Sign languages modulate the production of signs in space and use this spatial modulation to refer back to entities—to maintain coreference. We ask here whether spatial modulation is so fundamental to language in the manual modality that it will be invented by individuals asked to create gestures on the spot. English speakers were asked to describe vignettes under 2 conditions: using gesture without speech, and using speech with spontaneous gestures. When using gesture alone, adults placed gestures for particular entities in (...) non-neutral locations and then used those locations to refer back to the entities. When using gesture plus speech, adults also produced gestures in non-neutral locations but used the locations coreferentially far less often. When gesture is forced to take on the full burden of communication, it exploits space for coreference. Coreference thus appears to be a resilient property of language, likely to emerge in communication systems no matter how simple. (shrink)

It is largely acknowledged that natural languages emerge not just from human brains but also from rich communities of interacting human brains (Senghas, ). Yet the precise role of such communities and such interaction in the emergence of core properties of language has largely gone uninvestigated in naturally emerging systems, leaving the few existing computational investigations of this issue at an artificial setting. Here, we take a step toward investigating the precise role of community structure in the emergence of linguistic (...) conventions with both naturalistic empirical data and computational modeling. We first show conventionalization of lexicons in two different classes of naturally emerging signed systems: (a) protolinguistic “homesigns” invented by linguistically isolated Deaf individuals, and (b) a natural sign language emerging in a recently formed rich Deaf community. We find that the latter conventionalized faster than the former. Second, we model conventionalization as a population of interacting individuals who adjust their probability of sign use in response to other individuals' actual sign use, following an independently motivated model of language learning (Yang, , ). Simulations suggest that a richer social network, like that of natural (signed) languages, conventionalizes faster than a sparser social network, like that of homesign systems. We discuss our behavioral and computational results in light of other work on language emergence, and other work of behavior on complex networks. (shrink)

The COVID-19 emergency has hit the whole world, finding all countries unprepared to face it. The first studies focused on the medical aspects, neglecting the psychological dimension of the populations that were forced to face changes in everyday life and in some cases to stay forcedly at home in order to reduce contagion. The present research was carried out in Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. The aim was to analyze the perception of happiness, mental health, (...) and the sense of loneliness experienced by adults during the lockdown due to the COVID pandemic. Specifically, the variables will be examined in relation to gender difference, living alone, with partner, or with partner and children. The research followed a quantitative approach using an online questionnaire. The project involved 1100 subjects from whom 721 participants were extrapolated. Of them, 17.3% claimed to live alone, 39.5% with their partner, and 43.1% with their partner and children. The results show that people in general experienced a lower level of happiness and mental health and higher levels of loneliness compared to normative sample. The lockdown and pandemic condition due to COVID-19 seems to have canceled the gender differences in the perception of happiness and mental health, while it seems to have increased the perception of loneliness experienced by males compared to the pre-pandemic condition. In addition, those who lived alone perceived a greater level of loneliness than those who lived with their partner or partner and children. Unexpectedly, no significant differences emerged regarding the level of happiness and mental health between those who had direct contact with the virus and those who did not. These data should make political decision-makers reflect on the need to pay more attention to the implications that such drastic measures as a lockdown can have on people’s psychological well-being. (shrink)

In Responsible Brains, Hirstein, Sifferd and Fagan apply the language of cognitive neuroscience to dominant understandings of criminal responsibility in criminal law theory. The Authors make a compelling case that, under such dominant understandings, criminal responsibility eventually ‘translates’ into a minimal working set of executive functions that are primarily mediated by the frontal lobes of the brain. In so arguing, the Authors seem to unquestioningly accept the law’s view of the “responsible person” as a mixture of cognitive capacities and mechanisms—thereby (...) leaving aside other fundamental aspects of individuals’ human agency. This commentary article offers a critique of the Authors’ rationalist and individualist approach. The critique can be summarized through the following claim: We humans, as responsible beings, are more than our executive functions. This claim articulates through four main points of discussion: role of emotions in moral judgments and behavior; executive functions and normative criteria for legal insanity; impact of adverse situational factors on executive functions; Authors’ account of punishment and, especially, rehabilitation. (shrink)

The philosophical and exegetical oeuvre, biography and legacy of the Jewish-Italian Renaissance Rabbi Obadiah Sforno (c. 1475–1550) are revisited for the first time by international scholars presenting in-depth studies on the thoughts of a man “between two worlds”.

Many sign languages display crosslinguistic consistencies in the use of two iconic aspects of handshape, handshape type and finger group complexity. Handshape type is used systematically in form-meaning pairings (morphology): Handling handshapes (Handling-HSs), representing how objects are handled, tend to be used to express events with an agent (“hand-as-hand” iconicity), and Object handshapes (Object-HSs), representing an object's size/shape, are used more often to express events without an agent (“hand-as-object” iconicity). Second, in the distribution of meaningless properties of form (morphophonology), Object-HSs (...) display higher finger group complexity than Handling-HSs. Some adult homesigners, who have not acquired a signed or spoken language and instead use a self-generated gesture system, exhibit these two properties as well. This study illuminates the development over time of both phenomena for one child homesigner, “Julio,” age 7;4 (years; months) to 12;8. We elicited descriptions of events with and without agents to determine whether morphophonology and morphosyntax can develop without linguistic input during childhood, and whether these structures develop together or independently. Within the time period studied: (1) Julio used handshape type differently in his responses to vignettes with and without an agent; however, he did not exhibit the same pattern that was found previously in signers, adult homesigners, or gesturers: while he was highly likely to use a Handling-HS for events with an agent (82%), he was less likely to use an Object-HS for non-agentive events (49%); i.e., his productions were heavily biased toward Handling-HSs; (2) Julio exhibited higher finger group complexity in Object- than in Handling-HSs, as in the sign language and adult homesigner groups previously studied; and (3) these two dimensions of language developed independently, with phonological structure showing a sign language-like pattern at an earlier age than morphosyntactic structure. We conclude that iconicity alone is not sufficient to explain the development of linguistic structure in homesign systems. Linguistic input is not required for some aspects of phonological structure to emerge in childhood, and while linguistic input is not required for morphology either, it takes time to emerge in homesign. (shrink)

Zahlreiche christliche Autoren der Antike stellten die Begriffe Reue und Umkehr in das Zentrum ihrer Schriften. In philosophiegeschichtlichen Betrachtungen fanden diese Reflexionen bisher wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Die Studie möchte demgegenüber die philosophiegeschichtliche Bedeutung dieser Überlegungen zum Konzept der Reue ins Bewusstsein heben. Grundlegende Thesen der frühchristlich-patristischen Schriften wie etwa die dezidierte Freiheitsanthropologie, der soteriologische Universalismus oder der theologische Kontraktualismus bildeten einen eigenständigen Ideenkomplex heraus, der sich von prä- und nichtchristlichen Philosophieschulen stark unterschied. Deren Auffassungen waren eher durch eine Abwertung des Reuebegriffs, (...) durch soteriologischen Elitismus sowie durch die Vorstellung von einem Primat der Natur und des Habitus geprägt. (shrink)

In Melanipp. PMG 762 the reading βροτῶν (v. 1) of the MSS can be retained. The god invoked as “lord of the everlasting soul” (v. 2), generally identified with Dionysus-Zagreus, can be rather recognized as the Orphic Zeus.

As the relationship between music and philosophy in Nietzsche’s thought and life continues to fascinate, new approaches to the treatment of music in Nietzsche studies have emerged which take seriously the importance of music, not only in Nietzsche’s life, but for his philosophical project as a whole. While Nietzsche’s often-quoted claim that life without music would be a mistake was once treated as a quip, the quality and breadth of the works reviewed here demonstrate that this invaluable area of Nietzsche’s (...) thought is finally receiving the rigorous treatment it deserves. The works below each offer new and valuable insights on this exciting and growing area of Nietzsche studies which aid us in understanding where to place Nietzsche’s most loved art form in the framework of his philosophy. (shrink)

Two well-known ancient witnesses report that Aristophanes of Byzantium was responsible for the arrangement of Pindar's poems into seventeen book-rolls according to lyric genres. These witnesses form fr. 381 in the edition of Aristophanes’ fragments by W.J. Slater : Vit. Pind. P.Oxy. 2438.35–9 δ]ιῄρητα̣ι̣ δὲ α̣ὐ̣τ̣[ο]ῦ̣ τ̣[ὰ ποιήματα ὑπ’ Ἀριστοφάν]ους εἰς βιβλία ιζˊ· διθ̣[υ]ρά̣[μ]βων βˊ [προσοδίω]ν̣ βˊ παιάνων αˊ πα[ρ]θεν[εί]ων γ̣ˊ [ἐπινικίω]ν̣ δˊ ἐγκωμίων αˊ ἐν [ᾧ] κα̣ὶ [σκ]όλ̣[ια ±4 ὕμ]ν̣ων αˊ ὑ[π]ορχημάτων αˊ θρ̣[ήνων.| nisi aliter ind., omnia suppl. Lobel (...) | 2 Ἀριστοφάν]ους Lobel e Vit. Pind. Vat. | 3 ἐν [ᾧ] κα̣ὶ [σκ]όλ̣[ια …. de Kreij : ἐν [ᾧ] κ[αὶ σκόλιά τινα vel ἐν [ᾧ] κ[αὶ σκόλιά ἐστι Gallo : ἐν [ᾧ] καὶ [παροίνια D'Alessio | 4 αˊ post θρ̣[ήνων coni. edd., fort. recte; an θρ̣[- βˊ?Vit. Pind. Vat. page 7.14–17 Dr. ὁ δὲ ἐπινίκιος οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ “Ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ” προτέτακται ὑπὸ Ἀριστοφάνους τοῦ συντάξαντος τὰ Πινδαρικὰ διὰ τὸ περιέχειν τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐγκώμιον καὶ τὰ περὶ τοῦ Πέλοπος, ὃς πρῶτος ἐν ῎Ηλιδι ἠγωνίσατο.A much-debated question is whether the order of the poems attested by the papyrus can be credited to Aristophanes, since an ordering principle is apparently not to be found in the list transmitted by it. Moreover, there are some disagreements with the list of Pindar's works transmitted by the Vita Ambrosiana, which is generally deemed the most authoritative catalogue of the poet's corpus, on account of its well-recognized criterion of classification: the poems are divided between those for gods and those for men, and both of these categories of songs are arranged from the most general to the most specific. This catalogue has been thought to reproduce the order established by Aristophanes in his edition of Pindar. (shrink)

The issue concerning the misery of the soul in fire was one of the most frequently discussed topics during the 13th century and the early decades of the 14th, with authors including Albert the Great, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Siger of Brabant, Theodoric of Freiberg, Giles of Rome, Matthew of Acquasparta and Dante dealing with this problem in varying degrees. The purpose of my paper is to attempt to identify the reasons underlying the importance of this topic in the writings of (...) Siger, Thomas and Albert. Indeed, behind its theological-exegetical veneer, crucial themes such as the interpretation of Aristotle’s psychology and, more generally, the compatibility between natural/peripatetic philosophy and Christian faith emerge as the underlying issues at stake. (shrink)

Summary A pupil of Köhler and von Hornbostel in Berlin, Arnheim published an article in the Musical Quarterly in 1984, where he applied the principles of visual composition to the musical form. In a painting, for example, the forces of visual composition are essential for aesthetic enjoyment; in music, sounds are essential as they are always occurring in time, and this constitutes the main dynamic vector of music. Starting with the tetrachord of ancient Greek music and analysing the relationships between (...) notes in the major and minor scales, Arnheim identifies what in the Western musical tradition represents the basis on which each note must relate: the tonal centre, the attractive motor that determines the perceptual dynamics of musical expression. Two examples, taken from Schubert and Béla Bartók, show us how the structure of the melodic construction is essential in generating different states of mind; Arnheim, however, does not stop at the simple eliciting of an emotion, but situates the musical structure in a more general framework, which refers to perceptual patterns belonging to any sphere, mental or physical, thanks to which we experience our reality. (shrink)

The Calabrian Mafia seems to be animated by a hunger for power with no precedent in other crime organizations, and an ability to hide its presence so much to make it an obvious and inevitable component of the decreed social system, deeply crept into the community cohabitation norms. In the study, we have aimed at investigating the Reggio Calabria flying squad policemen's representations and lived experiences. The qualitative analysis of the text, carried out through dedicated software, has pointed out two (...) super codes. In other words, “solitude” as lived experience is spatially contained in “aggression to connections” and “the absence of freedom” encloses the lived experience of constant and systematic danger. This means that the emotional elaboration on Mafia, carried out during the group process, has highlighted thinking categories connected to the coercion of relational space which articulate themselves along t.. (shrink)

Euelpides and Peisthetaerus have just left Athens, looking for a better place to settle. Frightened by the arrival of Tereus' servant, they introduce themselves as birds. Peisthetaerus says that he is ‘Fearfowl, a Libyan bird’.

During the midst of the Great Resignation, over 4.5 million people have changed jobs. While a job change does not register as one of the top three drivers of stress, career transition-related stress does present itself as one of the top 25 causes. This stress can be reduced through social support models, career transition planning, and personal brand strategy frameworks. These adaptive change models become part of a continuous learning and growth process. This literature review aims to contribute to the (...) industry and define career transition through a more holistic personal brand strategy utilizing a wide range of disciplines considering the challenges and opportunities presented during the Great Resignation. (shrink)

An activity called Purple Dragons and Yellow Toadstools, originally reported in 1987 as a training activity for jurors, was adapted as a priming exercise for a unit on teaching research ethics with undergraduate students. In this activity, learners develop skills for building negotiated consensus. The procedure involves individuals’ ranking 10–15 moral transgressions and/or legal violations followed by a small group discussion in order to arrive at an agreed-upon ranking by the team. The framework has proved to be quite flexible, adaptable (...) to different subject areas and with different populations of students. (shrink)

Whitehead, in two basic books, considers two different approaches to point-free geometry: the inclusion-based approach , whose primitive notions are regions and inclusion relation between regions, and the connection-based approach , where the connection relation is considered instead of the inclusion. We show that the latter cannot be reduced to the first one, although this can be done in the framework of multivalued logics.

In the first section we briefly describe methodological assumptions of point-free geometry and topology. We also outline history of geometrical theories based on the notion of emph{region}. The second section is devoted to concise presentation of the content of the LLP special issue on point-free theories of space.

Herein, I discuss the enduring mystery of the receptor layout in the vertebrate olfactory system. Since the awarding of the 2004 Nobel Prize to Axel and Buck for their discovery of the gene family that encodes olfactory receptors, our field has enjoyed a golden era. Despite this Renaissance, an answer to one of the most fundamental questions for any sensory system—what is the anatomical logic of its receptor array?—eludes us, still, for olfaction! Indeed, the only widely debated hypothesis, finding its (...) origins in the musing of another Nobel laureate Sir Edgar Adrian, has it that the vertebrate nose organizes its receptors according to the “sorptive” properties of their ligands. This idea, known as the “sorption” or “chromatography” hypothesis, enjoys considerable support despite being controversial. Here, I review the history of the hypothesis—its rises and falls—and discuss the latest data and future prospects for this perennial idea whose history I liken to the mythical Phoenix. (shrink)