From the sixteen to the eighteenth century, new anatomical investigations of the brain and the nervous system, together with a renewed interest in comparative anatomy, allowed doctors and ...philosophers to ground their theories on sense perception, the emergence of human intelligence, and the soul/body relationship in modern science. They investigated the anatomical structures and the physiological processes underlying the rise, differentiation, and articulation of human cognitive activities, and looked for the “anatomical roots” of the specificity of human intelligence when compared to other forms of animal sensibility. This edited volume focuses on medical and philosophical debates on human intelligence and animal perception in the early modern age, providing fresh insights into the influence of medical discourse on the rise of modern philosophical anthropology. Contributions from distinguished historians of philosophy and medicine focus on sixteenth-century zoological, psychological, and embryological discourses on man; the impact of mechanism and comparative anatomy on philosophical conceptions of body and soul; and the key status of sensibility in the medical and philosophical enlightenment.
In her new book, Karin de Boer attempts to read Kant’s first Critique as a reform of a Wolffian project. My contribution contains several comments and questions that aim to further develop this ...stimulating approach to Kant. They concern (1) the affinities and disagreements between Kant and Wolff, regarding metaphysics, epistemology and method; (2) the place of Wolff’s students (in particular Mendelssohn) in De Boer’s narrative; and (3) the development of the dialogue between Wolff and Kant in the latter’s later writings.
This paper presents Christian Wolff’s argument on the evidence of metaphysical principles as expounded in his article Directive notions and the true use of the first science (1729). This article was ...a central and yet forgotten reference for those who responded to the 1762/1763 academy questions such as Kant. Wolff here asserts that metaphysics has a kind of certainty that is equal or even superior to mathematics and that it communicates such certainty to the remaining sciences. It is this Wolffian thesis that Kant attacked in 1763. A closer reading allows to acknowledge more philosophical premises of Wolff’s argument. Wolff’s thesis on the mathematical certainty of metaphysics inverts the former order of priorities between metaphysics (ontology) and mathematics. According to Wolff (who here seemed to be influenced by Euclides’ geometry), metaphysical notions are at the foundation of mathematical and logical rules. Notions such as “identity”, “thing”, “possibility” etc. have a “directive” or methodical status : they direct the mind searching the truth. Together, these notions constitute a modern and “architectonic” ontology. This framework shows the methodological continuity between Wolff and Kant. Even though Kant contested the form of Wolff’s system, his response still formed part of the general program sketched by Wolff. Kant still attempted to found some kind of architectonic metaphysics containing a table of directive concepts. From this viewpoint, Kant owes more to Wolff than what has been commonly assumed, and the deep and complex debate between the two thinkers calls for more attention.
Cet article cherche à reconstituer la thèse de Christian Wolff sur l’évidence (Deutlichkeit) des principes métaphysiques, dans un article de 1729 sur les « Notions directrices et le véritable usage ...de la première science », qui offre une référence centrale (et méconnue aujourd’hui) aux répondants du concours de 1762-1763, dont Kant. Wolff affirme en effet que la métaphysique est susceptible d’une certitude égale voire supérieure à celle des mathématiques et qu’elle diffuse cette certitude à travers toutes les autres disciplines ; c’est cette thèse forte qu’il s’agira précisément de questionner en 1763. Une lecture plus attentive de l’article de Wolff permet d’en dégager certaines prémisses. La thèse de Wolff sur la certitude mathématique de la métaphysique est fondée sur un renversement de l’ordre de priorité entre métaphysique (ontologie) et mathématiques. Selon Wolff qui, dans son débat avec les mathématiques, s’appuie notamment sur la géométrie euclidienne, ce sont des notions métaphysiques qui fondent la validité des règles mathématiques et logiques. Des notions comme « identité », « chose », « possibilité », etc., possèdent en effet un statut « directeur » ou méthodique, dirigeant l’esprit sur le chemin de la connaissance et, sous une forme systématisée, composent une ontologie moderne et « architectonique ». La restitution de ce cadre permet de mieux voir la continuité méthodologique entre Wolff et Kant. En effet, même si Kant conteste la validité de quelques-uns de ces concepts, les modalités de leur systématisation et l’équation entre science architectonique et ontologie, sa Recherche sur l’évidence des principes s’inscrit à l’intérieur du programme, esquissé par Wolff, de la fondation d’une métaphysique architectonique contenant un tableau de concepts directeurs. De ce point de vue, Kant s’avère plus tributaire de la méthode wolffienne qu’il n’est supposé communément, et leur débat gagne en profondeur.
In der Reihe werden herausragende monographische Untersuchungen und Sammelbände zu allen Aspekten der Philosophie Kants veröffentlicht, ebenso zum systematischen Verhältnis seiner Philosophie zu ...anderen philosophischen Ansätzen in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Veröffentlicht werden Studien, die einen innovativen Charakter haben und ausdrückliche Desiderate der Forschung erfüllen. Die Publikationen repräsentieren den aktuellsten Stand der Forschung.
Im Jahre 1728 erwähnt Christian Wolff erstmals einen bisher namenlosen Teil der Physik, der „die Zwecke der Dinge erklären soll“ und der „Teleologie genannt werden“ könnte. Der Begründung und ...Konkretisierung dieser neuen Disziplin dienen Wolffs Vernünfftige Gedancken von den Absichten der natürlichen Dinge (1723/1726), auch Deutsche Teleologie genannt. In diesem Artikel soll diese „Erfindung“ der Teleologie als Wolffs Beitrag zur modernen Debatte um die Physikotheologie gelesen werden. Sie zeugt von einem Streit zwischen Naturphilosophie und Theologie, in dem sich der Naturphilosoph Wolff gegen den Vorwurf des Atheismus seitens der pietistischen Theologen Budde und Lange zu verteidigen sucht und die Grenzen zwischen Physik und Theologie neu absteckt. Indem Wolff dem Naturphilosophen oder Physiker allein das Recht zuspricht, Ordnung und Zweckursachen in der Natur zur erkennen und die Absichten, das Dasein und die Eigenschaften Gottes aus der Schöpfung zu beweisen, erweitert er den Geltungsbereich der Physik erheblich – und er beschränkt gleichzeitig den der Theologie. In 1728, Christian Wolff mentions a hitherto nameless part of Physics which should „explain the ends of things“ and which could „be called Teleology“. Wolff's Vernünfftige Gedancken von den Absichten der natürlichen Dinge (1723/1726), also known as his German Teleology, is meant to justify and to substantiate this new discipline. This paper is supposed to interpret this „invention“ of teleology as Wolff's contribution to the modern debate about natural theology. It is evidence of the controversy between natural philosophy and theology, in the context of which Wolff as a natural philosopher has to redefine the borders between theology and physics – and to defend himself against the charge of atheism, being raised by the pietistic Theologians Budde and Lange. Wolff claims that only the natural philosopher or physicist is able to recognize order and final ends in nature – and to deduce the intentions, the existence and the attributes of God form his creation. As a result, Wolff enlarges the realm of physics to a great extend – and limits the realm of theology at the same time.
Abstract This paper reviews current technical approaches to the optimisation of CT practice, i.e. approaches to reduce patient dose to the necessary minimum. The most important step towards this goal ...appears to be the technology of tube current modulation (TCM), which came into practice in the early 2000s and has become the standard approach recently. Anatomy- or attenuation-based TCM allows for a dose reduction between 10 and 60% as compared to scans with constant tube current. Automatic exposure control (AEC) approaches are the next step; based on TCM technology, AEC adapts the tube current both with the rotation angle α (α-modulation) and along the z -axis (z-modulation) to achieve a pre-selected image quality level at minimal dose. To pre-select the image quality level, i.e. primarily the pixel noise level, tools for simulation are important to investigate the necessary noise levels pro- and retrospectively for given cases and diagnostic tasks. Respective “dose tutor” approaches have become available recently and are presented. The most recent technical innovation which may lead to substantial dose reduction is the investigation of optimal spectra taking the type of contrast and 3D dose distributions into account. A high potential has been shown especially for pediatric CT and for thoracic CT where dose reduction of a factor of 2 and more is possible when using reduced tube voltages.
PDF
