Theoretische PhilosophieHead of Research Unit Prof. Dr.Markus WildOverviewMembersPublicationsProjects & CollaborationsProjects & Collaborations OverviewMembersPublicationsProjects & Collaborations Projects & Collaborations 14 foundShow per page10 10 20 50 Speciesist Ignorance: Bridging animal ethics and the epistemology of ignorance Research Project | 1 Project MembersImported from Grants Tool 4701053 "'The Power of Thought and Feeling' - Mary Shepherds Theorie des Geistes" Research Project | 1 Project MembersMein Postdoc.Mobility-Forschungsprojekt widmet sich der Theorie des Geistes der schottischen Philosophin Mary Shepherd (1777-1847) mit dem Ziel eine Forschungslücke zu schliessen und ein neues Forschungsgebiet zu eröffnen. Im Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit steht dabei die Frage, wie Shepherd die Beziehung zwischen Geist und Körper auffasst (d. i., wie löst sie das sog. «Leib-Seele-Problem»?). Mein Augenmerk liegt dabei auf Shepherds beiden Hauptwerken: EPEU und das 'Essay on the Relation of Cause and Effect' (ERCE). Für deren Analyse bediene ich mich einer kritischen Textexegese sowie einer systematischen Rekonstruktion. Shepherds Argumentation wird damit nicht einfach wiedergegeben, sondern auf Unklarheiten, Inkonsistenzen oder Widersprüche geprüft und hinsichtlich ihrer Plausibilität kommentiert. Dies ist besonders wichtig, da sich die Shepherd-Forschung noch im Anfangsstadium befindet und viele Aspekte ihres Denkens erst erschlossen werden müssen. Dieser Umstand erklärt sich dadurch, dass Shepherds Beitrag - wie jener vieler anderer Autorinnen in der Geschich-te der Philosophie - während Jahrhunderten systematisch negiert wurde (vgl. Eileen O'Neills «Disappearing Ink»). In diesem Sinne fügt sich mein Projekt, in eine grössere Forschungsbewegung ein, welche darum bemüht ist, Denkerinnen wie Shepherd zu ihrem rechtmässigen Platz im philosophiehistorischen Kanon zu verhelfen, um damit auch die (philosophische) Sichtbarkeit bis anhin unterrepräsentierter Gruppen zu verbessern. Authenticity, Narrative and Neural Modification Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available NCCR Evolving Language (phase 1) Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available Beastly Politics Research Project | 1 Project MembersThere is broad consensus in contemporary animal ethics that sentient nonhuman animals matter morally in their own right. As a consequence, it is widely recognized that humans have negative duties (that is, duties of non-interference and non-maleficence) towards them. In other words, humans should not inflict unnecessary harms upon animals. Less attention, however, has been paid to the question of whether humans have positive duties (that is, duties of assistance) towards animals, and if so, what those duties encompass, whether those duties vary according to the type of animal under consideration, and what should be done if those duties are in conflict with others that we hold. Additionally, it is unclear who bears such duties and responsibilities: is it merely individuals, or are these collective duties all members of a society share? If the latter is the case, do these duties have to be implemented on a political level? Do animals have a claim for having their interests represented on a political level, and should their interests thus be taken into consideration in the process of political decision-making? However, since animals cannot voice their interests themselves in political deliberations (similar to future generations, young children and cognitively disabled individuals), new ways have to be found to represent their interests. Furthermore, the project will explore how such positive duties might be appropriately balanced and prioritized given scarce resources and the pressing existing obligations towards humans, and how these duties can be institutionalized on a political level. Singuläre Tiere sehen. Zur Rolle filmischer und fotografischer Bilder für den moralphilosophischen Diskurs um die Individualität von Tieren. Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available Die Evolution der Moral. Wissenschaftliche Erklärungen und normative Vorannahmen Research Project | 1 Project MembersIn meiner Habilitation analysiere ich zeitgenössische Theorien der Evolution der Moral (vgl. etwa Tomasello 2016, Kitcher, 2011, Churchland 2011, Prinz 2007) mit den Mitteln der Wissenschaftstheorie, der philosophischen Begriffsklärung und der Ideologiekritik. Vorhandene Theorien stützen sich auf ein geringes Maß an historischen Daten. Stattdessen arbeiten sie zentral mit funktionalen Erklärungen, Analogieschlüssen und fiktionalen Modellen. Die Arbeit erstellt eine Typologie der verschiedenen Erklärungsformen und gibt für diese jeweils Qualitätskriterien an. Mit Verweis auf diese Kriterien lassen sich vorhandene Theorien der Evolution der Moral erstmals vergleichen und evaluieren. Durch die Vielfalt an Erklärungsformen und die eklektische Verwendung indirekter Evidenz öffnen sich die Arbeiten unreflektierten Vorannahmen darüber, was die menschliche Moral überhaupt ist und welche Merkmale des Menschen ihn moralfähig machen. Die Analyse zeitgenössischer Arbeiten wird durch eine historische Einbettung ergänzt. Die Arbeit zeigt so wie die Entstehung der Evolutionstheorie im 19. Jahrhundert und die mit ihr verbundenen ideologischen Diskussionen über die Natur des Menschen sowie Nietzsches genealogische Methode die heutige Debatte prägen. Left Wittgensteinianism: A Non-Foundationalist Ameliorative Framework for Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline Research Project | 1 Project MembersIn terms of which concepts should we think? This kind of concern now looms large in philosophy, as there has been a marked turn to questions of how we can improve rather than just describe our conceptual practices. This turn has involved a radical break with Wittgensteinian ideas. While Wittgenstein has convinced many that we should not seek to derive the one definitively right set of concepts from timeless rational foundations, what he advocates instead has widely been felt to be overly conservative: he insists that justifications come to an end in the "bedrock of practice," that we should defer to the practices we find ourselves with. Many have concluded from this that Wittgensteinianism inevitably leads to a conservative or Right Wittgensteinianism . Contemporary approaches seeking to improve our concepts try to break free from Wittgensteinian conservatism by breaking free from Wittgensteinianism. Yet this total abandonment of Wittgensteinian insights introduces fresh failings. One contemporary approach, conceptual engineering, takes progress through conceptual innovation in science as its model and seeks to forge new concepts in order to ask better questions; but it suffers from a tendency to treat the motley of our practices as something that can be designed from the philosopher's drawing board, like artificial languages in logic. Similarly, the ameliorative metaphysics approach seeks to decide which (if any) of the warring conceptions of concepts like human nature we should use by appealing to ethical and political criteria; but it remains overly abstract in asking whether we should use any of these conceptions tout court , thereby overlooking the needs in actual situations from which each of these conceptions might derive a point in practice. These are failings which Wittgensteinian attention to what our concepts do for us in practice can remedy. What is needed is a middle path between Right Wittgensteinianism and the revisionary approaches. The long-term aim of this project is to trace such a middle path between Wittgensteinian conservatism and more revisionary approaches by developing a Left Wittgensteinian Framework that combines the revisionary ambitions of conceptual engineering and ameliorative metaphysics-hence "Left"-with Wittgensteinian attention to the point of our concepts given our needs in actual situations -hence "Wittgensteinian." It thereby aims to offer a concrete model for how philosophy can function as a humanistic discipline-i.e., in integration with other disciplines. The short-term aim over the first eleven months is to develop a Stratified View of our practices that reveals a non-foundationalist basis for ameliorating our concepts in a layer of changeable and context-sensitive practical needs. Animal Ethics in ecological research Research Project | 2 Project MembersDie Verwendung von Tieren in der Forschung wird sowohl in der Wissen- schaft als auch in der breiten Öffentlichkeit zunehmend kontrovers diskutiert. Ethische Fragen werden jedoch in der Wildtierforschung selten gestellt, obwohl diese viele sogenannte invasive Methoden beinhaltet, welche das Tierwohl beeinträchtigen und Leiden verursachen. Darüber hinaus ist die Wildtierforschung bei der Ausbildung der Fachpersonen in Ethik und Tierschutz hinter anderen Disziplinen wie Medizin und Human- genetik zurückgeblieben. Animalfree Research finanziert eine der ersten Initiativen, die sich mit der Frage der Tierethik und des Tierschutzes in der Wildtierforschung befasst. Dieses Projekt ist einzigartig in der Schweiz. Authenticity, Narrative and Neural Modification Research Project | 1 Project MembersThe development of ever more potent and specific methods for neural modification, for instance Deep Brain Stimulation or psychotropic drugs, poses a challenge for our self-image and requires a careful and responsible handling. On this note the influence of neural modifications on authenticity is seen as an important topic. In the current research the concept of authenticity is mainly discussed in the context of enhancement and psychotropic drugs, tough often authenticity is only covered incidentally and with a simplified definition. In this doctoral thesis neural modifications with regard to authenticity are investigated thoroughly and based on a profound analysis of the concept of authenticity. In the first part a genealogy of authenticity will be compiled, to show how the concept developed and became a virtue as well as to illustrate the different functions and interpretations that have been ascribed to the concept. Moreover, authenticity will be differentiated from related concepts such as autonomy or identity via this historical exposition. Based on this investigation a narrativistic approach to authenticity will be developed, which does justice to its functions and to our intuitions on the concept. The second part will cover a discussion on neural modifications. Following an overview what neural modifications encompass and how the different methods influence a person and his/her brain they will be characterized along frame concepts such as naturalness, innovation or enhancement. The third part will combine the results of the first two parts to asses which modifications and which properties of these modifications support or threaten authenticity as understood in the narrativistic approach and why we consider some neural modifications as unproblematic whereas others are perceived as controversial. 12 12 OverviewMembersPublicationsProjects & Collaborations
Projects & Collaborations 14 foundShow per page10 10 20 50 Speciesist Ignorance: Bridging animal ethics and the epistemology of ignorance Research Project | 1 Project MembersImported from Grants Tool 4701053 "'The Power of Thought and Feeling' - Mary Shepherds Theorie des Geistes" Research Project | 1 Project MembersMein Postdoc.Mobility-Forschungsprojekt widmet sich der Theorie des Geistes der schottischen Philosophin Mary Shepherd (1777-1847) mit dem Ziel eine Forschungslücke zu schliessen und ein neues Forschungsgebiet zu eröffnen. Im Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit steht dabei die Frage, wie Shepherd die Beziehung zwischen Geist und Körper auffasst (d. i., wie löst sie das sog. «Leib-Seele-Problem»?). Mein Augenmerk liegt dabei auf Shepherds beiden Hauptwerken: EPEU und das 'Essay on the Relation of Cause and Effect' (ERCE). Für deren Analyse bediene ich mich einer kritischen Textexegese sowie einer systematischen Rekonstruktion. Shepherds Argumentation wird damit nicht einfach wiedergegeben, sondern auf Unklarheiten, Inkonsistenzen oder Widersprüche geprüft und hinsichtlich ihrer Plausibilität kommentiert. Dies ist besonders wichtig, da sich die Shepherd-Forschung noch im Anfangsstadium befindet und viele Aspekte ihres Denkens erst erschlossen werden müssen. Dieser Umstand erklärt sich dadurch, dass Shepherds Beitrag - wie jener vieler anderer Autorinnen in der Geschich-te der Philosophie - während Jahrhunderten systematisch negiert wurde (vgl. Eileen O'Neills «Disappearing Ink»). In diesem Sinne fügt sich mein Projekt, in eine grössere Forschungsbewegung ein, welche darum bemüht ist, Denkerinnen wie Shepherd zu ihrem rechtmässigen Platz im philosophiehistorischen Kanon zu verhelfen, um damit auch die (philosophische) Sichtbarkeit bis anhin unterrepräsentierter Gruppen zu verbessern. Authenticity, Narrative and Neural Modification Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available NCCR Evolving Language (phase 1) Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available Beastly Politics Research Project | 1 Project MembersThere is broad consensus in contemporary animal ethics that sentient nonhuman animals matter morally in their own right. As a consequence, it is widely recognized that humans have negative duties (that is, duties of non-interference and non-maleficence) towards them. In other words, humans should not inflict unnecessary harms upon animals. Less attention, however, has been paid to the question of whether humans have positive duties (that is, duties of assistance) towards animals, and if so, what those duties encompass, whether those duties vary according to the type of animal under consideration, and what should be done if those duties are in conflict with others that we hold. Additionally, it is unclear who bears such duties and responsibilities: is it merely individuals, or are these collective duties all members of a society share? If the latter is the case, do these duties have to be implemented on a political level? Do animals have a claim for having their interests represented on a political level, and should their interests thus be taken into consideration in the process of political decision-making? However, since animals cannot voice their interests themselves in political deliberations (similar to future generations, young children and cognitively disabled individuals), new ways have to be found to represent their interests. Furthermore, the project will explore how such positive duties might be appropriately balanced and prioritized given scarce resources and the pressing existing obligations towards humans, and how these duties can be institutionalized on a political level. Singuläre Tiere sehen. Zur Rolle filmischer und fotografischer Bilder für den moralphilosophischen Diskurs um die Individualität von Tieren. Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available Die Evolution der Moral. Wissenschaftliche Erklärungen und normative Vorannahmen Research Project | 1 Project MembersIn meiner Habilitation analysiere ich zeitgenössische Theorien der Evolution der Moral (vgl. etwa Tomasello 2016, Kitcher, 2011, Churchland 2011, Prinz 2007) mit den Mitteln der Wissenschaftstheorie, der philosophischen Begriffsklärung und der Ideologiekritik. Vorhandene Theorien stützen sich auf ein geringes Maß an historischen Daten. Stattdessen arbeiten sie zentral mit funktionalen Erklärungen, Analogieschlüssen und fiktionalen Modellen. Die Arbeit erstellt eine Typologie der verschiedenen Erklärungsformen und gibt für diese jeweils Qualitätskriterien an. Mit Verweis auf diese Kriterien lassen sich vorhandene Theorien der Evolution der Moral erstmals vergleichen und evaluieren. Durch die Vielfalt an Erklärungsformen und die eklektische Verwendung indirekter Evidenz öffnen sich die Arbeiten unreflektierten Vorannahmen darüber, was die menschliche Moral überhaupt ist und welche Merkmale des Menschen ihn moralfähig machen. Die Analyse zeitgenössischer Arbeiten wird durch eine historische Einbettung ergänzt. Die Arbeit zeigt so wie die Entstehung der Evolutionstheorie im 19. Jahrhundert und die mit ihr verbundenen ideologischen Diskussionen über die Natur des Menschen sowie Nietzsches genealogische Methode die heutige Debatte prägen. Left Wittgensteinianism: A Non-Foundationalist Ameliorative Framework for Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline Research Project | 1 Project MembersIn terms of which concepts should we think? This kind of concern now looms large in philosophy, as there has been a marked turn to questions of how we can improve rather than just describe our conceptual practices. This turn has involved a radical break with Wittgensteinian ideas. While Wittgenstein has convinced many that we should not seek to derive the one definitively right set of concepts from timeless rational foundations, what he advocates instead has widely been felt to be overly conservative: he insists that justifications come to an end in the "bedrock of practice," that we should defer to the practices we find ourselves with. Many have concluded from this that Wittgensteinianism inevitably leads to a conservative or Right Wittgensteinianism . Contemporary approaches seeking to improve our concepts try to break free from Wittgensteinian conservatism by breaking free from Wittgensteinianism. Yet this total abandonment of Wittgensteinian insights introduces fresh failings. One contemporary approach, conceptual engineering, takes progress through conceptual innovation in science as its model and seeks to forge new concepts in order to ask better questions; but it suffers from a tendency to treat the motley of our practices as something that can be designed from the philosopher's drawing board, like artificial languages in logic. Similarly, the ameliorative metaphysics approach seeks to decide which (if any) of the warring conceptions of concepts like human nature we should use by appealing to ethical and political criteria; but it remains overly abstract in asking whether we should use any of these conceptions tout court , thereby overlooking the needs in actual situations from which each of these conceptions might derive a point in practice. These are failings which Wittgensteinian attention to what our concepts do for us in practice can remedy. What is needed is a middle path between Right Wittgensteinianism and the revisionary approaches. The long-term aim of this project is to trace such a middle path between Wittgensteinian conservatism and more revisionary approaches by developing a Left Wittgensteinian Framework that combines the revisionary ambitions of conceptual engineering and ameliorative metaphysics-hence "Left"-with Wittgensteinian attention to the point of our concepts given our needs in actual situations -hence "Wittgensteinian." It thereby aims to offer a concrete model for how philosophy can function as a humanistic discipline-i.e., in integration with other disciplines. The short-term aim over the first eleven months is to develop a Stratified View of our practices that reveals a non-foundationalist basis for ameliorating our concepts in a layer of changeable and context-sensitive practical needs. Animal Ethics in ecological research Research Project | 2 Project MembersDie Verwendung von Tieren in der Forschung wird sowohl in der Wissen- schaft als auch in der breiten Öffentlichkeit zunehmend kontrovers diskutiert. Ethische Fragen werden jedoch in der Wildtierforschung selten gestellt, obwohl diese viele sogenannte invasive Methoden beinhaltet, welche das Tierwohl beeinträchtigen und Leiden verursachen. Darüber hinaus ist die Wildtierforschung bei der Ausbildung der Fachpersonen in Ethik und Tierschutz hinter anderen Disziplinen wie Medizin und Human- genetik zurückgeblieben. Animalfree Research finanziert eine der ersten Initiativen, die sich mit der Frage der Tierethik und des Tierschutzes in der Wildtierforschung befasst. Dieses Projekt ist einzigartig in der Schweiz. Authenticity, Narrative and Neural Modification Research Project | 1 Project MembersThe development of ever more potent and specific methods for neural modification, for instance Deep Brain Stimulation or psychotropic drugs, poses a challenge for our self-image and requires a careful and responsible handling. On this note the influence of neural modifications on authenticity is seen as an important topic. In the current research the concept of authenticity is mainly discussed in the context of enhancement and psychotropic drugs, tough often authenticity is only covered incidentally and with a simplified definition. In this doctoral thesis neural modifications with regard to authenticity are investigated thoroughly and based on a profound analysis of the concept of authenticity. In the first part a genealogy of authenticity will be compiled, to show how the concept developed and became a virtue as well as to illustrate the different functions and interpretations that have been ascribed to the concept. Moreover, authenticity will be differentiated from related concepts such as autonomy or identity via this historical exposition. Based on this investigation a narrativistic approach to authenticity will be developed, which does justice to its functions and to our intuitions on the concept. The second part will cover a discussion on neural modifications. Following an overview what neural modifications encompass and how the different methods influence a person and his/her brain they will be characterized along frame concepts such as naturalness, innovation or enhancement. The third part will combine the results of the first two parts to asses which modifications and which properties of these modifications support or threaten authenticity as understood in the narrativistic approach and why we consider some neural modifications as unproblematic whereas others are perceived as controversial. 12 12
Speciesist Ignorance: Bridging animal ethics and the epistemology of ignorance Research Project | 1 Project MembersImported from Grants Tool 4701053
"'The Power of Thought and Feeling' - Mary Shepherds Theorie des Geistes" Research Project | 1 Project MembersMein Postdoc.Mobility-Forschungsprojekt widmet sich der Theorie des Geistes der schottischen Philosophin Mary Shepherd (1777-1847) mit dem Ziel eine Forschungslücke zu schliessen und ein neues Forschungsgebiet zu eröffnen. Im Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit steht dabei die Frage, wie Shepherd die Beziehung zwischen Geist und Körper auffasst (d. i., wie löst sie das sog. «Leib-Seele-Problem»?). Mein Augenmerk liegt dabei auf Shepherds beiden Hauptwerken: EPEU und das 'Essay on the Relation of Cause and Effect' (ERCE). Für deren Analyse bediene ich mich einer kritischen Textexegese sowie einer systematischen Rekonstruktion. Shepherds Argumentation wird damit nicht einfach wiedergegeben, sondern auf Unklarheiten, Inkonsistenzen oder Widersprüche geprüft und hinsichtlich ihrer Plausibilität kommentiert. Dies ist besonders wichtig, da sich die Shepherd-Forschung noch im Anfangsstadium befindet und viele Aspekte ihres Denkens erst erschlossen werden müssen. Dieser Umstand erklärt sich dadurch, dass Shepherds Beitrag - wie jener vieler anderer Autorinnen in der Geschich-te der Philosophie - während Jahrhunderten systematisch negiert wurde (vgl. Eileen O'Neills «Disappearing Ink»). In diesem Sinne fügt sich mein Projekt, in eine grössere Forschungsbewegung ein, welche darum bemüht ist, Denkerinnen wie Shepherd zu ihrem rechtmässigen Platz im philosophiehistorischen Kanon zu verhelfen, um damit auch die (philosophische) Sichtbarkeit bis anhin unterrepräsentierter Gruppen zu verbessern.
Authenticity, Narrative and Neural Modification Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available
Beastly Politics Research Project | 1 Project MembersThere is broad consensus in contemporary animal ethics that sentient nonhuman animals matter morally in their own right. As a consequence, it is widely recognized that humans have negative duties (that is, duties of non-interference and non-maleficence) towards them. In other words, humans should not inflict unnecessary harms upon animals. Less attention, however, has been paid to the question of whether humans have positive duties (that is, duties of assistance) towards animals, and if so, what those duties encompass, whether those duties vary according to the type of animal under consideration, and what should be done if those duties are in conflict with others that we hold. Additionally, it is unclear who bears such duties and responsibilities: is it merely individuals, or are these collective duties all members of a society share? If the latter is the case, do these duties have to be implemented on a political level? Do animals have a claim for having their interests represented on a political level, and should their interests thus be taken into consideration in the process of political decision-making? However, since animals cannot voice their interests themselves in political deliberations (similar to future generations, young children and cognitively disabled individuals), new ways have to be found to represent their interests. Furthermore, the project will explore how such positive duties might be appropriately balanced and prioritized given scarce resources and the pressing existing obligations towards humans, and how these duties can be institutionalized on a political level.
Singuläre Tiere sehen. Zur Rolle filmischer und fotografischer Bilder für den moralphilosophischen Diskurs um die Individualität von Tieren. Research Project | 1 Project MembersNo Description available
Die Evolution der Moral. Wissenschaftliche Erklärungen und normative Vorannahmen Research Project | 1 Project MembersIn meiner Habilitation analysiere ich zeitgenössische Theorien der Evolution der Moral (vgl. etwa Tomasello 2016, Kitcher, 2011, Churchland 2011, Prinz 2007) mit den Mitteln der Wissenschaftstheorie, der philosophischen Begriffsklärung und der Ideologiekritik. Vorhandene Theorien stützen sich auf ein geringes Maß an historischen Daten. Stattdessen arbeiten sie zentral mit funktionalen Erklärungen, Analogieschlüssen und fiktionalen Modellen. Die Arbeit erstellt eine Typologie der verschiedenen Erklärungsformen und gibt für diese jeweils Qualitätskriterien an. Mit Verweis auf diese Kriterien lassen sich vorhandene Theorien der Evolution der Moral erstmals vergleichen und evaluieren. Durch die Vielfalt an Erklärungsformen und die eklektische Verwendung indirekter Evidenz öffnen sich die Arbeiten unreflektierten Vorannahmen darüber, was die menschliche Moral überhaupt ist und welche Merkmale des Menschen ihn moralfähig machen. Die Analyse zeitgenössischer Arbeiten wird durch eine historische Einbettung ergänzt. Die Arbeit zeigt so wie die Entstehung der Evolutionstheorie im 19. Jahrhundert und die mit ihr verbundenen ideologischen Diskussionen über die Natur des Menschen sowie Nietzsches genealogische Methode die heutige Debatte prägen.
Left Wittgensteinianism: A Non-Foundationalist Ameliorative Framework for Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline Research Project | 1 Project MembersIn terms of which concepts should we think? This kind of concern now looms large in philosophy, as there has been a marked turn to questions of how we can improve rather than just describe our conceptual practices. This turn has involved a radical break with Wittgensteinian ideas. While Wittgenstein has convinced many that we should not seek to derive the one definitively right set of concepts from timeless rational foundations, what he advocates instead has widely been felt to be overly conservative: he insists that justifications come to an end in the "bedrock of practice," that we should defer to the practices we find ourselves with. Many have concluded from this that Wittgensteinianism inevitably leads to a conservative or Right Wittgensteinianism . Contemporary approaches seeking to improve our concepts try to break free from Wittgensteinian conservatism by breaking free from Wittgensteinianism. Yet this total abandonment of Wittgensteinian insights introduces fresh failings. One contemporary approach, conceptual engineering, takes progress through conceptual innovation in science as its model and seeks to forge new concepts in order to ask better questions; but it suffers from a tendency to treat the motley of our practices as something that can be designed from the philosopher's drawing board, like artificial languages in logic. Similarly, the ameliorative metaphysics approach seeks to decide which (if any) of the warring conceptions of concepts like human nature we should use by appealing to ethical and political criteria; but it remains overly abstract in asking whether we should use any of these conceptions tout court , thereby overlooking the needs in actual situations from which each of these conceptions might derive a point in practice. These are failings which Wittgensteinian attention to what our concepts do for us in practice can remedy. What is needed is a middle path between Right Wittgensteinianism and the revisionary approaches. The long-term aim of this project is to trace such a middle path between Wittgensteinian conservatism and more revisionary approaches by developing a Left Wittgensteinian Framework that combines the revisionary ambitions of conceptual engineering and ameliorative metaphysics-hence "Left"-with Wittgensteinian attention to the point of our concepts given our needs in actual situations -hence "Wittgensteinian." It thereby aims to offer a concrete model for how philosophy can function as a humanistic discipline-i.e., in integration with other disciplines. The short-term aim over the first eleven months is to develop a Stratified View of our practices that reveals a non-foundationalist basis for ameliorating our concepts in a layer of changeable and context-sensitive practical needs.
Animal Ethics in ecological research Research Project | 2 Project MembersDie Verwendung von Tieren in der Forschung wird sowohl in der Wissen- schaft als auch in der breiten Öffentlichkeit zunehmend kontrovers diskutiert. Ethische Fragen werden jedoch in der Wildtierforschung selten gestellt, obwohl diese viele sogenannte invasive Methoden beinhaltet, welche das Tierwohl beeinträchtigen und Leiden verursachen. Darüber hinaus ist die Wildtierforschung bei der Ausbildung der Fachpersonen in Ethik und Tierschutz hinter anderen Disziplinen wie Medizin und Human- genetik zurückgeblieben. Animalfree Research finanziert eine der ersten Initiativen, die sich mit der Frage der Tierethik und des Tierschutzes in der Wildtierforschung befasst. Dieses Projekt ist einzigartig in der Schweiz.
Authenticity, Narrative and Neural Modification Research Project | 1 Project MembersThe development of ever more potent and specific methods for neural modification, for instance Deep Brain Stimulation or psychotropic drugs, poses a challenge for our self-image and requires a careful and responsible handling. On this note the influence of neural modifications on authenticity is seen as an important topic. In the current research the concept of authenticity is mainly discussed in the context of enhancement and psychotropic drugs, tough often authenticity is only covered incidentally and with a simplified definition. In this doctoral thesis neural modifications with regard to authenticity are investigated thoroughly and based on a profound analysis of the concept of authenticity. In the first part a genealogy of authenticity will be compiled, to show how the concept developed and became a virtue as well as to illustrate the different functions and interpretations that have been ascribed to the concept. Moreover, authenticity will be differentiated from related concepts such as autonomy or identity via this historical exposition. Based on this investigation a narrativistic approach to authenticity will be developed, which does justice to its functions and to our intuitions on the concept. The second part will cover a discussion on neural modifications. Following an overview what neural modifications encompass and how the different methods influence a person and his/her brain they will be characterized along frame concepts such as naturalness, innovation or enhancement. The third part will combine the results of the first two parts to asses which modifications and which properties of these modifications support or threaten authenticity as understood in the narrativistic approach and why we consider some neural modifications as unproblematic whereas others are perceived as controversial.
