First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Kant's view that there is a propensity to evil in human nature has been thought to be both internally inconsistent and in tension with his other philosophical commitments. This essay provides an interpretation of the propensity to evil to defend Kant from these objections. I argue that the propensity to evil is the choice of the evil fundamental maxim. I then assess Kant's claims that the propensity to evil is universal and inextirpable given this interpretation. I conclude by proposing a (...) new interpretation of why Kant deliberately employs religious language in developing his account of the propensity to evil. (shrink)

On the received view, the Representational Theory of Measurement reduces measurement to the numerical representation of empirical relations. This account of measurement has been widely criticized. In this article, I provide a new interpretation of the Representational Theory of Measurement that sidesteps these debates. I propose to view the Representational Theory of Measurement as a library of theorems that investigate the numerical representability of qualitative relations. Such theorems are useful tools for concept formation that, in turn, is one crucial aspect (...) of measurement for a broad range of cases in linguistics, rational choice, metaphysics, and the social sciences. (shrink)

Kurzdarstellung: Der Beitrag untersucht Wolfgang Cramers Argument für die transzendentale Realität der Zeit. In seiner Grundlegung einer Theorie des Geistes von 1957 beansprucht der Post-Neukantianer, Kants Theorie der Zeit zu revidieren, um das angebliche Grundproblem der Transzendentalphilosophie zu lösen: wie „das Bewusstsein in seiner Konstitution des Gegenstandes den Gegenstand als Nicht-Gegen­ stand […] wissen“ könne. Indem das Kernargument von Cramers transzendentaler Ontologie rekonstruiert wird, soll (gegen Cramer) dargelegt werden, dass schon der kritische Idealismus Kants eine Lösung auf das besagte Grundproblem (...) darstellt. Sie besteht darin, den Zusammenhang von Zeit und Denken zu entontologisieren. Gleichwohl bringt Cramers transzendentale Ontologie (wohl unfreiwillig) einen zentralen, aber immer noch weitgehend vernachlässigten Aspekt der kantischen Theorie der Zeit zur Geltung – deren spekulative Bedeutung. -/- Abstract: The article explores Wolfgang Cramer’s argument for the transcendental reality of time. In his 1957 Grundlegung einer Theorie des Geistes, the Post-Neokantian claims to revise Kant’s theory of time in order to resolve the alleged key problem of transcendental philosophy: How consciousness is able to relate to the constituted object (Gegenstand) of our representations as a non-object (Nicht-Gegenstand). While reconstructing the core argument of Cramer’s transcendental ontology, I will argue (pace Cramer) that Kantian critical idealism already presents a solution to said problem: de-ontologizing the nexus between time and thinking. Nevertheless, Cramer’s transcendental ontology manages (perhaps involuntarily) to highlight a central, yet still widely neglected aspect of Kant’s theory of time—its speculative relevance. (shrink)

The widespread use of stimulants among healthy individuals to improve cognition has received growing attention; however, public attitudes toward this practice are not well understood. We determined the effect of framing metaphors and context of use on public opinion toward cognitive enhancement. We recruited 3,727 participants from the United States to complete three surveys using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk between April and July 2017. Participants read vignettes describing an individual using cognitive enhancement, varying framing metaphors (fuel versus steroid), and context of (...) use (athletes versus students versus employees). The main outcome measure was the difference in respondent-assigned level of acceptability of the use of cognitive enhancement by others and by themselves between the contrasting vignettes. Participants were more likely to support the use of cognitive enhancement by others than by themselves and more when the use of enhancement by others was framed with a fuel metaphor than with a steroid metaphor. Metaphoric framing did not affect participants’ attitudes toward their own use. Participants supported the use of enhancement by employees more than by students or athletes. These results are discussed in relation to existing ethical and policy literature. (shrink)

This is the first translation into English of early phenomenologist Hedwig Conrad-Martius’ Metaphysical Conversations, originally published in 1921. Conrad-Martius was one of Husserl’s first students, an important part of the Göttingen Phenomenology Circle and mentor to Edith Stein, Jean Héring, and other early phenomenologists. The present volume provides the full German and English texts of the conversations, a phenomenological discussion of the nature of the human, examining the nature of body, soul, and spirit, and drawing distinctions between plants, (...) animals, humans, and various other beings. The volume also includes two important essays on phenomenology, in which Conrad-Martius distinguishes between the phenomenological approaches of Husserl, Heidegger, and the more ontological approach of the Göttingen school of phenomenology. She is critical of Husserl’s "transcendental" and Heidegger’s "existential" approach. The conversations illustrate her use of the phenomenological method for fundamental investigations into the nature (or Wesen) of things. (shrink)

This is a book about moral reasoning: how we actually reason and how we ought to reason. It defends a form of 'rule' utilitarianism whereby we must sometimes judge and act in moral questions in accordance with generally accepted rules, so long as the existence of those rules is justified by the good they bring about. The author opposes the currently more fashionable view that it is always right for the individual to do that which produces the most good. Among (...) the salient topics covered are: an account of the utilitarian function in society of generally accepted moral rules; a discussion of how we interpret existing moral rules and create new ones; and a defence of 'rule' utilitarianism against the charge that it either commits one to irrational rule worship, or collapses into a form of 'act' utilitarianism. This is a book about moral reasoning: how we actually reason and how we ought to reason. It defends a form of 'rule' utilitarianism whereby we must sometimes judge and act in moral questions in accordance with generally accepted rules, so long as the existence of those rules is justified by the good they bring about. (shrink)

Der Beitrag untersucht den Zusammenhang von Kritizismus (qua Heterologie) und Kritischer Theorie (qua Dialektik) anhand der Konstellation Rickert-Adorno. Heterologie und Dialektik werden von der Forschung bislang als gegensätzliche Methodenkonzepte erachtet. Dagegen soll gezeigt werden, dass Adorno diesen Gegensatz gezielt infrage stellen und sich auf das heterologische Denkprinzip berufen muss, um die dialektische Tradition zu kritisieren. Die These lautet: Bei Adorno bildet Heterologie den Sinnhorizont der dialektischen Negation. Sonst wäre die negative Dialektik eine positive Dialektik – die Kritische eine traditionelle Theorie (...) geblieben. (shrink)

This thesis asks a simple question. Why is it that communication between two people succeeds? In other words, what makes it so that one person can signify whatever thought they are entertaining to another person, and that person will understand what the first wanted to say? Consequently, what are the conditions for success, and when does communication fail? This thesis takes a stance on these questions, and develops a framework for systematically explaining communicative success. I discuss relevant accounts of communication (...) in the history of philosophy and contemporary accounts, and their contribution to what amounts to the Classical Model. The Classical Model answers the central questions of the thesis convincingly for many cases. But it faces serious challenges from a range of cases in which it seems difficult to impossible to determine a single proposition communicated. I look at, and critically discuss, a variety of current accounts intended to determine the content of such utterances, all of which give up some aspect of the Classical Model. This discussion calls for a solution, and I develop such a solution in detail. The model developed extends the Classical Model and makes it possible to determine a single proposition for the utterance's content in all problematic cases. The thesis is maximally conservative w.r.t. the Classical Model. It explains communication with an explicit articulation of the Classical Model extended with a pragmatic way of determining truth conditions for utterances. (shrink)

New Blackfriars, Volume 102, Issue 1101, Page 728-744, September 2021.

We confront the philosophical literature on fair division problems with axiomatic and game-theoretic work in economics. Firstly, we show that the proportionality method advocated in Curtis is not implied by a general principle of fairness, and that the proportional rule cannot be explicated axiomatically from that very principle. Secondly, we suggest that Broome’s notion of claims is too restrictive and that game-theoretic approaches can rectify this shortcoming. More generally, we argue that axiomatic and game-theoretic work in economics is an indispensable (...) ingredient of any theorizing about fair division problems and allocative justice. (shrink)

I examine Kant’s claim in part one ofReligion within the Boundaries of Mere Reasonthat moral reform requires both a ‘change of heart’ and gradual reformation of one’s sense (R,6: 47). I argue that Kant’s conception of moral reform is neither fundamentally obscure nor is it as vulnerable to serious objections as several commentators have suggested. I defend Kant by explaining how he can maintain both that we can choose our moral disposition via an intelligible choice and that we become good (...) through a continuous struggle. I then provide an interpretation of how moral reform occurs in the phenomenal realm. (shrink)

This paper examines a recurrent debate about the rationale of contractual liability: whether the central object of contract law is to facilitate human interaction by respecting individual choices, or if it is in large part to redistribute wealth, power, and advantages generally. The debate between defenders of freedom of contract and those who would use contract law to advance schemes of redistribution is connected to the long-standing issues between natural-law theories and legal positivism. This paper is divided into two main (...) sections. In the first, the notion of individual autonomy is examined in light of the classical view, most recently advanced by Fried, that the rationale for enforcing contracts is connected to the respect for individual autonomy as such. There is also an examination of the notion of a collective concern, and what it is, from a libertarian point of view, that makes some social goals objectionably collective. The second part of the paper argues that the use of collective resources for the enforcement of contracts brings with it the authority to limit and shape enforcement in the interest of redistribution. (shrink)

Hedwig Conrad-Martius was honoured with the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, on March 1st, 1958. What follows is her acceptance speech on that occasion. In this speech, Conrad-Martius not only gives an account of her biography as a phenomenologist who studied directly with Husserl, but also demonstrates that Husserl’s work is open to a peculiar form of subjective materialist interpretation that can explain his transcendental turn. The speech is an important document for (...) those who support the possibility of a Husserlian transcendental materialism. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se expone y analiza la mutua influencia y desencuentros de la Bildung, propia de la Ilustración alemana y de su desarrollo posterior, con la cultura judía. La secularización y asimilación de los judíos alemanes a la cultura ilustrada, por una parte, y la demanda que representa la tradición y el culto, por otra, constituyen una tensión que afecta no sólo a judíos, sino también a todas las instituciones culturales alemanas. This paper exposes and analyzes the mutual (...) influence and disagreements of the Bildung, typical of the German Enlightenment and its subsequent development with Jewish culture. German Jews'secularization and assimilation into the enlightened culture, on the one hand, and the exigency that tradition and cult represent, on the other, constitute a tension that affects not only the Jews but also all German cultural institutions. (shrink)

This paper provides a methodological analysis of Libertarian Paternalism, as put forward in the book Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (Yale University Press, 2008). Libertarian Paternalism aims to use the accumulated findings of behavioural economics in order to assist decision-makers to make better choices. The philosophical debate about this proposal has focused on normative issues with regards to this proposal. This paper analyses Libertarian Paternalism descriptively and points out four methodological conditions for successful Nudges. On that basis, a (...) methodological critique of Libertarian Paternalism is mounted: the success conditions suggest that Nudges might be even harder to implement and to justify than commonly assumed in the philosophical debate. (shrink)

The article entitled “Ruyer and the lessons of Instinct” focuses on the problem of the anthropological difference. André Conrad first shows that for any comprehensive ethology (Fabre, von Uexküll, Buytendijk) instinct depends neither on the mechanism of “autonomous sequences” (Lorenz, Tinbergen) nor on “regulated behaviours”: it is an embryology organised and developed accordingly to a “thematic action” (Ruyer). Thus, if human being is separated from animality by the originality of the symbolic function (Cassirer and Langer), the thematic action does (...) not separate social embryology –both cultural and political– from the mystery of Life. That is this precise “Thematism” (Ruyer) that allows us to understand both the difference and community between living beings. (shrink)

The concept of time discounting introduces weights on future goods to make these less valu- able. Famously, both the specic functional form of time discounting and its normative sta- tus are contested. To address these problems, this paper provides a measurement-theoretic framework of representation for time discounting. The general representation theorem char- acterises time discounting factors as ratio-scale representations of dierences in temporally extended prospects. This framework of representation is used to reconsider interpretations of time discounting factors such as time (...) preferences, uncertainty and preference change. It also allows to compare these interpretations with regards to their normative appeal, the kinds of reductionism regarding time and preference they imply and the specic functional form of time discounting they suggest. Farther, multiple-self interpretations of decision-makers become available, such that a time discounting factor represents the degree of connectedness between temporal selves in a person. (shrink)

This collection of interdisciplinary essays on a unique work by a physician and political figure in 12th-century Spain and North Africa casts important light on the social and intellectual history of the period and breaks new ground in the critical assessment of medieval Arabic literary works.

CHAPTER ONE Because a work of art is a product of man it must be explained and judged differently from a product of nature. The explanation of a product of ...