_Objetivo:_ conocer las opiniones de los ancianos sobre la vacuna anti-covid y su posible rechazo. _Metodología:_ se trata de un estudio exploratorio y cualitativo, realizado en un pequeño municipio, en el extremo Norte de Mato Grosso, Brasil. La recolección de datos ocurrió en marzo de 2021, a través de una entrevista semiestructurada. Para el análisis de datos se utilizó el software ATLAS.ti®. _Resultados:_ la mayoría de los ancianos mostró aceptación y deseo de ser inmunizados, pero aquellos con baja escolaridad mostraron (...) mayor rechazo a la vacuna, lo que fue percibido por los demás ancianos como una irresponsabilidad. Los participantes mencionan que toda persona tiene derecho a elegir. _Conclusiones:_ aunque los ancianos tenían una opinión positiva sobre la vacuna, se deben intensificar las acciones educativas, especialmente entre aquellos con baja escolaridad, para que la conducta de rechazo, si prevalece incluso después de diálogos y aclaraciones, no influya a terceros y ponga en peligro la salud de la comunidad. (shrink)

Journal Name: Apeiron Issue: Ahead of print.

BackgroundVerbal autopsy is a pragmatic approach for generating cause-of-death data in contexts without well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics systems. It has primarily been conducted in health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSS) in Africa and Asia. Although significant resources have been invested to develop the technical aspects of verbal autopsy, ethical issues have received little attention. We explored the benefits and burdens of verbal autopsy in HDSS settings and identified potential strategies to respond to the ethical issues identified.MethodsThis research was (...) based on a case study approach centred on two contrasting HDSS in Kenya and followed the Mapping-Framing-Shaping Framework for empirical bioethics research. Data were collected through individual interviews, focus group discussions, document reviews and non-participant observations. 115 participants were involved, including 86 community members (HDSS residents and community representatives), and 29 research staff (HDSS managers, researchers, census field workers and verbal autopsy interviewers).ResultsThe use of verbal autopsy data for research and public health was described as the most common potential benefit of verbal autopsy in HDSS. Community members mentioned the potential uses of verbal autopsy data in addressing immediate public health problems for the local population while research staff emphasized the benefits of verbal autopsy to research and the wider public. The most prominent burden associated with the verbal autopsy was emotional distress for verbal autopsy interviewers and respondents. Moral events linked to the interview, such as being unsure of the right thing to do (moral uncertainty) or knowing the right thing to do and being constrained from acting (moral constraint), emerged as key causes of emotional distress for verbal autopsy interviewers.ConclusionsThe collection of cause-of-death data through verbal autopsy in HDSS settings presents important ethical and emotional challenges for verbal autopsy interviewers and respondents. These challenges include emotional distress for respondents and moral distress for interviewers. This empirical ethics study provides detailed accounts of the distress caused by verbal autopsy and highlights ethical tensions between potential population benefits and risks to individuals. It includes recommendations for policy and practice to address emotional and moral distress in verbal autopsy. (shrink)

Percepciones de los docentes universitarios sobre el entorno laboral Professors’ Perceptions of the Work Environment Descriptive-interpretive study with a qualitative approach, conducted at a public university in Brazil. Its aim is to explore professors’ perceptions of the work environment. The study used an interview guided by a semi-structured survey. Data analysis was based on content analysis. The work environment was found to be degraded either by unhealthy labor relations or problems with the management of work dynamics and activities. This poses (...) a risk for professors’ health and demands more attention from managers, especially in terms of promoting a more equal and fairer workplace. Para citar este artículo / To reference this article / Para citar este artigo Nascimento VF, Daibem AML. Percepções de docentes universitários sobre o ambiente de trabalho. Pers Bioet. 2020;24:28-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5294/pebi.2020.24.1.3 Recibido: 18/08/2019 Aceptado: 05/02/2020 Publicado: 07/05/2020. (shrink)

There is a growing interest in the ethics of Health Policy and Systems Research, and especially in areas that have particular ethical salience across HPSR. Hyder et al provide an initial framework to consider this, and call for more conceptual and empirical work. In this paper, we respond by examining the ethical issues that arose for researchers over the course of conducting three HPSR studies in Kenya in which health managers and providers were key participants. All three studies involved qualitative (...) work including observations and individual and group interviews. Many of the ethical dilemmas researchers faced only emerged over the course of the fieldwork, or on completion, and were related to interactions and relationships between individuals operating at different levels or positions in health/research systems. The dilemmas reveal significant ethical challenges for these forms of HPSR, and show that potential ‘solutions’ to dilemmas often lead to new issues and complications. Our experiences support the value of research ethics frameworks, and suggest that these can be enriched by incorporating careful consideration of context embedded social relations into research planning and conduct. Many of these essential relational elements of ethical practice, and of producing quality data, are given stronger emphasis in social science research ethics than in epidemiological, clinical or biomedical research ethics, and are particularly relevant where health systems are understood as social and political constructs. We conclude with practical and research implications. (shrink)

BackgroundThere is general consensus internationally that unfair distribution of the benefits of research is exploitative and should be avoided or reduced. However, what constitutes fair benefits, and the exact nature of the benefits and their mode of provision can be strongly contested. Empirical studies have the potential to contribute viewpoints and experiences to debates and guidelines, but few have been conducted. We conducted a study to support the development of guidelines on benefits and payments for studies conducted by the KEMRI-Wellcome (...) Trust programme in Kilifi, Kenya.MethodsFollowing an initial broad based survey of cash, health services and other items being offered during research by all programme studies (n = 38 studies), interviews were held with research managers (n = 9), and with research staff involved in 8 purposively selected case studies (n = 30 interviewees). Interviews explored how these ‘benefits’ were selected and communicated, experiences with their administration, and recommendations for future guidelines. Data fed into a consultative workshop attended by 48 research staff and health managers, which was facilitated by an external ethicist.FindingsThe most commonly provided benefits were medical care (for example free care, and strengthened quality of care), and lunch or snacks. Most cash given to participants was reimbursement of transport costs (for example to meet appointments or facilitate use of services when unexpectedly sick), but these payments were often described by research participants as benefits. Challenges included: tensions within households and communities resulting from lack of clarity and agreement on who is eligible for benefits; suspicion regarding motivation for their provision; and confusion caused by differences between studies in types and levels of benefits.ConclusionsResearch staff differed in their views on how benefits should be approached. Echoing elements of international benefit sharing and ancillary care debates, some research staff saw research as based on goodwill and partnership, and aimed to avoid costs to participants and a commercial relationship; while others sought to maximise participant benefits given the relative wealth of the institution and the multiple community needs. An emerging middle position was to strengthen collateral or indirect medical benefits to communities through collaborations with the Ministry of Health to support sustainability. (shrink)

In recent years, there has been an increase in the establishment of biobanks for genetic and genomic studies around the globe. One example of this is the Human Heredity and Health in Africa Initiative (H3Africa), which has established biobanks in the sub‐region to facilitate future indigenous genomic studies. The concept of ‘broad consent’ has been proposed as a mechanism to enable potential research participants in biobanks to give permission for their samples to be used in future research studies. However, questions (...) remain about the acceptability of this model of consent. Drawing on findings from empirical research about the role of trust in decision‐making, we argue that an account of entrustment may be an appropriate way of addressing current challenges of seeking consent for biobank research in Africa. We propose a set of key points to consider that can support the proposed entrustment framework. (shrink)

This article attempts to solve the following contradiction of Nietzsche's thought: man has a subjective drive constitution, these drives, however, are individuals, and its being (the being of the drives), is constituted for more power fight (the will to power). Nietzsche's superior man (educated and cultivated man) is that one, in which there is harmony in the drives, who can give greater freedom to its most terrible drives, without, however, loses the control over them. That is the contradiction: if man (...) has to control the drives, they are not harmonics. There is incompatibility between harmony and control. In other words, the superior man is indeed the man of culture and cultivated man of Nietzsche? If the answer to this question is yes, then, in this man, reigns the drives harmony. If, on the other hand, the answer is no, then, for this man does not become a barbarian destroyer, dangerous to himself and to others it is necessary that a drive dominates the others. However it is not possible to escape the contradiction: either there is harmony in human drive or control. (shrink)

Editorial para o dossiê Nietzsche e a Educação.

Nosso objetivo aqui é apresentar o vocabulário com o qual Nietzsche debate a possibilidade da educação, analisar os vocábulos alemães utilizados pelo filósofo, e também o contexto de sua utilização, e assim detectar até que ponto o filósofo acreditava na possibilidade da educação e o que é necessário para que esta ocorra. Para tal será necessário analisar ainda, toda uma rede conceitual na qual o debate sobre a educação se enquadra no pensamento de Nietzsche, dando ênfase a duas chaves conceituais (...) antagônicas no pensamento do filósofo: a educação para a cultura e a educação para a civilização. Nietzsche segue certa tradição filosófica alemã que distingue civilização e cultura, tal divisão tem papel preponderante nas suas concepções acerca da educação. (shrink)

Diversos manuais de Filosofia da Educação se referem a Rousseau como um dos precursores da educação moderna, devido ao papel que a criança passou a ter na sua teoria da educação. Em especial sua obra Emílio, ou da educação mostra a importância da criança. Porém, se a educação não for entendida apenas como uma conformação do homem à sociedade e suas leis, mas, sim, uma transformação radical do seres humanos, capaz de conduzi-los da barbárie à cultura; perceberemos que esta importância (...) de Rousseau para a educação moderna só é real, enquanto o autor se mantém pessimista em relação à natureza humana, afirmando que esta é originalmente boa e que degenera entre os homens; e que, nos momentos em que o otimismo suplanta o pessimismo, desaparece a possibilidade da educação, pois aí, o homem está novamente no estado de natureza, onde há o aniquilamento da cultura e o abandono da razão. In several manuals of Philosophy of Education Rousseau is thought as a forerunner of modern education, given the role that the child becomes to have in his theory of education. In particular his work Emile, or Education shows the importance of the child. But, if education is not understood only as a conformation of men to society and its laws, but, a radical transformation of human beings, able to lead them from barbarism to culture, we realize that Rousseau's importance for modern education is only real, while the author remains pessimistic about human nature, affirming that it is originally good, and that degenerates among men; and that, at times when optimism outshines pessimism, disappears the possibility of education, otherwise the man is back to the state of nature, where there is destruction of culture and the abandonment of reason. (shrink)

This work aim to analyse relations between Arithmetic and Geometry indicated by Piero della Francesca in his treatise Libellus de quinque corporibus regularibus. Piero della Francesca was a painter and scholar of perspective, geometry and arithmetic, in his time. He carried out investigations on pictorial, geometric and architectural issues. Of the treatises he wrote, only three are preserved, on perspective, Geometry and Arithmetic. The central document selected for this research was the manuscript Libellus de quinque corporibus regularibus, deposited in the (...) Vatican Apostolic Library in digitized copy. Throughout this work we have tried to understand the Libellus de quinque corporibus regularibus as a result of the work of an artist and scholar who proposed ways of relating Arithmetic and Geometry using both his practical knowledge and the works of authors of antiquity. (shrink)

BackgroundHealth service delivery should ensure ethical principles are observed at all levels of healthcare. Working towards this goal requires understanding the ethics-related priorities and concerns in the day-to-day activities among different health practitioners. These practitioners include community health workers (CHWs) who are involved in healthcare delivery in communities in many low-and middle-income countries such as Uganda. In this study, we used photovoice, an innovative community based participatory research method that uses photography, to examine CHWs' perspectives on ethical concerns in their (...) work.MethodsWe explored perspectives of 10 CHWs (5 females and 5 males) on ethical dimensions of their work for 5 months using photovoice in a rural community in Wakiso district, Uganda. As part of the study, we: 1. Oriented CHWs on photovoice research and ethics; 2. Asked CHWs to take photographs of key ethical dimensions of their work; 3. Held monthly meetings to discuss and reflect on the photos; and 4. Disseminated the findings. The discussions from the monthly meetings were audio recorded, transcribed, and emerging data analysed using conventional content analysis with the help of Atlas ti version 6.0.15.ResultsCHWs were aware of and highly concerned about the need to observe ethical principles while carrying out their roles. The ethical principles CHWs were aware of and endeavoured to observe during their work were: maintaining professional integrity and abiding by ethical principles of practice; ethical responsibility in patient care; maintaining confidentiality while handling clients; respect for persons and communities; and enhancing their knowledge and skills for better practice. However, CHWs also identified challenges concerning their observance of ethical principles including: low commitment to their work due to other obligations; availability of some reference materials and guidelines in English yet majority could only read in the local language; and minimal avenues for knowledge enhancement such as trainings.ConclusionsCHWs were aware of and keen to discuss ethical issues in their work. However, there is need to address the challenges they face so as to facilitate observing ethical principles during the course of their work in communities. (shrink)

Our modern scientific explanation of colour as a subjective impression has replaced a ‘pre-theoretical’ notion of colour as an intrinsic property of objects, which was mainstream in ancient thought. Why have we lost such pre-theoretical notion, and what have we lost by losing it? I argue that most ancient Greek philosophers exploited this pre-theoretical assumption – one that was obvious to them – in terms and ways that are still worthy of attention in the context of contemporary philosophy of colour. (...) I offer an in-depth analysis of the theories of a number of early Greek philosophers, as well as of Plato in the Timaeus, showing that they tend to share the idea that colour is an essential property of external bodies and therefore plays a causal role in perception. Then I focus on a comparison between Democritus’ stance and Aristotle’s in order to highlight a significant contrast between the two. Democritus' theory is an exception in ancient thought because it traces the colour phenomenon back to a refraction of atmospheric light through atomic aggregates. Aristotle, instead, posits the presence of colour and light in the bodies themselves. Finally, I interpret Aristotle's account as the most complex attempt in ancient thought to weld together what we call the ‘manifest image’ of colour and its ‘scientific image’. (shrink)

A celebrated study of the origins of ancient Greek philosophy, now in English for the first time How can we talk about the beginnings of philosophy today? How can we avoid the conventional opposition of mythology and the dawn of reason and instead explore the multiple styles of thought that emerged between them? In this acclaimed book, available in English for the first time, Maria Michela Sassi reconstructs the intellectual world of the early Greek "Presocratics" to provide a richer (...) understanding of the roots of what used to be called "the Greek miracle." The beginnings of the long process leading to philosophy were characterized by intellectual diversity and geographic polycentrism. In the sixth and fifth centuries BC, between the Asian shores of Ionia and the Greek city-states of southern Italy, thinkers started to reflect on the cosmic order, elaborate doctrines on the soul, write in solemn Homeric meter, or, later, abandon poetry for an assertive prose. And yet the Presocratics whether the Milesian natural thinkers, the rhapsode Xenophanes, the mathematician and "shaman" Pythagoras, the naturalist and seer Empedocles, the oracular Heraclitus, or the inspired Parmenides all shared an approach to critical thinking that, by questioning traditional viewpoints, revolutionized knowledge. A unique study that explores the full range of early Greek thinkers in the context of their worlds, the book also features a new introduction to the English edition in which the author discusses the latest scholarship on the subject. (shrink)

The focus of this essay is on Xenophanes’ criticism of anthropomorphic representation of the gods, famously sounding like a declaration of war against a constituent part of the Greek religion, and adopting terms and a tone that are unequalled amongst “pre-Socratic” authors for their directness and explicitness. While the main features of Xenophanes’ polemic are well known thanks to some of the most studied fragments of the pre-Socratic tradition, a different line of enquiry from the usual one is attempted by (...) considering the multi-layered background of the religious beliefs revolving around the idea that the gods have human form as outlined in the tradition of epic poetry or represented in cult statues: in the light of this consideration Xenophanes’ text can take on some new characteristics. In the second part of the article, emphasis is put on the importance of the correlation Xenophanes established between the issue of the appearance of the gods and that of the certainty of knowledge, in terms that have exerted tremendous influence on later thought, most notably on Plato in the Timaeus. (shrink)

O presente artigo estabelece uma relação entre quatro elementos que não são usualmente associados no pensamento de Nietzsche: moral, democracia, educação e civilização. Buscamos mostrar que a democracia se baseia na moral e para isso cria um processo educacional que tem como objetivo manter as estruturas civilizacionais existentes. Neste percurso explicamos como os tipos humanos inferiores promovem o rebaixamento da vontade de poder dos tipos humanos superiores, criando um padrão civilizatório que valoriza acima de tudo o que é inferior e (...) se protege de qualquer possibilidade de mudança e elevação pulsional do tipo homem, por fim mostramos o papel da educação neste esforço dos tipos humanos inferiores. (shrink)

Consent-GPT: is it ethical to delegate procedural consent to conversational AI? In their article ‘Consent-GPT: is it ethical to delegate procedural consent to conversational AI?’, Allen _et al_ 1 explore the ethical complexities involved in handing over parts of the process of obtaining medical consent to conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, that is, AI-driven large language models (LLMs) trained to interact with patients to inform them about upcoming medical procedures and assist in the process of obtaining informed consent. 1 They (...) focus specifically on challenges related to accuracy (4–5), trust (5), privacy (5), click-through consent (5) and responsibility (5–6), alongside some pragmatic considerations (6). While the authors competently navigate these critical issues and present several key perspectives, we posit that their discussion on trust in what they refer to as ‘Consent-GPT’ significantly underestimates one vital factor: the interpersonal aspect of trust. Admittedly, this interpersonal aspect is... (shrink)

L’adjectif eoikos apparaît dans trois passages cruciaux de la pensée grecque (Xénophane, fr. B35 ; Parménide, fr. B8, 60 ; Platon, Timée, 29b3-c3), caractérisant une certaine « ressemblance » à la vérité qui se veut constitutive du discours du savant. En fait, le long de cet examen on découvre que les trois usages du terme ne peuvent pas être disposés le long d’une ligne continue, vu la difficulté de comprendre à quelle notion de vérité, sous quel point de vue, et (...) avec quel degré d’évidence, ce discours se veut « ressemblant » selon l’occasion. Dans le cas de Parménide, cet aspect passe même au second plan, puisqu’on assiste à la prédominance d’une autre connotation qui accompagne le terme eoikos à partir de l’usage homérique, à savoir celle de la « convenance » à un contexte communicatif. L’article cherche dans l’ensemble à éclairer les déplacements que subit la logique de la similitude (et des procédés analogiques qui s’y greffent) en passant par des cadres ontologiques et épistémologiques aussi différents que le sont ceux de Xénophane, Parménide et Platon. (shrink)

In this paper I first address what I consider a central issue in the account of perception in Plato’s Timaeus, namely, how the pathemata pass through the body to reach the soul, and thus become aistheseis. My point in Section 1 is that in tackling this issue Plato aims to provide a firm physiological basis to the notion of perception that starts to emerge in the Theaetetus and the Philebus and is crucial to the late development of his theory of (...) cognition. In the ensuing section I try to put the account of perception in the Timaeus into a historical perspective, aiming to highlight two points: a) Plato’s description of the way in which sensible impressions “travel” inside the body and interact with its parts and other constituents is largely indebted to previous theories, such as those we find, for example, in Empedocles and a few Hippocratic writers; b) The leading role in this story (where internal air plays a significant supporting role) is played by blood flowing through the vascular system and thus performing a crucial cognitive function. Moreover, emphasizing the role of blood as well as analyzing the elaborate way in which perceptions are transmitted through the body to the soul proves vital to appreciate (in Section 3) the cognitive status of the lower parts of the soul (which are more involved in perception) and their relation to reason. Overall, the paper adds further elements to our understanding of Plato’s embodied approach to cognition. I had already written (and submitted) this article when Johansen (2021) was published. The latter’s approach to the role of blood in Plato’s physiology of knowledge in the Timaeus converges in part with mine (as I was pleased to find out), partly due to our overlapping sources and bibliography. (shrink)

For this English translation, Sassi has rewritten the introduction and updated the text and references throughout, and Sir Geoffrey Lloyd has provided a new foreword.

The ideal which Plato consistently endorses and develops in the Laws is one of a city which, like the ideal soul, is perfectly at peace with its inner conflicts. The law is presented as a remedy for the destabilizing influence of the sensations and emotions which make every human being an individual, before he is a citizen. The authoritarian aspect of this remedy may worry contemporary readers, but Plato supports it with his presupposition regarding the extreme weakness of human nature. (...) In particular, the law imposes that rational regulation which each man potentially possesses within himself in so far as he is a divine creature, but which only a ‘small stock of men’ (918 c) is able to exercise. In short, the price that Plato asks us to pay for political order is the suppression of our ‘worse’, yet more human, selves. (shrink)

Mon but est d’examiner en détail les arguments avancés par Vernant au début des années soixante du siècle dernier, quand il a caractérisé, selon une formule célèbre, la philosophie comme « fille de la Cité » (fille de la polis). Mon argument principal est que le concept d’isonomia, qui n’est central dans le débat politique athénien que depuis les dernières décennies du vie siècle, ne peut être aussi facilement utilisé pour rendre compte de la nouvelle conception de l’espace physique, qui (...) émerge à Milet au début de ce siècle. En tout cas, l’utilisation de modèles politiques dans la science grecque ancienne de la nature est un procédé conscient, comme je tente de le montrer en analysant certains textes célèbres comme le fragment 4 d’Alcméon et le fragment 1 d’Anaximandre. De plus, dans le cas d’Anaximandre on peut se demander si l’explanandum dans l’analogie était l’ordre du monde ou plutôt celui de la polis. (shrink)

J’aimerais commencer par une expression italienne qui décrit très bien, grâce à une assonance efficace, mes sentiments actuels, à savoir, je sens tutto l’onore e l’onere de la charge qui m’a été confiée. D’un côté, c’est évidemment un grand honneur de pouvoir présenter précisément au Centre Léon Robin mes remarques sur le nouveau recueil de textes de la tradition « présocratique » édité par André Laks et Glenn Most : et je tiens à remercier ici M. Gourinat en tant que (...) Directeur du Centre Léo... (shrink)

Cet article vise à faire ressortir les fils hétérogènes de la pensée sur les émotions qui traversent la littérature philosophique et médicale grecque des cinquième et quatrième siècles avant J.‑C., contribuant à l’émergence de la sphère des passions en tant que territoire autonome pour l’exploration des faits mentaux. Nous examinons d’abord le modèle psychologique homérique dans le but de mettre en évidence son influence sur la littérature philosophique et non philosophique grecque des siècles suivants. Les auteurs hippocratiques, en particulier, se (...) révèlent redevables du monisme «materialiste» d’Homère, mais on retrouve également des traces du modèle épique chez les penseurs qui, par la suite, se sont intéressés à la relation entre le corps et l’entité‑âme. Nous reconstituons ensuite l’évolution au cours de laquelle, d’Héraclite à Démocrite, de Platon à Aristote et au Péripatos, une notion du pathos en tant qu’emotion finit par émerger, prête à être acceptée et bien sûr précisée autant que retravaillée par les philosophies des âges hellénistique et romain. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage vigoureux, fruit d’une longue recherche que Christopher Moore a menée au cours des dix dernières années, propose une perspective nouvelle et stimulante sur les origines de la philosophie grecque. Plus précisément, comme l’explique Moore dans le premier chapitre introductif (p. 1-33), il ne s’est pas fixé pour objectif de reconstituer (la nième fois) le déroulement des doctrines des penseurs grecs à partir de Thalès, mais d’enquêter sur les significations prises par le terme philos...

This essay provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of a cluster of Heraclitus’ fragments that revolve around an image of ‘musical’ harmony (B 8, 10, and 51 Diels-Kranz). The aim is to demonstrate that more numerous as well as more specific references to contemporary musical practice can be found in these fragments than is usually thought. In particular, it is argued that in his talk of cosmic harmonia Heraclitus might well know and exploit a musical sense of this word, namely, (...) that of ‘attunement’, which was already developing at his time from the primary meaning of ‘connection’ and ‘agreement’. Furthermore, it is shown that the investigation of musical patterns with which Heraclitus was clearly acquainted offered him a significant analogical ground for his reflection on the order and rationality of kosmos. He was not apparently interested in the numerical definition of musical patterns, and thus there is no need to assume any influence of earlier Pythagorean research on his theory of cosmic harmony: the other way round, this theory was likely food for thought for Philolaus. (shrink)

This paper analyses chapter 58 of Theophrastus’ De sensibus, where Democritus’ account of phronein is famously presented. Democritus traces phronein to symmetria of the soul, that is conceived, in turn, as a state of thermic equilibrium, depending on his consideration of psyche as an aggregate of spherical and thin atoms flowing throughout the body and giving it life, movement, and perception. As a consequence, according to him, psychic states go hand in hand with changes in the body. In the following (...) section of this paper, I offer additional evidence in favor of the controversial manuscript reading μετὰ τὴν κίνησιν. As a result, a consistent theory by Democritus can be reconstructed, according to which the balanced state of mobility and temperature of the psychic atoms concentrated in the head that generates a correct thinking necessarily follows the movement of sensible eidola throughout the body. In fact, a number of passages from Hippocratic writings attest that Democritus shared the key features of this explanation with the physiological and medical approach of the time. (shrink)

J’essaie d’explorer la vision religieuse d’Euripide en le considérant comme un penseur en même temps qu’un artiste, ou mieux, comme un auteur qui soulève en artiste des questions essentielles sur le sens de l’existence humaine par rapport à celle des dieux, non pas tellement en mettant dans la bouche de ses personnages certaines doxai, mais plutôt en les faisant parler et agir d’une certaine façon dans une situation dramatique particulière. En me détachant aussi bien des savants qui ont vu dans (...) Euripide un défenseur de la tradition religieuse, que de ceux qui ont tendance à déconstruire ses figures des dieux dans un jeu de projections de la psychologie humaine, je soutiens qu’Euripide a mis en question dès le début la consistance des croyances traditionnelles, avec une inquiétude grandissante qui a abouti, sinon à une négation de l’existence des dieux, du moins à une attitude exaspérée de doute sur leur rôle dans l’existence humaine : ce qui est suffisant pour qu’il puisse être compté parmi les auteurs que Platon accuse d’impiété dans le livre X des Lois. (shrink)

L’arte della memoria è uno degli archetipi della cultura occidentale fin dall’antica Grecia: è stato Platone ad ‘inventare’ l’immagine dell’anima come blocco di cera, su cui le sensazioni si imprimono come segni di sigilli; ed è stato poi Aristotele a riprendere in parte questo modello, arricchendolo però di temi fondamentali. Ma anche in epoche successive l’arte della memoria ha svolto una funzione fondamentale intrecciandosi a temi sia epistemologici che di schietta natura metafisica. Questo volume, frutto di un seminario tenuto alla (...) Scuola Normale nel settembre 2006, intende ripercorrere alcune delle principali stazioni della riflessione sulla memoria fra antichità e mondo moderno chiedendosi se, e in quale misura, questa relativa continuità di approccio si debba ad un consapevole attingere alla tradizione platonica e aristotelica; se, e in quale misura, elementi comuni o varianti del modello iniziale siano riportabili alle metafore adottate, sin da subito, per la descrizione dei processi mentali – riconducibili in ogni caso all’idea comune di ‘tracce’ che la sensazione imprime nell’anima. (shrink)