-
261Rezension von: Lukrez, Über die Natur der Dinge, übersetzt v. Klaus Binder (review)Aufklärung Und Kritik 25 (4). 2018.This is a review of the new translation-cum-commentary of Lucretius, De rerum Natura by Klaus Binder, published by dtv, Munich 2017. The review stresses the importance of Lucretius work for the Enlightenment. The translation is o. k. on the whole, however the translator should have avoided rendering the Latin >religio< by >Aberglauben< (superstition). >superstition< was the word chosen by the English translator in the Loeb-Library, W. H. D. Rouse. Rouse was a Headmaster of the Perse School in Ca…Read more
-
12Dialektiker und fruehe Stoiker bei Sextus Empiricus. Untersuchungen zur Entstehung der Aussagenlogik.Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 1991.This monograph discusses the sources for ancient propositional logic, mainly in Sextus Empiricus and Diogenes Laertius bk. VII. It is argued that most of the sources in Sextus which have hitherto been taken to be sources for Stoic logic either do not report Stoic logic at all or report pre-Chrysippean Stoic logic. These texts report (in the first case) a group labelled the Dialecticians whose most prominent members were Diodorus Cronus and Philo or else (in the second case) early Stoic logicians…Read more
-
10L'énigme de la mort de DescartesHermann. 2011.The book is a translation of my "Der rätselhafte Tod des René Descartes" (2009). It contains a rather complete collection of the documents on the fatal illness and the death of Descartes. It claims that the medical documents make a poisoning by arsenic very probable. The suspected murderer is the French monk Francois Viogué. His motive: Descartes was seen as a probable hindrance to the conversion of the Swedish queen Christina.
-
2849What Is a Perfect Syllogism in Aristotelian Syllogistic?Ancient Philosophy 35 (2): 351-374. 2015.The question as to what makes a perfect Aristotelian syllogism a perfect one has long been discussed by Aristotelian scholars. G. Patzig was the first to point the way to a correct answer: it is the evidence of the logical necessity that is the special feature of perfect syllogisms. Patzig moreover claimed that the evidence of a perfect syllogism can be seen for Barbara in the transitivity of the a-relation. However, this explanation would give Barbara a different status over the other three fir…Read more
-
9Der rätselhafte Tod des René Descartes.Alibri Verlag. 2009.This monograph discusses the illness and death of René Descartes. All the hitherto available documents on his illness and death are collected in the appendix, partly also in the orginal French or Latin. These documents make it rather unlikely that Descartes died of pneumonia, the circumstances of his death suggest a poisoning by arsenic. The possible murderer and his motives are also discussed.
-
1743La maladie mortelle de Descartes - pneumonie ou empoisonnement ?Http://Www.17esiecle.Fr. 2015.This is a reply to Vincent Carraud/René Verdon « Remarques circonspectes sur la mort de Descartes » (published in Revue du dix-septième siècle, n° 265, 2014/4, pp. 719-726, online: http://www.cairn.info/revue-dix-septieme-siecle-2014-4-page-719.htm, containing a critique of my "L'énigme de la mort de Descartes" Paris, 2011). I discuss the fatal illness and the death of Descartes, arguing that Descartes was very probably the victim of arsenical poisoning. The suspected murderer is a French priest…Read more
-
39Entelechie und Monade. Bemerkungen zum Gebrauch eines aristotelischen Begriffs bei Leibniz.In J. Wiesner (ed.), Aristoteles--Werk und Wirkung (Festschrift Moraux). vol. II., De Gruyter. pp. 560-583. 1987.In this paper I argue that Leibniz' (L.) concept of entelechy, though L. himself believes to have derived it directly from Aristotle, does not correspond exactly to the Aristotelian concept. The main difference between the Aristotelian and the Leibnizian concept may be explained as follows: Whereas Aristotle uses "entelecheia" to designate a property possessed by living organisms, L. takes it to be a generic term for souls and other monads. It is further argued that Aristotle's somewhat intricat…Read more
-
Sokrates über seinen Umgang mit Hypotheseis (Phaidon 100a). Ein Problem und ein Vorschlag zur LösungHermes 129 (4): 467-473. 2001.The text at Phaedo 100a is a well-known crux: Socrates seems to claim as for his use of a hypothesis: whatever does not follow from my hypothesis, I put down as not true (hos ouk alethe). Since there may be pairs of contradictory propositions, both of which do not follow from his hypothesis, Socrates would have to claim that both are false, although of two contradictory propositions only one can be false. I argue, using a reading already proposed by Henricus Aristippus, that Plato had Socrates c…Read more
-
1722Jürgen Habermas im Gespräch mit Joseph Ratzinger über "Vorpolitische moralische Grundlagen eines freiheitlichen Staates"Aufklärung Und Kritik 2015 (1): 100-132. 2015.The paper discusses Habermas` contribution to a debate between him and Joseph Ratzinger, at the time the prefect of the Congregation for the Catholic faith. Habermas is criticized for his tendency to adopt openly anti-enlightenment positions.
-
Uwe-Christian Arnold, Letzte HilfeVorgänge. Zeitschrift Für Bürgerrechte Und Gesellschaftspolitik 210. 2015.This is a review of a book by the physician Uwe-Christian Arnold pleading for the right to assisted suicide. Arnold who has accompanied several patients to their end opens his book with several case studies. In the second part A. discusses the arguments against assisted suicide. One of the arguments is based on a reading of the Hippocratic Oath which is shared also by A. As against this reading, I argue that in this text the doctor is not committed to withholding a poison from his patient, but r…Read more
-
311Dialecticians and Stoics on the Classification of PropositionsIn Klaus Döring & Theodor Ebert (eds.), Dialektiker und Stoiker, Franz Steiner. pp. 111-127. 1993.This paper discusses the reports in Diogenes Laertius and in Sextus Empiricus concerning the classification of propositions. It is argued that the material in Sextus uses a source going back to the Dialectical school whose most prominent members were Diodorus Cronus and Philo of Megara. The material preserved in Diogenes Laertius, on the other hand, goes back to Chrysippus.
Areas of Interest
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |