The Strait of Magellan—a Gateway to New Worlds

Author(s):  
Mauricio Onetto Pavez

The year 2020 marks the five hundredth anniversary of the “discovery” of the Strait of Magellan. The unveiling of this passage between 1519 and 1522 allowed the planet to be circumnavigated for the first time in the history of humanity. All maritime routes could now be connected, and the idea of the Earth, in its geographical, cosmographic, and philosophical dimensions, gained its definitive meaning. This discovery can be considered one of the founding events of the modern world and of the process of globalization that still continues today. This new connectivity awoke an immediate interest in Europe that led to the emergence of a political consciousness of possession, domination, and territorial occupation generalized on a global scale, and the American continent was the starting point for this. This consciousness also inspired a desire for knowledge about this new form of inhabiting the world. Various fields of knowledge were redefined thanks to the new spaces and measurements produced by the discovery of the southern part of the Americas, which was recorded in books on cosmography, natural history, cartography, and manuscripts, circulating mainly between the Americas and Europe. All these processes transformed the Strait of Magellan into a geopolitical space coveted by Europeans during the 16th century. As an interoceanic connector, it was used to imagine commercial routes to the Orient and political projects that could sustain these dynamics. It was also conceived as a space to speculate on the potential wealth in the extreme south of the continent. In addition, on the Spanish side, some agents of the Crown considered it a strategic place for imperial projections and the defense of the Americas.

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-53
Author(s):  
Graham B. Walker

Graham B. Walker introduces the slow violence of the environmental crisis as a flashpoint in the question for the doctrine of providence in general and the history of the Cross specifically. Where is God in all this? Two immediate positions are identified: the first position assumes that God is located high above the world of chaos in the valley below. God intervenes as God deems appropriate. Questions of inordinate suffering challenge this starting point. A second notion begins in the chaotic valley below and asks, where is God in all of this? E. Frank Tupper begins in this valley and describes “the God of love (who) always does the most God can do.” Tupper identifies the ecological crisis as a significant factor in the chaos of human history. Walker amplifies this concern by introducing ecologist Rob Nixon’s critique of the Western addiction to global consumption and Edward O. Wilson’s appeal for the religious community and the scientific community to work together for the love of the earth. Looking for theological responses that unite both science and faith with a love for God’s world, Walker dialogues with Ian McFarland and Sallie McFague. Although McFarland and McFague start from divergent theological positions, they arrive at a similar conclusion: the self-limitation of human acquisitive desire for the love of God’s world and God’s identification with the suffering creation of the world in the death of Christ.


Author(s):  
Thomas Linke

Abstract This is a new (and for the first time complete) edition of a speech about Buddhism by Rudolf Otto from 1913. This speech is his first academic reflexion of his journey around the world and his most detailed explanation of his view on this religion. In the first part of his speech Otto compares Buddhism with Christianity and finds a lot of parallels. In the second part he defines differences between these two religions and proclaims – from a Christian perspective – Christianity as more valuable than Buddhism. The preface puts the speech into its context: Otto’s relationship to and his knowledge of Buddhism (1), the history of publication of this speech (2), Otto’s specific view on Buddhism in comparison to his contemporaries (3), the meaning of this speech in his œuvre (4) and explanations about the edition (5). The editor has the opinion, that this speech is an important transition from Ottos philosophy of religion to his main work The Idea of the Holy. It further is a good example of what Otto means when speaking about the comparison of religions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-26
Author(s):  
Oleksandra Severinova ◽  

The article analyzes the theoretical and methodological aspects of the formation and development of doctrinal ideas about the meaning of the concept of «armed conflict» in the history of world political and legal thought. The question of the name of the branch of law that regulates armed conflict, by analyzing its historical names such as «law of war», «laws and customs of war», «law of armed conflict», «international humanitarian law» and «international humanitarian law, used in armed conflicts». As a result of this analysis, it can be concluded that it would be most appropriate to use the terms «international humanitarian law» only in a narrow sense or «international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts», which is more cumbersome but most accurately describes the field. It is emphasized that due to the availability of new powerful weapons (economic, political, informational, cultural and weapons of mass destruction), which are dangerous both for the aggressor and for the whole world; the aggressor's desire to downplay its role in resolving conflicts in order to avoid sanctions from other countries and international organizations, as well as to prevent the loss of its authority and position on the world stage; the attempts of the aggressor countries to establish their control over the objects of aggression (including integrating them into their political, economic and security systems) without excessive damage to them is the transformation of methods and means of warfare. It is determined that the long history of the formation of the law of armed conflict has led to the adoption at the level of international law of the provision prohibiting any armed aggression in the world, which is reflected in such a principle as non-use of force or threat of force. At the same time, the UN Charter became the first international act in the history of mankind, which completely prohibited armed aggression and enshrined this principle at the international level, which is binding on all states of the modern world.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1156
Author(s):  
Alceu Raposo Junior

Com o advento do racionalismo, tendo como um dos principais precursores René Descartes, surge um novo modelo de pensar o mundo, colocando o pensamento lógico acima de qualquer questão. As ideias de Descartes influenciaram diversos pensadores, entre os quais se destacam o holandês Spinoza e o alemão Leibniz. Leibniz era filósofo, matemático e político. Dada esta inegável contribuição social e filosófica para o mundo moderno é fato que os desdobramentos contemporâneos do método e da racionalidade trouxeram consequências negativas para a sociedade pós-moderna, não pela teoria em si, mas pelo fato de que a sociedade sempre se apega aos modelos prontos, sem questionar ou contextualizar historicamente sua funcionalidade. Desta forma, com efeito, no qual carrega todo sistema sem distinção, na medida em que consistia em uma verdadeira exacerbação do racionalismo, ao mesmo tempo, se deu o seu ponto de partida para o “declínio”. É então a partir do início do século XX que começam a tornarem-se visíveis as consequências destrutivas da exacerbação do pensamento racionalista. As intervenções ambientais indistintamente por este Ser que acredita ser Deus, vão acumulando, na forma de riscos naturais por meio de suas consequências deletérias e ao mesmo tempo ele vai se distanciando do contato intimista e subjetivo (sinais) com a natureza, culminando assim nos desastres ambientais de grandes proporções no mundo Pós-Modernos, que aqui chamamos de catarses ambientais em forma de barragens.  Why is Logical Thinking (reason) Collapsing in our Heads? Environmental Catharses in the form of Dams A B S T R A C TWith the advent of rationalism, with René Descartes as one of its main precursors, emerges a new model of thinking about the world, putting logical thinking above any question. The ideas of René Descartes influenced several thinkers, among them the Dutchman Spinoza and the German Leibniz. Leibniz was a philosopher, mathematician, and politician. Given this undeniable social and philosophical contribution to the Modern world, it is a fact that the contemporary unfoldings of method and rationality have brought negative consequences to Postmodern society, not by the theory itself, but by the fact that society always clings to models without questioning and historically contextualizing their functionality. As all the system carries its own germ of destruction, insofar as it consisted in a true exacerbation of rationalism, at the same time, it became the starting point for the "decline". It is at the beginning of the twentieth century when the destructive consequences of the exacerbation of rationalist thinking start to become visible. The environmental interventions indistinctly made by this Being that believes himself to be God, accumulate in the form of natural risks through its deleterious consequences and at the same time distances itself from intimate and subjective contact (signs) with nature, culminating in the environmental disasters of great proportions in the Post-Modern world, hereby called environmental catharsis in the form of dams.Keywords: rationalism; Rene Descartes; environmental disasters; dams.


Author(s):  
Alexander Sukhodolov ◽  
Tuvd Dorj ◽  
Yuriy Kuzmin ◽  
Mikhail Rachkov

For the first time in Russian historiography, the article draws attention to the connection of the War of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 and the conclusion of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939. For a long time, historical science considered these two major events in the history of the USSR and history of the world individually, without their historic relationship. The authors made an attempt to provide evidence of this relationship, showing the role that surrounding and defeating the Japanese army at Khalkhin Gol in August 1939 and signing in Moscow of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact played in the history of the world. The study analyzes the foreign policy of the USSR in Europe, the reasons for the failure in the conclusion of the Anglo-Franco-Soviet military union in 1939 and the circumstances of the Pact. It shows the interrelation between the defeat of the Japanese troops at Khalkhin Gol and the need for the Soviet-German treaty. The authors describe the historic consequences of the conclusion of the pact for the further development of the Japanese-German relations and the course of the Second World War. They also present the characteristics of the views of these historical events in the Russian historiography.


2020 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 00002
Author(s):  
Dirk Notz

The flux of energy through the climate system determines the living conditions of our planet. In this contribution, I outline the main processes regulating this flux of energy, how these processes have changed throughout Earth history, and how today they are changing by human activities, in particular by activities related to energy production. The changes in the climate state of our planet, which have been ongoing ever since the formation of the Earth some 5 billion years ago, have shaped the world we live in today. Yet, today’s climate change is special in two overarching ways. First, it is the first time that a major climate change is globally affecting a civilisation that is perfectly adapted to thousands of years of stable climate conditions. Second, today’s climate change is occurring at a rate much faster than preceding natural climate changes. In combination, these two factors make today’s climate change a unique challenge to humankind, with direct consequences of future energy production as outlined in the other contributions to this volume.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Md. Abdul Momen Sarker ◽  
Md. Mominur Rahman

Suzanna Arundhati Roy is a post-modern sub-continental writer famous for her first novel The God of Small Things. This novel tells us the story of Ammu who is the mother of Rahel and Estha. Through the story of Ammu, the novel depicts the socio-political condition of Kerala from the late 1960s and early 1990s. The novel is about Indian culture and Hinduism is the main religion of India. One of the protagonists of this novel, Velutha, is from a low-caste community representing the dalit caste. Apart from those, between the late 1960s and early 1990s, a lot of movements took place in the history of Kerala. The Naxalites Movement is imperative amid them. Kerala is the place where communism was established for the first time in the history of the world through democratic election. Some vital issues of feminism have been brought into focus through the portrayal of the character, Ammu. In a word, this paper tends to show how Arundhati Roy has successfully manifested the multifarious as well as simultaneous influences of politics in the context of history and how those affected the lives of the marginalized. Overall, it would minutely show how historical incidents and political ups and downs go hand in hand during the political upheavals of a state.


Author(s):  
Zohreh Ghadbeigy ◽  
Maryam Jafari

Islamic fundamentalism as a stream of Extremist claim a return to the true Islam and no compromise with the modern world has transformed the scene inside the country and in international relations as a threat and a serious contender in today's society. In fact, after September 11, 2001, expanded a serious debate about Islamic fundamentalism around the world. But it can be difficult to provide an overview of the history of political violence in which the phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism as its starting point after September 11, is not mentioned. However, before the date mentioned in international studies, there are also traces of fundamentalism, But what is known today as the new form of Islamic fundamentalism, since 2011 and after the rise of the Middle East, was raised around the world and to create the challenges of Political sovereignty and security for the world's most strategic regions such as Europe and then Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia and Malaysia). Therefore, this research tries to answer this question: what is the most important factor in challenging the political sovereignty of states in Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia and Malaysia). The hypothesis is Islamic fundamentalism is a rival and threat against the sovereignty and national security of Indonesia and the Philippines. The result of this study explains and demonstrates the presence and role of Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia and Malaysia as a serious challenge in the security-political reality of these countries. Therefore, this study seeks to recognize and address the challenges and threats that are faced by these two-country with the growth of Islamic fundamentalism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (513) ◽  
pp. 478-484
Author(s):  
O. V. Ptashchenko ◽  
◽  
D. Y. Arkhypova ◽  

The article examines the main global problems of the modern world space, defining the main tendencies of overcoming the crisis and the further path of human development. Globalization indicates the general nature of most processes meaningful to mankind. Modern humanity represents an indivisible system of economic, political, social and cultural ties and interactions, which is significative for the unity of its future destiny. Informatization became the basis of globalization, reflecting the current level of technology development. Global problems are problems affecting all mankind, influencing the course of economic development and social sphere, also ecology and political stability. These problems require international cooperation, since none, even a highly developed State, is able solve them on its own. The number of hungry people in the world has increased over the past few years. Now every ninth person in the world is starving every day, suffering from a lack of nutrition. Both the food scarcity and hunger are among the greatest threats to the overall health of the human population exceeding malaria, tuberculosis or HIV. Responsibility for the planet should begin with responsibility for the country, because the crisis of a separate country complicates the world situation in the political aspect; ecological and resource crises jeopardize environmental equilibrium and complicate the problem of resources on a global scale; an economic crisis leads to social consequences in other countries.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document