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163The paper argues against a commitment to metaphysical necessity, semantic modalities are enough. The best approaches to elucidate the semantic modalities are (still) versions of lingustic ersatzism and fictionalism, even if only developed in parts. Within these necessary properties and the difference between natural and semantic laws can be accounted for. The proper background theory for this is an updated version of Logical Empiricism, which is congenial to recent trends in Structural Realism. …Read more
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190The following considerations concern modelling Belief Dynamics (BD) not just in the sense of a formalization, but rather in the sense of building a computational model and implementing the corresponding data structures and algorithms of recomputing beliefs. The purpose of such a project is to illustrate some ideas about belief changes in a Web of Beliefs (WoB) to explore and deepen one's understanding of belief changes by trying to implement or improve corresponding algorithms.
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6The Egological Structure of Consciousness: Lessons from Sartre for Analytical Philosophy of MindIn Hubert L. Dreyfus & Mark A. Wrathall (eds.), A Companion to Phenomenology and Existentialism, Wiley-blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains sections titled: Using Sartre Ordinary Language and the Self Self‐Denial in the Analytic Philosophy of Mind and in Sartre A Short Phenomenology of Some Distinctions Sartre's Conception of the Pre‐Reflexive Cogito De Se Theories of Self‐Awareness A Synthesis of the Pre‐reflexive Cogito with a De Se Theory of Self‐Awareness Unity of Consciousness and Reflexive Assent Where Do Higher‐Order Theories of Consciousness Go Wrong? Conclusion.
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2Philosophische SemantikDe Gruyter. 2005.Was ist Philosophische Semantik? Bedarf es neben der Linguistik uberhaupt noch einer "philosophischen" Semantik? Welche Rolle spielt diese Semantik fur die Philosophie im Allgemeinen? Welche methodische Rolle spielt die Klarung von "Bedeutung" fur die Sprachanalytische Philosophie? Tritt die philosophische Semantik an die Stelle der Erkenntnistheorie? In welchem Verhaltnis steht sie zur Ontologie und zur Philosophie des Geistes? Diesen Fragen geht das vorliegende Buch nach. In einem zentralen Ve…Read more
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4Der Sinn des Lebens: ein Beitrag zur analytischen ReligionsphilosophieDr. Hänsel-Hohenhausen. 2002.
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130This essay tries to elucidate structural elements of consciousness by drawing on phenomenological descriptions of consciousness and employing representationalist models of consciousness. The aim is not to explain the genesis of self-awareness, but to outline different aspects of its structure.
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65Richard G. Heck, Jr. , Frege's Theorem . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 32 (4): 319-325. 2012.
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Möglichkeits-und Unmöglichkeitsbedingungen des religiösen DiskursesFreiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie Und Theologie 44 (1-2): 44-67. 1997.
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7How Are Semantic Metarepresentations Built and Processed?Kriterion - Journal of Philosophy 1 (26): 22-38. 2012.This paper looks at some aspects of semantic metarepresentation. It is mostly concerned with questions more formal, concerning the representation format in semantic metarepresentations, and the way they are processed. Section 1 distinguishes between metacognition and metarepresen- tation in a narrow and broad sense. Section 2 reminds the reader of some main areas where metarepresentations have to be used. The main part considers the ways that metarepresentations are built and processed. Section …Read more
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3Leila Haaparanta (Ed.): The Development of Modern Logic: Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2009, 1008 pp., 150.00 $, ISBN 978-0-195-13731-6 (review)Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 42 (1): 189-191. 2011.
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27An introduction to paraconsistent logicsPeter Lang. 2005.This book gives an overview of paraconsistent logics - that is logics which allow for inconsistency. Although allowing for inconsistency, paraconsistent logics are worth considering: Logical systems are worth considering in their own right since we can learn about very abstract structural properties of logics and the concepts employed within them such as negation, necessity and consistency. Some non-classical logics are especially of interest from a philosophical perspective since they alone off…Read more
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111Why and how to be a DialetheistStudia Philosophica Estonica 1 (2): 208-227. 2008.In the first part the paper rehearses the main arguments why to be a dialetheist (i.e. why to assume that some contradictions are true). Dialetheism, however, has been criticised as irrational or self-refutating. Therefore the second part of the paper outlines one way to make dialetheism rational assertable. True contradictions turn out to be both believable and assertable. The argument proceeds by setting out basic principles of assertion and denial, and employing bivalent truth value operators…Read more
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2015The following essay reconsiders the ontological and logical issues around Frege’s Basic Law (V). If focuses less on Russell’s Paradox, as most treatments of Frege’s Grundgesetze der Arithmetik (GGA)1 do, but rather on the relation between Frege’s Basic Law (V) and Cantor’s Theorem (CT). So for the most part the inconsistency of Naïve Comprehension (in the context of standard Second Order Logic) will not concern us, but rather the ontological issues central to the conflict between (BLV) and (CT).…Read more
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51Jan Wolenski , Essays on Logic and Its Applications in Philosophy . Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 33 (2): 168-170. 2013.
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30Coherence theories are regularly confronted with the objection that there can be many coherent systems, so that mere coherence is said to be insufficient as either the defining element of truth or even as a working criterion of truth. This objection has been called the “master objection”. If someone is taking coherence not only as a criterion supporting the truth of a theory, but as an ingredient to a definition of “true” she has to attack the master objection straight on
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75In the last twenty years analytic philosophy has seen a rising interest in the philosophy of religion in general and in rational reconstructions of religion related arguments and Christian doctrines. In this short note I like to point to a problem that although cosmological arguments play a great role in the present discussion has not received the attention, I believe, it deserves.[1] An old objection to cosmological arguments, named “the Carriage Objection” by Schopenhauer[2], charges them as b…Read more
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36Eine Notiz zu den Argumentationsstrukturen in der „Widerlegung des Idealismus”Kant Studien 92 (1): 13-18. 2001.Kant spricht bezüglich der Widerlegung des Idealismus von einem „Beweis”. Das ist sicher der höchste Status, den er bereit ist, einem Argument zuzuschreiben. Diese Notiz hier soll zeigen, daß Kant diesen Anspruch zu Recht erhebt. Dazu reicht eine an der sprachlichen Oberflächenstruktur orientierte Formalisierung. Nun hat Kant natürlich die moderne Prädikatenlogik nicht gekannt, aber für den Gebrauch dieser Logik und ein dem gemäßes Räsonieren bedarf es bekanntlich ja auch nicht der ausdrückliche…Read more
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110C. S. Jenkins, Grounding Concepts: An Empirical Basis for Arithmetical Knowledge Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 30 (3): 205-207. 2010.
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1Philip Hugly and Charles Sayward, Arithmetic and Ontology: A Non-Realist Philosophy of Arithmetic Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 27 (3): 188-191. 2007.
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108In our dealings with animals at least most of us see them as conscious beings. On the other hand the employment of human categories to animals seems to be problematic. Reflecting on the details of human beliefs, for example, casts serious doubt on whether the cat is able to believe anything at all. These theses try to reflect on methodological issues when investigating animal minds. Developing a theory of animal mentality seems to be a test case of the interdisciplinary research programme in cog…Read more
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40Methodologische Überlegungen zu tierischen Überzeugungen / Methodological Reflections on Exploring Beliefs in AnimalsJournal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 38 (2). 2007.A theory of the beliefs of non-human animals is not closed to us, only because we do not have beliefs of their kind. Starting from a theory of human beliefs and working on a building block model of propositional attitudes a theory of animal beliefs is viable. Such a theory is an example of the broader conception of a heterophenomenological approach to animal cognition. The theory aims at outlining the crucial differences between human and animal beliefs as well as the relations between these att…Read more
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8Jordan Howard Sobel, Logic and Theism: Arguments for and against beliefs in God Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 24 (5): 368-371. 2004.
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1043Transcendental Logic RedefinedReview of Contemporary Philosophy 7. 2008.Traditionally transcendental logic has been set apart from formal logic. Transcendental logic had to deal with the conditions of possibility of judgements, which were presupposed by formal logic. Defined as a purely philosophical enterprise transcendental logic was considered as being a priori delivering either analytic or even synthetic a priori results. In this paper it is argued that this separation from the (empirical) cognitive sciences should be given up. Transcendental logic should be und…Read more
University of Cologne
PhD, 1993
Areas of Specialization
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Epistemology |
Areas of Interest
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Science, Logic, and Mathematics |