What goes without saying: Husserl's concept of style

The idea of "style" emerges at several important points throughout Husserl's oeuvre: in the second part of the Crisis of the European Sciences, the lectures on intersubjectivity published in Husserliana XV, and in the analyses of transcendental character and intersubjectivity in the second book of the Ideas. This paper argues that the idea of style, often overlooked, is in fact central to understanding Husserl's conception of the person and intersubjective relations, its role in the latter captured in his odd turn of phrase, "intuitive flair." Moreover, by showing the interdependence between the ideas of style and institution (Stiftung), I argue that institution also has a central role in Husserl's account of constitution and personhood. The relevance of the relation between institution and style goes beyond Husserlian phenomenology. In his late writings, Merleau-Ponty makes this relation the centerpiece of his attempts at an "indirect-ontology." Thus the investigation of Husserl's concept of style that I carry out here becomes an important propaedeutic for the study of style that Merleau-Ponty calls for in his later work. In brief, the concept of style has an important role to play in any phenomenological account of personhood and intersubjective relations. © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden

How low can you go? Bioenactivism, cognitive biology and Umwelt ontology

The viability of enactivist philosophy in providing descriptions of biological phenomena (bioenactivism) across the phylogenetic spectrum relies in large part on the scalability of its central concepts, i.e. whether they remain operative at varying levels of biological complexity. In this paper, I will examine the possibility of scaling two deeply intertwined concepts: cognition and surrounding world (Umwelt). Contra some indications from Varela and others, I will argue that the concept of embodied cognition can be scaled down below the level of the organism. I will draw upon the “cognitive biology” espoused by Kováč (2000, 2006) and Monod’s (1971) studies of protein behaviour to make this case. The downscaling of embodied cognition below the level of the organism has ramifications for how we understand the concept of surrounding world (Umwelt). Reconfiguring the relation between these two central bioenactive concepts has further consequences for what ontological commitments bioenactive thinking leads to, and what paths of investigation it points us toward

Competition-based Approach to Climate Action:#CircularCityChallenge, A Competition for Teenagers

The world faces climate change caused by environmental degradation and ecosystem collapse. Cities play a vital role in addressing these challenges, and circular urban development, in the form of "circular cities," is becoming increasingly popular as a way to achieve sustainable development. The CircularCityChallenge, building on fundamentals of circular cities and approaches in education for sustainable development, is a competition that targets young people aged 14-18, encouraging them to submit their ideas for a circular future in their own environments and simultaneously educating them about sustainable development. The challenge offers an innovative example of a participatory platform that is structured on a five-step process, in which young people would be getting familiar with the (1) circular city concept, (2) critical thinking, (3) system thinking, (4) pluralistic thinking, and (5) creative thinking. Encouraging networking and providing approaches for networking, the challenge potentially creates a liaison between local government/businesses and young people, and the fresh ideas and approaches that young people bring to the table carry the potential to inform local governments/businesses about local urban development needs, allowing them to collaboratively build circular futures for cities

‘Synthetic blood’: Entangling politics and biology

It is increasingly suggested that shortages in the supply chain for human blood could be met by the development of techniques to manufacture human blood ex vivo. These techniques fall broadly under the umbrella of Synthetic Biology. We examine the biopolitical context surrounding the ex vivo culture of Red Blood Cells through the linked concepts of alienation, immunity, biovalue and bio-securitisation. We engage with diverse meanings of synthetic blood and questions about how the discourses of biosecurity and privatisation of risk are linked to claims that the technology will address unmet needs and promote social justice. Through our discussion we contrast communitarian ideas that culturing red blood cells ‘extends the gift’ of adult blood donation with understandings of the immunitary logics that underpin the cord blood economy

Competition-based Approach to Climate Action:#CircularCityChallenge, A Competition for Teenagers

The world faces climate change caused by environmental degradation and ecosystem collapse. Cities play a vital role in addressing these challenges, and circular urban development, in the form of "circular cities," is becoming increasingly popular as a way to achieve sustainable development. The CircularCityChallenge, building on fundamentals of circular cities and approaches in education for sustainable development, is a competition that targets young people aged 14-18, encouraging them to submit their ideas for a circular future in their own environments and simultaneously educating them about sustainable development. The challenge offers an innovative example of a participatory platform that is structured on a five-step process, in which young people would be getting familiar with the (1) circular city concept, (2) critical thinking, (3) system thinking, (4) pluralistic thinking, and (5) creative thinking. Encouraging networking and providing approaches for networking, the challenge potentially creates a liaison between local government/businesses and young people, and the fresh ideas and approaches that young people bring to the table carry the potential to inform local governments/businesses about local urban development needs, allowing them to collaboratively build circular futures for cities

Competition-based Approach to Climate Action:#CircularCityChallenge, A Competition for Teenagers

The world faces climate change caused by environmental degradation and ecosystem collapse. Cities play a vital role in addressing these challenges, and circular urban development, in the form of "circular cities," is becoming increasingly popular as a way to achieve sustainable development. The CircularCityChallenge, building on fundamentals of circular cities and approaches in education for sustainable development, is a competition that targets young people aged 14-18, encouraging them to submit their ideas for a circular future in their own environments and simultaneously educating them about sustainable development. The challenge offers an innovative example of a participatory platform that is structured on a five-step process, in which young people would be getting familiar with the (1) circular city concept, (2) critical thinking, (3) system thinking, (4) pluralistic thinking, and (5) creative thinking. Encouraging networking and providing approaches for networking, the challenge potentially creates a liaison between local government/businesses and young people, and the fresh ideas and approaches that young people bring to the table carry the potential to inform local governments/businesses about local urban development needs, allowing them to collaboratively build circular futures for cities

Competition-based Approach to Climate Action:#CircularCityChallenge, A Competition for Teenagers

The world faces climate change caused by environmental degradation and ecosystem collapse. Cities play a vital role in addressing these challenges, and circular urban development, in the form of "circular cities," is becoming increasingly popular as a way to achieve sustainable development. The CircularCityChallenge, building on fundamentals of circular cities and approaches in education for sustainable development, is a competition that targets young people aged 14-18, encouraging them to submit their ideas for a circular future in their own environments and simultaneously educating them about sustainable development. The challenge offers an innovative example of a participatory platform that is structured on a five-step process, in which young people would be getting familiar with the (1) circular city concept, (2) critical thinking, (3) system thinking, (4) pluralistic thinking, and (5) creative thinking. Encouraging networking and providing approaches for networking, the challenge potentially creates a liaison between local government/businesses and young people, and the fresh ideas and approaches that young people bring to the table carry the potential to inform local governments/businesses about local urban development needs, allowing them to collaboratively build circular futures for cities