Published under the auspices of The World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning, 19 essays document the April 1998 international congress held at Harvard University. They ponder on such topics as the phenomenology of the experience of enchantment, Leonardo's enchantress, the ambiguous meaning of musical enchantment in Kant's Third Critique, art and the reenchantment of sensuous human activity, the creative voice, the allure of the Naza, Henri Matisse's early critical reception in New York, Zizek's sublimicist aesthetic of enchanted fantasy, (...) and enchantment in Baroque festive court performance in France. There is no subject index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR. (shrink)

As a universal theory Luhmann's systems theory of society includes art in its ambit. The Art of Society (1995) reconstructs the formal and the social-historical conditions of the functional differentiation of a system of art since the Renaissance. The methodological focus of the reconstruction - Luhmann's theory of form (perception, first and second order observation, medium and form) and of systemic differentiation (social function, self-organization, codes and programmes, evolution and self-description of art) - are analysed in the first (...) part of the paper. The second part examines the unresolved question of the code of the art system, the hermeneutic circle integral to Luhmann's theory design, and the relation of his theory of art to the `aesthetic epoch' of art theory with special reference to Heidegger and Adorno. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to attempt to discern better the situation of art in contemporary society. To do this we will examine essentially the exterior forces which influence it. These multiple and diverse evolutionary forces are in a certain manner centripetal, and ultimately they modify our concepts of art as such. Without going so far as to state that contemporary society has completely overturned our ideas on this question, signs of change are nevertheless visible which challenge (...) fundamental characteristics up until now attributed to art. (shrink)

This handsomely produced volume contains 22 contributions from international scholars, which were originally presented at the 2000 Conference of the International Society for Phenomenology, Fine Arts, & Aesthetics. The papers center around the theme of gardens and include a wide range of topics of interest to phenomenologists but also, perhaps, to gardeners with a philosophical bent. A sampling of topics: Leonardo's Annunciation Hortus Conclusus and its reflexive intent; hatha yoga--a phenomenological experience of nature; the Chinese attempt to miniaturize the (...) world in gardens; conflating and compressing time in commodified space and architecture; constructing the deconstructive landscape (the ruin aesthetic); and a phenomenological-anthropological aproach to Zen gardens. The volume is lightly indexed by name (mostly philosophers). Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com). (shrink)

This article is concerned with Niklas Luhmann's theory of art which he formulated in the 1990s, based on his general theory of autopoietic systems. This theory regards modern society as a functionally differentiated formation whose sub-systems operate according to their inner principles of communication. According to this, the domain of art can also be seen as an operationally closed and self-referential communicative system. The basic problem in these notions lies in the way in which their description of the relationships (...) existing between different systems is only in very narrow terms. Consequently they partially ignore the present process of de-differentiation which has noticeably changed the status of art in society. Instead, Luhmann's ideas expressly emphasize that functional differentiation is an ongoing process. In order to describe the process of de-differentiation, social theory does not need to abandon the concept of autopoiesis, but it does need to understand social systems as interlaced formations which, to an increasing extent, contain common normative and organizational constituents. Because social systems are not altogether self-referential formations, the concept of autopoiesis can describe them only in part. This particular concept of system has been developed in particular by Richard Münch, and as such it forms a productive alternative to the theory of autopoietic social systems. (shrink)

NOT SAUSSURE: A CRITIQUE OF POST?SAUSSUREAN LITERARY THEORY by Raymond Tallis London: Macmillan, 1988. 273 pp., £33 (£10.95 paper).

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Mimesis: Culture, Art, SocietyGene FendtMimesis: Culture, Art, Society, by Gunter Gebauer and Christoph Wulf; translated by Don Reneau; 400 pp. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995, $45.00 cloth, $18.00 paper.The purpose of this book is to develop “a historical reconstruction of important phases in the development of mimesis” (p. 1) from a brief discussion of its pre-Platonic Greek significance through contemporary thinkers. It is, then, not strictly (...) a philosophical text, as are most of the texts and authors the book takes up. It is, however, a significant effort in the history of ideas, and as such it is shot through with traces of the traditional tropes, shaping power, ideology, and even social relations of that discipline, particularly as it is practiced in the venerable school of German scholarship. That is, the structure, tone, and argument of the book are shaped mimetically. This book’s problematic is, then, not simply historical, as Republic’s problem with the poets is not simply philosophical. Rather, both books partake of mimesis, even while each one aims to criticize or set forth the concept’s historical development.Let this stand as notice of a deep philosophical problem with the method of historical criticism. In fairness we should note that the authors are not unconscious of their difficulty here: “The fact that mimesis cannot be represented without the use of mimetic processes poses the fundamental problem of theory formation in reference to our object. What is the relation between the representational and the represented world? Is the representation of representation structurally equivalent to simple representation?” (p. 21). The authors hope to moot the power of those questions, if not the questions themselves, by attending “first of all to representations of mimesis found in texts best selected for that purpose and only afterward begin to offer considerations of a more generalizing nature” (p. 21). Their reasoning and choice of texts here is the traditional trope of the discipline: a mimema. Among other things, this methodos requires that the authors treat Girard as developing a “literary critical examination of [mimesis in] nineteenth and twentieth century novels” (p. 359n1) and a “new ordering of nineteenth century social relations” (p. 235), rather than, as he claims, a comprehensive anthropological thesis. At least, this method requires treating the former as essential, and the latter as less justifiable, for if Girard’s anthropological thesis about mimesis were justifiable a history of the idea of mimesis would be merely a heresiology. This problem can be restated mutatis mutandis for such thinkers as Plato and Augustine, whose theses—if they have theses—about mimesis are deeply anthropological.Two further questions arise early on and remain at the end. If, as the authors hold (and show), “the concept of mimesis necessarily loses its intellectual centrality with the rise of rational thought,” so much so that “the field of art, which comes to be regarded in the process as autonomous, undergoes a complete and fundamental restructuring” (p. 3), must we not begin to [End Page 199] suspect—as recent philosophers like Derrida attempt to show—that there is a dialectical relationship between the intentional, truth-functional relations of modern rational thought and the mimetic, unformalizable and “ambivalent” (pp. 2–3) processes of mimesis? Rather than conclude that “the question what is mimesis? is one which demonstratively leads to error” (p. 309), does it not begin to seem that intentional representation, as most visible in science, and mimetic assimilations, as most obviously effective in art, are together the necessary dialectical elements of culture, art and science? While it seems that the rise of rational scientific thought pushes mimesis to the social fringes of the arts, isn’t scientific activity and writing still just as much subject, and just as much a product, of the power of mimesis as art? Similarly art is just as bound as science to “probability” or “the convincing impossibility,” to recall Aristotle. This idea is not entirely foreign to the book; it appears subliminally as a plausible explication of the work of theorists like Benjamin and Adorno (pp. 267–93).The third difficulty is a question about selection. As in Auerbach’s renowned precursor, Wulf... (shrink)

The article considers questions about the role and significance of art education in the context of ensuring sustainable development of society. The features of the development of art education in the postmodern era, its functions and specific features are analyzed. The interdependence of arts education and sustainable development are characterized. The exceptional importance for ensuring sustainable development of an appropriately oriented and updated arts education was emphasized. In particular, it seems possible to ensure a change in stereotypes, ways of (...) thinking and actions of people, the formation of appropriate motivation and public opinion in the context of applied nature through the influence of art. Ways to improve art education with the aim of ensuring sustainable development are proposed: integration of formal and non-formal art education, ensuring innovativeness, interdisciplinarity and multiculturalism of art education, creating an inclusive environment in higher educational institutions. We see prospects for further scientific research in the creation of a model for training specialists with certain properties and substantiation of the features of its implementation in real conditions of the educational process in higher education institutions of the artistic direction. (shrink)

The boundaries of social acceptance and models of convergence of human and non-human actors of digital reality are defined. The constructive creative possibilities of convergent processes in distributed neural networks are analyzed from the point of view of possible scenarios for building “friendly” human-dimensional symbioses of natural and artificial intelligence. A comprehensive analysis of new management challenges related to the development of cyber-physical and cybersocial systems is carried out. A model of social organizations and organizational behavior in the conditions of (...) cyberphysical reality is developed. The possibilities of reconciling human moral principles and “machine ethics” in the processes of modeling and managing digital reality are studied. The significance of various concepts of digital, machine and cyber-anymism for the socio-cultural understanding of the development of modern cyber-physical technologies, the anthropological dimension of a smart city is revealed. The article introduces the concept of hybrid society and shows the development of its models as self-organizing collective systems that consist of co-evolving biohybrid and socio-technical spheres. The importance of modern anthropogenic research for sustainable development is analyzed. The process of marking ontological boundaries between heterogeneous modalities in the digital world is investigated. Examples of acute social contexts that are able to set the vector of practical philosophy in the modern digital era are considered. (shrink)

Source: Author: Olga Posudiyevska This study concentrates on the analysis of early works by Rudyard Kipling who was born into the family of English colonists to India, thus becoming a representative of the newly formed Anglo-Indian society. The writer’s sketch Anglo-Indian Society and his collection of short stories Plain Tales from the Hills depict the characteristic features of Anglo-Indians’ worldview and lifestyle, which are revealed and analyzed by the author of the article. Special attention is paid to biographical (...) factors influencing the author’s choice of Anglo-Indian topic at the beginning of his writing career. The researcher concludes that Kipling presents in his works an outline of Anglo-Indian society which emerged from the writer’s observations of Anglo-Indians’ lives during his work as a reporter. Striving for credibility in consideration of advantages and shortcomings of Anglo-Indian worldview and lifestyle, the author tries to occupy the position of the unconcerned observer, being capable of assessing the situation with fresh mind. Kipling disguises himself under the image of the hero-narrator, being either a tourist traveler from abroad, or a reporter, accustomed to collecting factual material for the local paper, in such a way receiving an opportunity to speak ironically and sometimes even sarcastically about certain models of behavior, accepted by Anglo-Indians. ]]>. (shrink)

The urgency of the research is determined by the intensive development of new technologies as prospects for further development of society. Art accumulates intellectual, spiritual, material, and value heritage of previous epochs and determines the perspective features of the future. Vocal art is thereby one of the manifestations of individual ideological rethinking. Variety as a socio-cultural phenomenon combines different styles of music, genres, types, and aspects of professional music and vocal performance, which is important for the research in the (...) context of social rethinking of future social development. Objective of the article is to determine specifics of pop vocal art, its long-term development as an aspect of integration into society of the future. The article reflects the essential characteristics of the concept of pop vocal art and worldview perception of art as an aspect of the future society. In the process of research a method of abstraction, descriptive method, methods of analysis and synthesis were used in the theoretical substantiation and characterization of pop music as a vocal art. The method of generalization and systematization was used to determine the results of the research. The results became the basis for asserting the importance of pop vocal art in the further development of society. (shrink)

Mimesis, the notion that art imitates reality, has long been recognized as one of the central ideas of Western aesthetics and has been most frequently associated with Aristotle. Less well documented is the great importance of mimetic theories of literature, theater, and the visual arts during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. In this book, the most comprehensive overview of the theory of mimesis since Auerbach's monumental study, Gunter Gebauer and Christoph Wulf provide a thorough introduction to the complex and shifting (...) meanings of the term. Beginning with the Platonic doctrine of imitation, they chart the concept's appropriation and significance in the aesthetic theories of Aristotle, Molière, Shakespeare, Racine, Diderot, Lessing, and Rousseau. They examine the status of mimesis in the nineteenth-century novel and its reworking by such modern thinkers as Benjamin, Adorno, and Derrida. Widening the traditional understanding of mimesis to encompass the body and cultural practices of everyday life, their work suggests the continuing value of mimetic theory and will prove essential reading for scholars and students of literature, theater, and the visual arts. (shrink)

From the internationally bestselling creator of Wreck This Journal... wan·der verb \ˈwän-dər\ to walk/explore/amble in an unplanned or aimless way with a complete openness to the unknown Several years ago when Keri Smith, bestselling author of Wreck This Journal, discovered cryptic handwritten notations in a worn copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, her interest was piqued. Little did she know at the time that those simple markings would become the basis of a years-long, life-changing exploration into a mysterious group (...) known only as The Wander Society, as well as the subject of this book. Within these pages, you’ll find the results of Smith’s research: A guide to the Wander Society, a secretive group that holds up the act of wandering, or unplanned exploring, as a way of life. You’ll learn about the group’s mysterious origins, meet fellow wanderers through time, discover how wandering feeds the creative mind, and learn how to best practice the art of wandering, should you choose to accept the mission. (shrink)

In Good Citizens: Creating Enlightened Society, Thich Nhat Hanh lays out the foundation for an international solidarity movement based on a shared sense of compassion, mindful consumption, and right action. Following these principles, he believes, is the path to world peace. The book is based on our increased global interconnectedness and subsequent need for harmonious communication and a shared ethic to make our increasingly globalized world a more peaceful place. The book will be appreciated by people of all faiths (...) and cultural backgrounds. While based on the basic Buddhist teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path, Thich Nhat Hanh boldly leaves Buddhist terms behind as he offers his contribution to the creation of a truly global and nondenominational blueprint to overcoming deep-seated divisions and a vision of a world in harmony and the preservation of the planet. Key topics include the true root causes of discrimination; the exploration of the various forms of violence; economic, social, and sexual violence. He encourages the reader to practice nonviolence in all daily interactions, elaborates on the practice of generosity, and teaches the art of deep listening and loving speech to help reach a compromise and reestablish communication after misunderstandings have escalated into conflicts. Good Citizens also contains a new wording of the Five Mindfulness Trainings (traditionally called "precepts") for lay practitioners, bringing them in line with modern-day needs and realities. In their new form they are concrete and practical guidelines of ethical conduct that can be accepted by all traditions. Good Citizens also includes the complete text of the UN Manifesto 2000, a declaration of transforming violence and creating a culture of peace for the benefit of the children of the world. It was drafted by numerous Peace Nobel Prize recipients and signed by over 100 million people worldwide. Coinciding with a US presidential election year, Good Citizens reaches across all political backgrounds and faith traditions. It shows that dualistic thinking--Republican/Democrat, Christian/Muslim--creates tension and a false sense of separateness. When we realize that we share a common ethic and moral code, we can create a community that can change the world. (shrink)

Mimesis, the notion that art imitates reality, has long been recognized as one of the central ideas of Western aesthetics and has been most frequently associated with Aristotle. Less well documented is the great importance of mimetic theories of literature, theater, and the visual arts during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. In this book, the most comprehensive overview of the theory of mimesis since Auerbach's monumental study, Gunter Gebauer and Christoph Wulf provide a thorough introduction to the complex and shifting (...) meanings of the term. Beginning with the Platonic doctrine of imitation, they chart the concept's appropriation and significance in the aesthetic theories of Aristotle, Molière, Shakespeare, Racine, Diderot, Lessing, and Rousseau. They examine the status of mimesis in the nineteenth-century novel and its reworking by such modern thinkers as Benjamin, Adorno, and Derrida. Widening the traditional understanding of mimesis to encompass the body and cultural practices of everyday life, their work suggests the continuing value of mimetic theory and will prove essential reading for scholars and students of literature, theater, and the visual arts. (shrink)

Mimesis, the notion that art imitates reality, has long been recognized as one of the central ideas of Western aesthetics and has been most frequently associated with Aristotle. Less well documented is the great importance of mimetic theories of literature, theater, and the visual arts during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. In this book, the most comprehensive overview of the theory of mimesis since Auerbach's monumental study, Gunter Gebauer and Christoph Wulf provide a thorough introduction to the complex and shifting (...) meanings of the term. Beginning with the Platonic doctrine of imitation, they chart the concept's appropriation and significance in the aesthetic theories of Aristotle, Molière, Shakespeare, Racine, Diderot, Lessing, and Rousseau. They examine the status of mimesis in the nineteenth-century novel and its reworking by such modern thinkers as Benjamin, Adorno, and Derrida. Widening the traditional understanding of mimesis to encompass the body and cultural practices of everyday life, their work suggests the continuing value of mimetic theory and will prove essential reading for scholars and students of literature, theater, and the visual arts. (shrink)

Les fouilles effectuées au cours de ces dernières dizaines d’années, ont modifié profondément le tableau qu’on se faisait de la préhistoire chinoise. Au début du xxe siècle, les savants les plus connus pouvaient encore mettre en doute l’existence d’une époque néolithique chinoise — mais depuis lors, l’activité de l’archéologie a mis à jour un vaste matériel et paléolithique et néolithique. Le présent article, extrait du premier volume d’une histoire économique et sociale de la Chine, donne une vue d’ensemble du matériel (...) nouvellement acquis et cherche à le mettre en valeur pour une considération sociologique.L’homo pekinensis, l’ancien habitant de la Chine paléolithique du Nord connaissait le feu ; il se servait d’instruments et d’armes en pierre travaillée. Aux deux degrés de son évolution de chasseur primitif et de chasseur évolué, correspondent deux degrés de perfection de ces instruments. Il semble bien que les prisonniers aient été tués (et mangés?) sans distinction d’âge et de sexe. Les chasseurs ne sauraient que faire du travail d’esclave.Vers la fin de l’époque néolithique chinoise se produisit un épanouissement que la rare perfection de la céramique „rouge“ et „noire“ indique assez bien. La filiation somatique de l’homo pekinensis et du Chinois des époques ultérieures est probable ; il semble hors de doute que l’homme de l’époque néolithique soit du même type que celui de la Chine historique. Primitivement, l’agriculture (à la houe) était faite par les femmes, qui en même temps confectionnaient à la main — par la suite au moyen d'une plaque très simple — la céramique,,rouge“ ; les hommes continuaient à s'occuper de la chasse et de la pêche. Dès lors apparaît, encore qu'assez vaguement, une civilisation démocratique et paysanne, caractérisée probablement par des éléments matriarchaux. Vers l'époque de la céramique „noire“ se produit la transition vers l'élevage et à la céramique qui connaît alors le tour de potier — ces deux sortes de travaux incombent aux hommes. L'agriculture se fait plus intense, c'est peut-être ici qu'il convient de supposer les premiers débuts de la construction de terrasses et de l'irrigation. Les esclaves trouvent un emploi, une différenciation sociale se produit, c'est l'origine des villes. La société agraire primitive fait place à un ordre nouveau. Celui-ci s'exprime socialement parlant par une noblesse de clan primitive, politiquement par l'État.Les découvertes les plus récentes de l'archéologie chinoise apportent de nombreuses preuves pour l'évolution telle qu'elle vient d'être esquissée. L'analyse des mythes archaïques et des contes populaires de la Chine confirme, par la suite, au moyen de l'anthropologie ce que l'étude avait jusqu'ici rendu hautement probable par les méthodes de l'archéologie.Die Ausgrabungen der letzten Jahrzehnte haben das Bild der chinesischen Frühgeschichte grundlegend geändert. Während noch zu Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts führende Gelehrte die Existenz eines chinesischen Neolithikums bezweifelten, hat seither die Tätigkeit der Archäologie sowohl paläolithische wie neolithische Funde in grosser Reichhaltigkeit zutage gefördert. Der vorliegende Aufsatz — Sektion I des ersten Bandes einer Wirtschafts-und Sozialgeschichte Chinas — gibt einen Überblick über das neu gewonnene Material und sucht es sozialwissenschaftlich auszuwerten.Homo pekinensis, der (früh) altsteinzeitliche Bewohner Nordchinas kannte das Feuer ; er benutzte Werkzeuge und Waffen aus behauenem Stein. Zwei Stufen der Bearbeitung seiner Geräte deuten zwei Stufen seiner ökonomischen Entwicklung an, die des „niederen“ und des „höheren“ Jägertums. Gefangene scheinen ohne Unterschied von Alter und Geschlecht getötet (und verzehrt?) worden zu sein. Jäger haben für Sklavenarbeit keine Verwendung.Reich entwickelt ist Chinas (spätes) Neolithikum, dessen „rote“ und „schwarze“ Töpferei von seltener Vollkommenheit ist. Der Zusammenhang des homo pekinensis mit den späteren Chinesen ist somatisch wahrscheinlich, die Zugehörigkeit der Bewohner des chinesischen Neolithikums zu dem geschichtlichen Chinesentum scheint ausser Zweifel. Ursprünglich wurde offenbar der Ackerbau (Hackbau) von Frauen betrieben, die zugleich mit der Hand — und später mit einem einfachen Drehrad — die „rote“ Töpferei herstellten, während die Männer fortfuhren zu jagen und zu fischen. Das Bild einer primitiven demokratischen Dorfkultur mit vermutlich mutterrechtlichen Zügen wird andeutungsweise sichtbar. Es folgt zur Zeit der „schwarzen“ Töpferei der Übergang zur von Männern betriebenen Viehzucht und zu einer mit der Töpferscheibe von Männern durchgeführten Töpferei. Der Ackerbau wird intensiver, die ersten Anfänge von Terrassenbau und Bewässerung liegen vielleicht hier. Sklaven werden verwendbar, soziale Differenzierung tritt ein. Städte entstehen. Die primitive Agrargesellschaft verwandelt sich in eine Ordnung neuer Art, deren sozialer Ausdruck ein primitiver Clan-Adel, deren politischer Ausdruck der Staat ist.Die jüngsten Entdeckungen auf dem Gebiete der chinesischen Archäologie erbringen zahlreiche Beweise für einen derartigen Entwicklungsgang. Die Analyse von Chinas archaischen Mythen und Volkserzählungen bestätigt im Fortgang der Untersuchung mit den Mitteln der Anthropologie, was die hier gebotene Darstellung mit den Methoden der Archäologie bereits in hohem Grad wahrscheinlich gemacht hat. (shrink)

The growing presence of smart devices in our lives turns all of society into something largely unknown to us. The strategy of demanding transparency stems from the desire to reduce the ignorance to which this automated society seems to condemn us. An evaluation of this strategy first requires that we distinguish the different types of non-transparency. Once we reveal the limits of the transparency needed to confront these devices, the article examines the alternative strategy of explainable artificial intelligence (...) and concludes with the idea that these types of complex realities exceed individual capacities and are only comprehensible in a collective fashion. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 22 (2002) 207-208 [Access article in PDF] Society Cosponsors International Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand Payap University and Payap University's Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture will be sponsoring a week-long International Academic Conference on "Religion and Globalization in Chiang Mai, Thailand" beginning the last week of July 2003. The conference is being cosponsored by the American Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies. Ruben Habito, (...) vice-president of the Society, is serving as a member of the planning committee and as the liaison between Payap University and the Society. Other members of the planning committee include Donald Swearer, Michael von Brueck, David Chappell, Wolfgang Schmidt, Parichart Suwanbubbha, Saeng Chandrangam, and John Butt. It is hoped that a large contingent of members of the American Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies will participate in the conference both by submitting academic papers and by attending.Other cosponsoring organizations include the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, the Museum of World Religions based in Taiwan, the International Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter, the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), and a number of other academic and religious organizations from around the world and within Thailand.The conference will be held on the main Payap University campus beginning with dinner on Sunday evening, July 27. It will end with lunch on Saturday, August 2, 2003. Lodging will be provided at the four-star Amari Rincome Hotel located near the Payap campus. Following the conference, Payap is arranging for several optional post-conference excursions to important religious and historical sites in Thailand and neighboring countries for those wishing to extend their stay in Southeast Asia.The overall theme of the conference is "Religion and Globalization". Plenary speeches, academic papers, discussions, and workshops will be organized around three broad themes:Religious Diversity and Interfaith Relations in a Global Age This section will include topics concerning religious pluralism, missions, religious conflict and reconciliation, and religious dialogue.Religion and a Global Society This section will focus on specific topics related to issues of social and economic justice, such as the relation between religion and human rights, structural violence, gender, tourism, prostitution, HIV/AIDS, the natural environment, media, technology, arts, and culture. [End Page 207]Religious Reform and Reformulation for a Global Age This section will focus on the reformulation of religious teachings and doctrines as well as on reforms of religious rituals, practices, and institutions in relationship to globalization.Several reasons make Thailand an appropriate and attractive site for this conference. Thailand has the largest percentage of Buddhists of any country in the world. It also has significant Islamic, Christian, and Hindu minorities. Animistic beliefs and practices underlie the religious faith of most of the Thai people. Over the past century and especially during the past several decades the country and the region have experienced rapid and profound changes as a result of modernization and globalization. For all these reasons Chiang Mai presents an excellent venue for examining how the Theravada Buddhist tradition and other major religious traditions are affecting and being affected by globalization. In addition, the Chiang Mai area has been an important "crossroads" for various religious and cultural movements since the beginning of the Common Era. For over 2,000 years Thailand has been both a receiver and a sender of religious missions. Thus, Chiang Mai provides a superb locale for critically reexamining religious missions and interfaith relations.The complete cost for the seven-day conference (including all meals, lodging, local transportation, site visits, entertainment, and conference registration) will be $575 (U.S.). International air travel to Chiang Mai will be additional. But based on current fares, travel from the North America to Chiang Mai should be no more than between $800 and $1,200 (U.S.). The exact international travel cost will depend on the carrier and the place of origin. Optional post-conference excursions will involve some additional expense and will vary depending on the destination and length of the excursion.Details regarding procedure for registration and submitting papers, lodgings, the conference schedule, optional post-conference excursions, and travel... (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems will increasingly be used to cause harm as they grow more capable. In fact, AI systems are already starting to help automate fraudulent activities, violate human rights, create harmful fake images, and identify dangerous toxins. To prevent some misuses of AI, we argue that targeted interventions on certain capabilities will be warranted. These restrictions may include controlling who can access certain types of AI models, what they can be used for, whether outputs are filtered or can (...) be traced back to their user, and the resources needed to develop them. We also contend that new restrictions on non-AI capabilities needed to cause harm will be required. For example, concerns about AI-enabled bioweapon acquisition have motivated efforts to introduce DNA synthesis screening. Though capability restrictions risk reducing use more than misuse (resulting in an unfavorable Misuse–Use Tradeoff), we argue that interventions on capabilities are warranted in some circumstances when other interventions are insufficient, the potential harm from misuse is high, and there are targeted interventions. We provide a taxonomy of interventions that can reduce AI misuse, focusing on the specific steps required for a misuse to cause harm (the Misuse Chain), and a framework to determine if an intervention is warranted. We exemplify our framework to three examples: predicting novel toxins, creating harmful images, and automating spear phishing campaigns. (shrink)

George Will, the well-known pundit, once observed: “A society's recreation is charged with moral significance. Sport—and a society that takes it seriously—would be debased if it did not strictly forbid things that blur the distinction between the triumph of character and the triumph of chemistry.” In opposition, Dan Duchaine, the highly publicized “steroid guru” and counter-culture columnist, declared: “There comes a time for many in competitive athletics where winning is more important than those initial goals of health, recreation, (...) and relaxation.” The parallels of these two philosophies to life in general are patent simply by substituting “sports” and “winning” for “career” and “success,” respectively.This paper will review the basis for banning anabolic steroids in athletics, and consider especially the recent medical findings that support this prohibition. This survey leads into a discussion of the available deterrents, and the secondary, but essential, role of random drug testing as a final safeguard. (shrink)

THE HUMAN RACE IS ON THE VERY OF SUICIDE! Unless man chooses to fight for his continued evolution he is doomed to extinction as a species. In The Moral Society, John David Garcia presents a revolutionary ethical theory much in the spirit of Spinoza and Teilhard de Chardin.The concept of ethics is made operational and developed on a purely rational basis without sentimentality or ideology. The Moral Society unifies ethics, art, science, technology, evolution and souci-political action and shows (...) that through ethical development man can achieve far more than advocates of supernatural utopias ever imagined.A rational alternative to death is presented in the form of a comprehensive political and social program. Every significant contemporary issue is analyzed—nuclear annihilation, environmental pollution, overpopulation, genetic decay, racism, educational inadequacies, the role of women, bureaucratic stagnation, etc. No compromise is made with popular prejudice.John David Garcia shows that evolution and ethics are intertwined. The Moral Society is a lucidly written work of science and philosophy. The conclusions are far-reaching and this may be the final call to action to all those who value humanity. (shrink)

The book addresses the constitution of the high culture of modernity as an uneasy unity of the sciences, including philosophy, and the arts. Their internal dynamism and strain is established through, on the one hand, the relationship of the author - work - recipient, and, on the other, the respective roles of experts and the market.

Genesis of the scientific ideas and views on intellectual capital is characterized by various approaches highlighting the role of knowledge, skill and professional employees as a form of productive capital. This tendency is mostly revealed at the present stage of economic science development in transiting to an information society. In these conditions the holistic study of intellectual capital requires an expansion of the methodological research base using the evolutionary theory of economic development of the world community, general theory of (...) complex systems, theory of informational economics and other disciplines. Moreover, in Russia there are a number of problems associated with creating a necessary institutional and regulatory environment for protecting the intellectual property. According to the authors, the study of the intellectual capital is necessary from the institutional analysis perspective, as it allows to more accurately determine the current state of the legal status of intellectual assets in the economic activity of an enterprise. (shrink)

Santayana's Life of Reason, published in five books from 1905 to 1906, ranks as one of the greatest works in modern philosophical naturalism. Acknowledging the natural material bases of human life, Santayana traces the development of the human capacity for appreciating and cultivating the ideal. It is a capacity he exhibits as he articulates a continuity running through animal impulse, practical intelligence, and ideal harmony in reason, society, art, religion, and science. The work is an exquisitely rendered vision of (...) human life lived sanely. In this second book, Santayana analyzes several distinctive forms of human association, from political and economic orders to forms of friendship, to determine what possibilities they provide for the life of reason. He considers, among other topics, love and the affinity for the ideal, the family, aristocracy and democracy, the constituents of genuinely free friendship, patriotism, and the ideal society of kindred spirits. This Critical Edition, volume VII of The Works of George Santayana, includes a chronology, notes, bibliography, textual commentary, lists of variants, and other tools useful to Santayana scholars. The other four books of the volume include Reason in Common Sense, Reason in Religion, Reason in Art, and Reason in Science. (shrink)

The paper “Crisis of the consumer society: searching for a new ideology” studies the ideology of the consumer society and its main tendencies such as values substitution, human self-isolation and loneliness and the dehumanization of the world. Based on the analysis of contemporary mass art and advertisements the author traces the growing gap between the real life of people and the dominating consumerist model of society. The author evaluates different radical movements (nationalist, racial, religious) as people’s attempt (...) to discover their identity, to find genuine feelings and experiences in the consumerist society. This results in the increase of xenophobia and intolerance in the intertwined and fragile modern world. The paper also states the possible solution to this problem – ajoint effort of the philosophers of the world to create a new, nonconsumerism ideology that would be able to overcome the existing detachment among people. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to trace the American Society for the Control of Cancer's (ASCC) influence on the Portuguese Institute of Oncology's (IPO) Bulletin. The time period featured is from 1934 to 1940, which spans the first two decades of the newly formed Portuguese dictatorship, known as the Estado Novo (1933–1974). The analysis of the ASCC's “imprint” on the IPO's Bulletin aims to shed new light on how American culture influenced Portugal, from its first appearance at the (...) beginning of the 20th century. It brings together the disciplines of history of science and history of art and visual studies, in order to analyse these campaigns' strategic relationship with their “patients and contributors to be.” The public is encouraged by this means not only to seek timely assistance, but also to participate financially in the “cancer cause.” This is achieved by means of international consumer culture media in everyday forms, such as film, adverts in written form, and exhibitions publicising the cause. Lastly, this analysis approaches transnationalism, modernism, and the scientific nature of the Estado Novo's nationalism from new and innovative angles, allowing for a “rethinking” of said nationalism. (shrink)

Modern scientific medicine is increasingly challenged by complementary and alternative therapies. Reviewing policy options for contemporary healthcare development, the World Health Organization's first global strategy on traditional and alternative medicine, released in May 2002, advocates integration. However, experience in East Asia, the only part of the world where state of the art modern scientific facilities are commonly found alongside thriving traditional practices, reveals that medical integration can take several forms. To clarify the available policy options, this article categorizes those forms, (...) identifying three types of integration (unification, equalization and subjugation), plus one type of non-integration (marginalization). It marks out a zone of balanced healthcare development that cuts across two of the integrationist types, and comprises non-discriminatory state treatment of separate but linked sectors of traditional and modern medicine. The article closes by exploring arguments for and against locating state policy in this zone, and holds that policy should be situated here for medical practices that can meet broadly acceptable professional standards, demonstrate an existing social demand, and generate an adequate supply of medical practitioners, possibly through some state subsidy. (shrink)

The purpose of this volume is to help develop, through a variety of exploratory essays, the art and science of institutional design. The authors look at a variety of good societies as artifacts, as products—at least partly—of design, and consider how such societies can be crafted. They identify themselves with the New Constitutionalism movement, which aims to develop and promote the knowledge necessary for institutional reform and institutional creation through understanding the designer's, creator's, founder's, or reformer's perspective. The first part (...) of the volume considers some of the boundaries of what is humanly possible in politico-economic designs and the role in them of deliberation and the processes of adapting to limits. The second part considers different ways of exercising constitutionalist judgment analyzing a variety of cases, including general visions of the good society. Looking at whole societies, and at complexes of institutions, complements and informs the picture of the institutional microscale. Understanding the microscale, on the other hand, often makes the difference between empty slogans and realistic political proposals. Contributors are Karol Edward Soltan, Elinor Ostrorn, Viktor J. Vanberg, James lvi. Buchanan, John S. Dryzek, Charles 'X". Anderson, Stephen U. Elkin, Car Alperovirz, and Philip Green. (shrink)

This is the first collection dedicated to presenting research directly influenced by the innovative and groundbreaking ideas of the eminent linguist Ruqaiya Hasan. The collection offers an insight into the breadth and depth of Hasan's distinctive linguistic approaches and theoretical concerns. The chapters cover areas such as verbal art, context of situation, semantic networks, cohesive harmony, text structure and literacy education, contributed by well-known scholars in the field such as M.A.K. Halliday, Geoffrey Williams, David Butt, Donna Miller, Wendy L. Bowcher, (...) Tom Bartlett and Margaret Berry. The volume contains an interview with Ruqaiya Hasan by David Butt and Jennifer Yameng Liang, and a section in which the contributors describe their connection and/or history with Ruqaiya Hasan and her work. This book is of particular value to scholars and students working in sociolinguistics, literary criticism, stylistics, functional linguistic theories, literacy pedagogy, social semiotics, multimodality and applied linguistics. (shrink)