Bas C. van Fraassen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199278220
- eISBN:
- 9780191707926
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278220.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science
The Bildtheorie — ‘picture theory of science’ — formed the frame for much discussion and controversy among physicists in the decades around the year 1900. It emphasizes one aspect believed to be ...
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The Bildtheorie — ‘picture theory of science’ — formed the frame for much discussion and controversy among physicists in the decades around the year 1900. It emphasizes one aspect believed to be central to the scientific enterprise: representation of the empirical phenomena, by means of artifacts, both physical and mathematical. The question to be addressed is whether such a ‘picture theory’ can be developed today compatibly with the insights claimed by empiricist and structuralist views of science.Less
The Bildtheorie — ‘picture theory of science’ — formed the frame for much discussion and controversy among physicists in the decades around the year 1900. It emphasizes one aspect believed to be central to the scientific enterprise: representation of the empirical phenomena, by means of artifacts, both physical and mathematical. The question to be addressed is whether such a ‘picture theory’ can be developed today compatibly with the insights claimed by empiricist and structuralist views of science.
Peter S. Wells
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691143385
- eISBN:
- 9781400844777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691143385.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter is devoted to fibulae, which are clothing pins that operated on the same principle as the modern safety pin. The style of fibulae changed relatively rapidly throughout the Bronze and ...
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This chapter is devoted to fibulae, which are clothing pins that operated on the same principle as the modern safety pin. The style of fibulae changed relatively rapidly throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, and they have long been used as the principal chronological indicator for a given grave or settlement. Of all of the common objects preserved from late prehistoric Europe, fibulae are the most attractive, in the sense that even today people are drawn to them, finding them intriguing to look at. The reason that they are so appealing is that they embody a number of the visually commanding features outlined in Chapter 2. In their shapes, they are unlike anything in nature and thus immediately seize our attention. In addition, fibulae had a unique property among material culture items of late prehistoric Europe. In order to operate a fibula—to attach it to a garment—the user had to apply considerable force with the thumb and forefinger to the pin in order to lift the end out of the catch. Then, after sliding the pin through a textile garment or removing it from one, he or she released the pin to sit in the catch again. No other objects required this kind of bodily manipulation in order to serve their intended purposes.Less
This chapter is devoted to fibulae, which are clothing pins that operated on the same principle as the modern safety pin. The style of fibulae changed relatively rapidly throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, and they have long been used as the principal chronological indicator for a given grave or settlement. Of all of the common objects preserved from late prehistoric Europe, fibulae are the most attractive, in the sense that even today people are drawn to them, finding them intriguing to look at. The reason that they are so appealing is that they embody a number of the visually commanding features outlined in Chapter 2. In their shapes, they are unlike anything in nature and thus immediately seize our attention. In addition, fibulae had a unique property among material culture items of late prehistoric Europe. In order to operate a fibula—to attach it to a garment—the user had to apply considerable force with the thumb and forefinger to the pin in order to lift the end out of the catch. Then, after sliding the pin through a textile garment or removing it from one, he or she released the pin to sit in the catch again. No other objects required this kind of bodily manipulation in order to serve their intended purposes.
Peter S. Wells
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691143385
- eISBN:
- 9781400844777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691143385.003.0007
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter focuses on sword and scabbards. Swords were important visual objects, larger than most other objects in Bronze and Iron Age Europe, and their shape made them visually striking. Two parts ...
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This chapter focuses on sword and scabbards. Swords were important visual objects, larger than most other objects in Bronze and Iron Age Europe, and their shape made them visually striking. Two parts of the sword were especially important in this regard. In the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, the hilt and pommel were often the vehicles for elaborate eye-catching ornament. When a sword was in its scabbard, whether worn at the side of the bearer, hanging on a wall, or placed in the burial chamber, the only parts of the weapon that were visible were the handle and its end. During the Middle and Late Iron Age, the scabbard became especially important as a vehicle for decorative elaboration. Bronze and Early Iron Age scabbards were mostly made of wood, and we do not, therefore have much information about how they were decorated. From the end of the Early La Tène period on, however, swords were long, and scabbards of bronze and iron offered extensive rectangular surfaces for decoration.Less
This chapter focuses on sword and scabbards. Swords were important visual objects, larger than most other objects in Bronze and Iron Age Europe, and their shape made them visually striking. Two parts of the sword were especially important in this regard. In the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, the hilt and pommel were often the vehicles for elaborate eye-catching ornament. When a sword was in its scabbard, whether worn at the side of the bearer, hanging on a wall, or placed in the burial chamber, the only parts of the weapon that were visible were the handle and its end. During the Middle and Late Iron Age, the scabbard became especially important as a vehicle for decorative elaboration. Bronze and Early Iron Age scabbards were mostly made of wood, and we do not, therefore have much information about how they were decorated. From the end of the Early La Tène period on, however, swords were long, and scabbards of bronze and iron offered extensive rectangular surfaces for decoration.
Trenton Merricks
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245369
- eISBN:
- 9780191598036
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245363.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
There are no statues or rocks or chairs. But there are microscopic objects arranged statuewise and rockwise and chairwise. Moreover, there are—in addition to microscopic objects arranged ...
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There are no statues or rocks or chairs. But there are microscopic objects arranged statuewise and rockwise and chairwise. Moreover, there are—in addition to microscopic objects arranged humanwise—composite human organisms.The ontology of Objects and Persons is motivated, in large part, by causal considerations. One of the central conclusions is that physical objects are causally non‐redundant: physical objects cause things that are not wholly overdetermined by their parts. I ‘eliminate’ statues and other inanimate composite macrophysical objects on the grounds that they would—if they existed—be at best completely causally redundant.I defend our existence by arguing, from certain facts about mental causation, that we human beings cause things that are not already caused by our parts.A second strand of argument for the book's overall ontology involves a variety of philosophical puzzles, puzzles that are dealt with in illuminating and often novel ways. These puzzles support eliminativism regarding statues and rocks and chairs, but—I argue—do not support eliminating us human organisms.Many other issues are addressed along the way, including free will, the ‘reduction’ of a composite object to its parts, and the ways in which identity over time can ‘for practical purposes’ be a matter of convention.Less
There are no statues or rocks or chairs. But there are microscopic objects arranged statuewise and rockwise and chairwise. Moreover, there are—in addition to microscopic objects arranged humanwise—composite human organisms.
The ontology of Objects and Persons is motivated, in large part, by causal considerations. One of the central conclusions is that physical objects are causally non‐redundant: physical objects cause things that are not wholly overdetermined by their parts. I ‘eliminate’ statues and other inanimate composite macrophysical objects on the grounds that they would—if they existed—be at best completely causally redundant.
I defend our existence by arguing, from certain facts about mental causation, that we human beings cause things that are not already caused by our parts.
A second strand of argument for the book's overall ontology involves a variety of philosophical puzzles, puzzles that are dealt with in illuminating and often novel ways. These puzzles support eliminativism regarding statues and rocks and chairs, but—I argue—do not support eliminating us human organisms.
Many other issues are addressed along the way, including free will, the ‘reduction’ of a composite object to its parts, and the ways in which identity over time can ‘for practical purposes’ be a matter of convention.
Tom Eichele, Matthias Moosmann, Lei Wu, Ingmar Gutberlet, and Stefan Debener
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372731
- eISBN:
- 9780199776283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372731.003.0006
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Techniques
The simultaneous recording of electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides several advantages over multimodal integration based on separate EEG and fMRI ...
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The simultaneous recording of electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides several advantages over multimodal integration based on separate EEG and fMRI recording protocols. However, the recording and analysis of simultaneous EEG-fMRI is not without pitfalls. The potential benefits of simultaneous recordings come at the expense of a massive, inevitable presence of artifacts, which corrupt the EEG signals recorded in the MR environment. This chapter presents different methods of EEG artifact correction. It also discusses the limitations of currently available approaches as well as possible future directions.Less
The simultaneous recording of electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides several advantages over multimodal integration based on separate EEG and fMRI recording protocols. However, the recording and analysis of simultaneous EEG-fMRI is not without pitfalls. The potential benefits of simultaneous recordings come at the expense of a massive, inevitable presence of artifacts, which corrupt the EEG signals recorded in the MR environment. This chapter presents different methods of EEG artifact correction. It also discusses the limitations of currently available approaches as well as possible future directions.
Stefan Debener, Jeremy Thorne, Till R. Schneider, and Filipa Campos Viola
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372731
- eISBN:
- 9780199776283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372731.003.0008
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Techniques
Independent component analysis (ICA) is a linear decomposition technique that aims to reveal the underlying statistical sources of mixed signals. The EEG signal consists of a mixture of various brain ...
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Independent component analysis (ICA) is a linear decomposition technique that aims to reveal the underlying statistical sources of mixed signals. The EEG signal consists of a mixture of various brain and non-brain contributions. Accordingly, a valid and powerful unmixing tool promises a better, more accessible representation of the statistical sources contributing to the mixed recorded signal. ICA, being potentially such a tool, may help in the detection of signal sources that cannot be identified on the raw data level alone using other, more conventional techniques. The application of ICA to EEG signals has become popular, as it provides two key features: it is a powerful way to remove artifacts from EEG data, and it helps to disentangle otherwise mixed brain signals. This chapter is concerned with evaluating and optimizing EEG decompositions by means of ICA. First, it discusses typical ICA results with reference to artifact- and brain-related components. Then, it elaborates on different EEG pre-processing steps, considered in light of the statistical assumptions underlying ICA. As such, the motivation for the chapter is to provide some practical guidelines for those researchers who wish to successfully decompose multi-channel EEG recordings.Less
Independent component analysis (ICA) is a linear decomposition technique that aims to reveal the underlying statistical sources of mixed signals. The EEG signal consists of a mixture of various brain and non-brain contributions. Accordingly, a valid and powerful unmixing tool promises a better, more accessible representation of the statistical sources contributing to the mixed recorded signal. ICA, being potentially such a tool, may help in the detection of signal sources that cannot be identified on the raw data level alone using other, more conventional techniques. The application of ICA to EEG signals has become popular, as it provides two key features: it is a powerful way to remove artifacts from EEG data, and it helps to disentangle otherwise mixed brain signals. This chapter is concerned with evaluating and optimizing EEG decompositions by means of ICA. First, it discusses typical ICA results with reference to artifact- and brain-related components. Then, it elaborates on different EEG pre-processing steps, considered in light of the statistical assumptions underlying ICA. As such, the motivation for the chapter is to provide some practical guidelines for those researchers who wish to successfully decompose multi-channel EEG recordings.
Eric T. Olson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195176421
- eISBN:
- 9780199872008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195176421.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter is about the view that we are material things constituted by organisms; this view is advocated by Baker, Shoemaker, and others. Each of us is made of the same matter as an organism, but ...
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This chapter is about the view that we are material things constituted by organisms; this view is advocated by Baker, Shoemaker, and others. Each of us is made of the same matter as an organism, but our persistence conditions or essential properties preclude our being organisms ourselves. This goes together with the general view that qualitatively different objects can be made of the same matter at once: constitutionalism. Constitutionalism is supported by arguments involving the persistence of artifacts. It is argued, however, that the view faces the thinking‐animal problem, that it rules out any principled account of when one thing constitutes another, that it cannot explain why our boundaries lie where they do, and that it conflicts with a popular claim about synchronic identity.Less
This chapter is about the view that we are material things constituted by organisms; this view is advocated by Baker, Shoemaker, and others. Each of us is made of the same matter as an organism, but our persistence conditions or essential properties preclude our being organisms ourselves. This goes together with the general view that qualitatively different objects can be made of the same matter at once: constitutionalism. Constitutionalism is supported by arguments involving the persistence of artifacts. It is argued, however, that the view faces the thinking‐animal problem, that it rules out any principled account of when one thing constitutes another, that it cannot explain why our boundaries lie where they do, and that it conflicts with a popular claim about synchronic identity.
Anjan Chatterjee
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199811809
- eISBN:
- 9780199369546
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199811809.003.0018
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience, Sensory and Motor Systems
If art is everywhere and it has always been with us and we so enjoy it, something about it must be vital to our being the way that food and sex are vital to our being. Claiming art’s vitality is but ...
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If art is everywhere and it has always been with us and we so enjoy it, something about it must be vital to our being the way that food and sex are vital to our being. Claiming art’s vitality is but a short step from saying it serves an important adaptive purpose. Surely we must have an instinct for art that is hard-wired in the brain. But the view of art as a biological imperative clashes with the view of art as a cultural artifact.Less
If art is everywhere and it has always been with us and we so enjoy it, something about it must be vital to our being the way that food and sex are vital to our being. Claiming art’s vitality is but a short step from saying it serves an important adaptive purpose. Surely we must have an instinct for art that is hard-wired in the brain. But the view of art as a biological imperative clashes with the view of art as a cultural artifact.
Hélène Landemore
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155654
- eISBN:
- 9781400845538
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155654.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This concluding chapter returns to the metaphor of the maze and the masses introduced in the first chapter and addresses a few concerns about the possibility of democratic “unreason.” Introducing the ...
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This concluding chapter returns to the metaphor of the maze and the masses introduced in the first chapter and addresses a few concerns about the possibility of democratic “unreason.” Introducing the dimension of time and reflection over time, the chapter suggests, first, that democracies can learn from their mistakes and, second, that certain democratic institutions and norms serve as cognitive artifacts that help the people control for or correct their potential cognitive failures. Those cognitive artifacts at the level of society include institutions and norms that embody the collective intelligence of the people distributed across both space and time. Democratic reason thus includes the wisdom of the past “many” crystallized into social cognitive artifacts that help reduce democratic unreason. Because of the synchronic and diachronic collective intelligence tapped by democratic institutions, democracy, this chapter concludes, is a gamble worth taking.Less
This concluding chapter returns to the metaphor of the maze and the masses introduced in the first chapter and addresses a few concerns about the possibility of democratic “unreason.” Introducing the dimension of time and reflection over time, the chapter suggests, first, that democracies can learn from their mistakes and, second, that certain democratic institutions and norms serve as cognitive artifacts that help the people control for or correct their potential cognitive failures. Those cognitive artifacts at the level of society include institutions and norms that embody the collective intelligence of the people distributed across both space and time. Democratic reason thus includes the wisdom of the past “many” crystallized into social cognitive artifacts that help reduce democratic unreason. Because of the synchronic and diachronic collective intelligence tapped by democratic institutions, democracy, this chapter concludes, is a gamble worth taking.
Robert C. Mainfort
Lynne P. Sullivan (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034263
- eISBN:
- 9780813039619
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034263.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
The residents of Mississippian towns principally located in the southeastern and midwestern United States from 900 to 1500 A.D. made many beautiful objects, which included elaborate and well-crafted ...
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The residents of Mississippian towns principally located in the southeastern and midwestern United States from 900 to 1500 A.D. made many beautiful objects, which included elaborate and well-crafted copper and shell ornaments, pottery vessels, and stonework. Some of these objects were socially valued goods and often were placed in a ritual context, such as graves. The funerary context of these artifacts has sparked considerable study and debate among archaeologists, raising questions about the place in society of the individuals interred with such items, as well as the nature of the societies in which these people lived. By focusing on how mortuary practices serve as symbols of beliefs and values for the living, this book explores how burial of the dead reflects and reinforces the cosmology of specific cultures, the status of living participants in the burial ceremony, ongoing kin relationships, and other aspects of social organization.Less
The residents of Mississippian towns principally located in the southeastern and midwestern United States from 900 to 1500 A.D. made many beautiful objects, which included elaborate and well-crafted copper and shell ornaments, pottery vessels, and stonework. Some of these objects were socially valued goods and often were placed in a ritual context, such as graves. The funerary context of these artifacts has sparked considerable study and debate among archaeologists, raising questions about the place in society of the individuals interred with such items, as well as the nature of the societies in which these people lived. By focusing on how mortuary practices serve as symbols of beliefs and values for the living, this book explores how burial of the dead reflects and reinforces the cosmology of specific cultures, the status of living participants in the burial ceremony, ongoing kin relationships, and other aspects of social organization.
Ronald N. Giere
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753628
- eISBN:
- 9780199950027
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753628.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
The question that frames this chapter is how humans have managed to learn such amazing things as the age of the universe. After briefly reviewing logical, methodological, historical, and social ...
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The question that frames this chapter is how humans have managed to learn such amazing things as the age of the universe. After briefly reviewing logical, methodological, historical, and social approaches to this question, the chapter focuses on contributions of the cognitive study of science. This leads to a comparison of the cognitive study of science and the psychology of science, which study how fundamental cognitive mechanisms operate in the context of generating scientific knowledge. There is, however, a second way humans use their psychological powers in the pursuit of knowledge, namely, by designing material and symbolic artifacts that greatly increase their cognitive powers. The resulting physical-computational-human systems have been incorporated into the cognitive sciences as “distributed cognitive systems.” The chapter proposes adoption of an agent-centered approach, in which ever more ubiquitous distributed cognitive systems can be fully cognitive without being fully computational.Less
The question that frames this chapter is how humans have managed to learn such amazing things as the age of the universe. After briefly reviewing logical, methodological, historical, and social approaches to this question, the chapter focuses on contributions of the cognitive study of science. This leads to a comparison of the cognitive study of science and the psychology of science, which study how fundamental cognitive mechanisms operate in the context of generating scientific knowledge. There is, however, a second way humans use their psychological powers in the pursuit of knowledge, namely, by designing material and symbolic artifacts that greatly increase their cognitive powers. The resulting physical-computational-human systems have been incorporated into the cognitive sciences as “distributed cognitive systems.” The chapter proposes adoption of an agent-centered approach, in which ever more ubiquitous distributed cognitive systems can be fully cognitive without being fully computational.
Phyllis Mauch Messenger and George S. Smith (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034607
- eISBN:
- 9780813039510
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034607.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
Even as places and objects that have particular cultural significance are increasingly valued in our global world, powerful forces threaten them with destruction. This book discusses the efforts of a ...
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Even as places and objects that have particular cultural significance are increasingly valued in our global world, powerful forces threaten them with destruction. This book discusses the efforts of a broad range of specialists devoted to safeguarding our cultural heritage. The book brings together an international group of scholars, featuring archaeologists, anthropologists, development specialists, and others engaged in the study, management, protection, and interpretation of places and objects that represent histories, traditions, and cultural identities. From international law to artifact preservation to site interpretation, there is a wide variety of approaches to the management of our cultural heritage. Combining the voices of scholars and practitioners, the book provides a diversity of voices and perspectives from people steeped in the issues that directly affect the future or the past.Less
Even as places and objects that have particular cultural significance are increasingly valued in our global world, powerful forces threaten them with destruction. This book discusses the efforts of a broad range of specialists devoted to safeguarding our cultural heritage. The book brings together an international group of scholars, featuring archaeologists, anthropologists, development specialists, and others engaged in the study, management, protection, and interpretation of places and objects that represent histories, traditions, and cultural identities. From international law to artifact preservation to site interpretation, there is a wide variety of approaches to the management of our cultural heritage. Combining the voices of scholars and practitioners, the book provides a diversity of voices and perspectives from people steeped in the issues that directly affect the future or the past.
Bonnie Effros
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520232440
- eISBN:
- 9780520928183
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520232440.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Clothing, jewelry, animal remains, ceramics, coins, and weaponry are among the artifacts that have been discovered in graves in Gaul dating from the fifth to eighth century. Those who have unearthed ...
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Clothing, jewelry, animal remains, ceramics, coins, and weaponry are among the artifacts that have been discovered in graves in Gaul dating from the fifth to eighth century. Those who have unearthed them, from the middle ages to the present, have speculated widely on their meaning. This book contributes to the study of death and burial in late antique and early medieval society with its long overdue systematic discussion of this mortuary evidence. Tracing the history of Merovingian archaeology within its cultural and intellectual context, the book exposes biases and prejudices that have colored previous interpretations of these burial sites and assesses what contemporary archaeology can tell us about the Frankish kingdoms. Working at the intersection of history and archaeology, and drawing from anthropology and art history, it emphasizes in particular the effects of historical events and intellectual movements on French and German antiquarian and archaeological studies of these grave goods. The discussion traces the evolution of concepts of nationhood, race, and culture and shows how these concepts helped shape an understanding of the past. It then turns to contemporary multidisciplinary methodologies and finds that we are still limited by the types of information that can be readily gleaned from physical and written sources of Merovingian graves. For example, since material evidence found in the graves of elite families and particularly elite men is more plentiful and noteworthy, mortuary goods do not speak as directly to the conditions in which women and the poor lived.Less
Clothing, jewelry, animal remains, ceramics, coins, and weaponry are among the artifacts that have been discovered in graves in Gaul dating from the fifth to eighth century. Those who have unearthed them, from the middle ages to the present, have speculated widely on their meaning. This book contributes to the study of death and burial in late antique and early medieval society with its long overdue systematic discussion of this mortuary evidence. Tracing the history of Merovingian archaeology within its cultural and intellectual context, the book exposes biases and prejudices that have colored previous interpretations of these burial sites and assesses what contemporary archaeology can tell us about the Frankish kingdoms. Working at the intersection of history and archaeology, and drawing from anthropology and art history, it emphasizes in particular the effects of historical events and intellectual movements on French and German antiquarian and archaeological studies of these grave goods. The discussion traces the evolution of concepts of nationhood, race, and culture and shows how these concepts helped shape an understanding of the past. It then turns to contemporary multidisciplinary methodologies and finds that we are still limited by the types of information that can be readily gleaned from physical and written sources of Merovingian graves. For example, since material evidence found in the graves of elite families and particularly elite men is more plentiful and noteworthy, mortuary goods do not speak as directly to the conditions in which women and the poor lived.
Jennifer Ferriss-Hill
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691195025
- eISBN:
- 9780691197432
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691195025.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
For two millennia, the Ars Poetica (Art of Poetry), the 476-line literary treatise in verse with which Horace closed his career, has served as a paradigmatic manual for writers. Rarely has it been ...
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For two millennia, the Ars Poetica (Art of Poetry), the 476-line literary treatise in verse with which Horace closed his career, has served as a paradigmatic manual for writers. Rarely has it been considered as a poem in its own right, or else it has been disparaged as a great poet's baffling outlier. Here, this book fully reintegrates the Ars Poetica into Horace's oeuvre, reading the poem as a coherent, complete, and exceptional literary artifact intimately linked with the larger themes pervading his work. Arguing that the poem can be interpreted as a manual on how to live masquerading as a handbook on poetry, the book traces its key themes to show that they extend beyond poetry to encompass friendship, laughter, intergenerational relationships, and human endeavor. If the poem is read for how it expresses itself, moreover, it emerges as an exemplum of art in which judicious repetitions of words and ideas join disparate parts into a seamless whole that nevertheless lends itself to being remade upon every reading. This book is a logical evolution of Horace's work, which promises to inspire a long overdue reconsideration of a hugely influential yet misunderstood poem.Less
For two millennia, the Ars Poetica (Art of Poetry), the 476-line literary treatise in verse with which Horace closed his career, has served as a paradigmatic manual for writers. Rarely has it been considered as a poem in its own right, or else it has been disparaged as a great poet's baffling outlier. Here, this book fully reintegrates the Ars Poetica into Horace's oeuvre, reading the poem as a coherent, complete, and exceptional literary artifact intimately linked with the larger themes pervading his work. Arguing that the poem can be interpreted as a manual on how to live masquerading as a handbook on poetry, the book traces its key themes to show that they extend beyond poetry to encompass friendship, laughter, intergenerational relationships, and human endeavor. If the poem is read for how it expresses itself, moreover, it emerges as an exemplum of art in which judicious repetitions of words and ideas join disparate parts into a seamless whole that nevertheless lends itself to being remade upon every reading. This book is a logical evolution of Horace's work, which promises to inspire a long overdue reconsideration of a hugely influential yet misunderstood poem.
Bas C. van Fraassen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199278220
- eISBN:
- 9780191707926
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278220.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science
Resemblance is certainly not the be all and end all of representation. Even when representation is not purely symbolic, distortion and unlikeness can play a crucial role in how the representing is ...
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Resemblance is certainly not the be all and end all of representation. Even when representation is not purely symbolic, distortion and unlikeness can play a crucial role in how the representing is achieved. When resemblance is in fact the vehicle of representation, the representation relation derives from selective resemblance and selective non-resemblance, and just what the relevant selections are must be highlighted in such a way as to convey their role. If the selection or the highlighting is indicated by signs placed in the artifact itself, these need to be meaningful in order to play their role, and so the task of identification is pushed back but reappears as essentially unchanged. Thus, what determines the representation relationship can at best be a relation of what is in the artifact to factors neither in the artifact itself nor in what is being represented.Less
Resemblance is certainly not the be all and end all of representation. Even when representation is not purely symbolic, distortion and unlikeness can play a crucial role in how the representing is achieved. When resemblance is in fact the vehicle of representation, the representation relation derives from selective resemblance and selective non-resemblance, and just what the relevant selections are must be highlighted in such a way as to convey their role. If the selection or the highlighting is indicated by signs placed in the artifact itself, these need to be meaningful in order to play their role, and so the task of identification is pushed back but reappears as essentially unchanged. Thus, what determines the representation relationship can at best be a relation of what is in the artifact to factors neither in the artifact itself nor in what is being represented.
Paul Waldau
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195145717
- eISBN:
- 9780199834792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195145712.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Criticisms of “speciesism” by various philosophers are engaged to provide a test for assessing limitations of the notion generally. Analogies of speciesism to racism and sexism are evaluated. The ...
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Criticisms of “speciesism” by various philosophers are engaged to provide a test for assessing limitations of the notion generally. Analogies of speciesism to racism and sexism are evaluated. The notion of “persons” is discussed in terms of Immanuel Kant's division of persons and things. Duty of inquiry as an obligation of ethics, and the notion of “species loyalty” or “species bond” is analyzed as a cultural artifact or conventionalism.Less
Criticisms of “speciesism” by various philosophers are engaged to provide a test for assessing limitations of the notion generally. Analogies of speciesism to racism and sexism are evaluated. The notion of “persons” is discussed in terms of Immanuel Kant's division of persons and things. Duty of inquiry as an obligation of ethics, and the notion of “species loyalty” or “species bond” is analyzed as a cultural artifact or conventionalism.
Joan E. Cashin (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469643205
- eISBN:
- 9781469643229
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469643205.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
Material objects lie at the crux of understanding individual and social relationships throughout history, and the Civil War generation is no exception. Before, during, and after the war, Americans ...
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Material objects lie at the crux of understanding individual and social relationships throughout history, and the Civil War generation is no exception. Before, during, and after the war, Americans from all walks of life created, used, revered, exploited, discarded, mocked, and destroyed objects for countless reasons. These objects had symbolic significance for millions of people. The essays in this volume consider a wide range of material objects, including weapons, Revolutionary artifacts, landscapes, books, vaccine matter, human bodies, houses, clothing, and documents. Together, the contributors argue that material objects can shed new light on the social, economic, and cultural history of the conflict. This book will fundamentally reshape our understanding of the war.Less
Material objects lie at the crux of understanding individual and social relationships throughout history, and the Civil War generation is no exception. Before, during, and after the war, Americans from all walks of life created, used, revered, exploited, discarded, mocked, and destroyed objects for countless reasons. These objects had symbolic significance for millions of people. The essays in this volume consider a wide range of material objects, including weapons, Revolutionary artifacts, landscapes, books, vaccine matter, human bodies, houses, clothing, and documents. Together, the contributors argue that material objects can shed new light on the social, economic, and cultural history of the conflict. This book will fundamentally reshape our understanding of the war.
Ryan Byrne and Bernadette McNary-Zak (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807832981
- eISBN:
- 9781469604787
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807895498_byrne
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
In 2002 a burial box of skeletal remains purchased anonymously from the black market was identified as the ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus. Transformed by the media into a religious and ...
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In 2002 a burial box of skeletal remains purchased anonymously from the black market was identified as the ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus. Transformed by the media into a religious and historical relic overnight, the artifact made its way to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where 100,000 people congregated to experience what had been prematurely and hyperbolically billed as the closest tactile connection to Jesus yet unearthed. Within a few months, however, the ossuary was revealed to be a forgery. This book offers a critical evaluation of the popular and scholarly reception of the James Ossuary as it emerged from the dimness of the antiquities black market to become a Protestant relic in the media's custody. It brings together experts in Jewish archaeology, early Christianity, American religious history, and pilgrimage to explore the theory and practice couched in the debate about the object's authenticity. Chapters explore: the ways in which the varying popular and scholarly responses to the ossuary phenomenon inform the presumption of religious meaning; how religious categories are created, vetted, and used for various purposes; and whether the history of pious frauds in America can help to illuminate this international episode. The book also contributes to discussions about the construction of religious studies as an academic discipline and the role of scholars as public interpreters of discoveries with religious significance.Less
In 2002 a burial box of skeletal remains purchased anonymously from the black market was identified as the ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus. Transformed by the media into a religious and historical relic overnight, the artifact made its way to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where 100,000 people congregated to experience what had been prematurely and hyperbolically billed as the closest tactile connection to Jesus yet unearthed. Within a few months, however, the ossuary was revealed to be a forgery. This book offers a critical evaluation of the popular and scholarly reception of the James Ossuary as it emerged from the dimness of the antiquities black market to become a Protestant relic in the media's custody. It brings together experts in Jewish archaeology, early Christianity, American religious history, and pilgrimage to explore the theory and practice couched in the debate about the object's authenticity. Chapters explore: the ways in which the varying popular and scholarly responses to the ossuary phenomenon inform the presumption of religious meaning; how religious categories are created, vetted, and used for various purposes; and whether the history of pious frauds in America can help to illuminate this international episode. The book also contributes to discussions about the construction of religious studies as an academic discipline and the role of scholars as public interpreters of discoveries with religious significance.
Edwin G. Boring
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385540
- eISBN:
- 9780199869824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385540.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter examines the concept of artifact in the context of J. S. Mill's logic of causal inquiry and four conventional uses of the term control in experimental research with human subjects.
This chapter examines the concept of artifact in the context of J. S. Mill's logic of causal inquiry and four conventional uses of the term control in experimental research with human subjects.
Donald T. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385540
- eISBN:
- 9780199869824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385540.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter discusses philosophical and methodological view of artifacts, including practical procedures for coping with artifacts.
This chapter discusses philosophical and methodological view of artifacts, including practical procedures for coping with artifacts.
