Spirit of the Environment brings spiritual and religious concerns to environmental issues. Providing a much needed alternative to exploring human beings' relationship to the natural world through the restrictive lenses of 'science', 'ecology', or even 'morality', this book offers a fresh perspective to the field. Spirit of the Enironment addresses: * the environmental attitudes of the major religions; * the relationship between art and nature; * the Gaia hypothesis; * the non-instrumental values which have inspired environmental concern. Contributors range (...) from a variety of disciplines including philosophy, comparative religion, education and social anthropology, providing students with an intriguing survey on the role that spirituality and religion play in nature. This is a vital collection for those eager to examine the relationship between the spiritual and the environment. (shrink)

_Spirit of the Environment_ brings spiritual and religious concerns to environmental issues. Providing a much needed alternative to exploring human beings' relationship to the natural world through the restrictive lenses of 'science', 'ecology', or even 'morality', this book offers a fresh perspective to the field. _Spirit of the Enironment_ addresses: * the environmental attitudes of the major religions; * the relationship between art and nature; * the Gaia hypothesis; * the non-instrumental values which have inspired environmental concern. Contributors range (...) from a variety of disciplines including philosophy, comparative religion, education and social anthropology, providing students with an intriguing survey on the role that spirituality and religion play in nature. This is a vital collection for those eager to examine the relationship between the spiritual and the environment. (shrink)

First, we will address the unnecessary link between symbio-studies and Gaia, asking for the historical and epistemological reasons why they become associated. In particular, we contend that the association is mediated by the common interest in large-scale physico-chemical and biochemical patterns, rather than by an emphasis on harmony, equilibrium, and cooperation (Visvader 1992). Second, we will ask what Gaia is in a metatheoretical sense: is it a scientific hypothesis, a theory, a metaphor, an inspired invention, or a resurgence (...) of antiscientific attitude? After examining some alternatives that show the importance of metatheorizing, we will define Gaia a ‘scientific narrative’, this being a technical term in a sketchy metatheory. Let us just say, for now, that by narrative we don’t mean fairytale or artistic fiction, but rather a way of telling the history of our planet. We are not going to answer the question whether or not we should ban Gaia from any scientific discourse, nor the question how symbio-students should deal with the traditional association of their field with Gaia. But we hope to frame the dilemma in which symbio-students and the scientific community at large are held in a better way than simply insisting on classic demarcations between science and non-science. (shrink)

There is growing public interest in developing biomedical technologies capable of extending the human lifespan. This chapter discusses the desirability of a substantial life extension with regard to its implications for personal identity over time. The possibility of significant lifespan extension involves two different personal‐identity questions. First, it raises the question of whether one is identifiable as the very same person throughout a lifetime; secondly, it challenges our self‐conception. The chapter describes the way in which personal identity as “sameness” might (...) be affected by the prospect of substantial life extension. It then focuses on the significance of the conception of personal identity as “selfhood” for radically extended lifespans. Finally, the chapter argues that a substantial life extension raises important concerns about the continuity of one's identity over time and is not straightforwardly desirable for the individual. (shrink)

The hypothesis that foreseeable developments in interventions directed to forestall and to treat the disabilities of aging might result in the extension of the human lifespan may be further supported by the “evolutionary theory of aging.” Besides caloric restriction, several hormone supply or replacement strategies are considered to contrast the functional decline associated with aging. Hormone treatments may include growth hormone (GH), insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) signaling, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), melatonin, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen. In the 1990s, DHEA was exalted (...) as a possible candidate for the “fountain of youth.” Several experiments on animals have shown that DHEA is a multifunctional adrenal steroid with immune function enhancement, anti‐diabetic, anti‐cancer, and anti‐aging effects. The ethical questions concerning the extension of the lifespan belong to two distinct areas: the area of individual morality and the area of social morality. (shrink)

The chapter challenges hyperbolic claims about the centrality of appreciation of beauty to Buddhism. Within the texts, attitudes are more mixed, except for a form of 'inner beauty' - the beauty found in the expression of virtues or wisdom in forms of bodily comportment. Inner beauty is a stable presence throughout Buddhist history, practices, and art.

European Journal of Philosophy, EarlyView.

We recently demonstrated, by means of short latency afferent inhibition (SAI), that before an imagined movement, during the reaction time (RT), SAI decreases only in the movement-related muscle (sensorimotor modulation) and that a correlation exists between sensorimotor modulation and motor imagery (MI) ability. Excitatory anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) on M1 could enhance the MI outcome; however, mechanisms of action are not completely known. Here, we assessed if a-tDCS on M1 prior to an MI task could affect sensorimotor modulation. (...) Participants imagined abducting the index or little finger in response to an acoustic signal. SAI was evaluated from the first dorsal interosseus after the “go” signal, before the expected electromyographic (EMG) activity. Participants received 20-min 1.5 mA a-tDCS or sham-tDCS on M1 on two different days, in random order. Results showed that a-tDCS on M1 increases the sensorimotor modulation consisting of a weakening of SAI after the Go signal with respect to sham-tDCS, in the movement-related muscle right before the beginning of MI. These results suggest that a-tDCS on M1 further potentiate those circuits responsible for sensorimotor modulation in the RT phase of MI. Increased sensorimotor modulation during MI may be one of the mechanisms involved in MI improvement after a-tDCS over M1. (shrink)

This book explores C.G. Jung's complex relationship with Friedrich Nietzsche through the lens of the so-called 'visionary' literary tradition. The book connects Jung's experience of the posthumously published Liber Novus with his own understanding of Nietzsche's Zarathustra, and formulates the hypothesis of Jung considering Zarathustra as Nietzsche's Liber Novus –– both works being regarded by Jung as 'visionary' experiences. After exploring some 'visionary' authors often compared by Jung to Nietzsche, the book focuses upon Nietzsche and Jung exclusively. It analyses stylistic (...) similarities, as well as explicit references to Nietzsche and Zarathustra in Liber Novus, drawing on Jung's annotations in his own copy of Zarathustra. The book then uses Liber Novus as a prism to contextualize and understand Jung's five-year seminar on Zarathustra: all the nuances of Jung's interpretation of Zarathustra can be fully explained, only when compared with Liber Novus and its symbology. One of the main topics of the book concerns the figure of 'Christ' and Nietzsche's and Jung's understandings of the 'death of God.'. (shrink)

In the Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty dedicates many pages to the analysis of pathological cases, which seem to be assessed as merely negative phenomena that reinforce an extrinsic opposition with normal ones. This paper aims to clarify that Merleau-Ponty in effect challenges the able–disabled dichotomy by articulating an intentional analysis based on the perspective of being-in-the-world and proposing a differential understanding of embodiment. Such an analysis demonstrates that ability and disability exist as material and situational events and, simultaneously, form an (...) existential continuum—one that rejects the identification of disability with a disruption (ontological claim) or a degradation (normative claim). (shrink)

_Philosophy: The Classic Readings_ provides a comprehensive, single-volume collection of the greatest works of philosophy from ancient to modern times. Draws on both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions Arranged chronologically within parts on Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, and Political Philosophy Features original readings from more than a hundred of the world's great philosophers - from Lao Tzu, Confucius, the Buddha, Plato, Śamkara, Aquinas, al-Ghazāli, Kant, and Kierkegaard, to Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Sartre, Arendt, and Quine and many others Provides an (...) extensive Timeline of Philosophy for situating historical figures and lines of thought. (shrink)

This article is a first assessment of the Italian Code of deontology for nurses (revised in 1999) on the basis of data collected from focus groups with nurses taking part in the Ethical Codes in Nursing (ECN) project. We illustrate the professional context in which the Code was introduced and explain why the 1999 revision was necessary in the light of changes affecting the Italian nursing profession. The most remarkable findings concern professional autonomy and responsibility, and how the Code is (...) thought of as a set of guidelines for nursing practice. We discuss these issues, underlining that the 1999 Code represents a valuable instrument for ethical reflection and examination, a stimulus for putting the moral sense of the nursing profession into action, and that it represents a new era for professional nursing practice in Italy. The results of the analysis also deserve further qualitative study and future consideration. (shrink)

In his target article, Ismaili M’hamdi advocates for perfectionist public health policymaking, which entails fostering relevant and objectively valuable public health-related capabilities wh...

This article pursues the goal of articulating a pedagogical paradigm of philosophy as a way of life that can effectively re-invigorate the teaching of philosophy in today’s academic world. This re-invigoration should take direct inspiration from Hadot’s hermeneutical framework of how to live philosophically, while still recognizing the intrinsic limitations that his model presents when applied to the modern educational practices of academia. In particular, we maintain that a literal application of Hadot’s model would require we turn the teaching of (...) philosophy as a way of life into a systemic affair that demands from students a full commitment to particular schools of thought. Conversely, we argue for a pedagogical paradigm of philosophy as a way of life (“PWOL-as-Situated-Pedagogy”) that enacts a triple balancing between theory and practice, progress and assessment, and depth and breadth. In this way, the problem of self-cultivation is tackled by engaging students with a broader consideration of philosophies and spiritual exercises. (shrink)

Il significato e il valore del termine cura vengono qui indagati dal punto di vista di un'importante scuola di pensiero contemporanea, quella della fenomenologia antropologica applicata alla relazione clinica. Questo orientamento, che ha avuto inizio con il medico e filosofo Viktor von Weizsäcker, ha dato vita a nuovi modi di intendere e praticare la cura in ambito medico, tra cui quello del Medical Humanismus. L'approccio fenomenologico alla relazione clinica fa della categoria della comprensione piů di quella della spiegazione; della nozione (...) di significato piů di quelle di segno o sintomo, gli strumenti interpretativi privilegiati per vivere e condurre la relazione tra medico e paziente. Il percorso di cura davvero efficace e mirato č dunque inteso come quello di un medico la cui ars sia dedita a restaurare e ricomporre l'integritÀ emotiva e assiologica della persona malata, aiutandola a reinterpretare il proprio universo esistenziale, drammaticamente sovvertito per prioritÀ, caratteristiche e potenzialitÀ dall'avvento del patico. (shrink)

An extended visual exploration of Brooklyn and its inhabitants viewed from a bus window frame. The project was conceived as a symbolic photographic portrait of America in this specific time of history, a time of transition and transformation deeply affected by the global economic crisis and its consequences on society, politics and culture.

The image of the Roman woman, which has survived to this day and imposed itself almost as the only possibility for the ancient scholarship, is the domiseda: the housewife, mother, and spinner. In addition to the investigations of this traditional depiction, which steered the research on Roman women, the issues of our time and the advances in scientific research constantly bring us new perspectives, approaches, and problems around this object of study. This inevitably motivates us to question the role of (...) women in the business and finance world in Ancient Rome. Is it possible to write an economic and financial history of Roman women? What are the limits of this endeavor? This article addresses the insertion of women in the business and finance world, as well as some of the multiple possibilities of writing the History of Women from the Economic and Social History viewpoint. The time frame is restricted to the end of the Republic and the imperial period. This article is therefore divided into three parts: first, an introduction to the discussion of the situation of women in the domus; secondly, methodological assumptions to the study of women and their placement in economic and financial life; and, finally, some examples ofwomen from three different social groups who appear involved in credit relations in the documentation. (shrink)

In this paper I will argue that Aristotelian accounts of disease cannot provide us with an adequate descriptive account of our concept of disease. In other words, they fail to classify conditions as either diseases, or non-diseases, in a way that is consistent with commonplace intuitions. This being said, Aristotelian accounts of disease are not worthless. Aristotelian approaches cannot offer a decent descriptive account of our concept of disease, but they do offer resources for improving on the ways in which (...) we think about the harms that afflict human beings. While they cannot offer an account of ‘disease' they can offer an account of ‘harm'—and this it turns out, is ultimately of greater importance. (shrink)

This article examines continuity and change in Star trek’s expression of the American Frontier Myth, moving from an American ideal of imperialist expansion across an unlimited feminized landscape and destruction of Indians and animals in the myth’s early form, to one of benevolent redemption of the Other as misguided or evil alien in the unlimited expanse of outer space in early Star Trek. Analysis of symbol and narrative in Star Trek Voyager show further change, as feminist and environmental ethics are (...) included. Now, movement is toward earth rather than away from it, raced and gendered Others are often internalized rather than projected onto Indians and aliens, and nature is vulnerable and spiritual rather than unlimited and inert. Though women and nature are still linked and idealized as selfless givers, progress is also made as women gain equal rank and air time and men take on some traditionally feminine roles. (shrink)

Questo contributo esplora le connessioni esistenti tra un particolare sistema di produzione e il corrispondente modello di sfruttamento nel contesto dell'assegnazione del colore - o razzializzazione - delle popolazioni del Pacifico e di una concezione dell'Australia come spazio politico ‘bianco'. L'analisi si concentra sul fenomeno del, quel particolare sistema di reclutamento e sfruttamento della forza lavoro impiegato prevalentemente nelle piantagioni di canna da zucchero del Queensland e delle Isole Fiji che, tra il 1863 e il 1904, coinvolse uomini e donne, (...) adulti e ragazzi delle isole della Melanesia, della Micronesia e, in minor modo, della Polinesia. Il processo di reclutamento comprendeva quasi sempre la coazione e il servaggio, per quanto vi fossero tra i lavoratori reclutati anche coloro che si offrivano volontariamente. Il lavoro a contratto o, sottoposto a livelli di disciplina, controllo e coercizione molto elevati e senza reali garanzie di salario, condizioni e durata, aveva termini temporali precisi e difficilmente rinnovabili. (shrink)

The focus group held in Bologna on 2 October 2005 revolved around the relationships between ‘body’, ‘sexuality’ and ‘precarity’, which are concepts at the heart of the reflections and political agenda of the feminist and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (GLBTQ) movements in Italy.

China’s extensive media presence in Africa aims to distinguish itself through the use of constructive journalism in contrast with the perceived dominance of conflict journalism by Western media outlets. However, many scholars have raised questions of consistency surrounding Chinese media’s use of constructive journalism in representing Africa (e.g. Marsh, Citation2016). With perspectives from Galtung’s (Citation1987, p. 1998) conflict and peace journalism, this research applies Critical Discourse Analysis to examine Chinese media’s representation of Africa to an international audience. Using linguistic data (...) from China Radio International’s Today, it challenges the distinctions among peace journalism, solutions journalism and constructive journalism. The findings show that China’s claim of constructive journalism strongly favors the coverage of China, yet is largely absent in the coverage of the African continent. It suggests that while Chinese state-sponsored media utilizes the so-called constructive journalism when presenting information about a specific region to that region, these representations are not consistent across their international coverage. Hence, Africa remains a victim of conflict journalism. (shrink)

When information grows abundant, attention becomes a scarce resource. As a result, agents must plan wisely how to allocate their attention in order to achieve epistemic efficiency. Here, we present a framework for multi-agent epistemic planning with attention, based on Dynamic Epistemic Logic. We identify the framework as a fragment of standard DEL, and consider its plan existence problem. While it is undecidable in the general case, we show that when attention is required for learning, all instances of the problem (...) are decidable. (shrink)

L’ouvrage de F. Stella est une enquête de grande envergure sur la notion d’« intellect » entre la Grèce archaïque et la période classique. Encore hésite-t-on à traduire ainsi le vocabulaire du νόος, car cela reviendrait d’emblée à le lester d’une signification déterminée : celle de l’acte cognitif par excellence, où culmine le geste philosophique d’abstraction. Or le projet de F. Stella est précisément de démontrer que cette signification est le produit d’une histoire : le sens qui se constit...

Reframes philosophical understanding of, and engagement with, tragedy. In The Tragedy of Philosophy Andrew Cooper challenges the prevailing idea of the death of tragedy, arguing that this assumption reflects a problematic view of both tragedy and philosophy—one that stifles the profound contribution that tragedy could provide to philosophy today. To build this case, Cooper presents a novel reading of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment. Although this text is normally understood as the final attempt to seal philosophy from the (...) threat of tragedy, Cooper argues that Kant’s project is rather a creative engagement with a tragedy that is specific to philosophy, namely, the inevitable failure of attempts to master nature through knowledge. Kant’s encounter with the tragedy of philosophy turns philosophy’s gaze from an exclusive focus on knowledge to matters of living well in a world that does not bend itself to our desires. Tracing the impact of Kant’s Critique of Judgment on some of the most famous theories of tragedy, including those of G. W. F. Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Cornelius Castoriadis, Cooper demonstrates how these philosophers extend the project found in both Kant and the Greek tragedies: the attempt to grasp nature as a domain hospitable to human life. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Nietzscheforschung Jahrgang: 21 Heft: 1 Seiten: 231-242.