Formation of polar stratospheric clouds simulated in a two dimensional model of the atmosphere

A microphysics code has been implemented in a two dimensional model of the atmosphere to study formation of polar stratospheric clouds containing HCl or HNO3. The model range is from pole to pole in latitude and from the ground to about 20 km in altitude. Resolution in latitude is 10 deg and about 0.8 km in altitude. This is an Eulerian model with prescribed eddy diffusion coefficients and the circulation obtained from observations. The chemistry of the model follows the family approach for NO(x), Cl(x) and HO(x) while the ozone is fixed and changed seasonally. The aerosol code is based on an assigned population of condensation, coagulation and sedimentation. Aerosol growth is simulated in nine different size bins ranging between 0.01u and 2.56u. The model has been built to study aerosol layers formation in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and has been validated for sulfate aerosol resulting from a rather complex sulfur chemistry

Emanuele Severino on the Meaning of Scientific Specialization: An Introduction

Science appears, to the eyes of contemporary man, as the most reliable guide to the human enterprise. However, we possess little awareness as to what the proper meaning of scientific specialization is, and this knowledge is indispensable if we are not to proceed mindlessly in our relations to being. One of the most profound, coherent, and penetrating insights into this matter is constituted by the work of contemporary Italian philosopher Emanuele Severino, whose discourse demonstrates how scientific specialization is the most coherent consequence of humanity's most ancestral relationship to being, how every human decision enacts the essence of scientific specialization, and thus why all denunciations of scientific specialization have fallen, and must continue to fall, unheeded, by necessity. Thus, by focusing on one of Severino's major theoretical works (Oltre il linguaggio, 1992), but also with an eye to several other key texts, this essay aims to introduce international readers to Severino's discourse, and in order to do so translates passages of his work that have never appeared in English

The Influence of Leo Tolstoy’s What Is Art? On David Foster Wallace’s Literary Project

This article argues that Tolstoy’s What Is Art? had a direct influence on David Foster Wallace’s conception of literature, and most specifically that Wallace appropriated Tolstoy’s discourse (down to most of its most specific details) to found his literary project. The article seeks to prove this by exhibiting the striking extent of Wallace’s alignment with Tolstoy’s beliefs, by retracing the multiple direct references to Tolstoy in Wallace’s work, and by uncovering Wallace’s annotations on his own copy of What Is Art? as further confirmation of what a careful comparative analysis of the works of the two authors makes manifest

Steven M. Cahn and Maureen Eckert, Freedom and the Self: Essays on the Philosophy of David Foster Wallace

Steven M. Cahn and Maureen Eckert, Freedom and the Self: Essays on the Philosophy of David Foster Wallace. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. 192pp.  ISBN: 9780231161527. Paolo Pitari Independent scholar Freedom and the Self: Essays on the Philosophy of David Foster Wallace is the second collection of essays in Wallace studies that approaches the author from a philosophical standpoint, and most of the critics and students who look forward to reading this book have read the first, Ges..

David Lynch’s Influence on David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest

This essay investigates the influence of the films of David Lynch on David Foster Wallace’s major novel Infinite Jest. It is organized in two sections. Section one illustrates Wallace’s views on what real art should be, as they are expressed in his two famous “manifestos,” and proceeds to read the essay “David Lynch Keeps His Head” in relation to the manifestos in order to demonstrate that Lynch’s influence on Wallace’s thought has not yet been fully grasped. Section two delves into Infinite Jest to examine textual proof of the Wallace-Lynch connection, both in content and form. Content-wise, convergences are proven to permeate both authors’ interest in theories of consciousness, typified in themes such as: psychoanalysis, especially the Oedipus Complex; self-deception; the Sartrean “look;” the corporeal subject and the phenomenological distinction between objective body and lived body. Form-wise, the following narrative items are mapped: Lynch’ssurrealism, recognizable in paradigmatic scenes from Infinite Jest; the character-idea, as both authors embody abstract ideas in characters; and a formal commitment to “an anti-teleological spirit.” Finally, the analysis takes into consideration Lynch's films produced prior or during the writing of Infinite Jest, and exclusively those Wallace expressed direct admiration for, namely: Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), and Lost Highway (1997)

Martin Heidegger and Emanuele Severino: A Dispute on the Meaning of Technology

Martin Heidegger and Emanuele Severino reflected on the meaning of technology more than anyone else in the twentieth century. Their philosophies are irreconcilable. They converge on this simple recognition and its implications: techno‐science dominates our time. But they disagree even on the interpretation of this domination. Exploring this disagreement will help us understand the leading dynamics of our civilization. Therefore, the intention in this paper is to unveil, for English speakers, the value of Severino’s philosophy in relation to Heidegger and the meaning technology. We will see that, ultimately, their disagreement concerns the originary truth of Being and has repercussions on how they conceptualize technology and the possibility of redemption from it. Heidegger indicated the letting‐be of beings in their freedom as the possible path beyond technology. Severino saw Heidegger’s indication as destined to remain trapped in technology itself. If we understand why this was so – from Severino’s point of view – this may open a new path for us: the path of day, the path that may truly lead beyond technology. The aim of this paper is, finally, to indicate one reason why delving into Severino’s works is truly worthwhile: if it is possible for the truth to unveil itself beyond willing – where Heidegger couldn’t see – then Severino’s works may the place where this possibility appears in coherent conceptual form

“The Influence of Sartre’s ‘What Is Literature?’ on David Foster Wallace’s Literary Project”

This article argues that Sartre’s “What Is Literature?” had a profound and direct influence on David Foster Wallace’s conception of literature. At the very least, a number of factors oblige scholars to take this interpretation seriously. We know that Sartre’s existentialism pervades Wallace’s fiction, that Wallace repeatedly mentioned the Existentialists throughout his work, that he’d learned French to read them in the original, and that Sartre was one of his favorites, as testified by Zadie Smith. Most importantly, a comparative analysis of Sartre’s text and Wallace’s nonfiction shows not only striking parallels but also almost exact repetitions in the writers’ fundamental ideals. In this sense, Sartre’s direct influence on Wallace appears so major as to invest multiple specific details of Wallace’s conception of literature both in its content and in the logical structuring of that content. In this article, we explore the extent of this influence through a structured investigation of its multiple features, showing that many of Wallace’s tenets–the rejection of Realism, the affirmation of meaning-as-use and of literature as a means to human communion and individual and social engagement, and many many more–follow from Sartre’s discourse

Scientific Research in Homeopathic Medicine: Validation, Methodology and Perspectives

Verona's School of Homeopathic Medicine (www.omeopatia.org) organized a day of full immersion in the field of homeopathy, focusing on the validity of this much-debated discipline. There is widespread consensus in the medical community that evidence-based medicine is the best standard for assessing efficacy and safety of healthcare practices, and systematic reviews with strict protocols are essential to establish proof for various therapies. Students, homeopathic practitioners, academic and business representatives, who are interested in or curious about homeopathic practices attended the conference

Robert P. Waxler, The Risk of Reading: How Literature Helps Us to Understand Ourselves and the World

I specifically requested to review this book out of personal interest in works that offer ethical bases for dedication to literature. This interest was reinforced after learning a few biographical things about the author. Robert P. Waxler is an English professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and, most importantly, he is co-founder of the Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL) program. CLTL is “essentially a reading group that meets over a period of weeks and that is attended ..

Allard den Dulk, Existentialist Engagement in Wallace, Eggers and Foer: A Philosophical Analysis of Contemporary American Literature

I’d been familiar with the work of Allard den Dulk for a while before diving into his latest book. Existentialist Engagement in Wallace, Eggers and Foer stems from all of the work the man has done in his years as an academic. Taking a look at his previous publications will give you a notion of den Dulk’s determined focus in literary (and most specifically Wallace) studies.  Focus and specialization always come with their pros and cons, and this book is no exception. For the sake of clarity, a..