This volume congregates articles of leading philosophers about potentials and potentiality in all areas of philosophy and the empirical sciences in which they play a relevant role. It is the first encompassing collection of articles on the metaphysics of potentials and potentiality. Potentials play an important role not only in our everyday understanding of objects, persons and systems but also in the sciences. An example is the potential to become an adult human person. Moreover, the attribution of potentials involves crucial ethical problems. Bioethics makes references to the theoretical concept "potential" without being able to clarify its meaning. However, despite its relevance it has not been made subject of philosophical investigation. Mostly, potentials are regarded as a subspecies of dispositions. Whilst dispositions are a flourishing field of research, potentials as such have not come into focus. Potentials like dispositions are modal properties. But already a first glance at the metaphysics of potentials shows that concerning their ascription potentials are more problematic than dispositions since "potential" means that an entity has the potential to acquire a property in the future. Therefore, potentials involve a time structure of the entities in question that is much more complex than those of dispositions. This handbook brings this important concept into focus in its various aspects for the first time. It covers the history of the concept as well as contemporary systematic problems and will be of special interest for philosophers in the fields of general metaphysics, philosophy of science and ethics, especially bioethics. It will also be of interest to scientists and persons concerned with bioethical problems.

Immanuel Kant is among the most pivotal thinkers in the history of philosophy. His transcendental idealism claims to overcome the skepticism of David Hume, resolve the impasse between empiricism and rationalism, and establish the reality of human freedom and moral agency. A thorough understanding of Kant is indispensable to any philosopher today. The significance of Kant's thought is matched by its complexity. His revolutionary ideas are systematically interconnected and he presents them using a forbidding technical vocabulary. A careful investigation of the key concepts that structure Kant's work is essential to the comprehension of his philosophical project. This book provides an accessible introduction to Kant by explaining each of the key concepts of his philosophy. The book is organized into three parts, which correspond to the main areas of Kant's transcendental idealism: Theoretical Philosophy; Practical Philosophy; and, Aesthetics, Teleology, and Religion. Each chapter presents an overview of a particular topic, while the whole provides a clear and comprehensive account of Kant's philosophical system.

This volume congregates articles of leading philosophers about potentials and potentiality in all areas of philosophy and the empirical sciences in which they play a relevant role. It is the first encompassing collection of articles on the metaphysics of potentials and potentiality. Potentials play an important role not only in our everyday understanding of objects, persons and systems but also in the sciences. An example is the potential to become an adult human person. Moreover, the attribution of potentials involves crucial ethical problems. Bioethics makes references to the theoretical concept "potential" without being able to clarify its meaning. However, despite its relevance it has not been made subject of philosophical investigation. Mostly, potentials are regarded as a subspecies of dispositions. Whilst dispositions are a flourishing field of research, potentials as such have not come into focus. Potentials like dispositions are modal properties. But already a first glance at the metaphysics of potentials shows that concerning their ascription potentials are more problematic than dispositions since "potential" means that an entity has the potential to acquire a property in the future. Therefore, potentials involve a time structure of the entities in question that is much more complex than those of dispositions. This handbook brings this important concept into focus in its various aspects for the first time. It covers the history of the concept as well as contemporary systematic problems and will be of special interest for philosophers in the fields of general metaphysics, philosophy of science and ethics, especially bioethics. It will also be of interest to scientists and persons concerned with bioethical problems.

Fur die Gegenwartsphilosophie ist das Denken Immanuel Kants immer noch eine der massgeblichen Orientierungsgroessen. In nahezu allen philosophischen Disziplinen und Bereichen stellt es eine entscheidende Herausforderung dar. Anlasslich des 200. Todestages zeigen 15 namhafte Wissenschaftler die aktuelle Relevanz des Kant'schen Denkens in den Kernbereichen der Philosophie auf. Somit bietet der Band in systematischer Perspektive sowohl einen UEberblick uber die Kant'sche Philosophie als auch uber zentrale Stroemungen und Entwicklungen der Gegenwartsphilosophie.

Does matter consist of simple substances, or is it infinitely divisible? This is the question in the second antinomy in the Critique of Pure Reason. This first comprehensive systematic study of the antinomy of divisibility analyses its derivation, the proofs of the thesis and antithesis, and their resolution. The developmental and historical dimensions are also discussed, taking present-day problems in the philosophy of nature into account. The study demonstrates that the antinomy of divisibility is on the one hand a critique of metaphysics, but at the same time gains a positive result for Kant's transcendental philosophy. The resolution of the antinomy presents firstly a conceptual sharpening of realism and idealism and of the transcendental concept of phenomena. Secondly it shows that the structure of matter is dependent on a priori determinations by reason and understanding. These insights are highly relevant not only for Kant's project of establishing an a priori foundation for the natural sciences but also for the problem of the soul.

For several years there has been a growing interest in questions of philosophical ethics, and this appears to be continuing. The issues surrounding the different forms and concepts of moral philosophy have resulted in tensions which have spawned a complex ethical pluralism. This pluralism can, however, basically be traced back to two different conceptual foundations - universalism and relativism. The volume presented by Heidemann and Engelhard examines these two concepts from both a historical philosophical and a systematic perspective. Key Features comprehensive compendium suitable both as an introduction to the topic and for a deeper understanding of individual positions takes account of new positions in the foundations of ethics

Immanuel Kant is among the most pivotal thinkers in the history of philosophy. His transcendental idealism claims to overcome the skepticism of David Hume, resolve the impasse between empiricism and rationalism, and establish the reality of human freedom and moral agency. A thorough understanding of Kant is indispensable to any philosopher today. The significance of Kant's thought is matched by its complexity. His revolutionary ideas are systematically interconnected and he presents them using a forbidding technical vocabulary. A careful investigation of the key concepts that structure Kant's work is essential to the comprehension of his philosophical project. This book provides an accessible introduction to Kant by explaining each of the key concepts of his philosophy. The book is organized into three parts, which correspond to the main areas of Kant's transcendental idealism: Theoretical Philosophy; Practical Philosophy; and, Aesthetics, Teleology, and Religion. Each chapter presents an overview of a particular topic, while the whole provides a clear and comprehensive account of Kant's philosophical system.