Descartes, Plato and the Cave

Philosophy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Buckle
Keyword(s):  
Considerable Degree ◽  
Cartesian Dualism ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Meditations On First Philosophy ◽  
The World ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Allegory Of The Cave

It has been a commonplace, embodied in philosophy curricula the world over, to think of Descartes' philosophy as he seems to present it: as a radical break with the past, as inaugurating a new philosophical problematic centred on epistemology and on a radical dualism of mind and body. In several ways, however, recent scholarship has undermined the simplicity of this picture. It has, for example, shown the considerable degree of literary artifice in Descartes' central works, and thereby brought out the deceptive character of his self-presentation there. In particular, it has revealed the extent of his debts to the Neoplatonist tradition, particularly to Augustine, and of his engagement with the Scholastic commentators of his day. My aim in this paper is to push this interpretative tendency a step further, by bringing out Descartes' indebtedness to Plato. I begin by offering some reminders of the broadly Platonic nature of Cartesian dualism. I then argue that he provides clues sufficient for—and designed to encourage—reading the Meditations on First Philosophy in the light of distinctively Platonic doctrines, and in particular, as a rewriting of the Platonic allegory of the cave for modern times. It will further be argued that some puzzles about the Discourse on the Method can be resolved by recognizing that Descartes there presents himself as a Socratic enquirer after truth. I conclude by drawing attention to some practical benefits that flow from recognizing these linkages.

Schistosomiasis in modern and ancient tissues

1970 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Rutherford
Keyword(s):  
Developing World ◽  
Epidemiology Study ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World

Schistosoma worms are ancient, infecting man in both in the past and modern times. Today they infect more than 300 million people, mainly in the developing world where lifestyle is still similar to their ancestors. As part of an epidemiology study of Schistosomiasis, ancient tissues from the Manchester Museum and collections around the world are now being tested for the disease. Many problems have arisen whilst working with the ancient tissues, ranging from accessibility to its preparation for tests. However, many of the problems encountered have now been overcome enabling immunocytochemistry to be successfully applied to infected modern and ancient tissues, suggesting that schistosoma antigens can survive thousands of years. Immunocytochemistry has continued to be the predominant test used for this study, although DNA, ELISA and microsomal strips are also being explored

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW SERIES: UNCOMMON “COMMON SENSE”

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Akinobu Kuroda
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common

The common sense of modern times was not always “common” in the past. For example, if it is true that inflation is caused by an oversupply of money, a short supply of money must cause deflation. However logical that sounds, though, it has not been so uncommon in history that rising prices were recognized as being caused by a scarcity of currency. Even in the same period, a common idea prevailing in one historical area was not always common in another; rather, it sometimes appeared in quite the opposite direction. It is likely that the idea that a government gains from bad currencies, while traders appreciate good ones, is popular throughout the world. In the case of China, however, its dynasties sometimes intentionally issued high-quality coins without regard to their losses. East Asia shared the idea that cheap currency harms the state, while an expensive currency harms the people. This is in considerable contrast with a common image in other regions that authorities gained profits from seigniorage.

scholarly journals Géographies symboliques

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 46-60
Author(s):  
Corin Braga ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Literary Representations ◽  
Spatial Turn ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Fictional Worlds ◽  
Early Modern Times

Over the past few decades, cultural studies have embraced concepts and methodologies set forth by the new fields of inquiry brought about by the “spatial turn”. These new disciplines combine knowledge from the domains of geography and literature in an interdisciplinary way. In my paper I propose to go beyond this dialogue between disciplines to the roots of both geographical and literary representations, that is, I aim to discuss the geographical imaginary. Resorting to concepts from the theory of fictional worlds, I will make a distinction between “realistic” or “mimetic” geographies, “symbolic” geographies, “fictional geographies”, and “allegorical” geographies. I am primarily interested in symbolic geographies and the non-empirical criteria which produced, especially during ancient, medieval and early modern times, cartographical and literary representations of the world that might appear to be fantastical nowadays, but that were nonetheless considered adequate in their respective epoch

Reforming French Culture

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Old Regime ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diasporic Identity ◽  
The World ◽  
French Culture ◽  
Political Effect ◽  
Non Local

Satire has recently re-emerged as a potent political tool, but it has played many different roles in the past. French reformers waged massive satire campaigns in the sixteenth century to little or no political effect and, even, to their own disadvantage. Satiric forms nevertheless flourished because they fulfilled a devotional purpose. By portraying themselves as lonely travelers passing through the strange and exotic lands of Catholic custom, French reformers found a way to flesh out imaginatively the Pauline injunction to live in the world but not as part of it. The spiritual alienation cultivated in satiric literature allowed reformers to fashion themselves, after Calvin’s recommendation, as pilgrims in this world and confessional foreigners in their home country. At the same time, these satires’ self-presentation and their modes of address implied a reformed audience constituted by those who “got the joke.” The new communion entailed in laughing at Catholic excesses, modeled upon the reformed theological concept of “communication,” imagined a pan-European community held together by a non-local sense of belonging. Thus, French reformers embraced a diasporic identity well in advance of their actual emigration to the New World. But, more surprising still, the attitude of looking at one’s own culture through the eyes of an estranged traveler spread beyond reformed milieus to become a staple of French culture more generally. Through Montaigne, the ploy of acting the outsider in one’s homeland would become one of the signature devices of the Enlightenment’s challenge to the world of the Old Regime.

scholarly journals The theme of the city in the creative work of M.V. Dobuzhinsky (1875 – 1957)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ольга Николаевна Филиппова
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
World Culture ◽  
Russian Culture ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The City ◽  
Art Schools

Мстислав Валерианович Добужинский (1875–1957) относится к художникам, творчество которых принадлежит как русской, так и мировой культуре. Он родился и жил в России, затем в Литве, Америке, многие годы провел в европейских странах – Англии, Франции, Италии. Испытав влияние различных художественных школ и направлений, творчество М.В. Добужинского тем не менее сохраняет цельность, в основе которой лежит верность русской культуре – ее темам и художественным принципам, сложившимся в начале XX века в «Мире искусства». Своеобразный творческий метод М.В. Добужинского складывается в жанре городского пейзажа. Тот факт, что в ретроспективных картинах мирискусников главным лирическим героем оказывается пейзаж, чаще всего архитектурный по характеру, видимо повлиял и на возникновение в творчестве М.В. Добужинского темы города – памятника культуры. В отличие от своих друзей художник остается равнодушен к изображению архитектуры в ретроспективных картинах, предпочитая показывать жизнь прошлого в современности. Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky (1875 – 1957) refers to the artists whose work belongs to both the Russian and world culture. He was born and lived in Russia, then in Lithuania, America, spent many years in European countries – England, France, Italy. Having experienced the influence of various art schools and trends, the work of M. V. Dobuzhinsky nevertheless retains integrity, which is based on loyalty to Russian culture – its themes and artistic principles established in the early XX century in the «World of art». A kind of creative method of M. V. Dobuzhinsky is in the genre of the urban landscape. As in the retrospective paintings of the members of the main lyrical hero is the landscape, often architectural in character, it seems to have affected the appearance in the works of M. V. Dobuzhinsky themes of the city – cultural monument. Unlike his friends, the artist remains indifferent to the image of architecture in retrospect paintings, preferring to show the life of the past in modern times.

scholarly journals The Nishino Breathing Method and Ki-energy (Life-energy): A Challenge to Traditional Scientific Thinking

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Ohnishi ◽  
Tomoko Ohnishi
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Near Infrared Radiation ◽  
Cartesian Dualism ◽  
The Past ◽  
Heat Treated ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Independent Life

The breathing method, which was developed and is being taught by Kozo Nishino, a Japanese Ki-expert, is for raising the levels of Ki-energy (life-energy or the vitality) of an individual. It is neither a therapy nor a healing technique. However, many of his students have experienced an improvement in their health, and in some cases, they were able to overcome health problems by themselves. Since this is an interesting subject from the standpoint of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), we have been collaborating with Nishino to conduct a scientific investigation of his Ki-energy. We found that Nishino's Ki-energy can inhibit cell division of cancer cells, protect isolated mitochondria from heat deterioration and reduce lipid peroxidation in heat-treated mitochondria. Although Ki-energy may consist of several different energy forms, we found that at least one of them is near-infrared radiation between the wavelength range of 0.8 and 2.7 µm. Another interesting observation at his school is the Taiki-practice (paired Ki-practice). During this practice, Nishino can ‘move’ his students without any physical contact. Many of them run, jump or roll on the floor when they receive his Ki-energy. We studied this and propose that ‘information’ is conveyed through the air between two individuals by Ki-energy. This may be called a five sense-independent, life-to-life communication by Ki. All of our results suggest that we should re-evaluate the Cartesian dualism (separation of mind and body) which has been a fundamental principle of modern science for the past three centuries.

scholarly journals Aspa—Sky Patrol for the Future

1998 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 127-128
Author(s):  
C. La Dous ◽  
P. Kroll
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Variable Star ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Apparent Brightness ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Routine Surveillance ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

Ever since the turn of the century sky patrol observations—i.e., the routine surveillance of the visible night sky—has been one of the main foundations of variable star research, and thus of astronomy in general. Historically several of the major Observatories all around the world were contributing. Up to this day all these observations are in the form of large-field photographic plates, constituting a total of some 2 million plates which, collectively, contain the history of the light changes of celestial objects (mostly in the northern hemisphere and down to some 13 magnitudes apparent brightness or fainter) during the past 100 years. In modern times the last place left in the world where sky patrols are still being carried out routinely is Sonneberg Observatory.

Judicial Protection of some Fundamental Rights in Nigeria and in the Sudan before and during Military Rule

1972 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-144
Author(s):  
Akinola Aguda ◽  
Oluwadare Aguda
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
World History ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Judicial Protection

Africa quite suddenly came within the focus of the world's political microscope in the last decade or so. Having thus come into view, it has aroused the interests not only of political scientists but also of lawyers all over the world to an extent almost unprecedented in world history. The colonial powers which had ruled most of Africa in modern times had themselves had centuries of political autonomy behind them. Within the past two decades these colonial powers have had, mainly voluntarily but in some cases as a result of revolt by the governed, to transfer political power to most of their erstwhile dependent peoples.

Cognitive Knowledge

2015 ◽  
pp. 27-49 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Cartesian Dualism ◽  
The World ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Cognitive Knowledge ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Rational Knowledge ◽  
Historical Periods

The paradox of “known unknown” that characterizes our quest for knowledge has different meanings for different cultures and historical periods. For most philosophers from Plato to Descartes knowledge is a result of human reflection and not of human perception. The Cartesian dualism between mind and body reflected by the dictum “Cogito ergo sum!” makes mind more certain than matter, and knowledge the result of thinking. In this perspective, the “known unknown” reflects the gaps in our rational knowledge about the world, the gaps we are aware of. When we reverse the angle of analysis, and look at the internal world, the “unknown knowns” refers to the tacit knowledge that integrates our experience, intuitions, emotions, values, and ideals. The purpose of this chapter is to distill the content of the “known unknown” paradox and to extract some significant ideas about knowledge understanding.

A basic introduction to image processing using NIH-Image as a model

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 392-393
Author(s):  
John Mansfield
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Digital Image ◽  
Image Acquisition ◽  
Digital Instrument ◽  
Novice User ◽  
Nih Image ◽  
The Past ◽  
Digital World ◽  
The World ◽  
Instrument Control

Advances in camera technology and digital instrument control have meant that in modern microscopy, the image that was, in the past, typically recorded on a piece of film is now recorded directly into a computer. The transfer of the analog image seen in the microscope to the digitized picture in the computer does not mean, however, that the problems associated with recording images, analyzing them, and preparing them for publication, have all miraculously been solved. The steps involved in the recording an image to film remain largely intact in the digital world. The image is recorded, prepared for measurement in some way, analyzed, and then prepared for presentation.Digital image acquisition schemes are largely the realm of the microscope manufacturers, however, there are also a multitude of “homemade” acquisition systems in microscope laboratories around the world. It is not the mission of this tutorial to deal with the various acquisition systems, but rather to introduce the novice user to rudimentary image processing and measurement.

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