Reflections on Phenomenology and the Poetry of Kevin Hart. Foreignness and Strangeness at the Heart of Australian Identity

In a deconstructive fashion, this paper analyses the Heideggerian concept of Bodenständigkeit (“rootedness”) from the point of view of the Boden (“earth”, “ground”) in general, that is, before its diffraction as Bodenständigkeit and Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). Whereas Heidegger makes of the concepts of “description” and “expression” two species of the genre Bodenständigkeit, we will proceed otherwise, and derive them from the general concept of Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). In this way, following the threads of the poetry of Kevin Hart, we will suggest that it is possible to affirm that all poetry is about finitude, contingency and destiny, both from the point of view of its form and of its content. In the course of our analysis, we will wonder about the role of identity and alterity in the construction of Australian identity

Cannibalism in Montaigne, de Certeau and Derrida

In this text we introduce the discursive strategies of Montaigne, de Certeau and Derrida in analysing the figure of the cannibal. Both de Certeau and Derrida use textual strategies for their analysis, but whereas de Certeau remains at the level of discourse and words and therefore at the level of phonocentric language, Derrida’s analysis moves beyond Western ethnocentrism. These different approaches lead de Certeau and Derrida to different conclusions. During the Renaissance, the figure of the cannibal was the source of horror because it ate its own kind and married several women. De Certeau inverts this ethnocentric ethics and shows that cannibalism was a form of paying tribute to the valor and honor of the victim, and polygamy showed the devotion and fidelity of women towards their husbands, not as a sign of male domination. Contrary to de Certeau, but building upon his critique of ethnocentrism, Derrida does not bring about any reversal of values when analysing a particular cosmovision in the figure of the cannibal, for example. Taking the meaning of the word “eating” in both a literal and a figurative sense, Derrida shows that all cultures are organized around a notion of sacrifice that consists in clearing up an area that allows for a noncriminal putting to death. It is in this context that Derrida denounces the ‘mass exterminations’ of animals and the ‘crimes’ against the environment that sustain carnivorous and industrialised countries. The figure of the cannibal also provides a good example of how Western society constructs the height of its morality and good consciousness symbolically sacrificing and demonizing the other (the savage, the cannibal) just because it sacrifices another ‘other’: as all cultures are organized around sacrificial structures that are ethnocentric

Reflections on Phenomenology and the Poetry of Kevin Hart. Foreignness and Strangeness at the Heart of Australian Identity

In a deconstructive fashion, this paper analyses the Heideggerian concept of Bodenständigkeit (“rootedness”) from the point of view of the Boden (“earth”, “ground”) in general, that is, before its diffraction as Bodenständigkeit and Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). Whereas Heidegger makes of the concepts of “description” and “expression” two species of the genre Bodenständigkeit, we will proceed otherwise, and derive them from the general concept of Bodenlösigkeit (“uprootedness”). In this way, following the threads of the poetry of Kevin Hart, we will suggest that it is possible to affirm that all poetry is about finitude, contingency and destiny, both from the point of view of its form and of its content. In the course of our analysis, we will wonder about the role of identity and alterity in the construction of Australian identity

Why should Aboriginal peoples learn to write?

Cultures and worldviews are inscribed by means of ‘writing’, or what Derrida calls ‘the perdurable inscription of a sign’ (Of Grammatology). A sign is the union between signifier and signified. The signifier may be natural (clouds indicate that it is going to rain) or artificial. All cultures are made up of relations that stay at the level of signs, that is, everything that belongs to culture is empirical and conventional. In this regard, both Aboriginal and Western culture remain at the same level. Moreover, both cultures produce objectivity by means of contrast and experimentation, in the design of a sharp object, for example an arrow or a knife. In Ancient Greece, Havelock contends that the invention of writing dramatically increased the possibilities of objective thought (The Muse Learns To Write), but it also created a logic of binaries that transcended the objectivity of science and transpired into the ideology behind colonialism. In this context, the role of writing is analyzed in David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon. How does writing affect Gemmy all throughout the book? Already in the first Chapter, the teacher and the minister of the colony analyze Gemmy ‘in writing’. Gemmy knows what writing is but hasn’t learnt its ‘trick’: he does not know how to read or write. All he can see is that what he tells about his life, all his pain and suffering, is translated into marks and magic squiggles on the paper: only the spirit of the story he tells is captured. But little by little, the cognitive effects of writing get hold of Gemmy, until he starts to understand his life within the framework of the logic of binaries and identity upon which all reflective thought and science rest. All in all, this deconstructive reading can be seen as a critique of Europe’s modern idea of the autonomy of reason, in the name of a heteronymous rationality in the form of writing

Reflections on phenomenology and the poetry of Kevin Hart. Foreigness and stangeness at the heart of Australian identity.

In a deconstructive fashion, this paper analyses the Heideggerian concept of Bodenständigkeit ("rootedness") from the point of view of the Boden ("earth", "ground") in general, that is, before its diffraction as Bodenständigkeit and Bodenlösigkeit ("uprootedness"). Whereas Heidegger makes of the concepts of "description" and "expression" two species of the genre Bodenständigkeit, we will proceed otherwise, and derive them from the general concept of Bodenlösigkeit ("uprootedness"). In this way, following the threads of the poetry of Kevin Hart, we will suggest that it is possible to affirm that all poetry is about finitude, contingency and destiny, both from the point of view of its form and of its content. In the course of our analysis, we will wonder about the role of identity and alterity in the construction of Australian identity

Violencia y desconstrucción

Investigamos la dimensión política de la fenomenología; concretamente la relación entre el Estado y la violencia. Para ello, vamos a hacer un estudio comparativo del libro Teoría husserliana del Estado, de Karl Schuhmann, y Fuerza de ley, de Jacques Derrida. En sus respectivas teorías del Estado, Husserl y Derrida parten de una interpretación genética del origen del lenguaje, y piensan que la función del Estado es el monopolio de la violencia. Para Husserl, los signos están al servicio de la racionalidad y el Estado busca garantizar la justicia y los fines justos. Por el contrario, Derrida piensa que hay una violencia originaria en el origen del lenguaje y que el Estado sólo busca mantenerse en el poder. Vamos a acabar sopesando las distintas aportaciones de la fenomenología y de la desconstrucción a los temas de la violencia, el Estado y la polític

Interaction between GRIP and Liprin-α/SYD2 Is Required for AMPA Receptor Targeting

Interaction with the multi-PDZ protein GRIP is required for the synaptic targeting of AMPA receptors, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. We show that GRIP binds to the liprin-α/SYD2 family of proteins that interact with LAR receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (LAR-RPTPs) and that are implicated in presynaptic development. In neurons, liprin-α and LAR-RPTP are enriched at synapses and coimmunoprecipitate with GRIP and AMPA receptors. Dominant-negative constructs that interfere with the GRIP-liprin interaction disrupt the surface expression and dendritic clustering of AMPA receptors in cultured neurons. Thus, by mediating the targeting of liprin/GRIP-associated proteins, liprin-α is important for postsynaptic as well as presynaptic maturation

Inflammatory dysregulation of monocytes in pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

BACKGROUND: Although the exact etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is unknown, there is growing evidence of a role for immune dysregulation in the pathophysiology of the disease, especially in the innate immune system including the microglia. To test this hypothesis, we studied inflammatory markers in monocytes from pediatric patients with OCD and from healthy controls. METHODS: We determined the percentages of total monocytes, CD16+ monocytes, and classical (CD14highCD16-), intermediate (CD14highCD16low), and non-classical (CD14lowCD16high) monocyte subsets in 102 patients with early-onset OCD and in 47 healthy controls. Moreover, proinflammatory cytokine production (GM-CSF, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) was measured by multiplex Luminex analysis in isolated monocyte cultures, in basal conditions, after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to stimulate immune response or after exposure to LPS and the immunosuppressant dexamethasone. RESULTS: OCD patients had significantly higher percentages of total monocytes and CD16+ monocytes than healthy controls, mainly due to an increase in the intermediate subset but also in the non-classical monocytes. Monocytes from OCD patients released higher amounts of GM-CSF, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α than healthy controls after exposure to LPS. However, there were no significant differences in basal cytokine production or the sensitivity of monocytes to dexamethasone treatment between both groups. Based on monocyte subset distribution and cytokine production after LPS stimulation, patients receiving psychoactive medications seem to have an intermediate inflammatory profile, that is, lower than non-medicated OCD individuals and higher than healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly support the involvement of an enhanced proinflammatory innate immune response in the etiopathogenesis of early-onset OCD