions based on the type of masking stimulus is superior to a distinction based on the target–mask congruency. Individually different masking functions are based on individual differences in discrimination sensitivities and in response criteria. Results suggest that individual differences in metacontrast masking result from individually different criterion contents. (shrink)

The author argues that there is no such thing as a unique and general taxonomy of non-at-issue contents. Accordingly, we ought to shun large categories such as “conventional implicature”, “F-implicature”, “CI”, “Class B” or the like. As an alternative, we may, first, describe the “semantic profile” of linguistic devices as accurately as possible. Second, we may explicitly tailor our categories to particular theoretical purposes.

Mathematicians often consider Zermelo-Fraenkel Set Theory with Choice (ZFC) as the only foundation of Mathematics, and frequently don’t actually want to think much about foundations. We argue here that modern Type Theory, i.e. Homotopy Type Theory (HoTT), is a preferable and should be considered as an alternative.

ABSTRACTDepression is marked by rigid thinking and the inability to generate different and more positive views on the self. The current study conceptualises this a perspective-taking deficit, which is defined as a deficit in the ability to overcome one’s egocentrism. Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with depression are impaired in Theory of Mind reasoning and empathy – two social cognitions that involve cognitive and affective perspective-taking. Here, it was investigated whether these deficits generalise to visuo-spatial perspective-taking. To test this, (...) a convenience sample completed a test-battery including measures of cognitive and visuo-spatial perspective-taking and closely matched cognitive and visuo-spatial control tasks. The results showed that individuals exhibiting high levels of depressive symptoms were specifically impaired on both perspective-taking tasks but performed equally well on the cont... (shrink)

This paper is partly exegetical, partly systematic. I argue that Frege's account of what he called “colouring” contains some important insights on how communication is related to mental states such as mental images or emotions. I also show that the Fregean perspective is supported by current research in psycholinguistics and that a full understanding of some linguistic phenomena that scholars have accounted for in terms of either semantics or pragmatics need involve psycholinguistic elements.

What, exactly, is the difference between words such as ‘dead’ and ‘deceased’? In this paper, I argue that such differences in register, or style, ought to be construed as genuine differences in non-truth-conditional meaning. I also show that register cannot plausibly accounted for in terms of either presupposition or conventional implicature. Register is, rather, an instance of what I call pure use-conditional meaning. In the case of register, a difference in meaning does not correspond to a difference in the contents (...) speakers intend to convey. (shrink)

Since Arthur Schopenhauer’s conceptual differentiation between the two modes of givenness regarding the own body, theoretical philosophy is confronted with another serious problem, which is distinct from the problem about the relation of mind and brain. In German language there are two terms to mark the two relata: Körper (living body) and Leib (~ the felt body). But both the ontological mode of Leib and body and their relation are still obscure. In this paper I propose a solution of the (...) Body-Leib-Problem by analyzing the relation between Leib and body, Leib and consciousness, and Leib and world. My essential thesis is that the living body is the representation of the Leib in the world. And this implies that Leib and body are neither identical nor completely different entities. And most notably: the Leib isn’t the mental representation of the own body. (shrink)

Die Frage nach dem Menschen ist heute – im Zeitalter der zunehmenden Verschmelzung von Mensch und Technik, der Genom-Editierung und der fortgeschrittenen Naturalisierung des Menschenbildes – aktueller denn je. Der Autor präsentiert hier erstmals eine systematische und prägnante Darstellung der Idee einer neuen Anthropologie, welche die mundanen, transzendentalen und transphänomenalen Aspekte des Menschseins gleichermaßen berücksichtigt und die Reduktion des Menschen auf seinen biologischen Körper zurückweist. Diese ‚Fundamentalanthropologie‘ genannte Disziplin versteht sich als philosophische Grundlagendisziplin und als Herzstück der Philosophie als allgemeiner (...) Anthropologie. Außerdem werden in diesem Band zentrale und aktuelle philosophische Themen wie Selbstbewusstsein, Identität des Ich, das Wesen des menschlichen Geistes sowie die Zukunft des Menschen erstmals zum Gegenstand fundamentalanthropologischer Analysen gemacht. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Studie basiert auf einer quantitativ-qualitativen Erhebung der Arbeitsbedingungen und -zufriedenheit des religionswissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses (d. h. ohne unbefristete Anstellung als Professor*in). Die Erhebung wurde von Mai bis Juli 2022 vom Arbeitskreis Mittelbau und Nachwuchs (AKMN) der Deutschen Vereinigung für Religionswissenschaft (DVRW) durchgeführt. Sie ist eine erweiterte Variante einer Erhebung von 2015. Auf der Grundlage der Umfrageergebnisse werden die Arbeitsbedingungen und ihre Auswirkungen auf berufliche Perspektiven und persönliche Lebensumstände der Betroffenen beschrieben und mit denen von 2015 verglichen. Zudem werden (...) die speziellen Herausforderungen während der Corona-Pandemie dargestellt. Die Studie ist nicht nur eine aussagekräftige Untersuchung der Entwicklung der Arbeitsbedingungen des religionswissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses, sondern auch ein Beitrag zur derzeit intensiv geführten Debatte um Beschäftigungsverhältnisse an deutschen Universitäten. (shrink)

The problem of finding sufficient doxastic conditions for backward induction in games of perfect information is analyzed in a syntactic framework with subjunctive conditionals. This allows to describe the structure of the game by a logical formula and consequently to treat beliefs about this structure in the same way as beliefs about rationality. A backward induction and a non-Nash equilibrium result based on higher level belief in rationality and the structure of the game are derived.

„Rechtsgefühl“ kann das individuelle Gerechtigkeitsempfinden, das Judiz der Richterin im Entscheidungsfindungsprozess, das emotionale Aufbäumen der unterlegenen Partei nach der Entscheidung, eine kollektive Rechtsüberzeugung bezeichnen. Verweise auf das „Rechtsgefühl“ werden oft genutzt, um Rechtssysteme oder einzelne Rechtsakte von innen oder von außen zu legitimieren oder zu delegitimieren. Als sozialer Kompass und normative Rechtfertigung versagt „Rechtsgefühl“ dagegen, wenn es mit zahlreichen gegenläufigen Rechtsgefühlen konkurriert. Dieser Frage nach dem Stellenwert divergierender Rechts- und Gerechtigkeitsempfindungen gehen die in diesem Band versammelten Beiträge aus praktischer, theoretischer (...) und historischer Perspektive nach. Mit Beiträgen von Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz, Prof. Dr. Jeanne Gaakeer, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Keiser, Prof. Dr. Sylvia Kesper-Biermann, Prof. Dr. Frans-Willem Korsten, Prof. Dr. Greta Olson und Prof. Dr. Franz Reimer. (shrink)

Drawing on central research questions of memory studies, this article outlines various topics and divergent concepts about the relationship between the history of science and the public perception of scientists and scholars. The focus is on the different recurring trends and transformation processes, to which this culture of remembrance is subject and the various roles of historians in this context. The article also serves as an introduction to this special issue and its contributions, which use exemplary studies from the history (...) of medicine and pedagogy to shed light on the continual negotiation process of cultures of remembrance resulting from changing historical frames of reference, particularly in dealing with the legacy of National Socialism. (shrink)

In this issue of Consciousness and Cognition, Bachmann comments on our study , which revealed two groups of observers with qualitative individual differences in metacontrast masking that are enhanced by perceptual learning. We are pleased that our study receives this attention and even more about Bachmann’s extremely positive comments. In this invited reply we argue that observers seem to be similar only at the beginning of the experiment but they have no choice as to which group to join. Findings strongly (...) recommend to look at the data of individual subjects. (shrink)

Why did Frege offer only proper names as examples of presupposition triggers? Some scholars claim that Frege simply did not care about the full range of presuppositional phenomena. This paper argues, in contrast, that he had good reasons for employing an extremely narrow notion of ‘Voraussetzung’. On Frege’s view, many devices that are now construed as presupposition triggers either express several thoughts at once or merely ‘illuminate’ a thought in a particular way. Fregean presuppositions, in contrast, are essentially tied to (...) names. (shrink)

On the basis of comparative views on social theories that deal with the normative foundations of modern societies (such as those of Bourdieu, Durkheim and Luhmann), the genesis of law is examined in the light of Norbert Elias’ reflexions on the process of civilization. One crucial element is the surmounting of the traditional division between micro and macro structures, which, in Elias’ thought, can be achieved by taking into account the relation between sociogenesis and psychogenesis. The psychogenetic development serves as (...) main focus, which - with regard also to Philosophical Anthropology - is examined in it’s effects on the emergence of legal awareness. (shrink)

Neuerdings ist dem Begriff der Langeweile viel philosophische Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet worden. Dieser Beitrag zeigt, wie stringent sich seine anthropologischen, ontologischen und theologischen Implikationen nachzeichnen lassen, wenn man von dem wohlbekannten Augustinus-Diktum ausgeht, ruhelos sei unser Herz, bis dass es ruhe in Gott. Das menschliche Personsein wird hier aufgrund der Erbsünde als unzufrieden oder auch gelangweilt dargestellt, und diese Darstellung radikalisiert sich durch die späteren Theorien der acedia als Unzufriedenheit oder Langeweile angesichts des bonum divinum selbst. Die neuzeitliche philosophische Rede von (...) ennui, Langeweile usw. übernimmt die wesentlichen Implikationen von inquietudo cordis und acedia auch dort, wo sie diese am entschiedensten verkehrt - mit Pascal beginnend über den deutschen Idealismus bis zur Quasi-Gnosis von Cioran und Heideggers Versuch, das Herz des Menschen als auf dessen endgültige Ruhe im „letzten Gott" hin ausgerichtet zu verstehen. In the past decades, the concept of boredom has been attracting much philosophical attention. The aim of this article is to show how concisely a summary of its anthropological, ontological and theological implications can be drawn if one starts from the famous phrase in St. Augustine's "Confessions" that our heart is restless until it rests in God. Human personal being is conceived of here as dissatisfied or bored because of the original sin, and this conception sees its radicalization in the theory of the acedia as a being dissatisfied or bored by the bonum divinum itself. The modern philosophical discourse on ennui, Langeweile and the like inherits very truly the basic implications of inquietudo cordis and acedia even where they are the most decisively inverted, as is shown beginning with Pascal, across the very centre of German Idealist philosophy, until Cioran's quasi-Gnostic turn and Heidegger's attempt to understand the heart of man as directed towards its ultimate rest in the "last God". (shrink)