Logos and paideia

The aim of this paper is to reconsider the meaning of two title concepts of essential importance for the development of the European thought. The author makes an attempt to reconstruct the origin of Greek reflection referring to Paideia written by Werner Jaeger, German classicist and philosopher from the first half of the twentieth century. Starting with the mythical sources of education, connected with the Minoan tradition reinterpreted by Zbigniew Herbert, the author goes on to present the mnemonic sense of the epic Catalogue of Ships from the second book of Iliad by Homer and subsequently discusses cathartic educational tradition and its reference to Pythagoreanism and Heraclitism. He subsequently discusses the stage of education constituted by the Athenian sophists connected with the utilitarianism of Protagoras and its development and transgression achieved by Socratic elenchus and maieutic. Platonian proposal of turning paideia into the integrity of the Greek polis culture was presented as the culmination of the idea of the Hellenic education. It had to prepare the soul of the disciple for the acceptance of the uttermost pattern of arete. For Plato it was the affection for ideas, notably noble virtue of aspiration to triple unity (trinity) of the Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. Wilhelm von Humboldt renewed classical paideia and established the idea of Bildung to join education with inner self‑development and not only personal but also cultural maturation. The importance of connection between paideia and Bildung was also underlined by two quoted writers: Karl Jaspers (German co‑founder of existentialism) and W.H. Auden (English‑American poet). In conclusion, the author poses a question whether postmodern contesting of classical and enlightenment ideals of education (paideia and Bildung) has any purpose and whether the quest for the principle of the universe based on the universal logos can be still considered reasonable. He also wonders whether traditional search for the Truth, Beauty, and Goodness can actually compete with narrowly understood, effective technological practice. In his humble opinion this question must be left without any conclusive answer.Celem artykułu jest ponowne rozważenie znaczenia dwóch tytułowych pojęć, które w zasadniczy sposób wpłynęły na rozwój myśli europejskiej. Nawiązując do pracy Paideia Wernera Jaegera, niemieckiego filologa i filozofa z pierwszej połowy dwudziestego wieku, autor dokonuje próby rekonstrukcji genezy greckiego myślenia. Zaczynając od mitycznych źródeł edukacji, związanych z tradycją minojską, reinterpretowaną przez Zbigniewa Herberta, autor przechodzi do mnemotechnicznego znaczenia słynnej listy okrętów zawartej w drugiej księdze Iliady Homera. Następnie zostaje omówiona katarktyczna tradycja edukacyjna związana z pitagoreizmem i heraklityzmem. Kolejny omówiony etap stanowi ateńska sofistyka związana z utylitaryzmem Protagorasa oraz jej rozwinięcie i przekroczenie, jakie stanowiła sokratejska elenktyka i majeutyka. Jako zwieńczenie klasycznego ideału edukacji został przedstawiony platoński projekt wpisania paidei w całość kultury greckiego polis, co miało przygotować duszę ucznia na przyjęcie najwyższej formy areté, jaką była dla Platona miłość do idei, a w szczególności szlachetne dążenie do trójjedni, czyli prawdy, dobra i piękna. Odnowę antycznej paidei stanowiło Humboldtowskie Bildung, łączące edukację z wewnętrznym samorozwojem oraz dojrzewaniem osobistym i kulturowym. Znaczenie związku między paideią a Bildung podkreślają także przytoczeni przez autora tekstu: niemiecki współtwórca egzystencjalizmu Karl Jaspers i angielski poeta Wystan Hugh Auden. Na zakończenie autor zadaje pytanie, czy wobec postmodernistycznego zakwestionowania antyczne i oświeceniowe cele edukacji (paideia i Bildung) oraz poszukiwania zasady świata w oparciu o uniwersalny logos są jeszcze sensowne. Ponadto wyraża wątpliwość, czy tradycyjne poszukiwanie prawdy, dobra i piękna jest obecnie w stanie konkurować z wąsko rozumianą, skuteczną praktyką techniczną. Autor tekstu uważa, że pytania te należy pozostawić otwarte.Wydane przez Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego ze środków finansowych Zakładu Dialektologii Polskiej i Logopedii U

Logos and Metanoia

The aim of this paper is to reconsider the meaning of the two title concepts which can be found at the base of the European thought. Referring to the works of Giovanni Reale (Italian historian of philosophy from the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries) the author tries to reconstruct the Greek reflection of spiritual transformation. Starting with Odyssey by Homer and selected works by Plato the concept of “second navigation” is presented. In case of Plato, it is his Letters that play a crucial role in the demonstration of „second navigation”. The transformation of this very concept in Neoplatonism of Philo of Alexandria and Plotinus is subsequently discussed. The author also brings to mind two Greek conceptions of time: Cronus and Caerus. The text also has reference to contemporary philosophy and literature. On the one hand, “second navigation” takes on a new meaning in the light of the concept of “stream of consciousness” invented by William James. On the other one, the idea of “stream of consciousness” was deliberately used in Ulysses by James Joyce in order to describe a situation when no “second navigation” is possible. In this way, the story of spiritual transformation of both Odysseus and Stephen Dedalus from Ulysses by James Joyce can be reinterpreted anew.Celem artykułu jest rozważenie znaczenia dwóch tytułowych pojęć, które można znaleźć u podstaw myśli europejskiej. Nawiązując do pracy Giovanniego Reale, włoskiego historyka filozofii przełomu dwudziestego i dwudziestego pierwszego wieku, autor dokonuje próby rekonstrukcji greckiej refleksji o przemianie duchowej. Zaczynając od Odysei Homera i wybranych dzieł Platona, dokonana zostaje prezentacja „drugiego żeglowania”. W przypadku Platona szczególnie ważną rolę odgrywają Listy, wyraźnie prezentujące to pojęcie. Następnie zostaje omówiona przemiana tego pojęcia w neoplatonizmie Filona z Aleksandrii i Plotyna. Ponadto autor przypomina dwa greckie pojęcia czasu: Kronosa i Kairosa. Prowadzi to do odniesień wziętych ze współczesnej filozofii i literatury. Z jednej strony „drugie żeglowanie” nabiera nowego znaczenia w świetle koncepcji strumienia świadomości Wiliama Jamesa. Z drugiej zaś strumień świadomości został świadomie zastosowany w Ulissesie Jamesa Joyce’a do opisu sytuacji, w której nie dochodzi do „drugiego żeglowania”. W ten oto sposób na nowo może być reinterpretowana historia duchowej przemiany Odysa i Stefana Dedalusa z Ulissesa Jamesa Joyce’a

The anti-tumour activity and mode of action of artesunate and dihydroartemisinin (alone and in combination with aspirin) against human leukaemia HL-60 and colorectal HT-29-AK cancer cells

Despite the considerable progress in cancer research which has been translated into better cancer care and decreased overall mortality rates in the last decade for numerous cancers, colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and leukaemia remain still one of the commonest malignancies worldwide. The compounds with improved anti-cancer activity that circumvent limitations of conventional chemotherapeutic agents are urgently searched. Artesunate (ART) and dihydroartemisinin (DHA) are the most active compounds of all semisynthetic derivatives of artemisinin (a natural extract of the Chinase plant, Artemisia annua L.) that have been proven to exert potent anti-cancer activity in vitro, in vivo and under human clinical trials. ART and DHA contain a labile ring system, an endoperoxide bridge, which reductive cleavage by iron is a necessary prerequisite in their cytotoxicity. With ample evidence showing that the cytotoxicity of ART and DHA against cancer cells is linked with targeting a number of cellular proteins promoting tumorigenesis, the aim of this study was to provide additional molecular basis of ART and DHA activities in CRC HT-29-AK and leukaemia HL-60 cells in vitro. Since the interior of most solid tumours are hypoxic (~1% O2), which has implications for cancer metastasis and resistance to anti-cancer agents clinically, the anti-cancer effects of ART and DHA were performed under laboratory standard normoxic condition (20% O2) and low oxygen tension (1% O2), which mimics the tumour microenvironment. With reported ability of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid; ASA) to enhance the cytotoxicity of other anti-cancer agents, we postulated that ASA would equally enhance the cytotoxic effects of ART and DHA. The mechanistic basis of this interaction was evaluated in cultured HT-29-AK and HL-60 cells in normoxia (20% O2) and hypoxia (1% O2). This study shows that ART and DHA treatment of HT-29-AK and HL-60 cells in normoxia effectively inhibited the growth of both cell lines and this inhibition was affected by oxygen availability. Upon combination, ART and DHA with ASA could reverse decreased susceptibility of HT-29-AK cells under hypoxic conditions to ART and DHA alone. In conclusion, these data illustrate the importance of modeling the tumour microenvironment when developing novel therapeutic drug applications. We also show that ART and DHA co-treated with ASA might be effective combination regimen to enhance efficacy of chemotherapy in cancer cells. Given the broad spectrum of mediators involved in ART and DHA anti-cancer effects (alone and in combination with ASA), further studies are required to validate our observations and translate them into significance for cancer therapy

Religious perspectives in Soviet prose fiction 1964-1988: The animist/totemist dichotomy

The thesis explores religious themes in selected examples of Soviet prose fiction published officially between 1964 and 1988. In Part I the threefold relationship between religion, literature and political ideology is considered. It is proposed that religious models applied by Soviet writers may be helpfully related to an anthropological debate on the nature and development of religion, based on the theories of Edward B. Tylor and Emile Durkheim. Briefly, it is shown how the animist/totemist dichotomy highlighted by this controversy may be applied to Russian religious thought before the 1917 Revolution and to the literature of the Soviet era. Part II points to animist elements in writings by Valentin Rasputin, Chabua Amiredzhibi and Daniil Granin. It draws attention to the connection between Rasputin's religious vision and traditional Siberian beliefs, particularly those of the Buryat. Chabua Amiredzhibi's novel Data Tutashkhia is analysed with reference to Zoroastrian thought. Daniil Granin's 'Kartina' ('The Picture') serves as an example of a work in which notions of art and beauty take on an animist quality. Part III pays attention to literature revealing a tension between the animist vision and the totemic understanding of religion. It argues that early fiction by Chingiz Aitmatov reflects aspects of pre-Islamic Central Asian religious tradition. 'Komissiia' ('The Commission'), a novel by Sergei Zalygin, is treated as a work which asks how individual, spontaneous needs may be accommodated within a system of social and moral order. The writing of Vladimir Tendriakov offers a further example of a vision divided between an awareness of psychological dilemmas and loyalty to familiar sociological models. Part IV shows how Durkheim's theory of religion as an expression of collective self-consciousness may be related to ideas in works by the Russian nationalist writers: lurii Bondarev, Sergei Alekseev and Vasilii Belov. It suggests that particular examples of fiction by Petr Proskurin, Chingiz Aitmatov and Vladimir Tendriakov indicate a renewed interest in the God-building ideas of Maksim Gor'kii and Anatolii Lunacharskii. In conclusion, the thesis argues that the alternative religious vision introduced by Soviet writers between the fall of Khrushchev and the Millennium of Christianity in Rus' served as a model for society's subsequent reorientation and for new discourse under perestroika

Study of bloodstream of the white rats stomach and small intestine

Introduction: The information on the anatomical and physiological features of the gastrointestinal tract of white rats are reported within publications of many authors who are engaged in experimental modelling of the pathological states of the digestive syste

Synthesis of an Amide-Based Extended Heterocyclic System Capable of Hydrogen Bonding to Both the Adenine and Uracil in dsRNA for RNA Recognition Using PNA

The majority of information known about RNA is centered around coding RNA for its role in synthesizing proteins from DNA. However, noncoding RNA is also biologically relevant, showing importance in gene expression and catalyzing reactions. Peptide Nucleic Acids, or PNAs, are a promising tool that can be used to study noncoding RNA. PNAs can bind to double-stranded RNA forming a triple helix and are highly selective for specific sequences of dsRNA. A current limitation of PNA as a ligand is that traditional nucleobases only bind with high affinity to single purine residues on the RNA, as triplex formation relies on the two hydrogen bonding sites offered by purines as opposed to only one offered by pyrimidines. More recent developments in our group and others have shown that synthetic nucleobases may be used to increase both affinity and selectivity. We have synthesized a uracil nucleobase modified to bind both the adenine and the uracil of the A-U base pair by adding a benzamide moiety to isoorotic acid. Computations suggest that this will increase the affinity of binding and make PNA relevant for use in dsRNA sequences containing both purine and pyrimidine bases

Pojęcie stosownego wynagrodzenia, o którym mowa w art. 79 ust. 1 pkt 3 lit. b ustawy o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych, a jego rynkowy charakter

In this article its author tries to find a proper definition of “respective remuneration” referred to in article 79 paragraph 1 of Polish Copyright Law (Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights). Although, prima facie, in the case law this term is understood uniformly, while analysing in detail the different cases of copyright infringement it is noticeable that the judgments are based on various factors, which eventually influence the final amount of remuneration defendant must pay. These factors are usually objective (such as prices for a copy of work) but sometimes they might be also subjective (for instance: the relations between defendant and author, the motives of defendants infringement, etc.). The author of this article answers the question whether the term “respective remuneration” means the same as “market remuneration” (market prices) and proposes the original method of calculating a respective remuneration referred to in article 79 of Polish Copyright Law, called “objective-subjective method”

Ustalenie kwoty stosownego wynagrodzenia za naruszenie autorskich praw majątkowych

Publikacja współfinansowana przez Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach"Prawidłowe ustalenie wysokości stosownego wynagrodzenia nie jest zadaniem łatwym, a niejednokrotnie stanowi dla orzekającego sądu prawdziwe wyzwanie. Dzieje się tak, ponieważ co do zasady każda wycena dóbr o charakterze niematerialnym jest działaniem skomplikowanym. Nawet wyspecjalizowany podmiot (biegły), kierujący się z pozoru wyłącznie kryteriami obiektywnymi (rynkowymi), próbując oszacować wartość chronionego utworu, mimowolnie musi odwołać się również do przesłanek subiektywnych o charakterze ocennym. Jaka okoliczność ma bowiem decydujący wpływ na (potencjalny) „ekonomiczny sukces” dzieła – jego wysokie walory artystyczne (docenione przez krytyków) czy też wyłącznie pozytywne reakcje odbiorców, choćby były to osoby na co dzień niezwiązane z szeroko rozumianą sztuką?" (fragm.