Eumenides and the Invention of Politics

Recent scholarship has shown that the Eumenides of Aeschylus, far from presenting a complete and coherent picture of the well-ordered polis, in fact offers something quite different, namely, a complex set of questions, concerns and conundrums regarding the very nature of political society. But I suggest that the literature has not yet provided a fully satisfying account of the ways in which those questions are underwritten by the specifically literary practice of Aeschylus as it develops the play’s larger theoretical – especially moral – implications. I argue that the Eumenides can fruitfully be read as a sustained exercise in the subversion of expectations that unsettles its audience and thereby opens up a discursive and aesthetic space for the development of a distinctive political problematic; and further, that this problematic involves a challenging series of meditations on what today would be called political ethics, broadly conceived.

Neuroplasticity

As editor Bruce Tidor sets it in the preface of the book, published in the volume of the MIT Essential Knowledge series: ‘Synthesizing specialized subject matter for non-specialists and engaging critical topics through fundamentals, each of these compact volumes offers readers a point of access to complex ideas.’ (Costandi, 2016). In this book of the series Moheb Costandi provides the reader with a celar and coherent picture about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis . Not just at the level of theories and research results, but also regarding various stages of practical application. It is equally applicable for average people in areas of everyday life- adult education, lifelong learning, and mental training, too. Costandi’s book is decidedly good background material for Anders Hansen’s practical book ‘The Real Happy Pill: Power Up Your Brain by Moving Your Body’ (Németh, 2020).

Online disclosure of sexual victimisation: A systematic review

We map the available scientific literature on how and why victims of sexual violence are using digital platforms in the aftermath of victimisation. Twenty-four empirical studies on sexual victimisation and online disclosure were identified by systematically searching Web of Science and PsycINFO, checking reference lists and consulting authors about relevant publications. The literature on online disclosure of sexual victimisation does not yield a coherent picture. International literature pays limited attention to the various components of online disclosure like the characteristics of victims who disclosure online and the characteristics of the disclosure messages. Most studies focused on motivations for and reactions to online disclosure. Victims of sexual violence disclose sexual victimisation online to seek support, for clarification and validation, unburdening, documenting, seeking justice, informing others or commercial goals (individual-oriented disclosure) and to provide support, educate and as a form of activism (other-oriented disclosure). Responses to online disclosure are predominantly positive, containing advocacy and support. Negative responses are rare. This review provides a comprehensive overview of multidisciplinary empirical information and displays knowledge gaps in victimological research. Future research should use a robust quantitative and/or qualitative design with a substantial sample size, comparing victims who do disclose their sexual victimisation online with victims who do not, and compare disclosure on different online platforms to increase generalisability of the results. Potential for online informal support is identified, in which online disclosure can serve as a relatively safe alternative to offline disclosure. This offers important points of intervention for assistance and victim support by social workers in facilitating the use of the internet for support for victims of sexual violence.

I am large, I contain multitudes

En este trabajo exploramos las com-patibilidades e incompatibilidades entre dos enfoques del conocimiento distintos y de gran éxito. El primero es el análisis del conocimiento que ofrece el pragmatismo epistémico de Bran-dom [PE]. El segundo es el punto de vista que se deriva de la obra seminal de Fricker sobre la ética del conocimiento [EC]. [PE] y [EC] plantean con-cepciones complementarias de la aplicación del concepto de conocimiento que merecen preser-varse. Sin embargo, su mera superposición acu-mulativa produce disfunciones que exigen ciertos reajustes. Proponemos un tipo de interseccionalismo positivo, [IP], que da cuenta del hecho de que los individuos pertenecen simultáneamente a diversos grupos con condiciones epistémicas variables, algunas ventajosas y otras desventajo-sas. [EP], [EK] y [PI] conforman un cuadro rico y coherente sobre los sujetos como agentes epis-témicos plenos. We explore the compatibilities and incompatibilities between two highly successful approaches to knowledge: Brandom’s epistemic pragmatism, [EP], and the view that derives from Fricker’s seminal work on the ethics of knowing [EK] . [EP] and [EK] are complementary approaches that put forward aspects of the application of the concept that deserve to be preserved. Nevertheless, their mere cumulative superposition produces dysfunctions that call for certain readjustments. We propose a positive kind of intersectionalism, [PI], that accounts for the fact that individuals simultaneously belong to diverse groups with variable epistemic conditions, some advantageous, some disadvantageous. [EP], [EK] and [PI] make a rich and coherent picture of subjects as full epistemic agents.

Jacobitism, Coastal Policing, and Fiscal-Military Reform in England after the Glorious Revolution, 1689–1702

Customs activity during the 1690s has mainly been studied from a fiscal-military perspective that attributes administrative growth and bureaucratic efficiency to the rise of fiscal necessities in the wake of the Nine Years’ War. This article challenges that view with a focus on the one truly momentous change of the Customs during the 1690s: the establishment of a preventive coastal police. Changes in the Customs were occasioned not primarily by fiscal concerns but resulted from the government's preoccupation with Jacobitism and the successful lobbying of Parliament by the wool interest. As the politics of the wool ban before 1689 demonstrate, coastal policing was a losing bargain in fiscal terms and mainly reflected the interests of certain sections of the merchant community. Fiscal pressures alone do not, therefore, explain the fundamental reform of the Customs in the wake of the Glorious Revolution. The beginnings of systematic coastal policing are instead linked to the rise of Parliament and anti-Jacobite precautions of William III's government. The article offers a new, coherent picture of such changes and calls into question the validity of a central assumption about the rise of the fiscal-military state in Britain after the Glorious Revolution, suggesting a more complicated explanation for fiscal reforms.

Epistemology and Ethics in Zhuangzi

On a prima facia reading, Zhuangzi seems to endorse some form of skepticism or relativism. This seems at odds with Zhuangzi as one of the two main sources of classical Daoism, considering the ideals of virtue and self-development promoted by that philosophy. However, Zhuangzi’s metaphorical and allegorical style lends itself to a number of interpretations of his epistemology, as well as the kind of self-knowledge and ethical development it might allow. A survey of the relevant literature shows that the epistemological debate is not easily solvable, but by narrowing the range of interpretations, a coherent picture of his ethics begins to emerge, one in which some form of knowledge, especially self-knowledge, is still possible, as is an ethics of self-actualization.

Origins of Dissociations in the English Past Tense: A Synthetic Brain Imaging Model

Brain imaging studies of English past tense inflection have found dissociations between regular and irregular verbs, but no coherent picture has emerged to explain how these dissociations arise. Here we use synthetic brain imaging on a neural network model to provide a mechanistic account of the origins of such dissociations. The model suggests that dissociations between regional activation patterns in verb inflection emerge in an adult processing system that has been shaped through experience-dependent structural brain development. Although these dissociations appear to be between regular and irregular verbs, they arise in the model from a combination of statistical properties including frequency, relationships to other verbs, and phonological complexity, without a causal role for regularity or semantics. These results are consistent with the notion that all inflections are produced in a single associative mechanism. The model generates predictions about the patterning of active brain regions for different verbs that can be tested in future imaging studies.

A Harmony of Judeo-Christian Eschatology and Messianic Prophecy

This essay presents a selective overview of the main themes of Judeo-Christian eschatological prophecy. Particular attention is paid to the significance of successive biblical covenants, prophecies of the “day of the Lord,” differences between personal and collective resurrection, and expectations of the Messianic era. Although the prophets of the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament lived and wrote in diverse historical and social contexts, their foresights were remarkably consistent and collectively offered a coherent picture of the earth’s last days, the culmination of human history, and the prospects of the afterlife. This coherence reflects the interrelated character of Judaic and Christian theology and the unity of the Judeo-Christian faith.

Introduction

Seneca’s writings offer us our widest window into the intersection of the idea of philosophy as a way of life with Roman culture and politics. Seneca was himself alert to the tension between these two sources of moral guidance. His work traces a complex interplay between the two and aims to construct a coherent picture of the philosophical life through detailed engagement with the social context in which that life is lived and the socially constituted array of concepts through which it is delineated. Reconstructing his stance on the questions that emerge requires a combination of literary and philosophical approaches. This book will show that for Seneca the philosophical life can be described and defended only through the materials provided by the ambient community.

Before Kṛṣṇa

Mathura is famous for its association with Vāsudeva‒Kṛṣṇa, an important deity of the Hindu pantheon. However, apart from the sanctity attached to this place by Hindus, it has also provided conditions for the nurturing of Buddhist, Jaina, nāga and yakṣa traditions. This book engages in a wide range of epigraphic, archaeological and art historical data from the various sites in the Mathura area and weaves this to present a coherent picture of the variegated religious history of the area from c.600 CE to c.1000 CE, which witnessed various religions/cults/sects competing for attention and patronage. The chapters in this book have been divided according to religious traditions, namely, Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism, along with the Kṛṣṇa, yakṣa, nāga, and mātṛkā cults. It raises many important issues related to Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as well as older cults of the yakṣas and nāgas. The objects of donation ranged from images, stūpas, temples to tanks and gardens. Donations by monks and nuns; together with laity from different locations within and beyond Mathura, amply reflect on the social mosaic of the time. The role of monastics and laity, the nature of patronage, and the social and political underpinnings of the religious history are also examined, all within a long, diachronic frame. This book reveals the complexity of the religious history of Mathura to provide the reader a taste of its diversity and plurality.