scholarly journals By the Strength of Their Enemies: The Virtue of the Stereotypical Antagonist in Terry Pratchett's 'Witches' Novels

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Joule

<p><b>The comic fantasy Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) are marked by their clear and insightful approaches to complex ethical issues. This has been noted in academic approaches from the beginning, with Farah Mendlesohn’s chapter “Faith and Ethics” appearing in the early collection Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature (2000) and many others since touching on the issues Pratchett raises. However, this thesis’s investigation into the use of stereotypes in characterisation and development of the antagonist figures within the Discworld novels breaks new ground in mapping the course of Pratchett’s approaches across six Discworld novels. </b></p><p>This argument will focus on the ‘Witches’ sequence of novels: Equal Rites (1987), Wyrd Sisters (1988), Witches Abroad (1991), Lords and Ladies (1992), Maskerade (1995), and Carpe Jugulum (1998). Unlike other sequences in the Discworld series, these novels have a strong metatextual focus on the structural components of narrative. In this context, stereotypes facilitate both the humour and the moral arguments of these novels. Signifiers of stereotypes invoke expectations which are as often thwarted as they are fulfilled and, while resulting in humour, this process also reflects on the place of the individual within the community, the nature of right and wrong, and how we as people control the narratives which define our lives and ourselves. In closely examining the role of antagonists in the development of an ethical thread through the sequence, I argue that the careful use of stereotypes in these texts serves as a key shorthand in engaging the reader in the philosophical bent of the novels.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Joule

<p><b>The comic fantasy Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) are marked by their clear and insightful approaches to complex ethical issues. This has been noted in academic approaches from the beginning, with Farah Mendlesohn’s chapter “Faith and Ethics” appearing in the early collection Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature (2000) and many others since touching on the issues Pratchett raises. However, this thesis’s investigation into the use of stereotypes in characterisation and development of the antagonist figures within the Discworld novels breaks new ground in mapping the course of Pratchett’s approaches across six Discworld novels. </b></p><p>This argument will focus on the ‘Witches’ sequence of novels: Equal Rites (1987), Wyrd Sisters (1988), Witches Abroad (1991), Lords and Ladies (1992), Maskerade (1995), and Carpe Jugulum (1998). Unlike other sequences in the Discworld series, these novels have a strong metatextual focus on the structural components of narrative. In this context, stereotypes facilitate both the humour and the moral arguments of these novels. Signifiers of stereotypes invoke expectations which are as often thwarted as they are fulfilled and, while resulting in humour, this process also reflects on the place of the individual within the community, the nature of right and wrong, and how we as people control the narratives which define our lives and ourselves. In closely examining the role of antagonists in the development of an ethical thread through the sequence, I argue that the careful use of stereotypes in these texts serves as a key shorthand in engaging the reader in the philosophical bent of the novels.</p>


Author(s):  
James Woodall ◽  
Simon Rowlands

Abstract This book chapter seeks to: (i) explore the role of the settings approach to health promotion and the need for organizational change; (ii) discuss the importance of evidence-based practice and evaluation; (iii) describe some of the ethical issues in practising health promotion; (iv) suggest a means of overcoming the top-down/bottom-up tensions in practice; (v) explore the need for developing partnerships between civil society, NGOs, and private and public sectors; and (vi) outline the skills and competencies of health promoters practising in the 21st century. This chapter has attempted to discuss some challenges in the practice of health promotion, ending on the challenges in terms of the skills required to do health promotion work. Some of these challenges reoccur in the next chapter, particularly when discussing capacity building for health promotion at a societal level rather than the individual level.


Author(s):  
James Woodall ◽  
Simon Rowlands

Abstract This book chapter seeks to: (i) explore the role of the settings approach to health promotion and the need for organizational change; (ii) discuss the importance of evidence-based practice and evaluation; (iii) describe some of the ethical issues in practising health promotion; (iv) suggest a means of overcoming the top-down/bottom-up tensions in practice; (v) explore the need for developing partnerships between civil society, NGOs, and private and public sectors; and (vi) outline the skills and competencies of health promoters practising in the 21st century. This chapter has attempted to discuss some challenges in the practice of health promotion, ending on the challenges in terms of the skills required to do health promotion work. Some of these challenges reoccur in the next chapter, particularly when discussing capacity building for health promotion at a societal level rather than the individual level.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Webber

This chapter argues that existentialism, as this book has articulated it, has the potential to make significant contributions to moral thought, philosophy of mind, social psychology, and psychotherapy, and that sophisticated engagements with these areas of inquiry should in turn refine existentialism. The existentialist theory of project sedimentation is an important perspective on the development of personal character, the socialization of the individual, the role of endorsement in mental life, the origins of unendorsed biases and stereotypes, and the social problems and psychic distress that these can cause. The eudaimonist and moral arguments for authenticity are significant contributions to contemporary philosophical inquiry into the grounding of moral and more generally normative value. The chapter closes with a brief sketch of some implications of this existentialism for reading and writing.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjsrh-2020-200630
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Wale ◽  
Sam Rowlands

ObjectivesTo review ethical aspects of the promotion and provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Specifically, to examine (1) the tension between informational exchange and the active promotion of LARC methods to new and existing contraceptive users by healthcare professionals; and (2) the distinct ethical issues arising from the promotion of LARC methods by state-sponsored actors and healthcare professionals.MethodsNarrative review and ethical analysis.FindingsThere is an ethical difference between raising awareness/informational provision and actively promoting or prioritising specific contraceptive methods. It matters whether the policy choice is made, or the promotional activity about contraception is undertaken, by individual healthcare professionals at a local level or by more remote state-sponsored actors, because the relationship between the promoter and the (potential) contraceptive user is of a different kind. Imposing a dual responsibility upon healthcare professionals for raising awareness/informational exchange and the active promotion of LARC creates an unnecessary tension and barrier for the delivery of patient-centred care.ConclusionsThis review highlights the need for ethical reflection on the central role of the promoting agent and the distinction between facilitating informational awareness and active promotion of LARC. LARC methods should not be prioritised in isolation and without regard to the wider implications of public promotion. A balanced narrative and information-sharing programme that respects the individual interests of each contraceptive user is called for, especially in direct professional/service user relationships. No assumption should be made that user decision-making will necessarily be determined and influenced solely by the relative effectiveness of the contraceptive method.


2020 ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
Ольга Проценко

The article deals with the problem of place and role of etiquette in the culture of behavior and communication in the life of the individual and society as a whole. A philosophical and ethical analysis of etiquette as a sociocultural phenomenon is presented, covering a wide range of problems related to the logical and linguistic consideration of the term and notion of "etiquette" and its manifestations.The purpose of the article is to identify the extent of etiquette presence in the broadcast of the morally valuable, which reduces itself to the system of sociocultural communication. It is stated that etiquette imperativeness permeates all spheres of everyday and exclusive activity of people, turns spontaneous behavioral acts into a single sacrament of moral culture. The structural components of etiquette, its functional assignment in the organization and ordering of social relations, collective and individual behaviors are analyzed. The place of etiquette in the formalization of cultural standards and civilized stereotypes of moral relations, formation of ideas about proper relations are stated.To sum up, etiquette is considered as a socio-cultural product being a part of a system of ethical discursive practices aimed at spreading peace, understanding, tolerance, as well as coordination in actions of people to preserve the moral and psychological climate of society


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. McCrae ◽  
Angelina R. Sutin

Five–Factor Theory provides a broad but largely blank template for causal personality research. Within Five–Factor Theory, there are three major categories of questions: (1) how do biological structures and functions lead to trait levels? (2) how do traits and the environment give rise to acquired psychological institutions? and (3) how do personality characteristics interact with specific situations to determine behaviours and reactions? Both practical and ethical issues complicate the search for the causes of trait change. Causal explanations of the development of characteristic adaptations are likely to be incomplete, because there are many different ways in which the same adaptation may be acquired. Studies of the determinants of behaviour are usually left to social, educational, or clinical psychologists—although personality psychologists may make distinctive contributions by emphasizing the role of the individual in selecting and creating situations. A causal understanding of the functioning of the personality system is possible through the integration of many lines of evidence, but it is likely to take a very long time. In the meanwhile, personality psychologists may fruitfully pursue the identification of practical causes by which individuals with a given set of traits can optimize their adaptation. Copyright © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frosso Motti-Stefanidi ◽  
Ann S. Masten

Academic achievement in immigrant children and adolescents is an indicator of current and future adaptive success. Since the future of immigrant youths is inextricably linked to that of the receiving society, the success of their trajectory through school becomes a high stakes issue both for the individual and society. The present article focuses on school success in immigrant children and adolescents, and the role of school engagement in accounting for individual and group differences in academic achievement from the perspective of a multilevel integrative model of immigrant youths’ adaptation ( Motti-Stefanidi, Berry, Chryssochoou, Sam, & Phinney, 2012 ). Drawing on this conceptual framework, school success is examined in developmental and acculturative context, taking into account multiple levels of analysis. Findings suggest that for both immigrant and nonimmigrant youths the relationship between school engagement and school success is bidirectional, each influencing over time the other. Evidence regarding potential moderating and mediating roles of school engagement for the academic success of immigrant youths also is evaluated.


Author(s):  
I. D. Rudinskiy ◽  
D. Ya. Okolot

The article discusses aspects of the formation of information security culture of college students. The relevance of the work is due to the increasing threats to the information security of the individual and society due to the rapid increase in the number of information services used. Based on this, one of the important problems of the development of the information society is the formation of a culture of information security of the individual as part of the general culture in its socio-technical aspect and as part of the professional culture of the individual. The study revealed the structural components of the phenomenon of information security culture, identified the reasons for the interest in the target group of students. It justifies the need for future mid-level specialists to form an additional universal competency that ensures the individual’s ability and willingness to recognize the need for certain information, to identify and evaluate the reliability and reliability of data sources. As a result of the study, recommendations were formulated on the basis of which a culture of information security for college students can be formed and developed and a decomposition of this process into enlarged stages is proposed. The proposals on the list of disciplines are formulated, within the framework of the study of which a culture of information security can develop. The authors believe that the recommendations developed will help future mid-level specialists to master the universal competency, consisting in the ability and willingness to recognize the need for certain information, to identify and evaluate the reliability and reliability of data sources, as well as to correctly access the necessary information and its further legitimate use, which ultimately forms a culture of information security.


Acta Naturae ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. V. Elizar’ev ◽  
D. V. Lomaev ◽  
D. A. Chetverina ◽  
P. G. Georgiev ◽  
M. M. Erokhin

Maintenance of the individual patterns of gene expression in different cell types is required for the differentiation and development of multicellular organisms. Expression of many genes is controlled by Polycomb (PcG) and Trithorax (TrxG) group proteins that act through association with chromatin. PcG/TrxG are assembled on the DNA sequences termed PREs (Polycomb Response Elements), the activity of which can be modulated and switched from repression to activation. In this study, we analyzed the influence of transcriptional read-through on PRE activity switch mediated by the yeast activator GAL4. We show that a transcription terminator inserted between the promoter and PRE doesnt prevent switching of PRE activity from repression to activation. We demonstrate that, independently of PRE orientation, high levels of transcription fail to dislodge PcG/TrxG proteins from PRE in the absence of a terminator. Thus, transcription is not the main factor required for PRE activity switch.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document