Formal Distinction Research Articles

Duns Scotus’s Entangled Doctrines of Univocity, Freedom, and the Powers of the Soul

In this paper, I argue that that three of Duns Scotus’s most controversial philosophical positions, namely, his doctrine of the univocity of the concept of being, his radical voluntarism, and his formal distinction between the soul and its powers, are related in the following way: The latter two depend upon the former, sometimes in obvious ways that Duns Scotus owns, and sometimes in ways that are not licensed by the doctrine of the univocity of the concept of being as Scotus himself claims to employ it. In particular, I argue that in Scotus’s development of his theory of freedom and his understanding of the powers of the soul, he makes inferences from God to creatures that the doctrine of the univocity of the concept of being does not allow and that, coupled with inferences that are licensed by that doctrine, result in circularity.

The loss of synthetic past tense forms in Slovene in the context of the hypothesised Central European convergence area

Summary One of the salient morphosyntactic features of the hypothesised Central European convergence area is allegedly a simple three-tense verb system (i. e. past, present, and future) without any formal and semantic distinction between the different past tense forms. The simplification of the originally more complex past tense system has been claimed to be contact-induced, which is mirrored in the loss of synthetic past tense forms in the linguistic history of German and Slavic. The article verifies the hypothesis according to which the loss of the preterit (i. e. a synthetic past tense form) in Upper German caused the disappearance of synthetic past tense forms, i. e. the aorist and the imperfect, in Slavic, more specifically Slovene. First, the process of the loss of the aorist and the imperfect in three medieval Slovene texts is presented, viz. the Freising Fragments (c. 972–1039), the Klagenfurt/Celovec or Rateče Manuscript (2nd half of the 14th century), and the Castelmonte/Stara Gora Manuscript (end of the 15th century). Second, the use of the preterit and the perfect in the Early New High German text Ain newes lied von den kraynneriſchen bauren (c. 1515) from the South Bavarian-Austrian speech territory, more precisely Lower Styria, is analysed. The historical linguistic analysis of the cited Slovene and German linguistic material (the latter originating from the Slovene linguistic area as well) shows that in medieval Slovene the aorist (and most probably the imperfect, too) was lost no later than by the end of the 15th century, while the formal and semantic distinction between the preterit on one hand and the perfect on the other is still preserved in Early New High German documented in the “Slovene-speaking lands” in the second decade of the 16th century. From these facts one cannot but conclude that the loss of synthetic past tense forms in Slovene could not have been influenced by (the demonstrably later) loss of the preterit in South Bavarian-Austrian German dialects, which were historically (and in some regions still are) in geographical and, consequently, sociolinguistic contact with Slovene.

Stative vs. Eventive Participles in an Arbëresh Variety under the Influence of the Italian Language

In this paper, I explore the properties and the uses of the past participles in the Arbëresh variety of S. Nicola dell’Alto, an Albanian dialect still spoken in Southern Italy, which has been in contact with Italo-Romance varieties for more than five centuries. The data are discussed in comparison to standard Albanian and the contact language, Italian. In Albanian grammar, there is only one type of participle: the past participle. It has both verbal and adjectival properties. As a verbal form, the participle is used in compound and in periphrastic tenses, in combination with both the auxiliaries KAM ‘have’ and JAM ‘be’. It can also be used in combination with other particles to create non-finite verbal forms such as gerund or infinitive or to build up temporal expressions. Finally, it can also be used after some modal impersonal verbs. Verbal participles never show agreement. Albanian participles can also be adjectival. All the adjectives derived by a participial verb take a linking article and always agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, Case and definiteness. The formal distinction of the verbal participles from adjectival participles seems to correlate with the aspectual properties of the construction: a verbal participle appears in eventive structures, whereas an adjectival participle occurs in stative structures. But, as we shall see, this is not always the case. Arbëresh participles have maintained the same morphological and syntactical properties of Albanian. They can be used both in stative and in eventive contexts, but in Arbëresh eventive passives, which are built up as in Italian rather than as in Albanian, the adjectival participles are always inflected. Agreement is obligatory in all the contexts where it is in Italian. This is a clear contact-induced change. The data presented in this paper show that Arbëresh, on the one hand, preserves features of Albanian grammar, whereas, on the other hand, it has undergone changes under the influence of the surrounding Italo-Romance varieties.

Prosodic realization of identification and contrastive focus in Korean multiple accusative constructions

This study investigated how two different kinds of prominence-induced prosodic strengthening, identificational focus and contrastive focus, are phonetically realized in Seoul Korean. In the experiment, 16 native speakers produced target sentences presented in three different prosodic conditions: default reading, NP1-contrast, and NP2-contrast. The production data presented three crucial characteristics in the phonetic manifestations of prominence-induced prosodic strengthening in Seoul Korean. First, identificational focus gave rise to temporal expansion and pitch enhancement over the constructions under the focus. Second, contrastive focus brought about modification of temporal, pitch, and prosodic structures as well as pre- and post-focus compression. Finally, the two different types of prominence marking interacted with each other; the prosodic realization of contrastive focus overrode the prosodic realization of identificational focus, which was in line with the formal (syntactic) distinction of the two types of focus. To conclude, the current study demonstrates the interplay of information structure and discourse contexts in prosodic strengthening effects induced by prominence, especially in Seoul Korean, which lacks lexical stress and pitch accent.

Strawson’s Account of Morality and its Implications for Central Themes in ‘Freedom and Resentment’

Abstract We argue that P. F. Strawson's hugely influential account of moral responsibility in ‘Freedom and Resentment’ (FR) is inextricably bound up with his barely known account of morality in ‘Social Morality and Individual Ideal’ (SMII). Reading FR through the lens of SMII has at least three far-reaching implications. First, the ethics–morality distinction in SMII gives content to Strawson's famous distinction between personal and moral reactive attitudes, which has often been thought to be a merely formal distinction. Second, the ethics–morality distinction sheds light on the scope of moral responsibility in FR, which is narrower than commentators think. Third, Strawson's discussion of morality shows that he was not insensitive to issues of power, as several critics have claimed. The link between morality and power helps to make clear that Strawson allows for criticism of our moral responsibility practices.

Critical Reassessments: “My Heart Laid Bare”: A Deep Rereading of Daniel Hoffman’s Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe

Critical Reassessments: “My Heart Laid Bare”: A Deep Rereading of Daniel Hoffman’s <i>Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe</i>

Diachronic Synodality: Synodality Within Tradition

Diachronic Synodality: Synodality Within Tradition Gregory F. LaNave THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF a “synod on synodality” and the subsequent efforts of dioceses to engage great numbers of the faithful in the preparations give the topic an air of extreme moment. In the West, at least, there has been a temptation to equate synodality with a move toward democratization in the Church—a prospect regarded variously with enthusiasm or dismay. Whether this association is fair or not, it brings to mind a comment G. K. Chesterton made about democracy and tradition: “Democracy tells us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our groom; tradition asks us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our father.”1 Chesterton’s maxim is a fitting thematic statement for this article. Synodality is, arguably, very much of a piece with Tradition within the Christian life. But at the same time, it stands in tension with Tradition—and the primacy of Tradition in its fullest sense must be acknowledged. I. Definitions Aside from the existing documents for the synod on synodality, the most important documents for establishing the meaning and parameters of synodality are (1) Pope Francis’s address commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Synod of Bishops (Oct. 17, 2015); (2) the apostolic constitution [End Page 173] Episcopalis Communio (2018); and (3) the International Theological Commission’s “Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church” (2018).2 While the term “synod” is of ancient origin in the Church— being roughly synonymous with “council”—the noun “synodality,” so ubiquitous now, is a neologism.3 The ITC sees it as springing from the emphasis in the Second Vatican Council on the common mission and destiny of the members of the Church.4 It is well known that the Second Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 spoke of “communion” as the key ecclesiological concept of the council.5 It follows, in the view of the ITC, that one can speak of the way in which the Church lives out the reality of this communion, and this is the meaning of synodality: “In this ecclesiological context, synodality is the specific modus vivendi et operandi of the Church, the People of God, which reveals and gives substance to her being as communion when all her members journey together, gather in assembly and take an active part in her evangelising mission.”6 “Synod” suggests a body gathered to walk a path together,7 and nods toward the good of having a permanent body in the Church dedicated to this “walking together,” such as the Synod of Bishops. “Synodality” emphasizes rather the way in which a gathering of believers would walk together. “Synod” is a thing; “synodality” is a quality. And it is the latter that is particularly emphasized in the current discussions. [End Page 174] For our purposes the above description will suffice as a definition of synodality. A brief description of Tradition is also required, for understanding the relationship of synodality and Tradition requires seeing Tradition in light of its formal distinction from Scripture and the magisterium.8 Christ handed on to the apostles the full revelation of the Gospel, which they passed on to the whole Church. This encompasses “what they themselves had received—whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit” (Dei Verbum, 7).9 Formally, tradition is the handing down of what was received; materially, Tradition is the content of what was received. The preeminent expression of this Tradition is Scripture, the truth of which is guaranteed by the grace of inspiration. The task of authentically—authoritatively—interpreting revelation is “entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone” (DV, 10), that is, the magisterium. But in addition to Scripture and the magisterium we distinguish a wide realm of Tradition, the manifold ways in which the revelation of the Gospel exists and is passed down in the Church. Any way [End Page 175] by which the Gospel is received and passed on can in principle be called part of Tradition. However, it is common to...

Collaboration between social educators and nurses in institutions for persons with disabilities in french-speaking Switzerland

The ageing of people with disabilities and the evolution of their situation imply an increased need for support and care. In institutions for persons with disabilities, social education and health professionals are increasingly called upon to work together within socio-educational teams. This article investigates collaboration between social educators and nurses working in residential social care institutions for persons with disabilities in French-speaking Switzerland. Thirty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with employers, social educators and nurses regarding recruitment practices, the division of labour and collaboration among professionals. Our study pointed out two modalities of division of labour in the participating institutions and the issues they raise: “formal distinction” that involves a difference between social educators and nurses and “no formal distinction” that makes no differences at a formal level between these professional groups. Results also highlight the positive collaboration between social educators and nurses, areas of tension and influences on interprofessional collaboration.

Как менялся подход к переводу «Путешествия в Арзрум» А.С. Пушкина на английский язык

The author compares five English translations of Alexander Pushkin's A Journey to Arzrum that we know now. These are works made by Birgitta Ingemanson (1974), Ronald Wilks (1998), David and Ludmila Matthews (2003), Nicholas Pasternak Slater (2013), and Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (2016). Four of these translations (the latter ones) have not been included into the latest bibliography of English translations and studies of Pushkin's works (1999). The growing number of translations may indicate an increasing interest to A Journey to Arzrum. This study aims to detect the translators' strategies (the level of domestication or foreignization) and their approach to Pushkin's work; to mark the mistakes and inaccuracies, stylistic features, lexical and syntactic peculiarities of translations and differences between them and between them and the original text. The study also shows how the translators' approach to A Journey to Arzrum changed over time. By pointing out all these we can conclude which type of audience suits each translation most and what the general tendency is. In the article the author gives basic information about these translations and their authors and analyze the examples according to the following sections: formal distinctions and main difference in the approaches; toponyms and ethnonyms; exoticisms and direct speech; stylistic peculiarities of the translations (where the author analyzes bigger, complicated, most stylistically expressive fragments of the text and variations in translating names and titles, along with noting syntactic peculiarities). The majority of inaccuracies the author has found come from David and Ludmila Matthews' translation. At the same time this work is the easiest to perceive for broad (especially non-academic) audience or readers that are not well familiar with Russian and Caucasian culture of that period (foreign-language quotes are translated as well as many exoti-cisms etc.). The other translators tend to save accurately the specificities of Pushkin's text and local peculiarities. The author states that, in general, earlier translators chose domestication as a strategy while the later ones preferred foreignization. The highest degree of foreignization in addition to tendency towards maximal figurativeness of the text is observed in Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's version. The latter characteristic sometimes does not clearly match the lucidity of Pushkin's style. Birgitta Ingemanson with rare exceptions shows quite a good balance at this point in her translation. It is also interesting to mention that Nicholas Pasternak Slater tries to correct Pushkin's own inaccuracies. The author concludes that all the translations are done properly. Ingemanson's, Wilks', Pasternak Slater's and Pevear and Volokhonsky's versions are distinguished by a very accurate and thorough approach. However, Matthews' translation is good and unique in terms of accomplishing a specific purpose - being understandable by common readers. This way it serves to the popularization of A Journey to Arzrum among the English-speaking audience.

Вопросы о типах дистинкций. &lt;Вопрос 7&gt;

This publication is a translation of a Latin text by the Franciscan philosopher and theolo­gian of the first third of the 14th century, Petrus Thomae (c. 1280–1340). Petrus Thomae is one of the early followers of the philosophy and theology of John Duns Scotus and probably the most interesting and important metaphysician belonging to the emerging among the Franciscan scholars in the 1310s–1330s “schola Scotica”. We have translated the text of the 7th question from the metaphysical treatise of Petrus Thomae “Questions on the modes of distinctions” (written around 1325). This question is an explication of the concept of “formality” fundamental to the early Scotist tradition and its relation­ship with the metaphysical concept of a thing, as well as an analysis of the problem most discussed among the first followers of Scotus: to what extent the formal distinction (or the distinction between formalities) coincides with or differs from the real distinction as a distinction between different things. Thus, this rather brief question by Petrus is an exploration of a problematic at the heart of the metaphysics and epistemology of the early Scotists, and of paramount importance both for the consideration of questions of scholastic theology and for the philosophical analysis of finite being and its constitu­tion. The translation from Latin was made from the “working edition” of the Latin text of this question prepared by the translator, which was constituted on the basis of a colla­tio of 6 manuscripts of the 14th–15th centuries. The translation is accompanied by a histo­rical and philosophical commentary and preliminary remarks by the translator.

Cyclic Expansion in Agree: Maximal Projections as Probes

When we couple the cyclic expansion of a probe’s domain assumed in Cyclic Agree (Rezac 2003, 2004, Béjar and Rezac 2009) with the lack of formal distinction between heads, intermediate projections, and phrases emphasized in Bare Phrase Structure (Chomsky 1995a,b), an interesting prediction arises. Maximal projections should be able to probe through the same mechanisms that allow intermediate projections to probe in familiar cases of Cyclic Agree. I argue that this prediction is borne out. I analyze agreeing adjunct C in Amahuaca (Panoan; Peru) as a maximal projection that probes its c-command domain in second-cycle Agree. This account derives C’s simultaneous sensitivity to DPs within its own clause and in the clause to which it adjoins. Therefore, I conclude that Amahuaca provides evidence that maximal projections can be probes. The account also yields insight into the syntax of switch-reference in Panoan and beyond.

The Forms of the Indefinite Article in Eastern Armenian Pre-Modern, Early and Colloquial Eastern Armenian Sources

This paper studies the formal distinction of the indefinite article from the quantifier ‘one’ in Early and pre-Modern Armenian texts by three 18‑19th century authors as well as in a colloquial Modern Eastern Armenian dialogue. The key question is whether these sources use the same forms for both functions. The paper gives typological, diachronic, and areal perspectives to the analysis of non-standard data rarely included in discussions of the historical grammar of Armenian. It also touches upon some general issues of grammaticalization of the forms of ‘one’ as an indefinite article and the use of numeral classifiers in colloquial Eastern Armenian.

Variation and change in the formal marking of Khotanese I

Abstract In Khotanese, masculine nominals of the a-declension tend to lose the formal distinction between nominative singular -ä and genitive-dative singular -i. Likewise, the diphthongs ei and ai interchange freely in post-archaic Old Khotanese not only within but also at the end of a word, thus eliminating the distinction between nominative singular -ei and genitive-dative singular -ai of the secondary aa-declension. The aim of this article is to investigate the strategies of formal marking that arose in post-archaic texts in order to differentiate the genitive-dative from the nominative, applying morphological and syntactic criteria.

Label V. Content: The Problem of Non-Recognition of Civil Confiscation Orders in Europe

Abstract The paper discusses the problem of non-recognition of civil confiscation orders in Europe. Despite the breakthrough in international cooperation in the freezing and confiscation of crime proceeds in the criminal law domain, the formal approach in some European states destroys the potential of one of the most advanced instruments against crime proceeds—civil confiscation orders. The study offers a comparative analysis of the concepts of the confiscation of crime proceeds within and outside the frameworks of criminal proceedings. The analysis serves as the basis for the discussion of whether there is reasonable ground for the formal distinction between these concepts. The author concludes that the formal elimination of the civil confiscation orders has no substantial background. The analysis of both extended powers of confiscation in the criminal law domain in Europe and the Lithuanian Law on Civil Confiscation in the light of principles of proportionality and fair proceedings shows that civil confiscation regimes outside the framework of criminal proceedings may provide adequate safeguards to those provided in the confiscation regimes within criminal proceedings. The paper contributes to the discussion that is relevant to any European state that considers enacting or amending the civil confiscation legal framework or the legal regulation on recognising and executing crime proceeds confiscation orders. The paper elaborates on the approach that could enhance cooperation among European states in the prevention of organised crime.

현대판 상소문 &lt;시무 7조&gt;의 향유방식 탐구

The purpose of this study is to suggest the modern way of enjoying digital classic literature contents is explored, focusing on the modern version of the Sangsomun &lt;7 Urgent Issues for Governing(7UIG)&gt;. As a result of the study, first, a petition for &lt;7UIG&gt; in the form of an appeal was uploaded on the media called the National Petition Site for the purpose of criticizing the government’s real estate errors in the context of soaring real estate prices. Second, Jo Eun-san, the main producer, is an ‘ordinary 39-year-old father of two children’. The reproductive entity provided the pleasure of ‘playing with the text’. Third, &lt;7UIG&gt; has permeated people’s minds through the formal distinction meme of ‘Sangsomun’, the associative meme through ‘literary expression’, and the strategic meme of ‘dilemma’ and ‘ambivalence’. As seen in &lt;7UIG&gt;, Sangsomun has a vitality that has been constantly transformed, encompassing the classics and the modern.

Онтологическая конституция вещи как simul totum и учение о дистинкциях в «Метафизике» Николая Бонета

The article examines the doctrine of thing in the “Metaphysics” created in the early 1330s by an original Franciscan theologian and philosopher Nicholas Bonetus. The article points to the historical-philosophical significance of this work. In the scholastic tradition, Bonetus’s “Metaphysics’ is argued to be one of the first large and independent treatises on metaphysics, i.e. it is not related to the tradition of commenting on Aristotle. It is also the first treatise in the history of philosophy under the title “Metaphysics”, named so by the author himself. First, we present the biography of the author of the treatise and briefly characterize the structure of his four-part “Opus philosophicum”, as well as emphasize the importance of the division between metaphysics and natural theology, for the first time in the history of the scholastic tradition not only declared as a project, but also im­plemented by Bonetus. Secondly, we examine the place that book III of the “Meta­physics” occupies in Bonetus’s entire metaphysical treatise, and determine the two main themes of this book: the doctrine of res and the doctrine on distinctions and identities. Thirdly, through the analysis of the Ist and IIIrd books of “Metaphysics” we demonstrate the connection, opposition and partial coincidence of two fundamental concepts of Bone­tus's metaphysics: the concept of being as being and the concept of thing. Additionally, the leading meaning of the concept of a thing as a simul totum, that is, a single “consti­tuted whole” from metaphysical elements (formalities, quidditative and individual differ­encies, intrinsic modes, properties), is clarified. Finally, we analyze the relationship be­tween the doctrine of res and the doctrine on distinctions in Bonetus and explain how the doctrine of real and formal distinction and identity is subordinated to the goal of ana­lytics of the metaphysical “constitution of res” and is built into the treatise on the thing. This, in turn, allows us to conclude that the main difference between the “formalist trea­tise” on distinctions and identities (and this is exactly how the content of the IIIrd book of Bonetus’s “Metaphysics” was perceived in the subsequent Scotist tradition), in com­parison with the corresponding treatises of Francis of Meyronnes and Peter Thomae, is precisely the role of the ontological concept of a thing as a “metaphysical whole” or in­dividual in Bonetus that determines his understanding of “formalities”.

Existential Dualism and Absurdity: Modernist Theatricality in Wole Soyinka’sDeath and the King’s Horsemanand Samuel Beckett’sEndgame

AbstractWole Soyinka and Samuel Beckett apparently occupy distinct places in the literary space, in all ramifications. Specifically, while the former’s dramaturgy is definable within the context of the traditional convention of playwriting, otherwise known as well-made plays, the latter is inherently non-conformist in this regard. Hence, the effort in this paper was to locate a nexus in their writings, using two of their plays,Death and the King’s HorsemanandEndgame, respectively. Theatre of the Absurd, as an offshoot of existentialism, provided the ground for the critical intersection of philosophical and ideological geometry of the two plays. The critical paradigm essentially relied on the interconnectivity of absurdist writings and existentialist thoughts, as the holistic context which fundamentally defines modernism, to assess what is conceived as modernist theatricality in the two plays. Building on the modernists’ interrogation of man’s existence and essence in the world in which existential meaning is presumably lost, the paper concluded that the two texts are largely intoned with modernist thoughts, regardless of their formal or structural distinction. It arrived at this by placing particular emphasis on the playwrights’ attempts, in these works, at demanding a more spontaneous response to the question of the essence of the individual and his/her place in the universe in which meaning in existence, in the modernist sense, is believed to have been lost.

Measures of Restraint: The Remaking of Carceral Space in the Postwar United States

This article describes how architects working for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons developed a universal technical vocabulary for prison construction in the years following the end of the Second World War. Employing the neutral, streamlined aesthetic and advanced techniques of contemporary architecture, the new style negated the traditional formal distinction between the prison and extra-institutional space. Penal reformers celebrated the new institutions as signifying a shift away from the brutal, dreary institutions of the last century toward a more humane, efficient system of penal treatment. The neutralization of the prison, however, belied the subsumption of carceral violence into the form of the institution itself. The technical decomposition of the human form in contemporary design practice refigured punishment as a series of gradually intensifying strictures.

Die Morphologie der Verben für “sitzen” und “stehen” in den oberägyptischen koptischen Dialekten

Summary Unlike the principal Coptic dialects Sahidic and Bohairic, in which the two verbs for “to sit” and “to stand” possess just a single form each, the Southern Coptic dialects (Akhmimic, Lycopolitan, dialect P) have preserved a formal distinction between the infinitive and the stative in both verbs. This information remains hidden in a few text editions, is not widely known and not reflected in current handbooks. The present paper traces the original morphological distinction for both verbs in the major textual witnesses of the South, as well as the progressive morphological collapse that lead to the uniform shapes of these verbs in the dominant dialects. Finally, an etymology is suggested for the puzzling Sahidic standard form ϩⲙⲟⲟⲥ “to sit”.

The Seeds of the Noun–Verb Distinction in the Manual Modality: Improvisation and Interaction in the Emergence of Grammatical Categories

The noun–verb distinction has long been considered a fundamental property of human language, and has been found in some form even in the earliest stages of language emergence, including homesign and the early generations of emerging sign languages. We present two experimental studies that use silent gesture to investigate how noun–verb distinctions develop in the manual modality through two key processes: (i) improvising using novel signals by individuals, and (ii) using those signals in the interaction between communicators. We operationalise communicative interaction in two ways: a setting in which members of the dyad were in separate booths and were given a comprehension test after each stimulus vs. a more naturalistic face-to-face conversation without comprehension checks. There were few differences between the two conditions, highlighting the robustness of the paradigm. Our findings from both experiments reflect patterns found in naturally emerging sign languages. Some formal distinctions arise in the earliest stages of improvisation and do not require interaction to develop. However, the full range of formal distinctions between nouns and verbs found in naturally emerging language did not appear with either improvisation or interaction, suggesting that transmitting the language to a new generation of learners might be necessary for these properties to emerge.