“Semantic Primitives”, fifty years later

Are there any concepts that all human beings share? Three hundred years ago Leibniz was convinced that there are indeed such concepts and that they can be identified by trial and error. He called this hypothetical set the alphabet of human thoughts. Gradually, however, the idea faded from philosophical discourse and eventually it was largely forgotten. It was revived in the early 1960s by the Polish linguist Andrzej Bogusławski. A few years later it was taken up in my own work and in 1972 in my book Semantic Primitives a first hypothetical set of universal semantic primitives was actually proposed. It included 14 elements. Following my emigration to Australia more and more linguists joined the testing of the proposed set against an increasing range of languages and domains. As a result, from mid 1980s the set steadily grew. The expansion stopped in 2014, when the number stabilised at 65, and when Cliff Goddard and I reached the conclusion that this is the full set. This paper reviews the developments which have taken place over the last 50 years. It reaffirms our belief that we have identified, in full, the shared alphabet of human thoughts. It also examines the recurring claim that one of these primes, HAVE PARTS, is not universal. Further, the paper argues that there is not only a shared alphabet of human thoughts but a shared mental language, Basic Human, with a specifiable vocabulary and grammar. It points out that the stakes are high, because what is at issue is not only the psychic unity of humankind (Boas 1911) but also the possibility of a universal human community of communication (Apel 1972). The paper contends that Basic Human can provide a secure basis for a non-Anglocentric global discourse about questions that concern us all, such as global ethics, the earth and its future, and the health and well-being of all people on earth.

Some Important Secrets of Language Development

Language is a jewel in the human body. If it is not available, no phenomenon can compensate for its absence. Every human with a language is known as a skillful person. If language is downfallen, almost all human beings’ relations are damaged. Language, like all other phenomena of human culture, is closely linked to a human community, an event that occurs in a community, taking its own steps towards perfection in that community. Language is the only source of communication among the people. In fact, it is a source of reflection of the aspirations and desires of the people and a great tool for finding ways to meet their needs. In the process of research, I have clarified what language means, what it is called. As a result of the research, it has also become clear what is its value in social life, what is its importance. Language functions were also highlighted during the research. Some important factors and characteristics that lead to the development of a language are highlighted in details. If the speakers of any language take advantage of the mentioned ways to develop their language, to contrive for it to conclude all the mentioned possibilities and factors in their language, I am sure that their language will be taken place among the advanced languages.

Covid Patient Health Monitoring Using IoT During Quarantine

The term “COVID” is breaking the hearts of the entire human community. The Corona virus is more infectious and is exceptionally irresistible, it is vital to isolate the patients and yet the specialists need to screen Corona virus patients as well. With the expanding increase in the number of Corona cases, the doctors find it difficult to keep track on the medical issue of isolated patients. To address this issue, we designed a distant IOT based screen framework, that considers observing of numerous Corona virus patients over the web. The system uses temperature sensor, respiratory sensor and pulse oximeter to measure the health parameters of the patients. If any oddity is detected in patient’s health, the patient presses the emergency help button which we installed in our system. This will alert the doctor and the care taker over IOT remotely. Our system thus provides a safe health monitoring design, in order to prevent the disease spreading through Corona virus and monitoring the individual health of each patient.

Utilizing Authenticity: Options for Catholic Education in a Particular Detraditionalized Cultural Context

This paper addresses some conceptual options for Catholic education in a particular cultural context. This context is where the Catholic school system is large, stable, and well established but in the wider cultural context, the place of religion in society is detraditionalized. This detraditionalization is reflected in Catholic school enrolments where increasing numbers of students come from non-Catholic backgrounds, where, amongst Catholics, engagement with traditional structures is low or where there is no religious association at all. To initiate discussion a simple dichotomy is introduced; do Catholic schools promote religious identity or do they address a wider demographic by stressing harmonized common values and policies? To elaborate on this initial position several conceptual perspectives are offered. A key discussion point centres around the human community of Catholic schools and how they align with the various options that are proposed.

Understanding Advaita: A Panikkarean Perspective for a Cross Cultural Journey.

In a world of fragmented approach and the loss of a holistic vision, an integrated view is called for to save the human community and at large the universe from many perils. One such integrated outlook germinates in Raimon Panikkar’s understanding of the most cherished Indian philosophical concept of advaita. The altogether different outlook he passes into the understanding of advaita – which is the main elaboration in this paper – takes the lead to various ramifications to see the reality in diversified manner and still with an undifferentiated unity. He highlights that the entities should be seen in their polarities and not in-themselves. This perspective leaps into the felt need for a cross-cultural journey which is an indispensable one at the current scenario of a pluralistic phenomenon and the availability of many options. Still, elaborating on the cross-cultural odyssey is not the objective here and therefore such an exposition does not have space here. The emphasis lies on the drive that pushes us for an interest into cross-cultural approach giving awareness that we can no more be isolated within an enclosure.

“All of Us” before God: Phenomenological Contours of the Liturgical Assembly according to Franz Rosenzweig and Jean-Yves Lacoste

This article treats the notion of liturgical experience that was introduced into contemporary philosophy by Franz Rosenzweig at the start of the twentieth century. His original and deep thinking in the Star of Redemption describes, among other things, the liturgical feasts of Judaism and Christianity as ramparts against finitude and as openings onto the ultimate. The article will bring together his descriptions of the liturgical assembly as a dialogical and choral “we” or “all of us” with the work of Jean-Yves Lacoste who has made liturgy the very heart of his magisterial phenomenological work. Putting these two authors into conversation allows us to uncover some salient traits of what makes for a liturgical community, such as the link between the liturgical assembly and the notion of communion. Drawing on both Rosenzweig and Lacoste, we can see, first, that this community is not simply cultural or ideological, but that its core lies in the concrete experience of exposing oneself before God. Next, I take up the idea of eschatological presentiment in Lacoste and the choral response-structure in Rosenzweig and suggest that this eschatological anticipation is manifested in the flesh of the assembly, endowing it with a dimension of responsibility. Finally, the liturgical assembly becomes a concrete body in which the kingdom is able to come near in the density of presence as fraternity within an aura of love. By doing so, a “thinking otherwise” may prove capable of illuminating philosophical understandings of human community more broadly.