Time and reality.--Objectivity.--Logical coherence.--Antagonisms in the individual.

Franciscus de Prato hat sich immer wieder mit der Philosophie Ockhams auseinandergesetzt. Diese Arbeit zeigt auf, wie bedeutsam fur beide Philosophen die Sprachtheorie ist. Der Angelpunkt ist dabei die Annahme entweder eines Satzes im Geiste oder einer Proposition, die aus Dingen besteht. Diese Entscheidung wirkt sich dann auf verschiedenste Gebiete der Philosophie aus. Am Beispiel der Kategorienlehre wird dies deutlich: Kategorien sind Aussagbares. In Satzen aussagbar sind aber fur Ockham nur mentale Begriffe, keine Dinge. Also ist fur ihn die Kategorienordnung (...) keine Ordnung von extramentalen Dingen, sondern nur von mentalen Zeichen. Anders Franciscus: Fur ihn sind Gegenstande, nicht Zeichen primar aussagbar. Also ist fur ihn die kategoriale Ordnung eine reale Hierarchie. Welches Licht wirft diese Auseinandersetzung auf das Verstandnis der Philosophie Ockhams und der des Franciscus? Weitaus wichtiger als der universalientheoretische Unterschied zwischen Nominalismus und Realismus ist fur beide Denker ihre satztheoretische Ausrichtung. Ausgezeichnet mit dem Preis an Studierende der Ruhr-Universitat Bochum. (shrink)

Mit praktischer Rationalität meint man heute meist eine pragmatische Rationalität in Bezug auf ein bedingt motiviertes und partikulär bestimmtes Tun. Eine moralische Nötigung dagegen ist nach Kant Ausdruck einer spezifisch praktischen Richtigkeit, begründet eine unbedingte Geltung und führt eine allgemeine Verbindlichkeit bei sich. Verbleibt man im handlungstheoretischen Rahmen einer empiristischen Ethik, ist nicht zu sehen, wie sich eine solch starke Form der Normativität begründen lassen sollte. Thomas orientiert sich in dieser Frage an der aristotelischen Urteilstheorie: Wenn sich zeigen lässt, unter (...) welchen Bedingungen es möglich, unmöglich oder notwendig ist, bestimmte Aussagen vernünftigerweise als wahr zu denken, dann lässt sich auch zeigen, unter welchen Bedingungen es möglich, unmöglich oder notwendig ist, bestimmte Handlungen vernünftigerweise als gut zu wollen. Die nähere Analyse macht deutlich, warum es genau drei Klassen von Prinzipien einer moralischen Nötigung gibt.Today, in most cases practical rationality is interpreted as a pragmatic rationality concerning a particular action and its conditional motives. According to Kant, however, a moral necessitation is the expression of a specifically practical rightness, it is the foundation of an unconditional claim of validity, and it implies a universal obligation. Remaining strictly within the framework of an empiricist ethics, one cannot see how such a strong form of norm-giving can be justified. Facing this question, Thomas takes his orientation from the Aristotelian theory of judgment: If it is possible to find out the conditions which make it possible, impossible or necessary to reasonably think of certain statements as true, then it is also possible to find out the conditions which make it possible, impossible or necessary to reasonably want certain actions as good. Further analysis elucidates the reasons why there are precisely three types of principles of a moral necessitation. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses ethical issues in forensic psychiatric research on mentally disordered offenders, especially those detained in the psychiatric treatment system. The idea of a ‘dual role’ dilemma afflicting forensic psychiatry is more complicated than acknowledged. Our suggestion acknowledges the good of criminal law and crime prevention as a part that should be balanced against familiar research ethical considerations. Research aiming at improvements of criminal justice and treatment is a societal priority, and the total benefit of studies has to be (...) balanced against the risks for research subjects inferred by almost all systematic studies. Direct substantial risks must be balanced by health benefits, and normal informed consent requirements apply. When direct risks are slight, as in register‐based epidemiology, lack of consent may be counter‐balanced by special measures to protect integrity and the general benefit of better understanding of susceptibility, treatment and prevention. Special requirements on consent procedures in the forensic psychiatric context are suggested, and the issue of the relation between decision competence and legal accountability is found to be in need of further study. The major ethical hazard in forensic psychiatric research connects to the role of researchers as assessors and consultants in a society entertaining strong prejudices against mentally disordered offenders. (shrink)

In the mid-twentieth century when One-Dimensional Man was first published, the rapid advance of technology was already beginning to render “labor”—that is, what is known as “work”—superfluous. In 2016, half a century later, the process of “work” is being made largely redundant, if not “unnecessary”: the material truth of capitalist society that can never be uttered since as “work” disappears, so does what was one of its functional cornerstones. This article seeks to contribute to identifying some of the trends in (...) the early twenty-first century first outlined by Marcuse in One-Dimensional Man fifty years ago, in critically defining One-Dimensional Society in 2016. (shrink)

Resumo O objectivo deste artigo é o de oferecer uma análise ontológica das obras de arte, com a aplicação de uma teoria geral dos artefactos. O contexto teórico é o da descrição da coisa – ou ontologia da substância. Artefactos em geral e obras de arte em particular são consideradas entidades dependentes da mente com identidade convencional. A construção teórica deste artigo baseia-se num diálogo aberto com a teoria da arte e com os artistas, especialmente aqueles que se encontram no (...) campo do “objecto-arte”. Palavras-chave : artefactos, coisas, identidade convencional, obras de arte, ontologia descritiva, substânciasThe aim of this article is an ontological analysis of works of art, in application of a general theory of artefacts. The theoretical context is a descriptive thing – or substance-ontology. Artefacts in general, and works of art particularly, are considered to be mind-dependent entities with conventional identity. The theory-building of the article relies on an open dialogue with theory of art and artists, especially those in the field of object-art. Keywords : artefacts, conventional identity, descriptive ontology, substances, things, works of arts. (shrink)