Ontological Meaning Research Articles

Floral Borders: Physical and Semiotic Uprooting in Taryn Simon’s Paperwork and the Will of Capital (2015)

An exposé of the “stagecraft” and performance of politics, the multimedia series Paperwork and the Will of Capital (2015) sees American artist Taryn Simon recreate the floral arrangements displayed at thirty-six political treatise signings involving countries present at the 1944 United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, which responded to economic globalization, establishing the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In citing the Dutch Golden Age 'impossible bouquet' as Paperwork’s historical precursor, Simon sets the cash-led movement of flowers in relation to the contents of the featured political treatises: the forced, cash-led movement of people, the reclassification of humans as goods, and the prioritization of economic benefit over the imbricated concerns of human lives and environmental sustainability. This paper examines Simon's articulation of the implications of 'fake nature,' of an anthropocentric era of capitalism and global environmental crisis wherein human and nonhuman beings are divorced of their ontological meanings and reassigned artificial values.

Поэт как субъект языка: онтологические основания знаков и трендовые значения социума

The article reveals the problem of the ontological meaning of the life and functioning of the poet in its relationship with the communicative practices of contemporary global world. As a result of comparing the two ways of thought (globalism — antiglobalism, traditionalism — neoliberalism, modern — postmodern), the authors come to a preliminary conclusion that it is unacceptable for the creative industries of branding and PR to displace ontological adequations of poetic values as a part of classic art. The article clearly differentiates the concept of symbolic identity and the category of existential selfhood of a poet - poet as a PR hero and poet as a subject of language as a house of being. We make a hypothesis about a possibility of rational reconciliation of the priorities of the academic tradition as an inalienable context of the aesthetic value of art-work and postmodern digital technologies of art-promotion (including network platforms in the aspect of exclusively their correlation as the aim and maens: the ontology is primary strategy and the representation is secondary tactics. The methodological tool for the substantiating of this hypothesis is the idea of a structural balance between the vertical centripetal dynamic axis of the paradigm (metaphor) and the horizontal centrifugal static axis of the syntagma (metonymy) in classical semiotics. Within the frames of the signifier and signified as the Selfness and the Other, dynamics and statics, history and structure, imagine ideal meanings pass into a real-symbolic language, focusing in the inner world of the poet, turning personal creativity into the property of cultural memory. Thus, the hypothesis is confirmed through a synthesis of classical semiotics and non-classical psychoanalysis. If we liken the semiotic axes of intersection of vertical and horizontal to the R. Descartes coordinate system, the point of intersection of horizontal and vertical turns out to be a poet who translates personal metaphors into cultural-semantic invariants, replenishing the civilizational memory of culture, confirming his existential value, which is different from his or her purely communicative image. From a philosophical point of view, the article analyzes the concept of a poet's status as his/her existential state in comparison with criticism of symbolic capital (prestige, reputation, brand).

Impact of the idea of simple universal language for description of the world and “calculation of thinking” upon emergence of the project of Internet

The subject of this research is the idea of simple universal language for description of the world in its relation to the so-called calculative thinking. The idea of simple universal language became one of the core philosophical ideas that led to the emergence of the project of Internet. Most remarkable incarnation of the idea became the Characteristica universalis of Leibniz, intended as a project for clarification of the precise names of things in existence. Development of the project led Leibniz to the work with binary calculation, which is imparted with ontological meaning within the framework of correspondence of the philosopher with the missionary in China – Father Bouvet. The article analyzes the critical perspective upon Leibniz's philosophy as the representative of the new European calculative thinking. Research methodology is based on the correspondence of Leibniz and Father Bouvet, as well as retrospective analysis of evolution of the idea of universal language. The main conclusion consists in the thought that the idea of creation of simple universal language for describing the world through the number of historical interactions strongly affected origination of the Internet. Leibniz brings under deliberation the binary system of calculation, which he considers ontological and reflects the divine harmony of the world. The article also examines the criticism towards calculative new European thinking, formulating a conclusion that the attempt to replace reasoning with calculations and formalization does not always mean leveling things in existence to the state of objects, but rather represents one of the core vectors of thinking of the European man, and is associated with the ideas on the “great chain of existence”, completeness and continuity of all in the world.

Poetics of Magical Realism in Sarah Ruhl’s сomedy “The Clean House”

The article examines the features of magical realism as a direction of literature, as well as some of the characteristic features of American drama. The history of performances of the play “The Clean House” by the American playwright Sarah Ruhl is presented in the paper, and also a brief overview of critical articles about these theatrical performances is offered. The study proves that the play "The Clean House" can be viewed in the context of magical realism, based on a number of characteristic features, such as metaphysics, conventionality, rejection of psychological explanations of the characters’ actions, the presence of two realities, distortion of space and time, existential problems. It is noted that these features are manifested at the level of compositional construction, speech organization of the play, chronotope, content. It is shown that a metaphysically closed space is materially open, and time in the play is leveled, stopped and determined by the subjective experiences of the characters. Laughter is nominated as the key concept of the play, linking the spatio-temporal organization of the text with its ontological content since through laughter the idea of the immortality of the heroes’ love, which acquires a sacred meaning is affirmed in the play. It is emphasized that the poetics of the “magical” makes it possible to realize the ontological or existential meaning of the play, to show the coexistence of the miraculous and the ordinary.

On Decolonizing the Anthropocene: Disobedience via Plural Constitutions

This article mobilizes a decolonial critique of the Anthropocene. It argues for a certain epistemic disobedience to what, conceptually and politically, the Anthropocene seeks to legitimate. The article counterposes recent critical and global governance epistemologies, which summon the Anthropocene as a new humanist and statist moment for universal politics, against plural, parochial forms of relational, nonstatist affirmation. Hegemonic governance imaginaries that invoke universalist and naturalizing rationales are shown to reproduce colonial logics. The article argues for marginalized and systematically ignored forms of earthbound relationality that evidence long-standing political and ontological means for responding to modernity’s ecological and social harms. Earthbound and rooted life worlds can affirm ecological responsibility and coconstitution otherwise. Two examples are presented: one from Afro-Caribbean geographies and another from Anishinaabe legal scholarship. Together they evidence enduring ecological reciprocities that unsettle and refuse the totalizing rationalities invoked by Anthropocene horizons.

Reconstruction of Creative History of Poem by M. Yu. Lermontov “They Loved Each Other for so Long and Dearly...” (1841) as a Way of Understanding the Meaning of Text

Dynamic poetics is analyzed - from draft to clean manuscript - the poem by M. Yu. Lermontov “They loved each other for so long and dearly ...” (1841), which is a free translation of the poem by H. Heine. Based on a comparison of the transcription of clean manuscript and two draft manuscripts of the poem, as well as the source - the German text - Lermontov’s creative process, his work on choosing the exact word and creating an integral artistic image is reconstructed. The article outlines the causes and mechanisms of Lermontov’s textual corrections that help to understand the movement of author’s thought. The process of Lermontov’s work on the text is associated with the emotional saturation of the “skeletal part” of a German source. Based on the textual analysis of the manuscripts of Lermontov’s poem from the “Notebook presented by V. F. Odoyevsky”, the semantic transformation of the source of the poem is traced, the process of enhancing the tragedy of the text achieved through its openness to eternity is revealed. The relevance of the problem is seen in the need to clarify the originality of the artistic imagery of Lermontov’s poem, to identify the reasons for the strength of its aesthetic impact on the reader, as well as the ontological meaning of the text. The semantic evidence of the text is revealed in the need for direct relations “here and now”, in understanding eternal life as a continuation of the mortal life. The novelty of the study has a factual (for the first time the creative process of composing a poem is presented in as much detail as possible) and interpretative in nature, associated with the refinement of Lermontov's worldview.

Avicenna’s Proof for God’s Existence: the Proof from Ontological Considerations

This paper argues that there is only one proof for God’s existence in Avicenna, and only one way for establishing the proof within his metaphysical system. This metaphysical proof is essentially derived from a priori notions, among which the notion of existence (wujūd) has the central role. Avicenna’s proof is structured in such a way that all its concepts are either derived from the meaning of ‘existence’ or are connected with this meaning. In this sense Avicenna’s proof sets out a scenario of discursive a priori knowledge established purely on considerations of fundamental ontological meanings such as ‘existence’, ‘existent’, ‘thing’, ‘necessary’, ‘possible’, ‘impossible’, ‘one’ and ‘cause’.

Heidegger’s understanding of the relation between his ontological concept of ‘being-guilty’ and Luther’s theological concept of ‘sin’

ABSTRACTIn his 1927 lecture ‘Phenomenology and Theology’, Heidegger claims that philosophy is the formally indicative ontological co-direction [Mitleitung] of basic theological concepts. For this claim, he proposes the example of his ontological concept of guilt (i.e. ‘being-guilty’ [Schuldigsein]) as a formal indication [formale Anzeige] which functions as a co-direction for the theological concept of sin. This paper examines how ‘being-guilty’ and ‘sin’ can be related in this way. First, I introduce Heidegger’s notion of formal indication. Next, I explore the ontological meaning of ‘being-guilty’ in Being and Time. Then, I investigate the theological issue of sin with reference to Heidegger’s reading of Luther. Finally, I argue for the cogency of Heidegger’s claim by demonstrating the way in which ‘being-guilty’ can formally indicate and co-direct the meaning of ‘sin’.

The Problem of the Dynamic Auxiliary “Guo” in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

In Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, the Chinese dynamic auxiliary Zhe, Le and Guo are the most distinctive ones, among which the dynamic auxiliary Guo is the teaching emphasis and also the teaching difficulty. The dynamic auxiliary Guo is not only difficult to grasp its function and usage in the process of studying for foreign students, but also various kinds of errors often appear in the process of its practical application. For this reason, we have consciously collected various kinds of language materials in our teaching. The ontological meaning, such as the basic meaning, the functional meaning and the pragmatic meaning, the characteristics of the types of errors and the subjective and objective causes are discussed and analyzed, according to the personal experience of teaching practice, some constructive suggestions are put forward for reference.

Semi-Automatic Definition of Attribute Semantics for the Purpose of Ontology Integration

By ontology, we understand a knowledge structure which well reflects the complexity of a real world. Ontologies are built to store and process knowledge about objects and dependencies between them. Thus, ontologies not only structure raw data, but also contain the meaning of those data. So far, ontology developers have been forced to provide the semantics of modeled objects and relations between them manually. The goal of this paper is to address some still unresolved problems related to providing meanings in ontologies. A typical ontology consists of concepts with attributes, relations between them, and instances. In our research, we focus on concepts level where attributes must be interpretable because they are the primary carriers of the meaning of the entire ontology. In other words, we need to assign semantics for each attribute within a concept. For this purpose, we have proposed a semi-automatic method for defining attribute semantics based on WordNet. The attribute semantics designated by human experts and based on WordNet does not affect the integration result. However, the developed method allows reducing the time for preparing an ontology to the integration process. What is more, it is less sensitive to the subjective evaluations done by experts.

«Иное»: ноэсис и онтология («Софист» 255c8–d7)

The article provides a commentary on the “Sophist” 255c8–d7, where a question arises, whether it is necessary to introduce the eidos “Other” after the justification of Movement, Rest, Being, and Same as separate genera. In the discussion of the Other, two more eide resurface, τὰ αὐτὰ καθ' αὑτά and τὰ δὲ πρὸς ἄλλα, whose logical necessity in the course of the discussion stays in doubt. The question is raised, why was it necessary to introduce these types of being when discussing the genus of the “Other”? A brief summary of modern approaches to the passage is given; thereupon the ontological meaning of these eide is examined on the example of several Plato’s dialogues (“Phaedo”, “Symposium”, “Republic”, “Philebus”). Consulting the “Timaeus” allows us to show how these eide, in the form of two main genera (“paradigm” and “imprint”), relate to the division of existence into “self” and “reflection” in the “Sophist” (266a8–c4), and the third genus, “chora”, to the “nature of the Other” in the “Sophist”. The closeness of the descriptions of “chora” in the “Timaeus” with being figuring as Other in the analyzed passage from the “Sophist”, is reinforced by the description of being as Other in the “Parmenides”. It is concluded that the unexpected inclusion in the discussion of the five great genera of the two main eide of being indicates the ontological status of the “noetic whole” described through the interaction of the five great genera. In the final part of the paper, it is shown that the World Soul in the “Timaeus” is a “three-dimensional” cosmological image of the “noetic quintet” of the “Sophist”, which can probably explain the unnecessary, at first glance, inclusion of two ontological eide, τὰ αὐτὰ καθ' αὑτά and τὰ δὲ πρὸς ἄλλα, in the logical reasoning about the need for a genus of the “Other”.

L’ordine della natura e la struttura del linguaggio

In this paper the relationship between the issue of induction and the patterns of communication will be inquired. The basic idea is that the process of communication is intrinsically linked with the use of the topic-comment structure, and this linguistic pattern conducts the human mind to retain that the reality is ontologically organized in substances (or individuals) and accidents (or more generally, properties). It is proposed that the ontological meaning of the laws of nature can be better explained by the attempt to show that other patterns of thought are available. So it will be proposed a semantics that is based more substantially on names, and not on propositions or topic-comment structures. Our instinctive trust in laws of nature is interpreted as the consequence of the ontological connections between the respective references of the names. Some ideas of Emanuele Severino are put in comparison with this theoretical sketch.

A new understanding of superposition, quantum objects and the universe, the discreteness of space and time and finally, some relief for Schrödinger's cat

Quantum theory is extremely successful in describing the micro cosmos. The caveat is that nobody knows what quantum objects really are. Consequently, the intention of this article is not to introduce any new formalism but to develop some ideas about the ontological meaning of quantum theory. The centerpiece of quantum theory, the Schrödinger equation, requires a deterministic development of quantum systems; measurements however show an indeterministic distribution of measurement values. All previous interpretations of quantum theory are dubious. Here we will present a new understanding of one of the key features of quantum theory, namely, of superposition. Contrary to the previous understanding of the concept, we assume that superposition represents an oscillation between different states. This will lead to a completely new understanding of the universe and of quantum objects. Quantum objects are no longer considered to be elements in space, rather they are considered to be properties of space, namely, possibilities for interaction. The new understanding also leads to the conclusion that space and time are discrete. This entirely new concept will finally provide some relief for Schrödinger's cat.

КОНЦЕПТ «КРАСОТА» В РАССКАЗЕ Ю. В. БУЙДЫ «ЛА ТУНЬ»

The article examines the conceptualization of the aesthetic concept “beauty” by the material of the story “La Tun” of the famous modern prose-writer, laureate of prestigious literary awards Yury Vasilyevich Buida. The paper reveals the author’s original techniques to emphasize ontological and axiological meaning of the “beauty” concept (mythological symbolism and folkloric attribution), identifies the specificity of its figurative representation (beautiful Chinese woman La Tun as a model of beauty); considers semantic structure of the aesthetic constant (semantic nucleus - the category of “beauty” - and peripheral components represented through details). The “beauty” concept is formed through cultural reflection in the context of human existence, in which an individual’s life is an element of universal existence. Marginal personages’ existential experience is carnivalized by means of the ambivalence principle. As a result, the opposition “real - illusionary” acquires ontological meaning. Buida develops the image of brass (“latun” in Russian) beauty as false harmony contrasting the established conception of beauty expressed by the “golden section” formula.

Problematika Ontologis Pendidikan Islam

Theefforts to understand ontological meaning of Islamic education are not easy, furthermore the nature of Islamic education meaning is intended as an abstraction integrity of meaning that is accepted ideological, theoretical, and empirical. The existence of Islamic education is always in contact and grappling with the reality surrounding them. In historical perspective, the struggle between Islamic educations with socio-cultural realities faces two possibilities: influences or is influenced. The consequence is that Islamic education can be defined as a process of enculturation and or facilitation efforts (medium). If referring to the terms of Islam, Islamic education is personified to the term attarbiyah, at-ta'lim, at-ta'dib and ar-riyadah. Each of these terms has different accentuation meanings although it has the same outline. In understanding Islamic education, basic education and its goal formulation becomes noteworthy. Since the basis and purpose of demarcation will distinguish with other educations.

Semantic Search Tools Based on Ontological Representations of Documentary Information

Ontological means of identification and representation of text documents semantics in relation to the problems of interactive information retrieval are considered. The implementations of ontologies operations are presented, which allow forming images of new meanings in the subject area. Taxonomies of relations (paradigmatic and syntagmatic) and entities (polythematic thesaurus of concepts) are used to perform operations, as well as to identify fuzzy relationships (in the case when entities and relationships are specified at different levels of generality and/or expressed by different linguistic constructions). Interactive tools are proposed that use the operation of constructing aspect projections for graph representations of ontologies, which make it possible to reduce the dimension of the graph to a level acceptable from the point of view of display and perception. The possibilities of context-based use of entities and relationships for the development of the search process are considered. This paper discuses the use of ontology graphs of organizational processes as a “navigation map” that provides new entry points in the graphical interface, that is, objects that will be contextually defined patterns of search queries in similarity selection tasks or expert analysis tasks. This allows one not only to increase the completeness and accuracy of information retrieval, but also to make the scheme of search navigation more natural, bringing it closer to the schemes of understanding and synthesis of knowledge.

Rethinking the biographical canon: Silences and gaps in Colm Tóibín’s "The Master"

Over the last number of decades, the biographical canon has become the focus of scholarly attention for several reasons: revision of the essential concepts of (self)-identity, keen interest in liminal literary forms, searches for new forms of assessment of the artist’s creative output and new interpretive methodologies. Biofiction as a genre encompassing both documentary and fictional elements represents not only the biographical subject proper but also the author’s subjective orientation. The case study of a recent biofiction about Henry James (“The Master” by the Irish gay writer Colm Tóibín) suggests that silence as a semiotic practice and cognitive failure plays an important role in this particular example of the numerous biographies of James and functions not to uncover the sites of suppression of a presumably gay protagonist but acquires a universal, ontological meaning, signifying the fatal solitude of the artist, which is very close to the main credo of James’ own writing.

여행 서사에 나타난 우연성의 양태에 관한 담론

This study examined serendipity that provides admiration, happiness, and continuity of happiness in travel. To this end, we used the concept and system of the contingency presented by Kuki Shuzo, “What is the contingency?” Kuki shuzo categorized the contingency into largely categorical contingency, hypothetical contingency, and disjunctive contingency. Hypothetical contingency is classified as reasonal contingency, causal contingency, and objective contingency. The coincidence in everyday life starts from categorical contingency and a reasonal chance, and a causal contingency and a causal contingency are combined with a simultaneity and the instrumentality. In this process, we are characterized by giving a nobleness while contemplating ontological meaning. Also, causal contingency and objective contingency were combined with causal inevitability or objective inevitability, resulting in the admiration of fate. Travel becomes an unfamiliar environment, making us unpredictable, focusing on the present moment, and not knowing the cause or purpose of the situation that occurs, we feel a kind of inevitable sense of awe. Travel thus provides an optimal environment for serendipity. It also suggests that it is appropriate to travel improvisedly or travel alone in order to experience more serendipity in travel.

BIM PROCESS, ONTOLOGIES AND INTERCHANGE PLATFORM FOR CULTURAL ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT: STATE OF ART AND DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

Abstract. Ontology meaning and its declination in computer science are defined in the contribution. Some experiences of using ontologies for Cultural Heritage frame the state of the art. Specific ontologies for the conservation process allows the definition of classes and their description through attributes. Subjects, means, tools, relationships, and planning of activities, times and costs are included in the process. Ontologies so defined are also the basis for the definition of an interoperability protocol for Cultural Heritage. Interoperability means exchange among the tools, with the guarantee that data and meanings transmitted are correctly interpreted by the receiving system. The paper proposes the kind of informative model for built heritage. Defining the basis for ontologies is the goal. The flow of information in a Common Data Environment, a data exchange platform, is necessary to ensure proper data and process management.

El habitar en altura en la Córdoba moderna del siglo XX

El presente artículo expone reflexiones acerca de las tipologías residenciales colectivas que durante las primeras décadas del siglo XX se crearon en Argentina, particularmente en la ciudad de Córdoba, a partir de procesos de transculturación de modelos del Movimiento Moderno procedentes de realidades europeas. La temática se aborda desde el significado ontológico del habitar, para ordenar luego la vivienda en altura en clasificaciones de tiempo y espacio en que el interés particular se acentúa en el componente antropológico y geográfico latinoamericano. Las propuestas logradas reflejan cómo las búsquedas se adaptan a los modelos universales o generan reelaboraciones propias para conferirles un carácter singular y regional, en medio de un fenómeno de modernización definido por nuevos modos de vida, nueva cultura urbana y nuevas condicionantes del habitar.