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In Katell Quillévéré's Réparer les vivants (2016), based on Maylis de Kerangal's best-selling novel, a fatal road accident after a surfing trip leaves Simon Limbres (Gabin Verdet) braindead. His vital organs will be donated, and his heart transplanted into Claire Méjean (Anne Dorval). These grave events shape the film's narrative arc, with the heart connecting Simon's death to Claire's rebirth. Yet this heart transplant film is indebted to a more archaic, elemental connectivity between the heart and the sea, blood and seawater, recognised variously from Galen to René Quinton and beyond. A fusion of the elements of air and water with breath positions the film distinctively in relation to scholarship on the elements and on breathing in film and media studies, inviting its watery bonds to be theorised anew. Engaging with such research before drawing upon Gilles Deleuze's writings on the fold and film scholarship indebted to his work, this article explores how the film's narrative is enfolded into tight formal bonds with the elements, air and water in particular. The lifeblood of this film and its affective heart emerge through myriad folds of foaming, curving waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author explores the revisionary implications of nonhuman animals from a Buddhist perspective. He discusses assumption of rebirth from traditional and nontraditional Buddhist perspectives, the three theses in animal ethics accepted by the majority, and the promotion of animal welfare on from a traditional Buddhist perspective.

Wulfila (c. 311–c. 383) translated the Bible into Gothic, creating the first literary text in a Germanic language. His biography is contested; his parentage, place of birth, episcopal consecration, and theological position are all disputed. The fourth century saw heated debates about the Trinity, and the Goths were often termed 'Arians', despite the fact that the teachings of the African presbyter Arius (c. 256–336) were not directly transmitted to them. This article notes a rebirth of interest in Wulfila, his mission, and the Gothic Bible, employing the notion that 'Homoian' (a more neutral term than 'Arian') theology was a possible bridge between Catholic monotheism and Gothic polytheism as the starting point for a re-examination of Wulfila's evangelism as both an imperially mandated strategy and the creation of a route into civilization and modernity for the Goths. Christianity was modern and fashionable in the fourth century; Germanic tribes wishing to abandon their status as pagani (rustics) or heathens (heath-dwellers, not civilized city dwellers), viewed conversion as a move 'up'. The Gothic Bible played a role in developing Gothic literacy, but was also a magical object, the first of its kind, a book/roadmap for a people undergoing a great cultural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alleged practices of magical assault and vampirism are a recurrent feature of popular explanations of misfortune in Tuva, South Siberia. Based on a field study of healing practices in an "Association of Shamans", this article analyses rituals of redressing curse afflictions in the context of Russian political domination. A central purpose of this discussion is to foreground the centrality of kinds of parasitical worship and occult threat to structures of political power in—and beyond—the territory of Tuva. Focusing on a "cursescape", which develops from the combative practices of shamans, occult specialists, and office-holders, the article probes a repertoire of shamanic healing symbols. It is argued that healing efficacy is constructed in the process of engaging with hunting symbols and animal spirits, which appear in Indigenous Siberian cosmologies. The analysis shows that ideas of ritual risk underpin the process of symbolic resolution. Whereas shamanic practices provide refuge to spirits evicted from their natural landscapes, Tibetan Buddhism—the unifying religion of Tuva—offers an alternative path of healing the effects of the shamans' propagation of spirits. The article highlights indigenous perceptions of a "cursed" landscape as a space where the agencies of "darkness" and their political sponsors are confronted with an emancipating religious modality emerging from local Buddhist rituals. The analysis displays the unsolved drama of itinerant spirits and shamanic ancestral souls, whose agency is revealed through successive—yet inauspicious—forms of reincarnation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the presence of classical references, particularly the myth of Diana and Actaeon, in Shakespeare's Cymbeline and its connections to themes of reading, writing, and publishing. Topics include the play's engagement with Ovidian myths, the symbolic rebirth in the final act, and the positioning of Cymbeline as a conclusion to the First Folio.

The article analyzes the novel "Metempsychosis" by Rodrigo Rey Rosa as a continuation of his previous work. The novel tells the story of a narrator who loses his memory and is interned in a psychiatric clinic in Greece. Through narratives of different authorships, themes such as identity, madness, and reincarnation are explored. The story follows Ranke, who falls in love with a Waziri refugee named Jaín, but the version of his fate differs in the "Author's Note". The novel presents an authorial game between the narrators Rey Rosa and Rupert Ranke and questions reality without offering clear answers. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines personal names derived from traditional religious beliefs and practices among the Erei people in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State in South-South, Nigeria while utilising insights from the multidisciplinary inferences of socio-onomastic theory to account for the cultural, social and situational contexts that create the religious content of the names. Data were obtained by means of participant observation and semi-structured interviews during six months of fieldwork involving 40 participants who were the name-givers, name-bearers and name-users. Our findings highlight the socio-onomastic tradition of Erei people in which personal names are bestowed through a conscious application of symbolic linguistic resources to express and perform ideologies and identities that are rooted in the traditional religion's foundations and sociocultural practices that represent Erei people's indigenous beliefs system and spiritual worldview. Focused on the ideals of African traditional religion, religious identities are constructed through the use of personal names related to idol worship, the mysteries of death, reincarnation and commemoration, cultural festivals and performances, symbolic objects, familial rankings and other aspects derived from their environment that also bear traditional religious significance. And because this set of personal names is now predominant among the ageing population and is losing contemporaneity due to an increasing subpopulation with a new (Christian) beliefs system, this study serves to preserve a transiting and endangered Erei socio-onomastic practice that represents the people's traditional cosmology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: An important part of Zoroastrian religious narratives deals with Iranian myths. Myths that have always occupied a fundamental and influential part of the human mind. In fact, understanding and knowing the myths is understanding and knowing the foundations of human civilization and culture. Psychological analysis is one of the most up-to-date methods of understanding myths. Since myths are the secret and oldest collection of human life experiences, the process and result of this analysis will be the correct understanding of the human psyche and thought, and ultimately the correction of human individual and social life. Using Jung's psychological theory, the current research explores the archetype of the early human being and analyzes and investigates the myth of creation in Iranian mythology with the focus on "Keyumars". The research method is qualitative and the analysis approach is analytical mythology. In reconstruction the myth of human creation, this article relies on the Zoroastrian religious texts and ancient and Middle Iranian sources. In this research, we will show that according to the myth of Keyumars, the belief of the first humans will be established, because they believed that Keyumars is a manifestation of the process of turning a perfect human into an earthly human and the descent of God from his form into a representative and, in fact, into a humangod being. The story of Keyumars is a wonderful story of the mystery of rebirth, which will manifest after expansion of the personality and metamorphosis of the soul. Therefore, every rebirth means a return to the origin and the re-creation of cosmic birth, and the story of Keyumars is a narration of the mystery of re-creation that follows the metamorphosis and transformation of the soul. An important part of Zoroastrian religious narratives deals with Iranian myths. In fact, understanding and knowing the myths is understanding and knowing the foundations of human civilization and culture. Psychological analysis is one of the most up-to-date methods of understanding myths. Since myths are the secret and oldest collection of human life experiences, the process and result of this analysis will be the correct understanding of the human psyche and thought, and ultimately the correction of human individual and social life. Using Jung's psychological theory, the current research explores the archetype of the early human being and analyzes and investigates the myth of creation in Iranian mythology with the focus on "Keyumars". The research method is qualitative and the analysis approach is analytical mythology. In reconstruction the myth of human creation, this article relies on the Zoroastrian religious texts and ancient and Middle Iranian sources. In this research, we will show that according to the myth of Keyumars, the belief of the first humans will be established, because they believed that Keyumars is a manifestation of the process of turning a perfect human into an earthly human and the descent of God from his form into a representative and, in fact, into a human-god being. The story of the first human in Zoroastrian religion in not only a narration of the beginning of life, but also expresses the goal and purpose of creation. Keyumars is an example to express all the human giants of God and superheroes, because according to the texts, he is better than everything and everyone and should be seen in the future in human society. Results: The story of creation forms an important part of mythology. In this regard, the story of the creation of human being and the myth of the first human are very important; Therefore, if we consider myths as the theoretical or believable aspect of religion and consider religion as a model and plan for all actions and daily affairs for the people of ancient times, the value of these things will be the repetition and imitation of the initial action; An act that God or a warrior did at the beginning of time. (Eliade 1954: 22). It seems that the early human has been trying to adhere to a numinous model for every behavior and action in order to give meaning to his action. In Jung's expression, myths are meant to reveal the semi-conscious psyche, and involuntary statements about unconscious psychic events, and in a sense, they are everything. (Jung 1981: 154). Jung sees a vital meaning for myths that they do not only represent the psychic life of primitive tribes, but are the life itself. This life, when it loses its mythic heritage, immediately falls apart, just like a man who has lost his soul. Therefore, the mythology of the tribes is considered the religion of their times, and its absence always and everywhere, even among civilized people, is a moral disaster. Some of these myths and types can be found in the creation narrative, especially the creation of the first human in the Zoroastrian religion. In order to achieve the world that Ahura Mazda has planned and established for him, he has set these patterns as his guide and acts according to them. For this reason, knowing and understanding the first human being is very important in Zoroastrian religion. It should also be noted that Keyumars is the commander of Ahura Mazda's army in the battle with the Devil (Ahriman). (Faranbagh Dādagi 1378sh: 40-50). Conclusions: In analyzing the mythological concepts, whenever we want to extract a precise definition or brief information from them, we will face some problems; Because the image is clear and transparent only when it is examined in its proper context and cannot be misinterpreted, but as soon as someone tries to abstract the "true essence" of the image, everything becomes vague and unclear. In order to understand the role of that myth, we must let the existence of all its complications remain as a member, and not try, like scientists, to examine and scrutinize it, or,like historians, to explain the reasons for its destruction from an archeological point of view. The story of Keyumars is the narration of the archetype of the first human based on Zoroastrian religious texts. This myth, like other myths, can be exemplified as models in cases of human transformation and regeneration. The story of Keyumars is a concrete narration of the secret of rebirth that emerges following the expansion of the personality and he transformation of the soul. That is, every rebirth means a return to the origin and the re-creation of the cosmic birth, and the story of Keyumars is a story of the secret of re-creation, which occurs after the metamorphosis and transformation of the soul. In this article, we sought to find out what narratives Zoroastrianism has told about Keyumars and whether these narratives can be adapted based on Jung's archetype theory. What are the stages of Keyumars's personality development in accordance with Jung's theory? In the process of the article, all the narratives taken from the Avesta and Pahlavi scriptures about the story of Keyumars were reread, and the conclusion was reached that Keyumars, according to Jung, is the unconscious self or soul, and according to the narrative of religious texts, Ahura Mazda in the dream he created for him, separated him from the world of sensations and took it to the depths of himself and created a rebirth for him. A rebirth that after waking up, he realized itself without a shadow. The first human being, or Keyumars, is not only the story of the beginning of life, but also tells the end and purpose of creation. Keyumars is an example to express all gigantic and superhero humans, because according to the texts, he is better than everything and everyone and should be seen in the future in human society. Two things necessitated the death or killing of Keyumars : the first is according to the original sin and the phenomenon of psychological inflation that was done in most myths and the collective psyche spend a period in the invasion of the shadow (devil) so that the conditions and requirements for the descent of farrah in the life of the next chosen human will be created again. The other, according to the texts, was required by life and the continuation of creation and birth and the emergence of humanity. He had to be sacrificed in order for life to continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Divine communion is highly significant in two traditions of Islamic and Christian mysticism. In other words, the ultimate spiritual path is divine communion. This issue is prominently reflected in the mystical opinions of Rabi'a Adawiyya and Teresa of Avila. The current study aims to investigate the mystical views of Rabi'a Adawiyya about spiritual death and marriage in the thought of Teresa of Avila. In the sayings of Rabi'a Adawiyya, three types of annihilation of attributes, acts, and essence can be seen, which are the introduction to the divine communion. Teresa of Avila also spoke about the seven stages of the spiritual journey, and the seventh stage is the spiritual marriage or divine union. The findings of this research indicate that both figures see the seeker's romantic relationship with God as the means to achieve divine communion. Divine communion occurs through voluntary death, which results from the seeker's death from human traits, actions, and essence, and the seeker lives in divine communion after rebirth. According to Rabi'a and Teresa, the seeker is in complete submission to the divine will and intention, and divine union is achieved through God's will and grace. Those who seek God in divine communion enjoy the view of unity; moreover, in the light of this view of unity, they dwell in subsistence with God and divine marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ian Stevenson was trained as a physician and, later, as a psychiatrist. He made significant contributions to biochemistry, psychosomatic medicine, and other areas before turning to parapsychology in mid-career. From the start of his involvement in parapsychology, Stevenson was interested in claims to remember previous lives. As his research with such claims progressed, he became convinced of reincarnation's potential to shed light on unresolved problems in medicine. This paper describes the background and traces the development of Stevenson's classic collection of case reports, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation, whose first edition appeared in 1966. Stevenson expected his monograph to be recognized as making the important contribution he believed it did and thought that it would lead to public funding for further research on reincarnation. Sixty years on that has yet to happen, perhaps due to Stevenson's emphasis on the proof-oriented aspects of the cases he reported, to the neglect of other issues that might have connected more easily with mainstream interests, and more directly countered criticisms of his research methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD) is a category of dolls that are exclusively collected by adult doll collectors. These fully articulated and customizable dolls possess a distinctively significant place in the collector's life. The collectors form an affective relationship with their dolls often animating them. This paper looks at this instance of contemporary animism from a neo-animistic paradigm attempting to dissect the subject–object binary and hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C. G. Jung wrote very little about psychedelic drugs and he took a sceptical view of them. However, he was sufficiently impressed by Aldous Huxley's 1954 account of taking mescaline, The Doors of Perception, to invite Huxley to visit him in Switzerland. Huxley declined Jung's invitation but Huxley's collaborator Humphry Osmond met Jung instead. This paper documents Jung's contact with the British pioneers of psychedelics research and presents the scant material illuminating his views about these drugs. It also determines the efforts of British psychiatrist Ronald Sandison, who was the first to develop an "explicitly Jungian approach" to psychedelic‐assisted psychotherapy (Hill, 2013), and it highlights a connection between Sandison's initiative and the Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP) through the involvement of two SAP members: Margot Cutner, Sandison's colleague, and Michael Fordham, who supervised a trainee working with one of Sandison's former patients. Despite Jung's objections to the use of psychedelics, Sandison and Cutner developed ground‐breaking protocols during the 1950s and they were among the first to document the phenomenon of "spiritual rebirth symbolized in the birth experience known to many LSD therapists" (Sandison, 2001). In two companion papers, I consider Jung's treatment of the rebirth motif in his commentary on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, which later became a central text in the psychedelic movement, and I chart the evolution in psychedelics research from an association with schizophrenia during the 1950s to the mystical paradigms of the 1960s and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects the legacy of Jeremy Safran's application of Buddhist principles to clinical practice and supervision. The rebirth of his life and work in the clinical work and supervision of his students is examined. The paper explores transformation or enlightenment in cyclical spaces of loss and suffering or samsara. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Vasiṣṭha claims both that all four āśramas are equal and that the householder is the best of the four āśramas. This apparent contradiction would be resolved if either of these claims could be dismissed. Vasiṣṭha's claim that the four āśramas are equal seems entailed, however, by his endorsement of the original formulation of the āśrama system. His claim that the householder is superior, in turn, seems supported by the surplus of arguments that he offers in favor of the householder. Patrick Olivelle takes Vasiṣṭha to advance this surplus of arguments for the householder only to bolster the more modest claim that the householder is equal—and therefore not inferior—to the celibate āśramas. If this right, then Vasiṣṭha's claim that the householder is superior might be understood in the same way. If the balance of evidence weighs in favor of one claim or the other, however, it seems to weigh in favor of the superiority of the householder, rather than the equality of the āśramas. An alternative interpretation takes Vasiṣṭha to evaluate the householder in relation to two distinct metrics. The four āśramas are equal, he says, in their ability to attain the highest heaven. The householder is superior to the other three āśramas, however, in his unmatched contributions to the general welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Sāṃkhya-Yoga and Buddhist Abhidharma ontologies and their engagement. A close reading of two hitherto uncompared passages from Pātañjalayogaśāstra 2.13 and Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāṣya 4.94 suggests that they are intertextual or interdiscursive. A mirrored argument form in the texts explains ethical causality (karma) in relation to rebirth (punarjanman). The arguments in both texts are similar in form, sequence, and even conclusion, although not in terms of the doctrinal basis of reasoning. On first examination, both arguments analyse how action (karma) sustains patterns of moral repercussion across life and beyond death in terms of singular and plural causes and effects. But a close reading shows that the level of conceptual engagement on this issue is more nuanced – centred on 'projecting' and 'completing' mechanisms of karmic retribution (ākṣepaka karman and paripūraka karman) as well as determinate or indeterminate (niyata and aniyata) maturation of karmic effects. The paper suggests that the function of Patañjali's passage was to serve as a structured engagement with Buddhist Sarvāstivāda karma theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the concept of personal identity in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, a Hindu tradition. It examines the relationship between consciousness, the self, and the body, emphasizing that consciousness is a crucial aspect of the self and is reliant on the body. The text also explores the notions of liberation and fall-down, suggesting that attachment to a specific type of body is necessary for one's eternal personal identity. The author presents a series of statements and axioms to elucidate these concepts and their implications. Additionally, the article discusses the concepts of grace and the conditions for liberation or fall-down in Gauḍīya theology, presenting various scenarios and statements to explore the connection between inhabiting a spiritual body and a material body. The text concludes that P1 and F2 are the only relevant statements for comprehending personal identity in relation to liberation and fall-down, as they represent necessary implications of inhabiting a spiritual or material body within Gauḍīya theology. [Extracted from the article]

This paper attempts to provide a high-level comparison of Eastern and Western conceptions of deity. It finds some significant similarities—involving worshipworthiness and the ideal shape of human lives—and some important differences—concerning the ultimate nature of reality, the relation of supreme deity to the rest of reality, and the relative frequency of divine incarnation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Apaṇṇaka Sutta, one of the early recorded teachings of the Buddha, contains an argument for accepting the doctrines of karma and rebirth that Buddhist scholars claim anticipates Pascal's wager. I call this argument the Buddha's wager. Does it anticipate Pascal's wager and is it a good bet? Contemporary scholars identify at least four versions of Pascal's wager in his Pensées. This article demonstrates that the Buddha's wager anticipates two versions of Pascal's wager, but not its canonical form. Like Pascal's wager, the Buddha's wager presents a decision problem between two opposing theses in an epistemic context that lacks evidence of their truth or falsity. Like Pascal, the Buddha also tries to solve this problem using dominance, superdominance or 'superduperdominance' reasoning. The Apaṇṇaka Sutta likely provides the earliest textual example of such reasoning. While the Buddha's wager does not exhibit the expected utility reasoning of the best-known form of Pascal's wager, the article suggests a reformulation that parallels Alan Hájek's (2018) vector-value reformulation. Is it a good bet? This article argues that it is not if this means we are rationally required to accept its recommendation. This is because, while it avoids two of the major objections levelled against Pascal's wager, it succumbs to one and has at least two problems of its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the economics behind two large-scale rebellions in Japan throughout 1532–1536 and 1570–1580, launched by a religious organization called Honganji. The paper argues that Honganji's large-scale rebellions took off primarily due to religious reforms, particularly, the creation of an after-life pardon doctrine, which enabled the functioning of more potent incentives that fostered participation. First, the doctrine raised the costs of not joining a rebellion by excluding the non-participants and consigning them to hell. This resulted in immediate spiritual, social and economic penalties, as condemned individuals were considered religiously corrupt and were expelled from the sect's temple towns and sect-dominated village communities. Second, the after-life pardon doctrine reduced the costs of rebellious participation by guaranteeing an instant rebirth in paradise after dying for the sect's cause. As many individuals at the time saw the world through the lens of religion and spirituality, the guarantee of paradise was an especially potent incentive to join a rebellion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the enthronement of the sixth Dalai Lama held in Lhasa, Tibet, in December 1697. The previous rebirth, the fifth Dalai Lama, became the first ruler of the central Tibetan regime founded in 1642. The enthronement of his successor lasted nearly one month. It combined assemblies, banquets, and private audiences, at which thousands of gifts were exchanged. It was attended by all the major parties with a stake in the Tibetan polity, including government officials, lay and clerical elites, and patrons from Mongolia and China. The article summarizes the proceedings and examines some salient social, material, and intellectual details. The author reflects on the importance of such ceremonial events for studying politics and religion in Tibet and suggests that the enthronement was an effort by the ruling authorities to present an ideal image of the state as they wished it to be perceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do failure events affect subsequent new venture creation? The existing literature seems to point in two opposing directions. While the information perspective suggests that failure events undermine collective beliefs about market viability, the competition view implies that failures may foster entrepreneurship via easing competition in both factor and product markets. To address this question, we adopt an inductive approach and analyse registry data in Norway. Based on the firm-level microdata, we construct an industry-region-level marketspace to analyse the number of firm failures and new ventures in different markets. Results show that failures of existing firms generally lead to more venture creation in the same market, albeit being contingent on industry features. And such effect is mainly 'pulled' by product market vacuum, rather than 'pushed' by factor abundance. However, we also observe that ventures that are created following failure events are less likely to survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of the human body in the concept of resurrection has been a contentious issue among philosophers and theologians. The fundamental question revolves around how resurrection manifests in human existence. Various viewpoints can be categorized into three main types: Ideal Body: Some propose an idealized form for the resurrected body, transcending earthly limitations. Elemental Body: Another perspective suggests an elemental body distinct from the worldly one. Worldly Body Itself: Advocates of this view assert that the resurrected body remains identical to its earthly counterpart. They often draw upon Quranic verses, while some also present rational arguments. The present work, through examining and critiquing the existing reasons, posits the hypothesis that these reasons lack the ability to prove the claim of identity theorists regarding the afterlife. Instead, they merely represent a superficial appearance of continuity between the postmortem body and the worldly body. The current study employs a descriptive-analytical approach. After collecting the relevant reasons, they are subjected to critique and evaluation, validating their relevance to the intended claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport media is a public pedagogy that impacts sportswomen’s embodied subjectivities by circulating gender ideologies and discourses as forms of truth. In this study we used relativist narrative inquiry to build on sport media research exploring socially constructed motherhood and sport. We interrogated ‘comeback meanings’ in sport media stories of four veteran (i.e. multiple Olympic Games appearances, 32–41 years of age) Canadian athletes’ journeys to the 2020 Olympics as first time mothers. Thematic narrative analysis of 86 stories and accompanying images identified two sets of comeback meanings: second chances and redemption and coming back stronger and wiser. Second chances and redemption comebacks were linked with personal and career agency, good mother ideologies, and sacrifice narratives. ‘Hybrid athlete mother’ identities in stories of second chance redemption comebacks were also constructed as generative role models as part of an athletic rebirth. Coming back stronger and wiser in media stories troubled gendered assumptions about veteran athlete mothers as weak/past their prime through constructing their experience as valued, along with body-performance tensions. Both sets of comeback meanings resist biological and ageist ideologies in media stories of veteran athlete mothers while perpetuating neoliberal ideologies and narratives of exceptionalism. These findings show the pedagogical value of media stories for expanding understanding of nuanced shifting discourses identified in interviews and media studies on athlete mothers. The implications of these findings highlight a need for more research exploring digital media forms to learn more about veteran athlete mothers’ embodied subjectivities and implications for elite sport careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the research is to reveal the deep image-sound layers and features of the Irish bardic tradition in the work of M. Tippett through the prism of the work for orchestra and soprano "Byzantium". The methodological basis of the research is historical-conceptual, hermeneutic method and comparative analysis of factual data based on the works of Thomas Weiskel, David Clark, Edward Venn, and Meirion Bowen. Scientific novelty. For the first time in the Ukrainian art history segment, M. Tippett's work for orchestra and soprano "Byzantium" was analysed with an emphasis on the dramaturgy of the composition, cyclical elements, metaphorical sound images, symbolism and characteristic features of the musical and poetic tradition of Irish bards. Conclusions. Biographical collisions of M. Tippett influenced his creative aspirations and attitude to the surrounding world. M. Tippett's aesthetic views are a dialogue between romantic aspirations and sceptical realism of the modern era. Michael Tippett's musical language absorbed both tradition and the entire palette of accumulated world musical experience, as well as duality of meanings, symbolism, imagery and conflict. The work analyses the composition for orchestra and soprano "Byzantium" by M. Tippet, which is based on the mosaic of images, the logical sequence of musical motifs, and cyclicity. It is necessary to highlight the fragmentary nature of musical sections, variable motifs, the presence of contrasting material, the symbolism of magical, changing life force as secular ephemerality, the destruction of the musical text using the technique of expansion and fragmentation. Thus, the composition "Byzantium" is a reincarnation of Irish cultural nationalism in the aspect of traditional forms of bardic poetry. The musical language of M. Tippett in the work "Byzantium" is based on the forms crystallised by the work of L. Beethoven and updated by the musical context of modern and postmodern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Jesuit missionaries began arriving in Japan in the sixteenth century, they brought not only a new religion, Christianity, but also several domestic and exotic animals. Not only did these animals provoke feelings of curiosity and wonder, but they became a site of epistemic contestation between Christian and Buddhist views on human‐animal relations. In Buddhist thought, humans and animals were conceived of as interrelated, as both were thought to be trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. On the other hand, in Christian thought, humans and animals were stratified according to Aristotelian hierarchies, according to which the former were viewed as superior to the latter. After the Jesuits arrived in Japan, it soon became clear that their proselytes' pre‐existing modes of relating to and classifying the natural world would need to be converted to Aristotelian ones in order to propagate a Christian way of life. Thus, animals became a central part of Jesuit evangelism. Many of these creatures were deployed as tribute gifts, which altered the emotional landscape between the European and Japanese humans who used them as a buffer. This paper explores how animals, wonder, and religious epistemologies intersected to transform Japanese Christian attitudes towards animals during the Jesuit Mission to Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of massive socio-political and economic corruption in Nigeria bring to the foreground the need for moral rebirth or re-evaluation. The concept of Ubuntu in Ramose, as an African holistic humanism elicits the need for African brotherhood and the need for the enthronement the summun bonum of the people in Nigeria. Nigeria as a country has been bedeviled by a myriad of fundamental politico-developmental malaise that impede its development. Given the above, this paper proposes that the concept of Ubuntu if well natured and nurtured could serve as a springboard for responsible governance in Nigeria. It also adopts the analytical framework in discussing the contemporary and the politicoepietemological relevance of Ubuntu to the Nigerian democratic setting. The findings of this paper is that the concept of Ubuntu requires the need for democratic accountability, common engagement and effective leadership structure that is people-oriented. It is a reflection of African holistic humanism. This arises from the fact that Ubuntu is not based on the Western notion of individualism but fundamentally inspired by the principle of African communalism. Thus it concludes that the concept of Ubuntu presupposes an ontological, metaphysical and politico-epistemological imperative for African politics and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionSome children between ages 3 and 6 claim to have memories of purported past lives. Prior research has documented this phenomenon in detail, including typical features and how it can manifest in the child’s life. However, less is known about what happens to these children as they transition to adulthood and whether this childhood experience may impact their lives.MethodsWe conducted the first observational follow-up study of American adults (N = 23) who were originally interviewed as children regarding their claims of past-life memories. Using online surveys with validated self-report questionnaires and a phone interview, we assessed personality traits, subjective well-being, and the impact of these memories on various domains in their lives.ResultsAdults who reported apparent past-life memories as children seem to lead normal, productive lives and have high educational attainment compared to the general population. They exhibit moderate-to-high levels of spiritual well-being, and slightly elevated, but not pathological, dissociation and fantasy proneness, compared to unselected samples. Sixty-five percent endorsed some impact of the purported memories in their lives, with few reporting negative effects. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that the degree of impact of this experience was positively associated with the trait of absorption.ConclusionThis study offers a first glimpse into the lives of American individuals touched by this intriguing childhood experience.

The emergence of the "entrepreneurial university model" (EUM), which supports university-based commercialization and entrepreneurship, is almost universally praised. In this study, we take a contrarian view, arguing that the existing EUM does not adequately account for the true costs borne by participating stakeholders. We advance three alternative pathways that take a systems view to address the limitations of the current EUM. Considering alternative pathways is critical because the EUM as currently constructed is not sustainable. These pathways provide possible ways forward with more desirable outcomes for the myriad of university stakeholders, not just the elite universities and their star scientists. Specifically, each proposed pathway considers the inputs, processes, and outcomes for each pertinent stakeholder group. Our research imparts important policy implications for institutions tasked with commercializing scientific discoveries and policy-makers challenged with developing high growth, sustainable models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the eighteenth century professional astronomy started in Lithuania, and over time the first extensive astronomical publications appeared. The tradition of publishing a periodical astronomical Bulletin started in 1921, when Vilnius Astronomical Observatory was led by Polish astronomer Professor Władysław Dziewulski. The outbreak of the Second World War stopped the publication of Bulletins, and 1960 was a crucial year in the rebirth of astronomy in Lithuania. The revitalization of the Bulletin was very important for the Observatory's research and the expansion of the library. During the Soviet occupation, Lithuanian astronomers had limited links abroad. Thus, the Bulletin served as a way to disseminate astronomical research and establish links with international research institutions. This paper examines the history, personalities, contributions and importance to the scientific community of the Bulletin of the Vilnius Astronomical Observatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of several traumatic experiences, a French woman in her early 50s began to have visions and intuitive impressions about seven past lives she felt she had lived. She was able to verify memories of the most recent life and identify the deceased, an American Marine fatally wounded in Vietnam. It then became clear that she had been subliminally influenced by this life in various ways from childhood, most strongly following an NDE at 18. On the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she began to have detailed visions of a Don Cossack who had served in the Imperial Guard of Catherine the Great and Alexander I, dying during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812. Although the Cossack story is plausible, it has not been possible to investigate it or to identify the individual involved; nonetheless, here too there are apparent behavioral influences on the subject's present life. Although the subject recalled the other five lives in fragments only, some of these also seem to have impacted her unconsciously. This study explores the nature of past-life remembering and demonstrates how presumptive past lives may exercise an influence behaviorally, emotionally, and somatically, even in the absence of conscious recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 1922, Éamon de Valera lost the leadership of Irish nationalism. In opposing the Treaty signed in London the previous month, he painted himself into a corner, committing himself to oppose the settlement, to refuse to recognise the Irish Free State, and never to take the Oath of Allegiance required to enter the Dáil. This position precluded the political path which was the only course available after the military defeat of the anti-Treaty cause. If de Valera was to have a political future, he would have to find a way to retreat from this stance, while maintaining the support of as many anti-Treatyites as possible and widening his electoral appeal beyond that minority. His tactical withdrawal would take a decade, featuring the rebirth of Sinn Féin as an anti-Treaty electoral party, the formation of Fianna Fáil as a movement more amenable to his control, and acceptance of the oath to enter the Free State Dáil. The long climb back to political power culminated with his election as President of the Executive Council in March 1932. He had not only secured his own political future; he had helped establish a political system which would endure for eight decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the reconfiguration of religious identity in the Druze community in Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil, which was formed by the arrival of immigrants from Lebanon in the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. The immigrants created ethnic and religious institutions destined to maintain Druze identity and its Islamic character. However, the transmission of religious knowledge to the generations born in Brazil was fragmentary and imperfect. Nevertheless, Druze identity was maintained by many and completely recreated in the religious context of Catholicism and Spiritism, while the connection to Islam faded away. The analysis focuses on how religious authorities and the belief in reincarnation were the main elements that allowed continuity in religious identity together with the transformation of tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality: Sex, Politics, and Ideology" by J. Wisman is a book that explores the historical development of inequality and its relationship to religion, ideology, and sexual selection. The book argues that the rise of Protestantism in Europe provided a religious framework that justified an uncharitable attitude towards the poor, while the emergence of a free-market ideology further legitimized wealth concentration. The author also examines the impact of slavery on inequality and the role of elites in shaping ideological narratives. While some aspects of the book may be subject to debate, it offers a comprehensive reinterpretation of human history that places the struggle against inequality at the forefront. [Extracted from the article]

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The genre of reincarnation isekai anime, wherein a protagonist dies in their original world only to be reborn in a fantastical one, has grown significantly in global appeal. Yet, this genre's expansion also normalizes controversial themes such as mental health issues, sexual and violent content, and the sexualisation of virtual minors. This article employs a data-driven approach, analysing user-generated coding of themes and properties from English-speaking fan sites, to critically examine three emergent and interconnected dimensions: the success of series deemed 'trashy', the complexities surrounding sexual themes, and the rising appeal of the 'zero-to-hero' motif in a post-pandemic world. The findings reveal a paradoxical allure of 'trashy' but popular content, complex ethical dilemmas surrounding sexual themes, and an increased resonance of empowerment motifs resulting from the pandemic. These discoveries provoke renewed discussions on anime's role in shaping and reflecting societal values and raise questions about regulatory challenges in a globalized media setting. The study confirms the need for more nuanced understandings of the genre's growing global influence, particularly outside of Japan, and calls for continued research to delve deeper into its complexities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to identify the stages of the heroic journey captured from the plot of the novel Vidas Secas by Graciliano Ramos, and experienced by the retreatant character Fabiano. To this end, we carried out a narrative review of the literature on the conceptual framework, focusing on a Jungian prism, which served as a basis for analyzing the character in his internal and external journey throughout the work. This has allowed us to interpret that Fabiano goes through the twelve stages of the heroic journey, in which we perceive a cycle that expresses, for example, the relationships between his hero's path, his family complexes, and how the character lives them, as well as his rebirth into other possibilities. Fabiano's journey allows us to perceive him as a hero who, at every moment, faces challenges, as well as summoning our perception of ourselves as heroes, Fabians who live between drought and abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buddhism provides the vocabulary for film auteur Pema Tseden to express a psychological dimension in his Amdo‐Tibetan stories. Drawing on the Tibetan Buddhist concept of bardo, the transitional space between sleep and waking, or death and rebirth, his works encapsulate surrealist flow of consciousness of the characters as they are torn between religious principles, modern imperatives, and conscience. Specifically, Balloon exposes an Amdo woman's choice between having an abortion in compliance with China's 1990s birth control policy or enabling the prophesized rebirth of a family forebear. The film extends Pema Tseden's earlier experiment in Jinpa, which enacts an intrapsychic dialogue in a dream, by using a religiously inflected visualization of the state of mind in the threshold between death and the next life. Balloon's passionate reenactment of a luminous afterlife landscape and its reflexive and even questioning attitudes toward the concept of reincarnation create an intriguing tension. Its central imagery, the inflated condom balloon, is a "semi‐transparent envelope," to borrow British novelist Virginia Woolf's phrase, which suggests the inscrutability of the characters' internal experiences. The balloon is also a "semi‐transparent filter" of the director's ambiguous affects, encapsulating cultural intimacy and cultural contemplation within a non‐dual framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]