«Du repentir» (III, 2): scepticism and self-knowledge in Montaigne

This paper aims to offer a new interpretation of the famous introductory passage to «Du repentir» (Essais III, 2) more in keeping with its philosophical scepticism. I mainly purport that, in spite of the originality of Montaigne’s project of self-portrayal, it can consistently be seen as being founded upon a sceptical negative argument about knowledge in general (and knowledge of the self in particular). First, I will argue that the usual claim that Montaigne is relying on a Heraclitean picture of the world is misguided insofar as his text can be more precisely related with the Pyrrhonian for practical life (as it is presented by Sextus Empiricus), namely the phainómenon. I subsequently consider Montaigne’s remark on how each man bears the whole form of the human condition. I suggest that it should be construed as an example of how he fails to obtain self-knowledge, rather than as indicating how to achieve it. Finally I speculate on why he does not see his search for selfknowledge as being pointless, and how this introduction ties in with the main theme of «Du repentir

Montaigne: ceticismo acerca das faculdades da alma

Neste artigo, examinamos um conjunto de argumentos propostos por Montaigne na sua Apologia de Raimond Sebond, como um exame crítico dos poderes do juízo em obter a verdade, para mostrar que eles constituiriam uma contribuição própria deste autor ao arsenal argumentativo tradicional do ceticismo. Procuramos sustentar que tal contribuição, de modo mais geral, reside no modo como tal ceticismo se explicita como um exame crítico das faculdades da alma. Levar isto em consideração pode ser importante para aprofundar a compreensão das respostas que os primeiros filósofos modernos, como Bacon e Descartes, procuraram oferecer ao ceticismo. AbstractIn this paper we examine a set of arguments offered by Montaigne in hisApology of Raimond Sebond as a critical examination of the powers of human judgement, in order to show what seems to be a novelty in his own skpeticism by contrast with the skeptical tradition. We argue that this novelty lies, precisely, in the way his skepticism explicits itself as a critical examination of the faculties of the soul. Take this into account seems to be important to improve our comprehension of the answers to skepticism gave by the first so called modern philosophers -- as Bacon or Desacartes

«Du repentir» (III, 2): Scepticism and self-knowledge in Montaigne

This paper aims to offer a new interpretation of the famous introductory passage to «Du repentir» (Essais III, 2) more in keeping with its philosophical scepticism. I mainly purport that, in spite of the originality of Montaigne’s project of self-portrayal, it can consistently be seen as being founded upon a sceptical negative argument about knowledge in general (and knowledge of the self in particular). First, I will argue that the usual claim that Montaigne is relying on a Heraclitean picture of the world is misguided insofar as his text can be more precisely related with the Pyrrhonian for practical life (as it is presented by Sextus Empiricus), namely the phainómenon. I subsequently consider Montaigne’s remark on how each man bears the whole form of the human condition. I suggest that it should be construed as an example of how he fails to obtain self-knowledge, rather than as indicating how to achieve it. Finally I speculate on why he does not see his search for selfknowledge as being pointless, and how this introduction ties in with the main theme of «Du repentir».Este artículo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una nueva interpretación del famoso texto introductorio del «Du repentir» (Essais III, 2) que se encuentra en mayor coherencia con su escepticismo filosófico. Mi tesis principal sostiene que el proyecto montaigneano de retratarse a sí mismo, a pesar de su originalidad, puede considerarse estructurado sobre un argumento escéptico negativo respecto al conocimiento en general (y al conocimiento del yo en particular). En primer lugar, sostendré que la concepción usual de que Montaigne se apoya en una imagen heracliteana del mundo es errónea, en la medida en que su texto puede ser relacionado de manera más precisa con observaciones escépticas pirrónicas respecto a su criterio, el phainómenon. Posteriormente, consideraré la célebre observación montaigneana de que todo hombre carga con la forma entera de la condición humana: en lugar de indicar cómo lograr el conocimiento de sí mismo, sugiero que ella debe ser entendida como una muestra de su fracaso en dicho intento. Finalmente, mostraré por qué Montaigne no considera su búsqueda del autoconocimiento como un sinsentido y cómo esta introducción está conectada con el tema principal del «Du repentir»

Visualizing plasmon-exciton polaritons at the nanoscale using electron microscopy

Polaritons are compositional light-matter quasiparticles that have recently enabled remarkable breakthroughs in quantum and nonlinear optics, as well as in material science. Despite the enormous progress, however, a direct nanometer-scale visualization of polaritons has remained an open challenge. Here, we demonstrate that plasmon-exciton polaritons, or plexcitons, generated by a hybrid system composed of an individual silver nanoparticle and a few-layer transition metal dichalcogenide can be spectroscopically mapped with nanometer spatial resolution using electron energy loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope. Our experiments reveal important insights about the coupling process, which have not been reported so far. These include nanoscale variation of Rabi splitting and plasmon-exciton detuning, as well as absorption-dominated extinction signals, which in turn provide the ultimate evidence for the plasmon-exciton hybridization in the strong coupling regime. These findings pioneer new possibilities for in-depth studies of polariton-related phenomena with nanometer spatial resolution

Filosofia e Historia Natural em Bacon

Este artigo examina a concepção de História Natural de Francis Bacon a partir de sua relação com literatura cética discutida no século XVI. Mais exatamente, procura mostrar que essa obra representa uma radicalização de uma tendência naturalista presente no tratamento cético da noção de “milagre”, tal como reconhecível no De Divinatione, de Cícero, e nos Ensaios de Montaigne, dentre outras obras

Frontal lobes white matter abnormalities mimicking cystic leukodystrophy in Wilson's disease

Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Neurol & Neurocirurgia, Div Neurol Geral, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Neurol & Neurocirurgia, Div Neurol Geral, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Os Kaiowá e Guarani Como Mão De Obra Nos Ervais Da Companhia Matte Larangeira (1890-1960)

Com o fim da Guerra da Tríplice Aliança (1864-1870) houve, por parte do governo, a preocupação de proteger as fronteiras, consideradas vulneráveis, mediante a abertura da região para investimentos econômicos. Instala-se então em pleno território tradicional kaiowá e guarani a Companhia Matte Larangeira, primeiro grande empreendimento econômico no sul do então estado de Mato Grosso. A empresa monopolizou por cerca de 50 anos a exploração de erva mate nativa, com ampla participação dos indígenas como mão de obra na extração e manipulação da erva extraída. A proposta da presente pesquisa é investigar a participação do Serviço de Proteção aos Índios, SPI, no agenciamento da mão de obra e no deslocamento das famílias para liberação das terras para a colonização. O trabalho encontra-se apoiado na revisão bibliográfica sobre a Companhia Matte Larangeira e em microfilmes e documentos do SPI, disponíveis no Centro de Documentação e Biblioteca Digital Teko Arandu/NEPPI-UCDB. Conclusões ainda provisórias permitem afirmar que as consequências da exploração dos recursos naturais no território indígena e o processo de confinamento que lhes foi imposto constituem a fonte principal dos problemas vivenciados pelos indígenas no momento atual, em especial no que se refere à organização social.Palavras - chave: Kaiowá e Guarani ; empreendimentos econômicos; território; SP

Role of A2B adenosine receptor signaling in adenosine-dependent pulmonary inflammation and injury.

Adenosine has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In vitro studies suggest that activation of the A2B adenosine receptor (A2BAR) results in proinflammatory and profibrotic effects relevant to the progression of lung diseases; however, in vivo data supporting these observations are lacking. Adenosine deaminase-deficient (ADA-deficient) mice develop pulmonary inflammation and injury that are dependent on increased lung adenosine levels. To investigate the role of the A2BAR in vivo, ADA-deficient mice were treated with the selective A2BAR antagonist CVT-6883, and pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis, and airspace integrity were assessed. Untreated and vehicle-treated ADA-deficient mice developed pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis, and enlargement of alveolar airspaces; conversely, CVT-6883-treated ADA-deficient mice showed less pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis, and alveolar airspace enlargement. A2BAR antagonism significantly reduced elevations in proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines as well as mediators of fibrosis and airway destruction. In addition, treatment with CVT-6883 attenuated pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in wild-type mice subjected to bleomycin-induced lung injury. These findings suggest that A2BAR signaling influences pathways critical for pulmonary inflammation and injury in vivo. Thus in chronic lung diseases associated with increased adenosine, antagonism of A2BAR-mediated responses may prove to be a beneficial therapy