The Decameron: On the Possibility of Love During Self-Isolation

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-178
Keyword(s):  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Human Being ◽  
European Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Consolation Of Philosophy

This article in the genre of the consolation of philosophy deals with the COVID-19 pandemic as a new superphenomenal experience marked by an extremely intense experience of one’s vulnerability and finiteness as well as by problematization of our previous ideas of a human being. The author offers a way to understand our situation and find solace by starting with the performative paradox of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, which contains one of the most famous descriptions of the plague and remains one of the most cheerful and life-enhancing texts in European literature. The article shows that, contrary to the common belief, the consolation offered in the The Decameron is not reduced merely to telling stories that entertain and distract us from tales of grief. Nor is it reduced to the invention of social practices for building a new and more perfect society, although all this, as the author shows, is undoubtedly there in the text and has a beneficial effect. The Decameron’s consolation ultimately consists of the assumption that man himself has metaphysical depths in his incomprehensible (although it is fully embodied in the Decameron) and impossible potential for lovingly accepting the reality of the world as a blessed Gift, to think of eventfulness itself as a gift. The article argues that the anthropology on which Boccaccio’s utopia is based is that of the feast or symposium understood in the spirit of the Platonic-Christian tradition. The author hopes that Boccaccio’s anthropological optics, designed to overcome the pessimism of reason and affirm the optimism of will and faith, can help the reader find meaning and joy in the midst of the suffering and death which are the irrevocable framework of life. This consolation can be heard in the cheerful voice of Boccaccio, which comes to us from faraway plague-ridden Florence and offers us his prescription for healing the “wounds of being.”

scholarly journals Verbal realism in a magic world: Carlos Santiago Nino vs. Jorge Luis Borges

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-99
Author(s):  
Katya Kozicki ◽  
Luis Gustavo Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Jorge Luis Borges ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
The Common ◽  
Power Of Words ◽  
The Universe

This paper is an investigation of the reference made by Carlos Santiago Nino about Jorge Luis Borges, in the fifth chapter of his “Introduction to Legal Analysis”, in which he introduces the concept of verbal realism. The production by Borges mentioned by Nino is the poem “The Golem”, which tells the story of rabbi Judah Loew, who attempted to create another human being in his rituals. Thus, this study develops new considerations on the power of words to evoke things, and the common belief that words intrinsically relate to what they represent. In order to do that, the first objective of analysis is the immediate reference of Borges, the dialogue “Cratylus”, by Plato, together with other references, such as Goethe’s Faust, which has a similar narrative to the analyzed poem. The question raised is whether verbal realism offers definitions to constitute the universe built up by Borges. Hence, this article concludes that words, in normative contexts, are useful for summoning certain phenomena towards the events, and that verbal realism, then, has a dimension that Carlos Santiago Nino did not explore.

scholarly journals MAKNA PENCERAHAN DALAM ZEN BUDDHISME

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (27) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Firman Adi Juwono
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Zen Buddhism ◽  
Human Being ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common

Within the Zen Buddhism, there is satori, a term used to designate the essence of the Zen’s teachings. According to the Japanese, the term satori is taken as the teaching concerned about illumination or enlightenment. The enlightenment is the achievement as what spiritually discerned by the Gautama Buddhist. It is an experience that implies meaning beyond the common sense where words are not enough to explain. The human being that afford to climb until this satori state after particular Zen’s exercises may only experience some inner changes. Hence, he/ she would view the world and the sur- rounding in a wider horizon, as it is, and able to feel like he has going through a rebirth with a new personality.

scholarly journals In Search of the Heraclitean Logos

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 668-680
Author(s):  
Sergey Kocherov
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Suggested Method ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Sensory Organs ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Intellectual Intuition ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common

The paper attempts to clarify the essence of logos as found in the teaching of Heraclitus. The author identifies meanings which Heraclitus attributes to the concept, investigates his suggested method of cognizing logos, and analyzes the benefits bestowed upon a human being by comprehension of logos. It is hypothesized that the Heraclitean logos is not an originating principle, like a supreme god or cosmic fire, but its attribute – the verbalized intelligence of being inherent both in the world as a whole and one’s soul. As a mental-verbal projection, logos is open not to the sensory organs or even reason, but to the intellectual intuition. Therefore, the knowledge of logos cannot be taught, but can be obtained through self-cognition. Comprehension of logos leads to following the universal, which, in polity’s life, is equal to the common good. However, according to Heraclitus, this is something attainable only by wise and virtuous, “the best”, not by wicked and ignorant majority.

Mística na tradição ocidental em Lima Vaz

2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1487-1508
Author(s):  
Hélio Pereira Lima
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Western Tradition ◽  
The World ◽  
Crisis Of Meaning ◽  
Mystic Experience

This Work aims at reflecting on mystics, within the Western tradition, departing Lima Vaz’ thought, in order to try identifying the function that rested reserved to Mystic Experience, in the Modern Society, Society that, as It purposes Itself destroying the Sacred one up the World, has put aside Religion as a factor of legitimation regarding to public sphere. Its purpose is recovering some historical-philosophical aspects regarding to Christian Tradition in order to understanding better the level regarding to crisis of meaning of this Society can be linked to the progressive lack concerning the originary relation of the Human Being with the Transcendence Itself since that this lacking subverted the constitutive nucleus of its own identity as an open. We may assume that this Reflection of ours will be turned on contributing for reflecting of the Christian Mystics et its contribution for the dialogue with the plurality of the actual ways of spiritualities, in front of crisis concerning the contemporaneity.

scholarly journals Assessment of Complications Caused by the Prescription-Free Consumption of Herbal Medicine with the Purpose of Weight Gain: A Case Report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Niknafs ◽  
Abbas Alimoradian ◽  
Mehdi Salehi
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Herbal Medications ◽  
Current Article ◽  
The Common ◽  
Chicory Roots

In recent years, the common belief that herbal medications cause no side effects, have led to an increase in the consumption of these medications without prescription. Ginseng is one of the most commonly used herbs in the world and is a native of Eastern Asian countries such as China and Korea. It is also known to have several medicinal purposes. However, unreasonable use of this herb can bear consequences. In the current article, 28-year-old woman has consumed 4 capsules each day, which contained Ginseng roots, Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) extract, and Ziziphora (Ziziphora capitate) extract without a prescription to gain weight, which has resulted in serious side effects - including hepatotoxicity, psychologic, and gynecologic disorders. However, these symptoms were controlled with Chicory roots, Purslane and Jujube oxymel. PM focuses on the cooperation between food categories, nutritional instructions, food modulators, and medications. Regardless of their several therapeutic effects, medical herbs have been known to cause quite serious side effects if consumed unsystematically and without the surveillance of a doctor

scholarly journals Nomination of God in Biblical-theological tradition of Eastern (Oriental) Christians

Litera ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 129-141
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Leonidovich Shukurov
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
The World ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Methodological Principles

The goal of this research is the philological examination of principles of nomination of God in the Oriental theological tradition of Christianity. The concurrent conceptual objective lies in comparison of Eastern Christian (Oriental) doctrine of nominations of God and the Cappadocian divine onomatology. The subject of this article is the so-called revealed nomination Other nominations of God are interpreted as replacements for the proper name of the Biblical God Yahweh, the profane usage of which was a taboo back in the Old Testament era. The research employs the methodological principles of Biblical exegetics and linguistic hermeneutics. The author differentiates the exegetic and hermeneutic approaches accepted in the theological science. It implies that that the firs is associated with the particular philological methods of interpretation of Biblical texts, while the second – with the theological generalizations and interpretations that are based on the results of exegetic explication. The conclusion is made that the key features of Syriac (and Eastern overall) divine onomatology consist in a distinct categorization of divine nominations, among which special status belongs to the proper name (nomen proprium) of God, which is inherited by Eastern Christians from the Old Testament Jewish traditions; as well as in preservation of the common to Old Testament religiosity sacralization of the name of God as a source of sanctifying power and symbol of God’s presence. Therefore, within the Syriac Christian tradition, which prompted the development of traditions of all Eastern (Oriental) non-Chalcedonian churches, was formed a special type of divine onomatology based on the Old Testament cult of the nomination of God, which is an attribute of semitic sense of the world, manifested in linguistic peculiarities of Biblical translations into Semitic languages (Targum and Peshitta).

scholarly journals Grundtvigs oplysningstanker - om at knytte bånd og løse knuder

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-171
Author(s):  
Ove Korsgaard
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Human Being ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Folk High School ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University

Grundtvig's Educational Ideas - On tying bonds and cutting knotsBy Ove KorsgaardFormer reseach into Grundtvig’s ideas has concentrated mostly on his pedagogical ideas and the folk high school. A third category must be added - Grundtvig’s ideas regarding enlightenment.These ideas can be understood only in the light of the main complex of problems which occupied Grundtvig throughout his entire life, namely the question: What does it imply to be a human being, a human being in society and a human being in the world? The assignment is to »develop a complete enlightenment of man«, and »human life through thousands of years«. Grundtvig wanted to establish a school system based upon two columns: the people and mankind - a folk high school and a university.We now live in the era of the school - resulting in an individualization of man which may become dangerous if there is no agreement on »the common good«. Only true enlightenment will result in the triad between the individual, the people and mankind. The folk high school was to enlighten the people. The university was to be »a spiritual workshop«, striving towards a universal understanding and towards clarification. Grundtvig’s university was never established.However, in this time of globalization the need for research into Grundtvig’s ideas of enlightenment is as great as ever.

scholarly journals Evolution of the Common Belief That “Things Have Costs”: Psychological Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Sergei Peregonchuk
Keyword(s):  
Current Method ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
The Core ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Introductory Economics ◽  
Beginning Students

The paper examines critically the current method of teaching one of the core topics in Introductory Economics. The area of my criticism of the traditional Production Costs theory as it had been currently taught in many universities across the world is that it inevitably creates in the minds of beginning students a false perception that “things have costs”. The Economic Way of Thinking as the alternative approach to the traditional way of teaching Introductory Economics disarms this popular idea and affirms that “only actions have costs”. The discussion is done in the form of dialogue between the author and a reader.

scholarly journals VOCABULARY NEOLOGIZATION DURING A CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF INTERNET PERIODICALS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS)

2020 ◽  
pp. 203-215
Author(s):  
Valentyna KRASAVINA
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
New Words ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
Social Markers ◽  
Globalized World

Having spread around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused an increase in the number of neologisms both in Ukrainian and in other languages. In the first place, it happened due to extralinguistic factors – specific features of the infectious disease itself as well as the unprecedented social practices which have become a new method of adaptation to the present day circumstances. Language has promptly reacted to large-scale changes in the world and the society: new words and word combinations denoting the phenomena, objects and notions unknown before have appeared; the modification of the semantics of certain common words has taken place; the sphere of usage of some specialized terms has broadened. Globalization processes and a tendency towards language unification have facilitated the spread of terms of international use, neolexemes, neomorphemes, which is indicative of the emergence of the common international vocabulary. English borrowings have been actively adopted due to the language practice of mass media (in particular, the electronic ones), which are dynamic and open to innovation, and, as is the case with social networks, enable the communication of a great number of people of various nationalities, ages and social status. Thus, neologisms are social markers of transformations, typical of the society in a globalized world. Renovation of the vocabulary is happening by means of adoption of foreignisms, predominantly of the English origin, international terms, which are replenishing terminology subsystems, in particular the ones of healthcare and administration, etc.; by means of word-formation using borrowed derivation tools; due to the activation of the processes of extending the semantics of already familiar words. A considerable amount of new words will not enter the general vocabulary as upon the conclusion of the Covid-19 pandemic they will be excluded from the active use and transferred to the corpus of historical words of the epoch which will become the evidence of the period of the quarantine measures and self-isolation of the citizens, and some words will be returned to a specialized sphere of use.

The Perils of Leading a Democracy

2020 ◽  
pp. 009141502091293
Author(s):  
Shelly Rathee ◽  
Himanshu Mishra ◽  
Arul Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Environmental Characteristics ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common

Environmental characteristics can influence aging. Democracy results in higher life expectancy for its members. However, there is a lack of research that indicates the influence of democracy on its leaders. Specifically, we examine how the nature of democracy affects the perceived aging of its leaders. In this paper, we capture perceived aging via face perception. We suggest that leaders in a democracy are perceived to age more compared to those in an autocracy. Counter to the common belief that democracies are less stressful, we find that the stress of being a leader in a democracy can have adverse effects. Study 1 uses picture pairs of 268 leaders from across the world, and participants judge age difference in years between the pictures. Study 2, a controlled study, examines downstream influences on the leader’s specific attributes. Results indicate that leaders appearing to age more are more likely to avoid complex decisions, to be less charismatic, and to be less inspiring.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document