Professor Emeritus, Philosophy (Chair Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main). education in classics and mathematics, Research Interests: Philosophy of mind, Philosophy of science, Aristotle.
In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of... more In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of the self proposed in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and psychoanalysis. Relying on the results of this survey, I elaborate and defend a self-psychological conception of the self involving the idea of the self as a mental unit that has originally been proposed by Heinz Kohut while being widely rejected in modern philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.
In this article, I look at racism by
- focussing on the formation of races in order to clarify, ... more In this article, I look at racism by - focussing on the formation of races in order to clarify, and evaluate, variants of racism understood as set of beliefs and behaviours, - describing the formation of races and racism in terms of theories of culture, cultural evolution, and the new mechanistic movement, and - identifying the mental and social mechanisms on which the formation of races and the spread of racism seem to be based by relying, among other things, on empirical evidence discovered in recent ethnology and evolutionary anthropology. The hope is that to proceed in this way will help us to recognize the unconscious forces behind the formation of races, and to locate more precisely the gateways for moral objections to racist beliefs and behaviour.
This paper explores whether, and if so, in which way, the hermeneutica sacra, i.e. the Christi... more This paper explores whether, and if so, in which way, the hermeneutica sacra, i.e. the Christian exegesis of the holy scriptures, contributed to the emergence of modern hermeneutics (starting with the work of Franz von Brentano and Gottlob Frege).
In the third part of his Logica Vetus and Nova, published 1654, Johann Clauberg, a Cartesian magi... more In the third part of his Logica Vetus and Nova, published 1654, Johann Clauberg, a Cartesian magister of philosophy, presents an outline of a general scientific hermeneutics. Written in crystal-clear Latin, this text is full of many important hermeneutic insights, in particular a very sophisticated notion of charity pretty much in the Davidsonian sense. Clauberg´s hermeneutic treatise is currently accessible only in its original Latin version. One of the goals of the paper is to describe the content of Clauberg´s hermeneutics in some detail so that scholars who do not read Latin fluently can form their own meaning about it.
Proceeding from a critical review of the influential subjectivist reading of Schleiermacher´s her... more Proceeding from a critical review of the influential subjectivist reading of Schleiermacher´s hermeneutics famously entertained by Hans-Georg Gadamer in his book "Wahrheit und Methode" this paper defends a rationalist interpretation of Schleiermacher´s hermeneutic approach. While Gadamer´s reading looks exclusively at what Schleiermacher calls psychological interpretation, the new reading offered in this paper explains the sophsticated interplay between psychological, technical, grammatical and divinatory interpretation as Schleiermacher conceived of these different forms of interpretation. In addition, the paper shows that Schleiermacher endorsed a kind of semantic holism as part of natural languages such that even a psychological interpretation is by no means purely subjective and cannot identified with emotional empathy. Rather, psychological and grammatical interpretations refer to public semantic relations, must capture, among other things, the rational organisation of speeches and thoughts, and can be discussed, and justified, in a scientific way (in a broad sense of science). This paper is a revised English version of section 3.1 of Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt am Main.
This paper is a revised English version of my book Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt... more This paper is a revised English version of my book Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt am Main, sections 1.1 and 1.2. It provides a new look at ancient hermeneutics as conceived of by Plato, Aristotle, und the Stoics. The main goal is to analyze, and appreciate, the theoretical merits of classical ancient hermeneutics in much more detail than it is done sofar in modern studies. In particular, the paper examines the close and interesting relations between hermeneutics and semantics as proposed by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics
In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of... more In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of the self proposed in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and psychoanalysis. Relying on the results of this survey, I elaborate and defend a self-psychological conception of the self involving the idea of the self as a mental unit that has originally been proposed by Heinz Kohut while being widely rejected in modern philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.
In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of... more In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of the self proposed in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and psychoanalysis. Relying on the results of this survey, I elaborate and defend a self-psychological conception of the self involving the idea of the self as a mental unit that has originally been proposed by Heinz Kohut while being widely rejected in modern philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.
In this article, I look at racism by
- focussing on the formation of races in order to clarify, ... more In this article, I look at racism by - focussing on the formation of races in order to clarify, and evaluate, variants of racism understood as set of beliefs and behaviours, - describing the formation of races and racism in terms of theories of culture, cultural evolution, and the new mechanistic movement, and - identifying the mental and social mechanisms on which the formation of races and the spread of racism seem to be based by relying, among other things, on empirical evidence discovered in recent ethnology and evolutionary anthropology. The hope is that to proceed in this way will help us to recognize the unconscious forces behind the formation of races, and to locate more precisely the gateways for moral objections to racist beliefs and behaviour.
This paper explores whether, and if so, in which way, the hermeneutica sacra, i.e. the Christi... more This paper explores whether, and if so, in which way, the hermeneutica sacra, i.e. the Christian exegesis of the holy scriptures, contributed to the emergence of modern hermeneutics (starting with the work of Franz von Brentano and Gottlob Frege).
In the third part of his Logica Vetus and Nova, published 1654, Johann Clauberg, a Cartesian magi... more In the third part of his Logica Vetus and Nova, published 1654, Johann Clauberg, a Cartesian magister of philosophy, presents an outline of a general scientific hermeneutics. Written in crystal-clear Latin, this text is full of many important hermeneutic insights, in particular a very sophisticated notion of charity pretty much in the Davidsonian sense. Clauberg´s hermeneutic treatise is currently accessible only in its original Latin version. One of the goals of the paper is to describe the content of Clauberg´s hermeneutics in some detail so that scholars who do not read Latin fluently can form their own meaning about it.
Proceeding from a critical review of the influential subjectivist reading of Schleiermacher´s her... more Proceeding from a critical review of the influential subjectivist reading of Schleiermacher´s hermeneutics famously entertained by Hans-Georg Gadamer in his book "Wahrheit und Methode" this paper defends a rationalist interpretation of Schleiermacher´s hermeneutic approach. While Gadamer´s reading looks exclusively at what Schleiermacher calls psychological interpretation, the new reading offered in this paper explains the sophsticated interplay between psychological, technical, grammatical and divinatory interpretation as Schleiermacher conceived of these different forms of interpretation. In addition, the paper shows that Schleiermacher endorsed a kind of semantic holism as part of natural languages such that even a psychological interpretation is by no means purely subjective and cannot identified with emotional empathy. Rather, psychological and grammatical interpretations refer to public semantic relations, must capture, among other things, the rational organisation of speeches and thoughts, and can be discussed, and justified, in a scientific way (in a broad sense of science). This paper is a revised English version of section 3.1 of Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt am Main.
This paper is a revised English version of my book Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt... more This paper is a revised English version of my book Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt am Main, sections 1.1 and 1.2. It provides a new look at ancient hermeneutics as conceived of by Plato, Aristotle, und the Stoics. The main goal is to analyze, and appreciate, the theoretical merits of classical ancient hermeneutics in much more detail than it is done sofar in modern studies. In particular, the paper examines the close and interesting relations between hermeneutics and semantics as proposed by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics
In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of... more In this paper, I critically review some of the most influential traditional and modern notions of the self proposed in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and psychoanalysis. Relying on the results of this survey, I elaborate and defend a self-psychological conception of the self involving the idea of the self as a mental unit that has originally been proposed by Heinz Kohut while being widely rejected in modern philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.
In the following attempt at a further clarification of the methodological aspects of Marxian theo... more In the following attempt at a further clarification of the methodological aspects of Marxian theory construction it is demonstrated that central arguments in the first part of the Kapital, especially the description of the development from simple to capitalist commodity production, can be analysed as functional explanations in the modern logical sense. At the same time it becomes clear that some questionable conclusions which have been arrived at on the basis of this description, e.g. the development of capitalism being a necessary condition for the later formation of socialism, can be understood as results of certain methodological defects in Marx' functional explanations.
:The connection between Aristotle’s theory of science and his mature metaphysics has been discuss... more :The connection between Aristotle’s theory of science and his mature metaphysics has been discussed in a number of different ways. In this article I explore in which way the close correlation between what Aristotle calls definition (
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Books by Wolfgang Detel
Drafts by Wolfgang Detel
- focussing on the formation of races in order to clarify, and evaluate, variants of racism understood as set of beliefs and behaviours,
- describing the formation of races and racism in terms of theories of culture, cultural evolution, and the new mechanistic movement, and
- identifying the mental and social mechanisms on which the formation of races and the spread of racism seem to be based by relying, among other things, on empirical evidence discovered in recent ethnology and evolutionary anthropology.
The hope is that to proceed in this way will help us to recognize the unconscious forces behind the formation of races, and to locate more precisely the gateways for moral objections to racist beliefs and behaviour.
This paper is a revised English version of section 3.1 of Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt am Main.
Papers by Wolfgang Detel
- focussing on the formation of races in order to clarify, and evaluate, variants of racism understood as set of beliefs and behaviours,
- describing the formation of races and racism in terms of theories of culture, cultural evolution, and the new mechanistic movement, and
- identifying the mental and social mechanisms on which the formation of races and the spread of racism seem to be based by relying, among other things, on empirical evidence discovered in recent ethnology and evolutionary anthropology.
The hope is that to proceed in this way will help us to recognize the unconscious forces behind the formation of races, and to locate more precisely the gateways for moral objections to racist beliefs and behaviour.
This paper is a revised English version of section 3.1 of Detel, W. 2011: Geist und Verstehen, Frankfurt am Main.