REVEALING THE INVISIBLE: GREGORY OF NYSSA ON THE GIFT OF REVELATION

In this essay, Gregory of Nyssa is used as a foil against both John Milbank and Jean‐Luc Marion in order to take a fresh approach to the debate on the “gift” and the theological ramifications for the structure of giving. There is a complexity to Gregory's thought on gift which has not been adequately captured by either contemporary thinkers. With an understanding of giving which both enables and nullifies human generosity and calculation, and a construal of revelation as God's gift to creation by which one both receives and simultaneously endlessly seeks out a vision of the invisible, Gregory holds together in creative tension the very aspects which mark the difference between Milbank and Marion: economy and gratuitousness, participation and passive receptivity.     

THE ANTEROOM: A CAMERA OBSCURA FOR GRASPING ASPECTS INVISIBLE IN THE CLASSICAL SETTING

The anteroom ¹ , ² is not only an architectural space, but also a location in the field where analyst and patient meet in a different frame of mind from the therapeutic attitude that characterizes their relationship in the consulting room. Drawing a parallel with the variations in perception generated by the camera obscura in the experience of a painter, the author investigates how new aspects of the conscious and unconscious relationship between analyst and patient can emerge within a different setting. Observation of these variations suggests the possibility of regarding the setting no longer as an invariant of the field, but instead as one of the factors that can actively mold the analytic relationship.     

WHEN THE ANTIDOTE IS THE POISON:

Abstract— The theory of ironic processes of mental control holds that both the most and the least desired effects of attempts to control one's own mental states accrue from two processes an intentional operating process (a conscious, effortful search for mental contents that mil produce a desired slate of mind) and an ironic monitoring process (an unconscious, automatic search for mental contents that signal a failure lo produce the desired Mate of mind) Although the monitoring process usually functions just to activate the operating process, during stress distraction, time urgency, or other mental load, the monitor's effects on mind can supersede those of the operator, producing the very state of mind that is least desired An individual's attempts lo gain mental control may thus precipitate the unwanted mental states.     

THE PINK DRAGON IS FEMALE

A content analysis of 469 children's Halloween costumes explored the extent to which children's fantasy dress reproduces and reiterates more conventional messages about gender. Based on the presence of gender markers, masculine, feminine, and gender-neutral costumes were identified and reanalyzed using a modified version of Klapp's (1962) categorization of heroes, villains, and fools. Both male and female costumes contained a high proportion of hero costumes. However, feminine costumes were clustered in a narrow range depicting beauty queens, princesses, and other exemplars of traditional femininity and contained a higher proportion of costumes of animals and foodstuffs. Masculine costumes emphasized the warrior theme of masculinity and were more likely to feature villains, especially agents or symbols of death. Gender-neutral costumes accounted for less than 10% of costumes examined.     

COHERENCE: THE PRICE IS RIGHT

This article is a response to Elijah Millgram's argument that my characterization of coherence as constraint satisfaction is inadequate for philosophical purposes because it provides no guarantee that the most coherent theory available will be true. I argue that the constraint satisfaction account of coherence satisfies the philosophical, computational, and psychological prerequisites for the development of epistemological and ethical theories.     

THE INADEQUACY OF PARAPHRASE IS THE DOGMA OF METAPHOR

Philosophers have alleged that paraphrases of metaphors are inadequate. They have presented this inadequacy as a datum predicted by, and thus a reason to accept, particular accounts of ‘metaphorical meanings.’ But to what, specifically, does this inadequacy claim amount? I argue that, if this assumption is to have any bearing on the metaphor debate, it must be construed as the comparative claim that paraphrases of metaphors are inadequate compared to paraphrases of literal utterances. But the evidence philosophers have offered does not support the comparative inadequacy of paraphrases of metaphors. I offer my own empirical evidence against the inadequacy assumption.     

TELESCOPE + MIRROR = REFLECTIONS ON THE COSMOS: UMBERTO ECO AND THE IMAGE OF RELIGION

Umberto Eco argues that a mirror image is not a sign. At best it is a double, a thing that ceases to be once the reflected object is removed. Harry Mulisch narratively suggests that mirror images function metaphorically as gateways between human suffering and the divine. And interestingly, science employs mirrors and mirror images both to turn our gaze upwards and to show us reflections of our place in the cosmos. Tying together Eco's notion of the double, Mulisch's insistence that mirror images reflect humanity's construction of the divine, and the Giant Magellan Telescope Project's cosmic images, it is my contention that modern, telescopic mirror images are much more than snapshots of the cosmos. They are constructions of human and divine meaning that—signifying—pose the question, what is reflected: the cosmos or humanity?