In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Idiot Patrick BatemanA New Configuration of Caricatural "Ultra-Christianity"Fabrizio Arcuri (bio)INTRODUCTIONThis paper1 aims to analyze the figure of Patrick Bateman, the protagonist of the novel American Psycho,2 through René Girard's mimetic theory. It links the character created by Bret Easton Ellis to the concept of caricatural "ultra-Christianity," meaning the degeneration of Christian-based concern for innocent victims.Methodologically, it adopts the approach of the sociology of the imaginary, which is (...) characterized by the division between invisible levels of signification and visible elements of culture. The latter, as a set of representations, narratives, and products, both material and ideal, are influenced by the former, which represent their condition of possibility.3 When considering caricatural "ultra-Christianity" as a phenomenon traceable to the "Regimes of the Imaginary" of the sacred,4 it can be regarded as the deep substratum from which Patrick [End Page 177] Bateman's particular idiocy emerges as a paranoid and victimistic intensification of mimetic desire.For this reason, this paper is subdivided into three sections. In the first, the focus is on the conception of caricatural "ultra-Christianity" that derives from Girard's work, identifying its origin in the revelation of Christ Paraclete. The second examines "idiotism," one of the types of "ultra-Christianity" present in contemporary society. "Idiotism" is understood as a paranoid reaction due to the traumatic split, psychiatrically based, between one's idios kosmos (own-world) and koinos kosmos (common world). Finally, in the third, I concentrate on the peculiarities of American Psycho via the theoretical framework delineated in the previous parts.FROM PARACLETE TO CARICATURAL "ULTRA-CHRISTIANITY"To provide a definition of the nature and function of caricatural "ultra-Christianity," we must first refer to the main concepts of mimetic theory, specifically, the revelation of Christianity in Girard's work. According to René Girard, desire is never authentically spontaneous or individual. Rather, it is influenced by the mutual fascination of subjects. These, often unconsciously, regard their fellow human beings as entities endowed with the fullness of being that they irretrievably lack.5Desire is a form of ontological contagion perpetuated by the continuous activity of imitation. The individual aspires to resolve metaphysical contradictions by emulating the physical, moral, symbolic, and social features of all those he/she prefers as his/her models.6 Nevertheless, within a mimetic relationship, the mediator will defend his/her own position, denying the imitating disciple the chance to match his/her status. Due to the "viral" characteristics of mimesis, the result is a situation of vindication and rivalry that is likely to spread throughout the community, fomenting a vicious cycle of fratricidal violence.7In Girard's view, that form of generalized conflict can lead society to collapse. A community needs to find an object or, better, an individual, always in a mimetic way, on whom to discharge the growing tension. The identification of the collective nemesis occurs through the scapegoat mechanism.8 Although the epidemic of violence plaguing the community is due to the desires and rivalries of all its members, the construction of the collective nemesis designates a single culprit for the mimetic crisis and results in both the disavowal of blame and the enfranchisement of the majority from responsibility. The enemy must be immolated, as only his sacrifice can save the collective. The violence of lynching [End Page 178] becomes the only means of restraining the previous violence of the mimetic escalation. Once the antagonist is killed, the destructive effects of fratricidal mimesis are appeased, at least temporarily.For Girard, the handling of salvific violence represents the essence of the sacred.9 This is a type of managing that, in its regenerative and foundational aspects, constitutes the value system that regulates the circulation of mimesis and the desires of each member of the community. It ensures, albeit precariously, the compactness of the group structure. It could be argued that the construction of meaning that emerges from the lynching of the scapegoat structures the representation of the social order,10 that is, the collective imaginary, understanding it as an instituting narrative of meanings: "This narrative resides in the shared imagination of the group that constructed it and encompasses... (shrink)

The purpose of professional education programs is to prepare aspiring professionals for the challenges of practice within a particular profession. These programs typically seek to ensure the acquisition of necessary knowledge and skills, as well as providing opportunities for their application. While not denying the importance of knowledge and skills, this paper reconfigures professional education as a process of becoming. Learning to become a professional involves not only what we know and can do, but also who we are (becoming). It (...) involves integration of knowing, acting, and being in the form of professional ways of being that unfold over time. When a professional education program focuses on the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills, it falls short of facilitating their integration into professional ways of being. In addition, through such a focus on epistemology (or theory of knowing), ontology (or theory of being) is overlooked. This paper explores what it means to develop professional ways of being where the focus is becoming, not simply knowing as an end in itself. (shrink)

Food poverty and food waste are two major contemporary food system problems, which have gained prominence amongst both scholars and policy-makers, due to recent economic and environmental concerns. In this context, the culturally dominant perspective portrays charitable food redistribution as a “win–win solution” to confront food poverty and food waste in affluent societies, although this view is contested by many scholars. This paper applies the notions of framings and flat/sharp keyings to unpack the different narratives entailed by public discourses on (...) food waste and food poverty in Italy. The aim is to problematize the representation of the recent anti-waste/pro-donations law as the optimal policy measure to effectively rectify both food poverty and food waste. The paper argues that the widespread public support for the law reflects the interpretation of charitable food redistribution as a consensus frame, standing for the convergence between flat positions and is reinforced by confusion on terms and responsibilities. Indeed, the strength of the law lies in the capacity to reconcile different positions and bring actors together around a short-term objective, whose foundations have deep roots in the common ethics. However, if the debate is to be moved forward, trade-offs between different framings of problems at stake should be explicitly navigated when designing policy instruments. (shrink)

During the last decades the question of defining life has gained increased interest but, at the same time, the difficulty in reaching consensus on a possible answer has led many to skeptical positions. This, in turn, has raised a wider debate about why defining life is so hard and controversial. Such a debate introduces additional aspects to be considered, like the role and nature of a definition of life itself. In this paper, we will focus on those aspects, arguing that (...) progress can be made if we conceive definitions of life as open heuristic tools that contribute to develop specific research strategies in the biological sciences and, more generally, to increase our understanding of life’s complexity. In contrast with pragmatic or operationalist approaches, we will defend that definitions of life comprise a set of ontological assumptions, together with an inherent unifying vocation, so they should be subject to comparison and critical assessment, closely related to the success or failure of the corresponding research programs, but also to the success or failure in establishing well-grounded interconnections among the latter. We consider that the search for a more coherent, integrated and generalized theory of biology cannot be pursued without keeping an empirical standpoint, and the exercise of defining life should not be taken as an obstacle but as a valuable instrument to achieve that goal. (shrink)

Las tecnologías exponenciales generan problemáticas éticas que han sido abordadas desde las tradiciones dominantes (principalismo, deontologismo, utilitarismo), con cierto olvido de las éticas del cuidado. Recuperar estas éticas permitiría pensar otras posibilidades de la IA. Entre ellas: un diseño que involucre elementos de vulnerabilidad o el horizonte de una robótica inclusiva. Pensar la gobernanza de la IA y la robótica no sólo desde estas éticas exige complementar la gobernanza _de _las mismas con la consideración de los horizontes éticos en dicha (...) gobernanza implícitos. Si las éticas dominantes abonan alternativas de solución para los impactos de las tecnologías exponenciales, las éticas del cuidado –por cuanto ponen énfasis en la formación del carácter– son especialmente significativas para pensar la interacción entre tecnologías y la formación de la persona moral. _Palabras clave: _Posibilismo tecnológico, gobernanza, ética del cuidado, gobernanza ética. (shrink)

In this paper, I argue that the term kinêsis bears different connotations when associated with two different Plotinian hypostases in the Enneads: Intellect and Soul1. I propose an interpretation of this term as intellectual movement when it is associated with the Intellect and spatial movement when it is associated with the Soul.In the first section, I evaluate the meaning of kinêsis in reference to the hypostasis Intellect. In the second section, I turn to a critical examination of kinêsis associated with (...) the hypostasis Soul, emphasising the conceptual complexity of the term. I develop my interpretation on the distinction between kinêsis tês ousias and kinêsis pros ousias, translating the former as ‘movement of the hypostasis’ and the latter as ‘movement from the hypostasis.’ On this revised reading, I conclude that kinêsis in Plotinus is a context-dependent concept that alters its significance according to the hypostasis and introductory locution (‘tês’ or ‘pros’) with which it is associated. I conclude by linking Plotinian henology with Platonic and Aristotelian doctrines to illuminate an ongoing conversation between Plotinian metaphysics and Platonic and Aristotelian concepts of movement. (shrink)

L’influence du corpus paulinien sur l’œuvre et la pensée d’Hilaire de Poitiers est évidente autant dans l’approche exégétique de l’évêque vis-à-vis des textes bibliques que dans les sujets qu’il traite. Parmi ceux-ci, la justification par la foi fait l’objet d’un développement remarquable dans ses œuvres principales, en particulier dans le Commentarium in Matthaeum, dans laquelle l’évêque de Poitiers souligne la capacité exclusive de la foi pour justifier l’être humain et l’impuissance des œuvres pour l’atteindre. Cette radicalité apparente de son approche (...) dans sa première œuvre connue a donné lieu à une compréhension partiale du traitement que fait Hilaire de la justification par la foi. Dans cet article nous analyserons la véritable nature du rôle que jouent la foi et le mérite pour le salut dans l’ensemble des écrits de l’évêque de Poitiers tout en mettant sa doctrine en contexte avec celle de l’Apôtre. (shrink)

Due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, e-learning suddenly spread to different levels of education, including university. In Spain, students of sports sciences are prepared during a 4-year study program to work in different areas and with different populations. The aims of this study were to assess the effect of pandemic-driven online teaching on self-efficacy for the inclusion of people with disabilities in a group of university students enrolled in a compulsory course on adapted physical activity ; compare (...) the gains from SE before and after the APA course with a sample of students who followed the same course before the pandemic; and explore the influence on SE scores according to three demographic variables: gender, previous SE training, and previous experience with people with disabilities. The study involved a sample of 124 university students, distributed into two groups: prepandemic and pandemic. They voluntarily completed the Spanish version of the Scale of Self-Efficacy of Physical Education Teachers of Physical Education toward Children with Disabilities, obtaining pre- and postcourse measurements. Due to the sudden lockdown, two-thirds of the pandemic course was taught online, and changes in the teaching strategies and tasks had to be made. Similar gains were obtained in both groups for the three subscales of the SE scale : intellectual, physical, and visual disability. No significant differences were found for comparisons between groups and the interaction effect of the course taught, nor for the three demographic co-variables. This study shows that teaching strategies that encourage student participation and reflections on learning increase student SE, regardless of the teaching format. Moreover, the gains in SE are invariable to demographic co-variables. (shrink)

In higher education, the conventional design of educational programs emphasises imparting knowledge and skills, in line with traditional Western epistemology. This emphasis is particularly evident in the design and implementation of many undergraduate programs in which bodies of knowledge and skills are decontextualised from the practices to which they belong. In contrast, the notion of knowledge as foundational and absolute has been extensively challenged. A transformation and pluralisation has occurred: knowledge has come to be seen as situated and localized into (...) various 'knowledges', and the status of the body has taken on renewed significance in epistemological debates. Rather than thinking of knowledge as transcending the body, the embodiment of knowledge has become a key factor in understanding the nature of knowledge and what it means to know. In this paper, we adopt a phenomenological perspective in exploring the notion of embodied knowing as it relates to higher education programs and, more specifically, the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used in these programs. (shrink)

Este artículo explora las formas en que la migración afecta al sentimiento de pertenencia del migrante al grupo nacional-cultural a partir de un ensayo autobiográfico del escritor heleno-sueco Theodor Kallifatides. El estudio se basa en los análisis del sentimiento de pertenencia al grupo procedentes de la fenomenología contemporánea. Pese a su gran interés, dichos estudios se fijan o bien en episodios afectivos demasiado circunscritos en el tiempo, o bien en orientaciones afectivas de fondo con contornos demasiado vagos para capturar la (...) especificidad del fenómeno que nos interesa. Apoyándose en el texto de Kallifatides, el artículo esboza algunos elementos específicos del sentimiento de pertenencia que se reconfiguran en la migración, apuntando a los papeles que juegan el reconocimiento y la identidad narrativa, y subrayando los matices, gradaciones y la maleabilidad de dicho sentimiento. (shrink)

Los años treinta y cuarenta vieron surgir en Antioquia un arte americanista y nacionalista, de carácter social, cuyos principales representantes fueron Pedro Nel Gómez, Carlos Correa y Débora Arango. El artículo explora el enfrentamiento conceptual entre los partidarios del muralismo mexicano, fundamentados en la estética marxista, y los partidarios de un arte moderno internacional, opuesto a todo contenido ideológico, liderados en Colombia por la crítica de arte Marta Traba. La discusión será abordada en tres fases: los años de apogeo del (...) arte social (1934-1950), su momento de crisis (1950-1960), y la revisión actual de la historia del arte en Colombia. (shrink)

Contra la opinión generalizada de que la "mímesis" deja de ser un paradigma del arte a partir del siglo XVIII, este artículo, inspirado en una idea general de Gadamer, intenta mostrar su vigencia apoyándose para ello en una revisión de los textos griegos fundadores de la teoría y en otras fuentes que dan fe de la evolución del concepto en la estética occidental. Muy lejos de la desfiguración moderna, que lo redujo a la simple copia de apariencias sensibles, el concepto (...) original de "mímesis" alude a un hacer paralelo con la naturaleza: se fundamenta, por un lado, en la noción pitagórica del orden universal presente en el movimiento de los cuerpos celestes, así como en el alma humana y en la belleza de las obras de arte, y, por otro, en la noción aristotélica de "reconocimiento" como un volver a conocer que deja de lado todo lo inesencial. (shrink)

El vocabulario en los niños con Trastorno del Desarrollo del Lenguaje (TDL) o con Retraso del Lenguaje (RL) es más pobre que en los niños con un desarrollo típico del lenguaje, por lo que se pretende conocer qué diferencias existen entre ellos. Han participado 66 infantes entre 3 y 5 años; se ha valorado que vocabulario conocen, se ha determinado que tienen menos vocabulario (52%) que sus homónimos (69%), a excepción de la categoría de transportes, en la que tienen los (...) mismos resultados. Finalmente, se determina el listado de categorías que más necesitan trabajar los niños con RL o TDL. (shrink)

En el imaginario del anime contemporáneo de ciencia ficción encontramos algunos ejemplos claros de una reinterpretación de la relación entre ser humano y tecnología en términos no-clásicos. La filosofía de la individuación de Gilbert Simondon, con su crítica radical al individualismo y al sustancialismo, y en especial su filosofía de la técnica, centrada en la denuncia del olvido cultural de los aspectos humanos de la técnica, ofrecen una clave filosófica idónea para la exploración de ese imaginario. Mediante la aplicación de (...) los conceptos desarrollados por Simondon en sus análisis del modo de existencia de los objetos técnico a los animes Akira, Evangelion, Ghost in The Shell y Serial Experiments Lain, muestro que existe en ellos una visión coherente e innovadora de la relación entre humanidad y técnica, que coincide en muchos aspectos con las críticas y propuestas elaboradas por el mismo Simondon. Los más importantes de estos aspectos se relacionan con la idea de la extensión tecnológica de lo humano y con los grados de integración o separación existentes entre el dominio de lo técnico y el de la espiritualidad y la religión. (shrink)

Surveys were conducted at two metta meditation retreats in order to examine the psychological effects of metta meditation. Participants were invited to complete the survey at the beginning of the retreat, at the end of the retreat, and two weeks after the end of the retreat. Participants completed the same scales at each time phase, which included measures of happiness, compassionate love, revenge and avoidance motivation, gratitude, and a depression, anxiety and stress scale. Significant increases were found in happiness and (...) compassionate love, reductions in avoidance and revenge, and reductions on the depression, anxiety and stress subscales. (shrink)

In this paper, I present a formal reconstruction of the classical argument for fatalism set forth by Aristotle in On Interpretation 9. From there, I expose two different formal solutions for avoiding the unwanted conclusion based on the traditional interpretation of Aristotle’s rejection of the Principle of Bivalence: On the one hand, Łukasiewicz's three-valued logic and, on the other hand, supervaluation semantics. I also address some criticisms made against these two proposals. To finish, I remark on some alternative interpretations of (...) Aristotle’s intentions maintaining that the Stagirite philosopher rejected fatalism without abandoning the Principle of Bivalence. (shrink)

Time and Reality sets out to explore the dichotomy of unity (identity) and plurality in human thought and to show in the light of this duality what are the limits of human knowledge as far as understanding 'reality' is concerned.

In this paper we study the connection between the use of evaluative language and the building of both personal and social identities, from the perspective of Dynamical System Theory . We primarily discuss two issues: 1) The use of evaluation (in the sense given to the term by Alba-Juez and Thompson (forthcoming)) as a means to the construction of both individual and group identities, thus exploring how the connection between linguistic choices and social identities is shaped by interactional needs (...) for stancetaking. In order to illustrate this connection, we examine examples of the use of evaluative language in a web social network, and we analyze some of the discourse elements showing ways of positioning that act as catalysts for the emergence of a multifactorial dynamic system of identities. 2) The consideration of Dynamical System Theory (DST) as a theoretical framework for the modeling of language and identity. Although originally a mathematical theory, DST has been adopted by cognitive science as a valid framework for the study of cognitive phenomena, on the grounds that natural cognition is a dynamical phenomenon. Within the realm of (socio) linguistics and pragmatics, this study is to a certain degree in line with some recent studies such as Gibbs (2010), Geeraerts, Kristiansen and Peirsman (2010), or Moreno Fernández (2012). Thus, we herein focus on how linguistic evaluation intervenes in the intricate dynamical system of identity, and even though we do not engage in complex mathematical disquisition, we argue that the idea and philosophical foundation underlying DST can lead us towards the ‘integration’ of the complex equation of identity construction, and that consequently the field has great potential for further research. (shrink)

This study tends to a ethical reflection on contemporaneous consumption, verifying from beginning the risks and consequencies of the present civilizatory way. Clearly the minority of inhabitants of the developed countries is depleting the natural resources at such levels that are endangering the con..

Este artículo parte de la tesis doctoral “Aprendizaje democrático y ciudadanía a través de la participación de cuatro jóvenes: una perspectiva narrativa” que versa sobre cómo las experiencias de participación –comprendiéndolas desde una perspectiva amplia y atendiendo a los contextos familiar, escolar y de tiempo libre– de cuatro jóvenes de origen familiar inmigrado contribuyen a la vivencia de la ciudadanía.

El presente trabajo trata de explicitar en qué medida el proyecto de M. Heidegger de una ontología fundamental coincide con el programa crítico kantiano. Dicha identificación permitirá mostrar las consecuencias que ello depara en la recepción y crítica heideggeriana de la antropología filosófica como disciplina; recepción que, a su vez, delimita los presupuestos fundamentales de su analítica de la existencia.

Name der Zeitschrift: Kant-Studien Jahrgang: 107 Heft: 3 Seiten: 429-450.

This article offers a philosophical-empirical account of embodied skilful performance in the practice of plant biotechnology. Drawing on the work of Merleau-Ponty and others, we elaborate how skilful performance emerges from and through reciprocal relations encompassing the body-in-the-world and the world-in-the-body. The contribution of this article lies in offering an account of skilful performance that is attentive to a perceiving, motile, feeling body entwined with world. In genetically modifying plants, scientists direct their senses of touch and vision to manipulating plant (...) materials and matter, ‘reading’ subtle changes in tissue cultures, plantlets and so on. In rhythmic movements, they extend their bodies through skilful use of complex equipment, while calling on ‘intuition’ to guide their work. Skilful performance, then, relies on our lived body that is not merely a physical object among other objects, nor a passive instrument for the mind, but dynamic and inescapably entwined with people and things in a world in flux. Bringing to the fore how perceiving, motile, feeling bodies are implicated in skilful performance has significant implications for education and workplace training. (shrink)

In this article, we present ideas related to three key aspects of mindfulness training: the regulation of attention via noradrenaline, the importance of working memory and its various components (particularly the central executive and episodic buffer), and the relationship of both of these to mind-wandering. These same aspects of mindfulness training are also involved in the preparation and execution of movement and implicated in the pathophysiology of psychosis. We argue that by moving in a mindful way, there may be an (...) additive effect of training as the two elements of the practice (mindfulness and movement) independently, and perhaps synergistically, engage common underlying systems (the default mode network). We discuss how working with mindful movement may be one route to mindfulness training for individuals who would struggle to sit still to complete the more commonly taught mindfulness practices. Drawing on our clinical experience working with individuals with severe and enduring mental health conditions, we show the real world application of these ideas and how they can be used to help those who are suffering and for whom current treatments are still far from adequate. (shrink)

Ample attention is being paid in the higher education literature to promoting active learning among students. However, critical examination of educational purposes and ends is largely lacki...

Physical forces regulate numerous biological processes during development, physiology, and pathology. Forces between the external environment and intracellular actin cytoskeleton are primarily transmitted through integrin‐containing focal adhesions and cadherin‐containing adherens junctions. Crosstalk between these complexes is well established and modulates the mechanical landscape of the cell. However, integrins and cadherins constitute large families of adhesion receptors and form multiple complexes by interacting with different ligands, adaptor proteins, and cytoskeletal filaments. Recent findings indicate that integrin‐containing hemidesmosomes oppose force transduction and traction (...) force generation by focal adhesions. The cytolinker plectin mediates this crosstalk by coupling intermediate filaments to the actin cytoskeleton. Similarly, cadherins in desmosomes might modulate force generation by adherens junctions. Moreover, mechanotransduction can be influenced by podosomes, clathrin lattices, and tetraspanin‐enriched microdomains. This review discusses mechanotransduction by multiple integrin‐ and cadherin‐based cell adhesion complexes, which together with the associated cytoskeleton form an integrated network that allows cells to sense, process, and respond to their physical environment. (shrink)