The feedback arrow extending from the response to the distal state in the lens model, together with Brunswik's dictum that the organism is a stabiliser of systems, implies a dynamic view of behaviour. This paper describes the main problems in the study of dynamic decision making: feedback delays and the feedback structure of the tasks. It also describes microworlds, a methodology for studying dynamic decision making in the laboratory. The results from experiments with microworlds show that subjects have problems compensating (...) for feedback delays and side effects. These results are discussed in terms of Brunswik's distinction between perception and thinking. (shrink)

Anläßlich ihres 75-jährigen Jubiläums hat die Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt am Main am 19. und 20. Oktober 2001 eine Tagung zu "Vernünftig. Ansätze gegenwärtiger Religionsphilosophie" veranstaltet, deren wissenschaftlicher Ertrag mit diesem Band öffentlich zur Diskussion gestellt wird. In zwei thematischen Einheiten haben zuerst Philosophen und dann Theologen neue Überlegungen aus ihren Forschungsgebieten vorgetragen und aktuelle Fragestellungen referiert, auf die jeweils ein Vertreter der anderen Fakultät mit kritischen Anfragen erwidert hat. Alle Gesprächseinheiten dieser Art bilden den ersten Teil des (...) vorliegenden Bandes (C.S. Evans/A. Kreiner, P. Valadier/M. Sievernich, F. Ricken/M. Kehl; D. Böhler/H. de Ternay, H.-J. Höhn/M. Dreyer, J.A. Martínez Camino/H.-D. Mutschler, H. Verweyen/J. Splett). Darüber hinaus enthält der Band Beiträge aus dem Kreis der Teilnehmer, die auf die Diskussionen während der Tagung zurückgehen. Zwei geistesgeschichtlich orientierte Aufsätze eröffnen diesen zweiten Teil (R.M.W. Stammberger, R. Berndt). Zwei weitere Texte unterziehen zeitgenössische religionsphilosophische Entwürfe einer kritischen Analyse (G. Kruck, H.-L. Ollig), bevor systematische Skizzen das Buch abschließen (H. Watzka, R. Audi, R. Wimmer). (shrink)

This paper argues that the passages on practical spirit within Hegel's 'Psychology' are able to enrich the picture of Hegel's account of intentional action by providing us with a genuine discussion of 'subjective action.' This kind of intentional activity is not yet part of moral or legal philosophy, and it is neutral as regards the question how an action becomes actually manifest in the world as a 'deed', potentially causing unintended consequences. Instead, subjective action consists in the teleological, end-pursuing action (...) of an agent acting on drives and wilfully choosing ends, which are practical as the causa finalis of an agent's doing. Thus, the 'Psychology' investigates intentional action from the first-personal perspective of the mental activity of the subject. It is legitimately part of subjective rather than objective spirit and its socially mediated normativity is psychological rather than moral. (shrink)

This text is an ambitious intellectual enterprise to build a naturalistic foundation for economics, with vast knowledge of physical, biological, social sciences and philosophy. Readers will discover that approaches and insights emergent in institutional studies, (social)-neuroscience, network theory, ecological economics, bio-culture dualistic evolution, etc. are persuasively placed in a grand unified frame.

In a petty German principality around 1700, an influential Court Jew wants a traditional Hebrew commentary published. The printer he commissions moves shop and starts printing, not aware of severe clerical censorship. With part of the job done he has to move to another location hoping for a more liberal policy there. Within the absolutist system the episode highlights the opportunities and the limits of Court Jew's influence, as well as the prince's wavering between the prospect of profiting from a (...) new trade and the fear of risking covert un-Christian propaganda. (shrink)

According to the scientific ideal of modernity, the propositions of science are considered fundamentally fallible. On the other hand, science strives for objective knowledge. Kant saw in the apriori the precondition for objective knowledge. But with the new conception of science the apriori (if it is not to be only logic) has become problematic. With it, however, the objectivity of scientific knowledge is at stake. As long as one grants objectivity to scientific knowledge, the question of the apriori remains topical. (...) On the one hand, this volume wants to trace the historical roots as well as the different interpretations of the apriori, and on the other hand, it wants to ask for approaches for a contemporary reinterpretation of this basic concept. (shrink)

Journal of Political Philosophy, EarlyView.

Hegel’s “Philosophy of Spirit” applies two different notions of ‘social practice’ – one as a condition of possibility for intentional action and another one as the living actuality within which an action is initiated and takes place. Both notions go hand in hand with their own logically distinct form of normativity – social normativity and the normativity of right. Whereas the first one can already be understood from the standpoint of subjective spirit, the second notion is at home in objective (...) spirit or Hegel’s Rechtsphilosophie. Stressing this distinction has consequences not only for a more differentiated account on Hegel’s philosophy of action, but also for an interpretation of ethical life – which should not be equated with the first notion of social practice. In order to mark the importance of ethical life for Hegel’s Rechtsphilosophie, the relevance of objectivity for objective spirit needs to be highlighted, which according to Hegel cannot be derived from a process of inner transformation of changing attitudes of the acting subject towards the norms of her action. (shrink)

New Essays on Plato assembles nine original papers on the language and thought of the Athenian philosopher. The collection encompasses issues from the Apology to the Laws and includes discussions of topics in ethics, political theory, psychology, epistemology, ontology, physics and metaphysics, and ancient literary criticism. The contributions by an international team of scholars represent a spectrum of diverse traditions and approaches, and offer new solutions to a selection of specific problems. Themes include the Happiness and Nature of the Philosopher-Kings, (...) Law and Justice, the Tripartition of the Soul, Appearance and Belief, Conditions of Recognition, Ousia or What Something Is, the Reality of Change and Changelessness, Time and Eternity, and Aristotle on Plato. (shrink)

English summary: Gilduin (1155) was, from 1113, the first abbot of the community of the Canons Regular of St Augustine, soon to become an abbey, under the auspices of St Victor of Marseille, on the left bank of the river Seine. After the death of his confrere Hugh, who was of German descent and the leading figure of the Victorines, on 11 February 1141, abbot Gilduin took care that the writings of Hugh were collected and compiled in a representative complete (...) edition. This 'Gilduin-edition' - as it is called in Medieval scholarship - comprises four volumes, the first of which is reconstructed herewith and presented in print. This volume follows the 2008 edition of Hugh's theological summa, De sacramentis christiane fidei. Then as now we are dealing with a critical albeit historical text. This new volume contains nine works, among which the first ever complete edition of Hugh's Cronica surely stands out. German description: Gilduin (+ 1155) war ab 1113 der erste Abt der einige Jahre zuvor gegrundeten und bald zur Abtei erhobenen Gemeinschaft von Augustinerchorherren unter dem Patronat des hl. Victor von Marseille, auf dem linken Ufer der Seine. Nach dem Tode seines Mitbruders Hugo, des aus Deutschland stammenden fuhrenden Kopfes der Viktoriner, am 11. Februar 1141 hat Abt Gilduin dafur gesorgt, daa die Schriften Hugos gesammelt und in einer reprasentativen Gesamtausgabe zusammengestellt werden. Diese in der internationalen mediavistischen Forschung so genannte,Gilduin-Ausgabe' der Werke Hugos von Saint-Victor umfaat vier Bande, deren erster hiermit rekonstruiert und im Druck vorgelegt wird. Dieser Band folgt somit auf unsere im Jahre 2008 besorgte Ausgabe der theologischen Summe Hugos, De sacramentis christiane fidei. Damals wie heute handelt es sich um einen kritischen, wenngleich historischen Text. Dieser neue Band umfaat neun Werke, unter denen insbesondere die uberhaupt erste vollstandige Ausgabe von Hugos Cronica hervorzuheben ist. (shrink)

The argument that Broca's area is preferentially involved in specific syntactic operations is based on a strong assertion regarding patterns of sentence comprehension found among patients with Broca's aphasia. This assertion is shown to be largely inconsistent with the available evidence from published studies, which indicates that only a subgroup of Broca patients demonstrate the target pattern.

J’ai souvent songé que le propre du clerc dans l’âge moderne est de prêcher dans le désert. Je crois que j’y suis passé maître.Julien Benda Faute de savoir dans quelle catégorie vous classer, on ne vous inscrit dans aucune.Louis Rougier.

Self-consciousness, first-person reference, and personal identity are linked fields of research. The book contains contributions from international researchers about topics like pre-reflective and reflexive consciousness, embodiment, temporality, self-location, and the practical implications of personal identity. Among the contributors are Amit Anurag, Irene Breuer, Tony Cheng, Heidi Haanila, Markus Herrmann, Muriel Leuenberger, Maik Niemeck and Jorg Noller.

Was heisst Lesen? Es sind zunachst die Textwissenschaften, die hier Auskunft geben, von der Literatur- uber die Kultur- bis zur Rechtswissenschaft. Mit der Literatur teilen sie die Auffassung, dass dem Lesen nur in flagranti auf die Spur zu kommen ist, im Versuch also, das Lesen zu lesen. Die Materialitat gedruckter Texte und ihre Lesbarkeit ist Sache der Typografie. Eine semiotisch informierte Wissenschaftsphilosophie vermag aufzuzeigen, inwiefern auch die Naturwissenschaften lesend auf ihre Gegenstande stossen. Und schliesslich setzen auch neuro- und kognitionswissenschaftliche Forschungsansatze (...) historisch konkrete Formen des Lesens voraus. Der Band leistet eine Bestandsaufnahme vor dem Hintergrund technologischer und epistemologischer Umbruche, die das Lesen tiefgreifend verandern. (shrink)

Die im vorliegenden Band veröffentlichte Vorlesung "Einleitung in die Philosophie" aus dem Wintersemester 1922/23 ist aus vier 1922 von Husserl in London unter dem Titel "Phänomenologische Methode und phänomenologische Philosophie" gehaltenen Vorträgen hervorgegangen. Die Vorlesung befasst sich vor allem mit dem für die Grundlegung eines philosophischen Systems zentralen Problem der Letztbegründung. Radikale philosophische Letztbegründung ist gemäß Husserl nur möglich in einer sich in apodiktischer Selbstkritik bewährenden phänomenologischen Transzendentalphilosophie. Die tatsächliche Durchführung einer solchen letzten, in seinen späten Schriften und Vorlesungstexten immer (...) wieder geforderten Kritik, findet sich nur in der vorliegenden Vorlesung "Einleitung in die Philosophie". Mit diesem unverzichtbaren Bestandteil seiner Ersten Philosophie bringt der vorliegende Band eine wichtige Ergänzung zu der in den Bänden VII und VIII veröffentlichten Vorlesung "Erste Philosophie" von 1923/24. (shrink)

Concentration of the world’s wealth in the hands of a few, corporate owners as heads of state – these are facts that lend plausibility to Marx' pronouncements. Yet, how should we evaluate his ideas from today’s vantage point?

Jakob Friedrich Fries is one of the most important representatives of the Critical Philosophy, someone who built immediately on the original Kantian philosophy. -/- Fries was born in 1773 in Barby (on the Elbe). In 1805 he was extraordinary professor for philosophy in Jena and in the same year was ordinary professor for philosophy in Heidelberg. Returning to Jena in 1816, one year later he was compulsorily retired because of his participation at the nationalistic and republican Wartburg Festival. In 1924 (...) he obtained a professorship for physics and mathematics, and in 1838 he was given back a professorship for philosophy. He died in 1843 in Jena. -/- The book summarizes the research results of the DFG-Project "Jakob Friedrich Fries' Influence on the Sciences of the 19th Century". The research project was carried out by Dr. Kay Herrmann (Institute of Philosophy, Jena University) and Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hogrebe (Institute of Philosophy, Bonn University). Such a study has special importance. There is available a large amount of literature about the "speculative contemporaries" of Fries, like Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. In contrast to the "speculative philosophy", there has been published only a few studies about the Friesian natural philosophy. Fries was, in his natural-philosophical studies, looking for a link between philosophy and modern sciences, wheras his "speculative philosophical" contemporaries felt obligated to stick primarily to a descriptive, phenomenal view of nature. So far the question "How was mathematical natural philosophy regarded by scientists and mathematicians of the 19th century?" has hardly been investigated. Archival studies showed that this gap in Fries-research can be filled. The Friesian correspondence turned out to be a rich gold mine. -/- The present publication is more than a research report. The monographic first part is intended to introduce the foundations of the Friesian theory of cognition, the Friesian methodology, and the Friesian natural philosophy. This should facilitate entry into Friesian philosophy. -/- The Friesian theory is analyzed from two points of view: •How did Fries suceed in continuing and improving the Kantian approach? Is Fries able to remove the weak points of Kantian philosophy? -/- •What is the current significance of the Friesian approach? There are some interesting similarities between the Friesian approach and modern philosophical theories (such like Chomsky's theory of "universal grammer"). The lasting core of the Friesian theory of cognition is: To use empirical studies for working on philosophical problems. -/- Chapters 3 and 4 are scientific-historically oriented. These chapters analyze the Friesian position in scientific and mathematical debates (debates about the a priori foundations of physics, the problem of the identification of physics as an independent discipline, the problem of the boundary between chemistry and physics, the problem of mathematization of the sciences, the theory of the imponderabilia, the systematics and structure of sciences and mathematics, problems of infinity, the differential calculus, the theory of parallel lines) and the relation between Fries and the scientists of the 19th century. The book contains the latest findings gained by evaluation of the Friesian unpublished work (for example the correspondence with W. Weber, C. F. Gauß, E. F. Apelt, O. Schlömilch, Ch. Reichel, B. A. v. Lindenau, L. Gmelin, E. G. Fischer, A. N. Scherer, J. S. C. Schweigger) -/- One result of the research project is that some important scientists took a favourable view of the Friesian theory, but the influence of the Friesian philosophy on the sciences of the 19th century was very limited. The causes are very complex: An anti-natural-philosophical spirit of age, the limits of the Kantian inspired philosophy and some unfavourable aspects in the biography of Fries. -/- For the first time the voluminous Fries-Reichel-correspondence was evaluated. The Fries-Reichel-correspondence contains the Friesian approach to prove the 11th Euclidean axiom, and the whole transcript of the Friesian attempt at proof is given. // Der erste Teil des Buches will in die Grundprobleme Fries’scher Erkenntnis­theorie, Methodenlehre und Naturphilosophie einführen, wobei das Hauptaugenmerk auf die Fortführung der kantischen Ansätze durch Fries sowie auf die aktuelle Interpretation der Fries’schen Lehre gerichtet ist. Der wissenschaftshistorisch ausgerichtete zweite Teil analysiert Fries’ Stellung zu naturwissenschaftlichen und mathematischen Diskussionsrichtungen (Probleme der Identifizierung der Physik als eigenständige Disziplin, der Grenzziehung zwischen Physik und Chemie, der Mathematisierung der Naturwissenschaften, der Imponderabilientheorie, der Systematik von Naturwissenschaft und Mathematik, des Unendlichen, der Parallelentheorie usw.) sowie sein Verhältnis zu Naturwissenschaftlern und Mathematikern seiner Zeit. Das Buch enthält neue Erkenntnisse, die aus der Auswertung zahlreicher Nachlassmaterialien gewonnen wurden. Erstmalig wird unter dem Blickwinkel „Fries als Naturwissenschaftler und Mathematiker“ auch der sehr umfangreiche Reichel-Briefwechsel ausgewertet. Dem Reichel-Briefwechsel entstammt auch Fries’ Versuch eines Beweises des Parallelenaxioms, der in diesem Buch erstmalig in transkribierter Form vollständig vorliegt. -/- . (shrink)

A number of proposals exist concerning how to support the concept of roles at the level of programming languages. While some of these proposals indeed exhibit very promising properties, the concept of roles has not found its way into mainstream programming languages. We argue that this is due to the richness of the concept of roles and the fact that each existing proposal focuses on some aspects of roles while neglecting others. We present the programming language ObjectTeams/Java and using the (...) categories of Steimann (2000) we demonstrate that this language covers more aspects of roles than previous approaches. We suggest that a thoroughly defined programming language featuring roles may contribute to a better understanding also in other fields using roles. (shrink)

Die Kategorie des Menschseins wird aufgrund wechselnder Wissensbestände und Orientierungskrisen immer wieder neu bestimmt. Das Ästhetische ist damit eng verbunden. 'Aisthesis' ist erstens eine Form der sinnlichen und empfindenden Wahrnehmung, ein vorrationaler 'way of worldmaking' (Nelson Goodman), der den Bezug des Menschen zu sich und seiner Welt moduliert. Ästhetische Vorstellungen grundieren zweitens aber auch die Idee des Humanen und die Normen menschlicher Handlungs-weisen. Und drittens sind ästhetische Erkenntnis- und Ausdrucksformen Teil eines 'selbstgesponnenen Bedeutungsgewebes' (Clifford Geertz) der Kultur, das die Grenzen (...) und das 'Andere' des Menschen bestimmt. Der interdisziplinäre Sammelband vereint aus verschiedenen Fächern und Forschungsperspektiven heraus Einblicke in die Wechselwirkungen zwischen anthropologischen Fragestellungen und ästhetischen Formationen. Mit Beiträgen von Horst Bredekamp, Steffen Martus, Martin Seel, Christoph Wulf, Elisabeth Timm u.a. (shrink)

Investigating the terms such as 'Form' or 'idea', 'essence' or 'being', 'participation', 'presence' and 'community', this book aims to determine the precise historical and philosophical contexts on which Plato drew in the formulation of his thoughts.