This comparative study of management reforms in the United Kingdom and in Belgium between 1982 and 1985, focuses on the incentives to these reforms, on the objectives pursued by the governments of both countries in undertaking them and on the results which have been already obtained.The need to reduce severely public expenditure by improving efficiency and effectiveness in government is recognized in both countries, but the governments diverse on the contents of the reforms and on the methods used to realize (...) them. The British opted for a radical reform conducted with much politica! backing, white the Belgians preferred to apply a strategy of gradual improvements of the budgetary process. (shrink)

"Dans ses conférences annuelles à l'Université du Québec à Montréal, le philosophe flamand Jacques De Visscher dessine des figures de l'hospitalité à partir de lectures phénoménologiques d'oeuvres littéraires (Samuel Beckett, Albert Cohen, Franz Kafka, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Paul van Ostaijen, Georges Perec, Marcel Proust) dans lesquelles il porte une attention particulière à la mise en scène architecturale, à la corporéité et à l'enracinement des choses dans notre monde ambiant. Il tente ainsi de nous prémunir d'une aliénation et d'un (...) déracinement qui appauvrissent nos relations avec autrui et notre être-au-monde."--From publisher's website. (shrink)

Dat in het rituele gedrag symbolen geen lege vormen zijn die buiten alle werkelijkheid zouden staan, is een uitdaging aan de moderniteit die in natuurwetenschappelijkheid haar hoogste kenniseisen vervuld ziet. In dit artikel nemen we een oud dispuut over de transsubstantiatie of wezensverandering in het ritueel of sacrament van de christelijke avondmaalsviering of eucharistieviering als uitgangspunt. Dit dispuut gaat over de werkelijkheidswaarde van brood en wijn als het lichaam en bloed van Christus. Als we het symbool in zijn oorspronkelijke betekenis (...) van het verbindende nemen en de notie ‘werkelijkheid’ niet uitsluitend aan de criteria van de natuurwetenschappelijkheid onderwerpen, dan kunnen we inzien hoe rituelen, juist omdat ze symboliseren, werkelijkheid op het oog hebben. (shrink)

The author draws attention to a modern technique of narration that inverts the meaning of ancient myths and stories. This practice creates a new type of story that conveys the anxieties and problems of contemporary life. Kafka's story inverts the meaning of the ancient parable of the Prodigal Son. It presents us with a wayward son who cannot find his way back home and with a father who does not see, embrace, kiss, or welcome his son. The essay explores the (...) connection between entering a human community and sharing a secret. It probes the relationships between homecoming and making sense of one's life. The essay also draws attention to a specifically feminine dimension of hospitality, domesticity and reciprocity. (shrink)

A la recherche du temps perdu van Proust lezen is binnen een reflectie op de zintuiglijkheid niets minder dan een feest. We raken via de rijke evocaties en metaforen in de werkelijkheid van oorden en plekken ondergedompeld. Dat wil zeggen dat we zelf deel gaan uitmaken van hun lijfelijkheid en bijgevolg van hun eigen tijd. In de reflectie genieten we van een ‘ont-plooiing’ van het sensuele, van een verlangen naar wereldlijkheid. Een tegenpool vinden we in het latere werk van Beckett. (...) Zijn wereld schijnt af te sterven, het lichaam-subject vergaat, de oorden en plekken verschrompelen, de dingen vervreemden en de gebeurtenissen zijn nog slechts accidenten waarvan de reikwijdte niet meer te verwoorden valt. Er is een ‘in-plooiing’ van het sensuele. De woorden sterven. De wereld ‘ontwereldlijkt’. (shrink)

Wijsgerig-antropologische verkenning van de betekenis van het groteske aan de hand van voorbeelden uit de westerse literatuur en (volks)cultuur.

What emerges as the overarching theme in the extensive work of the Dutch philosopher Cornelis Verhoeven is our relationship to reality. Being appealed to by thousands of things in our existence makes us realize that we cannot avoid reality. The most meaningful forms of reality are symbols, which lead us, through radical astonishment and contemplation to the metaphysical insight that something exists rather than nothing. This renders Verhoeven sceptical as the weakness of our ability to know and understand hampers our (...) vision of hard reality, and also ironical because so many forms of speaking and writing display a reality which is being taken for granted. Thinking symbolically, metaphysical reflection and scepsis towards thoughdess assumptions are the instruments of a contemplation which, in Verhoeven's work, leave room for the lyrical prevalence of reality. In his later writings he gradually and more insistently draws attention to the theme of truth, while at the same time not denying our epistemological incapacity towards understanding and explaining reality. (shrink)

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This book represents the first monograph (miscellany) entirely devoted to Crantor of Soli (app. 335-275 BCE), an outstanding figure of the Old Academy. He was in particular famous for his On Grief, an exemplary work of consolation literature, and for his being the first commentator of Plato's Timaeus. Unlike his darling Arcesilaus of Pitane, who initiated the Sceptical turn, Crantor seems to have stuck firm to the Academic teachings of Polemon and Plato. The contributions collected in this book aim to (...) convey a complete picture of Crantor by discussing various aspects of his philosophy and biography. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)