Thomas Kiefer – författare

The work of Aristotle (384-322 BC) is considered to be one of the great achievements of the ancient world, and is a foundation of both Western and Middle Eastern philosophy and science. Although Aristotle left significant material on almost all branches of learning, what has survived is a somewhat disorganized collection of notes and lectures. Moreover, the centuries of interpretation across various epochs and cultures tend to cloud our understanding of him. Thomas Kiefer breaks through this cloud of interpretation and provides an organized account of one key part of Aristotle's philosophy, namely his theory of knowledge. This theory concerns what is knowledge, what we can know, and how we can do so. Kiefer's book is the first work that takes this theory as its sole focus and reconstructs it systematically. Kiefer's work throughout provides many new interpretations of key parts of Aristotle's philosophy, including an unnoticed -but crucial-distinction between knowledge in general and knowledge for us, the differences between his semantic and psychological requirements for knowledge, and 'nous', which is perhaps the most obscure notion in Aristotle's work.He also concludes with a summary of Aristotle's theory in the terms and style of contemporary epistemology. Kiefer's work should be of interest to anyone involved in the history of philosophy or contemporary epistemology.

Much has been written about animals in applied ethics, environmental ethics, and animal rights. This book takes a new turn, offering an examination of the 'animal question' from a more fundamental, philosophical-anthropological perspective. The contributors in this important volume focus on how the animal has appeared and can be used in philosophical argumentation as a metaphor or reference point that helps us understand what is distinctively human and what is not. A recurring theme in the essays is the existence of a zone of ambiguity between animals and humans, which puts into question comfortable assumptions about the uniqueness and superiority of human nature.While the chapters straddle the boundaries of historical-philosophical and systematic, continental and analytic approaches, their thematic unity knits them together, presenting a rich, broad, and yet cohesive perspective. The first part of the book offers general explorations of the relation between animal and human nature, and of the concomitant existential and ethical dimensions of this relationship. The chapters in the second part address the same theme, but, in so doing, focus on specific aspects of animal and human nature: imagination, politics, history, sense, finitude, and science.

Much has been written about animals in applied ethics, environmental ethics, and animal rights. This book takes a new turn, offering an examination of the 'animal question' from a more fundamental, philosophical-anthropological perspective. The contributors in this important volume focus on how the animal has appeared and can be used in philosophical argumentation as a metaphor or reference point that helps us understand what is distinctively human and what is not. A recurring theme in the essays is the existence of a zone of ambiguity between animals and humans, which puts into question comfortable assumptions about the uniqueness and superiority of human nature.While the chapters straddle the boundaries of historical-philosophical and systematic, continental and analytic approaches, their thematic unity knits them together, presenting a rich, broad, and yet cohesive perspective. The first part of the book offers general explorations of the relation between animal and human nature, and of the concomitant existential and ethical dimensions of this relationship. The chapters in the second part address the same theme, but, in so doing, focus on specific aspects of animal and human nature: imagination, politics, history, sense, finitude, and science.

This book covers all aspects of successfully treating patients using chest drains, beginning with anatomy and ending with physiotherapy and pain management. The aim of the book is to provide medical professionals with a step-by-step guide to using a chest drain, with specific chapters on indications, kinds of chest drains, catheters, drainage systems, how to insert a chest tube, complications during placement and handling of a chest drain, removing a chest drain, management of the  pleural space and post-procedural care. Unlike general thoracic surgery textbooks, this book gives a complete overview of chest drains in clinical practice to ensure the best possible care of patients.

Alle Gesichtspunkte der gezielten und erfolgreichen Anwendung von Thoraxdrainagen sind in diesem Buch fundiert und praxisorientiert zusammengefasst. Nach einem Überblick über den anatomischen Bau und die physiologische Funktion des Pleuraraums werden die präzisen Indikationen zur Anlage einer Thoraxdrainage herausgearbeitet. Die verschiedenen Drainagekatheter und –systeme sind mit ihren Vorzügen und Nachteilen dargestellt, auch zu kontovers diskutierten Fragen wie der Anwendung eines Dauersogs nehmen die Autoren Stellung. Das praktische Vorgehen bei der Anlage einer Thoraxdrainage ist in Wort und Bild beschrieben. Breiten Raum nimmt die Vermeidung möglicher Komplikationen ein. Ein zentrales Thema ist das schonende und indikationsgerechte Druckmanagement im Pleuraspalt; mit alten Zöpfen und Mythen der Anwendung von Thoraxdrainagen wird aufgeräumt. Eigene Kapitel gehen auf Pflege, Schmerztherapie und Physiotherapie ein. Abschließend werden die Kriterien für die Entfernung einer Thoraxdrainage erläutert.

Physiotherapie ist ein elementarer Bestandteil der thoraxchirurgischen Behandlung. Dieses Fachgebiet setzt viel Spezialwissen voraus, das in der Physiotherapieausbildung oft nicht ausreichend abgedeckt ist.Das Autorenduo – Thoraxchirurg und erfahrene Physiotherapeutin – stattet die LeserInnen in übersichtlicher und leicht verständlicher Form mit dem in diesem Fachgebiet notwendigen Wissen aus. Sie erläutern die wichtigsten Grundlagen und relevanten Aspekte häufiger thoraxchirurgischer Eingriffe und stellen systematisch die sinnvollsten physiotherapeutischen Maßnahmen vor. Viele praktische Tipps und Tricks aus der umfangreichen Erfahrungs-Schatzkiste der Autoren runden das Werk ab.Das Buch wendet sich an interessierte Physiotherapeuten und Auszubildende. Auch Ärzte und Pflege- und OP-Personal, das ebenfalls in prä- und postoperative physiotherapeutische Maßnahmen eingebunden ist, finden wichtige Informationen für die optimale interdisziplinäre Betreuung thoraxchirurgischer Patienten.