(Dis)Figures of Death: Taking the Side of Derrida, Taking the Side of Death

Derrida Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Saitya Brata Das
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Maurice Blanchot ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
The West ◽  
Geometric Figure ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Relationship Of

If the dominant ethico-philosophical thinking of responsibility in the West is founded upon, or tied to a certain figure of death, it is because this ethical notion of responsibility is also a certain econo-onto-thanatology. Here the notion of the gift to the other is always already inscribed within a certain economic equivalence of value, or an economic determination of temporality as the geometric figure of the circle, or a certain economy of the experiences of abandonment and mourning, through which the event-character of the gift, its excess and its infinite surplus is economised, reduced, repressed, or even annulled. Reading Jacques Derrida's deconstruction of this econo-onto-thanatology, and relating him to Schelling, Heidegger, Levinas and Kierkegaard, this article attempts to reveal this very complex relationship of the ethical notion of responsibility and the gift with death, in order to think anew – in the spirit of Derrida – a responsibility in relation to mourning and abandonment, and in relation to a death that does not figure in any figuration of self-figuration and self-presence, but – to speak with Maurice Blanchot – as interminable, incessant worklessness, as endless ruination and abandonment of itself. This impossible aporia of the notion of responsibility is itself a dis-figuring of death, which is also an aporia of an instant which escapes, in its event character, the geometric figure of time as circle.

Novel probabilistic dynamic safety metric formulations for flight path determination

2012 ◽  
Vol 227 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-198
Author(s):  
Nesrin Sarigul-Klijn ◽  
Anthony White
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Flight Path ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
Landing Sites ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Safety Metrics

This article details a novel method for the determination of safe flight paths dynamically following an in-flight distress event. The method is based on probabilistic safety metrics which also include the touchdown and evacuation/rescue phases after landing. Two case studies simulating in-flight distress events, one from the west and the other from the east coast are presented using these formulations for a quantitative analysis. It is found that the nearest landing sites are not always the safest ones showing the benefits of the newly developed safety metrics. Finally, the path safety levels are plotted as a function of mission safety probability values using innovative polar plots that provide useful information to pilots.

Melanesian Ethnography and the Comparative Project of Anthropology: Reflection on Strathern’s Analogical Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 39-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
The West ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
The World ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Analogical Approach

Melanesian ethnography has been a substantial and enduring presence in Strathern’s comparative project of anthropology. The cornerstone of this project was The Gender of the Gift, where a model was established for demonstrating the analogies between Melanesian societies based on a system of common differences. The comparisons created in this work were centred on a real and radical divide between Melanesia and the West. Strathern’s subsequent comparative work has examined the debates surrounding new social and technological forms in the West (e.g. new genetic and reproductive technologies) through drawing analogies with Melanesian social forms; she has simultaneously highlighted the limits of these comparisons. Her intention in this comparative project has been to expand the range of concepts and language used to understand western social and technological innovations that potentially affect the world at large, so that debate is not simply circumscribed by western preoccupations and concerns. As mediated through the analysis of Strathern and the other Melanesian anthropologists she draws on, the voices and interests of non-westerners can potentially inform and even reform the grounds of such deliberations.

scholarly journals Marginalized centre: Wana people and the geography of power

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Giorgio Scalici
Keyword(s):  
Social Power ◽  
The Other ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
World Religions ◽  
The West ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Relationship Of

The Wana of Morowali (Indonesia) are nowadays a small endangered community marginalized by the Indonesian government, world religions and the other communities in the area but, according to their own mythology, they are not the periphery of the world, but the real centre of it. Their cosmogonic myth tells how the Wana land (Tana Taa) was the first land placed on the primordial waters and it was full of mythical power, a power that, when the land was spread around the world to create the continents, abandoned the Wana to donate wealth and power to the edge of the world: the West. This myth has a pivotal role in the Wana worldview, their categorization of the world and the power relationships in it. The Wana reverse the traditional relationship between centre and periphery, placing themselves in a powerless centre (the village or the Tana Taa) that gave all its power to a periphery (the jungle or the West) that must be explored to obtain power and knowledge. This relationship not only expresses a clear agency in shaping the relationship of power with forces way stronger than the Wana (Government and world religions) but also creates internal hierarchies based on the access to this knowledge; granted to men and partially precluded to women due to the cultural characterizations of these genders. Indeed, the majority of shamans, called tau walia (human-spirit), are men, and they are the only one that can travel between the human and the spiritual world, obtaining a spiritual and social power. In this article, we will see how Wana categorise the world and use religion, rituality and gender to express their agency to cope with the marginalization by the government, the world religions and the other community in the area.

III.—The Place in Nature of the Tasmanian Aboriginal as deduced from a Study of his Calvarium.—Part I. His Relations to the Anthropoid Apes, Pithecanthropus, Homo primigenius, Homo fossilis, and Homo sapiens

1912 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 41-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. A. Berry ◽  
A. W. D. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
The Other ◽  
Present Material ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

IN our communication to the Royal Society of Victoria of the 11th March, 1909 (1), describing our recent discovery of forty-two Tasmanian crania hitherto quite unknown to the world of science, we stated that “one of the earliest purposes to which it is proposed to utilise the present material is the determination of the relationship of the Tasmanian to the anthropoids and primitive man on the one hand, and to the Australian aboriginal on the other hand. Schwalbe's study of Pithecanthropus erectus (2) may serve as a basis for the former purpose, and Klaatsch's recent work (3) for the latter, though it must be remembered that innumerable authors have contributed to both subjects.” The present work is the fulfilment of the first part of this undertaking, namely, the determination of the relationship of the Tasmanian to the anthropoids and primitive man.

scholarly journals XXV. On the determination of the constants of the cup anemometer by experiments with a whirling machine—part II

1880 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 1055-1070 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Part ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
Cup Anemometer ◽  
Do So

(55.)* In the preceding Part (Philosophical Transactions for 1878, p. 777) I gave the results obtained by anemometers attached to a whirling machine, which substitutes motion through the air for real wind. If the air were quiescent this method would be nearly unexceptionable; but the whirling gives the air a vorticose motion for which it is impossible to make an exact allowance, and therefore some uncertainty affects these results. In the conclusion of that paper I expressed an opinion that greater certainty might be obtained by comparing two anemometers, similar and equal in every respect except friction; and stated that I would endeavour to carry this into effect. I propose now to give an account of my attempt to do so. (56.) The instruments used, and their arrangement, are described in paragraph (51). The situation in which they are placed would be a good one but for the dome of the west equatorial, which in some points of the wind may interfere with its full action on one or the other of the instruments.

Note on the irregularities in magnetic inclination on the West Coast of Scotland

1883 ◽  
Vol 36 (228-231) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Magnetic Survey ◽  
Previous Survey ◽  
The West ◽  
Single Observation ◽  
Local Disturbance ◽  
Magnetic Inclination ◽  
Geographical Position ◽  
Considerable Depth

In the Report of the results of the Magnetic Survey of Scotland, undertaken at the request of the British Association by the late Mr. Welsh during the years 1857 and 1858, it is stated by Professor Balfour Stewart (by whom the observations were reduced and the report drawn up) that the values of all the elements as determined in and adjacent to the Island of Mull were apparently largely affected by local attraction, and from a comparison of the various observations Professor Stewart was led to place the centre of the disturbance a little to the south of the Mull stations, and at a considerable depth below the surface. The effect of this local attraction was most apparent in the determination of the dip, which at Tobermory was upwards of 57', and at Glenmorven, on the other side of the Sound, was 14' in excess of the probable normal value, that is, the value unaffected by local disturbance and dependent merely on geographical position, as deduced by combining together all the other observations for Scotland, in the manner adopted by Sir Edward Sabine in discussing the observations of the previous Survey of 1836. Dr. Stewart’s localisation of the centre of disturbance was based partly on a consideration of the abnormal values exhibited by the observations made at the two stations on the Sound of Mull, and partly on certain irregularities manifested by the determinations taken on Islay and in Skye. So far as the Mull observations themselves were concerned, the clue as to the exact locality of the area of disturbance was of the very slenderest. Mr. Welsh appears to have made only a single observation of the dip at Tobermory; and although observations were made with two needles at Glenmorven, the divergence between the resultant values happens to be greater than is exhibited by any other pair of dip observations throughout the survey. Nevertheless, as we shall show, we are able to confirm not only the general accuracy of Mr. Welsh’s observations on this particular point, but also Professor Stewart’s inference as to the probable locale of the area of disturbance.

Stevens, Wallace (1879–1955)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly MacPhail
Keyword(s):  
Stomach Cancer ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Wallace Stevens ◽  
The Other ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Foreign Travel ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Relationship Of

Wallace Stevens is recognized as one of America’s greatest modernist poets, yet he was not widely celebrated for his poetry until the last years of his life in the early 1950s. Stevens was a private man who was in many ways quite different from his poetic contemporaries and the other great American modernist writers. His unusual trajectory as a poet was circumscribed by the relatively late age at which he began to publish, by his lack of foreign travel, by an at times unhappy marriage, and by his consuming work as an insurance lawyer and vice-president at the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company. Nonetheless, Stevens’s poetic world was immense, and his verse exhibits his preoccupations with the nature of poetry itself and with the complex relationship of the mind, the imagination, and reality. Stevens published his Collected Poems in 1954 at the age of seventy-five to great acclaim and died the following year of stomach cancer.

scholarly journals Barkedji virus, a novel mosquito-borne flavivirus identified in Culex perexiguus mosquitoes, Israel, 2011

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (11) ◽  
pp. 2449-2457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Kolodziejek ◽  
Karin Pachler ◽  
Hanna Bin ◽  
Ella Mendelson ◽  
Lester Shulman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Gene Sequence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Virus Species ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Polyprotein Precursor ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
First Time

Barkedji virus, named after the area of its first identification in Senegal, is a newly discovered flavivirus (FV), for which we propose the abbreviation BJV. In the present study, we report the first-time detection of BJV in Culex perexiguus mosquitoes in Israel in 2011 and determination of its almost complete polyprotein gene sequence. We characterized the BJV genome and defined putative mature proteins, conserved structural elements and potential enzyme motifs along the polyprotein precursor. By comparing polyproteins and individual proteins of BJV with several other FVs, a distant relationship of BJV to Nounane virus (NOUV), a recently described African FV, is demonstrated. Phylogenetic analysis of 55 selected flaviviral polyprotein gene sequences exhibits two major clusters, one made up of the classical three clades of FVs: mosquito-borne, tick-borne and those without known vectors. The other cluster exclusively contains so-called ‘insect-specific’ FVs, which do not replicate in vertebrate cells. Based on our phylogenetic analysis, BJV is related to other members of the mosquito-borne clade with yet unknown vertebrate hosts, such as NOUV, Donggang virus, Chaoyang virus and Lammi virus. However, with a maximum identity of only 54 % to NOUV, BJV represents a distinct new virus species.

scholarly journals To the Question of Relationships of Representatives of the Sheybanid Dynasty with the Leaders of the Sufi Brotherhood of Maverannahr (1534-1598)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2 (26)) ◽  
pp. 14-21
Author(s):  
Lutfullo E. Ismoilov ◽  
Jazgul R. Rahimova
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Persian Language ◽  
Political Center ◽  
Almost All ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The City

The purpose of this article is to show the complex relationship of the Sheybanid rulers with the local Maverannahr Sufi brotherhoods - naqshbandiya, kubraviya and jahriya (yassaviya). The main materials for this study were information from Persian-language sources and Muslim hagiographic writings ( manakib ) of that period. The second generation of the Sheybanids, whose representatives came to power in the middle 30s of the 16th century, unlike their predecessors, sought to establish trusting relations with the leaders of the various Sufi brotherhoods of Maverannahr. After the death of the great Khan Kuchkunji Khan (died in 1534), Ubaidulla (died in 1540), whose residence was in Bukhara, became the new great khan of nomadic Uzbeks. He maintained close relations with such well-known leaders of the Sufi brotherhoods of that period as the leader of the naqshbandi brotherhood - Khoja Ahmad Kosoni (died in 1549), the leader of the kubraviya brotherhood - Sheikh Hussein Khorezmi (died in 1551), etc. In the other large political center of Maverannahr - Samarkand, after the death of Kuchkunji Khan, his sons Abu Said Khan and Fulad Sultan became co-rulers of the city. They established very close relations with prominent Sufi leaders. In the 50-60s of the 16th century, due to the political ambitions of a new generation of Sheybanids, the country plunged into political chaos and a state of instability. Almost all famous Sufi leaders of that period supported the claims of Sheibanid Abdullah Khan II (died 1598) on the Khan’s throne.

Propositions III: The Dual Relationship and the Third Party

2019 ◽  
pp. 169-198
Author(s):  
Marcel Hénaff
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
The Other ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Moral Tradition ◽  
Living Together ◽  
The World ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Status ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter explores the gift relationship. Whether private or socially instituted, the gift relationship appears to embody certain exemplary dimensions of being-with-others and living-together. However, a reflection on this type of gesture or procedure brings to the fore a number of unresolved problems and, for this very reason, occasions a number of misunderstandings. The main difficulty has to do with the indeterminacy of the very term, gift, too often used with respect to profoundly heterogeneous situations. This indeterminacy encourages a tendency to privilege the sense of the word sanctioned by an age-old religious and moral tradition that appears based on common sense and tends to be viewed as the standard by which the other forms of gift can be assessed: the unreciprocated generous gesture. However, this ontology is of little help when one attempts to answer questions such as the following: Who gives what to whom, under what circumstances, and for what purpose? This question concerns intersubjective as well as social relationships. It is therefore crucial to clarify the status of the partners involved and the nature of the “thing” that is offered by one to the other or that circulates between the two partners. Although dual by definition, the relationship of reciprocity cannot be reduced to a one-on-one interaction: It necessarily includes a third element, a thing from the world, which can sometimes be a mere word, or even—when the institution is already in place—an easily recognizable gesture.

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