Catastrophic Vision Research Articles

Metaphysics of the sequence shot: the gathering and nihilating of being in Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse

ABSTRACT This article examines the philosophical implications of Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse (2011) by attending to the thematic and aesthetic configuration of its sequence shots. The film’s durational images, I suggest, perform a gathering and nihilating of presence whereby the existence of the subject is repeatedly affirmed and questioned. I read this dynamic, over and above figurative and diegetic parameters, as metaphysical. In line with its Nietzschean framing and de-creational structure, and in distinction from the hermetic living that characterises Damnation (1988), Satantango (1994) and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), I posit the film’s catastrophic vision of the end of the world as revelatory. Placing stylistic analysis in dialogue with film theory and the philosophies of Nietzsche and Heidegger, I argue that Tarr’s strategies of attention (on the subject) and reversal (of the action and cinematography) puncture narrative chronology, exposing the spatiality and temporality that structure our existence. For this, I align with Heidegger’s thinking on metaphysics and the relation between art and truth. I establish the grounds for a compatibility between Heidegger’s philosophy and the worthiness of cinema by appealing to the ontological purpose it attributes to certain works of art and technology. The presencing and absencing of The Turin Horse’s in turn phenomenal and abyssal sequence shots, I conclude, produces a renewal of ground that illuminates questions of human fragility, freedom and emancipation, attuning us to the responsibilities of our being in a shared world.

Catastrophic Motives in the Bruno Schulz’s Works

The work of the talented writer and artist, literary critic, philosopher, and epistolographer of the first half of the 20th century, Bruno Schulz, is consonant with today’s challenges. The article analyses the prose works of the artist from the perspective of catastrophic motives because until now scholars of Schulz have analysed the outlined problems either cursorily or in a comparative aspect — based on a comparison of the artistic works of different writers, so the relevance of the study is primarily connected with the expansion of Schulzological problems within the literary discourse. The content and development of the term “catastrophism” are analysed; the individual facts of the social life of the era to which Bruno Schulz belonged are characterized; the moments of the artist’s biography are outlined, which influenced the formation of his worldview, in particular, the elements of a catastrophic vision of the world; the peculiarities of Schulz’s catastrophism are clarified. To achieve the goal of the research, the following methods of literary analysis have been applied, such as biographical, sociological, as well as the elements of psychological and receptive analysis. The studies of Shultz’s prose show that the presence of catastrophic motives in Bruno Schulz’s creative work is completely natural and justified. The catastrophic tendencies of his works of fiction are revealed primarily through binary contrasting oppositions, through the prism of the “decency” of the old and the “spirit of modernity” of the new (industrial) city at different levels, such as periphery — center, man — mannequin, life — death, good — evil, beauty — mutilation, hope — despair, etc. It is emphasized: Schulz’s catastrophism is a special kind of catastrophism; an important feature of Bruno Schulz’s artistic catastrophic vision of the world is his optimism, at least Schulz’s tragedy has bright, joyful shades and hopes. The author concludes that the study of specific material, in particular Schulz’s catastrophism, will contribute to a thorough theoretical generalization of literary studies of the outlined issues. In the future, the literary and critical works and epistolaries of Bruno Schulz as interesting material for catastrophic, eschatological, apocalyptic, and even masochistic studies are seen.

Introduction

Introduction

Państwo jako statek. Metafora okrętu a problemy demokracji

The metaphor of the ship of state has been a popular theme in literature from ancient times to the present day. This article aims to analyse the reasons for its popularity and the problems it presents to the audience. The first part presents the genesis of this metaphor and its interpretations, which constitute the basis for the considerations on politics, the role of citizens and leaders conducted in the following subsections. Based on the relations between the helmsman and sailors, the metaphor is a visual representation of the desired relations in the state. As has been shown, its primary and still current message is to draw attention to the fact that politics is the art of cooperation, requiring prudence and balance. Thus, it is not meant to encourage catastrophic visions regarding the fall of the state, but rather to encourage reflection on what steps to take in order to avoid extremes, and at the same time be able to respond to the needs of a changing world – how to educate sailors and navigators or what legal and systemic solutions provide so that the ship of state survives the storms.

Kartezjusz — Lyotard — Dukaj. „Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość” jako propozycja oświecenia po uznaniu końca paradygmatu wielkich narracji

The paper explores the philosophical statements emerging from the plot of Jacek Dukaj’s science-fiction novel Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość [The Perfect Imperfection]. The argument of the article states that the Polish novel proposes a complete philosophical model of possible ways of imagining the future which is unique, yet fully coherent with the Enlightenment paradigm.
 After recapitulating the most important arguments of the mid-century’s discussion about the end of the grand narratives and brief recall of most canonical texts of the period of the Enlightenment, the author analyses ontological presuppositions hidden after the structure of the fictional world created by Dukaj. The novel appears to fully acknowledge the Cartesian dualistic model of the human being (which strongly separates its biological and mental roots) and sets plots in times when all biological limitations have been transgressed. Despite that, both optimistic scenarios of eighteenth-century utopians and catastrophic visions of twentieth-century sci-fi authors have never been fulfilled and the fictional world of the twenty-ninth century appears to be just the same as ours in its core, despite being totally different in terms of its phenomenological appearance.

Effects of Ocufolin on retinal microvasculature in patients with mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy carrying polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene

IntroductionTo evaluate effects of Ocufolin on retinal microvasculature in mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients who carried methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms (DR+MTHFRP).Research design and methodsThis is a prospective cohort study. Eight...

Do we practice what we preach? What universities do and what they recommend during the covid-19 pandemic

Publicação original: https://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/reflections-on-covid19/digital-inequalities-and-education-in-brazil# Brazil is a country marked by intense digital and educational inequalities. In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a federal government that stands as an enemy to education, such inequalities are accentuated. In this sense, our proposal is, from the sum of our research experiences on technology and education, to draw lines of analysis that help to understand how the process of migration of basic education and higher education to digital platforms unfolded. The inspiration for this essay comes from our previous research and our involvement with situations - both at the university and in our fields of research, and personal lives - that show how urgent the debate regarding distance education/remote learning is, particularly considering questions of inequality and social markers of difference. We start from a perspective that does not demonize or believe in catastrophic visions of technology, but that proposes to think about its many uses and the many contexts in which it is inserted in order to better understand the challenges that these uses contain.

Skąd zło? Paradoksy rewolucji na Ukrainie. O Wspomnieniach i Dziennikach Jewhena Czykałenki

In this article author focused on the Diaries and Memoirs of Yevhen Chykalenko. He has tried to reconstruct the process of creating these books and compare them. The author creatively developed the comparative analysis of Memoirs and Diaries, because the first book is characterized by officiality, memory idyll, positive aspects of Ukraine. The second one brings bitterness and a critical judgment of his own nation. To emphasize this comparison, the author used the concept of Malgorzata Czermińska’s autobiographical triangle. Reflecting on the passivity of the Ukrainian writer during the Ukrainian People’s Republic, he came to the conclusion that it resulted from the philosophy of „not opposing evil with violence” by Leo Tolstoy. Between him and Chykalenko the author found more converging parallels. The author then dealt with the political myths of Chykalenko, among which he distinguished his fascination with Germany. If in Memoirs we deal with an idyllic and positive image of Ukraine and Ukrainians, catastrophic visions prevail in the dairies. It shows the fall of values, as well as the triumph of barbarism that prevailed after the revolution of 1917. Memoirs and Diaries by Chykalenko are very important for the study of the history of Ukrainian periodicals, we learn about the realities of the press, problems with censorship, editorial work, repressions.

The Spectre of Fear in the Dystopia of The Hunger Games: An Analysis of the Linguistic Indicators of Point of View

Recent years have witnessed a spike in the sales of dystopian fiction, especially in the category of post-apocalyptic literature. Moreover, dystopian fiction is no longer directed to adults only, for many post-apocalyptic works fall now under the category of young adult (YA) literature. The massive production and consumption of such works, which present a pessimistic and catastrophic vision of the world, reflect the fear that has invaded the world since the 1960s due to the effects of the Cold War. One major post-apocalyptic work that was produced in the last few years is Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy (published in 2008, 2009 and 2010) which presents a sinister view of the future, hence warning against the consequences that are to be expected should authoritarianism remain unchecked. The linguistic choices made by an author contribute to the construction of the message he/she is trying to convey. Hence, this paper aims to analyze the linguistic indicators of point of view, proposed by Short (2013) and Black (2006), in Collins’ first book of the trilogy in an attempt to investigate how such indicators contribute to creating an atmosphere of gloominess and uneasiness. Such atmosphere serves as a warning against a catastrophic future to be expected should dictatorships and totalitarian regimes be allowed to last.

Historie alternatywne i postapokaliptyczne wizje przyszłości w prozie Ołeksandra Irwancia

Alternative histories and post-calocaltist visions of the future in the prose of Oleksandr Irwancec The text deals with alternative histories and catastrophic visions of the future in the prose of the Ukrainian writer Oleksandr Irvanets. Two out of four nowels were written in the alternative history style another two were written in post-apocalyptic convention. The prose of Oleksandr Irvaniec is strongly based in the realities of post-Soviet Ukrainian society and is a kind of commentary to the problems that bothers that society. Keywords: alternative history, postapocalyptic prose, political fiction, Ukrainian literature, post-soviet society

„Myż to, Polacy, owych mężów plemię…” — miejsce liryki patriotycznej w twórczości Franciszka Dionizego Kniaźnina

Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin, although known primarily as the author of love and religious poetry, devoted many of his texts to patriotism. His view on the issues of the fatherland evolved — from works which praised great ancestors and stigmatized national flaws, through lyric poems filled with hope inspired by the events of 1791–1794, through catastrophic visions related to the partitions of Poland, to the complete cessation of poetic activity after the fall of his homeland. Kniaźnin’s patriotic work also clearly announces the advent of Romanticism, evident in its presentation of the key role that poets should play in the nation, the artist’s discussions with God, the positive reception of Ossianism and the special mission that women have of shaping bringing up citizens devoted to their homeland.

The Only Eye Study (OnES): a qualitative study of surgeon experiences of only eye surgery and recommendations for patient safety

ObjectivePerforming surgery on patients with only one seeing-eye, where complications may result in catastrophic vision loss, presents unique challenges for the ophthalmic care team. There is currently no evidence regarding...

Catastrophic Visions of Development

Catastrophic Visions of Development

Two historians in front of the economic crisis of 2007-2008: Hobsbawm and Judt between Marxism and the legacies of 20th century

How did intellectuals react to the economic crisis of 2007-2008 and its long-term backlash? What did they learn from the main twentieth-century political and social experiences, in order to make a new sense of the traditional cultures of the Left? In order to answer these crucial issues, this proposal will analyze the paths of the well-known historians E. Hobsbawm and T. Judt and their apparently similar, but actually different reactions to the crisis. First, I will focus on their respective books: How to Change the World (2011) and Ill Fares the Land (2010). On the one hand, Hobsbawm?s critical approach to the post-1991 world, shaped by his lifelong fidelity to Marxism and his persistent sympathy for the Russian Revolution, was connected to his catastrophic vision of the end of the both conflicting and collaborative dynamics between capitalism and socialism. On the other hand, Judt?s re-thinking of the social-democratic tradition, compelled by the global transformations of the social question, was inspired by his connections with the East Central European dissidents? anti-totalitarian liberalism and by his critical approach to the engagement of the French intellectuals. Second, I will investigate their different interpretations of the ?Golden Age? of post-1945 Europe (with special regard to the long-term impact of the crisis of 1929 and to the influence of Soviet communism) and of the causes of its crisis. Third, I will show how, in spite of their common reference to Marx, late Hobsbawm?s and Judt?s historical visions - respectively combined with determinism and moralism - provide opposite ways of coping with the legacies of the 20th century and of criticizing the language of neoliberal economy within the Left.

Pedagogical Analysis of Catastrophic Visions of Art

Abstract The theory of aesthetic education treats art as an educational space. It is interesting to look at theories of the end of art from a pedagogical perspective. The article presents a few selected items, symptoms of the collapse of art, which have appeared in theories of a crisis of art. Are they relevant to the theory of aesthetic education? Is education “for” and “through” art justified in the face of the end of art? In this article the author presents catastrophic visions of art from the pedagogical perspective.

Requiem for analytical psychology: a reflection on Jung's (anti)catastrophic psychology

This article is an interpretation of analytical psychology in the light of the catastrophic vision and dreams that Jung had in 1913 and 1914. It is shown how the guiding spirit of Jung's psychological project is to be found in that psychic material. Then it is proposed that the completion of the symbolic catastrophe displayed in Jung's last vision (1961) points to the end of the psychological foundations upon which analytical psychology is built, and thus to its cultural obsolescence, extensive to any psychology grounded in Jung's notion of 'soul'.

Retinal arteriolar occlusions due to cytomegalovirus retinitis in elderly patients without HIV

BackgroundFive of 7 (71%) elderly immunocompetent patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis had retinal arteriolar occlusions versus 2 of 8 (25%) elderly immunocompromised patients and 1 of 19 (5%) younger HIV-infected patients. Compared to HIV-infected patients, elderly patients were more likely to have occlusive events, neovascularization or hemorrhage, and underlying vasculopathy. The purpose of this study is to report the novel finding of extensive retinal arteriolar occlusions and neovascularization in immunocompetent patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis. This is a retrospective observational cohort study of cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR) in a university setting. Seven patients were elderly but not immunocompromised, 8 were elderly and iatrogenically immunocompromised, and 16 were HIV-infected. All patients underwent polymerase chain reaction testing of intraocular fluid. Primary outcome measure was visual acuity. Secondary outcome measures were vascular occlusions, ischemic complications, and response to treatment.ResultsMean age was 73, 70, and 41 years for immunocompetent, immunocompromised, and HIV-infected patients, respectively. Diabetes and vascular disease were common in the elderly. Vision loss to less than 5/200 occurred in 50% of the immunocompetent elderly patients, and 17% of CMV eyes in immunocompromised and HIV patients. Occlusion of the entire retinal vasculature occurred in 4/7 (57%) of immunocompetent patients despite lack of Zone I involvement, and rubeosis occurred in three, disc neovascularization in one, and vitreous hemorrhage in two patients. Vascular occlusive events were less common in immunocompromised patients and rare in the HIV-infected.ConclusionsCMVR in non-HIV-infected elderly patients is associated with retinal arteriolar occlusions. An intact host immune response may increase damage to retinal vessels. Prompt diagnosis may avert catastrophic vision loss.

Monocular Vision Loss and Headache in a 60-Year-Old Liver Transplant Patient

Monocular Vision Loss and Headache in a 60-Year-Old Liver Transplant Patient

Marx, Heine, and German Cosmopolitanism: The 1844 Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbucher

In the tradition of classical political economy, Marx is usually read as an oppositional figure, rejecting the optimistic dogma of free trade and replacing it with a catastrophic vision of capitalism's self-destruction. Yet Marx was also a cosmopolitan figure who, like the classical economists, rejected a narrow nationalism for the vision of an internationally just economic sphere. The Communist Manifesto, for example, is addressed to “Workers of All Nations” and not just German workers. Marx saw his intervention as a combination of idealist German philosophy, radical French politics, and English economics.1 Marx's own travels from the Rhineland of his birth…

Antiangiogenic effect of silicate nanoparticle on retinal neovascularization induced by vascular endothelial growth factor

Angiogenesis-related blindness indicates the spectrum of retinal diseases that are caused by pathological angiogenesis, resulting in catastrophic vision loss. We aimed to demonstrate the antiangiogenic effect of silicate nanoparticles (SiNPs) on the retinal neovascularization. No direct toxicity of SiNPs was observed on retinal neuronal or endothelial cells, nor on the retinal tissue. Furthermore, intravitreal injection of SiNPs effectively reduced anomalous retinal angiogenesis in oxygen-induced retinopathy mice. SiNPs also effectively inhibited in vitro vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenesis. Via suppression of VEGF receptor-2 phosphorylation induced by VEGF, SiNPs blocked ERK 1/2 activation. SiNPs could be an inhibitor of the potency and safety of retinal neovascularization that is mediated by VEGF and utilized in the treatment of angiogenesis-related blindness. From the Clinical EditorIn this important preclinical study, silicate NP-s are studied to address retinal neovascularization, an important pathomechanism of different retinal diseases that could lead to catastrophic vision loss. The authors conclude that SiNP-s could be utilized as inhibitors of retinal neovascularization mediated by VEGF and propose future applications in the treatment of angiogenesis-related blindness.