On Food and Religion: An Introduction

It is a well-known fact that besides having an indispensable nutritional function, food also has an important cultural value. Methods to transform and make use of food have their origins in social contexts and contribute to generating cultural processes and forms of life. According to this view, food is also a cultural invention which has come to influence man’s ways of being and living, as well as the manner in which man relates to others, the world and the divine..

For an Ethical and Integrated Way of Life: From Non-places to Places of Human Interaction

Abstract We are witnessing a relentless spread of "total cities", widespread urbanised spaces, which are totally alien to the territory with detrimental consequences to places and the environment. This frequently has devastating effects on man and the landscape through the disruption of the natural cycles, pollution, hydrogeological instability, loss of the identity and cultural complexity of places besides the breakdown of mutual relationships among men and their interaction with their surroundings. The regeneration of urban centres should keep pace with the rebirth of the territory and the environment through an operation of "riterritorializzazione", the conversion of non-places into genuine places

Social Peace and Political Pluralism

In the modern age cultural and political pluralism received the serious consideration of the Enlightenment philosophers. In the contemporary age, it is the centre of attention of several thinkers that tackle the often dramatic problems related with the misrecognition of rights and freedoms in cultural minority groups. Liberalism in its multiple formulations puts the universal principles that ignore differences at the base of its reflections. Philosophers such as Charles Taylor and Michael Walzer often insisted on the political necessity to face the problem of differences, denouncing the historical and cultural limits of the different forms of liberal universalism. By examining the contraposition between universalism and communitarism, in this paper I intend to give a theoretical solution to such a contrast. In order to outline a perspective able to overcome conflicts in a pacified society, I consider the resources of the recognition of the rights to capabilities, public debate and practical wisdom

Ermeneutica ontologica o ermeneutica nominalista?Il problema della relazione tra ermeneutica ed essere in Gadamer, Rorty, Vattimo e Ricœur

In this study I will take into examination Gadamer, Rorty, Vattimo and Ricoeur’s hermeneutic perspectives from the viewpoint of the hermeneutical possibility of language to express Being. In the first part, I will examine some aspects of Gadamer’s ontological hermeneutics, then I will focus on the nominal consequences that Rorty and Vattimo deduce from Gadamer’s hermeneutics. In light of the viewpoint expressed by these philosophers regarding the relationship between hermeneutics and ontological reality, in the second part, I intend to develop the central theme of this essay consisting in the analysis of some argumentative moments enabling Ricoeur to bring to light the ontological basis of hermeneutics together with the ability of language to express extralinguistic reality

Ascesis of Thought and Openness to Otherness in the Philosophical Reflection of Domenico Jervolino

In this study I will take into consideration Domenico Jervolino’s work focusing on two fundamental moments in philosophical reflection: the opening up of philosophy towards otherness and asceticism of thought. I will highlight the fact that the first moment is based on and fostered by the second and that both form part of a philosophical activity which aims to pursue the practical ends of dignity, solidarity, hospitality and human liberation

Paul Ricoeur: a identidade pessoal entre manutenção e traição da promessa

Resumo No contexto da teoria de Ricoeur sobre a identidade pessoal, adquire uma particular relevância ética o conceito de promessa ligado àquele de capacidade. A capacidade de prometer é para Ricoeur um traço distintivo da identidade pessoal. Neste estudo, à luz da antropologia filosófica de Ricoeur, após ter delineado alguns traços do seu conceito de identidade, proponho-me o objetivo de colocar em evidência a importância que a capacidade de prometer reveste na constituição da identidade pessoal, no reconhecimento que um homem pode realizar de si e, no plano intersubjetivo, no mútuo reconhecimento. Na segunda parte do ensaio abordarei o lado oposto da promessa, a sua ameaça suprema:  a traição. Desta, analisarei dois aspectos principais: o poder de trair e a incapacidade de manter. Palavras-chave: Identidade. Capacidade. Reconhecimento.  Promessa. Traição. Abstract In the context of Paul Ricoeur’s theory of personal identity, the concept of promise related to that of capacity acquires particular importance from an ethical point of view. In the light of Ricoeur’s philosophical anthropology and after outlining some features of his concept of identity, in this work I would like to highlight the importance that the capacity of promising has in the formation of personal identity, in man’s self-awareness and, from an intersubjective point of view, in mutual recognition. Following this, I will approach the opposite side of promise, that is to say, its supreme menace: betrayal. Regarding betrayal, two main aspects will be analysed: the power of betraying and the incapability of maintaining. Keywords: Identity. Capacity. Recognition. Promise. Betrayal

Axel Honneth e Paul Ricoeur su identità personale e lotta per il riconoscimento

Axel Honneth e Paul Ricoeur su identità personale e lotta per il riconosciment

Food in Ayurvedic Medicine

This article is an interview with Master Swami Joythimayananda  on Food in Ayurvedic Medicine. It starts with a question around what the Ayurveda is and develops a discussion around the relationship between food and medicine, and food and spiritual life

Rituximab in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide in the treatment of patients with recurrent follicular lymphoma

The current study was conducted to asses the safety profile and clinical activity of rituximab in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide in patients with recurrent follicular lymphoma (FL). METHODS: This study was a noncomparative, multicenter, phase II study. Between March 2000 and December 2002, 54 patients with recurrent FL were enrolled in the FC+R trial. Patients received fludarabine at a dose of 25 mg/m(2) and cyclophosphamide at a dose of 300 mg/m(2) daily for 3 consecutive days, every 3 weeks for 4 cycles. Rituximab was administered at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) beginning 2 weeks after the first course of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide and then on Day 1 of each cycle thereafter. The planned treatment duration was 10 weeks. RESULTS: Overall, 92% of patients completed the planned therapy in 10 to 14 weeks and 74% achieved a complete response (CR). Among patients with BCL2-positive bone marrow, 86% obtained a molecular disease remission (MR). The median survival from treatment (SFT), the duration of disease remission (DR), and time to disease progression (TTP) had not been reached after a median follow-up of 45 months. Of the baseline characteristics, >2 previous treatments, BCL2-positive bone marrow, and low Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score were found to be associated with better DR and/or TTP. Hematologic toxicity was transient and reversible, with the exception of 3 patients with severe and prolonged neutropenia. Three patients presented with infections, 1 of whom died of bronchopneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: The FC+R scheme, a nonanthracycline-containing regimen lasting up to 10 weeks, was found to be relatively well-tolerated and demonstrated significant antilymphoma activity with excellent clinical CR and molecular response rates

Retrospective analysis of mantle cell lymphoma: experience of the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio dei Linfomi (GISL)

Background and Objective. Mantle cell lymphoma is a recently recognized histologic entity with specific biological and clinical features. Clinically, the reported unfavorable outcome of these patients has focused attention on this category of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Design and Methods. The slide specimens of 69 NHL patients, originally classified as Working Formulation (WF) group B and E, were reviewed. The clinical features at presentation, response to therapy, response duration and survival were analyzed in cases reclassified as MCL. The correlation between clinical and histologic characteristics and the final outcome was evaluated. Results. Out of 69 cases, 34 specimens were reclassified as MCL; in 6 patients, previously classified as WF group B, the nodular pattern was confirmed; in 2 instances the blastoid form was recognized. After a median follow-up of 35.7 months, the entire series displayed a median overall survival of 41.2 months; a significantly longer survival was associated with the nodular histologic pattern, IPI score <2, response achievement, and a higher Hb level. The vast majority of patients received anthracycline-containing combination chemotherapy. Complete remission rate was 38.8% and overall response rate was 67.6%; response achievement was significantly influenced only by Hb level. Median response duration was 23.3 months. Interpretation and Conclusions. The present study confirms the unfavorable clinical course of MCL and the possible need for an alternative therapeutic strategy for this NHL category. Therefore, the correct identification of MCL at diagnosis appears of relevance. (C)1998, Ferrata Storti Foundation