Tad Brennan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199256266
- eISBN:
- 9780191603075
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256268.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This reader-friendly introduction to the ethical system of the Ancient Greek Stoics combines state-of-the art scholarship with lively and accessible prose. It builds on the renewed attention that the ...
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This reader-friendly introduction to the ethical system of the Ancient Greek Stoics combines state-of-the art scholarship with lively and accessible prose. It builds on the renewed attention that the Hellenistic philosophers have enjoyed in the last few decades, incorporating the best results of recent critical debates while staking out new positions on a variety of topics. Starting from scrupulous attention to the evidence (references are provided to all of the standard collections of Stoic texts), it then provides translations of the original texts, with extensive annotations that will allow readers to pursue further reading. No knowledge of Greek is required. An introductory section provides context by introducing the reader to the most important figures in the Stoic school, the philosophical climate in which they worked, and a brief summary of the leading tenets of the Stoic system. The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a thorough exploration of the Stoic school’s theories of psychology, focusing on their analyses of fear, desire, and other emotions. The second section develops the more centrally ethical topics of value, obligation, and right action. The third section explores the Stoic school’s views on fate, determinism, and moral responsibility.Less
This reader-friendly introduction to the ethical system of the Ancient Greek Stoics combines state-of-the art scholarship with lively and accessible prose. It builds on the renewed attention that the Hellenistic philosophers have enjoyed in the last few decades, incorporating the best results of recent critical debates while staking out new positions on a variety of topics. Starting from scrupulous attention to the evidence (references are provided to all of the standard collections of Stoic texts), it then provides translations of the original texts, with extensive annotations that will allow readers to pursue further reading. No knowledge of Greek is required. An introductory section provides context by introducing the reader to the most important figures in the Stoic school, the philosophical climate in which they worked, and a brief summary of the leading tenets of the Stoic system. The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a thorough exploration of the Stoic school’s theories of psychology, focusing on their analyses of fear, desire, and other emotions. The second section develops the more centrally ethical topics of value, obligation, and right action. The third section explores the Stoic school’s views on fate, determinism, and moral responsibility.
Melissa S. Williams
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199253661
- eISBN:
- 9780191601972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253668.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the second of the four essays in Part II of the book on liberalism and traditionalist education; all four are by authors who would like to find ways for the liberal state to honour the ...
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This is the second of the four essays in Part II of the book on liberalism and traditionalist education; all four are by authors who would like to find ways for the liberal state to honour the self-definitions of traditional cultures and to find ways of avoiding a confrontation with differences. Melissa Williams examines citizenship as identity in relation to the project of nation-building, the shifting boundaries of citizenship in relation to globalization, citizenship as shared fate, and the role of multicultural education within the view of citizenship-as-shared-fate. She argues the other side of the same coin to that presented by Shelley Burtt in the previous chapter: according to Williams, the liberal state often demands too much in the way of loyalty from traditional groups, and when it does, it runs a strong risk of becoming oppressive and illiberal. Moreover, she holds that there is no need for a single shared identity among citizens of the liberal state. Her conception of people tied together by a shared fate is to this extent compatible with Burtt’s attempt to make liberalism’s commitment to autonomy more hospitable to groups of individuals encumbered by unchosen attachments, but her notion of citizenship as shared fate also goes further than that, and possibly stands in some tension with, Burtt’s view, since it allows and even encourages people to develop primary affiliation to all kind of groups – traditional as well as global.Less
This is the second of the four essays in Part II of the book on liberalism and traditionalist education; all four are by authors who would like to find ways for the liberal state to honour the self-definitions of traditional cultures and to find ways of avoiding a confrontation with differences. Melissa Williams examines citizenship as identity in relation to the project of nation-building, the shifting boundaries of citizenship in relation to globalization, citizenship as shared fate, and the role of multicultural education within the view of citizenship-as-shared-fate. She argues the other side of the same coin to that presented by Shelley Burtt in the previous chapter: according to Williams, the liberal state often demands too much in the way of loyalty from traditional groups, and when it does, it runs a strong risk of becoming oppressive and illiberal. Moreover, she holds that there is no need for a single shared identity among citizens of the liberal state. Her conception of people tied together by a shared fate is to this extent compatible with Burtt’s attempt to make liberalism’s commitment to autonomy more hospitable to groups of individuals encumbered by unchosen attachments, but her notion of citizenship as shared fate also goes further than that, and possibly stands in some tension with, Burtt’s view, since it allows and even encourages people to develop primary affiliation to all kind of groups – traditional as well as global.
Elliot Antokoletz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195365825
- eISBN:
- 9780199868865
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365825.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
This book explores the means by which two early 20th-century operas — Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (1902) and Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911) — transform the harmonic structures of the ...
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This book explores the means by which two early 20th-century operas — Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (1902) and Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911) — transform the harmonic structures of the traditional major/minor scale system into a new musical language, and how this language reflects the psycho-dramatic symbolism of the Franco-Belgian poet, Maurice Maeterlinck and his Hungarian disciple, Béla Balázs. In reaction to the realism of 19th-century theater, many authors began to develop a new interest in psychological motivation and a level of consciousness manifested in metaphor, ambiguity, and symbol. In his plays, Maeterlinck was to transform the internal concept of subconscious motivation into an external one, in which human emotions and actions are entirely controlled by fate. The two operas of this study represent the first significant attempts to establish more profound correspondences between the symbolist dramatic conception and the new musical language. The new musical language is based almost exclusively on interactions between pentatonic-diatonic folk modalities and their more abstract symmetrical transformations (dominant ninth, whole-tone, octatonic). The opposition of these two harmonic extremes serving as the basis for dramatic polarity between the characters as real-life beings and as symbols of fate. This book also explores the new musico-dramatic relations within their larger historical, social, and aesthetic contexts.Less
This book explores the means by which two early 20th-century operas — Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (1902) and Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911) — transform the harmonic structures of the traditional major/minor scale system into a new musical language, and how this language reflects the psycho-dramatic symbolism of the Franco-Belgian poet, Maurice Maeterlinck and his Hungarian disciple, Béla Balázs. In reaction to the realism of 19th-century theater, many authors began to develop a new interest in psychological motivation and a level of consciousness manifested in metaphor, ambiguity, and symbol. In his plays, Maeterlinck was to transform the internal concept of subconscious motivation into an external one, in which human emotions and actions are entirely controlled by fate. The two operas of this study represent the first significant attempts to establish more profound correspondences between the symbolist dramatic conception and the new musical language. The new musical language is based almost exclusively on interactions between pentatonic-diatonic folk modalities and their more abstract symmetrical transformations (dominant ninth, whole-tone, octatonic). The opposition of these two harmonic extremes serving as the basis for dramatic polarity between the characters as real-life beings and as symbols of fate. This book also explores the new musico-dramatic relations within their larger historical, social, and aesthetic contexts.
Arnold R. Kriegstein
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195083309
- eISBN:
- 9780199847464
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083309.003.0013
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems
The neocortex is composed of a staggeringly large number of neurons, differing in phenotype and location, in a precise and apparently invariant pattern. The path by which each individual neuron ...
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The neocortex is composed of a staggeringly large number of neurons, differing in phenotype and location, in a precise and apparently invariant pattern. The path by which each individual neuron reaches its assigned station and acquires its appropriate phenotype is one of the central mysteries of neuroscience. Recent advances in genetic engineering have allowed retroviruses to be designed to act as vectors to insert marker genes into precursor cells in the cerebral cortex of experimental embryos. A replication-defective retroviral vector is used to introduce a marker gene in the genome of a proliferating precursor cell. The marker gene is inherited by all the progeny of the initially labeled cell, allowing clonal descendants of infected cells to be identified histochemically. In this way precursor cells can be marked, and the fate of their descendants can be followed. This new technology has been applied to test the basic theories of lineage and cell-fate determination during corticogenesis. This chapter shows that important cell-fate-commitment decisions are made in the ventricular and subventricular zones during proliferative stages and remain relatively independent of subsequent environmental influence.Less
The neocortex is composed of a staggeringly large number of neurons, differing in phenotype and location, in a precise and apparently invariant pattern. The path by which each individual neuron reaches its assigned station and acquires its appropriate phenotype is one of the central mysteries of neuroscience. Recent advances in genetic engineering have allowed retroviruses to be designed to act as vectors to insert marker genes into precursor cells in the cerebral cortex of experimental embryos. A replication-defective retroviral vector is used to introduce a marker gene in the genome of a proliferating precursor cell. The marker gene is inherited by all the progeny of the initially labeled cell, allowing clonal descendants of infected cells to be identified histochemically. In this way precursor cells can be marked, and the fate of their descendants can be followed. This new technology has been applied to test the basic theories of lineage and cell-fate determination during corticogenesis. This chapter shows that important cell-fate-commitment decisions are made in the ventricular and subventricular zones during proliferative stages and remain relatively independent of subsequent environmental influence.
Elliott Antokoletz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195365825
- eISBN:
- 9780199868865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365825.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
This chapter explores personal and social factors in the development of trauma, the importance of mutual recognition and gender, and the relation to language and meaning. In Debussyés opera, it ...
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This chapter explores personal and social factors in the development of trauma, the importance of mutual recognition and gender, and the relation to language and meaning. In Debussyés opera, it discusses language, developmental-social malattunement and trauma, fate and trauma, and an understanding of Mélisande based on a study of gender, trauma, and her social environment. Different perspectives are addressed in the pursuit of understanding Bartókés Bluebeard Opera, including the Bluebeard Ballad, its history, and cultural context. The relation of the librettist, Béla Balázs, to Bluebeard and Trauma is also scrutinized. The study of Bartok's opera is also based on historical and biographical notes. Consideration of a feminist view from a castle that is not, a re-evaluation of the Duke Bluebeard story within an autobiographical perspective, and a view from a door that was not, contributes to our reflections on modernity.Less
This chapter explores personal and social factors in the development of trauma, the importance of mutual recognition and gender, and the relation to language and meaning. In Debussyés opera, it discusses language, developmental-social malattunement and trauma, fate and trauma, and an understanding of Mélisande based on a study of gender, trauma, and her social environment. Different perspectives are addressed in the pursuit of understanding Bartókés Bluebeard Opera, including the Bluebeard Ballad, its history, and cultural context. The relation of the librettist, Béla Balázs, to Bluebeard and Trauma is also scrutinized. The study of Bartok's opera is also based on historical and biographical notes. Consideration of a feminist view from a castle that is not, a re-evaluation of the Duke Bluebeard story within an autobiographical perspective, and a view from a door that was not, contributes to our reflections on modernity.
Elliott Antokoletz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195365825
- eISBN:
- 9780199868865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365825.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
This chapter looks at Act I, Prelude, according to its structure and leitmotifs associated with the “Forest”, “Fate”, “Mélisande”, and “Mélisande's Naïveté”. It discusses Golaud as political symbol, ...
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This chapter looks at Act I, Prelude, according to its structure and leitmotifs associated with the “Forest”, “Fate”, “Mélisande”, and “Mélisande's Naïveté”. It discusses Golaud as political symbol, points to polarity as an internal principle of musico-dramatic structure, and uncovers the symbolic link between Mélisande and fate. The chapter then describes Act I, Scene 1 — the first meeting of Golaud and Mélisande — and points to the hybrid diatonic/whole-tone form of “Fate” and Golaud's “Love” motif. Then, it addresses the influences on the musical language and aesthetics of the Debussy opera, and the interaction of “Golaud”, “Mélisande”, and “Fate” motifs. The test of the will and the dual role of Mélisande as real-life being and instrument of fate are discussed. Next the chapter considers Act 1, Scene 2, here a room in the castle, and presents the first explicit text reference to “Fate” and the “Pelleas” motif. Finally, the chapter considers Act I, Scene 3 — before the castle — and further develops the “Mélisande” and “Fate” motifs.Less
This chapter looks at Act I, Prelude, according to its structure and leitmotifs associated with the “Forest”, “Fate”, “Mélisande”, and “Mélisande's Naïveté”. It discusses Golaud as political symbol, points to polarity as an internal principle of musico-dramatic structure, and uncovers the symbolic link between Mélisande and fate. The chapter then describes Act I, Scene 1 — the first meeting of Golaud and Mélisande — and points to the hybrid diatonic/whole-tone form of “Fate” and Golaud's “Love” motif. Then, it addresses the influences on the musical language and aesthetics of the Debussy opera, and the interaction of “Golaud”, “Mélisande”, and “Fate” motifs. The test of the will and the dual role of Mélisande as real-life being and instrument of fate are discussed. Next the chapter considers Act 1, Scene 2, here a room in the castle, and presents the first explicit text reference to “Fate” and the “Pelleas” motif. Finally, the chapter considers Act I, Scene 3 — before the castle — and further develops the “Mélisande” and “Fate” motifs.
Elliott Antokoletz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195365825
- eISBN:
- 9780199868865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365825.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
This chapter first looks at End of Act, the anticipation of meeting of Pelléas and Médlisande. Act II, Scene 1 is then examined based on the “Pelléas” and “Well” Motifs. The chapter explores the ...
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This chapter first looks at End of Act, the anticipation of meeting of Pelléas and Médlisande. Act II, Scene 1 is then examined based on the “Pelléas” and “Well” Motifs. The chapter explores the transformational function of the dominant-ninth chord, instrumental timbre as signifier, the power of the unconscious, and music as message encoder of the unconscious. Next Act II, Scenes I and 2 are considered in terms of the consequences of the lost ring. The chapter explores the varied repetition and development of motifs in transformation from pentatonic to whole-tone spheres. After that Act II, Scene 2, a room in the castle, is examined. The chapter discusses Golaud, Mélisande, the ring, and transformation of the “Pelléas” motif, and points to the “circle of light” as a symbol of fate. Next Act II, Scene 2, which deals with events leading to Golaud's anger and his demand that Mélisande search for the ring is considered. The chapter then goes on to Act II, Scene 3 — before a dark grotto — and discusses a feigned search for the ring. The principle of “expressive doubling” is studied as a means of signifying dualistic human modes of world perception.Less
This chapter first looks at End of Act, the anticipation of meeting of Pelléas and Médlisande. Act II, Scene 1 is then examined based on the “Pelléas” and “Well” Motifs. The chapter explores the transformational function of the dominant-ninth chord, instrumental timbre as signifier, the power of the unconscious, and music as message encoder of the unconscious. Next Act II, Scenes I and 2 are considered in terms of the consequences of the lost ring. The chapter explores the varied repetition and development of motifs in transformation from pentatonic to whole-tone spheres. After that Act II, Scene 2, a room in the castle, is examined. The chapter discusses Golaud, Mélisande, the ring, and transformation of the “Pelléas” motif, and points to the “circle of light” as a symbol of fate. Next Act II, Scene 2, which deals with events leading to Golaud's anger and his demand that Mélisande search for the ring is considered. The chapter then goes on to Act II, Scene 3 — before a dark grotto — and discusses a feigned search for the ring. The principle of “expressive doubling” is studied as a means of signifying dualistic human modes of world perception.
N. J. Sewell‐Rutter
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199227334
- eISBN:
- 9780191711152
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199227334.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter investigates the agency and decision-making processes of the mortals in tragedy on whom the weight of supernatural causation rests. It considers successively fate, mortal freedom, and ...
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This chapter investigates the agency and decision-making processes of the mortals in tragedy on whom the weight of supernatural causation rests. It considers successively fate, mortal freedom, and the processes of decision, with particular emphasis on the so-called ‘decision’ scene of Eteocles in Aeschylus' Septem contra Thebas. This last phase of the investigation does not pretend to be exhaustive in itself, but rather seeks to examine certain relevant aspects of these phenomena as they present themselves to the student of familial corruption and supernatural causation. It asks how divine necessity meshes with mortal agency in certain relevant cases, and whether the former imperils the latter.Less
This chapter investigates the agency and decision-making processes of the mortals in tragedy on whom the weight of supernatural causation rests. It considers successively fate, mortal freedom, and the processes of decision, with particular emphasis on the so-called ‘decision’ scene of Eteocles in Aeschylus' Septem contra Thebas. This last phase of the investigation does not pretend to be exhaustive in itself, but rather seeks to examine certain relevant aspects of these phenomena as they present themselves to the student of familial corruption and supernatural causation. It asks how divine necessity meshes with mortal agency in certain relevant cases, and whether the former imperils the latter.
Elliott Antokoletz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195365825
- eISBN:
- 9780199868865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195365825.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
This chapter looks at Doors II (Armoury), III (Treasure Chamber), and IV (Garden) and develops Judith's “Fate” motif and the leitmotif of Stefi Geyer, including the transformation between Judith's ...
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This chapter looks at Doors II (Armoury), III (Treasure Chamber), and IV (Garden) and develops Judith's “Fate” motif and the leitmotif of Stefi Geyer, including the transformation between Judith's (Stefi's) motif of the seventh-chord and the chromatic motif of “Blood”. Descending third transpositions of variant seventh chords produce chromatic collisions as an implication of the “Blood” motif. Interaction of diatonic and whole-tone spheres produce dissonance and the move toward ultimate fate.Less
This chapter looks at Doors II (Armoury), III (Treasure Chamber), and IV (Garden) and develops Judith's “Fate” motif and the leitmotif of Stefi Geyer, including the transformation between Judith's (Stefi's) motif of the seventh-chord and the chromatic motif of “Blood”. Descending third transpositions of variant seventh chords produce chromatic collisions as an implication of the “Blood” motif. Interaction of diatonic and whole-tone spheres produce dissonance and the move toward ultimate fate.
Günter P. Wagner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691156460
- eISBN:
- 9781400851461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691156460.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter examines the developmental evolution of cell types, the lowest level of biological organization for which questions of identity (that is, cell identity) play a major role. Higher ...
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This chapter examines the developmental evolution of cell types, the lowest level of biological organization for which questions of identity (that is, cell identity) play a major role. Higher organisms consist of functionally specialized cells ranging from muscle cells to liver cells. These cells have been classified according to their function and their phenotype into cell types, such as striped and smooth muscle cells, neurons and glial cells. The chapter discusses the developmental genetics of cell types and reviews examples showing that cell type identity is subscribed by gene regulatory networks, focusing on the role of transcription factors, embryonic stem cells, and mammalian motor neurons in cell fate determination. It also considers the evolutionary origin of cell types and presents case studies of cell typogenesis. It suggests that the evolution of cell types is a critical proving ground for any theory of character identity and homology.Less
This chapter examines the developmental evolution of cell types, the lowest level of biological organization for which questions of identity (that is, cell identity) play a major role. Higher organisms consist of functionally specialized cells ranging from muscle cells to liver cells. These cells have been classified according to their function and their phenotype into cell types, such as striped and smooth muscle cells, neurons and glial cells. The chapter discusses the developmental genetics of cell types and reviews examples showing that cell type identity is subscribed by gene regulatory networks, focusing on the role of transcription factors, embryonic stem cells, and mammalian motor neurons in cell fate determination. It also considers the evolutionary origin of cell types and presents case studies of cell typogenesis. It suggests that the evolution of cell types is a critical proving ground for any theory of character identity and homology.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780856687983
- eISBN:
- 9781800342965
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9780856687983.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in ...
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This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In Book V, Augustine searches out and presents an answer to the question which lies behind the earlier books. In spite of the moral bankruptcy of the Roman state, and in spite of the disasters and injustices which have marked her history since the foundation, Rome has extended her imperial sway throughout Europe and the Near East. If the pagan gods have not guided her to this terrestrial eminence, how has this success been achieved? Augustine divides his response into four main sections: addressing the pagan notion of fate; arguing that God aided the Romans to imperial glory because a minority of them were virtuous even though they did not worship him; stating explicitly that the Roman Empire was set in place by God and is governed by his providence; and devoting the final section to the advent of Christian Emperors. The edition presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.Less
This edition of St. Augustine's The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In Book V, Augustine searches out and presents an answer to the question which lies behind the earlier books. In spite of the moral bankruptcy of the Roman state, and in spite of the disasters and injustices which have marked her history since the foundation, Rome has extended her imperial sway throughout Europe and the Near East. If the pagan gods have not guided her to this terrestrial eminence, how has this success been achieved? Augustine divides his response into four main sections: addressing the pagan notion of fate; arguing that God aided the Romans to imperial glory because a minority of them were virtuous even though they did not worship him; stating explicitly that the Roman Empire was set in place by God and is governed by his providence; and devoting the final section to the advent of Christian Emperors. The edition presents Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.
Paul Woodruff
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332001
- eISBN:
- 9780199868186
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332001.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Theater puts actions on view, and actions are events that proceed from human choice. If choice is not possible for humans, or if it cannot be presented to public view, then theater will not be ...
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Theater puts actions on view, and actions are events that proceed from human choice. If choice is not possible for humans, or if it cannot be presented to public view, then theater will not be possible. But we do present oaths in public, most commonly at weddings, and we take them to proceed from choice, by free will. The events of a tragedy, however, seem often to be determined by fate; yet great tragic plays, such as Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, show heroes choosing their fates, so that ancient playwrights were hard compatibilists. To help an audience believe that Oedipus makes choices, Sophocles presents him as a coherent character—that is, as someone who credibly takes action, rather than passively submitting to fate. Factors that would defeat choice (such as insanity or divine intervention) also defeat character; that is why choice follows character.Less
Theater puts actions on view, and actions are events that proceed from human choice. If choice is not possible for humans, or if it cannot be presented to public view, then theater will not be possible. But we do present oaths in public, most commonly at weddings, and we take them to proceed from choice, by free will. The events of a tragedy, however, seem often to be determined by fate; yet great tragic plays, such as Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, show heroes choosing their fates, so that ancient playwrights were hard compatibilists. To help an audience believe that Oedipus makes choices, Sophocles presents him as a coherent character—that is, as someone who credibly takes action, rather than passively submitting to fate. Factors that would defeat choice (such as insanity or divine intervention) also defeat character; that is why choice follows character.
M. L. West
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280759
- eISBN:
- 9780191712913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280759.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter shows that fame won in battle was a major preoccupation of Indo-European poetic and narrative tradition. Indo-Europeans believed in a kind of afterlife. A limited number of great men — ...
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This chapter shows that fame won in battle was a major preoccupation of Indo-European poetic and narrative tradition. Indo-Europeans believed in a kind of afterlife. A limited number of great men — kings, warriors, seers, and even some women associated with them — lived on in the memory of the people, in poem and story. Topics discussed include the origin of humankind, the fates, death, and transcending mortality through fame.Less
This chapter shows that fame won in battle was a major preoccupation of Indo-European poetic and narrative tradition. Indo-Europeans believed in a kind of afterlife. A limited number of great men — kings, warriors, seers, and even some women associated with them — lived on in the memory of the people, in poem and story. Topics discussed include the origin of humankind, the fates, death, and transcending mortality through fame.
Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813035406
- eISBN:
- 9780813038377
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813035406.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, World Early Modern History
This chapter relates the unfortunate fate of a certain fleet from which thirty companions were cast ashore in Tierra Firme and, for lack of food, ate each other until from the original thirty only ...
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This chapter relates the unfortunate fate of a certain fleet from which thirty companions were cast ashore in Tierra Firme and, for lack of food, ate each other until from the original thirty only three remained alive.Less
This chapter relates the unfortunate fate of a certain fleet from which thirty companions were cast ashore in Tierra Firme and, for lack of food, ate each other until from the original thirty only three remained alive.
Michael Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847423986
- eISBN:
- 9781447301622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847423986.003.0014
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
This chapter discusses the main goal of this book which is to explore the character of choice in society and identify where it came from. It also reviews the main ideas presented in each of the ...
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This chapter discusses the main goal of this book which is to explore the character of choice in society and identify where it came from. It also reviews the main ideas presented in each of the chapters. It notes that choice is individualising, particularly in this market-based society and economy. It suggests that the outcome of the repeated calculations of choice is satisfaction at success and frustration at the lack of it. The shift of responsibility from fate to chooser, however, elicits a sustained anxiety about successful choice.Less
This chapter discusses the main goal of this book which is to explore the character of choice in society and identify where it came from. It also reviews the main ideas presented in each of the chapters. It notes that choice is individualising, particularly in this market-based society and economy. It suggests that the outcome of the repeated calculations of choice is satisfaction at success and frustration at the lack of it. The shift of responsibility from fate to chooser, however, elicits a sustained anxiety about successful choice.
Tony Hunt
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159148
- eISBN:
- 9780191673528
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159148.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
The testator of the Testament was able to act out several different roles while maintaining his will's dialogism through evoking a number of dramatis personae and authorities. By reviving the image ...
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The testator of the Testament was able to act out several different roles while maintaining his will's dialogism through evoking a number of dramatis personae and authorities. By reviving the image displayed by the ‘amant martyr’, the arch impersonator was impersonated by the voice in the ‘Ballade de conclusion’. Through demonstrating dialogism and linguistic virtuosity, the range of guises has dramatized interactive roles. The resulting indeterminacy asserts the audience to engage with the voices and agree to the subversion of authority. The thematization of Fate thus plays no small part in furthering the indeterminacy of the writer's identity. This chapter illustrates how two poems outside the Testament have contributed to the authorial indeterminacy and the providing of the foreground for instability.Less
The testator of the Testament was able to act out several different roles while maintaining his will's dialogism through evoking a number of dramatis personae and authorities. By reviving the image displayed by the ‘amant martyr’, the arch impersonator was impersonated by the voice in the ‘Ballade de conclusion’. Through demonstrating dialogism and linguistic virtuosity, the range of guises has dramatized interactive roles. The resulting indeterminacy asserts the audience to engage with the voices and agree to the subversion of authority. The thematization of Fate thus plays no small part in furthering the indeterminacy of the writer's identity. This chapter illustrates how two poems outside the Testament have contributed to the authorial indeterminacy and the providing of the foreground for instability.
Alan Brudner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199207251
- eISBN:
- 9780191705502
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207251.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter discusses the following issues: should results matter to the deserved measure of punishment and, if so, why? If they do matter, are there limits on liability to punishment for results ...
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This chapter discusses the following issues: should results matter to the deserved measure of punishment and, if so, why? If they do matter, are there limits on liability to punishment for results and, if so, where is the line to be drawn? At results caused intentionally? At results caused with foresight of their likelihood? At results caused negligently? When does a cause intervening between the defendant's culpable conduct and the proscribed result shield the defendant from criminal liability for that result? The chapter argues that answers to these questions cannot be derived from the formal agency paradigm and so require transition to a new framework, one ordered to promoting the conditions for realizing the agent's potential for autonomous action. It shows that the new paradigm (of real autonomy) is already implied in the formalist one and that it generates normative limits on the extent to which luck can determine the rightful measure of punishment.Less
This chapter discusses the following issues: should results matter to the deserved measure of punishment and, if so, why? If they do matter, are there limits on liability to punishment for results and, if so, where is the line to be drawn? At results caused intentionally? At results caused with foresight of their likelihood? At results caused negligently? When does a cause intervening between the defendant's culpable conduct and the proscribed result shield the defendant from criminal liability for that result? The chapter argues that answers to these questions cannot be derived from the formal agency paradigm and so require transition to a new framework, one ordered to promoting the conditions for realizing the agent's potential for autonomous action. It shows that the new paradigm (of real autonomy) is already implied in the formalist one and that it generates normative limits on the extent to which luck can determine the rightful measure of punishment.
Maurice S. Lee
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199797578
- eISBN:
- 9780199932412
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199797578.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
Chapter two shows how chance destabilizes conventional discussions of fate and free will. Beginning with a deeply historicized account of theological and philosophical denials of chance, the chapter ...
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Chapter two shows how chance destabilizes conventional discussions of fate and free will. Beginning with a deeply historicized account of theological and philosophical denials of chance, the chapter turns to Moby-Dick to demonstrate how Melville subverts Christian beliefs in providence and the argument from design, preferring instead to resuscitate concepts of chance as presented in classical and Early Modern scepticism. This chapter also shows how Melville’s knowledge of oceanography, meteorology, and navigation shape his understanding of probability and the potential for managing chance’s disruptive power. We end with a discussion of King Ahab as a figure for anxieties over the possibilities of chance as Moby-Dick resists both formal unity and causal teleology.Less
Chapter two shows how chance destabilizes conventional discussions of fate and free will. Beginning with a deeply historicized account of theological and philosophical denials of chance, the chapter turns to Moby-Dick to demonstrate how Melville subverts Christian beliefs in providence and the argument from design, preferring instead to resuscitate concepts of chance as presented in classical and Early Modern scepticism. This chapter also shows how Melville’s knowledge of oceanography, meteorology, and navigation shape his understanding of probability and the potential for managing chance’s disruptive power. We end with a discussion of King Ahab as a figure for anxieties over the possibilities of chance as Moby-Dick resists both formal unity and causal teleology.
Bryan Shelley
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198122845
- eISBN:
- 9780191671562
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198122845.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
One common interpretation across modern criticism involves how Shelley is to be perceived as a ‘prophetic poet’ since, according to Victorian Gilfillan, Shelley's ‘burdened soul’ brought the ...
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One common interpretation across modern criticism involves how Shelley is to be perceived as a ‘prophetic poet’ since, according to Victorian Gilfillan, Shelley's ‘burdened soul’ brought the Israelite prophets' conscience to mind. Also, Bennett Weaver expressed that Shelley was able to address the social evils during his time prophetically. However, the notion of being ‘prophetic’ especially in terms of post-Christian writing is not without uncertainties. Shelley's notion of prophecy is evidently different from that of biblical writers since the poet in the ‘Ode to Naples’ represents one who discerns the political and social developments that determine ‘fate’. This chapter examines the poet as a prophet in Defence of Poetry in which the poet expresses the future in the present.Less
One common interpretation across modern criticism involves how Shelley is to be perceived as a ‘prophetic poet’ since, according to Victorian Gilfillan, Shelley's ‘burdened soul’ brought the Israelite prophets' conscience to mind. Also, Bennett Weaver expressed that Shelley was able to address the social evils during his time prophetically. However, the notion of being ‘prophetic’ especially in terms of post-Christian writing is not without uncertainties. Shelley's notion of prophecy is evidently different from that of biblical writers since the poet in the ‘Ode to Naples’ represents one who discerns the political and social developments that determine ‘fate’. This chapter examines the poet as a prophet in Defence of Poetry in which the poet expresses the future in the present.
Robert D. Rupert
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195379457
- eISBN:
- 9780199869114
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379457.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter examines two kinds of argument for the extended view: arguments from nontrivial causal spread and arguments from transformational power. The first emphasizes the causal contributions of ...
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This chapter examines two kinds of argument for the extended view: arguments from nontrivial causal spread and arguments from transformational power. The first emphasizes the causal contributions of external resources, and the second their power to transform human cognitive capacities. These general styles of argument are briefly criticized, then addressed at length in specific forms. An argument from developmental systems theory in evolutionary biology illustrates reasoning based on nontrivial causal spread. The cognition-enhancing effects of natural language ground an example of the argument from transformational power. The former style of argument is criticized for its indiscriminate appeal to causal contributors. The latter form of reasoning applies most obviously to historical influences; given that nonextended views naturally accommodate historical forces, it is argued that such observations provide little distinctive support for the extended conclusion.Less
This chapter examines two kinds of argument for the extended view: arguments from nontrivial causal spread and arguments from transformational power. The first emphasizes the causal contributions of external resources, and the second their power to transform human cognitive capacities. These general styles of argument are briefly criticized, then addressed at length in specific forms. An argument from developmental systems theory in evolutionary biology illustrates reasoning based on nontrivial causal spread. The cognition-enhancing effects of natural language ground an example of the argument from transformational power. The former style of argument is criticized for its indiscriminate appeal to causal contributors. The latter form of reasoning applies most obviously to historical influences; given that nonextended views naturally accommodate historical forces, it is argued that such observations provide little distinctive support for the extended conclusion.
