Sequential transformative design of research :224–235, 2015; Groleau et al. in J Mental Health 16:731–741, 2007; Robson and McCartan in Real world research: a resource for users of social research methods in applied settings, Wiley, Chichester, 2016) allows testing a group of theoretical assumptions about the connections of artificial intelligence with culture and education. In the course of research, semiotics ensures the description of self-organizing systems of cultural signs and symbols in terms of artificial intelligence as a special set of (...) algorithms. This approach helps to consider the arguments proposed by Searle :417–457, 1980) against ‘strong’ artificial intelligence. Searle :417–457, 1980) believes that artificial or machine intelligence cannot fully emulate the processes of the human mind. Machine intelligence shows own inevitable weakness. This is non-autonomous tool for computations and data operating. In fact, this tool cannot provide insight into real cognitive conditions. After Lotman and Uspensky, authors expand the meaning of artificial intelligence. The authors identify a cultural type of ‘strong’ artificial intelligence or ‘self-increase of Logos’ in terms by Lotman and Uspensky. The interpretation of human intelligence as imitation of machine intelligence makes possible such immersion of artificial intelligence in culture. The authors reveal a case of self-organizing autonomous generation, encoding, decoding, reception, storage, and transmission of social information in the field of physical training. From the empirical studies it is clear that the organization of collective activities without external control ensures the development of positive emotions and social orientations. Interest in autonomous behavior provides the formation of educational and cognitive motives. As a special set of algorithms, these motives are the most promising and favorable for personal development. (shrink)

Interpretation of Wittgenstein’s statement ‘whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent’ and consequences of rule-following paradox is the topic of this article. The revision of Wittgensteinian approach to the relations between speech and mind, and approaches to the speech by Vygotsky and Austin allow approving the disagreement with Wittgenstein and exhibit the cases when is necessary ‘to break silence and speak’. Argument is based on the hermeneutical approach to the skeptical image of Wittgenstein studies that disclose the meaning (...) of hypothetic relevance between performative utterances and impulses generated by inner speech. Wittgenstein’s ideas are demonstrated as the contemporary version of a Pyrrhonism. Classical skepticism intensifies procedures for justification of philosophical knowledge, because philosophy tries to disprove skeptical claims. Wittgenstein studies play approximately the same role. Interpretation of the proposition ‘whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent’ in a view of performative utterance allow coordinating the inner philosophical speech made by Wittgenstein, and the speech made by his commentators and critics. (shrink)

The object of research is to clarify the connections between non-anthropogenic mind and culture as sign systems. Investigation of such an object discloses the perspectives on construction of the generalized model of mind and can help to build the bridge between traditional and digital humanities. The subject of traditional humanities is natural human activity; the subject of digital humanities is computer-based forms of activity and communication. Finding signs created not only by human but also by natural circumstances helps to define (...) the sign system that unites the natural (non-anthropogenic) and artificial kinds of mind. Methodology of research includes the principles of semiotics previously developed by Charles Peirce and Ferdinand de Saussure and expanded by Yuri Lotman and Boris Uspensky. Semiotic interpretation of mind as the object of culture allows the building of a generalized model of mind as one of textual constructions, presenting the history of mankind as the replacement of natural events by secondary models. The author concludes that the revealing of a generalized model of mind opens new opportunities for the construction of the intelligent activity strictly interpreted as special sign systems. Semiotic studies interpret culture as a rationality making machine, and activity of mind is caused by the work of such a machine. Because of that, if traditional meaning sign systems were estimated as human-made kinds of complex of primary signs, then modern statements help to see the absence of an irresistible limit to interpret such complex as a nature-made but non-anthropogenic phenomenon. (shrink)

The paper defends the thesis that Proclus Diadochus’ ideas are still relevant in modern culture. It appears that the ideas of Neoplatonism as a whole and these of Proclus’ in particular matter at least in some aspects of modern culture, such as the foundations of politics, the basic characteristics of philosophy and the fundamental aspects of understanding of the human existence. In the sphere of politics, one can note the ideas useful for creating of the non-totalitarian forms of ideology. In (...) contemporary philosophy the Neoplatonic studies can be interpreted as one of the bases of understanding of rational knowledge. The ideals of material harmony are essential for understanding of the human existence. (shrink)

The article defends the thesis that interpreting Plato’s natural philosophy it is useful to take the terms horatos and aoratos in two distinct meanings: “observable” and “unobservable”, and “visible” and “invisible”. This approach helps to perceive new sides of Plato’s ideas, implicitly present in the “Timaeus”, which allows interpreting it in both anthropomorphic and anti-anthropomorphic senses.

In the article, I discuss the Heideggerian criticism of the Aristotelian concept of time. Heidegger thought that it was Aristotle who is to be blamed for so-called “ordinary” interpretation of time. Later on, Augustine developed this interpretation, while Kant and Hegel brought it to a logical end. The author observes that even if the post-Aristotelian thought and Hegel as its embodiment understood time in many respects naturalistically, we might trace both naturalistic and anti-naturalistic ways of interpretation of time in Aristotle. (...) It appears therefore that Aristotle had also laid the foundations of existential comprehension of time, having influenced thereby the formation of the European rationality in all variety of its forms and manifestations. (shrink)

In the article, we offer a model for actualization of the dialogue between the representatives of dramatic art and philosophy in Ancient Greece, having compared the notion of wisdom in Aristophanes and in Plato. In addition to his literary virtues, Aristophanes can be perceived as a philosopher of education. Extrapolation of these results on the modern situation opens prospective of dialogical ways of interactions between the representatives of different spheres of cultural life. Values on which such representatives are based can (...) differ, but the common idea to guide the analysis remains true regardless of these differences in their viewpoints: our opponents could well proceed from opposite philosophical principles but their position cannot be treated as necessarily mistaken. It demands efforts of all the participants of the dialogue, and ancient thought seems to offer general opportunities for this, which serves as a good example of the enduring value of the ancient ideals in the history of human culture. (shrink)

In this article, the epistemological interpretation of the relationship between concepts of relativism, beliefs, and probability ensures a defense of two theses, namely, (i) epistemic relativism refers to attitudes that depend on the repetition and anchoring of probabilistic beliefs, and (ii) Popper’s propensity interpretation of probability discloses the connections between relativity, probability, and collective subjectivity. The propensity interpretation brings a framework for describing the role of collective subjectivity in epistemic systems. This approach, as an acceptable epistemological stance, is related to (...) the variability of anchored collective beliefs. The repetition and anchoring of subjective probabilistic beliefs becomes a relative reference frame for evaluating the elements of knowledge. With this in mind, each particular way of considering probability indicates a manner of distinguishing epistemic systems. In epistemic systems, the statements are collective points of view expressed in the form ‘p is justified when belief in p is probably reliable.’ The statements can be accurate in a particular epistemic system but inaccurate in other systems. As a result, by avoiding the ‘all statements must be true or false’ requirement, each proponent of a certain epistemic system can build a probabilistic picture of the world. In this picture, not every statement needs to be ‘true’ when and if the statement expresses a collective point of view that has a propensity to be reliable and justified. (shrink)

The presented article compares the points of view on time developed in analytical philosophy and in phenomenology actively developed by B. Russell and L. Tengelyi. The objective of the study coincides with the identifying a common horizon for understanding time in analytical philosophy and phenomenology. This help to clarify the possibilities of productive interaction between analytical philosophy and phenomenology. The author of the article believes that a positive answer to this question can be ensured by a special thought experiment. The (...) experiment involves assessing the perception of time in extreme circumstances in terms of phenomenology and analytical philosophy. (shrink)

The main purpose of article is representation of conceptual introduction to a cycle of the future researches devoted to reconstruction of phenomenological views on processes of creation of images of science. That purpose is achieved as a result of detection of key features (the conceptual bases) of pre-phenomenological and phenomenological ways of a reflection of science. Research leans on a method of the comparative analysis. Classical and non-classical variant of creation of images of science were compared. Members of classical philosophy (...) assumed that there is a way to present science in an image of unity of knowledge. Such image could be valid without any exceptions. Since works of Neo-kantianism, modern philosophy has developed the idea that creation of a uniform image of science is problematic. The phenomenology keeps classical idea of unity of images of science, but the unity is interpreted as a complex of «comprehension» intensions of consciousness. Such complex of intensions gives the horizon of judgment of each of images of science in terms of their relations to concrete subject domain. Theoretical value of the work consists in identification of conditions under which phenomenological approach leads to institutionalization of the pluralistic image of science. As a result research leads to the original conclusion that the problem of phenomenology consists in constituting a pluralistic image of science. (shrink)

The article defends the thesis that interpreting Plato’s natural philosophy it is useful to take the terms horatos and aoratos in two distinct meanings: “observable” and “unobservable”, and “visible” and “invisible”. This approach helps to perceive new sides of Plato’s ideas, implicitly present in the “Timaeus”, which allows interpreting it in both anthropomorphic and anti-anthropomorphic senses.

This research examines the ethical dimensions of ethical thought aimed at reflecting fundamentals or leading principles of the production and reproduction of knowledge in science and tertiary education. To achieve research goals, the author of this article evaluates the key assumption that statements in the ethics of science and education are transcendental but do not require a reference to a transcendental or metaphysical subject. The author adheres to the stances by Wittgenstein and Moore and defines ethics in terms of the (...) general inquiry into what is good. The ways of forming ethical statements are compared with the main provisions of Merton’s theory of scientific ethos and its effects on the understanding patterns of the production and reproduction of knowledge. A comparison of general types of ethical inquiry and the theory of scientific ethos helps to present the theory of scientific ethos in terms of middle-range ethical theory. The comparison of transcendental statements in ethics and the points of the theory of scientific ethos is related to the issues of the philosophy of education. The relation is due to the exploring the forms and bases of reproduction of scientific society through tertiary education. The production of knowledge in science generates forms of judgments while education reproduces their ethically acceptable patterns of obtaining and applying. As a result, ethical transcendentalism without reference to a transcendental subject inevitably emphasizes the dialogical design of teaching. This design includes diversification of norms and values in science. Diversity as such ensures collective methods of decision-making and opposes any authoritarianism in education. (shrink)

The paper defends the thesis that Proclus Diadochus' ideas are still relevant in modern culture. It appears that the ideas of Neoplatonism as a whole and these of Proclus' in particular matter at least in some aspects of modern culture, such as the foundations of politics, the basic characteristics of philosophy and the fundamental aspects of understanding of the human existence. In the sphere of politics, one can note the ideas useful for creating of the non-totalitarian forms of ideology. In (...) contemporary philosophy the Neoplatonic studies can be interpreted as one of the bases of understanding of rational knowledge. The ideals of material harmony are essential for understanding of the human existence. (shrink)

Les notions d'ordre, de raison, de conscience sont des concepts de la philosophie de Rousseau et, en même temps, les valeurs de sa vie. L'idéal de la société constitue un cadre de réflexions sur ces valeurs, exprimant son identité d'écrivain dans la vie sociale et intellectuelle de son temps. Ainsi, il s'écarte de l'utopie au sens propre du mot.

Wide-ranging and astutely argued, Talmud /and/ Philosophy examines the intersections, partitions, and mutual illuminations and problematizations of western philosophy and the Talmud. Among its devoted students or "learners," the Talmud - both as text and mode of thought - is a constantly unfolding truth about humans in their relationship to God in the world. Among many philosophers, the Talmud has been at best an idealized and remote object, and at worse, if noticed at all, an object for curiosity. The contributors (...) to this volume collectively turn on and probe a new mode of inquiry by approaching the very question of partitions, conjunctions and disjunctions between the Talmud and philosophy as the guiding question of their inquiry. Rather than using the Talmud and its modes of argumentation to develop existing philosophical themes, the essays probe the question of how the Talmud as an intellectual discipline sheds new light on the unfolding of philosophy in the history of thought. (shrink)

The writings in which an author expresses his thought may actually be the product of certain cultural practices of his age. The article considers how such practices are manifested in the writings of Isidore of Seville, particularly with respect to the meaning of the metaphor of taste. Isidore borrows this metaphor from texts that explain the process of understanding Scripture and applies it to the achievement of wisdom. On the one hand, the metaphor stresses the transformative aspect of understanding (rather (...) than the informative, scientia). It focuses on the special experience of the reader who senses the sweetness of the text, and not on the application of the text to one’s life. On the other hand, reading and writing were imagined in terms related to food. The text was food that had to be prepared, to ‘read’ meant to ‘taste’, to ‘meditate’ on it meant to ‘ruminate’. Against this background, the writings of Isidore seem to appeal to the memory of the reader and his ability to meditate upon the text and, finally, to experience the taste of wisdom. Only the outermost level of texts was intended to inform the reader. (shrink)

This paper is dedicated to developing a formalism that takes rejection seriously. Bilateral notation of signed formulas with force indicators is adopted to define signed consequences which can be viewed as the bilateral counterpart of Tarskian consequence relations. Its relation to some other bilateral approaches is discussed. It is shown how David Nelson’s logic N4 can be characterized bilaterally and the corresponding completeness result is proved. Further, bilateral variants of three familiar notions are considered and investigated: that of a fragment, (...) of definitional equivalence, and of a conservative extension. (shrink)

We develop a general theory of FDE-based modal logics. Our framework takes into account the four-valued nature of FDE by considering four partially defined modal operators corresponding to conditions for verifying and falsifying modal necessity and possibility operators. The theory comes with a uniform characterization for all obtained systems in terms of FDE-style formula-formula sequents. We also develop some correspondence theory and show how Hilbert-style axiom systems can be obtained in appropriate cases. Finally, we outline how different systems from the (...) literature can be expressed in our framework. (shrink)

Friedrich Jacobi (1743-1819) is known mainly as a representative of the “philosophy of feeling and faith” and as one of the first critics of Kant, who drew attention to the fundamental contradiction in his system: without the concept of “thing in itself” (or “thing in oneself”) it is impossible to enter into his “Critique of Pure Reason”, but it is equally impossible to remain in it with this concept. The consistent development of the transcendental philosophy system leads to the elimination (...) of its own initial, fundamental premise. The discovery of this contradiction and the indication of its significance for the evaluation of critical philosophy was often seen as almost the only contribution of Jacobi to world philosophy. In the historical and philosophical literature, the opinion prevails is that Jacobi, by and large, simply did not understand Kant and was in comparison with him, just a “grumpy scoundrel” (Heinrich Heine) and a “lower monad” (Kuno Fischer). This pejorative assessment significantly simplifies and distorts both Jacobi’s philosophy and Jacobi’s actual attitude towards Kant, which was not so unambiguous. It should be considered in a much broader historical and problematic context. The study briefly examines the history of the long and difficult relationship between the “privileged heretic” and the “gray eminence” of the German philosophical classics with the creator of the transcendental philosophy system. The main directions of a deeply thought-out and well-founded serious criticism of Kant’s philosophy (i.e. its inconsistency, idealism, rational intellectualism, subjectivism, “speculative egoism”, etc.) are outlined and analyzed from the positions of radical realism, common sense, Christian faith, metaphysical “sense of the supersensible”, direct knowledge of the most important truths for a person, the absolute values of life, moral intuition, freedom, and dignity of the individual. (shrink)

The specificity of eukaryotic DNA organization into loops fixed to the nuclear matrix/chromosomal scaffold has been studied for more than fifteen years. The results and conclusions of different authors remain, however, controversial. Recently, we have elaborated a new approach to the study of chromosomal DNA loops. Instead of characterizing loop basements (nuclear matrix DNA), we have concentrated our efforts on the characterization of individual loops after their excision by DNA topoisomerase II‐mediated DNA cleavage at matrix attachment sites. In this review (...) the results of applying this mapping approach are compared with the results and conclusions from studies of nuclear matrix DNA. An attempt is also made to reconsider all data about the specificity of DNA interactions with the nuclear matrix and to suggest a model of spatial organization of the eukaryotic genome which resolves apparent contradictions between these data. (shrink)

We exploit properties of certain directed graphs, obtained from the families of sets with special effective enumeration properties, to generalize several results in computable model theory to higher levels of the hyperarithmetical hierarchy. Families of sets with such enumeration features were previously built by Selivanov, Goncharov, and Wehner. For a computable successor ordinal α, we transform a countable directed graph into a structure such that has a isomorphic copy if and only if has a computable isomorphic copy.A computable structure is (...) categorical if for all computable isomorphic copies of , there is an isomorphism from onto , which is . We prove that for every computable successor ordinal α, there is a computable, categorical structure, which is not relatively categorical. This generalizes the result of Goncharov that there is a computable, computably categorical structure, which is not relatively computably categorical.An additional relation R on the domain of a computable structure is intrinsically on if in all computable isomorphic copies of , the image of R is . We prove that for every computable successor ordinal α, there is an intrinsically relation on a computable structure, which not relatively intrinsically . This generalizes the result of Manasse that there is an intrinsically computably enumerable relation on a computable structure, which is not relatively intrinsically computably enumerable.The dimension of a structure is the number of computable isomorphic copies, up to isomorphisms. We prove that for every computable successor ordinal α and every n≥1, there is a computable structure with dimension n. This generalizes the result of Goncharov that there is a structure of computable dimension n for every n≥1.Finally, we prove that for every computable successor ordinal α, there is a countable structure with isomorphic copies in just the Turing degrees of sets X such that relative to X is not . In particular, for every finite n, there is a structure with isomorphic copies in exactly the non- Turing degrees. This generalizes the result obtained by Wehner, and independently by Slaman, that there is a structure with isomorphic copies in exactly the nonzero Turing degrees. (shrink)

What follows is a two-part review of Günther Witzany’s two-part book, The Logos of the Bios. The first part of the review is written by Sergey Chebanov, and it approaches the text as a source of ideas on biosemiotics and biohermeneutics. The second part is written by Anton Markoš, and it estimates the biological pithiness of the book and the correctness of the reflection of the included data of modern biology.

The article focuses the possibility of elaboration of a cross-disciplinary methodological approach to formation of the semiotics of power. Four possible forms of relation of semiotic research to the problem of power are revealed upon the basis of Drechsler’s typology. The approaches of Mandoki and Siefkes to formation of the methodological basis of the semiotics of power are analyzed and compared. The author designates the perspective directions of a further research and formulates methodological prerequisites for realization of the specified directions.

The article examines and analyzes the market of oilseeds, which is a variety and a hybrid of sunflower, rape, soybean. It is determined that selection and seed production play an important role in improving the efficiency of the domestic agrarian sector. The domestic seed industry has the potential for growth, which can be realized only through a scientific approach and specialization in the production of seeds. It is established that there are quite significant differences between the stages of seed creation (...) and priorities in state scientific institutions and private seed companies. Differences are due to strategic development plans and the financial mechanism of operational activities. Prospects are the need for fundamental changes aimed at strengthening the organizational and scientific provision of the industry, identifying new priorities for the development of the seed industry to create the final product in the form of selection innovation. (shrink)

The belief in the Darwinian theory of evolution appeared to be shaken when one tried to interpret statements of molecular biology in it. As a consequence there arose a theory of non-Darwinian neutral evolution. The supporters of this theory believe that under natural conditions no factors exist which can distinguish and select organisms on their internal (molecular) structure. In the opinion of these neutralists natural selection cannot in principle control the molecular constitution of organisms. Contrary to the viewpoint of the (...) critics of neutralism it is impossible to admit that nucleic acids, proteins and other biomolecules can evolve without the participation of natural selection. This controversy in contemporary theoretical biology can be solved by integrating the conceptions of molecular ecology with Darwinian theory. Molecular ecology acknowledges the interactions of organisms by means of chemical substances synthesized by them. Such chemical ecological factors play a leading part in the selective stages of biomolecular evolution. These diverse chemical ecological interrelations take place intensively when living beings interact with parasitic microbes. (shrink)

In the course of a close analysis of Kant’s essay in which he gives his original answer to the question, “What is Enlightenment?” I examine the causes and consequences of the theses about Enlightenment which makes a plea for emancipation from the shackles of guardianship, above all by getting rid of one’s own cowardice. In search of an answer to the question, “What is the real reason of self-incurred immaturity?” I consider the bifurcation: Is it all about unjust social institutions (...) established in the interests of the ruling social estates, as the best European brains contended throughout the Enlightenment era, thus anticipating and justifying revolutionary upheavals, or is it within ourselves who have refused to use our reason independently and regularly? — something which Kant unequivocally considers to be everyone’s special kind of guilt. Following Kant, I look for an answer to the question, “Which limits impede Enlightenment, and which limits, far from obstructing it, are bound to promote it?” and reveal the hidden paradox of the Kantian solution: maturity has to be preceded by the granting of freedoms; and the granting of freedoms in turn calls for a mature public. I also ask the question, “Whose yoke is heavier, one’s own or the guardian’s?” and offer my version of an answer. In conclusion, I assemble all parts of the complicated and original formula of the Kantian recipe of Enlightenment. Among other things, I reveal a special type of bonding within the social organism implied by Kant, and that is the requirement to obey those who are not above us in thinking and the right to speak out in public, which ultimately means not only personal maturity, but implies also the maturity of society’s functioning in accordance with the said maxim. (shrink)

La historia política de Rusia y España ofrece una oportunidad para comparar las medidas adoptadas durante la transición de un régimen autoritario a uno democrático, manteniendo la estabilidad política en el Estado. El Estado es un elemento central del sistema político. La estabilidad del Estado se convierte en una cuestión clave para los dirigentes del Estado, para los sujetos del poder político. La estabilidad política en una democracia requiere la preservación del tipo de organización del poder, que corresponde a los (...) sentimientos e intereses fundamentales socioeconómicos de los grupos sociales. A los factores políticos de la estabilidad pertenece la posibilidad de una participación equitativa en la vida política para todos los estratos sociales, en conformidad con el derecho democrático y las tradiciónes, así como la presencia de las instituciones políticas. El Estado debe ser social y servir al ciudadano y a la sociedad. Se ha demostrado que el Estado debe participar en la regulación de la economía y la circulación monetaria. La estabilidad política en el nivel internacional se logra por el equilibrio multipolar y por la diversidad de los Estados soberanos y equitativos. (shrink)

Sobre la base de la teoría de “los mejores” de J. Ortega y Gasset el autor trató de investigar el papel de los estratos superiores de la sociedad, de la élite nacional en la modernización del régimen político en los principios de la democracia y la poliarquía. Fue revelado el papel en los procesos del gobierno y la administración del poder político y ejecutivo del aparato estatal, que consiste en los funcionarios públicos, profesional y moralmente preparados y capaces asegurar el (...) funcionamiento sostenible y soberano de las instituciones del Estado. En Rusia en el inicio del 2012 se comenzón las actividades socio-políticas llamadas en la ciencia política como la tecnología “de nacionalizaciόn” de las élites. Se produce una armonización de los intereses de los grupos políticos y empresariales de alto nivel social con los intereses del Estado y la sociedad civil. Fue realizado el análisis comparativo del impacto de las élites políticas de España y Rusia sobre la estabilidad política para garantizar el desarrollo socio-económico soberano de sus países. En la soberanía del Estado se refleja la plenitud de la autoridad governamental de los grupos sociales más altos, la élite nacional. Por separado se destacó la función de la élite político-militar como un aparato coercitivo legítimo, que asegura el bienestar del Estado democrático. Los modelos actuales de los regímenes políticos democráticos – no es una meta, sino un instrumento para lograr el bienestar del Estado y nación. Los acontecimientos en Rusia contemporánea comproban la actualidad científica de las obras del gran pensador J.Ortega y Gasset. (shrink)

Globalna świadomość jako pojęcie kulturowe i historyczne Artykuł stanowi analizę idei głoszonych przez przedstawicieli filozofii kosmicznej. Przedstawiony zostaje kulturowy, historyczny i cywilizacyjny charakter zjawiska świadomości globalnej. Dowodzi się w nim, że świadomość globalna jest częścią społecznego i kulturowego potencjału globalnych sieci informacyjnych oraz że może ona wskazywać perspektywę rozwoju obdarzonej rozumem ludzkości.

The Greek Prophetologion manuscript Q12 from the library of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, copied in 1275, contains some thirty marginal notes written in Alanic, a pre-stage of Ossetic. On leaf 100r, the glossator provided the Greek heading τ παραμο(ν) τς μέ(σο) ν´ (i.e. μεσοπεντηκοστς), ‘Eve of Mid-Pentecost’, with a gloss πητζινάκ χουτζάου πάν which most probably means ‘Pecheneg Sunday’. A Pecheneg festival established after the decisive victory of John II over the Pechenegs is attested by both Nicetas (...) Choniates and Ecloga Basilicorum. It is no wonder that this festival reached distant Alania, since the 12th century was a heyday for the Orthodox Christianity in the Northern Caucasus. The battle took place near Beroea in spring of the “fifth year” of John II's reign. The majority of historians tend to opt for 1122, but we would not exclude 1123 either. Whatever the year, the marginal note from Q12 may help in establishing the day of the battle, which is not mentioned either in Greek or in Scandinavian sources. If the battle of Beroea took place in 1122, it happened either on the 20th–22nd or on the 24th–26th of April. If the battle was fought in 1123, the day of the victory could then be either the 10th–12th or the 14th–16th of May. (shrink)

The paper deals with the expression "God is able to make a calf from a tree-trunk"—a very popular phrase in medieval treatises, especially in the context of God's omnipotence. Its attestations are thoroughly documented and considered, contexts discussed, and attributions examined. It is argued that the attribution to Anselm of Canterbury is false and late. It is claimed that the phrase goes back to a popular saying as attested by William of Conches, Peter Comestor, and ps.-Bonaventurian Ars concionandi. Thus, it (...) is a rare example of a rustic proverb used in scholastic debates as a standard scholarly argument. (shrink)

This article considers late additions to the miracles of Antichrist as found in fifteenth-century manuscripts such as Wellcome Library, MS 49 and the Antichrist-Bildertext. One of these miracles—a castle hanging by a thread—has a parallel in the German nonsense poetry tradition. The poem ‘Sô ist diz von lügenen’ from a fourteenth-century manuscript depicts a topsy-turvy world where Rome and the Lateran also hang by a thread. Subsequently the same motif occurs in the Emblemata of Théodore de Bèze (1580). A tense (...) interaction of text and image is a characteristic feature of this motif, which seems to be a local German invention. The borrowing from a tall tale into an eschatological legend, unusual as it seems, underscores the closeness of the topsy-turvy world of the popular imagination and the apocalyptical narrative with the Antichrist playing a demonstrably parodical part. (shrink)

El presente artículo versa sobre la estructura del tratado isidoriano llamado _Liber differentiarum _II. Hasta el momento, los trabajos acerca del contenido de la obra y su distribución han explicado su estructura según consideraciones que podríamos llamar “externas”, en tanto se basan en ideas generales en relación con el género o la lógica del texto. En contraste con ello, el objetivo de este estudio es ofrecer una explicación “interna” de tal estructura, una fundada en su contenido conceptual. Nuestra hipótesis sostiene, (...) pues, que la base para articular el texto entero es la definición de “hombre” que Isidoro desarrolla en _Diff. _II.13, así como su lugar en la escala de seres. En efecto, la posición especial del ser humano, que es considerado tanto por Isidoro como por sus fuentes como una creatura universal intermedia entre Dios y los seres materiales carentes de razón, es de capital importancia para la comprensión y consecuente estructuración de la obra. (shrink)