This highly original, provocative, and poetic work explores the nexus of time, truth, and death in the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. Demonstrating that the historical and theoretical relationship between kabbalah and western philosophy is far more intimate and extensive than any previous scholar has ever suggested, Elliot R. Wolfson draws an extraordinary range of thinkers such as Frederic Jameson, Martin Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, William Blake, Julia Kristeva, Friedrich Schelling, and a host of kabbalistic figures into deep conversation with one (...) another. _Alef, Mem, Tau _also discusses Islamic mysticism and Buddhist thought in relation to the Jewish esoteric tradition as it opens the possibility of a temporal triumph of temporality and the conquering of time through time. The framework for Wolfson’s examination is the rabbinic teaching that the word _emet, _“truth,” comprises the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, _alef, mem,_ and _tau,_ which serve, in turn, as semiotic signposts for the three tenses of time—past, present, and future. By heeding the letters of _emet _we discern the truth of time manifestly concealed in the time of truth, the beginning that cannot begin if it is to be the beginning, the middle that re/marks the place of origin and destiny, and the end that is the figuration of the impossible disclosing the impossibility of figuration, the finitude of death that facilitates the possibility of rebirth. The time of death does not mark the death of time, but time immortal, the moment of truth that bestows on the truth of the moment an endless beginning of a beginningless end, the truth of death encountered incessantly in retracing steps of time yet to be taken—between, before, beyond. (shrink)

Study on asceticism based on Upanishads.

Study of fundamentals of ethics in Yajurveda, Hindu canonical text.

The first issue raised by this paper is whether semiotics can bring any added value to ecology. A brief examination of the epistemological status of semiotics in its current forms suggests that semiotics' phenomenological macroconcepts (which are inherited from various theological and philosophical traditions) are incommensurate with the complexity of the sciences comprising ecology and are too reductive to usefully map the microprocesses through which organisms evolve and interact. However, there are at least two grounds on which interfacing semiotics with (...) ecology may prove to be scientifically productive: (a) the very looseness of semiotic discourse can be an important catalyser for multidisciplinary interactions, an important condition for the emergence of truly holistic ecology; (b) the present semiotic conceptual apparatus is not carved in stone. All its notions, frames of reference and types of reasoning can evolve in contact with the problems encountered in evolutionary ecological research. Semiotics, as an open-ended epistemological project, remains a proactive intellectual resource. The second issue raised by this paper is precisely to call attention to the opportunity provided by recent developments for rethinking and furthering semiotic inquiry. An attempt is made to show that counterintuitive theories such as memetics and new frontiers in teclmology such as nanotechnology, could help recast ecosentioticsalong more intellectually exciting lines of inquiry than the mere rewriting of ecological discourse in terms of the traditional semiotic macroconcepts. It goes without saying that memetics and nanotechology are not presented here as definitive solutions but simply as indicative of possible directions toward acomprehensive evolutionary ecosentiotics that would radically transform the basis of the 20th century sentiotic discourse and its ideological agenda. (shrink)

Philosophical study of Yajurveda, Hindu canon.

Depiction of etiquette or good manners in Mahābhārata, Hindu classical epic.

On Jaina philosophy; includes translation in Hindi.

Study of the concept of substance (Dravya) in Vaiśeṣika philosophy.

Concept of Mokṣa in Hinduism and philosophy; a study.

On health science in Yoga philosophy with special reference to Yogasūtra of Patañjali.

Comprehensive study of Advaita philosophy of self-realization in Svānubhavadarśa of Mādhavāśrama, fl. 1740.

Study of Jaina logic with special reference to the relation of reason and action.

Research papers on knowledge and theory in Jaina philosophy.

Perception of self in Yogavāsiṣṭha, Hindu philosophical treatise; a study.

Study of the concept of verbal testimony in Nyaya philosophy.

Introduction to the terms and concepts of Hinayana and Mahayana, Buddhist philosophy.

On the concept of substance one of the basic elements in Vaiśeṣika school of Hindu philosophy.

Various interpretation of the concept of Apramā refers to "non-valid knowledge" in Hindu Nyaya philosophy.

On the life, philosopy, and mythological interpretations of Śukadeva as portrayed in Puranas; a study.

Historical study of the humanism in Indian thought.

ABSTRACT This project seeks to put material culture, craft, and community in conversation with the long-standing American mythology of self-sufficiency referenced not only in elite discourse by the founding statesmen of the United States but also in contemporary popular iterations of the “Green” and urban homesteading movements. Indeed, many of the individuals involved in these movements identify not only as artists but also as advocates of a form of social activism referred to as “craftivism” that explicitly links this American iconographic (...) tradition of self-sufficiency to contemporary mandates for a politics of sustainability, particularly in urban life. Accordingly, I examine the ways in which urban craftivists are preserving and/or reintroducing traditional folkways ranging from subsistence farming to blacksmithing and welding, hand-sewing, knitting and crocheting, and film photography. Offering specific case studies related to these practices, I argue that practitioners of contemporary American craftivisms lean heavily on discourses of memory and tradition, as well as on the material practices and folkways associated therewith, but do so with the intention of creating a new world order that embraces both local and global perspectives as well as resources to support a politics of ethical production reconciling discourses of “tradition” and “sustainability” within the United States and abroad. (shrink)

Study on the fundamentals of Vaiśeṣika philosophy as discussed in Ṣaḍdarśanasamuccaya of Haribhadrasūri, 700-770.

A description of the three regions of the universe in Jaina philosophy.

Contribution of Udayanācārya to Nyaya philosophy; study with reference to his works.

Study of Mokṣa in Sankhya-Yoga philosophy.

Study on the contributions of Vācaspatimiśra, fl. 976-1000 and Vijñānabhikṣu, 16th cent., commentrators and philosophers to Sankhya and Yoga philosophy.

On educational philosophy in Puranas, Hindu mythological classics.

Study on the concept of cognition and metaphysical theory of causation in Vedanta school in Hindu philosophy.

Study on the concept of Self in Advaita philosophy.

Concept of Brahman (Absolute, The) in Vedanta philosophy; a study.

The Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) is a relatively new device designed to overcome some of the disadvantages of traditional adherence-measuring techniques. MEMS has also been found useful in tracking adherence behaviour without the need to visit patients frequently. In this study each patient was given a pre-filled, labelled MEMS bottle and cap. Patients were monitored for 24 weeks. For patients specifically studied, there were periods when drug levels may have been low and some exhibited erratic medication-taking (...) behaviour. It is concluded that MEMS can measure adherence behaviour objectively, and so might be used to improve prescribing decisions, identify drug wastage and improve carer support. Further research is needed before the routine use of electronic medication monitoring can be recommended. (shrink)

On Hindu ethics and code of conduct in Hindu smr̥tis.

Concept of Naya in Jaina logic and philosophy.

On the fundamentals of Jaina philosophy and logic.