According to this famous quotation from Hegel, philosophy arrives late on the scene. I ask myself... more According to this famous quotation from Hegel, philosophy arrives late on the scene. I ask myself whether sociology does not come even later, perhaps too late. If the desideratum of a sociology of technology was first voiced in 1982’ and sociological research on technology has only recently been established, then sociology really is too late. Of course, in a certain respect there has been a sociology of technology for a long time, at least since Marx in the traditional sense of &dquo;Technology and Social Change&dquo;. Traditionally, technology has been viewed as a cause or
This article deals with the question of what type of ethics may be efficient to cope with actual ... more This article deals with the question of what type of ethics may be efficient to cope with actual problems in advanced societies, i.e. environmental problems, social conflicts, the usage of new technologies. The answer given is that it is not morality or ethical decisions that count but the customary (das Übliche). But the customary is a rather precarious resource. This is not only because it may turn out to be the particularistic orientation of social groups, like those of companies, political parties, or even peer groups but also because it is eaten up by the progress of modernity. This is shown by comparison with the historical forerunner of the customary, namely what has been called ethical life (substantielle Sittlichkeit) by Hegel.
This article investigates the possibility and potential of a critical theory of nature and techno... more This article investigates the possibility and potential of a critical theory of nature and technology. A blind acceptance of the uninhibited development of the forces of production led traditional critical theory to neglect these areas, which it assigned to the domain of the natural sciences. The recognition that nature is socially constituted compels a reformulation of the interest in reasonable conditions that guided the older critical theory. The article asks what criteria offer themselves for determining what would be reasonable in our relations both to the nature that we ourselves are, the body, as well as to the nature that we ourselves are not. Such questions might revitalize critical theory in the very moment it threatens to become historically obsolete.
The expansion of science Derek de Solla Price has calculated that the number of scientists is gro... more The expansion of science Derek de Solla Price has calculated that the number of scientists is growing three times as fast as the world population has to an increasing degree become subject to limitations. The rise in the social investments necessary for continued scientific growth will increasingly provoke political resistance, especially as there is no dependable procedure at present for analysing the scientific results of increased outlays 1. The attempts to rationalize science policy by a systems approach to the determination of priorities and by the use of analytic methods have so far been futile. It is not clear what elements and processes in science can be consciously regulated, and by what means this could be accomplished, nor are there any procedures at hand to control or to evaluate the effects of the venture. Scientists themselves to an increasing degree tend to view the orientation of science towards economic, military and infrastructural goals as being problematic. On the one side this reflects their concern that this orientation may hinder or distort theoretical progress, on the other it reflects the insight that as long as the prevailing goal-orientations remain operative the demand for a socially relevant science must remain unfulfilled. It is our assumption that the self-examination called forth within science by the impact of these problems both reveals and promotes a fundamental
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1993
Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-... more Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-arginine to L-citrulline. Growing evidence suggests a physiological role for NO in long-term potentiation (LTP). Since LTP is a form of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in learning and memory, we have tested whether inhibition of endogenous NO production affects memory capacities of rats. We found that the NO synthase [L-arginine, NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (nitric oxide-forming), EC 1.14.13.39] inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine, at doses blocking LTP in hippocampal slices, impairs spatial learning in a radial arm maze and olfactory memory in a social recognition test. In contrast, N omega-nitro-L-arginine left shock-avoidance learning unaffected. These results indicate that NO is involved in some but not all forms of memory and further support the existence of a causal link between LTP and spatial learning.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1997
Calretinin (Cr) is a Ca2+ binding protein present in various populations of neurons distributed i... more Calretinin (Cr) is a Ca2+ binding protein present in various populations of neurons distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems. We have generated Cr-deficient (Cr-/-) mice by gene targeting and have investigated the associated phenotype. Cr-/- mice were viable, and a large number of morphological, biochemical, and behavioral parameters were found unaffected. In the normal mouse hippocampus, Cr is expressed in a widely distributed subset of GABAergic interneurons and in hilar mossy cells of the dentate gyrus. Because both types of cells are part of local pathways innervating dentate granule cells and/or pyramidal neurons, we have explored in Cr-/- mice the synaptic transmission between the perforant pathway and granule cells and at the Schaffer commissural input to CA1 pyramidal neurons. Cr-/- mice showed no alteration in basal synaptic transmission, but long-term potentiation (LTP) was impaired in the dentate gyrus. Normal LTP could be restored in the presence of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline, suggesting that in Cr-/- dentate gyrus an excess of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release interferes with LTP induction. Synaptic transmission and LTP were normal in CA1 area, which contains only few Cr-positive GABAergic interneurons. Cr-/- mice performed normally in spatial memory task. These results suggest that expression of Cr contributes to the control of synaptic plasticity in mouse dentate gyrus by indirectly regulating the activity of GABAergic interneurons, and that Cr-/- mice represent a useful tool to understand the role of dentate LTP in learning and memory.
According to this famous quotation from Hegel, philosophy arrives late on the scene. I ask myself... more According to this famous quotation from Hegel, philosophy arrives late on the scene. I ask myself whether sociology does not come even later, perhaps too late. If the desideratum of a sociology of technology was first voiced in 1982’ and sociological research on technology has only recently been established, then sociology really is too late. Of course, in a certain respect there has been a sociology of technology for a long time, at least since Marx in the traditional sense of &dquo;Technology and Social Change&dquo;. Traditionally, technology has been viewed as a cause or
This article deals with the question of what type of ethics may be efficient to cope with actual ... more This article deals with the question of what type of ethics may be efficient to cope with actual problems in advanced societies, i.e. environmental problems, social conflicts, the usage of new technologies. The answer given is that it is not morality or ethical decisions that count but the customary (das Übliche). But the customary is a rather precarious resource. This is not only because it may turn out to be the particularistic orientation of social groups, like those of companies, political parties, or even peer groups but also because it is eaten up by the progress of modernity. This is shown by comparison with the historical forerunner of the customary, namely what has been called ethical life (substantielle Sittlichkeit) by Hegel.
This article investigates the possibility and potential of a critical theory of nature and techno... more This article investigates the possibility and potential of a critical theory of nature and technology. A blind acceptance of the uninhibited development of the forces of production led traditional critical theory to neglect these areas, which it assigned to the domain of the natural sciences. The recognition that nature is socially constituted compels a reformulation of the interest in reasonable conditions that guided the older critical theory. The article asks what criteria offer themselves for determining what would be reasonable in our relations both to the nature that we ourselves are, the body, as well as to the nature that we ourselves are not. Such questions might revitalize critical theory in the very moment it threatens to become historically obsolete.
The expansion of science Derek de Solla Price has calculated that the number of scientists is gro... more The expansion of science Derek de Solla Price has calculated that the number of scientists is growing three times as fast as the world population has to an increasing degree become subject to limitations. The rise in the social investments necessary for continued scientific growth will increasingly provoke political resistance, especially as there is no dependable procedure at present for analysing the scientific results of increased outlays 1. The attempts to rationalize science policy by a systems approach to the determination of priorities and by the use of analytic methods have so far been futile. It is not clear what elements and processes in science can be consciously regulated, and by what means this could be accomplished, nor are there any procedures at hand to control or to evaluate the effects of the venture. Scientists themselves to an increasing degree tend to view the orientation of science towards economic, military and infrastructural goals as being problematic. On the one side this reflects their concern that this orientation may hinder or distort theoretical progress, on the other it reflects the insight that as long as the prevailing goal-orientations remain operative the demand for a socially relevant science must remain unfulfilled. It is our assumption that the self-examination called forth within science by the impact of these problems both reveals and promotes a fundamental
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1993
Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-... more Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-arginine to L-citrulline. Growing evidence suggests a physiological role for NO in long-term potentiation (LTP). Since LTP is a form of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in learning and memory, we have tested whether inhibition of endogenous NO production affects memory capacities of rats. We found that the NO synthase [L-arginine, NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (nitric oxide-forming), EC 1.14.13.39] inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine, at doses blocking LTP in hippocampal slices, impairs spatial learning in a radial arm maze and olfactory memory in a social recognition test. In contrast, N omega-nitro-L-arginine left shock-avoidance learning unaffected. These results indicate that NO is involved in some but not all forms of memory and further support the existence of a causal link between LTP and spatial learning.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1997
Calretinin (Cr) is a Ca2+ binding protein present in various populations of neurons distributed i... more Calretinin (Cr) is a Ca2+ binding protein present in various populations of neurons distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems. We have generated Cr-deficient (Cr-/-) mice by gene targeting and have investigated the associated phenotype. Cr-/- mice were viable, and a large number of morphological, biochemical, and behavioral parameters were found unaffected. In the normal mouse hippocampus, Cr is expressed in a widely distributed subset of GABAergic interneurons and in hilar mossy cells of the dentate gyrus. Because both types of cells are part of local pathways innervating dentate granule cells and/or pyramidal neurons, we have explored in Cr-/- mice the synaptic transmission between the perforant pathway and granule cells and at the Schaffer commissural input to CA1 pyramidal neurons. Cr-/- mice showed no alteration in basal synaptic transmission, but long-term potentiation (LTP) was impaired in the dentate gyrus. Normal LTP could be restored in the presence of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline, suggesting that in Cr-/- dentate gyrus an excess of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release interferes with LTP induction. Synaptic transmission and LTP were normal in CA1 area, which contains only few Cr-positive GABAergic interneurons. Cr-/- mice performed normally in spatial memory task. These results suggest that expression of Cr contributes to the control of synaptic plasticity in mouse dentate gyrus by indirectly regulating the activity of GABAergic interneurons, and that Cr-/- mice represent a useful tool to understand the role of dentate LTP in learning and memory.
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Papers by G. Bohme