Papers by Marianina Olcott
Journal of Baltic Studies, Sep 1, 1985
Journal of The Copyright Society of The Usa, 2002
Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table, Dec 22, 2007
This paper seeks to explain the epistemological bases for the two cultures and to show why this d... more This paper seeks to explain the epistemological bases for the two cultures and to show why this disciplinary divide continues to plague American academic culture. Next, we discuss strategies for bridging the two cultures through general education curricula which promote mutual understanding of the two cultures while educating students in basic skills. Evidence is presented which shows the efficacy of these integrative, interdisciplinary curricula. In conclusion, we briefly mention some collaborative research efforts which indicate the enduring effects that such an education may have. Epistemology : The Reasons for the Two Cultures In 1541, when Rene Descartes published in French "Meditations on a First Philosophy", he inaugurated the problem of consciousness and, with it, the onset of an anxiety which pervades the Western intellectual tradition. For, according to Descartes, unless I posit the existence of a concerned and benevolent deity who guarantees the accuracy of my perceptions of the phenomenal world around me, then I can never be certain that what I perceive actually exists or that others share my perceptions. As Descartes himself states: ...the most common error ...encountered here consists in judging that the ideas which are in myself are similar to or conformable to things outside myself (Descartes 2003, 406 para 37). According to Descartes, I can only be certain of one true fact-namely that I, the thinking thing, must exist. To amplify this position as stated in the famous 'cogito ergo sum', because I can perceive that thinking is happening, I can posit that something must exist which is doing the thinking. But questions posed as to how I exist, or what form my existence takes, involve me in the problem of consciousness. Nonetheless, to return to the 'cogito', I can still affirm the truth of the fact that I, the thinking thing, must exist. Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that most thinkers who pondered the problem of consciousness, perhaps even Descartes himself, felt a definite Forum on Public Policy uneasiness about warranting perceptions of reality by recourse to metaphysics, a strategy fraught with epistemological conundrums and contradictions. Having plunged us into the problem of consciousness, Descartes offers a solution, perhaps not totally satisfactory but certainly one that raises our hopes. In paragraph 20 of the Meditations he states: Arithmetic, geometry and the other sciences of this nature which treat only of very simple and general things without concerning themselves as to whether they occur in nature or not, contain some element of certainty or sureness. For, whether I am wake or whether I am asleep, two and three together will always make the number five, and the square will never have more than four sides.... (Descartes 2003, 407) Ah, mathematics as savior! Thus, if I can reduce aspects of my perceptual field to quantifiable mathematical systems, I then have something certain, something true, and something that I can share with others. If then we accept mathematics as a partial solution to the problem of consciousness, then we ought to ask which disciplinary domain uses mathematical systems as a descriptor of objects in that domain. To resort to a colloquialism, this domain is that of the 'hard sciences' and other disciplines that use mathematics and the verification of mathematically quantifiable results through repeatibility, also known as the scientific method. We note that the scientific method directly addresses a crucial aspect of the consciousness problem, that is, proving the certainty of a shared perception of reality. Thus, when C. P. Snow surveyed the 'scientific culture', he understood that, although "...biologists more often than not will have a pretty hazy idea of contemporary physics...there are common attitudes, common standards and patterns of behavior, common approaches and assumptions"(Snow 1961,10). Thus, for us Post-moderns, mathematics, instead of Descartes' benevolent deity, guarantees the certainty of our perceptions of the world of phenomena.
The meaning of the word ἀάατος at Homer\u27s Odyssey 22.5 becomes clearer examined in conjunction... more The meaning of the word ἀάατος at Homer\u27s Odyssey 22.5 becomes clearer examined in conjunction with its occurrence at Iliad 14.271 where it is used as an epithet of the river Styx. Further discussion, by locating the word within the context of IE ordeal rituals, Greek cosmogony and the pre-IE mythology of Greek Arcadia, reveals a complex theology amalgamated from these different sources
This paper seeks to prove that in pre-Greek oaths and truth-tests , liturgy associated with this ... more This paper seeks to prove that in pre-Greek oaths and truth-tests , liturgy associated with this religious stratum did not have libations as the primary ritual feature. Rather, from an examination of a variety of textual sources we uncover evidence not only that Styx and Demeter are aspects of the same preGreek female deity but also that pre-Greek oaths may have been associated with certain stones rather than merely libations.
This paper seeks to explain the epistemological bases for the two cultures and to show why this d... more This paper seeks to explain the epistemological bases for the two cultures and to show why this disciplinary divide continues to plague American academic culture. Next, we discuss strategies for bridging the two cultures through general education curricula which promote mutual understanding of the two cultures while educating students in basic skills. Evidence is presented which shows the efficacy of these integrative, interdisciplinary curricula. In conclusion, we briefly mention some collaborative research efforts which indicate the enduring effects that such an education may have. Epistemology : The Reasons for the Two Cultures In 1541, when Rene Descartes published in French "Meditations on a First Philosophy", he inaugurated the problem of consciousness and, with it, the onset of an anxiety which pervades the Western intellectual tradition. For, according to Descartes, unless I posit the existence of a concerned and benevolent deity who guarantees the accuracy of my p...
The current study concerns concepts of intellectual property in the Roman tradition first century... more The current study concerns concepts of intellectual property in the Roman tradition first century BCE through forth century CE. It complements a previous study published in the Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA (Summer 2002, vol.49, No.4) which dealt with ancient Athenian concepts of intellectual property. The current study as in the earlier study of the establishment. 4 As we might expect, a further consideration of testimonia from the Roman tradition reveals attitudes similar to those of ancient Athens and our modern world. A. Citation of Sources Cicero in the Brutus 76 (c. 46 BCE) reveals traces of Roman attitudes on intellectual property. In that work he comments on the Roman poet Ennius (239-169 BCE) and his borrowings from an earlier contemporary poet, Naevius (fl. 235 BCE). If you will acknowledge [it], then you have taken many things from Naevius, but if you deny [it], you have stolen [many things]. qui a Naevio vel sumpsisti multa, si fateris, vel, si negas, surripuisti. 5 In this passage the verb surripio, used here in the perfect active surripuisti, has as one of its meanings to steal or purloin. In fact, the authoritative Oxford Latin Dictionary cites this passage as meaning "to plagiarize." 6 Incidentally Cicero's use of the future indicative-si fateris-in a conditional clause indicates emphasis while the present indicative-si negascoupled with the perfect surripuisti indicates a generalized conditional statement. Thus, we may interpret the grammatical construction as follows: any denial (si negas) constitutes theft or in this case plagiarism (surripuisti). 7 This passage suggests that acknowledging one's source exonerates the borrower from any taint of literary misappropriation. Thus, we offer Cicero's si fateris as meaning "to acknowledge" or "to cite." This understanding of the concept-viz. by citing the source one obviates any taint of plagiarism-appears to be a fairly common opinion in the ancient Roman tradition. For example,
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Papers by Marianina Olcott