ABSTRACTS Matthias Wunsch: »The Concept of a Person in Philosophical Anthropology« Philosophical anthropology offers two ways of structuring the concept of person, either by locating the essence of man in his being a person or by providing a bio- philosophy of personhood. Building on the work of Helmuth Plessner, this essay aims at conciliating both structurings. It argues for the thesis that personhood is the life-form of man and discusses the main structural features of human life-form. HansPeter Krüger: »Life Sciences and Globalization: The Coming Historioricity of Helmut Plessner's Philosophical Anthropology« Helmuth Plessners Philosophical Anthropology presents a threefold challenge to contemporary scientific endeavours. Plessners philosophy of nature could integ- rate the biological life sciences into a qualitative understanding of nature. Since the public and private roles of persons are threatened by monopolies, Plessners philosophy of history can help to elucidate how the results of Western modernity are stripped off their origins by global capitalism. Joachim Fischer: »Plessners theory of human behaviour: action and dance; role and performance; politics and fight; laughing, crying and smiling« Behaviour is a key term in Plessners philosophical biology and anthropology. »Eccentric positionality« means the embeddedness of all human modes of be- haviour in the spectrum of animal behaviour (centric positionality) and at the same time the evoulutionary emergence of original patterns of human behaviour (via eccentricity). This paper aims at showing that if one considers Plessners main oeuvres rather systematically than chronologically they can be seen as exemplary realisations of Plessners theory of behaviour. Thomas Dworschak: »Approaching the Sense of the Senses« According to Cassirer, humanity is defined by the activity of the spirit. In other places, he attempts to explain the transition from life to spirit, but this proj- ect seems hampered by his taking spirit to be a phenomenon of consciousness. Plessners »aesthesiology« opens up an alternative route. He discloses the mean- ing of spirit or understanding by an inquiry concerning the work of the senses in the context of behavior. This paper shows that for Plessner behavior is closely related to its environment while at the same time not restricted to a biological programme. Christian Bermes: »A completely ungrounded tragification? Plessners conception of death and Heideggers Schwarze Hefte« The philosophical parting of the ways between Heideggers Fundamental ontology and the Philosophical anthropology of Plessner is well known. Today, however, after the publication of the »Schwarze Hefte«, new aspects of their differences come to light. Accordingly, this article focusses on the purpose of death discussed in »Die Stufen des Organischen« as a genuine thought Plessner inscribed into 20th century philosophy. It argues that the most peculiar difference is to be found in Plessners view on death not as a simple element of life but as an external phe- nomenon. In contrast to Plessner, Heideggers »Schwarze Hefte« seem to present more of an eschatology than a systematical approach to human self and world. MarieCécile Bertau: »Language and linguistic expression« In this article, main tenets of Bühlers theory of language are compared with Plessners view on the position of language. Language crystallizes into an in- termediary position highlighting its crucial importance for both philosophy of culture and philosophical anthropology. On the assumption that a sensuously and commonly experienced reality is the basis for speaking and understanding subjects, Plessner and Bühler conceive of language as the crucial medium of »ec- centric beings«. Eccentric positionality and language prove to be co-constitutive.

Ralf Konersmann (* 18. Februar 1955 in Düsseldorf) ist ein deutscher Philosoph. Derzeit ist er Lehrstuhlinhaber am Philosophischen Seminar der Universität Kiel. Er wurde 1987 zum Dr. phil. promoviert, war von 1987 bis 1993 wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter und wissenschaftlicher Assistent an der Fernuniversität in Hagen, habilitierte sich 1993 und war von 1993 bis 1996 Professor für Kulturtheorie und Kulturphilosophie an der Universität Leipzig. Seit 1996 ist er Lehrstuhlinhaber des Lehrstuhls für Philosophie und ihre Didaktik an der Universität Kiel und seit 2000 Direktor des Philosophischen Seminars. Im Oktober 2005 wurde er zum ordentlichen Mitglied der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Hamburg berufen. Ralf Konersmann ist Autor zahlreicher Aufsätze, Essays, Artikel und Feuilletons und Mitherausgeber des Historischen Wörterbuchs der Philosophie sowie - seit 2007 - der Zeitschrift für Kulturphilosophie. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte liegen auf den Gebieten Begriffsgeschichte und Historische Semantik, Metaphorologie, Kulturphilosophie, Geschichte und Kritik des Sehens sowie Philosophie und ihre Didaktik.