Inheriting the World

A critical reflection on John Woods's new monograph, Truth in Fiction – Rethinking its Logic. I focus in particular on Woods’s world-inheritance thesis (what others have variously called ‘background,’ ‘the principle of minimal departure,’ and ‘the reality assumption,’ and which replaces Woods’s earlier ‘fill-conditions’) and its interplay with auctorial say-so, arguing that world-inheritance actually constrains auctorial say-so in ways Woods has not anticipated

Failures of Intention and Failed-Art

This paper explores what happens when artists fail to execute their goals. I argue that taxonomies of failure in general, and of failed-art in particular, should focus on the attempts which generate the failed-entity, and that to do this they must be sensitive to an attempt’s orientation. This account of failed-attempts delivers three important new insights into artistic practice: there can be no accidental art, only deliberate and incidental art; art’s intention-dependence entails the possibility of performative failure, but not of failed-art; and art’s intention-dependence is perfectly compatible with the role that luck plays in artistic creation

Schopenhauer’s Perceptive Invective

Schopenhauer’s invective is legendary among philosophers, and is unmatched in the historical canon. But these complaints are themselves worthy of careful consideration: they are rooted in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of language, which itself reflects the structure of his metaphysics. This short chapter argues that Schopenhauer’s vitriol rewards philosophical attention; not because it expresses his critical take on Fichte, Hegel, Herbart, Schelling, and Schleiermacher, but because it neatly illustrates his philosophy of language. Schopenhauer’s epithets are not merely spiteful slurs; instead, they reflect deep-seated theoretical and methodological commitments to transparency of exposition

Comunicación publicitaria: construcción de potencial de significado a través de la gramática disyuntiva

Communication through language, irrespective of the model of its structure and deployment, entails the making of meanings. The ways that advertisers produce meaning through disjunctive grammar is the concern of this study. Thus, the analysis considered twelve advertisements for examination for meaning deductions. The Hallidayan ‘below the clause’ was the conceptual facilitator of meanings in texts. With the application of technological tools of the table and graph, the study drew a conclusion that nominal group (NG) is the most employed device to fascinate readers to consumption. Having observed that advertisers utilize health matters, beliefs and values, monetary gifts, contents of commodities, etc. to persuade consumers, the study suggests that advertisements could assist in revealing the true contents of the advertised products for proper decision making on the products to patronize. Such behavior could also sensitize the public from being recalcitrant to reading advertising artifacts which is a gain to advertisers themselves. Qualquer que seja o modelo que guie sua estrutura e desenvolvimento, a comunicação por meio da linguagem implica a criação de significados. Os publicistas parecem entender que a criação de significado na comunicação com o público-alvo não precisa depender da cláusula ou da oração. As produções de significado podem ser mordazes e com estruturas fragmentadas; com isso, o estudo que deu origem ao presente artigo interessou-se pela forma como os especialistas em publicidade produzem significado por meio da gramática disjuntiva. Analisaram-se doze anúncios de bebidas e telecomunicações, a fim de explicar os significados. O conceito de “cláusula dependente”, estabelecido por Halliday, foi o facilitador conceitual dos significados nos textos. O uso de ferramentas tecnológicas como tabelas e gráficos ajudou a calcular as frequências das instalações disjuntivas dos textos. Chegou-se à conclusão de que a frase nominal é o dispositivo mais empregado para interessar os leitores no consumo. Tendo-se observado que os anunciantes utilizavam assuntos de saúde, crenças e valores, presentes monetários, conteúdos de produtos básicos, globalização etc. para persuadir os consumidores, o estudo sugeriu que os anúncios poderiam seguir empregando construções com signos de pontuação para revelar os verdadeiros conteúdos dos produtos anunciados, de tal forma que tomassem as decisões adequadas ao favorecê-los. Tal comportamento de implantação disjuntiva também poderia levar o público a ler materiais publicitários no lugar de recusá-los, portanto, de uma maneira ou de outra, convencer o público é o objetivo real da persuasão na publicidade.Cualquiera que sea el modelo que guíe su estructura y desarrollo, la comunicación a través del lenguaje implica la creación de significados. Los publicistas parecen entender que la creación de significado en la comunicación con el público objetivo no necesita depender de la cláusula o dea la oración. Las producciones de significado pueden ser mordaces y con estructuras fragmentadas; con esto, el estudio que dio origen al presente artículo se interesó por la forma en que los expertos en publicidad producen significado a través de la gramática disyuntiva. Se analizaron doce anuncios de bebidas y telecomunicaciones, en aras de explicar los significados. El concepto de “debajo de la cláusula”, acuñado por Halliday, fue el facilitador conceptual de los significados en los textos. El uso de herramientas tecnológicas como tablas y gráficos ayudó a calcular las frecuencias de las instalaciones disyuntivas de los textos. Se llegó a la conclusión de que la frase nominal es el dispositivo más empleado para interesar a los lectores en el consumo. Habiéndose observado que los anunciantes utilizaban asuntos de salud, creencias y valores, regalos monetarios, contenidos de productos básicos, globalización, etc. para persuadir a los consumidores, el estudio sugirió que los anuncios podrían seguir empleando construcciones con signos de puntuación para revelar los verdaderos contenidos de los productos anunciados, de tal forma que se tomaran las decisiones adecuadas al favorecerlos. Tal comportamiento de despliegue disyuntivo también podría llevar al público a leer materiales publicitarios en lugar de rechazarlos, en tanto que, de una manera u otra, convencer al público es el objetivo real de la persuasión en la publicidad.https://revistas.udem.edu.co/index.php/anagramas/article/view/215

Awakening the Sensible Being (ASB) as experienced by physicians: development of a theoretical model

Background / Purpose: Awakening the “Sensible” Being (ASB) is a formative practice geared toward care giving and support. It examines how experiencing one’s own body and its movement stimulates the development of self-awareness and awareness of others, both of which are desirable qualities for healthcare professionals. To our knowledge there is no theoretical model regarding the process that occurs and its potential effects on participants.Based on our research with physicians having undergone ASB training, we developed such a preliminary model. Methods: Grounded theory was used for a secondary analysis of thesis data (Lachance 2016). This analysis was inspired by the relationship between learning and caring (Honoré 1992, 2003) and the integration of consciousness according to Newman’s (1990, 1997) concept of health. Results: The model is one of concentric circles. ASB training fosters the development of an internal dialogue in individuals (center of the model) which has effects on their personal life and by ricochet, their professional activities (periphery of the model). Their expanded sense of self-awareness and quality of “savoir-être” brought on by the training contributes to their impression of “feeling whole” and provides them with a quality of presence that influences the type of care they can provide to their patients by considering the individual as a whole. Conclusion: Behind a physician, there is a human being with human qualities enabling them to be a better physician. Our model underlines the importance of developing the inner self as a background to becoming a better health professional.

In Defence of Tourists

It is not uncommon for art historians and philosophers of art to deride the kinds of aesthetic experiences tourists seek out by characterizing them as bowing to the will of the herd, succumbing to peer pressure, or simply seeking out what is popular. Two charges, in particular, tend to be levelled against tourists. The first, which I call the motivation problem, contends that tourists are motivated to seek out aesthetic experiences for the wrong kinds of reasons. The second, which I call the appreciation problem, maintains that tourist tastes are aesthetically uninformed and are thus the inauthentic product of aesthetic luck. But there is a better way of thinking about aesthetic tourism, one that can capture both the tourist’s motivations and the role of aesthetic luck. I argue that aesthetic tourists, like many experts, subscribe to the acquaintance principle, and that doing so generates aesthetic obligations to their practical identity. The tourist, in the end, is no more – and no less – a product of aesthetic luck than the expert connoisseur

In Defence of Tourists

It is not uncommon for art historians and philosophers of art to deride the kinds of aesthetic experiences tourists seek out by characterizing them as bowing to the will of the herd, succumbing to peer pressure, or simply seeking out what is popular. Two charges, in particular, tend to be levelled against tourists. The first, which I call the motivation problem, contends that tourists are motivated to seek out aesthetic experiences for the wrong kinds of reasons. The second, which I call the appreciation problem, maintains that tourist tastes are aesthetically uninformed and are thus the inauthentic product of aesthetic luck. But there is a better way of thinking about aesthetic tourism, one that can capture both the tourist’s motivations and the role of aesthetic luck. I argue that aesthetic tourists, like many experts, subscribe to the acquaintance principle, and that doing so generates aesthetic obligations to their practical identity. The tourist, in the end, is no more – and no less – a product of aesthetic luck than the expert connoisseur.17619

Strategies identified by program directors to improve adoption of the CanMEDS framework

Background: Challenges associated with the use of the CanMEDS physician competency framework (CanMEDS) have been the subject of several studies. Most of these have focused on the adoption of specific roles in an Anglophone context. This study aims to investigate how Francophone postgraduate medical education (PGME) program directors have integrated the CanMEDS framework into their programs.Methods: We invited Francophone PGME program directors to participate in group interviews aimed at exploring their experiences using the CanMEDS framework. We used an open-ended interview guide and realized a thematic analysis of the transcripts.  Results: We held five group interviews between February and December 2014 with 17 Francophone program directors representing 13 out of a maximum of 62 different specialties/subspecialties. Although program directors endorsed the framework, its integration was seen as challenging, particularly the assessment of non-medical expert roles. To overcome these challenges, they relied on common strategies including a longitudinal approach to the framework, improving inter-program collaboration, and subcontracting the teaching of certain roles.Conclusion: While integrating the CanMEDS framework into their programs, Francophone program directors struggled with teaching and assessing non-medical expert roles and ensuring their longitudinal integration over time.  Directors relied on various strategies, some of which (e.g., subcontracting) may ultimately limit the adoption of the framework as a whole.___Contexte: Les défis associés à l'utilisation du référentiel de compétences CanMEDS pour les médecins ont fait l'objet de plusieurs études. La plupart de ces études ont portées sur l'adoption de rôles spécifiques dans un contexte anglophone. Cette étude vise à explorer comment les directeurs de programmes d’études médicales postdoctorales (EMP) francophones ont intégré CanMEDS dans leurs programmes.Méthodes: Nous avons invité les directeurs de programmes EMP francophones à participer à des entrevues de groupe. Ces entrevues visaient à explorer leur expérience de l’utilisation du référentiel CanMEDS. Nous avons utilisé un guide d'entrevue ouvert et nous avons fait une analyse thématique des transcriptions. Résultats: Nous avons tenu cinq entrevues de groupe entre février et décembre 2014 avec 17 directeurs de programmes de 13 des 62 spécialités/sous-spécialités. Bien que les directeurs de programmes appuient le référentiel, son intégration a été perçue comme un défi, notamment en ce qui a trait à l'évaluation des rôles autres que celui d'expert médical. Pour surmonter ces défis, ils se sont appuyés sur des stratégies communes, notamment une approche longitudinale du référentiel, l'amélioration de la collaboration entre les programmes et la sous-traitance de l'enseignement de certains rôles.Conclusions: À travers le processus d’intégration du référentiel CanMEDS, les directeurs de programmes EMP francophones ont de la difficulté à enseigner et à évaluer les rôles autres que celui d'expert médical ainsi qu’à veiller à leur intégration respective et continue au fil du temps. Ils ont eu recours à diverses stratégies, dont certaines (p. ex., la sous-traitance) pourraient ultimement limiter l'adoption du référentiel dans son ensemble

Distant dinosaurs and the aesthetics of remote art

Francis Sparshott introduced the term ‘remote art’ in his 1982 presidential address to the American Society for Aesthetics. The concept has not drawn much notice since—although individual remote arts, such as palaeolithic art and the artistic practices of subaltern cultures, have enjoyed their fair share of attention from aestheticians. This paper explores what unites some artistic practices under the banner of remote art, arguing that remoteness is primarily a matter of some audience’s epistemic distance from a work’s context of creation. I introduce palaeoart—the depiction of extinct prehistoric fauna and flora, especially from the Mesozoic—as a paradigmatic case of remote art, showing that its remoteness is secured both by the deceptively rich cognitive load required for its creation and appreciation, and by its existence at the margins of the institutional artworld, which ensures that this cognitive loading is largely obscured. Too often, remote art is not just inscrutable, it is invisible to us