The basic biological situation -- Credulity, and the skeptical tradition -- The early period -- Construction of the inner realm -- Brain, mind, religion -- Infantile amnesia -- Prayer and faith -- Angelic encounters -- Are we 'wired for God'?.

This comprehensive, psychological, and naturalistic analysis of prayer offers an alternative to William James's model of prayer. Faber analyzes religious faith psychologically and anthropologically, concluding that subjective prayer is finally an instance of homeopathic "magical" conduct. It ritualistically conjures up a version of the first, primal, biological situation, in which the dependent "little" one cries out to a parental "big" one for physical and emotional nourishment. Eventually, religion, and its expression of faith through prayer, provides us with a magical (...) protective presence that is natural in its return to the primal, rather than supernatural, as James argues, in its presence and existence. (shrink)

Recent research has relied on trolley-type sacrificial moral dilemmas to study utilitarian versus nonutili- tarian modes of moral decision-making. This research has generated important insights into people’s attitudes toward instrumental harm—that is, the sacrifice of an individual to save a greater number. But this approach also has serious limitations. Most notably, it ignores the positive, altruistic core of utilitarianism, which is characterized by impartial concern for the well-being of everyone, whether near or far. Here, we develop, refine, and validate a (...) new scale—the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale—to dissociate individual differences in the ‘negative’ (permissive attitude toward instrumental harm) and ‘positive’ (impartial concern for the greater good) dimensions of utilitarian thinking as manifested in the general population. We show that these are two independent dimensions of proto-utilitarian tendencies in the lay population, each exhibiting a distinct psychological profile. Empathic concern, identification with the whole of humanity, and concern for future generations were positively associated with impartial beneficence but negatively associated with instrumental harm; and although instrumental harm was associated with subclinical psychopathy, impartial beneficence was associated with higher religiosity. Importantly, although these two dimensions were independent in the lay population, they were closely associated in a sample of moral philosophers. Acknowledging this dissociation between the instrumental harm and impartial beneficence components of utilitarian thinking in ordinary people can clarify existing debates about the nature of moral psychology and its relation to moral philosophy as well as generate fruitful avenues for further research. (shrink)

Pancreatitis is a complex, progressively destructive inflammatory disorder. Alcohol was long thought to be the primary causative agent, but genetic contributions have been of interest since the discovery that rare PRSS1, CFTR and SPINK1 variants were associated with pancreatitis risk. We now report two associations at genome-wide significance identified and replicated at PRSS1-PRSS2 and X-linked CLDN2 through a two-stage genome-wide study. The PRSS1 variant likely affects disease susceptibility by altering expression of the primary trypsinogen gene. The CLDN2 risk allele is (...) associated with atypical localization of claudin-2 in pancreatic acinar cells. The homozygous CLDN2 genotype confers the greatest risk, and its alleles interact with alcohol consumption to amplify risk. These results could partially explain the high frequency of alcohol-related pancreatitis in men. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. (shrink)

This impressive and closely researched intellectual biography transcends the usual categories in which Le Bon has often been placed: a precursor of fascism and the originator of prescriptions for Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, or Stalin in their manipulation of the masses. Benoit Marpeau's concern is to present a valid historiographic account that involves both a closer and a wider view of Le Bon's prolific work. In recounting his intellectual journey , the author devotes no space to discussing Le Bon's personality. However, (...) Le Bon's dominant characteristics become clear: he was elitist, conservative, and anti‐Semitic; he valued the individual over the collective. Marpeau shows his sense of superiority to have been fragile, for his medical qualifications, at the start of his career, were minimal. He was a self‐styled “docteur.” His need to excel fueled his ambition to write on a variety of areas—scientific, psychological, sociological, educational—and on contemporary affairs.One of the major features of this biography is the importance that Marpeau attaches to the system of relationships in which Le Bon was involved. These centered on two regular social/intellectual reunions in which he was a key figure and organizer. Through these social events he was able to make useful connections that would advance both his social and intellectual status. Nevertheless, Le Bon remained outside the university domain; nor was his scientific work formally recognized by the Academy of Sciences; and he was overlooked for the Nobel Prize for science in 1903. If Le Bon was in some sense “marginal”—and Marpeau questions this description—he nevertheless exerted influence when he founded and became the director of the important Collection of the “Bibliothèque de Philosophie” published by Flammarion. Marpeau shows how this editorial post enhanced his standing and helped to disseminate his views, for Le Bon had the power to decide what could be published.The author also shows how Le Bon was a man of his times, for he reflected the views and interests held both by intellectuals and by a wider public. The idea of degeneration and the decadence of France was a particular concern. The scientific theory of recapitulation informed the hierarchy of races and defined both children and women, together with “primitive” races, as inferior. Le Bon endorsed these ideas, which were supported by craniometric studies.In his analysis of the most well‐known work, The Psychology of Crowds , Marpeau agrees in general with the thesis of Robert Nye , to which he makes some additions and qualifications. Marpeau does not see Le Bon as the originator of the methods of crowd manipulation, nor of the “offensive system” that the French military leaders later adopted.This biography is truly an intellectual one, constructed on historicist principles: hence the placing of Le Bon's work in its appropriate scientific and relational contexts. At various points Marpeau justifies a method that entails an examination in great detail of Le Bon's correspondence and the composition of his entourage at various stages of his life. However, this strategy is somewhat overstretched and produces accounts of undue length.This is not a book for readers interested in Le Bon's work or character. This is, rather, a biography for historians particularly interested in Marpeau's method and in historiographic issues. As such, it can serve as an example of commitment and thoroughness; it also offers an opportunity for the critical mind to assess the value of the various contributions that might explain an intellectual journey. (shrink)

The articles in this special issue of the Journal of Speculative Philosophy were selected from revised versions of papers that were originally presented at the fifty-ninth annual meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy in September 2021. This virtual conference took place on September 17–18 and 23–26 after the cancellation of the 2020 conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Bonnie Honig and Mel Y. Chen gave the SPEP 2021 Plenary Addresses and we are grateful to be able to include (...) Honig's plenary, "Taking Back the Camera: Race and Agonism in Mr. Deeds and The Fits" in this special issue. Thinking both with and against Stanley Cavell's and Giorgio Agamben's respective readings of... (shrink)

This book presents a new view point on some problems of semantics within the framework of the Meaning - Text model introduced to linguistics by I. A. Mel'čuk, A. K. Zolkovskij and Ju. D. Apresjan. In addition to some new formalisms and concepts it provides a great number of specific informal semantic analyses and thus gives a good idea of Apresjan's approach to semantics. Zsfassung in engl. Sprache: Types of information for the surface- semantic component of the 'meaning - text' (...) model. Zsfassung in engl. Sprache: Types of information for the surface- semantic component of the 'meaning - text' model. (shrink)

Résumé En juin 2010, lors de l’exposition organisée par la galerie Nelson-Freeman à Paris, on pouvait découvrir une série d’œuvres inédites de Mel Bochner : loin de ses travaux des années soixante et soixante-dix proches de l’art conceptuel, ces tableaux de mots, qui ne sacrifient rien à la matérialité de la peinture, marquent un véritable tournant dans l’œuvre de Bochner. Cet article se propose de suivre la ligne des transformations que trace cette exploration de la peinture depuis maintenant plus de (...) deux décennies : comment Bochner a-t-il mis ses stratégies conceptuelles à l’épreuve du médium pictural? (shrink)

IX. yüzyılda Horasan bölgesinde ortaya çıkan Melâmiyye, XXI. yüzyıla kadar varlığını sürdürmüştür. Hamdûn el-Kassâr’ın (ö. 884) temsil ettiği Melâmetiyye-i Kassâriyye, Hacı Bayram-ı Velî’nin (ö. 1430) halifesi Ömer Dede Sikkînî’nin (ö. 1475) temsil ettiği Melâmetiyye-i Bayramîyye ve Muhammed Nûrü’l-Arabî’nin (ö. 1888) temsil ettiği Melâmetiyye-i Nûriyye olarak 3 dönemde incelenmektedir. Melâmîliğin bu devrelerine dair akademik düzeyde çalışmalar yapılmış olsa da mûsikî yönüne dair çalışmaların çok az olduğu görülmüştür. Bu çalışmanın evreni Nûriyye Melâmîleri, örneklemi ise Nûriyye Melâmîlerine dair mûsikî ile ilgili çalışmaları kapsamaktadır. (...) Çalışmada Nûriyye Melâmîlerinin edebi ve sanatsal yönü araştırılmış, literatür taraması aşamasında Melâmî tekke ve derneklerinde icra edilen ilahilere güfte olarak kaynaklık eden Melâmî Efendilerine ait divanlar incelenmiştir. Çalışmamızın amacı Melâmî divanlarında yer alan ve ilahi formunda bestelenmiş güfteleri tespit etmek ve bu ilahilerin yaygınlığını belirlemektir. Nitel araştırma yöntemi kullandığımız çalışmamızda birincil veri kaynaklarını; Melâmîler tarafından bizzat kaleme alınan divanlar ve yine Melâmî ihvanı ile yapılan görüşmeler oluşturmaktadır. İkincil veri kaynaklarımız ise Melâmîlik hakkında yazılan tasavvuf kitapları, makaleler ve Melâmî derneklerinin resmi sayfalarında yer alan mevcut bilgilerdir. Tespit edilen divanlardaki bestelenmiş ilahiler için ise Melâmî Divanları, Devlet Nota Arşivi, Cüneyd Kosal Nota Arşivi, Divan Makam ve Notam v1.0 (Aytaç ERGEN) programı üzerinden taranmış, eşleşen ilahiler çalışmamıza dâhil edilmiştir. Nûriyye Melâmîlerine ait 14 adet divan incelenmiştir. Bu divanlar Abdurrahîm Fedâî, Ali Örfî, Ömer Lütfî, İştipli Hacı Salih Rıf’at, Abdulmâlik Hilmî, Hulûsi Maksud, Hüseyin Şemsi Ergüneş, Hasan Fehmi Tezdoğan, Üsküplü İsmail Hakkı, Hafız Ahmet Fethî, Hüseyin Sabri Soyyiğit, Ahmet Soyyiğit, Yaşar İhsan Gülver ve Dâvud Yılmaz’a ait divanın arasından 8 tanesinde yer alan 97 adet ilahinin notaya alındığı tespit edilmiştir. Verilerin değerlendirilmesi aşamasında; yapılan bu bestelerin hem Melâmî tekke ve meclislerinde hem de tekke dışında icra edildiği, bu bağlamda Nûriyye Melâmîlerinin edebi ve sanatsal yönünün tekke dışında da etkin olduğu görülmüştür. Araştırmanın sonucunda Abdurrahîm Fedâî Divanında yer alan 1’i nefes, 1’i deyiş (bu nefes ve deyişler ilahi formu altında listelenmiştir), 12’i ilahi olmak üzere toplam 14, Ömer Lütfî Divanında yer alan 1, Salih Rıf’at Divanında yer alan 2, Hasan Fehmi Tezdoğan Divanında yer alan 20, Üsküplü İsmail Hakkı’ya ait olduğunu tespit ettiğimiz 1, Ahmet Fethi Divanında yer alan 26, Ahmet Soyyiğit Divanındaki 21, Dâvud Yılmaz Divanındaki 12, toplamda 97 eserin ilahi formunda farklı bestekârlar tarafından bestelendiği tespit edilmiştir. (shrink)

XX. Quelques dédicaces de statues décernées par les empereurs. A partir du mot γέρας (statue honorifique) et de l'autorisation impériale, obligatoire depuis le IVe s. pour honorer de hauts fonctionnaires, plusieurs inscriptions mal comprises sont élucidées : SEG 8, 296 (Palestine) ; IG IV2, 692 (Épidaure) ; CIG III, 4158 (Sinope) ; Mél. Saint-Joseph, 1 (1906), p. 170, n° 36 (Beyrouth) ; BCH 21 (1897), p. 51, n° 45 (Haurân). XXI. La patrie du médecin Dioskouros, mort à Milan. Sur la (...) ville égyptienne de Gerra, appelée Géras au Bas-Empire. XXII. Deux inscriptions d'Asie Mineure et les consuls de 448 et 452. Sur une épitaphe d'isaurie (datée à tort de 479) et une dédicace des environs deChalcédoine. XXIII. Une inscription de Salamine de Chypre et les citations du psaume 90. A propos d'une citation biblique méconnue, on publie également deux amulettes inédites de la collection Froehner. (shrink)

Si la vie est une évolution, alors elle doit expliquer jusqu'à la connaissance, l'intelligence, la science et la technique de l'homme, l'homo faber ; si il y a en elle de la création, alors ce n'est pas un postulat extérieur, mais dans son histoire et dans notre vie même qu'on doit l'expérimenter. dans L'évolution créatrice, Bergson pousse ainsi la théorie de l'évolution et l'expérience de la " durée " jusqu'au bout, sans admettre ni une création transcendante ni une vie (...) sans émergence ou nouveauté. Les conséquences traversent toute la science, la théorie de la connaissance, et la philosophie, de 1907 à aujourd'hui. La première édition critique des œuvres de Bergson, dans laquelle s'inscrit le présent volume, répond à un double principe : offrir d'abord le texte intégral du livre tel que l'a publié Bergson, dans sa pagination de référence inchangée ; le compléter ensuite par un dossier comportant des notes historiques et philosophiques ainsi que les variantes éventuelles du texte, une table analytique de l'ouvrage, une série originale d'index, une anthologie des " lectures " majeures et une bibliographie commentée. (shrink)

La prima parte dell'articolo è stata pubblicata nella stessa rivista 2 443-501, cfr. MEL XIV 3554. La classificazione e l'ordinamento delle argomentazioni e delle soluzioni presenti nei commenti esaminati si fondano sulla distinzione di due concetti di infinito: l'infinito nel continuo e l'infinito nel numero. Segue un'analisi del problema relativo al confronto degli infiniti, un tema presente in molti dei commenti presi in esame. In Appendice viene fornito un elenco delle questioni relative a Fisica III, 4-8, ordinate, per temi dottrinali (...) o esegetici, in tre gruppi: 1) caratteristiche generali dell'infinito; 2) l'infinito nella quantità continua; 3) l'infinito nella quantità discreta. L'A. rileva che nelle trattazioni studiate è assente un'analisi specifica della nozione d'infinito. I commentatori non solo usano il termine «infinito» senza specificarne il significato, ma sembrano essere anche del tutto inconsapevoli di alcune difficoltà che, nella dottrina aristotelica, derivano dall'uso ambiguo del termine. Tali trattazioni arricchiscono tuttavia il dibattito sull'infinito sia attraverso la discussione di problemi non affrontati da Aristotele sia per la varietà di argomenti ed esempi formulati per spiegare le principali tesi di Fisica III, 4-8. (shrink)

Die Geschichte Europas wird spätestens seit der Aufklärung dominiert vom „Mythos des Fortschreitens“ (Sting). Fortschreiten bedeutet zunächst in einem formalen Sinne, die Dinge in einer spezifischen Weise wahrzunehmen, d.h. eine bestimmte Interpretation von Veränderungen vorzunehmen, dabei eine spezifische Richtung einzuschlagen, eine spezifische Betonung der Zukunft herauszustellen und letztlich ein spezifisches Ziel in der Zukunft zu realisieren zu suchen, wobei der Fortschritt nicht identisch mit der Erreichung des Ziels ist (Spaemann). Mit der Idee des Fortschritts gelingt eine Sicherung der Unvergeblichkeit jedes (...) Schrittes, wobei er jede seiner Phasen zur bloßen Vorstufe der ihr folgenden herunterstuft (Blumenberg). Mit ihm lässt sich die beste aller Welten noch vervollkommnen, weil das Ziel der Vollendung in die Optimierung integriert wird: Der Fortschritt kennt nur eigene Grenzen bzw. kennt er keine mehr, weil er die Bewegung der Grenzverschiebung ist. Daher kommt er auch nie ans Ziel. Und das gilt nicht nur für Wissenschaft und Technik, sondern auch für die Bildung und den Menschen: Dieser wird zu einem sich stetig selbst überbietenden und optimierbaren Wesen ernannt. Erst die Selbstermächtigung des Menschen als homo faber, eine nicht auf Transzendenz teleologisierte Geschichte und die Depotenzierung Gottes durch den Deismus machen den modernen Fortschritt möglich. Doch mittlerweile droht der Fortschritt „das Ziel zunichte zu machen, das er verwirklichen soll – die Idee des Menschen“ (Horkheimer). (shrink)

We propose a kernel method for using combinations of features across example pairs in learning pairwise classifiers. Pairwise classifiers, which identify whether two examples belong to the same class or not, are important components in duplicate detection, entity matching, and other clustering applications. Existing methods for learning pairwise classifiers from labeled training data are based on string edit distance or common features between two examples. However, if two examples from the same class have few common features, these methods have difficulties (...) in finding these pairs and achieving high recall. One typical example is to check whether two abbreviated author names in different citations refer to the same person or not. Since similarities between examples from the same class become close to zero, classifiers fail to distinguish positive pairs from negative pairs. One approach to avoiding the problem of zero similarities is using conjunctions of different features across examples, but implementing this idea straightforwardly makes the computational cost prohibitive for practical problems. Using a kernel on pair instances, our method can use feature conjunctions across examples without actually doing feature mappings, which are computationally expensive. The kernel is a tensor product of two inner products on the original feature space. The corresponding feature mapping generates conjunctions of features only across the two different examples while that of the conventional polynomial kernel also generates conjunctions of features from the same example, which are irrelevant to pairwise classification and cause deterioration of accuracy. Our experiments on the author matching problem show that this method can give a precision 4 to 8 times higher than that of previous methods at medium recall levels. (shrink)

Publication de 7 tombes, qui ont été découvertes en 1976 en trois points de Chalcis et à Panaghitsa au Nord-Est de la ville. Quatre d'entre elles, des tombes à fosse, n'avaient pas été violées et ont donné un grand nombre de vases ; les autres avaient été détruites et leur existence ne se déduit que de la présence d'offrandes dispersées. L'ensemble a donné 57 vases, la plupart miniatures. La tombe I date du protogéométrique ancien ; les tombes II et III (...) du proto-géométrique récent ; la tombe IV, particulièrement riche, du sub-protogéométrique II et les tombes II, VI et VII du sub-protogéométrique I-II. L'étude typologique de ces vases est complétée par celle des 16 vases qui étaient publiés dans les Mél. Orlandos II, p. 248 sqq., et qui sont maintenant datés à la lumière des trouvailles de Lefkandi. L'article s'achève par diverses observations topographiques et par une annexe donnant le catalogue des 7 vases du sub-protogéométrique II provenant de Théologos d'Eubée. (shrink)

Open science hardware (OSH) are prototypes of laboratory instruments that use open source hardware to extend the purely epistemic (improving knowledge about nature) and normative (improving society) ideals of science and emphasize the importance of technology. They remind us of Zilsel’s 1942 thesis about the artisanal origins of science and instrument making that bridged disciplinary and social barriers in the 16th century. The emphasis on making, tinkering, and design transcends research, reproducibility, and corroboration in science and pushes to the forefront (...) educational, emancipatory, and aesthetic and exploratory uses. I will use two recent projects, OpenDrop electrowetting platform and Open Source Estrogen that make but also reflect OSH’s playful, expressive, and performative strategies and define the present practices as “artisanal science.” These hybrid and ambiguous practices bridge divides between present disciplines and skills but they also define science as an everyday activity directly connected to the private and public interests of the citizens. To describe this epistemic and normative ambiguity of artisanal science, I employ Hannah Arendt’s 1958 critique of homo laborans and homo faber and claim that science artisans (citizen scientists, geeks, makers, and hackers) offer an alternative to professionalization of science as practiced in the university and R&D laboratories. Science artisans design and build instruments to engage in civic “vita activa” over instruments but also leisurely “otium” outside of the work and science labor. OSH in this sense empowers individuals and communities to explore new connections between scientific practices, public actions, and private interests (leisure). The science artisans strive for and explore sovereignty, dignity, and freedom in an age immersed in science and technology controversies by bridging the divides between art, science, engineering, and humanities. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The World as I Found It:Possibilities and Peculiarities about Speech and ConversationDavid WemyssIn November 2002, a series of tutorials was advertised within the University of Cambridge. Neville Critchley—a lecturer in philosophy with a reputation for preferring literature—placed advertisements on college notice boards saying he wanted to hear from students not just philosophically or intellectually intrigued by language but literally made unwell by it. Four young people replied, one of (...) whom subsequently provided me with an account of what passed in Room C28 at Emmanuel College. Almost thirteen years afterwards, the account was published under the title "The Weighing of Our Words."1Richard Salisbury, who had prepared the account, died in September 2016. His later piece, "A Report on Experience,"2 was published in October 2018—and that was believed to be the last literary production connected with the 2002 tutorials. However, it transpires that Richard's wife, Carole, who had organized the publication of "A Report on Experience," was also in possession of an intriguing recording from June 2016—just months before Richard's death. Carole discovered an audio recording, on a set of old-fashioned, reel-to-reel tapes, of a meeting in the Bedford Hotel in Bloomsbury, London, between her husband and Neville Critchley—fourteen years after they had last met. The conversation was [End Page 210] clearly intended to be transcribed and published, and I remain grateful to Carole for her help and friendship in arranging this.INeville Critchley and Richard SalisburyBedford Hotel, Southampton Row, LondonJune 2016Neville Critchley:Sitting here in Bloomsbury, I'm remembering the story about T. S. Eliot hiding in the lavatory at Faber and Faber to avoid small talk with colleagues as they left the office together in the evenings.Richard Salisbury:I think quite a lot of people do things like that. But I'm a good bit worse.NC:You have some remarkable illustrations of how much worse.RS:Before moving to Edinburgh (where I met David Wemyss, of course) I had a brief but enjoyable stay in Oxford, doing legal work for the city council there. One day, it was announced that my entire team, from senior executives down to administrative assistants, and one or two hangers-on, had been invited to Westminster for an "exchange of ideas" with civil servants there who were interested in a project I'd set up—to do with parking charges, of all things! Anyway, the plan was to go through to London by luxury coach as a day trip, but I could only think of the fragmented conversation on the journey—especially the conducting of conversations looking over my shoulder or half-standing up, or perhaps getting stuck for too long with one of my less-congenial colleagues. Carole found the answer: if I took the day before the visit as a holiday, and the day after too, I could be in London for the professional appointment but avoid the bus completely. I needed a reason, of course, but London being London I knew I'd easily find a concert that would sound like a convincing explanation for wanting to combine personal and professional objectives. Bruckner 8 did the trick. I needed a couple of nights in a hotel—here at the Bedford actually!—but it was well worth it. I'm never reluctant to have a day or two in Bloomsbury, having stayed here for six months, but the real motivation was the desperation to avoid my colleagues outside the carefully premeditated conversational tramlines I usually had in place. [End Page 211]NC:And that's just one of the many—quite different—ways in which you would characterize why you, like Eliot, would hide in a lavatory to avoid talking to people! But to an everyday, well-adjusted person, that would sound monstrous. Claustrophobically intropunitive—or narcissistic. There's even a case for suppressing the transcript of this interview, or destroying it altogether—but I don't think you'd like that! You assume completely that I'll bring it into existence. It'll be a middlebrow literary accomplishment—a literary coup that marshals the chaos of your experience... (shrink)