Ackrill’s Problem is a tension between Aristotle’s alleged view that the matter of a living being is a body that is essentially ensouled, and his view that the matter of a substance preexists its generation. Most interpreters solve the tension by claiming that the subject of substantial generation is not the organic body of the living being, but its non-organic matter. I defend a different solution by showing that the embryological theory ofOn the Generation of Animalsimplies that the organic body (...) of a living being already exists before acquiring the soul in actuality. (shrink)

The painter Francis Bacon and the philosopher Gilles Deleuze agree with Heraclitus: any phenomenon is constituted of movement or becoming and no appearance endures. I read Francis Bacon, The Logic of Sensation from the perspective of the Heraclitean flux. This allows me to show the eminent role of forces in the work of Deleuze, which he inherits from the Greek philosopher. I point at sensation as Deleuze's re-thinking of the notion of becoming. ‘How can an artist make an object endure?’ (...) The artistic product, for Deleuze, embodies the force to recreate itself, and thus to endure in the universe. This phenomenon is a bloc of sensation. (shrink)

Journal Name: Apeiron Issue: Ahead of print.

First published in 1997, this volume addressed the growing preoccupation of scientists at the time had in environmental phenomena, such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rains, fresh water and ocean pollution, desertification, deforestation and the loss of bio-diversity. The crucial and pressing nature of these issues spawned says the author a new wave of research in environmental economics. The volume provides broad surveys of the developments in the economics of the environment and reports on the developing set of (...) environmental problems, analytical tools and economic policies. The importance of the developing approach was that environmental problems are no longer isolated from all other economic dimensions. Throughout the volume they are analysed in an open, generally non-competitive economy with transnational or global externalities. The first part deals with the relationship between the environment, economic growth and technological innovation. The second part analyses the optimal design of environmental taxation, while the third part considers the international dimension of environmental policy. (shrink)

Only recently research in social psychology has started to systematically investigate intergroup attitudes among members of stigmatized minority groups. In particular, the study of the way people with mental health problems perceive the social groups around them is so far very scarce. In this work, we focused on people with schizophrenia, analyzing their attitudes toward another stigmatized group, namely Black individuals. In Study 1, the attitudes toward White and Black people were assessed in a sample of respondents with a diagnosis (...) of schizophrenia and in a sample of non-clinical individuals. Results showed the presence of less negative attitudes toward the minority outgroup among the clinical sample. In Study 2, we aimed at investigating what members belonging to the majority group believe about the attitudes toward Black people held by individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In general, results suggested a general awareness in lay persons that people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, as compared to people with no history of mental disorders, hold reduced negative attitudes toward Black individuals. Overall, these results may help to enrich our knowledge about social cognition among members of stigmatized groups in general and, more specifically, among individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. (shrink)

According to a thesis which is today authoritatively supported by some authors, the scarce recognition given to sport sciences in our culture should be ascribed to Christianity. This paper, in addition to attempting to refute this thesis, wishes to enrich the epistemological background of the emerging areas of research, to which sport belongs, with the perspective of a full appreciation of the value of man and of his corporeity. The argument develops in two main directions: the first aims at bringing (...) out the concept of corporeity which characterises genuine Christian thought, as conveyed in the sacred scriptures, while the second is directed towards identifying the values which sports and the Gospel message have in common. The result of this analysis, the bibliographical references of significant authors and of the arguments put forward, seems to lead to the conclusion that the essence of the Christian message entirely values human corporeity, and that it is even possible to identify shared values in sports and Christian ethics. (shrink)

Falls are frequent in Myotonic Dystrophy type 1, but the pathophysiology of the balance impairment needs further exploration in this disease. The current work aims to provide a richer understanding of DM1 imbalance. Standing balance in 16 patients and 40 controls was tested in two posturographic tests. In the Sensory Organization Test, standstill balance was challenged by combining visual and environmental conditions. In the “react” test, reflexes induced by sudden shifts in the support base were studied. Oscillations of the body (...) centre of mass were measured. In the SOT, COM sway was larger in patients than controls in any condition, including firm support with eyes open. On sway-tuned support, COM oscillations when standing with closed eyes were larger in patients than controls even after taking into account the oscillations with eyes open. In the “react” paradigm, balance reflexes were delayed in patients. Results in both experimental paradigms are consistent with leg muscle weakness. This, however, is not a sufficient explanation. The SOT test highlighted that patients rely on vision more than controls to maintain static balance. Consistently enough, evidence is provided that an impairment of proprioceptive and vestibular systems contributes to falls in DM1. Rehabilitation programs targeted at reweighting sensory systems may be designed to improve safe mobility in DM1. (shrink)