The Phenomenology of Elegance: an Outline

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-245
Author(s):  
Andrei Simionescu-Panait ◽  

Elegance ranks low on the list of debated topics in philosophy, mainly because of the fleeting and mundane character of phenomena that it relies on for its existence. However, the rise of kinaesthesia as an important topic in today’s philosophical and phenomenological environment facilitates the inclusion of elegance in the canon of philosophical debates. This article reviews two important positions regarding elegance, that of Renaissance philosopher Baldassare Castiglione and of 20th Century realist phenomenologist Dietrich von Hildebrand. First, we underline three aspects of Castiglione’s concept of sprezzatura and showcase the significance and purpose of practicing elegance. This step is succeeded by a close look at von Hildebrand’s attachment to a realist phenomenological frame for understanding why he denies elegance the status of an ideal value. Last, we look at the connection between elegance and three ideas from a hybrid phenomenology from Husserl and Sheets-Johnstone. These connections form the basis for filling the significant gap between Castiglione’s Renaissance take on elegance and von Hildebrand’s realist perspective with a new phenomenological project regarding elegance. Keywords: Castiglione, von Hildebrand, Sheets-Johnstone, intentionality, kinaesthesia, axiology

Author(s):  
S. E. Sidorova ◽  

The article concentrates on the colonial and postcolonial history, architecture and topography of the southeastern areas of London, where on both banks of the River Thames in the 18th–20th centuries there were located the docks, which became an architectural and engineering response to the rapidly developing trade of England with territories in the Western and Eastern hemispheres of the world. Constructions for various purposes — pools for loading, unloading and repairing ships, piers, shipyards, office and warehouse premises, sites equipped with forges, carpenter’s workshops, shops, canteens, hotels — have radically changed the bank line of the Thames and appearance of the British capital, which has acquired the status of the center of a huge empire. Docks, which by the beginning of the 20th century, occupied an area of 21 hectares, were the seamy side of an imperial-colonial enterprise, a space of hard and routine work that had a specific architectural representation. It was a necessary part of the city intended for the exchange of goods, where the usual ideas about the beauty gave way to considerations of safety, functionality and economy. Not distinguished by architectural grace, chaotically built up, dirty, smoky and fetid, the area was one of the most significant symbols of England during the industrial revolution and colonial rule. The visual image of this greatness was strikingly different from the architectural samples of previous eras, forcing contemporaries to get used to the new industrial aesthetics. Having disappeared in the second half of the 20th century from the city map, they continue to retain a special place in the mental landscape of the city and the historical memory of the townspeople, which is reflected in the chain of museums located in this area that tell the history of English navigation, England’s participation in geographical discoveries, the stages of conquering the world, creating an empire and ways to acquire the wealth of the nation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 22-31
Author(s):  
ZARINA DENISOVA

The object of the research in this article is associativity as a characteristic feature of 20th century art. The nature, the role of the association in the work of artistic thinking, the principles of its functioning are considered. The subject of the research is the editing form of a musical work of the second half of the 20th century. Particular attention in the article is paid to the consideration of such an important factor influencing the formation of a stable associative connection as repetition. At the same time, it is specified that repetition is caused by a specific life situation. This repetition forms a chain of associations that create an integral content space of a musical work. The work uses general scientific research methods in the framework of comparative and logical analysis, including generalizations and comparisons. The work is based on the analytical method and has a systemic interdisciplinary nature as well. In revealing the specifics of the installation form, the author of the article turns to the theory of compositional ellipsis V. Bobrovsky. The main conclusion of the study is that the importance of associativity in the work of Russian composers in the second half of the 20th century is increasing, reaching the status of a characteristic feature of artistic thinking. The process of expanding associativity manifested itself, in particular, in the emergence in musical creativity of a new type of form creation - editing. The analysis revealed the features inherent in the montage type of construction of a work of art. This is the dismemberment of thematic material, the syntactic isolation of thematic structures, the organization of the form «from the end», the internal unity of the mosaic structure, and others. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that for the first time associativity is considered as a source of montage shaping, in the choice of research methodology, as well as in the identification of special features of the composition, manifested in the conditions of montage drama.


Author(s):  
Anne Knudsen

Anne Knudsen: The Century of Zoophilia Taking as her point of departure the protests against a dying child having his last wish fulfilled because his wish was to kill a bear, the author argues that animals have achieved a higher moral status than that of humans during the 20th century. The status of animals (and of “nature”) is seen as a consequence of their muteness which on the one hånd makes it impossible for animals to lie, and which on the other hånd allows humans to imagine what animals would say, if they spoke. The development toward zoophilia is explained as a a logical consequence of the cultural naturalisation of humans, and the author draws the conclusion that we may end up entirely without animals as a category. This hypothetical situation will lead to juridical as well as philosophical complications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-48
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Dynia

The article concerns international recognition of the Polish state established after World War I in the year 1918, the Polish state and the status of Poland in terms of international law during World War II and after its conclusion until the birth of the Third Polish Republic in the year 1989. A study of related issues confirmed the thesis of the identity and continuity of the Polish state by international law since the year 1918, as solidified in Polish international law teachings, and showed that the Third Polish Republic is, under international law, not a new state, but a continuation of both the Second Polish Republic as well as the People’s Republic of Poland.


2005 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Esther Hertzog

Women's parties have played a significant role on the Israeli political scene since the beginning of the 20th century until the present. Moreover, women's parties had far reaching impact on both the status of women and wider society. However, the significance of women's parties has been underrated by academia and the media, and their potential prospects have been continuously denied. Women's antagonistic attitudes towards women's parties are in particular conspicuous. The article describes and analyzes this phenomenon.


1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
S. L. Amosun

In many African countries, there has been an increase in the number of older persons because of the gains in life expectancy made in the 20th century. The increase has led to concerns about how to provide necessary care for older persons as many on-going changes in the society threaten to erode the traditional support network. The paper identifies some of the many challenges facing physiotherapists in improving the status of older persons in Africa, and gives suggestions on overcoming the challenges.


Author(s):  
Naoyuki Hirao ◽  
Takeo Kondo ◽  
Kazukiyo Yamamoto ◽  
Masao Koishikawa ◽  
Kiyoaki Watanabe

Marine space has a variety of appealing elements such as in use as resorts, for leisure, marine sports, physical distribution and the function involving the flow of people. However, ports and harbors that have lost their physical distribution functions and are steadily declining are on the increase. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is attempting to undertake regeneration of such ports and harbors that have lost their vitality from the middle of the 20th century. To date, regeneration plans for ports and harbors have been under the initiative of government administration but today, plans for the regeneration of ports and harbors and measures for revitalizing port towns are being reviewed in various ways including the creative development of communities through participation of the local citizenry and the convening of workshops by NPOs. As a part of this, the Chiba Port and Harbor Office in which the national government invests has begun a trial attempt to launch new projects for the invigoration of port towns through the formation of a program under which plans for the regeneration of ports and harbors and the invigoration of port towns will be undertaken through the collaboration of universities and local administrative governments. As a forerunner to such a model project, a program to form a regeneration plan for Kisarazu Port through the collaboration of Kisarazu and the Department of Oceanic Architecture & Engineering of Nihon University for senior 4th year students with the national government’s Chiba Port and Harbor Office as the moderator has been undertaken. At Nihon University, in the curriculum of Oceanic Architecture, A Planning Studio, 7 teachers and 58 students participated and 14 classes with three hours each week were conducted. This paper introduces the background to this and reports on the status of local contribution by the university.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-182
Author(s):  
Chris Peers

This article contributes to a growing debate within the field of early childhood education about the concept of ‘belonging’. It continues from earlier discussions that commented on the adoption of Belonging as a key term in the development of a national curriculum for the early years in Australia in 2009, as well as increasingly common references to belonging in various aspects of debate within the field. The article focuses specifically on the idea of belonging as it has emerged within existentialist philosophy in the 20th century, and more recent post-structuralist theories, especially the work of Jacques Derrida. The article ties belonging to language as a means of redefining approaches in early childhood education to the notions of place and context, so as to more rigorously connect ‘belonging’ to the philosophical debates of the 21st century.


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