Over the past decade, research has revealed biomolecular condensates' relevance in diverse cellular functions. Through a phase separation process, they concentrate macromolecules in subcompartments shaping the cellular organization and physiology. In the nucleus, biomolecular condensates assemble relevant biomolecules that orchestrate gene expression. We here hypothesize that chromatin condensates can also modulate the nongenetic functions of the genome, including the nuclear mechanical properties. The importance of chromatin condensates is supported by the genetic evidence indicating that mutations in their members are causative (...) of a group of rare Mendelian diseases named chromatinopathies (CPs). Despite a broad spectrum of clinical features and the perturbations of the epigenetic machinery characterizing the CPs, recent findings highlighted negligible changes in gene expression. These data argue in favor of possible noncanonical functions of chromatin condensates in regulating the genome's spatial organization and, consequently, the nuclear mechanics. In this review, we discuss how condensates may impact nuclear mechanical properties, thus affecting the cellular response to mechanical cues and, eventually, cell fate and identity.Chromatin condensates organize macromolecules in the nucleus orchestrating the transcription regulation and mutations in their members are responsible for rare diseases named chromatinopathies. We argue that chromatin condensates, in concert with the nuclear lamina, may also govern the nuclear mechanical properties affecting the cellular response to external cues. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are increasingly integrated into the functioning of physical and digital products, creating unprecedented opportunities for interaction and functionality. However, there is a challenge for designers to ideate within this creative landscape, balancing the possibilities of technology with human interactional concerns. We investigate techniques for exploring and reflecting on the interactional affordances, the unique relational possibilities, and the wider social implications of AI systems. We introduced into an interaction design course (_n_ = 100) nine (...) ‘AI exercises’ that draw on more than human design, responsible AI, and speculative enactment to create experiential engagements around AI interaction design. We find that exercises around metaphors and enactments make questions of training and learning, privacy and consent, autonomy and agency more tangible, and thereby help students be more reflective and responsible on how to design with AI and its complex properties in both their design process and outcomes. (shrink)

I quattro Studi qui raccolti trattano alcuni temi significativi della filosofia settecentesca: il rapporto anima-corpo in Swedenborg, la presenza o meno di un livello di ragione nell' Homme naturel di Rousseau, la convergenza o meno di radicalismo politico e dimensione religiosa in Mably e in Morelly, la fondazione della scienza economica in Genovesi. Sono saggi molto diversi che sottendono interessi differenziati e stili di pensiero non collimanti; essi, tuttavia, sono accomunati da un'ottica squisitamente storiografica, che, pur nella consapevolezza di una (...) tensione tra presente e passato, tende a cogliere l'autonomia di quest'ultimo, la sua resistenza ad ogni schematizzazione, il suo sfuggire ad ogni tentativo di irrigidimento in immagini definitive. Il quadro del Settecento che emerge da questo volume da un lato mette in luce le diverse articolazioni che la filosofia settecentesca assume nei diversi contesti "nazionali" europei, dall'altro ne sottolinea slanci ma anche ambiguità e incoerenze, confermando quella grande complessità culturale dell' "età dei lumi" delineata dalla storiografia più recente. (shrink)

L’introduzione al fascicolo Analogia e medioevo sive vent’anni di analogie presenta il numero 18 di "Doctor Virtualis" e traccia le tappe fondamentali della rivista. Si delineano dapprima alcune linee della storia della rivista e le sue ispirazioni teoriche e storiografiche principali, per poi mettere in luce le ragioni della rilevanza del tema dell’analogia, come oggetto utilizzato e pensato nei secoli medievali e come strumento di ricerca storiografica, e infine si conclude con l’articolazione del fascicolo. The introduction to the issue (...) Analogy and the Middle Ages sive twenty years of analogies presents issue n. 18 of Doctor Virtualis and traces the milestones of the journal. It first sketches some lines of the history of the journal and its main theoretical and historiographical inspirations, then highlights the reasons for the relevance of the theme of analogy, as an object used and thought of in the medieval centuries and as a tool for historiographical research, and finally concludes with the articulation of the issue. (shrink)

Negli anni di passaggio dal XII al XIII secolo, il cisterciense Garnerio di Rochefort si dedica alla composizione di un breve trattato, il _De contrarietatibus in Sacra Scriptura_. L’opera, tuttora inedita, fa ricorso all’uso delle arti sermocinali per risolvere le ambiguità scritturali. Nel prologo del _De contrarietatibus_ emerge un peculiare interesse del cisterciense verso la disciplina della retorica e, in particolare, verso l’impiego delle figure tropiche nella comprensione dei contenuti della Rivelazione. A ben vedere, tuttavia, la scelta garneriana di ricorrere (...) all’affinamento degli strumenti della retorica per illuminare il significato della Scrittura trova una piena giustificazione solo alla luce della sua concezione della _natura_ e della _Scriptura_ come teofanie e/o simboli. Ora in quest’orizzonte simbolico, di impianto neoplatonico-dionisiano, è sempre all’opera nelle _res_, così come nel linguaggio, un meccanismo di traslazione, un’estensione della parola, oltre il suo contenuto ordinario, a un significato altro, di natura spirituale. Dunque la fattura retorica delle espressioni bibliche assume un valore conoscitivo, e non semplicemente ornamentale, perché capace di palesare, attraverso un dialettico gioco di corrispondenze e/o di rotture, una proporzionalità analogica tra il visibile e l’invisibile. _In the intervening years between the XII and XIII centuries, Cistercian Garnerius of Rochefort devoted himself to the composition of a short treatise,_ De contrarietatibus in Sacra Scriptura._ The work, still unpublished, makes use of the sermocinal arts to resolve scriptural ambiguities. The prologue to _De contrarietatibus _reveals a peculiar interest of the Cistercian in the discipline of rhetoric and, in particular, in the use of tropes in understanding the contents of Revelation. On closer inspection, however, garnerian’s choice to resort to the refinement of the tools of rhetoric to illuminate the meaning of Scripture finds full justification only in light of his conception of_ natura _and_ Scriptura_ as theophanies and/or symbols. Now in this symbolic horizon, of Neo-Platonic-Dionysian framework, there is always at work in _res_, as well as in language, a mechanism of translation, an extension of the word, beyond its ordinary content, to another meaning of a spiritual nature. So the rhetorical workmanship of biblical expressions assumes a cognitive, and not merely ornamental, value because it is capable of manifesting, through a dialectical interplay of correspondences and/or ruptures, an analogical proportionality between the visible and the invisible. _. (shrink)

The placenta’s role as a mediating passage between bodies has been a conceptual resource for feminist theorists and philosophers interested in developing more nuanced explanations of the maternal–fetal relation, a relation that has tended to be identified with maternal and fetal bodies rather than with the placenta between them. I draw on efforts by philosopher Luce Irigaray and her readers to theorise placental relations as a model for the negotiation of differences. In her more recent work, Irigaray figures the (...) placenta as an enveloping space of metaphorical enclosure. The placental relation in Irigaray’s work thus offers insights into the temporal structure of her theory of becoming and can inform a more ‘materialist’ account of pregnancy. I then consider how placental relations are conceptual resources for re-imagining relations of self–other in pregnancy, and for addressing emergent ethical concerns over the transformation of the placenta into a scientific object. (shrink)

The feminist critical deconstruction of Western culture and theology written by Luce Irigaray could be said to represent a certain branch of ecofeminist perspectives on religion. The article analyses the symbolic structures of suppression of women, body and nature and the exaltation of spirit, culture and the androcentric God, inherent in four hymns included in the new supplement to the book of hymns in the Lutheran Church of Sweden. The analysis shows that these symbolic structures are visible also in (...) these more recent hymns, even though they can be said to also consider and bring out women's experiences. Despite their `feminist' approach, they have not, on any deeper level, affected the subordination of women and the nature-given. (shrink)

En los últimos años, la relación entre la filosofía de la Ilustración y el cinismo ha logrado atraer la atención de los especialistas. En ese marco, los críticos suelen identificar las filosofías de Diógenes y Diderot. El objetivo del presente trabajo es revisar el vínculo que existe entre ambos con el fin de demostrar que el mismo es problemático y que, por esa razón, desborda las interpretaciones que se han presentado hasta el momento. Esto, por otra parte, arrojará luces sobre (...) la relación entre el materialismo de Diderot y su teoría ético-política. In recent years the relationship between the philosophy of the Enlightenment and cynicism has managed to attract the attention of scholars. In this framework, critics often identify Diogenes and Diderot's philosophy. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between Diderot and Diogenes in order to demonstrate that it is a problematic relationship that goes beyond the interpretations that have been presented so far. This, on the other hand, will shed light on the relationship between Diderot's materialism and his ethical and political theory. (shrink)

Fidias López Valenzuela, Geógrafo de Profesión, al igual que muchos otros colegas en el desarrollo laboral, nos vemos enfrentados al concepto de Barrio. Innumerables han sido los intentos por llegar a un consenso sobre su definición, incluso visto por distintos profesionales como Arquitectos, Paisajistas y Geógrafos, entre otros; pero sin duda, a través de este Libro “Encantador era mi Barrio” se logra la esencia de lo que significa la palabra Barrio.El autor realiza una detallada descripción..

El conocimiento histórico –entendido como un proceso metacognitivo de asimilación constructiva sobre el pasado para explicar fenómenos– comporta un análisis del impacto y la transcendencia de determinados acontecimientos y procesos históricos, en cuya comprensión y valoración influye el concepto de relevancia histórica. Desde esta perspectiva es necesario implementar propuestas de evaluación sólidas, vinculadas al desarrollo competencial. El objetivo de este estudio es diseñar una guía de caracterización de los instrumentos evaluativos –actividades y ejercicios– más utilizados por el profesorado de Historia, (...) con el fin de optimizar los procesos de evaluación de esta competencia mediante una serie de descriptores estructurales, competenciales y transferenciales. Estos indicadores de pertinencia pueden marcar el camino de aquellos docentes que deseen perfeccionar su manera de evaluar lo históricamente determinante. En conclusión, este innovador planteamiento supone un proceso de formación continua del profesorado que contribuye a la mejora de la calidad educativa. (shrink)

Mythical stories are, according to Luce Irigaray, one source where the matrix of repression, desire and correction of the female body is made visible. The Book of Revelation is one of the parts of the Bible told in a typical mythical language framework. It is also one of the most infamous biblical books because of its misogynist approach and repeated use of female stereotypes such as the whore and the pure bride. The purpose of this article is not to (...) deny the validity of this feminist critique, but to open up the meaning of the story of Revelation from an Irigarayan perspective as also to include possibilities of a counter-story where phallocentrism is challenged and finally altered into a new era where women, as well as other previously objectified categories, are aware of themselves as subjects in their own right. (shrink)

Reasoning es una obra monumental de más de mil páginas editada en estrecha colaboración por el filósofo Jonathan E. Adler y el psicólogo Lance J. Rips para esclarecer el intrincado campo de investigación relacionado con los fundamentos de la inferencia y, en general, del razonamiento humano. En la actualidad, en pocos casos va unido el trabajo de compilar y editar textos científicos con el afán enciclopédico: un proyecto editorial que sobrepasa con razón los objetivos de la mayor parte de los (...) libros editados para la recopilación de artículos en torno a un mismo tema de investigación. Reasoning supone un empeño de características enciclopédicas: ha conseguido convertirse en una referencia obligada desde que saliera a la luz en 2008 para ofrecer al lector especialista artículos científicos de las más reputadas y consolidadas voces en aquellos campos de conocimiento presentes ya en los proyectos enciclopédicos europeos del siglo de las luces, a saber: el significado del racionalismo, los límites imputables a la naturaleza del conocimiento humano, las paradojas presentes en la inducción, etc. (shrink)

Le langage égocentré et son dépassement par la parole. Une étude de l’acquisition du langage inspirée de Merleau-PontyDans les notes de travail du Visible et l’invisible, Merleau-Ponty se proposait d’élucider la nature du dépassement de l’être pré-langagier par la parole. Dans ses cours de la Sorbonne, il avait en outre jeté les fondements théoriques d’une confrontation fructueuse entre la linguistique et la psychologie de l’enfant, en ouvrant un dialogue de fond avec la théorie linguistique et avec les recherches psychologiques de (...) son époque sur l’acquisition du langage. Le phénomène de l’acquisition du langage par l’enfant nous fait assister à la transition de l’être pré-langagier à l’être parlant ; nous y trouvons l’occasion d’une mise en relation de l’incarnation perceptive et charnelle avec le corps parlant qui agit dans le champ symbolique.Cette étude reprend le projet de Merleau-Ponty, en s’appuyant sur les résultats récents de la recherche en matière de développement psycho-linguistique afin de mettre à l’épreuve les thèses merleau-pontiennes sur le langage. L’analyse herméneutique et phénoménologique de trois moments clés de l’acquisition du langage – indication, premiers mots, babil – met en lumière la nature du symbolisme, la fonction interpersonnelle de l’acte de parole et la nature de la grammaire en tant qu’événement diacritique existentiel.Linguaggio egocentrico e oltrepassamento nella parola. Uno studio dell’acquisizione del linguaggio ispirato a Merleau-PontyNelle note di lavoro de Il visibile e l’invisibile Merleau-Ponty si propone di chiarire la rivoluzione che il linguaggio introduce nell’essere pre-linguistico. Valendosi della propria familiarità con la teoria linguistica e con la coeva ricerca psicologica sull’acquisizione del linguaggio da parte dei bambini, nelle sue lezioni alla Sorbonne Merleau-Ponty ha gettato le fondamenta per un fruttuoso dialogo tra la linguistica e la psicologia infantile. Nel fenomeno dell’acquisizione linguistica del bambino assistiamo alla transizione dal pre-linguistico all’essere parlante: ciò fornisce un punto di vista privilegiato sulla connessione tra la percezione, l’incarnazione ed il corpo linguistico che agisce nell’ambito simbolico. Questo contributo riprende il progetto teorico merleaupontiano e guarda alle recenti scoperte nel campo dello sviluppo psico-linguistico per mettere alla prova le tesi di Merleau-Ponty sul linguaggio. Un’analisi ermeneutico-fenomenologicadei tre momenti dell’acquisizione del linguaggio – l’indicazione gestuale, le prime parole, i monologhi infantili nella culla prima di addormentarsi – permette di far luce sulla natura del simbolismo, sulla funzione interpersonale dell’atto linguistico e sulla natura della grammatica come evento esistenziale diacritico. (shrink)

Le langage égocentré et son dépassement par la parole. Une étude de l’acquisition du langage inspirée de Merleau-PontyDans les notes de travail du Visible et l’invisible, Merleau-Ponty se proposait d’élucider la nature du dépassement de l’être pré-langagier par la parole. Dans ses cours de la Sorbonne, il avait en outre jeté les fondements théoriques d’une confrontation fructueuse entre la linguistique et la psychologie de l’enfant, en ouvrant un dialogue de fond avec la théorie linguistique et avec les recherches psychologiques de (...) son époque sur l’acquisition du langage. Le phénomène de l’acquisition du langage par l’enfant nous fait assister à la transition de l’être pré-langagier à l’être parlant ; nous y trouvons l’occasion d’une mise en relation de l’incarnation perceptive et charnelle avec le corps parlant qui agit dans le champ symbolique.Cette étude reprend le projet de Merleau-Ponty, en s’appuyant sur les résultats récents de la recherche en matière de développement psycho-linguistique afin de mettre à l’épreuve les thèses merleau-pontiennes sur le langage. L’analyse herméneutique et phénoménologique de trois moments clés de l’acquisition du langage – indication, premiers mots, babil – met en lumière la nature du symbolisme, la fonction interpersonnelle de l’acte de parole et la nature de la grammaire en tant qu’événement diacritique existentiel.Linguaggio egocentrico e oltrepassamento nella parola. Uno studio dell’acquisizione del linguaggio ispirato a Merleau-PontyNelle note di lavoro de Il visibile e l’invisibile Merleau-Ponty si propone di chiarire la rivoluzione che il linguaggio introduce nell’essere pre-linguistico. Valendosi della propria familiarità con la teoria linguistica e con la coeva ricerca psicologica sull’acquisizione del linguaggio da parte dei bambini, nelle sue lezioni alla Sorbonne Merleau-Ponty ha gettato le fondamenta per un fruttuoso dialogo tra la linguistica e la psicologia infantile. Nel fenomeno dell’acquisizione linguistica del bambino assistiamo alla transizione dal pre-linguistico all’essere parlante: ciò fornisce un punto di vista privilegiato sulla connessione tra la percezione, l’incarnazione ed il corpo linguistico che agisce nell’ambito simbolico. Questo contributo riprende il progetto teorico merleaupontiano e guarda alle recenti scoperte nel campo dello sviluppo psico-linguistico per mettere alla prova le tesi di Merleau-Ponty sul linguaggio. Un’analisi ermeneutico-fenomenologicadei tre momenti dell’acquisizione del linguaggio – l’indicazione gestuale, le prime parole, i monologhi infantili nella culla prima di addormentarsi – permette di far luce sulla natura del simbolismo, sulla funzione interpersonale dell’atto linguistico e sulla natura della grammatica come evento esistenziale diacritico. (shrink)

Les travaux de Margareth Rago, historienne assez connue du public brésilien, portent sur l’histoire des femmes et des rapports entre les genres, dans une perspective marquée par les travaux de Michel Foucault. Dans ce livre, l’auteure utilise ce cadre théorique pour analyser la vie et l’œuvre de Luce Fabbri, intellectuelle anarchiste, sans cacher une certaine sympathie pour son sujet. Sur un ton alerte, l’ouvrage raconte la vie de cette femme-écrivain italienne qui a vécu 92 ans. Le savant mé...

Nella tradizione agostiniana del XII secolo compaiono temi e linguaggi che suggeriscono la presenza, accanto al discorso teologico, di un discorso dell'uomo sull'uomo. Si analizza la figura di Maria Maddalena in alcuni autori del XII secolo e l'allegoria nuziale nei Sermones super Cantica di Bernardo di Clairvaux. La lettura viene condotta sulla base di categorie concettuali di carattere psicoanalitico, in quanto tali categorie trovano la propria origine, prima ancora che nel pensiero, nella più concreta e profonda esperienza umana. Ed (...) è proprio il collocarsi all'interno di questa viva esperienza umana che consente di cogliere in modo più diretto la dimensione antropologica che pare emergere dagli scrittori monastici di questo periodo. (shrink)

This collection of key writings, selected by Luce Irigaray herself, presents a complete picture of her work to date across the fields of Philosophy, Linguistics ...

In the tradition of Simone de Beauvoir and Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray is one of France's most versatile feminist critics. _Sexes and Genealogies, _a collection of lectures delivered throughout Canada and Europe, introduces her writing to a wider American audience. Irigaray's most famous work, _Speculum of the Other Woman, _prompted her expulsion from the Lacanin Ecole Freudienne because of its searing depiction of Platonic and Freudian representations of women. Now _Sexes and Genealogies _analyzes sexual difference according to what she (...) terms the double dimension of gender and ideology. Irigaray covers major issues in religion, the law, psychoanalysis, and literature, such as: the continued neglect by psychoanalysts of the sexual and gender dimensions of therapy, the urgency of female divinity for contemporary feminist movements, and a reconsideration of women's relation to the market economy. _Sexes and Genealogies _also includes Irigaray's dazzling reading of the _Oresteia, "Body Against Body: In Relation to the Mother," _now acknowleged as a feminist classic. (shrink)

Providing a novel multi-disciplinary theorization of memory politics, this insightful Handbook brings varied literatures into a focused dialogue on the ways in which the past is remembered and how these influence transnational, interstate, and global politics in the present. With case studies from Africa, East and Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, and the United States, the Handbook focuses on the political features of historical memory in international relations. Chapters examine key concepts of memory politics, including accountability, commemoration and memorialization, the (...) Europeanization of memory, and the politics of trauma and victimhood, as well as analyzing different sites of memory, from the human body and memorial sites to media, film, and television. It also answers essential questions such as who and what determines the relevance of the past in the present; how does memory become a political question; and what are the political effects and ethical implications of its mobilization? Exploring the links between the politics of memory, international ethics, law, and diplomacy, this stimulating Handbook will be essential reading for students and scholars of politics and international relations, cultural studies, history, and transitional justice. Its discussion of notable agents and practices of memory politics will also be beneficial for practitioners working in human rights, politics, and public policy. (shrink)

Published in France in 1980, Marine Lover is the first in a trilogy in which Luce Irigaray links the interrogation of the feminine in post-Hegelian philosophy with a pre-Socratic investigation of the elements.

French theorist Luce Irigaray has become one of the twentieth century's most influential feminist thinkers. Among her many writings are three books (with a projected fourth) in which she challenges the Western tradition's construals of human beings' relations to the four elements--earth, air, fire, and water--and to nature. In answer to Heidegger's undoing of Western metaphysics as a "forgetting of Being," Irigaray seeks in this work to begin to think out the Being of sexedness and the sexedness of Being. (...) This volume is the first English translation of L'oubli de l'air chez Martin Heidegger (1983). In this complex, lyrical, meditative engagement with the later work of the eminent German philosopher, Irigaray critiques Heidegger's emphasis on the element of earth as the ground of life and speech and his "oblivion" or forgetting of air. With the other volumes (Elemental Passions and Marine Lover of Friedrich Nietzsche) in Irigaray's "elemental" series, The Forgetting of Air offers a fundamental rereading of basic tenets in Western metaphysics. And with its emphasis on dwelling and human habitation, it will be important reading not only in the humanities but also in architecture and the environmental sciences. (shrink)

In this Chapter, Maria Kronfeldner discusses whether psychological essentialism is a necessary part of dehumanization. This involves different elements of essentialism, and a narrow and a broad way of conceptualizing psychological essentialism, the first akin to natural kind thinking, the second based on entitativity. She first presents authors that have connected essentialism with dehumanization. She then introduces the error theory of psychological essentialism regarding the category of the human, and distinguishes different elements of psychological essentialism. On that basis, Kronfeldner (...) connects historical, socio-psychological, and philosophical insights in order to show that although essentialism can act as a catalyst for dehumanization, it is not necessary for it. Examples relate to dehumanization in the context of colonialism and evolutionary thinking, to the history of dehumanizing women from Aristotle to 19th-century craniology, and to contemporary self-dehumanization and ‘lesser mind’ attribution. (shrink)

Irigaray offers the clearest available introduction to her own work. Focusing on power, women, gender and patriarchal mythologies, she lays out what for her has become the central problem for women in the modern world.

Batteries are a fundamental storage component due to its various applications in mobility, renewable energies and consumer electronics among others. Regardless of the battery typology, one key variable from a user’s perspective is the remaining energy in the battery. It is usually presented as the percentage of remaining energy compared to the total energy that can be stored and is labeled State Of Charge (SOC). This work addresses the development of a hybrid model based on a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) (...) power cell, due to its broad implementation. The proposed model calculates the SOC, by means of voltage and electric current as inputs and the latter as the output. Therefore, four models based on k-Means, Agglomerative Clustering, Gaussian Mixture and Spectral Clustering techniques have been tested in order to obtain an optimal solution. (shrink)

Maria Kronfeldner’s Preface and Introduction to the Routledge Handbook of Dehumanization maps the landscape of dehumanization studies. She starts with a brief portrayal of the history of the field. The systematically minded sections that follow guide the reader through the resulting rugged landscape represented in the Handbook’s contributions. Different realizations, levels, forms, and ontological contrasts of dehumanization are distinguished, followed by remarks on the variety of targets of dehumanization. A discussion on valence and emotional aspects is added. Causes, functions, (...) and consequences of dehumanization, and the prospects for reducing or undoing it, are introduced. The systematic overview closes with a discussion of some important theoretical complexities that arise in studying dehumanization. After these systematic sections, the scholarly work on dehumanization gets situated in the broader intellectual landscape of debates about the ‘human’ in the humanities and social sciences. The Introduction ends with some notes on scope, limitations, and intended readership of the Handbook. (shrink)

With this book we see a philosopher well steeped in the Western tradition thinking through ancient Eastern disciplines, meditating on what it means to learn to breathe, and urging us all at the dawn of a new century to rediscover indigenous Asian cultures. Yogic tradition, according to Irigaray, can provide an invaluable means for restoring the vital link between the present and eternity--and for re-envisioning the patriarchal traditions of the West. Western, logocentric rationality tends to abstract the teachings of yoga (...) from its everyday practice--most importantly, from the cultivation of breath. Lacking actual, personal experience with yoga or other Eastern spiritual practices, the Western philosophers who have tried to address Hindu and Buddhist teachings--particularly Schopenhauer--have frequently gone astray. Not so, Luce Irigaray. Incorporating her personal experience with yoga into her provocative philosophical thinking on sexual difference, Irigaray proposes a new way of understanding individuation and community in the contemporary world. She looks toward the indigenous, pre-Aryan cultures of India--which, she argues, have maintained an essentially creative ethic of sexual difference predicated on a respect for life, nature, and the feminine. Irigaray's focus on breath in this book is a natural outgrowth of the attention that she has given in previous books to the elements--air, water, and fire. By returning to fundamental human experiences--breathing and the fact of sexual difference--she finds a way out of the endless sociologizing abstractions of much contemporary thought to rethink questions of race, ethnicity, and globalization. (shrink)

A passionate celebrator of "sexual difference," Luce Irigaray was never simply after the social equality that her generation so publicly demanded. She was seeking more fundamentally a society that celebrated the differences between the genders and their coming together in a union without hierarchy. As she formulates it in this compellingly readable introduction to her own thought, Irigaray is writing about how "I" and "You" become "We." Exploring along the way women’s experiences of motherhood, abortion, the AIDS crisis and (...) the beauty industry, this book presents one of the most important thinkers of our day in her own words. (shrink)

The speech of the Armenian embassy to Khusrow in the opening of Book 2 of Procopius'Warshas received little scholarly attention. Historians propose that this embassy, along with those sent by the Goths and Lazi, provided Khusrow with a pretext for violating the Eternal Peace in 540. As for the speeches themselves, they have been considered formulaic set pieces, requirements of the genre in which Procopius was writing. However, Anthony Kaldellis has argued that Procopius uses the Armenians as a mouthpiece for (...) his own criticisms of Justinian, namely that the emperor is to blame for ending the Eternal Peace and that he behaved like an oriental despot. While these literary and historical readings are not incompatible, none fully explicates the mechanics and function of the Armenians' speech. (shrink)

In eleven acute and widely ranging essays, Irigaray reconsiders the question of female sexuality in a variety of contexts that are relevant to current discussion of feminist theory and practice.