Search Results (77)

Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains a critical global challenge. This study analyses the environmental priorities related to SDGs 12, 14, and 15—interlinked and focused on responsible production and consumption, life below water, and life on land respectively—reflected in political party manifestos from the 2019, 2022, and 2024 Portuguese general elections, assessing their alignment with the SDGs and broader European political ideologies. A content analysis reveals significant disparities in attention across these goals, with SDG 15 receiving greater prominence than SDGs 12 and 14. Findings highlight the influence of political ideology, showing left-wing parties emphasize all three SDGs more consistently than their right-wing counterparts. These results underscore the need for a more balanced and comprehensive political commitment to sustainability. By exploring the interplay between national and European political agendas, this research provides valuable insights for aligning environmental policies with the UN 2030 Agenda and fostering transformative change in sustainability governance. Full article

This essay examines two hybrid poetic texts that emerged from a period of feminist activism in U.S. and global poetry communities from 2014 to 2017: the collaboratively, anonymously authored “No Manifesto” (2015) and the radically revised second edition of the book of poetry and visual art YOU DA ONE by Jennif(f)er Tamayo. “No Manifesto” and YOU DA ONE embrace the hybrid tactics of collectivity, incongruity, and nonresolution as ways of protesting sexism and sexual violence in poetry communities. Synthesizing theories of hybridity from poetry criticism as well as immigrant and borderlands studies, the essay defines hybridity as a literary representation of cultural positions forcefully imposed upon subjects. Born out of the domination of sexual and state violence, hybridity marks the wound that remakes the subject, who develops strategies for resistance. By refusing to play by the rules of poetic or social discourse—the logics of domination that would have them be singular, cohesive, and compliant—Tamayo and the authors of “No Manifesto” insist on alternative ways of performing activism, composing literature, and entering the public sphere. These socially engaged, hybrid poetic texts demonstrate the power of the collective to disrupt the social and literary status quo. Full article

The observation and analysis of reality have been a human activity for many centuries. Indeed, since the earliest of human cultures, people have been trying to understand their world and to improve its functioning. In the process, they have developed a number of different visions for the future. Urban space is characterized by its dynamism, exhibiting a fascinating blend of heterogeneity and susceptibility to rapid transformation. The primary objective of the present article is to present the urban problems and proposals for their solutions in a historical and global perspective. This work will demonstrate the historical context of diagnosing urban problems, drawing upon the literature from the past century. Depending on the geographical location, the potential exists for the sounding of an alarm or the drawing of attention to aspects that, for some, represent a reality that is difficult to overcome and for others, only a barely noticeable trend. It is asserted that this will ensure that, in the future, cities will function efficiently and be pleasant places to live. In conclusion, the development visions of cities will be presented and discussed. Visions of the future, as a reaction to the world around us, were and are a fundamental category of expectations and considerations, hopes and fears, and science and practice. Full article

The article analyzes the meanings embedded in street art in Florence that portrays women, likely created by female artists. Between 18 May and 27 May 2024, during the Communities and Artistic Participation in Hybrid Environment (CAPHE) project, we observed a significant number of feminist street art pieces in Florence’s historic center. Using qualitative content analysis based on Gillian Rose’s methodology (2016), we interpreted the collected visual materials through semiotic and socio-cultural lenses. The findings revealed the deliberately interventionist nature of the analyzed works, addressing themes such as gender inequality, human rights, violence against women, and cultural stereotypes. This street art serves as a social manifesto and a means of activating both the local community and tourists, aligning with global feminist discourse while addressing Florence’s local issues. We conclude that Florence’s street art provides a space for visual resistance, education, and the promotion of gender equality and women’s emancipation in the context of contemporary social challenges. Full article

Farmers are an important and fundamental professional class on which the food, health and well-being of all citizens depend. Recently, and similar to what has happened in other European countries, in Portugal there were also demonstrations of civic and spontaneous movements of farmers dissatisfied with the current Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (PEPAC), with the excessive bureaucracy and with the increase in the costs of production and unfair competition from agricultural products from other countries, especially from outside the European bloc, which do not meet the same production requirements and which are available to consumers. This work consists of a synthesis and reflection on the reasons, arguments and demands made by civic movements of farmers in the northern region of Portugal (NUT II). Among the most frequent allegations was the need to consider specific aspects of the northern Portuguese region, small family farming and some specific sectors. Although the factor that triggered farmers’ indignation was the reduction in support payable under eco-schemes, the consideration of the common land areas for subsidies and for certification in organic farming (in the mountain region), the installation of anti-hail towers in the fruit growing area and compensation for increases in energy and animal feeding costs are among the most frequently mentioned reasons for which farmers require answers. Full article

Ireland is the largest beef trader and a major dairy exporter within the European Union. Horse racing holds significant cultural value, while greyhound racing is economically important at the regional level. As public concern about farm animal welfare rises and biodiversity loss intensifies, this research examines the political salience of animal protection in Ireland across the 2011, 2016, and 2020 general elections. Political salience measures the degree of public concern about political issues, with party manifestos serving as indicators of this concern. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study analysed 364 statements on animal protection from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, the Labour Party, and Sinn Féin. The results show a significant increase in the frequency and positivity of animal protection statements over the course of the election period, with a shift in the attitudes of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The Green Party has consistently promoted progressive animal protection policies. Key issues such as farmed animal welfare, wildlife and biodiversity, and horse and greyhound racing have gained prominence in party manifestos, also reflecting economic influences. Despite this growing focus, critical issues such as the puppy trade and certain aspects of farmed animal welfare remain underrepresented. This research provides the first comprehensive academic analysis of animal protection policy in political party manifestos in the Republic of Ireland. Full article

This article presents the first English translation of Heinrich Bullinger’s preface to Huldrych Zwingli’s Opus articulorum of 1535. This source, which has received little attention in previous scholarship; is placed in the context of efforts to bring Luther and the Swiss Reformed closer together after the death of the Zurich Reformed on the question of the Lord’s Supper. Bullinger’s preface is an apologetic manifesto in favor of Zwingli’s orthodoxy and continuity with the Church Fathers. It is argued that Bullinger’s strong commitment should be interpreted as a signal sent to Wittenberg that a rapprochement with Luther was not to be achieved at the expense of Zwingli’s theological legacy. Full article

Recent discussions of logical pluralism trace its origins to Rudolf Carnap’s principle of tolerance; indeed, the principle is seen as one of Carnap’s lasting philosophical contributions. In this paper, I will argue that Carnap’s reasons for adopting this principle are not purely logical, but are rather founded in the Vienna Circle’s manifesto—a programmatic document that brings the Circle’s philosophical work together with a program of social change. Building on work by Uebel, Romizi, and others, I argue that we must understand the principle in light of Carnap’s role in writing the manifesto, and thus as integrated into the larger philosophical and political goals of the Circle. This history illuminates the often-ignored relationship between Carnap’s logical pluralism and his political views. Finally, I turn to the political situation of the post-World War 2 period in the United States. During this time, the Circle’s emigres in the USA transitioned their work from active efforts to reform society to the technical work that we recognize as the foundation of American analytic philosophy today. In this final section, I argue that the reasons that Carnap distanced himself from the political foundations of his view were due in large part to McCarthy-era persecution of left-wing academics. Full article

Today, the response to the consequences of present and future environmental catastrophes tends to take three forms: one purely technological-productive coming from the alliance between States and the Market; another one, which is essentially movementist, is confusedly fragmented into initiatives, often contradictory to each other, without having a strong ideological–political vision at its base; and the third one refers to apocalyptic or posthuman messianisms of a philosophical–religious nature. None of the three forms envisions a radical transformation of the current political–economic system. In this context, the voice of the Catholic Church emerges strongly to denounce the systemic reasons for the environmental disaster and at the same time to oppose the current system another system, centered on alternative assumptions. This article will analyze the encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015), which, sometimes mistaken for a simple text on Christian ecology, should actually be interpreted as a manifesto for a new world, based on the idea of a total anthropological and socio-political revolution. The analysis of the Encyclical is intended to highlight the historical–theological foundations and the ability to adapt some of the cornerstones of Catholicism (in particular of the Franciscan and Jesuit matrix) to the resolution of the current ecological emergency. Full article

Current decision-making regarding urban design, architecture, and spatial planning often
emphasizes existing power balances, which historically have excluded other humans, such as
indigenous people, and nature from conversations and decision-making. The purpose of this study
is to explore if and how an empathic experience could give insights into how nature can be given
a voice, and, more concretely, how a group of trees on the TEC campus in Monterrey would feel
about a sudden change in their direct environment. The methodology is divided into three parts.
The first is the explanation of the case study and immersion of the (human) participants in the site.
The second stage consists of deep listening and reproducing the imagined expressions of the trees.
In the third stage, the participants return from the site, evaluate, and formulate a manifesto. The
experience suggests that it is possible to inspire human beings to imagine what trees would have to
say if we only imagined their language. It also shows that it is possible to gain access to a formerly
hidden environment. The conclusion is that the empathic access to these formerly muted worlds,
such as those of nature or socially marginalized peoples, can strengthen our understanding of, and
our ability to resolve, the current environmental crisis. Full article

This personal narrative is a critical reflection and affirmation letter to Black women. Throughout this commentary, at the end of each section, I have included what I call “gems”. I hope they serve as a manifesto for our collective healing from working in institutions that center on the ideologies and practices of dominance. This piece particularly focuses on the dominant ideology and practice of “whiteness” within institutions as a surveillance tool through policy that directly impacts Black women’s wellbeing through gender anti-black racism. Through storytelling and drawing on Black feminist scholarship, this narrative exposes the challenges I faced with institutional policies and practices as I pursued my career in both academia and social service work. Throughout this narrative, I highlight how the undercurrent of whiteness is embedded in the foundation of institutional policy and practices. This narrative serves as a demand for institutional accountability and reckoning with the coloniality of epistemology and ontology. There is a great emotional toll for Black women who are confronting and resisting gendered anti-black racism with deep internal struggles and triumphs. The violent institutional practices seek to eclipse Black women’s ability to dream, imagine and create. Whiteness is centered in institutional infrastructure, serves as a distraction, and impedes our ability to conceptualize the world we desire. We deserve to have imagination in our work. This narrative is a reflection of the harm of whiteness, a guide for Black women academics, a manifesto for change, and a testament to our humanity. Full article

Phenomenal socialism says that what we actually, directly, literally perceive is only or primarily instances of high-level phenomenal properties; this paper argues for phenomenal socialism in the weaker, primarily version. Phenomenal socialism is the philosophy of perception that goes with recognitionalism, which is the metaethics that goes with epiphanies. The first part states the recognitionalist manifesto. The second part situates this manifesto relative to some more global concerns, about naturalism, perception, the metaphysics of value, and theory vs. anti-theory in ethics. The third part rehearses two familiar views about the possible contents of perceptual experience, Phenomenal Conservativism and Phenomenal Liberalism. It notes that the usual catalogue omits two other theoretical possibilities, Phenomenal Socialism and Phenomenal Nihilism, and it defends a watered-down form of Phenomenal Socialism from four main objections. The fourth part makes some connections with the epistemology of modality and with the role of the imagination. Full article

In the present essay, we want to show how the Canticle of the Creatures, which we might call “The Canticle of Universal Brotherhood”, is much more than the Canticle of Brother Sun or of a single man. The author himself is much more than the exceptional case of a nature-friendly medieval saint who, therefore, continues to inspire the promoters of ecology and, especially after the papal encyclical Laudato Si’, constitutes the ecumenical matrix for the care of our common home. To this end, in this paper, we focus on two moments that, in the construction of the tutelary figure of Francis of Assisi, constitute a kind of diptych or portals which open and recapitulate the reconstructive intuition he bequeathed to us: (1) the vocational moment: Go and repair my house; and (2) the testamentary moment, in which the Founder, who never wanted to found anything, legates his manifesto for building the common home as a universal brotherhood, turning the “stones” into a canticle. Above all, we want to highlight the relevance of Franciscan spirituality, expressed particularly in the Canticle of the Creatures, and thus the Franciscan aesthetics for the modern ecology. Full article

Chronic pain has increasingly become a significant health challenge, not just as a symptomatic manifestation but also as a pathological condition with profound socioeconomic implications. Despite the expansion of medical interventions, the prevalence of chronic pain remains remarkably persistent, prompting a turn towards non-pharmacological treatments, such as therapeutic education, exercise, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. With the advent of cognitive neuroscience, pain is often presented as a primary output derived from the brain, aligning with Engel’s Biopsychosocial Model that views disease not solely from a biological perspective but also considering psychological and social factors. This paradigm shift brings forward potential misconceptions and over-simplifications. The current review delves into the intricacies of nociception and pain perception. It questions long-standing beliefs like the cerebral-centric view of pain, the forgotten role of the peripheral nervous system in pain chronification, misconceptions around central sensitization syndromes, the controversy about the existence of a dedicated pain neuromatrix, the consciousness of the pain experience, and the possible oversight of factors beyond the nervous system. In re-evaluating these aspects, the review emphasizes the critical need for understanding the complexity of pain, urging the scientific and clinical community to move beyond reductionist perspectives and consider the multifaceted nature of this phenomenon. Full article

In this essay, we are interested in investigating some of the possible relations between design and digital humanities. In particular, we analyze the contribution that communication and interface design can bring to digital humanities. In a scene currently characterized by a heterogeneous set of activities and humanistic, technological, and cultural studies, the involvement of design seems confined to the development of digital instruments in accessing, exploring, and manipulating cultural data. How can design and the humanities work in an interdisciplinary way in order to shape new digital means to explore humanistic content? This essay presents four case studies (three of them developed by the authors), each of which suggests some methods and tools focused on the interdisciplinary relationships of scholars. The findings are both models of collaboration and models of digital architecture (data visualization) and showcase applied digital interactive platforms that present several paths to discovering different levels of content in the fields of art, psychology, literature, and history. In conclusion, this essay presents a manifesto focusing on ten points of virtuous relation between design humanities and the field of information visualization. Full article