With reference to the previous empirical works on applause, we explore the roles it plays during the first birthday celebration using multimodal analysis. Particularly, we focus on modes of its initiation and collaborative enactment. The empirical material includes 25 videos from different Polish families. The analysis demonstrates that applause works in interaction as a ritual anchor that allows the participants to move to either the end or the next sequence of the ritual, as an appreciative assessment of the previous action, (...) as a device for focusing joint attention, which coordinates the interaction of participants and focuses the attention on the most important actor/recipient of the ritual. (shrink)

ON COGNITIVE IRRATIONALISM There are two accounts of the relation between an argument and a view. According to former, the most popular account, a view is founded on an argument which is the material base for it. According to the latter, conversely, argument is only a rationalization of the view which itself has its roots in our emotions. The second account author calls ‘cognitive irrationalism’. Next he shows two versions of this view: Pareto's and Jung's. Author also traces this concept (...) in another sources. He concludes that also such philosophers as Russell, Freud, Petrażycki and Runzo regarded it as truth. (shrink)