One aim of this article is to explore the connection between the Knobe effect and the epistemic side-effect effect (ESEE). Additionally, we report evidence about a further generalization regarding probability judgments. We demonstrate that all effects can be found within German material, using ‘absichtlich’ [intentionally], ‘wissen’ [know] and ‘wahrscheinlich’ [likely]. As the explanations discussed with regard to the Knobe effect do not suffice to explicate the ESEE, we survey whether the characteristic asymmetry in knowledge judgments is caused by a differing (...) perception of probabilities concerning the occurrence of the side-effects. Our findings show that a negative side-effect is judged more probable, even if the objective probabilities would suggest otherwise. We argue that the best explanation for these results is that the Knobe effect applies to the perception of probabilities as well: a probabilistic side-effect effect. (shrink)

Nachfolgend veroffentlichen veröffentlichen wir in deutscher Ubersetzung Übersetzung zwei Berichte tiber über die die im im April April 1958 in Moskau abgehaltene Tagung zur Frage der 'Widersprtiche': 'Widersprüche': 'Konferencija po voprosam protivoreCij' von G. A. Volkov, erschienen in den 'Voprosy Filosofii', Moskau, 1958, 12, 163-173, und 'Konference 0 otazce rozponl rozpon1 ve svetle soudoM soudobe vedy a praxe' von N. V. Karabanov, erschienen im 'Filosoficky casopis', Prag, 1959, 1, 131-133; weiterhin den Originaltext der auf derselben Tagung gehaltenen Vortrage Vorträge von (...) E. Kolman, 'Material'naja suscnost' protivoreCija i ee otrazenie v myslenii', veröffentlicht veroffentlicht im 'Filosoficky casopis', Prag, 1959, 3, 381-391, und von A. A. Zinov'ev, '0 logiceskoj neprotirecivosti istinnych suZdenij ob izmenenijach i svjazach meZdu predmetami', veröffentlicht veroffentlicht in der polnischen Zeitschrift 'Studia Filosoficzne', 1959, 1, 124-133; und schliesslich einen kurzen Abschnitt des neuen offiziellen Lehrbuches des dialektischen und historischen Materialismus 'Osnovy marksistskoj filosofii', Moskau 1958, S. 256f., 259f. (shrink)

Charles Peirce claimed that the principal ingredient in assertion is an act of “taking responsibility” for the truth of what is asserted. Some people writing about the Commitment Theory of Assertion have at times construed Peirce’s claim as his espousal of that contemporary theory, but this, I argue, is mistaken. Peirce saw “taking responsibility” as the assumption, not of an obligation, but instead of a liability, a penalty to be incurred if one’s assertion turned out to be false. I then (...) consider how this point connects to other parts of Pierce’s analysis of assertion, specifically his claims that we assert to persuade, that assertion involves an intentional exhibition of our assumption of liability, and that this assumption of liability furnishes evidence for what is asserted. I conclude by sketching on Peirce’s behalf how the assumption of liability could constitute, and be intelligibly offered as, evidence for what is asserted. (shrink)

Although he spoke rarely about them, J.M.Bochenski considered values important.However, as he was little if at all familiarwith metaethics as developed by analyticphilosophers, he was convinced that the bestdiscussion of values is to be found in thewritings of Max Scheler. The paper tries toshow that to defend Scheler's ideas on thesubject is difficult today. Indeed the authorsuggests that to talk about values is to beeasily seduced into a discussion ofpseudo-problems.

This book takes an exciting perspective on language change, by explaining it in terms of Darwin's evolutionary theory. Looking at a number of developments in the history of sounds and words, Nikolaus Ritt shows how the constituents of language can be regarded as mental patterns, or 'memes', which copy themselves from one brain to another when communication and language acquisition take place. Memes are both stable in that they transmit faithfully from brain to brain, and active in that their (...) success at replicating depends upon their own properties. Ritt uses this controversial approach to challenge established models of linguistic competence, in which speakers acquire, use, and shape language. In Darwinian terms, language evolution is something that happens to, rather than through, speakers, and the interests of linguistic constituents matter more than those of their human 'hosts'. This book will stimulate debate among evolutionary biologists, cognitive scientists and linguists alike. (shrink)

Recently, Gao et al. and Chappie et al. elucidated the crystal structures of the polytetrameric stalk domain of the dynamin‐like virus resistance protein, MxA, and of the G‐domain dimer of the large, membrane‐deforming GTPase, dynamin, respectively. Combined, they provide a hypothetical oligomeric structure for the complete dynamin protein. Here, it is discussed how the oligomers are expected to form and how they participate in dynamin mediated vesicle fission during the process of endocytosis. The proposed oligomeric structure is compared with the (...) novel mechanochemical model of dynamin function recently proposed by Bashkirov et al. and Pucadyil and Schmid. In conclusion, the new model of the dynamin oligomer has the potential to explain how short self‐limiting fissogenic dynamin assemblies are formed and how concerted GTP hydrolysis is achieved. The oligomerisation of two other dynamin superfamily proteins, the guanylate binding proteins (GBPs) and the immunity‐related GTPases (IRGs), is addressed briefly. (shrink)

This paper explores the notion that economic preferences were shaped by the joint action of genetic and cultural evolution. We review the evidence that preferences are partly innate, the output of genetic forces, and partly plastic, the output of cultural forces. A model of how genes and culture might jointly shape preferences is sketched.

This article reevaluates the origins of the First Romano-Parthian War to better understand the different perspectives, policies, and objectives of the various Parthian and Roman leaders in the early and middle 50 s that helped forge the great rivalry that emerged between Parthia and Rome. This article breaks from the dominate Rome-centric, anti-Crassus traditions concerning the investigation of the origins of this conflict. Centuries of anti-Crassus propaganda have led most scholars to discount or overlook the critical agency of the Parthians (...) in the conflict and the serious implications of Gabinius’ actions in 56–55, while blaming Crassus for indefensible Roman aggression and greed. The propensity of modern scholarship to villainize and criticize Crassus follows ancient propaganda and stems in part from a lack of understanding of the geopolitical realities that Parthia and Rome faced in the middle 50 s. Further, this article challenges the misguided traditions that, first, describe the Parthians as feeble, passive, and duplicitous in their interactions with foreign powers and, second, that blame the incompetence or weakness of the Parthians’ enemies to explain their actions and successes. Indeed, the Parthians were important, active, and powerful agents in these events, something often obscured or overlooked because of the inherent Roman focus and bias of the Graeco-Roman literary tradition and modern scholarship. (shrink)

This paper discusses the view that subjectifications are primarily motivated by speakers’ need for self-expression. Approaching the issue from the perspective of animal signalling, we propose that semantic subjectifications are at least equally likely to reflect evaluations and attitudes read into utterances by listeners who attempt to read speakers’ minds. We compare speaker-based and listener-based theories with regard to their predictions, sketch ways in which they can be tested and report findings from first attempts at doing so. First, we report (...) evidence from diachronic corpora. Second, we describe a game-theoretic model that relates listener’s interest in speaker intentions to the average degree of speaker-honesty in a population. Third, we report preliminary results of an experiment in which we tested if listeners were more likely to interpret an utterance as indexing speaker subjectivity when they perceived speakers as more powerful. We conclude that the listener-based hypothesis of subjectification is solid enough to warrant further investigation. (shrink)

: In February 2004, South Korean researchers became the first in the world to successfully harvest stem cells and establish a stem cell line from a cloned human embryo. This is just one of eight possible policy options concerning human embryonic stem cell research. In practice, every kind of stem cell research can be done in one country or another. This paper evaluates the eight policy options concerning human embryonic stem cell research in light of the arguments and decisions behind (...) them. (shrink)

Der Hippokratische Eid prägt bis heute die ärztliche Praxis – und das zu Recht. Die Betonung ärztlicher Expertise und die Sorge um das Patientenwohl haben bis heute nichts von ihrer Aktualität eingebüßt. Allerdings fehlen Überlegungen zur Patientenselbstbestimmung und zur Gerechtigkeit im Gesundheitswesen. Heutige Konflikte am Lebensanfang, am Lebensende und im Bereich der Gesundheitsversorgung erfordern daher, den Eid neu zu denken. In diesem Buch, das sich an Studierende der Medizin, aber auch interessierte Laien und Fachkollegen wendet, werden die wichtigsten medizinethischen Konfliktfälle, (...) u.a. Fragen zu Gentechnik, Enhancement, Organspende und Sterbehilfe, behandelt. (shrink)

First English translation of Roger Bacon’s Letter to Pope Clement IV. which has been edited by F. A. Gasquet in 1897. It is Roger Bacon’s introductory letter to the Opus maius, which he sent to Pope Clement IV in 1267 together with his fundamental work, and which summarizes his project of reforming the sciences and society of his time as described in his Opus maius.

In the fasti of almost all praetorian provinces there seems to be a lacuna in the years 54 to 51 BC. In fact, there is not a single praetor from the colleges 55, 54 and 53 BC for whom a province ex praetura is known. It is argued here that anarchy and obstruction made the allocation of provinces impossible from 55 BC onwards. This was probably the main reason for the senateʼs decision in 53 BC to send privati to the (...) provinces. (shrink)