This chapter argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the limits of the mainstream individualistic notion of resilience and, in light of these limits, it advances a new, relational notion of the concept of resilience that contributes to the individuals’ well-being and takes into consideration the role of systemic inequality. The first half of the paper argues that the individualistic notion is flawed in two ways: i) it can foster ill-being because it is cognitively taxing, and ii) it discounts systemic (...) inequality because it transfers the responsibility of any achievement and failure onto the single individual without regard for conditions of oppression. The second half of the paper reconceptualizes the concept of resilience as a relational notion that takes into account structural support as well as conditions of oppression and marginalization. According to this latter notion of resilience, the chapter argues that oppression, lack of material conditions, or lack of structural support are elements that can impact the appropriateness of calls to be resilient. A relational notion of resilience fosters well-being because it puts the collective community at the center (instead of the individual) and it takes into consideration material conditions and structural injustices. (shrink)

Normal 0 21 The main goal of this paper is to maintain that the skeptical hypotheses in the First Meditation, and especially the doubt about material things, should be interpreted as a kind of mental exercise whose purpose is both to weaken our confidence in the senses and to prepare the reader of the Meditation for the learning of the truths accessible through the light of reason. Thus, the paper purports to show that in the economy of the Meditations skeptical (...) doubts play a positive and constructive role, which is distinct from their role of bringing about philosophical skepticism that prevails in contemporary epistemological debates. The strategy that allowed for this reading consisted in both valuing the emergence of skeptical doubts within a text written in a meditative style and highlighting certain aspects of the intellectual context that were part of the scientific revolution experienced by Descartes. (shrink)

Karl Popper and Paul Feyerabend were among the most influential philosophers of science of the twentieth century. Extensive studies have been dedicated to the development of their controversial relationship, which saw Feyerabend turning from a student and supporter of Popper to one of his harshest critics. Yet, it is not as well known that the rift between Popper and Feyerabend arose mainly in the context of their studies on the foundations of quantum mechanics, which has been the main subject of (...) their discussions for about two decades. This paper reconstructs in detail their diatribe over the foundations of quantum mechanics, emphasising also the major role that their personal relationship played in their distancing. (shrink)

The capability approach developed by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has become an important new paradigm in thinking about development. However, despite its theoretical and philosophical attractiveness, it has been less easy to measure or to translate into policy. This volume addresses these issues in the context of poverty and justice. Part I offers a set of conceptual essays that debate the strength of the often misunderstood individual focus of the capability approach. Part II investigates the techniques by which we can (...) measure and compare capabilities, and how we can integrate them into poverty comparisons and policy advice. Finally, Part III looks at how we can apply the capability approach to different regions and contexts. Written by a team of international scholars, The Capability Approach is a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students concerned with the debate over the value of the capability approach and its potential applications. (shrink)

Within the field of systems theory, the term robustness has typically been applied to different contexts such as automatic control, genetic networks, metabolic pathways, morphogenesis, and ecosystems. All these systems involve either man-made machines, or living organisms. In this chapter, we will consider music as a peculiar complex system, involving both the realm of machines and the realm of biology. We will discuss some of the properties of music experience in terms of different attributes of robustness, focusing in particular on (...) stability, the property enabling a complex system to maintain its function against a wide range of external and internal changes. We will provide examples of the human ability of isolating and maintaining stable information within the perceptual flow and despite changes in the external world that reach our perceptions, leading towards a characterization of robustness in music perception as referred both to the search for regularities and to the range of tolerance that perception admits to regularities. Finally, we will list four multiple interaction cycles that typically characterize music experience and that involve both internal properties of the organism and the environment. (shrink)

Resumo: As apropriações de conceitos da teoria marxista por parte de teólogos da libertação podem ser consideradas incoerentes, seja pela histórica relação de condenação mútua entre marxistas e clérigos, seja pela distinção entre religião e economia-política, típica da modernidade. Diante disso, o conceito de afinidade eletiva de Weber, na interpretação do sociólogo franco-brasileiro Michael Löwy, possibilita renovar os estudos dos fenômenos sociais nos quais o marxismo e a teologia cristã parecem fundir-se em uma crítica social radical, como teologia da libertação. (...) Esse instrumental analítico permite identificar o sentido no qual algumas categorias marxistas são apropriadas, em forte confluência nos marcos do cristianismo de libertação. Para isso, em uma análise bibliográfica referenciada na obra de Löwy, apresenta-se o desenvolvimento do conceito de afinidade eletiva na tradição webero-marxista, identificando elementos dessa convergência na teologia do cristianismo de libertação. Por fim, buscam-se exemplos desses elementos em textos de diferentes expressões da teologia da libertação. Trata-se de um exercício teórico que almeja colaborar para a consolidação de uma abordagem específica do tema.: The appropriation of concepts of Marxist theory by liberation theologians can be considered incoherent, whether in terms of the historical relationship of mutual condemnation between Marxists and clerics, or in terms of the distinction between religion and political economy that is typical of modernity. However, Weber’s concept of elective affinity, in the interpretation of the Franco-Brazilian sociologist Michael Löwy, makes it possible to renew the studies of social phenomena in which Marxism and Christian theology seem to merge into a radical social critique, as in the case of liberation theology. This analytical approach enables us to identify the sense in which some Marxist categories are appropriated within the framework of liberation Christianity. In a bibliographical analysis that makes reference to Löwy’s work, we present the development of the concept of elective affinity in the Weberian-Marxist tradition and identify elements of its convergence with the theology of liberation Christianity. Finally, we look for examples of these elements in texts from different expressions of liberation theology. (shrink)

O objeto de análise deste artigo é o processo de formação da PJB, isto é, seu método pedagógico e suas opções políticas. A análise se desenvolve a partir de uma contextualização histórica que busca identificar as mudanças ocorridas no método da PJB nas décadas de 1980 e 1990. Conclui-se que, durante os anos 1980, a PJB enfatizava a dimensão política em suas atividades de formação e participava dos diversos movimentos sociais que se organizavam em torno da proposta de redemocratização do (...) Brasil. No entanto, nos anos 1990 ocorre uma reformulação do método, o qual passa a direcionar a formação para as dimensões pessoal e teológica, com uma prática voltada para o interior da Igreja Católica. Contribuíram com essas mudanças fatores internos, como o retorno do movimento pentecostal no cenário religioso católico que dificultou a articulação da PJB com os grupos de jovens paroquiais, e fatores externos, como o advento da cultura pós-moderna na sociedade brasileira que trouxe consigo o predomínio de práticas individualistas, isto é, destituídas de base coletiva/comunitária. Palavras-chave: Religião. Juventude. Catolicismo. Teologia da Libertação. Pastorais da Juventude.: The object of this article is the formation process of the PJB , be it, its pedagogic method and its political options. The analysis is developed from a historical background in order to identify the changes occurred in the PJB method along the 1980 and 1990 decades. We can conclude that, during the 1980s, the PJB emphasized the political dimension in its formation activities and participated in several social movements, which were being organized around the proposal of Brazilian redemocratization. However, along the 1990s a reformulation of the method occurs and it passes to direct its formation to the personal and theological dimensions, having its practice turned to the inside of the Catholic Church. Internal factors, such as the back of Pentecostal movement to the catholic religious scenery, which has represented some drawbacks to the PJB articulation with the parish youth groups, as well as external factors, such as the arrival of the postmodern culture to the Brazilian society, which has brought the predominance for individualist practices, be it, without collective/communitarian basis, both contributed to these changes. Keywords: Religion. Youth. Catholicism. Liberation Theology. Youth Pastoral. (shrink)

Shape Dynamics is a radical yet soundly based reinterpretation of Einstein's theory of gravity that has opened up new approaches to gravity research. This text offers both a brief introduction and a detailed walk-through of the motivations for the theory, its development from first principles and an in-depth look at its present status.

O pensamento de Hume pode ser comparado ao dos céticos modernos em muitos aspectos. Com relação ao tópico da racionalidade dos animais, Hume parece seguir de perto a leitura de alguns céticos modernos e se afastar consideravelmente da de Descartes. Por outro lado, diferente de filósofos como Montaigne, Charron e La Mothe Le Vayer, Hume não tinha por finalidade colocar a racionalidade humana num nível próximo dos animais para apenas provar a fraqueza do intelecto diante do desconhecido, mas intentava comparar (...) o nosso modo de proceder ao do animal para avaliar, com mais precisão, as suas teorias acerca da natureza humana. Neste artigo analiso o modo como os primeiros céticos da modernidade trataram da questão da razão dos animais e o comparo com as ideias de Hume sobre o assunto, sem deixar de mencionar as contribuições de Descartes e de Pierre Bayle. (shrink)

Ultimamente bastante atençáo vem sendo dispensada ao estudo do ceticismo moderado na modernidade. O famoso historiador da filosofia Richard Popkin, em sua História do Ceticismo de Erasmo a Espinosa , cunhou a denominaçáo de ceticismo epistemológico para qualificar os membros desta corrente e nela inseriu os filósofos setecentistas Gassendi e Mersenne, considerando-os seus principais representantes. Além disso, no século XVIII temos o denominado ceticismo mitigado de Hume, que chamou a atençáo dos filósofos modernos para definir os limites do ceticismo. Este (...) artigo procura contribuir para o estudo do ceticismo moderado na modernidade, mostrando náo só que Hume, Mersenne e Gassendi podem fazer parte do assim chamado ceticismo epistemológico ou mitigado, mas também que há certos elementos comuns em suas filosofias destinados a mitigar os argumentos dos céticos de seu tempo. (shrink)

Richard Popkin, no capítulo VII de sua “História do ceticismo de Erasmo a Spinoza”, apresenta uma tendência predominante na filosofia moderna de rejeitar o ceticismo pirrônico, por ser demasiado destrutivo, e o dogmatismo extremo, por ser questionável. A solução para esses partidários foi a de adotar um ceticismo que Popkin denomina mitigado ou construtivo, isto é, uma teoria que reconheça a impossibilidade de alcançarmos as verdades absolutas acerca da natureza e realidade, mas que admita a possibilidade de um certo conhecimento, (...) que possa ser convincente e provável, embora não metafisicamente inquestionável. Esta espécie de dúvida filosófica ganhou força com o advento da filosofia cartesiana, mas só tornou-se definitivamente respeitável com a sua formulação por David Hume, sustenta ainda Popkin. Neste trabalho mostraremos que os filósofos Pierre-Daniel Huet e Simon Foucher, além de Hume, poderiam entrar nesta categoria, que também pode ser definida de ceticismo acadêmico. (shrink)

Axel Honneth, em O direito da liberdade, apresenta uma crítica aos elementos problemáticos da liberdade jurídica desde sua primeira formulação, no século XVII, de caráter negativo, até um segundo momento, marcado pela ampliação dos direitos subjetivos, que transforma o espaço privado em um lugar de reflexão ética de onde derivam juízos de “bem” e de “justiça”. Como exemplo desde segundo momento, Honneth se vale do pensamento de John Stuart Mill. Ocorre que, mesmo reconhecendo a importância das teorizações millianas, Honneth insiste (...) em afirmar que a liberdade jurídica implica na constituição do sujeito como ator solitário dotado de objetivos estratégicos. Nossa proposta aqui é sugerir que ao se valer do pensamento de Mill para ilustrar sua reconstrução da noção de liberdade jurídica, e concluir por sua limitação, Honneth não alcança a extensão da proposta de filosofia social do autor inglês. A imbricação entre as noções de liberdade e igualdade em Mill permeia a esfera privada garantida pelos direitos individuais e introduz questões intersubjetivas no momento de reflexão ética. Ou seja, há claros elementos de influência do outro na determinação dos juízos morais legitimadores da ação social milliana. Visando explorar esta questão, procuramos, em um primeiro momento, identificar a crítica à insuficiência do reconhecimento de obrigações recíprocas entre os sujeitos que gozam de seus direitos individuais, para, em seguida, confrontarmos seus argumentos com as formulações de John Stuart Mill sobre o assunto. (shrink)

The paper contains an axiomatic treatment of the intuitionistic theory of hereditarily finite sets, based on an induction axiom-schema and a finite set of single axioms. The main feature of the principle of induction used (due to Givant and Tarski) is that it incorporates Foundation. On the analogy of what is done in Arithmetic, in the axiomatic system selected the transitive closure of the membership relation is taken as a primitive notion, so as to permit an immediate adaptation of the (...) theory to cases of restricted induction (in particular primitive recursive induction). At the end of the paper several different forms of induction, which play an important role in the development of the theory, are compared. An alternative axiomatization of the theory, which is of intrinsic interest, is also discussed. (shrink)

O presente artigo pretende explicitar a problematização acerca do conceito de saúde exposta no Ecce homo de Friedrich Nietzsche. Para tanto, o presente artigo está dividido em três momentos. Na primeira parte, trouxemos a relação entre a tríade de pensamentos (teoria das forças, eterno retorno e vontade de poder). Posteriormente, trouxemos a descrição do que seriam os critérios para classificar o processo saúde-doença (método, genealogia e fisiopsicologia), por fim, apresenta-se a classificação das doenças da vida expostas no Ecce Homo, tal (...) como seu processo de disseminação. É oportuno ressaltar que durante nossa argumentação, destacamos o paradoxo que funciona como condição para o exercício filosófico de Nietzsche em Ecce Homo, cujo núcleo é composto pelo seguinte enunciado: só é possível recuperar a saúde, de um ponto de vista filosófico, se em algum momento anterior houve uma vivência de saúde e potência. (shrink)

This article proposes a 7E model of the human mind, which was developed within the cognitive paradigm in religious studies and its primary expression, the Cognitive Science of Religion. This study draws on the philosophically most sophisticated currents in the cognitive sciences, which have come to define the human mind through a 4E model as embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended. Introducing Catherine Malabou’s concept of “plasticity,” the study not only confirms the insight of the 4E model of the self as (...) a decentered system, but it also recommends two further traits of the self that have been overlooked in the cognitive sciences, namely the negativity of plasticity and the tension between giving and receiving form. Finally, the article matures these philosophical insights to develop a concrete model of the religious mind, equipping it with three further Es, namely emotional, evolved, and exoconscious. (shrink)

Is there more to the recent surge in political realism than just a debate on how best to continue doing what political theorists are already doing? I use two recent books, by Michael Freeden and Matt Sleat, as a testing ground for realism’s claims about its import on the discipline. I argue that both book take realism beyond the Methodenstreit, though each in a different direction: Freeden’s takes us in the realm of meta-metatheory, Sleat’s is a genuine exercise in grounding (...) liberal normative theory in a non-moralistic way. I conclude with wider methodological observations. I argue that unlike communitarianism (the previous contender for the discipline’s renewal), realism has the potential to open new vistas, though their novelty is to a large extent relative to the last forty years or so: realism is best thought of as a return to a more traditional way of doing political philosophy. (shrink)

Resenha de Gramsci em Quadrinhos, de Néstor Kohan e Rep.

En la tradicción jurídica italiana siempre el derecho de la família y el derecho de la responsabilidad civil fueron distintos. Pero ahora la jurisprudencia, y tambien el legislador, estan introducendo los remedios aquilianos en la familia misma, entre marido y mujer y entre padres y hijos. El artículo quiere averiguar si es posible buscar una basis comun para esta nueva responsabilidad de los padres con la responsabilidad de los mismos para los daños que los niños hacen a los terceros.

African migrants in Brazil suffer the perverse effects of xenophobia, in addition to experiencing racist behaviors. These processes also manifest themselves within the context of kindergarten centers and pre-schools, directly influencing the pedagogical approach, as well as the perceptions and conceptions surrounding being a black African person. In this context, this article aims to present the perception of early education teachers in the city of São Paulo about racialization processes in the sheltering and insertion of black African children of ages (...) between 0 and 5. In order to achieve the aim of this research, interviews were held with early education professionals from both the direct and indirect educational systems, so as to try and comprehend how these agents perceive the sheltering/insertion of migrant black African children. The analysis was made based on theoretical frameworks regarding childhood sociology, studies on migration and race relations. This work intends to enlarge the childhood and migration research fields, as well as research on the processes of racialization of African migrant children aged less than seven. (shrink)

In this paper, we reject commonly accepted views on fundamentality in science, either based on bottom-up construction or top-down reduction to isolate the alleged fundamental entities. We do not introduce any new scientific methodology, but rather describe the current scientific methodology and show how it entails an inherent search for foundations of science. This is achieved by phrasing metaphysical assumptions into falsifiable statements and define as fundamental those that survive empirical tests. The ones that are falsified are rejected, and the (...) corresponding philosophical concept is demolished as a prejudice. Furthermore, we show the application of this criterion in concrete examples of the search for fundamentality in quantum physics and biophysics. (shrink)

The standard interpretion of Hume's philosophy presents him both as a radical skeptic regarding rational claims about the adequate foundation of our belief system and as a naturalist who maintained that our beliefs (though rationally ungrounded) cannot be given up in ordinary life, due to natural drives and sentiments. This paper purports to show that Hume's naturalism can and should be interpreted as a method for addessing philosophical concepts (ideas and beliefs,to use Hume's jargon) that incorporates unreflected elements ofordinary life (...) (such as natural sentiments and drives) and assigns to them the same theoretical status that abstract processes such as reasons and arguments have. A philosophy that warrants unreflected mechanisms in the treatment of philosophical problems is what Hume calls a "true philosophy". Such philosophy is compatible with the more radical forms of skepticism, because the unreflected mechanisms that bring about ideas are imune to doubt. To ilustrate the theses put forth here and so as to render my characterization of naturalism more persuasive, I describe briefly and in broad terms at the end of the paper Hume's view of moral agency. (shrink)

Corporate governance is an issue of growing importance in developing economies, as many firms pass through significant transformations due to the combined forces of sociopolitical changes, technological progress and economic trends toward globalization. These elements, along with the structural characteristics of developing economies such as less developed capital markets and governmental interventionism, draw a picture for corporate governance practices that may, in some aspects, be fundamentally different from the practices found in European or North American contexts. In this paper we (...) review and discuss the state of corporate governance practices in Brazil, focusing on how the governance structure of Brazilian firms has been subjected to important changes in the recent past and how even more changes are expected to happen. (shrink)

The main objective of Micheal Sandel’s Liberalism and the Limits of Justice was to attack the concept of deontology, as formulated by John Rawls. In this article, I argue that Sandel interpreted the concept of deontology in a misleading way. There is a difference between how Rawls defined this concept and how it was interpreted by Sandel. Given this, the first part of this article will analyze the way Sandel interpreted the Rawlsian concept of deontology. The second part presents an (...) assessment of the clash between the two authors in light of the differences in the way both of them understood the meaning of deontology in political liberalism. (shrink)

Editorial: Crisis and emancipation on the horizon of non-religious spiritualities. Horizonte, v. 12, n. 35, Jul./Sept. 2014.

Desde a publicação, em 1958, do famoso artigo A Filosofia Moral Moderna de G. E. M. Anscombe estabeleceu-se uma espécie de consenso em torno da necessidade de as teorias ético-filosóficas contemporâneas ampliarem sua agenda de análise para além das noções de dever e obrigação. Esse movimento conduziu à redescoberta de concepções morais antigas ligadas à constituição de um caráter virtuoso e da conquista da felicidade ou bem-viver, especialmente a ética de Aristóteles e dos filósofos estoicos. Nesse artigo eu mostro que (...) a filósofa e escritora britânica Iris Murdoch participou desse movimento de redescoberta da ética das virtudes antiga, localizando na filosofia de Platão, e não na filosofia de Aristóteles ou dos estoicos, um instrumento de crítica às teorias morais de seu tempo, uma crítica caracterizada pela substituição da noção tipicamente moderna da vontade racional do agente por noções profundamente vinculadas à filosofia platônica, como o “amor” e “atração” pelo Bem, entendidos como constituintes de um modelo de orientação moral objetiva. Diferente de Platão, no entanto, o Bem e seu poder de engajamento e atração, é explorado como uma fonte ético-metafísica com um significado psicológico muito particular. Ele é caracterizado, em termos da psicologia moral de base psicanalítica por ela adotada, como um olhar amoroso do outro e como um desejo de ver a realidade, entendido como um desejo pessoal de sermos justos e bons, o que dá um sabor psicológico-naturalista à sua reinvindicação da filosofia platônica. (shrink)

This is a response to Erman and Moller's response to our reply to their 'Political Legitimacy in the Real Normative World', both also in this journal.

Tipificación del "otro" en el espaciamiento cognitivo de la modernidad líquida según Zygmunt Bauman.

O objetivo do artigo é analisar a condução da política externa estadunidense com a China, entre 1890 e 1909, tomando como referencial a interpretação historiográfica dos autores revisionistas William Appleman Williams e Walter LaFeber. Propõe-se que o “anticolonialismo imperial” engendrado pelos Estados Unidos no processo de disputa pela abertura do mercado chinês está na origem dos conflitos com as tradicionais potências imperialistas. O trabalho explora, portanto, a tese historiográfica revisionista segundo a qual a política externa norte-americana radicada nos princípios da (...) “Open Door Policy” é fundamental para a compreensão de antagonismos que contribuíram para a Guerra Fria.The aim of the article is to analyze the conduct of US foreign policy with China between 1890 and 1909, taking as reference the historiographical interpretation of the revisionist authors William Appleman Williams and Walter LaFeber. It is proposed that the "imperial anticolonialism" engendered by the United States in the process of dispute over the opening of the Chinese market is at the origin of conflicts with the traditional imperialist powers. The paper thus explores the revisionist historiographical thesis that US foreign policy rooted in the principles of the Open Door Policy is fundamental to understanding the antagonisms that contributed to the Cold War. Resumen El objetivo del artículo es analizar la conducción de la política exterior estadounidense con China, entre 1890 y 1909, tomando como referencial la interpretación historiográfica de los autores revisionistas William Appleman Williams y Walter LaFeber. Se propone que el "anticolonialismo imperial" engendrado por Estados Unidos en el proceso de disputa por la apertura del mercado chino es el origen de los conflictos con las tradicionales potencias imperialistas. El trabajo explora, por lo tanto, la tesis historiográfica revisionista según la cual la política exterior norteamericana radicada en los principios de la "Open Door Policy" es fundamental para la comprensión de antagonismos que contribuyeron a la Guerra Fría. (shrink)

For over three decades, the capability approach proposed and developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum has had a distinct impact on development theories and approaches because it goes beyond an economic conception of development and engages with the normative aspects of development. This book explores the new frontiers of the capability approach and its links to human development in three main areas. First, it delves into the philosophical foundations of the approach, re-examining its links to concepts of common good, (...) collective agency and epistemic diversity. Secondly, it addresses its 'operational frontier', aiming to give inclusive explanations of some of the most advanced methods available for capability researchers. Thirdly, it offers a wide range of the applications of this approach, as carried out by a mix of renowned capability scholars and researchers from different disciplines. This broad interdisciplinary range includes the areas of human and sustainable development, inequalities, labour markets, education, special needs, cities, urban planning, housing, social capital and happiness studies, among others. (shrink)

From Physical World to Transcendent God(s): Mediatory Functions of Beauty in Plato, Dante and Rupa Gosvami -/- Dragana Jagušić -/- In various philosophical, religious and mystical traditions, beauty is often related to intellectual upliftment and spiritual ascent, which suggests that besides its common aesthetic value it may also acquire an epistemic, metaphysical and spiritual meaning or value. I will examine in detail three accounts in which beauty, at times inseparable from desire and love, mediates between physical, intellectual and spiritual levels (...) of existence. Since beauty, in all three accounts, takes on a mediatory role or function,1 I will name these mediations as follows: ancient Greek Eros-mediation or Beauty-mediation (Plato: ca. 429-347 BCE), late medieval Italian Beauty and Love-mediation (Dante Alighieri: 1265-1321) and pre-modern Indian Beauty and Love-mediation (Rūpa Gosvāmi: 1470/90-1564 CE).2 In the first section, I will analyse the stages of Eros or Beauty mediation in Plato; in the second section, I will turn to Dante’s Beauty and Love-mediation and compare it with Plato’s account. In the third section, I will analyse Rūpa’s account of Beauty and Love-mediation in comparison with both Plato and Dante. I will argue that there are certain patterns of mediation mutually shared if not between all three accounts, then at least between two of them. While Plato’s account clearly influenced Dante and was well integrated into Dante’s account, there is no mention or evidence of a pre-modern Bengali theologian influenced by ancient Greek and medieval Italian philosophy and mysticism. However, a strong convergence of elements of Beauty-mediations in Plato and Dante, as well as Beauty and Love-mediations in Dante and Rūpa Gosvāmi, confirms the universality of certain features of Beauty and Love-mediation and speaks in support of an all-inclusive account of them.3 -/- 1 By Beauty-mediation I mean an aesthetic, intellectual or spiritual reconciliation between opposites, such as human and divine, mortal and immortal, particular and universal, sexual and sacred and so on. 2 Rūpa Gosvāmi was an Indian theologian. More information about him is provided in section 3. 3 I am here applying transitivity: if Plato’s account (A) shares elements with Dante’s account (B) and if Dante’s account (B) shares those same elements with Rūpa’s account (C), then Plato’s (A) and Rūpa’s (C) accounts share some elements as well. Obviously, all accounts have some different elements not mutually shared, but I will not deal with them here. (shrink)