The article proposes to discuss the categories of "purity" and "impurity" as tools for structuring reality and constructing identities in the context of Enochic Judaism in the Second Temple period. Investigate them, in a special way, from the Myth of the Watchers narrated in the Book of the Watchers, which composes the apocalyptic literature of 1 Enoch. Both the homogeneity verified in the lineage guaranteed the purity of the race and, consequently, the establishment of the identity, as well as the (...) cosmic subversion, resulting from displacements of pre-established places, structured the notion of impurity. The article presents Enochic Judaism based on research that took place after the 1980s. Enochic Literature is the literary space from which we are led to discussion around the pure and impure as categories of understanding of reality in the perspective of this movement. The article uses the researches of the anthropologist Mary Douglas, to propose an analysis of the Myth of the Watchers and their readings. The article assumes that, in a sense, the plurality perceived in the Second Temple period establishes possibilities of thinking the faith in the history of the Jewish tradition. This apocalyptic movement has influenced other religious movements, among them, the Early Christianity, which is why some religious experiences, whose roots are in the Judeo-Christian tradition, can be better evaluated. (shrink)
In Consciousness Explained, Dennett systematically deconstructs the notion of consciousness, emptying it of its central and essential features. He fails to recognize the self?intimating nature of experience, in effect reducing experiences to reports or judgments that so?and?so is the case. His information?processing model of meaning is unable to account for semantics, the way in which speakers and hearers relate strings of symbols to the world. This ability derives ultimately from our animal nature as experiencers, though culturally supplemented in various ways. (...) But Dennett, while successful in rebutting Cartesianism about the mind, fails to take into account our natural history. He claims descent from Wittgenstein in his philosophy of mind, but he shows awareness only of Wittgensteinian's demolition of the private object of experience and overlooks the equally Wittgensteinian theme of humans as products of nature. (shrink)
A survey was carried out on 108 Chilean children and a selection of their families. The factors studied were: (1) social, (2) demographic and dietaryto assess the incidence and degree of malnutrition and (4) haematology—to determine the incidence of anaemia.
OF all the things that Plato was, he was primarily a philosopher and a metaphysician. Should this statement seem merely to emphasize the obvious; then let us explain why so simple a statement should rate special mention. There have always been those who are too willing to look upon the author of the ‘Theory of Ideas’ as an artist, a mystic, a poet but not a metaphysician. In this view, Plato’s Ideas are understandable only through the analysis of the personality (...) of an artist; it is a view which interjects far too much of the subjective into what must be seen as the objective ground for his whole philosophy. The possibility of such conflicting views on Plato can be explained by the fact that nowhere does Plato present in his writings a truly definitive Theory of Ideas and a workable proof for them. Some like Stewart require the assistance of psychology to examine Plato. Fite, on a priori grounds, makes a feeble attempt to take Plato out of the realm of any metaphysics whatsoever. Grote confuses reason and myth until nothing remains of Plato but a kind of mixed-up jumble. Others, of course, are loyal to the commitments of a critic and endeavour to discover the meaning of Plato and to present it fairly and honestly. (shrink)
Negative emotion differentiation has been suggested to be important for adaptive emotion regulation. However, knowledge concerning how ED may impact specific ER strategy choice remains surprisingly sparse. We therefore investigated if person-level negative ED was associated with habitual use of individual ER strategies, how person-level negative ED was associated with daily use of individual ER strategies, and finally how within-person daily fluctuations in negative ED were associated with daily use of individual ER strategies. During a 10-day experience sampling study, 90 (...) healthy participants rated their momentary emotions and their ER efforts in response to those emotions. ER strategies included four putatively adaptive strategies and four putatively maladaptive strategies. Results revealed that negative ED at the person level was neither associated with habitual nor daily ER strategy endorsement when controlling for negative emotions. Likewise, associations between within-individual daily variation in negative ED and daily ER did not remain statistically significant after controlling for negative emotions. The results thus point to no or weak associations between negative ED and ER choice above and beyond negative emotions. Future experimental studies addressing ED at the momentary level and teasing out the ED–ER causal timeline are needed to further evaluate ED–ER associations. Findings from such research may represent an important step toward refining psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at improving emotional problems. (shrink)
The use of computational models for understanding human face perception and recognition has a long and intriguing history that runs parallel to efforts in the engineering literature to develop algorithms for computer-based face recognition systems. This article considers the insights gained from combining computational and cognitive approaches to the study of human face recognition and discusses the ways in which computational models have informed studies of human face processing and vice versa. It explains the concept of a face space, in (...) its abstract psychological, and physical/computational forms. The study shows how adaptation as a method is beginning to reveal properties of neural representations in a way that connects with the cognitive/perceptual approach. Finally, it discusses recent progress in state-of-the-art computational models of face recognition, which offers a new perspective on the cognitive-computational dialog. (shrink)
Energy and Social Change results from the Twenty Year Forecast Project, directed by the author and conducted trhough the University of Southern California Center for Futures Research. Unlike many more gloomy predictions, this study takes a step back from pessimism. It offers instead a realistic perspective tempered with a modicum of optimism.The report's special contribution to the energy debate lies in its call for a redirection of attention to options that are realizable within the framework--and the limits--of the existing system. (...) Advocating higher energy prices and more incentives for increased competition in the domestic energy market, the author supports a resurgence of the free enterprise system. The price of energy will and should increase in order to control waste, although the rise in costs will be mitigated by the gradual pace. In the long term, however, we should strive for a "quality economy" characterized in part by its reduced inefficiency and more meaningful jobs. Three of the ways in which this might be accomplished are shifting to an electrically based economy, developing alternative forms of energy, and switching to technologies more appropriate to the future environment.Sure to generate discussion, this analysis will prove useful in considerations of energy policy and the social impact of technological change. (shrink)
As basic as epistemological questions might be, they all depend upon a far more fundamental question, which must be faced squarely, if a man is to be ever really sure. That question is simply stated: ‘What is knowing?’ So basic is it, indeed, that only when the answer is forthcoming will those phantoms of validity and truth, of certitude and synthesis, be dissolved once and for all.
Localism is a social movement often associated with “buy local” food initiatives or the prevention of big-box retail expansion. At its core, however, localism is also about fostering local independence by encouraging businesses to opt for local alternatives when making purchasing decisions. In this article, we develop and test hypotheses that organizations with stronger community-oriented identities are more likely to source locally and that this relationship is moderated by the importance of the focal firm’s purchasing decisions. Results support the strong (...) influence of identity but the conditional effect is unconfirmed. (shrink)
There is a virtual consensus among commentators on Descartes that the causal principle by which he relates the objective reality of his ideas to the formal reality of their causes isindefensible. In particular, Descartes’ claim that this principle follows from the general principle which states that the cause must contain at least as much reality as the effect has been examined and rejected as logically implausible. I challenge this view by showing that there is a logically plausible derivation of the (...) causal principle of ideas from the general causal principle. This result has important implications due to the crucial role the causal principle of ideas plays in Descartes’ first a posteriori argument for the existence of God. (shrink)
Instead of drawing out exact paths for overcoming barriers, the authors of the book Enhancing Science Impact refer back to the necessity of reflecting on all aspects of research. There is no one-fits-all solution of approaching sustainability. Instead a comprehensive understanding of problem-structuring is necessary for addressing current challenges. Even though the work provides a practical foci-guideline, a critical reflection on how nature is represented within research programmes and projects is missing.
Public education is not just a way to organise and fund education. It is also the expression of a particular ideal about education and of a particular way to conceive of the relationship between education and society. The ideal of public education sees education as an important dimension of the common good and as an important institution in securing the common good. The common good is never what individuals or particular groups want or desire, but always reaches beyond such particular (...) desires towards that which societies as a whole should consider as desirable. This does, of course, put the common good in tension with the desires of individuals and groups. Neo-liberal modes of governance have, over the past decades, put this particular educational set up under pressure and have, according to some, eroded the very idea of the common good. This set of contributions reflects on this state of affairs, partly through an exploration of the idea of publicness itself – how it can be rearticulated and regained – and partly through reflections on the current state of education in the ‘north’ and the ‘south.’. (shrink)
