Deep learning developers typically rely on deep learning software frameworks (DLSFs)—simply described as pre-packaged libraries of programming components that provide high-level access to deep learning functionality. New DLSFs progressively encapsulate mathematical, statistical and computational complexity. Such higher levels of abstraction subsequently make it easier for deep learning methodology to spread through mimesis (i.e., imitation of models perceived as successful). In this study, we quantify this increase in abstraction and discuss its implications. Analyzing publicly available code from Github, we found that (...) the introduction of DLSFs correlates both with significant increases in the number of deep learning projects and substantial reductions in the number of lines of code used. We subsequently discuss and argue the importance of abstraction in deep learning with respect to ephemeralization, technological advancement, democratization, adopting timely levels of abstraction, the emergence of mimetic deadlocks, issues related to the use of black box methods including privacy and fairness, and the concentration of technological power. Finally, we also discuss abstraction as a symptom of an ongoing technological metatransition. (shrink)

Memories, dreams, thoughts is an autobiographical book by Carl Gustav Jung in which the author deliberates on his life not only as a famous psychotherapist, but also as a protestant, psychiatrist, traveler, philosopher and mystic. Jung shows the paths that lead him to creating his own analytical branch of depth psychology and to revolutionizing the approach to the mechanisms of working with patients of mental hospitals. Although the book could be read as an autobiography only, we can also find a (...) part of the history of psychiatry, journeys diaries, analyses of dreams and even some philosophical and mystical reflections. (shrink)

On the philosophical foundations of Hinduism and Buddhism.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Holy Trinity in Ippolito Desideri's Ke ri se ste aṇ kyi chos lugs kyi snying poTrent PomplunOn April 10, 1716, Ippolito Desideri, a Jesuit who had but recently arrived in Tibet, wrote a long letter to another Jesuit missionary, Ildebrando Grassi, who was stationed in Mysuru, India. Desideri recounted his adventures since the two men had last been together, three and a half years earlier, at the Jesuit (...) residence in Goa. He told of his travels to Surat, Delhi, Lahore, Leh, and Lhasa, and recalled his first impressions of Tibetan religion and culture. Tibetans, he told Grassi, were gentle and docile, but coarse and uncultivated. In Desideri's opinion, they had neither arts nor sciences, but they did reject the doctrine of transmigration and appeared to have some knowledge of the Christian faith.1 "Here is what I learned about the Tibetans' religion," he wrote,They call God könchok (dkon mchog), and they appear to have some notion of the adorable Trinity, for at times they call Him könchok chik (dkon mchog gcig), that is, the One God, and at other times they call Him könchok sum (dkon mchog gsum), that is, the Triune God. They also use a kind of chaplet, over which they repeat the words Oṁ ah hūṁ, and they say that the word Oṁ signifies knowledge or an arm, that is, power; ah is the word, and hūṁ is the heart, or love, and that these three words mean God. They also worship a being named Padmasaṃbhava, who was born some seven hundred years ago. When asked if he were God or man, some people replied that he was both God and man, having neither father nor mother, but having been born from a flower. Even so, they have statues representing a woman with a flower in her hand, whom they call Padmasaṃbhava's mother, and they venerate several others whom they treat as saints. In their churches, one finds an altar covered with cloth and ornaments, and a sort of tabernacle sits in the middle of the altar, where they say Padmasaṃbhava dwells, though they also assert that he is in heaven.2This letter, which survives only in a French translation, is noteworthy if only because Ippolito Desideri would later repudiate almost everything he affirmed in it. In a matter of months, the Jesuit missionary would change his mind about Tibetans' capacities for art, for science, and for culture. He would also change his mind considerably about their religion. [End Page 117]Perhaps the most significant change—and one that would later play a large role in his legal battle with the Capuchins for control of the Tibetan mission—concerned the knowledge that Tibetans had of the Holy Trinity, the central Christian mystery that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In what follows, I would like to explore Ippolito Desideri's explanation of the Holy Trinity, especially in the Ke ri se ste aṇ kyi chos lugs kyi snying po (The Essence of Christian Doctrine). I will briefly situate Desideri's account of Tibetans' knowledge of the Trinity in the general historical and theological context of the early modern missions, outline his various attempts to explain this central Christian mystery in Tibetan, and offer some tentative speculations on the Jesuit's motives for choosing certain Tibetan terms. I hope this discussion of Desideri's treatment of the Holy Trinity might contribute to Christian theologians and Buddhist philosophers who are engaged in interreligious dialogue and assist them in their reflections about how best to translate their respective faiths in such dialogue. Desideri's translations are not always perspicacious—as we shall see—but they are instructive, especially to the extent that they show us the issues that must be considered when anyone wishes to translate the basic terms of his own religion into an alien language. With this difficulty in mind, we might also consider the inadequacy of all language, human or angelic, when confronted with the mystery of God's infinite transcendence.Ippolito Desideri in ContextBefore addressing Desideri's translations, I would like to point out that the description of Tibetan religion... (shrink)

Three works on the fundamentals of Buddhist logic explaining difficult points as per Kagyudpa interpretation and its affiliates.

On Bonpo system of philosophical debate on logical points.

Selected speeches of XIV Dalai Lama approaches on humunity, universal responsibility, moral ethics, and environmental protection along with Tibetan political issue on middle way approach.

В сборник включены ранее не публиковавшиеся религиозно-философские произведения Ф. Н. Глинки.

This essay examines historical and contemporary connections between Buddhist and medical traditions through a study of the Accomplishing Medicine ( sman sgrub ) practice and the Yuthok Heart Essence ( G.yu thog snying thig ) anthology. Accomplishing Medicine is an esoteric Buddhist yogic and contemplative exercise focused on several levels of “alchemical” transformation. The article will trace the acquisition of this practice from India by Tibetan medical figures and its assimilation into medical practice. It will propose that this alchemical practice (...) forms the central nexus of connection between Tibetan medicine and the Buddhist Nyingma tradition, and that this little-studied link is not a marginal feature of Tibetan medicine but rather one that has had a significant shaping factor on each tradition throughout history. (shrink)

Concept of meditation in Tibetan Buddhism.

Study on Pratītyasamutpāda, theory of relativity and causality in Buddhism with reference to canonical literature.

Comparative philosophy studies on Sustainable development and Ethics.

V 6 kapitolách knihy je vysvětlen význam pokrokové vědy při budování socialismu, vylíčeno je postavení vědy za kapitalismu a její závislost na buržoasní ideologii, pozůstatky kapitalistické minulosti v naší současné vědě, boj s nimi, její úkoly a plánování. úloha kritiky a sebekritiky v naší vědě a úspěchy, jichž naše nová věda v boji se starým dosahuje.

On the fundamentals of Buddhist doctrines; including explation of the karmic law of cause and effect with stories.

Study on Trilaksaṇa, the four seals of the Buddhist doctrine.

In this article, recent changes in the Mexican research system are examined. The restructuring of the global political economy and a severe crisis of legitimacy in the Mexican political system have generated a turn toward neoliberalism by the ruling party in a bid to attract foreign investment. A key component of neoliberal science policy is the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, a system of salary increments for selected researchers instituted during the 1980s. Examination of SNI's decisions reveals numerous discriminatory and self-serving (...) practices that are inconsistent with widely accepted norms in the scientific community. During the same period, repressive actions against researchers, such as the peremptory closure of research institutions, firings of research ers, and direct intimidation, have increased. The victims of discrimination and repression documented here are disproportionately foreign-born Mexicans, leftists, critics of the ruling party, and researchers in environmental and energy studies. (shrink)

Autor porównuje dwie edycje _Snów i kamieni_ Magdaleny Tulli w kontekście _Niewidzialnych miast_ Italo Calvino i urbanologii. Tekst poddaje analizie różnice między edycjami i stanowi próbę zrozumienia genezy modyfikacji powieści dokonanych przez autorkę. Zmiany te niekiedy ujawniają a niekiedy utrudniają dostrzeżenie źródeł myślenia powieściopisarki, czyli refleksji o miejskości. _Sny i kamienie_ to powieść stanowiąca zapis doświadczenia modernistycznej transformacji dwóch miast: Warszawy i Mediolanu. Lektura _Snów i kamieni_ sprawia trudności na wielu poziomach: po pierwsze, z powodu traktatowej stylizacji i przyjęcia przez (...) narratora roli bezkrytycznego piewcy ładu urbanistycznego, po drugie zaś w obliczu zatartych śladów kontaminacji wielu doświadczeń: warszawskiego, mediolańskiego, czytelniczego, po trzecie z powodu braku w kulturze polskiej wcześniejszych tradycji tego typu tekstu prozatorskiego o mieście. Esej stanowi próbę rekonstrukcji możliwych kontekstów powieści i ich wpływów na zmiany wprowadzone przez autorkę do nowszych edycji. (shrink)

W artykule wykazuję, że życie i twórczość Jana Jakuba Rousseau w kuriozalny sposób wpisują się w schemat tragedii greckiej. Jest to teatr jednego aktora, inspirowany przedstawieniami pierwszego tragika Tespisa. Rousseau przez całe życie z wielkim patosem gra przed światem rolę cierpiętnika, który jako człowiek jest ciemiężony przez ludzi. We wszystkich jego tekstach chodzi tylko o jego własną, jednostkowo pojętą wolność. Rzekomo broniąc tej wolności, Rousseau nakłada wiele teatralnych masek i wciela się w Boga oraz w wiele fikcyjnych postaci, dzięki którym (...) chce zmienić świat na taki, który lepiej odpowiadałby jego potrzebom. Dwa główne dzieła Jana Jakuba, _Umowa społeczna _i _Emil_, powstałe w tym samym czasie, są dramatyczną próbą połączenia _polis _z _oikos _i odtworzenia indywidualnego raju utraconego. Niebawem jego paranoja osiąga apogeum i Rousseau czuje się ofiarą powszechnego spisku przeciw niemu i czyni szaleńcze próby zachowania dla potomnych swego patologicznego dzieła, w którym występuje jako sędzia we własnej sprawie. W _Przechadzkach samotnego myśliciela _wreszcie trafia do swojego raju, ale to oznacza, że zupełnie traci kontakt z rzeczywistością i ulega iluzorycznemu utożsamieniu z wielbioną przez siebie naturą. Występując na wyimaginowanej scenie, Rousseau pewnie nie uświadamia sobie faktu, że sam jest ciemiężycielem bliskich mu osób. Cynicznie wykorzystuje bowiem sprzyjających mu ludzi, by osiągnąć życiowy sukces i potwierdzić swoją niezwykłą wielkość, oraz oddaje własne dzieci do przytułku, by nie przeszkadzały mu w karierze. W ten sposób dyskredytuje się jako człowiek i ponosi klęskę jako tragiczny twórca, ponieważ działa pod wpływem pychy (_hybris_) i nie umie adekwatnie ocenić sytuacji, w jakiej się znalazł (_hamartia_). Być może oczyszczenie z win (_katharsis_) przyniosłoby mu poddanie się medycznej terapii wodnej dla maniaków, o której pisze Foucault w _Historii szaleństwa w dobie klasycyzmu_. Rousseau jednak z niej nie korzysta, a w jego czasach nie jest jeszcze stosowana psychoanaliza Freuda, która pozwoliłaby mu opowiedzieć terapeucie wszystkie swoje sny o potędze, uwolnić się od stłumionych pragnień oraz fantazji i w końcu powrócić do świata normalnych ludzi, jako człowiek bez manii wielkości i manii prześladowczej. (shrink)

Research suggests that people tend to overweight arguments accompanied by neuroscientific terminology, which is dubbed as the seductive allure of neuroscience explanations (SANE) in the literature. Such an effect might be of particular significance when it comes to physicians and mental health professionals (MHP), given that it has the potential to cause significant bias in their understanding as well as their treatment approaches toward psychiatric symptoms. In this study, we aimed to test the SANE effect among Turkish medical students, and (...) assess its uniqueness by comparing it with a discipline that still maintains an important role in contemporary psychiatric training in Turkey: psychoanalysis. 109 medical students with a basic level of knowledge of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience were asked to rate the credibility of explanations of differing quality (good vs. circular) for psychological phenomena, followed by three types of information: none, neuroscientific (SNI) or psychoanalytical (SPI). Our findings showed that SNI significantly increased the judged quality of explanations for both conditions with the effect being more prominent for circular explanations. On the other hand, SPI had no effect on good explanations but enhanced the judged quality of circular explanations in a level comparable to that of SNI. For the first time, the SANE effect was replicated among medical students and provided preliminary data in favor of a similar effect for psychoanalytically oriented information. (shrink)