Eine geradezu mythologische Narration des Okzidents besagt, dass der Mensch mit der europäischen Aufklärung begonnen habe, sein Schicksal nicht mehr übergeordneten Instanzen zu überlassen, sondern es im mutigen Vertrauen auf die eigenen Potenzen in die eigene Hand zu nehmen. Mal abgesehen davon, dass dieser Topos vom selbstbestimmten Menschen die Mythologien und Heldenepen zahlreicher, auch nichteuropäischer Kulturen prägt, scheint an der neuzeitlichen europäischen Narration doch zumindest auffällig, ihr Ideal von Selbstwerdung wie auch gesellschaftlicher und individueller Vervollkommnung an die Vorstellung stetigen Fortschritts (...) zu binden. Am Beispiel einiger zentraler hinduistischer Vorstellungen werde ich aus einer kulturpsychologischen Perspektive zu skizzieren versuchen, dass individuelle Perfektionierung auch in kosmologischen Vorstellungen als möglich gedacht werden kann, in denen stetige Auflösung und Zerstörung als Prinzip alles Seins betont werden. Abschließend werden einige knappe Überlegungen dazu angestellt, wie derartige Vorstellungen dazu beitragen können, bestimmte Aspekte gegenwärtiger Gesellschaft und Politik umfassender zu analysieren.Sri Krishna:Ich bin der Tod, der Zerstörer von Welten.[...] Ich bin die Zeit, die Verschwenderin von Völkern. Ich mache den Augenblick reif für ihren Zerfall.Arjuna:Feuergesichtiger, du hauchst die Welten zu Asche. [...] Die furchtbaren Hauer all deiner Münder knirschen. [...] In deinem grausamen Rachen liegen sie alle, auch die Krieger, ihre Häupter zertrümmert.(Verse aus der Bhagavadgita, Kap. 11). (shrink)

Born in 1838, Mach was a pioneer in the field of physics, having even made an impression on Einstein in his younger life who credited him with being the "Philosophical forerunner of relativity theory." His name is also associated with the speed of sound (as in traveling at Mach "insert-number-here") as well as the Doppler effect. Throughout his career, he was particularly interested in the biological and sensory relationship to physics and science, and naturally, this interest expanded to (...) that of the world of psychological perception and physiological psychology as well as philosophy. The Analysis of Sensations is about just that, the nature of the relationship of physics and the physical sciences to psychological phenomena of sense and perception. It's a fascinating read for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of how the two sides of the same coin meld harmoniously. (shrink)

Erkenntnis und Irrtum. Skizzen zur Psychologie der Forschung. Von E. MACH Emer. Professor an der Unlversltlt Wlen. LEIPZIG Verlag von Johann Ambrosius Barth 1905. INTRODUCTION XIII On a number of occasions Mach expressed the sentiment, especially in his correspondence, that America was the land of intellectual freedom and opportunity, the coming frontier for a new radical empiricism that would help to wash metaphysics out of philosophy. In 1901 he sponsored the German edition of Concepts and Theories of Modern (...) Physics (1881) 2 by J. B. Stallo, Cincinnati lawyer and philosopher. Mach warmly endorsed Stallo's book because his scientific aims so closely approximated his own, and because Stallo rejected the latent metaphysical elements and concealed ontological assumptions of the mechanical-atomistic inter­ pretation of the world. The second edition of Wiirmelehre was dedicated to Stallo in 1900. The fourth edition of Populiir-wissenschaftliche Vorlesungen (1910), containing seven new essays, was dedicated to Harvard Professor of physiology, philosophY, and psychology, William James. Mach had a strong intellectual affinity for James' pragmatism because, like himself, he recognized that James had come to radically empirical views from science. Both men took pure pre-conceptualized experience, from which the mental and physical predicates of experience are composed, to be neutral rather than real, unreal, objective or subjective. (shrink)

xi should hope for "first and foremost" from any historical investigation, including his own, was that "it may not be too tedious. " II That hope is generally realized in Mach's historical writings, most of which are as lively and interesting now as they were when they appeared. Mach did not follow any existing model of historical or philosophical or scientific exposition, but went at things his own way combining the various approaches as needed to reach the goals (...) he set for himself. When he is at his best we get a sense of the Mach whom William James met on a visit to Prague, the Mach whose four hours of "unforgettable conversation" gave the forty year old, well traveled James the strongest "impression of pure intellectual genius" he had yet received, and whose "absolute simplicity of manner and winningness of smile" captivated him completely. 12 Consider, for example, the first few chapters of this book, Principles of the Theory of Heat, which Mach devotes to the notion of temperature, that most fundamental of all thermal concepts. He begins by trying to trace the path that leads from our sensations of hot and cold to a numerical temperature scale. (shrink)

Traduction de l’article de Ernst Mach, « Die Leitgedanken meiner naturwissenschaftlichen Erkenntnislehre und ihre Aufnahme durch die Zeitgenossen » [Les idées directrices de ma théorie scientifique de la connaissance et leur réception par mes contemporains], paru dans Scientia, 7 (1910), p. 225–240. Dans la première partie du texte, Mach expose sa théorie économico-biologique de la connaissance en en retraçant la genèse, des premières années de sa formation intellectuelle jusqu’à la rédaction de ses derniers ouvrages. Il indique également les (...) points de rapprochement possibles avec les doctrines de certains physiciens, mais aussi avec celles de philosophes dont il s’estime particulièrement proche. Dans la seconde partie du texte, Mach répond point par point à la polémique amorcée par Planck et donne ainsi une image plus complexe de sa pensée, loin du dogmatisme que l’on associe ordinairement au positivisme. (shrink)

This article presents the ethical implications for social science research emerging from our study on interpersonal communication after a laryngectomy. By tracing the evolution of our approach through specific research experiences and participant feedback, we provide empirical support for a flexible, multidimensional, and relational understanding of key ethical concepts, such as vulnerability and the researcher-participant relationship. Our approach has shifted from institutionally imposed rigid categorizations and somewhat stereotypical treatment of both the research group and the researcher-participant relationship to an emphasis (...) on building relationships founded on mutual care and rapport. We argue that this revised perspective fosters ethical collaboration that is beneficial and secure for all parties involved, and we offer practical examples of its implementation in research practice. (shrink)

This paper discusses three research perspectives on political culture, civic culture and citizenship: the classic approach of Almond and Verba; contemporary analyses of citizenship referring to the book Civic Culture by Almond and Verba and oriented to the empirical description of social reality; and theoretical analyses of new relational sociology, oriented to the ontology and epistemology of social reality. The authors’ analysis leads to two conclusions. Firstly, it is necessary to combine these three approaches – relational social theory with empirical (...) analyses departing from methodological individualism. This requires conducting an empirical analysis, where the basic ‘analytical units’ – of collection, interpretation and generalization of data – are not separate but combined by relations and networks within which people act. Secondly, Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński’s statements are the best starting point for conducting such a new research programme. What is decisive is his systematic, theoretical interest in contemporary agency theories and relationality of citizenship, combined with innovative application of quantitative methods. (shrink)

The review discusses the book The Origin of Concepts by Susan Carey, in which she presents three main theses — the innateness of some kind of conceptual representations, the presence of a qualitative change during conceptual development and the existence of a special learning mechanism that achieves that discontinuity called bootstrapping. The general reception of the work is positive. Minor doubts are presented regarding two claims: first, the speculation about the iconic format of core cognition representations, which seems to be (...) underdeveloped and slightly unclear, second, the claim that core cognition representations are innate, which seems to be insufficiently supported by empirical data presented. (shrink)

The review tries to summarize the main topics covered by the book "Między redukcją a emergencją" by Robert Poczobut and also to highlight certain points that might be controversial to the philosophically-oriented reader. In particular, Poczobut's methodological claims regarding the boundary between natural sciences and philosophy of mind are brought under scrutiny. While the book presents a broad range of views on matters regarding emergence and reduction, especially with respect to the psychophysical problem, it remains to be proven that the (...) views presented by the author are in reality the most viable option that a philosopher of mind wishing to conform to scientific results has at her disposal. (shrink)