In Heidegger's Religious Origins, Benjamin D. Crowe explores the meaning and relevance of Heidegger's early theological development, especially his intellectual ties with Martin Luther. Devoting ...particular attention to Heidegger's philosophy of religion in the turbulent aftermath of World War I, Crowe shows Heidegger tightening his focus and searching his philosophical practice for ideas on how one cultivates an "authentic" life beyond the "destruction" of Europe. This penetrating work reveals Heidegger wrestling and coming to grips with his religious upbringing, his theological education, and his religious convictions. While developing Heidegger's notion of destruction up to the publication of Being and Time, Crowe advances a new way to think about the relationship between destruction and authenticity that confirms the continuing importance of Heidegger's early theological training.
Escherichia coli is one of the most frequent human pathogens, increasingly exhibits antimicrobial resistance, and has complex interactions with the host immune system. E. coli exposure or infection ...can result in the generation of antibodies specific for outer membrane protein A (OmpA), a multifunctional porin. We identified four OmpA-specific naturally occurring antibodies from healthy human donor B cells and assessed their interactions with E. coli and OmpA. These antibodies are highly specific for OmpA, exhibiting no cross-reactivity to a strain lacking
and retaining binding to both laboratory and clinical isolates of E. coli in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence assays. One monoclonal antibody (Mab), designated ECOL-11, is specific for the extracellular N-terminal porin domain of OmpA and induces growth phase-specific bacterial aggregation. This aggregation is not induced by the fragment antigen binding (Fab) form of the MAb, suggesting the importance of bivalency for this aggregating activity. ECOL-11 decreases adhesion and phagocytosis of E. coli by RAW 264.7 macrophage-like cells, possibly by inhibiting the adhesion functions of OmpA. Despite this
phenotype, organ E. coli burdens were not altered by antibody prophylaxis in a murine model of lethal E. coli septic shock. Our findings support the importance of OmpA at the host-pathogen interface and begin to explore the implications and utility of E. coli-specific antibodies in human hosts.
Background Cardiac surgery induces the release of inflammatory mediators that can prolong cardiac dysfunction after operative intervention. Interleukin-10 (IL-10), a potent inhibitor of myocardial ...inflammation, is a known factor in myocardial protection after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We hypothesized that IL-10 activity during initial reperfusion is mediated through the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. Methods Adult rat hearts were isolated and perfused via Langendorff protocol and subjected to global I/R. After determining the effective IL-10 dose, hearts were administered vehicle, IL-10, or IL-10 + Stattic (specific STAT3 inhibitor) 1 min prior to ischemia. After reperfusion, hearts were sectioned and assessed for levels of myocardial inflammatory cytokines and protein. Results The IL-10 minimum effective dose was 1 μg. IL-10-treated hearts had improved markedly myocardial function after global I/R compared to both vehicle and IL-10 + Stattic groups. In addition, IL-10 treatment was associated with a significant decrease in myocardial interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and increase in myocardial IL-10. Myocardial STAT3 was elevated markedly in IL-10 treated hearts. Conclusion IL-10 improves myocardial function after acute global I/R and suppresses inflammation through the STAT3 pathway. The administration of anti-inflammatory agents may have potential therapeutic applications in cardiac surgery.
Fichte on Faith and Autonomy Crowe, Benjamin D.
British journal for the history of philosophy,
07/2013, Letnik:
21, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
J. G. Fichte (1762-1814) articulates and defends a conception of autonomy as rational self-identification. This paper reconstructs this conception and examines various difficulties recognized by ...Fichte during the earliest phases of his career (1780s-1790s), with the heterogeneity of natural drives and freedom as the principal threat. Theoretically, this heterogeneity is overcome for Fichte by his deduction of the compound nature of humanity as a condition of rational agency. But, from the standpoint of the deliberating agent herself, this deduction is not sufficient. The harmony of nature and freedom is, for Fichte, a desideratum of practical rationality, and so must be addressed as such. Fichte's argument at this point is that a further perspective on oneself must be at least implicit in the moral outlook of a deliberating agent in order for this harmony to be attained on a practical level. This is because the harmony that is achieved at the deliberative level is occasional, temporary, and fundamentally uncertain. The required perspective turns out to be religious faith, the idea that the 'infinite task' of morality is eternally realized in divine reason, or that there is a 'moral world order' in which nature and freedom are reconciled.
While the last several decades have seen a renaissance of scholarship on J. G. Herder (1744-1804), his moral philosophy has not been carefully examined. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap, and ...to point the way for further research, by reconstructing his original and systematically articulated views on morality. Three interrelated elements of his position are explored in detail: (1) his perfectionism, or theory of the human good; (2) his sentimentalism, which includes moral epistemology and a theory of moral education; and (3) his theism, which deepens and justifies these other elements.
Hutcheson on Natural Religion Crowe, Benjamin D.
British journal for the history of philosophy,
07/2011, Letnik:
19, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Recent scholars have examined the important role of English Deism in the formation of a modern naturalistic approach to the study of human religiosity. Despite the volume of important studies of ...various aspects of his thought, the role of Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) in this development has been overlooked. The aim of this paper is to show how Hutcheson develops his own account of the origins of religion, consonant with his more well-known theories in aesthetics and moral philosophy, that diverges sharply from the then-prevailing Deist views. Hutcheson pioneers a psychological account of religion that anticipates the work of nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars in important ways. At the same time, Hutcheson incorporates his account of the origins of religion into an overall vision of human flourishing.
Heydenreich's work exercised a profound influence on the reception of Spinoza by the young Romantic generation, with Schleiermacher (ca. 1793-94) and Hölderlin (ca. 1795) being particular ...beneficiaries.6 As it did for Fichte, the publication of Reinhold's Briefe and Kant's Critique of Practical Reason led to a profound shift in Heydenreich's position.7 His ardent partisanship for Spinoza cooled somewhat, and he took up the project of developing a thoroughly Kantian philosophy of religion.8 The fruits of this attempt appeared in a two-volume work (1790-91) entitled Betrachtungen über die Philosophie der natürlichen Theologie, which, like his earlier efforts, attracted some note. ...my philosophy alters nothing concerning religion, as it has dwelt within the hearts of all well-meaning people form the beginning of the world and will continue to dwell there until the end of time; and my philosophy would be false just as surely as it did alter anything.
Recent years have witnessed a rehabilitation of early German Romanticism in philosophy, including a renewed interest in Romantic ethics. Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829) is acknowledged as a key figure ...in this movement. While significant work has been done on some aspects of his thought, his views on ethics have been surprisingly overlooked. This essay aims to redress this shortcoming in the literature by examining the core themes of Schlegel's ethics during the early phase of his career (1793–1801). I argue that Schlegel's position stands out against both the dominant Kantianism of his era, as well as against some of fellow Romantics. I show how Schlegel anticipates contemporary philosophers such as Bernard Williams, Harry Frankfurt, John McDowell, and Stanley Cavell in both his criticisms of traditional moral theory and in his attempts to develop a positive position.
