Este artículo discute y analiza la formación del carácter crítico e intelectual en Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot. A partir de fuentes diversas y, en parte, inexploradas, se reconstruye el proceso de formación y ejercicio de su actividad crítica entre 1950 y 1965. Se tienen en cuenta tanto las relaciones con otros intelectuales como la influencia de los diversos contextos en los cuales se dieron dichas relaciones. Así, su participación en Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, su correspondencia con Alfonso Reyes y con Nils Hedberg, (...) su actividad diplomática, su trabajo editorial y de traducción y, finalmente, su práctica docente, se estudian con objeto de tener un marco comprensivo. La obra crítica de Gutiérrez Girardot dista de estar comprendida y, de hecho, se precisa todavía de un exhaustivo trabajo de reconstrucción y análisis. This paper discusses and analyses the critical and intellectual nature of the work of Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot. It reproduces the process of construction and exercise of his critical activity (1950-1965), based on different sources some of them not yet very studied. The paper takes into account his relationships with other intellectuals and the influence of its different contexts. Thus, in order to get a comprehensive framework, it studies his participation in Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, his correspondence with Alfonso Reyes and Nils Hedberg, his diplomatic activity, his work as editor and translator and finally his teaching experience. The critical work of Gutiérrez Girardot is far from being completely interpreted and this makes necessary an exhaustive work of reconstruction and analysis. (shrink)

En este artículo realizo una lectura de la propuesta historiográfica de José Luis Romero y de la “Historia social de la literatura” de Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot, mostrando cómo la primera influye en la segunda, y relacionándolas con el problema de la identidad de América Latina. Se parte de un diagnóstico de la historiografía colombiana del siglo XX y se evidencia la manera como estas dos miradas historiográficas lograron superar las deficiencias de la misma, fundando en nuestro continente una utopía (...) política que aboga por una conciencia de América. (shrink)

El presente texto parte de algunas afirmaciones críticas hechas por Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot en torno al problema de la posmodernidad y, desde estas, intenta reconstruir esa crítica. En el ensayo se analiza la relación entre la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Mayo de 1968 y la llamada filosofía posmoderna. Asimismo, se expone con detalle la crítica de Gutiérrez Girardot a Michel Foucault y a algunos postulados de la posmodernidad como la crítica del intelectual y el olvido de la historia. El ensayo (...) realiza un balance de esa crítica y, a la vez, plantea algunas perspectivas de análisis para el mundo actual. (shrink)

Se analiza desde un punto de vista filosófico-político y pragmático-discursivo las características ideológicas del discurso de Rafael Correa durante las elecciones presidenciales de 2006. Correa acometió una interpretación laclausiana del tiempo histórico, traduciendo que la crisis de representación del país podía originar un estallido o momento populista. En base a ello, el discurso populista que llevó a Correa al poder en 2007, se construyó sobre el uso de dos marcos argumentativos básicos: 1) ubicar a los partidos políticos tradicionales (“la (...) partidocracia”) como antagónicos a la patria y 2) proponer una reforma constitucional mediante una Asamblea Constituyente. Se concluye con una valoración crítica sobre los límites entre movilización popular y su institucionalismo. (shrink)

En este ensayo muestro las causas de la poca recepción del pensamiento filosófico de Xavier Zubiri en Colombia, entre ellas, el hecho de que su obra no fue publicada, lo que implicó la ausencia de discusión con su pensamiento. Al mismo tiempo, la corta influencia de Zubiri en los filósofos exiliados en 1939. Otras razones fueron el magisterio de Ortega y Gasset en América quien ocultó a Zubiri; la fobia por el pensamiento español que los filósofos universalistas crearon, y la (...) existencia de un culto acrítico en las universidades confesionales. Explico las razones históricas de esa escasa recepción y propongo superar esas dificultades para expandir el horizonte de nuestra filosofía. (shrink)

Primera parte. Problemas teóricos en torno a la filosofia latinoamericana. A modo de introducción : la historia de las ideas en América Latina -- Breve trazo de un camino -- Crítica de la Crítica de la razón latinoamericana de Santiago Castro-Gómez -- Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot y José Luis Romero : historiografía e identidad latinamericana -- El colonialismo intelectual en América Latina y su crítica -- La historiografía como "carta de batalla" -- El rastacuerismo y nuestra cultura política -- La (...) secularización y la racionalización en hispanoamérica -- Filosofía y crisis -- Segunda parte. Filósofos y filosofías revisitados. El Ariel de José Enrique Rodó : su contexto, sus fuentes y sus críicas -- María Zambrano, José Gaos y la filosofía latinoamericana -- El problema de la recepción del pensamiento de Xavier Zubiri en Colombia -- Ernesto Sábato : crítica de la tecnolatría y religación de lo humano -- Guillermo Hoyos Vásquez...entre nosotros -- Pablo Guadarrama y la filosofía colombiana : un testimonio. (shrink)

Partiendo de los atisbos de historia social de la literatura que teorizó elfilósofo colombiano Rafael Gutiérrez Girardot, el presente ensayo explora laposibilidad de postular un programa de investigación llamado historia socialde la filosofía que dé cuenta de los procesos de producción, circulación,distribución y consumo de la filosofía en América Latina. Esta propuestahistoriográfica se presenta como una rama de la sociología del saber, y nointenta sustituir la tarea de seguir filosofando sin más en la región, es decir,de continuar haciendo filosofía (...) con vocación de universalidad. (shrink)

Current suggestions for capacities that should be targeted for moral enhancement has centered on traits like empathy, fairness or aggression. The literature, however, lacks a proper model for understanding the interplay and complexity of moral capacities, which limits the practicability of proposed interventions. In this paper, I integrate some existing knowledge on the nature of human moral behavior and present a formal model of prosocial motivation. The model provides two important results regarding the most friction-free route to moral enhancement. First, (...) we should consider decreasing self-interested motivation rather than increasing prosociality directly. Second, this should be complemented with cognitive enhancement. These suggestions are tested against existing and emerging evidence on cognitive capacity, mindfulness meditation and the effects of psychedelic drugs and are found to have sufficient grounding for further theoretical and empirical exploration. Furthermore, moral effects of the latter two are hypothesized to result from a diminished sense of self with subsequent reductions in self-interest. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Hispanic Philosophy in the Age of Discovery ed. by Kevin WhiteIván JaksicKevin White, editor. Hispanic Philosophy in the Age of Discovery. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1997. Pp. xv + 326. Cloth, $59.95.The quincentennial of what has been termed the “encounter” between Europeans and Indians in the New World in the late fifteenth century furnished the occasion for much denunciation of the evils inflicted by greedy (...) intruders on the indigenous population and their environment. Many a conference was convened to reflect on such [End Page 463] events from the perspective of what appeared to be a consensus on the ultimately negative effects of European discovery, conquest, and colonization. In this context, it is quite remarkable that a conference on Hispanic philosophy in the age of discovery should have been convened to examine the philosophical figures and treatises of the era. As it turns out, this volume represents probably one of the most enduring outcomes of the myriad activities of 1992. This is a volume that ranges widely into the philosophical world of the period, brings to light the richness and significance of philosophers and their work, and provides a coherent and consistently well-researched set of essays.The volume consists of fifteen essays divided into five parts. Part I consists of one essay by Jorge J. E. Gracia which offers a wide panorama of Hispanic philosophy from 1500 to 1650, as well as a lucid interpretation of the historical reasons why Hispanic philosophy seems to have reached a dead end in the context of modern European philosophy, and suffered the neglect of intervening centuries. Part II consists of one essay by Mauricio Beuchot on discussions concerning the conquest of Mexico; two essays by John Doyle and Marcelo Sánchez-Sorondo on the work of Francisco de Vitoria; and two essays on the celebrated dispute between Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de las Casas in 1550–51, the first by Eduardo Andújar and the second by Rafael Alvira and Alfredo Cruz. Part III includes essays by William Wallace on Domingo de Soto and Galileo’s science; Juan Antonio Widow on the economic thought of the Spanish Scholastics; Jean de Groot on the mysticism of Teresa de Avila; Yves Floucat on St. John of the Cross, and Mirko Skarica on the problem of future contingents. Part IV includes three essays by Norman Wells, Stephen Menn, and Carlos G. Noreña on the works of Francisco Suárez, probably the best-known Spanish thinker of the period. The volume closes with Part V, which has a long essay by John Deely on John Poinsot’s doctrine of signs.A volume of this scope and nature is bound to contain some overlap and repetition, as is the case with the pieces concerning the Las Casas-Sepúlveda debate. And yet these essays read well because the authors seriously undermine the conventional treatment of Sepúlveda as the hawkish defender of Indian slavery, and place him in the context of a larger Renaissance view of non-European peoples. Las Casas, in the view of the authors, had a great deal more in common with his opponent than the historiography has thus far suggested. In other sections of the volume, the variety of approaches and subjects on the part of the contributors challenges the reader to constantly shift grounds. Part III, for instance, takes us from the disquisitions on the velocity of falling bodies to the moral aspects of economic thought, and to the meaning of mystical theology. Fortunately, the competence of the researchers makes all individual pieces worthwhile even if this particular reviewer would have been somewhat more stringent with the space allotted to make a point.Contributors to this book leave no doubt as to the importance of their subjects, and yet they resist the temptation of exaggerating the extent of the influence of many of the Spanish authors on other European thinkers. Indeed, the essay by Norman Wells shows that while one must consider the linkages between Suárez and Descartes, there is [End Page 464] no reason to believe that the latter made Suárez’s position on the moderni... (shrink)

Resumen En el marco de un estudio mayor, cuyo principal objetivo es postular la existencia de diferencias entonativas entre zonas lingüísticas de Chile en la emisión de oraciones subordinadas sustantivas objetivas, en este trabajo se expone una caracterización de tres tipos de pausas halladas al interior de las estructuras oracionales indicadas anteriormente, emitidas por hablantes profesionales provenientes de Iquique y de Punta Arenas. El propósito principal del estudio consistió en determinar si se manifestaban diferencias en los tipos de pausas observadas (...) en relación con la complejidad oracional analizada, el género de los informantes y su procedencia geográfica. Para ello se analizaron 100 enunciados extraídos de entrevistas realizadas a 37 profesionales nacidos en ambas ciudades. Los resultados indicaron que hubo diferencias en las pausas observadas, en relación con los tipos de oraciones analizadas, la procedencia geográfica y el género de los informantes.As part of a larger study, whose main objective is to postulate the existence of intonation differences between linguistic regions of Chile in the issuance of subordinate clauses substantive objective, this work exposes a characterization of three types of pauses found inside the sentence structures listed above, issued by professional speakers from Iquique and Punta Arenas. The main purpose of the study was to determine the existence of differences in the types of pauses observed in relation to the sentence complexity analyzed, the gender of the informants and their geographical origin. For this, a total of 100 statements taken from interviews of 37 professionals born in both cities were analyzed. The results indicated that there were differences in the observed pauses, in relation to the types of sentences analyzed, the geographic origin and gender of the informants. (shrink)

The Gongsun Longzi is often considered the only extant work of the Classical Chinese “School of Names”, an early intellectual tradition mainly concerned with logic and the philosophy of language. The Gongsun Longzi is a heterogeneous collection of five chapters that include short treatises and largely fictive dialogues between an anonymous persuader and his opponent, which typically revolve around a paradoxical claim. Its value as a testimony to Early Chinese philosophy, however, is somewhat controversial due to the intricate textual history (...) of the text and our limited knowledge about its intellectual backgrounds. This volume gathers contributions by leading specialists in the fields of Classical Chinese philosophy, philology, logic, and linguistics. Besides an overview of the scholarly literature on the topic and a detailed account of the reception of the text throughout time, it presents fresh insights into philological and philosophical problems raised by the Gongsun Longzi and other closely-related texts equally attributed to the “School of Names”. (shrink)

El renacimiento cultural del s. XII es producto de una serie de circunstancias que se pueden sintetizar en tres factores: el desarrollo económico, la expansión demográfica y el apogeo urbano. Dichas circunstancias parecen mostrar la decadencia del sistema feudal y la apertura a la sociedad moderna. Al resurgimiento literario y filosófico le acompaña el metodológico. La lógica aristotélica se convertirá en instrumento necesario tanto en los debates teológicos como jurídicos. Ya no presidida por el viejo esencialismo o la inmanencia griega, (...) se convertirá en técnica imprescindible para una sociedad que muestra una clara mentalidad ciudadana y mercantil. (shrink)

La jurisdicción constitucional nació el 24 de febrero de 1803 en una desangelada sala en la planta baja del Capitolio cedida por el Congreso de los Estados Unidos al Tribunal Supremo cuando su presidente, el Chief Justice John Marshall hizo pública la sentencia en el caso Marbury v. Madison. En ella se establecía la revisión judicial de las leyes (y también de los actos del Gobierno, pero éste es otro tema) sacándosela de la manga de la toga como de una (...) chistera extraen un conejo los prestidigitadores, pues la Constitución del nuevo país, promulgada en 1787 y todavía vigente, no preveía expresamente tal competencia. (shrink)

Dos filósofos dialogan sobre cómo definir en nuestros días la barbarie desde la filosofía política actual. Barajan para ello tres tipos de respuestas. La respuesta ilustrada es la que considera que la diversidad de concepciones del bien de nuestras sociedades es un hecho pernicioso para el desarrollo de la Humanidad, y que hay que imponer sobre ese batiburrillo de opiniones bárbaras la concepción sobre lo bueno más racional, la que en Occidente se propugna desde la Ilustración dieciochesca. La respuesta liberal, (...) por el contrario, acepta gustosa la pluralidad de concepciones morales y metafísicas de nuestras sociedades, y lo único que propone es evitar la barbarie haciendo que, en las cuestiones sobre cómo organizar nuestra sociedad, estas diferencias queden de lado y se intente encontrar un mínimo acuerdo entre todos. Por último, la respuesta postmetafísica sugiere aceptar que las cosmovisiones sobre el bien y el mundo no pueden quedar tan totalmente aparte de nuestros modos de organizar la sociedad como quiere el liberal; pero para evitar el conflicto bárbarico entre ellas, persigue hacer plausible sobre las demás una concepción concreta, que, a diferencia de la del ilustrado, aspiraría mucho más modestamente a sólo expandir un escepticismo para con el resto de nuestras propias creencias; autoironía que nos abriría al diálogo con las creencias de los demás y evitaría en ese juego de conversaciones la violencia de la imposición bárbara. (shrink)

This paper presents an interpretation of the paradoxical decision of Abraham done by Søren A. Kierkegaard in his work Fear and Trembling as an ethics of silence. The main idea is to understand ethics not as moral standards or specific duties, but as the responsibility of becoming a single individual in time; singularity as the intimate and personal relationship with the calling of love. In such a way, that silence is the experience of the encounter with the paradox that being (...) human means to be singular in conditions that claim an universal and general transparent manifestation dependent of the dominant rational discourse.Then, silence becomes the fundamental ethical claim to become a human person, as spirit in time, where it becomes a time of trial and examination, a temporality, where the trial is the fidelity to love’s calling, the listening of the possibilities that are presented by the anxiety of the decision. These possibilities are not immanent to the world or to history, they call for a personal choice, always containing a space of revelation; therefore of listening to the interiority of the personal choice that for Kierkegaard is the passion of faith, communicated and lived in silence. Concluding that an ethics of silence by the image of Abraham implies to re-think the role of philosophy in relationship to faith, hope and love in time, as a silent thought. (shrink)

Este artículo aborda desde una perspectiva crítica la relación entre las categorías de democracia y ciudadanía en la ciudad de Valparaíso durante la última década de postdictadura. El principal supuesto del texto considera la imposibilidad de un análisis conceptual acerca de la democracia que no incluya en su discusión la tensión entre la posición y ejercicio de la ciudadanía implicada y demandante en este proceso. El análisis propuesto confronta los imaginarios hegemónicos instituidos en la postdictadura con los imaginarios instituyentes que (...) emergen de los movimientos secundarios por la defensa de la educación pública en la ciudad de Valparaíso. Estos imaginarios se expresan en formas de organización en la esfera pública, por medio de la función que ejerce el imaginario radical, que impugnan la construcción de una ciudadanía capturada y una democracia tutelada. This article focuses on the relationship between the categories of democracy and citizenship in Valparaíso during the last post-dictatorship decade from a critical perspective. The main assumption of the text relates to the impossibility of conceptual analysis on democracy without including in its discussion the tension between the position and the exercise of the demanding, involved citizenship in this process. The proposed analysis brings face to face the hegemonic imaginaries established during the post-dictatorship period and the establishing imaginaries that arise from the secondary school movements for defending public education in Valparaiso. These imaginaries are expressed in forms of organization within the public circle, through the role that plays the radical imaginary, which challenge the construction of a captured citizenship and a democracy under custody. (shrink)

The Stance team spoke with Charles Mills, noted philosopher and John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Northwestern University whose work focuses on issues of social class, gender, and race, on December 1, 2014. Dr. Mills reviewed Stance’s transcription of the interview and made slight corrections for grammar, style, and reduction of repetition. He also inserted a sentence or two to add clarity. We hope readers find the result illuminating.

Psychosocial risks at work are an important occupational problem since they can have an impact on workers' health, productivity, absenteeism, and company profits. Among their consequences, burnout stands out for its prevalence and associated consequences. This problem is particularly noteworthy in the case of teachers. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of some psychosocial factors and risks in burnout development, taking into consideration the levels of burnout according to the Spanish Burnout Inventory. This paper contributes to (...) advancing knowledge on this issue by analyzing the influence of work characteristics and personal characteristics on the progress of burnout. The sample consisted of 8,235 non-university teachers, aged 22 to 70. For this purpose, statistical modeling by logistic regression was used. The results of this study showed that No burnout level was positively related with resources variables and negatively with demand variables. In the Medium-High levels and the higher levels of burnout, there is a positive relation with demand variables and a negative one with resource variables. In conclusion, demand variables cause an increase in the burnout levels, influencing positively the movements between the levels of No burnout to Medium-High levels of burnout and Medium-High levels to Profile 1. At the same time, resource variables had a negative influence on burnout. However, the results in the movement between Profile 1 and Profile 2 were not expected. The variable Imbalance had a negative relationship with the movement between Profile 1 to Profile 2, and Social support and Autonomy at work had a positive relationship with this movement. Therefore, when professionals feel higher levels of burnout, lack of imbalance together with social support and autonomy could contribute to increased feelings of guilt and risk of higher burnout. (shrink)

In this paper, we shall consider the question of whether, in a context such as that of Spain that is, a context where a particular religion has been historically dominant, and within the boundaries of political liberalism, it is possible to find a reasonable argument in favour of what is termed positive laicism . In order to do so, we must first brie fly clarify what this type of laicism consists of. Below we shall explore some of the arguments which (...) could be used to defend it. We shall attempt to demonstrate that the majority of these arguments are lacking in some relevant aspect. The only defence of positive laicism that seems reasonable is one based on reasons of a politico-cultural nature which, in the context mentioned, mean that said positive laicism must be asymmetric. (shrink)

This survey chapter focuses on two questions concerning the nature of beauty. First, can “beauty” be defined, and if so, how? Second, what is the relation between beauty and the mind; for example, between being beautiful and being judged beautiful, or between being beautiful and being the object of pleasure?

Norms have been widely enacted in human and agent societies to regulate individuals’ actions. However, although legislators may have ethics in mind when establishing norms, moral values are only sometimes explicitly considered. This paper advances the state of the art by providing a method for selecting the norms to enact within a society that best aligns with the moral values of such a society. Our approach to aligning norms and values is grounded in the ethics literature. Specifically, from the literature’s (...) study of the relations between norms, actions, and values, we formally define how actions and values relate through the so-called value judgment function and how norms and values relate through the so-called norm promotion function. We show that both functions provide the means to compute value alignment for a set of norms. Moreover, we detail how to cast our decision-making problem as an optimisation problem: finding the norms that maximise value alignment. We also show how to solve our problem using off-the-shelf optimisation tools. Finally, we illustrate our approach with a specific case study on the European Value Study. (shrink)

Plato’s “Apology of Socrates” is a masterpiece of the philosophical literature. The question remains as to how much it has been influenced by earlier works, e.g. of Gorgias of Leontinoi and Euripides. Nevertheless, comparative studies on Hippolytus’ defense in Euripides’ tragedy of the same name, on Gorgias’ “Defense of Palamedes” and on Plato’s “Apology” do not exist. The short paper gives an introduction into the status quaestionis.

A major figure in New Confucianism,1 Mou Zongsan 牟宗三 is often considered one of the most important thinkers of twentieth-century China. His philosophical work he labeled "moral metaphysics," a caption inspired by Kant's term "moral theology," marking, at one and the same time, both an homage to and a disapproval of the German philosopher's work. In Mou's view, Kant, unable to come up with a convincing solution to the problem of integrating practical and theoretical philosophy, fails to provide a viable (...) notion of the "Highest Good".2 Mou's own proposal to emend this alleged deficiency rests on two main pillars: the concept of intellectual intuition and the figure of a "perfect teaching"... (shrink)

Belief Revision studies how rational agents change their beliefs in response to new information. The main objective of the works in this area is modelling these dynamics by defining some formal operators of change. This paper is an overview on the AGM model for revision, introducing some of the major questions that are addressed in this area of study.

Two studies were conducted to assess the psychometric properties of scores from the Norwegian adaptation of the Big Five Inventory-2. In Study 1, the BFI-2 was translated to Norwegian and the scores from a convenience sample demonstrated good psychometric properties. BFI-2 scores from subsamples correlated in expected ways with self- and other ratings of the Big Five, and with self-ratings of empathic concern and perspective taking. In Study 2, after some minor improvements in translation, the psychometric properties of BFI-2 scores (...) were assessed in a new sample. Results from random intercept EFA of scores supported the proposed model. The psychometric properties of two shorter versions of the inventory, the BFI-2-S and BFI-2-XS, were also examined. Overall, the results suggest that the Norwegian adaptation of the BFI-2 provide reliable and valid scores. (shrink)

This paper aims at analyzing the missionary discourse in the final document of Aparecida, in order to concern about the mission and the consequent search for dialogue outside the religious pluralism of the continent. The central question we try to answer: how does the discourse of the document is positioned in front of religious pluralism? What interpretation can we give speeches in the mission document? The central hypothesis is that the mission is the central document of Aparecida. The missionary position, (...) mediated by the speeches, varies according to the theological positions. As we review the text of the document have the foundations for a project of the Church missionary and liberating. (shrink)

The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) or Krebs cycle, which takes place in prokaryotic cells and in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells, is central to life on Earth and participates in key events such as energy production and anabolic processes. Despite its relevance, it is not perceived as tightly regulated compared to other key metabolisms such as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. A better understanding of the functioning of the TCA cycle is crucial due to mitochondrial function impairment in several diseases, especially those that occur with (...) neurodegeneration. This article revisits what is known about the regulation of the Krebs cycle and hypothesizes the need for large‐scale, rapid regulation of TCA cycle enzyme activity. Evidence of mitochondrial enzyme activity regulation by activation/deactivation of protein kinases and phosphatases exists in the literature. Apart from indirect regulation via G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) at the cell surface, signaling upon activation of GPCRs in mitochondrial membranes may lead to a direct regulation of the enzymes of the Krebs cycle. Hormonal‐like regulation by posttranscriptional events mediated by activable kinases and phosphatases deserve proper assessment using isolated mitochondria. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/aBpDSWiMQyI. (shrink)

This paper attempts to delineate the relation of early Chinese views on vision and visuality to nascent reflections on painting arising in the Early Medieval period. Ever since that time, pictorial creativity has been associated with Buddhist ideas of spiritual perfection. Likewise, the Early Medieval concern for the visualization of spiritual journeys to exceptional humans (and superhumans) through imaginary landscapes seems to be of Buddhist origin. The first part of this paper gives a short sketch of the intellectual landscape in (...) which theorizing on painting since the 5th century CE first arose. The main body of the study, consisting of parts two through five, close readings of pre-Buddhist texts on vision and imagination. From these exploratory investigations it emerges that the very terms that are key in early reflections on painting such as ‘spirit’ (shen神), ‘perspicacity’ (ming明), but also ‘imagination’ (xiang想) and ‘symbol’ (xiang象) are closely related to a specific conception of seeing and visuality which is manifest in these texts. A final part sketches the possible relevance of these observations in early and pre-imperial sources for the interpretation of Chinese theories on painting. It emerges that while the rising interest in imagination since the Eastern Jin period is indeed an innovation inspired by Buddhism, the extraordinary role of the notion of ‘spirit’ in reflections about painting is closely related to earlier autochthonous traditions. The appeal to specifically Buddhist notions such as thesamādhiof free play in texts on pictorial production and contemplation appears to be of a secondary character. It seems to be mediated by the inclusion of the very word ‘spirit’ (shen) into Chinese renderings of technical Buddhist terms related to meditation, which resulted in the implicit association of this specialist vocabulary with inherited conceptions of spirit as a luminous force animating, inspiring and enlightening things, in both quite a literal and in a rather metaphorical sense. (shrink)