According to a prominent view in Jewish-Halakhic literature, “mitzvot (commandments) require intention.” That is, to fulfill one’s obligation in performing a commandment, one must intend to perform the act because it’s a mitzvah; one must take the fact that one’s act is a mitzvah as her reason for doing the action. I argue that thus understood, this Halakhic view faces a revised version of Thomas Hurka’s recent dilemma for structurally similar views in ethics: either it makes it a necessary condition (...) for the act’s being a mitzvah that one has a false belief about the act’s Halakhic status, or it commits proponents of the “mitzvot require intention” view to a sort of rational failure in performing the mitzvot. The dilemma arises, however, only if we interpret this Halakhic view as requiring one to have a belief about her act’s Halakhic status in order for it to have this status. I suggest that the dilemma can be avoided by interpreting the intention requirement as requiring a make-belief, instead of a belief. Under this understanding, Halakha (or God) doesn’t care about why one performs an act of a mitzvah, but rather about how she does it; how she sees and experiences her action. This suggests another form of worship central to Judaism—worship via make-believing. (shrink)

Localist models of spreading activation (SA) and models assuming distributed representations offer very different takes on semantic priming, a widely investigated paradigm in word recognition and semantic memory research. In this study, we implemented SA in an attractor neural network model with distributed representations and created a unified framework for the two approaches. Our models assume a synaptic depression mechanism leading to autonomous transitions between encoded memory patterns (latching dynamics), which account for the major characteristics of automatic semantic priming in (...) humans. Using computer simulations, we demonstrated how findings that challenged attractor‐based networks in the past, such as mediated and asymmetric priming, are a natural consequence of our present model’s dynamics. Puzzling results regarding backward priming were also given a straightforward explanation. In addition, the current model addresses some of the differences between semantic and associative relatedness and explains how these differences interact with stimulus onset asynchrony in priming experiments. (shrink)

This book compares various approaches to the interpretation of quantum mechanics, in particular those which are related to the key words "the Copenhagen interpretation", "the antirealist view", "quantum logic" and "hidden variable theory". Using the concept of "correlation" carefully analyzed in the context of classical probability and in quantum theory, the author provides a framework to compare these approaches. He also develops an extension of probability theory to construct a local hidden variable theory. The book should be of interest for (...) physicists and philosophers of science interested in the foundations of quantum theory. (shrink)

_Resumo_: este artigo analisa a interpretação de Foucault sobre Kant com o foco na complexidade das relações entre o trabalho filosófico, em geral, e o mundo concreto. O escopo do artigo é delimitado por esta análise de Foucault, especialmente, sobre dois textos de Kant: _O que é o iluminismo? _e _Antropologia de um ponto de vista pragmático_. Investiga-se a possibilidade de um acesso a um espaço anterior a qualquer orientação ética específica, deslocando-se, assim, do conjunto de elaborações éticas da tradição (...) filosófica. Primeiramente, destacam-se os diferentes posicionamentos possíveis assumidos pelos filósofos, em geral, em seu trabalho perante o mundo concreto. A seguir mostra-se a existência de uma ambigüidade latente no trabalho filosófico, a qual permite concluir que há sim um espaço prévio, dentro do qual o filósofo pode ou não compreender a sua situação histórica e o seu lugar no mundo. Todos estes elementos são expostos mediante o acompanhamento da análise realizada por Foucault. (shrink)

O presente estudo teve como objeto a Sociedade de São Vicente de Paulo - SSVP, e visou analisar a crise institucional da associação, relacionando-a com a crise religiosa contemporânea, tendo em vista a dificuldade na admissão de novos quadros para a entidade, como também a complexidade da manutenção de seus membros. A motivação do trabalho foi compreender como a crise socioreligiosa contemporânea contribui para esse processo, valendo-se também da observação empírica nas reuniões, festas e eventos realizados pela instituição. Buscou-se ainda (...) identificar alguns fatores externos e internos à instituição, e suas implicações, que estão contribuindo para esse desequilíbrio. Para isso, foi utilizado como método principal de coleta de dados a pesquisa bibliográfica, em fontes e documentos da SSVP, como a Regra e o Regulamento; boletins, revistas e atas da entidade, como também obras de autores que estudam a SSVP. Houve também, metodologicamente, a observação através da presença numa Conferência Vicentina, pertencente ao Conselho Central Sagrados Corações. Bibliograficamente, ainda foram analisadas algumas obras de pesquisadores que refletem sobre a realidade religiosa contemporânea, abordando temas como secularização, modernidade, pluralismo religioso, crise de sentido, transmissão religiosa, crise religiosa contemporânea, mobilidade social e religiosa e juventude, a fim de entender de que maneira tais temas podem ajudar na análise do catolicismo e, consequentemente, da crise institucional da SSVP. A dissertação procurou refletir sobre perspectivas e as novas demandas sociais que podem desafiar a entidade a dialogar com a sociedade contemporânea, especialmente com os jovens, oferecendo um horizonte de renovação e de futuro para o carisma da entidade. Para uma entidade centenária, se tornou difícil para os próprios vicentinos incluir seus familiares, sobretudo os próprios filhos, para o trabalho dentro da associação. A análise realizada confirmou a hipótese que realmente a entidade atravessa uma crise sem precedentes e que serão necessárias inovações, aberturas, estratégias e novas pedagogias, se houver interesse em mudar, enfrentar os desafios atuais e renovar a SSVP e seu carisma. Para isso, ela precisará contar com a força e o dinamismo da juventude e de seus membros e dirigentes. A pesquisa realizada no Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Religião da PUC Minas foi desenvolvida na Área de Concentração “Religião e Cultura” e na Linha de Pesquisa “Religião, Política e Educação”. (shrink)

We’re in the midst of a wave of efforts to historicize and localize theory. One stream, oriented toward a global social imaginary, has sought to “ provincialize Europe,” in Dipesh Chakrabarty’s resonant trope. This means provincializing Euro-American social theory and situating it within a particular geopolitical formation—a contextualizing project that opens space to center what the Comaroffs call “theory from the South” and other regional or indigenous loci of orientation. Another stream situates itself more comfortably within Western traditions of theory (...) but casts them in new historical lights—for instance a revisionist account of critical theory as the product of Hegel’s refiguration of medieval... (shrink)

Semantic priming has long been recognized to reflect, along with automatic semantic mechanisms, the contribution of controlled strategies. However, previous theories of controlled priming were mostly qualitative, lacking common grounds with modern mathematical models of automatic priming based on neural networks. Recently, we introduced a novel attractor network model of automatic semantic priming with latching dynamics. Here, we extend this work to show how the same model can also account for important findings regarding controlled processes. Assuming the rate of semantic (...) transitions in the network can be adapted using simple reinforcement learning, we show how basic findings attributed to controlled processes in priming can be achieved, including their dependency on stimulus onset asynchrony and relatedness proportion and their unique effect on associative, category-exemplar, mediated and backward prime-target relations. We discuss how our mechanism relates to the classic expectancy theory and how it can be further extended in future developments of the model. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This article makes a case for the contemporary relevance of Charles Sanders Peirce’s conception of rhetoric and its further fulfillment through biosemiotics and pragmatist-inflected physiological feminisms. It situates itself in an era when rhetoric is undergoing conceptual change, with the social constructivism that guided much thinking since the 1970s supplanted in part by a family of postconstructivisms. In conversation with new materialist, affective, and biological strands of rhetorical theory, the article maps questions and risks involved in developing newer conceptions (...) of rhetoric not limited to discourse, symbolic action, and exclusively human capacities. It argues that Peircean thinking provides resources for nonreductive understandings of how rhetoric emerges from life itself and is pluralistically mediated through the forming conditions and multimodal consequences that materially give it meaning. Contemporary biosemiotics and physiologically oriented feminisms like Teresa de Lauretis’s then move the promise of Peircean rhetoric closer to reality. (shrink)

This article deals with the topics of nihilism and technology within the horizon of Western societies. More precisely, we research what is the most determining element in the relationship between nihilism and technology. To develop this research, we seek a concept of nihilism that is integrated into the scenario that emerged after the modern era, therefore integrating not only the 20th century, but also the 21st century. This concept is achieved through consideration of the effects of historicism according to Leo (...) Strauss' analysis in his work Natural Right and History. Next, the issues relating to the control of technology are analyzed and answered through Feenberg's position, which shows different conceptions of what would be considered the philosophy of technology. Finally, the conclusion is that, in the relationship between nihilism and technology, nihilism remains the most determining, because the dimensions specific to historicism still remain integrated and active in the institutions of democratic societies in the 21st century, despite the proposal to invent new institutions made by Feenberg. (shrink)

The paper proposes a solution to the problem with Odysseus’ kingship in the Odyssey by maintaining that Odysseus is not officially considered dead. Consequently, Telemachus cannot inherit the position of king and Penelope must leave Odysseus’ household before remarrying. After discussing the modern concept of legal death and previous interpretations of the Ithacan situation, the paper focusses on Athena's speech at 1.275–92. A close reading demonstrates that erecting a cenotaph to Odysseus would be tantamount to a modern declaration of death (...) in absentia, since it will render Penelope a widow and Telemachus the head of the household. This legal convention chimes with the Homeric depiction of Hades. (shrink)

This paper offers a new semantic theory of existentials (sentences of the form There be NP pivot XP coda ) in which pivots are (second order) predicates and codas are modifiers. The theory retains the analysis of pivots as denoting generalized quantifiers (Barwise and Cooper 1981; Keenan 1987), but departs from previous analyses in analyzing codas as contextual modifiers on a par with temporal/locative frame adverbials. Existing analyses universally assume that pivots are arguments of some predicate, and that codas are (...) main or secondary predicates. It is shown that these analyses cannot account for the behavior of codas with quantifiers and for the interaction of multiple codas, both of which receive a simple treatment on the proposed theory. The assimilation of codas to frame adverbials explains several semantic properties which have not been analyzed in the semantic literature, and that distinguish existentials from their copular counterparts. Furthermore, it highlights important properties of the semantics of modification and its relation to predication. (shrink)

Israel’s discursive strategy for legitimizing the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 involved describing it as part of a regional “population exchange.” This argument contributed to three critical characteristics of Israeli citizenship. First, it solidified an understanding of citizenship as a negation of persecution and a haven for would-be Jewish refugees. Second, it tied Mizrahi claims against states across the Middle East to Palestinian claims against Israel. Israel thus exploited Mizrahi refugee rights for its geostrategic interests—a fight against the claims of (...) Palestinian refugees. This had detrimental material consequences for both groups. Third, this strategy contributed to the construction of Palestinians as an “exchangeable remainder” and a demographic threat that could potentially pose a risk to the Jewish majority. Ultimately, Israel irrevocably entangled the displacement histories of three groups: Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and Arab Palestinians. This Gordian knot remains with us today, and is reflected in a stratified Israeli society. But the vision that this symposium suggests we consider, that of “historical justice,” demands that it be undone. This Article therefore offers a way in which the refugee histories could perhaps one day be disentangled: a program of reparations for the Mizrahi and Palestinian citizens of Israel. (shrink)

We develop a systematic approach to quantum probability as a theory of rational betting in quantum gambles. In these games of chance the agent is betting in advance on the outcomes of several incompatible measurements. One of the measurements is subsequently chosen and performed and the money placed on the other measurements is returned to the agent. We show how the rules of rational betting imply all the interesting features of quantum probability, even in such finite gambles. These include the (...) uncertainty principle and the violation of Bell's inequality among others. Quantum gambles are closely related to quantum logic and provide a new semantics to it. We conclude with a philosophical discussion on the interpretation of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

Some philosophers think that knowledge or justification is both necessary and sufficient for rational action: they endorse knowledge-action or justification-action biconditionals. This paper offers a novel, metaphysical challenge to these biconditionals, which proceeds with a familiar question: What depends on what? If you know that p iff it is rational for you to act on p, do you know that p partly because it is rational for you to act on p, or is it rational for you to act on (...) p partly because you know that p? And a structurally similar question can be asked regarding justification-action biconditionals. I argue that proponents of these biconditionals cannot give a satisfactory answer to these questions. This is because each direction of these biconditionals strongly supports an opposite order of explanation to the one that is supported by the other direction. Given the traditional assumption that metaphysical explanations—even partial ones—are asymmetric, I argue that these biconditionals should be rejected. While knowledge might be necessary for rational action, and it might be sufficient, it cannot be both. And the same goes for justification. (shrink)

This book explores a key issue in linguistic theory, the systematic variation in form between semantic equivalents across languages. Two contrasting views of the role of lexical meaning in the analysis of such variation can be found in the literature: (i) uniformity, whereby lexical meaning is universal, and variation arises from idiosyncratic differences in the inventory and phonological shape of language-particular functional material, and (ii) transparency, whereby systematic variation in form arises from systematic variation in the meaning of basic lexical (...) items. (shrink)

This article is about the conception of “us” or that identifies the set of humans and highlights them ahead others living beings. Thus, a discourse about “us” always needs a base of support and points in a direction. This point implies, even if minimally, a direction of the human being projected in a future. To discuss about this human direction and would verify as its characteristics, in the first section we expose some opinions of philosophy through contributions of Heidegger and (...) Kant. In the second section, the conception of “us” will be analyzed through the most recent phenomena of technical world. The final conclusion points out that the human direction provided by the technology, adapts well to certain characteristics. A possible solution to deal with technological human direction is the involvement of philosophy with certain aspects of the technical world, already available, and to make the promotion of a space for reflection. (shrink)

This paper discusses the semantics of bare existentials , i.e. existentials in which nothing follows the post copular NP (e.g. There are four sections ). While it has sometimes been recognized that the interpretation of such sentences depends in some way on context, the exact nature of the context dependence involved has not been properly understood. It is shown that the meaning of bare existentials involves a set-denoting implicit argument, and that the range of interpretations found with bare existentials is (...) predictable from the general properties of implicit arguments. An explicit analysis within a dynamic setting is presented. (shrink)

Resenha do livro de Ceticismo e Naturalismo: algumas variedades, de P. F. Strawson. Traduçáo de Jaimir Conte. Sáo Leopoldo: Editora Unisinos, 2008, 114 páginas.

This work presents and defines three meanings of communication taking into account some of the traditions of thought that founded our field of study. These three conceptions are: communication as an architectonic art; communication as a social force; and communication as the encounter with truth. These three conceptions are considered with regard to several traditions of thought conceptualized in Craig’s (1999) constitutive metamodel of communication theory (rhetorical, sociopsychological, critical and phenomenological). Furthermore, the discussion expands the traditions of thought, adding American (...) pragmatism (Craig’s proposal would be included in it), and a new tradition that highlights the element of undecidability in communication, partly as an extension of phenomenology and partly with its own historical roots in Badiou’s philosophy of the event. (shrink)

Moral realism is often taken to have common sense and initial appearances on its side. Indeed, by some lights, common sense and initial appearances underlie all the central positive arguments for moral realism. We offer a kind of debunking argument, taking aim at realism’s common sense standing. Our argument differs from familiar debunking moves both in its empirical assumptions and in how it targets the realist position. We argue that if natural selection explains the objective phenomenology of moral deliberation and (...) judgement, then this undermines arguments from that phenomenology. This results in a simpler, and in some ways more direct, challenge to realism. It is also less vulnerable to the main objections that have been leveled against such arguments. If accepted, our conclusion should make a real difference to the dialectic in this area. It means that neither realism nor its denial is the default, to-be-refuted, position. (shrink)

We argue that certain types of many minds (and many worlds) interpretations of quantum mechanics, e.g. Lockwood ([1996a]), Deutsch ([1985]) do not provide a coherent interpretation of the quantum mechanical probabilistic algorithm. By contrast, in Albert and Loewer's ([1988]) version of the many minds interpretation, there is a coherent interpretation of the quantum mechanical probabilities. We consider Albert and Loewer's probability interpretation in the context of Bell-type and GHZ-type states and argue that it implies a certain (weak) form of nonlocality. (...) 1 Introduction 2 Albert and Loewer's interpretation 3 Probabilities in Lockwood's interpretation 4 Sets of minds and their correlations 5 Many minds and GHZ. (shrink)

Esta investigação trata da diferença entre as áreas da filosofia, mas essa diferenciação necessita de uma forma plausível e não dogmática em seu proceder. Para encontrar uma forma de diferenciar cada área interna da filosofia, utilizou-se uma comparação inicial com as ciências e se buscou oprocesso argumentativo como um fator principal de diferenciação. Isso se expressa mais diretamente no problema de pesquisa, que visa a investigar se as diferentes áreas filosóficas também possuem diferentes processos deargumentação. A relevância desta investigação se (...) encontra na identificação de determinadas tensões entre as áreas filosóficas. O resultado mostra que os diferentes conteúdos tratados pelas distintas áreas filosóficas exercem um efeito importante sobre os processos argumentativos. Para fins de delimitação, optou-se por duas áreas da filosofia: a lógica e a ética. (shrink)

Boltzmann’s approach to statistical mechanics is widely believed to be conceptually superior to Gibbs’ formulation. However, the microcanonical distribution often fails to behave as expected: The ergodicity of the motion relative to it can rarely be established for realistic systems; worse, it can often be proved to fail. Also, the approach involves idealizations that have little physical basis. Here we take Khinchin’s advice and propose a de…nition of equilibrium that is more realistic: The de…nition re‡ects the fact that the system (...) is made of a great number of particles, and implies that all measurable macroscopic observables have steady values. (shrink)

We develop and defend the thesis that the Hilbert space formalism of quantum mechanics is a new theory of probability. The theory, like its classical counterpart, consists of an algebra of events, and the probability measures defined on it. The construction proceeds in the following steps: (a) Axioms for the algebra of events are introduced following Birkhoff and von Neumann. All axioms, except the one that expresses the uncertainty principle, are shared with the classical event space. The only models for (...) the set of axioms are lattices of subspaces of inner product spaces over a field K. (b) Another axiom due to Soler forces K to be the field of real, or complex numbers, or the quaternions. We suggest a probabilistic reading of Soler's axiom. (c) Gleason's theorem fully characterizes the probability measures on the algebra of events, so that Born's rule is derived. (d) Gleason's theorem is equivalent to the existence of a certain finite set of rays, with a particular orthogonality graph (Wondergraph). Consequently, all aspects of quantum probability can be derived from rational probability assignments to finite "quantum gambles". (e) All experimental aspects of entanglement- the violation of Bell's inequality in particular- are explained as natural outcomes of the probabilistic structure. (f) We hypothesize that even in the absence of decoherence macroscopic entanglement can very rarely be observed, and provide a precise conjecture to that effect .We also discuss the relation of the present approach to quantum logic, realism and truth, and the measurement problem. (shrink)

In the mid-nineteenth century George Boole formulated his ‘conditions of possible experience’. These are equations and ineqaulities that the relative frequencies of events must satisfy. Some of Boole's conditions have been rediscovered in more recent years by physicists, including Bell inequalities, Clauser Horne inequalities, and many others. In this paper, the nature of Boole's conditions and their relation to propositional logic is explained, and the puzzle associated with their violation by quantum frequencies is investigated in relation to a variety of (...) approaches to the interpretation of quantum mechanics. * While preparing this paper for publication I have learnt of the untimely death of Professor J. S. Bell, and I wish to dedicate the paper to his memory. This research was undertaken while I spent a sabbatical leave at Wolfson College, and the History and Philosophy of Science Department at the University of Cambridge. I would like to thank Michael Redhead and Jeremy Butterfield for their hospitality and for helpful discussions. A first draft of this paper has been distributed among the participants of the conference 'Einstein in Context' which was held in Israel, in April 1990.1 have benefited from the comments of many colleagues. I would like to thank in particular Arthur Fine who enlightened me on the prism models, David Albert. Maya Bar-Hillel. Yemima Ben-Menachem, Mara Beller. Simon Saunders, and Mark Steiner. This research is partially supported by the Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science at the Hebrew University. (shrink)

este artigo aborda algumas passagens do prólogo de A condição humana de Hannah Arendt e destaca algumas projeções sobre o futuro. O propósito da investigação é acompanhar a pergunta da autora sobre o que “estamos fazendo”? Este acompanhamento assinala que as realizações científicas daquela época, em meados do século XX, circunscreveram o contexto de fundo da autora. Mas, passados mais de meio século, esta pergunta feita por Arendt motivada pelas realizações científicas, deve ser recolocada em um contexto mais atualizado. O (...) artigo se dedica a esta atualização, para tanto aprofunda as principais preocupações de Arendt com o futuro. A resposta encontrada após o desenvolvimento do texto em duas partes, ainda com o foco na pergunta sobre “o que estamos fazendo?”, reflete as dinâmicas tecnológicas e sociais dos anos mais recentes. De forma mais precisa, a resposta assinala uma preocupante ligação entre a geração de um artificialismo e a “objetividade do mundo”. (shrink)

Este artigo trata sobre a filosofia de Agamben com o enfoque no tema dos processos de subjetivação. A investigação busca responder a seguinte interrogação: o que significam tais processos para Agamben? Compreende-se que Agamben possui uma definição diferente daquela usada por Focault. Assim, a exposição recupera elementos relacionados aos processos de subjetivação. Entre estes elementos estão os dispositivos e o sujeito. Através da análise dos dispositivos, mostra-se que Agamben amplia o conceito, primeiramente elaborado por Focault, inserindo-o na análise do mundo (...) capitalista atual. Através desse aprofundamento a respeito do dispositivo, chega-se a uma definição dos processos de subjetivação. Na segunda parte, os resultados dos processos de subjetivação, isto é, o sujeito capturado frente o seu destino político. Isto permite consolidar a explicação dos processos de subjetivação que foi alcançada. O resultado final mostra que os processos de subjetivação devem ser não ignorados, mas superados para que o sujeito possua uma vida em potência. (shrink)

Statistical learning is often taken to lie at the heart of many cognitive tasks, including the acquisition of language. One particular task in which probabilistic models have achieved considerable success is the segmentation of speech into words. However, these models have mostly been tested against English data, and as a result little is known about how a statistical learning mechanism copes with input regularities that arise from the structural properties of different languages. This study focuses on statistical word segmentation in (...) Arabic, a Semitic language in which words are built around consonantal roots. We hypothesize that segmentation in such languages is facilitated by tracking consonant distributions independently from intervening vowels. Previous studies have shown that human learners can track consonant probabilities across intervening vowels in artificial languages, but it is unknown to what extent this ability would be beneficial in the segmentation of natural language. We assessed the performance of a Bayesian segmentation model on English and Arabic, comparing consonant-only representations with full representations. In addition, we examined to what extent structurally different proto-lexicons reflect adult language. The results suggest that for a child learning a Semitic language, separating consonants from vowels is beneficial for segmentation. These findings indicate that probabilistic models require appropriate linguistic representations in order to effectively meet the challenges of language acquisition. (shrink)

We develop a systematic approach to quantum probability as a theory of rational betting in quantum gambles. In these games of chance, the agent is betting in advance on the outcomes of several (finitely many) incompatible measurements. One of the measurements is subsequently chosen and performed and the money placed on the other measurements is returned to the agent. We show how the rules of rational betting imply all the interesting features of quantum probability, even in such finite gambles. These (...) include the uncertainty principle and the violation of Bell's inequality among others. Quantum gambles are closely related to quantum logic and provide a new semantics for it. We conclude with a philosophical discussion on the interpretation of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

We describe a possible physical device that computes a function that cannot be computed by a Turing machine. The device is physical in the sense that it is compatible with General Relativity. We discuss some objections, focusing on those which deny that the device is either a computer or computes a function that is not Turing computable. Finally, we argue that the existence of the device does not refute the Church–Turing thesis, but nevertheless may be a counterexample to Gandy's thesis.

A deterministic model that accounts for the statistical behavior of random samples of identical particles is presented. The model is based on some nonmeasurable distribution of spin values in all directions. The mathematical existence of such distributions is proved by set-theoretical techniques, and the relation between these distributions and observed frequencies is explored within an appropriate extension of probability theory. The relation between quantum mechanics and the model is specified. The model is shown to be consistent with known polarization phenomena (...) and the existence of macroscopic magnetism. Finally.. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Rhetoric 36.4 (2003) 353-375 [Access article in PDF] A Rhetoric for Polytheistic Democracy: Walt Whitman's "Poem of Many in One" Peter Simonson Department of Communication University of Pittsburgh This essay aims to generate rhetorically oriented normative communication theory useful for the current socio-intellectual moment. It draws upon Walt Whitman's 1850s poetry as an artistically compelling statement of what I call polytheistic democracy, a form of life (...) marked by three overlapping ideals: pluralistic tolerance for multiple gods and moral orientations; commitment to recognizing, preserving, and artfully representing socio-cultural variety; and receptivity to contact with a diverse range of particular others. Whitman offers theory in the sense of a structured way of seeing. It is normative in that it describes a world that might be, not one that is, and provides orienting visions, regulative ideals, and topoi of praise and criticism that stand available to guide the communicative practices of individuals, groups, and institutions alike.The theory is "rhetorically oriented" in that it draws upon techniques and vocabularies developed within the rhetorical tradition. Methodologically, it is generated through rhetorical criticism and imitatio. I offer a reading that brings out the rhetorical dynamics of Whitman's vision of polytheistic democracy as articulated in his 1856 "Poem of Many in One" (later and canonically titled "By Blue Ontario's Shore"), a central social statement in his much-revised masterwork, Leaves of Grass. In so doing, I hold Whitman up as a model for imitatio, the complex interpretive practice whereby, in Michael Leff's words, historical texts come to serve "as equipment for future rhetorical production" (1997, 201). Imitatio is an intellectually generative process. "As the embodied utterances of the past are interpreted for current application, their ideas and modes of articulation are reembodied, and old voices are recovered for use in new circumstances" (203).I couple imitatio with a neo-pragmatist rhetorical criticism oriented toward practice and reflection in the current cultural moment. Whitman gains significance insofar as he helps us experience, think about, and act [End Page 353] within the worlds we now traverse. 1 Among other qualities, those worlds are marked by heterogeneous groups and people who must continuously find ways to live with one another; by large institutions that stand as steady reminders that individuals may not matter very much; by ubiquitous electronic and print media offering copious streams of symbolic culture; and by countervailing geographical forces of circulation and social segmentation of fleshly bodies in the material spaces of public life. In worlds with such qualities, Whitman is a useful locus of imitatio—someone whose cosmopolitan social imagination, deep pluralism, wide-ranging habits of contact, and attention to corporeal individuals all serve as useful equipment for new rhetorical and moral production."Poem of Many in One" has a self-exemplifying 2 aspect to it, for it models what it aims to cultivate in the world. Whitman's print-based rhetoric provides an overarching vision of polytheistic democracy and mass community, scattered across time and space and actualized partly through individuals. His discourse models this social condition by displaying radical openness to high and low, sacred and profane, the admired and the socially despised. It is rhetorically driven by a copious style and an aesthetically oriented democratic ethos that Whitman's mediated eloquence aims also to generate in its readers. Its success thus hinges on readerly receptivity and cultivated ethos that re-embodies aspects of his sensibility and rhetorical techniques, giving them new momentum in scattered realms of social being.I amplify key components of Whitman's normative vision not to trump competing moral principles and orientations but to supplement them. In this sense, my essay is pluralist all the way down. It is socially pluralist in that I believe in encouraging the development and preservation of multiple sets of normative orientations, with no single principle or moral perspective ordering all others. It is individually pluralist in that I understand moral principles as interpretive and rhetorical resources deployed and judged on the basis of their contingent appropriateness and usefulness. 3 "One does not... (shrink)