Nurses may, and often do, experience moral distress in their careers. This is related to the complicated work environment and the complex nature of ethical situations in everyday nursing practice. The outcomes of moral distress may include psychological and physical symptoms, reduced job satisfaction and even inadequate or inappropriate nursing care. Moral distress can also impact retention of nurses. Although research has grown considerably over the past few decades, there is still a great deal about this topic that we do (...) not know including how to deal well with moral distress. A critical key step is to develop a deeper understanding of relational practice as it pertains to moral distress. In this article, exploration of the experience of moral distress among nurses is guided by the key elements of relational ethics. This ethical approach was chosen because it recognizes that ethical practice is situated in relationships and it acknowledges the importance of the broader environment on influencing ethical action. The findings from this theoretical exploration will provide a theoretical foundation upon which to advance our knowledge about moral distress. (shrink)

In pediatric critical care, nurses are the primary caregivers for critically ill children and are particularly vulnerable to moral distress. There is limited evidence on what approaches are effective to minimize moral distress among these nurses. To identify intervention attributes that critical care nurses with moral distress histories deem important to develop a moral distress intervention. We used a qualitative description approach. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling between October 2020 to May 2021 from pediatric critical care units in a (...) western Canadian province. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews via Zoom. A total of 10 registered nurses participated in the study. Four main themes were identified: (1) “I’m sorry, there’s nothing else”: increasing supports for patients and families; (2) “someone will commit suicide”: improving supports for nurses: (3) “Everyone needs to be heard”: improving patient care communication; and (4) “I didn’t see it coming”: providing education to mitigate moral distress. Most participants stated they wanted an intervention to improve communication among the healthcare team and noted changes to unit practices that could decrease moral distress. This is the first study that asks nurses what is needed to minimize their moral distress. Although there are multiple strategies in place to help nurses with difficult aspects of their work, additional strategies are needed to help nurses experiencing moral distress. Moving the research focus from identifying moral distress towards developing effective interventions is needed. Identifying what nurses need is critical to develop effective moral distress interventions. (shrink)

The global pandemic has intensified the risk of moral distress due to increased demands on already limited human resources and uncertainty of the pandemic’s trajectory. Nurses commonly experience moral distress: a conflict between the morally correct action and what they are required or capable of doing. Effective moral distress interventions are rare. For this reason, our team conducted a multi-phase research study to develop a moral distress intervention for pediatric critical care nurses. In this article, we discuss our multi-phase approach (...) to develop a moral distress intervention—proactive, interdisciplinary meeting. Our proposed intervention is a sequential compilation of empirical work couched within a relational ethics lens thus should point to enhanced potential for intervention effectiveness. (shrink)

Moral distress is a common phenomenon among nurses and is related to the complicated work environments and complex nature of ethical situations in day-to-day nursing practice. Moral distress impacts nurses as well as patient care and the health care system. Few strategies have been identified for instructors to effectively engage with learners when communicating about moral distress. We discuss two key curricular and pedagogical strategies that should be utilized when learning about moral distress: difficult knowledge’ and ‘terror management theory’. Whether (...) it is with new nursing students or experienced nurses, there is necessary learning that needs to occur on moral distress. Difficult knowledge’ and ‘terror management theory’, when implemented, can provide a starting point for both the learner and the instructor to discuss the emotionally difficult and complex topic of moral distress. Knowledge about moral distress has the potential to mitigate its negative effects, therefore it is vital to consider educational strategies to teach nurses about this complex phenomenon. (shrink)

Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? How can we feel happy and free? The answers to these and other life questions are gathered in Tiny Buddha, Simple Wisdom for Life's Hard Questions. Tiny Buddha began as a quote-a-day Twitter account, @tinybuddha, in 2008. Lori Deschene's daily wisdom posts about mindfulness, non-attachment, and happiness became so popular that she now has more than 200,000 twitter followers who share quotes and stories about inspiration in their daily lives.Deschene asked (...) her Twitter followers to contribute their thoughts and perspectives on the difficult questions that influence how we live our everyday lives: thoughts about the meaning of life, pain, happiness, fate, and more.Tiny Buddha, Simple Wisdom for Life's Hard Questions is a combination of the amazing responses that she received along with her own insightful essays, and insights from wise teachers around the world and throughout time. Deschene explores how these issues have played out in her own life and offers action-oriented suggestions to help people empower themselves, even in a world with so much uncertainty. The result is a guide that helps readers discover the endless possibilities for a life lived mindfully in the present, and connected to others. (shrink)

Este artículo examina la manera en que el diseño específico de las casas de baños de la Antigüedad tardía en la provincia romana de la Cirenaica, base de operaciones para la conquista islámica de Ifrīqiya, influyó en el desarrollo de los hammams en el norte de África y en al-Andalus. Los restos arqueológicos de los baños bizantinos/tardoantiguos y los primeros hammams son puestos en comparación para demostrar las grandes similitudes de su trazado general y dentro de este, del diseño del (...) caldarium en particular, lo que apunta a la pervivencia de los esquemas de construcción que sobreviven hasta el día de hoy en los hammams marroquíes. La característica más distintiva era la estancia rectangular para el baño de calor, calentada por un solo horno, y flanqueada por dos exedras que albergaban sendas bañeras rectangulares. Este diseño de hammam «occidental» era marcadamente distinto de los hammams contemporáneos en Oriente, que a su vez continuaron con el diseño tradicional de los baños públicos romano-bizantinos orientales. Contrariamente a lo que se presuponía, este artículo demuestra que el diseño «occidental» no se originó en los primeros momentos del Marruecos medieval y de al-Andalus, extendiéndose posteriormente hacia el Mediterráneo oriental, sino que se originó en el norte del África romano-bizantino, extendiéndose hacia el Oeste, para regresar, a través de la circularidad cultural, al lugar de origen con nuevas adaptaciones. (shrink)

Ansiklopedik tarzda kaleme alınan eserler, yazıldıkları dönemindeki ilmi seviyeyi göstermek ve muhataplarının ihtiyaç duydukları pratik bilgileri bir araya getirmek bakımından büyük öneme sahiptir. Zira bu tür eserlerin, hem müellifin çeşitli ilim dallarına vukufiyetini ortaya koyma hem de eserden istifade edecek kesimlerin ihtiyaç duyduğu bilgi birikimini tespit etme noktasında kıymetli veri kaynakları oldukları aşikârdır. İslam dünyasında erken dönemde kaleme alınan bu türdeki eserlerden biri de müellifin tek eseri olarak günümüze gelmiş ve şöhreti ile müellifini geride bırakmış olan Muhammed b. Ahmed el-Hârizmî’nin (...) Mefâtîhu’l-‘ulûm aslı eseridir. Bu çalışmada Hârizmî’nin bir bürokrat olarak kendi meslektaşlarının ihtiyaç duyduğu bilgileri bir araya getirdiği eserinde felsefeye ve felsefî ilimlere yaklaşımı incelenecektir. Çalışmanın planı, müellifin eserinde felsefeye ayırdığı bölüme başlıkları üzerinden düzenlenmiştir. (shrink)

The current study explored the extent to which children above and below the age of 7 years are able to benefit from either training in cumulative rehearsal or in the use of interactive imagery when carrying out working memory tasks. Twenty-four 5- to 6-year-olds and 24 8- to 9-year olds were each assigned to one of three training groups who either received cumulative rehearsal, interactive imagery, or passive labelling training. Participants’ ability to maintain material during a filled delay was then (...) assessed, and the nature of the distraction that was imposed during this delay was varied to shed further light on the mechanisms that individuals used to maintain the memoranda in working memory in the face of this distraction. The results suggest that the rehearsal training employed here did improve recall by virtue of encouraging rehearsal strategies, in a way that was not observed among participants receiving interactive imagery training. The fact that these effects were not mediated by age group counts against the view that younger individuals are either unable to rehearse, or show impoverished verbal serial recall because they do not spontaneously engage in rehearsal. (shrink)

The advent in universities of managerialism with its drive for individual accountability through performance management systems is contentious. With the implementation of a PMS at a South African university, academic heads of department have been key players in the performance reward component of the PMS. This study, following a qualitative descriptive research design based on in-depth interviews, explores a sample of HoDs’ experiences and perceptions of the institution's performance reward system. Most of the participants are sceptical of the PMS as (...) they view it as a business-oriented practice that is not compatible with the nature and objectives of higher education institutions. They consider the reward strategy not only to have a limited effect in promoting high performance behaviour, but to be a cause of discontent due to implementation inconsistencies, nebulous award criteria, lack of transparency about ratings, and the negligible monetary value of the reward. (shrink)

Although it has been claimed that the Kharijite understanding emerged as a result of a booty division in the Prophet's time, their emergence as a sect was in the Battle of Siffin. This formation, which gained fame with the motto "The Judgment belongs only to Allah" in the arbitration issue between Hazrat Ali and Muawiya, came to the fore enough to leave Muaviye's rebellion against Hazrat Ali behind. So much so that when the battle of Siffin is mentioned, researchers focus (...) on Muawiya and Kharijites and what they did rather than what he did. Although there are many reasons for this, the most important one is the evaluation of Kharijites and Kharijites within the framework of Sunni sources. We can say that the way to be objective about Kharijites and Kharijites is to refer to the sources of the Kharijites themselves or the sects associated with the Kharijites. Kharijites are not a formation that systematizes as a creed or fiqh sect. However, The Ibâzî sect is known as a Khariji sect, as the pioneers of the sect, which would later be known as Ibâzî, were among the group that left Ali and gathered in a place called Harûra. In the year 64 Hijri, the people of Harura were divided into sects among themselves. The reason for this separation is especially because Nafi' b. Ezrak sees violence as legitimate and rejects other Muslims who do not think like them, and considers their blood, property and chastity halal. After this separation, the Kharijites were referred to as Ezârikâ, Süfriyya, Necdiyye/Necedât and Ibâzis. The Ibazis specifically stated that they were away from these sects because of their radical attitudes. This situation was especially emphasized in the correspondence between Abdullah b. İbâz and the Umayyad caliph Abdulmalik b. Marwan. However, when dealing with the subject of Kharijite, the reason for this disintegration was ignored, and the Ibazis, who had a moderate understanding, were evaluated in the same category as other Kharijite sects that were pro-violence and takfir. Ibazis strongly opposed such a generalization and argued that they should be evaluated separately from other Kharijite sects. In our study, this attitude of the Ibâzîs and their justifications have been included, and it has been tried to be explained with reference to both their own sources and Sunni sources. Another important point is that the Ibazis do not want to be called Kharijites. They considered it more appropriate to be named as Shurat, Ehlu'l-Istaqama, Haruriye and Vehbiye. The Ibâzî sect, which has managed to survive to the present day, has original views on Kharijites and Kharijites, and they also expressed an opinion on whether they see themselves as Kharijites or not. In addition, their approaches to and definitions of Kharijite differ from those mentioned in Sunni sources. Because of these connections with the Kharijites and the fact that they have reached the present day, it is a necessity to refer to the Ibâzî sources on the subject of Khârijism in terms of objectivity. However, we can say that Ibâzîs were introduced by adhering to Sunni sources. Such an approach, on the other hand, would not only cause the Ibazis to be understood correctly, but also caused them to be identified with the other Kharijite sects, especially the Ezarika. In this study, we will try to deal with the approaches of the Ibazis to the subject of Kharijite and Kharijite and whether they see themselves as a Kharijite sect, based on their own sources. (shrink)

Biobanking activities for genetic research purposes have recently undergone nothing short of a small revolution. Many biobanks have left their traditional home of a small refrigerator in a laboratory to reach the unprecedented proportion of large, sophisticated storage centers containing DNA samples from whole populations. As we turn our attention to research on complex diseases and show great interest in human genetic variation and genetic epidemiology, we need to base our research not only on the DNA of small family cohorts, (...) but on larger sample collections, coupled with geographic location, genealogical information, and environmental and medical data. Population genetic research projects are underway around the world. Setting up such large-scale population biobanks is a challenge for any researcher. Population genetic research projects raise legal, ethical, and social issues that need to be addressed properly in order to maintain the trust of the population, an absolute requirement for the success of such research endeavour. (shrink)

Biobanking activities for genetic research purposes have recently undergone nothing short of a small revolution. Many biobanks have left their traditional home of a small refrigerator in a laboratory to reach the unprecedented proportion of large, sophisticated storage centers containing DNA samples from whole populations. As we turn our attention to research on complex diseases and show great interest in human genetic variation and genetic epidemiology, we need to base our research not only on the DNA of small family cohorts, (...) but on larger sample collections, coupled with geographic location, genealogical information, and environmental and medical data. Population genetic research projects are underway around the world. Setting up such large-scale population biobanks is a challenge for any researcher. Population genetic research projects raise legal, ethical, and social issues that need to be addressed properly in order to maintain the trust of the population, an absolute requirement for the success of such research endeavour. (shrink)

Artykuł dotyczy problemu percepcji. Przedstawiam w nim koncpecję"widzenia jako" Wittgensteina, oraz koncepcje myślenia jako odruchu Bohma. Wskazując podobieństwa i różnice w poglądach Wittgensteina i Bohma zmierzać będę do postawienia pytania o to, co sprawia, że nasze postrzeganie jest uwarunkowane. Po dokonaniu oceny tego faktu, w dalszej kolejności postawię pytanie o możliwość percepcji nieuwarunkowanej. Tym samym spróbuję odpowiedzieć na dwa pytania: czy istnieją powody, dla których powinniśmy wyzwalać się z tego rodzaju percepcji, a także czy i jak jest to w ogóle (...) możliwe? (shrink)

The topic of the article is the way in which a human being can grasp its own body. The confrontation between Husserl's and Sartre's philosophy about meeting Another is my way of showing the radical change in our understanding of the problem of how we know our own body. According to Husserl both our psyche and body are given to us immediately. The body of Another is given to us by means of our own body. The psyche of Another is (...) made present through his body. This conception is inverted by Sartre. Both the psyche and the body are no longer able to grasp themselves. Yet this does not mean that Another is ungraspable. Knowledge of him does not require self-knowledge. The psyche of Another is given through his body, which is given immediately. Our own body needs the body of Another - it is contained in everything that is not itself. (shrink)

The first half of the 20th century witnessed the development of the classic eugenics. Some countries in Europe and the USA of different historical past, cultures and degree of development were universally attracted by the eugenic ideology. This raises few questions concerning the basis of its universal attractiveness for masses and its success. This article answers those questions indicating strong religious-like belief in the myth which served as a base for the eugenical way of thinking being older than this thought. (...) This myth narrates a story about the existence of “real people” who lived in the past, yet unfavourable circumstances caused their degradation, but who—with the assistance of physicians technocrats of the new society and through medical procedures—may be reborn. This paper aims at the reconstruction of the myth on the basis of the writings of Plato, Campanella and Nietzsche. As examples of its “realization” of the myth, I provide the activities of the institutions like Lebensborn houses in Germany and Nobel Sperm Bank in the USA. (shrink)

This article is an attempt to determine the status of transcendence within the works of Hannah Arendt. This topic belongs to a niche when it comes to the scope of interests of the thinker whose interests focused upon the philosophy of politics. However, since Arendt concentrated on the reflection on man and his culture, her ideas reach beyond socio-political issues. Drawing a picture of the world as a place created by people, and distinguishing it from the world of nature, she (...) draws indirect attention to what goes beyond it. In Arendt’s writings, the sphere of transcendence appears as what does not appear, yet it does exist and affects our existence in an even more noticeable way than the actions of politicians. For this reason, I attempt to determine not only the ontological status of transcendence, but also the status of a thinker who appears in Arendt’s writings as a mind. These tasks will require reconstructing the sphere of what does not appear, and the way it is connected with the sphere of phenomena. This will be done on the basis of an analysis of the activities that a person performs, and individual spheres in which her life takes place. (shrink)

Organ shortage is a major survival issue for millions of people worldwide. Globally 1.2 million people die each year from kidney failure. In this paper, we critically examine and find lacking extant proposals for increasing organ supply, such as opting in and opt out for deceased donor organs, and parochial altruism and paired kidney exchange for live organs. We defend two ethical solutions to the problem of organ shortage. One is to make deceased donor organs automatically available for transplant without (...) requiring consent from the donor or their relatives. The other is for society to buy nonvital organs in a strictly regulated market and provide them to people in need for free. (shrink)

Marjolaine Deschênes | : C’est surtout de Joan C. Tronto que les ambassadrices du care se réclament en France, davantage que de Carol Gilligan. Je montre ici qu’une certaine tendance du discours français sur le care peut être diagnostiquée comme le symptôme d’une culture désenchantée, dépouillant le monde non de ses dieux, mais de ses dimensions esthétique, artistique et imaginative. Le renversement que ce discours tend à opérer, de la figure morale de l’autonomie à celle de la vulnérabilité, illustrerait ce (...) « symptôme ». C’est plus précisément l’idée du care comme « maintien du monde » chez Tronto que je critique, puisque l’auteure exclut de ces activités les domaines esthétique, artistique et intellectuel. Je discute trois auteures ayant déjà critiqué cette notion de care, qui chacune font progresser mon propos vers ce que je considère être un oubli du monde « existentiellement » habitable chez la philosophe. Enfin je contribue à combler ce qui manque dans la théorie de Tronto, soit un horizon esthétique et une réflexion sur le langage qui s’encastre dans une herméneutique du soi. Je me penche alors sur un care qui consiste à veiller sur la « fragilité du langage politique » chez Paul Ricoeur. Je conclus que s’agissant de faire du care une valeur publique à la fois féministe et soucieuse non seulement de la vie, mais aussi du monde, les activités artistiques, intellectuelles et éducationnelles sont de loin les plus efficaces, contrairement à ce que Tronto semble penser. | : In France, the ambassadresses of care ethics mainly align themselves with Joan C. Tronto’s theory—rather more than with Carol Gilligan’s. Here I want to state that a certain tendency of French discourse of “care” might be diagnosed as a symptom of a disenchanted culture, since it strips the world of its aesthetic, artistic, and imaginative dimensions. I contend that we can find the best illustration of this symptom when that discourse tends to shift from the moral figure of autonomy to the moral figure of vulnerability. More precisely, I aim to challenge Tronto’s idea of “care” as a “maintaining of the world”, since she excludes from it the areas of aesthetics, the arts, and intellectual activities. I shall discuss three authors who have already criticized Tronto’s notion of “care”. Each of them presents an opportunity for me to refine my reflection on what I consider to be Tronto’s disregard for an existentially liveable world. Finally, I help to fill in what is lacking from Tronto’s theory —that is to say, an aesthetic horizon and a real reflection on language, a reflection framed by a hermeneutics of the self. To this end, I focus on a “care” consisting in keeping watch over the “political language’s fragility” in Paul Ricoeur. I conclude by stating that if we really want to make “care” a public value, this feminist value should be concerned not only with life, but also with world. Artistic, intellectual, and educational activities are by far the most efficient at making such a value public. (shrink)

Dans Parcours de la reconnaissance, « se reconnaître dans le lignage » est conçu comme la première expérience de reconnaissance de soi paisible. Traitant de filiation, Ricoeur cite deux auteurs peu compatibles entre eux : Françoise Héritier et Pierre Legendre. Cet article élucide ce passage, montrant que ce double appel est motivé chez Ricoeur par un souci de voir l’« ordre des places » filiales rester intact. La référence à Héritier exprime un féminisme en germe chez Ricoeur, différencialiste, plaidant pour (...) un binarisme des sexes sans hiérarchie. Quant à la référence à Legendre, elle sert de propédeutique à la phénoménologie ricoeurienne du don « sans prix », mais dénote aussi l’appréhension de Ricoeur quant à certaines demandes contemporaines de reconnaissance. Dans le parcours ricoeurien de la reconnaissance-identité, où « se reconnaître dans le lignage » paraît essentiel, trouve-t-on la place pour des personnes intersexuées, transsexuelles, transgenres ou issues de familles monoparentales, homoparentales, alloparentales? En plus de répondre à cette question, j’explique pourquoi Ricoeur rejette le lacanisme de Legendre, et comment il critiquerait le structuralisme d’Héritier s’il avait pris le temps de le faire. (shrink)

Both issues of the Journal of Consciousness Studies on ‘Art and the Brain’[ Vol.6, No.6/7; Vol.8, No.8/9] were enlightening yet seriously lacking. As a musician, it was disconcerting to read such a wide-ranging title and discover that there was nothing pertinent about music and hearing, the performing arts and other forms of art. I concur with most of the criticisms made here and there, including those on jcs-online, in particular the contributions by Amy Ione and Donnya Wheelwell in the second (...) issue. The following comments and observations explain why I find the overall treatment of art in these issues completely unsatisfactory. (shrink)

This article indicates a reflective paradigm generally ignored in feminist research regarding the sex/gender debate, as presented in the work of Judith Butler ( Gender Trouble ). First, I address the fact that Butler’s philosophy is inscribed in the hermeneutical tradition of suspicion. Second, I put into relief the implicitly Platonic concept of mimesis , which is central to the anticipated subversion of gender, but uncriticized by Butler and others who follow her line of thought. Third, since Butler’s feminism can’t (...) ward off dualism, nor consider idem and ipse identity , I emphasize Paul Ricoeur ’s concept of triple mimesis and narrative identity, which allows us to depart from dichotomies and hierarchies. Following the path of Ricoeur and Françoise Heritier, I finally defend a feminist hermeneutical point of view, which is differentialist and universal. (shrink)

Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context, and Meaning in Qawwali. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1995. $24.95 (paper), xviii. 265 pp. CD with 60 min. of Qawwali music.

AbstractmRNA stability is increasingly recognized as being essential for controlling the expression of a wide variety of transcripts during neuronal development and synaptic plasticity. In this context, the role of AU‐rich elements (ARE) contained within the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of transcripts has now emerged as key because of their high incidence in a large number of cellular mRNAs. This important regulatory element is known to significantly modulate the longevity of mRNAs by interacting with available stabilizing or destabilizing RNA‐binding proteins (...) (RBP). Thus, in parallel with the emergence of ARE, RBP are also gaining recognition for their pivotal role in regulating expression of a variety of mRNAs. In the nervous system, the member of the Hu family of ARE‐binding proteins known as HuD, has recently been implicated in multiple aspects of neuronal function including the commitment and differentiation of neuronal precursors as well as synaptic remodeling in mature neurons. Through its ability to interact with ARE and stabilize multiple transcripts, HuD has now emerged as an important regulator of mRNA expression in neurons. The present review is designed to provide a comprehensive and updated view of HuD as an RBP in the nervous system. Additionally, we highlight the role of HuD in multiple aspects of a neuron's life from early differentiation to changes in mature neurons during learning paradigms and in response to injury and regeneration. Finally, we describe the current state of knowledge concerning the molecular and cellular events regulating the expression and activity of HuD in neurons. BioEssays 28: 822–833, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

While it represents a common form of gender-based violence, misogyny is an often-overlooked concept within academia and the queer community. Drawing on queer and feminist scholarship on gay male misogyny, this article presents a theoretical challenge to the myth that the oppressed cannot oppress, arguing that specific forms of gay male subjectivities can be proponents of misogyny in ways that are unrecognised because of their sexually marginalised status. The authors’ interest in the doing of misogyny, and its effects on specific (...) bodies and subjectivities, leads them to discuss the extent to which white gay male misogyny can function to reinforce a particular gender and racial hierarchy that continually confines queer femininities to the status of the abject other, for failing to exhibit their feminine credentials and for making gender trouble. The study also addresses how specific markers of femininity are depoliticised through the workings of this misogyny, exploring what femininity does when it is conceptualised outside a heteronormative framework. To address these ideas, the authors firstly propose a theoretical account of misogyny in order to understand its analytical status as a cultural mechanism within the psychic economy of patriarchy. Secondly, they use queer approaches to effeminacy and subject formation for making the case for gay male misogyny and its connections to femininity within white gay cultures, asking how misogyny might become an essential component of the performance of hegemonic masculinity. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which gay male misogyny reinforces white male dominance over women and queer femininities specifically, advocating for resistance to the reproduction of such patriarchal arrangements. (shrink)

If our thinking is socially conditioned, then how, at the end of 1900, did Max Planck, whose thinking was shaped by classical mechanics, manage to think that energy is quantized? After all, the idea was incommensurable with the principles of Newton’s mechanics. My thesis is that Planck did not intend to think about it. Trying to reconcile the time reversibility of the laws of mechanics with the time irreversibility of the laws of classical thermodynamics, he was constantly thinking according to (...) rules inherited from others. Trying to find a theoretical explanation of the formula describing the distribution of the energy of black-body radiation — arrived at by fitting theoretical parameters to new experimental data — he in “an act of despair” applied Boltzmann’s statistical concept of entropy. Then he noticed — on a sheet of paper — that classical and statistical formulas are identical if and only if the energy of resonators was a multiple of _hν_. What cannot appear in the human mind — as the mind is socially conditioned — can appear on paper. This gives a clear example of how computations in a “world on paper” can create new concepts. (shrink)

If our thinking is socially conditioned, then how, at the end of 1900, did Max Planck, whose thinking was shaped by classical mechanics, manage to think that energy is quantized? After all, the idea was incommensurable with the principles of Newton’s mechanics. My thesis is that Planck did not intend to think about it. Trying to reconcile the time reversibility of the laws of mechanics with the time irreversibility of the laws of classical thermodynamics, he was constantly thinking according to (...) rules inherited from others. Trying to find a theoretical explanation of the formula describing the distribution of the energy of black-body radiation — arrived at by fitting theoretical parameters to new experimental data — he in “an act of despair” applied Boltzmann’s statistical concept of entropy. Then he noticed — on a sheet of paper — that classical and statistical formulas are identical if and only if the energy of resonators was a multiple of hν. What cannot appear in the human mind — as the mind is socially conditioned — can appear on paper. This gives a clear example of how computations in a “world on paper” can create new concepts. (shrink)