After decades of Cold War stability, most participants experienced the collapse of communism in 1989-90 as an unforeseen “return of history.”1 The deep freeze of the Cold War made it seem that the East-West division had become permanent and that the best one could hope for was a gradual softening of the iron curtain. Repeated suppression of East European revolts by Soviet tanks and the failure of the communist parties in the West appeared to indicate that the domestic order of (...) the competing blocs would remain unchangeable. Just when most people had accepted the permanence of the post-war system. Gorbachev's…. (shrink)

While crises are omnipresent in history and historiography, the meaning of the concept of ‘crisis’ is becoming more elusive than ever. The authors scrutinise how historians use this concept with respect to contemporary history, the twentieth century and modernity in general. After briefly sketching the conceptual history of ‘crisis,’ the article addresses the questions of how the concept structures historiographical narratives, what types of crises historians distinguish, and whether we should retain the concept or refrain from using it, considering its (...) vagueness, suggestive power and political instrumentalisation. (shrink)

Graf Egge, der Protagonist in Ludwig Ganghofers Schloß Hubertus, und Andreas, die Titelfigur in Hugo von Hofmannsthals gleichnamigem Romanfragment, stehen in einer vergleichbaren Konstellation: Beide projizieren ihre vielfältigen triebhaften Wünsche, die sie in der Welt der sozialen Bezüge nicht ausleben können, auf die Welt der Tiere, die sie nach Gutdünken lieben, quälen oder töten, um so ihren Empfindungen Ausdruck zu geben. Darüber hinaus imaginieren sie sich selbst als Tiere. Schließlich bündeln beide Romane diese Konstellation in Schlüsselszenen, die auf dieselbe (...) Quelle zurückgehen, nämlich einen Bilderbogen Max Arco-Zinnebergs, der eine Adlerjagd im Jahr 1860 beschreibt. (shrink)

This article refers to the idea of Constitution, understood as a social contract. It is argued that the emergence of new actors in the Latin American constituent processes has made it possible to appreciate the Constitutions as increasingly complex pacts. It is not only a pact “between individuals” or “between citizens”, but it can also be understood as an agreement between cultures, between human beings and nature, and even between men and women. It ends by noting that, as new groups (...) participate in the constituent processes, the pacts will also become increasingly diverse, so that the concept of Constitution continues to be a concept in construction. (shrink)

This article addresses the topic of artistic mímēsis, and attempts to illuminate the contemporary discussion between two seemingly irreconcilable positions. The first, framed in a traditional interpretation of Aristotelian texts, considers the work of art as an imitation of nature, finding in it its only rule. The second, supported by a different interpretation, states that, according to Aristotle himself, artistic creativity is fictional, that is, independent of natural reality, and therefore debtor only of the artist’s subjectivity. However, when considering the (...) analogy between téchnē and phýsis, within Aristotle’s teleological worldview, it is possible to notice a kind of “common work” that harmonizes them. In this context, and advancing on the consideration of the mimetic poiésis, the philosopher’s texts allow an interpretation that, without detaching itself from the original naturalness of art and taking it as a guide, opens the horizon to the artist’s creativity. (shrink)

Most studies of academic inbreeding have focused on assessing its impact on scholarly practices, outputs, and outcomes. Few studies have concentrated on the other possible effects of academic inbreeding. This paper draws on a large number of studies on academic inbreeding to explore how the practice has been conceptualized, how it has emerged, and how it has been rationalized in the creation and development of higher education systems. Within this framework, the paper also explores how academic inbreeding shapes and maintains (...) a powerful academic oligarchy, leading to the stonewalling of both knowledge and institutional change to maintain social and political structures somewhat akin to those of medieval societies. The paper shows that the key to mitigating academic inbreeding practices lies in ensuring that academic recruitment processes are open, meritocratic, and transparent. However, a more difficult task is to change longstanding mentalities and disrupt a system that serves the interests of certain groups but not the advancement of knowledge or the fulfillment of universities’ social mandates. (shrink)

In “Mercier and Sperber’s Argumentative Theory of Reasoning: From Psychology of Reasoning to Argumentation Studies” (2012) Santibáñez Yañez offers constructive comments and criticisms of the argumentative theory of reasoning. The purpose of this reply is twofold. First, it seeks to clarify two points broached by Yanez: (1) the relation between reasoning (in this specific theory) and dual process accounts in general and (2) the benefits that can be derived from reasoning and argumentation (again, in this specific theory). Second, it suggests (...) one domain—the categorization of arguments—in which argumentation studies and the argumentative theory of reasoning could usefully complement each other to yield a better understanding of the processes of argumentation. (shrink)

The expression pain refers to a phenomenon intrinsic to individuals. The object of the language of pain is restricted to an individual experience which excludes any form of direct access by others. Speaking about pain is thus one of the most difficult forms of linguistic activities, as has been repeatedly pointed out by Wittgenstein. The difficulties involved in this type of communication are not only dependent upon individual linguistic ability but are also clearly reflected in the state and structure of (...) the linguistic means which are at the disposal of the speakers of a language. Linguistic means vary in status and complexity with respect to the ends which they can be used for.In this paper, I discuss two aspects of communicating pain : types of expression which are involved in speaking about pain, and linguistic activities which are carried out when speaking about pain. The two aspects are interrelated. My analysis makes use of categories belonging to the theory of linguistic activity and to the extended field theory of language. (shrink)

Friedrich Schleiermacher is among the philosophers who influenced Karoline von Günderrode's thought. Although this influence is relevant, it has received little attention. Both authors agree on distinguishing “spirit” and “body” or “the inner and the outer” in similar terms. However, there was a significant difference between them. In Schleiermacher's works that Günderrode considered (On Religion and Soliloquies), he conceives of the relationship as one in which the world or outer depends on the spirit or inner. For Günderrode, this relationship is (...) polar, as “spirit” and “world” form part of an original totality. This difference from the philosopher influences the issue that both raised of access to the “primordial ground.” For Schleiermacher, the world depends on spirit; the issue of access to that foundation is circumscribed to access to the spiritual dimension. In contrast, for Günderrode, “spirit” and “body” are poles of a previous original totality. Hence, access to the primordial ground does not coincide with the spirit's access to itself. Instead, access to unity is both spiritual and corporeal. Günderrode's differences from Schleiermacher are based on an argument we attempt to elucidate and evaluate in this article. (shrink)

El artículo debate un ensayo recientemente publicado sobre la doctrina liberal de la libertad de prensa y sus retos actuales. En primer lugar, presenta brevemente el recorrido histórico de la doctrina liberal que hace el ensayo, así como los principales retos a los que se enfrenta hoy esta doctrina por los cambios en los medios. Y luego pasa a discutir con más detalle qué instancia normativa debería contribuir más a mejorar los medios. Mientras que el ensayo insiste en el papel (...) del derecho por su mayor efectividad, el artículo defiende un protagonismo específico de la ética argumentando que: la disonancia entre doctrina y realidad no es exclusiva de ahora; la autorregulación tiene una función propia; el derecho también tiene limitaciones a la hora de mejorar la comunicación social y puede conllevar riesgos; y el déficit propio de nuestro país es más de cultura democrática y cívica que de leyes. (shrink)

The ethics of physical restraint in the Emergency Department has always been an emotive and controversial issue. Recently a vanguard of advocacy groups and regulatory agencies have...

The subject of this essay is the medieval castle present in Juliusz Siowacki’s literary works. I am interested in the ways оf its presentation, attempting to recall the climate of antiquity and the evolution of the picture of the castle. Therefore, I discuss the image of the castle created in the early works: the poetic novel Hugo (1829), the drama Mindowe (1832), as well as in the later works belonging to the so called mystical period: Wallenrod and Konrad (...) Wallenrod. Helsztyński lies beyond the scope of my interests as its research requires a different perspective. I present in Hugo a stereotypical model of forming architectural space Słowacki draws a very sketchy picture of the castle. He leads the reader into the interiors of a pagan temple and a representative hall with only one decorative element: famous pseudo-classical pillars. The picture of the castle is considerably enriched in Mindowe. First of all, the author enlarges its space. He adds a secret passage and furniture, mentions a treasury and a representative hall. This way he slightly violates the stereotype of an interior subordinated to the tragedy convention. Moreover, I emphasize here the way Słowacki compares the Gothic style to the creations of nature e.g. a hall with pillars is compared to a forest, rose windows to stars, a castle to an eagle’s nest. These comparisions tend to illustrate the architectural style - the Gothic and the atmosphere of Middle Ages. This essay shows that the picture of the castle was conceived in opposition to Mickiewicz’s castle presented in Grażyna and Konrad Wallenrod. The image of the castle in Wallenrod and Konrad Wallenrod varie from the early works. However, the fragmentation of these texts precludes any profound analysis of the problem The poet in Wallenrod associates architectural space with characters' personality: Wallenrod - gloomy Malbork, vindictive Jagiełło - bloody Vilnius, Kiejstut and noble Witold - sunny Troki. In the drama Wallenrod the characters’ “interiors” are somehow reflected in the interiors of the castle. The castle is given different significance in the fragments of Konrad Wallenrod, where it becomes the place of recognition of God’s truths. The pictures of Lithuanian castles is created mainly by stereotypes and poetic imagination hardly ever by descriptions of existing buildings. Słowacki did not manage to show the specific type of the castle in Troki in Hugo, although he was personally acquainted with the castle. The image of the castle in Nowogródek was influenced by the tragedy convention and Mickiewicz’s castle in Grażyna. In the later texts the poet lost his interests in architectural details. He focused on the character’s inside, or as in Konrad Wallenrod, on the importance of the word spoken by the prophet. (shrink)

RÜSEN, Jörn. Cultura faz sentido: orientações entre o ontem e o amanhã. Tradução de Nélio Schneider. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2014. 362 p.

El artículo aborda el desafío de una conceptualización de la realidad socio-histórica que rompa con la separación entre lo real como externalidad y el sujeto. Lo anterior pasa por redefinir la idea de objetividad. Se requiere encontrar un concepto de subjetividad constituyente que no sea operativo por reducciones al plano de las variables psicológicas, pero que tampoco se resuelva como simple expresión de procesos macrohistóricos. Desde un punto de vista metodológico, realza el contrapunto entre contenidos teóricos permanentes y la transitoriedad (...) de los sujetos. Se afirma que para poder armonizar desarrollo humano y desarrollo social, se requieren relaciones sociales que no impliquen dominación económica ni política. Llegado a esto, se pregunta: ¿Es que el capitalismo se esconde detrás de la democracia, por lo que ésta, en su propio nombre, se niega así misma? (shrink)

In many judicial systems, confessions are a requirement for criminal conviction. Even if confessions are intrinsically convincing, this might not entirely explain why they play such a paramount role. In addition, it has been suggested that confessions owe their importance to their legitimizing role, explaining why they could be required even when other evidence has convinced a judge. But why would confessions be particularly suited to justify verdicts? One possibility is that they can be more easily transmitted from one individual (...) to the next, and thus spread in the population without losing their convincingness. 360 English-speaking participants were asked to evaluate the convincingness of one of three justifications for a verdict, grounded either in a confession, eyewitnesses, or circumstantial evidence, and to pass on that justification to another participant, who performed the same task. Then, 240 English-speaking participants evaluated the convincingness of some of the justifications produced by the first group of participants. Compared to the other justifications, justifications based on confessions lost less of their convincingness in the transmission process. Modeling pointed to the most common forms the justifications would take as they are transmitted, and results showed that the most common variant of the justification based on a confession was more convincing. (shrink)

Das über das Bekanntmachen der von David Friedrich Strauss verfassten Glyptotheksepigramme hinauswachsende Buch schildert die Zeitumstände um die Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts in Süddeutschland und insbesondere in dem unter Ludwig I. aufblühenden München. Es veranschaulicht in exemplarischer Weise das über das eigentliche Fach des Verfassers, die Klassische Archäologie, hinausgehende breite Spektrum seines Schaffens.