scholarly journals Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 667-675
Author(s):  
George Robert Williams III
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Universe

Brian Greene’s Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe, as the title suggests, is an ambitious work.  Greene takes the reader on a vast tour which begins with the birth of the universe and ends with its (likely) dissolution.  The staggering timescale that Greene considers here is perhaps unique among science books aimed at a wide audience.  And Greene uses the backdrop of the universe’s emergence and demise as an effective platform to explore human meaning in a relatively wide range of inquiry.  These subjects include consciousness, religion, language, and the arts.  It appears significant for Greene that these, as important as they are, all play out in a relatively brief time in the context of the evolution and demise of the universe.  At the end of the day, Greene submits that life is likely ephemeral.  He provides a quote from Nabokov that characterizes human life as a “brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.” (p.13) 

Hippocrates and Early Greek Medicine

2018 ◽  
pp. 214-232
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Craik
Keyword(s):  
Vascular System ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Medical Writing ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Case Histories ◽  
Hippocratic Corpus ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Medical Writers

The chapter surveys early Greek medicine, primarily the works attributed to Hippocrates, but also evidence for other medical writing, such as that in the Anonymus Londinensis papyrus, and in the fragments of the pre-Socratics. It is noted that the fragments of Alcmaeon indicate experience in dissection of animals, that Diogenes of Apollonia gives a detailed account of the vascular system, and that Plato has an extensive biomedical section in Timaeus. In general, early medical writers show concern with the relation of microcosm to macrocosm and of human life to the universe; also, with opposing principles (hot and cold, wet and dry, thick and thin, rare and dense) such that health is commonly seen in terms of bodily balance and avoidance of excess. The seventy or so works of the Hippocratic corpus cover a wide range of subjects, notably prognostic signs, surgery, gynecology, case histories and aphoristics lore.

scholarly journals The Cultural Determinants of Shame

2014 ◽  
pp. 107-114
Author(s):  
Rostislav E. Gergilov
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Individual Psychology ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cultural Determinants

Is devoted to the causes of feeling ashamed. These are not only individual psychology and social factors. A wide range of cultural factors are of equal importance beginning from the general manifestations of human life as defined by customs, mores, and religion, forms of labour activities and to achievements in science, technology, economics, and the arts.

Integrative Epistemology and the Search for Meaning

1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-140
Author(s):  
F. LeRon Shults ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
Relational Model ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Arts And Sciences ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialogue ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Open Structures ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Practical Implications

The dis-integration of the arts and sciences is evidence of a cultural and psychological split in the contemporary frame of mind. The roots of this separation may be traced to the dualist epistemology of the modem period in philosophy. The emergence of an integrative epistemology through interdisciplinary dialogue may assist in healing this dualism, illustrated in the convergence of kinetic thinking in theology, natural science, and other disciplines. This essay emphasizes the creaturely nature of the search for meaning and the need for humility and integrity toward open structures of the universe. This relational model serves as a heuristic framework which discloses interdisciplinary invariances in the knowing event. The practical implications of this paradigm for theological inquiry are explored in the context of its personal, ecclesial, and ecumenical dimensions.

Introduction: Emotion, History and the Arts

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Sullivan ◽  
Marie Louise Herzfeld-Schild
Keyword(s):  
Historical Change ◽  
Carson Mccullers ◽  
Emotional Life ◽  
Review Section ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
War Correspondents ◽  
History Of ◽  
Johan Huizinga

This introduction surveys the rise of the history of emotions as a field and the role of the arts in such developments. Reflecting on the foundational role of the arts in the early emotion-oriented histories of Johan Huizinga and Jacob Burkhardt, as well as the concerns about methodological impressionism that have sometimes arisen in response to such studies, the introduction considers how intensive engagements with the arts can open up new insights into past emotions while still being historically and theoretically rigorous. Drawing on a wide range of emotionally charged art works from different times and places—including the novels of Carson McCullers and Harriet Beecher-Stowe, the private poetry of neo-Confucian Chinese civil servants, the photojournalism of twentieth-century war correspondents, and music from Igor Stravinsky to the Beatles—the introduction proposes five ways in which art in all its forms contributes to emotional life and consequently to emotional histories: first, by incubating deep emotional experiences that contribute to formations of identity; second, by acting as a place for the expression of private or deviant emotions; third, by functioning as a barometer of wider cultural and attitudinal change; fourth, by serving as an engine of momentous historical change; and fifth, by working as a tool for emotional connection across communities, both within specific time periods but also across them. The introduction finishes by outlining how the special issue's five articles and review section address each of these categories, while also illustrating new methodological possibilities for the field.

Ochrona dziedzictwa kulturowego a działania na dużych szybkozmiennych zbiorach danych – perspektywa kryminologiczna

2019 ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Szymon Buczyński
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Cultural Organizations ◽  
Econometric Methods ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Huge Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Processing Techniques

Recent technological revolutions in data and communication systemsenable us to generate and share data much faster than ever before. Sophisticated data tools aim to improve knowledge and boost confdence. That technological tools will only get better and user-friendlier over the years, big datacan be considered an important tool for the arts and culture sector. Statistical analysis, econometric methods or data mining techniques could pave theway towards better understanding of the mechanisms occurring on the artmarket. Moreover crime reduction and prevention challenges in today’sworld are becoming increasingly complex and are in need of a new techniquethat can handle the vast amount of information that is being generated. Thisarticle provides an examination of a wide range of new technological innovations (IT) that have applications in the areas of culture preservation andheritage protection. The author provides a description of recent technological innovations, summarize the available research on the extent of adoptionon selected examples, and then review the available research on the eachform of new technology. Furthermore the aim of this paper is to explore anddiscuss how big data analytics affect innovation and value creation in cultural organizations and shape consumer behavior in cultural heritage, arts andcultural industries. This paper discusses also the likely impact of big dataanalytics on criminological research and theory. Digital criminology supports huge data base in opposition to conventional data processing techniques which are not only in suffcient but also out dated. This paper aims atclosing a gap in the academic literature showing the contribution of a bigdata approach in cultural economics, policy and management both froma theoretical and practice-based perspective. This work is also a startingpoint for further research.

Much Ado about (Practically) Nothing

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Atomic Nucleus ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Rare Gases ◽  
Important Work ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Life On Mars ◽  
The Universe

There are eight columns in the Periodic Table. The eighth column is comprised of the rare gases, so-called because they are the rarest elements on earth. They are also called the inert or noble gases because, like nobility, they do no work. They are colorless, odorless, invisible gases which do not react with anything, and were thought to be unimportant until the early 1960s. Starting in that era, David Fisher has spent roughly fifty years doing research on these gases, publishing nearly a hundred papers in the scientific journals, applying them to problems in geophysics and cosmochemistry, and learning how other scientists have utilized them to change our ideas about the universe, the sun, and our own planet. Much Ado about (Practically) Nothing will cover this spectrum of ideas, interspersed with the author's own work which will serve to introduce each gas and the important work others have done with them. The rare gases have participated in a wide range of scientific advances-even revolutions-but no book has ever recorded the entire story. Fisher will range from the intricacies of the atomic nucleus and the tiniest of elementary particles, the neutrino, to the energy source of the stars; from the age of the earth to its future energies; from life on Mars to cancer here on earth. A whole panoply that has never before been told as an entity.

Modernism and American Ballet

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Harris
Keyword(s):  
Mass Culture ◽  
American Culture ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Economic

This chapter explores the international and interdisciplinary backdrop of Lincoln Kirstein’s efforts to form an American ballet in the early 1930s. The political, economic, and cultural conditions of the Depression reinvigorated the search for an “American” culture. In this context, new openings for a modernist theory of ballet were created as intellectuals and artists from a wide range of disciplines endeavored to define the role of the arts in protecting against the dangerous effects of mass culture. Chapter 1 sheds new light on well-known critical debates in dance history between Kirstein and John Martin over whether ballet, with its European roots, could truly become “American” in contrast to modern dance. Was American dance going to be conceived in nationalist or transnationalist terms? That was the deeper conflict that underlay the ballet vs. modern dance debates of the early 1930s.

scholarly journals A Virtual Telescope for the Open University Science Foundation Course

1998 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 100-105
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Norton ◽  
Mark H. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Open University ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
University Science ◽  
First Time ◽  
Degree Level ◽  
Selection Of

The Open University is the UK's foremost distance teaching university. For over twenty five years we have been presenting courses to students spanning a wide range of degree level and vocational subjects. Since we have no pre-requisites for entry, a major component of our course profile is a selection of foundation courses comprising one each in the Arts, Social Science, Mathematics, Technology and Science faculties. The Science Faculty's foundation course is currently undergoing a substantial revision. The new course, entitled “S103: Discovering Science”, will be presented to students for the first time in 1998.

scholarly journals Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe: A Synthesis of National Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117862212110281
Author(s):  
Nieves Fernandez-Anez ◽  
Andrey Krasovskiy ◽  
Mortimer Müller ◽  
Harald Vacik ◽  
Jan Baetens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Local Analysis ◽  
Wildland Fires ◽  
Fire Statistics ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fire Patterns

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.

scholarly journals Dust Production around Carbon-Rich Stars: The Role of Metallicity

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Ambra Nanni ◽  
Sergio Cristallo ◽  
Jacco Th. van Loon ◽  
Martin A. T. Groenewegen
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Asymptotic Giant Branch ◽  
Agb Stars ◽  
Circumstellar Envelopes ◽  
Chemical Enrichment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Universe

Background: Most of the stars in the Universe will end their evolution by losing their envelope during the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase, enriching the interstellar medium of galaxies with heavy elements, partially condensed into dust grains formed in their extended circumstellar envelopes. Among these stars, carbon-rich TP-AGB stars (C-stars) are particularly relevant for the chemical enrichment of galaxies. We here investigated the role of the metallicity in the dust formation process from a theoretical viewpoint. Methods: We coupled an up-to-date description of dust growth and dust-driven wind, which included the time-averaged effect of shocks, with FRUITY stellar evolutionary tracks. We compared our predictions with observations of C-stars in our Galaxy, in the Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) and in the Galactic Halo, characterised by metallicity between solar and 1/10 of solar. Results: Our models explained the variation of the gas and dust content around C-stars derived from the IRS Spitzer spectra. The wind speed of the C-stars at varying metallicity was well reproduced by our description. We predicted the wind speed at metallicity down to 1/10 of solar in a wide range of mass-loss rates.

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