Issues of Interpretation. Texts, Images, Rites

Analisi degli strumenti interpretativi e delle pratiche ermeneutiche in filosofia, storia delle religioni e antropologia cultural

\uabKingdom of God\ubb and \uabPotentia Dei\ubb. An Interpretation of Divine Omnipotence in Hobbes\u2019s Thought

The relationships between politics and religion have always been the focus of Hobbesian literature, which generally privileges the theme of the Christian State, i.e. the union of temporal and spiritual power in a sovereign-representative person. This essay presents other perspectives of interpretation, which analyze the relationships between politics and religion in Hobbes\u2019 works by using specifically metaphysical and theological categories \u2013 liberty/ necessity, causality, kingdom of God, divine prescience, potentia Dei etc. \u2013 which allow us to reconsider the nature of political power (and the relevance of modern technology for the contemporary politics). The core of Hobbes\u2019 argumentation concerns the theoretical status of determinism (i.e. the relationships between liberty and necessity) with regard to the reduction of \uabpotentia\ubb to \uabpotestas\ubb not only in political philosophy, but also in metaphysics and theology. In many passages of Hobbes\u2019 works, then, it is possible to understand the role of God\u2019s idea in the natural and political philosophy: God\u2019s idea as first cause or as omnipotence is only a reassuring word useful to describe the necessary, mechanical and eternal movement of the bodies and useful to justify the materialistic determinism in anthropology and politics. Body and movement are the necessary fundaments of the universe which find in itself - without reference to the category of \uabpossibility\ubb in politics and in physics - the motives and the reasons of his own structure and function (from causes to effects)

The Crowd, the People, and the Philosopher in Spinoza’s Political Philosophy

The article analyzes the relationship in Spinoza's thought between the figures of the philosopher, the people, and the crowd. This distinction is anchored in his theory of knowledge, of the passions, and of natural right and plays a fundamental role in his conception of political philosophy. Spinoza establishes a direct connection between these three figures and the forms of political regimes: while in democracy human beings who are completely rational (the philosophers) can fully deploy their theoretical passions and the people can develop their desire for freedom, in theocracy and tyranny the crowd's superstition dominates. These aspects of Spinoza's thought allow us to interpret the relationships between the contemplative and the active life, and to rethink the relationship between the philosopher and the city, in the early modern age as well as in our contemporary one

Trigger performance of the ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector

The ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector (SPD) forms the two innermost layers of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS). The unique feature of the SPD among the vertex detectors of LHC experiments is the prompt trigger capability, called Fast-OR, which allows it to contribute to the experimental first level (L0) trigger decision. The SPD has been participating in data taking since the first proton-proton collisions providing the trigger for minimum bias event selection. A first evaluation of Fast-OR efficiency is presented

The Effect of Neighbourhood Enclosure on Property Values

Student Number : 9709049J - MSc research report - School of Construction Economics and Management - Faculty of Engineering and the Built EnvironmentSpiralling violent crime in South Africa has led to the increased use of access control to restrict access to suburbs and thus make it more difficult to perpetrate violent crime against residents. This neighbourhood enclosure normally takes the form of booms, palisade fences and security guards to close off entire suburbs that were once or still are public property. This study examines the effect of the implementation of neighbourhood enclosure on property values. The primary methodology used to research this concentrated on the analysis of residential property values, bond approvals and relative amounts of property transferred within the period of late 2002 and mid 2004. Analysis was based on information available at the deed’s office. Limitations included the small sample size and the availability of information. Applicants for suburban closures can use the results of the study to verify or discredit claims of property value increases. Municipalities can match property values to services and rates. Results showed that property values that were found to be either similar in adjacent open and enclosed areas or more expensive in enclosed areas. The latter trend was evident in higher value properties. This illustrates a higher demand for properties in these enclosed areas than in the adjacent open areas. Further analysis of prices showed that, in all cases over the same period, prices increased by more in enclosed areas than in open areas. This statistic proves the hypothesis, that neighbourhood enclosure increases the value of properties within the enclosure when compared to similar properties in adjacent open areas. Analysis of the value of bonds granted in an area showed that banks appear to ignore the enclosure status of the immediate area

A clinico-pathologic review of 56 cases of ossifying fibroma of the jaws with emphasis on the histomorphologic variations

Objective: This study aims at contributing to the definitive diagnosis of ossifying fibroma (OF) based on histomorphological features. The study also aims to determine some demographic features of OF, common sites of occurrence and to determine whether behavior correlates well with the histomorphological variations seen in the lesion.Materials and Methods: A total of 80 patients who were diagnosed either as cementifying fibroma CF, OF and cemento.ossifying fibroma (COF) of the jaws from the files of the Oral Pathology Department of the University of the Witwatersrand Dental School were retrieved and the histology slides of each case were reviewed with the most recent diagnostic criteria for OF and the authors additional criteria. A total of 56 cases that met the set criteria were analyzed.Results: The patients were clustered within the third and fourth decades of life (n = 39, 69.6%). Majority of the patients were black (83.93%), whereas the rest were whites (12.50%) and Asians (3.57%). There were 17 males (30.4%) and 39 females (69.6%), giving a male to female ratio of 1:2.3. Most of the lesions (70.3%) occurred in the mandible, involving the premolar molar region (56.7%). Scanty fibrous tissues in highly cellular lesions were found in 36 (64.3%) of the cases. There were globular, dystrophic or granular calcifications mixed with irregularly shaped trabeculae of lamellar or cellular woven bone or osteoid were found, in 36 (64.3%) cases. Conclusion: Demographic data, clinicoradiologic features, combined with histopathology will continue to be relevantin the definitive diagnosis of OF and in predicting its behavior. Highly aggr essive lesions with shorter duration in people below 15 years  were called juvenile OF and treated as such, while OF applies to other conventional ones.Key words: Clinical-features, histomorphology, jaws, ossifying fibrom

Mutamento storico e conflitto politico in Machiavelli

Il saggio presenta la teoria del conflitto in Machiavelli, con particolare riguardo alla differenza tra conflitto politico e conflitto economico, inserendola all'interno della sua pi\uf9 complessiva immagine del mutamento storico

Potere e potenza in Hobbes. La prospettiva meccanicistica tra filosofia naturale e filosofia politica

Analisi della prospettiva meccanicistica nella filosofia di Hobbes, con la verifica delle differenze tra filosofia naturale e filosofia politic

Introduzione. Appunti sulla ricezione di Spinoza nella modernità

Un'opera collettanea sulla fortuna di Spinoza nel pensiero filosofico della modernit

Il falso mito dell'originalità

Recensione del volume "Il sogno di una copia" di A.M. Iacon