Understanding Hoards

The importance of coin hoards makes it imperative to study them properly. After classifying eight different kinds of hoards, this chapter shows how some historians and numismatists have not treated the evidence carefully. For example, the “Marner Paradox” warns against our natural impulse to reconstruct in detail the identities and lifestyles of hoarders. It is also important to remember that it is the non-recovery of buried treasure that is meaningful and measurable. Coin hoards are best investigated collectively rather than individually. In this way, certain categories of hoards provide a Misery Index that can illuminate changing historical conditions and the responses of populations to them. An example is the No-Tomorrow scenario faced by the victims of Vesuvius. Finally, hoard data are used to calculate how quickly the gold of Alexander the Great disappeared from circulation.

Reflectivity relates differently to pro sociality in naïve and strategic subjects

Is pro sociality a natural impulse or the result of a self-controlled behavior? We investigate this issue in a lab in the field experiment with participants from the general adult population in Italy. We find two key results: first, that there is a positive relationship between pro sociality and strategic reasoning. Second, that reflectivity relates to lower pro sociality but only among strategic subjects, indicating that the intuitive view of pro sociality is valid only among strategic individuals. Non-strategic individuals are instead intuitively selfish. We surmise that these results emerge due to a common cognitive root between strategizing and pro sociality, namely empathy.

THE ARISTOTELIAN LEGISLATOR AND POLITICAL NATURALISM

Aristotle's assertion in Politics 1.2 that there is a natural impulse to form political communities is immediately contraposed with the claim that the person responsible for their foundation is the cause (αἴτιος) of the greatest of goods (Pol. 1253a33). The attribution of an essential role to the legislator as an efficient cause appears to clash, however, with Aristotle's political naturalism. If the polis exists by nature and humans are by nature political animals (1253a1–2), then the question arises as to why active intervention by the legislator is necessary for a polis. Conversely, if the polis is an artefact of practical reason, then Aristotle's distinction between products of the intellect and natural entities seems to preclude the status of the polis as natural. In light of this apparent tension between different aspects of Aristotle's account of the origins of political communities, the current paper seeks to demonstrate their reconcilability. Section 1 considers the role of the Aristotelian legislator in light of broader Greek assumptions regarding law-making. Section 2 then considers the status of law-making expertise (νομοθετική) as part of political science (πολιτική) and examines the mode of practical reason that is exercised by the legislative founder. Finally, in section 3, and building on recent interpretations which have emphasized that Aristotle operates with an extended teleological conception of nature, I argue that acts of legislative founding and nature can consistently serve as joint causes of the polis, because the ‘products’ of the practical rationality of the architectonic legislator are themselves an expression of distinctly human nature.

Diversion

Having established that Christianity, through the doctrine of the Fall, throws light on the contradictions of human nature, Pascal turns his attention to its capacity to satisfy our desire for happiness. He begins by arguing that our particular day-to-day activities are driven, first, by the desire to keep at bay painful reflections on our vulnerable and mortal condition, and, secondly, by the desire to gratify our vanity. This applies both to recreational activities and to work. This analysis is subjected to critical examination: Pascal has overlooked our natural impulse to exercise our capacities and to find pleasure in the exercise. But the question as to the ultimate value of these activities remains.

‘The Protectorate of the World’: the Problem of Just Hegemony in Roman Thought

Contemporary normative theory is understandably reluctant to consider how a hegemonic power ought to conduct itself. After all, a truly just international order, characterised by principles of freedom and equality among nations, would not include one polity so able to dominate others. The natural impulse of normative theorists then is to seek to eliminate such an imbalance. Yet, a sober assessment of political reality provides little prospect for such aspirations. The more modest alternative is to examine how hegemonic power might be wielded responsibly. For most of the history of Western political thought, the problem of just hegemony was more theoretical than real, leaving few serious philosophical precedents. Yet for Roman thinkers, of both the late Republic and the early Empire, the issue presented a real and urgent problem. In this article I explore some of the attempts of Roman philosophers and historians to grapple with the unique position of the Roman state. In many cases, their theories depend in some way on Rome’s alleged special moral or constitutional qualities – and yet, they often recognised that the realities of Rome’s use of power undermined those claims to exceptionalism. I examine the Romans’ responses to this problem as they sought to think through the moral dilemmas of their situation. In classical Roman thought, we might find an interlocutor for our own attempt to think through the ethics of superpower.

Possibility of application of the method of observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the earth for allocation of watered faults on the example of Yeristovo quarry

One of the important tasks of operating the Yeristovo iron ore deposit is to reduce the level of water inflows, which complicate its development. The article presents the results of applying the express method of observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth to isolate flooded faults in areas adjacent to the Yeristovo quarry. The features of the geological and tectonic structure of the territory of the Yeristovo field are considered. According to the tectonic map of Ukraine, the main deep faults characteristic of Srednepridneprovsky and Ingulsky megablocks of the Ukrainian shield in the area of study sites are highlighted. A method for conducting field studies by observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth is presented. The studies were performed using equipment such as a radio wave indicator of the stress-strain state of rocks according to a previously developed technique. According to the results of the field studies, for the first time, maps of the density of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth flux were constructed for this area, which made it possible to isolate and trace the positions of watering faults. In addition, to visualize the most difficult fragments of the structure of the plots, three-dimensional models were built. Four zones of reduced values of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth (less than 3 conventional units) were identified on the studied areas. They are characterized by: the western tectonic disturbance - has a width of about 60 m and a strike azimuth of 3-5˚. The tectonic disturbance following it to the east is about 50 m wide and the strike azimuth is also 3-5˚. It is followed by an insignificant tectonic disturbance, which inherits the direction of the Krivyi Rih-Kremenchug break and has a width of about 20 m. In the east of the studied sites, there is a tectonic disturbance with a strike azimuth of 3-5˚, about 20 m wide. Since the azimuths of the strike of the identified tectonic disturbances coincide with the Main and Yeristovo faults characteristic of this territory, the identified faults are their feathering. On the basis of the conducted research, it is possible to recommend the use of water catching wells using a reasonably economical and reliable method of observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth. It is advisable to lay them in the zones of minimum values of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth, within the southern parts of the research sites. The use of advanced observations will avoid unproductive costs when drilling water-reducing wells.

Application of the method of observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth to trace watered faults on the example of Yeristovo quarry

The article presents the results of applying the express method of observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth to isolate flooded faults in areas adjacent to the Yeristovo quarry. The features of the geological and tectonic structure of the territory of the Yeristovo field are considered. According to the results of the field studies, for the first time, maps of the density of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth flux were constructed for this area, which made it possible to isolate and trace the positions of watering faults. In addition, to visualize the most difficult fragments of the structure of the plots, three-dimensional models were built. On the basis of the conducted research, it is possible to recommend the use of water catching wells using a reasonably economical and reliable method of observing the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth. It is advisable to lay them in the zones of minimum values of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth, within the southern parts of the research sites. The use of advanced observations will avoid unproductive costs when drilling water-reducing wells.

Study of the ravine-gully system of the city of Dnipro with the aim of returning them territories to the urban infrastructure

The article provides an analysis of the state of individual fragments of a ravine-gully system in the right-bank part of the city of Dnepr and its impact on the urban infrastructure. Examples of the successful use and construction of ravines with buildings and structures are considered. According to the results of the survey by the method of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth, a map-scheme of the flux density of the natural impulse electromagnetic field of the Earth was constructed in the area adjacent to the Monument of Glory, showing the presence of a previously covered ravine. The deformation processes that are observed on the eastern side of the Monastyrska gully are analyzed. Methods for strengthening landslide-prone slopes are considered.

About the concept of a worldview at the Lviv-Warsaw School (the Ukrainian branch)

In this paper the author discloses the concept of a worldview and clarifies it’s meaning for humans from the Ukrainian representatives’ the Lviv-Warsaw School (LWS) (1895-1939) point of view. The subject of the article is determined on the one hand by the contemporary “battle for the philosophy” in Ukraine and on the other hand – by the attention of the LWS philosophers to the question of the essence of the worldview, caused by positivism that denied autonomy and peculiarity of man’s spiritual world and defined metaphysics as “conceptual poetry” or religious faith. The analysis of philosophical-pedagogical reflections on the worldview by Ilarion Sventsitskyi, Havryil Kostelnyk, Stepan Baley, Yakym Yarema, Oleksandr Kulchytskyi has been done in the paper. At the same time, a comparative analysis with the views of the Polish representatives of the LWS on the same topic, namely, with the views of Kazimierz Twardowsky, Yan Lukasevich and Tadeusz Kotarbinsky was conducted. It was found that the Ukrainian LWS representatives’ “worldview” is man’s desperate impulse to embrace the world as a whole. The worldview is person’s step to the highest living goods: wisdom and happiness. Such LWS philosophers’ approach to the essence of the worldview is based on a natural impulse of an unselfish desire to know the mystery of the world. Therefore, every human being has the ability to reflect the world in his/her own “I”. Special attention is paid to the fact that the representatives of the LWS defined the “worldview” as independent and autonomous. And only under such circumstances it can guarantee to a person cognition of the truth and creating the moral ideal. That, according to the Ukrainian scientists, can be promoted by acquaintance with the history of worldviews – metaphysics. This, in turn, leads to the interest of the general public, as well as its introduction into the curricula of secondary and higher schools. Undoubtedly, this involves a well-balanced approach to its study, which does not include learning other people’s views on the world, but promoting the design of their own.

“Gentleman from Mississippi”

This chapter is an essay which looks at William Faulkner's novel Pylon, the story of a group of barnstormers who are typically Faulknerian in their curiously compelling sympathies which transcend a natural impulse of disgust. The characters include a pilot, a parachute-jumper, and a woman shared by the two, as well as a little boy whose parentage is settled by a throw of the dice, a mechanic, and a newspaperman. The barn-storming group is competing with a worthless old crate for a speed trophy at an aviation meet in the city of New Valois. The text praises Pylon, saying that “it is pleasant to adventure into the imagination of the curious gentleman from Mississippi”.