Wolffs’ peculiar treatment of the notion of ‘relatio’ is situated in the Latin Ontologia within the section on the dependentia rerum, of which it is seen as a modal form. Yet, whereas dependentia reveals an asymmetrical structure, relatio is thought as fundamentally symmetrical (dependentia unius ad alterum). Moreover, Wolff defends a realistic ontology of relation instead of a merely semantic one: relations belong to things, altough not in an absolute manner, but rather in the sense that relations have in them (...) a foundation in terms of a disposition. A further question concerns in general the status of Wolff’s ontology as mostly a relational ontology. It is demonstrated that the properties of being reveal a kind of ontological surplus which turns out to be a relational one. In the conclusions the problem of the notion of ‘relation’ is further discussed from the point of view of natural theology: it is here demonstrated that the relationship between God and creature can be considered, on the one hand, in terms of dependentia realis, on the other, in terms of dependentia ficta (when seen from the point of view of God). (shrink)

Studies on the Middle Kingdom: In Memory of Detlef Franke. Edited by Hans-Werner Fischer- Elfert and Richard B. Parkinson. Philippika, vol. 41. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2013. Pp. 268, 8 pls. €58.

The author examines the sting inherent in the title of Kant’s work on the Unique possible foundation of a demonstration of the existence of God, published in 1762. In this work, Kant admits not wanting to establish a formal demonstration of the existence of God, but only the foundations of such a demonstration. In this way, he develops less than a proof, but at the same time more, i.e. the unique possible foundation of such a proof. The author critically analyses (...) that in this formula, obviously to a different extent, both the leibnizian proof starting from the possibles and the wolffian, so-called a posteriori proof, at a critical moment of their respective articulations, resort to a second argumentation in order to prove the existence of the necessary being and that they are thus not auto-sufficient (unique). (shrink)

Most eighteenth- and nineteenth-century portrait paintings have eyes staring outward at the beholder. A minority of these eyes have slightly elevated pupils in comparison to the iris. These off-centre pupils are not the norm, but they occur regularly in works by skilful European portrait painters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This article takes a closer look at selected portrait paintings by Danish artists Jens Juel and Constantin Hansen and argues that the discrepancy between the pupils and the rest of (...) the paintings creates an illusion of movement or presence when looking the paintings in the eye. The discrepancy creates an aesthetic effect corresponding with Merleau-Ponty’s concept of internal discordance. According to Merleau-Ponty, visual art can create the illusion of movement by portraying its parts in different moments. These internal discordances make the painting “move” because the beholder unconsciously creates a fictive link between the parts thereby expanding time in space. The article combines presence theory (Jean-Luc Nancy and Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht), phenomenology (Merleau-Ponty) and art theory and perception theory (James Elkins, Dominic McIver Lopes and Michael Fried) in order to study the effects and possible reasons for creating pupils out of sync with the rest of the painting. (shrink)

L’article entend montrer que pour Christian Wolff, l’idée de la liberté de philosopher est intimement liée à l’idée d’une méthode considérée comme le garant de la vérité des affirmations établies. Ce lien entre liberté de philosopher et méthode philosophique doit être contextualisé entre autres par rapport aux controverses notamment avec les piétistes dans lesquelles Wolff était impliqué. Parler de liberté de philosopher signifie dans ce cadre, parler d’une raison émancipée des tutelles de la théologie — du moins d’une certaine théologie, (...) mais au-delà de cette idée-programme, chère aux Aufklärer, le programme de la liberté de philosopher se conçoit chez Wolff comme un programme, somme toute, défensif, en tout cas foncièrement irénique et consensuel aussi bien à l’égard de la religion qu’à l’égard de l’État. Pour Kant, en revanche, l’idée de la liberté de penser — en dépit de multiples recoupements avec des thèmes abordés chez Wolff — s’inscrit dans un contexte plus large — non plus défensif —, celui d’une raison publique devenue critique. (shrink)

This paper will attempt to reconstruct two Kantian approaches to the notion of 'respect': 1. respect in relation to the concept of law as well as respect for the law; 2. respect for the person. This reconstruction will be followed by an analysis of the significance of this twofold approach. The author will try to show that, in the end, it is through respect for the person that the necessity of, and hence respect for, the law is established. In other (...) words, the meaning of the law is the person. (shrink)

Given the increasing complexity of living in a global village, countries and regions that are parts of larger political entities frequently have considered the option of separating or seceding an ideal solution to their problems with a larger center of power. Isolation, a form of “freedom from,” has the potential of offering them free rein or “freedom to” manage their affairs for their own sake. Francophone playwrights and filmmakers have found the dialectical interplay between “freedom from” and “freedom to” fertile (...) dramatic soil for plays and films. Some of them work in both of these and other genres. These works seem to ask the same question: Is it desirable or possible to achieve both, even in ideal isolation, without suffering cultural stagnation or repeating the abuse of power on the part of the political center that led to the separation? This article explores the answers to this question given in the plays of Aimée Césaire, Anne Hébert, and Wajdi Mouawad within the greater context for this issue found in J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians and Azouz Begag’s Un Mouton dans la baignoire and in francophone films by Raoul Peck, Bertrand Tavernier, Claire Denis, Rachid Bouchareb, Ousmane Sembène, Michael Haneke, and Mathieu Kasovitz. (shrink)

Mit diesem Buch wird erstmals ein umfassendes und systematisches Referenzwerk zu Christian Wolff vorgelegt, das alle wichtigen Aspekte zu Leben und Werk des Philosophen behandelt. Das Handbuch ist von international renommierten Experten verfasst und behandelt neben der Biographie und der philosophiegeschichtlichen Rolle Wolffs sowohl sein philosophisches als auch sein naturwissenschaftlich-mathematisches Werk.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDer Ökumenediskurs des 20. Jh. ist wesentlich durch das Konzept der Konsensökumene geprägt worden; nach der Jahrtausendwende ist jedoch verstärkt von einer Ökumene der Profile die Rede. Der vorliegende Aufsatz fragt daher, was Konsens »nach« der Konsensökumene, d.h. sowohl in zeitlichem als auch inhaltlichem Anschluss an die Konsensökumene bedeutet . Zu diesem Zweck wird mit der Charta Oecumenica eines der kennzeichnendsten Dokumente der ökumenehermeneutischen Wende eingehend analysiert , woraus sich fünf unterschiedliche Bedeutungen des Begriffs Konsens ergeben .SUMMARYIn the 20th century, (...) ecumenical encounter has been dominated by the hermeneutics of consensus. However, after the turn of the millennium a change seems to have taken place in that the churches seem to prefer to stress their own unmistakable profile. What then does consensus mean after the hermeneutics of consensus ? In order to answer this question, the present essay analyses in detail the Charta Oecumenica , which is one of the most characteristic examples of the above-mentioned change , and comes up with five different meanings of the term consensus. (shrink)

In the Introduction and in the first book of the Transcendental Dialectics in the Critique of Pure Reason Kant introduces and further elaborates his program of so called Metaphysics of Ideas. In this paper the aforementioned program will be presented twofold: 1. From the perspective of the historical evolution some paradigmatic focal points of the Kantian project of the “reform of the metaphysics” will be elucidated; 2. From the systematical perspective a question will be posed regarding the possible meaning of (...) a metaphysics under the given premises of its reform – the “change of the style of thinking”. (shrink)

Diverse agricultural technologies are promoted to increase yields and incomes, save time, improve food and nutritional security, and even empower women. Yet a gender gap in technology adoption remains for many agricultural technologies, even for those that are promoted for women. This paper complements the literature on gender and technology adoption, which largely focuses on reasons for low rates of female technology adoption, by shifting attention to what happens within a household after it adopts a technology. Understanding the expected benefits (...) and costs of adoption, from the perspective of women users in households with adult males, can help explain observed technology adoption rates and why technology adoption is often not sustained in the longer term. Drawing on qualitative data from Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania, this paper develops a framework for examining the intrahousehold distribution of benefits from technology adoption, focusing on small-scale irrigation technologies. The framework contributes to the conceptual and empirical exploration of joint control over technology by men and women in the same household. Efforts to promote technology adoption for agricultural development and women’s empowerment would benefit from an understanding of intrahousehold control over technology to avoid interpreting technology adoption as an end in and of itself. (shrink)

L'auteur étudie le cas des analogies de l'expérience à la lumière de la thèse selon laquelle la Critique de la Raison Pure fonctionne selon une double modalité (du moins en ce qui concerne l'Esthétique et l'Analytique) : d'tune part comme élaboration des conditions générales d'une ontologie de l'étant (problème de la compétence du discours rationnel); d' autre part comme discours fondateur des mathématiques (Esthétique) et de la physique (Analytique). L'auteur présente l'exposé transcendantal des analogies, en donne une interprétation épistémologique et (...) en formule la transcription scientifique. The author studies the case of the analogies of experience, basing himself upon the thesis according to which, the Critique of Pure Reason works refetring itself to a double modality (at least as far as transcendantal Aesthetic and Analytic are concerned) : on one hand, it works as an élaboration of the general conditions of an ontology of the being (under the form of a problem of the competence of the rational discourse), on the other hand as the fundamental and founding discourse of mathematics (Aesthetic) and physics (Analytic). The author presents the transcendantal argument of analogies, provides it with an epistemologica! interpretation and formulates its scientific transcription. (shrink)

This paper is based on the author's presentation at the Church Renewal Consultations of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) in 2009. It suggests three preliminary hermeneutical steps on the way to a Protestant ecclesiology in touch with the latest renewal processes in the churches. The first step is to focus the Protestant church concept on the Reformers' notion of discovering the hidden nature of the church within its worldly situation. The second step goes beyond the dogmatic fundamentals (...) of the church by exploring different contexts (ethical, ecumenical etc.) in which that hidden church can be discovered. The third step is to consider worship as the heart of the church's life and at the same time as its most obvious contribution to life in public – a good starting-point for church renewal. (shrink)

L’étude reconstruit la constellation Wolff – Baumgarten – Meier – Kant au sujet de la triade épistémique « savoir – foi – opinion ». Il est montré plus spécialement comment le discours kantien s’articule dans les cours de Logique en fonction de ces références, mais aussi comment Kant développe, de façon autonome, des moments nouveaux, notamment en ce qui concerne l’aspect moral de la foi.The study reconstructs the constellation Wolff – Baumgarten – Meier – Kant concerning the epistemic triad « (...) knowing – believing – opining ». It is shown in what manner the Kantian discourse in his Lessons of Logic is articulated according to these references, but also how Kant develops in an autonomous way new aspects, namely that of moral faith. (shrink)

This study explores the relevance which the adoption of children has gained in the German and in the English speaking theological ethical discourse and proposes that a combination of normative and hermeneutical factors will contribute to an ethical assessment of adoption. A core objective of the study is to implement openness as a Protestant value into the practice of adoption placement. It is argued that theories of enablement serve as a theoretical framework for an ethics of adoption.