Mask-wearing political protests have been global front page news for several years now; yet, almost no literature exists which attempts to engage the symbolic density and ritual role played by such mask-wearing acts. We argue that mask-wearing has political potentiality which relates to deeper-lying anthropological features of mask-wearing. The powers of the mask reside in the transformative ability of masks to unify and transcend key oppositional categories such as absence/presence and death/life, creating possibilities where conventional boundaries of the possible/impossible no (...) longer restrict. By questioning the communicative rationality of the modern ‘public’ and the ‘sphere’ in which it operates, we approach mask-wearing as a ‘communicative opening’. Building on earlier critiques of liberal democratic normativity, we further argue that the ‘utopia of transparency’ is itself a regulatory power and that mask-wearing exposes the very notions that were supposed to form the background of modern, emancipatory politics: transparency, free speech and representative democracy. (shrink)

A number of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) and commodity roundtables have been created since the 1990s to respond to the growing criticism of agriculture’s environmental and social impacts. Driven by private and global-scale actors, these initiatives are setting global standards for sustainable agricultural practices. They claim to follow the new standard-making virtues of inclusiveness and consensus and base their legitimacy on their claim of balanced representation of, and participation by, all categories of stakeholders. This principle of representing a wide range of (...) interests with a balance of power is at the heart of a new type of action that forms part of a broader political liberal model for building coalitions of interest groups. The intention of this symposium is to assess the nature of processes and outcomes of this model while paying particular attention to the forms of inclusion and exclusion they generate. In this introduction, we highlight the differences in theoretical approaches to analyzing MSIs and the manifestation of power through them. We distinguish between more traditional political–economy approaches and approaches concerned with ideational and normative power, such as convention theory. We discuss some of the main paradoxes of MSIs related to their willingness to be “inclusive” and at the same time their exclusionary or “closure” effects due in part to interactions with existing political economic contexts and embedded power inequalities, as well as more subtle manifestations of power linked to the favoring of some forms of knowledge and engagement over others. (shrink)

This article discusses the relations between the artistic, theoretical and psychoanalytic work of Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger. It is particularly concerned with the claims her work makes on behalf of the feminine. After considering her conceptualization of feminine subjectivity and a feminine symbolic space, an extensive discussion of her art is given. Drawing on the work of Deleuze and Guattari, her art’s creative encounter with this feminine symbolic space is viewed in terms of a matrixial refrain. This refrain is seen as (...) producing a variety of feminine times which provide the basis for what could be called existential ethic in the feminine. (shrink)

Lone conducted weekly philosophical discussions for first and second graders on human rights and how to be treated in society. With “The right to be treated equally” as a nearly unanimous response, Lone records these reactions in a formatted list.

Many parents welcome the idea of being able to talk with their children about life's big questions, but are unsure where to begin. In The Philosophical Child, Mohr Lone offers parents easy ways to introduce philosophical questions to their children and to gently help them explore significant issues.

Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialog in K-12 Classrooms is a textbook in the fields of pre-college philosophy and philosophy of education, intended for philosophers and philosophy students, K-12 classroom teachers, administrators and educators, policymakers, and pre-college practitioners of all kinds.

Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialogue in Schools is intended for philosophers and philosophy students, precollege classroom teachers, administrators and educators, policymakers, and pre-college practitioners of all kinds. This text book offers a wealth of practical resources and lesson plans for use in precollege classrooms, as well as consideration of many of the broader educational, social, and political topics in the field.

This paper describes how body regimes are effectuated in the prevailing treatment strategy of physiotherapy. The process of self‐mastering in the context of sports‐related injuries is highlighted. Through a Foucauldian perspective on body regimes the aim is to shed light on the process of individualization and self‐mastery in rehabilitation. The treatment of illness in the physiotherapy clinic does not characterize the patient as sick, and exempt the patient from daily duties and expectations. The empirical data include 17 qualitative illness narratives (...) and several years of fieldwork observing patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in a physiotherapy clinic. The study demonstrates how the expectation that the patients be active and self‐mastering permeates the total process of treatment. The individual responsibility for personal well‐being is a recurrent phenomenon in public health services in general, and specifically prominent in the rehabilitation of sports injuries. (shrink)

Lone conducted weekly philosophical discussions for first and second graders on human rights and how to be treated in society. With “The right to be treated equally” as a nearly unanimous response, Lone records these reactions in a formatted list.

Discussing the meaning of childhood, friendship, justice and fairness, happiness, and death, Jana Mohr Lone considers how listening to children’s ideas can expand our thinking about societal issues and deepen our respect for children’s perspectives.

Lone conducted weekly philosophical discussions for first and second graders on human rights and how to be treated in society. With “The right to be treated equally” as a nearly unanimous response, Lone records these reactions in a formatted list.

Although much has been written about the nature of philosophy and how the discipline can be defined, little attention has been paid to the ways we develop the facility to reflect philosophically or why cultivating this ability is valuable. This article develops a conception of “philosophical sensitivity,” a perceptual capacity that facilitates our awareness of the philosophical dimension of experience. Based in part on Aristotle's notion of a moral perceptual capacity, philosophical sensitivity starts with most people's natural inclinations as children (...) to reflect about life's fundamental mysteries; when this capacity is cultivated with training over time, our attentiveness to the philosophical features of ordinary life becomes almost second nature. In much the same way an aesthetically sensitive person notices certain qualities of experience not readily perceptible by others, philosophical sensitivity involves the development of a particular way of seeing the world. (shrink)

Children are capable of contributing unique insights to philosophy, making their involvement in philosophical conversations important for them as well as for adults and the discipline in general. The chapter begins by examining whether children are capable of engaging in philosophical inquiry at all, which leads to an analysis of the related issue of what it means to do philosophy. The chapter then explores children’s philosophical thinking and in particular children’s epistemic openness, and considers the value of philosophy for children, (...) both instrumental and intrinsic. The ways that the failure to listen, solely on the basis of age, to children’s ideas and questions is argued to constitute a form of epistemic injustice, and the chapter concludes by claiming that paying attention to children’s philosophical engagement can help raise awareness about what a philosophical approach can offer to our combined thinking about ethics, social and political problems, and other important issues. (shrink)

The term 'primary health care' (PHC) has come into widespread use by policy-makers, managers and health professionals in the past two decades. There is a variety of definitions and an even wider variety of uses of the term. The purpose of this paper is to examine critically existing definitions and uses, with a particular focus on their usefulness in health policy, clinical practice and research relating to health care systems. The paper has three parts. First, we examine the principal types (...) of definition and identify core features of primary care common to most definitions. Second, we discuss the application of these criteria to a range of services in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Lastly, we examine the ways in which policymakers, health professionals, researchers and lay people use the term, also drawing primarily on UK experience. We conclude by reflecting on the likelihood of achieving a single unambiguous definition and the usefulness of the term for different purposes. (shrink)

Matthew Lipman wrote that “questioning is the leading edge of inquiry.” This reflects the primacy of the question in a community of philosophical inquiry. The heart of the transformative potential of philosophy for children is student engagement in a dialogue grounded in the questions that most appeal to the group and the collaborative attempt to construct meaning and cultivate deep understanding. The students’ responsibility for choosing the question to begin their discussion enhances the democratic nature of the community and highlights (...) the preeminence within the inquiry of the issues that perplex the students. There is a significant relationship between having the children choose the question for discussion and the role of epistemological modesty – the acknowledgement that all members of the group, including the facilitator, are fallible and hold views that could end up being mistaken - in a community of philosophical inquiry. In order to encourage children to engage in what Lipman called “creative questioning,” it’s essential that we trust their judgment and support their cultivation of the inclination to question. (shrink)

Are children natural philosophers? They are curious about the mysteries of the human experience and about questions such as the meaning and purpose of being alive and whether we can know anything at all. Pre-college philosophy takes as a starting point young people's inherent interest in large questions about the human condition. Philosophy and Education: Introducing Philosophy to Young People seeks to illuminate the ways in which philosophy can strengthen and deepen pre-college education.

The problem of synthesis and reconciliation of the Ramanuja and Sirhindi is of vital significance and importance, and no serious student of comparative philosophy can deliberately neglect it. Epistemologically speaking, these two philosophers have been forced to tackle the same problem(s), and in solving them, their methods and hypotheses have been noticeably similar. The emphasis of this paper is to recognize, highlight, and compare the aspects valued in Ramanuja’s epistemological views with those of the Sirhindi. I will also discuss the (...) basic postulates of Ramanuja and Sirhindi’s epistemology and underline certain epistemological approaches to knowledge and justification for formulating the arguments to find out new dimensions in outlining their fundamental epistemological positions. This paper explores certain elements in the identities of these two philosophers and attempts to demonstrate a thread of continuity, especially with regard to their methods and thoughts. This paper also brings out a brief critical account of their epistemological views. (shrink)

Philosophy for children is a worldwide movement to acknowledge and encourage children's philosophical capabilities and interests by developing spaces for children to pursue philosophical inquiry. Unlike the typical undergraduate philosophy class, philosophy for children sessions emphasize philosophical concepts, questions, and discussion rather than focusing on mastering arguments made by contemporary or historical philosophers. The aim is to cultivate an attentiveness to the philosophical dimension of life, or philosophical sensitivity. Despite the growth of philosophy for children around the world, the field (...) remains on the periphery in both the academy and in school systems in the United States. In addition to the effort to heighten the field's prominence and enlarge its scope and influence, other important current issues in the field being addressed by scholars include the following: an exploration of epistemic injustice and philosophical recognition of young people; social inequalities and obstacles to reaching diverse populations; and development of philosophy of childhood. (shrink)

This is an exciting time for people working in pre-college philosophy in the United States, as the last decade has seen slow but steady growth in the field. As the field develops, there is an expanding need for high-quality resources in a variety of areas: (1) for philosophers and other philosophy educators working with teachers, graduate and undergraduate students, and other adults to train skilled pre-college philosophy teachers; (2) for philosophy educators teaching philosophy in K–12 classrooms; and (3) for pre-college (...) teachers attempting to introduce philosophy into their own classrooms. This article evaluates five books that have been published in the last few years, all aimed at pre-college practitioners. Ranging from the very practical to the more theoretical, each of these books seeks to enhance the ability of philosophy educators to teach philosophy in pre-college classrooms. (shrink)

_A Conversation with Cardiologist and Professor Dr. Jens Flensted Lassen._ The essay is a conversation with cardiologist Jens Flensted Lassen about the cultural history of the heart, the connections between the humanities and the hard sciences.

In his historical novel from 1835, Prince Otto of Denmark and his Time, the poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789-1862) established the unknown, yet historical character, Prince Otto of Denmark (1310-1346) as the hero of the novel. This choice has puzzled critics ever since, due to the fact that Prince Otto seems less a potential king than his brother Valdemar IV (1320-1372) who actually became a king of Denmark. Georg Brandes (1842-1927) claimed that Otto mirrored Ingemann’s persona as weak and feminine, (...) a “monk” not suited for kingship. In his ridicule of Prince Otto and Ingemann, Brandes reveals his ideas about gender, masculinity and femininity, but as this article seeks to show, such ideas are tied to time and place. Read from the distance of 2019, Ingemann’s feminine medieval hero might seem more modern and progressive than Brandes would have him. In this sense, the article is a piece of “queer medievalism”. (shrink)

This article describes a philosophy session with ten-year-old students centered around aesthetics, and in particular on questions about the meaning of music. The students explore the nature of music and art, including questions about what makes something music, artist intention, and the relation of art and the expression of emotion. The session involves a performance of John Cage’s work 4’ 33” and the way in which the performance can inspire a conversation with young people about philosophy of music. The article (...) depicts such a conversation in a fifth grade classroom. The students examine whether silence can be music, whether art must express emotion, and whether it is the external properties of a work or our experience of it that define it as music. Music is deeply important to most people, and yet it evokes some of the most challenging questions of aesthetics. Discussing these questions can serve to illustrate some of the ways in which philosophical enigmas lie behind many of our most ordinary experiences. The surprising experience of attending a performance of Cage’s work, combined with being outside of the classroom for a special event and the relevance of music in the students’ lives, create a powerful environment for philosophical inquiry. The students are able to grasp immediately the complex issues raised by the work, and the resulting search for meaning within the philosophical community of inquiry can be a transformative moment. (shrink)

The United States Constitution embodies both the real and the ideal. It is a concrete written text that uses particular words, has a history, and possesses certain limits; it is also a statement of the aspirations and dreams of a society. This dual identity requires that the Constitution be understood both as written positive law, and as an expression of a national vision and set of ideals. ;I argue for a conceptual theory of law that is positivistic in the sense (...) that it relies for the identification of law on social conventions that form the foundations for determining what counts as law. My view is drawn from H. L. A. Hart's legal positivist view, but it departs from this view to argue that judicial custom can be, along with Hart's rule of recognition, an additional social custom that provides criteria for identifying and creating law. Judicial custom involves the acceptance over time by judges of certain principles as authoritative in the context of adjudicative decisionmaking. I contend that both rules and principles can be part of law, and that principles attain the status of law through judicial custom. ;I rely on this understanding of law to argue for a theory of constitutional adjudication that is an alternative to both originalism and traditional non-originalist theories. Originalism is the view that judges can decide constitutional cases exclusively on the basis of two grounds: the text or the original intentions or understanding of its framers. The theory of law that I defend accepts that these grounds are important for any constitutional decision, but holds that constitutional decisions can also legitimately be made on the basis of constitutional theories. Such theories explain the often broad and abstract language of constitutional provisions by articulating hypotheses about the principles that underlie the text. I argue that the central constitutional commitment is to each individual's right to self-determination. This requires protection of an aspect of personal liberty that involves the deeply personal and unique nature of each person's aspirations, ideas, and initiatives. (shrink)

Background: Nursing documentation is an essential aspect of ethical nursing care. Lack of awareness of ethical dilemmas in nursing documentation may increase the risk of patient harm. Considering this, ethical dilemmas within nursing documentation need to be explored. Aim: To explore ethical dilemmas in nurses’ conversations about nursing documentation. Research design, participants and context: The study used a qualitative design. Participants were registered nurses from a Patient Hotel at a Danish University Hospital. Data were collected in three focus groups with (...) a total of 12 participants. Data analysis consisted of qualitative content analysis inspired by Graneheim and Lundman. Ethical consideration: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of research and regulations in terms of confidentiality, anonymity and provision of informed consent. Findings: Ethical dilemmas were strongly present in nurses’ conversations about nursing documentation. These dilemmas were demonstrated in two themes: a dilemma between respecting patients’ autonomy and not causing harm, which was visible in nurses’ navigation between written documentation and oral tradition, and a dilemma concerning justice and fair distribution of goods, which was visible in nurses’ balancing between documenting deviations and proof of nursing practice. Discussion: Ethical dilemmas in nursing documentation regarding respecting patients’ autonomy and not causing harm accentuated discussions on professional responsibility and patient participation in clinical decisions. Dilemmas in justice and fair distribution of goods emphasised discussions on trust in relationships versus trust in electronic health records. Conclusion: Actual tendencies in the healthcare system may increase ethical dilemmas in nursing documentation. Sharing otherwise invisible and individual experiences of ethical dilemmas in nursing documentation among nurses, nurse leaders and decision-makers will enable addressing these in reflections and discussions as well as in considering adjustments of conditions for nursing documentation. (shrink)