Surface Play

2018 ◽  
pp. 46-68
Author(s):  
Amber Jamilla Musser
Keyword(s):  
Lesbian Feminism ◽  
The World ◽  
Black Lesbian ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

This chapter delves more deeply into the matter of the black vulva in arguing for a revaluation of narcissism, friction, and superficiality by dwelling on Mickalene Thomas’s use of rhinestones as excessive decorations in The Origin of the Universe (2012). A reimagining of Gustave Courbet’s infamous headless, nude portrait of a woman, Origin of the World (1866), Thomas’s work positions rhinestone-embellished genitals in the center of the frame. This chapter argues that Thomas’s painting offers a meditation on Audre Lorde’s matrilineal womanism while also allowing us to think with the idea of surface within the medium of painting. Both this calling forth of 1970s- 1980s black lesbian feminism and the textures of the surface bring forth friction as a form of relationality and narcissism as a necessary form of self-creation. Brown jouissance, this chapter argues, inheres in the excesses of surface that the painting presents.

scholarly journals An Inquiry into the Semiotic Thought of Laozi

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-39
Author(s):  
Dong Zhu ◽  
Wei Ren
Keyword(s):  
Social Stability ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Tao Te Ching ◽  
The World ◽  
Imperial China ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Natural Life ◽  
Origin Of The Universe ◽  
The Way

Abstract Tao Te Ching, the masterpiece of Laozi the renowned philosopher of Pre-Imperial China, plays an important role in Chinese history. Laozi’s philosophy centres on such concepts as ming (names), li (rituals), and dao (the way). Ming, originally developed as a result of human beings’ endeavours to understand the world in which they live and to bring order to their society, has degenerated into the sources of evils and the reason for turbulence when people stop at nothing for fame and fortune; Li, an effective and efficient means for the kings of West Zhou Dynasty to maintain social stability, has become but a collection of empty sign vehicles with the disintegration of rituals and music; Dao concerns Laozi’s metaphysical reflection on the origin of the universe and its ultimate laws. Ming and li are but artificial restraints imposed on human intelligence whereas dao provides the way out. Therefore, to lead a simple and natural life, it is advisable to eliminate ming and li, and worship dao. In semiotic terms, this means that desemiotisation is the solution to the crisis.

Dualism in Iranian and Christian Traditions

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
François de Blois
Keyword(s):  
Cosmological Models ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Race ◽  
Indefinite Number ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

Since the time when the human race first began to speculate about the origin of the universe there have been two cosmological models that have seemed particularly attractive to its imagination. One has been to derive everything in the world from a single primal origin, out of which the cosmos, in all its apparent complexity, evolves. The other has been to view the history of the universe as a battle between two opposing forces which contradict and undermine each other. The two views can be called monism and dualism. They are not the only possibilities. There have been systems that posit three, four or an indefinite number of principles, but most of these have also tended to assume one basic pair of opposites with one or more neutral or intermediate principles beside them; this too can be seen as a form of dualism.

scholarly journals EVOLUTIONAL AND CREATION PARADIGMS OF THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD: HISTORY AND MODERNITY

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Евгения Викторовна Алёхина
Keyword(s):  
World History ◽  
Dialectical Materialism ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mechanistic Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Intersection Points ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

В статье рассмотрены возникновение и развитие противоборствующих в философской мысли креационного и эволюционного объяснений происхождения Вселенной, жизни и разума. Обращаясь к анализу двух парадигм, автор показала, что они имеют длительную историю противостояния. В наше время, как и в прошлом, эта проблема сводится к альтернативе - либо эволюция как продукт слепой случайности, либо целенаправленное творчество Высшего Разума. В последнем случае есть два варианта: ортодоксальный и модернистский - «телеологический эволюционизм». Обосновывается, что современная постнеклассическая наука все больше определяется социальными, культурными и мировоззренческими основаниями. Одной из точек пересечения трех уровней научного знания является проблема происхождения мира. Противоположные варианты её решения имеют различное соотношение собственно научного (экспериментального) и мировоззренческого аспектов. Эволюционная гипотеза с позиции диалектического материализма не смогла преодолеть редукционизм и наивный реализм механистического подхода. Наличие в указанных парадигмах аксиологического компонента в той или иной степени утверждает или отрицает смысл жизни и достоинство личности. The article examines the emergence and development of the opposing creation and evolutionary explanations of the origin of the universe, life and mind in philosophical thought. Turning to the analysis of the two paradigms, the author showed that they have a long history of opposition. In our time, as in the past, this problem boils down to an alternative - either evolution as a product of blind chance, or purposeful creativity of the Higher Reason. In the latter case, there are two options: orthodox and modernist - «teleological evolutionism». It is substantiated that modern post-non-classical science is increasingly determined by social, cultural and ideological foundations. One of the intersection points of the three levels of scientific knowledge is the problem of the Origin of the World. Opposite solutions to its solution have a different ratio of the scientific (experimental) and worldview aspects. The evolutionary hypothesis could not overcome the reductionism and naive realism of the mechanistic approach from the standpoint of dialectical materialism. The presence of an axiological component in these paradigms, to one degree or another, affirms or denies the meaning of life and the dignity of the individual.

Ontological and Cosmological Primordium: Heng 恆 or Hengxian 恆先? An Interpretation of Hengxian Wuyou 恆先無有 “Prior to Heng, There is Nothing”

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Bai Xi
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Philosophy ◽  
Fundamental Concept ◽  
Common Method ◽  
Philosophical Concept ◽  
Precise Meaning ◽  
The World ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

In the statement hengxian wuyou 恆先無有“there is nothing before Hengxian,” the expression hengxian should not be understood as a single concept. It is composed of two parts. Here, heng is used as the highest philosophical concept which expresses the ultimate in the sense of eternity, constancy, uniqueness, and the absolute. In ancient Chinese philosophy, it is similar to some other concepts such as Dao 道 in the Laozi, Taiji 太極 in the Zhouyi, and Taiyi 太一in “Taiyishengshui” 太一生水 from the Guodian corpus. Xian here is used as in heng zhi xian 恒之先, meaning “prior to” or “before.” Therefore, the precise meaning of hengxian is that something before or prior to heng. The proposition hengxian wuyou then can be understood as heng is the uttermost and primal being and there could not be anything before it. Wuyou “nothing” is the essential character or property of heng. Logically, heng 恆 must be the highest philosophical concept of being. According to ancient Chinese cosmology, seeking for the being or beings before or prior to the becoming of the world is the most common method to explain the origin of the universe. One way to assert something is the origin of the universe is to argue that there is nothing before or prior to it. In other words, a cosmology cannot be successfully established until it can identify a fundamental concept, prior to which nothing can be found.

scholarly journals The Philosophical Aspects of the Dialogue between Modern Cosmology and Theology

Discourse ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
A. V. Nesteruk ◽  
A. V. Soldatov
Keyword(s):  
Human Condition ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Human Being ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

Introduction. The paper deals with the philosophical problems of the modern dialogue between cosmology and theology. It is argued that no existential contradiction is possible between them as originating in one and the same human condition. The difference between cosmology and theology amounts to the difference in their open-ended hermeneutics of the outer world. It is from within this philosophical conclusion that the hot issue of the dialogue are discussed and some insights are proposed.Methodology and sources. The philosophical analysis is based on the discussion of epistemological issues in modern cosmology and their relevance to theological view of the world. The method is similar to existential phenomenology’s approach to the constitution of the notion of the universe in cosmology and theology as an open-ended hermeneutics of the world.Results and discussion. It is shown that no existential contradiction is possible between two types of hermeneutics as originating in one and the same human condition. It is human being that becomes the major theme of the dialogue between cosmology and theology.On the basis of the conclusions made the paper discusses some “hot” issues in the contemporary cosmology-theology discussion, including: 1) The inseparability of cosmology and theology in justification of the possibility of cosmological knowledge, 2) Fine-tuning, Anthropic principle, fitness of the universe for life, 3) The unknowability of the universe and apophaticism in cosmology, 4) Multiple universes and their ontology, 5) How much of life is in the universe: the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), exoplanets and theological consequence for multiple incarnations, 6) The origin of the universe in modern scientific cosmology and its relevance to the theologically understood creatio ex nihilo, 7) Consciousness and the universe: can cosmology account for its own possibility without appealing to the theologically understood human capacity in producing an intellectual synthesis of the universe.Conclusion. On the basis of the methods applied to the hot issues in the dialogue between cosmology and theology one concludes that the dialogue between cosmology and theology is an open-ended enterprise related to the fundamentally concealed origins of humanity and universe. The difference is hermeneutics of the universe does not create any contradiction or tension but reflects a dualistic position of humanity in the universe, being an insignificant part of it and at the same time its center of disclosure and manifestation.

Creation Ex Nihilo: Something from Nothing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlatko Vedral
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Being Religious ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

Every civilization in the history of humanity has had its myth of creation. Humans have a deeply rooted and seemingly insatiable desire to understand not only their own origins but also the origins of other things around them. Most if not all of the myths since the dawn of man involve some kind of higher or supernatural beings which are intimately related to the existence and functioning of all things in the Universe. Modern man still holds a multitude of different views of the ultimate origin of the Universe, though a couple of the most well represented religions, Christianity and Islam, maintain that there was a single creator responsible for all that we see around us. It is a predominant belief in Catholicism, accounting for about one-sixth of humanity, that the Creator achieved full creation of the Universe out of nothing – a belief that goes under the name of creation ex nihilo. (To be fair, not all Catholics believe this, but they ought to if they follow the Pope.) Postulating a supernatural being does not really help explain reality since then we only displace the question of the origins of reality to explaining the existence of the supernatural being. To this no religion offers any real answers. If you think that scientists might have a vastly more insightful understanding of the origin of the Universe compared to that of major religions, then you’d better think again. Admittedly, most scientists are probably atheists (interestingly, more than 95% in the United Kingdom) but this does not necessarily mean that they do not hold some kind of a belief about what the Creation was like and where all this stuff around us comes from. The point is that, under all the postulates and axioms, if you dig far enough, you’ll find that they are as stumped as anyone else. So, from the point of view of explaining why there is a reality and where it ultimately comes from, being religious or not makes absolutely no difference – we all end up with the same tricky question. Every time I read a book on the religious or philosophical outlook of the world I cannot help but recognize many ideas in there as related to some ideas that we have in science.

scholarly journals On the quantum description of the early universe

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2 Jul-Dec) ◽  
pp. 263
Author(s):  
Gabriel R Bengochea
Keyword(s):  
Early Universe ◽  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Niels Bohr ◽  
Werner Heisenberg ◽  
Quantum Description ◽  
Realistic Theory ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe ◽  
The Ideal

Why is it interesting to try to understand the origin of the universe? Everything we observe today, including our existence, arose from that event. Although we still do not have a theory that allows us to describe the origin itself, the study of the very early era of the universe involves the ideal terrain to analyze the interface between two of today’s most successful physical theories, General Relativity and Quantum physics. But it is also an area in which we have a large number of observational data to test our theoretical ideas. Two of the fathers of Quantum physics, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, shared some thoughts that could be described with these words: Quantum physics tells us that there is a line between the observed and the observer, and therefore science should be limited to what is observed. We must give up a complete, objective and realistic theory of the world. This article will orbit around these ideas and summarizes how it is that today, from recent works, we are in a position to try to challenge them (at least in part) through cosmology, seeking the quantum description of the early universe.

Quantum Genesis

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-100
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Bertone
Keyword(s):  
Gravitational Waves ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
The World ◽  
Inner World ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

Finally, I tackle what is arguably the greatest mystery of all: the origin of the Universe. Paraphrasing J.L. Borges (‘How, then, can I translate into words the limitless Aleph, which my floundering mind can scarcely encompass?’), I will underline the extraordinary challenge of translating into words the mind-blowing theories proposed by physicists to explain the very first instants of the Universe. And I discuss the exhilarating possibility of identifying the origin of all there is in the Universe, by measuring the gravitational waves signal produced in the primordial Universe, right after the Big Bang. Telling stories is our way of understanding the world. We do it all the time: when we talk to others, when we are absorbed in our inner world. Even when we sleep, in our dreams.

The Origin of the Universe and Contemporary Cosmology and Philosophy

1998 ◽  
pp. 113-119
Author(s):  
Jan Such
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Philosophy Of Nature ◽  
The World ◽  
Epistemological Status ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

Since the 1970s both in physics and cosmology, there has been a controversy on the subject of the ‘beginning of the universe.’ This indicates that this intriguing problem has reached scientific consideration and, perhaps, a solution. The aim of this paper is to try to answer the question as to whether the origin of the world has slipped out of the hands of philosophers (and theologians), and passed in its entirety into the realm of science, and whether science is able to solve this problem by itself. While presenting the main views in this dispute, I try to show also that metaphysics, philosophy of nature and epistemology provide important premises, proposals and methods that are indispensable for a solution. These premises concern such issues as the extremely subtle problem of the sense and existence of ‘nothing,’ the problem of extrapolation of local physics onto the large-scale areas of the universe, the epistemological status of cosmological principles, as well as problems of the origins of the laws of nature. This last issue is entangled in the difficult problem of the ‘rationality of the world’ and the problem of overcoming the dichotomy of laws and preconditions, according to which the conditions and laws are independent of each other.

‘A pinch of unseen, unguarded dust’: The World and Self in Thomas Hardy's Poems

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Monika Szuba
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
Phenomenological Philosophy ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Recurrent Theme ◽  
Body Subject

The essay discusses selected poems from Thomas Hardy's vast body of poetry, focusing on representations of the self and the world. Employing Maurice Merleau-Ponty's concepts such as the body-subject, wild being, flesh, and reversibility, the essay offers an analysis of Hardy's poems in the light of phenomenological philosophy. It argues that far from demonstrating ‘cosmic indifference’, Hardy's poetry offers a sympathetic vision of interrelations governing the universe. The attunement with voices of the Earth foregrounded in the poems enables the self's entanglement in the flesh of the world, a chiasmatic intertwining of beings inserted between the leaves of the world. The relation of the self with the world is established through the act of perception, mainly visual and aural, when the body becomes intertwined with the world, thus resulting in a powerful welding. Such moments of vision are brief and elusive, which enhances a sense of transitoriness, and, yet, they are also timeless as the self becomes immersed in the experience. As time is a recurrent theme in Hardy's poetry, this essay discusses it in the context of dwelling, the provisionality of which is demonstrated in the prevalent sense of temporality, marked by seasons and birdsong, which underline the rhythms of the world.

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