Advance directives as autonomy enhancers: reality or myth?

In the last few decades there has been a wealth of literature and legislation on advance directives. As you all know, it is an instrument by which a person can express their wishes as regards what treatmentthey should be given or, more to the point, not to be given, when he is in a situation when he can not do so himself.Regulations in the western world seem to promote advance directives as a way to enhance patient¿s autonomy in thecontext of human rights, and the media has presented advance directives as another milestone in this era of selfdetermination.However, if we look closely at some of thoseregulations we will see that there are a few elements which may undermine their efficacy, shattering this nicely presentedpicture. I will focus on two elements. First, formal requirements, and secondly, certain limits or what I like to call "escape clauses".

Advance directives as autonomy enhancers: reality or myth?

In the last few decades there has been a wealth of literature and legislation on advance directives. As you all know, it is an instrument by which a person can express their wishes as regards what treatmentthey should be given or, more to the point, not to be given, when he is in a situation when he can not do so himself.Regulations in the western world seem to promote advance directives as a way to enhance patient¿s autonomy in thecontext of human rights, and the media has presented advance directives as another milestone in this era of selfdetermination.However, if we look closely at some of thoseregulations we will see that there are a few elements which may undermine their efficacy, shattering this nicely presentedpicture. I will focus on two elements. First, formal requirements, and secondly, certain limits or what I like to call "escape clauses".

Advance directives as autonomy enhancers: reality or myth?

In the last few decades there has been a wealth of literature and legislation on advance directives. As you all know, it is an instrument by which a person can express their wishes as regards what treatmentthey should be given or, more to the point, not to be given, when he is in a situation when he can not do so himself.Regulations in the western world seem to promote advance directives as a way to enhance patient¿s autonomy in thecontext of human rights, and the media has presented advance directives as another milestone in this era of selfdetermination.However, if we look closely at some of thoseregulations we will see that there are a few elements which may undermine their efficacy, shattering this nicely presentedpicture. I will focus on two elements. First, formal requirements, and secondly, certain limits or what I like to call "escape clauses".

Albert Lewin. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman: the Semiologic Potential of a Greek Myth

Albert Lewin, a well-known Hollywood cinema director who is significantly influenced by the surrealistic movement, brings together the myth f Pandora and the legend of the flying Dutchman in order to create an exemplary love story, a crazy love story which goes beyond the limits of human reason. Bearing in mind, then, that if one wants to believe in this sort of love story must not be guided by human reason stricto sensu, he builds a world of signs, a semiologic world which this article aims at helping to interpret.

The importance of myth in contemporary art: myth, poetry and women

This project is intended to prove the prevalent importance of myth in contemporary art and, more specifically, to highlight how myth and poetry have shaped and reflected ideas of womanhood over time. A selection of significant literary periods, authors and works from the Renaissance to our days have been chosen in order to provide a wide scope of the evolution that the portrayal of women has undergone. Special attention has been paid to the way in which a group of selected poets have contributed to the construction and deconstruction of traditional Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman myths strongly attached to patterns of male dominance.

Nuclear Weapons as Symbols. The Role of Norms in Nuclear Policy Making

Throughout history, nuclear weapons have been considered to be the ultimate weapons. This understanding largely detached them from the portfolio of conventional military means and assigned them a symbolic meaning that influenced the identity and norms creation of nations. In most countries today, the development of nuclear weapons is considered morally prohibitive, incompatible with a country’s identity and international outlook. In some states, however, these negative norms are overridden by a positive set of norms, causing nuclear weapons to become either symbols of invulnerability to perceived threats or the regalia of major power status. Main purpose of this paper is to explore on the conditions that cause most states to develop a moral aversion to nuclear weapons, yet effectively lead to their glorification in others. Many studies on the normative understanding of nuclear weapons consider the existence of a negative normative predisposition, often referred to as ‘nuclear taboo’, as a major factor in preventing their acquisition and use. Other studies acknowledge the existence of a nuclear taboo inhibiting the use of nuclear weapons, but point to the existence of the opposing effect of norms, frequently referred to as the ‘nuclear myth’, when it comes to the acquisition of nuclear weapons. This myth emerges when certain symbolic meanings are attached to nuclear weapons, such as a state’s identity, self-image, and its desired position in the international system. With 180 odd countries in the world abstaining from the acquisition of nuclear weapons and 8 countries in possession of them (with two further countries assumed to have pursued their acquisition), one might consider the dominance of the nuclear taboo over the nuclear myth to be the rule. The core question is thus why and how this relationship reversed in the case of defectors.

The Core ideas and axioms of classical fascism (1919-1945)

This article presents and explores the axioms and core ideas, or idées-force, of the Fascist ideologies of the first third of the twentieth century. The aim is to identify the features that define the term “Classical Fascism” as a conceptual category in the study of politics and to uncover the core ideas of its political theory. This analysis requires an appraisal of both the idées-force themselves and the political use that is made of them. If these appreciations are correct, Classical Fascism is characterized by a set of ideological and political aims and methods in which ideas, attitudes and behaviours are determined by an anti-democratic palingenetic ultranationalism underpinned by a sacralized ideology; the quest for a united, indissoluble society as apolitical system and, at the same time, the collective myth that mobilizes and redeems the nation; and third, violence as a political vehicle applied unchecked against internal opposition and against external enemies who challenge the nation´s progression towards the dream of rebirth and the culmination of this progression in the form of an empire.

Les Variacions Goldberg

L’Ària amb diverses variacions BWV 988, quarta part dels Clavier-übung, de Johann Sebastian Bach, és una obra que ha estat objecte de molts estudis. La seva extrema bellesa, el sobrenom amb què avui la coneixem, Variacions Goldberg -a partir de la llegenda que explica Forkel sobre un comte que patia insomni i el seu clavecinista Goldberg- i la seva estructura interna tan perfectament calculada, alhora que generadora de grans preguntes complexes de respondre, fan d’aquesta obra un mite indiscutible de la literatura per a teclat que, des de fa més 250 anys, ens continua fascinant i la fa immortal. Aquest treball és una humil aproximació a aquests aspectes, que ens faran acostar-nos al món interior d’aquesta obra.

La Atlántida : la sociedad perfecta

Si Platón creó el mito de la Atlántida para ilustrar la sociedad perfecta de su 'República', entonces otros, siglos después, recogieron el testigo para utilizarlo con sus peores o mejores intenciones.

L'evolució iconogràfica del mite de Dànae : De Gossaert a Subirachs

El fascinant mite de Dànae ha inspirat artistes de múltiples disciplines; poetes, escriptors, escultors, gravadors i pintors han quedat subjugats per aquesta història i per la seva ductilitat. En aquest document concentrarem la nostra anàlisi en l'estudi d'un conjunt representatiu i divers de pintures sobre l'escena de la pluja d'or del mite de Dànae.

“Agli orli della vita”: I Giganti della montagna

Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936) affida alle pagine del suo ultimo dramma, I Giganti della montagna, l’estrema riflessione sul rapporto tra l’esperienza artistica e la vita, attraverso il mito, inteso come possibilità di ricreazione e rinnovamento. Il rapporto tra persona e personaggio costituirà il punto di partenza per l’analisi dello spazio drammatico, luogo emblematico del dialogo tra l’arte e la vita, incarnato nella personalità dei protagonisti: il mago Crotone e la contessa Ilse. Il riconoscimento finale della capacità salvifica e creativa dell’arte rivelerà il confine friabile che separa—ed unisce al contempo—la vita e il palcoscenico.

The "image" of the cave and the constant temptation to correct Plato: Benjamin Jowettt as an example

Translations of the first chapters of Book VII of Plato's Republic, in which he introduces the well-known image of the cave, eikón, reveals an astonishing and intriguing variety of interpretations of this image: "allegory", "myth", "fable", "parable", "simile" and "comparison", to cite but a few. Taking as an example the work by Benjamin Jowett, the Victorian translator of Plato, remarkable for its textual accuracy and by means of a close analysis of the terms related to the image, this paper insists on the need to neither interpret nor correct the great ideal philosopher, in this case revealing some evident contradictions that arise when this advice is not followed and pointing out the occasional use of terms extraneous to the Platonic lexicon such as "allegory".

La caverna de Josep Palau i Fabre (1952-1969): teatre versus al·legoria filosòfica per a representar i impedir el final tràgic i fosc del lluminós art de pensar.

What is the use of performing the myth of the cave from book VII of the Republic by Plato? Josep Palau i Fabre, considers that, in Plato's dialogues, the speakers are mere instruments at the service of his dialectical goal. The aim of this article is to show how, by turning the myth into a tragedy and also by relying on Heraclitus's conflict or war of opposites, the playwright succeeds in favoring a sort of thought which is not one-sided or univocal. On the contrary, in Palau i Fabre's La Caverna, the tragic hero, that is, the released prisoner transformed by the light of Reality and finally killed by his "cavemates" -after having been imprisoned again and having tried to rescue them from their ignorance or shadows-, still leaves to them his powerful experience of the agonistikos thought, which might bear fruit in their life to come.

La caverna de Josep Palau i Fabre (1952-1969): teatro versus alegoría filosófica para representar e impedir el final trágico y sombrío del luminoso arte de pensar.

What is the use of performing the myth of the cave from book VII of the Republic by Plato? Josep Palau i Fabre, considers that, in Plato's dialogues, the speakers are mere instruments at the service of his dialectical goal. The aim of this article is to show how, by turning the myth into a tragedy and also by relying on Heraclitus's conflict or war of opposites, the playwright succeeds in favoring a sort of thought which is not one-sided or univocal. On the contrary, in Palau i Fabre's La Caverna, the tragic hero, that is, the released prisoner transformed by the light of Reality and finally killed by his "cavemates" -after having been imprisoned again and having tried to rescue them from their ignorance or shadows-, still leaves to them his powerful experience of the agonistikos thought, which might bear fruit in their life to come.

Hedwig and The Angry Inch: el Plató més alternatiu

L'objectiu d'aquest article és mostrar com un mite antic, el mite dels tres gèneres, també anomenat de l'androgin de l'Aristòfanes del Simposi de Plató, esdevé per a John Cameron Mitchell la imatge adient per a explicar l'especial personalitat d'un home, Hedwig, que esdevé mitjançant una operació un androgin imperfecte, però que simbolitza la possibilitat d'una humanitat unida o l'acostament de móns diferents, de la mateixa manera que ell va pertànyer a les dues Berlín dividides per un mur que ara ja ha caigut, quedant restablerta així la unitat perduda.