Natureza, liberdade e justiça: um exame crítico da posição habermasiana acerca da biotécnica

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia, Florianópolis, 2009Este trabalho pretende reconstruir e examinar a estratégia argumentativa de Habermas em Die Zukunft der menschlichen Natur (ZMN) e realizar uma avaliação externa com base em considerações de justiça distributiva, recorrendo, sobretudo, a alguns aspectos da justiça como equidade de Rawls e a distinção entre princípios de justiça material e justiça formal de Chäim Perelman. A estratégia argumentativa de Habermas contra a eugenia liberal recebeu uma quantidade significativa de objeções, algumas às quais ele mesmo respondeu em diferentes oportunidades. Os críticos acusam Habermas de comprometer-se com uma ontologia de valores, com o determinismo genético, com nexos causais não demonstrados, e de compreender de modo equivocado a prática da atribuição de responsabilidade. Buscou-se mostrar que a estratégia de Habermas não se compromete com reducionismos de nenhum tipo, embora se reconheça que o argumento parte de certas suposições não demonstradas. A estratégia argumentativa de Habermas em ZMN explicita um aspecto somático da liberdade humana, que o afasta da concepção transcendental de liberdade de Kant, razão pela qual o presente estudo realiza um exame comparativo entre as concepções de liberdade de Habermas, Kant e Adorno. Mesmo que a concepção de liberdade de Habermas em ZMN sinalize algumas rupturas entre seu pensamento e o de Kant, o presente texto também busca realizar algumas aproximações entre o pensamento desses dois autores em outros aspectos. No que diz respeito à justiça distributiva, tenta-se ressaltar quais são as suposições de justiça como equidade afetadas pelos recentes avanços no campo da engenharia genética e quais suas principais implicações normativas. A análise dos efeitos nas suposições da justiça como equidade sugere que sejam incluídas intervenções eugênicas na lista de bens naturais primários, a fim de compensar desigualdades sociais arbitrárias de um ponto de vista moral. Todavia, como a posição normativa de Habermas contra a eugenia liberal proíbe o aperfeiçoamento genético e permite, sem prescrever, o tratamento genético, esse estudo vai investigar a compatibilidade entre elas. Avaliar a eugenia liberal com base na justiça distributiva conduz a posições normativas, porém permissivas em relação ao que Habermas pretendia, pois o aperfeiçoamento genético pode ser inclusive exigido por questões de justiça. Entretanto, a especificidade dos bens naturais primários, especialmente o que se inclui no aperfeiçoamento genético, pode comprometer a neutralidade do Estado e aproximar a posição resultante de uma abordagem focada na justiça distributiva daquela desenvolvida por Habermas em ZMN, principalmente porque essa especificidade indica que, de fato, pode haver uma contradição inerente no pensamento liberal.This works intends to reconstruct and to evaluate the Habermasian argumentative strategy against liberal eugenics in his book Der Zukunft der menschlichen Natur and carry out a external evaluation based on Rawls' considerations about distributive justice, resorting to some aspects Rawls' justice as fairness and the distinction between concrete and formal principles of justice of Chäim Perelman. The Habermasian argumentative strategy against liberal eugenics received a considerable quantity of objections, some of which he answered in other opportunities. The critics accuse Habermas to commit to an ontology of values, to genetic determinism, to causal unproven connections, to hardly understands the the practice of the attribution of responsibility. It looks to show what the strategy argumentative does not compromise with any kind of reductionism, although it is recognized that the argument leaves from not demonstrated certain suppositions. The Habermasian argumentative strategy in ZMN show one somatic aspect of the human freedom up, what remove him of the conception of transcendental freedom of Kant, reason for which the present study carries out a comparative study between the conceptions of freedom of Habermas, Kant, and Adorno. Even that the conception of freedom in ZMN indicates some breaks between Habermas' and Kant's thought, the present study also tries to carry out some approximations between the thoughts of both in others aspects. As far as distributive justice is concerned, it is looked to emphasize what the assumptions of the justice as fairness that are affected by the recent progress in the field of the genetic engineering and which are your principal normative implications. The analysis of the effect to the assumptions of the justice as fairness suggests which genetic interventions should be included in the list of primary natural goods, in order to compensate for social arbitrary inequalities of a moral point of view. However, the normative position of Habermas against liberal eugenics prohibits the genetic improvement, allow but do not prescribe the genetic treatment. This study looks to evaluate the compatibility between the position based on considerations of distributive justice and that of Habermas in ZMN. To evaluate liberal eugenics on basis of distributive justice leads to normative positions more permissive than Habermas was intending, the genetic improvement can including being demanded like question of justice. Meantime, the peculiarity of the natural primary goods, specially what is included in the genetic improvement can compromise the neutrality of the State and bring near the resultant position of an approach focused in the distributive justice of that developed one for Habermas in ZMN, because this peculiarity indicates that in fact there can be a inherent contradiction in the liberal thought, when it advocates the liberal eugenics

an Article on the History of Domestic Animal Illnesses

Deckblatt-Impressum Inhaltsverzeichnis Einleitung Material und Methodik Altertum (um 3000 v.Chr.- etwa 500 n.Chr.) Mittelalter (um 500 n. Chr. - etwa 1500) Neuzeit (1500) bis etwa 1945 Etwa 1945 bis zur Gegenwart Zusammenfassende Diskussion Zusammenfassung Summary Literaturverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Danksagung SelbständigkeitserklärungIn der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Entwicklung der Erkenntnisse über die Hufrehe des Pferdes von Beginn der ersten schriftlichen Überlieferungen bis heute dargestellt. Die unterschiedlichen Meinungen von Praktikern, Wissenschaftlern und auch Laien sowie die Probleme und Irrtümer, die während der Auseinandersetzung mit dieser bedeutsamen Gliedmaßenerkrankungen des Pferdes auftreten, werden vor dem Hintergrund des wissenschaftlichen Kenntnistandes und kultureller Aspekte der verschiedenen Zeitabschnitte beleuchtet. Im einzelnen richtet sich die Betrachtung auf das Wesen der Hufrehe, auf die Ätiologie, die Pathogenese, die Diagnostik sowie auf die Therapie, Prophylaxe und Prognose der Hufrehe. Anhand historischer Quellen wird deutlich, dass das Verständnis im Hinblick auf die Erkrankung stark von dem jeweiligen Zeitgeist und dem wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand geprägt ist. Insbesondere die Auffassung über das Wesen der Rehe unterliegt im Laufe der Zeiten selbst in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten einem starken Wandel. Erwähnungen über die Hufrehe lassen sich bis ins Altertum zurückverfolgen, wobei die Aussagen über das Krankheitsbild zum Teil recht unspezifisch sind. Aus derzeitigen Literaturstellen ist jedoch klar ersichtlich, dass bereits verschiedene Formen der Hufrehe unterschieden wurden. Die Ätiologie und Pathogenese der Hufrehe ist bis heute nicht vollständig geklärt. Aufgrund fehlender Kenntnisse über die Anatomie und Physiologie existierten zu altertümlichen und mittelalterlichen Zeiten zahlreiche Erklärungsmodelle und Theorien. Vor allem der Einfluss des Aberglaubens und die vorherrschende religiöse Befangenheit behinderten die Entwicklung des wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisprozesses im Mittelalter, so dass auch die derzeitigen Behandlungsmethoden aus heutiger Sicht dementsprechend abenteuerlich erscheinen. Dabei wird die therapeutische Ohnmacht im Zeitalter der empirischen Herangehensweise klar ersichtlich. Während altertümliches und mittelalterliches Schriftgut zum Thema noch recht spärlich sind, nehmen die historischen Quellen mit der Verbreitung des Buchduckes zu. Mit Gründung der Hochschulen in der zweiten Hälft des 18. Jahrhunderts ging eine stärkere Verbreitung wissenschaftlicher Literatur einher. Ab der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts erschienen viele Abhandlungen über die Rehe in Form von Monographien, Beiträgen in Fachzeitschriften und Lehrbüchern, die durch neue pathologisch-anatomische Erkenntnisse und vielseitige Untersuchungen einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Klärung der Ätiologie und des Krankheitsverlaufes beitragen konnten. Die unterschiedlichen Auffassungen über die Pathogenese und Therapie, die sich zum Teil sogar diametral gegenüberstehen, werden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit diskutiert. Wissenschaftliche und technische Neuerungen trieben im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert den Erkenntnisprozess über das Wesen und die Pathogenese der Rehe voran und eröffneten neue Möglichkeiten hinsichtlich der Diagnostik und Therapie der Erkrankung. Die Hufrehe bleibt bis heute eine der bedeutendsten Erkrankungen des Pferdes, deren Heilung sich trotz neuer Erkenntnisse und Therapiemöglichkeiten oftmals als schwierig erweist. Aus diesem Grunde fällt der Prophylaxe der Hufrehe damals wie heute eine ganz besondere Bedeutung zu.This dissertation investigates the development of knowledge about laminitis in horses from the earliest written evidence to the present day. The differing opinions of practitioners, scientists and laymen, as well as the problems and errors which arise during the examination of this significant horse-limb disease, will be highlighted in the context of the scientific understanding and the cultural aspects of different eras. Using historical sources, the dissertation relates the knowledge of the nature of laminitis, its etiology, its pathogenesis, and its diagnosis, as well as its treatment, its prophylaxis and its prognosis, to the spirit of the various ages and the scientific knowledge which existed at the time. Over time, and even during the past few decades, the understanding of the nature of laminitis has undergone significant change. The first evidence of the disease can be traced back to ancient times, although early reports concerning its symptoms were, in some cases, neither clear nor specific. Nevertheless, it is clear that, even in those days, people were able to distinguish between different forms of the disease. Even today, the etiology and pathogenesis of laminitis is not entirely clear. In ancient times and in the middle ages, a lack of knowledge about anatomy and physiology resulted in numerous explanations and theories. In particular, in the middle ages, the influence of superstition and religious constraints hindered the development of scientific knowledge. Accordingly, today the methods of treatment of the time seem quite adventurous , and make the lack of treatments which exist in today s empirical age all the more evident. While written sources from ancient times and the middle ages are comparatively rare, things changed with the advent of printing. The founding of universities in the second half of the 18th century resulted in the spread of scientific literature. Since the beginning of the second half of the 19th century, many articles on laminitis have been published, in the form of monographs and articles in specialist magazines and teaching books. These contained new pathological-anatomical findings and more wide-ranging investigations which could make a considerable contribution to the clarification of the etiology and course of the disease. The dissertation discusses the different opinions some of which are diametrically opposed concerning the pathogenesis and treatment of laminitis. In the 19th and 20th century, scientific and technical innovations contributed to a better understanding of the nature and the pathogenesis of laminitis and offered new possibilities for diagnosis and treatments. Laminitis remains one of the major diseases of the horse and, despite new discoveries and new therapeutic possibilities, it is still difficult to cure. Accordingly, the prophylaxis of laminitis is still of great importance today

Private Schools in Germany: Attendance up, but Not Among the Children of Less Educated Parents

The percentage of children attending private school in Germany has increased sharply in recent years. According to data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), 7% of all students now attend private school. The SOEP, which contains a range of household data, shows that the children of parents with a university entry degree ("Abitur") are more likely to attend private school than those with less educated parents. This trend has become more pronounced in recent years: between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of students with better-educated parents attending private school increased by 77%. By contrast, the corresponding increase for students with less-educated parents was only 12%. Multivariate analyses demonstrate that increasing selection in favor of better-educated groups is particularly evident at the secondary school level. At the primary school level, full-time employment of the mother and regional factors significantly increase the chances of private school attendance. Educational policy should focus on preventing children from better-educated groups from leaving the public school system. If competition among schools is to be encouraged as a matter of policy, efforts should also be made to ensure less educated families consider sending their children to private schools.Private schools, Selection

As respostas de Habermas e Rawls às objeções de tipo hegeliano à ética de Kant

This study aims to examine to what extent the reformulation of Kantian ethics, undertaken by Habermas and Rawls, could answer the objections of the Hegelian kind unleashed against the ethics of Kant. The conception of justice developed by Rawls in his books A Theory of Justice and Political Liberalism has been the target of criticism from thinkers in various domains, including communitarians, among the main objections are that it is committed to a atomistic concept of person and to a contractarian conception of society. Habermas himself, in his book Erläuterungen zur Diskursethik looks for to examine whether the objections of Hegelian kind apply to the Kant's ethics or the ethics of speech

Binding energies of hydrogen-like impurities in a semiconductor in intense terahertz laser fields

A detailed theoretical study is presented for the influence of linearly polarised intense terahertz (THz) laser radiation on energy states of hydrogen-like impurities in semiconductors. The dependence of the binding energy for 1s and 2p states on intensity and frequency of the THz radiation has been examined.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Supporting Teaching Excellence and Scholarship

Short talk presentation slide

Environmental Issues and application of corresponding Models in the context of Total Airport Management

Beschreibung der Kernaspekte von Total Airport Management, warum es benötigt wird und wie die konzeptuellen Bausteine sind. Daran angegliedert die Skizze, wie umweltspezifische Aspekte (Emmissionen) den in einem TAM APOC arbeitenden Stakeholder-Agenten entsprechende Informationen zur Umweltauswirkung des Flughafenverkehrs unter der gegebenen Planungsrandbedingung collaborativen Entscheidung

Analysing Transitions in Intimate Relationships with Panel Data

Panel data on intimate relationships are becoming increasingly available, enabling a closer examination and deeper understanding of why and how they develop over time. The aim of this review is to illustrate to what extent demographic research has made progress in understanding the dynamics of intimate relationships by examining panel data. We focus on hypotheses about key transitions throughout the progression of intimate relationships, ranging from union formation up to cohabitation, marriage, divorce and repartnering. For every hypothesis, we will present findings from cross-sectional data and illustrate whether the use of panel data and longitudinal methods modified the previous understandings of transitions in intimate relationships. * This article belongs to a special issue on "Identification of causal mechanisms in demographic research: The contribution of panel data"