BackgroundBiobanking biospecimens and consent are common practice in paediatric research. We need to explore children and young people’s (CYP) knowledge and perspectives around the use of and consent to biobanking. This will ensure meaningful informed consent can be obtained and improve current consent procedures.MethodsWe designed a survey, in co-production with CYP, collecting demographic data, views on biobanking, and consent using three scenarios: 1) prospective consent, 2) deferred consent, and 3) reconsent and assent at age of capacity. The survey was disseminated (...) via the Young Person’s Advisory Group North England (YPAGne) and participating CYP’s secondary schools. Data were analysed using a qualitative thematic approach by three independent reviewers (including CYP) to identify common themes. Data triangulation occurred independently by a fourth reviewer.ResultsOne hundred two CYP completed the survey. Most were between 16–18 years (63.7%, N = 65) and female (66.7%, N = 68). 72.3% had no prior knowledge of biobanking (N = 73).Acceptability of prospective consent for biobanking was high (91.2%, N = 93) with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘potential benefits outweigh individual risk’, 'frugality', and ‘(in)convenience’.Deferred consent was also deemed acceptable in the large majority (84.3%, N = 86), with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘body integrity’ and ‘sample frugality’. 76.5% preferred to reconsent when cognitively mature enough to give assent (N = 78), even if parental consent was previously in place. 79.2% wanted to be informed if their biobanked biospecimen is reused (N = 80).ConclusionProspective and deferred consent acceptability for biobanking is high among CYP in the UK. Altruism, frugality, body integrity, and privacy are the most important themes. Clear communication and justification are paramount to obtain consent. Any CYP with capacity should be part of the consenting procedure, if possible. (shrink)

_Nietzsche: Naturalism and Interpretation_ offers a resolution of one of the most vexing problems in Nietzsche scholarship. As perhaps the most significant predecessor of more recent attempts to formulate a postmetaphysical epistemology and ontology, Nietzsche is considered by many critics to share this problem with his successors: How can an antifoundationalist philosophy avoid vicious relativism and legitimate its claim to provide a platform for the critique of arguments, practices, and institutions? Christoph Cox argues that Nietzsche successfully navigates between relativism (...) and dogmatism, accepting the naturalistic critique of metaphysics and theology provided by modern science, yet maintaining that a thoroughgoing naturalism must move beyond scientific reductionism. It must accept a central feature of aesthetic understanding: acknowledgment of the primacy and irreducibility of interpretation. This view of Nietzsche's doctrines of perspectivism, becoming, and will to power as products of an overall naturalism balanced by a reciprocal commitment to interpretationism will spur new discussions of epistemology and ontology in contemporary thought. (shrink)

An overview of the epistemological approach to argumentation, explaining what it is, justifying it as better than a rhetorical or a consensual ist approach.systematizing the main directions and theories according to their criteria for good argumentation and presenting their contributions to major topics of argumentation theory. Also. an introduction to the articles of the two special issues of Informal Logic about the epistemological approach to argumentation.

The question of whether cognition can influence perception has a long history in neuroscience and philosophy. Here, we outline a novel approach to this issue, arguing that it should be viewed within the framework of top-down information-processing. This approach leads to a reversal of the standard explanatory order of the cognitive penetration debate: we suggest studying top-down processing at various levels without preconceptions of perception or cognition. Once a clear picture has emerged about which processes have influences on those at (...) lower levels, we can re-address the extent to which they should be considered perceptual or cognitive. Using top-down processing within the visual system as a model for higher-level influences, we argue that the current evidence indicates clear constraints on top-down influences at all stages of information processing; it does, however, not support the notion of a boundary between specific types of information-processing as proposed by the cognitive impenetrability hypothesis. (shrink)

A interlocution containing a stimulating lead essay on the relationship between law and violence by one of the key third-generation Frankfurt School philosophers, Christoph Menke, and engaged responses by a variety of influential critics.

C'est d'un nouveau positionnement de la Bible dans la culture dont il s'agit aujourd'hui, et pas seulement d'une nouvelle manière de la recevoir et de la lire, bien que ces deux aspects soient inséparables. L'Ecriture s'est progressivement sécularisée et transformée en " classique " parmi d'autres. Simultanément, l'accès au texte s'est " démocratisé ". Désormais, il ne jouit plus d'aucun privilège statutaire par rapport à d'autres grands textes de l'humanité : tous sont soumis à la même méthodologie plurielle qui évolue (...) continuellement, tout en se voulant contrôlable par le plus grand nombre. Dans ce contexte, la pratique ecclésiale de lecture qui continue à considérer le texte comme inspiré n'est plus qu' " une pratique parmi d'autres ". On en vient donc aujourd'hui à une situation paradoxale où le canon des Ecritures, largement discuté par les historiens et les théologiens, est en réalité accepté par la culture, tandis que l'inspiration pose problème sans avoir bénéficié jusqu'à maintenant d'une même traitement, voire d'une simple attention. Cette situation peut révéler un état de " crise " dans la réception et l'intelligence des Ecritures ; elle peut aussi être reçue comme une " chance ".Today, it is a question of a new positioning of the Bible in culture and not only a new way of receiving and reading it, although these two aspects are inseparable. Scripture has been gradually secularized and transformed into a "classic" among others. At the same time, access to the text has been "democratized." In the future, it will no longer enjoy a privileged status in relation to other great texts of humanity: they all undergo examination from the same multiple methodological approach that is constantly evolving, while seeking to be verifiable by as many people as possible. In this context, the ecclesial practice of reading that continues to consider the text as inspired is no more than "one practice among others." This has resulted today in a paradoxical situation in which the canon of the Scriptures, widely discussed by historians and theologians, is in reality accepted by the culture, whereas inspiration poses a problem without having benefited until now from the same treatment, or even given any attention. This situation could reveal a state of "crisis" in the reception and understanding of the Scriptures: it could also be welcomed as "good fortune". (shrink)

Sind platonische Ideen oder Formen wirklich in dem Sinn als „eingestaltig“ konzipiert, dass sie nicht aus Teilen bestehen können? Ganz und gar nicht! Christoph Hochholzer zeigt, dass die Relation von Teil und Ganzem einer Form neben der Relation der Teilhabe an Formen zu den zentralen Grundannahmen der Ideenlehre gehört. Von diesem Befund ausgehend, entwickelt die detaillierte Textanalyse eine ganz neuartige Interpretation des Sophistes. Der eleatische Fremde, der Sokrates in dem Spätdialog als Gesprächsführer ablöst, präsentiert demnach eine ausgereifte Variante von (...) Platons Philosophie, mit deren Hilfe er unterschiedlichste Fragen präzise beantwortet: Was ist die Bedeutung von „... ist seiend“ oder „... ist verschieden von...“? Gibt es Nicht-Seiendes? Können auch Formen an Formen teilhaben? Was genau sind eigentlich Sophisten und wieso kann Sokrates ihnen nicht helfen? Die Untersuchung beinhaltet eine streng logische Rekonstruktion des Textes ohne die literarische Form des Dialogs und seine Stellung in Platons Gesamtwerk zu vernachlässigen. Sie bietet eine neue Übersetzung und einen philologisch gründlichen Kommentar. Daraus werden eine Vielzahl von neuen Positionen zu klassischen Forschungsfragen, wie die nach der Selbstprädikation oder dem Mythos, entwickelt. (shrink)

Self-deception is a special kind of motivational dominance in belief-formation. We develop criteria which set paradigmatic self-deception apart from related phenomena of automanipulation such as pretense and motivational bias. In self-deception rational subjects defend or develop beliefs of high subjective importance in response to strong counterevidence. Self-deceivers make or keep these beliefs tenable by putting prima-facie rational defense-strategies to work against their established standards of rational evaluation. In paradigmatic self-deception, target-beliefs are made tenable via reorganizations of those belief-sets that relate (...) relevant data to target-beliefs. This manipulation of the evidential value of relevant data goes beyond phenomena of motivated perception of data. In self-deception belief-defense is pseudo-rational. Self-deceivers will typically apply a dual standard of evaluation that remains intransparent to the subject. The developed model of self-deception as pseudo-rational belief-defense is empirically anchored. (shrink)

Hans J. Morgenthau (1904-1980) gilt als einer der Grundervater einer theoretisch-systematischen Analyse der Internationalen Politik. Sein machtzentrierter, aber auch machtskeptischer Ansatz wurde in Deutschland lange vernachlassigt oder einseitig interpretiert. Dieser Band ist der erste politikwissenschaftlich umfassende Sammelband im deutschen Sprachraum, der das vielseitige und komplexe Denken Morgenthaus abbildet und dabei auch sein Verstandnis innerstaatlicher politischer Prozesse inkorporiert. Im Dialog mit den Disziplinen der Jurisprudenz, der Geschichte und Politik hat Morgenthau ein Gedankengebaude errichtet, das Machtskepsis einerseits und einen hohen normativen Anspruch (...) an politische Herrschaft andererseits miteinander verbindet. In diesem Band werden die staatsrechtlichen Aspekte im Denken Morgenthaus, seine Kritik am Akteur Staat sowie seine Uberlegungen zur Uberwindung einer staatszentrierten internationalen Ordnung dargestellt. (shrink)

(2003). Perfecting the Individual: Wilhelm von Humboldt's concept of anthropology, Bildung and mimesis. Educational Philosophy and Theory: Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 241-249.

(1) The aim of the paper is to develop a reduction of fallacy theory, i.e. to 'deduce' fallacy theory from a positive theory of argumentation which provides exact criteria for valid and adequate argumentation. Such reductionism has several advantages compared to an unsystematic action, which is quite usual in current fallacy but which at least in part is due to the poor state of positive argumentation theory itself. (2) After defining 'fallacy' (3) some principle ideas and (4) the exact criteria (...) for (argumentatively) valid and adequate arguments of the 'practical theory of argumentation' of the author are expounded. These criteria will be used as the positive basis for the following reduction. (5) In the main part of the paper a systematization, definition and explanation of the main types and many subforms of fallacies of argumentative validity and (6) adequacy is developed, following the list of positive conditions of validity and adequacy. In addition to many new types of fallacies, this systematization contains the most important of the traditionally known and named fallacies; these are explained and the criteria for some of them are corrected or put more precisely. (shrink)

Inequities in health and health care are one of the greatest challenges facing the international community today. This problem raises serious questions for health care planners, politicians and ethicists alike. The major world religions can play an important role in this discussion. Therefore, interreligious dialogue on this topic between ethicists and health care professionals is of increasing relevance and urgency. This article gives an overview on the positions of Islam and Christianity on equity and the distribution of resources in health (...) care. It has been written in close collaboration and constant dialogue between the two authors coming from the two religions. Although there is no specific concept for the modern term equity in either of the two religions, several areas of agreement have been identified: All human beings share the same values and status, which constitutes the basis for an equitable distribution of rights and benefits. Special provisions need to be made for the most needy and disadvantaged. The obligation to provide equitable health services extends beyond national and religious boundaries. Several areas require intensified research and further dialogue: the relationship between the individual and the community interms of rights and responsibilities, how to operationalize the moral duty to decrease global inequalities in health, and the understanding and interpretation of human rights in regard to social services. (shrink)

The paper introduces, compares and contrasts formal models of source reliability proposed in the epistemology literature, in particular the prominent models of Bovens and Hartmann and Olsson :127–143, 2011). All are Bayesian models seeking to provide normative guidance, yet they differ subtly in assumptions and resulting behavior. Models are evaluated both on conceptual grounds and through simulations, and the relationship between models is clarified. The simulations both show surprising similarities and highlight relevant differences between these models. Most importantly, however, our (...) evaluations reveal that important normative concerns arguably remain unresolved. The philosophical implications of this for testimony are discussed. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag behandelt strukturelle und kontextuelle Spezifika von selbstorganisierten Migrantensportvereinen auf statistischer Grundlage. Er beruht auf einer Sonderauswertung des für den Sportentwicklungsbericht 2009/2010 durch eine Befragung von Sportvereinen in ganz Deutschland gewonnenen Datensatzes (N=19.345). Durch univariate Varianzanalysen abgesicherte Mittelwertvergleiche zwischen den anhand ihrer Mitglieder- und Vorstandszusammensetzung als solche kategorisierten Migrantensportvereinen und den restlichen Vereinen der Stichprobe werden ergänzt durch eine Matched-Pairs- Analyse und eine Regressionsanalyse. Die dafür herangezogenen Vergleichsvariablen liegen in den Bereichen Mitgliederstruktur, Vereinstätigkeit, Standort und Problembelastung. Unter anderem (...) haben Migrantensportvereine im Durchschnitt weniger Mitglieder und einen höheren Männeranteil, öfter Fußball im Angebot und häufiger existenzbedrohende Probleme als andere Sportvereine. (shrink)

In Demokratien gibt es gewöhnlich ein gesetzliches Mindestalter, durch das Kinder und Jugendliche von politischen Wahlen ausgeschlossen werden. Je nach Altersstruktur der Bevölkerung dürfen ungefähr 20 bis 25 Prozent der Staatsbürger eines Landes nicht wählen. In diesem Aufsatz werden der Ausschluss Minderjähriger von Wahlen in Demokratien sowie mögliche alternative Stellungen Minderjähriger im Wahlrecht einer ethischen Analyse unterzogen. Die erste zentrale These des Aufsatzes lautet, dass der Ausschluss und die Nichtrepräsentation von Minderjährigen ungerecht ist, dass die Regierungsgewalt über Minderjährige in demokratischen (...) Staaten nicht ausreichend legitimiert ist und dass Kinder und Jugendliche gute Gründe dafür haben, sich gegen Gesetze und Maßnahmen ihrer Regierung mit Akten des zivilen Ungehorsams zu wehren. Die zweite zentrale These des Aufsatzes lautet, dass der beste Weg zur Aufhebung dieses Zustands der Ungerechtigkeit und mangelnden Legitimation in der Einführung einer Pflicht der Eltern besteht, stellvertretend für ihre Kinder zu wählen. Diese elterliche Pflicht sollte durch ein Vetorecht der Minderjährigen ab 14 Jahren ergänzt werden. (shrink)

While many studies of early Christianity mention translocal links as one of the significant characteristics of early Christian communities, these links have not been examined in detail. The present article provides a brief survey of research and discusses the significance of such links. It then examines in detail the evidence for such links in Paul's Letter to the Galatians. The article is the first examination of the direct and indirect translocal links in Galatians and of their function in the letter. (...) A final section draws out the implications of understanding early Christianity. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to develop general criteria of argumentative validity and adequacy for probabilistic arguments on the basis of the epistemological approach to argumentation. In this approach, as in most other approaches to argumentation, proabilistic arguments have been neglected somewhat. Nonetheless, criteria for several special types of probabilistic arguments have been developed, in particular by Richard Feldman and Christoph Lumer. In the first part (sects. 2-5) the epistemological basis of probabilistic arguments is discussed. With regard to (...) the philosophical interpretation of probabilities a new subjectivist, epistemic interpretation is proposed, which identifies probabilities with tendencies of evidence (sect. 2). After drawing the conclusions of this interpretation with respect to the syntactic features of the probability concept, e.g. one variable referring to the data base (sect. 3), the justification of basic probabilities (priors) by judgements of relative frequency (sect. 4) and the justification of derivative probabilities by means of the probability calculus are explained (sect. 5). The core of the paper is the definition of '(argumentatively) valid derivative probabilistic arguments', which provides exact conditions for epistemically good probabilistic arguments, together with conditions for the adequate use of such arguments for the aim of rationally convincing an addressee (sect. 6). Finally, some measures for improving the applicability of probabilistic reasoning are proposed (sect. 7). (shrink)

The article critically discusses Walton’s (and co-authors’) argument scheme approach to good argumentation. Four characteristics of Walton’s approach are presented: 1. Argument schemes provide normative requirements. 2. These schemata are enthymematic. 3. There are associated critical questions. 4. The method is inductive, abstracting schemata from groups of similar arguments. Four adequacy conditions are applied to these characteristics: AC1: effectiveness in achieving the epistemic goal of obtaining and communicating justified acceptable opinions; AC2: completeness in capturing the good argument types; AC3: efficiency (...) in achieving the goals; AC4: justification of the argument schemes. The discussion reveals weaknesses in Walton’s account, including they are neither effective nor truly justified. A better alternative is an epistemological approach based on epistemological principles. (shrink)