The monograph is focused on the subjectivity of aesthetic experience and the problem of rational interpretation of emotionality. The text studies why does an aesthetic experience exist, what is its content and what is its informational role and structure? Has beauty any cognitive value? Can we analyse beauty? In what sense we can think about the information content of aesthetic experience? The second topic of the book is a cognitive role of emotionality and its research. Why we have emotions? What (...) can they tell us about yourself and about the world? The methodology of the study is designed as a phenomenological research of subjective experience that is combined with the newest results in Cognitive science research. --Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

The book is a second volume of the project, which is focused on a systematic examination of aesthetic experience by the unification of philosophical and cognitive-scientific approaches to beauty and aesthetic experience. This volume is focused on the analysis of selected aspects of aesthetic experience, especially on methodological problems and aspects of philosophical and scientific research, the question of the complementarity and compatibility of methods, and needs to interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. Authors of the chapters are considering about diverse areas (...) of perception of beauty, e.g.: pleasure by face perception; the synchronicity by music; the problems of musical chills; the psychosomatic unity of dance; or the problem of development of aesthetic appreciation. (shrink)

This article presents a study of how co-present individuals work out the nature of embodied engagement and disengagement displays by individuals with dementia in a Danish public care facility. Research has found that moderate to severe dementia may result, for example, in a lack of social engagement, apathy and problems in maintaining conversations. Research has, however, also found that co-present individuals indicate their right to unavailability for social interaction. This is accomplished through details of embodied and multimodal conduct such as (...) gaze behavior, which includes practices of glancing and gazing at co-present individuals or practices of gazing into space. These practices may coincide with indications of ‘lack of social engagement’ and ‘apathy’. This study falls within the framework of ethnomethodology and employs multimodal conversation analytic methods to show how co-present individuals monitor residents’ displays of engagement and disengagement, primarily gaze behavior and how they respond to them. The study is based on 20 hours of video-recordings. (shrink)

The reign of paper files would seem to be over once files are reduced to the status of icons on computer screens, but Vismann's book, which examines the impact of the file on Western institutions throughout history, shows how the creation of order in medieval and early modern administrations makes its returns in computer architecture.

Statements such as “X is beautiful but I don’t like how it looks” or “I like how X looks but it is not beautiful” sound contradictory. How contradictory they sound might however depend on the object X and on the aesthetic adjective being used (“beautiful”, “elegant”, “dynamic”, etc.). In our study, the first sentence was estimated to be more contradictory than the latter: If we describe something as beautiful, we often intend to evaluate its appearance, whereas it is less counterintuitive (...) to appreciate an appearance without finding it beautiful. Furthermore, statements including “beautiful” appeared more contradictory than those including “elegant” and “dynamic”, pointing to its greater evaluative component. When related to artworks, sentences could appear less contradictory due to readers’ consideration of the divergence between conventional beauty and art-related sensory pleasures that can even include negative valence. Such ambivalence might be more frequent in art-objects than in other artefacts. Indeed, in our study, sentences referring to artworks were estimated to be less contradictory compared to sentences referring to other artefacts. Meanwhile, an additional small group of graphic design students showed a less clear difference between art-related and non-art-related sentences. We discuss the potential influence of art experience and interest as well as theoretical and methodological challenges like the conceptualization of beauty. (shrink)

Powerful ultrastructural tools are providing new insights into neuronal circuits, revealing a wealth of anatomically‐defined synaptic connections. These wiring diagrams are incomplete, however, because functional connectivity is actively shaped by neuromodulators that modify neuronal dynamics, excitability, and synaptic function. Studies of defined neural circuits in crustaceans, C. elegans, Drosophila, and the vertebrate retina have revealed the ability of modulators and sensory context to reconfigure information processing by changing the composition and activity of functional circuits. Each ultrastructural connectivity map encodes multiple (...) circuits, some of which are active and some of which are latent at any given time. (shrink)

Cornelia Dean draws on her 30 years as a science journalist with the New York Times to expose the flawed reasoning and knowledge gaps that handicap readers when they try to make sense of science. She calls attention to conflicts of interest in research and the price society pays when science journalism declines and funding dries up.--.

This paper explores one organisation’s journey into non-financial reporting, initially motivated by a crisis in public confidence that threatened the organisation’s legitimacy to the present with the organisation embracing integrated reporting. The organisation’s journey is framed through a legitimation lens and is illustrated by aligning internal reflections with external outputs guided by predominant paradigms of good practice, such as the GRI guidelines and more recently integrated reporting 〈IR〉. We find that the organisation’s relationship with external guidelines has evolved from pragmatic (...) adoption as a means of seeking external legitimation to the present position where those that prepare external reports are informed by the organisation’s strategic positioning and not constrained by the promulgation of voluntary guidelines. From the case study, we suggest that the International Integrated Reporting Council may face two hurdles: First, organisations may define social norms based on a broader definition of stakeholders than the definition currently published by the IIRC. The second hurdle is to convince report preparers that adopting integrated reporting 〈IR〉 will positively impact on capital flows. (shrink)

The goal of the article is to offer a framework against which relations between gesture and sign can be systematically explored beyond the current literature. It does so by a) reconstructing the history of the discussion in the field of gesture studies, focusing on three leading positions (Kendon, McNeill, Goldin-Meadow); and b) by formulating a position to illustrate how this can be achieved. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for systematic cross-linguistic research on multimodal use of language in its (...) signed and spoken forms. (shrink)

The present essay aims first at clarifying Werner Beierwaltes’ understanding of Neoplatonism at large as the accomplishment of Greek philosophy pursued by Plotinus and coherently developed by Proclus. It seeks secondly to locate Beierwaltes’ remarkable effort to trace the “Wirkungsgeschichte” of Neoplatonism. Focus has been placed, thirdly on his understanding of Dionysius Areopagita as the effective mediator of Neoplatonic issues in the Latin philosophical tradition long before the rediscovery of Proclus in the 13. century. Beierwaltes’ understanding of Dionysius’ “Christian Neoplatonism” (...) as a lucky instance of “Hellenization of Christianity” is finally compared with different exegesis provided by Ivánka and Balthasar in the years immediately preceding Beierwaltes’ remarkable Proclus-monography of 1965. (shrink)

While generally accepted as an interpretive theory, Bull’s emblematic text demonstrates strong structural characteristics. Subsequent attributions move between the interpretive or ‘reflexive’ and t...

The intuitive notion of a binary relation on information-bearers, comparingthem with respect to their closeness to the available information, is oftenconstrued in terms of comparing their symmetric difference with, orcompositional similarity to, the available information. This happens forinstance in some treatments of verisimilitude. We expound an abstractmathematical rendering of the relevant data-dependent relation in theframework of Boolean algebras. For every element t of a Boolean algebra B we construct the t-modulated Boolean algebra Btin which the order relation represents `is at (...) most as compatible with t as'' or `is at best as similar to t as''. In the case of Lindenbaum-Tarskialgebras, t expresses the available information, and the compatibilityrelation turns out to be an entwinement of inferential and conjecturalrelations. It is just classical entailment when no information is available(i.e., when t is logically true) and becomes more boldly abductive themore information is available. The rich algebraic structures of a Boolean algebra –- including its Boolean group structures –- play a significant role in this combination of deduction and abduction and also induce cautious anddaring variants of the compatibility relation. Links with the literature onverisimilitude, abduction, and related topics are indicated. (shrink)

First published in 2010, Cornelia Vismann’s article has already attained the status of a classic. In a formulation inspired by linguistic theory, the author argues that the relation between cultural techniques and media can be understood in analogy to grammatical operations. Thus, cultural techniques define the agency of media and execute the procedural rules which the latter set in place. Together, they articulate a critique of subjectivity and sovereignty that proceeds by re-examining the notion of ‘culture’ via its agricultural (...) origins to the current moment when the ‘preservation of cultural techniques’ has entered legal and academic discourse. Ultimately, despite their apparent separation from praxis, cultural techniques continue to proliferate through axes of substitution and displacement. (shrink)

The Mahapuranas embody the received tradition of Hindu mythology. This anthology contains fresh translations of these myths, only a few of which have ever been available in English before, thus providing a rich new portion of Hindu mythology. The book is organized into six chapters. "Origins" contains myths relating to creation, time, and space. "Seers, Kings and Supernaturals" relates tales of rivers, trees, animals, demons, and men, particularly heroes and sages. Myths about the chief gods are dealt with in three (...) separate chapters: "Krsna," "Visnu," and "Siva." The chapter "The Goddess" presents stories of the wives and lovers of the gods, as well as of Kali, the savage battle goddess. In their introductions, the editors provide a historical setting in which to discuss Hindu mythology as well as a full analysis of its basic sources. The many names given the gods and goddesses in the Sanskrit texts have been retained since their multiplicity is an essential part of the richness of the original. The editors have provided a thorough glossary to make these names accessible. (shrink)

: The love of ruins has generated various epistemes and disciplines: In the sixteenth century it informed philology, in the nineteenth century historiography and criminology. Its status has changed from an allegorical one in the Renaissance to a literal, positivistic one at the beginning of the twentieth century. Johann Gustav Droysen was among the first who reflected the positivistic treatment of ruins systematically. The Prussian historiographer formulated a theory of remains including both written documents and material objects. In the twentieth (...) century the positivistic view lost its appeal for scholars. They began to question the supposed ability of ruins to access the past. The physicality of remains was no longer trusted to guide the process of memory. This disillusion in the power of remains led to a practice of mere tabulation where statistics instead of historical narrative were generated. The contemporary philosopher Giorgio Agamben proposes yet another way of dealing with remains. He liberates ruins from their materialistic shell altogether and takes them consequently in their. (shrink)

Learning in intelligent systems is a result of direct or indirect interaction with the environment. Humans can learn by way of different states of (inter-)action such as the execution or the imagery of an action, but their unique potential to induce brain-related as well as mind-related changes in the motor action system is still being debated. The systematic repetition of different states of action (e.g., execution and imagery in terms of physical and mental practice) and their contribution to the learning (...) of complex motor actions has traditionally been approached by way of performance improvements. More recently, approaches highlighting the role of action representation in the learning of complex motor actions have evolved. In the present perspective paper, we build on brain-related findings and sketch recent research on learning by way of imagery and execution from a hierarchical, perceptual-cognitive approach to the motor action system. These findings provide valuable insights into the learning of intelligent systems from a perceptual-cognitive, representation-based perspective and as such add to our current understanding of action representation in memory and its changes with practice. Future research should build bridges between approaches in order to more thoroughly understand functional changes throughout the learning process, and to jointly contribute to developing intelligent cognitive systems and their application in robotics, rehabilitation, or sports. (shrink)

Baselitz is one of the most important artists of today. His works can be found in major museums around the world. For over 30 years, photographer Benjamin Katz has been documenting Baselitz at work in different studios. This volume now captures Baselitz's exceptional life at work and at home. Benjamin Katz is famous for his photographic portraits of artists. Among his previous subjects are Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys, Sigmar Polke, Rosemarie Trockel, and Martin Kippenberger. Because Katz is friends with most (...) of the artists, he is able to capture them when they are completely at ease. But, as he explains in this book, he prefers to photograph people while they are in the process of doing something. Katz shows Baselitz with paintbrush and hammer, and dog and cigar - the close relationship between the two artists is almost palpable. The photographs are the result of a friendship in an artistic world that they have been sharing for many decades. Cornelia Gockel's essay discusses Katz's unique, new window on the world of Georg Baselitz. (shrink)

The 2D:4D-Ratio, as an indirect measure of the fetal testosterone to estradiol ratio, is potentially very important for understanding and explaining different personality traits. It was the aim of the present study to replicate the findings from Fink et al. (2004) about the relation between individual differences in 2D:4D-Ratios and the Five Factor Model in different cultural groups. Therefore a sample of n = 78 Chinese and n = 370 German participants was recruited. Every participant provided hand scans of both (...) hands, from which 2D:4D-Ratios were computed. Moreover, all participants filled in the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Significant sex differences were found for ratios of both hands in the expected direction, with females showing higher ratios than males. With respect to links between personality and the digit ratio, a positive association was observed between 2D:4D-Ratio and Neuroticism in females, as shown in the earlier study. These findings were observed in both female subsamples from China and Germany, as well as in the full sample of participants. But in contrast to the results for the whole and the German female sample, where 2D:4D-Ratio of both hands were related to Neuroticism, in the Chinese female sample only left hand 2D:4D-Ratio was significantly and positively related to Neuroticism. There were no significant correlations found in any of the male samples. Thus, prenatal exposure to sex steroids appears to influence the personality factor Neuroticism in females specifically. This finding potentially has implications for mental health, as Neuroticism has been shown to be a risk factor for various forms of psychopathology. (shrink)

The following text provides a conceptual and theoretical introduction to a collection of essays written by members of the multidisciplinary network of scholars, artists and cultural producers named ‘Poetics of Resistance’, which seeks to analyse and encourage discussion of the relationships between creativity, culture and political resistance, in the context of neoliberal globalization. The introduction also provides a critical glossary of a set of loosely interlinking keywords, following Raymond Williams, that mark points of encounter and departure between the approaches of (...) the various authors (not to be confused with the list of keywords used to index each article). Rather than presenting a completed research project, this issue serves as a basis for continuing collaborative research and dialogue in the field, and invites readers to join in the ongoing debate. The contributors to this issue are Paulina Aroch Fugellie, Burghard Baltrusch, Arturo Casas, María do Cebreiro Rábade Villar, Roberto Echavarren, Marcos Giadas Conde, Cornelia Gräbner, Nathalia Jabur, Thomas Muhr and David Wood. (shrink)

Dem Postmarxismus wird haufig ein mangelndes Verstandnis des Staats vorgeworfen. Dieser Band stellt sich dieser Lesart entgegen und zeichnet ein vielfaltiges Bild der Staatsverstandnisse von Abensour, Agamben, Badiou, Balibar, Bauman, Butler, Castoriadis, Deleuze und Guattari, Derrida, Hardt und Negri, Hall, Holloway, Lefort und Gauchet, Laclau und Mouffe, Nancy, Ranciere und zizek. Die Zugange dieser Autor_innen zum Staat werden anhand zentraler Konzepte in leicht zuganglicher Form dargestellt und von marxistischen und neomarxistischen Staatstheorien abgegrenzt. Im letzten Teil werden die gegenseitigen Beeinflussungen zwischen (...) postmarxistischen Staatsverstandnissen einerseits und feministischen und postkolonialen Zugangen andererseits beschrieben, wie auch die Verschrankung postmarxistischer Theorien mit zeitgenossischen politischen Bewegungen. Insgesamt bietet der Band damit einen erstmaligen Uberblick zu den Konzepten und der Bedeutung postmarxistischer Staatsverstandnisse. (shrink)

Inflammatory bowel disease is chronic and incurable. Imperious diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fatigue, and weight loss, the main manifestations, cause a decrease in the quality of the patient’s personal and professional life. The objectives of this study were to identify a possible relationship between early maladaptive schemas and disease activity status using logistic regression, to identify the prevalence of early maladaptive schemes in patients and to propose a psychotherapeutic intervention plan. The following were found in a sample of 46 patients aged (...) 16–76 years. An increase in the domain overvigilance and inhibition score had a significant effect, with an increase of 1.137 CI95% [1.031, 1.254] of the risk of the disease being diagnosed as active. High and very high scores were observed for the emotional deprivation scheme and dependence/incompetence, vulnerability to harm and illness and subjugation schemas. The results show that the proposed model could predict and reconfirm the diagnosis; patients have specific psychotherapeutic needs. The therapeutic goal would be to offer care, empathy and protection, to strengthen self-confidence, to make patients realize that they have the ability to cope, to provide permission, encourage the patient to experiment, and guide the patient to express their anger healthily. The therapy scheme’s intervention could lead to increased long-term disease management capacity and, consequently, reduce costs directly and indirectly caused by this condition. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungDie fragmentierte und scheinbar kontingente Struktur von Goethes Roman Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre folgt, so soll hier gezeigt werden, nicht zuletzt auch einem besonderen Zeitregime. Der Roman erprobt vor allem in seiner um Wilhelm und Lenardo gruppierten Handlung Formen des analeptischen Erzählens, das die Ereignisse nicht chronologisch-linear, sondern in wiederholten Rückgriffen und Zeitschleifen entwickelt. Dieses Erzählen von und in Vorgeschichten folgt einem Schema, das Goethe in den homerischen Epen vorgeprägt sieht, das aber auch mit Zeitreflexionen aus seinen geologischen Studien korrespondiert.The fragmented (...) and apparently contingent structure of Goethe’s novel Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre introduces, as will be shown here, a specific time regime. The novel unfolds the stories of its main characters Wilhelm and Lenardo in an analeptical fashion developing its events not in their chronological order, but in time loops and regressions. This narrative of and in ›Vorgeschichten‹ harks back to Goethe’s reading of Homeric epic and also corresponds to temporal reflections voiced in his geological studies. (shrink)

In recent debates about inequality, many have pointed to the predominant position of the finance. This article highlights that structural power, not lobbying resources, are key to explaining variations across countries. It examines finance-government negotiations over national bank rescue schemes during the recent financial crisis. Given the structural power of finance, the variation in bank bailouts across countries cannot be explained by lobbying differences. Instead of observing organized interest intermediation, we can see that disorganization was crucial for the financial industry (...) to get off the hook and let the government carry the burden of stabilizing the economy. Put differently, structural power is strongest when finance remains collectively inactive. In contrast to traditional accounts of the lobbying influence of finance, the comparison highlights that the lack of organization can have crucial redistributive consequences. (shrink)

In this short introductory article the origin of this special issue in a Cambridge conference in 2019 is briefly sketched. Moreover, the specific approach which the organizers wanted to highlight is elucidated. Also, a preview is offered of the various contributions to this special issue.