FOR 2909: Menschliche Fähigkeiten

人类的能力是什么？我们怎么知道他们呢？它们对人类能动性的贡献是什么？学院研究小组在形而上学、认识论和行动哲学领域对这些基础问题进行研究，始终将当代和历史哲学的观点联系起来。在我们的第一个资助期，关于人类能力的性质和功能的一般性问题是我们关注的重点。在第二个资助期，我们将研究有关人类能力极限的问题。很明显，我们的能力是有限的，无论是在个人层面（想想有限的认知能力）还是在集体层面（想想我们共同努力阻止一场大流行病）。但我们该如何理解这些限制，又该如何考虑克服它们呢？我们将从三个方面来探讨这些问题。在方法论上，我们将在理想的、无限的能力的背景下，考察理解我们的局限性的强大传统——在哲学史上的大部分时间里，上帝的能力，或者在当代认识论和决策理论的大部分时间里，理想的理性行为者的能力。解释性问题涉及对限制我们能力的外部因素的识别——在一些历史记载中，我们的肉体本质，或者最近的偶然社会因素。一旦确定了这些因素，就会产生改变它们的想法。但是，不同的外部因素究竟是如何限制我们的能力的，我们如何理解没有这些因素可以识别的有限能力？最后，规范性问题涉及如何处理我们能力的限制，特别是考虑到它们在哪里以及如何构成的不确定性。在什么条件下，我们应该努力克服不确定的极限，正如在当代关于人类能力增强的辩论中经常宣称的那样；什么时候是接受我们的极限并学会与之共存的最佳时机，就像古代斯多葛学派所建议的那样？这些问题既具有哲学意义，又具有社会政治意义。kollegg - forschungsgruppe汇集了来自不同分支学科的哲学家，从形而上学到教育哲学，同时考虑到当代辩论的历史维度，因此旨在促进哲学内的跨学科话语。此外，它还与心理学家、法律学者和教育研究人员合作，以确保跨学科的观点。kollegg - forschungsgruppe位于柏林的两所大学，并与马克斯普朗克研究所合作，牢固地扎根于柏林充满活力的科学领域。

What are human abilities? How can we know about them? And what is their contribution to human agency? The Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe conducts research into these foundational questions in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of action, always linking contemporary and historical philosophical perspectives. During our first funding period, general questions about the nature and function of human abilities were our focus. In the second funding period, we will examine questions concerning the limits of human abilities. It is obvious that our abilities are limited, both at the individual level (think of limited cognitive abilities) and at the collective level (think of our joint attempts to stop a pandemic). But how are we to understand such limits, and how are we to think about overcoming them? We will pursue these questions along three dimensions. Methodologically, we will examine the powerful tradition of understanding our limits against the background of ideal, unlimited abilities – God’s abilities throughout much of the history of philosophy, or the abilities of ideal rational agents in much of contemporary epistemology and decision theory. Explanatory questions concern the identification of external factors that set limits to our abilities – our corporeal nature in some historical accounts, or more recently contingent social factors. Once identified, such factors lend themselves to the idea of changing them. But how exactly do different external factors limit our abilities, and how are we to understand limited abilities where no such factors can be identified? Finally, normative questions concern how to deal with the limits of our abilities, especially in view of uncertainty about where they are and how they are constituted. Under what conditions should we strive to overcome an uncertain limit, as it is often proclaimed in contemporary debates about human enhancement; and when is it best to accept our limits and learn to live with them, as the ancient Stoics already advised? Such questions are of both philosophical and sociopolitical importance.The Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe brings together philosophers from different subdisciplines, ranging from metaphysics to the philosophy of education, while taking into account the historical dimension of contemporary debates, and thus aims to foster intradisciplinary discourse within philosophy. In addition, it cooperates with psychologists, legal scholars, and educational researchers to ensure interdisciplinary perspectives. Being located at two Berlin universities and collaborating with Max-Planck Institutes, the Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe is firmly anchored in Berlin’s vibrant scientific scene.