Inf-structuring functions and self-dual marked flattenings in bi-Heyting algebra

International audienceThis paper introduces a generalization of self-dual marked flattenings defined in the lattice of mappings. This definition provides a way to associate a self-dual operator to every mapping that decomposes an element into sub-elements (i.e. gives a cover). Contrary to classical flattenings whose definition relies on the complemented structure of the powerset lattices, our approach uses the pseudo relative complement and supplement of the bi-Heyting algebra and a new notion of \textit{inf-structuring functions} that provides a very general way to structure the space. We show that using an inf-structuring function based on connections allows to recover the original definition of marked flattenings and we provide, as an example, a simple inf-structuring function whose derived self-dual operator better preserves contrasts and does not introduce new pixel values

RESIDUAL APPROACH ON A HIERARCHICAL SEGMENTATION

International audienceResidual operators analyze the evolution of an image subject to the application of a series of transformations, for example a series of openings of increasing size. When a significant object is filtered out by a transformation corresponding to its size, an important residue is observed. Maximal residues are kept for each pixel, indicating the most significant objects present in the image. Different families of operators have been used in the literature: morphological openings or clos-ings, attribute openings or openings by reconstruction. In this paper we propose to compute residues on a hierarchy of parti-tions, computing the differences between regions at different hierarchical levels based on the classical earth mover's dis-tance. The advantage of our approach is that it is autodual and generic as it can be applied with any hierarchical approach

From Proto-Indo-European to Slavic

A correct evaluation of the Slavic evidence for the reconstruction of the Indo- European proto-language requires an extensive knowledge of a considerable body of data. While the segmental features of the Slavic material are generally of corroborative value only, the prosodic evidence is crucial for the reconstruction of PIE. phonology. Due to the complicated nature of Slavic historical accentology, this has come to be realized quite recently.1 As a result, much of the earlier literature has become obsolete to the extent that it is based upon an interpretation which does not take the multifarious accentual developments into account. I shall give one example

On the relative chronology of Slavic accentual developments

Last year Georg Holzer proposed a relative chronology of accentual developments in Slavic (2005). Here I shall compare his chronology with the one I put forward earlier (1975, 1989a, 2003) and discuss the differences. For the sake of convenience, I first reproduce the relevant parts of my chronology, omitting asterisks before pre-historic Slavic forms. 1. Proto-Indo-European. 2. Dialectal Indo-European. 3. Early Balto-Slavic. During this period the characteristic lateral mobility of Balto-Slavic accent patterns came into existence. 4. Late Balto-Slavic. During this period the Balto-Slavic accent patterns obtained their final shape

From Serbo-Croatian to Indo-European

The history of Slavic accentuation is complex. As a result, the significance of the Slavic accentual evidence is not immediately obvious to the average Indo-Europeanist. In this contribution I intend to render the material more easily accessible to the non-specialist. I shall focus on the Serbo-Croatian dialectal area, where the Proto-Slavic accentual system is better preserved than elsewhere. The main point of reference will be the neo-Štokavian system which was codified in the 19th century as a basis for the standard languages

The fascination of authority and the authority of fascination : rationalization and legal theory in Habermas revised

The requalification of Habermas’ discussions on political philosophy and legal theory after the publication of Zwischen Naturalismus und Religion (2005), and his most recent texts and debates on religion and the public sphere, suggest a revision of the Habermasian theory of rationalization as it was firstly presented in Theorie des Kommunikativen Handelns (1982), especially on what concerns the processes of dessacralization and the linguistification of religious authority. In search of contributing to this revision, this paper intends to focus on the problem of a supposedly “lost” aesthetic-expressive understanding of religious authority in Habermas’s theory of rationalization, which may have contributed to a theory of law in Faktizität und Geltung (1992) that does not give satisfactory account to the aesthetical-expressive character of the modern understanding of legal authority. A better understanding of this special character, however, may contribute not only to the avoidance of fundamentalisms and new attempts of “aesthetization of politics”, but also to a rational strengthening of the solidarity of the citizens of democratic constitutional states

Sitting with the Demons – Mindfulness, Suffering, and Existential Transformation

In the article, I critically evaluate some common objections against contemporary approaches to mindfulness meditation, with a special focus on two aspects. First, I consider the claim that de-contextualized contemporary approaches may have serious ethical consequences (the so-called problem of “mindful sniper/zombie”); second, I investigate the suggestion that it may be misleading to construe mindfulness meditation as (simply) a relaxation and/or attention-enhancing technique, as it is sometimes accompanied by unpleasant, even terrifying phenomena (the so-called “dark night of the soul”). In the last two sections, I weave the two narratives together by putting forward the following claim: traditionally-minded criticisms of contemporary approaches are ultimately correct, but for the wrong reasons––the historical context is not important in itself, but because of the role it plays in confronting the practitioner with the fundamental existential questions. In this sense, mindfulness meditation can be conceived as an important, but not the only element of a broader process of overcoming existential angst, whose ultimate goal is not relaxation or enhanced attention, but rather a radical existential transformation.Članek kritično pretrese nekaj pogostih ugovorov zoper sodobne pristope k čuječnostni meditaciji s posebnim poudarkom na dveh vidikih: prvič, obravnava kritike, ki pravijo, da bi dekontekstualizirani sodobni pristopi utegnili imeti resne etične posledice (t.i. problem »čuječega ostrostrelca/zombija«); in drugič, raziskuje ugovore, da bi bilo čuječnostno meditacijo problematično pojmiti (zgolj) kot tehniko za sproščanje ali izboljševanje pozornosti, saj jo občasno spremljajo neprijetni, celo zastrašujoči pojavi (t.i. »temna noč duše«). V zadnjih dveh razdelkih se oba vidika združita v trditvi: tradicionalni kritiki sodobnih pristopov imajo v zadnji instanci prav, a iz napačnih razlogov ‒ zgodovinski kontekst ni pomemben zaradi samega sebe, temveč zaradi vloge, ki jo igra, ko praktikanta sooča s temeljnimi bivanjskimi vprašanji. V tem oziru bi lahko čuječnostno meditacijo označili za pomembno, a nikakor ne edino prvino širšega procesa preseganja eksistencialne tesnobe, katerega glavni cilj ni sproščanje ali povečana pozornost, temveč korenita bivanjska preobrazba