Comparative genomicists seem to be convinced that the unit of measurement employed in their studies is a gene that drives the function of cells and ultimately organisms. As a result, they have come to some substantive conclusions about how similar humans are to other organisms based on the percentage of genetic makeup they share. I argue that the actual unit of measurement employed in the studies corresponds to a structural rather than a functional gene concept, thus rendering many of the (...) implications drawn from comparative genomic studies largely unwarranted, if not completely mistaken. †To contact the author, please write to: Department of Philosophy, University of Utah, 215 South Central Campus Drive, Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building, 4th Floor, Salt Lake City, UT 84112; e‐mail: monika.piotrowska@utah.edu. (shrink)

Studie pojednává o kritice experimentální vědy v Anglii v 60. a 70. letech 17. století. Text se soustředí na námitky, které proti nové filosofii a vědě pěstované v Royal Society vznesli ve svých dílech Margaret Cavendishová (1623-1673) a Henry Stubbe (1632-1676). Ačkoliv tito autoři kritizovali institucionalizovanou experimentální vědu z různých hledisek, shodovali se v jednom bodě: Cavendishová i Stubbe vyzdvihovali hodnotu, úroveň a relevanci antického vědění ve srovnání s výsledky bádání představitelů Royal Society. Jejich výhrady vůči Royal Society jsou zde (...) systematiky představeny ve třech tematických blocích: epistemologickém, historickém a nábožensko-politickém. Cílem této studie je ukázat, že navzdory prestiži, které se dnes empirická věda těší, nebyla v 17. století nová přírodní filosofie okamžitě a s nadšením přijímána. Zároveň chce doložit, že názory kritiků, které v dnešní době mohou působit bizarně i zpátečnicky, z tehdejšího hlediska dávaly smysl a někdy mohly být i opodstatněné. (shrink)

Wspołcześnie filozoficzne studia nad ludzką tworczością nie zamykają się jedynie na opisie życiorysow geniuszy i na estetycznych analizach oryginalnego wytworu. Wraz z poszerzeniem granic pojęcia creatio, rozumianego obecnie często jako uniwersalna ludzka potencjalność tworzenia (kreatywność), rozszerzyło się też pole możliwych analiz do podjęcia w ramach kiełkującej dopiero dziedziny filozofii tworczości. Pojawiły się też jednocześnie nowe dylematy do rozwiązania.W niniejszym tekście pokazuję ową rożnorodność i problematyczność wspołczesnych badań nad fenomenem tworczości poprzez (1) wymienienie głownych opozycyjnych głosow w dzisiejszych analizach, a także (...) (2) przez opisanie obecnie wiodących kierunkow studiow podejmowanych wokoł tego zagadnienia. Podniesione zostaną tutaj m.in. takie problematyczne kwestie jak: egalitarność vs. elitarność tworczości, miejsce świadomości i racjonalności w procesie tworczym, natura tworczości naukowej, perspektywa międzykulturowa w badaniach nad kreatywnością, naturalizowanie ludzkiej tworczości czy też rola wyobraźni oraz dziecięcej zabawy w udawanego w kształtowaniu zdolności tworczych człowieka. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to point out the basic areas of judgment made by employees considering the ethical or unethical behaviour of employers in the workplace. The authors analyse this subject from three perspectives: The first one is labour legislation in Poland; the second is the perspective of employers, especially codes of ethical standards created by contemporary organizations, and the third perspective is the point of view of employees. The conclusions in this area have been made on the (...) basis of research in two Polish insurance companies. The authors attempted to create a ranking of ethical elements significant for employees. Such knowledge could be very useful for creating proper personnel policy in any organisation. (shrink)

In the first half of the 15ᵗʰ century there was a coherent philosophical system of teaching at the Jagiellonian university, so-called ars vetus, concerning the interpretation of three treatises: Aristotle’s Categories and Hermeneutics and Porphyry’s Isagoge. The question-commentaries on the Categories that have been preserved in several manuscripts show astonishing similarity in solving individual problems – there are three copies of Benedict Hesse’s commentary and one copy of Paul of Pyskowice’s work, moreover, in BJ 1941 there is an anonymous commentary (...) on the Categories that is also very close to the ones mentioned before, to prove that fact. This paper, discussing the four-fold division of opposition in those Polish commentaries on Aristotle’s Categories, is part of the studies on the manuscript material that has not been critically edited yet. The main goal is to show the philosophical views on contraries, contradictories, relatives and possession and privation in a wider perspective, comparing the Polish commentaries’ doctrine with the authoritative text itself. (shrink)

Siphonous seaweeds, which constitute a vital component of coral reefs, are structurally simple, single‐celled coenocytic macroscopic green algae. Kim et al.1 have recently shown the extraordinary wound‐repair and propagation mechanism of one such siphonous green alga—Bryopsis plumosa. Nucleocytoplasmic aggregates, which are released after injury to this plant, are membraneless structures that can survive in seawater for 10–20 minutes, before they are surrounded by a gelatinous envelope. Subsequently, a cell membrane and cell wall are synthesized around each of these aggregates and (...) the resulting individual cells, so formed, develop into new plants. This report represents a significant advance in our understanding of wound response and, more significantly, is probably the first example of transient survival of life without a cell membrane! BioEssays 24:588–590, 2002. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

On the issue of abortion, Ireland and Poland have been among the most conservative countries in Europe. Their legal and cultural approaches to this issue have been deeply influenced by the institution of the Catholic Church and its purported role as a defender of an authentic national identity. However, their political climates for abortion reform are increasingly divergent: Ireland has liberalised its abortion law substantially since 2018, while Poland is moving towards further criminalisation with the repeated introduction of restrictive laws (...) in parliament. Both have seen active pro-choice movements who mobilise for reform and widespread non-compliance with their restrictive abortion laws, but the policy impact of these trends varies significantly. What accounts for this difference? This article draws on comparative analysis of Ireland and Poland to assess their divergent trajectories on abortion reform, arguing that the most significant driver of change between the two is the disparity in influence of the Catholic Church on politics and policymaking. (shrink)

The current study investigated age differences in the use of attentional deployment, positive reappraisal and suppression while regulating responses to sadness-eliciting content. We also tested to what extent these emotion regulation strategies were useful for each age group in managing response to age-relevant sad information. Forty-two young participants (Mage = 18.5, SE =.15) and 48 older participants (Mage = 71.42, SE = 1.15) watched four sadness-eliciting videos (about death/illness, four to five minutes long) under four conditions—no-regulation (no regulation instructions), attentional (...) deployment (divert attention away), positive reappraisal (focus on positive outcomes) and suppression (conceal emotional expressions). We assessed negative emotional experience, expression, skin conductance level (SCL) and visual fixation duration while participants watched the emotional clips and followed the instructions for each condition. Results suggest that older adults were more successful than younger adults at implementing both attentional deployment and positive reappraisal. Ability to suppress emotions appears to remain stable with age. Within age-group comparisons suggested that for the older adults, positive reappraisal was a more useful emotion regulation strategy than the others, while the pattern among younger adults was less conclusive. Age-relevant differences in motivation and successful emotion regulatory efforts based on theoretical and empirical literatures are discussed. (shrink)

Eine nähere Untersuchung des semantischen Wahrheitsbegriffes von Tarski ergibt, daß diesen die von konsenstheoretischer Seite gegen ihn vorgebrachten Einwände nicht zu treffen vermögen. Indem Tarski den Wahrheitsbegriff auf eine nur für formale Systeme anwendbare Definition zusammenzieht, vermag er den Aporien der älteren korrespondenztheoretischen Versuche zu entgehen, muß dafür allerdings eine weitgehende praktische Bedeutungslosigkeit in Kauf nehmen, weil er weder ein Wahrheitskriterium noch gar einen Weg der Verifikation angibt. Dies nun jedoch stellt genau die Leistung der Konsenstheorie dar: der Konsens der (...) Beratenden liefert Definition, Kriterium und Verifikation der Wahrheit zugleich. Die Aufgabe einer schlüssigen Begründung dieser Konsenstheorie der Wahrheit wird am Beispiel von Habermas untersucht, wobei sich ergibt, daß eine transzendental vorgehende Argumentationsstrategie sich in Naturalismus- und Idealismusprobleme verstrickt. (shrink)

Recenzja książki: R. Dunbar, Człowiek. Biografia, tłum. Łukasz Lamża, Copernicus Center Press, Kraków 2015, ss. 414.

Comprehensive study of the Vākyapadīya of Bhartr̥hari, work on semantics and philosophy of Sanskrit grammar.

The article discusses Paweł Polit’s book on the philosophy and painterly oeuvre of S. I. Witkiewicz that relates both areas of Witkiewicz’s work based on his idea of “unity of personality.” Exploring Witkacy’s theory, also contained in his literary works, Polit confronts it with the philosophical sources of his thought, as well as with Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology and Deleuze’s and Derrida’s reflections on painting that bring to the fore its corporeal, haptic dimension. The idea of the “unity of personality” is, according (...) to Polit, a keystone of Witkacy’s thought, giving coherence to his aesthetic reflection, despite of its changes. Subjected to an appropriate interpretation, i.e. connected with the theory of the unconscious background of experiences, inseparable from the psychophysical identity of an individual, the idea of “unity of personality” becomes also the interpretative key to Witkacy’s painting. The author draws attention to the originality of Polit’s approach to Witkiewicz which situates itself within a broader contemporary discussion on the relationships between art and philosophy, painting and writing. She juxtaposes Witkacy’s case discussed by Polit with other examples of artists in whose oeuvre writing and visual work illuminate each other and intertwine. (shrink)

Die Autorin zeigt anhand der Texte von Locke, Leibniz, Kant, Fichte, Novalis und Jean Paul, wie Motive aus der nachkopernikanischen und newtonschen Astronomie zu Schlüsselmetaphern werden. Die Denker und Dichter erörtern mit diesen die Möglichkeiten eines neuen Grundlagendenkens und -handelns im Angesicht der Verwissenschaftlichung des Weltbildes.

L'histoire du sanctuaire de l'« Établissement des Poseidoniastes de Bérytos » à Délos continue de faire l'objet de discussions, notamment à propos du nombre et de la succession des phases, ainsi que de la fonction des quatre celhe. L'auteur, à la faveur d'un réexamen du bâtiment, propose une nouvelle lecture de l'histoire de la construction. Ainsi, lors de l'agrandissement du sanctuaire dans la deuxième phase, aucune des pièces de la première phase, à savoir deux cellae pour les theoi patrioi de (...) l'association et une pièce secondaire, n'est demeurée inchangée. Trois pièces du nouveau sanctuaire abritaient le culte de la déesse Rome et des theoi patrioi, la quatrième faisant office de pièce secondaire (« sacristie »). Les quatre pièces ont subi une deuxième transformation : renouvellement des pavements, des bases des statues et des images de culte. Il est désormais certain que la statue de Rome et sa base n'ont pas été dressées dans la cella originelle, mais seulement dans celle de la troi- sième phase. Contrairement à l'opinion en vigueur jusqu'à présent, on ne peut pas prouver que la statue et sa base — dont on propose ici une nouvelle reconstitution — furent détruites (en 88 av. J.-C. par les troupes de Mithridate hostiles à Rome), ni qu'elles furent réparées. (shrink)

The notion of empathy has been explicated in different ways in the current debate on how to understand others. Whereas defenders of simulation-based approaches claim that empathy involves some kind of isomorphism between the empathizer’s and the target’s mental state, defenders of the phenomenological account vehemently deny this and claim that empathy allows us to directly perceive someone else’s mental states. Although these views are typically presented as being opposed, I argue that at least one version of a simulation-based approach—the (...) account given by de Vignemont and Jacob—is compatible with the direct-perception view. My argument has two parts: My first step is to show that the conflict between these accounts is not—as it seems at first glance—a disagreement on the mechanism by which empathy comes about. Rather, it is due to the fact that their proponents attribute two very different roles to empathy in understanding others. My second step is to introduce Stein’s account of empathy. By not restricting empathy to either one of these two roles, her process model of empathy helps to see how the divergent intuitions that have been brought forward in the current debate could be integrated. (shrink)

Human–nonhuman chimeras have been the focus of ethical controversies for more than a decade, yet some related issues remain unaddressed. For example, little has been said about the relationship between the origin of transferred cells and the morally relevant capacities to which they may give rise. Consider, for example, a developing mouse fetus that receives a brain stem cell transplant from a human and another that receives a brain stem cell transplant from a dolphin. If both chimeras acquire morally relevant (...) capacities as a result of transplantation, and if those capacities are indistinguishable, should the difference in cell origin matter to how we classify these creatures? I argue that if morally relevant capacities are easy to detect, cell origin is irrelevant to how the chimera ought to be treated. However, if such capacities are hard to detect, cell origin should play a role in considerations about how to treat the chimera. (shrink)

"Im Zentrum von Javier Cercas’ Anatomia de uninstante steht eine Geste: Adolfo Suárez, der zu Beginn des Putsches inmitten von Schüssen zu seinem Sessel zurückkehrt, sich hinsetzt und zurücklehnt, umgeben von leeren Sesseln. Am Beispiel von Cercas’ Nacherzählung eines Kippmoments des Postfranqismus wird die Rückkehr zum Ereignis als historische Heuristik wissens- und medienhistorisch beleuchtet. Dabei werden Charakteristiken einer Geschichtsschreibung herausgearbeitet, die sich seit 1970 für die exzessive Beschreibung eines Mikromomentes interessiert. Javier Cercas’s novel Anatomia de un instante is centered upon (...) a gesture: Adolfo Suárez, returning to his chair at the beginning of the coup in the midst of shots, sits down and leans back, surrounded by empty armchairs. Using the example of Cercas’s recounting a tipping moment of Postfranqism, the paper illuminates the return to the event as historical heuristics in the light of knowledge and media histories. Furthermore, it sketches the characteristics of a historiography, which, since 1970, has been interested in the excessive description of a micromoment. ". (shrink)

Some studies involving informal caregivers of oncology patients noted that family assessment is associated with their mental health. The objective of this study is to demonstrate such a dependency in relation to informal caregivers of oncology patients receiving home-based palliative care. This study is concerned with the dependency between family assessment (family cohesion, family flexibility, family communication, and satisfaction with family life) and perceived emotions, including stress. It comprised 109 Polish informal caregivers (34 men and 75 women) of patients receiving (...) palliative care at home. The study found that satisfaction with family life was a crucial predictor of positive emotions. This means that interventions aimed at improving satisfaction with family life may simultaneously affect the psychological functioning of informal caregivers of palliative oncology patients. Such interventions may serve to improve the quality of home-based palliative care both in regard to patients and caregivers. (shrink)

Avatars are virtual representations of users. Creating a virtual representation can be considered an important element of the identity formation process in modern adolescents and the choice of avatar’s gender and skin color is crucial; however, the number of such studies is very limited. The first aim of this study is to check whether adolescents choose their avatar gender and skin color in line with their own. As its second goal, the study examines the relationship between adolescent identity styles and (...) the consistency of the avatar’s gender with the user’s gender and the consistency of the skin color with the user’s skin color. In this study, 130 adolescents played the Characterium computer game and they underwent an assessment of their identity styles. The vast majority of the study participants created avatars according to their gender. About a third of adolescents chose their skin color for the avatar: almost half of the girls and a few boys. No relationship was found between the adolescents’ identity styles and two variables: gender consistency and skin consistency. I consider this study to be a step forward in understanding the relationship between forming identity in adolescents and their virtual representations – avatars. (shrink)

Our daily lives unfold continuously, yet our memories are organised into distinct events, situated in a specific context of space and time, and chunked when this context changes (at event boundaries). Previous research showed that this process, termed event segmentation, enhances object-context binding but impairs temporal order memory. Physiologically, peaks in pupil dilation index event segmentation, similar to emotion-induced bursts of autonomic arousal. Emotional arousal also modulates object-context binding and temporal order memory. Yet, these two critical factors have not been (...) systematically studied together. To address this gap, we ran a behavioural experiment using a paradigm validated to study event segmentation and extended it with emotion manipulation. During encoding, we sequentially presented greyscale objects embedded in coloured frames (colour changes defining events), with a neutral or aversive sound. During retrieval, we tested participants’ memory of temporal order memory and object-colour binding. We found opposite effects of emotion and event segmentation on episodic memory. While event segmentation enhanced object-context binding, emotion impaired it. On the contrary, event segmentation impaired temporal order memory, but emotion enhanced it. These findings increase our understanding of episodic memory organisation in laboratory settings, and potentially in real life with perceptual changes and emotion fluctuations constantly interacting. (shrink)

Due to the ongoing advancements in technology, socio-technical collaboration has become increasingly prevalent. This poses challenges in terms of governance and accountability, as well as issues in various other fields. Therefore, it is crucial to familiarize decision-makers and researchers with the core of human–machine collaboration. This study introduces a taxonomy that enables identification of the very nature of human–machine interaction. A literature review has revealed that automation and technical autonomy are main parameters for describing and understanding such interaction. Both aspects (...) must be carefully evaluated, as their increase has potentially far-reaching consequences. Hence, these two concepts comprise the taxonomy’s axes. Five levels of automation and five levels of technical autonomy are introduced below, based on the assumption that both automation and autonomy are gradual. The levels of automation were developed from existing approaches; those of autonomy were carefully derived from a review of the literature. The taxonomy’s use is also explained, as are its limitations and avenues for further research. (shrink)

Willing and Understanding elucidates a variety of issues in and approaches to debating the will-intellect interplay in the late Middle Ages. Authored by prominent scholars in the field, the contributions offer different perspectives on the development of late medieval theories of the will. Charting a dense map of voluntarist and epistemological ideas - entrenched leitmotifs of late medieval philosophy, seminal insights sparking original trends, and ephemeral novelties - the volume is a testimony to the conceptual multidimensionality and ethical complexity of (...) the past and present iterations of the debate on the will. Contributors are Pascale Bermon, Magdalena Bieniak, Michael W. Dunne, Riccardo Fedriga, Giacomo Fornasieri, Tobias Hoffmann, Severin V. Kitanov, Monika Michałowska, Riccardo Saccenti, Sonja Schierbaum, Michael Szlachta, Łukasz Tomanek, and Francesco Omar Zamboni. (shrink)

According to Aristotle, wisdom orchestrates all other virtues and therefore leads to eudaimonia, which can be translated as flourishing or psychological well-being. Wisdom guides people to take the morally right course of action in concrete situations to benefit themselves and others. If Aristotle’s theory is correct, then wisdom should be related to different moral virtues and wisdom, rather than individual virtues, should predict eudaimonic well-being, establishing wisdom as the driving force behind human flourishing. Survey data were collected from 230 undergraduate (...) students (M = 21 years, median age = 20 years) attending five different classes in the social sciences at a university in the Southeast of the United States at the beginning and end of the fall semester in 2016. Bivariate correlations, regression analyses, and a structural equation model were utilized to analyze the data. Three-dimensional wisdom (3D-WS) at the beginning of the semester (T1), consisting of the average of cognitive, reflective, and compassionate personality qualities, was significantly positively related to gratitude, forgiveness, morality/fairness, modesty, greed avoidance, and sincerity at T1. Wisdom at T1 predicted flourishing at the end of the semester (T2), assessed by self-acceptance, mastery, purpose in life, and orientation toward personal growth. Among the virtues, only gratitude at T1 significantly predicted flourishing at T2. It appears that Aristotle was correct! Wisdom, at least as measured by the 3D-WS, seems to orchestrate moral virtues and result in human flourishing. This implies that cultivating the development of wisdom will lead to a better and more flourishing life. (shrink)

What’s the basis for considering an egg donor a genetic parent but not a mitochondrial donor? I will argue that a closer look at the biological facts will not give us an answer to this question because the process by which one becomes a genetic parent, i.e., the process of reproduction, is not a concept that can be settled by looking. It is, rather, a concept in need of philosophical attention. The details of my argument will rest on recent developments (...) in biological technology, but the persuasiveness of my argument will turn on the history of another biological concept, death. Given some important similarities between the two concepts, the way in which ‘death’ evolved in the recent past can provide guidance on how we should think about ‘reproduction.’. (shrink)

Extrapolation from a well-understood base population to a less-understood target population can fail if the base and target populations are not sufficiently similar. Differences between laboratory mice and humans, for example, can hinder extrapolation in medical research. Mice that carry a partial or complete human physiological system, known as humanized mice, are supposed to make extrapolation more reliable by simulating a variety of human diseases. But what justifies our belief that these mice are similar enough to their human counterparts to (...) simulate human disease? I argue that, unless three requirements are met in the process of humanizing mice, very little does. My requirements are not meant to provide necessary and sufficient conditions that guarantee a particular outcome. Instead, they serve as a heuristic for guiding scientific judgments involving extrapolation. In developing each requirement, I engage with philosophical issues concerning the nature of model-based science and the mechanistic approach (and its limits) to making generalizations in the life sciences. (shrink)

In the digital age, the use of advanced technology is becoming a new paradigm in police work, criminal justice, and the penal system. Algorithms promise to predict delinquent behaviour, identify potentially dangerous persons, and support crime investigation. Algorithm-based applications are often deployed in this context, laying the groundwork for a ‘smart criminal justice’. In this qualitative study based on 32 interviews with criminal justice and police officials, we explore the reasons why and extent to which such a smart criminal justice (...) system has already been established in Switzerland, and the benefits perceived by users. Drawing upon this research, we address the spread, application, technical background, institutional implementation, and psychological aspects of the use of algorithms in the criminal justice system. We find that the Swiss criminal justice system is already significantly shaped by algorithms, a change motivated by political expectations and demands for efficiency. Until now, algorithms have only been used at a low level of automation and technical complexity and the levels of benefit perceived vary. This study also identifies the need for critical evaluation and research-based optimization of the implementation of advanced technology. Societal implications, as well as the legal foundations of the use of algorithms, are often insufficiently taken into account. By discussing the main challenges to and issues with algorithm use in this field, this work lays the foundation for further research and debate regarding how to guarantee that ‘smart’ criminal justice is actually carried out smartly. (shrink)

This book provides a detailed commentary on the classic monograph by Alfred Tarski, and offers a reinterpretation and retranslation of the work using the original Polish text and the English and German translations. In the original work, Tarski presents a method for constructing definitions of truth for classical, quantificational formal languages. Furthermore, using the defined notion of truth, he demonstrates that it is possible to provide intuitively adequate definitions of the semantic notions of definability and denotation and that the notion (...) in a structure can be defined in a way that is analogous to that used to define truth. Tarski’s piece is considered to be one of the major contributions to logic, semantics, and epistemology in the 20th century. However, the author points out that some mistakes were introduced into the text when it was translated into German in 1935. As the 1956 English version of the work was translated from the German text, those discrepancies were carried over in addition to new mistakes. The author has painstakingly compared the three texts, sentence-by-sentence, highlighting the inaccurate translations, offering explanations as to how they came about, and commenting on how they have influenced the content and suggesting a correct interpretation of certain passages. Furthermore, the author thoroughly examines Tarski’s article, offering interpretations and comments on the work. (shrink)

The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Sydney is one of the thirty-seven consulates that function in Australia. The scope of duties and work of the consulate is set up by the rules and directives of the Polish Foreign Policy Strategy for 2017–2021 and is determined by the Consular Law and other regulations.

It has become increasingly common to talk about the second person in the theory of mind debate. While theory theory and simulation theory are described as third person and first person accounts respectively, a second person account suggests itself as a viable, though wrongfully neglected third option. In this paper I argue that this way of framing the debate is misleading. Although defenders of second person accounts make use of the vocabulary of the theory of mind debate, they understand some (...) of the core expressions in a different way. I will illustrate this claim by focusing on Reddy’s and Gallagher’s accounts and argue that these authors use the notions of knowing and of understanding other minds differently than traditionally assumed. As a consequence, second person accounts thus conceived do not directly address the questions that gave rise to the theory of mind debate. They invite us, however, to critically reflect upon the way the debate has been set up. (shrink)

What is the nature and what is the role of trust between teacher and student in academic education at school? Providing a philosophically informed answer to these questions is the aim of this paper. In its first part, I present a relationship account of trust based on two fundamental assumptions: first, trust between teacher and student is essentially about them being in a trust relationship, and second, the reasons for trust are relationship dependent. The second part explores the role of (...) trust by looking at two aspects of academic education at school: the student's acquisition of knowledge from the teacher's testimony and the student's development of epistemic confidence, the latter being a key constituent of competent epistemic agency. Drawing on findings from developmental psychology, I explain how trust is involved in successful academic education at school. My aim is to provide a detailed conception of trust in the teacher–student relationship, as well as a conclusive argument for the importance and the value of trust in academic education at school. (shrink)

This article contributes to a critical discussion of how `question' and `questioning' may be defined in terms of form and function by analyzing the interactional usage of two apparently synonymous `question' words, German warum and wieso and their common English translation why. Warum and why are employed for two different interactional achievements. Wieso marks the utterance as an information request. In this respect, it is affiliative. In contrast, warum points to something wrong and is thus complaint implicative. Recipients orient to (...) warum as disaffiliative. A contrastive analysis of German warum and wieso with English why shows that why allows for ambiguity, whereas warum and wieso are unambiguous. While there is a core usage of these lexical items, they are also employed differently with an orientation to institutionality. In business meetings, there is a correlation between the occurrence of the complaint-implicative warum and the leadership status of the speaker in the team. (shrink)