Visual Magic

Author(s):  
Margaret Dalivalle ◽  
Martin Kemp ◽  
Robert B. Simon

Chapter 5 reviews the visual evidence on the basis of the stripped picture before the infilling of lost areas of paint. Pentimenti are apparent, most conspicuously in the repositioning of the thumb of the blessing hand. Infrared reflectography reveals detailed changes in the drapery and a few spolveri which indicate the use of a cartoon and shows the use of Leonardo’s hand-print method to soften the modelling of flesh. The vortex curls and the understated anatomy of the hands are typical of Leonardo’s post-1500 style, as is the insistent blurring of the contours of the face. The interlace pattern of the textile bands is founded on an angular geometry of the Islamic kind and reflects Leonardo’s visit to Venice in 1500. The transparent orb is of rock crystal and is marked by gaps or ‘inclusions’, exhibiting optical effects of the kinds that fascinated him, not least the translucency of semi-precious minerals. The crystal orb refers in an innovative way to the crystalline sphere of the fixed stars, thus transforming Christ from the saviour of the world to the saviour of the cosmos. The other optical effect in the painting involves his notions of the working of the eye, with the hands shown more definitely than Christ’s face, akin to a ‘depth of field’ effect in photography. The optical softening of features also acts to render his emotional impact as suggestive and ineffable rather than overtly defined.

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW LANG

AbstractIn this article, I suggest that one of the central characteristics of New Legal Realism is the productive tension between empiricist and pragmatist theories of knowledge which lies at its core. On one side, new realist work in its empiricist posture seeks to use empirical knowledge of the world as the basis on which to design, interpret, apply, and criticize the law. On the other, in its pragmatist moments, it explicitly draws attention to the social and political contingency of any claims to empirical knowledge of the world, including its own. As a consequence, it is distinctive of much scholarship in the New Legal Realist vein that it continually enacts creative syntheses of different philosophies of truth in an attempt to be, in Shaffer's words, ‘positivist . . . interpretivist, and legal realist all at once’. The first part of this article draws on existing historical accounts of legal realism briefly to trace the problematic and ambiguous place of scientism in the legal realist tradition. Then, in the second and more important part of the article, I argue that the ambivalence of the legal realists’ vision has left us, in certain contexts, with a complicated form of mixed legal-scientific governance which has proved remarkably and surprisingly resilient in the face of late twentieth century critiques of scientific objectivity. This may be one of the most enduring legacies of the ‘old’ legal realists for those today who work in the New Legal Realist vein.


2020 ◽  

Whereas democracy still seemed to be triumphantly sweeping the world before the turn of the century, today it finds itself under immense pressure, not only as a viable political system, but also as a theoretical and normative concept. The coronavirus crisis has underlined and accelerated these developments. There are manifold reasons for this, above all the fundamental changes the state and society have undergone in the face of globalisation, digitalisation, migration, climate change and not least the current pandemic, to name the most significant of them. This volume analyses the changes to democracy in the 21st century and the crises it has experienced. In doing so, the book identifies where action is needed, on the one hand, and investigates appropriate, up-to-date reforms and the prospects for politics, political communication and political education, on the other. With contributions by Ulrich von Alemann, Bernd Becker, Frank Brettschneider, Frank Decker, Claudio Franzius, Georg Paul Hefty, Andreas Kalina, Helmut Klages, Uwe Kranenpohl, Pola Lehmann, Linus Leiten, Dirk Lüddecke, Thomas Metz, Ursula Münch, Ursula Alexandra Ohliger, Veronika Ohliger, Rainer-Olaf Schultze, Peter Seyferth, Hans Vorländer, Uwe Wagschal, Thomas Waldvogel and Samuel Weishaupt


BIOMATH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2103117
Author(s):  
Mandidayingeyi Hellen Machingauta ◽  
Bwayla Lungu ◽  
Edward M Lungu

We formulate a mathematical model for the spread of the coronavirus which incorporates adherence to disease prevention. The major results of this study are: first, we determined optimal infection coefficients such that high levels of coronavirus transmission are prevented. Secondly, we have found that there? exists several optimal pairs of removal rates, from the general population of asymptomatic and symptomatic infectives respectively that can protect hospital bed capacity and flatten the hospital admission curve. Of the many optimal strategies, this study recommends the pair that yields the least number of coronavirus related deaths. The results for South Africa, which is better placed than the other sub-Sahara African countries, show that failure to address hygiene and adherence issues will preclude the existence of an optimal strategy and could result in a more severe epidemic than the Italian COVID-19 epidemic. Relaxing lockdown measures to allow individuals to attend to vital needs such as food replenishment increases household and community infection rates and the severity of the overall infection.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdul Karim

Indonesian Islam has gone through a long journey in its history since the first advent up to the present day. In this course, one should note that the process of Islamization was formed under a set of historical and cultural complexity. Among those, the role of Islamic preaching is the most important. Under this canopy, the process of transmission and transformation took the first place as the main force. As the Qur’an and Sunna are the major sources for all Muslims around the world. Both had also become the main streams in Islamicization. Seerat-e-nabi, beside the Qur’an, in this case has a place of honor. It became one of the major sources of all Islamic heritages in Indonesia. The prophet Muhammad PBUH (peace be upon him) was immersed within the Indonesian Islamic traditions in various fields and spheres. It is fair to say that the story of the islamicization of the Indonesian archipelago and the face of Indonesian Islam today is culturally formed by the determination of seerat-e-nabi, besides the Qur’anic scripture. In the other words, the birth and the face of Islam really depend on how its adherents interpret and take a cultural reception on the seerat-e-nabi. This paper tries to capture the prophetic heritage in Indonesian Islam in twofold analysis; transmission and transformation. The former tries to explore how the heritage of seerat-e-nabi flowed into the scene of Indonesian moslem life through various modes of transmission up to the present day. The latter aims at how the seerat-e-nabi became the force and inspiration for the various receptions of institutional matters.    


Author(s):  
Claudia Suely Ferreira Gomes ◽  
Maria das Graças Gonçalves Vieira Guerra ◽  
Emilia Maria da Trindade Prestes ◽  
Adriana Valeria Santos Diniz

O pensamento pedagógico de Paulo Freire, revelando ser a educação dialógica uma questão essencial para uma maior leitura crítica da realidade, continua inspirando pedagogos/as, filósofos/as e sociólogos/as da educação de diferentes contextos, como forma de responder aos questionamentos e desafios das realidades emergentes, nas dimensões educativa, política e social da práxis pedagógica. A atualização do seu pensamento inspira este artigo guiado pelo seguinte questionamento: Como, em um mundo multicultural, se revelam, de forma atualizada as ideias de Freire, tendo como arcabouço pedagógico e político o diálogo? A partir de fontes documental-bibliográficas, utilizando uma abordagem descritiva, o estudo realizou uma reflexão teórica sobre a reinterpretação do pensamento educativo de um dos pensadores mais citados em diferentes fontes de referência, no mundo na área das ciências humanas, no país e no exterior. No Brasil, as teorias baseadas no diálogo e na participação, oriundas de Paulo Freire, se por um lado se tornaram objeto de crítica e de perseguição; por outro, diante de uma situação de crise e de desalento, vem sendo adotadas e defendidas, com maior vigor, como uma vertente da inclusão e de democracia. Por fim, o artigo defende que a perspectiva pedagógica de Paulo Freire continua vigente, na busca de um mundo plural em que se demanda reconhecimento e autonomia. El pensamiento pedagógico de Paulo Freire, que revela que la educación dialógica es una cuestión esencial para una mayor lectura crítica de la realidad, sigue inspirando a pedagogos, filósofos y sociólogos de la educación de diferentes contextos, como una forma de responder a las preguntas y desafíos de las realidades emergentes, en las dimensiones educativas, políticas y sociales de la praxis pedagógica. La actualización de su pensamiento inspira este artículo guiado por la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo, en un mundo multicultural, se revelan las ideas de Freire de manera actualizada, teniendo como marco pedagógico y político el diálogo? A partir de fuentes documentales-bibliográficas y con un enfoque descriptivo, el estudio realizó una reflexión teórica sobre la reinterpretación del pensamiento educativo de uno de los pensadores más citados en diferentes fuentes de referencia, en el mundo de las ciencias humanas, en el país y en el extranjero. En Brasil, las teorías basadas en el diálogo y la participación, originales de Paulo Freire, se han convertido, por un lado, en objeto de crítica y persecución; por otro lado, ante una situación de crisis y desánimo, se han adoptado y defendido con mayor vigor como una vertiente de inclusión y democracia. Finalmente, el artículo defiende que la perspectiva pedagógica de Paulo Freire sigue vigente, en la búsqueda de un mundo plural en el que se exija reconocimiento y autonomía. Paulo Freire's pedagogical thought, which reveals that dialogical education is an essential issue for a greater critical reading of reality, continues to inspire pedagogues, philosophers and sociologists of education from different contexts, as a way of responding to the questions and challenges of emerging realities, in the educational, political and social dimensions of pedagogical praxis. The updating of his thinking inspires this article guided by the following question: How, in a multicultural world, are Freire's ideas revealed in an updated way, having dialogue as a pedagogical and political framework? Based on documentary-bibliographic sources and with a descriptive approach, the study made a theoretical reflection on the reinterpretation of the educational thought of one of the most cited thinkers in different reference sources, in the world of human sciences, in the country and abroad. In Brazil, the theories based on dialogue and participation, original to Paulo Freire, have become, on the one hand, the object of criticism and persecution; on the other hand, in the face of a situation of crisis and discouragement, they have been adopted and defended with greater vigor as an aspect of inclusion and democracy. Finally, the article argues that Paulo Freire's pedagogical perspective is still valid, in the search for a plural world in which recognition and autonomy are demanded.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gareth Leniston-Lee

<p>There is a close structural parallel between the way we talk about time and the way we talk about modality (i.e. matters of possibility, necessity, actuality etc.). A consequence of this is that whenever we construct a metaphysical argument within one of these domains, there is a parallel argument to be made in the other. On the face of it, this parallel between possible worlds and moments in time seems to commit us to holding corresponding attitudes to the ontological status of non-present and non-actual entities.  In this thesis I assess a claim made by Sider (2001: 41-42) that truthmaking – the idea that truth is grounded in existence – provides a way to avoid the commitment to ontological symmetry that this world-time parallel seems to foist upon us. Truthmaking challenges presentists, who deny the existence of past entities and actualists, who deny the existence of merely possible entities, to come up with a way of grounding truths that are ostensively about the events and entities that they deny exist. Sider’s claim can be broken down into three propositions:  1. Truthmaking provides reason to reject presentism. 2. Truthmaking does not provide reason to reject actualism. 3. Truthmaking breaks the ontological symmetry between time and modality.  In this thesis I argue that while 1 is false, 3 remains true. While I am not a presentist myself I do not think that truthmaking provides a sound basis for rejecting the position. Much of this thesis is dedicated to defending presentism against the challenge truthmaking poses. I also don’t believe that truthmaking undermines actualism, but do not commit myself to any particular actualist response to the truthmaking challenge in this thesis. My central aim is to show that the presentist has a viable response to the truthmaking challenge and that this response does not have a viable parallel in the modal case. So while I think that both presentists and actualists can provide adequate responses to the challenge truthmaking poses, truthmaking still breaks the symmetry because the arguments made in defence of each position are very different. So one might rationally accept one argument but not the other.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23
Author(s):  
Hyson Cooper

Using Anthony Trollope’s character Tom Tringle ofAyala’s Angel, I argue that in his portrayal of the hobbledehoy, Trollope is imposing on Victorian boys and young men a code of behavior every bit as restrictive and every bit as unnatural as the “suffer and be still” doctrine imposed on girls and young women. Using critical tools from the fields of Masculinity Studies and studies of literary character, I discuss Trollope’s portrayal of Tom Tringle as emblematic of the restrictions Victorian gender ideology placed on women. What emerges is a new dimension to Victorian gender studies. The admonition addressed to Victorian women of all ages and classes that they should “suffer and be still” in the face of any adversity is well known, and is often accompanied by the assumption that no similar restriction is placed on boys and men. In the world of Anthony Trollope’s novels, however, unlike that of many other Victorian novelists, women seldom need much taming, as obedience is a strong character trait in the majority of his heroines. His young men, on the other hand, tend to be far less morally evolved, and in Trollope’s love plots, if anyone has to undergo profound changes of character before being fit for marriage, it is usually the man. I argue that Trollope’s stern but gentle treatment of the misfit Tom provides further answers to the often debated question of Trollopes relative conservatism.


2020 ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
Olivier Roy

This concluding chapter discusses how values are returning today in the guise of dominant norms, both in the secular world and in religion. Today's crisis is not simply a crisis of values, but of referring to values at all. For what should values be founded on? On one hand, religions, which are no longer in sync with Europe's dominant cultures, are returning to the public sphere on behalf of a normative demand. On the other hand, the secular culture that professes freedom and rights is coming to a head in a burst of normative production. This is a normativity toward all forms of religion and religiosity, of course, but also normativity with respect to its own foundation, the social contract, and human nature, that of the desiring subject. Ultimately, the chapter argues that it is time to re-examine the question of values, to restore the particular cultural and social aspects of norms and to reinject them into society. In the face of globalization, the issue is at once to be more in touch with society and to act as a counterweight to other influences in the world: only Europe can meet these two objectives.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 1176-1179
Author(s):  
Leila Namavar

Until a few years ago, the world of Iranian children was often full of movement, mobility, and experience of nature, a real world in which nature and its landmarks, including soil, water, wind, living beings and tangible trees, and not limited to virtual image frames where even the possibility of experiencing and obtaining a simple and lasting memory such as playing soil is impossible and unattainable. Today, however, the vacancy of many childish games and mischievousness can be easily felt in green and open public spaces. Today's children look more strange and alienated in the face of nature than landlords. It is a fact that Iranian children are more familiar with their country's valuable animal and plant species such as gorasay, siberian dorrena, Asian cheetah, emperor salamander and manus boro alum, and animals such as zebras, African lions and elephants, polar bears, penguins and pandas. Who is this negligence from the other side? Why do not children spend as they should and perhaps in nature? Are limited and closed apartment spaces and the preference of computer games to group uplifting physical activities our children's choice? In this paper we review the importance of acquainting children with nature, with a focus on Iran.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 84-101
Author(s):  
Nerijus Čepulis

Šiuo straipsniu siekiama permąstyti tradicinę tapatumo sąvoką. Į tapatumą Vakarų mąstymo istorijoje buvo žiūrima visų pirma ontologiniu požiūriu. Moderniųjų laikų posūkis į subjektą susitelkia į Aš kaip bet kokio tapatumo centrą, pagrindą ir gamintoją. Fenomenologinė analizė tapatumo ištakas pagilina iki Aš santykio su išore, su pasauliu, su kitybe. Tačiau kitybė, tapdama sąmonės turiniu, nėra absoliuti kitybė. Būdas, kuriuo tapatumas, įsisavindamas savinasi pasaulį ir naikina kitybę, yra reprezentacija, siekianti akivaizdumo. Reprezentacija kaip intencionalus įžvalgumas bet kokį objektą lokalizuoja sąmonės šviesoje. Šviesa ir regėjimas – tai paradigminės Vakarų mąstymo tradicijos metaforos. Straipsnyje siekiama parodyti, kodėl ir kaip šviesa bei akivaizdumas netoleruoja absoliučios kitybės. Iš akivaizdumo kerų tapatumas atsitokėti gali tik per atsakingą santykį su Kitu, tai yra etiką. Čia tapatus subjektas praranda pirmumo teisę kito asmens imperatyvo atžvilgiu. Begalybės idėja, draskydama totalų tapatumą iš vidaus, neleidžia jam nurimti ir skatina atsižvelgti į transcendenciją, į kitybę, idant ji būtų laisva nuo prievartinio tapimo egocentrinio tapatumo turiniu ir manipuliacijos auka. Atsakomybė kito žmogaus veido akivaizdoje eina pirma akivaizdaus suvokimo ir įteisina jį.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: tapatumas, akivaizdumas, kitybė, socialumas.Charms of Evident IdentityNerijus Čepulis SummaryIn this article I seek to rethink the traditional notion of identity. In the tradition of Western thought identity was viewed first and foremost from an ontological point of view. After the turn toward the subject, the I is thought of as the centre, the base and the producer of any identity. Phenomenological analysis deepens the origin of identity to the relation of the I to the world, i.e. to the alterity. Yet the alterity, by becoming the content of consciousness, is not an absolute alterity. The way, in which identity assimilates, possesses the world and annihilates alterity, is representation. Representation seeks evidence. Representation as intentional perceptivity localizes every object in the light of consciousness. Light and vision are paradigmatic metaphors of the traditional Western thought. Hence in this article I seek to show why and how light and evidence do not tolerate absolute alterity. Identity can be sobered from the charms of evidence only by responsible relation to the Other, i.e. by ethics. Here identical subject loses the right of priority in front of the imperative of the other person. Idea of infinity worries total identity from within. Infinity does not permit identity to quiet down and induces to heed transcendence and alterity. Only in this way alterity can escape the violence to become a content of egocentrical identity and the victim of manipulation. Responsibility in the face of the other person precedes evident perception and legitimates the latter.Keywords: identity, evidence, alterity, sociality.


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