For centuries, scholars have not doubted that Macrobio Ambrogio Teodosio was pagan. Recently, prof. Alan Cameron in his The Last Pagans of Rome clamied that the late antique writer was actually a Christian. This essay seeks to refute this assumption. --Translated from back cover.

The article analyzes the phenomenon of national self-determination in terms of evolution and functioning. The authors aim to determine the general characteristics and evolution of this phenomenon in both conceptual and applied versions. In the evolution’s context of national self-determination as a theoretical concept and a political and legal principle, several stages were identified and considered. According to the authors, each stage of the phenomenon’s evolution was inevitably accompanied by its qualitative transformations, both in political and legal terms. The first (...) stage (from the end of the XVIII c. till the First World War), according to the authors, is characterized by the emergence of the idea and the formation of the socio-political concept of national self-determination, and the applied aspect of the phenomenon of national self-determination is filled with concrete content based on the ever-expanding political practice of its application. The second stage (from the First World War and the post-war reconstruction) is characterized by the transformation of self-determination from a concept into a political principle. The authors associate the third stage of the evolution of the phenomenon of national self-determination (the period after the Second World War) with the development of international relations and the formation of a global bipolar system. National self-determination turned into a principle of positive international law and laid the foundations for the future political instability of the newly independent states. Finally, the last period (the early 90s to this day) is characterized by the search and crystallization of new approaches to the principle of national self-determination and the emergence of new theories, the authors of which are trying from a political and legal point of view to substantiate the legitimacy of an expansive interpretation of this principle. The analysis allowed us to conclude that the qualitative transformations of the principle of national self-determination presented in the article did not lead to the formation of the phenomenon of national self-determination as an integral, complete, and universally recognized international political and legal norm. (shrink)

Der Beitrag analysiert Techniken öffentlicher Gesundheitskommunikation und skizziert im Ausblick Minimalbedingungen für ihre ethische Vertretbarkeit. Dazu wird erstens an einem aktuellen Beispiel veranschaulicht, wie mittels Text und Bild die Öffentlichkeit überzeugt werden soll, ein bestimmtes Gesundheitsverhalten an den Tag zu legen. Zweitens werden anhand der internationalen Ethik-Debatte fünf Grundtypen von Techniken in der Gesundheitskommunikation (Information, Argumentation, Persuasion, Manipulation und Zwang) rekonstruiert und entlang von Mittel, Zweck, Folgen für Adressaten sowie Implikationen für Autonomie aus ethischer Sicht unterschieden. Am besonders ambivalenten Beispiel (...) der Persuasion wird dann drittens diskutiert, welche ethischen Fallstricke es bei Gesundheitskommunikation zu bedenken gibt. Schließlich zeigen wir argumentativ auf, dass es in sensiblen bioethischen Themenfeldern wichtig ist, zwischen verschiedenen Techniken der Gesundheitskommunikation analytisch zu differenzieren. Ziel sollte die Ermöglichung einer fairen und transparenten Diskussion für breite Bevölkerungsgruppen sein. (shrink)

Nel presente contributo è nostra intenzione sondare un binomio che appare fondamentale in funzione dialogica interculturale e interreligiosa, ossia la relazione tra logos e mythos, principalmente in vista dell’incontro tra cristianesimo e tradizione induista. È nostra convinzione che le forme complementari di «teo-logia» e «teo-mythia» possa essere esplorato con frutto, tanto in funzione specifica dell’incontro con la tradizione induista, quanto per una più ampia e profonda inculturazione del vangelo.

In the middle of the 60s Nespolo started using curved lines in his paintings. While modern painting had until then had been dominated by straight lines and therefore by a rational, geometric approach, curved lines brought back a wider freedom in shapes and concepts. Nespolo used simple curves as the core of his creations and these were probably responsible for his turn towards cinema. As curved lines divide a flat surface into pieces with a jigsaw effect, so a movie sequence (...) is a jigsaw of overlapping shots undistinguished by human eye. Each movie scene is in turn interrupted, broken and distorted in a dynamic jigsaw for which the viewer is free to give his own interpretation. (shrink)

Exploring the metaphysics of deep disagreements, Ranalli identifies several essential features shared by all such disputes. These very features constitute a set of adequacy conditions that any satisfactory theory of deep disagreements must meet. The paper explains how Coliva’s Wittgensteinian hinge theory can satisfy Ranalli’s persistence desideratum. According to this condition, any appropriate theory must explain why deep disagreements tend to be persistent and thus unresolved without presupposing that they are rationally irresolvable. First, the work critically discusses how Coliva utilizes (...) her proposed view to account for this desideratum. Second, the paper points out that Coliva’s response is partly problematic because of Ranalli’s definition of deep disagreements for Wittgensteinian hinge theories, which over-generates instances of genuine deep disagreements. Third, the work argues that Coliva’s theory can satisfy Ranalli’s persistence desideratum by resolving a deep disagreement between an anti-vaccination advocate and a proponent of vaccination using an expanded version of Pritchard’s side-on approach. Finally, the paper critically engages with Coliva on the solvability of deep disagreements. (shrink)

In contemporary Western culture, death has been widely censured because of its conceptual implications; it lies at the boundaries between reductionism and metaphysics. There is not yet an efficacious epistemology able to solve this contraposition and its consequent collision with science and tradition. This article analyzes Near Death Experiences as a prototypical argument in which the two perspectives conflict. Specifically, it analyzes the epistemological antinomies of the ontological representations of death, inhering in passage versus absolute annihilation. Indeed, the NDEs theme (...) permits the examination of the logical contradiction between monistic reductionism and its ontological counterpart to improve the discovery of a new paradigm that integrates the ecological with eternalist views. (shrink)

Kunst als Projektionsfläche, Kunst als Ausdruck, Kunst als Gesellschaftskritik: Die Beitragenden dieses Bandes reflektieren unterschiedliche Dimensionen und Spannungslinien des Verhältnisses von Kunst und Kritik und untersuchen dabei das künstlerische Gestaltungs- und Inszenierungspotenzial aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive. Mit der Verflechtung von wissenschaftlichen Beiträgen und Kunstperformances erschliessen sie eine Bandbreite an unterschiedlichen Bedeutungszusammenhängen und Entwicklungsdynamiken von zentralen Diskursen der Kunstlandschaft unter Berücksichtigung u.a. architektonischer, philosophischer, kunsthistorischer, musikwissenschaftlicher und aktionistischer Aspekte"--Back cover.

In the film Never Let Me Go, clones are forced to donate their organs anonymously. As a work of fiction, this film can be regarded as a negotiation of limited agency, since the clones are depicted as vulnerable individuals. Thereby, it evokes a confrontation with underprivileged positions in technocratic societies, encouraging the audience to take the perspective of the marginalised. The clones are situated in ‘privileged deprivation’; from the audience’s point of view, they are unable to evolve into autonomous agents—but (...) from their own perspective within the dystopian system, they are still ‘privileged’. In this paper, we analyse the depiction of the clones’ personal development. Further, we examine references to bioethical aspects as well as technologies that affect the human body both on a micro and macro level—cloning and its impact on the human embryo and organ donation practised on the full-grown human body. We argue that this film as a reference for the discussion in popular culture focuses on individuals who do not profit from modern technical progress or do not have enough agency to refuse it. To make this point, we analyse the film’s fictional story, set in a form of alternate history, as a negotiation of a historical context which brings out the idea of neglected voices. (shrink)

The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a pivotal role in the behavior and development of solid tumors as well as shaping the immune response against them. As the tumor cells proliferate, the space they occupy and their physical interactions with the surrounding tissue increases. The growing tumor tissue becomes a complex dynamic structure, containing connective tissue, vascular structures, and extracellular matrix (ECM) that facilitates stimulation, oxygenation, and nutrition, necessary for its fast growth. Mechanical cues such as stiffness, solid stress, interstitial fluid (...) pressure (IFP), matrix density, and microarchitecture influence cellular functions and ultimately tumor progression and metastasis. In this fight, our body is equipped with T cells as its spearhead against tumors. However, the altered biochemical and mechanical environment of the tumor niche affects T cell efficacy and leads to their exhaustion. Understanding the mechanobiological properties of the TME and their effects on T cells is key for developing novel adoptive tumor immunotherapies. (shrink)

We study abductive, causal, and non-causal conditionals in indicative and counterfactual formulations using probabilistic truth table tasks under incomplete probabilistic knowledge (N = 80). We frame the task as a probability-logical inference problem. The most frequently observed response type across all conditions was a class of conditional event interpretations of conditionals; it was followed by conjunction interpretations. An interesting minority of participants neglected some of the relevant imprecision involved in the premises when inferring lower or upper probability bounds on the (...) target conditional/counterfactual ("halfway responses"). We discuss the results in the light of coherence-based probability logic and the new paradigm psychology of reasoning. (shrink)

In the eulogy for the death of the Emperor Theodosius held on February 25, a.D. 395, Ambrose introduces the episode of the finding of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem for the interest of Helena, mother of Constantine. That allows the bishop of Milan to expose his political- religious conceptions. The article offers a systematic analysis of the excursus from a literary point of view.

The Second World War offered an excellent opportunity for some U.S. think tanks to influence foreign-policy-making processes and get involved in transatlantic diplomacy. This study seeks to demonstrate that the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) challenged the stalemate between the U.S. and French authorities by gathering together U.S. experts and non-collaborationist French leaders. A first-hand reconstruction of this informal network is based on the unreleased Peace Aims Group’s records. This was a unique CFR exchange programme for European governments-in-exile’s representatives. In (...) the first part, a general reconstruction of Council on Foreign Relations’ planning introduces an original assessment of the meetings with some prominent French intellectuals and politicians. It is argued that these conferences can be interpreted as rare examples of wartime public diplomacy. The second part discloses new historical evidence demonstrating the participation of Jean Monnet in a Peace Aims session. This discovery proves the existence of a long-term partnership between one of the key protagonists of the European integration process and the most authoritative foreign-policy think tank working for the Roosevelt administration. Overall, the analysis of Peace Aims Group’s off-the-record discussions sheds new light on the WWII transatlantic debate on postwar Europe and France. (shrink)

In this paper, I will focus on the debate between descriptivism and antidescriptivism theory about proper names. In Section I, I will propose an historical reconstruction of the debate, and I will focus in particular on Russell and Kripke's treatments of proper names. Some criticisms will be advanced against Kripke's hypothesis of rigid-designator and, more clearly, against the consequent distinction between the epistemic and metaphysical level that Kripke proposes to explain identity assertions between proper names. Furthermore, I will argue, that, (...) pace Kripke, Russellian treatment of proper names allows to capture all our semantic intuitions, and also those semantic interpretations which concern context-belief sentences. I will close Section I by focusing on a criticism that Kripke rightly points out against an example that Russell proposes in his On Denoting. Section II will be devoted to Russellian solution: I will show that not only Russell's logical treatment of proper names allows to answer to Kripke's criticism to Russell's example, but also that such treatment can disambiguate and express all our semantic intuitions about Frege's puzzle sentence “Hesperus is Phosphorus”. I will then show that, contrarily, Quinian solution (discussed in Section III) and Kripkian one (see Section IV) are not satisfactory to capture our semantic knowledge about Frege's sentence. Furthermore, in Section IV I will focus on Kripke's distinction between epistemic and metaphysical level to deal with identity assertions between proper names, and I will logically show that such distinction is not plausible. In Section V, then, I will show that Russellian solution allows to explain context-belief sentences, contrarily to what Kripke thinks. In VI, I will summarize what I have argued in the text and I will draw some morals. (shrink)

Avant-gardist but at the same time critic toward Arte Povera and Conceptual Art, Nespolo express a ludic attitude in his works based on an intensive production of images and forms. Playing with imagination and languages, calling to mind some visual solutions from Futurism and Pop Art Nespolo with his poetics and his postmodernist attitude emphasize communication making a publicity art.

This book has been specifically designed to support the student of the IB Diploma Programme in Theory of Knowledge. It will stimulate students to think about learning and knowledge from their own and from others' perspectives in a way that crosses disciplines and cultures. It will encourage reflection, discussion, critical thinking, and awareness of the ways in which knowledge is constructed, and will lead students to recognize the implications of knowledge for issues of global concern. The book is rooted in (...) classroom experience and provides class activities and supporting material for the whole of the TOK course. (shrink)