The question of whether individuals retain interests or can be harmed after death is highly contentious, particularly within the context of deceased organ retrieval, retention and use. This paper argues that posthumous interests and/or harms can and do exist in the Konkomba traditional setting through the concept of ancestorship, a reputational concept of immense cultural and existential significance in this setting. I adopt Joel Feinberg’s account of harms as a setback to interests. The paper argues that a socio-culturally sensitive regulatory (...) framework does not necessarily exclude the donation of human biomaterials for transplant and science research. Indeed, when customary values are explored with open-mindedness and sensitivity it may be shown that such donation can form part of the important customs of some communities in this jurisdiction. Accordingly, a context-appropriate governance framework could utilise the cultural value of ancestorship as an incentive to encourage organ donation in the Ghanaian traditional setting. (shrink)

This is Warrior Yoga, New York Times bestselling author and retired Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine's latest contribution to mental and physical achievement exercises started with 8 Weeks to SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind. This is not your average yoga book. Using Coach Divine's signature integrated training curriculum, Warrior Yoga is an intense physical workout designed for both the nation's elite special ops soldiers, and the regular athlete with the heart and mind of a warrior. His tried and true warrior sequences (...) are designed to be simple and flexible. These short, powerful drills can be done from home or on the road to enhance existing workout regimens and cultivate new ones. The sequences are targeted and focused to adapt to any athlete's physical and mental capabilities including those rehabilitating from injuries and suffering from PTSD. Mark's decades of experience with amateur and professional athletes, active and aspiring Navy SEALS, and wounded warriors uniquely qualify him as an expert motivator and teacher. To be a SEALFITTM Yoga Warrior requires a harmonious balance between mental and physical toughness, strength, and agility. Mark's short digestible exercises will help any athlete hone their fitness routine to reach their fullest potential, combining the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of an unbeatable mind and body program. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine Cicero’s oft-neglected De Divinatione, a dialogue investigating the legitimacy of the practice of divination. First, I offer a novel analysis of the main arguments for divination given by Quintus, highlighting the fact that he employs two logically distinct argument forms. Next, I turn to the first of the main arguments against divination given by Marcus. Here I show, with the help of modern probabilistic tools, that Marcus’ skeptical response is far from the (...) decisive, proto-naturalistic assault on superstition that it is sometimes portrayed to be. Then, I offer an extended analysis of the second of the main arguments against divination given by Marcus. Inspired by Marcus’ second main argument, I formulate, explicate, and defend a substantive principle of scientific methodology that I call the “Ciceronian Causal-Nomological Requirement” (CCR). Roughly, this principle states that causal knowledge is essential for relying on correlations in predictive inference. Although I go on to argue that Marcus’ application of the CCR in his debate with Quintus is dialectically inadequate, I conclude that De Divinatione deserves its place in Cicero’s philosophical corpus, and that ultimately, its significance for the history and philosophy of science ought to be recognized. (shrink)

This article approaches commercial divination as a lens to examine the gendered contents and discontents of labor and intimacy in the neoliberal era. While coffee divinations have long been a feminized medium of socializing and caring in Turkey, they were recently transformed into a commodified service that recruits women, youth, and LGBTQ individuals as workers and consumers. In dialogue with scholarship on emotional and affective labors, I conceptualize divination as “feeling labor” that produces an affective intersubjective space for (...) the incitement, experience, and articulation of emotions. The feeling labors of divination create commodified intimacies through which women, youth, and LGBTQ individuals explore their feelings. However, these intimacies are produced at the expense of devalued labors of those who are feminized along the heteropatriarchal hierarchies of gender, age, and sexual orientation. Attending to the gendered production and consumption of feeling labors and the intimacies they create are central to understanding the relationships between gender and labor in postindustrial capitalism. (shrink)

The idea for this volume stems from the symposium held in New York City in autumn 2016. The book consists of 11 chapters—the last one being an afterword of the editor—, a bibliography, and an index. The papers are preceded by the introduction of J.J. Peradotto. There are no internal divisions in the volume and the texts are presented in chronological order, ranging from Archaic and Classical to Roman period, focusing heavily on the former (8 out of 11 chapters). Literary (...) sources form the basi... (shrink)

Cicero’s De divinatione portrays the Stoics as unanimous in advocating both natural and technical divination. I argue that, contrary to this, the earlier leaders of the school like Chrysippus had reasons to consider natural divination to be significantly epistemically inferior to its technical counterpart. The much more favorable treatment of natural divination in De divinatione is likely the result of changes introduced later, probably by Posidonius.

Tarot use has become increasingly popular in contemporary society. However, unlike the position afforded divination in some cultures, it is not culturally consecrated as a legitimate way of knowing in the so‐called Modern West—in large part, due to the attempted disenchantment of the world by the colonial project of modernity. This paper posits that engagement with tarot divination can be a decolonizing methodology. I explore how divination's dependence on chance, the imagination, and engagement with spirits can heal (...) the Cartesian mental models that underly modernity's hold on our society. Academic writing on divination has, until recently, largely been authored by people who are not also practitioners of divination themselves. Writing as both a scholar and practitioner of tarot, I use the cards as a form of “imaginal research” to directly assist in the creation of this paper—allowing the tarot itself to speak (as much as me speak about it). (shrink)

Has philosophy ever completed a transition from divine revelation to rational reflection? Has it been Plato’s goal? In this paper I will establish and examine a parallel between divination and philosophy embodied in Plato’s Socrates. I will cite instances from both directions to analyze Plato’s indecision concerning a philosophical treatment of divination: On the one hand, Plato renovates the cultural stock of divination to supplement the rational process of Socratic dialectics. In particular, when he makes a proposal (...) not as a proven proposition, but as the starting point of discussion, Socrates frequently helps himself to divinatory language. On the other hand, Plato does not seem to abandon the nondiscursive elements in his narrative, especially since the vision of the ultimate objective of the Platonic-Socratic project, i.e. the Good, requires a resort to divination. The indecision is reflected in the textual ambivalence as to whether the being of the Good transcends other forms or is on a par with other forms as the noblest form. Based on the correlation between the power of knowledge and the object of knowledge, I will argue that the epistemic entanglement of divination with reason in Plato’s approach corresponds to the ambiguous relationship between being and the Good in Plato’s ethically imbued metaphysical scheme. Since Plato presents Socrates as a seer in the aforementioned occasions, I will further suggest that Plato presents himself as a collector of oracles by preserving Socratic’s teaching in writing, whose ultimate meanings are open to interpretation and debate. (shrink)

易占은 괘를 뽑아 괘상과 괘효사를 참고하여 길흉을 판단하는 법과 괘를 뽑아 괘상에 율력요소를 붙이고 主事爻를 정한 뒤 이를 기준으로 오행의 生克制化를 통해 길흉을 가리는 방법 등 두 가지로 대략 나눌 수 있다. 이 가운데 두 번째 방법은 한대 경방에 의해 창안된 것으로 현재 시중에서 유행하는 육효서법이다. 그런데 제도권 학계에서는 역점에 관하여 크게 관심을 두지 않은 관계로 육효서법의 학문적 토대가 미흡한 실정이다. 이처럼 학리가 빠진 채 점술로만 운용되는 육효에 학리를 부여한다면 인간의 행복한 삶에 도움이 될 것으로 본다. 이에 따라 본고는 육효의 (...) 역사적 연원과, 구성체계를 작괘·장괘·단괘의 3단계로 나누어 각 단계별 철학적 근거와 구체적 상황을 관계지어 살펴봤다. 이를 정리하면 육효는 최소한 3000여 년 전에 지어진 팔괘와 서주 초에 나타난 『역경』에 근원을 두고 『역전』을 거쳐 한대의 경방에 이르러 새롭게 창안된 점법이다. 이러한 역사성을 갖고 있는 육효는 사람이 닥친 문제를 하늘에 고하여 하늘로부터 그 해답을 얻는 작괘의 단계부터 시작된다. 이렇게 사람이 절박한 문제에 대해 하늘이 답을 알려준다는 믿음의 근거는 전통적으로 天人이 感應하기 때문으로 이해되고 있다. 천인감응에 의해 인간의 절박한 문제에 대해 하늘이 주는 해답의 방식은 괘를 통해 이루어지기 때문에 점괘는 하늘이 준 계시라고 볼 수 있다. 작괘가 끝나면 하늘의 계시를 읽어내기 위한 준비 작업인 장괘가 필요하다. 장괘는 공간상의 괘효와 시간성의 율력요소를 결합 배치하는 과정이다. 그런데 이 장괘는 공간성의 괘효상에 시간성의 율력요소를 결합하여 천도의 변화를 해설하고 인간사의 길흉을 점단하기 위한 한대 상수역 내지는 괘기역에 근거하고 있다. 따라서 장괘는 8궁괘 배열을 거쳐 세응, 비복, 동변, 반음과 복음 등 공간성의 요소들을 찾고, 이어 월건, 일진, 순공, 납갑, 납지, 육친, 용신 등의 변화를 파악할 수 있는 시간성의 요소들을 배열하게 된다. 이렇게 장괘를 마치면 본격적으로 점사의 주목적이 되는 용신을 중심으로 오행의 생부극제를 따져 길흉을 가리게 된다. 그런데 단괘에서 중요한 점은 오행이 중화를 이루어야만 길하고 복된 점괘이며, 과하거나 부족한 쪽으로 치우치게 되면 흉한 결과가 나온다는 것이다. 이는 음양의 조화와 균형을 통한 상호 작용으로 만물을 생성화육하는 이치와 같은 것이다. 이 육효가 현대 인류에게 있어서 갖는 의미는 크게 두 가지로 나눠 생각할 수 있을 것이다. 하나는 육효의 미래 예단적 측면과 다른 하나는 중화의 철학적 측면이다. 그런데 육효는 철학과 천도의 변화를 역법으로 설명하는 과학적 괘기역학을 토대로 미래를 예단하는 응용과학이라고 할 수 있다. 그렇다면 육효를 더욱 연구 발전시켜 개인과 국가 사회가 닥친 문제를 해결하는 데 있어서 효과적인 단서를 얻을 수 있을 것이다. 다른 하나는 육효가 추구하는 중화의 도를 인류가 본받아야 한다는 점이다. 육효의 중화의 이치는 곧 역의 음양 조화와 균형의 이치로서 천도의 운행 이치라는 점은 익히 아는 바다. 그런데 현대는 개인에 있어서는 지나친 물질욕, 쾌락욕, 명예욕, 이기주의 등 모든 면에서 중도를 잃고 극단으로 치닫는 경우가 대부분이다. 이는 곧 중화를 잃은 것으로써 흉한 결과가 닥치게 됨을 알아야 한다. 또 국가나 사회에 있어서는 부익부 빈익빈의 현상이 가속화 되고 물질주의, 쾌락주의, 이기주의 등에 편중되고 있는 현실은 중화의 도에 어긋나는 것으로서 인류의 행복한 삶에 불행한 결과를 초래하는 요인이 된다는 것을 예견하고 궤도를 수정할 수 있는 지침이 될 것이다. (shrink)

In recent years substantial effort has been expended by scholars to better understand the nature of the ancient interest in divination. This study will argue that the Stoic philosopher Epictetus’ views of divination have been largely overlooked and mistakenly defined by his modern interpreters. While often portrayed as being opposed to the art, it is proposed that he envisages divination can be beneficially employed: namely in highlighting certain moral actions, and in motivating individuals to commence philosophical study.

L’article examine les dimensions politiques et religieuses de l’image d’Alexandre le Grand qui, à un moment donné de l’expédition asiatique, interprète lui-même un signe. Il semble que nous avons affaire à un roi-exégète, situé dans le contexte d’une monarchie dont le souverain était aussi le magistrat religieux suprême. Il s’agit d’une image qui invite à réfléchir sur l’importance de la divination à la cour macédonienne, sur les personnes qui y sont impliquées, ainsi que sur les rapports entre pratiques divinatoires (...) grecques, babyloniennes et romaines. (shrink)

In Plato’s Ion, inspiration functions in contradistinction to technē. Yet, paradoxically, in both cases, there is an appeal to divination. I interrogate this in order to show how these two disparate accounts can be accommodated. Specifically, I argue that Socrates’ appeal to Theoclymenus at Ion 539a-b demonstrates that Plato recognizes the existence of intuitive seers who defy his own distinction between possession and technical divination. Such seers provide an epistemic model for Ion; that he does not notice this (...) confirms he is not an exemplary rhapsode. (shrink)

Evidence of the intimate linkage of the shaman's song and divinatory procedures may be viewed in the ancient epics. These narrative poems contain structural and thematic elements recognizable from the shaman's song—in particular his or her voyage to the Otherworld and the guidance of oracular powers. In this paper, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Euripedes' Ion, and The Ozidi Saga (a living epic from West Africa) are examined as recuperations of the orally composed and transmitted song of the shaman. I argue (...) that the epics—the origins of which predate their composition in literary form—bear witness to these most ancient and mysterious forms of linguistic expression. As depictions of Otherwordly journeys, they can be viewed through a metaphysic outside of time, rendering divination not only possible but inevitable, and necessitating a language of abstraction, allusion, and ambiguity. Today's experimental poetries may not all partake of a conscious recuperation of shamanic themes and forms, but they share an imaginary (yet not imagined) repositioning of reality, an open questioning of consensus forms of awareness, and an aesthetic shaping of what Jean Gebser calls “Integral Consciousness” (15), the simultaneous integration-disintegration of archaic, mythic, magic, and mental paradigms in an intensification of awareness which sees time as diaphanous, and Mind as a doorway between possibilities. (shrink)

The purpose of this text is to analyze the social representations of feminism in divinatory practices. Our research in a few Moldavian counties has identified two main types of social representations of the relationship between magic/divination and feminism. Therefore, there are some dual representations of the feminine divinatory agents versus the masculine ones. Even though women are well represented among clairvoyants, clients, and spectators, these valorizations function as negative stereotypes and do not serve the women. Another representation of feminism (...) in divinatory practices that does not necessarily imply negativism and damnation is a more recent one. Old stereotypes are tamed and attenuated. The results of our research have shown that women continue to be associated with the survival of these practices. This is proof that old myths and representations are still alive. They are discretely present in social expressions. Finally, they will dominate us completely. (shrink)

This chapter examines the role of animals in divination in ancient times. It discusses ancient observers’ interpretation of signs coming from instinctive animal behaviour and from the structure of animal body parts. It explains the three main currents of philosophical thought on divination. Plato and Aristotle believed the divinatory insights to be tied with animal instinct and belong to a fringe form of cognition that is specifically connected with humans’ animal natures. On the other hand, the Stoics considered (...) divination as an important piece of their understanding of the cosmos as a whole, and of humans as part of it. (shrink)

In this paper, we examine Maduabuchi Dukor’s article titled “Divination: A Science or An Art?”, where he endeavours to demonstrate the character and nature of African science as well as explores the issue whether some practices in Africa can be accorded a scientific status. These tasks to explore and demonstrate the scientific nature of African practices led Maduabuchi Dukor to focus on divination as his working example; and specifically identified Ifa divination. In sum, Maduabuchi Dukor argues that (...) African (Ifa) divination is or can be made a science through formalization and quantification. The main thrust of his argument is that with the aid of formalization and quantification, divination as practiced in Africa can qualify as a science. Our contention as regards this exercise by Maduabuchi Dukor runs from the beginning of the article through to the end of it. That is, our critique of the article concerns some suppositions employed to build up the argument that supports the claim that (Ifa) divination is a scientific enterprise. In other words, the premises and the conclusion so provided, we argue, are full of contestations; and it is these contestations that we showcased in this paper. It is important to make it clear that our contention has nothing to do with the thinking of Maduabuchi Dukor that Ifa divination is a science or can be made to be so; rather, our contention is the suppositions that he deployed to articulate his thought. (shrink)

Cicero distinguishes between two forms of divination: natural and artificial divination. Most contemporary scholars assume that Cicero presents a Stoic division and some even draw far-reaching conclusions about the scientific status of divination based on this distinction. However, his justification for the division is apparently contradictory and neither fits with Stoic nor Peripatetic claims that are found elsewhere. This paper examines the exact meaning of the division and sheds light on its Stoic and Peripatetic origin. In this (...) way, we will not only be able to better understand the overall argument of Cicero’s De divinatione, but also to assess his real achievement as a philosophical author. (shrink)

The untitled and anonymous text known by modern scholars under the name Wu xing zhan 'Prognostics of the Five Stars [sc. 'planets']', datable to before 168 bce, is the earliest known surviving Chinese document to give a substantive account of the apparent motions of the five visible planets, and to discuss the significance of those motions. The text includes tabulated predictions of the motions of three planets from 246 bce to 177 bce. In each case it is possible to reconstruct (...) simple rationales for the data given. It is however clear from the text that its primary purpose is to serve as an aid to celestial divination rather than as an attempt to discover laws of planetary motion for their own sake. The user of the text was not only expected to observe deviations from the rules underlying the tabulations given, but also actively to exploit such deviations as means of prognostication. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Ifá Defined Ifá Divination The Process of Divination.

A recent article in Anthropology of Consciousness entitled ‘Imaginal research for unlearning mastery: Divination with Tarot as a decolonizing methodology’ argues that the Western Tarot may be a useful tool to facilitate decolonization despite (or perhaps in spite) of the colonial and imperial imprints of the accumulating class. This response points out the Tarot is in fact a tool developed by the accumulating class, designed specifically to facilitate the imposition of elite master narratives. This letter calls into question the (...) appropriateness and effectiveness of using the Tarot as a tool for decolonization. (shrink)

This paper is devoted to the Stoic definition of divination as reported by Cicero. It proposes a novel reading that coherently combines the distinct versions offered in De divinatione. Especially important is the proper understanding of the close relationship between providence, fate, and chance. I argue that the Stoic understanding of chance already contains a reference to divine will, which is why the Stoics can equally claim that divination is devoted to chance and providence. This sheds new light (...) both on the Stoic science of divination and the systematic involvement of providence, fate, and divination in Stoic philosophy. (shrink)

During the months before and after he saw Julius Caesar assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Cicero wrote two philosophical dialogues about religion and theology: On the Nature of the Gods and On Divination. This book brings to life his portraits of Stoic and Epicurean theology, as well as the scepticism of the new Academy, his own school. We meet the Epicurean gods who live a life of pleasure and care nothing for us, the determinism and beauty (...) of the Stoic universe, itself our benevolent creator, and the reply to both that traditional religion is better served by a lack of dogma. Cicero hoped that these reflections would renew the traditional religion at Rome, with its prayers and sacrifices, temples and statues, myths and poets, and all forms of divination. This volume is the first to fully investigate Cicero's dialogues as the work of a careful philosophical author. (shrink)