The European Public(s) and its Problems

I present three versions –Grimm, Offe and Streeck—of a general argument that is often used to establish that the EU-institutions meets a legitimacy-disabling condition, the so called “no demos” argument (II), embedding them in the context of the notorious “democratic deficit” suspicions against the legal system and practice of the EU (I). After examining the logical structure behind the no-demos intuition considered as an argument (III), I present principled reasons by Möllers and Habermas that show why the “no demos” argument fails to have bite in discussions of the legitimacy and status of the supranational level in the multi-level EU-architecture. These are complemented by another principled reason arising from John Dewey’s conception of the “public” as a clearer alternative for the “popular” requirement of democratic legitimation (IV). I conclude that all three conceptions together suggest that the hunt after pre-politically existing peoples as foundations of democratic legitimacy expresses no more than methodological nationalism without any footing in the material and conceptual requirements of democratic legitimation. Given the absence of a principled problem with the legitimacy of the priority and interference of supranational EU-law in the national legal and political orders, there are thus also no principled reasons to abandon or discredit the European project in the absence of a European nation or society

Löst Brandoms Inferentialismus bedeutungsholistische Kommunikationsprobleme?

This article analyzes whether Brandom’s ISA (inferential-substitutional-anaphoric) semantics as presented in Making It Explicit (MIE) and Articulating Reasons (AR) can cope with problems resulting from inferentialism’s near-implied meaning holism. Inferentialism and meaning holism entail a radically perspectival conception of content as significance for an individual speaker. Since thereby its basis is fixed as idiolects, holistic inferentialism engenders a communication-problem. Brandom considers the systematic difference in information among individuals as the „point“ of communication and thus doesn’t want to diminish these effects of inferentialism. Instead, explains communication with a model of “navigating among perspectives without sharing contents”. The crucial element in this navigation-model is the functioning of anaphoric connections between tokens uttered in discourse that can be used by every individual speaker in their own perspectival semantic substitution-economies. The heart of Brandom’s semantics is the thesis of the purely inferential, hence non-referential nature of anaphora, coupled with the claim that anaphoric-inferential semantic mechanisms yield sufficient conditions for mutually successful “information-extraction” or interpretation. This article disputes the thesis and denies the claim. Regarding the former it is observed that all of Brandom’s plausible reconstructions of anaphoric discourse-structures rely on covert “reference-infiltrations” that can’t be eliminated. Regarding the latter, a new argument based on context-sensitive semantic phenomena in anaphoric settings shows that the crucial distinction between initiator or anaphoric antecedent and anaphoric dependent cannot be drawn according to Brandom’s own premises without overt and irreducible referential premises. The article concludes that either Brandom’s semantics can offer determinate contents, but then must accept genuinely referential semantic primitives, or else it leaves utterance-contents undeterminable and hence cannot explain communication

How to continue Kant's Perpetual Peace with Addams' newer Ideals of Peace

This article examines some arguments in favor of taking peace as a political obligation that can be found in one of the most important founders of the pacifist movement, Jane Addams. The main focus is on her 1907 book Newer Ideals of Peace, which has often been read as idealistic and outdated, and above all, as more of an activist's manifesto than a serious contribution to either political philosophy or political theory. I point out that this owes much to an ambiguity of Addams' criticisms of the traditional and Kantian cosmopolitan defense of peace as a political ideal, the ambiguity between practical-political and conceptual problems. However, Addam's succeeds in identifying one profound problem for traditional, even enlightended institution-centered ideals of peace, the collapse of the very ideal in cases of breaches of explicit peace-agreements among nations, because breaches of agreements are tantamount to the loss of all commitment to the other nation's rights. It reveals that the conditions imposed by such ideals are at most necessary, but not sufficient for peace, and hence that the concept based on them is not a complete concept of lasting peaceful conditions among humans. Once it is seen as dedicated to resolving the problems entailed by this fundamental problem, Addams' work, and in particular her focus on resources of solidarity and right-granting practices beyond and outside explicit agreements between governments can be understood as the development of a more adequate, coherent and comprehensive, while also a more actionable conception of peace. In the course of this development, Addams can also be observed to make use of crucial epistemological and more technical philosophical tools that are most closely associated with classical pragmatism, but which partly appear (albeit largely obliquely in the course of their application to a particular case) for the first time Addams' treatise. Addams' work is therefore of more than merely political activist interest for philosophers. Nonetheless, the article also explains her status as an important contributor to proper conceptions of world peace and the understanding of certain phenomena in the organization of public will formation precisely by pointing out that without some of her future-oriented proposals, like the inseparability of peace-policies and development, or the need to institutionally protect and foster spontaneous solidary action, the best contemporary work on peace would not have been possible.Este artículo examina algunos de los argumentos a favor de considerar la paz como una obligación política que se puede encontrar en una de las fundadoras más relevantes del movimiento pacifista, Jane Addams. El foco principal se encuentra en su libro de 1907, Newer Ideals of Peace, que a menudo ha sido leído como idealista y obsoleto y, sobre todo, más como un manifiesto activista que una contribución seria tanto a la filosofía como a la teoría política. Aquí argumento que esto se debe principalmente a una ambigüedad de las críticas de Addams a la defensa tradicional y kantiano-cosmopolita de la paz en cuanto a ideal político, a la ambigüedad entre problemas práctico-políticos y conceptuales. Aún así, Addams consigue identificar un profundo problema en los ideales de paz tradicionales, o incluso en los ideales ilustrados centrados en las instituciones, a saber, el colapso de este ideal en casos de violaciones de tratados de paz explícitos entre naciones, puesto que las violaciones de estos acuerdos equivalen a la pérdida de todo compromiso con los derechos de la otra nación. Esto revela que las condiciones impuestas por tales ideales son como mucho necesarias, pero no suficientes, para la paz, y por lo tanto el concepto basado en ellas no es un concepto completo de las condiciones para la paz duradera entre humanos. Una vez que se haya considerado el trabajo de Addams (y en particular su atención a los recursos de solidaridad y a las prácticas de concesión de derechos más allá y fuera de acuerdos explícitos entre gobiernos) como dedicado a resolver los problemas que entraña este problema fundamental, su labor puede ser entendida como el desarrollo de una concepción de la paz más adecuada, coherente, comprensiva y a la vez más práctica. En el curso de este desarrollo también se puede ver cómo Addams hace uso de herramientas epistemológicas cruciales y filosóficamente más técnicas que están más estrechamente relacionadas con el pragmatismo clásico pero que aparecen en parte (aunque mayormente de forma oblicua a loa largo de su aplicación a un caso particular) y por primera vez en el tratado de Addams. Para los filósofos, pues, el trabajo de Addams tiene más que un simple interés activista y político. Sin embargo, este artículo también explica el estatus de Addams como una contribuyente importante a concepciones adecuadas de paz mundial y la comprensión de ciertos fenómenos en la organización de la formación de la voluntad pública precisamente indicando que sin alguna de sus propuestas orientadas hacia el futuro, como la inseparabilidad de políticas para la paz y el desarrollo o la necesidad de proteger y promover institucionalmente la acción solidaria espontánea, la mejor obra contemporánea sobre la paz no hubiera sido posible

Goodman, Nelson

Article presenting basic methodological tenets in Goodman's philosophical development with their mutual connections, like the new riddle of indutcion, counterfactual conditionals and his use of reflective equilibrium as a methodological basis

Natural Kinds and Projectible Predicates

The focus of this article is on the pragmatic presuppositions involved in the use of general terms in inductive practices. The main thesis is that the problem of characterizing the assumptions underlying the projection of predicates in inductive practices and the ones underlying the classification of crtain general terms as «natural kind terms» coincide to a good extent. The reason for this, it is argued, is that both classifications, «projectibility» and «natural kind term», are attempts to answer to the same semantico-epistemological phenomenon, viz. underdertermination. It is proposed a «deflationary» reading of the so-called «theory of direct reference» as to enable an evaluation of its contribution to epistemological problems associated with this kind of phenomena, as well as it is argued that a purely de facto account of projectibility is not viable. The resulting hypothesis is that the conception of «natural kind terms» is only interesting insofar as they are seen as a kind of projectible general terms and thus as parts of classifications used in natural science, more generally, in inductive practices, and that this is a perspective that makes undue metaphysical readings avoidable

Two interacting particles in a random potential: mapping onto one parameter localization theories without interaction

We consider two models for a pair of interacting particles in a random potential: (i) two particles with a Hubbard interaction in arbitrary dimensions and (ii) a strongly bound pair in one dimension. Establishing suitable correpondences we demonstrate that both cases can be described in terms familiar from theories of noninteracting particles. In particular, these two cases are shown to be controlled by a single scaling variable, namely the pair conductance $g_2$. For an attractive or repulsive Hubbard interaction and starting from a certain effective Hamiltonian we derive a supersymmetric nonlinear $\sigma$ model. Its action turns out to be closely related to the one found by Efetov for noninteracting electrons in disordered metals. This enables us to describe the diffusive motion of the particle pair on scales exceeding the one-particle localization length $L_1$ and to discuss the corresponding level statistics. For tightly bound pairs in one dimension, on the other hand, we follow early work by Dorokhov and exploit the analogy with the transfer matrix approach to quasi 1d conductors. Extending our study to M particles we obtain a M-particle localization length scaling like the Mth power of the one-particle localization length.Comment: 29 pages, Revtex, no figure

Nevirapine (NVP), tenofovir (TDF) and lamivudine (3TC) or emtricitabine (FTC) is effective and well tolerated in naïve HIV-1 infected patients

Background: The combination of stavudine (d4T), 3TC and NVP was the WHO recommended first-line regimen for the treatment of naïve HIV-1 infected patients in resource-limited settings. But peripheral polyneuropathy, lipoatrophy and symptomatic hyperlactatemia are frequent and treatment-limiting adverse events associated with stavudine, especially when combined with antituberculous drugs. Tenofovir combined with lamivudine and efavirenz has proven excellent efficacy, but there is little experience when given with NVP. Methods: Retrospective analysis of all patients receiving TDF, NVP and 3TC or FTC as first-line treatment in the Frankfurt HIV cohort. Summary of results: 70 patients (15 female) with a median CD4 cell count of 210/μl (47–949) and HIV-RNA PCR of 140,000 copies/ml (2,500–2,000,000) at baseline received TDF, NVP and 3TC/FTC, and were treated for a median of 68 weeks (16–278). CD4 cells rose up to cells/μl 322 (119–1075) and 75% of the patients remained on treatment. All patients on treatment at week 48 were 100,000 c/m. Reasons for discontinuation (24%) were mainly adverse events (13%), with rash (7%) and liver toxicity (6%) being the two most common, whereas virologic failure, drug interaction and non-adherence were all relatively rare (each 3%). Conclusion: The combination of NVP, TDF and 3TC or FTC is effective and well tolerated in previously naïve HIV-1 infected patients even when started with low CD4 cell counts (100,000 c/ml). In the latest amendment of the WHO guidelines TDF, instead of d4T, is the recommended first-line treatment in resource-limited settings

Antitrust and Competition Law Update: New European Licensing Rules Require Fresh Assessment of Existing and New Intellectual Property Licenses

As of 1 May 2004, many licensors and licensees of patents, know-how and computer software in Europe will need to step up their efforts to ensure that they comply with European competition law. Companies without significant market power will enjoy greater flexibility than in the past to tailor licenses to their particular needs. But companies which license competitors or which have market power need to review their market position and licenses more carefully and more frequently

Towards a Reference Architecture for Context-Aware Services

This Chapter describes an infrastructure for multi-modal perceptual systems which aims at developing and realizing computer services that are delivered to humans in an implicit and unobtrusive way. The framework presented here supports the implementation of humancentric context-aware applications providing non-obtrusive assistance to participants in events such as meetings, lectures, conferences and presentations taking place in indoor "smart spaces". We emphasize on the design and implementation of an agent-based framework that supports "pluggable" service logic in the sense that the service developer can concentrate on the service logic independently of the underlying middleware. Furthermore, we give an example of the architecture’s ability to support the cooperation of multiple services in a meeting scenario using an intelligent connector service and a semantic web oriented travel service. The framework was developed as part of the project CHIL (Computers in the Human Interaction Loop). The vision of CHIL was to be able to provide context-aware human centric services which will operate in the background, provide assistance to the participants in the CHIL spaces and undertake tedious tasks in an unobtrusive way. To achieve this, significant effort had to be put in designing efficient context extraction components so that the CHIL system can acquire an accurate perspective of the current state of the CHIL space. However, the CHIL services required a much more sophisticated modelling of the actual event, rather than simple and fluctuating impressions of it. Furthermore, by nature the CHIL spaces are highly dynamic and heterogeneous; people join or leave, sensors fail or are restarted, user devices connect to the network, etc. To manage this diverse infrastructure, sophisticated techniques were necessary that can map all entities present in the CHIL system and provide information to all components which may require it. From these facts, one can easily understand that in addition to highly sophisticated components at an individual level, another mechanism (or a combination of mechanisms) should be present which can handle this infrastructure. The CHIL Reference Architecture for Multi Modal Systems lies in the background, and provides the solid, high performance and robust backbone for the CHIL services. Each individual need is assigned to a specially designed and integrated layer which is docked to the individual component, and provides all the necessary actions to enable the component to be plugged in the CHIL framework