Volume 2, Issue 1

Quantum Mechanics has imposed strain on traditional (dualist and representationalist) epistemological conceptions. An alternative was offered by Bohr and Heisenberg, according to whom natural science does not describe nature, but rather the interplay between nature and ourselves. But this was only a suggestion. In this paper, a systematic development of the Bohr-Heisenberg conception is outlined, by way of a comparison with the modern self-organizational theories of cognition. It is shown that a perfectly consistent non-representationalist (and/or relational) reading of quantum mechanics can be reached thus.

Holism is widely held to be a fundamental feature of human language and thought, but we lack a firm grasp of the nature and extent of its holistic character. The paper deals with the problem of distinguishing between various forms of semantic holism, and the grounds for preferring a particular one of them. It does so via a discussion of Michael Dummett's important contributions to the debate. I favour a more restricted species of holism than the one Dummett officially defends, but for reasons that are congenial to a leading idea in his philosophy - that we need a notion of meaning consonant with the fact that language-use is, typically, a rational activity. This would appear to entail that the meaning of an expression besuch that it can be brought to bear on the rational control of speech acts performed by a competent speaker. Following on from there, we can see how our cognitive capacities are the source of a fundamental restriction on the kind of complexity that the meanings of the expressions of a language can have. This gives significant support for a moderate variety of semantic holism.

In den folgenden Überlegungen soll gezeigt werden, daß das Problem der Geschichtlichkeit in Heideggers ”Sein und Zeit” nicht nur eine ergänzende Beigabe darstellt, sondern den systematischen Ansatz der Daseinsanalyse erst zum Abschluß bringt. Dazu werden neuere Interpretationsmöglichkeiten aufgegriffen, wie sie innerhalb der Analytischen Philosophie entwickelt worden sind. In diesem Rahmen wird Heideggers Denken als zum einen sozial-pragmatisch und zum anderen zeitlich fundierte Transzendentalphilosophie begreifbar, in der die Geschichtlichkeit ganz folgerichtig eine Schlüsselrolle einnimmt.

During this article I want to investigate the relationship between T.W. Adornos general aesthetic theory and his actual view on contemporary art. Adornos view on art is centered around concepts like praxis, matter and critique: Fine art is supposed to make it obvious that any understanding of matter always in some way is inadequate. Praxis is always grounded on an understanding of matter, but in hiding this fact it becomes ideological and repressive. The fine arts have to make this visible – they have to criticize the given praxis. This leads him to reject very big areas of the actual contemporary art – e.g. the music of Igor Strawinsky. I will show that this rejection springs from Adornos view on matters that turns out to be too narrow: His view on matter is too physicalistic. He focuses on the fact that Strawinskys music on the pure audible level is not as radical as for example Schoenbergs music. In this critique I think he overlooks that the music material is not just the audible sound. Strawinskys music appears as new - but only if one realizes how history is part of its material. Adornos being unaware of this leads to a modification (through Heidegger and Strawinsky) of his (and the general marxist) concept of history: The marxist (romanticist) view on history as being one-dimensional shows to be repressive! Adornos own methodology (the negative dialectics) therefore demands a modication of his own view on history – and also of his view on contemporary arts.

Die radikale Metaphysikkritik der Moderne vollzieht sich als eine Transformation der Metaphysik in sich selbst – und stellt keineswegs eine Verwerfung der Metaphysik dar. Denn der Grundgedanke der sinnvollen Einheitlichkeit der Wirklichkeit ist jedem, selbst dem empirischen Objektivitätsideal verpflichteten Denken notwendig. Ernst Cassirers metaphysikkritisches Anliegen besteht in der Beurteilung der Möglichkeit der Metaphysik als Grund des modernen, wissenschaftstauglichen Denkens, das er als unabgeschlossene und unabschließbare Emanzipationsbewegung des menschlichen Geistes und Lebens auffasst. Anhand der Idee der Freiheit lassen sich die Konstitutionsbedingungen eines funktionalen Strukturgefüges darstellen, die den Anspruch der Philosophie erfüllen, in sowohl theoretischer als auch praktischer Hinsicht zu einem einheitlichen und orientierungsfördernden Weltverständnis beizutragen.