The following note is based upon a re-examination of the binding, the quire signatures, and the enumeration of the plays of Euripides in L first made at Florence in 1948 and checked in 1952. Its purpose is to suggest that conjectures are still current about L and the exemplar from which it was copied, which cannot be regarded as sufficiently supported by good evidence to justify their retention; and to attempt some further clarification of L's relationship with the MS. Palatinus (...) 287. (shrink)

Hanc quoque ‘iucunditatem’, si vis, transfer in animum , rnodo intellegas inter ilium qui dicat Tanta laetitia auctus sum ut nihil constet et eum qui Nunc demum mihi animus ardet, quorum alter laetitia gestiat, alter dolore crucietur, esse ilium medium [Quamquam haec inter nos nuper notitia admodum est] qui nee laetetur nee angatur, itemque inter eum qui potiatur corporis expetitis voluptatibus et eum qui crucietur summis doloribus esse eum qui utroque careat.

In its original form Dirac's equations have been expressed by use of the γ-matrices γμ, μ=0, 1, 2, 3. They are elements of the matrix algebra M 4 (ℂ). As emphasized by Hestenes several times, the γ-matrices are merely a (faithful) matrix representation of an orthonormal basis of the orthogonal spaceℝ 1,3, generating the real Clifford algebra Cl 1,3 . This orthonormal basis is also denoted by γμ, μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The use of the matrix algebra M 4 (ℂ) (...) to represent Cl 1,3 has some unsatisfactory aspects. The γ-matrices contain imaginary numbers as entries whereas Cl 1,3 is real. Moreover, as a matrix algebra Cl 1,3 is M 2 (ℍ) but only a part of M 4 (ℂ). For that reason we investigate in this paper several forms of Dirac's equations in terms of M 2 (ℍ) instead of M 4 (ℂ). In Section1 we survey Dirac's equations describing the interaction of matter with electromagnetic, electroweak, and strong fields. Section2 deals with electromagnetic/weak interactions employing M 2 (ℍ). Finally, in Section3 we deal with Dirac's equations for strong interactions between quarks. In contrast to su(2) ⊕ u(1), the Lie algebra su(3) is not isomorphic to any subalgebra of Cl 1,3 . Therefore we do not give a description of strong interactions by use of M 2 (ℍ). Instead of such an approach we describe these interactions using the space of quadruples of bivector fields in Cl 1,3 . The thus obtained description has remarkable formal resemblance to the original Dirac equations using wave functions with values in the linear spaceℂ 4. (shrink)

This would be admirably clear and would give excellent sense, but it does entail the deletion of as an interpolation before Marshall is aware that is a word that is not likely to be used by an interpolator, but still feels able to propose its deletion and gives a detailed account of the way in which an interpolator might have approached the sentence. When one attempts to read the mind of an ancient scribe, all sorts of possibilities are opened up; (...) in this instance, it seems equally possible that a reader who, as Marshall suggests, was faced with … and was not able to understand the sentence because he failed to separate from and to see that was to be taken in the second clause, would have been inclined first at least to see whether sense could be obtained by separating from rather than to conjure up the word. (shrink)

A neurosurgical view of consciousness is presented. It is biased by our need to deal with coma. The concept of primary or neurosurgical consciousness is discussed, and the anatomy, physiology, pathology and clinical features described in a simple a way. It is suggested that the dynamic interaction between the reticular activating system and the cerebral cortex is the anatomic and physiologic basis for primary consciousness. It is emphasised that this in no way diminishes the role of the cortex in either (...) primary or higher-order consciousness. In essence, a presentation is made of the neurosurgical view of cortex-brainstem inter- relationships, and the importance of this interrelationship to consciousness. (shrink)

In this paper I start discussing "originalism" as a practice of interpretation purporting the intent of the framers as "the" governing factor in interpretation. My first step is to contrast it with the approach of non-interpretivism. Then I discuss "interpretation" itself as a package to depict social practices of meaning production, focusing on three peculiar historical settings : Alexandria, Scholasticism, and the "birth" of Hermeneutics. My aim is to show the "essentialist" move of posing the concept of "meaning" as a (...) key factor in the "ideology" of interpretation. Such a discussion is introductory to a reappraisal of the current debate about criticism and of the distinction between interpretation and use-of-the-texts. I then examine archeology as a radical alternative to interpretive practices. But my final step will be to shift away from the blunt opposition between interpretivism and non interpretivism, to suggest a more complex arrangement based on an ironic misuse of interpretivism, and a framing of interpretation as an antagonistic process. (shrink)

Transplantation continues to push the frontiers of medicine into domains that summon forth troublesome ethical questions. Looming on the frontier today is human facial transplantation. We develop criteria that, we maintain, must be satisfied in order to ethically undertake this as-yet-untried transplant procedure. We draw on the criteria advanced by Dr. Francis Moore in the late 1980s for introducing innovative procedures in transplant surgery. In addition to these we also insist that human face transplantation must meet all the ethical requirements (...) usually applied to health care research. We summarize the achievements of transplant surgery to date, focusing in particular on the safety and efficacy of immunosuppressive medications. We also emphasize the importance of risk/benefit assessments that take into account the physical, aesthetic, psychological, and social dimensions of facial disfiguration, reconstruction, and transplantation. Finally, we maintain that the time has come to move facial transplantation research into the clinical phase. (shrink)