Belief Systems

Ky artikull eksploron mundësinë dhe interesin për të analizuar historisë semantike të termave të fjalorit të institucioneve që shërbejnë për të shprehur nocionet e nderit dhe besimit. Kjo analizë mundëson një qasje krahasuese në perspektivën e ndërthurur të antropologjisë historike dhe gjuhësore që mund të jetë themelore për të kuptuar raportet ndërmjet vlerave sociale të moralit dhe të fesë. Për të emërtuar fenë dhe besimin, shqiptarët përdorin terma që kanë të njëjtin trung të përbashkët indoeuropian me termat e latinishtes dhe të greqishtes së vjetër. Por edhe fjalë të tjera, që tregojnë vlerat morale të nderit, si betimi dhe fjala e dhënë, si edhe strategjitë për aleanca martesore, mbeten të lidhura me të njëjtat burime në shqip. Në këtë mënyrë, termat e kësaj fushe leksikore tregojnë nocione që janë të rëndësishme për të kuptuar funksionimin e grupit social, familjar e farefisnor, si edhe atë të gjithë shoqërisë. Kështu bëhet e mundur të kuptohet më mirë shprehja e këtij nocioni themelor që mbështetet jo vetëm mbi një kod nderi tepër të rreptë, por edhe mbi struktura farefisnore shumë të forta, mbi përparësinë e fisit e të lidhjeve të gjakut dhe që përfshijnë përgjegjësinë kolektive në mekanizmat komplekse të sistemeve të aleancave dhe hakmarrjeve. Paralelisht, për të kuptuar vlerat morale si edhe natyrën e fesë tek shqiptarët, nuk duhet të nisemi nga subjektiviteti i një besimi apo objektiviteti i një dijeje, por nga marrëdhënia që parimet për nderin dhe praktikat sociale vendosin midis njerëzve. Besimi dhe feja janë thjesht virtyte të nderit, pesha e besimit në fjalën e dhënë.

In an effort to carve a distinct place for social facts without lapsing into a holistic ontology, John Greenwood has sought to define social phenomena solely in terms of the attitudes held by the actor(s) in question. I argue that his proposal allows for the possibility of a “lone collectivity” that is (1) unpalatable in its own right and (2) incompatible with the claim that sociology is autonomous from psychology. As such, I conclude that the relevant beliefs need to be held by more than one person.

Despite regular reference to conspiracy theories as a "belief system, " few studies have attempted to explore the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs beyond an examination of correlations between those beliefs. Employing unique data from two national surveys that includes respondent beliefs in 27 conspiracy theories, we decipher the substantive dimensions along which conspiracy beliefs are organized, as well as subgroupings within those dimensions. We find that variation in these conspiracy beliefs can be accounted for with two dimensions: the first regards partisan and ideological identities, while the other is composed of antisocial orientations, such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and acceptance of political violence. Importantly, these two dimensions are uncorrelated. We also find that conspiracy beliefs group together by substantive content, such as those regarding partisan actors or science/medicine. Our findings also demonstrate that inferences about the correlates of conspiracy beliefs are highly contingent on the specific conspiracy theories employed by researchers. We provide suggestions for future research in this vein.

A metalwork hoard dated to the Wilburton phase of the later Bronze Age, found at Barway close to the Isle of Ely in the Cambridgeshire Fens, is reported. Consideration of the hoard, in the context of later prehistoric hoarding in the local landscape, reveals that particular sorts of artefacts were associated with particular places in the landscape. In particular a strong association between later Bronze Age hoards and causeways connecting the Isle of Ely to the outside world is identified, and an interpretation suggested. This study demonstrates the potential of a detailed contextual approach for providing a more nuanced understanding of later Bronze Age metalwork deposition that moves away from a simplistic wet-dry dichotomy.

Transgenderism is a religious belief (ideology) and enforcement of it by the State violates the First Amendment.
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.
The attempt to force a transgender ideology upon schools and governments is a violation of the First Amendment in three ways. 
First, it is an attempt to establish a religion. Transgenderism is a belief that is not upheld by science. A person claims to be transgender by identification, which is a mental or emotional attachment to an idea. The person who claims to be a female, but is in fact a male, is denying the scientific fact of biology, genetics and DNA. Whatever they may “feel,” it does not make it a fact or true.
Second, the attempt to force others to conform to some complex forms of “politically correct” speech, is a violation of the second clause by prohibiting the free exercise of religion, as well as third, suppressing the freedom of speech by refusing to allow people to speak correctly of scientific facts, but forces them to verbally uphold an ideology or religion.

Social change can be a gradual unfolding of different ways of life or can imply a sudden, fundamental transformation of economic, social, and political institutions, as was the case in Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War. Individuals perceive, experience, and handle effects of social change on the basis of certain sociopsychological processes. This chapter focuses on how individuals deal with social change -how social change is perceived, experienced, and acted upon by the person and how these reactions affect human development.

"The result of collaboration between specialists from various fields aimed at furthering the study of religion in ancient Greece from a historical and anthropological perspective, the reflections developed in the course of the initiative and collected here create a space for interdisciplinary debate about the ancient world. More specifically, they shed light on the relationship between the space used for the religious practices and the surrounding landscape from prehistory to classical times, using different methods of analysis. Historians, archaeologists, and historians of Greek writing offer interventions organized around specific issues, such as the role of geological phenomena (the cave) in the construction of prehistoric cosmogony especially in Sicily and Magna Graecia (Donatella Pian, Eugenia Isetti, Antonella Traverso ), the relationship between shrines and territory in the history of mainland Greece and the islands (Ilaria Orsi, Karl Reber), the meaning of the myrtle plant in the dynamics of the cult of Aphrodite (Annarita Punzo), and literary representations of the geography of the sacred from Homer to the satyr (David Bouvier, Leonardo Paganelli, Elisabetta Villari).

              Frutto della collaborazione tra specialisti di diversi ambiti per approfondire lo studio del fenomeno religioso in Grecia antica in una prospettiva storica e antropologica, le riflessioni presentate nel corso dell’iniziativa tendono a creare uno spazio di dibattito interdisciplinare a proposito del mondo antico e, in particolare, arrivano a far luce sul rapporto tra lo spazio adibito alle pratiche religiose e il paesaggio circostante dalla Preistoria all’epoca classica, utilizzando differenti metodologie d’approccio. Storici, archeologi, storici della lettura greca hanno sviluppato problematiche articolate attorno a temi specifici, quali il ruolo di una particolarità geologica (la grotta) nella costruzione della cosmogonia preistorica in particolare in Sicilia e in Magna Grecia (Donatella Pian, Eugenia Isetti, Antonella Traverso), il rapporto tra i santuari e il territorio nella storia in Grecia continentale e insulare (Ilaria Orsi, Karl Reber), il significato di un elemento vegetale quale il mirto nella dinamica del culto di Afrodite (Annarita Punzo), le rappresentazioni letterarie della geografia del sacro da Omero al dramma satiresco (David Bouvier, Leonardo Paganelli).


Autori : D. Bouvier, E. Isetti, I. Orsi, L. Paganelli, D. Pian, A. Punzo, K. Reber, C. Tarditi, A. Traverso , E. Villari

Introduzione (E. Villari, K. Reber)……………………………………………………………..

L’uso delle grotte come spazi cultuali in ambito Mediterraneo nella Preistoria (E. Isetti, D. Pian, A. Traverso)……………………………………………………………………………….
Dal Parnaso al Golfo di Eubea. I santuari di Delfi e Kalapodi (I. Orsi)……………………….
Déméter et Dionysos. Paysages sacrés sur l’ile de Naxos (K. Reber)………………………..
Dal képos al téménos (E. Villari)……………………………………………………………..
Les fontaines de Troie: construction dramatique en textes et en images d'un lieu chargé de valeurs religieuses  (D. Bouvier)……………………………………………………………….
Tegea: il santuario di Atena Alea (C. Tarditi)…………………………………………………..
Il Mirto di Afrodite in Grecia: attestazioni cultuali e mitologiche (A. Punzo)…………………….

Lo spazio scenico, teatrale, rituale, cultuale e sacrale del dramma satiresco (L. Paganelli)……….

Conclusioni………………………………………………………………………………………

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Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage that is mostly used in ritualized settings (Santo Daime rituals, neo-shamanic rituals, and even do-it-yourself-rituals). It is a common practice in the investigated socio-cultural field to call these settings ''healing rituals.'' For this study, 15 people who underwent ayahuasca (self-) therapy for a particular disease like chronic pain, cancer, asthma, depression, alcohol abuse, or Hepatitis C were interviewed twice about their subjective concepts and beliefs on ayahuasca and healing. Qualitative data analysis revealed a variety of motivational patterns, subjective effects, and user types. Most participants were convinced that ayahuasca had influenced their illness positively or improved their coping with their illness. More importantly, it had enhanced their well being in general. As a result, we concluded that the effects of

A belief system is a network of proposition comprised of what we consider to be true or factual about reality. Each of us has a vast network of belief systems that act as a scaffold to help us make sense of the world around us. As we encounter new data we use this network to perceive, interpret, analyze, and organize this data. Our belief systems also act as filters to eliminate data that does not correlated with our existing constructs. In this sense, our beliefs can limit thinking and learning.

The Success and Happiness Attributes Questionnaire (SHAQ) was developed primarily from ideas in my book, You Can Choose To Be Happy: “Rise Above” Anxiety, Anger, and Depression  It assumes a cognitive systems model of human personality and behavior and emphasizes the importance of cognitions (values, beliefs, knowledge, thoughts, skills, etc.) for influencing both emotions and behavior. 
The SHAQ REVISED SCALES consist of 81 scales and subscales to reflect the complexity of key cognitive factors influencing happiness and success.  SHAQ’s main scales were reliable according to Cronbach alpha tests.  More than 3446 users completed most or all of SHAQ according to their personal choices.  All completed additional outcome scales and items.  Overall happiness, depression, anxiety, anger, health, relationship outcomes, highest personal income, academic achievement, and other factors were measured by outcome scales. 
The SHAQ scales had moderate to high positive correlations with almost all outcome measures.  SHAQ’s subscales had surprisingly high multiple correlations with the emotional outcomes; with Overall Happiness, R = .865, R Square = .749; with Low Depression, R = .730, R Square = .533; with Low Anxiety R = .675, R Square = .426; with Low Anger-Aggression,  R = .701, R Square = .491(N = 1123 for all analyses).  For the 224 subjects who completed all 70 subscales--including the academic scales, R = .897, R Square = .805 for Overall Happiness. I devised the Happiness Quotient (HQ) to get an overall predictor of happiness.  The HQ score is determined by a linear combination of 56 SHAQ scale/subscale scores. HQ was made analogous to IQ by having a mean = 100 and a standard deviation = 10. 
This SHAQ ADMINISTRATION MANUAL contains complete information and forms for administering, scoring, and minimally interpreting the SHAQ results.  It may be used by users and researchers to further understand the more specific, learned components of values, beliefs, and skills that are important in achieving happiness, success, and other positive well-being outcomes.

This study is a content analysis of wiretapped conversations and police interviews concerning the
criminal case of ‘Operation Koolvis’: an investigation into a Nigerian human trafficking ring for sexual
exploitation in Western Europe. The criminal network traffics women from Nigeria, via the Netherlands
as a transit country, to become street prostitutes in Italy. The aim is to explore the role of ‘voodoo’
in the functioning of the organization, applying transaction cost economics and rational choice theory.
Four main categories of voodoo use were found. Firstly, voodoo is a coercive mechanism. Secondly,
it is used cynically in cooperation between traffickers. Thirdly, there is non-cynical mention of voodoo
as a belief system. A fourth category concerns voodoo priests as independent enforcers of contracts.

Özet İnsanlık tarihinin dönüşüm noktalarından biri olarak kabul edilen demir teknolojisi, askeri ve siyasi alandaki kullanımının yanı sıra, inanç sistemi ve ritüellerin de önemli bir parçasıdır. İlk önceleri doğadaki meteorit demiri şekillendiren insan, bunun gökten geldi-ği bilgisine sahipti. Nitekim Sümer, Mısır ve Hitit uygarlıklarında, demir madeni için "gök demiri" anlamına gelen terimlerin kullanıldığı bilinir. Demir Çağ'la birlikte demirin maden filizinden çıkarılması ve işlenmesi gibi süreçlerde de demirin kutsallığı devam etmiş ve buna bağlı olarak çeşitli madenci ritüelleri şekillenmeye başlamıştır. Bu çalışmada, çeşitli kültürlerden takip edilebilen demirci ritüellerinin, Demir Çağ Doğu Anadolu'sundaki olası yeri ve önemi, dolaylı arkeolojik veriler üzerinden tartışılacaktır. Erken Demir Çağ'dan itibaren ortaya çıkan ve Urartu Devleti döneminde devam eden demir alet ve silah endüstrisinin, ritüel davranışlardaki yansıması arkeolojik veriler üze-rinden yorumlanacaktır. Abstract Iron technology, considered as one of the points of transformation in the history of humanity, is an important part of the belief system and rituals as well as in military and political fields. At first, the man who shaped the meteorite iron in nature had the knowledge that it came from the sky. Thus, Sumerian, Egyptian and Hittite civilizations are known to use the term meaning "sky iron" for iron material. With the Iron Age, iron sanctity continued in the processes such as the extraction and manufacturing of iron from the ore mine and that is why various miners' rituals began to take shape during this period. In this study, the place of the blacksmith rituals, which can be followed from various cultures, in the Iron Age Eastern Anatolia will be discussed with the indirect archaeological evidence. The reflection of iron tools and weapons industry which emerged in the Early Iron Age and continued during the Urartian State period, to the ritual behavior will be interpreted according to the archaeological data.

BIBLIOGRAPHY FILMOGRAPHY VIDEOGRAPHY vii ALIEN FEARS SCOTT ROBERT SCRIBNER Along with popular awareness of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), reports of alleged alien abduction of humans achieved considerable social and intellectual prominence during the late twentieth century. The literature on alien abduction demonstrates many proposed explanations for the phenomenon; most interpret it as some type of literal physical, psychosocial, or religious event. A critique of existing approaches revealed methodological weaknesses. The author proposed a Storyteller-Narrator model for alien abduction narratives (AANs) (Scribner, 1999), including a nonlinear chronological structure to explain their social salience. AANs share three characteristics: altered consciousness (trance); the presence of traumatic fears; and

Aix-Marseille Université Laboratoire d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne Préhistorique Europe/Afrique (UMR 7269) Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme 5, rue du Château de l'Horloge BP 647, 13094 Aix-en-Provence (France) 3 4 REMERCIEMENTS RINGRAZIAMENTI 5 LES PIERRES DRESSÉES DE L'AIRE CORSO-SARDE. ETUDE SYSTÉMIQUE DES TERRITOIRES. LE PIETRE FITTE DELL'AREA CORSO-SARDA. STUDIO SISTEMICO DEI TERRITORI. 6 9

El presente trabajo consiste en un análisis cualitativo de los sistemas de creencias de política exterior de las administraciones de Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) y Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015). De esta forma, se pretende identificar los sistemas de creencias de ambas administraciones a través de un sistema jerárquico de dos niveles compuesto por creencias centrales y creencias periféricas. A partir de esto, se realizará un breve análisis comparativo de las características principales de ambos sistemas de creencias con el objetivo de analizar sus principales continuidades y rupturas.

The study of astronomical knowledge and observations in ancient cultures has enabled and enriched archaeological interpretations in contexts as diverse as pre-Columbian America, later prehistoric Europe, Egypt, Babylonia, and the Far East. The application of archaeoastronomy to the study of ancient Greek religion has been less successful and has been hampered by poor practice. Through a case study that investigates the astronomy in Alcman’s Partheneion and its possible relationship with the Artemis Orthia rites carried out at her sanctuary in Sparta, we aim to show that a robust and methodologically sound archaeoastronomical approach can contribute to a better understanding of the role of astronomy in Greek religious practice and perceptions of the cosmos.

"This special issue of "Patrimonio Histórico" (Historical Heritage), the bulletin of the Andalusian Historical Heritage Institute, brings together a series of contributions aimed at disseminating the concept of megalithic heritage among cultural and historical heritage specialists. It provides a general overview of the basic themes involved in today's research of the megalithic phenomenon (section "ideas, theories, problems"), the main methodological innovations the field has experienced in recent years ("sciences, methods"), the public perceptions involved ("perceptions") as well as a series of major megalithic sites of southern Iberia ("sites, interventions, management")."

Astronomical analysis of 10th to 12th century A.D. cultural evidence at Chaco Canyon New Mexico began in the 1970s. Published work includes a variety of proposals including horizon calendars, solar calendrical constructs in architecture, cardinal North-South and/or East-West (NS/EW) alignments of architecture and roads, building alignments to lunar standstills or June solstice sunrise, wall alignments to equinox sunrise or sunset, and the positioning of structures at observation points for horizon calendrical stations. Within the published archaeoastronomy work attention to Pueblo ethnography, archaeological evidence including temporal data, statistical significance, and the consideration of multiple hypotheses has varied widely. The sample of Chacoan Great Houses assessed for astronomical associations was unchanged from the mid 1990s to 2007.
There is active debate among archaeologists regarding the relative importance of political, ritual, and economic factors in the Chacoan regional system. Past archaeoastronomy work has had limited influence on such debate. Nonetheless, there is general acceptance among archaeologists of the idea that visual astronomy had a role in Chacoan culture, if for no other reason than to provide a calendrical system.
This research expands on previous samples of Chacoan Great Houses to include all those identified within “downtown Chaco,” as well as a small sample of “halo” and “outlier” Great Houses. The field work, conducted under National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management permits, included compass survey, theodolite survey, and photography at a total of 28 sites. Survey results were assessed in the context of positional astronomy, Pueblo ethnography, and the archaeological record including published construction dates for the sites.
I found no convincing evidence for previously proposed architectural alignments to lunar standstills, June solstice sunrises, or equinox events. I have found that a majority of the studied Chacoan structures to conform to one or more of four architectural traditions that have astronomical associations. These include front-facing south-southeast (SSE) orientation, front facing east-southeast (ESE) orientation, alignments to the cardinal directions of North-South and/or East-West (NS/EW), and the construction of Great Houses at workable calendrical stations with horizon foresights for solstice dates. Multiple Great Houses exhibit two of these traditions in combination. A single case is identified that may incorporate three of the traditions. The “halo” Great House at Bis sa’ani includes a cardinal North-South and East-West (“NS/EW”) structure, a possible SSE-facing room block, and a June solstice sunrise horizon foresight.
Building upon Hayes’ and Lekson’s assessments of orientations, temporal analysis of these four traditions may improve our understanding of shifting patterns of multi-cultural collaboration and dominance among ancestral Pueblo groups. A majority of the Great Houses built before A.D. 1000 are front-facing to the SSE. The SSE orientation tradition continued during the peak of Bonito Phase construction activity (A.D. 1020-1100). Most of the putative lunar standstill and June solstice sunrise alignments comprise a subset of this SSE facing group. During the same period, the first cardinal NS and EW architectural alignments were also completed. Four ESE facing Great Houses were constructed within and in proximity to Chaco between A.D. 860 and A.D. 1090. This third orientation tradition may represent some form of cultural affiliation with contemporary Rio Grande Valley people based upon comparison to previous orientation studies conducted by Lakatos, or it may perhaps represent an alternative cosmological intent.
The “new” Great Houses built during the Late Bonito phase at Chaco after A.D. 1100 are all either involved in inter-site cardinal NS alignments, or positioned at or in proximity to observing locations that can function as solstice calendrical stations. Workable solstice horizon calendars are now confirmed at Casa Chiquita, Kin Kletso, Headquarters Site A, Wijiji, Bis sa’ani, and 125 m from Roberts Small Pueblo at 29SJ 2538/2539. A potential calendrical station located in the vicinity of Peñasco Blanco’s McElmo ruin is yet to be confirmed. The Late Bonito “calendrical” Great Houses may have been intended as pilgrimage destinations where people could witness a dramatic solstice sunrise or sunset. During the same time period, SSE orientation was dominant in the Totah region to the north at sites including Aztec and Chimney Rock.
The astronomical evidence presented supports the idea that people with at least three distinct cosmological intents collaborated at Chaco; it also supports Van Dyke’s hypothesis that Late Bonito phase construction at Chaco represented an attempt by a weakened ritual elite to reinvigorate their legitimacy and power. The consistency of cosmological and solstitial references among Late Bonito Phase Great Houses at Chaco indicates that the Late Bonito Chacoan elite’s power may have rested in part on esoteric astronomical knowledge, and an elevated cultural status for solar events.
Under the terms of a U.S. National Park Service field research permit some location- specific site data has been deliberately redacted from this document, as required by the U.S. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.

Ita tomak hatene ona kona ba termus Lulik hanesan baibain ita rona, Uma Lulik, rai Lulik, bee Lulik, fatin Lulik, foho Lulik, Na'i Lulik, Amu Lulik, nsst. Bainhira Timoroan rona liafuan Lulik, derepente sira hamriik iha fatin, sira fó atensaun, sira fó respeitu, sira ta'uk, no Lulik dada sira halo tuir no sira la husu buat barak. Sira tuir de'it saida mak Lulik haruka.

Tanba lulik nia influensia makaas tebes ba Timoroan sira hanesan temi ona iha leten, ema balun interpreta katak lulik ne'e hanesan buat májiku ida. Maioria Timoroan sei halo tuir lulik, no lulik fó influensia makaas ba moris loroloron Timoroan nia, maibé investigasaun no dikusaun ba konseitu ida ne'e sei ki'ak tebetebes hosi akadémiku sira.

Lulik hetan ataka makaas hosi ema rai liur ne'ebé mai iha Timor. Ezemplu, Igreja dehan katak Lulik ne'e hanesan fiar animismu ida ne'ebé la di'ak, Portugés sira dehan lulik ne'e " atrasado " no ema Indonezia dehan " terbelakang/ketinggalan zaman ". Tanba ataka hirak ne'e, Timoroan sira sai moe no lakon fiar an nu'udár sosiedade ida. Sira moe atu ko'alia kona ba lulik, tanba ema hosi rai liur dada sira hodi hanoin katak lulik ne'e buat negativu ida ne'ebé la di'ak. To'o ohin loron, Timoroan barak moe nafatin no ko'alia aat buat hirak ne'ebé sira nia beiala sira rai hela ba sira. Timoroan sira iha konhesimentu no rona kona ba lulik maibé saida loloos mak lulik sira ladún hatene. Artígu ida ne'e sei ko'alia kona ba 'saida mak lulik', 'elementu hirak iha lulik nia laran no ita bele haree iha ne'ebé', 'aplikasaun lulik iha moris loroloron', 'lulik no kbiit external sira iha Timor-Leste' no 'oinsá lulik iha tempu agora daudaun'. Liu ida ne'e, artígu mós diskuti kona ba saida mak akontese bainhira Timoroan nega ka husik lerek lulik.

The paper discusses the demarcation problem between non-science, fringe-science and science by considering methodological issues of cultural astronomy when interpreting the Palaeolithic archaeological inventory. The research focuses primarily various astronomical assessments of cave art at Lascaux and at some other locations, as well as on case studies of the artefacts.

This article does not presume to summarize the immense complexity of megalithism in France over a period of nearly three millenia, but rather to contribute a few elements of reflection to the numerous  research directions it inspires. It first insists on the importance of finally eliminating a number of accepted ideas; among which, the tendency to systematically classify the architecture of burial spaces in function of their “apparent” complexity, from the most simple to the most elaborate. Numerous examples show that the megalithic  phenomenon is complex, not linear. Each monument, today in ruins, is the result of several architectural projects, in the true sense of the term. The construction of a site, supposes at the same time a  succession of technical acts that also merit detailed study, in the same manner as that which specialists of the Medieval period call the archeology of construction. We also wish to emphasize the necessity of addressing Megalithism from the perspective of architecture, grave goods and human remains (when they are preserved), as these three aspects are often intertwined. Finally, a megalithic monument must be understood in its space, the funerary space in the broad sense, as well as the burial space. From this perspective, a multitude of question and numerous research directions appear. Megalithism is not an outdated subjet, but an innovative one, for which much remains to be done.

De l’organisation sociale aux discours et pratiques qui construisent la notion de personne chez les Albanais, en passant par les relations interethniques et les dynamiques interculturelles des valeurs morales dans l’ensemble des Balkans, l’auteur trace le parcours de ses recherches sur les processus symboliques qui structurent les identités sociales, les relations de parenté et de genre, ainsi que les idéologies nationales des cultures, des religions et des langages. Méthodologiquement, s’il a dû s’abstraire de sa propre société et s’en détacher complètement pour pouvoir l’étudier, comme socio-anthropologue, il a dû faire un effort supplémentaire: après en sortir, il a dû y entrer à nouveau afin de la re–connaître et l’expliquer socio-anthropologiquement. À ce niveau, l’expérience transculturelle souligne une conversion des complications et des incertitudes du travail de terrain ethnographique vers la stabilité relative de la connaissance socio-anthropologique. L’objectivité expérientielle d’une telle démarche permet de comprendre de façon plus intime la réalité qualitative exprimée dans les frontières symboliques des identités locales, dans une aire culturelle définie comme un champ composite et instructif. En définitive, si la construction identitaire et la dynamique interculturelle sont importantes, une meilleure appréhension plus précise et plus rigoureuse de la totalité sociale est obtenue via une nouvelle méthodologie permettant de construire un meilleur modèle d’explication théorique.

This paper contains a summary of many of the ideas that I have had, discussed or encountered about standing stones over the years and much of which has been published or are in press. In particular, this includes the possible anthropomorphic connotations and roles that standing stones might have played in the communities that built them. It begins with a very short review of some of the interpretations on standing stones known to date, firstly the oldest known standing stones, or their first appearances in some regions and then those of Britain, followed by a discussion of the author’s research results that incorporate standing stones connection to Nature. The chapter finishes with the ideas on the place that standing stones had within societies within Scotland, namely as active individuals of their communities.
Book can be found at https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789694994

The existence of caves gave people an excellent reason where to locate the celestial
bodies at the time of their invisibility: They moved through secret realms under the
ordinary world, somehow at the "backside" or the interior of the customary perceptible
landscape. Caverns made accessible this "subterranean" space-time, wh ich ancient
people regarded as a special lounge of the celestial bodies, and other beings. Thus, it is
obvious why caverns fascinated people from Palaeolithic epochs to Jules Verne's
"Voyage au centre de la terre (1864)": Going into the underground galleries, and
following the mighty celestial bodies on their course through the subterranean area,
offered a unique possibility to explore the inner structure of the cosmos. Moreover, at
another level of understanding, ancient people interpreted the entry into a cavern and the
passage through the inner space-time ofthe world as a voyage to the generative interior
of an enormous female, representing the Great Mother of the World. They thought that
the cosmos and the cave, the outer and the inner structure of the world, run parallel to
the physical body and the psychonoetic essence of a human being. Going into a cave
then meant not only to travel to the creative realm of the cosmos, but in a figurative
sense also to undertake a voyage to the innermost person. It isn't surprising that since
Palaeolithic time caverns had been regarded as sacred places, were often used as
shrines, cult places, or for burials and served as a model ofthe world.

The discovery of the Sungai Batu complex by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2007 is of great significant in understanding the early civilisations in Malaysia. The complex was found during a scientific palaeoenvironmental reconstruction sutdy. A total pf 97 mounds were mapped and identified in 3km2 area that has great archaeological potential. To date, excavations at 16 mounds revealed ritual monuments, a riverside jetty built in the 2nd century CE, and iron smelting sites that were used from the 1st century CE. The discovery of the iron smelting industry in this complex showed that the Sungai Batu civilisation had an economic base. These new findings give a more holistoc and complete picture of the Bujang Valley civilisation and should lead to a significant re-evaluation of the evidence that has been accumulated since the 1840s. Based on the early research results, the Bujang Valley civilisation was thought to date as early as the end of the 4th century CE and to be primarily a Hindu-Buddhist site (Coedes, 1968). These new finds with chronometric dating (radiocarbon and OSL) allow us to re-write not onl the history of Malaysian civilisation but also that of the region. To date, the important discovery of a 110 CE monument meant Sungai Batu provides the earliest evidence of a monument (with chronometric dates) in Southeast Asia.

The origins of the Germanic “Straw-bears” have been subject to speculation for years. In this study the Straw-bears will be contextualized along with their European relatives so that their meaning can be better appreciated within a larger framework of European ritual belief and social practice. The cosmogony in question is grounded in the belief that humans descended from bears, a belief that continued into the 20th century among Basque-speakers. The transformative aspects of the Straw-bear performances will be examined in relation to “Good-Luck Visits”, a type of performance aimed at bringing good health and prosperity to the houses visited and in which Straw-bears and their relatives have played a major role.

La lutte contre le terrorisme est une préoccupation contemporaine des diplomaties, alors que sa définition internationale demeure introuvable. Dans une approche organisationnelle, les hauts fonctionnaires du ministère français des Affaires étrangères partageraient une vision commune sur la violence terroriste et un « savoir-faire » qui leur permettraient de prendre des décisions efficaces pour la prévenir et la combattre. Or, dans une approche constructiviste, la lutte contre le terrorisme relève de relations intersubjectives comprenant l’activation de systèmes de croyances ou Operational Codes (OPCODES) différents, selon que les diplomates français viennent de l’ENA ou du Concours d’Orient. Ces croyances jouent un rôle dans la façon que les hauts fonctionnaires voient le monde, l’ennemi, mais aussi se perçoivent dans leurs fonctions. Ce sont aussi des croyances préexistantes, forgées à partir des expériences et des engagements personnels, qui font que les décisions en matière d’antiterrorisme ne relèvent pas seulement de considérations sécuritaires, mais aussi de motivations matérielles, émotionnelles, cognitives et morales pour un Etat comme la France.

Thèse disponible sur Theses.fr : http://www.theses.fr/2014LIL20009

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The fight against terrorism is a contemporary concern shared in state diplomacy, though no such common definition exists in international affairs. From an organizational approach, senior civil servants of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs are thought to share a global vision on terrorist violence and a savoir-faire that should allow them to make effective decisions in their efforts to prevent and fight against it. However, in a constructivist approach, the war on terrorism draws its inspiration from inter-subjective relations that activate a set of belief systems or different Operational Codes (OPCODES). These beliefs systems, though dependent French diplomats’ background (Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) or the Concours d’Orient), contribute to their decision making process. Thus, these beliefs play a role in the way decision makers see the world, the enemy, but also as to how they perceive themselves in their duties. These pre-existing beliefs which have been forged through personal experiences and commitments are responsible for shaping a decision making process that is not solely based on security concerns. They are in fact, also determined by material, emotional, cognitive and moral motivations for a state such as that of France.

Thesis avaible on Theses.fr : http://www.theses.fr/2014LIL20009

One of the characteristics of the human mode of existence shows up in modelling the structures and processes of the world onto the living space, which consists of certain landscapes, locations, and habitations. That way the inconceivable course of events became “tangible” by establishing and constructing spheres of spatiotemporal order. Concepts of housing the world are implemented in the architecture of lodgings, cultic buildings, settlements, territories, and the artificial shaping of the landscape. These structures offered humans a „domestic” sphere within a realm of wild nature, ensuring stability, centricity, meaning, security, familiarities, knowledge of controlling, social and power classifications.
Archaeological and ethnological records worldwide give evidence that, since Palaeolithic time, cosmovisions were an essential part of man’s requirement to organize habitats. In consequence and accompanying hominid evolution, which caused a partially freeing up from strong drives, organizing the world into a meaningful consistent and dynamic framework of interacting subsystems was necessary to integrate and orientate the human lifeworld within changing natural ecospheres. Thus specific cultural systems including cosmovisions emerged, which allowed man to establish and maintain order and rhythm in personal and social life, interacting with given environmental conditions and to answer the human questions about the whys and wherefores concerning him and the world. Cosmographic concepts of the world edifice can be regarded as holistic, multi-layered models of evolving human ecosystems, which, by using symbolic language, helped man making the world homely and transcending the profane. Since time immemorial and across the world archaic cultures symbolically, mythically, and ritually accompanied the configuration and weighting of the habitat as well as the placement within. People relied on an ordered and organized spatiotemporal natural world domesticated in culture, into which human life could be embedded and from which life received a deeper spirit and purpose. These cosmographic concepts of habitation across cultures are transformed into designed landscapes, cultic caves, tents, campsites, houses, cities, or temples.

Issues of subjectivity and consciousness are dealt within very different waysw in the analytic tradition and in the idealistic phenomenological tradition central to continental philosophy. This book brings together analytically inspired philosophers working on the contintent with English-speaking philosophers to address specific issues regarding subjectivity and consciousness. The issues range from acquaintance and immediacy in perception and apperception, to the role of agency in bodily 'mine-ness', to self-determination (Selbstbestimmung) through (free) action. Thus involving philosophers of different traditons should yield a deeper vision of consciousness and subjectivity; oe relating the mind not only to nature, or to first-perso authority in linguistic creatures Questions which, in the analytic tradition, are sometimes treated as exhausting the topic but also to many other aspects of mind's understanding of itself in ways which disrupt classic inner/outer boundaries.

Christopher Buck, “Bahāʾīs.” Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān: Supplement. Ed. Jane McAuliffe. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. (Published December 1, 2016.)

Having arisen out of Islamic historical context and milieu, the Bahāʾī religion has certain Islamicate elements, yet the Bahāʾī Faith exhibits certain other features that phenomenologically are supra-Islamicate and socially and institutionally distinctive in character. For instance, Islamic doctrine adheres to a belief in successive revelations, beginning with Adam, and culminating with the Prophet Muḥammad as the “Seal of the Prophets.” In Bahāʾī teachings, the idea of successive revelations is invested with a teleology that transforms it into “progressive revelation” where the succession of Messengers throughout the history of religions is not only sequential but cumulative, coefficient with the social evolution of humanity. As humankind advances socially, so does the corresponding need for guidance and laws suited to the exigencies of the day and age. Here, “progressive” conveys the notion of a “fuller” and “more advanced” repository of divine guidance (by way of revelatory sacred texts), without making a claim of intrinsic superiority.

A Bahāʾī theology of pluralism, with special reference to Islam, may be based on a statement by Shoghi Effendi, “Guardian” of the Bahāʾī Faith (1921–57): “Unequivocally and without the least reservation it proclaims all established religions to be divine in origin, identical in their aims, complementary in their functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable in their value to mankind.” (S. Effendi, World Order, p. 58). This, of course, applies as much to Islam as to other religions.

Islamic prophetology is anchored in the received interpretation of Q. 33:40, which is widely believed to establish Muḥammad as the final prophet (see prophets and prophethood). In what is perhaps his most significant exegetical maneuver, Bahā’u’llāh relativizes that claim in order to supersede it, refocusing the reader’s attention a mere four verses later (Q. 33:44) on the eschatological attainment to the presence of God (liqāʾ Allāh) on the last day (see eschatology):

*** Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring Book (Qurʾān), after (baʿd az) speaking of the “Seal” in His exalted utterance: “Muḥammad is the Apostle of God and the Seal of the Prophets” (Q. 33:40), hath revealed unto all people the promise (vaʾda) of “attainment unto the divine Presence (liqāʾyi khudā).” To this attainment to the presence of the immortal King testify the verses of the Book, some of which We have already mentioned (vide par. 148: Q. 29:23, 2:46, 2:249, 18:111, 13:2). The one true God is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more explicit than “attainment unto the divine Presence” hath been revealed in the Qurʾān. (va khudā-yi vāḥid shāhid-i maqāl ast kih hīch amrī a’ẓam az liqā’ va asraḥ-ī az ān dar furqān zikr nayāftih.) Well is it with him that hath attained thereunto, in the day wherein most of the people, even as ye witness, have turned away therefrom. ***

*** And yet, through the mystery of the former (avval) verse, they have turned away from the grace promised by the latter (thānī), despite the fact that “attainment unto the divine Presence” in the “Day of Resurrection” (liqāʾ dar yawm-i qiyām) is explicitly stated in the Book (Qurʾān). (Bahā’u’llāh, the Kitāb-i-Īqān, trans. Shoghi Effendi, Pars. 181–182; parenthetical references added; id. Īqān, Pars. 181–182). ***

In this pivotal passage, when Bahā’u’llāh relates back to “verses of the Book, some of which We have already mentioned,” a quick search of the Īqān shows that, in par. 148, Bahā’u’llāh cites Q. 29:23, 2:46, 2:249, 18:111, 13:2. Yet in this passage, Bahā’u’llāh also alludes to a Qurʾānic announcement of the “attainment unto the divine Presence” in the “Day of Resurrection” (liqāʾ dar yawm-i qiyām) that comes “after” (baʿd az) the “Seal” verse.

Shoghi Effendi, in his dual role as authorized translator and interpreter of Bahāʾī scriptures, provides a word-for-word, literal translation in rendering the Persian so: “And yet, through the mystery of the former.” Then Shoghi Effendi inserts one word for amplification: “verse” (not in the original Persian). This subtle, yet highly significant, gloss disambiguates the text, narrowing the reading from an episodic sequence of prophetic/eschatological events (“Seal of the Prophets” followed by “Divine Presence”) to a textual, qurʾānic sequence, i.e. of a pair verses descriptive of this same sequence. This makes perfect sense since the preposition “after” (baʿd az) can also mean “next.”

An attractive hypothesis (with strong evidence shy of conclusive proof) is that Bahā’u’llāh intended this pair of verses, Q. 33:40 and Q. 33:44, to be read together. Indeed, the very next verse after the “Seal” verse that refers to the eschatological encounter with God is Q. 33:44, which reads: “Their greeting the Day they meet Him will be, “Peace.” And He has prepared for them a noble reward” (Sahih International). A Shīʿī rendering is: “On the day when they will be brought into the presence of their Lord, their greeting to each other will be, ‘Peace be with you.’ God has prepared an honorable reward them” (Muḥammad Sarwar).

This paper examines the temporal permanence of megalithic monuments in the Iberian south-west during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Firstly, a number of well-documented cases are described, discussing the specific circumstances of each of them (chronology, funerary ritual, spatial location, etc.). Secondly, an interpretation of the different ideological and social meanings that the utilisation of old megalithic monuments might have had for the communities of the second and first millennia BC is proposed.

This paper explores the application of hinge epistemology to deep disagreement. Hinge epistemology holds that there is a class of commitments—hinge commitments—which play a fundamental role in the structure of belief and rational evaluation: they are the most basic general presuppositions of our world views which make it possible for us to evaluate certain beliefs or doubts as rational. Deep disagreements seem to crucially involve disagreement over such fundamental commitments. In this paper, I consider pessimism about deep disagreement, the thesis that such disagreements are rationally irresolvable, and ask whether the Wittgensteinian account of deep disagreement—according to which such disagreements are disagreements over hinge commitments—provides adequate support for pessimism. I argue that while most versions of hinge epistemology support pessimism about deep disagreement, at least one variety of hinge epistemology, the entitlement theory, does not.

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The aim of this paper is to describe and reflect upon the functional aspects of the ritual reuse of Bronze Age monuments that occurred in southwestern Sweden in the Late Iron Age. The often very complex ritual behaviour cannot be labelled as traces of simple plundering. The archaeological record reveals that the large barrows and stone settings of the Bronze Age were systematically reused in the pre-Christian Iron Age rituals to such an extent that the tradition can be defined as a cultural pattern. Large trenches were dug into the monuments, depositions were made, meals were prepared, bonfires were lit, massive amounts of soil, turf and stones were rearranged, and secondary burials were conducted-activities that all took place in the "ancient" monuments. The labour invested in the pre-Christian Viking Age ritual reuse of the by then 2000-year-old monuments was extensive. The author means that the cultic and cultural pattern that appears in this ritual reuse of Bronze Age monuments can be interpreted as a Late Iron Age social strategy which focused on the necessity to create a history and thus confirm a specific Viking Age ideology. Through repeated ritual reuse of monuments a Viking Age population could create a memory and identity and thus raise social claims to a certain place. From a specific pre-Christian Viking Age worldview perspective, the constant manifestation and recreation of a past through ritual can be understood as traces of ideological resistance during a period characterized by an, in the end, unavoidable transformation of the pre-Christian world.