The phenomenon of memory in Anton Chekhov’s works

This article focuses on the phenomenon of memory as reflected both in Chekhov’s dramas and works of prose. The phenomenon of memory manifests itself by referring to the main ideas in Chekhov’s poetics: bond of times (past – the present time – future), eternity, suffering, artistic work, happiness, life and death, and the truth of life. However, examining a given phenomenon requires attentive reading because Chekhov counts on an attentive reader who is able to capture the essence among the details of everyday life.This article focuses on the phenomenon of memory as reflected both in Chekhov’s dramas and works of prose. The phenomenon of memory manifests itself by referring to the main ideas in Chekhov’s poetics: bond of times (past – the present time – future), eternity, suffering, artistic work, happiness, life and death, and the truth of life. However, examining a given phenomenon requires attentive reading because Chekhov counts on an attentive reader who is able to capture the essence among the details of everyday life.This article focuses on the phenomenon of memory as reflected both in Chekhov’s dramas and works of prose. The phenomenon of memory manifests itself by referring to the main ideas in Chekhov’s poetics: bond of times (past – the present time – future), eternity, suffering, artistic work, happiness, life and death, and the truth of life. However, examining a given phenomenon requires attentive reading because Chekhov counts on an attentive reader who is able to capture the essence among the details of everyday life

Between history and philosophy. The poetics of the novel “Buddha’s Little Finger” by Victor Pelevin

The article focuses on the concept of a dualistic model of the world perception in the novel Chapayev and Void by Victor Pelevin. The model represents the contrast to the notion of alchemic union that stands for the ideal pattern, which cannot be realized in Russian reality. So dualism meant as a division and separation between heroes, who cannot understand each other, concerns also the division between East and West in the historical, philosophical and cultural perspective. However, the main division, which is superior upon the others, is the dualism of reality and consciousness that in the novel transforms to the universal category. The only possible escape from this dysfunctional realm is spiritual illumination.The article focuses on the concept of a dualistic model of the world perception in the novel Chapayev and Void by Victor Pelevin. The model represents the contrast to the notion of alchemic union that stands for the ideal pattern, which cannot be realized in Russian reality. So dualism meant as a division and separation between heroes, who cannot understand each other, concerns also the division between East and West in the historical, philosophical and cultural perspective. However, the main division, which is superior upon the others, is the dualism of reality and consciousness that in the novel transforms to the universal category. The only possible escape from this dysfunctional realm is spiritual illumination.The article focuses on the concept of a dualistic model of the world perception in the novel Chapayev and Void by Victor Pelevin. The model represents the contrast to the notion of alchemic union that stands for the ideal pattern, which cannot be realized in Russian reality. So dualism meant as a division and separation between heroes, who cannot understand each other, concerns also the division between East and West in the historical, philosophical and cultural perspective. However, the main division, which is superior upon the others, is the dualism of reality and consciousness that in the novel transforms to the universal category. The only possible escape from this dysfunctional realm is spiritual illumination

Spatial and temporal aspects of visual backward masking in children and young adolescents

We thank Marc Repnow for his help setting up the experiments. In addition, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their very thoughtful and helpful comments. This work was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation project “Between Europe and the Orient—A Focus on Research and Higher Education in/on Central Asia and the Caucasus” and by the VELUX Foundation project “Perception, Cognition and Healthy Brain Aging.”Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Problem of the Literary Genre of the Novel „The Master and the Margerita” by Mikhail Bulgakov

The article presents an attempt to specify the literary genre of one of the most mysterious novels of the 20th century — The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. There was a variety of defines trying to qualify the novel in literary studies examining the works of the writer. Among most popular were: philosophical novel, menippea, satirical novel, novel as mystery, novel-parable, novel-myth. The multidimensional character of the given work makes it difficult to classify the genre of the novel just to one type. Nevertheless, in the present article the author makes this attempt to specify the genre of the novel as the initiation novel. As a matter of fact, the theme, the structure and the idea of the unusual novel correspond to requirements of this kind

Категория пародии и трагизма в романе Татьяны Толстой „Кысь”

This article presents an attempt to specify the categories of parody and tragedy in the novel The Slynx which was written by Tatyana Tolstaya. Since the novel is a postmodern work, the presence of parody seems to be obvious. However, the category of tragedy in a work of this type is a curious novelty, which is analyzed by the author of this article.This article presents an attempt to specify the categories of parody and tragedy in the novel The Slynx which was written by Tatyana Tolstaya. Since the novel is a postmodern work, the presence of parody seems to be obvious. However, the category of tragedy in a work of this type is a curious novelty, which is analyzed by the author of this article

Koncepcja wcielonego zła w powieściach „Mistrz i Małgorzata” M. Bułhakowa i „Portret Doriana Graya” O. Wilde’a (próba analizy porównawczej)

The article deals with the problem of the embodiment of evil in the novels The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The concept is represented by the image of Lord Henry Wotton in Wilde’s novel and of Woland in Bulgakov’s novel. Both of the heroes reveal the characteristic features of the devil. However, as proves the research, the role of the devil plays Lord Henry, deluding his younger and naive friend Dorian by the luring paradoxes, and driving him to commit the murder. On the other hand, Woland turns out to be a real savior to Master, as he manages to rescue him and his beloved Margarita from the Moscow realm of hell. Moreover, Woland is a symbolic figure that stands for Lucifer, the patron of alchemic initiation

The problem of the hero in A.P. Chekhov's story “The Black Monk”

This article is focused on the ontological issues that are reflected in one of the most philosophical stories written by A.P. Chekhov – The Black Monk. The core idea on which the construction of the hero and the presented world are based turns out to be dualism. Kovrin belongs to the upper world of idea, so consequently, this status brings him to the conflict with the usual people – the dwellers of the world of the matter. This platonic philosophy seems to reflect not only a certain artistic strategy of the writer, but also a personal view on the human existence in the world of Chekhov himself. What needs to be underlined is the fact, that the writer seems to believe that in the process of human evolution the number of people belonging to the realm of idea will increase in the future.This article is focused on the ontological issues that are reflected in one of the most philosophical stories written by A.P. Chekhov – The Black Monk. The core idea on which the construction of the hero and the presented world are based turns out to be dualism. Kovrin belongs to the upper world of idea, so consequently, this status brings him to the conflict with the usual people – the dwellers of the world of the matter. This platonic philosophy seems to reflect not only a certain artistic strategy of the writer, but also a personal view on the human existence in the world of Chekhov himself. What needs to be underlined is the fact, that the writer seems to believe that in the process of human evolution the number of people belonging to the realm of idea will increase in the future.This article is focused on the ontological issues that are reflected in one of the most philosophical stories written by A.P. Chekhov – The Black Monk. The core idea on which the construction of the hero and the presented world are based turns out to be dualism. Kovrin belongs to the upper world of idea, so consequently, this status brings him to the conflict with the usual people – the dwellers of the world of the matter. This platonic philosophy seems to reflect not only a certain artistic strategy of the writer, but also a personal view on the human existence in the world of Chekhov himself. What needs to be underlined is the fact, that the writer seems to believe that in the process of human evolution the number of people belonging to the realm of idea will increase in the future

Stimulus Coding Rules for Perceptual Learning

Perceptual learning of visual features occurs when multiple stimuli are presented in a fixed sequence (temporal patterning), but not when they are presented in random order (roving). This points to the need for proper stimulus coding in order for learning of multiple stimuli to occur. We examined the stimulus coding rules for learning with multiple stimuli. Our results demonstrate that: (1) stimulus rhythm is necessary for temporal patterning to take effect during practice; (2) learning consolidation is subject to disruption by roving up to 4 h after each practice session; (3) importantly, after completion of temporal-patterned learning, performance is undisrupted by extended roving training; (4) roving is ineffective if each stimulus is presented for five or more consecutive trials; and (5) roving is also ineffective if each stimulus has a distinct identity. We propose that for multi-stimulus learning to occur, the brain needs to conceptually “tag” each stimulus, in order to switch attention to the appropriate perceptual template. Stimulus temporal patterning assists in tagging stimuli and switching attention through its rhythmic stimulus sequence

Perceptual learning of bisection stimuli under roving: Slow and largely specific

In perceptual learning, performance often improves within a short time if only one stimulus variant is presented, such as a line bisection stimulus with one outer-line-distance. However, performance stagnates if two bisection stimuli with two outerline-distances are presented randomly interleaved. Recently, S. G. Kuai, J. Y. Zhang, S. A. Klein, D. M. Levi, and C. Yu, (2005) proposed that learning under roving conditions is impossible in general. Contrary to this proposition, we show here that perceptual learning with bisection stimuli under roving is possible with extensive training of 18000 trials. Despite this extensive training, the improvement of performance is still largely specific. Furthermore, this improvement of performance cannot be explained by an accommodation to stimulus uncertainty caused by roving

Adaptive Gain Modulation in V1 Explains Contextual Modifications during Bisection Learning

The neuronal processing of visual stimuli in primary visual cortex (V1) can be modified by perceptual training. Training in bisection discrimination, for instance, changes the contextual interactions in V1 elicited by parallel lines. Before training, two parallel lines inhibit their individual V1-responses. After bisection training, inhibition turns into non-symmetric excitation while performing the bisection task. Yet, the receptive field of the V1 neurons evaluated by a single line does not change during task performance. We present a model of recurrent processing in V1 where the neuronal gain can be modulated by a global attentional signal. Perceptual learning mainly consists in strengthening this attentional signal, leading to a more effective gain modulation. The model reproduces both the psychophysical results on bisection learning and the modified contextual interactions observed in V1 during task performance. It makes several predictions, for instance that imagery training should improve the performance, or that a slight stimulus wiggling can strongly affect the representation in V1 while performing the task. We conclude that strengthening a top-down induced gain increase can explain perceptual learning, and that this top-down signal can modify lateral interactions within V1, without significantly changing the classical receptive field of V1 neurons