The Evolution of Cultural Entities

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
Research Traditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Modern Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Entities

Ever since Charles Darwin, scholars have noted that cultural entities such as languages, laws, firms, and theories seem to ‘evolve’ through sequences of variation, selection and replication, in many ways just like living organisms. This book considers whether this comparison is ‘just a metaphor’, or whether modern evolutionary theory can help us to understand the dynamics of different cultural domains. The ‘evolutionary paradigm of rationality’ has a significant role to play throughout the human sciences, but raises complex issues in every cultural context where it is applied. By fostering discussion between scholars from a wide range of research traditions, this book aims to influence the evolution of all of them.

Why We Disagree About Human Nature

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Biological Anthropology ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Nature Play

Is human nature something that the natural and social sciences aim to describe, or is it a pernicious fiction? What role, if any, does ‘human nature’ play in directing and informing scientific work? Can we talk about human nature without invoking—either implicitly or explicitly—a contrast with human culture? It might be tempting to think that the respectability of ‘human nature’ is an issue that divides natural and social scientists along disciplinary boundaries, but the truth is more complex. The contributors to this collection take very different stances with regard to the idea of human nature. They come from the fields of psychology, the philosophy of science, social and biological anthropology, evolutionary theory, and the study of animal cognition. Some of them are ‘human nature’ enthusiasts, some are sceptics, and some say that human nature is a concept with many faces, each of which plays a role in its own investigative niche. Some want to eliminate the notion altogether, some think it unproblematic, others want to retain it with reforming modifications. Some say that human nature is a target for investigation that the human sciences cannot do without, others argue that the term does far more harm than good. The diverse perspectives articulated in this book help to explain why we disagree about human nature, and what, if anything, might resolve that disagreement.

‘Short-Spanned Living Creatures’: Evolutionary Perspectives in Rhoda Broughton’s Not Wisely, but Too Well (1867)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Aaron Green
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Simple Structure ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Origin Of Species ◽  
Charles Lyell ◽  
Crystal Palace ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Evolutionary Perspectives

Abstract In Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man (1863), Charles Lyell appraised the distinct contribution made by his protégé, Charles Darwin (On the Origin of Species (1859)), to evolutionary theory: ‘Progression … is not a necessary accompaniment of variation and natural selection [… Darwin’s theory accounts] equally well for what is called degradation, or a retrogressive movement towards a simple structure’. In Rhoda Broughton’s first novel, Not Wisely, but Too Well (1867), written contemporaneously with Lyell’s book, the Crystal Palace at Sydenham prompts precisely this sort of Darwinian ambivalence to progress; but whether British civilization ‘advance[s] or retreat[s]’, her narrator adds that this prophesized state ‘will not be in our days’ – its realization exceeds the single lifespan. This article argues that Not Wisely, but Too Well is attentive to the irreconcilability of Darwinism to the Victorian ‘idea of progress’: Broughton’s novel, distinctly from its peers, raises the retrogressive and nihilistic potentials of Darwin’s theory and purposes them to reflect on the status of the individual in mid-century Britain.

scholarly journals Graphene Oxide-Based Nanofiltration for Hg Removal from Wastewater: A Mini Review

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Megawati Zunita
Keyword(s):  
Graphene Oxide ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Treatment Area ◽  
Functionalized Graphene Oxide ◽  
Flexible Membrane ◽  
High Mechanical Strength ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Filtration Properties ◽  
High Chemical Stability

Mercury (Hg) is one of heavy metals with the highest toxicity and negative impact on the biological functions of living organisms. Therefore, many studies are devoted to solving the problem of Hg separation from wastewater. Membrane-based separation techniques have become more preferable in wastewater treatment area due to their ease of operation, mild conditions and also more resistant to toxic pollutants. This technique is also flexible and has a wide range of possibilities to be integrated with other techniques. Graphene oxide (GO) and derivatives are materials which have a nanostructure can be used as a thin and flexible membrane sheet with high chemical stability and high mechanical strength. In addition, GO-based membrane was used as a barrier for Hg vapor due to its nano-channels and nanopores. The nano-channels of GO membranes were also used to provide ion mobility and molecule filtration properties. Nowadays, this technology especially nanofiltration for Hg removal is massively explored. The aim of the review paper is to investigate Hg removal using functionalized graphene oxide nanofiltration. The main focus is the effectiveness of the Hg separation process.

scholarly journals Constructor theory of life

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (104) ◽  
pp. 20141226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Marletto
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Evolution Theory ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Darwinian Theory ◽  
Gene Replication ◽  
Theory Of Information ◽  
Living Organisms

Neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory explains how the appearance of purposive design in the adaptations of living organisms can have come about without their intentionally being designed. The explanation relies crucially on the possibility of certain physical processes : mainly, gene replication and natural selection . In this paper, I show that for those processes to be possible without the design of biological adaptations being encoded in the laws of physics, those laws must have certain other properties. The theory of what these properties are is not part of evolution theory proper, yet without it the neo-Darwinian theory does not fully achieve its purpose of explaining the appearance of design. To this end, I apply constructor theory's new mode of explanation to express exactly within physics the appearance of design, no-design laws, and the logic of self-reproduction and natural selection. I conclude that self-reproduction, replication and natural selection are possible under no-design laws, the only non-trivial condition being that they allow digital information to be physically instantiated. This has an exact characterization in the constructor theory of information. I also show that under no-design laws an accurate replicator requires the existence of a ‘vehicle’ constituting, together with the replicator, a self-reproducer.

scholarly journals Characterization of an Insoluble and Soluble Form of Melanin Produced by Streptomyces cavourensis SV 21, a Sea Cucumber Associated Bacterium

Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Joko Tri Wibowo ◽  
Matthias Y. Kellermann ◽  
Lars-Erik Petersen ◽  
Yustian R. Alfiansah ◽  
Colleen Lattyak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Properties ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Form ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Biological Form ◽  
Insoluble Form ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Purification Protocol

Melanin is a widely distributed and striking dark-colored pigment produced by countless living organisms. Although a wide range of bioactivities have been recognized, there are still major constraints in using melanin for biotechnological applications such as its fragmentary known chemical structure and its insolubility in inorganic and organic solvents. In this study, a bacterial culture of Streptomyces cavourensis SV 21 produced two distinct forms of melanin: (1) a particulate, insoluble form as well as (2) a rarely observed water-soluble form. The here presented novel, acid-free purification protocol of purified particulate melanin (PPM) and purified dissolved melanin (PDM) represents the basis for an in-depth comparison of their physicochemical and biological properties, which were compared to the traditional acid-based precipitation of melanin (AM) and to a synthetic melanin standard (SM). Our data show that the differences in solubility between PDM and PPM in aqueous solutions may be a result of different adjoining cation species, since the soluble PDM polymer is largely composed of Mg2+ ions and the insoluble PPM is dominated by Ca2+ ions. Furthermore, AM shared most properties with SM, which is likely attributed to a similar, acid-based production protocol. The here presented gentler approach of purifying melanin facilitates a new perspective of an intact form of soluble and insoluble melanin that is less chemical altered and thus closer to its original biological form.

scholarly journals The signalling role of ROS in the regulation of seed germination and dormancy

2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (20) ◽  
pp. 3019-3032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Bailly
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Direct Oxidation ◽  
Cellular Events ◽  
Seed Physiology ◽  
Spatiotemporal Regulation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Hormone Signalling

Abstract Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are versatile compounds which can have toxic or signalling effects in a wide range living organisms, including seeds. They have been reported to play a pivotal role in the regulation of seed germination and dormancy but their mechanisms of action are still far from being fully understood. In this review, we sum-up the major findings that have been carried out this last decade in this field of research and which altogether shed a new light on the signalling roles of ROS in seed physiology. ROS participate in dormancy release during seed dry storage through the direct oxidation of a subset of biomolecules. During seed imbibition, the controlled generation of ROS is involved in the perception and transduction of environmental conditions that control germination. When these conditions are permissive for germination, ROS levels are maintained at a level which triggers cellular events associated with germination, such as hormone signalling. Here we propose that the spatiotemporal regulation of ROS production acts in concert with hormone signalling to regulate the cellular events involved in cell expansion associated with germination.

scholarly journals COMPLEX ASSESSMENT OF BIOSOLID FOR AGRICULTURE USING LIVING ORGANISMS UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

AGROFOR ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ksenia PONOGAYBO ◽  
Liudmila VORONINA
Keyword(s):  
Tetrahymena Pyriformis ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Municipal Sewage Sludge ◽  
Soil Extraction ◽  
Luminescent Bacteria ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Test Organisms ◽  
Living Organisms

The use of biosolids (treated municipal sewage sludge) as a fertilizer is the best way of their disposal. However, not all of them are suitable for use as a fertilizer. Biosolids should be subject to mandatory laboratory control to confirm their safety. Two directions of research on biosolids are being improved: chemical and biological. Chemical analysis methods allow us to determine the qualitative composition of complex waste. The biological approach (use of living organisms) allows us to estimate the total toxicity of all the components. Accordingly, a distinctive characteristic of biological methods is the integrated approach. We examined biosolid extract using a wide range of bioassay methods. As test organisms, we took Daphnia magna Straus, Paramecium caudatum Ehrenberg, Tetrahymena pyriformis, luminescent bacteria Escherichia coli. In addition, a phytotest was carried out on the culture of Avena sativa L. and Raphanus sativus L. None of the tests revealed a high toxicity of biosolid. Biosolid safety was confirmed by a low content of potentially toxic water-soluble elements – (μg /l): Al3+ – 980; Ba2+ – 19; B – 140; Mn – 360; Cu – 61; As – 57; Ni – 200; Pb – 1,4; Sr2+ – 302; Cr – 18; Zn2+ – 310; Co – 30; Mo – 56; (mg/l): Na+ – 16,8; Fe – 1,0. The bioassay methods make it possible to give an indicative safety assessment of this type of object by the effect of readily soluble (readily available) components from this object on living organisms and plants. The use of bioassay methods using soil extraction as a control tool allows to take into account the combined effect of the presence in the extraction of not only toxic elements that suppress the vital activity of organisms, but also of elements that attract and stimulate the activity of test-organisms.

scholarly journals A IMPORTÂNCIA DAS CUMARINAS PARA A QUÍMICA MEDICINAL E O DESENVOLVIMENTO DE COMPOSTOS BIOATIVOS NOS ÚLTIMOS ANOS

Química Nova ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiana Franco ◽  
Thiago Pereira ◽  
Felipe Vitorio ◽  
Nathalia Nadur ◽  
Renata Lacerda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Space ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Non Covalent Interactions ◽  
Iupac Nomenclature ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Coumarin Compounds ◽  
New Treatments ◽  
Covalent Interactions

Coumarins are natural products characterized as 2H-chromen-2-one, according to IUPAC nomenclature, largely distributed in plants, as well as, in species of fungi and bacteria. Nowadays, many synthetic procedures allow the discovery of coumarins with expanded chemical space. The ability to exert non-covalent interactions with many enzymes an receptors in living organisms lead the coumarins to exhibit a wide range of biological activities and applications. Then, this manuscript provides an overview of the use of coumarin compounds in medicinal chemistry in treating many diseases. Important examples of the last years have been selected concerning the activities of coumarins as anticoagulant, anticancer, antioxidant, antiviral, antidiabetics, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-neurodegenerative agents. Thus, this work aims at contributing to the development of new rational research projects searching for new treatments and bioactive compounds for many pathologies using coumarin derivatives.

scholarly journals Propaganda, Censorship, and Book Drives: The Newark Public Library in World War I

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
George Robb
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
World War ◽  
Reading Material ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
War Effort ◽  
Women Librarians

This article examines the activities of the Newark Public Library during World War I as a means of highlighting the significant role American libraries played in promoting the nation’s war effort. During the war public libraries were usually the most important information centers in their communities. They distributed books, pamphlets, and posters in support of a wide range of government initiatives, they organized war-related exhibits and classes, and they collected vast amounts of reading material for libraries at military camps. Newark’s chief librarians, John Cotton Dana and Beatrice Winser, oversaw many such patriotic initiatives, but they also became involved in more controversial campaigns to employ women librarians at military camps and to resist wartime calls for censorship of unpatriotic literature.

scholarly journals Issue of Integrity of Art Education in the Context of Changes in Art and Visual Culture

Pedagogika ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-179
Author(s):  
Edita Musneckienė
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Art Education ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Arts Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Creative People ◽  
Wide Range

This article examines a paradigmatic change of contemporary art education in the context of visual culture and focus to the integrity of arts in formal and informal art education. The article is based on an international research “Contemporary art and visual culture in education” which reveals the problematic aspects of contemporary arts and visual culture in education in general. The research method was the discourse analysis of the participants and researchers, who presented the insights in reflective groups and during the interview with teachers and educators.This paper explores how contemporary cultural context and the spread of visual culture provide preconditions for changes in art education. The aim of the article is to analyze theproblems and perspectives of integral arts education in formal and non-formal education: what the educational challenges and opportunities appear in the context of contemporary art and visual culture? How the integral arts could be realized in art education practice in different arts disciplines and areas of education?Contemporary art and visual culture is increasingly multidimensional, the wide range of visual art forms integral with per formative arts, new technologies and media merge the limits between the arts disciplines. That becomes relevant pedagogical problem with the fact that arts education is traditionally allocated to the separate arts subjects such as music, art, theatre, dance, which also can also be divided into separate areas. This subject segregation of the school curriculum and strong subject orientation limits multimodal contemporary arts education. Secondary Education programs provide opportunities for several options of arts education disciplines (photography, cinema art, graphic design, contemporary music technologies), but it needs special resources for the schools and professional teachers. Many schools follow on traditional model of teaching art and still focusing on simple interpretation of modern artworks, different media and technical skills.Contemporary model of teaching integrated arts and visual culture in education is challenging, because it is based on visual literacy and critical thinking skills, it emphasizes inquiry-based education, a critical understanding of contemporary art practices, problem solving and creating new valuable ideas. Knowledge and experiences came from various sources: formal, non-formal, accidental, individual.Great potential for contemporary art education has non-formal art education programs and projects. Successful project-based initiatives in art education have been excellent examples of arts integration.Artists and other creative people involved into a process of education, their collaboration with schools and communities could initiate some interdisciplinary and collaborative practices. Non-formal arts education environment creates more space for creativity, freedom and diversity. Additional arts education programs, museum and gallery education, artistic competitions and international projects allows for the wider development of arts education. Art education in the new age requires changing attitudes towards learning and teaching, changing roles of the educator and new learning environments.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document