This paper provides strong evidence challenging the self-interest assumption that dominates the behavioral sciences and much evolutionary thinking. The evidence indicates that many people have a tendency to voluntarily cooperate, if treated fairly, and to punish noncooperators. We call this behavioral propensity “strong reciprocity” and show empirically that it can lead to almost universal cooperation in circumstances in which purely self-interested behavior would cause a complete breakdown of cooperation. In addition, we show that people are willing to punish those who (...) behaved unfairly towards a third person or who defected in a Prisoner’s Dilemma game with a third person. This suggests that strong reciprocity is a powerful device for the enforcement of social norms involving, for example, food sharing or collective action. Strong reciprocity cannot be rationalized as an adaptive trait by the leading evolutionary theories of human cooperation (in other words, kin selection, reciprocal altruism, indirect reciprocity, and costly signaling theory). However, multilevel selection theories of cultural evolution are consistent with strong reciprocity. (shrink)

Jenseits von Gut und Böse ist ein Werk, mit dem Nietzsche einen neuen Ton fand, um so die „Philosophie der Zukunft“ zu initiieren. Es untergräbt gewohnte Gewissheiten in fundamentalphilosophischer, religiöser, moralischer und politischer Hinsicht. Zugleich verspricht es, die Perspektiven, das Leben der Leser grundlegend zu verändern. Signalbegriffe wie „Wille zur Macht“ und „Sklaven-Moral“ dürfen nicht als feste Lehren missverstanden werden.

This volume contains the papers read at the conference on 'Semantics from different points of view' that took place at Konstanz University in Septem ber 1978. This interdisciplinary conference Vias organized by the':Sonderfor schungsbereich 99 - Linguistik' and sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsge meinschaft. Li~guists, philosophers, logicians, and psychologists met to dis cuss recent developments in the study of the semantics of natural language from the point of view of their disciplines. But this is not to say that there was (...) one particular topic shared by all the participants. The conference was organized because the seven research groups that constitute the Sonderforschungsbereich wanted to discuss their results in an international context and to get advice and guidance for the work still to be done. Therefore, quite a number of topics were covered, though at different levels of precision, under the general label 'semantics'. And the selection of topics, as well as the relative importance given to them, is due to the research interests currently represented in the Sonderforschungs bereich. (shrink)

When Nietzsche published his pamphlet The Case of Wagner in 1888 he succeeded in catching the attention of the reading public after many years of neglect. His radical critique of Wagner is viewed as influential in reception history. The Twilight of the Idols captures the essence of Nietzsche's late philosophy. The work shows Nietzsche at the high point of his creative powers and provides a vivid example of experimental philosophy in practice.

A series of studies in experimental philosophy have revealed that people blame others for foreseen negative side effects but do not praise them for foreseen positive ones. In order to challenge this idea, also called the Knobe effect, we develop a laboratory experiment using monetary incentives. In a game-theoretic framework we formalize the two vignettes in a neutral way, which means that we abstain from the use of any specific language terms and can easily control and vary the economic parameters (...) of the situation. We confirm the Knobe effect in one situation and present situations in which the effect vanishes or even reverses. Our results are in line with a theoretical approach where the assessment of intention is not based on the action itself but on the underlying motive – as modelled in Levine. (shrink)

The last posthumous manuscripts from 1888 bear witness to an enormous stylistic and intellectual radicalization. The Antichrist purports to be a total "reevaluation of all values." In Ecce homo, Nietzsche explores the genealogy of his own thinking, opening up new dimensions of self-reflection. Nietzsche contra Wagner sums up the many years of Nietzsche's continuing critique of Wagner, while the Dionysian Dithyrambs seek to breathe new life into lyric poetry.

So geschaftig die internationale Nietzsche-Forschung auch ist, bleibt doch weithin unklar, was eigentlich gemeint ist, wenn wir von Nietzsches Philosophie sprechen. Handelt es sich um ein Gefuge von Lehrsatzen Wille zur Macht, Ewige Wiederkunft des Gleichen, Ubermensch? Wie sollen philosophisch interessierte Leserinnen und Leser damit umgehen, dass Nietzsche sich offensichtlich unentwegt selbst ins Wort fallt und jede doktrinale Festlegung verweigert? Ist das nur eine billige literarische Strategie, um das eigene Gefuge von Lehrsatzen interessanter zu machen? Oder handelt es sich vielmehr (...) um den Versuch, den Glauben an Philosophie als Gefuge von Lehrsatzen grundsatzlich zu problematisieren? Vielleicht ist Nietzsches Philosophie etwas vollig Anderes: eine andere Praxis. Der bekannte Nietzsche-Forscher Andreas Urs Sommer stellt und beantwortet in diesem Band grundlegende Fragen zum Umgang mit Nietzsches Texten, die so ganz anders zu funktionieren scheinen als landlaufige philosophische Texte. Die dafur erforderliche philosophische Hermeneutik muss auf einem sicheren philologisch-historischen Fundament stehen. (shrink)

In recent years, the construct of character has received substantial attention among developmental scientists, but no consensus exists about the content and structure of character, especially among children and early adolescents. In a study of positive development among racially diverse Cub Scouts in the greater Philadelphia area, we assessed the construct and concurrent validity of a new measure of character, the Assessment of Character in Children and Early Adolescents, among 906 Scouts and 775 non-Scout boys and girls. We identified an (...) eight-correlated-factor model as providing the best fit with our data. We further established measurement invariance and explored latent mean differences for ACCEA scores across two Scout groups, non-Scout boys and non-Scout girls. Girls were generally superior than boys on all character attributes. We further examined concurrent validity of ACCEA by correlating the character attributes with youth sense of school competence, intentional self-regulation and parental perception of youth school performance. We discuss implications for future character research and point to the value of the ACCEA measure being used by practitioners in character development programs. (shrink)

Cultural philosophy must always fathom anew what it means to live in a reflexive, self-reflexive culture of relativisation - in a culture that not only allows but forces the most diverse points of view. A culture in which nothing and no one secures the ultimate truth, the ultimate objectivity. Modern culture is a great possibility-generating enterprise. Cultural philosophy can conceptually express and bring to light the cultural potential for self-relativisation, the potential for self-reflection.

Diese Festschrift für den Islamwissenschaftler und Philosophiehistoriker Ulrich Rudolph will ihrem Titel und dem Geehrten in verschiedener Weise gerecht werden: Zum einen bezeugen die Beiträge die interkulturelle Vernetztheit philosophischen Denkens im Islam. Sodann spiegelt deren disziplinäre Diversität den interdisziplinären Reichtum islamischer Philosophie. Die Themenvielfalt der Texte trägt dem inhaltlich-konzeptuellen Reichtum geistigen Schaffens im Islam Rechnung. Damit will diese Festschrift einen Wissenschaftler ehren, dessen Denken selbst für Mobilität steht, indem es disziplinäre und thematische Grenzen überschreitet, und der auch das Denken der (...) Beitragenden an dieser Publikation "mobilisiert" hat - als Lehrer, Forscher, Gesprächspartner, Betreuer; kurz: als Vorbild in wissenschaftlicher und menschlicher Hinsicht. (shrink)

The main purpose of this article is to explore the complex and multifarious condition of Nietzsche as a reader. Thus, in the first place the text clarifies the various character of informations about reading, not always reliable, expressed in his very work, in the notebooks, in the letters, by testimony of third parties, in his preserved library and in the not preserved library, in purchases and in borrowing from libraries. At a second moment, the article put forward reading phases since (...) the very young Nietzsche, reading strategies, his freeing process and his self-stilization as a reader. In the scope of reading spheres, the article adresses Nietzsche as a philology reader so much as a reader of scientific texts, and a reader of the world, of culture. Lastly, on questioning how Nietzsche became a reader of himself, the text nods to the question of how his attitude towards reading devolves into a way of thinking and reading his very work, in this manner asserting the initial claim, namely, to understand Nietzsche the philosopher we must bear in mind whom is he talking to. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Nihilism Skepticism Nihilism and Skepticism.

This paper is based on case-study research in four English secondary schools. It explores the pressure placed on English and mathematics departments because of their results being reported in annual performance tables. It examines how English and maths departments enact policies of achievement, the additional power and extra resources the pressure to achieve brings and the possibility of resistance.

Wahl des Themas -- Verschiedene Ansätze zur Erklärung von Besonderheiten der iranischen Geistesgeschichte -- Bemerkungen zur Verwendung des Intellektuellenbegriffes in dieser Arbeit -- Ṭabaṭabaʼis Leben und Wirken -- Ṭabaṭabaʼis Werdegang zum Gelehrten -- Gründe und Hintergründe von Ṭabaṭabaʼis Wirken als Gelehrter -- Geistesgeschichtliche Hintergründe und Voraussetzungen von Ṭabaṭabaʼis Denken -- Ṭabaṭabaʼis Werk im vorrevolutionären "Kulturkampf" -- Muṭahharis Leben und Werk -- Ṭabaṭabaʼis und Muṭahharis Westbetrachtung im Zeichen des vierten Weges anhand des Werkes Die Prinzipien der Philosophie und die Methode des (...) Realismus -- "Was ist Philosophie?" -- und was nicht? -- Untersuchung und Beurteilung philosophischer Lehren des Abendlandes im Lichte des vierten Weges -- Gesamtbefund und Folgerungen -- Ṭabaṭabaʼis und Muṭahharis Kritik der westlichen Philosophie als Entgegnung auf das Westverständnis ihrer Adressaten -- Was ist "Westen"? -- Heilsgeschichte gegenüber "Unheilsgeschichte" -- Die Gleichsetzbarkeit von Westen mit Idealismus im geschichtlichen und interkulturellen Vergleich bei Muṭahhari -- Die Prinzipien der Philosophie und die Methode des Realismus vor dem Hintergrund des vorrevolutionären intellektuellen Westdiskurses -- Nachwirkungen und Auswirkungen von Ṭabaṭabaʼis und Muṭahharis Westverständnis. (shrink)

The article deals with the question of the extent to which Friedrich Nietzsche tried out various roles of being an outsider as well as the extent to which he also wanted to be an insider again and again. Special emphasis is placed on the problem of »historical philosophizing«, to which Nietzsche committed himself in 1878.

The universally lamented unleashing of language is a symptom. But not a symp- tom of an indeed alarming political development or even of a general cultural de- cay. Instead, it is a symptom of political maturation: everyone is allowed to speak for oneself nowadays. Piercing and brutal become those speakers, who do not feel heard and consider themselves impotent. If one is supposed to remedy this process, one must concede power of language to everyone as well as a power to (...) efficiently act upon the world. (shrink)