The Ways of Things: Mobilizing Charismatic Objects in Oberammergau and Its Passion Play

The mobilization processes initiated by the medieval practice of Christian pilgrimage do not only concern the journeys of human travellers but also of things. The transport of objects to and from pilgrimage sites derives from a pre-modern concept of charisma as a specific kind of energy that can be transferred to things and substances. This mutual mobilization of humans and things can be described as the entangled processes of charismatic charging and re-charging; we argue that this pre-modern logic of contiguity and contagion has survived the multiple transformations of individual travel until today. Even travel dispositives of the 20th and 21st centuries presuppose kinds of situational and spatialized charisma involving human and non-human agents. We illustrate this by the example of the world-renowned Oberammergau Passion Play with its unique playing continuity from the early 17th century onwards. We argue that by taking objects home from elevated places, situational and site-specific charisma can be taken home. To describe the relationship between travel by pilgrims, the mobility of objects, and the mutual charismatic charging of elevated places and things, we propose three perspectives on the material remains of elevated situations. In addition to relics and souvenirs, we propose ‘spolia’ as a third category which allows for the description of discontinuity and transformation in practices of elevating things.

Prior’s Turn to Medieval Logic

The peculiar aspect of medieval logic, that the truth-value of propositions changes with time, gradually disappeared as Europe exited the Renaissance. In modern logic, it was assumed by W.V.O. Quine that one cannot appreciate modern symbolic logic if one does not take it to be tenseless. A.N. Prior’s invention of tense-logic challenged Quine’s view and can be seen as a turn to medieval logic. However, Prior’s discussion of the philosophical problems related to quantified tense-logic led him to reject essential aspects of medieval logic. This invites an evaluation of Prior’s formalisation of tense-logic as, in part, an argument in favour of the medieval view of propositions. This article argues that Prior’s turn to medieval logic is hampered by his unwillingness to accept essential medieval assumptions regarding facts about objects that do not exist. Furthermore, it is argued that presentists should learn an important lesson from Prior’s struggle with accepting the implications of quantified tense-logic and reject theories that purport to be presentism as unorthodox if they also affirm Quine’s view on ontic commitment. In the widest sense: philosophers who, like Prior, turn to the medieval view of propositions must accept a worldview with facts about individuals that, in principle, do not supervene (present tense) on being, for they do not yet exist.

Logical Identity: A Holistic Approach

It is my intention in this article to present some consequences of Quine’s thesis on the dependence of ontology on ideology (Quine, 1980), seeking an argument for my own thesis on the dependence (theoretical) existence of entities on identity type or ontology dependence on logic and language.If Quine's thesis is correct, then we can expand the resolution of this conclusion and say that ontology depends on the identity or on identification of the "identity criteria for conceptual schemes" (Davidson, 2001) which is constructed in the theory. Consequently I will speak about types of identity which adapts choice of ontology and of which depends ontology of a theory. Here I want to connect the different types of use of the term identity in Aristotle's writings and the different types of predications that are based on them with the concept of identity as the equivalence of symbols in modern logic. I want to reinterpret Quine's statement: "There is no entity without identity " in the form of imlication "What (kind of) identity such (kind of ) entity."

Enabling Automated Sample Delayering, Imaging, and Probing Prep with an Adaptive Endpointing Workflow

The development of advanced logic processing technologies has hit a critical slowing period over the past 10 years. Long gone are the booming days of exponential growth seen in chip transistor density as described by Moore's Law back in 1965.[1] With modern logic manufacturers now capable of creating transistors in the 5-7 nm node range, having the ability to isolate, inspect, and probe individual metal and via layers is of utmost importance for defect inspection and design validation. In this realm of failure analysis, it is critical that design manufacturers possess the ability to isolate any given single layer of their logic samples. These isolated layers can be inspected for defects via SEM, provide validation of CAD designs, or tested with electrical probing for failure analysis. The work here-in describes a functional workflow that enables manufacturers to perform this kind of sample preparation in an automated fashion using the Thermo Scientific™ Helios™ G5 PFIB platform. This workflow can be utilized by both the Thermo Scientific Full Wafer and Small Dual Beam PFIB platforms to streamline sample analysis and failure testing in both the lab and fabrication environments.

Boolean Logic, Fregean Logic, Wittgensteinian Logic and the Processing of Natural Language

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) transformed the field of logic from what it had remained since the days of Aristotle. Regarded as the founder of modern logic and much of modern philosophy, Frege laid the foundations of predicate logic, first-order predicate calculus and quantificational logic – formal systems central to computer science and mathematics. Frege was not satisfied with the ambiguity and imprecision of ordinary language. He created a new ‘formula language’ with elaborate symbols and definite rules, focused on conceptual content rather than rhetorical style, which he called Begriffsschrift – a formal language for 'pure thought'. Before Frege, George Boole (1815-1864) created what later became known as ‘Boolean logic’ which is fundamental to operations of computer science today. An application of Wittgensteinian logic could help filter authentic information from information disorder (non-information, off-information, mal-information and mis-information). Wittgensteinian logic applied in natural language processing technology (NLP), if possible and via automation, could transform the quality of information online. Many challenges remain.

Abortion Laws in Muslim Countries: Modern Reconfiguration of Pre-modern Logic

In most countries where Islam is acknowledged as a, or the, source of legislation, abortion is permitted under certain conditions and at certain stages of pregnancy. This article examines some of these laws and argue that they represent a continuation of the logic that governed the views of pre-modern Muslim jurists on abortion, that is, harm aversion. However, these laws also add a ‘modernist’ twist to that logic – rather than repealing that logic altogether, modernist views on ‘rights’ and the advancement of medical knowledge and technology have influenced the priorities of Muslim jurists and lawmakers as far as abortion and the issues associated with it are concerned. This influence has furthermore been possible by a conscious selection and blending of pre-modern views to serve modern concerns. In all this, however, harm aversion remains the centrifugal principle, even when the abortion discourse in Muslim countries appears couched in the modernist discourse of rights.

“Truth is Not Subject to Human Empire”

Now a niche figure in intellectual history, Samuel Pufendorf was one of the great lights of the early Enlightenment. A renowned professor of law, Pufendorf is John Locke’s rival in forging the modern logic of religious tolerance. The link between early modern Christianity and violence, which occasions Pufendorf’s book The Bearing of Christian Religion on Civil Life, is broken by his re-elaboration of the Augustinian tradition that this book seeks to retrace. Jesus is a king, according to Pufendorf, but his kingdom is “not of this world”. A correct reading of the Roman trial of Jesus is thus, for him, a sine qua non of a European political culture in which ritual and confessional differences are tolerated.

The logic of antinomy in religious discourse: Pavel Florensky’s meta-language of theology, science and art

Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky is a towering figure of the 20th century. He is recognised among many significant thinkers of the world’s cultural and philosophical panorama of the previous century. In the face of cultural repression and religious persecution of the Soviet regime, he preferred martyrdom to exile and not to deny his faith. The legacy of Florensky is incredibly multifaceted. His works span across the most varied fields of science and knowledge with clear competence. Florensky was the first scholar who attempted to combine Orthodox theology with modern logic. He argued that religious truth transcends known categories and Christianity tends to be antinomical. This article argues that a paradoxical notion would be more appropriate than antinomy in his thinking.Contribution: The authors introduce Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky to Western theology and share some thoughts of this much-neglected scholar. The focus is mainly on the spiritual vision of this Orthodox priest-scientist about Nature, exploring his legacy in the theology and science debate. Florensky taught us that there is a distinctive trait of the Christian faith’s attitude to Nature and that there always lies a surplus of meaning that remains inaccessible to reason alone and, therefore, Nature should be approached fundamentally with a contemplative approach and regarding a theology and science resonance, a creative mutual interaction could materialise.

THE ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION IN THE FORMATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND CREATIVE ABILITIES AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

This article describes the formation of the phenomenon of scientific discussion as a means of cognition and its creative interaction with the style of dialectical thinking that reflects it, based on the principles of modern logic. In particular, the importance of discussion as an important tool for the study of the laws of scientific development, one of the main ways of shaping innovative thinking.