Geertz, perhaps the most influential of the anthropologists, contends that symbolism and meaning are central to religion: “The view of man as a symbolizing, conceptualizing, meaning-seeking animal, which has become increasingly popular both in the social sciences and in philosophy over the past several years, opens up a whole new approach not o…[Read more]

Summary of the book “Science Still Born” (2001), presented at the XXIst International Congress of History of Science, Mexico City, Mexico, July 8-14, 2001. // Resumen del libro “Amistad y Progreso” (2001), presentado en el XXI Congreso Internacional de la Historia de la Ciencia, Ciudad de Mexico, 8-14 de julio del 2001.

Part of a special issue “Making Animal Materials in Time” (HSNS 53, no. 3)

1. Gergen argues that situations which human beings didn’t understand or deal with appropriately would inflict painful lessons – providing a conditioning or predisposition for learning. “In the Darwinian sense, the ability to conceptualize has survival value. To be more specific, concepts are valuable tools in problem solving.” (p.23) “In ess…[Read more]

There is no doubt whatsoever that emotions are very important and highly significant in the processing of data and information, as well as in the day-to day functioning of the human being. Eric Klinger, whose expertise is in personality psychology and motivation theory, focuses on the influences of motivation and emotion on cognition. Klinger…[Read more]

The multimedia aspects of one of the most beautifully illuminated charters is in the focus of this paper.

Th is essay deals with the relevance of medieval grants of arms in art history, focusing on the aspects of innovation and quality. Th e fi rst part discusses the origins of innovative prototypes that did not yet match the quality of later grants of arms. Th e second part presents a selection of qualitative landmarks in the history of grants of…[Read more]

This article invites the reading of Fernando Pessoa’s Fausto as a rhizomatic work, via three different critical lenses that lead to plurality: Traditions, Transcriptions, and Translations. Regarding different Faustian traditions, instead of seeing Pessoa’s Fausto merely as a competition with Goethe (as proposed by Eduardo Lourenço in his pref…[Read more]

The musical chapel of the Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor in Talavera de la Reina is a significant case of how an ecclesiastical institution articulates the musical life of a city: in this sense, it can be stated that the main musical activity in the aforementioned Toledan city has revolved around the chapel of the Collegiate Church…[Read more]

How do we know if animals can think? In extension of the previous debate on human-animal relations, this book analyzes the conditions and contexts of the scientific acquisition of our knowledge of animals. The current discussions within animal philosophy revolve around the three central questions of whether we can attribute a mind to animals, what…[Read more]

In current debates about the relationships between humans and nonhuman animals, knowledge about animals is often adopted from the sciences. However, this largely ignores the fact that relationships of this kind also exist in empirical animal research and that these constellations between researchers and the researched have both ethical and…[Read more]

Animal welfare and animal rights issues have reached the curricula, agendas and priorities of a wide range of educational institutions and initiatives. Their actors are faced with the challenge of not only explaining the relevance of animal ethics and animal rights, but also conceptualising how to teach them: How can animal protection and animal…[Read more]

On the example of “The Walking Dead”, we demonstrate in how far the reception of pop culture narratives can serve not merely trivial entertainment, but epistemological interest as well. For this purpose, we introduce the term pop cultural secondary worlds and formulate the thesis that these can be used analogously to thought experiments. The…[Read more]

The article describes two accounts of Poland and the culture of its people. The first of these dates from 1784 and was written by the Marquis de Ségur, a French diplomat travelling to St Petersburg. The second, from 1840, was written by the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, at the time working as a professor at the Collège de France in Paris. I try t…[Read more]

Focussing on the Duchy of Cornwall’s organisational structure during the Wars of the Roses, this survey examines the principal offices (which evolved around administration of its marine and terrene regalities) and personnel (administrative elite) in Cornwall and Devon. Consideration of successive Princes’ Councils and counsellors (and Councils of…[Read more]

Avery Cornburgh (d.1487) of Bere Ferrers (Devon) and Dovers (Essex) – a Lancastrian, Yorkist, and Tudor household servant – was one of the appreciable numbers of crown servants utilised in local government during the fifteenth century. Serving in Cornwall and Essex as JP, MP, sheriff, and commissioner, he was prominent in Cornish affairs as a res…[Read more]

कोरोना की आड़ में जो कुछ हुआ है, उस पर नजर रखना आवश्यक है। ऐसी अनेक छोटी-छोटी घटनाएं हैं, जिनकी ओर प्राय: हमारी नजर नहीं जाती। वैश्विक स्वास्थ्य बाजार के किंग पिन माने जाने बिल गेट्स इनमें से अधिकांश घटनाओं से आपको जुड़े हुए दिखाई देते हैं। ऐसा ही एक मामला वीडियो कॉलिंग की सर्विस देने वाले ‘जूम’ से संबंधित था।

वस्तुत: यह सब सिर्फ व्यापा…[Read more]

Wissenschaftler und Denker haben sich widerstandslos für die Durchsetzung der herrschenden Corona-Agenda einspannen lassen.

Der durch das Coronavirus veranlasste Lockdown hat nicht nur unsere körperliche Freiheit ausgehöhlt, sondern auch unsere geistige Freiheit untergraben. In vielen Ländern wurde für das Denken Käfighaltung angeordnet. Offen…[Read more]

Although he obtained a medical degree at the University of Caen in 1618, Isaac Beeckman never practised medicine. Instead, he developed an atomistic conception of Galenic physiology by discussing, throughout his notebook, the constituents and functioning of the living body. Interestingly, Beeckman applied his atomistic interpretation to the notion…[Read more]