The Step Back Through Nihilism. The Radical Orientation of Nishitani Keiji’s Philosophy of Zen

Nishitani Keiji\u27s philosophy brings the insights of Zen Buddhism to bear on the modern problem of nihilism, a problem that continues to deepen and spread in eerie correlation with the modern march of progress. In this essay, I introduce and interpret the basic contours of Nishitani’s thought by focusing on its radical orientation or »directionality«. He suggests that the way out of nihilism is not that of willful human »pro-gress«, nor that of transcending this world to a »yonder shore«, nor that of a historical regression to a bygone age. He urges, rather, that we reorient ourselves in the direction of a »radical re-gress«. We must step ali the way back through nihilism. Nihilism can only be overcome by way of a »trans-descendence« to a more authentic mode of everyday existence, that is, to a released engagement in the world of »radical everydayness«. Nishitani\u27s phenomenological topology of Zen traces, then, a path of stepping back from »the field of (representational) consciousness and (possession of) being«, through »the field of nihility, « and ultimately to »the field of sunyata (emptiness)« as »the absolute near-side«

Cognitive Performance Across the Life Course of Bolivian Forager-Farmers With Limited Schooling

Cognitive performance is characterized by at least two distinct life course trajectories. Many cognitive abilities (e.g. “effortful processing” abilities including fluid reasoning, and processing speed) improve throughout early adolescence and start declining in early adulthood, while other abilities (e.g. “crystallized” abilities like vocabulary breadth) improve throughout adult life, remaining robust even at late ages. Although schooling may impact performance and cognitive “reserve”, it has been argued that these age patterns of cognitive performance are human universals. Here we examine age patterns of cognitive performance among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia, and test whether schooling is related to differences in cognitive performance over the life course to assess models of active vs. passive cognitive reserve. We used a battery of eight tasks to assess a range of latent cognitive traits reflecting attention, processing speed, verbal declarative memory and semantic fluency (n=919 individuals, 49.9% female). Tsimane cognitive abilities show similar age-related differences as observed in industrialized populations: higher throughout adolescence and only slightly lower in later adulthood for semantic fluency, but substantially lower performance beginning in early adulthood for all other abilities. Schooling is associated with greater cognitive abilities at all ages controlling for sex, but has no attenuating effect on cognitive performance in late adulthood, consistent with models of passive cognitive reserve. We interpret the minimal attenuation of semantic fluency late in life in light of evolutionary theories of post-reproductive lifespan, which emphasize indirect fitness contributions of older adults through the transfer of information, labor and food to descendant kin

Modular Hydraulic Test Bench

Our group is working to create a modular hydraulic test bench. This mobile bench will has improvements over current test benches through the use of a modular base frame and specifically design add-on features. Our mobile bench impliments several key design features including: a drip pan, forklift support, adjustable back wheels to provide improved center of gravity to reduce tipping hazard, a handle for ease of moving, and an adjustable drawer attachment

The Tsimane Health and Life History Project: Integrating Anthropology and Biomedicine

The Tsimane Health and Life History Project, an integrated bio-behavioral study of the human life course, is designed to test competing hypotheses of human life-history evolution. One aim is to understand the bidirectional connections between life history and social behavior in a highfertility, kin-based context lacking amenities of modern urban life (e.g. sanitation, banks, electricity). Another aim is to understand how a high pathogen burden influences health and well-being during development and adulthood. A third aim addresses how modernization shapes human life histories and sociality. Here we outline the project’s goals, history, and main findings since its inception in 2002. We reflect on the implications of current findings and highlight the need for more coordinated ethnographic and biomedical study of contemporary nonindustrial populations to address broad questions that can situate evolutionary anthropology in a key position within the social and life sciences