Happy Existentialist Metaphors: Merleau-Ponty’s Flesh of the World and the Chandos Complex

This article investigates the meaning of Merleau-Ponty’s concept of the flesh of the world. This concept brings a cosmological tone to existentialist phenomenology and challenges the grim and gnostic approach that prevails in Heidegger’s and Sartre’s works in particular. Is horror the key mood in ontology as argued by Malabou? This article contends that bright metaphors and magic realism are at least as fundamental, but under one condition: ontology must come to terms with what the author has coined as the “Chandos complex”, namely a form of ambivalence and oscillation between Gnosticism and holism that makes both positions fake and hollow. Dreaming of being one with the world and fantasizing an estrangement from nature work hand in hand and are equally staged. Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy occasionally falls prey to the Chandos complex, which makes his concept of the flesh of the world vulnerable to criticism. This article examines the claim put forward by Renaud Barbaras that “the flesh of the world” is a failed metaphor. It argues that this blissful metaphor is ontologically fundamental as soon as its intrinsic paradoxes are recognized and accepted: the Chandos complex then becomes the key to an ontology that recognizes the imaginary as an essential dimension of being. At stake is an essential link between ontology on the one hand and, on the other hand, metaphors as well as myth-building and narrative-building processes.

Invektive Affordanzen der Kommunikationsform Flugschrift

This paper deals with the so-called ‘Flugschrift’ (i. e. pamphlet) as a specific medial arrangement resp. form of communication in early modern age, which not only allowed a wide and rapid spread of popular texts, but also provided increased opportunities for follow-on communications and interactive debate. Interactivity is an essential dimension of invective communication. It is argued that the ‘Flugschriften’ afforded the escalative dynamics of invective, which shaped the early modern public sphere. These dynamics entailed furthermore distinctive connections and transformations of visual and rhetorical genres and practices in pamphlet literature. These correlations will be demonstrated by the examples of the Reuchlin-Pfefferkorn debate and Luthers invectives against the papal bull ‘Exsurge Domine’.

Reasons that Lead Women to Weight Loss: A Study in Southern Brazil

The objective of this study was to understand why adult women in Brazil desire and attempt to lose weight. In a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews, participants were 25 adult women in southern Brazil aged 19-59 who have tried to lose weight or modify their bodies. Thematic categories emerged: motivations and influences to lose weight, external and internal pressure to lose weight, and influences from the media and the ideal of beauty which point to factors like the media, family, and society step in nutritional education of Brazilian women. These factors influence decisions related to weight loss and pursuit of a beautiful body; this cult of thinness influences women to lose weight and makes physical appearance an essential dimension of the female identity. Programs are also needed that regulate the media in its use of models involving standards of beauty which are followed and copied by the general population.

Contemporary Reflection on Participation as an Essential Dimension of Philosophy of Education in the Context of The Acting Person

This article considers the problem of the idea of participation as an essential dimension of philosophy of education in the context of Karol Wojtyła’s teachings. It proceeds through the concepts of the person and participation. The paper reflects the need for discussion on philosophy of education due to the treatment of individual freedom in an extremely individualistic way. Wojtyła draws on the philosophies of consciousness and the philosophies of being in order to consider the constitution of our ideas in a manner relevant to the education for being together with all people and creatures, with the universe, with the whole world which gives us our own place.

Direitos humanos e ODS: caminhos para fortalecer os direitos das mulheres

O Brasil é um país com uma profunda desigualdade nas relações entre homens e mulheres em vários campos. Em relação ao acesso a terra e territórios há um contexto de profunda concentração fundiária. Ao mesmo tempo, garantir a igualdade de gênero no que tange ao direito à terra se coloca como uma dimensão essencial para uma série de outros direitos humanos. Dessa forma, e considerando que o processo de empoderamento das mulheres é um dos caminhos para reverterem as desigualdades de gênero e promover a luta por direitos, analisar experiências que contribuem neste caminho permite indicar avanços e lacunas, possibilitando sua ampliação. Este estudo tem como objetivo discutir as potencialidades de monitoramento das políticas públicas nos territórios, articuladas aos ODS, a partir de uma experiência local-global, com recorte de gênero, tomando como referência o trabalho com mulheres rurais e urbanas, de movimentos sociais de luta pela terra e moradia, na região nordeste do Brasil desenvolvida pela organização Espaço Feminista. Dita experiência, realizada com base em um modelo que une pesquisa, formação, alianças e incidência política, vem potencializando o processo de autonomia e atuação das mulheres no monitoramento da implementação das políticas públicas e na exigibilidade de seus direitos. Derechos humanos y ODS: caminos para fortalecer los derechos de las mujeres Brasil es un país con una amplia desigualdad en las relaciones entre hombres y mujeres en diversos ámbitos. Respecto al acceso a la tierra y territorios hay un contexto de grande concentración de tierras. A la vez, garantizar la igualdad de género respecto al derecho a la tierra se presenta como una dimensión esencial para un conjunto de otros derechos. De esa forma, y considerando que el proceso de empoderamiento de las mujeres es uno de los caminos para revertir las desigualdades de género y promover la lucha por derechos, analizar experiencias que contribuyen en este camino permite indicar avances y lagunas, posibilitando su ampliación. Esta investigación tiene el objetivo de discutir las potencialidades de monitoreo de las políticas públicas en los territorios, articuladas a los ODS, a partir de una experiencia local-global, con recorte de género, tomando como referencia el trabajo con mujeres rurales y urbanas, de movimientos sociales de lucha por la tierra y la vivienda, en la región nordeste de Brasil desarrollada por la organización Espacio Feminista. Dicha experiencia, realizada con base en un modelo que une investigación, formación, alianzas e incidencia política, viene potenciando el proceso de autonomía y actuación de las mujeres en el monitoreo de la implementación de las políticas públicas y en la exigibilidad de sus derechos. Palabras clave: Derechos humanos. Mujeres. Empoderamiento. Políticas públicas. ODS. Human rights and SDGS: pathways to strengthen women’s rights Brazil is a country with a profound inequality in relations between men and women and in diverse fields. Regarding access to land and territories, there is a context of huge land concentration. At the same time, ensuring gender equality with regard to the right to land is an essential dimension for a number of other human rights. Hence, and considering that the process of women’s empowerment is one of the ways to reverse gender inequalities and promote the battle for rights, analyzing experiences that contribute to this path allows us to indicate advances and gaps, enabling their adjustment and development. This study aims to discuss the potential for monitoring public policies in the territories, linked to the SDGs, from a local-global experience, with a gender approach, taking as a reference the work with rural and urban women, from social movements fighting for land and housing, in the Northeast region of Brazil that has been developed by the organization Espaço Feminista. This experience, based on a model that interconnects research, political formation, alliances building and advocacy, has been strengthening the process of women’s autonomy and the presence of women in monitoring the implementation of public policies and the enforcement of their rights. Keywords: Human rights. Women. Empowerment. Public policies. SDGs.