The Crisis of Testimony in Historiography

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-70
Author(s):  
Jonas Ahlskog
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Ethical Dimension ◽  
Current Idea ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
Testimonial Knowledge ◽  
20Th Century History ◽  
Hayden White ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Abstract The essay examines the recent discussion about a “crisis of testimony” in historiography. Central to this discussion is the question of how it is possible for human testimony to convey information about the limit experiences of 20th century history. Given that the credibility of testimony is assessed by appealing to our previous understanding of what is credible, testimony to limit experiences risks being dismissed as unbelievable or implausible. This issue has recently been addressed in the work of Paul Ricoeur, Hayden White and Gert-Jan van der Heiden among others. In the first part of this essay, I show that the current idea of a crisis of testimony is a consequence of focusing too exclusively on the content of extraordinary testimony. I argue that such a focus has affinities with David Hume’s reductionist understanding of testimonial knowledge; even though the authors discussed cannot properly be labelled reductionists themselves. In the second part of the essay, I open up the issue of extraordinary testimony from a perspective that places the relationship between the speaker and the addressee at the heart of testimonial knowledge. My aim is to show that if we attend to the way in which testimonial knowledge involves dependence on the authority of another person, then the current idea of a crisis of testimony will dissolve itself. In conclusion, I argue that there is an important ethical dimension to the question of understanding extraordinary testimony.

scholarly journals The Volhynian mass murders of 1943 in Polish-Ukrainian historical discussions in the 1990s

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
Tetiana Banakh
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Polish Population ◽  
National History ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Press ◽  
Mass Murders ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

The article analyzes the first public discussions of the last decade of the 20th century about mass murders of Polish population in Volhynia in 1943. The author explores the emergence of the topic of “Volhynia” in the public space and Polish-Ukrainian historical debates about these mass murders in the 1990s. The research is based on the published sources and interviews with the participants in the Polish-Ukrainian dialog. The article focuses on the first mentions of the Volhynian events in the post-communist period, on the way this issue was discussed at seminars of Polish and Ukrainian historians, and in the leading Polish newspapers “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Rzeczpospolita”. Particular attention is paid to the discussion about the mass murders in the “Gazeta Wyborcza” in 1995. The Volhynian issue appeared in the public space after almost fifty years of silence initiated from the Polish “kres” and veteran circles which represented the victims of the mass murders. This topic was arousing interest gradually. It did not immediately take a lead- ing place in Polish-Ukrainian historical debates. In the 1990s, the discussion about “Volhynia” took place primarily between historians and within the groups to which this topic was important. There was only one discussion about the Volhynian events in the press, namely in the “Gazeta Wyborcza”. This newspaper, which appeared as an organ of Solidarity, pays attention especially to the relationship between Poland and its neighbours, particularly Ukraine. In the Ukrainian central media, the Volhynian issue remained completely without attention. Although the debates about “Volhynia” were not actively conducted in the 1990s, certain tendencies were established during this period, which remained characteristic in the following years. In Poland, these events were perceived as one of the most traumatic episodes of the national history, so it was the Polish side who initiated the discussions about this topic. The Ukrainian side was forced to respond to these initiatives.

A Ética dos Antigos e a Ética dos Modernos

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (28) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Enrico Berti ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Modern Conception ◽  
Ancient Ethics ◽  
Philosophical Ethic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

The aim of this essay is to critically compare ancient ethics with modern ethics, considering them both under one particular aspect, namely, the relationship between ethics and intelligence. In fact, one of the most significant differences between ancient and modern ethics is precisely the divergence in how this relationship is conceived. With this in mind, an appendix is added, dedicated to the philosophy of the 20th Century, the time when the modern conception reaches a crisis point. In the conclusion, I also intend to speak about Christian ethics, which, while not exactly a philosophical ethic, occupies its own peculiar place, so to speak, in the way the relationship between ethics and intelligence is conceived.

‘THE SPACE OF THE SOUL’: AN INTERVIEW WITH SOFIA GUBAIDULINA

Tempo ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (259) ◽  
pp. 31-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Moody
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Fibonacci Sequence ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Concert Music ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

AbstractIn this interview Gubaidulina discusses her understanding of religion and the way in which it relates to her music, by means of symbolism and metaphor. In particular she speaks of her understanding of the Apocalypse as a book of light, greatly influenced by the writings of Fr Aleksandr Men. She talks about the symbolism of instruments in her work, notably percussion, which she sees as a way to the subconscious; her understanding of the role of modernism in music, and the way in which her work connects with this historical process; and also her use of the Fibonacci sequence. The relationship of her music to liturgy is discussed, as is the double path, apparently contradictory, of the artist who composes both liturgical and concert music. The experience of the composer during the profound changes in music during the 20th century, specifically as regards possible intersections between modernism and spirituality, are also discussed.

Narrative and ‘the Task’ of Subjectivity

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Niamh Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Identity ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Human Identity ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Thomas Berry ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between narrative and subjectivity. It begins by examining the subject in the work of Paul Ricoeur and Thomas Berry and the way in which the task of subjectivity for both thinkers is related to narrative. Although occupying different disciplines, both men share a commitment to narrative. Ricoeur in his formation of narrative identity and the unity that this provides to a life, and Berry in his use of narrative in proposing a new human identity. Through an examination of Ricoeur and Berry’s approach to narrative, specifically in how it contributes to the development of subjectivity, this paper suggests that such an approach has validity as a method in addressing the ecological crisis.

On historical injustice and the art of forgetting

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Vosloo
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Memory Studies ◽  
Church History ◽  
Historical Injustice ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
The Relationship

This article asks whether it is responsible to introduce and/or cultivate the language of forgetting against the backdrop of South Africa’s colonial and apartheid past.  In writings originating from contexts permeated by memories of historical injustice, the call, and more specifically the duty, to remember and the implied need to fight against forgetting are rightfully emphasised.  But how are we to evaluate what some scholars see as a discursive shift from “memory” to “forgetting” in memory studies?  With this question in mind, this article first considers some possible arguments for giving greater prominence to the notion of forgetting in our memory discourse.  This is followed by a section that reiterates the “critique of forgetting,” drawing also on some examples from 20th century South African political and church history. In the final section, the article considers, in conversation with Paul Ricoeur, whether we should view the relationship between an art of memory and an art of forgetting as symmetrical or asymmetrical.

scholarly journals Collective Identity and Collective Memory in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Leichter
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
The Self ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Collective memory has been a notoriously difficult concept to define. I appeal to Paul Ricoeur and argue that his account of the relationship of the self and her community can clarify the meaning of collective memory. While memory properly understood belongs, in each case, to individuals, such memory exists and is shaped by a relationship with others. Furthermore, because individuals are constituted over a span of time and through intersubjective associations, the notion of collective memory ought to be understood in terms of the way that memory enacts and reenacts networks of relations among individuals and the communities to which they belong, rather than in terms of a model that reifies either individuals or groups. Ricoeur’s account can show sources of oppression and offers ways to respond to them.

scholarly journals Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live By: The Ecolinguistics of Tholkappiyam

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Shri Vaishali ◽  
◽  
S. Rukmini ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
The West ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Language Ecology ◽  
Fundamental Nature ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Linguistic Philosophy

The term “ecolinguistics” is relatively a recent discussion with Eliar Haugen (1972) bringing up the concept of “The ecology of Language”. Since then, various methods and approaches to the field have been suggested to study the language-ecology interaction, primarily from the west. As a result, ecolinguistics is conceived as a new-born western discipline. However, Ecolinguistics, as the term suggests is the specialized study of language-ecology interaction. The “feeling” of the existence of the necessary relationship between language and ecology even before makes us ask the question if the concept of ecolinguistics has not been discussed by linguists before 20th Century. The ancient Tamil linguistic treatise called Tholkappiyam (dated between 6th BCE to 8th CE) presents the fundamental nature of the relationship between ecology, language and culture through the theory called Tinai. The paper primarily draws attention to look into the linguistic philosophy of Tholkappiyam through an ecological perspective. From the ecolinguistic perspective, the paper analyses Tinai based on three criteria: Ecosophy, Aspects of Language-ecology-culture interaction and the theoretical framework of Tinai. Having analysed from the aforementioned criteria, the paper advocates that the framework of Tinai can contribute to the ecolinguistic studies parallel to the philosophies of Edward Sapir (1912) and Hagege (1985).

The Type of Temperament, Mood, and Strategies of Categorization

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Wytykowska
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Affective Value ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

In Strelau’s theory of temperament (RTT), there are four types of temperament, differentiated according to low vs. high stimulation processing capacity and to the level of their internal harmonization. The type of temperament is considered harmonized when the constellation of all temperamental traits is internally matched to the need for stimulation, which is related to effectiveness of stimulation processing. In nonharmonized temperamental structure, an internal mismatch is observed which is linked to ineffectiveness of stimulation processing. The three studies presented here investigated the relationship between temperamental structures and the strategies of categorization. Results revealed that subjects with harmonized structures efficiently control the level of stimulation stemming from the cognitive activity, independent of the affective value of situation. The pattern of results attained for subjects with nonharmonized structures was more ambiguous: They were as good as subjects with harmonized structures at adjusting the way of information processing to their stimulation processing capacities, but they also proved to be more responsive to the affective character of stimulation (positive or negative mood).

Understanding prescription in language. A corpus-based approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-81
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Kibbee ◽  
Alan Craig
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
French Tradition ◽  
Linguistic Behavior ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

We define prescription as any intervention in the way another person speaks. Long excluded from linguistics as unscientific, prescription is in fact a natural part of linguistic behavior. We seek to understand the logic and method of prescriptivism through the study of usage manuals: their authors, sources and audience; their social context; the categories of “errors” targeted; the justification for correction; the phrasing of prescription; the relationship between demonstrated usage and the usage prescribed; the effect of the prescription. Our corpus is a collection of about 30 usage manuals in the French tradition. Eventually we hope to create a database permitting easy comparison of these features.

On (Not) Translating Lacan: Barbara Cassin's Sophistico-Analytical Performances

Paragraph ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-113
Author(s):  
Michael Syrotinski
Keyword(s):  
Machine Translation ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Barbara Cassin's Jacques the Sophist: Lacan, Logos, and Psychoanalysis, recently translated into English, constitutes an important rereading of Lacan, and a sustained commentary not only on his interpretation of Greek philosophers, notably the Sophists, but more broadly the relationship between psychoanalysis and sophistry. In her study, Cassin draws out the sophistic elements of Lacan's own language, or the way that Lacan ‘philosophistizes’, as she puts it. This article focuses on the relation between Cassin's text and her better-known Dictionary of Untranslatables, and aims to show how and why both ‘untranslatability’ and ‘performativity’ become keys to understanding what this book is not only saying, but also doing. It ends with a series of reflections on machine translation, and how the intersubjective dynamic as theorized by Lacan might open up the possibility of what is here termed a ‘translatorly’ mode of reading and writing.

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