Classics

This essay proposes a comparative reading of Homer’s Odyssey and Frank Herbert’s Dune cycle, taking as its hermeneutic axis the female figures — understood not as stations along the masculine heroic path, but as the holders of the three operations that decide the meaning of the epic story: the trial (Circe and the Reverend Mother Mohiam), the recognition (Penelope and Chani), and the narrative (Helen and Irulan). The analysis of the three pairs reveals, on the one hand, a structural homology (...) of the devices — the test of the human founded upon the government of instinct, recognition as a performative act that assumes the risk of error, self-interested narration as a form of ownership of memory —; on the other, a systematic divergence of their outcomes, reducible to a general law: the Homeric world restores (it liberates the one who passes the trial, returns the husband to his home, rehabilitates even the guilty woman), while the Herbertian world delivers up (it conscripts the tested, sacrifices the beloved, denies the nearly innocent). The figure of Irulan, in her evolution from propagandist to guardian, is finally proposed as the Herbertian answer to the problem of the truthful narrative, embodied in Homer by the song of Demodocus. (shrink)

The complexities of trauma have been explored since the inception of psychology. Freudian psychoanalysis introduced the concept of Nachträglichkeit, or “belatedness,” suggesting that the effects of trauma are not immediately apparent but instead emerge over time. These effects contain subtleties that are often not directly linked to the traumatic event itself. This emergence can be seen as a camouflaged representation, an altered reflection of how an individual’s psyche manifests trauma in not-so-obvious ways, adopting qualities that are characteristic of its own (...) nature and significance. Using the metaphor of the mythological Minotaur from Knossos, I will argue that trauma can be identified with this monster. The Minotaur symbolizes trauma not because it appears to be traumatized, but because it embodies what trauma might represent if it were a ghastly therianthrope. Additionally, I will describe its habitat, the labyrinth, as a structural passage that—if navigated with virtue—can lead to healing, the slaying of the beast, and hope for personal transformation. This paper aims to conceptualize trauma as a nearly embodied substance, rather than merely a single event or a series of events. Trauma is so powerful that it not only possesses its victim but also reshapes the individual in its image, disfiguring them and parasitically draining their vitality. We will investigate three main philosophies of trauma, focusing particularly on the one that best supports transformation and aligns well with the Minotaur metaphor. We will also examine how trauma influences the nature of memory. Furthermore, we will discuss the dangers of living with trauma, referencing Dr. Gabor Maté and his insights on the life-threatening effects of stress on the body, as detailed in his book When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection (Maté, 2011). (shrink)

This paper proposes that before the opening of Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King, the “hero” had to solve a lot of riddles.

Aristotle's Poetics has been the basis for theories of entertainment for over 2,000 years. But the general approach it uses has led to a number of gaps, contradictions, and difficulties in predicting the success of books, plays, movies, and entertainment as a whole, so much so that sayings like "there are no rules, but you break them at your peril," and "in Hollywood, nobody knows anything" have become widespread and accepted. -/- However, it turns out that a model of entertainment (...) that defines literary conventions by the pleasurable feelings they release in the brain, and then equates them with outside experiences that people subconsciously attach to the literary work, in the same way that we can be conditioned to feel love when we view our wedding rings, can actually resolve almost every seeming contradiction in Aristotle's ideas and traditional theories of storytelling when compared to real-world results. -/- Furthermore, this approach can be extended to the other major forms of art, including painting, music and even video games, leading to a "Non-Aristotelian" theory that modifies the fundamental aspects of each of these fields, but in a natural and necessary way, which strengthens both our understanding and our ability to predict the success or failure of art in the future. -/- My work as a vlogger and writer, mostly done via my Youtube channel "StoryBrain," has been viewed over 6 million times, and written about in MovieMaker magazine, Creative Screenwriting magazine, on the front page of major sites like Reddit, Roger Ebert online, and in international newspapers like the Sydney Morning-Herald in Australia and Fotogramas in Spain. My work is also the subject of a chapter of the currently-in-release book "Neuro-Design," by Kogan Page publishing, called "The Neuro Movie Analyst." This paper is a detailed introduction to the theory of Emotional Indiscretion which I have talked about in my work. (shrink)

This paper presents a hypothesis on how the prevalence of the Aegean Bronze Age worship of the Greek god Poseidon could be attributed to an early attempt to give a deterministic answer to the problem of wave generation at sea. The inhabitants of the Aegean shores, during the Bronze Age, were seafarers. First, the Cycladic civilization comprised a network of island to island maritime trade, while the Minoan civilization, centered on Crete, reached Cyprus and Egypt. By the time of the (...) Mycenean civilization, maritime routes had been established and flourished all over the Aegean and the Near East. Long-distance seafaring, however, was not without risk during these early days of the seagoing craft. Sailors were exposed to the wind and the waves for large amounts of time. Indeed, they needed to master both with their ships in order to make it to distant shores and return back alive. Wave motion, namely the propagation of disturbances at the sea surface, is today a well-studied field of fluid mechanics. While wind blowing over the sea surface constitutes the primary source of wave generation, waves propagate at a speed that is independent of the wind speed. Thus, the relationship between wind and wave conditions is not immediately evident to an observer at sea. The hypothesis of this paper is that early seafarers, could have initially attributed the sea motion to the "Earth-shaker" Poseidon, an unpredictable deity that generated waves through the shaking of the earth. In a time when the world was little explored, he lived perhaps underneath the sea surface or far beyond the horizon, but the waves he produced traveled all the way to the Aegean shores, upon which they broke. Later on, as more experience and observations were gathered at sea, the exclusive generation of waves by the wind was eventually understood. Gradually, the reign of the world passed from the hands of the chthonic (from below) Poseidon to those of the ouranic (from above) Zeus. He became the prime mover responsible for the motion of both the sky and the sea. (shrink)

Isocrates' Antidosis ("Defense against the Exchange") and Aristotle's Protrepticus ("Exhortation to Philosophy") were recovered from oblivion in the late nineteenth century. In this article we demonstrate that the two texts happen to be directly related. Aristotle's Protrepticus was a response, on behalf of the Academy, to Isocrates' criticism of the Academy and its theoretical preoccupations. -/- Contents: I. Introduction: Protrepticus, text and context II. Authentication of the Protrepticus of Aristotle III. Isocrates and philosophy in Athens in the 4th century IV. (...) The Protrepticus of Aristotle as a response to the Antidosis of Isocrates V. Conclusion: dueling conceptions of philosophy, still dueling. (shrink)

Vortrag, gehalten am 11. November 2020 im Rahmen einer Ringvorlesung am Regensburger Zentrum für Klassikstudien zum Thema "Entfernte Verwandte - Mensch und Tier". Die aristotelische Bestimmung des Menschen ist ein Rätsel. Daher soll sie im Folgenden auch als ein Rätsel behandelt werden. Ziel ist es, hier nicht das bei Aristoteles finden zu wollen, was wir heute ohnehin schon über den Menschen als ein Lebewesen wissen oder zu wissen glauben, sondern es gilt im Folgenden von Aristoteles ahnen zu lernen, was wir (...) noch nicht wissen, wofür wir heute, in unserer technisierten, wissenschaftsorientierten und digitalisierten Blickbahn vielleicht noch gar nicht gerüstet sind. (shrink)

Science fiction and futuristic reality beyond the Self.

Among the extant masterworks of Roman art, there is probably none that has generated more scholarly debate than the Portland Vase over the interpretation of its elegant frieze. No fewer than forty-four different theories attempting to interpret the scenes on the vase have appeared in the last 400 years. In the main, the theories fall into two categories, those relating the frieze to Greek myth, and those linking the figures to Roman personages. Moreover, there is no consensus whether the frieze (...) is two separate scenes or one continuous story. The obstacle to interpreting the frieze is that all but one of the figures lack identifying attributes. This paper will demonstrate (1) that in lieu of standard iconography, a synthesis of visual and literary tropes in the form of hidden letters, that is, cryptograms, tells the viewer how to read the frieze; (2) that scene A of the frieze illustrates specifically lines 26-30 of Catullus 64 by visually rendering the epithets and tropes used in those lines; (3) that visual reproductions of other tropes in Catullus 64 further substantiate the relationship between frieze and poem; (4) that scene B of the frieze is an intentional aberration from the poem; (5) that there is a complex and unfinished interaction between scenes A and B which the viewer must complete; and (6) that in the final analysis, the frieze duplicates both the theme and central structure of Catullus 64.10 . (shrink)

'People travelled for numerous reasons,' so J.W. Drijvers submits at the beginning of his piece on travel and pilgrimage literature. Be it ‘commerce, government affairs, religion, education, military business or migration,’ people ‘made use of the elaborate system of roads and modes of transport such as wagons, horses and boats’ to traverse the far-reaching stretches of the Roman Empire. And for 4th century Christians in particular, participating in religious festivals as well as interaction with holy sites, sacred artifacts and clergymen (...) had become greater a reason to travel still. Motivation to travel, in other words, was aplenty. But what exactly allowed for Christian religious travel in the 4th century AD to develop as quickly as it did? (shrink)

The most discussed of architectural marvels tend to be the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or the Parthenon at Athens, supposedly because they are the ones we happen to have nominated ‘world wonders’; but that doesn’t mean all the rest of temple-type sites to be found across the greater Mediterranean area have less wonder about them. On the contrary; when wanting to explore and explain the role temples played in the lives of their ‘subscribers’ and a (...) temple site’s place as often the nucleus of a community, the Serapeum at Alexandria is as excellent a piece of architecture to examine as any. (shrink)

Seeing how the idea of the ‘ruler cult’ and the necessary ‘myth-making’ to establish it exists to this day, as seen with the regime of a 21st century dictator like Kim Jong-il, it would be most interesting to see what parallels exist between cases of divine leadership and what we might learn about our contemporary cult rulers when looking at the dynamics of the two-millennia-old cult of the deified Emperor Augustus. As such, I have formulated a central question that focuses (...) on the reign of Divus Augustus, and in doing so provides opportunity to extrapolate from it new insights in similar but contemporary figures of leadership. A clear case of 'to understand motives in the present, one must look at actions in the past.'. (shrink)

This conference explores the connection between theoretical aspects of pragmatics and philosophy. We still believe that intentions play a fundamental role in communication and that the hearer’s task is mainly to reconstruct those intentions on the basis of what is explicitly said (the semantics of a linguistic expression) and of contextual clues and cues (Dascal 2003). Sometimes, as Mey argues (Mey 2001), a priori knowledge of a frame and a script will determine interpretation even if one partially says what one (...) wants to say. Both bottom-up and top-down inferential processes are involved (see Jasczolt’s notion of merger representations). Pragmatics can be put to use in understanding of philosophical puzzles (see Igor Douven The pragmatics of belief or Capone (2016) on simple sentences and substitution). Implicit indirect reports can, in some cases, be taken to resolve issues. We welcome contributions in theoretical pragmatics, philosophical pragmatics, societal pragmatics, intercultural pragmatics, clinical pragmatics, pragmatics and cognition, contributions that relate to conversational presuppositions, if-clauses, the pragmatics of ‘de se’ attitudes, proper names, quasi-proper names, proper names as speech acts, pragmemes and speech acts in the cultural context, evolutionary pragmatics, pragmatics and culture, rhetoric and argumentation, pragmatics and the world languages (e.g. Japanese, Persian, Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinea languages, in general, African languages, Asian languages, South American languages, etc.), the pragmatics of funerary rites, natural language semantics, the semantics/pragmatics debate. The organizers will consult with K. Jaszczolt, Mitchell Green, Igor Douven, Yael Sharvit, Louise Cummings, Fabrizio Macagno, Alison Hall, Daniele Panizza, Roberto Graci, Yoko Mizuta, Chusni Hadiati, Alessandra Giorgi for the acceptance of the abstracts and then the selected papers to appear in the book(s). The books are likely to be published in Capone’s series for Springer. (shrink)

Aristotle discusses intellect in Metaphysics 12.9. This chapter, however, seems incomplete, because a question posed in it (1074b36–8) remains unaddressed. Another passage (1072b14–30) in Metaphysics 12.7 seems to address a similar topic, yet appears extraneous to its present chapter. This article argues that the placing of the aforementioned passage within Metaphysics 12.7 is incorrect, and its original position is actually at the end of Metaphysics 12.9. This alternative reading offers a better understanding of 1072b14–30, and has the potential to finalize (...) the unfinished discussion in Metaphysics 12.9. (shrink)

This article deals with a complicated philological problem in section 133 of Epicurus’ Epistle to Menoeceus. There is a lacuna in the text; various supplements have been proposed, but the resulting syntax remains anomalous. This article argues that the interpretation of the syntax which underlies all the most influential supplements proposed to date, from Usener to Sedley and beyond, should be rejected. A new suggestion is put forward, based on a different syntactical interpretation and on a careful new analysis of (...) the readings preserved in MS P. (shrink)

This paper examines Damascius’ Neoplatonic interpretation of the Babylonian creation myth Enūma Eliš. It argues that Damascius rereads the mythic genealogy in philosophical terms by organizing its divine generations into ordered triadic and hierarchical structures and by positing, above the primordial opposition of Apsû and Tiamat, a prior unifying principle corresponding to the Neoplatonic One. Particular attention is given to his treatment of Mummu as an initial productive principle and to his use of Berossos’ account of primordial darkness as a (...) possible symbolic counterpart to a pre-dual first principle. More broadly, the paper shows how late antique Neoplatonic exegesis could reshape Mesopotamian cosmogony within a metaphysical framework, thereby shedding light on a distinctive mode of cross-cultural mythological interpretation in late antiquity. (shrink)

'The most famous of sanctuaries of Asclepius had their origin from Epidaurus’, Pausanias writes in his Hellados Periegesis (‘Description of Greece’). All across the Aegean and beyond, word of the salutary reputation of Epidaurian divinity had spread. And as tales of Epidaurus’ sanctuary of Asclepius travelled the lands and crossed the seas, so did the urge to ensure that the Epidaurian success formula was, as we say, coming soon to a place near you. So we know Epidaurus had managed to (...) make a name for itself: all the way from the Argolid Peninsula to Asia Minor and the shores of Northern Africa. But what exactly had led to its rise in prominence? What about Epidaurus allowed for it to transcend its local cult-status? And how did its celebrated reputation and meaning change across places and time? What, in other words, is the story of what is often simply referred to as the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus? (shrink)

According to a prominent narrative, the problem of recognition arises in the modern period in opposition to premodern notions of honor. This chapter invites us to reconsider this narrative by examining two views of honor in ancient Greek thought. I first show that Homeric honor includes contestable norms of reciprocal respect and esteem for individual virtue. I then show how Plato appropriates the Homeric view in his ethical psychology yet articulates a competing view of the nature and value of honor. (...) By showing that ancient Greek honor is more continuous with theories of recognition than has been appreciated, this chapter offers fresh perspectives on a central strand of ancient Greek ethics and its relevance to social and political thought. (shrink)

How do classical myths shape the foundations of our political and social worldviews? This essay explores the myth of the phoenix in anarchist imagery, arguing that its resistance and capacity for renewal function as an absolute metaphor in Blumenberg’s sense, structuring an ethic of infinite struggle. The study examines how this mythological figure, rooted in ancient traditions and the concept of cyclicality, is constantly reinterpreted and stands as a symbol of resistance to oppression and injustice. It also offers a pre-conceptual (...) framework for revolutionary action. In this sense, the myth implicitly guides not only what is thought (resistance and renewal), but also how the militant acts and is politically formed. Thus, a libertarian political education understands the subject not as a passive recipient of ideas, but as an active participant in cycles of symbolic death and resurrection that the phoenix embodies. -/- Keywords: Absolute metaphor, anarchist ethics, philosophy of myth, infinite struggle, symbolism of the phoenix, conceptual history, militant education. (shrink)

This article explores the thesis that interpretation constitutes the arche—the original principle—of the human world. It is based on the premise that human reality is not an immediate datum or a mere reflection of what is given, but a construction mediated by interpretative processes that shape both individual experience and collective life. Through a theoretical journey that dialogues with the hermeneutical tradition and phenomenology, it is argued that interpretation is not only a secondary or derived activity, but the very foundation (...) of the constitution of meaning and the openness of the world. The development of the text examines the ontological, epistemological, and ethical implications of this perspective, as well as its limits and challenges. Finally, it is concluded that assuming interpretation as arche allows us to rethink the human condition from a logic of openness, plurality and responsibility, overcoming objectivist reductionism or naïve relativism. (shrink)

The Greek term heimarménē, rendered in Latin as fatum and in English as “fate” (and occasionally as “destiny”), designates one of the doctrinal elements at the intersection of Greek religion and philosophy. For philosophical inquiry, it presents the challenge of examining how the supposed causal force of fate interacts with other types of causality. Reflection on fate also gives rise to philosophical questions concerning contingent events, freedom of the will, determinism, divine foreknowledge, and providence, among others. Moreover, this theme is (...) deeply embedded in the human experiences depicted throughout Greek epic and tragic literature and, through them, has significantly shaped the imaginative landscape of Western literature as a whole. Such experiences include unexpected good fortune, human inability to resist misfortune, practices of divination, and the relationship between human beings and the divine. Given the centrality of topics such as free will, determinism, and divine foreknowledge in contemporary philosophy of religion, it is especially illuminating to investigate how Greek philosophers—and even other Greek authors not typically classified as philosophers—addressed these issues. Late antique Greek thought revisits the themes of fate and divine providence within the framework of Christian theology, engaging in sustained dialogue with “pagan” Greek philosophy. These exchanges constitute a significant contribution to the metaphysical understanding of fate. (shrink)

In The Waves, Bernard always leads the discussion and tells the story of all six friends. Neville, not fully persuaded by Bernard’s narration, often follows Bernard’s remarks with a slight mockery of Bernard’s narration: “Let Bernard begin. Let him burble on, telling us stories. Let him describe what we have all seen so that it becomes a sequence” (Woolf 36). The tension between Bernard and Neville emerges from each of their firm belief in contrasting ways of narration: Bernard mainly dedicates (...) his narration to depicting the universality of human nature with his “sympathetic understanding” (51), while Neville focuses on his need for individual emotional exclusiveness as expressed through his attention to Bernard and Percival. Woolf’s multi-perspectival technique, however, allows the reader to see Bernard from Neville’s point of view and Neville from Bernard’s. (shrink)

风水，作为中国传统文化中极具争议的文化现象，千百年来始终游走于实用技术与封 建迷信之间。现代学界对风水的研究多聚焦于其科学内核的解构——如人居环境学、 空间美学、微气候适应等，或批判其迷信色彩对社会的消极影响，却鲜少追溯风水从 “实用择地之术”演变为“鬼神福佑之学”的历史脉络。本文立足考古实证与古籍考据，以 “秦前无鬼神，后世道教渗透催生鬼神观念”为核心论点，系统梳理风水在不同历史阶段 的形态演变，精准定位鬼神之说融入风水的关键典籍与核心人物，最终揭示：风水的 迷信化并非其原生属性，而是汉代以降宗庙礼制绑定、儒释道三教融合，尤其是道教 方术深度渗透的产物。 秦以前的风水原型，本质是先民为适应自然环境而形成的“相地择居”实用技术，“卜地” 之“卜”意为“决疑判断”，而非占问鬼神；郭璞《葬经》首次引入“福佑”概念，却未涉及 鬼神实体，仅以“气感相应”为理论支撑；唐代以降，托名杨筠松的道教伪书将“气感”升 华为“鬼神司命”，宋代道士进一步将道家内丹修行与风水结合，最终使鬼神之说成为风 水体系的核心迷信元素。本文通过考古文献、传世典籍、学术考据三重证据，还原风 水迷信化的完整过程，重点论证鬼神之说的道教起源，为风水文化的去迷信化研究提 供学术支撑。.

This book collects together a number of essays I have written on Western culture before the 20th century. There are a number of essays on the Oedipus myth or Sophocles' play, on the Enlightenment (Descartes, Hume, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Kant), and on Victorian intellectual works (Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Frazer, and Henry Sidgwick). The book contains a new essay on Jocasta: on why she married Oedipus.

Using friendship studies from the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, history, classics, political science, sociology, ethology, neuroscience, semiotics and other disciplines, the volume uses the encyclopedic format to construct both a positive ontology (based on empirical evidence) of friendship, as well as discussing friendship's "negative ontology" (i.e., its uncertainties, ambivalences, unknowns, and ineffable aspects), to outline a multidisciplinary comparative approach to different philosophical models of friendship (e.g., ancient Greek, Indian, Roman, modern), and to explore the inner connection between friendship and philosophy (...) (as a way of life and a friendship with wisdom). Among the emergent categories are 1. Issues (e.g., money, mutuality, satisfaction). 2. Models (e.g., the ancient Greek, the Indian, the modern model of friendship). 3. Kinds or types of friendship (e.g., bad friends, noblest friendship, typologies). 4. Incoherence of theoretical typologies (e.g., complexity, ineffability, thisness). 5. Technical terms (e.g., bestowal, friend-shield effect, homophily). 6. Theories, accounts (e.g. Silver’s thesis, Dunbar’s number, mirror account of friendship). 7. Cases of friendships (e.g., Achilles and Patroclus, Murdoch’s friends, famous friends). 8. Philosophers on friendship (e.g., Aristotle, Kant, Weil). 9. Motifs and themes (e.g., gift, pleasure, social media). 10. Concepts (e.g., eros, presentism, tacit knowledge). 11. Proverbs (e.g., Faroese, Jamaican, Swahili proverbs). 12. Friendship studies (e.g., anthropology, history, semiotics of friendship). (shrink)

In this paper, I explore why classics are designated as “classics” and why they continue to endure. I argue that classics are not merely relics of antiquity but living expressions of human wisdom that transcend time and culture. While rooted in the literary, philosophical, and artistic traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, classics persist because they contain universal truths about the human condition. The relevance of classics lies in their ability to serve as patterns for living—a specimen vivendi. I explain (...) that literature and films function as contemporary channels for transmitting classical wisdom, enabling succeeding generations to encounter timeless and timely truths in accessible forms. Hence, their endurance depends on our commitment to preserve, practice, and reinterpret them in dialogue with the present. (shrink)

The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Philosophy is a collection of essays on important texts and figures in the history of Chinese thought. The essays cover both well-known texts such as the Analects and the Zhuangzi as well as many of the lesser-known thinkers in the classical and post-classical Chinese tradition. Most of the chapters focus on thinkers or texts in one of three important historical movements: Classical ("pre-Qin") Chinese philosophy, Chinese Buddhism, and the Confucian response to Buddhism ("neo-Confucianism" broadly construed).

Conocer los elementos que forman parte del mundo advierte de la presencia de un saber general que responde a definiciones universales, al ser estos rasgos de un saber que explica las causas y principios de todo ente lo cual implica comprender aquello por lo que las cosas son. En efecto, los conceptos del ser, de ente y substancia adquieren un nuevo sentido en el pensamiento de Aristóteles dejando un claro nexo entre estos, precisamente en el consorcio entitatividad-esencialidad que define a (...) la sustancia. Por eso, este artículo es un esclarecimiento de la novedad de Aristóteles frente a una tradición metafísica de la cual se hace heredero, además de crítico. (shrink)

The article explores the philosophy of food as a cultural code in the Ukrainian context, focusing on the literary representation of gastronomic practices in Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s Eneida. The authors argue that food in this epic poem is more than a reflection of everyday life—it serves as a marker of national identity, an ethnographic model, and a tool of satire and social critique. Through the depiction of festive meals, dishes, and rituals, Kotliarevskyi constructs a multifaceted image of 18th-century Ukrainian society, where (...) food symbolizes community, hierarchy, and moral values. The study traces how traditional foodways encoded collective memory, spiritual beliefs, and ethical norms, and demonstrates how they are transformed in contemporary culture through modernization, commercialization, and globalization. The article emphasizes the enduring symbolic significance of traditional dishes such as borscht, varenyky, and ritual bread in literature and public life. These culinary images, preserved through both satire and nostalgia, reveal the deep philosophical, aesthetic, and identity-forming dimensions of food in Ukrainian cultural heritage. (shrink)

As The Mad Drummer (狂鼓史) demonstrates a close correlation between performance and spectatorship, it appears baffling that the storyteller Liu Jingting claims that he does not need an audience in Kong Shangren’s (孔尚任) The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇). In order to answer the question, this paper interprets The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) as a dynamic realm with geographic and metaphorical places rather than a static literary text. Master of Ceremonies’ multiple identities extend the notion of metaphorical displacement to an ongoing (...) movement of shifting in and out the role inside performances. His repeated passages in and out the acting role and the performative realm signal a linear and cyclical dynamism. In terms of genre, a comparison between Ma Zhiyuan’s (馬致遠) deliverance play “Yueh-yang Tower” (呂洞賓三醉岳陽樓) and the historical play The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) further analyzes distinctive dynamisms in dreamscape and in theatricality. Moreover, an examination of Zhang Dai’s (張岱) “Mid-September on West Lake (西湖七月半) ” points out a concentric spectatorship and a paradox of spectatorship. Spectator’s simultaneous states of being the subject and the object of gazing result in endless circles of watching and a concentric spectatorship with hierarchies. The paradox of spectatorship echoes the dynamism of The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) with notions of liminality and ongoing movement, but restricts the dynamism due to endless layers of concentric spectatorship. Thus, we can answer the question by stating that although Liu Jingting (柳敬亭) desires to escape audience’s gaze and has the ability to temporarily step out of theatricality, it is still impossible for him to completely escape the audience due to the paradox of spectatorship. (shrink)

The primary focus of this article is to investigate the (in)visible gendered constructs within Dante's Commedia. The article argues that due to the special emphasis on vice and virtue, Commedia lends itself to the archival purposes of cultural memory. The article explores how the cultural memory within the poem takes on a phallocentric perspective in its mechanics of socio-political affirmations doubled by Dante's poetic chiasm. Since the meticulous visibility of such a concept by itself reallocates our focus towards the imperatives (...) of silences and gaps, the poem introduces a nuanced gendered interpretation far beyond the visible space. Therefore, this article employs a critical and deconstructive method to scrutinise the phallocentric dynamism of the poem's memory-dependent derivatives and its invisible underside by taking a gendered approach. Within this framework, this article aims to contribute to the literature on Dante's Commedia with an introduction of a new feminist lens that might enrich various readings of Dante's "poema sacro.". (shrink)

Graham Greene's novels are often read with no reference to his Roman Catholic Faith. Particularly, in India there is little knowledge among both students and scholars about the primacy and the nature of the Roman Catholic Faith. They miss the point that the Roman Faith is a deeply Mysterious Faith. The term "Mystery" is used here in the Catholic sense of that Faith's 'Mysteries'. The essay and the long endnotes try to rectify the errors which creep in when Greene is (...) decontextualized from his Faith by logical positivists. In the name of the 'death of the author' religious relativists contaminated with the heresies of modernism misinterpret Greene. 'Heresies of Modernism' will be alien to those whose academic limits do not go beyond staid woke-seminars. The essay is discursive in nature, but on purpose. It sees Greene's works through the lens of the Suffering Servant and Paul's Hymn to Love. It has to be kept in mind that Greene is a Roman Catholic writer who knew his Church's teachings well. Christianity is not a homogenous term. "Religious" in the essay often means those who are lead consecrated lives within the Catholic Church as distinct from diocesan clergy. (shrink)

El 13 de julio de 2021 se realizó una entrevista a Adolfo Elizaincín, miembro de número de la Academia Nacional de Letras de Uruguay. El motivo de esta conversación fue que se resolviera la interrogante de saber cuál es la razón por la cual existen constantes modificaciones del habla y la escritura del idioma castellano. Frente a esta incógnita, se pudo reconocer que habrá variantes en cada país o región según el tiempo y el espacio en los que se usa (...) tal lengua. Eso originará creación de palabras, desaparición de estas o adaptaciones a formas inusitadas. A su vez, el intercambio de ideas que se efectuó con el académico sirvió para dilucidar la función que tiene todo hablante con respecto a su idioma. Entre los que mencionó, fueron la preservación del idioma y la promoción de actividades culturales que dejaran un rastro de la producción de cada quien, ya sea a través de proyectos de investigación o de la misma literatura. De igual manera, el entrevistado recalcó la diferenciación que emerge a partir de dos lenguas: la dominante y las regionales, puesto que habría una mayor predilección sobre la base del idioma según la mayor cantidad de hablantes en un solo país. (shrink)

This book is a feminist analysis of Greek myth and tragedy that reimagines the structures of Freudian theory. The objective of this analysis is political—by revealing the structures that undergird patriarchal oppression, feminist thinkers can work to transform these symbolic constellations through the work of sabotage, parody, and imagination. Jessica Elbert Decker attempts here to read Freudian theory through a wider lens of Ancient Greek culture, since our contemporary philosophical and social culture has inherited many of its symbolic structures (e.g., (...) patriarchy, binary thinking). The major argument of the book is that our Western philosophical, social, and symbolic systems are, as they were in the Ancient Greek world, suffused with a set of values that reflect one version of masculinity and androcentrism, and that those values are destructive to human beings as well as the non-human world, including other beings. -/- . (shrink)

Due to its concept and methodology, Graingers book on Frontinus is more fact-based fiction than biography. The reader gains an insight into how Frontinus' life and career might have unfolded, taking into account our knowledge of the Roman Empire in his time and the information about him that is confirmed by our sources. The author's assumptions are always plausibly substantiated. However, when reading the book, one learns far more about the Roman Empire, its provinces, its rulers and the political and (...) military conditions in the 1st century AD than about Frontinus. In this respect, this book is very exciting and informative, and it is also pleasant to read. (shrink)

This essay examines the links between the soul and number in Renaissance thought, from the sixteenth to the early seventeenth century, a period in which ancient philosophy was fully accepted and modern science gradually asserted itself. Thanks to the influences of Kabbalistic thought, Pythagoreanism and Neoplatonism - in particular the works of Porphyry, Iamblichus and Proclus - the study of arithmology, a discipline concerned with the symbolic properties of numbers, spread throughout the Renaissance. By examining largely unpublished treatises such as (...) those of Fabio Paolini (1535-1605) and Francesco Patrizi (1529-1597), these pages offer new perspectives on the interpretation of Renaissance thought and sixteenth-century Platonic philosophy. -/- Il saggio indaga i legami tra anima e numero nell’ambito del pensiero rinascimentale, dal XVI secolo agli esordi del XVII secolo, epoca nella quale la filosofia antica viene pienamente recepita e la scienza moderna si afferma progressivamente. Grazie alle influenze esercitate dal pensiero cabalistico, dal pitagorismo e dal neoplatonismo – in particolare dalle opere di Porfirio, Giamblico e Proclo – durante il Rinascimento si diffonde lo studio dell’aritmologia, disciplina che si occupa delle proprietà simboliche dei numeri. Attraverso l’esame di trattati in larga parte inediti, come i lavori di Fabio Paolini (1535-1605) e di Francesco Patrizi (1529-1597), queste pagine offrono nuove prospettive sull’interpretazione del pensiero rinascimentale e della filosofia platonica del Cinquecento. (shrink)

Few philosophers present themselves with as much complexity as Marcus Tullius Cicero. At once a philosopher, statesman, orator, and lawyer, Cicero consciously fashioned his own image for posterity and wrote philosophical texts as invitations for his readers to think for themselves. His philosophy has continued to unfold over the centuries, repeatedly inspiring new and independent philosophical positions. Since J.G.F. Powell’s pivotal contribution in 1995, we have witnessed countless translations and scholarly treatments of Cicero’s philosophy that emphasize his creativity and influence. (...) In this tradition, the present volume offers fresh and incisive contributions that advance the ongoing renaissance in Cicero scholarship. -/- Part One of the volume focuses on Cicero’s approaches to writing philosophy and on specific interpretive questions facing readers of his philosophical corpus. Part Two traces key moments in Cicero’s philosophical afterlife, from Augustine through the Scholastic period to the Renaissance, culminating in the rich and varied tradition of Ciceronian reception in the European Enlightenment. Throughout the volume, special attention is given to Cicero’s practical philosophy. (shrink)

Δύο επίμονα θέματα ζωντανεύουν όλη τη γραφή του Αλμπέρ Καμύ και αποτελούν τη βάση του καλλιτεχνικού του οράματος: Το ένα είναι το αίνιγμα του σύμπαντος, το οποίο είναι εκπληκτικά όμορφο αλλά αδιάφορο για τη ζωή. Το άλλο είναι το αίνιγμα του ανθρώπου, του οποίου η λαχτάρα για ευτυχία και νόημα στη ζωή παραμένει άσβεστη από την πλήρη επίγνωση της δικής του θνητότητας και της κυρίαρχης αδιαφορίας του περιβάλλοντός του. Στη ρίζα κάθε μυθιστορήματος, κάθε θεατρικού έργου, κάθε δοκιμίου, ακόμη και κάθε (...) καταχώρησης στα τετράδιά του βρίσκεται η αδιάκοπη ανάγκη του Καμύ να διερευνήσει και να προβληματιστεί για τον ειρωνικό διπλό δεσμό που αντιλαμβανόταν ότι ήταν η ουσία της ανθρώπινης κατάστασης: Ο άνθρωπος είναι προικισμένος με τη φαντασία να συλλάβει μια ιδανική ύπαρξη, αλλά ούτε οι συνθήκες, ούτε οι δικές του δυνάμεις επιτρέπουν την επίτευξή της. Η αντίληψη αυτού του απελπιστικού διπλού δεσμού έκανε αναπόφευκτη στον Καμύ την υποχρέωση να αντιμετωπίσει ένα κυρίαρχο ηθικό ζήτημα για τον άνθρωπο: Δεδομένης της περιορισμένης κατάστασης του ανθρώπου, υπάρχουν έντιμοι όροι με τους οποίους μπορεί να ζήσει τη ζωή του;. (shrink)

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the intricate relationship between enrichment programs, pedagogical preparedness, and the mathematical proficiency of pre-service teachers. Employing a quantitative research design, the study utilized a descriptive-correlational method to establish the relationship between variables. A comprehensive sampling was used and adapted well-structured survey questionnaires were distributed to gather relevant data from the participants. Correspondingly, the data analysis was performed using statistical tools such as mean and standard deviation, Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r), and regression (...) analysis to distill complex data into meaningful insights and answer the research objectives. The findings revealed that the levels of both enrichment programs and pedagogical preparedness among pre-service teachers were very high, indicating that they are always manifested and consistently implemented. Additionally, the level of mathematical proficiency was found to be high, suggesting that the pre-service teachers frequently exhibited strong mathematical skills. There is a confirmation that the levels of enrichment programs and pedagogical preparedness have a significant relationship with mathematical proficiency. Therefore, this connects to the idea that enrichment programs and pedagogical preparedness influence the mathematical proficiency of pre-service teachers. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating comprehensive enrichment programs and adaptive pedagogical strategies into teacher training, enabling pre-service teachers to develop advanced mathematical understanding and effective teaching practices. Continuous professional development tailored for pre-service teachers, complemented by peer mentoring, seminars, and collaborative training within and beyond schools, can further refine teaching skills and enhance mathematical proficiency. By fostering this holistic approach, the study contributes to improving teaching effectiveness and student outcomes, promoting a culture of excellence in mathematics education. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to present a coherent account of the identity and narratological purpose of Tom Bombadil by examining various pieces of textual evidence and identifying the historical model on which he is largely based. What is revealed is a metaphysical reality not explored in current literature that reveals the author’s philosophical and theological grounding as part of his universe creation. It reexamines the character in light of those findings and encourages further research.

The notion of liberal arts, since Aquinas, has dramatically changed in its content, method, and aim. Today the liberal arts are understood synonymously with liberal education or general education, which calls for its restoration and rediscovery. For Aquinas, the seven liberal arts—which by his time were already composed of the trivium (ie, grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and quadrivium (ie, geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy)—are contrasted to the mechanical arts and the speculative sciences. The current conception of the liberal arts as (...) holistic education came from a gradual conceptual shift in the last two centuries. Liberal arts studies have been progressively reduced to teaching “subjects” rather than giving students the tools, the “art,” of learning, of liberal education. The loss of the sense of the liberal arts—especially its Thomistic sense—brings certain repercussions in how the nature of “education” is understood. As such, this article aims to (1) clarify the situation of the liberal arts, (2) retrace the history of the liberal arts, (3) explore its Thomistic conception, and (4) consider the need to recover them as necessary for the proper order of learning befitting man. (shrink)

Rogier van der Weyden'in bu olağanüstü eseri, Yüce İsa'nın acılı veda anını derinlemesine işleyerek bize büyük bir ruhani derinlik sunuyor. Ressamın bu eseri hayata geçirirken duyduğu büyük acı ve ruhsal derinlik, onun sanatının kalbinde yatan insanlık ve inanç temasını güçlendiriyor. O dönemin zenginleri arasında büyük ün kazanmasının ardında yatan şey, bu eserin sanatın sınırlarını aşan etkileyici gücüdür. Ancak şüphesiz ki, bu eser insanlık için yaratılırken, hangi inançtan olursa olsun herkese dokunan bir acıyı da temsil ediyor. -/- Ressamın duygularını ve detayları (...) bu denli etkileyici bir şekilde aktarması, bu eserin günümüzde bile büyük bir hayranlıkla karşılanmasına yol açıyor. Van der Weyden'in tablosu, insanlık tarihinde derin izler bırakan evrensel bir sanat eseri olarak kabul ediliyor. Bu çeviriyi yaparken dönemin koşullarını ve sanatın gücünü daha iyi anladım. Vikipedi gibi kaynaklardan bilgi çevirirken, yabancı dillerdeki bilgilere olan erişimin önemini bir kez daha kavradım ve bu eseri Türkçe konuşanlarla buluşturmanın değerini anladım. -/- Umarım bu eser, okuyuculara van der Weyden'in sanatının derinliğini ve insanlık hikayesinin evrenselliğini anlatırken ilham verir ve onları düşündürür. Sanatın gücü ve insanın duygusal derinlikleri konusundaki bu yolculuk, hepimizi daha iyi bir anlayışa ve içsel bir zenginliğe yönlendirebilir. -/- --- -/- Rogier van der Weyden's extraordinary work offers us profound spiritual depth by delving deeply into the poignant farewell moment of Jesus Christ. The profound sorrow and spiritual depth felt by the painter while creating this work strengthen the theme of humanity and faith at the heart of his art. The impressive power of this work, which transcends the boundaries of art, lies behind the great fame it achieved among the elites of its time. However, unquestionably, this work also represents a universal sorrow that resonates with people of all beliefs. -/- The painter's ability to convey emotions and details in such a compelling manner has led to enduring admiration for this work even in contemporary times. Van der Weyden's painting is recognized as a universal masterpiece that has left deep imprints on the history of humanity. Translating this text has deepened my understanding of the conditions of the time and the power of art. It has also reinforced the importance of accessing information from sources like Wikipedia in foreign languages, and I have come to appreciate the value of bringing this work to Turkish-speaking audiences. -/- I hope this work inspires readers by revealing the depth of van der Weyden's art and the universality of the human story, prompting them to reflect. This journey into the power of art and the emotional depths of humanity can lead us all to greater understanding and inner richness. (shrink)

The influence of AI has spread globally, intriguing both the East and the West. As a result, some Chinese scholars have explored how AI and Chinese philosophy can be examined together, and have offered some unique insights into AI from a Chinese philosophical perspective. Similarly, we investigate how the two fields can be developed in conjunction, focusing on the popular Confucian philosophy. In this work, we use Confucianism as a philosophical foundation to investigate human-technology relations closely, proposing that a Confucian-imbued (...) AI would reduce prevalent AI ethical issues. Through this discussion, the strong substantivist stance that we will lose control over AI is refuted. We then discuss the practical elements of this project, explaining how passages from the Confucian text of the Analects can be incorporated into AI systems. As an example of a real-world context, psychology is used to demonstrate how the project could be practically applied. Potential criticisms surrounding the proposed project are also identified and challenged. By reducing the negative effects of common AI ethical issues and utilising Confucian principles from The Analects, AI systems can be more ethical, promoting peaceful relations between humans and technology. (shrink)