Describing a Mundus Novus was a very singular task in the sixteenth century. It was an effort shaped by a permanent inherent tension between novelty and normality, between the immense variety of new facts and the demand of credibility. How did these inner strains affect the narrative style of the first descriptions of the natural world of ‘the Indies’? How were the first European observers of the nature of America able to simultaneously transmit the idea of immensity and regularity, and (...) that of novelty? How did they attempt to describe new worlds knowing that there was a lot – perhaps too much – to tell? This paper focuses not on the much-discussed epistemological issues related to those questions, but on their narrative and stylistic consequences. We argue that the first Europeans meeting the new realities of the Americas or India had to meet new challenges, and these translated into texts with specific characteristics. Thus, their first descriptions are essentially different from the texts about the natural world that were written before or after the ‘discovery’. We show that they adopted very specific discursive approaches, and were deeply influenced by the credibility strategies of the medical profession in which they had been trained. (shrink)

This article aims to interpret an annual initiation ritual celebrated in Hellenistic Phaistos , at a festival known as the Ekdusia, in which young men had to put on women's clothes and swear an oath of citizenship before they could graduate from the civic youth corps and enter the society of adult male citizens. It begins by reconstructing the ritual and situating it within its historical and social context. It then reviews the two major theories which have been used to (...) explain transvestism in Greek initiation-structuralist and psychological-and attempts to expose their shortcomings. The author remedies the difficulty with the structuralist approach-its focus on abstract symbols divorced from their social context-by understanding the ritual change of clothes at the Ekdusia in terms of the radical gender segregation in Cretan society and the gradual transition Cretan boys made from feminine spaces to masculine spaces in both city and home. The author remedies the main problem with the psychological approach-its focus on the psychological dynamic between mother and son rather than the motivations of the rite's adult male sponsors-by looking at how adult men, particularly in modern non-Greek societies which hold initiation rites, understand male adolescent development and create rituals in accordance therewith. This comparative model shows how men in gender-segregated societies think of boys as feminine themselves and believe that their masculine development is at risk if they are not rescued from the dangerous feminine realm, and forced to undergo a combination of defeminization and masculinization rituals. Although there is no direct evidence to suggest that Greek men thought of boys' transition rites in this way, the myths told about three different figures named Leukippos, related directly and indirectly to the Ekdusia, reveal this pattern of thought in its full form. (shrink)

Scientific instruments are not neutral artefacts; the perception of their value is greatly determined not only by the objects themselves and the function they perform, but also by the context of their use. In the 16th and 17th centuries, scientific instruments – not only nautical ones – acquired a prominent place in European societies that greatly transcended the specific narrow professional circles that used them. This has already been noted as being an important feature in the development of science in (...) early modern Europe. But exactly how did this happen? Following other recent studies, I argue in this paper that in order to understand this phenomenon one has to look carefully at artisanal practices of the period. (shrink)

O Kenkon bensetsu (Tratado e Crítica sobre a Terra e os Céus) é a primeira exposição sistemática sobre os princípios astronómicos e cosmológicos ocidentais que se encontra vertida para japonês. Este texto, composto no Japão por volta de 1650, pelo ex-jesuíta Cristovão Ferreira. consiste na versão japonesa de um Tratado de Esfera ocidental. com abundantes comentários e críticas por um erudito confucionista. No Kenkon bensetsu temos. assim, a circunstância rara de poder analisar, lado a lado, alguns conceitos fundamentais do pensamento (...) ocidental e o modo como foram recebidos pelo pensamento japonês do século XVII. Trata-se portanto de um documento de excepcional valor para se avaliar o intercâmbio cultural e científico entre a Europa e o Extremo Oriente nos séculos XVI-XVII, e é um dos testemunhos mais eloquentes e significativos da influência portuguesa no Japão. /// The Kenhon bensetsu (Treatise and Critic on Earth and Heavens) is the first systematic explanation of the astronomical and cosmological western principles that is translated to japanese. This text was composed in Japan about 1650 by the former Jesuit Cristóvão Ferreira, and is a japanese version of a western Sphere Treatise, including many commentaries and critics by a erudite confucionist. Thus, we have in Kenhon hensetsu the rare possibility to be able to analyse, side by side, both some fundamental concepts of western thought and the way they were received by the XVIIth century japanese thought. This is, therefore, a document of an exceptional relevance in order to evaluate both the scientific and the cultural interchange between Europe and the Far East during the XVIth and the XVIIth centuries. It is also one of the most important and significant testimonies of the portugues influence in Japan. (shrink)

For several decades, historians have realized the limitations of analysing the historical past of science as a mere succession of theories. One of the most stimulating messages that the reinvention of the discipline has launched is that although there are obvious intellectual elements that promote the development and progress of science, there are also social, economic, and institutional aspects to consider. The history of science is no longer just a history of scientific ideas and theories, but also a history of (...) institutions, communities, spaces, objects, and practices as well as a history of the complex interaction among all these dimensions. Accompanying this new panorama is a broad consensus among scholars to accept that major social changes have inexorably some impact on scientific practice and vice versa. This premise, now widespread, is especially relevant to the history of early modern science and the question of its roots because it has allowed the introduction of new agents and spaces previously excluded from the domain of scientific development. In other words, this enriched perspective has multiplied both the processes of knowledge construction and the arenas in which these processes were undertaken. More specifically, historical research is no longer limited to spaces traditionally linked to the construction of science; it now embraces less orthodox ones. Within this broadened field of inquiry, practical knowledge and the objects of material culture have come to occupy a central place. This special issue explores how the new directions in which the history of science has expanded have a direct impact on the study of Iberian science in the Atlantic world. (shrink)

O presente estudo propõe-se a analisar as medidas e os limites de precaução adotados pelos Poderes da República. Pretendem-se investigar as premissas em que estão fundamentadas as ações do Poder Judiciário, resultando no ativismo judicial. Ponderam-se, ainda, os limites do ativismo judicial e a harmonia entre Poderes. Ressaltam-se a importância atual da temática e a necessidade de exploração de suas repercussões para a construção social. A pesquisa, de viés qualitativo e de cunho exploratório, será lastreada em levantamento bibliográfico e dados (...) estatísticos obtidos através de fontes diversas. (shrink)

Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 No seminário de 1959-60, o psicanalista Jacques Lacan anuncia sua decisáo de abordar ali o tema da ética da psicanálise. Para uma clara compreensáo da contribuiçáo freudiana, ele resgata, como contraponto, a referência aristotélica da Ethica Nicomachea . Nessa obra, Aristóteles está em busca de um bem mais excelente, e este corresponde à felicidade. Ele pode ser alcançado pelo uso da atividade racional aliado à prática da virtude. Se, para Lacan, a investigaçáo aristotélica (...) comporta certa idealidade, o registro psicanalítico funda-se a partir da realidade. Para isso, ele retoma a noçáo freudiana de das Ding . Como objeto da primeira experiência de satisfaçáo, das Ding fundará todo o encaminhamento do sujeito. Na estrutura neurótica, entretanto, o reencontro com das Ding é excessivo; o sujeito náo o pode suportar. É por trás dessa realidade sem predicaçáo que é das Ding que Lacan encontrará a realidade que ordena, a saber, a lei da interdiçáo do incesto. É nessa dimensáo que o sujeito, em análise, é convocado a advir. O presente estudo, portanto, tem como objetivo realizar esse percurso – do bem supremo aristotélico à ética do desejo –, apontando as contribuições da psicanálise à discussáo ética. (shrink)

In this research work a novel two-step system for anomaly detection is presented and tested over several real datasets. In the first step the novel Exploratory Projection Pursuit, Beta Hebbian Learning algorithm, is applied over each dataset, either to reduce the dimensionality of the original dataset or to face nonlinear datasets by generating a new subspace of the original dataset with lower, or even higher, dimensionality selecting the right activation function. Finally, in the second step Principal Component Analysis anomaly detection (...) is applied to the new subspace to detect the anomalies and improve its classification capabilities. This new approach has been tested over several different real datasets, in terms of number of variables, number of samples and number of anomalies. In almost all cases, the novel approach obtained better results in terms of area under the curve with similar standard deviation values. In case of computational cost, this improvement is only remarkable when complexity of the dataset in terms of number of variables is high. (shrink)

_Yanomami_ raises questions central to the field of anthropology—questions concerning the practice of fieldwork, the production of knowledge, and anthropology's intellectual and ethical vision of itself. Using the Yanomami controversy—one of anthropology's most famous and explosive imbroglios—as its starting point, this book draws readers into not only reflecting on but refashioning the very heart and soul of the discipline. It is both the most up-to-date and thorough public discussion of the Yanomami controversy available and an innovative and searching assessment of (...) the current state of anthropology. The Yanomami controversy came to public attention through the publication of Patrick Tierney's best-selling book, _Darkness in El Dorado,_ in which he accuses James Neel, a prominent geneticist who belonged to the National Academy of Sciences, as well as Napoleon Chagnon, whose introductory text on the Yanomami is perhaps the best-selling anthropological monograph of all time, of serious human rights violations. This book identifies the ethical dilemmas of the controversy and raises deeper, structural questions about the discipline. A portion of the book is devoted to a unique roundtable in which important scholars on different sides of the issues debate back and forth with each other. This format draws readers into deciding, for themselves, where they stand on the controversy’s—and many of anthropology’s—central concerns. All of the royalties from this book will be donated to helping the Yanomami improve their healthcare. (shrink)

HAN, Byung-Chul. Sociedade do cansaço. Vozes, Petrópolis: 2017.

This article analyzes the encounter story of Paul and Lydia (Acts 16:13-15) as a concrete example of the practice of reciprocal gift exchange. The exchange of “gifts” between the two took place when Paul preached the Christian faith and baptized Lydia, and she reciprocated by giving Paul a ride. This study employs a social science approach by taking a repertoire of gift exchanges from the ancient Greco-Roman world to be applied to this story, and biblical studies for interpretation. From the (...) repertoire of exchanges available, we chose χάρις to apply to this story. The concept of χάρις reflects a reciprocal exchange that involves two actions at once, namely the giving of a “gift” and the receiving of it with gratitude in return. The reciprocal gift exchange between Paul and Lydia shows that a gift demands a response (reciprocity). However, the reciprocal exchange between the two was not exploitative, as it took place within the framework of Christ’s χάρις. Through the gift of Christ’s χάρις, they concretely share χάρις with one another. In this context, Paul and Lydia not only demonstrated their identity as followers of Christ but also strengthened their bonds as brothers and sisters. Abstrak Artikel ini menganalisa kisah pertemuan Paulus dan Lidia (Kis. 16:13-15) sebagai sebuah contoh konkret dari praktik pertukaran hadiah atau pemberian timbal balik. Pertukaran “hadiah” antara keduanya terjadi ketika Paulus mengajarkan iman Kristen dan membaptis Lidia, dan Lidia membalasnya dengan memberikan tumpangan kepada Paulus. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan ilmu sosial dengan memakai repertoar pertukaran hadiah atau pemberian timbal balik dari tradisi dunia Yunani-Romawi kuno untuk diterapkan dalam penafsiran biblis. Dari repertoar pertukaran yang tersedia, studi ini memilih χάρις untuk diterapkan dalam kisah tersebut. Konsep χάρις mencerminkan pertukaran timbal balik yang melibatkan dua tindakan sekaligus, yakni pemberian “hadiah” dan penerimaan dengan rasa syukur sebagai balasannya. Pertukaran hadiah timbal balik antara Paulus dan Lidia menunjukkan bahwa sejatinya sebuah pemberian menuntut tanggapan (resiprositas). Namun pertukaran timbal balik antara keduanya tidak bersifat eksploitatif, karena terjadi dalam bingkai χάρις Kristus. Melalui pemberian χάρις Kristus, mereka secara konkret berbagi χάρις terhadap satu sama lain. Dalam konteks ini, Paulus dan Lidia tidak hanya menunjukkan identitas mereka sebagai pengikut Kristus, tetapi juga memperkuat ikatan mereka sebagai saudara seiman. Kata-kata kunci: Paul, Lidya, χάρις, pertukaran timbal-balik, Kis 16: 13-15, budaya Yunani-Romawi. (shrink)

Trilingual edition of Agvaanbaldan's work. Included original Tibetan and Mongolian and English translations.

Theory of dualism and individualism in Mongolian philosophy.

On the Yin-yang, Chinese philosophy, and oral tradition in Mongolia.

Islamic ethics. ; Christian ethics. ; Ethics, Comparative.

Logical and methodological issues of scientific research.

Mongolian philosophical underpinnings of well‐being were expressed in the form of mythology, shamanism and Mongolian Buddhism before the development of modern nursing in Mongolia. Among these forms, the philosophical underpinnings of well‐being, mythology and shamanism were formed as a result of the roots of Mongolian philosophy, whereas Buddhism spread relatively late. As a result of Mongolian mythology, an alternative approach called dom zasal was formed, and it remains one of the important foundations of the idea of well‐being among people. Among (...) the various concepts of shamanism, the concept of sunesu best expresses the underpinning of well‐being, and the idea that healing and nursing care can be provided not only by those living in this world but also by spirit beings. Since Mongolians still use these ideas even in modern times, it should be noted that following them too narrowly may conflict with concepts based on scientific evidence. Along with the development of Buddhist philosophy in Mongolia, the Oriental philosophical underpinnings of well‐being have spread. One of the most important concepts is the five basic elements of life (tavan mahabhutas) and three elements of the body (khii, shar and badgan). While developing the concepts of life and the body, the arga‐bileg model (yin‐yang in Chinese), developed at the theoretical level in Chinese philosophy, has become a popular basis for culture and customs among Mongolians. Therefore, it has been difficult to judge whether the origin of the arga‐bileg model is Mongolian or Chinese; however, this is undeniably an important underpinning for well‐being in both countries. (shrink)