In der folgenden Übersicht wird versucht, die wissenschaftstheoretischen Tätigkeiten in den Niederlanden, insbesondere auf den Gebieten der Logik und Grundlagenforschung, Philosophie der Naturwissenschaften, Philosophie der Geschichtswissenschaft und der Sozialwissenschaften zu skizzieren. In einer Schlußbetrachtung werden die allgemeinen methodologischen Fragestellungen und die daraus sich ergebenden neuen Möglichkeiten einer Wissenschaftstheorie erörtert.

Recent policy developments in the area of livestock husbandry have suggested that, from the perspective of optimizing animal welfare, new animal husbandry systems should be developed that provide opportunities for livestock animals to be raised in environments where they are permitted to engage in “natural behavior.” It is not known whether consumers regard animal husbandry issues as important, and whether they differentiate between animal husbandry and other animal welfare issues. The responsibility for the development of such systems is allocated jointly (...) between farmers, regulators, different actors in the food chain, and consumers. This research focuses on understanding consumer attitudes and preferences regarding the development and introduction of such systems, to ensure that they are acceptable to consumers as well as producers, regulators, and scientists. Consumer perceptions of animal welfare and animal husbandry practices were evaluated using quantitative consumer survey, which focused on two animal husbandry issues – farmed pigs and farmed fish. Following pilot work, 1000 representative Dutch consumers were sampled about their attitudes to either pig or fish husbandry. The results indicated that consumers think about animal welfare in terms of two broad categories related to their health and living environment, but do not think about welfare issues at a more detailed level. Greater concern was expressed about the welfare of pigs compared to fish. Consumer trust in labeling also emerged as an important issue, since consumers need to trust different food chain actors with responsibility for promoting animal welfare, and are reluctant to consider the details of animal husbandry systems. As a consequence, a transparent, enforceable, and traceable monitoring system for animal welfare friendly products is likely to be important for consumers. (shrink)

Optimism has reigned supreme for a long time regarding the potential of education (schooling) to address the many societal ailments that humankind has had to deal with. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 shifted all such aspirations to the back-burner. Now, after just more than a year after the initial outbreak of the pandemic, the question can be raised whether those who managed the pandemic in the educational context followed the correct policies and instituted the correct (ethical, (...) moral) measures in combatting the pandemic. This comparison between the situation in the Netherlands and South Africa reveals that although the role-players in both countries had a good understanding of the situation and of their duties in such conditions, they tended to treat education as just another facet of society, thereby demonstrating a lack of empathy with the unique demands of education (schooling). CONTRIBUTION: In this article, the authors investigate the governance performance of two different countries during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic concerning education and judge that performance based on a Biblically driven ethical-moral-pedagogical framework. (shrink)

Queen pheromones, which signal the presence of a fertile queen and induce daughter workers to remain sterile, are considered to play a key role in regulating the reproductive division of labor of insect societies. Although queen pheromones were long thought to be highly taxon‐specific, recent studies have shown that structurally related long‐chain hydrocarbons act as conserved queen signals across several independently evolved lineages of social insects. These results imply that social insect queen pheromones are very ancient and likely derived from (...) an ancestral signalling system that was already present in their common solitary ancestors. Based on these new insights, we here review the literature and speculate on what signal precursors social insect queen pheromones may have evolved from. Furthermore, we provide compelling evidence that these pheromones should best be seen as honest signals of fertility as opposed to suppressive agents that chemically sterilize the workers against their own best interests. (shrink)

Recent results have shown that the relative activation of muscles is different for isometric contractions and for movements. These results exclude an explanation of muscle activation patterns by a combination ofreciprocal and coactivation commands. These results also indicate that joint stiffness is not uniquely determined and that it may be different for isometric contractions and movements.

La philosophie de M. Heidegger, encore en plein développement, ne peut pas être présentée dans un simple système. Dans ses dernières publications, M. Heidegger insiste sur la différence et la distance qui existent entre Etre et les « étants » . Pourtant cet Etre a besoin de s'installer en sa vérité dans les « étants ». L'histoire de la métaphysique occidentale est l'histoire de l'oubli de l'Etre, du subjectivisme et du nihilisme. Cette négligence trouve quand même son origine dans l'Etre (...) lui-même. L'Etre est infini et en même temps, dans son essence, fini. M. Heidegger veut ainsi indiquer que la différence entre l'Etre et tout ce qui est ne peut être comprise par une dialectique quelconque. L'Etre se soustrait à la logique de la raison humaine. Il n'est pas un fondement ni un « étant » suprême, ni une base métaphysique), mais un processus mystérieux de s'ouvrir, c'est-àdire arriver et disparaître dans l'horizon du temps. Quand l'homme se vainc comme subjectivité, il se place dans cette ouverture, cette transcendance pure qui manifeste l'Etre. Il surmonte les « étants » délimités, se rendant compte de leur stabilité falacieuse. Ici, tout ce qui est se montre dans sa particularité, dans le secret de sa contingence et se trouve ainsi dans le cercle lumineux de l'Etre. (shrink)

La métaphysique de Berkeley présente une synthèse des méthodes analytique et phénoménologique et sa pensée peut être considérée à cet égard, comme le pont entre la philosophie contemporaine du continent et la philosophie anglo-saxonne. C'est pour cela que des penseurs comme Husserl, Wittgenstein, Wisdom, Ryle et d'autres sont mentionnés dans l'article. La métaphysique procure à Berkeley Ja condition transcendentale de telles méthodes. L'analyse du langage élimine les sentences de la métaphysique spéculative. Quand on dit par exemple qu'un dé est dur, (...) carré, etc., cela n'implique pas que ces qualités sont des propriétés d'une substance inconnue, mais elles ne sont que l'explication de ce qu'on entend par l'existence du dé. Berkeley ne veut pas supprimer l'existence, mais rendre le terme explicite. Son analyse découvre que le mot existence est employé lorsqu'on aperçoit quelque chose. L'idée de l'existence d'un paysage non perçu est une image où l'homme se supprime comme observateur. Berkeley ne s'efforce pas de suppléer les intervalles , en supposant Dieu comme observateur permanent. Il part plutôt du langage quotidien où il va de soi que les choses continuent d'exister, même sans être perçues. Cette réalité ne dépend apparemment pas de l'homme individuel et elle renvoie donc vers Dieu, l'existence n'étant rien en soi-même, autrement le mot serait dénué de sens. Les « idées » sont chez Berkeley les choses elles-mêmes et non leur copie dans l'esprit comme chez Locke. Le mot idée indique que leur existence est conçue comme processus de vérification. Berkeley analyse d'une même manière « opérationnelle » les conceptions mathématiques. Le triangle n'est qu'une convention par définition à l'égard de l'utilisation de ce symbole. Les lois de la nature sont une grammaire de la nature qui indique les régularités extérieures et non les forces occultes. Le point de départ de sa méthode que l'on peut appeler phénoménologique est la perception attentive de sa propre conscience. C'est là que les idées se manifestent comme les choses elles-mêmes dans leur présence corporelle. Husserl reconnaît ici son propre effort d'une constitution de la « mondanité » . Berkeley offre une phénoménologie de la perception dans laquelle le monde extérieur manifeste un rapport à la subjectivité. Le temps également trouve sa source dans son rapport à l'esprit. C'est ainsi que Berkeley combat l'objectivisme des sciences naturelles. L'esprit et ses « notions » ne sont comme principe actif, pas à comparer avec les choses .Berkeley, par opposition à la conception des facultés de l'âme, dit que la volonté, la haine, l'amour etc., sont des orientations de l'esprit qui se manifestent aux objets et aux situations. L'objectivité corporelle est un modèle de la subjectivité de l'esprit. métaphysique de Berkeley ne donne pas une compréhension des faits nouveaux, mais une nouvelle compréhension des faits ; elle ne crée pas un arrière-monde, mais elle dévoile l'horizon de sens de ce monde-ci. C'est pour cela qu'elle n'est pas réductrice. La matière n'est pas réduite à l'esprit, mais elle est plus riche que la conception objectiviste de la matière, n'existant que dans une cohésion de signification avec l'esprit. Le monde devient langage dont le sens est de renvoyer vers Dieu ; Dieu est l'auteur, non la cause première. Il est inconnaissable comme objet étant le sujet à partir duquel le dessein du langage et la grammaire de la nature deviennent lisibles. Ici, il ne s'agit plus d'un langage purement théorique mais pratique, qui dévoile le sens du monde en le rendant tendancieux. (shrink)

Introduction: The Dutch Euthanasia Act states that euthanasia is not punishable if the attending physician acts in accordance with the statutory due care criteria. These criteria hold that: there should be a voluntary and well-considered request, the patient’s suffering should be unbearable and hopeless, the patient should be informed about their situation, there are no reasonable alternatives, an independent physician should be consulted, and the method should be medically and technically appropriate. This study investigates whether physicians experience problems with these (...) criteria in medical practice.Methods: In 2006, questionnaires were sent to a random, stratified sample of 2100 Dutch physicians . Physicians were asked about problems in their decision-making related to requests for euthanasia or assisted suicide after enforcement of the 2002 Euthanasia Act.Results: Of all physicians who had received a request for euthanasia or assisted suicide , 25% had experienced problems in the decision-making with regard to at least one of the criteria of due care. Physicians who had experienced problems mostly indicated to have had problems related to evaluating whether or not the patient’s suffering was unbearable and hopeless and whether or not the patient’s request was voluntary or well considered .Discussion: Physicians in The Netherlands most frequently reported problems related to aspects in which they have to evaluate the patient’s subjective perspective. However, it can be questioned whether placing emphasis on these subjective aspects is an adequate fulfilment of the duties imposed on physicians, as laid down in the Dutch Euthanasia Act. (shrink)

Policy makers call upon researchers from the natural and social sciences to collaborate for the responsible development and deployment of innovations. Collaborations are projected to enhance both the technical quality of innovations, and the extent to which relevant social and ethical considerations are integrated into their development. This could make these innovations more socially robust and responsible, particularly in new and emerging scientific and technological fields, such as synthetic biology and nanotechnology. Some researchers from both fields have embarked on collaborative (...) research activities, using various Technology Assessment approaches and Socio-Technical Integration Research activities such as Midstream Modulation. Still, practical experience of collaborations in industry is limited, while much may be expected from industry in terms of socially responsible innovation development. Experience in and guidelines on how to set up and manage such collaborations are not easily available. Having carried out various collaborative research activities in industry ourselves, we aim to share in this paper our experiences in setting up and working in such collaborations. We highlight the possibilities and boundaries in setting up and managing collaborations, and discuss how we have experienced the emergence of ‘collaborative spaces.’ Hopefully our findings can facilitate and encourage others to set up collaborative research endeavours. (shrink)

The ‘ars inveniendi’ of Cicero has been discussed in studies on Rhetoric, but hardly within the framework of philosophy. This article stresses its importance for philosophical reflection by analysing the ‘ars inveniendi’ in the works of Cicero and tracing its further development (Boethius, Agricola, Ramus). Its effect can be retraced in later philosophers who are using the topic of ‘ars inveniendi’, referring to Cicero, such as Bacon and Leibniz.

Returning genomic research results to family members raises complex questions. Genomic research on life-limiting conditions such as cancer, and research involving storage and reanalysis of data and specimens long into the future, makes these questions pressing. This author group, funded by an NIH grant, published consensus recommendations presenting a framework. This follow-up paper offers concrete guidance and tools for implementation. The group collected and analyzed relevant documents and guidance, including tools from the Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research Consortium. The authors then (...) negotiated a consensus toolkit of processes and documents. That toolkit offers sample consent and notification documents plus decision flow-charts to address return of results to family of living and deceased participants, in adult and pediatric research. Core concerns are eliciting participant preferences on sharing results with family and on choice of a representative to make decisions about sharing after participant death. (shrink)

In this article, an ethical analysis of an educational programme on renal replacement therapy options for patients and their social network is presented. The two main spearheads of this approach are: (1) offering an educational programme on all renal replacement therapy options ahead of treatment requirement and (2) a home-based approach involving the family and friends of the patient. Arguments are offered for the ethical justification of this approach by considering the viewpoint of the various stakeholders involved. Finally, reflecting on (...) these ethical considerations, essential conditions for carrying out such a programme are outlined. The goal is to develop an ethically justified and responsible educational programme. (shrink)

Genomic research results and incidental findings with health implications for a research participant are of potential interest not only to the participant, but also to the participant's family. Yet investigators lack guidance on return of results to relatives, including after the participant's death. In this paper, a national working group offers consensus analysis and recommendations, including an ethical framework to guide investigators in managing this challenging issue, before and after the participant's death.

Leibniz regarded the onomatopœia as the relic of the original and universal language: the language of Adam. He regretted the loss of that „lingua adamica”. This leads to a certain tension between the universality of a new logical language and the specificity of onomatopoeic utterances. This line can also be detected in more recent studies. It is related to the diversity of cultural contexts where performative and narrative language plays a role.

The article points out the implications of the discovery of the structure of desoxyribonuceine-acid for the philosophical study of man. The DNA contains in the chromosomes the genetic information. It contains a code which is being deciphered by the way the „instructions”, contained by the specific order of elements of the DNA, are realised by the whole organisation of the organism. In the course of evolution these instructions are becoming more specific and more complex, resulting in the organisation of the (...) human organism. The mutations that feed evolution can be considered, on the one hand as noise, on the other hand as a possibility for readaptation to the environment. In such a readaptation the higher organisms are giving more specific responses, in the human being even responses not at the first place to stimuli, but to the meaning those stimuli convey. A philosophy of man can, from this point of view, consider the human body not so much as a machine or as a material substance, but as a form of organisation making extensive implied genetic information. Human being has the character of an information-structure which, in the course of time, becomes more specific, more „meaningful” in its responses. What is called in philosophy „spirit” or „consciousness” is human being in its structure of an open system, readapting its own information - genetic and sociocultural ones - to the meaning manifested to him by his environment, his history and his social tasks. (shrink)