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In Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory, Nancy Hirschmann demonstrates not merely that modern theories of freedom are susceptible to gender and class analysis but that they must be analyzed in terms of gender and class in order to be understood at all. Through rigorous close readings of major and minor works of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Mill, Hirschmann establishes and examines the gender and class foundations of the modern understanding of freedom. Building on a social constructivist model of freedom that she developed in her award-winning book The Subject of Liberty.

Our actions are informed by the consideration of reasons; reasons which constructivism suggests are not simply discovered, but made by us. This text examines this view, elaborating its basic idea into a fully-fledged account of practical reasons, making its theoretical commitments explicit, and defending it against well-known objections.

Since Barry Stroud's classic paper in 1968, the general discussion on transcendental arguments tends to focus on examples from theoretical philosophy. It also tends to be pessimistic, or at least extremely reluctant, about the potential of this kind of arguments. Nevertheless, transcendental reasoning continues to play a prominent role in some recent approaches to moral philosophy. Moreover, some authors argue that transcendental arguments may be more promising in moral philosophy than they are in theoretical contexts. Against this background, the current volume focuses on transcendental arguments in practical philosophy. Experts from different countries and branches of philosophy share their views about whether there are actually differences between "theoretical" and "practical" uses of transcendental arguments. They examine and compare different versions of transcendental arguments in moral philosophy, explain their structure, and assess their respective problems and promises. This book offers all those interested in ethics, meta-ethics, or epistemology a more comprehensive understanding of transcendental arguments. It also provides them with new insights into uses of transcendental reasoning in moral philosophy.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- 1 Introduction: A Tale of Two Tendencies in International Law -- Justice in Philosophy and Law -- Statism and Cosmopolitanism in Contemporary International Law -- The Road Ahead -- 2 Rawlsian Constructivism and Cosmopolitan Justice -- Rawls's Constructivism -- Rawls's Justification of Human Rights -- Democracy -- Egalitarianism -- Justice or Expediency -- Cosmopolitan Constructivism -- Universality and Political Constructivism -- The Democratic Conception and the Self-conception of Persons -- Justifying the Democratic Conception of Persons -- Characterizing the Nature of the Justification -- The Truth of the Principles of Justice -- Toleration -- Conclusion -- 3 The Borders of Justice -- Duties of Justice -- Associative Duties and Duties of Justice -- Duties of Justice and Institutions -- Associative Duties and Moral Equality -- Associative Duties and Attitudes -- Global Justice -- The Global Association -- A Failed Limiting Strategy -- The Question of Consistency -- Three Objections -- Distance -- Degree of Association -- Moral Triage -- Patriotism -- Nationalism -- Protectionism and Immigration -- Protectionism -- Immigration -- Conclusion -- 4 Global Egalitarianism and Imperialism -- Skepticism about Duties of Global Distributive Justice -- Rawls -- Barry -- Nardin -- Goodin -- Walzer -- Egalitarian Principles -- Liberal Equality -- Democratic Equality -- Two Objections -- Primary Goods, Capabilities, and Gender Inequality -- Analyzing Imperialism -- Empirical Theories -- The Role of Moral Theory -- Reparations -- Problems of Global Distributive Justice in Development -- The Case for Debt Cancellation -- The Costs of Global Warming -- Conclusion -- 5 Cosmopolitan Sovereignty and Justified Intervention -- The Concepts of Sovereignty and Intervention

Se propone una discusión de los aportes de tres teorias actuales influyentes en el pensamiento critico latinoamericano: la teoria del discurso de Ernesto Laclau, la epistemologia del presente potencial de Hugo Zemelman y la filosofia de la liberación de Enrique Dussel. El objetivo del articulo es analizar en estas propuestas el lugar teórico e histórico que tienen los sujetos politicos que disputan la constitución del orden social y los aportes de estas teorias para la comprensión de los movimientos sociales en América Latina.

Es ist die zentrale Annahme aller konstruktivistischen Ansätze, dass wir im Erkennen Befangene sind, dass der Zugriff auf eine absolute Wahrheit unmöglich ist, unmöglich sein muss. In diesem Buch werden - ausgehend von Vorläufern und zentralen Bezugstheorien der Philosophiegeschichte - die unterschiedlichen Theoriestränge des Konstruktivismus beschrieben, die aus den Naturwissenschaften, den Geistes- und den Sozialwissenschaften stammen. Das Spektrum reicht von den Klassikern der Philosophiegeschichte über die Sprachphilosophie und Wissenssoziologie bis hin zur Theorie der Autopoiesis und der modernen Hirnforschung. In kompakten, gut lesbaren Artikeln, verfasst von führenden Fachleuten aus dem In- und Ausland, werden die Schlüsselwerke des Konstruktivismus und die Möglichkeiten der forschungs- und praxisbezogenen Anwendung in unterschiedlichen Disziplinen und Arbeitsfeldern (u.a. Medien- und Literaturwissenschaft, Pädagogik, Psychologie, Organisationsberatung, Sozialarbeit) präsentiert.

Introduction / Hanne Nørreklit, Falconer Mitchell and Morten Raffnsøe-Møller -- Paradigm of pragmatic constructivism -- Actor-reality construction / Lennart Nørreklit -- Epistemology lennart nørreklit -- Decision making and performance management -- Reflective planning and decision-making / Hanne Nørreklit, Falconer Mitchell and Lars Braad Nielsen -- New product development project managers as actors : the view point of management accounting and control / Teemu Laine, Tuomas Korhonen, Petri Suomala and Emmi Tervala -- The validity of financial statement measurement / Falconer Mitchell, Hanne Nørreklit and Lennart Nørreklit -- Orcheastring strategic co-authorship / Gudrun Baldvinsdottir and Christian Heidarson -- Actor-based performance management / Mihaela Trenca and Hanne Nørreklit -- Discovering and understanding performance measurement in a context of ambiguity / Lino Cinquini, Cristina Campanale, Daniela Pianezzi and Andrea Tenucci -- Research approaches and reality constructions -- Languages games of management accounting : constructing illusions or realities / Nikolaj Kure, Hanne Nørreklit and Morten Raffnsøe-Møller -- Actor reality construction, strong structuration theory and organised crime / Lisa Jack -- A comparison of pragmatic constructivism and actor-network theory / Morten Jakobsen -- A pragmatic constructivist perspective on sensemaking in management control / Will Seal and Ruth Mattimoe -- A pragmatic constructivist approach to studying difference and change in management accounting practice

Cet article propose une notion constructiviste de modèle dans la théorie physique applicable à la théorie scientifique en général, c'est-à-dire aussi bien dans les sciences exactes que dans les sciences sociales et humaines. La distinction entre appareil analytique et appareil expérimental par la médiation des modèles permet en effet de généraliser une notion qui est d'abord apparue dans les fondements de la physique chez David Hilbert et John von Neumann. Si l'on consent à inverser les flèches ou homomorphismes qui vont de l'appareil analytique, ensemble des structures logicomathématiques, à l'appareil expérimental, ensemble des données empiriques et des procédures expérimentales, on peut remonter par la modélisation des données jusqu'à l'appareil analytique qui assure la consistance ou cohérence logique de la théorie scientifique, qu'elle relève des sciences exactes ou des sciences sociales.
Une telle articulation des savoirs peut apparaître formelle, mais elle a l'avantage de rassembler les entreprises scientifiques dans un schème unificateur qui jette une lumière nouvelle sur le débat majeur en philosophie des sciences contemporaine, la confrontation du réalisme et de l'antiréalisme, qui a des répercussions tant en philosophie de la physique qu'en philosophie du langage et en philosophie de la logique, ou encore en philosophie des sciences sociales, si l'on en croit Jürgen Habermas ou les tenants du contructionnisme appelé jadis constructivisme social ou socioconstructivisme.
L'article conclut sur la distinction qu'il faut opérer entre le constructivisme logicomathématique et le contructionnisme, comme le dénomme Ian Hacking, pour bien marquer la distance qui sépare les postures fondationnelles ou les options philosophiques dans ce qu'il faut bien appeler « logique de la science », selon l'expression du grand philosophe pragmatiste Charles Sanders Peirce reprise par des empiristes logiques comme Rudolf Carnap.

International audience ; This paper has two goals. Its first goal is to conduct a review of the articulation of sex/gender concepts through the prism of evolutionary biology in the field of French feminist studies (for reasons of space, scientific relevance and accessibility to the non-specialist public). To this end, it also puts foward a definition of constructivism that is compatible with naturalism. Such a definition stands in keeping with the contemporary state of the general philosophy of science. The debate thus mapped out, the second objective of the paper is to take seriously the current diversity of concepts of sex in biology. It insists on the need for a conceptual clarification of the different levels involved, and suggests to do away with the homogeneizing terminology of sex. It argues that this terminology fosters confusion, and thus constitutes an unnecessary cognitive cost. This cognitive cost is linked to a social cost. Indeed, this conceptual vagueness also favours the naturalization of unequal social behaviour in the public sphere, based on a scientifically dubious understanding of nature. The constructivist approach therefore does not amount to denying the empirical constraint of nature. It proposes to identify the circulation of representations between society in general and science in particular, in order to provide reflexive and scientific analytical tools to address the ethical, political and epistemic issues involved in this circulation. ; L'article poursuit un double objectif. D'une part, il propose une revue de l'articulation des concepts de genre et de sexe au prisme de la biologie de l'évolution dans le champ des études féministes francophones (cette délimitation tenant à la fois à des raisons de place, de pertinence scientifique et d'accessibilité au public non spécialiste). A cette fin, il propose également une définition du concept de constructivisme qui soit compatible avec le naturalisme, s'inscrivant en cela dans l'état contemporain de la philosophie générale des sciences. Une ...

International audience ; This paper has two goals. Its first goal is to conduct a review of the articulation of sex/gender concepts through the prism of evolutionary biology in the field of French feminist studies (for reasons of space, scientific relevance and accessibility to the non-specialist public). To this end, it also puts foward a definition of constructivism that is compatible with naturalism. Such a definition stands in keeping with the contemporary state of the general philosophy of science. The debate thus mapped out, the second objective of the paper is to take seriously the current diversity of concepts of sex in biology. It insists on the need for a conceptual clarification of the different levels involved, and suggests to do away with the homogeneizing terminology of sex. It argues that this terminology fosters confusion, and thus constitutes an unnecessary cognitive cost. This cognitive cost is linked to a social cost. Indeed, this conceptual vagueness also favours the naturalization of unequal social behaviour in the public sphere, based on a scientifically dubious understanding of nature. The constructivist approach therefore does not amount to denying the empirical constraint of nature. It proposes to identify the circulation of representations between society in general and science in particular, in order to provide reflexive and scientific analytical tools to address the ethical, political and epistemic issues involved in this circulation. ; L'article poursuit un double objectif. D'une part, il propose une revue de l'articulation des concepts de genre et de sexe au prisme de la biologie de l'évolution dans le champ des études féministes francophones (cette délimitation tenant à la fois à des raisons de place, de pertinence scientifique et d'accessibilité au public non spécialiste). A cette fin, il propose également une définition du concept de constructivisme qui soit compatible avec le naturalisme, s'inscrivant en cela dans l'état contemporain de la philosophie générale des sciences. Une ...

[full article, abstract in English; abstract in Lithuanian]
Many countries are adopting computing (or informatics) in schools, for pupils from 5 years of age. Educational philosophies (and learning theories) that such curricula might be based on are not clear in curriculum documentation. Many Western countries' curricula are based on developmental concepts of cognitive constructivism, with activities progressing through sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. Social constructivism and constructionism add new dimensions to this learning framework, both fundamentally important for developing computing practices. We review selected learning theories, and investigate features that should underpin computing curricula if practices and outcomes are to develop computing practitioner competencies of a software developer.

This work offers a framework for researchers by linking service-dominant (S-D) logic to an intersubjective stream of philosophy of science. Service-dominant logic has resonated in marketing, but no existing research has attempted to link S-D logic with basic meta-theory to provide a framework. Since the range of philosophies of science (isms) referred to in the marketing literature is broad, varying from 'realism' to 'relativism', from 'positivism' to 'constructivism' and from 'structuralism' to 'post-structuralism/postmodernism', first the different isms are grouped into four main groups/streams and then S-D logic is analyzed and classified according to these streams. The four streams are: object-orientation (realism, positivism, empiricism, and so on); subject orientation (constructivism, interpretivism, and so forth); intersubjective orientation (social constructionism, pancritical rationalism, methodological constructivism, and so on); and sign orientation (post-structuralism, postmodernism, and variations). S-D logic is mainly underpinned by an intersubjective orientation and has a huge potential for further development both in and for marketing if seen from a sign-orientated, post-structural perspective and linked to the theory of practices.

Ernst von Glasersfeld (1917-2010) was a scholar in the fields of philosophy and communications who became one of the most influential thinkers of the present through developing the theory of radical constructivism. This volume documents the official opening of a new archive at the University of Innsbruck which makes the literary estate of Ernst von Glasersfeld accessible to researchers. The collection includes the inaugural remarks, an overview of the estate, a series of personal notes remembering the scientist and man, as well as the initial two in a series of lectures addressing his extensive work. - Der Philosoph und Kommunikationswissenschaftler Ernst von Glasersfeld (1917-2010) wurde durch die Entwicklung der Theorie des Radikalen Konstruktivismus zu einem der einflussreichsten Denker der Gegenwart. Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert die offizielle Eröffnung eines neuen Archivs an der Universität Innsbruck, in dem der Nachlass von Ernst von Glasersfeld für die Forschung zugänglich gemacht wird. Neben den Grußworten, einem Überblick über den Nachlass, sowie einer Reihe von Personal Notes, die an den Wissenschaftler und Menschen erinnern, sind hier auch die beiden ersten Beiträge einer Vortragsreihe abgedruckt, die sich seinem umfangreichen Werk widmen.

Nichts, was sich sagen lässt, ist unabhängig von uns. Alles, was gesagt werden kann, ist gefärbt von unseren Träumen und Sehnsüchten, der Arbeitsweise des Gehirns, der Natur und Kultur des Menschen. Wer erkennt, wer beobachtet Ć so die zentrale konstruktivistische Annahme Ć ist notwendig ein Befangener. In diesem Band kommen die Begründer des Konstruktivismus und der modernen Systemtheorie zu Wort, die heute zu den Stichwortgebern der internationalen Wissenschaftsszene zählen: Heinz von Foerster, Ernst von Glasersfeld, Humberto Maturana, Gerhard Roth, Siegfried J. Schmidt, Helm Stierlin, Francisco Varela und Paul Watzlawick offenbaren im Gespräch mit Bernhard Pörksen ein Denken, das die Fixierung scheut und das Ideal der Objektivität als einen Mythos versteht. Das Gespräch dreht sich um die Ergebnisse der Hirnforschung, die Einsichten der Kybernetik, die sprachliche Determiniertheit des Denkens und die innere Verbindung von Erkenntnistheorie und ethischer Praxis. Stets geht es mit Witz und einem feinen Gespür für folgenreiche Irritationen um die Zentralfigur des Beobachters. Der Konstruktivismus lässt sich, so wird deutlich, als eine Philosophie des Möglichen begreifen. Er inspiriert zu immer neuen Sichtweisen, verpflichtet zu einer grundsätzlichen Skepsis gegenüber Gewissheiten und Dogmen und macht eine Ethik der Wahrnehmung begründbar: Der Einzelne ist unvermeidlich für seine Sicht der Dinge verantwortlich.