Heterogeneity within MDD has hampered identification of biological markers (e.g., intermediate phenotypes, IPs) that might increase risk for the disorder or reflect closer links to the genes underlying the disease process. The newer characterizations of dimensions of MDD within Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains may align well with the goal of defining IPs. We compare a sample of 25 individuals with MDD compared to 29 age and education matched controls in multimodal assessment. The multimodal RDoC assessment included the primary IP (...) biomarker, positron emission tomography (PET) with a selective radiotracer for 5-HT1A ([11C]WAY-100635), as well as event-related functional MRI with a Go/No-go task targeting the Cognitive Control network, neuropsychological assessment of affective perception, negative memory bias and Cognitive Control domains. There was also an exploratory genetic analysis with the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and monamine oxidase A (MAO-A) genes. In regression analyses, lower 5-HT1A binding potential (BP) in the MDD group was related to diminished engagement of the Cognitive Control network, slowed resolution of interfering cognitive stimuli, one element of Cognitive Control. In contrast, higher/normative levels of 5-HT1A BP in MDD (only) was related to a substantial memory bias toward negative information, but intact resolution of interfering cognitive stimuli and greater engagement of Cognitive Control circuitry. The serotonin transporter risk allele was associated with lower 1a BP and the corresponding imaging and cognitive IPs in MDD. Lowered 5HT 1a BP was present in half of the MDD group relative to the control group. Lowered 5HT 1a BP may represent a subtype including decreased engagement of Cognitive Control network and impaired resolution of interfering cognitive stimuli. Future investigations might link lowered 1a BP to neurobiological pathways and markers, as well as probing subtype-specific treatment targets. (shrink)

O Katulu vemo zelo malo zanesljivega in celo večino tega je treba razbrati iz njegovega lastnega literarnega dela. To je vedno tvegan pristop, ki mu kritika danes večinoma nasprotuje (četudi je kritika vedno spremenljiva in znaki teh sprememb so že v zraku). Toda po drugi strani vemo kar precej o zadnjem stoletju rimske republike, o času torej, v katerem je Katul preživel svoje kratko, a intenzivno življenje, in o številnih javnih osebnostih, tako iz sveta književnosti kot politike, ki jih je (...) štel med svoje prijatelje ali sovražnike. Tako kot Byron, ki je bil Katulu v nekaterih pogledih podoben, se je gibal v krogih visoke družbe, imel je radikalna stališča, ne da bi se aktivno politično udejstvoval, ter je pisal poezijo, ki daje vtis, da je nastala kot odziv na družbeno dogajanje, literarne tokove ali zasebne škandale takratne aristokracije. (shrink)

For a long time Romanticism stood in the shadow of German Idealism. Hegel's criticisms were particularly decisive. Lately, Romanticism has been rehabilitated, above all as a philosophically independent alternative to the systematic thought of Idealism, and has been revealed to be a source for modern thought which has yet to be exhausted.Against this background volume 6 of the International Yearbook of German Idealism pursues the many and diverse interrelations between Romantic thought and post-Kantian philosophy.Contributions from: Andreas Arndt, J.M. Bernstein, Faustino (...) Fabbianelli, Hans Feger, Manfred Frank, Peter Grove, Jane Kneller, Andreas Kubik, Elisabeth Millán-Zaibert, Judith Norman, Volker Rühle, Alison Stone, Violetta Waibel. (shrink)

Bu makale, İslamofobik söylemin Amerikan siyasetinin ayrılmaz bir parçası haline nasıl geldiğini, İslam ve Müslümanlar hakkındaki Amerikan siyasi söyleminin, özellikle 11 Eylül terör saldırılarından sonra İslamofobinin artışını nasıl etkilediğini ve İslamofobinin Amerikalıların desteğini toplamak ve Amerikan askeri işgalleri de dahil olmak üzere Amerikan emperyal emellerini meşrulaştırmak için siyasi bir araç olarak nasıl kullanıldığı incelemektedir. “Batılı” kimliğinin öteki algısındaki İslam karşıtlığı, 11 Eylül olayları ile birlikte yeni bir ivme kazanırken, Amerikan politik söylemi de -parallel bir şekilde- İslamafobi üzerinden doğu batı ayrımını (...) keskinleştirmeye çalışmıştır. 11 Eylül’den sonra Amerikan siyasi söylemi sadece İslamofobiyi bir politika olarak benimsemekle kalmadı, aynı zamanda başkanlar tarafından imzalanan düzenlemeler ve yasalarla Müslamanlar üzerindeki baskının artmasına sebep oldu. Bu Müslamanları hedef alan bu politik düşünce, temel tezlerini Edward Said’in eleştirdiği Şarkiyatçılıktan (Oryantalizm) almaktaydı. Başka bir deyişle, Edward Said’in Oryantalizm teorisinin ana ilkeleri, 11 Eylül’den sonra ortaya çıkan İslamofobik siyasi söylemle paralellik göstermektedir. Bu açıdan makale, 11 Eylül sonrası Müslümanlar ve İslam hakkındaki Amerikan siyasi söyleminin (güç-bilgi-hakimiyet) ve Amerikalılar arasında artan İslamofobinin nasıl birbirine bağlı ve içiçe olduğunu göstermek için Edward Said’in Oryantalizm teorisini kullanmaktadır. Ayrıca, Amerikan politik söyleminin Müslümanları ötekileştirmek için kullandığı anlatım ve kavramların (“terörist”, “aşırılıkçı” ve “düşman” gibi) orientalist ve sömürücü Batı geleneğinin devamı olduğunu göstermek için söylem analizinden bir yöntem olarak yararlanmaktadır. (shrink)

Delilci kötülük argümanları, teizme karşı sunulan en güçlü argümanların başında gelmektedir. Bu argümanlar arasında gereksiz ve anlamsız kötülük türlerini merkeze alan argümanlar özellikle önemlidir. Edward H. Madden ve Peter Hare gereksiz kötülük üzerine bir argüman formüle ederken, William Rowe anlamsız kötülük üzerine argümanlar geliştirmiştir. Madden ve Hare argümanlarını altmışlarda, Rowe ise yetmişlerde öne sürmüş olsalar da İslam düşüncesinde gereksiz ve anlamsız kötülük kavramına ışık tutabilecek bir teori bulunmaktadır. Bu tür kötülükleri açıklamak için öne sürdüğüm teori, ivaz teorisidir. Bu makalede (...) ivaz teorisinin nedensiz ve anlamsız kötülükleri nasıl açıklayabileceğini inceleyeceğim. (shrink)

Paul Goodman, 1960’larda modern Amerikan toplumunun organize sistemi içerisinde dönemin gençliğinin sorunlarını ön plana çıkaran ‘Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized System’ (Saçmayı Büyütmek: Organize Sistemde Gençliğin Problemleri, 1960) eseri ile sosyal bir eleştirmen olarak ön plana çıkmıştır. Amerikalı bir düşünür olan Paul Goodman’ın kısa öyküler, romanlar, şiirler ve makalelerden oluşan çalışmaları, siyaset, sosyal teori, eğitim, kentsel tasarım, edebi eleştiri, hatta psikoterapi gibi geniş bir yelpazeye dağılmıştır. Onun temel argümanı (1960: 9-10) tek bir merkez etrafında örgütlenen teknoloji (...) toplumunun başarısızlıklarını eleştirerek, mevcut düzenin insanın doğasına uygun bir biçimde yeniden inşasını vurgulamaktadır. Goodman’ın yeniden inşa süreci içerisinde insan doğasına önem veren faaliyete dayalı anarşist ideolojisi, sorumluluk duygusunun homojen bir şekilde bireyler arasında paylaşılması gerektiğini vurgular. Goodman merkeziyetçi olmayan siyaset anlayışı ile kendisini Amerikan siyasetinin ve kültürünün karşısında yer alan bir pozisyonda konumlandırmaktadır (Honeywell, 2011: 1). Diğer bir deyişle Goodman (1960: 36), anarşist geleneği formüle etmek amacıyla yirminci yüzyıl Amerikası’nın içinde bulunmuş olduğu mevcut durumdan yola çıkarak eleştirilerini ademi merkeziyetçilik, katılımcı demokrasi, özerk toplum temaları üzerine temellendirmiştir. -/- Goodman’a göre, sosyal, kültürel, ahlâk ve eğitim gibi alanlarda uygulanan kurallar günümüz devletlerini etkisi altına alan kapitalist düzen tarafından belirlenmektedir (Bakır, 2016: 110). Bu durum Goodman’ın da içerisinde bulunduğu anarşist düşünürler tarafından kabul edilebilecek bir husus değildir, çünkü anarşistler mevcut düzenin ve sosyal yaşamın otorite ve itaat yapılarıyla güçlendirilen belirli yaklaşımlar ile kontrol altına alınmasını, insanların fikirlerini özgürce ifade edemeyeceği, bir nevi entelektüel bir hapishane içerisinde yaşaması anlamına geleceğinden dolayı karşı çıkmaktadırlar (Sheean, 2003: 122). Aynı nedenlerden dolayı Goodman, modern liberalizm ve Marksizm gibi alternatif radikal ideolojileri yerinden yönetim düşüncesi ve sosyal mühendislik konusundaki eğilimleri dolayısıyla reddetmektedir. Goodman için anarşizm, özgürlük ve toplumsal değişime yeterli düzeyde arka çıkabilecek tek ideolojik çerçeve olarak görülmektedir. Ona göre (2010: 143), “anarşizm ya da daha iyisi, anarko-pasifizm (toplumsal değişim hareketleri içerisinde örgütlü şiddete ve kurumlara karşı çıkan anarşist anlayış) günümüzün gelişmiş toplumlarının bürokrasilerini, karar verme konusunda aşırı merkezîleşmelerini ve sosyal mühendislik gibi problematik durumlarını ve tehlikelerini tutarlı bir şekilde öngörmüştür”. -/- Siyaset, sosyoloji ve felsefe gibi çeşitli alanlar içerisinde etkili olan anarşist kuramlar, radikal bir söylem olarak eğitimcileri ve araştırmacıları yeni öğretilere ve uygulamalara teşvik etme konusunda itici bir güç oluşturabilmektedirler. Anarşist yaklaşımlardan eğitim kuramı ve araştırmalara yönelik daha belirleyici bir rol alması beklenmektedir, ancak bu yaklaşımlar mevcut radikal akademik görüşü büyük ölçüde etkisi altına alan Marksizm’in eğitim alanında göstermiş olduğu aynı etkiyi gösterememiştir. Anarşist düşünceleri eğitim alanı içerisinde daha etkili ve görünür kılabilmek amacıyla Paul Goodman, Francisco Ferrer ve Alexander Neill’ın ileri sürmüş olduğu çeşitli düşünceler, girişimler ve uygulamalar ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu doğrultuda Goodman’ın anarşizme ilişkin düşünceleri ile bu çalışma sıkı bir anarşizm tahlili, eleştirisi ve felsefesinden öte anarşist anlayışın eğitimdeki uygulanabilirliğine yönelik bir soruşturma içerisine girmekte ve anarşist yaklaşımın mevcut eğitim sistemlerinden hangi yönleriyle farklılaştığını, sonucunda etkili bir eğitim anlayışı ortaya koyup koyamadığını tartışmaktadır. (shrink)

Webrova vznemirljiva teza iz dela Protestanska etika in duh kapitalizma, ki sprva izgleda tako neverjetno, je bila od svoje prve objave deležna številnih kritik, spodbijajo pa jo vse do danes. Ena izmed številnih kritik, pa ostaja še posebej nepopustljiva: če je duh samoodpovedovanja primeren za kapitalistično podjetništvo, pa ekonomije ne poganjajo samo podjetniki; ekonomija potrebuje tudi potrošnike, ki so pripravljeni kupiti več od tega, kar predstavlja njihove dejanske potrebe. Po Benjaminu je kapitalizem religija brez dogme ali teologije in ni nič (...) drugega kot čisti kult. Kot takšen sestoji v nenehnem slavljenju vernika, ki svojo vero udejanja skozi porabo in potrošnjo. V nadaljevanju bi rad izpostavil tezo, da nam vzporejanje dveh momentov krize – krize Druge svetovne vojne in krize 2008 –, omogoča na novo osvetliti Webrovo slavno tezo o asketski naravi kapitalizma, ter podal novo razlago tega, zakaj investicijski kapitalizem in potrošniški kapitalizem sploh nista protislovna, temveč konec koncev popolnoma sovpadata. Med drugo svetovno vojno sta namreč vladi Združenih držav Amerike in Kanade izdali niz propagandnih plakatov, katerih cilj je bil zmanjšati porabo in preusmeriti finančne sile gospodinjstev v prid skupnega vojnega napora. Mnogi od teh plakatov, ki so jih naredili nekateri najbolj zviti oglaševalci tistega časa, so črpali iz najgloblje zakoreninjenih načel puritanizma Nove Anglije: dolžnosti samoomejevanja. Sporočilo je bilo v naslednjem: vaši prihranki bodo odrešljivi ob koncu vojne, to pa le malce premesti Calvinovo perspektivo varčevanja, ki omogočajo odrešitev v času ob koncu sveta. Danes bi bilo dobro, če bi premislili eshatološke implikacije teh prerokov, ki predpisujejo najboljše obnašanje ob dogodku konca krize. (shrink)

Recent arguments for relativist semantic theories have centered on the phenomenon of “faultless disagreement.” This paper offers independent motivation for such theories, based on the interpretation of predicates of personal taste in certain attitude contexts and presuppositional constructions. It is argued that the correct interpretation falls out naturally from a relativist theory, but requires special stipulation in a theory which appeals instead to the use of hidden indexicals; and that a hidden indexical analysis presents problems for contemporary syntactic theory.

This article is concerned with the principle of compositionality, i.e. the principle that the meaning of a complex expression is a function of the meanings of its parts and its mode of composition. After a brief historical background, a formal algebraic framework for syntax and semantics is presented. In this framework, both syntactic operations and semantic functions are partial. Using 20 the framework, the basic idea of compositionality is given a precise statement, and several variants, both weaker and stronger, as (...) well as related properties, are distinguished. Several arguments for compositionality are discussed, and the standard arguments are found inconclusive. Also, several arguments against compositionality, and for the claim that it is a trivial property, are discussed, 25 and are found to be flawed. Finally, a number of real or apparent problems for compositionality are considered, and some solutions are proposed. (shrink)

Everyone allows that human and animal minds are distinctively (indeed, massively) different in their manifest effects. Humans have been able to colonize nearly every corner of the planet, from the artic, to deserts, to rainforests (and they did so in the absence of modern technological aids); they live together in large cooperative groups of unrelated individuals; they communicate with one another using the open-ended expressive resources of natural language; they are capable of cultural learning that accumulates over generations to result (...) in science, art, and agriculture; and they are remarkably thoughtful and inventive. There is much less agreement about how these manifest differences should be explained, however. (shrink)

Propositional quantifiers are added to a propositional modal language with two modal operators. The resulting language is interpreted over so-called products of Kripke frames whose accessibility relations are equivalence relations, letting propositional quantifiers range over the powerset of the set of worlds of the frame. It is first shown that full second-order logic can be recursively embedded in the resulting logic, which entails that the two logics are recursively isomorphic. The embedding is then extended to all sublogics containing the logic (...) of so-called fusions of frames with equivalence relations. This generalizes a result due to Antonelli and Thomason, who construct such an embedding for the logic of such fusions. (shrink)

In this article, Peter and Rowland explore the role of implicit statistical learning in syntactic development. It is often accepted that the processes observed in classic implicit learning or statistical learning experiments play an important role in the acquisition of natural language syntax. As Peter and Rowland point out, however, the results from neither research strand can be used to fully explain how children's syntax becomes adult‐like. They propose to address this shortcoming by using the structural priming paradigm.

Troubling Reason: Notes from Underground Revisited -- Love, Attention and Teaching: The Brothers Karamazov -- Passion as a Quality of Education: The Death of Ivan Ilyich -- Education, Rationality and the Meaning of Life: Tolstoy's Confession -- Pedagogy of the Gaze: An Educational Reading of Lolita -- Education Arrayed in Time: Nabokov and the Problem of Time and Space -- Conclusion: Literature, Philosophy and Education.

Abstract A growing number of theorists have argued that toleration, at least in its traditional sense, is no longer applicable to liberal democratic political arrangements—especially if these political arrangements are conceived of as neutral. Peter Jones has tried make sense of political toleration while staying true to its more traditional (disapproval yet non-prevention) meaning. In this article, while I am sympathetic to his motivation, I argue that Jones’ attempt to make sense of political toleration is not successful. Content Type (...) Journal Article Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s11158-012-9177-3 Authors Peter Balint, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2602, Australia Journal Res Publica Online ISSN 1572-8692 Print ISSN 1356-4765. (shrink)

Peter Schouls examines the role played by the concepts of freedom, mastery, and progress in Descartes' writings, arguing that these ideas express a vital and ...

Newton deplored speculation in science, Einstein reveled in it. What exactly are scientific speculations? Are they ever legitimate? Are they subject to constraints? This book defends a pragmatic approach to these issues and applies it to speculations within science and to speculations about science.

Mihael Rabatta se je s svojim prijateljem Morandom Porcio odpravil k Božjemu grobu leta 1396 in zapustil kroniko potovanja, ki jo hrani Državni arhiv v Gorici. Iter sancti sepulcri je v prepisu leta 2007 v Pordenonu objavila Accademia San Marco. Dnevnik opisuje potovanje, ki je trajalo tri mesece, od 27. avgusta do 28. novembra leta 1396. Ohranile so se tudi risbe in skice nekaterih krajev. Posebna pozornost je bila namenjena odpustkom, ki so jih romarji prejeli ob obisku Jeruzalema in drugih (...) svetopisemskih krajev. Mihael Rabatta je kot vojak in diplomat od začetka sedemdesetih let 14. stoletja služil padovanskim gospodom Carrara in jim ostal zvest do padca Padove pod oblast Beneške republike leta 1405. V poslanskih krogih ni bil znan le v severnoitalijanskem prostoru, pač pa tudi v prvi vrsti na ogrskem kraljevem dvoru. Po njegovih diplomatskih veščinah so povpraševali tako oglejski patriarhi v Furlaniji kot grofje Goriški. Mihaelov oče Anton je v Gorico prišel iz Toskane. Rodbina je nosila ime po vasi Rabatta pri Borgu San Lorenzo. Poznosrednjeveško trojezično goriško okolje, v katerem je Mihael odraščal, je botrovalo njegovemu poznavanju tudi slovenskega in nemškega jezika. Kmalu po prihodu iz Svete dežele je Mihael od goriških grofov prejel v fevd grad Dornberk. Dornberški grad je tako postal jedro posesti družine Rabatta na Goriškem do izumrtja rodbine leta 1794. Marca 1398 je Mihael skupaj z bratom Ivanom, ki je bil glavar goriš­kega grofa Henrika IV., od papeža Bonifacija IX. izposloval dovoljenje za gradnjo cerkve sv. Duha pod goriškim gradom. Pri postavitvi je bil posredno udeležen še tretji brat, solkansko-goriški župnik Peter, kar priča o prestižu družine Rabatta v tedanji Gorici. (shrink)

It is widely acknowledged that the link between quantum language and ordinary language must be "fuzzier" than the traditional eigenstate-eigenvalue link. In the context of spontaneous-collapse theories, Albert and Loewer argue that the form of this fuzzy link is a matter of convention, and can be freely chosen to minimize anomalies for those theories. I defend the position that the form of the link is empirical, and could be such as to render collapse theories idle. This means that defenders of (...) spontaneous-collapse theories must gamble that the actual form of the link renders such theories tenable. (shrink)

In this paper, we consider three arguments for the irrelevance of the doctrine of double effect in end-of-life decision making. The third argument is our own and, to that extent, we seek to defend it. The first argument is that end-of-life decisions do not in fact shorten lives and that therefore there is no need for the doctrine in justification of these decisions. We reject this argument; some end-of-life decisions clearly shorten lives. The second is that the doctrine of double (...) effect is not recognized in UK law ; therefore, clinicians cannot use it as the basis for justification of their decisions. Against this we suggest that while the doctrine might have dubious legal grounds, it could be of relevance in some ways, e.g. in marking the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable practice in relation to the clinician's duty to relieve pain and suffering. The third is that the doctrine is irrelevant because it requires there to be a bad effect that needs justification. This is not the case in end-of-life care for patients diagnosed as dying. Here, bringing about a satisfactory dying process for a patient is a good effect, not a bad one. What matters is that patients die without pain and suffering. This marks a crucial departure from the double-effect doctrine; if the patient's death is not a bad effect then the doctrine is clearly irrelevant. A diagnosis of dying allows clinicians to focus on good dying and not to worry about whether their intervention affects the time of death. For a patient diagnosed as dying, time of death is rarely important. In our conclusion we suggest that acceptance of our argument might be problematic for opponents of physician-assisted death. We suggest one way in which these opponents might argue for a distinction between such practice and palliative care; this relies on the double-effect doctrine's distinction between foresight and intention. (shrink)

The thesis of this article is that an attitude akin to pragmatism is internal to the scientific enterprise itself, and as a result many scientists will make the same types of non-essentialistic interpretations of their subject matter that are made by pragmatists. This is demonstrably true with respect to those scientists who study the biological basis of emotion such as Panksepp, LeDoux, and Damasio. Even though these scientists are also influenced by what cognitive psychologists call the essentialist bias, their research (...) programs are coherent with Peter Zachar?s rejection of natural kinds in favor of practical kinds. When the confrontation with complexity leads a scientist to offer non-essentialist interpretations, two popular options are to go eliminativist or go nominalist. Pragmatists prefer the nominalistic option, and we provide reasons for suggesting that scientists should as well. (shrink)

A presentation of writings by and about Peter Eisenman, arguably the most significant architect working today. The book analyzes the whole spectrum of subjects covered in the architect/philosopher's oeuvre. Seminal texts are included that show how his theories have developed over time.

Drosophila males sing a courtship song to achieve copulations with females. Females were recently found to sing a distinct song during copulation, which depends on male seminal fluid transfer and delays female remating. Here, it is hypothesized that female copulation song is a signal directed at the copulating male and changes ejaculate allocation. This may alter female remating and sperm usage, and thereby affect postcopulatory mate choice. Mechanisms of how female copulation song is elicited, how males respond to copulation song, (...) and how remating is modulated, are considered. The potential adaptive value of female signaling during copulation is discussed with reference to vertebrate copulation calls and their proposed function in eliciting mate guarding. Female copulation song may be widespread within the Drosophila genus. This newly discovered behavior opens many interesting avenues for future research, including investigation of how sexually dimorphic neuronal circuits mediate communication between nervous system and reproductive organs. (shrink)

The goal of this paper is to promote what I call ‘the embedded thesis’ as a general constraint on how moral reasons behave. Dancy’s reason holism will be used as a foil to illustrate the thesis. According to Dancy’s reason holism, moral reasons behave in a holistic way; that is, a feature that is a moral reason in one context might not be so in another or might even be an opposite reason. The way a feature manages to switch its (...) reason status is by the help of a so-called enabler/disabler. The enabler in itself is not part of the reason, according to Dancy’s reason holism, for it can be either present or absent while the reason feature is present. To put the idea somewhat differently, Dancy’s reason holism presupposes what I call ‘reason individuation’, the view that features that function as reasons can be individuated from those that function as enablers. Yet, reason individuation cannot hold, or so I will argue, due to what I call ‘the embedded thesis’. According to the embedded thesis, the feature that serves as a moral reason in a context cannot be individuated independently from its embedded context while still retaining its reason status. If I am right about the embedded thesis, this will take the wind out of the sails of Dancy’s reason holism. More importantly, it will constitute, I argue, a general constraint on how moral reasons behave. (shrink)

Drawing on all the extant philosophical works of Miskawayh, including his well known Refinement of Character, this paper aims to determine his attitudes towards the psychological capacities and moral standing of non-human animals. Miskawayh most often mentions animals as a contrast to the rationality of humans, but also grants animals likenesses or lesser versions of typically human traits like virtues and friendship. It is argued that for Miskawayh, the teleological design of animals gives humans reasons to show them justice.

Introduction -- What is political judgment? -- Foundations: Plato and Aristotle -- The Kantian Problematic -- The Arendtian Theory of Judgment -- Hermeneutics, tacit knowledge and neo-rationalism.

In Navigating Everyday Life, Peter Adams explores the moments when everyday experience seems to open up spaces beyond what we normally experience. Adams draws on two philosophical concepts: finitude, the things that bind a person to a situation, and transcendence, the things that lie beyond these boundaries.

As one of the best known science narratives about the consequences of creating life, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an enduring tale that people know and understand with an almost instinctive familiarity. It has become a myth reflecting people’s ambivalent feelings about emerging science: they are curious about science, but they are also afraid of what science can do to them. In this essay, we argue that the Frankenstein myth has evolved into a stigma attached to scientists (...) that focalizes the public’s as well as the scientific community’s negative reactions towards certain sciences and scientific practices. This stigma produces ambivalent reactions towards scientific artifacts and it leads to negative connotations because it implies that some sciences are dangerous and harmful. We argue that understanding the Frankenstein stigma can empower scientists by helping them revisit their own biases as well as responding effectively to people’s expectations for, and attitudes towards, scientists and scientific artifacts. Debunking the Frankenstein stigma could also allow scientists to reshape their professional identities so they can better show the public what ethical and moral values guide their research enterprises. (shrink)

An ethnographic or ethnomethodological turn in the history of the human sciences has been a Holy Grail at least since Cooter and Pumphrey called for it in 1994, but it has been little realized in practice. This article sketches out some ways to explore the reception, use and/or co-production of scientific knowledge using material generated by mediators such as mass-market paperbacks, radio, TV and especially newspapers. It then presents some preliminary findings, tracing the prevalence and, to a lesser extent, use (...) of selected social-science concepts in the USA and the UK from the 1930s to the 1970s. (shrink)