Revisiting the Theory-Constitutive Metaphor

In his seminal article “Metaphor and Theory Change: What is `Metaphor ́ a metaphor for?” (1993, [1979]), Richard Boyd describes a certain class of metaphors within science, namely, the theory-constitutive metaphors (henceforth the TCMs); this class of metaphors, Boyd explains, plays an important role in the formulation and development of theories because they express explanatory claims which, at least for the time being, cannot be conceived in any other known (literal) way. Hence, TCMs become a part of scientific thought and the development of concepts. TCMs can fix reference to casual relations in the physical world, even though they have an open-endedness (vagueness and are not fully explicated); the TCMs, therefore, have a programmatic character or they invite further research. In the following we try to add more characteristics to the TCMs from a Peircean perspective, namely, that the TCMs depend on abduction – this 1) makes them both creative and explanatory, 2) relates them to guessing and anchors them in instinct, whereby 3) their plausibility concerns an affinity between mind and nature.

Mathematical Approach to N-Centered DFT and Associated Methods for the Study of Open Systems

A fundamental aspect of the study of N−electronic systems (systems containing N electrons) is to obtain information on the states in which these systems have minimal energy. In practice a numerical search of such states is impossible to carry out, so that alternative approaches have been developped, the one around which this work revolves being to consider electronic systems through their electronic density rather than their state. This approach, known today as Density Functional Theory (DFT), was formalised in Kohn and Sham’s seminal article [1] and its mathematical aspects were studied a few years later by Lieb [2]. Since then, the ideas leading to the construction of DFT have been adapted to the context of electronic systems with a fractionnal number of electrons (open systems), first through PPLB DFT[3] and more recently through the definition of N−centered DFT[4, 5]. In both cases it is unclear wherether the mathematical properties established for classical DFT can be expected to hold true. This question is the main problematic of our work, in which we shall study the analogy between N−centered and classical DFT, from their construction to the methods that are derived from them. This will lead us to construct a Kohn-Sham scheme for N−centered DFT, investigate the links between this theory and optimal transport and present the Hubbard Dimer in this particular situation.

Austronesians in the Northern Waters?

The following lines are inspired by John Kupchik’s seminal article ‘Austronesian Lights the Way’ that appears in this volume of JEAL. It demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt for the first time that there are reliable Austronesian loanwords in Japonic that reveal quite ancient and profound contacts, because without these profound contacts the borrowing of the names of the most basic celestial bodies, such as the sun and the moon, would not be possible. In my opinion, his article opened a new and an exciting direction in the Japonic historical linguistics. There are, however, two important differences between Kupchik’s article and the present one. First, while Kupchik mostly concentrated on the Amis language from Taiwan, and to a less extent on the languages of Philippines and other Western Malayo- Polynesian, my major focus is on the Philippines languages as potential donors, and much less on other Austronesian languages of the region. Second, while Kupchik looked mostly on mysterious words in the Omoro Sōshi, a collection of Old Okinawan and Amami sacred and folk poems (1531–1623 AD), this article focuses more on Old Japanese in particular and Japonic in general.

The Repository of Shadows: An Inquiry into Architectural Drawing and the Realm of the Shadow

<p>In Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, reality and imagination are infused in an interplay of narratives. The story is about discovering the identity of Self, using a walled city as a metaphor for the subconscious. The novel weaves the stories of two characters, the external self and the internal self, each chapter flicking between the real and the dream, from conscious to unconscious. Murakami provides the reader with a contemplation on the nature of existence, being versus non-being. Dr William S Haney, Professor of Literary Theory and specialist on culture and consciousness, argues that the shadow in Murakami’s allegory is a representation of the mind. As the narrative unfolds, the shadow—stripped from its owner—slowly dies, causing loss of memory, emotion and desire. The relinquishing of one’s shadow in the allegory suggests a loss of the metaphysical aspect of Self. The Shadow is not merely seen as an immaterial entity; rather it is the sign of full corporeality. The Shadow grants meaning to existence, illuminating the reality that we cannot perceive the light without the darkness. This thesis is born out of a concern for the dearth of meaning in architecture in an age of uncertainty. In the modern contemporary sphere, we have become obsessed with the image, with rationalistic tendencies; with evermore light and luminosity, architecture has primarily been caught up in trying to order and rationalise the world. In this condition of objectification and reduction, architecture risks falling into a trap of homogeneity, thereby limiting itself to an empty datum of quantification. Thus, the unhygienic, the disorder and the chaos, the darkness that grants life its pungency, have been ‘relegated to the shadows’. Roberto Casati, senior researcher and Professor of Philosophy at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientique and an authority on shadow perception, argues that shadows avoid direct reading: “[t]he interaction of the two unequal brothers has been described in different ways, from the notion that shadows are ‘holes in the light’ through to the opposite idea that they are ‘the remaining representatives on earth of the cosmic darkness, otherwise torn apart by light’”. Viewed in this sense, Shadows can be seen as both corporeal operation—bound to the physical cycles of earth, moon and sun—and metaphysical entity, alluding to the primordial darkness before the birth of light and matter. The allegory of the Shadow in Hard-Boiled Wonderland can be seen as a rumination on the loss of the metaphysical aspect of Self in a contemporary cybernetic age. In Murakami’s novel, the shadow cannot enter the walled Town; it must be left behind in the Shadow Grounds, the threshold between inner and outer realms. The Gateway, as described in Murakami’s novel, becomes the provocateur for this thesis. Interpreting Murakami’s architectural and allegorical program of the Gateway and Shadow Grounds in relation to Penelope Haralambidou’s seminal article “The Allegorical Project: Architecture as Figurative Theory”, this design-led research investigation interrogates the use of the Allegorical Architectural Project as a critical method. Allegory provides a structure of thought whereby meaning is not grasped immediately, but rather through progressive discovery and continual interpretation of its ambiguous traits. Ambiguity in architecture has the ability to appear ever-changing, resist resolution and remain open to interpretation. The methodology of the investigation explores the spatial realm of the shadow through the critical and creative process of drawing. The principal aim of this thesis is to journey into the darkness, to embrace the shadow of the unknown, searching for a space in-between—between light and shadow, architecture and art, reality and fiction, the constructed and the imagined. Using Haruki Murakami’s Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World as a generator and provocateur, the research employs the notion of the shadow as both mythological entity and corporeal signifying process. Rather than seeking concrete conclusions, it posits a speculative allegorical architectural project that invites critical engagement and interpretation. It argues that architecture occupies the liminal position between darkness and light, the true place of human existence, and as such, the design of Shadow is essential to the meaningful design of architecture. The thesis investigation asks: how can the speculative architectural drawing be used as a means of interrogating the realm, and enhancing our awareness of, the shadow in architecture?</p>

The Repository of Shadows: An Inquiry into Architectural Drawing and the Realm of the Shadow

<p>In Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, reality and imagination are infused in an interplay of narratives. The story is about discovering the identity of Self, using a walled city as a metaphor for the subconscious. The novel weaves the stories of two characters, the external self and the internal self, each chapter flicking between the real and the dream, from conscious to unconscious. Murakami provides the reader with a contemplation on the nature of existence, being versus non-being. Dr William S Haney, Professor of Literary Theory and specialist on culture and consciousness, argues that the shadow in Murakami’s allegory is a representation of the mind. As the narrative unfolds, the shadow—stripped from its owner—slowly dies, causing loss of memory, emotion and desire. The relinquishing of one’s shadow in the allegory suggests a loss of the metaphysical aspect of Self. The Shadow is not merely seen as an immaterial entity; rather it is the sign of full corporeality. The Shadow grants meaning to existence, illuminating the reality that we cannot perceive the light without the darkness. This thesis is born out of a concern for the dearth of meaning in architecture in an age of uncertainty. In the modern contemporary sphere, we have become obsessed with the image, with rationalistic tendencies; with evermore light and luminosity, architecture has primarily been caught up in trying to order and rationalise the world. In this condition of objectification and reduction, architecture risks falling into a trap of homogeneity, thereby limiting itself to an empty datum of quantification. Thus, the unhygienic, the disorder and the chaos, the darkness that grants life its pungency, have been ‘relegated to the shadows’. Roberto Casati, senior researcher and Professor of Philosophy at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientique and an authority on shadow perception, argues that shadows avoid direct reading: “[t]he interaction of the two unequal brothers has been described in different ways, from the notion that shadows are ‘holes in the light’ through to the opposite idea that they are ‘the remaining representatives on earth of the cosmic darkness, otherwise torn apart by light’”. Viewed in this sense, Shadows can be seen as both corporeal operation—bound to the physical cycles of earth, moon and sun—and metaphysical entity, alluding to the primordial darkness before the birth of light and matter. The allegory of the Shadow in Hard-Boiled Wonderland can be seen as a rumination on the loss of the metaphysical aspect of Self in a contemporary cybernetic age. In Murakami’s novel, the shadow cannot enter the walled Town; it must be left behind in the Shadow Grounds, the threshold between inner and outer realms. The Gateway, as described in Murakami’s novel, becomes the provocateur for this thesis. Interpreting Murakami’s architectural and allegorical program of the Gateway and Shadow Grounds in relation to Penelope Haralambidou’s seminal article “The Allegorical Project: Architecture as Figurative Theory”, this design-led research investigation interrogates the use of the Allegorical Architectural Project as a critical method. Allegory provides a structure of thought whereby meaning is not grasped immediately, but rather through progressive discovery and continual interpretation of its ambiguous traits. Ambiguity in architecture has the ability to appear ever-changing, resist resolution and remain open to interpretation. The methodology of the investigation explores the spatial realm of the shadow through the critical and creative process of drawing. The principal aim of this thesis is to journey into the darkness, to embrace the shadow of the unknown, searching for a space in-between—between light and shadow, architecture and art, reality and fiction, the constructed and the imagined. Using Haruki Murakami’s Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World as a generator and provocateur, the research employs the notion of the shadow as both mythological entity and corporeal signifying process. Rather than seeking concrete conclusions, it posits a speculative allegorical architectural project that invites critical engagement and interpretation. It argues that architecture occupies the liminal position between darkness and light, the true place of human existence, and as such, the design of Shadow is essential to the meaningful design of architecture. The thesis investigation asks: how can the speculative architectural drawing be used as a means of interrogating the realm, and enhancing our awareness of, the shadow in architecture?</p>

H63D: The Other Mutation (2021 version)

In 2010, the Iron Disorders Institute published the first seminal article on the underestimated risk of a homozygous HFE gene H63D mutation. This short but important article has lost none of its relevance. Since it is in danger of being forgotten and disappearing from more and more websites, we are publishing a reprint of the still seminal article, expanded with some new findings.

On dance dramaturgy

In 1994, Marianne Van Kerkhoven, the Flemish godmother of dance dramaturgy wrote a short, seminal article on the subject – ‘Looking without pencil in the hand’ – of which the title alone is already a manifesto. This contribution builds further on Van Kerkhoven’s insights: how the dramaturge has to stay necessarily invisible in the creative process (s)he is supporting; how in order to capture this invisible role, a lot of metaphors have been created. It continues with looking at the different roles of the authors’ own practice: that of somatic witness, dialogue partner and editor. It concludes reasserting the practice of the (dance) dramaturge as a creative practice in which the whole body is involved and in which somatic proximity to the creative process is as important as critical distance.

The History of Eduard Pernkopf’s "Topographische Anatomie des Menschen"

This historical article by Professor David Williams first appeared in the Journal of Biocommunication in 1988. Based on the author's own experiences with Pernkopf illustrator Franz Batke in 1980 and 1981, the article offered the first historical overview of Eduard Pernkopf’s "Topographische Anatomie des Menschen." The author offers insight into the personal lives and unique work of the Pernkopf illustrators. The Editors wish to thank David for allowing the Journal to republish this seminal article. Original 1988 Abstract:Frequently misunderstood because of the history of the time in which it was produced, Eduard Pernkopf's Topographische Anatomie des Menschen nevertheless represents the pinnacle of color anatomic illustration. The more than 800 magnificent watercolor paintings of human anatomy found in Pernkopf's atlas occupied a number of Viennese artists for three decades. This article closely examines the work and its creators.

Commodification of Urban Space and the Image of ‘New’ Istanbul

This study aims to identify the urban transformation strategy implemented in Istanbul for the last 15 years as a tool to promote the ‘new’ city discourse. This marking strategy leads to a thoroughly manipulated or re-written urban texture, constructed through concepts of identity, context and historicism. By decoding its actors, their roles, and branding images of five selected urban projects which relied on a top-down approach, the research exposes the implicit and explicit targets behind the political discourse of ‘new’ İstanbul. Through a qualitative content analysis of branding images and promotional media, the research focuses on the unseen agenda of the governing authority concerning the urban image and the state economy, which, on the contrary, undermines legitimate laws covering disaster mitigation. The conceptual framework of the study draws on Tafuri’s (1969) seminal article "Toward a Critique of Architectural Ideology" to deepen our examination of the leading forces of urban ideology that are reshaping the city. The article aims to spark a debate over the ‘new’ Istanbul discourse and its planning practices through its re-reading of urban projects, the field of architecture and planning, development strategies, and their relevant actors.

Commodification of Urban Space and the Image of ‘New’ Istanbul: Decoding the prevailing discourse

This study aims to identify the urban transformation strategy implemented in Istanbul for the last 15 years as a tool to promote the ‘new’ city discourse. This marking strategy leads to a thoroughly manipulated or re-written urban texture, constructed through concepts of identity, context and historicism. By decoding its actors, their roles, and branding images of five selected urban projects which relied on a top-down approach, the research exposes the implicit and explicit targets behind the political discourse of ‘new’ İstanbul. Through a qualitative content analysis of branding images and promotional media, the research focuses on the unseen agenda of the governing authority concerning the urban image and the state economy, which, on the contrary, undermines legitimate laws covering disaster mitigation. The conceptual framework of the study draws on Tafuri’s (1969) seminal article "Toward a Critique of Architectural Ideology" to deepen our examination of the leading forces of urban ideology that are reshaping the city. The article aims to spark a debate over the ‘new’ Istanbul discourse and its planning practices through its re-reading of urban projects, the field of architecture and planning, development strategies, and their relevant actors.