The act of thought-thought as an act-would precede the thought thinking or becoming conscious of an act. The notion of act involves a violence essentially: the violence of transitivity, lacking in the transcendence of thought... Totality and Infinity The work of Emmanuel Levinas revolves around two preoccupations. First, his philosophical project can be described as the construction of a formal ethics, grounded upon the transcendence of the other human being and a subject's spontaneous responsibility toward that other. Second, Levinas has (...) written extensively on, and as a member of, the cultural and textual life of Judaism. These two concerns are intertwined. Their relation, however, is one of considerable complexity. Levinas' philosophical project stems directly from his situation as a Jewish thinker in the twentieth century and takes its particular form from his study of the Torah and the Talmud. It is, indeed, a hermeneutics of biblical experience. If inspired by Judaism, Levinas' ethics are not eo ipso confessional. What his ethics takes from Judaism, rather, is a particular way of conceiving transcendence and the other human being. It owes to the philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber a logos of the world and of the holy, which acknowledges their incom mensurability without positing one as fallen and the other as supernal. (shrink)

Bilder in Kunst und Wissenschaft sind Orte des Denkens und Forschens.

Im Kontext eines umfassenden Rearrangements diskursiver Strukturen um 1800 werden auch Veranderungen innerhalb der Musik wirksam, die als grundlegende mediale Neudisposition verstanden werden konnen. Dabei sind diese Modifikationen in ein Netzwerk von Bestimmungsleistungen unterschiedlicher Provenienz eingebunden, das sich alsbald zu einem regelrechten 'Sinnprojekt' verdichtet. Dessen nahere Konturierung sowie seine vielfaltigen Postfigurationen und intermedialen Spielarten innerhalb unserer Gegenwartskultur stehen im Mittelpunkt dieser Untersuchung. Hier werden zugleich Strategien der asthetischen Gestaltung und theoretischen Reflexion mit in den Blick genommen, die sich jeweils auf (...) ihre eigene Weise mit diesem 'Sinnprojekt' auseinandersetzen. Im Rahmen dieser musik-, kultur- und medienwissenschaftlichen Betrachtungen kommen insbesondere folgende Phanomene zur Sprache: die mediale Disposition von 'Tonkunst' um 1800 - 'Klassik' und 'classic' - die Asthetik digitaler Klange - Marvin Minskys 'Geistesgesellschaft' - 'Brain Opera' - filmasthetische Konzeptionen bei Cameron und Lynch - Sound Libraries und Sound Tracks. (shrink)

The term ‘locked-in’ syndrome (LIS) describes a medical condition in which persons concerned are severely paralyzed and at the same time fully conscious and awake. The resulting anarthria makes it impossible for these patients to naturally communicate, which results in diagnostic as well as serious practical and ethical problems. Therefore, developing alternative, muscle-independent communication means is of prime importance. Such communication means can be realized via brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) circumventing the muscular system by using brain signals associated with preserved cognitive, (...) sensory, and emotional brain functions. Primarily, BCIs based on electrophysiological measures have been developed and applied with remarkable success. Recently, also blood flow–based neuroimaging methods, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), have been explored in this context. After reviewing recent literature on the development of especially hemodynamically based BCIs, we introduce a highly reliable and easy-to-apply communication procedure that enables untrained participants to motor-independently and relatively effortlessly answer multiple-choice questions based on intentionally generated single-trial fMRI signals that can be decoded online. Our technique takes advantage of the participants’ capability to voluntarily influence certain spatio-temporal aspects of the blood oxygenation level–dependent (BOLD) signal: source location (by using different mental tasks), signal onset and offset. We show that healthy participants are capable of hemodynamically encoding at least four distinct information units on a single-trial level without extensive pretraining and with little effort. Moreover, realtime data analysis based on simple multi-filter correlations allows for automated answer decoding with a high accuracy (94.9%) demonstrating the robustness of the presented method.. (shrink)

Contributed research papers presented at seminar.

The Prometheus Syndrome includes eight essays which focus on a Promethean figure in the fields of science, theology, or literature, or as fictional character.

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral - Leipzig) under the title: Seinsvergessenheit im Narrativismus. Zur Bedeutung sprachlicher Tiefenstrukturen im Geschichtsdenken von...

Although lie detection procedures have been fundamentally criticized since their inception at the beginning of the 20th century, they are still in use around the world. In addition, they have created some remarkable appeal in the context of counterterrorism policies. Thereby, the links between science and fiction in this topic are quite tight and by no means arbitrary: In the progressive narrative of the lie detection devices, there is a promise of changing society for the better, which is entangled in (...) a fictional narrative provided by many cinematic and literary examples. By drawing on the concept of “diegetic technologies” formulated by David Kirby, we want to highlight the role of science fictional narratives in the historical development and current application of lie detection procedures. We therefore aim to use this conceptual frame to analyze the role of prevention-oriented mind reading procedures, which are developed for or already used in the “war on terror” with reference to their fictional predecessors. One virulent factor has to be highlighted in this context: The fictional engagement with possible new lie detection practices is in itself creating a legitimating ground for future security technologies. (shrink)

The article presents new research about spiritual experiences during COVID-19. It starts with a wider discussion about the relationship between spirituality and wellbeing, based on research carried out in Brazil and the United Kingdom before the pandemic. The research showed a strict division between personal faith and medical treatment, reflecting a professional distance when treating patients that results in patients’ unwillingness to speak about their experience to anyone in the medical profession, even when these experiences impact their mental health. The (...) article then explores findings of a new research project about spiritual experience during COVID-19 and reflects on three themes that emerged from the data: 1) changes in patients’ relationships with their religious communities, 2) seeing spiritual figures and near death experiences, and 3) interpretations of COVID-19 as a spiritual contagion. These themes contribute to a nuanced understanding of how spiritual experiences that arise in moments of crisis are interpreted by the people who have them, potentially contributing to resiliance and coping. The last section discusses the reluctance to speak about non-ordinary experiences and reflects on the importance of integrating non-ordinary experiences for mental health. (shrink)

Gibt es einen spezifisch "linken" Kitsch in Abgrenzung zu politisch "rechtem"? Dieser vernachlässigten, für das Verständnis "linken Denkens" seit der Französischen Revolution aber wichtigen Frage gehen die Beiträge dieses Bandes nach.0Gezeigt wird, dass "linkes" Denken aus ganz anderen Gründen kitschanfällig ist als sein "rechtes" Pendant, auch wenn die Pathosformeln sich mitunter frappierend ähneln. Denn während rechte Ideologien den Veränderungsdruck der Moderne kompensieren, streben linke eher danach, ihn nach dem Motto "Mehr desselben" zu überbieten. Dieses Phänomen »linker Kitsch± nimmt der Band (...) in historischer und theoretischer Hinsicht anhand von sprachlichen, bildlichen und filmischen Beispielen in den Blick, sodass es in seinem konstitutiv transmedialen Charakter zur Geltung kommt. (shrink)

The volume addresses these questions, contrasting Derrida's thought with philosophical predecessors such as Rosenzweig, Levinas, Celan, and Scholem, and tracing ...

Goal-setting theory states that challenging, specific, and concrete goals (i.e., subordinate goals) are powerful motivators and boost performance in goal pursuit more than vague or abstract goals (i.e., superordinate goals). Goal-setting theory predominantly focuses on single, short-term goals and less on broad, long-term challenges. This review article extends goal-setting theory and argues that superordinate goals also fulfill a crucial role in motivating behavior, particularly when addressing broad, long-term challenges. The purpose of this article is to show theoretically that people pursue (...) long-term goals more successfully when they focus on subordinate and superordinate goals simultaneously than when they focus on either subordinate or superordinate goals alone. (shrink)

The aim of this book is to understand and critically appraise science-based transgression dynamics in their whole complexity. It includes contributions from experts with different disciplinary backgrounds, such as philosophy, history and sociology. Thus, it is in itself an example of boundary transgression. Scientific disciplines and their objects have tended to be seen as permanent and distinct. However, science is better conceived as an activity that constantly surpasses, erases and rebuilds all kinds of boundaries, either disciplinary, socio-ethical or ecological. This (...) transgressive capacity, a characteristic trait of science and its applications, defines us as "knowledge societies." However, scientific and technological developments are also sources of serious environmental and social concerns. Contents Disciplinary Transgression of Boundaries - Extra-Disciplinary Transgression of Boundaries - Radical Transgression of Boundaries Target Groups Scientists and students of philosophy, sociology, history of science, and interdisciplinary fields such as technology assessment, sustainable development, science and technology studies - Practitioners in research management Editors Bettina-Johanna Krings (MA in sociology, political science and anthropology; PhD in sociology) is head of the research department "Knowledge Society and Knowledge Policy" at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Hannot Rodríguez (PhD in philosophy) is Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. Anna Schleisiek (Dipl.-Soz.) is doing research on the role of economic principles in the scientific practice of research teams for her PhD project in sociology. <. (shrink)

Videogames and Agency explores the trend in videogames and their marketing to offer a player higher volumes, or even more distinct kinds, of player freedom. The book offers a new conceptual framework that helps us understand how this freedom to act is discussed by designers, and how that in turn reflects in their design principles. What can we learn from existing theories around agency? How do paratextual materials reflect design intention with regards to what the player can and cannot do (...) in a videogame? How does game design shape the possibility space for player action? Through these questions and selected case studies that include AAA and independent games alike, the book presents a unique approach to studying agency that combines game design, game studies, and game developer discourse. By doing so, the book examines what discourses around player action, as well as a game's design can reveal about the nature of agency and videogame aesthetics. This book will appeal to readers specifically interested in videogames, such as game studies scholars or game designers, but also to media studies students and media and screen studies scholars less familiar with digital games. (shrink)

Platons,Gorgias' hat eine höchst unterschiedliche Rezeption erfahren. In der Forschung gilt er als einer der schwierigsten Texte Platons. Dies ist vor allem der Fülle an Themen, die verhandelt werden, geschuldet. Sokrates spricht mit seinen drei Gesprächspartnern - mehr als in vielen anderen Dialogen Platons - über Rhetorik, Gerechtigkeit, Macht, Handlungsmotive, das glückliche und gelungene Leben, am Schluss findet sich ein Mythos über ein Seelengericht. Die scheinbare Unvereinbarkeit der verschiedenen Textelemente hat dazu geführt, dass der,Gorgias' als Vorstudie zur,Politeia' oder als Zeugnis (...) persönlicher Enttäuschung eingeschätzt wurde. In der Antike wurde der Dialog, fern solcher Kritik, viel rezipiert und kommentiert, insbesondere als Teil des neuplatonischen Lektüre- und Schulkanons. Überliefert ist aus dieser reichen Beschäftigung nur der Kommentar Olympiodors, dessen umfassende Deutung des Dialogs in dieser Studie modernen Deutungen gegenübergestellt wird. (shrink)