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Identity in the COVID-19 Years: Communication, Crisis, and Ethics
by Rob CoverIdentity in the Covid-19 Years explores the how the COVID-19 pandemic has been represented in media, communication and culture, and the role these changes have played in renewing how we understand identity, engage in social belonging and relate ethically to each other and the world. This book explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on how we perform our identities, engage in social belonging, and communicate with each other. Understanding the onset of the pandemic as a moment experienced as cultural rupture, Cover provides a framework for understanding how selfhood, belonging, relationships and perceptions of time and space have undergone a disruption that not only is damaging to continuity and stability but also provides positive value through renewal and the re-making of the self and ways of living ethically. Drawing on philosophic, media and cultural studies approaches, this book describes how networks of mutual care and global interdependency have been powerfully drawn out by the experience of the pandemic, yet also disavowed in some settings in favour of a problem individualism and sustained inequalities. The roles of disruption and interdependency are examined across an array of pandemic-related topics, including health communication, apocalyptic storytelling, lockdowns and immobilities, mask-wearing, social distancing and new practices touch, anti-vaccination discourses, and frameworks for mourning the lost past and the uncertain future. By focusing on the impact of the pandemic on identity, this work explains and revisits theories of belonging and ethics to help us understand how new ways of perceiving our vulnerability may lead to more positive, inclusive and ethical ways of living.
Imagination: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
by Jennifer Gosetti-FerenceiVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Imagination: A Very Short Introduction explores imagination as a cognitive power and an essential dimension of human flourishing, demonstrating how imagination plays multiple roles in human cognition and shapes humanity in profound ways. Examining philosophical, evolutionary, and literary perspectives on imagination, the author shows how this facility, while potentially distorting, both frees us from immediate reality and enriches our sense of it, making possible our experience of a meaningful world. Long regarded by philosophers as an elusive and mysterious capacity of the human mind, imagination has been the subject of extraordinary ambivalence, described as both dangerous and divine, as merely peripheral to rationality and as essential to all thinking. Drawing on philosophy, aesthetics, literary and cognitive theory as well as the human sciences, this book engages the dramatic conceptual history of imagination together with contemporary explanations of its role in cognition to explain its importance in everyday life as well as the exquisite creativity of the arts, scientific discovery, and invention. Engaging examples from cave paintings to modern painting, performance art to pop art, physics to phenomenology, technological inventions to literary worlds, the Nazca geoglyphs to dramatic theatre, poetry, and jazz improvisation, the author illuminates with clarity and vision the philosophy of imagination and the stakes of its involvement in human thinking. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
The Inessential Indexical: On the Philosophical Insignificance of Perspective and the First Person (Context & Content)
by Herman Cappelen Josh DeverWhen we represent the world in language, in thought, or in perception, we often represent it from a perspective. We say and think that the meeting is happening now, that it is hot here, that I am in danger and not you; that the tree looks larger from my perspective than from yours. The Inessential Indexical is an exploration and defense of the view that perspectivality is a philosophically shallow aspect of the world. Cappelen and Dever oppose one of the most entrenched and dominant trends in contemporary philosophy: that perspective (and the perspective of the first person in particular) is philosophically deep and that a proper understanding of it is important not just in the philosophies of language and mind, but throughout philosophy. They argue that there are no such things as essential indexicality, irreducibly de se attitudes, or self-locating attitudes. Their goal is not to show that we need to rethink these phenomena, to explain them in different ways. Their goal is to show that the entire topic is an illusion—there's nothing there. The Context and Content series is a forum for outstanding original research at the intersection of philosophy, linguistics, and cognitive science. The general editor is François Recanati (Institut Jean-Nicod, Paris).
Intellectual Property Rights in the Post Pandemic World: An Integrated Framework of Sustainability, Innovation and Global Justice (Elgar Intellectual Property and Global Development series)
The drastic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many of society’s systemic inequalities. This timely and prescient book explores the role that Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) played in the pandemic and argues for developing a framework of sustainability, innovation, and global justice in IPR systems, to build a more globally sustainable regime.IPRs impact products and processes which address fundamental societal needs, yet innovation is largely incentivised by the granting of exclusive rights which can limit accessibility to new products and technologies. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Intellectual Property Rights in the Post Pandemic World adopts a cross-disciplinary approach to analyse the relationship between IPRs, sustainability, innovation and the circular economy. Chapters examine pressing issues concerning responding to crises, inventions, the circular economy, follow-on innovation and multi-stakeholder collaboration, among others, as possible ways to finance sustainability. Throughout, this book focuses on how the IP system was challenged by the events of the pandemic, with a view to understanding how IPRs can be used to promote progressive social and sustainable innovation in the future.This book will be beneficial for researchers in intellectual property law and development law along with practitioners and policy makers. It will also prove valuable for students with a particular interest in law, social sciences and public health.
Intentionality Deconstructed: An Anti-Realist Theory
by Amir HorowitzIntentionality Deconstructed argues for the view that no concrete entity - mental, linguistic, or any other - can possess intentional content. Nothing can be about anything. The concept of intentionality is flawed, and so content ascriptions cannot be "absolutely" true or false - they lack truth conditions. Nonetheless, content ascriptions have truth conditions and can be true (or possess a related epistemic merit) relative to practices of content ascription, so that different practices may imply different (not real but practice-dependent) intentional objects for the same token mental state. The suggested view does not deny the existence of those mental states standardly considered intentional, notably the so-called propositional attitudes; it affirms it. That is, support is provided for the existence of those states with the properties usually attributed to them, but absent intentional properties. Specifically, it is argued that the so-called propositional attitudes possess logico-syntactic properties, whose postulation plays an important role in addressing the challenge of reconciling intentional anti-realism with beliefs being true or having alternative epistemic merits, the argument from the predictive and explanatory success of content ascription for intentional realism, and the cognitive suicide objection to views that deny intentionality. As part of the rejection of this final objection, intentional anti-realism is presented as a radical view, which claims "Nothing can possess intentional content" but not that nothing can possess intentional content, and it is argued that this is a legitimate characteristic of radical philosophy. In spite of rejecting the "claim that" talk, intentional anti-realism gives clear sense to its dispute with its rivals as well as to its own superiority. Various arguments for intentional anti-realism are presented. One argument rejects all possible accounts of intentionality, namely primitivism, intrinsic reductionism - the prominent example of which is the phenomenal intentionality thesis - and extrinsic reductionism (that is, reductive naturalistic accounts). According to another argument, since intentional properties are shown to be dispensable for all possibly relevant purposes, and no sound arguments support the claim that they ever are instantiated, the application of Ockham's razor shows that no such properties ever are instantiated, and another step shows that neither can they be.
An Introduction to Yoga
by Annie BesantThe whole evolution is one in its essence. The succession is the same, the sequences identical. <P> <P> Whether you are thinking of the unfolding of consciousness in the universe, or in the human race, or in the individual, you can study the laws of the whole, and in Yoga you learn to apply those same laws to your own consciousness rationally and definitely. All the laws are one, however different in their stage of manifestation. If you look at Yoga in this light, then this Yoga. . .
Introspection: First-Person Access in Science and Agency
by Maja SpenerWhat is introspection? Does introspection deliver theoretically valuable information about the mind? There is a long history in philosophy and psychology of using introspection to gather data about the mind. Introspection is often held to constitute our best and only direct access to consciousness and hence to be essential to any investigation of the conscious mind. Equally longstanding and widespread, however, are critical concerns that introspection is highly susceptible to interference, which, together with its privacy, renders it unreliable as a source of data about the mind. Maja Spener offers an understanding of introspection that clarifies its epistemic importance in theorising about the mind. In particular, seemingly overwhelming concerns about the reliability of introspection are transformed into something methodologically more tractable. Central to the approach put forward in the book is the distinction between introspection as inquiry and introspection as mental capacity - between introspective method and introspective access. The first part of the book articulates, defends, and applies a novel framework for the systematic assessment of the potential and limitations of introspective methods. The framework is historically motivated, drawing on insights from key figures in early scientific psychology (especially Wilhelm Wundt, William James, and Georg Elias Müller) whose used and discussed introspective methods extensively. The second part of the book develops a composite pluralism about introspective access, showing how different modes of introspective access fit into the common sense and scientific pictures of our minds. Key to this pluralist account is the explanatory role introspection plays in our agency.
Is Fashion a Woman's Right?
by Carolyn BeckinghamThis book addresses the evidence for the widespread belief that enjoyment of fashion is necessarily inconsistent with feminist values, from a feminist (as opposed to a post-feminist) point of view. It begins by establishing that many feminists in fact hold this belief and argues that disagreeing does not mean claiming that feminism was unnecessary or that it is now rendered redundant by changing social mores. The author describes the historical background as applied to both men's and women's clothing in various cultures, including close reading of the function of clothes in the novels of the Bronte sisters, Thackeray and Dickens, through to the use of fashion as a call to arms for the early feminists, as well as later theorists like Susan Sontag and Naomi Wolf. Issues of personal freedom and political correctness, the claims that fashion makes women sex objects for men, and the charge that the subject is too trivial to merit serious discussion, are all challenged. Allegations of links between fashion and pornography are explored, and the disagreements between feminists on this topic set out. Finally, the issue of dressing for special occasions and whether this practice has a place in the modern world is addressed with candour. Is Fashion a Woman's Right? re-establishes the relationship between fashion and feminist values.
The Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece
by Three InitiatesRather than converting base metals into gold, Hermetic alchemists focused on elevating their mental forces to a higher level. The precepts of their philosophy remained shrouded in secrecy for more than 2,000 years, clouded by obscure language and dense allegories. This guide offers a modern interpretation of Hermetic doctrine, distilling its teachings into seven compelling principles that can be applied to self-development in daily life.For centuries, the legendary Egyptian man-god Hermes Trismegistus—regarded as the father of astrology, alchemy, and other magical arts—inspired writers and readers of occult literature. In 1908, the anonymous authors known as "Three Initiates" prepared this concise and engaging edition of the master's teachings. It outlines the Hermetic principles and then examines them in depth, offering direct quotations from the source material, followed by clear explanations. The best introduction to Hermeticism for beginners and adepts alike, this definitive edition of one of esoteric literature's classics explores principles relevant to any religious, spiritual, or magical tradition.
The Life Everlasting: A Reality of Romance
by Marie CorelliI did not trouble myself to reply. The white sails of the 'Dream' were coming nearer and nearer over the smooth width of the sunlit water, and as she approached my heart grew warm with gratitude. Life was again a thing of joy!--the world was no longer empty! That ship looked to me like a beautiful winged spirit coming towards me with radiant assurances of hope and consolation, and I lost all fear, all sadness, all foreboding, as she gradually swept up alongside in the easy triumph she had won. Our crew assembled to welcome her, and cheered lustily. Santoris, standing on her deck, lightly acknowledged the salutes which gave him the victory, and presently both our vessels were once more at their former places of anchorage.
The Light of Egypt: The Science of the Soul and the Stars, Volume 2
by Thomas H. Burgoyne Belle M. WagnerSections on the zodiac, the planets, alchemy, magic wands and the penetralia etc.
Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami and 'Sivar=ajayoga (OXFORD STU WESTERN ESOTERICISM SERIES)
by Keith Edward CantúThis book examines the life of a nineteenth- to early twentieth-century Tamil yogin named Sri Sabhapati Swami ('Sr=i Sabh=apati Sv=am=i or Cap=apati Cuv=amika.l, ca. 1828-1923/4) and his unique English, Tamil, Hindi, and Bengali literature on a Sanskrit-based system of yogic meditation known as the "R=ajayoga for 'Siva" (Tamil: civar=ajayōkam, Sanskrit: śivar=ajayoga), the full experience of which is compared to being like a "tree universally spread." Its practice was based on a unique synthesis of Tamil V=iraśaiva and Siddhar cosmologies in the colonial period, and the yogic literature in which it is found was designed to have universal appeal across boundaries of caste, gender, and sectarian affiliation. His works, all of which are here analyzed together for the first time, are an important record in the history of yoga, print culture, and art history due to his vividly-illustrated and numbered diagrams on the yogic body with its subtle physiology. This book opens with a biographical account of Sabhapati, his editor Shrish Chandra Basu, and his students as gleaned from textual sources and the author's ethnographic field work. Sabhapati's literature in various languages is then analyzed, followed by a comprehensive exposition of his 'Saiva cosmology and religious theories. Sabhapati's system of 'Sivar=ajayoga and its subtle physiology is then treated in detail, followed by an analysis of Sabhapati's aesthetic integration of aural sound and visual diagrams and an evaluation of the role of "science" in the swami's literature. Sabhapati also appealed to global authors and occultists outside of South Asia, so special attention is additionally given to his encounter with the founders of the Theosophical Society and the integration of his techniques into the thelemic "Magick" of Aleister Crowley, the German translation of Bavarian theosophical novelist Franz Hartmann, and the American publication of New Thought entrepreneur William Estep. To these are appended a never-before-translated Tamil hagiography of Sabhapati's life, a lexicon in table-form that compiles some archaic variants and Roman transliterations of technical terms used in his work, and a critically-edited passage on an innovative technique of 'Sivar=ajayoga that included visualizing the yogic central channel as a lithic "pole."
Living with a Long-term Illness: The Facts (The Facts)
by Frankie Campling Michael SharpeAll long-term illnesses, whatever their diagnosis, have much in common. The difficulties and challenges that come with illness, and the strategies to overcome them, are shared by most patients. Managing an illness effectively and tackling the difficulties it causes can greatly improve how you feel and your quality of life. This book identifies the challenges posed by illness and suggests a wide variety of ways in which you might meet them. Key to this is the idea of becoming expert in managing your own illness and learning how best to deal with it. The authors accept that you know more than them about how you experience it, so that rather than telling you what to do, they offer a tool box from which you may pick the strategies that best suit you. The two authors, one a person with a long-term illness and one a doctor, combine their expertise and experience to offer a practical and comprehensive guide along your own unique journey. If you have a long-term illness, or if you care for someone who does, then this is a book for you.
Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers: Therapist Manual and Caregiver Workbook
by William Breitbart Allison J. ApplebaumCaregiving is a physically, emotionally, socially, existentially, and financially demanding role that touches most people at some point in their lives. Without support, caregivers are at risk for their own physical and medical problems. Despite being a source of suffering, it at the same time presents an opportunity to connect to meaning and purpose. The authors of this book developed Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers (MCP-C), the first targeted therapy to comprehensively address existential distress and suffering in caregivers. Across seven sessions and through a series of didactic and experiential exercises, caregivers are guided to explore various sources of meaning in life that can become resources for them, especially when the challenges of caregiving are great. In this manual, the reader will find an overview and background on MCP-C, and in-depth descriptions of each of the seven sessions, with sample therapist scripts and handouts for caregivers engaged in MCP-C. It also includes a case example to bring the material to life. The goal of MCP-C is to provide caregivers with the tools needed to live life as fully as possible, despite the many challenges they face. Research on MCP-C with caregivers of patients with various sites and stages of cancer and across the caregiving trajectory supports the underlying mission of MCP-C: suffering is unavoidable but meaning and purpose is always possible.
Medical Humanities and Disability Studies: In/Disciplines (Critical Interventions in the Medical and Health Humanities)
by Stuart MurrayMedical humanities and disability studies are disciplines at the cutting edge of innovative critical work in the study of health and disability, but to date there has been no book-length examination of the relationship between the two. Although each has emerged from different heritages, they share many features, from discussing the complexities of embodiment, identifying processes of exclusion and championing user participation, to a commitment to new forms of critical writing. In/Disciplines explores the connections between the two disciplines in detail. It presents a series of provocations about how they interact, the forms their practice take, and their strengths and weaknesses as working methods. With a focus on life stories that give accounts of health and disability experiences, it mixes creative and critical writing in an accessible manner aimed at a wide audience in both Medical Humanities and Disability Studies, and across new humanities more widely. The book asserts that both disciplines need to evaluate and challenge core assumptions if they are to remain critically relevant in the evolving study of social and cultural understanding of health and disability.
Medicare and You 2011
by Department of Health Human ServicesThe official government handbook with important information about: new changes to Medicare; your Medicare benefits; choosing a health plan that's right for you; & your Medicare privacy rights.
Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity
by US Department of Health and Human ServicesA supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Cross-cultural comparisons of blacks, North American Indians, Asian-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and whites.
Mind, Brain, and Free Will
by Richard SwinburneMind, Brain, and Free Will presents a powerful new case for substance dualism (the theory that humans consist of two parts body and soul) and for libertarian free will (that humans have some freedom to choose between alternatives, independently of the causes which influence them). Richard Swinburne begins by analysing the criteria for one event or substance being the same event or substance as another one, and the criteria for an event being metaphysically possible; and then goes on to analyse the criteria for beliefs about these issues being rational or justified. Given these criteria, he then proceeds to argue that pure mental events (including conscious events) are distinct from physical events and interact with them. He claims that no result from neuroscience or any other science could show that there is no such interaction, and illustrates this claim by showing that recent scientific work (such as Libet's experiments) has no tendency whatever to show that our intentions do not cause brain events. Swinburne goes on to argue for agent causation, that-to speak precisely-it is we, and not our intentions, that cause our brain events. It is metaphysically possible that each of us could acquire a new brain or continue to exist without a brain; and so we are essentially souls. Brain events and conscious events are so different from each other that it would not be possible to establish a scientific theory which would predict what each of us would do in situations of moral conflict. Hence given a crucial epistemological principle (the Principle of Credulity), we should believe that things are as they seem to be: that we make choices independently of the causes which influence us. According to Swinburne's lucid and ambitious account, it follows that we are morally responsible for our actions.