Reflexive stasis, scale reversal and the myth of modern cinema

This chapter looks at three films whose Portuguese urban settings offer a privileged ground for the re-evaluation of the classical-modern-postmodern categorisation with regard to cinema. They are The State of Things (Wim Wenders, 1982), Foreign Land (Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, 1995) and Mysteries of Lisbon (Raúl Ruiz, 2010). In them, the city is the place where characters lose their bearings, names, identities, and where vicious circles, mirrors, replicas and mise-en-abyme bring the vertiginous movement that had characterised the modernist city of 1920s cinema to a halt. Curiously, too, it is the place where so-called postmodern aesthetics finally finds an ideal home in self-ironical tales that expose the film medium’s narrative shortcomings. Intermedial devices, whether Polaroid stills or a cardboard cut-out theatre, are then resorted to in order to turn a larger-than-life reality into framed, manageable narrative miniatures. The scaled-down real, however, turns out to be a disappointing simulacrum, a memory ersatz that unveils the illusory character of cosmopolitan teleology. In my approach, I start by examining the intertwined and transnational genesis of these films that resulted in three correlated visions of the end of history and of storytelling, typical of postmodern aesthetics. I move on to consider intermedia miniaturism as an attempt to stop time within movement, an equation that inevitably brings to mind the Deleuzian movement-time binary, which I revisit in an attempt to disentangle it from the classical-modern opposition. I conclude by proposing reflexive stasis and scale reversal as the common denominator across all modern projects, hence, perhaps, a more advantageous model than modernity to signify artistic and political values.

The politics of slowness and the traps of modernity

This chapter re-evaluates the diachronic, evolutionist model that establishes the Second World War as a watershed between classical and modern cinemas, and ‘modernity’ as the political project of ‘slow cinema’. I will start by historicising the connection between cinematic speed and modernity, going on to survey the veritable obsession with the modern that continues to beset film studies despite the vagueness and contradictions inherent in the term. I will then attempt to clarify what is really at stake within the modern-classical debate by analysing two canonical examples of Japanese cinema, drawn from the geidomono genre (films on the lives of theatre actors), Kenji Mizoguchi’s Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Zangiku monogatari, 1939) and Yasujiro Ozu’s Floating Weeds (Ukigusa, 1954), with a view to investigating the role of the long take or, conversely, classical editing, in the production or otherwise of a supposed ‘slow modernity’. By resorting to Ozu and Mizoguchi, I hope to demonstrate that the best narrative films in the world have always combined a ‘classical’ quest for perfection with the ‘modern’ doubt of its existence, hence the futility of classifying cinema in general according to an evolutionary and Eurocentric model based on the classical-modern binary. Rather than on a confusing politics of the modern, I will draw on Bazin’s prophetic insight of ‘impure cinema’, a concept he forged in defence of literary and theatrical screen adaptations. Anticipating by more than half a century the media convergence on which the near totality of our audiovisual experience is currently based, ‘impure cinema’ will give me the opportunity to focus on the confluence of film and theatre in these Mizoguchi and Ozu films as the site of a productive crisis where established genres dissolve into self-reflexive stasis, ambiguity of expression and the revelation of the reality of the film medium, all of which, I argue, are more reliable indicators of a film’s political programme than historical teleology. At the end of the journey, some answers may emerge to whether the combination of the long take and the long shot are sufficient to account for a film’s ‘slowness’ and whether ‘slow’ is indeed the best concept to signify resistance to the destructive pace of capitalism.

Medicina filosófica: as relações entre medicina e filosofia na Grécia antiga e em Kant

This work deals with the relationship between medicine and philosophy, which has existed since Antiquity, and will also be discussed here from Kant s perspective. It presents the historical context formed by reciprocal influences of common notions regarding health/disease, balance/justice, and just measure, which are present in the medical discourse as much as in the philosophical one. It considers that Hippocratic medicine emerges from concerns about dietetics, thus creating the link between philosophy and medicine, which is important for our analysis on Kant s contributions to Hippocratic legacy. Taking into account these considerations, the work distinguishes between two aspects which are associated within the dietetics presented by Kant in his work The conflict of the faculties, studied here in the light of his Doctrine of virtue, particularly the duties to oneself in regard the care of one s body and the teleological conception. In this sense, the work indicates the role of Kantian thinking not only to enrich medical dietetics, by lending to it moral value, but also to enrich philosophy by highlighting its therapeutic effects

Uma (re)leitura teleológica da filosofia moral em Kant : por uma necessidade de inclusão do homem na natureza

Made from the bases of metaphysics, this dissertation is related do Kant‟s moral philosophy. But the itinerary to reach the main speculation used to develop this current understanding of Kant‟s thoughts, it is nothing but an attempt to make the formal rigor more flexible, which has always been associated to Kantian ethics‟ perspectives. From the awareness of what this formalism could be, while a moral arrangement, it is how we will be able to come upon a teleological Kant. That is the fundamental element to comprehend some of the significant aspects in that ethical system, which necessarily comes through the effort to demonstrate the proximity between reason and sensibility, as well as nature and liberty. In this environment, the journey to achieve the autonomy, as the bedrock of liberty and morality, evokes the support of education in Kantian patterns, which enables a course of improvement of the human being, as an individual e, more significantly, as specie. This evolution progress, which tents to reveal the destiny of the humanity, is evolved in the relationship between necessity and finality, as a condition to make the structure of a project to humanity possible. We should mention that it is a rational, an educational and a moral project to be developed in the course of history. As a consequence, the amount of all these elements permits the development of the man‟s natural disposition as a creature that looks for self knowledge , becoming, afterward, dignified to be qualified as a human being. Finally, this study intent to figure out the necessity of the human being inclusion to nature, which happens throughout the acquirement of the individuals‟ conscience

A moral kantiana entre deontologia e teleologia

This dissertation examines the Kantian moral in a teleological perspective. It consists of a reconstruction of philosophy practice that departs from the investigation of the categorical imperative, the concepts of duty, will, good will, as well as an approach on the ways of investigation of nature, which will enable the foundation to engage in the teleological argument, investigating the organized human beings, the harmonious system, its relationship with the ultimate and most important purpose, always flexing the analysis of these concepts the idea of purpose. Subsequently we will establish an argument about the end terminal and the implication of this concept to think about the real idea of the system in Kant and his relationship or support for moral theory. In essence this paper approaches the moral point of view of ethics, outlining the insufficiency of this field for the foundation of architectural moral, which will enable the final touch or the indispensability or the teleological argument as fundamental to the Kantian moral Theory

Negociação coletiva no setor público

Pós-graduação em Direito - FCHS

Discussões sobre o minimalismo musical norte-americano: processos, repetição e tecnologia

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Esporte escolar e emancipação humana: reflexões à luz da ontologia marxiana

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ceuta, para além da terra dos mouros: a fabricação histórica de um marco do império português (século XV e início do XVI)

Pós-graduação em História - FCHS

A doutrina do método na terceira Crítica

The Doctrine of the method of the Critique of judgement concerns the faculty of teleological judgement (§ 79-91). In the beginning of this Appendix (§ 79), Kant aims on clarifying how teleological thought, according to the principle of final cause, interprets the essence and the phenomena of nature. However he makes clear: teleology is not a science, it does not belong to a doctrine, and it does not belong to theology as a part of it, for its object is not God, though in theology may be made the most important use of teleology (KU AA 05: 416). If teleology does not belong to theology and is not a science, why is there a necessity of a Doctrine of the method to the teleological judgement? Answering this incognito is the purpose of this text. And we will look for attaining it having as supposition that teleology, though if not having the doctrinal character of science that requires a Methodenlehre, may be seen as a critical science of passage, because it can intermediate the ambits of nature and freedom, and, as such, oscillate between natural science and theology.

A compreensão da definição freudiana do conceito de pulsão sexual para a compreensão do conceito de sexualidade humana

This article approaches the definition of sexual drive proposed by Freud in the Three Essays and how the psychoanalytic conception of human sexuality has been theoretically presented from this first exposition: both as a construct of the species and as an individual construct. It seeks to show how the very metapsychological definition of drive (Trieb) – in 1905 and also in Freud’s 1915 Instincts and their Vicissitudes – interlaced biological contributions and the psychoanalytic clinic in the formulation of an original concept of the human sexuality. The paper also discusses how, because of this duplicity, there is sometimes a developmental interpretation of sexuality in the Three Essays. In the first two of the Three essays, Freud tried to expand the possibilities of sexual behavior, analyzing the drives in the diversity of perversions and in children’s sexuality, while in the third essay the focus was on the adult sexual drive from the moment it organizes itself around an object (hence being no longer auto-erotic) and the reproduction function. Certain experts have occasionally questioned whether the 1905 article attributed a biological teleology to the human sexuality by assigning reproduction as the eventual purpose of the sexual drive – that is, a reproductive goal achieved through the sexual intercourse (coitus). Our study seeks to show how the physiological point of view proposed by Freud in his 1915 article on Instincts sheds some light on how the very biological origin of the drives denies this supposed exclusive reproductive purpose of sexuality. The duplicity of Freud’s concept of drive – as expressed in the enigmatic sentence where he states that this is a concept situated on the border between the psychical and the physical – is then discussed taking into account this intercrossing between the biological and the psychical presented in the Three Essays. The points of view proposed by Freud in 1915 for the definition of the concept of drive – the physiological and the biological points of view – are suggested as conceptual tools to the understanding of this twofold character of human sexuality, according to psychoanalysis.

O conhecimento biológico nos documentos curriculares nacionais do ensino médio: uma análise histórico-filosófica a partir dos estatutos da biologia

We analyzed the National Curriculum for Secondary Schools with respect to the ontological, epistemological, historical, social and conceptual biology. This study aims to bring information and thinking about the inclusion of history and philosophy of biology for secondary education and for teacher training. We performed an analysis of PCNEM, PCNEM+ and Curriculum Guidelines as a whole from established categories. The results indicate a predominance of the ontological view of mechanistic biology. Epistemologically, although acknowledged, the question of scientific method is rarely discussed. The historical approach and social scientific activity and scientific knowledge are recognized by the documents, but an instrumental view prevails. The conceptual aspects are comprehensive and take into account the theories of structural biology. A philosophical discussion on the biology is missing in the parameters, indicating the need for the inclusion of issues related to ideas of determinism, chance and teleology.

Online Dictionary of Invertebrate Zoology: T

tabula tabular tachyauxesis tachyblastic tachygen tachygenesis tachytelic tactic tactile tactoreceptors taenia taeniate taenidium taenioglossate tagma tagmata tagmosis tail tailfan Takakura's talon talus tandem tangent tangoreceptor tanylobous tapetal tapetum tapinoma-odor Tardigrada tardigrades tarsal tarsation tarsite tarsomere tarsungulus tarsus taste tautonomy tautonym taxa taxes taxis taxis taxodont taxometrics taxon taxonomic taxonomist taxonomy tectiform tectostracum tectum teeth teges tegillum tegmen tegmentum tegula tegular tegulum tegumen tegument tegumentary tela telaform telamon telegonic teleiochrysalis telenchium teleoconch teleodont teleology teleotrocha telepod telescope telescopic teletrophic telioderma teliophan telmophage telocentric telodendria telofemur telogonic telolecithal telomitic telophase telophragma telopod telopodite telorhabdions telosonic telostome telosynapsis telosyndesis telotarsus telotaxis telotroch telson template temporal tenacipeds tenaculum tenent teneral tensor tentacle tentacular tentaculocyst tentaculozooid tentilla tentorial tentorium tenuous teratocyte teratogen teratogenesis teratogyne teratology terebella terebra terebrant terebrate teres terete terga tergal tergite tergolateral tergopleural tergopore tergum tergum termen terminal terminalia termitarium termitophile terranes terrestrial terricolous territory tertiary tertibrach tertibrachial tessellate test testaceology testaceous test-cross testes testis testisac testudinate tetanus tetany tetractinal tetractine tetrad tetradelphic tetramerous tetramorphic tetraploid tetrapod tetrapterous tetrasomic tetrathyridial tetrathyridium tetraxon tetraxonid thalassophilous thallus thamnophilous thanatocoenosis thanatosis theca thecae thecal thecate thelycum thelygenesis thelygenous thelyotokous thelyotoky theory thermocline thermophile thermophobe thermoreceptor thermotaxis thickness thigmotactic thigmotaxis thigmotropism third-form thoraces thoracic thoracomere thoracopod(ite) thorax thoraxes thread thylacium thylacogen thyridial thyridium thyroid thysanuriform tibia tibial tibiotarsal tibiotarsus Tiedemann's tiled timbal tinctorial tine tissue tissue titilla titillae titillator tocopherol tocospermal tocospermia tocostome tokostome tomentose tomentum Tomosvary tone tonic tonofibrillae tonus topochemical topogamodeme topomorph topomorphic toponym topotype tori torma tormogen tornote tornus torose torpid torqueate torsion tortuose torulose torus totipotent totomount toxa toxicognath toxicology toxin toxinosis toxoglossate toxoid trabecula trabeculate trabeculated trachea tracheae tracheal tracheate tracheoblast tracheolar tracheoles trachychromatic tract Tragardh's tragus transad transcoxa transcurrent transect transection transformation transient transitional translocation translucent transmission transposed transscutal transstadial transtilla transverse trapeziform trapezium trapezoid trema tremata Trematoda trenchant trepan triact triactinal triad triaene triage triangle triangular triangulate triaulic triaxial triaxon tribe tribocytic trichite trichobothrium trichobranchia trichobranchiate trichocerous trichodes trichodeum trichodragmata trichogen trichoid trichomes trichophore trichopore trichosors trichostichal trichotomous trichroism tricolumella tricomes tricostate tricrepid tricuspid tricuspidate tridactyl trident tridentate trifid trifurcate triglycerides trignathan trigonal trigoneutism trilabiate trilateral trilobate trilocular trimorphic trimorphism Trinominal triordinal tripartite tripectinate triplet triploblastic triploid triquetral triquetrous triradiate triradiates tritocerebral tritocerebrum tritocerebrum tritonymph tritosternum triturate triungulin triungulinid trivial trivium trivoltine trixenic troch trochal trochalopodous trochantellus trochanter trochanteral trochantin trochi trochiform trochlea trocholophous trochophore trochosphere trochus troglobiont troglodytic troglophile trogloxene tropeic trophal trophallactic trophallaxis trophamnion trophi trophic trophidium trophobiont trophobiont trophobiosis trophobiotic trophocytes trophodisc trophogeny trophoporic trophorhinium trophosome trophotaxis trophothylax trophozooid trophus tropis tropism tropotaxis trumpet truncate truncation trunk trypsin tryptic tryptophan tryptophane T-tubule tube tube-feet tubercle tubercula tuberculate tuberculose tuberiferous tubicolous tubifacient tubule tubulus tubus tuft Tullgren tumefaction tumescence tumid tumulus tunic tunica tunicary tunicate turbinate turgid turreted turriculate tychoparthenogenesis tylasters tylenchoid tyli tyloid tyloides tylosis tylostyle tylote tylus tymbal tympanal tympanal tympanic tympanum Tyndall type typhlosole typologist typolysis typostasis

Explicações funcionais na Biologia: o fenômeno polinização

Considerando explicações sobre o fenômeno polinização a partir de narrativas biológicas, este estudo foi norteado pela seguinte pergunta: até que ponto alguns termos, aparentemente finalistas, podem ser usados em textos científicos sem que ocorra um prejuízo no entendimento de questões ontogenéticas e filogenéticas? Diante esta questão, os objetivos desta pesquisa foram: i) apresentar uma discussão sobre as explicações funcionais na biologia, especificamente em relação ao fenômeno polinização e ii) contribuir para reflexões epistemológicas no ensino de Biologia. Foram selecionados dois filósofos para definições e análises sobre linguagens funcionais, Larry Wright e Robert Cummins. Para análise dos textos científicos sobre o fenômeno polinização, foi realizado o recorte de dois momentos históricos, um do século XVIII, quando se iniciou os estudos sobre polinização, e outro do século XIX, quando a teoria da evolução estava em discussão. As duas interpretações filosóficas defendem, embora de uma maneira distinta, a existência de uma ideia explanatória do conceito de função para a biologia. A concepção de Larry Wright (1973) sustenta que a função explica por que algo existe e a de Robert Cummins (1975) considera que o poder explicativo da função está na avaliação de sua contribuição para o sistema do qual faz parte, não sendo relevante para sua compreensão a informação sobre sua origem evolutiva. As duas obras científicas primárias selecionadas para análises, de Christian Sprengel (1750-1816) e Charles Darwin (1809-1882), apresentaram alguns termos aparentemente finalistas, ou seja, com conotação de caráter teleológico. A análise dos dados permite dizer que a questão sobre função na biologia é bastante inquietante. Tanto a ciência quanto a filosofia estão em processos de desvelar quais as melhores formas de tratamento de termos finalistas que satisfaçam os problemas de seu uso sem que ocorra um prejuízo no entendimento das questões evolutivas do fenômeno estudado. Este estudo sugere uma redução do uso de termos teleológicos em textos científicos, uma vez que há diferentes visões sobre este conceito, o que pode gerar interpretações incorretas. Além disso, as implicações deste estudo para a Didática da Biologia são apresentadas por meio de inserções filosóficas-epistemológicas em aulas de Biologia com o intuito de permitir o desenvolvimento dos conteúdos biológicos de forma mais reflexiva e contextualizada.