In their depictions of scandalized politicians, journalists frequently use news images that highlight the isolation of politicians. To test how this way of portraying political actors affects a recipient’s attitudes and his/her guilt perception toward such a scandalized politician an experiment was conducted. All participants were exposed to the identical textual information. However, the visual information was systematically altered. A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that participants – exposed to a visual highlighting the isolation of the politician – evaluated the (...) politician in a significantly more negative way and rated other recipients’ perceptions of the politician’s level of guilt to be higher. (shrink)

The most important work of the famed German philosopher, this 1841 polemic asserts that religion and divinity are outward projections of inner human nature. Feuerbach's critique of Hegelian idealism excited immediate international attention — Marx and Engels were particularly influenced. This acclaimed translation is by the celebrated English novelist George Eliot.

Given its non-invasive nature, there is increasing interest in the use of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation across basic, translational and clinical research. Contemporaneously, tVNS can be achieved by stimulating either the auricular branch or the cervical bundle of the vagus nerve, referred to as transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation and transcutaneous cervical VNS, respectively. In order to advance the field in a systematic manner, studies using these technologies need to adequately report sufficient methodological detail to enable comparison of results between (...) studies, replication of studies, as well as enhancing study participant safety. We systematically reviewed the existing tVNS literature to evaluate current reporting practices. Based on this review, and consensus among participating authors, we propose a set of minimal reporting items to guide future tVNS studies. The suggested items address specific technical aspects of the device and stimulation parameters. We also cover general recommendations including inclusion and exclusion criteria for participants, outcome parameters and the detailed reporting of side effects. Furthermore, we review strategies used to identify the optimal stimulation parameters for a given research setting and summarize ongoing developments in animal research with potential implications for the application of tVNS in humans. Finally, we discuss the potential of tVNS in future research as well as the associated challenges across several disciplines in research and clinical practice. (shrink)

The following text is a translation of Feuerbach’s essay ‘Zur Beurteilung der Schrift Das Wesen des Christentums’, which was published in February 1842. The piece is intended to clarify Feuerbach’s relation to many of his most important contemporaries and influences, especially Hegel. An Introduction to this essay has been published simultaneously.

This book, translated for the first time into English, presents the major statement of the philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach. Here, in his most systematic work, Feuerbach’s thought on religion and on the philosophy of nature achieves its full maturity. Central to the thought of Feuerbach is the concept that man not God is the creator, that divinities are representations of man’s innermost feelings and ideas. Philosophy should turn from theology and speculative rationalism to sound factual anthropology. “My aim in (...) these Lectures,” writes Feuerbach, “is to transform friends of God into friends of man, believers into thinkers, worshippers into workers, candidates for the other world into students of this world, Christians, who on their own confession are half-animal and half-angel, into men––whole men.”. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungDie rechtliche Regelung der Fortpflanzungsmedizin ist dringend reformbedürftig. Das Embryonenschutzgesetz von 1990 erfasst die neuesten technischen Entwicklungen nicht, ist in manchen Bereichen unstimmig und lückenhaft, setzt die betroffenen Frauen, Paare und Kinder unnötigen gesundheitlichen Risiken aus, erschwert paradoxerweise die Durchsetzung von Kinderrechten und erzeugt Gerechtigkeitsprobleme und Rechtsunsicherheit für die betroffenen Paare und die behandelnden Ärztinnen und Ärzte.Das Embryonenschutzgesetz enthält zudem nur strafrechtliche Verbote. Diese erlauben keine angemessene Reaktion auf die medizinische Entwicklung und den gesellschaftlichen Wandel und werden der Komplexität der (...) Materie nicht gerecht.Diese Probleme müssen gelöst werden. Der Bundesgesetzgeber verfügt seit mehr als 20 Jahren über die Kompetenz zur Regelung der Fortpflanzungsmedizin. Er sollte in der kommenden Legislaturperiode ein umfassendes Fortpflanzungsmedizingesetz schaffen. (shrink)

Ludwig Wittgenstein gilt als der Sprachphilosoph. Mit dem 'Tractatus logico-philosophicus' und den 'Philosophischen Untersuchungen' hat er die entscheidenden Texte verfasst, die den linguistic turn der modernen Philosophie begründen. Dass sich die beiden Ansätze eklatant widersprechen, ist oft bemerkt und diskutiert worden. Nicht aber, dass Wittgenstein in dieser systemimmanenten Konkurrenz mehr als ein innerphilosophisches Problem verhandelt. Tatsächlich muss man seine philosophische Entwicklung auch als eine Auseinandersetzung mit seiner eigenen Lebensgeschichte begreifen. Dabei spielt eine wichtige Rolle, dass Wittgenstein erst mit vier (...) Jahren zu sprechen begann und offenkundig eine autistische Kindheitsperiode durchlief, die sich später zum Bild einer postautistischen Persönlichkeit entwickelte. Seine teilweise bizarren Verhaltensweisen sind oft genug 'anekdotisch' berichtet worden. Eine verständliche Vorsicht gegenüber 'psychologischen' Ableitungen hat dazu geführt, dass die Spuren, die auf einen engen Zusammenhang zwischen seinem lebensgeschichtlichen Schicksal und seinem Denken verweisen, nicht verfolgt wurden. Tatsächlich erschliesst sich seine Philosophie in neuer und überraschender Weise, wenn man sie als lebensgeschichtliche Selbstreflexion versteht. (shrink)

Presented here is the transcript of a BBC radio broadcast by Elizabeth Anscombe that was recorded in May 1953 – the month when Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations appeared in England for the first time. In her radio talk, Anscombe provides some biographical and philosophical background for reading the Philosophical Investigations. She addresses the importance of the Tractatus and of the literary qualities of Wittgenstein’s writing. Anscombe warns that it would be fruitless to adopt slogans from Wittgenstein without insight. She also calls (...) it a misunderstanding to think that Wittgenstein had championed something like the Ordinary Language Philosophy as it was practised at the time of the recording. (shrink)

"Originally published in 1845, this digest of thirty lectures by one of Germany's most influential humanist philosophers extends the critique expounded in The Essence of Christianity (1841) to religion as a whole." The main thrust of Feuerbach's analysis of religion is aptly summed up in the original subtitle to this work: "God the Image of Man. Man's Dependence upon Nature the Last and Only Source of Religion." Feuerbach reviews key aspects of religious belief and in each case explains them as (...) imaginative elaborations of the primal awe and sense of dependence that humans experience in the face of nature's power and mystery. Rather than man being created in the image of God, the situation is quite the reverse: "All theology is anthropology," he says, and "the being whom man sets over against himself as a separate supernatural existence is his own being.". (shrink)

Der moderne Rechtsstaat beansprucht, seine Bürger unterschiedslos als freie und gleiche Personen zu behandeln. Aufgrund dieses allgemeinen Anspruchs sind von der Legitimation staatlicher Normen partikulare ethische Konzeptionen ebenso ausgeschlossen wie Willkür und Privilegium. Eine besondere Frage entsteht aber im Verhältnis zu den großen Religionen, die einerseits selbst mit universalen Geltungsansprüchen auftreten, andererseits als Offenbarungsreligionen durch ihre Geschichtlichkeit aber auch partikular sind. Aus dem Verhältnis von Politik und Religion vor dem Hintergrund moderner Rechtsstaatlichkeit ergeben sich eine Reihe von philosophisch-historischen sowie von (...) rechtssystematischen Problemen, die in diesem Band von Philosophen und Rechtswissenschaftlern eingehend erörtert und diskutiert werden. Dabei wird, ausgehend von der je eigenen Fachperspektive, eine interdisziplinäre Diskussion eröffnet. Mit Beiträgen von:Michael Anderheiden, Reinhard Brandt, Maximilian Forschner, Thomas Gutmann, Walter Jaeschke, Bernhard Jakl, Günther Mensching, Frank Saliger, Kurt Seelmann, Ludwig Siep, Michael Städtler, Christian Walter. (shrink)

against Garve' constitute his reaction to the latter's remarks on Cicero's De Officiis . Two related criticisms of Kant's against Garve are discussed in brief in this paper. A closer look is then taken at Garve's claim that `Kantian morality destroys all incentives that can move human beings to act at all'. I argue that Kant and Garve rely on two different models of human action for their analyses of moral motivation; these models differ in what each takes to be (...) salient for the explanation of human action. I show that Samuel Clarke's analogy of physical explanation in the framework of Newtonianism (in his Discourse concerning the Unchangeable Obligations of Natural Religion ) usefully illuminates the difference between Kant and Garve in these respects. Key Words: Christian Garve • Kantian ethical theory • moral motivation • moral obligation • Samuel Clarke. (shrink)

It is first Kant who makes "practical reason" a central term in moral philosophy. He departs from a tradition which assigned clearly distinct roles within the theory of moral obligation to "ratio" on the one hand, and "voluntas" on the other. Using an example of a Christian natural law approach employed before Kant, the article isolates and portrays each of these roles. Against this background it shows that Kant transforms a theological argument for God's self-obligation though His own will (...) to create a "kingdom of nature" into a philosophical argument for human self-obligation through human creation of a "kingdom of freedom". The rational and voluntary moments of this "act of creation" are expressed in the concept of "practical reason". This concept thus articulates human understanding of self as a self-legislating and free being. 'Praktische Vernunft' wird erst mit Kant zu einem zentralen Terminus der Moral. Er steht quer zu jener Tradition, welche bis dahin der 'ratio' einerseits und der 'voluntas' andererseits wohlunterschiedene Aufgaben im Rahmen der Theorie moralischer Verbindlichkeit zuwies. Am Beispiel einer christlich-naturrechtlichen Argumentationsweise vor Kant werden die beiden genannten Aufgaben herausgearbeitet. Es zeigt sich vor diesem Hintergrund, daß Kant ein theologisches Argument für die Selbstbindung Gottes durch dessen eigenen Willen zur Schöpfung eines 'Reiches der Natur' in das philosophische Argument einer Selbstbindung des Menschen durch die Schöpfung eines 'Reiches der Freiheit' transformiert. Vernunft- und Willensmoment ebendieses 'Schöpfungsaktes' finden Ausdruck in dem Begriff einer 'praktischen Vernunft'. Dieser artikuliert somit das Selbstverständnis des Menschen als eines sich selbst das Gesetz gebenden, freien Wesens. (shrink)

Perhaps even more radically than under the criticism of the ‘Maîtres du soupçon’, a whole world goes down in Greek comedy. Not only traditional religion, but also ethical life and finally even reason itself seem to be affected by the all-destroying power of laughter.The title of Aristophanes’ famous play ‘The Clouds’ has a symbolic meaning: in the comedy, Greek ethical life dissolves into a vanishing mist. Behind the player’s mask hides the principle of this total decomposition: the autonomous, selfconfident individual. (...) This event does not only have a theatrical meaning. It does not only exist in the artist’s imagination. It concerns a whole nation, a whole culture. The comedy is an expression of the way society understands itself. It represents in an aesthetic way the fact that the individual human being sees himself as ‘principium essendi et cognoscendi’ of everything. The comedy voices a new truth, namely that all truth begins and ends with man. The gods — symbols of truth and actuality- have dissolved in the shamelessness of a laughter, which does not halt for anything anymore. Formulated in modern terms: the comedy voices the philosophical principle that from now on the subject will be the reference point of all reality. Long before Descartes’s Cogito, a metaphysics of subjectivity here finds one of its remarkable expressions.At least, that is how Hegel interprets the comedy in his Phenomenology of Spirit. According to him, the destruction of the Greek world announces itself in the comedy. It signals the experience that a certain culture has grown old, that something new is coming. This new actuality will get its first, symbolic expression in the Christian religion. However, this transition is only possible if consciousness undergoes new experiences, by which the self-sufficient and frivolous cheerfulness of the comedy gets lost. In these new experiences the implications of the principle of the autonomous subjectivity, which is decisive for the comedy, come to light. Hegel defines this principle as following: “das Selbst ist das absolute Wesen; das Wesen, das Substanz und an dem das Selbst die Akzidentalität war, ist zum Prädikate herunter gesunken ...”.These new experiences are indicated by a term which is already familiar to the readers of the Phenomenology, namely ‘the unhappy consciousness’. Hegel writes: “We see that this Unhappy Consciousness constitutes the counterpart and the completion of the comic consciousness that is perfectly happy within itself”. The text is clear: the unhappy consciousness is not only that into which the comic consciousness turns. It is at the same time a change in which this consciousness accomplishes itself.The “Self which is for itself the absolute being” could not durably maintain itself in its position. Its “Leichtsinn” makes it “light”, too light to be the substance of everything. Very quickly, it loses its uncomplicated enjoyment of itself and becomes unhappy, even more: it has to become unhappy. I will return to the reason for this “having to” later on. But first, how does Hegel typify this historical experience, which is connected with the origin of Christianity? What does the bitter fruit of Greek comedy consist of? (shrink)

Hugo Grotius und Thomas Hobbes stehen beide in unterschiedlicher Weise für einen Neubeginn in der Politischen Philosophie bzw. in der Rehtsphlosophie. Während bei Grotius die Anknüpfung an die vorangehende Tradition des Christlichen Naturrechts gleichwohl unübersehbar ist, ist Hobbes' Beziehung zum Naturrecht kontrovers. In der Konfrontation beider Autoren mit dem in der scholastischen Diskussion herausgearbeiteten Naturgesetzbegriff zeigt sich, wie die Auseinandersetzung zwischen den voluntaristischen und rationalistischen Positionen letztlich einer Rechts- und Moralphilosophie Bahn bricht, die sich von den theologischen Voraussetzungen des Christlichen (...) Naturrechts befreien kann, ohne dabei mit diesem in unmittelbaren Widerspruch zu geraten oder auch nur dessen Begriffsrahmen zu sprengen. Durch eine strikte Trennung von Evaluationsproblem und Obligationsproblem eröffnet Grotius' De iure belli ac pacis das Feld einer säkularen Moralwissenschaft, welche Hobbes im Leviathan dann auf ein neues methodisches Fundament stellt und zudem durch eine säkulare Verpflichtungstheorie ergänzt. In different respects, Hugo Grotius and Thomas Hobbes represent a new beginning in political and legal philosophy. Although Grotius' connection with the previous tradition of Christian natural law is obvious, Hobbes' relation to natural law is controversial. Both of them, however, confront the concept of natural law as developed in the scholastic discussion. The ensuing debate between voluntarism and rationalism finally paves the way for a new philosophy of law and morals. This new philosophy can extricate itself from the theological presumptions of Christian natural law without running into contradiction with it, or even dissolving its conceptual framework. Through its strict division between evaluation and obligation, Grotius' De iure belli ac pacis opens the door for a secular moral science, which Hobbes in Leviathan places on a new methodological foundation and also expands upon through a secular theory of obligation. (shrink)

Never translated before, 'Thoughts on Death and Immortality' was the first published work of Ludwig Feuerbach. The scandal created by portrayal of Christianity as an egoistic and inhumane religion cost the young Hegelian his job and, to some extent, his career. Joining philosophical argument to epigram, lyric, and satire, the work has three central arguments: first, a straightforward denial of the Christian belief in personal immortality; second, a plea for recognition of the inexhaustible quality of the only life (...) we have; and third, a derisive assault on the posturings and hypocrisies of the professional theologians of nineteenth-century Germany. (shrink)

" L'essence du christianisme a frappé d'un " coup de tonnerre " philosophique le monde des intellectuels révolutionnaires " jeunes-hégéliens " allemands : " Nous fûmes tous feuerbachiens " (Engels). L'intervention de Feuerbach marque un tournant décisif dans la formation de la pensée de Marx. Marx a " épousé " la pensée de Feuerbach pendant des années. Il a dû passer par Feuerbach pour devenir Marx. Il est devenu Marx en se séparant de Feuerbach. L'essence du christianisme n'a rien perdu (...) de sa force révélatrice. Les philosophes seront frappés de découvrir dans ce livre des problèmes, des principes, de formules et des catégories philosophiques qui sont au cœur même de la pensée contemporaine. L'essence du christianisme a été le miroir et la solution provisoire de la crise des philosophes jeunes-hégéliens dans les années 1841-1845. On constatera avec quelle étonnante profondeur Feuerbach annone et devance, à un titre ou un autre, par contraste ou parenté, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Husserl, certains thèmes de Heidegger, Barth et la théologie récente, etc. L'essence du christianisme est, aujourd'hui encore, un ouvrage scandaleux. Car il porte sur la religion chrétienne et divise les hommes. Il oblige à se prononcer sur ce qui est sans doute la question cruciale de la philosophie contemporaine : religieuse, OU pour une philosophie consciemment et rigoureusement antireligieuse. ". (shrink)

What can systematic philosophy contribute to come from conflict between cultures to a substantial dialogue? - This question was the general theme of the 29th international symposium of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society in Kirchberg. Worldwide leading philosophers accepted the invitation to come to the conference, whose results are published in this volume, edited by Christian Kanzian Edmund Runggaldier. The sections are dedicated to the philosophy of Wittgenstein, Logics and Philosophy of Language, Decision- and Action Theory, Ethical Aspects (...) of the Intercultural Dialogue, Intercultural Dialogue, and last not least to Social Ontology. Our edition include contributions authored by Peter Hacker, Jennifer Hornsby, John Hyman, Michael Kober, Richard Rorty, Hans Rott, Gerhard Schurz, Barry Smith, Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer, Franz Wimmer, and Kwasi Wiredu. (shrink)

At the latest following Pufendorf's Jus naturae et gentium , the attempt to develop natural law out of one basic principle is prominent. Although John Locke characterizes Pufendorf's natural law as worthy of emulation and his own Treatises of Government reveal obvious traces of Pufendorf's ideas, still one fails to find any influence by the "basic-principle idea." Furthermore, Locke never explicates the mathematically demonstrative principle for law and morals, which he introduced in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding . Locke, however, (...) does indicate in his Reasonableness of Christianity of 1695 that he sees the execution of such a program unrealistic at least by this point in time. He instead develops a form of heurism, which, in reliance on the New Testament , permits him to introduce a rational moral theory and a rational natural law. His natural law theory reveals its rationality not through its justification or by providing a systematic exposition, but rather by resisting any possible objections of reason. (shrink)

Die Abhängigkeit des Menschen von der Natur ist der Grund der Religion. In diesem Satz verdichtet sich das Religionsverständnis, das Ludwig Feuerbach in seiner kurzen Schrift "Das Wesen der Religion" (1846) dargelegt hat. Mit ihr rückte er den Naturbegriff in den Mittelpunkt seiner Religionsforschung. Gegenüber seiner berühmtesten Abhandlung "Das Wesen des Christentums" (1841) trieb er auf diesem Wege die Gedankengänge, die zum Ursprung der Religion führen sollten, um einige Stollen tiefer. Der Wurzelgrund der Religion liegt nicht allein im Menschen, (...) sondern vielmehr im Verhältnis des Menschen zu der von ihm unabhängigen Natur. Feuerbach erkannte in dieser Bestimmung den Schlüssel zu einem aufgeklärten Religionsverständnis. The Essence of Religion The dependence of human beings on nature is the basis of religion. This statement summarizes the understanding of religion of Ludwig Feuerbach as he presented it in his short treatise "The Essence of Religion" (1846). With this work he shifted the focus of his religious research on the concept of nature. In comparison with his most famous work "The Essence of Christianity" (1841) his thinking, trying to get to the origins of religion, is working here on a somewhat deeper level. The root of religion is not to be found only in humanity but much more in the relationship of humanity with a nature which is independent from human beings. Feuerbach saw in this definition the key to an enligthened understanding of religion. (shrink)

Every student of the twentieth century has heard both of the great Viennese economist Friedrich von Hayek and of the equally great philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. But what isn't well known is that the two were distant cousins and that, shortly after Wittgenstein's death in 1951, Hayek set out to write a biography of his cousin. The project was derailed by Wittgenstein family members, who felt it was to soon to publish such a work - especially one like Hayek's, so (...) candid about his cousin's difficulties and depressions. But Hayek's draft acquired an underground readership, and Wittgensteins biographers have used it extensively. Here finally, is the text of that work itself - a true goldmine in being one great thinker's view of another, whom he knew personally, even if not well. Hayek's account has the great merit of being close to its subject; the draft, moreover sheds light, not only on Wittgenstein but on Hayek as well. (shrink)

Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the most widely read philosophers of the twentieth century. But the books in which his philosophy was published – with the exception of his early work Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus – were posthumously edited from the writings he left to posterity. How did his 20,000 pages of philosophical writing become published volumes? Using extensive archival material, this Element reconstructs and examines the way in which Wittgenstein's writings were edited over more than fifty years, and shows how (...) the published volumes tell a thrilling story of philosophical inheritance. The discussion ranges over the conflicts between the editors, their deviations from Wittgenstein's manuscripts, other scholarly issues which arose, and also the shared philosophical tradition of the editors, which animated their desire to be faithful to Wittgenstein and to make his writings both available and accessible. The Element can thus be read as a companion to all of Wittgenstein's published works of philosophy. (shrink)

Since Dilthey we have become used to thinking of reason as having a cultural and historical setting. If we take this insight seriously, then critical rationality or critical thinking can no longer be conceived of as context-free skills. This paper takes up the line of thought that is elaborated by Christopher Winch in his ‘Developing Critical Rationality as a Pedagogical Aim’ and seeks to explicate it by drawing on Ludwig Wittgenstein's concept of ‘language games’ and on the re-evaluation of (...) ‘thinking’ by Theodor Ballauff (a German philosopher of education who was influenced by Martin Heidegger). The overcoming of a solipsistic and idealistic conception of thinking raises questions regarding the pedagogical settings and aims, as well as the problems over the limits of critique in education. A comparison of Ballauff's and Winch's positions reinforces the sense of the significance of critique: although the role of critical rationality within education is ambiguous and precarious, the investigation of autonomy (as an educational goal) shows that critique cannot be limited in any straightforward way. (shrink)

The aim of this volume is to investigate the topic of Substance and Attribute. The way leading to this aim is a dialogue between Islamic and Western Philosophy. Most of the collected papers in our book are results of contributions to a workshop, organized by the editors of the volume, as an integrated part of the 29th International Ludwig Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg, Lower Austria, taking place in August 2006. The general theme of this conference was Cultures: Conflict, Analysis, (...) Dialogue. The organizational frame of the workshop and also of this edition is the partnership between the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom, Iran, and the University of Innsbruck in Austria, the first formal high level academic partnership between an Iranian Institution and a European University. Dialogue is our aim, but not speaking about dialogue. Our dialogue shall be a work in practice; and our practice is a philosophical one. Our project is motivated by the observation that the roots of Islamic and of Western Philosophy are very similar. There is a strong consensus among historians of philosophy that these roots are the same in substance, and the differences are only of accidental importance. Some of the articles in this volume are dedicated to the history of philosophy, in Islamic thinking as well as in Western traditions. Avicenna and Thomas Aquinas are authors to whom reference is made in most of the historical contributions. Through their elaborations, these contributions will make clear what is mentioned here roughly. (shrink)