The topic of time is central to Levinas's philosophy. By examining aspects of the Biblical stories of Abraham and Moses compared with Greek myths, mainly that of Cronos devouring his children, this paper aims to show that Levinas's view of time, though certainly indebted to the Greek (i.e. philosophical) tradition, contains traces of Biblical experiences. Moreover, Levinas's interpretation of time will serve as a concrete demonstration of the way the Jewish experience enables Levinas to express his criticism of the (...) philosophical-Greek tradition. (shrink)

Nul n'était mieux qualifié que l'autour de ce livre - docteur en philosophie et rabbin de la synagogue de Birmingham - pour entreprendre le véritable tour de force qu'il a réussi en réalisant la synthèse de l'enseignement contenu dans le Talmud. La richesse de son information n'a d'égale que la maîtrise avec laquelle il répartit son savoir en une suite de chapitres aussi clairs que précis. Cet ouvrage, pendant longtemps encore, rendra d'inestimables services à ses lecteurs.

Abraham a Sancta Clara adıyla ünlenen Johann Ulrich Megerle 17. yüzyılda Almanca konuşulan coğrafyanın en önde gelen vaizlerindendir. Arkasında bıraktığı yaklaşık 600 kitaplık külliyatıyla da büyük bir yazardır. Ünü kendinden sonraki yüzyıllara sarkmış, Goethe’den Schiller’e ve Heidegger’e kadar uzanmıştır. Türklerin II. Viyana Kuşatması sırasında yazdığı eseri o dönemde Avrupa’nın Türklere bakışını göstermek açısından son derece önemlidir. Bu makale onun Auff, auff, ihr Christen! başlıklı meşhur eserini metin çözümlemesi yöntemi kullanarak ayrıntılarıyla incelemekte, 17. yüzyıl Viyana’sından hareketle nasıl bir Türk ve (...) Müslüman portresi çizildiğini sorgulamaktadır. Çözümlemede Sancta Clara’nın Türkleri barbarlık ve vahşilik ekseninde son derece olumsuz sıfat ve adlandırmalarla nitelediği görülmektedir. Bununla birlikte çözümlenen eseri daha ilginç kılan nokta, olumsuz sıfatların yanında Türklerin meziyetlerini de dile getirmesidir. Yazarın yaşadığı başkenti kuşatan düşman hakkında eserin kayda değer bir kısmını olumlu yönlere ayırması ilginç veriler sunmaktadır. (shrink)

A multidisciplinary faculty committee designed a curriculum to shape biomedical graduate students into researchers with a high commitment to professionalism and social responsibility and to provide students with tools to navigate complex, rapidly evolving academic and societal environments with a strong ethical commitment. The curriculum used problem-based learning (PBL), because it is active and learner-centred and focuses on skill and process development. Two courses were developed: Scientific Professionalism: Scientific Integrity addressed discipline-specific and broad professional norms and obligations for the ethical (...) practice of science and responsible conduct of research (RCR). Scientific Professionalism: Bioethics and Social Responsibility focused on current ethical and bioethical issues within the scientific profession, and implications of research for society. Each small-group session examined case scenarios that included: (1) learning objectives for professional norms and obligations; (2) key ethical issues and philosophies within each topic area; (3) one or more of the RCR instructional areas; and (4) at least one type of moral reflection. Cases emphasised professional standards, obligations and underlying philosophies for the ethical practice of science, competing interests of stakeholders and oversight of science (internal and external). To our knowledge, this is the first use of a longitudinal, multi-semester PBL course to teach scientific integrity and professionalism. Both faculty and students endorsed the active learning approach for these topics, in contrast to a compliance-based approach that emphasises learning rules and regulations. (shrink)

I wish now to return to the elementary characterization of languagehood in section III and its rationalization in section IV and say something by way of conclusion. The account given may or may not have a large number of fascinating and important consequences, but I shall confine myself to a couple of minor points and one not so minor.Let us suppose that there are either an infinite number of extra-linguistic entities (which seems plausible) or an infinite number of possible expressions (...) (inscriptibles). Then, since the Descriptive Part of a language is just a finite mapping of expressions onto entities, there will be an infinite number of languages. The point is pretty obvious anyway. A language is presumably a linguistic structure (whatever that is) thatcould be used by intelligent creatures in exchanging information and in doing logic. There is no reason at all to suppose that the number of such structures is finite.The second minor point is derivative. There is no essential differencequa languages between the so-called natural languages and the so-called artificial languages. Consider hammers. Some hammers are actually used to drive nails. Some perish in warehouse fires before they ever have that honor. But all are equally hammers. It's the same with languages. Some are actually used, the vast majority, including the “artificial” languages defined in semantics books, are never used. But apart from differences in richness and complexity, all are equally languages.8But the major point I wished to bring out in this paper is the contrast between a language and its use, or, if you like, between a language and speech behaviour. I labored the distinction in my introductory remarks and in the body of the paper I offered a sketch of a purely semantical definition of ‘language’. Insofar as the apparatus goes any distance towards bringing order out of chaos then this circumstance vindicates the distinction. We say that Alexander is able to ride Bucephalus and is able to speak Greek. Just as in the first case we distinguish between what Alexander is able to do, namely ride Bucephalus, and what he is able to ride, namely, Bucephalus, so in the second we should distinguish between what Alexander is able todo, namely, speak Greek, and what he is able tospeak, namely, Greek. Strictly speaking, of course, we have to recognize the linguistician's commonplace distinction, within use, between the ability or competence to speak (use) a language and specific exercises of that ability, or performances9. This is the distinction between ‘He speaks English’ and ‘He is now speaking English’.Another example, closer to present concerns. We would have no trouble distinguishing between the ability to play the Bach Chaconne and performances of the Chaconne on the one hand, and on the other, the Chaconne itself; between what the violinist is able todo (viz., play the Chaconne) and what he is able to play (viz., the Chaconne). And once we accept the distinction we would expect to be able to describe the Chaconne —which is a sequence of sounds - independently of the behavior involved in playing it. An unedited score in fact does this. It is the violinteacher who talks about double stopping and so on.10 In the same way, it seems to me, if we accept the distinction between a language and its use we commit ourselves to discovering ways of giving a phonological-syntactical-semantical characterization of a languagewithout reference to behavior, without employing the word ‘uses’ - and this demand has exactly the same rationale as the demand that we keep psychology out of logic. Then in pure pragmatics, the word ‘uses’ comes into its own. (shrink)

We would like to thank an anonymous referee for his helpful comments on a previous version of this paper.

The doctrine of simple individuals has its equal and opposite reaction in the view that an individual is simply a bundle of properties, that the identity of an individual is entirely dependent on the identity of its properties. This view also seems to me to be in some sense wrong and I shall attack it in passing. If all my remarks have seemed excessively polemical it is because I have been anxious to make it as clear as possible what the (...) motivation behind this paper is. I am mainly concerned with the problem concerning the "it" which underlies or has properties and I shall want to argue that the identity of an individual--what it is that makes an individual that individual--does not depend merely on its being that individual or having that piece of substratum, but it depends partially and in a complicated way on the identity of its properties. The analysis will have to exhibit the nature of that dependence. Most of the discussion will revolve around proper names and their function since it is through linguistic considerations, I think, that we get the clearest illumination. The result, in case any one is interested, will be Absolute Idealism, or something like it. (shrink)

Reports from antiquity — two factual and another based on myth — claim that Ptolemy I was a son of the Macedonian king Philip II. If so, Ptolemy was a half-brother of Alexander the Great. Scholars suppose that this rumour was promoted by Ptolemy I. But this cannot be confirmed. It seems rather that Arsinoë, the mother of Ptolemy I, was a concubine at the court of Philip II and that a rumour existed that Ptolemy I was illegitimately born. This (...) rumour developed in two separate ways. In Macedon, probably in the late 280's BCE, it was claimed that the father of Ptolemy was Philip II. The story may have been inspired by Ptolemy Keraunos in the course of his quest for the Macedonian throne. In Egypt, however, in spite of an apparent reluctance of Ptolemy I to link Lagos with his name, it was officially proclaimed in the reign of his son that Lagos was the father of Ptolemy I. It is possible thereby that Ptolemy II removed the stigma of bastardy from the first Ptolemaic king. (shrink)

Objective We conducted a process evaluation to (a) assess the effectiveness of a new problem-based learning curriculum designed to teach professionalism and scientific integrity to biomedical graduate students and (b) modify the course to enhance its relevance and effectiveness. The content presented realistic cases and issues in the practice of science, to promote skill development and to acculturate students to professional norms of science. Method We used 5-step Likert-scaled questions, open-ended questions, and interviews of students and facilitators to assess curricular (...) effectiveness. Results Both facilitators and students perceived course objectives were achieved. For example, respondents preferred active learning over lectures; both faculty and students perceived that the curriculum increased their understanding of norms, role obligations and responsibilities of professional scientists. They also reported an increased ability to identify ethical situations and felt that they had developed skills in moral reasoning and effective group work. Conclusions These data helped to improve course implementation and instructional material. For example, to correct a negative perception that this was an ‘ethics’ course, we redesigned case debriefing activities to reinforce learning objectives and important skills. We refined cases to be more engaging and relevant for students, and gave facilitators more specific training and resources for each case. The problem-based learning small group strategy can stimulate an environment whereby participants are more aware of ethical implications of science, and increase their socialisation and open communication about professional behaviour. (shrink)

The recent review by Monrad1 presents several issues about secondary vaccine trials. It lays out the case in which a vaccine has been tested through phases I–III and is being deployed. Subsequently, consideration is being given to conducting ‘trials for another vaccine for the pathogen’. Monrad states: ‘In summary, we may say that researchers have strong prima facie reasons not to conduct a secondary vaccine trial.’ Monrad discusses several factors meriting careful consideration about the need for developing and testing more (...) than one vaccine: relative efficacy, length of immunity, adverse reactions, ease of storage and administration, economic and logistical factors. What is not addressed are the ethical duties that exist when there are competing phase III vaccine candidates for COVID-19. We have serious concerns about potential ethical inadequacies about these ongoing trials and …. (shrink)

Despite the difficulties of establishing the meaning of "idealistic pragmatism," it is certainly a more descriptively accurate characterization of Josiah Royce’s philosophy than the more usual appellation of "absolute idealist." It suggests the American roots of his thought, and his relationships with Peirce and James, which are handled most sensitively in this book, though more briefly than the title might lead one to expect. The main object of the book is to establish the validity of the title, and in this (...) it largely succeeds. Certainly it is a useful endeavor, for Royce’s reputation as an Absolute Idealist has prevented his thought from becoming as widely known as it deserves to be, both for the clarity of his arguments for an idealist metaphysics and for his insights into the meaning of social life. Mahowald follows Oppenheim’s division of Royce’s thought into three periods, which he very carefully established. She then draws out the "pragmatic" aspects of the thought of each period, supplementing the main works with other published and unpublished material. The characteristic attitude of pragmatists is identified as "future orientation" and then Royce is included among them. (shrink)