scholarly journals “Semantic Primitives”, fifty years later

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-342
Author(s):  
Anna Wierzbicka

Are there any concepts that all human beings share? Three hundred years ago Leibniz was convinced that there are indeed such concepts and that they can be identified by trial and error. He called this hypothetical set the alphabet of human thoughts. Gradually, however, the idea faded from philosophical discourse and eventually it was largely forgotten. It was revived in the early 1960s by the Polish linguist Andrzej Bogusławski. A few years later it was taken up in my own work and in 1972 in my book Semantic Primitives a first hypothetical set of universal semantic primitives was actually proposed. It included 14 elements. Following my emigration to Australia more and more linguists joined the testing of the proposed set against an increasing range of languages and domains. As a result, from mid 1980s the set steadily grew. The expansion stopped in 2014, when the number stabilised at 65, and when Cliff Goddard and I reached the conclusion that this is the full set. This paper reviews the developments which have taken place over the last 50 years. It reaffirms our belief that we have identified, in full, the shared alphabet of human thoughts. It also examines the recurring claim that one of these primes, HAVE PARTS, is not universal. Further, the paper argues that there is not only a shared alphabet of human thoughts but a shared mental language, Basic Human, with a specifiable vocabulary and grammar. It points out that the stakes are high, because what is at issue is not only the psychic unity of humankind (Boas 1911) but also the possibility of a universal human community of communication (Apel 1972). The paper contends that Basic Human can provide a secure basis for a non-Anglocentric global discourse about questions that concern us all, such as global ethics, the earth and its future, and the health and well-being of all people on earth.

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adela Yarcheski ◽  
Noreen E. Mahon ◽  
Thomas J. Yarcheski

Author(s):  
Christopher Stroud

This commentary engages with the book’s chapters on colonial linguistics by highlighting that in their struggles to maintain their ancestral sovereignty, Indigenous peoples remind all of us that, for most of our histories as human beings on the Earth, we have exercised and cultivated our individual and collective powers to set in motion dynamic relationships of well-being and mutual benefit. The commentary argues that Indigenous peoples also remind us that it has only been in the last few millennia and in a few aberrant cultures that systems of domination such as patriarchy, ethnocentrism, and accumulation of wealth have sought to assure that our deployment of what Foucault refers to as the ‘awesome materiality’ of these powers no longer serves the life-seeking interests of ourselves, our communities, and humanity, but instead serves the death-seeking interests of processes of domination, such as colonization.


1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violet M. Malinski

Abstract: Meditation has been practiced throughout the centuries. This article explores meditation as a health patterning modality for nurses to employ for themselves and to facilitate clients' knowing participation in their change process. The theoretical framework for this interpretation is Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings. Meditation has the potential to promote awareness of the experience of flow in the human/environment patterning process. Out of this evolves an expanded awareness of creative potentials for change. Two clinical vignettes are offered to illustrate this process. Summary: Meditation is a health patterning modality that can facilitate knowing participation in change. It broadens awareness of potentials that can be actualized as nurses and clients seek to promote their own health and well-being. Meditation can assist both in experiencing the rhythm of their human/environment mutual process and open them to an expanded field image. According to Rogers, this experiencing is pandimensional, transcending traditionally perceived limitations of space and time. Meditation opens the door onto new and creative potentialities in the process of becoming.


Author(s):  
Junxiang LIU ◽  
Qiang YUE ◽  
Xiaomu MA

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.The COVID-19 pandemic requires people and political bodies to reflect on the abundant and complicated relationships between human beings, governments, and organizations. We hold that Prof. Sass emphasizes the urgency and necessity of the view that “life is interconnected.” With the continuous progress of globalization, mankind has become an interdependent community with a shared future. However, global cooperation and communication face numerous challenges due to the diversity of cultures, national conditions, and competing interests. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven individuals and political bodies to discuss effective measures and control the disaster together, which demands that a basic consensus be reached on how to manage the tension between individual freedom and interests and public health and well-being. Even more importantly, the pursuit of happiness is the common goal of mankind. Solidarity and mutual aid are required to create a stable, harmonious, healthy, and orderly community. Chinese traditional philosophy can contribute some wisdom and strategies to build similar but not identical bodies and societies. DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 8 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.


Author(s):  
Matilda van den Bosch

Human beings are part of natural ecosystems and depend on them for their survival. In a rapidly changing environment and with increasing urbanization, this dependence is challenged. Natural environments affect human health and well-being both directly and indirectly. Urban green and blue areas provide opportunities for stress recovery and physical activity. They offer spaces for social interactions in the neighborhood and places for children’s play. Chronic stress, physical inactivity, and lack of social cohesion are three major risk factors for noncommunicable diseases, and therefore abundant urban greenery is an important asset for health promotion. Through numerous ecosystem services natural environments play a fundamental role in protecting health. Various populations depend on nature for basic material, such as fresh water, wood, fuel, and nutritious food. Biodiverse natural areas are also necessary for regulating the environment and for mitigating and adapting to climate change. For example, tree canopy cover can reduce the urban heat island effect substantially, preventing excess morbidity during heat waves. This natural heat-reducing effect also lessens the need for air conditioning systems and as a consequence decreases energy spending. Urban trees also support storm-water management, preventing flooding and related health issues. Air pollution is a major threat to population health. Urban trees sequester pollutants and, even though the effect may be relatively small, given the severity of the problem it may still have some public-health implications. The evidence around the effects of natural environments on health and well-being is steadily increasing. Several pathways and mechanisms are suggested, such as health services through functional ecosystems, early life exposure to biodiverse microbiota, which is important for the immune-system development, and sensory exposure, which has direct neurobiological impact supporting cognitive development and stress resilience. Support for several pathways is at hand that shows lower mortality rates and prevalence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, healthier pregnancy outcomes, reduced health inequalities, and improved mental health in urban areas with greater amounts of green and blue space. Altogether, the interactions between healthy natural environments and healthy people are multiple and complex, and require interdisciplinary attention and action for full understanding and resilient development of both nature and human beings.


Author(s):  
Marcelo Lopes de Souza

Abstract ‘Sacrifice zone’ is how a certain type of segregated and stigmatized space has become internationally known. In such a space, the physical and mental health and the quality of life of human beings are compromised in the name of ‘economic development’ or ‘progress’ – but ultimately for the sake of capitalist interests. This article offers a discussion of how environmental issues, power relations and the production of subjectivity intersect in the production of a kind of space that is typical of how residential segregation correlates with patterns of industrial location and the neglect of the health and well-being of the poor by the state apparatus in the (semi) periphery of the capitalist world system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 86-90
Author(s):  
Chinmay . M ◽  
Leena Muralidharan ◽  
Sangeeta Gaur

Water is one of necessity of life without which it is not possible for life to sustain. Approximately 71% part of the earth is enclosed with water in which 97% seawater, 2% polar ice caps, and 1% is fresh water. Water quality is an indicator of environmental health and well being of society. The environment nearby river area are very productive, beside this they also have economically values for fisheries, tourism, and recreational activities (Donde and Patil, 2018).  In India, approximately 1000 rivers are present which are source of livelihood for large number of population.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorene Day (Waubanewquay) ◽  
Dane Kaohelani Silva ◽  
Amshatar Ololodi Monroe

The wisdom of indigenous peoples is manifest in ways of knowing, seeing, and thinking that are passed down orally from generation to generation. This article takes the reader on a journey through three distinct ways of knowing, specifically as they relate to healing and health. The authors are a Midewanniquay, or Water Woman, of the Ojibway-Anishinabe people of the upper Midwest in the United States and Canada; a lomilomi healer from Hawaii; and an initiated Priest in the Yoruba tradition of West Africa. The philosophies of all three cultures emphasize the importance of spirituality to health and well-being (or healing process), but each has unique ways in which it nurtures relationship with the Creator, the earth, and humankind through sacred rituals and healing practices.


2020 ◽  
pp. 174239532093704
Author(s):  
Amanda Wilkinson ◽  
Janel Atlas ◽  
Katrina Nelson ◽  
Hilda Mulligan

Objectives Health and social care navigation services provide support for people with long-term conditions. Such services are available in the New Zealand (NZ) context. However little is known nationally or internationally about clients’ experience of engaging with such services. This study aimed to describe client perspectives of engaging with a health and social care navigation service in a NZ metropolitan city. Methods The manager and navigators of the service recruited clients who were previous users of the service. We individually interviewed nine clients (F = 7; M = 2; aged between 30–80 years) in their homes. Many of the participants reported social isolation, and some were without regular income. We transcribed interviews verbatim and analysed data thematically. Results There was one overall theme: Restoration of my essence or being (in the Māori language, wairua), and sense of belonging (turangawaewae) through a regenerative approach developed in partnership between the navigator and the client. Thus, participants felt renewed and validated as human beings. Discussion Enabling clients to feel re-valued as human beings captures the concept of personhood whereby a person has capability and capacity for life choices. We suggest enabling a client to feel valued assists in development of self-determination and consequently improved health and well-being.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document