scholarly journals Thinking and behaving “Otherwise”: An anthropological enquiry into utopia, image and ethics

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 3-10
Author(s):  
Roberto Franzini Tibaldeo
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Thomas More ◽  
Hans Jonas ◽  
Ideal State ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract The word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in his Utopia, first published in 1516. Following the example of Plato’s Republic, More as well as other thinkers and writers of the 16th and 17th century reflect on the political relevance of utopia and provide unique accounts of ideal, just, and perfect “no places”, as paradigms and standards of social, political, and religious reformation of the coeval world. However, the political significance of utopia relies on a basic anthropological feature, which incidentally is already underlined by More: the relationship between imagination and experience. This means that: 1) the human being’s “eidetic” freedom is characterised by the inseparable relationship between imagination, reflection, experience and action; 2) utopia is capable of disclosing the transformative and normative features related to the human being’s constitution; 3) utopia can be fruitfully used to motivate human will and mobilise support for human flourishing. In this article I endeavour to show that among contemporary philosophers it is Hans Jonas who most fully develops the anthropological significance of utopia by investigating the very relationship between imagination and experience, and by underlining how the eidetic and reflective constitution of the human being leads to ethics. As a further goal, I wish to highlight that the anthropological relevance of utopia can shed light on our imaginative and ambivalent nature, and provide a practical and educational basis for the achievement of an “ethics of images” for the current digital era. For this purpose I shall draw on the thinking of Marie-José Mondzain and Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, among other scholars.

Effects of a five-day Nordic skiing camp on the individuals and on the group.

2021 ◽  
pp. 39-49
Author(s):  
Eduard Inglés Yuba ◽  
Víctor Labrador Roca ◽  
Unai Sáez de Ocáriz Granja
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Outdoor Sports ◽  
Integral Development ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Nordic Skiing ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract Scholars from diverse disciplines are increasingly concerned with the benefits generated by the practice of physical activity in the natural environment on individuals (Gomila Serra, 2014; Jirásek et al., 2016). This chapter attempts to shed light on the various scientific approaches that confirm this beneficial relationship. It also contributes to the holistic and integral conception of the human being, made up of different dimensions: physical, mental, emotional and social (Sandell et al., 2009; Borkowski, 2011). After an introductory approach to the relationship between outdoor sports and the integral development of their participants, an empirical study is shown. A five-day Nordic skiing camp is used to evaluate the effects of this practice on the individuals and on the group.

Hope, or On Theology

2020 ◽  
pp. 170-197
Author(s):  
Ryan Patrick Hanley
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Universal Order ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theological Virtue

Chapter 6 turns to Fénelon’s theology, focusing on his treatment of hope and its significance for his political philosophy. It argues that he regarded hope not just as a key theological virtue, but also as a key virtue of political rulers and political reformers. Its discussion of the political implications of Fénelon’s theology proceeds in three parts. It first examines the role of hope in Telemachus. It then turns to the treatment of hope in Fénelon’s theology, focusing on three particular discussions: the place of hope in love, the relationship of hope to self-interest, and the place of hope in prayer. The final section turns to two aspects of Fénelon’s theology beyond hope which also have significant implications for his political philosophy: his understanding of the relationship of human being to divine being, and his arguments for the existence of God and their implications for universal order.

More, Morton, and the Politics of Accommodation

1970 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Thomas More ◽  
The Real ◽  
Ideal State ◽  
Academic Philosophy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Ideal

In the private conversation of close friends this academic philosophy is not without its charm, but in the council of kings, where great matters are debated with great authority, there is no room for these notions …. But there is another philosophy, more practical for statesmen, which knows its stage, adapts itself to the play in hand, and performs its role neatly and appropriately. This is the philosophy which you must employ.This trimmer's prescription, with its blast of the breath of experience over the unguarded optimism of theory, is crucial to an understanding of More's Utopia and an appreciation of its unity. Was Thomas More seriously recommending the accommodational approach to politics here put forward by the fictional “More” in Book I of the Utopia, and what was the relationship between this approach and the ideal state described in Book II?The various answers given to these questions can be seen as hinges on which the various interpretations of the Utopia have turned. The accommodational argument stands at the crux of the debate on counsel, which takes up almost the whole of Book I. Upon the interpretation of this debate can depend the view taken of More's intention in depicting the fictional society of Utopia, and involved in this interpretation is the knotty problem of whether the real More's opinions are voiced by Hythlodaeus or by the fictional “More.”An examination of the two approaches most frequently adopted will reveal the importance of the problem. The first approach is that which sees the real More's views as expressed by the fictional “More” of the Utopia.

scholarly journals Shifting Perceptions of Orient and Occident in Nineteenth-Century Arabic Travel Writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Ibrahem Almarhaby
Keyword(s):  
Travel Literature ◽  
Pure Gold ◽  
The Political ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Thematic Approach ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Modern Arabic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This study investigates the relationship between the Eastern Self and the Western Other by focusing on the influence of the French Other on the ideology of the Arab Self in modern Arabic travel literature. As a case study, the analysis has been conducted on Takhlīṣ al-Ibriz fī Talkhīṣ Paris [‘The extraction of pure gold in the abridgement of Paris’]. The 19th century, from which this source originates, is considered to be significant in terms of distinguishing modern travelogue literature from that of the medieval period, where the image of the Western Other in Arabs’ imagination dramatically changed due to colonialism. As one of the richest and most open approaches in textual analysis, the study adopts the thematic approach to shed light on the extent to which the ideological impact of the Other on the political, religious, civil and social domains of the Self can be seen in this wide-ranging travel source. The study infers that al-Ṭahṭāwī was greatly ideologically impacted by West in all of the allocated domains, as can be seen clearly in his comprehensive comparisons, descriptions and explanations. This influence is indeed what distinguishes this modern travelogue literature from the medieval ones.

scholarly journals Theorising International Urban Politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 030582982097168
Author(s):  
Ari Jerrems
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Urban Politics ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Academic Debate

Research across several disciplines has focused on the intersection between the international and the urban to shed light on transformations in global politics. Recently, this intersection has become the focus of critical International Relations scholars. Despite transversal interest, disciplinary boundaries often limit the scope of academic debate. In the interest of developing a transdisciplinary research agenda, this review article charts three different ways that scholars have theorised the relationship between the international, the urban, and the political across disciplines. A review of five recently published books, situated within a broader study of the literature, serves to do this.

Why (Study) the Humanities?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenann Ismael
Keyword(s):  
Human Being ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter addresses the relationship between the humanistic and scientific visions of the human being, says why the humanistic vision is not undermined by what science is teaching us about ourselves, and then turns to a discussion of the kind of understanding that the humanities provide. It argues that that understanding differs from the kind of understanding provided by the sciences, and that it is indispensable to human flourishing. The humanities enrich our experience of the world; educate the imagination; help us understand ourselves and other people; and teach us how to live, how to love, and how to feel.

scholarly journals Introduction: From Concord to Peace

Theoria ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (159) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Andrew Benjamin ◽  
Francesco Borghesi
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Walter Benjamin ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

This special issue arose from a workshop on “Peace and Concord from Plato to Lessing”, organised by the editors and which took place at the University of Sydney on 18 and 19 September 2017. Central to the work of both the editors is the relationship between the concepts of ‘concord’, ‘peace’ and ‘dignity’ within a setting created by a concern with the development of a philological anthropology. Their work combines both intellectual history and philosophy, a combination that is reflected in the contents of the special issue of Theoria. The importance of these terms is that they allow for another interpretation of the ethical and the political. Central to both is the location of human being within a larger cultural context. That context demands an approach in which philosophy does not exclude history, and history recognises that it is already informed philosophically. If there is a unifying term, it is ‘culture’. The approach taken within the larger project starts with the centrality of culture as that which demands to be thought. And yet culture is neither tranquil nor unified. As Walter Benjamin argued, there ‘is no document of culture which is not at the same time a document of barbarism’. Allowing for culture’s centrality entails a reconfiguration of both philosophy and intellectual history.

The demos in Greek tragedy

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 47-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Greek Tragedy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Interesting Topic ◽  
The People ◽  
Political Function ◽  
Complete Survey ◽  
Vexed Question ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This paper looks at a relatively neglected character in Greek tragedy: the people. I cannot claim to produce a complete survey of this issue; however, I shall identify some different ways in which a tragic poet could portray a city's population, and discuss some examples.This is an important and interesting topic for two reasons, which are linked throughout, for behind my argument is the contention that a consideration of the original staging of a tragedy can help us to understand its politics. In the first place, it is instructive to ask how a poet could meet the challenge of representing the population of a city on stage; in the second, this exercise is likely to shed light on the political function of Greek tragedy. More specifically, it will shed light on the relationship between tragedy and democracy - a vexed question in recent years - for no consideration of democracy in drama can neglect the role of democracy's central player.

scholarly journals Semantics of Saudi Political Discourse: A Significations Study of Prince Saud Al-Faicel Speeches

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (14) ◽  
pp. 245-273
Author(s):  
د. عبد اللطيف السلمي د. عبد اللطيف السلمي
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Textual Approach ◽  
Language And Politics ◽  
Political Model ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Rhetorical Tools

the present study p urports to shed light on the problematics of the relationship between language and politics in general and on the semiotic formulation, in particular, of Prince Saud Al-Faicel political discourse. It attempts to explain how this discourse succeeded to formulate a political model capable, thanks to its argumentative and rhetorical tools, to decode or unlock regional crises and international transformations in order to make historical decisions. Such problematics reflect our particular perception of political discourse in its relationship with textual linguistics, along with the powerful semiotic discursive strategies and practices ever present in the analysis and interpretation of the political discourse of Prince Saud Al-Faicel. The Present study relied on an analytic frame following Norman Fairclough's model and other semiotic studies structured around lexicon and language construction. It also paid attention to analyzing the intricacies characterizing relations and strategies within power relations. The originality of the present study can be seen in its combination of the textual approach with the analytical one when dealing with political discourse.

Mihai Şora: A Philosopher of Dialogue

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-638
Author(s):  
Aurelian Craiutu
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Final Section ◽  
The Political ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Philosophy Of Dialogue ◽  
Communist Government ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This article examines the political philosophy of Mihai Şora, one of the most important contemporary Romanian philosophers and the former minister of education in Romania's first post-communist government. After presenting Şora's unique intellectual trajectory that spans over six decades, the article explores in detail his theory of authenticity and alienation as well as his philosophy of dialogue and civil society. Şora's writings shed light on the tension between politics and philosophy and challenge us to rethink the relationship between freedom, authenticity, and liberal principles and values. The final section revisits the role of philosophers in the context of the fledgling Eastern European democratic regimes.

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