Bioethics is a field in which innovation is required to help prevent and respond to zoonotic diseases with the potential to cause epidemics and pandemics. Some of the developments necessary to fight pandemics, such as COVID-19 vaccines, require public debate on the benefits and risks of individual choice versus responsibility to society. While these debates are necessary, a more fundamental ethical innovation to rebalance human, animal, and environmental interests is also needed. One Health (OH) can be characterized as a strategy (...) that recognizes and promotes the synergy between human, animal, and environmental health. Yet, despite the recognition that these entities are interdependent, there is a pronounced inequality in the power relations between human, non-human animal, and the environmental interests which threatens the well-being of all. Until OH can ensure the moral status of animals and the environment and thereby the equal consideration of these interests, it will struggle to protect non-human interests and, as a result, human health. To create a sustainable health system requires a renewed concept of justice that is ecocentric in nature and an application of OH that is flexible and responsive to different ethical interests (e.g., person-centred care and physician responsibilities). Ultimately, to save themselves, humans must now think beyond themselves. Bioethics must assume a key role in supporting the developments required to create and maintain relationships able to sustain environmental and human health. (shrink)

Authorship is commonly used as the basis for the measurement of research productivity. It influences career progression and rewards, making it a valued commodity in a competitive scientific environment. To better understand authorship practices amongst collaborative teams, this study surveyed authors on collaborative journal articles published between 2011 and 2015. Of the 8364 respondents, 1408 responded to the final open-ended question, which solicited additional comments or remarks regarding the fair distribution of authorship in research teams. This paper presents the analysis (...) of these comments, categorized into four main themes: disagreements, questionable behavior, external influences regarding authorship, and values promoted by researchers. Results suggest that some respondents find ways to effectively manage disagreements in a collegial fashion. Conversely, others explain how distribution of authorship can become a “blood sport” or a “horror story” which can negatively affect researchers’ wellbeing, scientific productivity and integrity. Researchers fear authorship discussions and often try to avoid openly discussing the situation which can strain team interactions. Unethical conduct is more likely to result from deceit, favoritism, and questionable mentorship and may become more egregious when there is constant bullying and discrimination. Although values of collegiality, transparency and fairness were promoted by researchers, rank and need for success often overpowered ethical decision-making. This research provides new insight into contextual specificities related to fair authorship distribution that can be instrumental in developing applicable training tools to identify, prevent, and mitigate authorship disagreement. (shrink)

Based on the new general framework for the probabilistic description of experiments, introduced in [E.R. Loubenets, Research Report No 8, MaPhySto, University of Aarhus, Denmark (2003); Proceedings Conference “Quantum Theory, Reconsideration of Foundations”, Ser. Math. Modeling, Vol. 10 (University Press, Vaxjo, 2004), pp. 365–385], we analyze in mathematical terms the link between the validity of Bell-type inequalities under joint experiments upon a system of any type and the physical concept of “local realism”. We prove that the violation of Bell-type inequalities (...) in the quantum case has no connection with the violation of “local realism”. In a general setting, we formulate in mathematical terms the condition on “local realism” under a joint experiment and consider examples of quantum “locally realistic” joint experiments. We, in particular, show that quantum joint experiments of the Alice/Bob type are “locally realistic”. For an arbitrary bipartite quantum state, we derive quantum analogs of the original Bell inequality. In view of our results, we argue that the violation of Bell-type inequalities in the quantum case cannot be a valid argument in the discussion on locality or non-locality of quantum interactions. (shrink)

Quantum violation of Bell inequalities is now used in many quantum information applications and it is important to analyze it both quantitatively and conceptually. In the present paper, we analyze violation of multipartite Bell inequalities via the local probability model—the LqHV model, incorporating the LHV model only as a particular case and correctly reproducing the probabilistic description of every quantum correlation scenario, more generally, every nonsignaling scenario. The LqHV probability framework allows us to construct nonsignaling analogs of Bell inequalities and (...) to specify parameters quantifying violation of Bell inequalities—Bell’s nonlocality—in a general nonsignaling case. For quantum correlation scenarios on an N-qudit state, we evaluate these nonlocality parameters analytically in terms of dilation characteristics of an N-qudit state and also, numerically—in d and N. In view of our rigorous mathematical description of Bell’s nonlocality in a general nonsignaling case via the local probability model, we argue that violation of Bell inequalities in a quantum case is not due to violation of the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen locality conjectured by Bell but due to the improper HV modelling of “quantum realism”. (shrink)

For the probabilistic description of all the joint von Neumann measurements on a D-dimensional quantum system, we present the specific example of a context-invariant quasi hidden variable model, proved in Loubenets to exist for each Hilbert space. In this model, a quantum observable X is represented by a variety of random variables satisfying the functional condition required in quantum foundations but, in contrast to a contextual model, each of these random variables equivalently models X under all joint von Neumann measurements, (...) regardless of their contexts. This, in particular, implies the specific local qHV model for an N-qudit state and allows us to derive the new exact upper bound on the maximal violation of 2\2-setting Bell-type inequalities of any type under N-partite joint von Neumann measurements on an N-qudit state. For d = 2, this new upper bound coincides with the maximal violation by an N-qubit state of the Mermin–Klyshko inequality. Based on our results, we discuss the conceptual and mathematical advantages of context-invariant and local qHV modelling. (shrink)

We show that the so-called quantum probabilistic rule, usually introduced in the physical literature as an argument of the essential distinction between the probability relations under quantum and classical measurements, is not, as it is commonly accepted, in contrast to the rule for the addition of probabilities of mutually exclusive events. The latter is valid under all experimental situations upon classical and quantum systems. We discuss also the quantum measurement situation that is similar to the classical one, described by the (...) Bayes formula. We show the compatibility of the description of this quantum measurement situation in the frame of purely classical and experimentally justified straightforward frequency arguments and in the frame of the quantum stochastic approach to the description of generalized quantum measurements. In view of derived results, we argue that even under experiments upon classical systems the classical Bayes formula describes particular experimental situations that are specific for context-independent measurements. The similarity of the forms of the relation between the transformation of probabilities, which we derive in the frame of the quantum stochastic approach and in the frame of the approach, based on straightforward frequency arguments, underlines once more that the projective (von Neumann) measurements represent only a special type of measurement situations in quantum physics. (shrink)

There is a growing interest in improving the teaching–learning process at all levels of education, including higher education. In recent years, university institutions have been taking action to renew and modernize the way in which they teach and learn, making the process more dynamic and closer to the current social reality. Competencies such as the ability to work in a team have become essential for the successful implementation of innovative methodologies in which student participation is particularly relevant. Student acceptance is (...) key to the success of any teaching methodology; however, the influence of group work skills on satisfaction with innovative methodologies such as project-based learning has not yet been tested among university students. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the association between group work competencies and satisfaction with PBL. A total sample of 359 students from two Spanish universities participated in the research. Our results reveal that there is a significant and positive relationship between competencies related to group work and satisfaction with PBL. In addition, a multiple regression analysis shows that the competencies “Conception of group work,” “Usefulness of group work,” “Planning of group work by teachers,” and “Group norms” increase satisfaction with the use of the PBL methodology. This work expands our knowledge about the role in increasing students’ satisfaction that is played by the ability of college students to work as a team. These findings could also guide teachers interested in new teaching methodologies. (shrink)

Dispositional forgiveness is positively associated with many facets of wellbeing and has protective implications against depression and anxiety in adolescents. However, little work has been done to examine neurobiological aspects of forgiveness as they relate to clinical symptoms. In order to better understand the neural mechanisms supporting the protective role of forgiveness in adolescents, the current study examined the middle frontal gyrus, which comprises the majority of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and is associated with cognitive regulation, and its relationship to (...) forgiveness and clinical symptoms in a sample of healthy adolescents. In this cross-sectional study, larger MFG volume was significantly associated with higher self-reported dispositional forgiveness scores and lower levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Forgiveness mediated the relationship between MFG volume and both depressive and anxiety symptom levels. The mediating role of forgiveness in the relationship between MFG volume and clinical symptoms suggests that one way that cognitive regulation strategies supported by this brain region may improve adolescent mental health is via increasing a capacity for forgiveness. The present study highlights the relevance of forgiveness to neurobiology and their relevance to emotional health in adolescents. Future longitudinal studies should focus on the predictive quality of the relationship between forgiveness, brain volume and clinical symptoms and the effects of forgiveness interventions on these relationships. (shrink)

El ensayo procura explicar la noción de experiencia en el arte desde la filosofia hermenéutica. Para ello desarrolla los siguienres pasos: 1. Su temporalidad como una experiencia de la actualidad en el encuentro de los interlocutores, la obra de arte y el receptor. 2. La importancia de la conversación como modelo para el encuentro. 3. El reconocimiento y la apertura de un horizonte de sentido. Esta experiencia es un acomecimiento que lo cambia a uno mismo e implica por lo tanto (...) una atención especial a la representación, ejecución o realización de la obra de arte. (shrink)

Rapid polymerization and depolymerization of actin filaments in response to extracellular stimuli is required for normal cell motility and development. Profilin is one of the most important actin‐binding proteins; it regulates actin polymerization and interacts with many cytoskeletal proteins that link actin to extracellular membrane. The molecular mechanism of profilin has been extensively considered and debated in the literature for over two decades. Here we discuss several accepted hypotheses regarding the mechanism of profilin function as well as new recently emerged (...) possibilities. Thermal noise is routine in molecular world and unsurprisingly, nature has found a way to utilize it. An increasing amount of theoretical and experimental research suggests that fluctuation‐based processes play important roles in many cell events. Here we show how a fluctuation‐based process of exchange diffusion is involved in the regulation of actin polymerization. (shrink)

Fundamental motor skills of children can be affected by different variables, such as executive functions, gender and relative age. However, the effects of these variables on FMS have been scarce studied, especially in early childhood, and show inconsistent results. To clarify these relationships, this study was carried out. Its aim was to analyze whether EF, gender and relative age influenced FMS in 43 Spanish kindergarteners. A multimethod and mixed methods approach was used. Kindergarteners’ teachers completed the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (...) to know the children level of EF. Kindergarteners’ parents complimented ad hoc questionnaire reporting the children gender and birth data. A Nomothetic/Punctual/Multidimensional observational design was used to observe children FMS in their habitual motor sessions at school. Two-way ANOVAs were performed to know the independent and interactive effects of working memory level, inhibition control level, gender and relative age on FMS. Results showed these variables have independent and interactive effects on some FMS, but not on others. FMS influenced by these variables vary depending what independent variable is/are considered. Therefore, it can be concluded that the influences of teacher-rated EF, gender and relative age on observed FMS in kindergarteners are complex and specific. Results obtained must be taken into to design and implement instructional and intervention strategies, as well as educational and sport policy changes, especially in early childhood, when FMS are more malleable. (shrink)

Both unipolar and bipolar depression have been linked with impairments in executive functioning. In particular, mood symptom severity is associated with differences in common EF, a latent measure of general EF abilities. The relationship between mood disorders and EF is particularly salient in adolescence and young adulthood when the ongoing development of EF intersects with a higher risk of mood disorder onset. However, it remains unclear if common EF impairments have associations with specific symptom dimensions of mood pathology such as (...) blunted positive affect, mood instability, or physiological arousal, or if differences in common EF more broadly relate to what is shared across various symptom domains, such as general negative affect or distress. To address this question, bifactor models can be applied to simultaneously examine the shared and unique contributions of particular mood symptom dimensions. However, no studies to our knowledge have examined bifactor models of mood symptoms in relation to measures of common EF. This study examined associations between common EF and general vs. specific symptom dimensions using structural equation modeling in adolescents and young adults with varying severity of mood symptoms. A General Depression factor capturing shared variance across symptoms statistically predicted lower Common EF. Additionally, a factor specific to physiological arousal was associated with lower Common EF. Anhedonia-specific and Mania-specific factors were not significantly related to Common EF. Altogether, these results indicate that deficits in common EF are driven by, or reflect, general features of mood pathology that are shared across symptom dimensions but are also specifically associated with physiological arousal. (shrink)

Graphical AbstractCephalopods provide a unique model system to investigate how organismal novelties evolve. In article number 1900073, Elena A. Ritschard et al. discuss how co-evolutionary signatures among various genomic characters have contributed to cephalopod organismal novelties and can be used to dissect their functional organization. Cover illustration by Hannah Schmidbaur.

How genomic innovation translates into organismal organization remains largely unanswered. Possessing the largest invertebrate nervous system, in conjunction with many species‐specific organs, coleoid cephalopods (octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes) provide exciting model systems to investigate how organismal novelties evolve. However, dissecting these processes requires novel approaches that enable deeper interrogation of genome evolution. Here, the existence of specific sets of genomic co‐evolutionary signatures between expanded gene families, genome reorganization, and novel genes is posited. It is reasoned that their co‐evolution has contributed to (...) the complex organization of cephalopod nervous systems and the emergence of ecologically unique organs. In the course of reviewing this field, how the first cephalopod genomic studies have begun to shed light on the molecular underpinnings of morphological novelty is illustrated and their impact on directing future research is described. It is argued that the application and evolutionary profiling of evolutionary signatures from these studies will help identify and dissect the organismal principles of cephalopod innovations. By providing specific examples, the implications of this approach both within and beyond cephalopod biology are discussed. (shrink)

Here we present what we believe is a novel account of what languages are, along with an axiomatically rich representation of languages and language-related data that is based on this account. We propose an account of languages as aggregates of dispositions distributed across aggregates of persons, and in doing so we address linguistic competences and the processes that realize them. This paves the way for representing additional types of language-related entities. Like demographic data of other sorts, data about languages may (...) be of use to researchers in a number of areas, including biomedical research. Data on the languages used in clinical encounters are typically included in medical records, and capture an important factor in patient-provider interactions. Like many types of patient and demographic data, data on a person’s preferred and primary languages are organized in different ways by different systems. This can be a barrier to data integration. We believe that a robust framework for representing language in general and preferred and primary language in particular – which has been lacking in ontologies thus far – can promote more successful integration of language-related data from disparate data sources. (shrink)

To what extent is the choice of what to say driven by seemingly irrelevant cues in the visual world being described? Among such cues, how does prior description affect how we process spatial scenes? When people describe where objects are located their use of spatial language is often associated with a choice of reference frame. Two experiments employing between-participants designs (N = 490) examined the effects of visual cueing and previous description on reference frame choice as reflected in spatial prepositions (...) (in front of, to the left of, etc.) to describe pictures of object pairs. Experiment 1 examined the effects of visual and linguistic cues on spatial description choice through movement of object(s) in spatial scenes, showing sizeable effects of visual cueing on reference frame choice. Experiment 2 monitored eye movements of participants following a linguistic example description, revealing two findings: eye movement “signatures” associated with distinct reference frames as expressed in language, and transfer of these eye movement patterns just prior to spatial description for different (later) picture descriptions. Both verbal description and visual cueing similarly influence language production choice through manipulation of visual attention, suggesting a unified theory of constraints affecting spatial language choice. (shrink)

This paper considers an approach to teaching ethics in bioengineering based on the How People Learn (HPL) framework. Curricula based on this framework have been effective in mathematics and science instruction from the kindergarten to the college levels. This framework is well suited to teaching bioengineering ethics because it helps learners develop “adaptive expertise”. Adaptive expertise refers to the ability to use knowledge and experience in a domain to learn in unanticipated situations. It differs from routine expertise, which requires using (...) knowledge appropriately to solve routine problems. Adaptive expertise is an important educational objective for bioengineers because the regulations and knowledge base in the discipline are likely to change significantly over the course of their careers. This study compares the performance of undergraduate bioengineering students who learned about ethics for stem cell research using the HPL method of instruction to the performance of students who learned following a standard lecture sequence. Both groups learned the factual material equally well, but the HPL group was more prepared to act adaptively when presented with a novel situation. (shrink)

Aging is associated with decreased functional connectivity in the main brain networks, which can underlie changes in cognitive and emotional processing. Neurofeedback is a promising non-pharmacological approach for the enhancement of brain connectivity. Previously, we showed that a single session of infra-low frequency neurofeedback results in increased connectivity between sensory processing networks in healthy young adults. In the current pilot study, we aimed to evaluate the possibility of enhancing brain connectivity during aging with the use of infra-low frequency neurofeedback. Nine (...) females aged 52 ± 7 years with subclinical signs of emotional dysregulation, including anxiety, mild depression, and somatoform symptoms, underwent 15 sessions of training. A resting-state functional MRI scan was acquired before and after the training. A hypothesis-free intrinsic connectivity analysis showed increased connectivity in regions in the bilateral temporal fusiform cortex, right supplementary motor area, left amygdala, left temporal pole, and cerebellum. Next, a seed-to-voxel analysis for the revealed regions was performed using the post- vs. pre-neurofeedback contrast. Finally, to explore the whole network of neurofeedback-related connectivity changes, the regions revealed by the intrinsic connectivity and seed-to-voxel analyses were entered into a network-based statistical analysis. An extended network was revealed, including the temporal and occipital fusiform cortex, multiple areas from the visual cortex, the right posterior superior temporal sulcus, the amygdala, the temporal poles, the superior parietal lobule, and the supplementary motor cortex. Clinically, decreases in alexithymia, depression, and anxiety levels were observed. Thus, infra-low frequency neurofeedback appears to be a promising method for enhancing brain connectivity during aging, and subsequent sham-controlled studies utilizing larger samples are feasible. (shrink)

Se realiza una revisión bibliográfica con el objetivo de analizar los diferentes códigos éticos y deontológicos internacionales, regionales y nacionales de los que se nutre la especialidad de psiquiatría. Se concluye que el comportamiento ético se basa en el sentido de la responsabilidad individual de cada psiquiatra hacia cada paciente y en la capacidad de ambos para determinar cuál es la conducta correcta y más apropiada. Las normas externas y las directrices, tales como los códigos de conducta profesional, las aportaciones (...) de la ética y de las normas legales, no garantizan por sí solas la práctica ética de la medicina, pero constituyen un importante marco referencial. A literature review was performed with the objective of analyzing the various international, regional and national ethical and deontological codes that the psychiatry specialty feeds on. It is concluded that ethical behavior is based on the sense of individual responsibility of each psychiatrist to each patient and the ability of both to determine what the correct and appropriate behavior is. External standards and guidelines, such as professional codes of conduct, the study of ethics and legal standards alone do not guarantee the ethical practice of medicine but are an important framework. (shrink)

In this paper, I propose a logical-cognitive approach to argumentation and advocate an idea that argumentation presupposes that intelligent agents engaged in it are cognitively diverse. My approach to argumentation allows drawing distinctions between justification, conviction and persuasion as its different kinds. In justification agents seek to verify weak or strong coherency of an agent’s position in a dialogue. In conviction they argue to modify their partner’s position by means of demonstrating weak or strong cogency of their positions before a (...) ‘rational judge’. My approach to argumentation employs a ‘light’ version of Dung’s abstract argumentative frameworks. It is based on Stich’s idea of agents’ cognitive diversity the epistemic aspect of which is argued to be close to Pavilionis’s conception of meaning continuum. To illustrate my contributions I use an example based on the Kitchen Debate (1959) between Khrushchev and Nixon. (shrink)

The historical factors as well as the units of the cultural knowledge which are considered to have provided Chateaubriand’s books, and “The Genius of Christianity” in particular, with the success and the content are the subject of the present article. The following historical reasons which attracted the readers’ attention to the book have been defined: the disappointment of the society with the atheistic ideals of the revolution, the need for religious cult restoring, the authorities’ desire to stop strife in the (...) country and build relationships with Catholic Europe. The semantic content of the work also contributed to its popularity because it responded to the request of finding logic in the religion, had an emotional impact and dealt with the relevant issues of the morality by means of the cultural category of sinfulness. Scientific novelty of the research implies the following: the cultural category of sinfulness objectified in F.R. Chateaubriand’s book “The Genius of Christianity” having been analyzed for the first time as well as the author’s approach to the understanding and cultural information streamlining having been identified. More over cultural-historical factors promoting the book’s prominence among Chateaubriand’s contemporaries have been studied. The author’s using rational way while explaining the basis of the sin, resorting to the strict argumentation and the evidence-based methods, denying religious irrationality have been set. The conducted research has shown the key factors leading to the book’s relevance: the society’s necessity of the religion revival, the authorities’ support of this tendency specified by the political environment. (shrink)

In 1995, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Engineering Education receiveda grant from the National Science Foundation to undertake a project aimed both at assisting Russian philosophers in developingcurriculum on engineering ethics and learning how context affects the teaching of engineering ethics. The project began with threeRussian philosophers visiting the U.S. to observe how we teach engineering ethics. The American members of the project then madethree visits to Russia to be part of three (...) different workshops that brought together Russian professors from a variety of disciplines toexchange ideas about teaching ethics among themselves and with the Americans. During these visits, three of the Russians asked if we thought American philosophers would be interested in hearing about the Russian situation. We were delighted by the question (especially since we had become fascinated with the differences in Russian ideas about ethics), and responded with enthusiasm for the idea of their writing such an article. The article that follows is the result of their endeavor to explain how business ethics issues arise in Russia. Among other things, the article reveals how Russia's history and the experiences of Russians under the U.S.S.R create a context extremely different from our own, for thinking about (and teaching) business ethics.-Deborah G. Johnson and Vivian WeiI. (shrink)

El programa contemporáneo de superación de la epistemología encabezado por R. Rorty y Ch. Taylor se presenta como una crítica hermenéutica a la concepción gnoseológica fundamentalista que comienza a fraguarse con Descartes. Sin embargo, estos autores están también interesados en poner en evidencia, y sobre todo en cuestión, el proyecto práctico sobre el que se articula la moderna teoría del conocimiento. Este interés también es compartido por quienes contraatacan ese programa, tal y como ejemplifican la propuesta de reconstrucción de la (...) epistemología de S. Haack o la meta-epistemología histórica de I. Hacking. El artículo aborda acotadamente este debate centrándose en la discusión mantenida entre ambos frentes a propósito de algunas nociones gnoseológicas como objetividad y verdad. (shrink)

We report on the small-scale (0.5 13 h - 1M, a large-scale bias of ~2.0 and a satellite fraction of 12 ± 2 per cent. Thus, these galaxies occupy haloes with average masses in between those of the higher redshift BOSS CMASS sample and the original SDSS I/II luminous red galaxy sample © 2012 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society © doi:10.1093/mnras/sts314.

Achille Varzi è uno dei maggiori metafisici viventi. Nel corso degli anni ha scritto testi fondamentali di logica, metafisica, mereologia, filosofia del linguaggio. Ha sconfinato nella topologia, nella geografia, nella matematica, ha ragionato di mostri e confini, percezione e buchi, viaggi nel tempo, nicchie, eventi e ciambelle; e non ha disdegnato di dialogare con gli abitanti di Flatlandia, con Neo e con Terminator. Tra le sue opere principali: Holes and Other Superficialities e Parts and Places. The Structures of Spatial Representation, (...) entrambi scritti insieme a R. Casati per MIT Press; Il mondo messo a fuoco, Laterza; e il suo libro più recente: Le tribolazioni del filosofare, con C. Calosi, per Laterza. -/- Da una giornata all’Università di Urbino nasce questa conversazione a molte voci sulla e con la filosofia di Achille C. Varzi. In un dialogo critico al quale l’Autore si presta con generosità e onestà intellettuale, Andrea Borghini, Francesco Calemi, Claudio Calosi, Elena Casetta, Valeria Giardino, Pierluigi Graziani, Patrizia Pedrini, Daniele Santoro e Giuliano Torrengo lo interrogano e mettono alla prova sui temi affrontati, nel corso degli anni, in campi diversi. Il risultato è un percorso che si snoda attraverso molti mondi, dalla logica alla metafisica, dalla filosofia del linguaggio alla filosofia della matematica, dalla mereologia alla filosofia del tempo, spingendosi in qualche caso oltre i confini del saggio filosofico. (shrink)

Con el interés de reconocer lo particular y amparar el derecho a la diferencia, el programa de superación de la epistemología que comparten R. Rorty y Ch. Taylor pone en cuestión las nociones de “verdad” y “objetividad”, aunque en dos sentidos encontrados. Para el primero de estos autores, se trata de anularambos conceptos a favor de un ironismo liberal que concede la contingencia de nuestras prácticas interpretativas, mientras que para el segundo, el camino pasa por justificarlos éticamente, en clave comunitarista. (...) Frente a ambas estrategias, se perfilan las posiciones de otros pensadores de vocación epistemológica —e ilustrada—, como S. Haack y I. Hacking, que, sin recaer en el fundamentalismo que aquejaba al proyecto moderno, pero sin apoyarse tampoco en el comunitarismo, defienden la necesidad de conservar no sólo por razones teóricas sino esencialmente prácticas —ligadas al modus vivendi occidental— el punto de vista normativo que encierran la verdad y la objetividad. (shrink)

Many stanzas of the Ṛgvedasaṃhitā are re-used in the liturgical literature, that is, mainly in the Saṃhitās of the Yajurveda and in the Brāhmaṇas. Most of them are quoted precisely and they are apportioned in each different rite; yet, there are quite a few cases in which some variations have been adopted and the material of the sourcetext has been manipulated. As to the cultural development that resulted in such a use of the hymns, one of the most intriguing question (...) is whether it was a mere redactional enterprise, or if a clear intention guided the choices that the creators of the liturgies have taken, and eventually how deep was the consciousness of the brāhmaṇical redactors as for the poetic elements of the material they were dealing with. In order to approach this question, I decided to focus on a specific aspect that this issue entails, namely the different ways with which the Ṛgvedic verses are integrated in the texts. Thus, the present paper aims at analysing various modalities of re-use and at examining their functions. The final part of the article takes into consideration some instances of quotations’ marks. (shrink)