This is a stellar collection. The pieces are diversified, not a commemorative gesture but a critical engagement.

"In recent years, we have grown accustomed to philosophical language that is intensely self-conscious and rhetorically thick, often tragic in tone. It is enlivening to read Bergson, who exerts so little rhetorical pressure while exacting such a substantial effort of thought.... Bergson's texts teach the reader to let go of entrenched intellectual habits and to begin to think differently—to think in time.... Too much and too little have been said about Bergson. Too much, because of the various appropriations of his (...) thought. Too little, because the work itself has not been carefully studied in recent decades."—from Thinking in Time Henri Bergson, whose philosophical works emphasized motion, time, and change, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1927. His work remains influential, particularly in the realms of philosophy, cultural studies, and new media studies. In Thinking in Time, Suzanne Guerlac provides readers with the conceptual and contextual tools necessary for informed appreciation of Bergson's work. Guerlac's straightforward philosophical expositions of two Bergson texts, Time and Free Will and Matter and Memory, focus on the notions of duration and memory—concepts that are central to the philosopher's work. Thinking in Time makes plain that it is well worth learning how to read Bergson effectively: his era and our own share important concerns. Bergson's insistence on the opposition between the automatic and the voluntary and his engagement with the notions of "the living," affect, and embodiment are especially germane to discussions of electronic culture. (shrink)

Analytic study of the Advaita philosophy of Śaṅkarācārya and its schools.

A partir de algunos motivos presentes en Poesie in forma di rosa, La Divina Mimesis y, sobre todo, Petrolio, atenderemos algunos motivos de la propuesta estética de Pasolini en relación con la crítica de lo político. Lo que inicialmente parece una crítica o semiología de la sociedad y lo político se revela, con el tiempo, como un problema artístico en el cual el arte es en sí político y lo político es en sí artístico. Este asunto no es más que (...) el de la forma tal y como aparece en las mencionadas obras del poeta. (shrink)

A relatively high incidence of unsatisfactory review decisions is widely recognised and acknowledged as ‘the peer review problem’. Factors contributing to this problem are identified and examined. Specific examples of unreasonable rejection are considered. It is concluded that weaknesses of the ‘peer review’ system are significant and that they are well known or readily recognisable but that necessary counter-measures are not always enforced. Careful management is necessary to discount hollow opinion or error in review comment. Review and referee functions should (...) be quite separate. (shrink)

Biography of Ibn Rushd... Averroes, old heathen, If only you had been right, if Intellect Itself were absolute law, sufficient grace. Our lives could be a myth of captivity. Which we might enter: an unpeopled region.

ZusammenfassungDie von einem multiprofessionellen Behandlungsteam durchgeführte Symptombehandlung bei inkurablen Patienten am Lebensende erweist sich als hoch effektiv und verschafft den meisten Patienten eine ausreichende Linderung. Dennoch verbleibt ein Patientenanteil, bei dem auch unter Berücksichtigung physischer, psychischer, sozialer und spiritueller Bedürfnisse kein erträglicher Zustand erreicht werden kann. In diesen Extremfällen können Sedierungsmaßnahmen zur Linderung eingesetzt werden. Der Begriff und das Angebot der terminalen Sedierung sind in vielerlei Hinsicht umstritten. Eine Kasuistik soll die Problemstellung veranschaulichen und zeigen, wie die terminale Sedierung von (...) erfahrenen Behandlern als ergänzendes Instrument der Symptombehandlung eingesetzt werden kann, auch wenn sie keine perfekte Antwort auf unerträgliches Leiden in der Sterbesituation darstellt. Im Literaturvergleich werden aktuelle medizinische, rechtliche und psychosoziale Fragen diskutiert. (shrink)

This study examined scientific tolerance as a human way to life in the context of Sunnah, a much debatable topic among critics and scholars. The study also highlighted prophetic visions in the application of scientific tolerance. Using a normative descriptive approach in this qualitative research, the data was collected from library archives and Islamic data sources. This approach enabled to raise questions about the nature of scientific tolerance in the light of Sunnah, prophetic mechanisms used to establish the scientific tolerance, (...) and its advantages. The findings revealed that scientific tolerance was integrated to the prophetic visions and the Sunnah, aiming at peace, tranquility, and stability for the entire mankind. The study found out how the Sunnah of the Prophet laid the foundation of scientific tolerance, and how it was carried forward by the Companions and mujtahids through their discussions, dialogues, and debates. It was also observed that the scientific tolerance reached its peak in the era of Arab and Islamic civilization, through the translation movement that began in the Umayyad era and reached its culmination, and gained heights through scientific discoveries, innovations, and civilizational achievements. In the Abbasid era, the subsequent transfer and translation of these languages into Latin and other European languages, further enhanced the depth of scientific tolerance in the contemporary renaissance and modern civilization. (shrink)

Sterelny’s Thought in a Hostile World ([ 2003 ]) presents a complex, systematically structured theory of the evolution of cognition centered on a concept of decoupled representation. Taking Godfrey-Smith’s ([ 1996 ]) analysis of the evolution of behavioral flexibility as a framework, the theory describes increasingly complex grades of representation beginning with simple detection and culminating with decoupled representation, said to be belief-like, and it characterizes selection forces that drive evolutionary transformations in these forms of representation. Sterelny’s ultimate explanatory target (...) is the evolution of human agency. This paper develops a detailed analysis of the main cognitive aspects. It is argued that some of the major claims are not correct: decoupled representation as defined doesn’t capture belief-like representation, and, properly understood, decoupled representation turns out to be ubiquitous among multicellular animals. However, some of the key ideas are right, or along the right lines, and suggestions are made for modifying and expanding the conceptual framework. (shrink)

Soul and it's functional mechanism in jainism Elucidation by school kind kund.

The present article aims to explain Kamala??la’s understanding of the nature of insight, specifically considering it as the ‘discernment of reality’ -- a technical term identified with insight in the author’s well known Bh?van?krama? texts. I approach my analysis of bh?ta-pratyavek?? from three different angles. I begin by providing a rationale for its translation. This is followed by an account of Kamala??la’s reading of key passages in the La?k?vat?ra S?tra describing the process to which the term refers. Here the aim (...) is to illustrate Kamala??la’s understanding of bh?ta-pratyavek?? as it is actually experienced in meditation. The final section examines bh?ta-pratyavek?? in relation to other important technical terminology employed in the course of making arguments against his historical rival in debate, the Ch’an monk Mo ho yen. By providing these three different perspectives on the same process it is my hope that both scholars and practitioners will be able to more fully comprehend and benefit from the instructions provided by the ancient master Kamala??la. (shrink)

Résumé Le cadran solaire analemmatique est présenté pour la première fois par un mathématicien français, appelé Vaulezard, dans un petit fascicule publié en 1640. Suit un deuxième ouvrage, plus complet, en 1644. Dernier venu, ce cadran attire l'attention d'importants savants tels que Foster et Lalande. Parfait dès le départ, il a néanmoins la singulière particularité d'inspirer diverses tentatives d'amélioration, plutôt infructueuses, et d'être à l'origine de quelques variétés de cadrans analemmatiques qui, elles, connaissent un franc succès. Nous apportons la preuve (...) trigonométrique et, pour la première fois semble‐t‐il, la preuve géométrique de sa validité astronomique en suivant fidèlement la méthode de construction indiquée par Vaulezard. Nous effectuons, en outre, un survol aussi exhaustif que possible des différents modèles dérivés de ce cadran ainsi que de la littérature les concernant. Summary The analemmatic sundial was briefly presented for the first time in 1640 by the French mathematician Vaulezard and was described in more detail by him in 1644. The analemmatic dial is the last genuine sundial to be invented and it has attracted the attention of some important scholars such as Foster and Lalande. Although perfect from the very beginning, it had the unusual particularity of inspiring several unfortunate attempts at its improvement as well as being at the origin of a few other types of analemmatic dials, which met with a certain success. We provide here the trigonometric proof and for the first time, the geometric proof of its astronomical validity by closely following the construction method of Vaulezard. We also make a comprehensive survey of the different kinds of analemmatic sundials and of their literature. (shrink)

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) und Raoul Heinrich Francé (1874-1943) hatten einen ungewöhnlichen (nicht-akademischen) Zugang zu Wissenschaft. Francé bezog sich in seiner biozentrischen Philosophie (lebensbezogene Natur- und Weltanschauung) immer wieder auf Comte und andere Positivisten. In Entwicklungsprozessen sahen beide Harmonie und Ordnung gegenstrebiger Vorgänge. Konkrete Wahrnehmung und Experimente sind an Beobachtungen geknüpft, durchaus frei von metaphysischen Überhöhungen (Positivismus). Obwohl sie den zeitgenössischen Fortschrittsoptimismus nicht teilen, sind sie doch unermüdliche Befürworter des Lebens in Mannigfaltigkeit und Singularität.

Transformation in the discipline of Social Sciences is a global phenomenon but in the post-colonial societies it means two things. First, far reaching societal changes resulting into the emergence of new fields in Social Sciences fulfilling new conditions and requirements of society. Second, the growing need and relevance of Social Sciences research so as to address issues which cause serious societal changes. Marginalization of Social Sciences and social scientists in case of Pakistan is not a new phenomenon. There cannot be (...) any time line which can be given for modernizing Social Sciences in Pakistan which can meet the criteria and standards of 21st century. Yet, those who teach and do research in different subjects of Social Sciences must come forward and play a leadership role in this regard. This would require a paradigm shift in the arena of admitting students and appointing faculty so that the best stuff both at the student and faculty level is motivated to join the subjects of Social Sciences in order to ensure quality control and standard which seem to have deteriorated in the last four decades is restored. By attracting the best talent in the subjects of Social Sciences one can expect positive transformation in the state and societal patterns of Pakistan. (shrink)

Ob eine sportliche Leistung anerkannt wird, hängt maßgeblich davon ab, ob sie im Einklang mit Werten steht, die wir für wesentlich für den Sport halten. Die philosophischen Standardargumente gegen Doping im Sport behaupten eine Unvereinbarkeit von Doping mit Werten wie Fairness, Gesundheit oder Natürlichkeit. Ich möchte im Gegensatz zu diesen Argumenten eine grundsätzliche Unvereinbarkeit von Doping mit dem Wert eines nachhaltigen Umgangs einer Person mit sich selbst behaupten. Wer dopt, so meine These, folgt einem verabsolutierten Leistungsdenken, was aus ethischer Perspektive (...) kritisiert werden kann, wenn man den Wert der Nachhaltigkeit als ethischen Wert annimmt. (shrink)

Die öffentliche Wahrnehmung der Forschung mit extrakorporalen Embryonen bildet den Kern des vorliegenden Beitrags. Hierzu wurden über 400 Personen schriftlich befragt. Die Art der Embryonengewinnung (künstliche Erzeugung vs. überzählige Embryonen) wird als bedeutsam für die Bewertung der Forschung angesehen. Mehrheitlich besteht der Wunsch nach rechtlich klaren Grenzen. Die größte Ambivalenz zeigt sich hinsichtlich der Frage nach einer gesetzlichen Erlaubnis der Embryonenforschung. Umgekehrt hat die Bevölkerung eine eindeutigere Meinung zum Verbot von Embryonenforschung und zur Einführung strikter rechtlicher Regelungen. Die Wahl der (...) Mittelkategorie bei der Untersuchung der Einstellung ist durch das Ausmaß der Ambivalenz mitbestimmt. Es konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass Laien das Dilemma der Embryonenforschung ähnlich bewerten wie Experten. Der Wunsch nach einer Freigabe der Forschung mit Embryonen besteht bei einer Teilgruppe, jedoch ist dieser Wunsch von einem hohen Ausmaß an Ambivalenz begleitet. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Bataille in Theory: Afterimages (Lascaux)Suzanne Guerlac (bio)If there is a single term poststructuralism could not live without—at least within the intellectual circles associated with the review Tel quel—it is “transgression,” inherited from Bataille. “God-meaning,” Philippe Sollers writes in an early essay, “... is a figure of linguistic interdiction whereas writing—which is metaphoricity itself (Derrida)—transgresses... the hierarchic order of discourse and of the world associated with it” [“La science (...) de Lautréamont” 808, my emphasis]. In their Dictionnaire des sciences du langage Ducrot and Todorov declare grandly that text “has always functioned as a transgressive field with respect to the system according to which we organize our perception, our grammar, our metaphysics and even our science” [443–44, my emphasis]. They describe the advent of poststructuralism as a “Copernican revolution,” and it became customary to characterize the before and after of this break by referring to Bataille’s distinction between “restrained” and “general” economies.An influential essay by Foucault, “Préface à la transgression” (1963), might be considered the opening move in what would become Tel quel’s appropriation of Bataille. Foucault’s essay examines Bataille’s L’érotisme (1955), a study that theorized transgression in a complex elaboration which articulated philosophical discourse (Hegel/Kojève) with a “sociological” discourse of the sacred (Caillois). Foucault’s reading of the text removes the transgression of eroticism from both these discursive horizons and moves it toward late Heidegger (an ontology of the limit) and Nietzsche. If one of Bataille’s most radical gestures was to insert the ethnographic distinction sacred/profane into philosophical discussion, Foucault’s analysis reinscribes transgression within the intertextual field of philosophy, radicalized, of course, through the inclusion of the “marginal” figure, Nietzsche, and the philosopher who announced the end of philosophy, Heidegger. Foucault’s rewriting of Bataille may read philosophy against itself, may even propose the transgression of philosophy; nevertheless, it is structured by the vicissitudes of philosophical discourse. Bataille on the other hand had confronted philosophy with something radically other—tout autre.In “Préface à la transgression,” Foucault defined transgression as “a gesture concerning the limit.” He presented it as a flash of lightning, an image that not only figures transgression but also emblematizes the move into what will become the philosophical register of poststructuralism. It traces a line, a line that figures the Heideggerian ontology of limitation, the coming into being (or appearance) of beings on the horizon of Being; it suggests the limit of the ontological difference between Being and beings.Anticipating Derrida through Heidegger, Foucault analyzed transgression as an event of difference, alluding to Blanchot’s “principe de contestation” and to a Nietzschean notion of affirmation. “Might not the instantaneous play of the limit and transgression be today the essential test of a thinking of ‘origin’ which Nietzsche bequeathed to us... a thinking that would be absolutely, and in the same movement, a Critique and an Ontology, a thinking that would think finitude and being?” [Foucault 759]. Transgression becomes identified with a “philosophy of eroticism” (which plays on Sade’s “philosophie dans le boudoir”), a gesture that transvalues philosophy from the realm of cognitive or rational activity to “an experience of finitude and of being, of the limit and of transgression.” The [End Page 6] “philosophy” of eroticism is thus a “test/ordeal [épreuve} of the limit,” one that “no dialectical movement, no analysis of fundamental laws [constitutions] and of their transcendental foundation [leur sol]” can help us think. Foucault then asks a rhetorical question that could be said to structure much of the discourse of theory in the next decade: “Would it be an exaggeration, to say,” he asks, “... that it would be necessary to find a language for the transgressive that would be what dialectic has been for contradiction?” [759].In this way Foucault established transgression as an alternative to the machine of dialectical contradiction. Attuned to the recent discoveries of structuralism, which had begun to reverse the conventional understanding of relations between the subject and language (the subject is no longer considered master of his or her language but structured by it), Foucault announced that “the gesture of transgression replaces the movement of contradiction by plunging the... (shrink)

(2014). Killing without Heart: Limits on Robotic Warfare in an Age of Persistent Conflict. Journal of Military Ethics: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 106-111. doi: 10.1080/15027570.2014.910017.