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1000 results for “philosopher”
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So, ich beende diese Auswahl bemerkenswerter #Erkenntnisse von Studierenden im Kontext einer #KIKlausur für heute.
Ich bin zwar geschafft, aber auch wirklich beeindruckt und sehe eine These der #Erkenntnistheorie von Karl Popper (1902 – 1994) eindrucksvoll bestätigt:
„Alle Menschen sind Philosophen.”
Diese Exzellenz in #Medienethik & #Medienbildung gibt mir #Hoffnung. #KarlPopper #Philosophie #Bildung #Herzensbildung #Dialog #Studierende #KITKarlsruhe (16/16)
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Top ten posts in January 2026 https://library.hrmtc.com/2026/02/01/top-ten-posts-in-january-2026/ #19thCentury #20thCentury #abjectFear #acrossTheWorld #adept #ageOld #alchemicalTradition #alchemists #Alchemy #aleisterCrowley #ancient #ancientEgyptian #AndréBreton #angel #antiquity #anyAndEvery #apparitions #Arkansas #artists #Astrology #auguries #auspiciousTimes #awakening #backwoods #beautyTreatments #beliefs #BernardRoger #bestPosts #bestTen #biographicalSketches #blackArts #butcheringHogs #cannotBear #ceremonies #chaosMagicians #charged #charms #ChineseCulture #ChineseSociety #ChristianKabbalah #clairvoyants #codes #collaborations #compendium #concentration #concoctions #conjurefolk #consciousnessAlteringTechniques #courtshipJinxes #Craft #creativeFire #cures #curiosity #customs #declaring #deepestBeliefs #degree #democracy #divination #diviningRods #doTheirOwnWills #doodlebuggers #dummySuppers #eachCitizen #eachStar #economists #education #Egyptian #elements #eliphasLevi #enclave #esotericPhilosophy #esoterica #EugèneCanseliet #EuropeanSurrealism #everyBreath #everyMan #everyWoman #everyWord #evilEye #exorcism #fertileSource #findWater #fingerCrossing #fit #folklore #folkloristicMaterial #fortuneTellers #free #Freedom #freemasonry #Fulcanelli #function #galaxy #genius #ghostlyVisitations #ghosts #goddesses #gods #goomerDoctors #grannyWomen #greatLodge #greaterMysteries #greaterSecret #Greek #HenryTWilliams #herbs #hermeticism #hiddenHistories #hiddenPractices #hierarchy #higherEvolution #hillfolk #hillpeople #historicalSketches #history #HolyRollers #horrors #humanLife #humanity #ignorance #imagine #impossible #incantation #initiation #initiatoryDimension #innovation #inquiry #insisting #intuition #itsNature #JDBuck #January2026 #JeanThéophileDesaguliers #JewishKabbalah #JonEGraham #kabbalah #languageOfTheBirds #latentFaculties #legends #liberLegis #LiberSamekh #Lodge #lodgeHistories #lodgeSymbolism #lovePotions #luckyCharms #maatMagicians #magic #magicalChange #magicalOrder #magicalPractitioners #magicalRealm #magicians #magick #makes #man #MarcusKatz #markingBabies #masonicSymbolism #Masonry #mediums #Missouri #modernOccultRevival #monthlyRitual #mountainMidwives #muchMischief #myLaw #mysteries #mysteryTraditions #mysticMasonry #mysticalExercises #mysticalLore #mysticalRealm #naturally #nature #neophytes #NewComment #objected #observances #obsessed #occultKnowledge #occultPhilosophy #occultism #occultists #oddPractices #oldAttitudes #oldTime #omens #onTheContrary #operativeAlchemy #origin #origins #ourLaw #outsiders #Ozark #PatrickLepetit #people #personalities #philosophers #physicians #plantingCrops #poets #popularSuperstition #powerDoctors #primaryDocuments #principalObjections #proper #psychicalLife #purpose #quaintIdeas #rareDocuments #reduces #religion #remedies #RenéAlleau #resistance #result #rites #ritual #ritualVerses #rituals #salvadorDali #sayings #Scholars #scholarship #school #science #secretBook #secretDoctrine #secretLanguage #secretRituals #secretSocieties #secretTeaching #seers #sensoryDeprivation #septenaryNature #sigilMagick #signs #socialDuty #Society #soothsayers #sorcery #soul #soulOfTheAdept #spells #spiritualLife #spiritualPower #SpiritualSun #spiritualTransformation #spiritualism #Star #stories #students #summary #summaryOfTheMonth #sun #superficial #superstition #superstitions #Surrealism #surrealistMovement #surrealistSymbology #surrealists #Symbols #tableTurning #taoism #taoistMystics #tarot #teaches #TheBookOfTheLaw #thelema #thelemites #ThomasCleary #ThomasVaughan #tiphereth #topPosts #topTen #tradition #traditions #twelve #universalLanguage #VanceRandolph #vastBulk #veilsItself #Victorian #view #visualization #weatherSigns #wisdom #wishMaking #witchWigglers #Witchcraft #witches #wordGames #Work #workingHypothesis #workingTools #yarbDoctor #year #zodiacalForces #zodiacalRituals -
The second one is an academic article with an incredible title:
Enacting the Anti-fascist Body: Somaterapia as Collective Liberatory Becoming
by a philosopher with an incredible name: Aragorn Eloff
The article is about somaterapia, a Brazilian anti-fascist body practice aimed at healing the effects of fascism. The idea is that fascism in its cultural form manifests in the body in the form of micro-fascisms: muscular armour, stooped shoulders, fear of intimacy, et cetera. Somaterapia is a practical and radical way of dealing with not just these symptoms, but of rooting fascism out from the source by creating healthier ways of worlding.
The article explores all of this through the lens of the enactive approach to cognition, and I love the way it introduces and explains the various facets of enactivism necessary for understanding someterapia. It is truly a dialogue between two seemingly disparate practices, done in such a way as to enrich both sides.
Favourite quote: "joyful senses are not created if there is no revolt and insurgency in the face of what makes us mediocre"
🔗 https://doi.org/10.3366/soma.2024.0420
3/3 🧵
#recommendations #recommendation #philosophy #AcademicPhilosophy #somaterapia #fascism #antifascism #enactivism #microfascism #EmbodiedActivism #activism #worlding #SenseMaking #tesaõ
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The second one is an academic article with an incredible title:
Enacting the Anti-fascist Body: Somaterapia as Collective Liberatory Becoming
by a philosopher with an incredible name: Aragorn Eloff
The article is about somaterapia, a Brazilian anti-fascist body practice aimed at healing the effects of fascism. The idea is that fascism in its cultural form manifests in the body in the form of micro-fascisms: muscular armour, stooped shoulders, fear of intimacy, et cetera. Somaterapia is a practical and radical way of dealing with not just these symptoms, but of rooting fascism out from the source by creating healthier ways of worlding.
The article explores all of this through the lens of the enactive approach to cognition, and I love the way it introduces and explains the various facets of enactivism necessary for understanding someterapia. It is truly a dialogue between two seemingly disparate practices, done in such a way as to enrich both sides.
Favourite quote: "joyful senses are not created if there is no revolt and insurgency in the face of what makes us mediocre"
🔗 https://doi.org/10.3366/soma.2024.0420
3/3 🧵
#recommendations #recommendation #philosophy #AcademicPhilosophy #somaterapia #fascism #antifascism #enactivism #microfascism #EmbodiedActivism #activism #worlding #SenseMaking #tesaõ
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The second one is an academic article with an incredible title:
Enacting the Anti-fascist Body: Somaterapia as Collective Liberatory Becoming
by a philosopher with an incredible name: Aragorn Eloff
The article is about somaterapia, a Brazilian anti-fascist body practice aimed at healing the effects of fascism. The idea is that fascism in its cultural form manifests in the body in the form of micro-fascisms: muscular armour, stooped shoulders, fear of intimacy, et cetera. Somaterapia is a practical and radical way of dealing with not just these symptoms, but of rooting fascism out from the source by creating healthier ways of worlding.
The article explores all of this through the lens of the enactive approach to cognition, and I love the way it introduces and explains the various facets of enactivism necessary for understanding someterapia. It is truly a dialogue between two seemingly disparate practices, done in such a way as to enrich both sides.
Favourite quote: "joyful senses are not created if there is no revolt and insurgency in the face of what makes us mediocre"
🔗 https://doi.org/10.3366/soma.2024.0420
3/3 🧵
#recommendations #recommendation #philosophy #AcademicPhilosophy #somaterapia #fascism #antifascism #enactivism #microfascism #EmbodiedActivism #activism #worlding #SenseMaking #tesaõ
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A quotation from Hannah Arendt
When I speak of the banality of evil, I do so only on the strictly factual level, pointing to a phenomenon which stared one in the face at the trial. Eichmann was not Iago and not Macbeth, and nothing would have been farther from his mind than to determine with Richard III “to prove a villain.” Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all. And this diligence in itself was in no way criminal; he certainly would never have murdered his superior in order to inherit his post. He merely, to put the matter colloquially, never realized what he was doing.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Postscript (1963)More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/80707/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hannaharendt #arendt #accountability #banalityofevil #consequences #crime #evil #evilperson #evildoer #Holocaust #intent #moralityplay #motivation #villain #willfulignorance
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A quotation from Hannah Arendt
When I speak of the banality of evil, I do so only on the strictly factual level, pointing to a phenomenon which stared one in the face at the trial. Eichmann was not Iago and not Macbeth, and nothing would have been farther from his mind than to determine with Richard III “to prove a villain.” Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all. And this diligence in itself was in no way criminal; he certainly would never have murdered his superior in order to inherit his post. He merely, to put the matter colloquially, never realized what he was doing.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Postscript (1963)More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/80707/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hannaharendt #arendt #accountability #banalityofevil #consequences #crime #evil #evilperson #evildoer #Holocaust #intent #moralityplay #motivation #villain #willfulignorance
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A quotation from Hannah Arendt
When I speak of the banality of evil, I do so only on the strictly factual level, pointing to a phenomenon which stared one in the face at the trial. Eichmann was not Iago and not Macbeth, and nothing would have been farther from his mind than to determine with Richard III “to prove a villain.” Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all. And this diligence in itself was in no way criminal; he certainly would never have murdered his superior in order to inherit his post. He merely, to put the matter colloquially, never realized what he was doing.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Postscript (1963)More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/80707/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hannaharendt #arendt #accountability #banalityofevil #consequences #crime #evil #evilperson #evildoer #Holocaust #intent #moralityplay #motivation #villain #willfulignorance
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A quotation from Hannah Arendt
When I speak of the banality of evil, I do so only on the strictly factual level, pointing to a phenomenon which stared one in the face at the trial. Eichmann was not Iago and not Macbeth, and nothing would have been farther from his mind than to determine with Richard III “to prove a villain.” Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all. And this diligence in itself was in no way criminal; he certainly would never have murdered his superior in order to inherit his post. He merely, to put the matter colloquially, never realized what he was doing.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Postscript (1963)More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/80707/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hannaharendt #arendt #accountability #banalityofevil #consequences #crime #evil #evilperson #evildoer #Holocaust #intent #moralityplay #motivation #villain #willfulignorance
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Avez-vous déjà zappé sur la chaine MCM ?
Rassurez-moi les gens qui financent, ceux qui "réalisent" et ceux qui "jouent" dans des "téléfilms" comme là " #Sharknado : le 4e réveil", ils sont en taule pour avoir commis ça ? Non ?Bon je vais me fouetter avec des orties frais en piétinant des tessons de bouteilles et en écoutant "les marseillais", ces philosophes, pour avoir poser les yeux 5 minutes la dessus.
Ne faites pas ça... regarder MCM.
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Now shipping! Presenting a systematic philosophical framework for thinking critically about knowledge, information, and one’s own quest for what matters in life, this book serves as a fun and irreverent guide for sound-decision making in action. https://alastore.ala.org/thnkcrit
#ALA #AmericanLibraryAssociation #LIS #MLIS #libraries #librarianship #InformationScience #infolit #informationliteracy #punk #criticalthinking #library
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All streams are but tributary to the ocean, which itself does not stream, and the shores are unchanged but in longer periods than man can measure. Go where we will, we discover infinite change in particulars only, not in generals.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer
A Week on the Concord and Marrimack Rivers, “Monday” (1849)More about this quote: wist.info/thoreau-henry-david/…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thoroeau #henrydavidthoreau #change #details #era #generalities #macro #micro #particular #passageoftime #perspective #scale #time
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Blame Marie Curie For the Loss of the Chiming Watch
Once upon a time, the most-common complicated watches would ring out the time on demand. Why are they so rare today? It’s not because they were too complex to build and maintain or too difficult to build; many companies were working on these issues even in the 1890s. And the chiming pocket watch met a special market need, allowing the owner to tell the time in the dark. But the popularity of luminous dials, painted with Marie Curie’s radium salts, allowed everyone to tell the time in the dark. Competition pushed the chiming watch into obscurity, where it remains today.
Buyers of fine watches had a multitude of choices as the 20th century arrived, with fantastic upscale makers from Breguet to Paul Buhré to Patek Philippe to Audemars Piguet and many more. Then as now, high-end watchmakers sought to differentiate their offerings with complications like calendars, chronographs, and especially chimes. Though these additional functions had been developing for a century or more, the one that caught the attention of the rising moneyed gentleman was the so-called repeating watch, which rang out the time on command.
At the same time, industrialized production and the automated cutting machines made it possible for firms across Switzerland, Germany, and France to produce reliable, accurate, and affordable watches. This lead to broad availability of chiming watches from mainstream brands like Le Phare, Invicta, Vulcain, and Angélus. But just as chiming movements were becoming more common and affordable, the entire genre collapsed. This is the story of the fall of a complication and the rise of radium.
The Four Complications
Anything added to a basic watch movement is called a complication, and these fall into a few general categories:
- Automatic winding is the most common today. Some would not even consider this to be a complication, but it was certainly included on the list in historic times and took over a century to perfect.
- Calendar functions, and particularly a date window, are also familiar enough to be taken for granted. This category includes related complications like 24 hour hands, GMT, second timezone, and world time indicators, and astronomical displays.
- The chronograph and stopwatch are perhaps the most recognizable complications today, and still command a premium price. These too took a century to perfect.
- Few modern watch buyers are even familiar with the chiming watch, but sonnerie, répétition, and réveil were the defining achievement of generations of watchmakers before the modern era. Today only the alarm watch is produced in any volume, and even this is a rarity.
This situation was entirely reversed at the turn of the 20th century. Chiming watches, and repeaters in particular, were the most common and popular complication. Various calendar functions were well-known, but customers saw little need for them. The chronograph was still in its infancy, though it had found customers in military and sporting circles. And automatic winding would still take a few decades to appear.
The most popular form of chiming watch was the repeater, which rings the time on demand. Most used a pushbutton that both powered and triggered the chime, which rang the hours, quarters, and five or even one minute count. Many people use the term “minute repeater” generically to refer to all such watches, but it refers only to watches that specifically chime to the minute. Five-minute or simply quarter repetition was far more common a century ago.
There are two other categories of chiming watches:
- A sonnerie chimes the hour or the quarters autonomously (“en passant”), as is common in a grandfather or church clock. A grande sonnerie chimes the quarters, while a petite sonnerie chimes only the hour.
- A réveil operates like an alarm clock, ringing at a pre-set time in the future. These have been produced for centuries but were never in great demand until the 1950s and rapidly fell out of favor.
Anxiety About Time
Rue de la Promenade was considered the finest address in La Chaux-de-Fonds, but dozens of members of the Brandt family (founders of Omega) lived and worked together in a single house at the end, despite being members of the BourgeoisieWe live in a culture obsessed with time, but this was not the case before the 20th century. Most people lived communally and rose, ate, worked, and played along with those around them rather than on the whims of a clock. Extended families lived together, and beds were shared with family members and even strangers. There was very little need to set an alarm to wake at a certain time when the whole house arose together. Since the week was tightly associated with the schedules of the church, no one needed to know the date. Very few activities needed precise time measurement.
All this changed as industrialization allowed more people access to the comforts of life that had previously been reserved for the ownership class. The expanding middle class began moving to larger houses with more bedrooms and experiencing a new feeling: Privacy. Unused to sleeping alone they likely woke in the middle of the night, wondering how much longer they could stay in bed.
At the same time, workers and managers alike began commuting to workshops and factories, even taking trains to other towns and villages. By the turn of the 20th century, anxiety had a risen about waking and schedules, even among the working class. Many of these were served by bells, increasingly attached to factories rather than churches, that alerted them when to arrive at work.
The Repeating Chime Craze
Repeating watches solve a problem: Rather than feeling for the position of the hands or waiting for a chime en passant, a repeater could “speak” the time even in pitch dark. In the 1890s, once industrialization and invention made them more practical, demand for repeating watches exploded.
Many familiar brands, including Invicta, Vulcain, Martel, and Lemania, began with chiming watchesA few watchmakers deserve special credit for the repeating watch craze. These were centered in the Swiss Jura and the Vallée de Joux.
Le Locle, Ponts-de-Martel, and La Chaux-de-Fonds brought us Le Phare, Martel, Angélus, and Invicta:
- Charles Barbezat-Baillot (1846-1938) went from apprentice to partner of Henri Guye (1838-1877) of Le Locle in the 1870s, taking over the company after his early death. His Barbezat-Baillot watch factory was formed in 1888 to capitalize on a patented repeating watch design, sold as Le Phare (“the lighthouse”) by 1896. This would become the leading producer of repeating watches in the era until it was taken over by Jämes Favre of Zenith in 1914.
- Georges Pellaton-Steudler (1865-1950) invented the Le Phare movement. He formed his own company in Le Locle in 1910 before moving to Ponts-de-Martel to establish the Martel Watch Company there. Georges was the son of Albert Pellaton-Favre (1832-1914), inventor of the practical tourbillon, and brother of Jämes-César Pellaton (1873-1954), who continued his father’s work at the Le Locle watchmaking school. The Martel factory became a leading producer of chronographs after the repeating watch bust, eventually creating the El Primero for Zenith!
- Edmond Mathey-Tissot (1858-1929) was already producing complicated watches in Ponts-de-Martel with Albert Guye (1867-1952) when Georges Pellaton-Steudler arrived. The three watchmakers worked closely together, promoting the repeater as well as the chronograph.
- Henri Barbezat-Bôle was a specialist in the finest watches and complications. Working in Le Locle, he was likely related to Charles Barbezat-Baillot. His firm was founded a bit earlier and continued longer, merging with Paul Buhré in 1928. Barbezat-Bôle had a patented minute repeater with four hammers.
- Stolz Frères of Le Locle rapidly expanded their factory, producing the Angélus repeating pocket watch there. Like Excelsior Park and Martel, Angélus was able to pivot from the repeater to the chronograph and became a successful producer of clocks in the 20th century.
- The Invicta brand was originally specific to a repeating watch manufactured by Fils de R. Picard of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It was manufactured alongside the company’s Military Watch using standardized and mass-produced components. The factory took the Invicta name in 1908 and this remains one of the most famous brands in watchmaking.
The Vallée de Joux was long a center for complicated watchmaking and some of these firms produced larger quantities of repeating watches:
- Henri Magnenat-Lecoultre formed a specialized company in Le Sentier to manufacture minute repeaters of his own design in 1887. He sold the company to Jeanneret-Brehm, maker of Excelsior Park chronographs, in 1910. They closed the Le Sentier factory in 1917 after the repeater bubble burst.
- John-W. Meylan (1877-1938) was born into watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux, patenting a pusher mechanism to wind and trigger the chime. He partnered with Charles Aubert and supplied many high-end watch brands with repeating movements, including Audemars Piguet.
- Alfred Lugrin (1858-1920) produced complicated watches in l’Orient in the Vallée de Joux, including chronographs and repeaters. He sold these using the Lemania brand exclusively until the repeater watch lost favor. His factory joined SSIH, the holding company for Omega and Tissot, in 1932 and is today known as Manufacture Breguet.
There are many others who could be included on this list, but it should be clear that the repeating watch was a major industry trend from the 1890s through the beginning of World War I. But it should also be noted that most of these watchmakers went out of business or switched to chronographs around this time.
Though forgotten today, the reason for the collapse of the repeating watch market was well known at the time: Luminous radium dials allowed one to tell the time at night without a complex chiming mechanism.
H. Barbezat-Bôle of Le Locle produced some of the finest complicated watches of the era
Revue Internationale de l’Horlogerie, December 1903Radium: The Miraculous New Material
Marie Curie and her husband Pierre were inspired by the work of Röntgen and Becquerel to search for new elements in their Paris laboratory in the late 1890s. She focused on pitchblende and chalcolite ores, noting that they were “much more active than uranium.” In 1898 the Curies published papers announcing the existence of polonium and radium, coining the word “radioactivity” but not understanding the dangers.
The Curies’ discovery caused a worldwide sensation, with speculation about the application for “the luminous glow and spontaneous heat” of radium salts. The watch industry buzzed about the new element, with one article speculating about a “radium watch” that could be powered for life by a small lump of radium rather than a spring. More intriguing was the suggestion in Revue Horlogére and others that radium was a “philosopher’s stone” that could transmute corrundum into topaz or ruby. The potential to combine radium and phosphorous to produce lasting luminance was also noted, though this was one of many potential uses.
“Radium” was just a brand name for this 1903 Moutier watchPerhaps the oddest result of the radium craze was the trend to name completely-unrelated things after the new material. A quick search of products using the name include a type of silk fabric, a movie theater, cigarette paper, and a brand of watches: The struggling Moutier Watch Company used the Radium brand name on watches as early as 1903, receiving a trademark on the word in October. This was five years before a luminous radium painted dial would be produced! It didn’t save the Société d’Horlogerie de Moutier, however; The company was bankrupt by the end of 1913.
Junghans, LIP, and Utinam
This June 1909 advertisement features the “Darling” alarm clock “avec cadran radium lumineux”Radium was incredibly rare and expensive, requiring tons of ore to produce a single gram of radium salts. At first, access was limited to scientists and companies associated with the major French and German academies, and this is likely how the Junghans brothers of Schramberg in the German Kingdom of Württemberg became the first to produce a dial with luminous radium paint. On June 27, 1907 Arthur Junghans applied for a patent that covered the use of “improved luminous substance for indicators containing radium … of a clock, speed-gauge, or the like.”
The Junghans patent was granted in Germany, France, and America, and the German factory began producing an alarm clock with a radium painted dial in 1908. The “Darling” alarm clock included the company’s patented alarm movement and had luminous radium painted numerals and hands, allowing it to be seen in the dark. The early Darling clock did not use much of the precious radium salts, but it didn’t need to be very bright to be read at night.
Desiring to take advantage their “first mover” advantage, Junghans purchased advertisements in major newspapers in 1910 announcing that they would protect their patents vigorously, even requesting that any other radium-painted watch or clock be seized by the authorities. Needless to say, this did not go well with their competitors, especially LIP, which was already preparing to release a radium painted alarm clock of their own.
Junghans patented the use of luminous radium paint on watches and clocks in 1907, warning that competing products would be seized!
Revue Internationale de l’Horlogerie, November 1910The validity of the Junghans patent was challenged with centuries of prior art for the use of luminous material in watchmaking and was quickly overturned. But LIP and others were quick to point out that there were patentable elements, from the formula and mixing, application technique, and the physical properties of the hands and dials. Indeed, the same people involved in the patent controversy quickly registered patents of their own, including Arthur Junghans.
LIP and Utinam released watches with luminous radium dials in November 1909LIP was next to market, announcing in November 1909 that their latest watches show “time in the dark with Radium luminous dials and hands.” Swiss/French brand Utinam made a similar announcement later that same month, perhaps using LIP as a supplier. And Junghans continued refining their technology, releasing a pocket alarm watch with a radium dial that was ten times brighter.
The Radium Watch Craze
By 1914 nearly every watchmaking firm was offering luminous painted hands and numerals powered by radium. This same period saw an explosion of interest in alarm clocks, many of which included glowing dials as well. And the price of radium came down dramatically as demand grew and mixing techniques improved. Soon, even so-called economic watches would have glowing hands and dials.
This boom spelled the end of the repeating watch, however. Although the pushbutton chime was undoubtedly a joy, these complex watches were far more expensive than a simple alarm clock, even one with a radium dial. Demand crashed, with nearly every chiming watch specialist closing or changing hands between 1910 and 1920. The best were able to pivot to chronographs, compact watches for ladies, wristwatches, or other trends. But many, including specialists like John-W. Meylan and Henri Magnenat-Lecoultre, simply vanished into obscurity.
Eterna combined everything in 1914: A wristwatch with alarm, luminous radium dial, and optional automobile mount!One of the most remarkable new luminous radium dial watches introduced in this period used a compact 13 ligne alarm movement from Schild Frères. Sold under the Eterna brand as a tiny pocket watch, it was also available with a novel wrist strap and matching attachment for use in an automobile. This was the first mass-produced alarm wristwatch, and would remain in production for three decades. Incredibly, production stopped just two years short of the introduction of the trend-setting Vulcain Cricket!
Customers weren’t ready to carry an alarm watch, however. They saw the utility in cheaper fixed alarm clocks, and these rose in popularity among factory workers and managers alike. And they loved the glowing radium numerals, especially once prices came down. A post-war boom and bust, followed by the Great Depression and World War II limited the market for complicated watches generally. It wasn’t until watchmakers tried to find novelty in the 1950s that calendars and automatic winding, and to a lesser extent chronographs and alarm watches, came back. But the repeater remained dormant for decades.
The Radium Girls
The radium craze had a darker side as well. Although it was well known at the time that there were powerful rays emanating from radium and other materials, the impact of radiation on the human body was not understood. Marie Curie would ultimately die of radiation exposure, as would dozens of so-called “radium girls” in America who pointed their brushes by touching them to their lips. The health effects of radium exposure was known but hidden from these workers, leading to lawsuits and a revolution in workplace safety regulations.
Radium-related illnesses were much less common in Europe. Junghans, LIP, and Swiss makers used glass pens and rods rather than camel hair brushes to apply the paint, and the technique and mixture was different. This resulted in far less exposure than the “lip, dip, paint” method taught to the American workers. And the Swiss workers in particular had social funds to provide medical care rather than being forced to sue the corporation.
Once the American radium dial companies adopted basic safety standards the health impact of radium was dramatically reduced. Although it is likely that some workers still succumbed to radium poisoning in America and Europe, the widespread illnesses suffered by the Radium Girls in the 1920s did not reoccur in the five decades of radium dial painting that followed.
I strongly recommend reading the 2018 book, “Radium Girls” by Kate Moore to learn more. Sadly, the 2020 film adaptation is poorly-written and full of anachronisms and non-sequiturs.
The Return of the Repeater
Gérald Genta’s 1978 grande complication combined a perpetual calendar and minute repeater in a platinum pocket watch set with diamonds and rubies
Europa Star 166, 1978Although he is usually remembered for other innovations, it was Gérald Genta that brought the repeating watch back from its slumber in the 1970s: His 1978 gem-crusted grande complication pocket watch reminded the world what Swiss watchmakers were capable of producing. IWC and Audemars Piguet also brought the repeater back in exclusive pocket watches at the end of that bruising decade.
In the 1980s, Swiss watchmakers realized that complicated watches could be a path forward for the industry. Blancpain introduced an exclusive minute repeater at Basel in 1986 and paired it with a perpetual calendar the following year. IWC combined a minute repeater with a perpetual calendar and chronograph for the 1992 Il Destriero grande complication. Jaeger-LeCoultre even brought a minute repeater to the Reverso in 1994.
The Grail Watch Perspective: The Loss of a Charming Complication
Chiming watches are charming to the un-initiated. When I ring my Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox movement everyone stops to listen. And the AMVOX and Reverso are the only watches in my collection that my kids took an interest in. Given this kind of appeal, and the fact that modern manufacturing makes chiming watches practical once again, one would think they would be more common. But chimes have remained exclusive and limited.
This changed in 2022 when Christopher Ward introduced the GPHG-winning C1 Bel Canto. Priced under $4,000, the Bel Canto is the first repeater to come close to the widespread appeal of the turn of the century repeating watches from Invicta, Le Phare, and Vulcain. My friend owns one, and it’s just as charming as I imagined. Enough to tempt me to consider buying another watch!
#alarm #Angelus #BarbezatBôle #ChristopherWard #ComplicatedWatches #Eterna #ExcelsiorPark #GéraldGenta #Invicta #Junghans #LePhare #Lemania #LIP #MagnenatLecoultre #MarieCurie #Martel #MatheyTissot #Radium #Repeater #Utinam #Vulcain -
I Am a Cat (Volume 1) by Natsume Sōseki 🐈⬛
I Am a Cat (吾輩は猫である—Wagahai wa Neko de Aru) was published in 1905, a satirical novel by Japanese poet, novelist, and scholar Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916).
Told from the perspective of a feline narrator, the once stray kitten is adopted into the home of an upper-middle-class family. The cat observes the world around it, lampooning the Meiji-era society as it preens itself, and presenting playful mockery for all ages. Meow indeed.
Satire and Self-Importance in I Am a Cat (Volume 1)
“Living as I do with human beings, the more that I observe them, the more I am forced to conclude that they are selfish.”
It’s a fun idea, to mock human society from the perspective of a cat. The animals that have little respect for the things we take so seriously. It’s also now an intriguing historical record on the Meiji period (1868-1912) of Japan.
From the same era, over in Victorian era England, Edwin A. Abbott penned the novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884). It shows how long satire has played on creative minds, anyway, even if Abbott’s work is better.
A key difference is I Am a Cat is a long book. You can but it in three volumes, or 10 instalments, so it’s worth flagging up why the concept ended up so protracted. The 2025 edition we picked up has a new translation by Nick Bradley. In his introduction, he notes:
“What eventually became the novel I Am a Cat originally began as a short story published in 1905 in the literary magazine Hototogisu (the Japanese word for ‘cuckoo’). The story, when it was published, was so incredibly popular that Sōseki, similar to Conan Doyle and his popular Sherlock Holmes character, found himself pressured by the Japanese reading public into writing more stories from the perspective of his feline narrator.”
Intended as a one-off novella, then, but commercial pressure mounted and the writer was compelled to do more.
Despite its title, I Am a Cat isn’t entirely from the perspective of a feline. As it does cut quite regularly to conversations between citizens, such as Mr. Sneaze and his fast-talking friend Waverhouse. These are set alongside biting witticisms from the cat, notably on Japan’s modernisation and a greater focus on individualism.
“In the old days, a man was taught to forget himself. Today it is quite different: he is taught not to forget himself and he accordingly spends his days and nights in endless self-regard. Who can possibly know peace in such an eternally burning hell? The apparent realities of this awful world, even the beast lines of being, are all symptoms of that sickness for which the only cure lies in learning to forget the self.”
And then there’s the cat stuff like this.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda.”
These philosophical musings continue at a slow pace, playing out over 500 pages if you want to read the full collection, so we generally found the book better to leaf through and pick random pages to enjoy. As the book is very much of its time, marketed now as an obscure delight for readers to discover, but it won’t be quite what some want (we saw many online reviews claiming the work is “boring”).
Ironically, that kind of plays into what Natsume Sōseki was intending for I Am a Cat. The entitlement and fussiness of the human condition.
“Artfulness, uncharitableness, self-defensive wariness: these are the fruits of worldly learning. The penalty of age is this rather ugly knowingness. Which would seem to explain why one never finds among the old a single decent person. They know too much to see things straight, to feel things cleanly, to act without compromise.”
To heighten the sense of casual mockery, Sōseki used a high-register writing style. As in, it’s quite pretentious and full of grand-scale big old words to look all clever. That decision was to poke fun at Japanese higher society.
That begins with the very title of Wagahai wa Neko de Aru.
Wagahai is now classed as a really pompous pronoun to use, along the lines of those people who use “one” or “oneself”. It’s now associated with aristocratic behaviour. Basically, its use implies the user of the term considers themself to be superior to all around them.
A great little bit of nuance there that can easily get lost in translation.
However, as we’ve flagged, it is very much a book of its time. From what we’ve seen, readers claim each book from the 10 initial instalments can be read as a standalone work. Which is good, as we wouldn’t want to go through 500+ pages of this stuff.
Japan’s obsession with cats, alongside the classics status of Sōseki’s work (it’s a frequent one to read in Japanese schools), mean it’s played its way into Nippon’s public conscience.
But in the West with this new release, its cultural impact won’t be the same as that longstanding reverence isn’t established. Regardless, we find it a historical marvel and an important work of Japanese literature. In that sense, it’s worth having in your collection (and showing to your cat).
#Books #Cat #Cats #History #IAmACat #Japan #Literature #MeijiPeriod #NatsumeSōseki #pardy #Reading #Satire #satirical -
Book of da Month: I Am a Cat (Volume 1) by Natsume Sōseki 🐈⬛
I Am a Cat (吾輩は猫である—Wagahai wa Neko de Aru) was published in 1905, a satirical novel by Japanese poet, novelist, and scholar Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916).
Told from the perspective of a feline narrator, the once stray kitten is adopted into the home of an upper-middle-class family. The cat observes the world around it, lampooning the Meiji-era society as it preens itself, and presenting playful mockery for all ages. Meow indeed.
Satire and Self-Importance in I Am a Cat (Volume 1)
“Living as I do with human beings, the more that I observe them, the more I am forced to conclude that they are selfish.”
It’s a fun idea, to mock human society from the perspective of a cat. The animals that have little respect for the things we take so seriously. It’s also now an intriguing historical record on the Meiji period (1868-1912) of Japan.
From the same era, over in Victorian era England, Edwin A. Abbott penned the novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884). It shows how long satire has played on creative minds, anyway, even if Abbott’s work is better.
A key difference is I Am a Cat is a long book. You can but it in three volumes, or 10 instalments, so it’s worth flagging up why the concept ended up so protracted. The 2025 edition we picked up has a new translation by Nick Bradley. In his introduction, he notes:
“What eventually became the novel I Am a Cat originally began as a short story published in 1905 in the literary magazine Hototogisu (the Japanese word for ‘cuckoo’). The story, when it was published, was so incredibly popular that Sōseki, similar to Conan Doyle and his popular Sherlock Holmes character, found himself pressured by the Japanese reading public into writing more stories from the perspective of his feline narrator.”
Intended as a one-off novella, then, but commercial pressure mounted and the writer was compelled to do more.
Despite its title, I Am a Cat isn’t entirely from the perspective of a feline. As it does cut quite regularly to conversations between citizens, such as Mr. Sneaze and his fast-talking friend Waverhouse. These are set alongside biting witticisms from the cat, notably on Japan’s modernisation and a greater focus on individualism.
“In the old days, a man was taught to forget himself. Today it is quite different: he is taught not to forget himself and he accordingly spends his days and nights in endless self-regard. Who can possibly know peace in such an eternally burning hell? The apparent realities of this awful world, even the beast lines of being, are all symptoms of that sickness for which the only cure lies in learning to forget the self.”
And then there’s the cat stuff like this.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda.”
These philosophical musings continue at a slow pace, playing out over 500 pages if you want to read the full collection, so we generally found the book better to leaf through and pick random pages to enjoy. As the book is very much of its time, marketed now as an obscure delight for readers to discover, but it won’t be quite what some want (we saw many online reviews claiming the work is “boring”).
Ironically, that kind of plays into what Natsume Sōseki was intending for I Am a Cat. The entitlement and fussiness of the human condition.
“Artfulness, uncharitableness, self-defensive wariness: these are the fruits of worldly learning. The penalty of age is this rather ugly knowingness. Which would seem to explain why one never finds among the old a single decent person. They know too much to see things straight, to feel things cleanly, to act without compromise.”
To heighten the sense of casual mockery, Sōseki used a high-register writing style. As in, it’s quite pretentious and full of grand-scale big old words to look all clever. That decision was to poke fun at Japanese higher society.
That begins with the very title of Wagahai wa Neko de Aru.
Wagahai is now classed as a really pompous pronoun to use, along the lines of those people who use “one” or “oneself”. It’s now associated with aristocratic behaviour. Basically, its use implies the user of the term considers themself to be superior to all around them.
A great little bit of nuance there that can easily get lost in translation.
However, as we’ve flagged, it is very much a book of its time. From what we’ve seen, readers claim each book from the 10 initial instalments can be read as a standalone work. Which is good, as we wouldn’t want to go through 500+ pages of this stuff.
Japan’s obsession with cats, alongside the classics status of Sōseki’s work (it’s a frequent one to read in Japanese schools), mean it’s played its way into Nippon’s public conscience.
But in the West with this new release, its cultural impact won’t be the same as that longstanding reverence isn’t established. Regardless, we find it a historical marvel and an important work of Japanese literature. In that sense, it’s worth having in your collection (and showing to your cat).
#Books #Cat #Cats #History #IAmACat #Japan #Literature #MeijiPeriod #NatsumeSōseki #pardy #Reading #Satire #satirical -
Book of da Month: I Am a Cat (Volume 1) by Natsume Sōseki 🐈⬛
I Am a Cat (吾輩は猫である—Wagahai wa Neko de Aru) was published in 1905, a satirical novel by Japanese poet, novelist, and scholar Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916).
Told from the perspective of a feline narrator, the once stray kitten is adopted into the home of an upper-middle-class family. The cat observes the world around it, lampooning the Meiji-era society as it preens itself, and presenting playful mockery for all ages. Meow indeed.
Satire and Self-Importance in I Am a Cat (Volume 1)
“Living as I do with human beings, the more that I observe them, the more I am forced to conclude that they are selfish.”
It’s a fun idea, to mock human society from the perspective of a cat. The animals that have little respect for the things we take so seriously. It’s also now an intriguing historical record on the Meiji period (1868-1912) of Japan.
From the same era, over in Victorian era England, Edwin A. Abbott penned the novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884). It shows how long satire has played on creative minds, anyway, even if Abbott’s work is better.
A key difference is I Am a Cat is a long book. You can but it in three volumes, or 10 instalments, so it’s worth flagging up why the concept ended up so protracted. The 2025 edition we picked up has a new translation by Nick Bradley. In his introduction, he notes:
“What eventually became the novel I Am a Cat originally began as a short story published in 1905 in the literary magazine Hototogisu (the Japanese word for ‘cuckoo’). The story, when it was published, was so incredibly popular that Sōseki, similar to Conan Doyle and his popular Sherlock Holmes character, found himself pressured by the Japanese reading public into writing more stories from the perspective of his feline narrator.”
Intended as a one-off novella, then, but commercial pressure mounted and the writer was compelled to do more.
Despite its title, I Am a Cat isn’t entirely from the perspective of a feline. As it does cut quite regularly to conversations between citizens, such as Mr. Sneaze and his fast-talking friend Waverhouse. These are set alongside biting witticisms from the cat, notably on Japan’s modernisation and a greater focus on individualism.
“In the old days, a man was taught to forget himself. Today it is quite different: he is taught not to forget himself and he accordingly spends his days and nights in endless self-regard. Who can possibly know peace in such an eternally burning hell? The apparent realities of this awful world, even the beast lines of being, are all symptoms of that sickness for which the only cure lies in learning to forget the self.”
And then there’s the cat stuff like this.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda.”
These philosophical musings continue at a slow pace, playing out over 500 pages if you want to read the full collection, so we generally found the book better to leaf through and pick random pages to enjoy. As the book is very much of its time, marketed now as an obscure delight for readers to discover, but it won’t be quite what some want (we saw many online reviews claiming the work is “boring”).
Ironically, that kind of plays into what Natsume Sōseki was intending for I Am a Cat. The entitlement and fussiness of the human condition.
“Artfulness, uncharitableness, self-defensive wariness: these are the fruits of worldly learning. The penalty of age is this rather ugly knowingness. Which would seem to explain why one never finds among the old a single decent person. They know too much to see things straight, to feel things cleanly, to act without compromise.”
To heighten the sense of casual mockery, Sōseki used a high-register writing style. As in, it’s quite pretentious and full of grand-scale big old words to look all clever. That decision was to poke fun at Japanese higher society.
That begins with the very title of Wagahai wa Neko de Aru.
Wagahai is now classed as a really pompous pronoun to use, along the lines of those people who use “one” or “oneself”. It’s now associated with aristocratic behaviour. Basically, its use implies the user of the term considers themself to be superior to all around them.
A great little bit of nuance there that can easily get lost in translation.
However, as we’ve flagged, it is very much a book of its time. From what we’ve seen, readers claim each book from the 10 initial instalments can be read as a standalone work. Which is good, as we wouldn’t want to go through 500+ pages of this stuff.
Japan’s obsession with cats, alongside the classics status of Sōseki’s work (it’s a frequent one to read in Japanese schools), mean it’s played its way into Nippon’s public conscience.
But in the West with this new release, its cultural impact won’t be the same as that longstanding reverence isn’t established. Regardless, we find it a historical marvel and an important work of Japanese literature. In that sense, it’s worth having in your collection (and showing to your cat).
#Books #Cat #Cats #History #IAmACat #Japan #Literature #MeijiPeriod #NatsumeSōseki #pardy #Reading #Satire #satirical -
Book of da Month: I Am a Cat (Volume 1) by Natsume Sōseki 🐈⬛
I Am a Cat (吾輩は猫である—Wagahai wa Neko de Aru) was published in 1905, a satirical novel by Japanese poet, novelist, and scholar Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916).
Told from the perspective of a feline narrator, the once stray kitten is adopted into the home of an upper-middle-class family. The cat observes the world around it, lampooning the Meiji-era society as it preens itself, and presenting playful mockery for all ages. Meow indeed.
Satire and Self-Importance in I Am a Cat (Volume 1)
“Living as I do with human beings, the more that I observe them, the more I am forced to conclude that they are selfish.”
It’s a fun idea, to mock human society from the perspective of a cat. The animals that have little respect for the things we take so seriously. It’s also now an intriguing historical record on the Meiji period (1868-1912) of Japan.
From the same era, over in Victorian era England, Edwin A. Abbott penned the novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884). It shows how long satire has played on creative minds, anyway, even if Abbott’s work is better.
A key difference is I Am a Cat is a long book. You can but it in three volumes, or 10 instalments, so it’s worth flagging up why the concept ended up so protracted. The 2025 edition we picked up has a new translation by Nick Bradley. In his introduction, he notes:
“What eventually became the novel I Am a Cat originally began as a short story published in 1905 in the literary magazine Hototogisu (the Japanese word for ‘cuckoo’). The story, when it was published, was so incredibly popular that Sōseki, similar to Conan Doyle and his popular Sherlock Holmes character, found himself pressured by the Japanese reading public into writing more stories from the perspective of his feline narrator.”
Intended as a one-off novella, then, but commercial pressure mounted and the writer was compelled to do more.
Despite its title, I Am a Cat isn’t entirely from the perspective of a feline. As it does cut quite regularly to conversations between citizens, such as Mr. Sneaze and his fast-talking friend Waverhouse. These are set alongside biting witticisms from the cat, notably on Japan’s modernisation and a greater focus on individualism.
“In the old days, a man was taught to forget himself. Today it is quite different: he is taught not to forget himself and he accordingly spends his days and nights in endless self-regard. Who can possibly know peace in such an eternally burning hell? The apparent realities of this awful world, even the beast lines of being, are all symptoms of that sickness for which the only cure lies in learning to forget the self.”
And then there’s the cat stuff like this.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda.”
These philosophical musings continue at a slow pace, playing out over 500 pages if you want to read the full collection, so we generally found the book better to leaf through and pick random pages to enjoy. As the book is very much of its time, marketed now as an obscure delight for readers to discover, but it won’t be quite what some want (we saw many online reviews claiming the work is “boring”).
Ironically, that kind of plays into what Natsume Sōseki was intending for I Am a Cat. The entitlement and fussiness of the human condition.
“Artfulness, uncharitableness, self-defensive wariness: these are the fruits of worldly learning. The penalty of age is this rather ugly knowingness. Which would seem to explain why one never finds among the old a single decent person. They know too much to see things straight, to feel things cleanly, to act without compromise.”
To heighten the sense of casual mockery, Sōseki used a high-register writing style. As in, it’s quite pretentious and full of grand-scale big old words to look all clever. That decision was to poke fun at Japanese higher society.
That begins with the very title of Wagahai wa Neko de Aru.
Wagahai is now classed as a really pompous pronoun to use, along the lines of those people who use “one” or “oneself”. It’s now associated with aristocratic behaviour. Basically, its use implies the user of the term considers themself to be superior to all around them.
A great little bit of nuance there that can easily get lost in translation.
However, as we’ve flagged, it is very much a book of its time. From what we’ve seen, readers claim each book from the 10 initial instalments can be read as a standalone work. Which is good, as we wouldn’t want to go through 500+ pages of this stuff.
Japan’s obsession with cats, alongside the classics status of Sōseki’s work (it’s a frequent one to read in Japanese schools), mean it’s played its way into Nippon’s public conscience.
But in the West with this new release, its cultural impact won’t be the same as that longstanding reverence isn’t established. Regardless, we find it a historical marvel and an important work of Japanese literature. In that sense, it’s worth having in your collection (and showing to your cat).
#Books #Cat #Cats #History #IAmACat #Japan #Literature #MeijiPeriod #NatsumeSōseki #pardy #Reading #Satire #satirical -
Book of da Month: I Am a Cat (Volume 1) by Natsume Sōseki 🐈⬛
I Am a Cat (吾輩は猫である—Wagahai wa Neko de Aru) was published in 1905, a satirical novel by Japanese poet, novelist, and scholar Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916).
Told from the perspective of a feline narrator, the once stray kitten is adopted into the home of an upper-middle-class family. The cat observes the world around it, lampooning the Meiji-era society as it preens itself, and presenting playful mockery for all ages. Meow indeed.
Satire and Self-Importance in I Am a Cat (Volume 1)
“Living as I do with human beings, the more that I observe them, the more I am forced to conclude that they are selfish.”
It’s a fun idea, to mock human society from the perspective of a cat. The animals that have little respect for the things we take so seriously. It’s also now an intriguing historical record on the Meiji period (1868-1912) of Japan.
From the same era, over in Victorian era England, Edwin A. Abbott penned the novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884). It shows how long satire has played on creative minds, anyway, even if Abbott’s work is better.
A key difference is I Am a Cat is a long book. You can but it in three volumes, or 10 instalments, so it’s worth flagging up why the concept ended up so protracted. The 2025 edition we picked up has a new translation by Nick Bradley. In his introduction, he notes:
“What eventually became the novel I Am a Cat originally began as a short story published in 1905 in the literary magazine Hototogisu (the Japanese word for ‘cuckoo’). The story, when it was published, was so incredibly popular that Sōseki, similar to Conan Doyle and his popular Sherlock Holmes character, found himself pressured by the Japanese reading public into writing more stories from the perspective of his feline narrator.”
Intended as a one-off novella, then, but commercial pressure mounted and the writer was compelled to do more.
Despite its title, I Am a Cat isn’t entirely from the perspective of a feline. As it does cut quite regularly to conversations between citizens, such as Mr. Sneaze and his fast-talking friend Waverhouse. These are set alongside biting witticisms from the cat, notably on Japan’s modernisation and a greater focus on individualism.
“In the old days, a man was taught to forget himself. Today it is quite different: he is taught not to forget himself and he accordingly spends his days and nights in endless self-regard. Who can possibly know peace in such an eternally burning hell? The apparent realities of this awful world, even the beast lines of being, are all symptoms of that sickness for which the only cure lies in learning to forget the self.”
And then there’s the cat stuff like this.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda.”
These philosophical musings continue at a slow pace, playing out over 500 pages if you want to read the full collection, so we generally found the book better to leaf through and pick random pages to enjoy. As the book is very much of its time, marketed now as an obscure delight for readers to discover, but it won’t be quite what some want (we saw many online reviews claiming the work is “boring”).
Ironically, that kind of plays into what Natsume Sōseki was intending for I Am a Cat. The entitlement and fussiness of the human condition.
“Artfulness, uncharitableness, self-defensive wariness: these are the fruits of worldly learning. The penalty of age is this rather ugly knowingness. Which would seem to explain why one never finds among the old a single decent person. They know too much to see things straight, to feel things cleanly, to act without compromise.”
To heighten the sense of casual mockery, Sōseki used a high-register writing style. As in, it’s quite pretentious and full of grand-scale big old words to look all clever. That decision was to poke fun at Japanese higher society.
That begins with the very title of Wagahai wa Neko de Aru.
Wagahai is now classed as a really pompous pronoun to use, along the lines of those people who use “one” or “oneself”. It’s now associated with aristocratic behaviour. Basically, its use implies the user of the term considers themself to be superior to all around them.
A great little bit of nuance there that can easily get lost in translation.
However, as we’ve flagged, it is very much a book of its time. From what we’ve seen, readers claim each book from the 10 initial instalments can be read as a standalone work. Which is good, as we wouldn’t want to go through 500+ pages of this stuff.
Japan’s obsession with cats, alongside the classics status of Sōseki’s work (it’s a frequent one to read in Japanese schools), mean it’s played its way into Nippon’s public conscience.
But in the West with this new release, its cultural impact won’t be the same as that longstanding reverence isn’t established. Regardless, we find it a historical marvel and an important work of Japanese literature. In that sense, it’s worth having in your collection (and showing to your cat).
#Books #Cat #Cats #History #IAmACat #Japan #Literature #MeijiPeriod #NatsumeSōseki #pardy #Reading #Satire #satirical -
The tradition begins with legal theorist
#Carl #Schmitt
and can be followed in the work of the political philosopher #Leo #Strauss,
thinkers affiliated with the #Claremont #Institute,
a California-based think tank with close ties to the Trump movement,
and the contemporary writings of the legal scholar #Adrian #Vermeule.Many on the right have bristled at presidential power’s being constrained over the past century by two waves of administrative reform.
The first dates back to the early 20th century and the rise of the bureaucratic-regulatory state during the Progressive and New Deal eras.
The second wave emerged in the 1970s, as Congress responded to the abuses of power by Richard Nixon.
The presidency has evolved to become an office exercising general (and often passive) oversight of vast departments and agencies,
which are staffed by career civil servants who stay on across administrations.Presidents are constrained by layers of lawyers and others determining what is allowable based on law and precedent.
This evolution came about in part because the presidency can be the office most susceptible to despotic or tyrannical rule.
That’s where the more radical critique emanating from the hard right focuses its attention.
Schmitt (who died in 1985) developed his most influential ideas during the turbulence and ineffectual governance of Germany’s Weimar Republic.
In his view, liberalism has a fatal weakness.
Its aversion to violent conflict drives it to smother intense debate with ostensibly neutral procedures that conceal the truth about the nature of politics.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/opinion/trump-schmitt-strauss-intellectuals.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare -
LinkedIn: The only post where CEOs wax philosophical while everyone else posts about losing their jobs.
Metroid Dread developer MercurySteam announces layoffs - Engadget
https://www.engadget.com/2171294/metroid-dread-developer-mercurysteam-announces-layoffs/
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ANA: Was waren die Gründe für diese Verhaftungen in Belgien und Frankreich? Hast du viel Zeit im Gefängnis verbracht?Octavio Alberola: In Belgien wurden meine Partnerin Ariane und ich im Februar 1968 aufgrund einer Anzeige der franquistischen #Polizei verhaftet. Die Anklage lautete auf Besitz von zwei Pistolen und gefälschten Dokumenten, da sie die ursprüngliche Anschuldigung, die Entführung eines spanischen Diplomaten bei der EU geplant zu haben, nicht aufrechterhalten konnten. Ich wurde zu fünf Monaten Haft verurteilt, meine Partnerin zu zwei Monaten.
In Frankreich wurden wir im Mai 1974 verhaftet, nach der Freilassung des Direktors der Bilbao Bank in Paris, der entführt worden war, um die Hinrichtung des jungen katalanischen Anarchisten Salvador Puig Antich in Spanien anzugeprangern und die Hinrichtung zweier weiterer MIL-Militan (Iberische Befreiungsbewegung) zu verhindern. Sie verhafteten zehn unserer Genossen (Spanier und Franzosen) und beschuldigten mich, die Entführung organisiert zu haben (die Genossen, die sie durchgeführt hatten, konnten sie nie finden oder verhaften). Ich war derjenige, der am längsten inhaftiert war: neun Monate. Dann wurden wir zehn vorläufig freigelassen und mussten uns in Paris aufhalten. 1981, nach Francos Tod, gab es einen einwöchigen Strafprozess gegen uns, und wir wurden freigesprochen, weil die französische Polizei ihre Anschuldigungen nicht beweisen konnte.
ANA: Und du bist ohne Probleme nach Kuba eingereist? Hattest du keine Angst, ins Gefängnis zu kommen, da du wegen deiner Kritik an Fidel und dem Regime wahrscheinlich vom kubanischen Geheimdienst gesucht wurdest?
Octavio Alberola: Ich war bis Anfang der 1980er Jahre nicht mehr in Kuba... Aber ich war auf dem Weg nach #Peru und #Bolivien, um mich für die Wiederherstellung und Bewahrung des kollektiven Gedächtnisses in #Lateinamerika zu engagieren, unterstützt vom Amsterdamer Institut für Geschichte, der #Feltrinelli-#Bibliothek in #Mailand, der Bibliothek für internationale zeitgenössische Dokumentation in# Nanterre (Paris) und der #CIDA in Spanien. Dann, 1989 und 1992, habe ich eine ikonografische Ausstellung über den Einfluss der Französischen Revolution in Lateinamerika und eine weitere über 500 Jahre Kampf für Menschenrechte in Lateinamerika vorbereitet, anlässlich des 200. Jahrestags der Französischen Revolution und des 500. Jahrestags der Entdeckung Amerikas. Bei diesen Reisen wurde ich von europäischen Hochschuleinrichtungen unterstützt. Das letzte Mal war Ende der 1990er Jahre anlässlich des Gipfeltreffens der iberoamerikanischen Staatschefs in Havanna. Ich war dort, um Kontakte zu #Dissidentengruppen zu knüpfen, damit ein #Europaabgeordneter an einer Demo von Frauen von Gefangenen teilnehmen konnte... Wir hatten keine Probleme, reinzukommen oder Kontakte zu knüpfen, weil das Regime damals keinen Skandal wollte... Aber die Frauen und mehrere Dissidenten waren in der Nacht zuvor vorläufig festgenommen worden, sodass die Demo nicht stattfinden konnte und der Europaabgeordnete sich darauf beschränkte, eine Pressekonferenz mit den auf der Insel anwesenden europäischen Journalisten abzuhalten. Am Flughafen wurde ich für ein paar Stunden von der Staatssicherheit festgehalten, die mir mitteilte, dass ich während meines dreitägigen Aufenthalts auf der Insel überwacht worden war... Sie sagten mir, dass sie über meine Vergangenheit Bescheid wüssten, als wir gemeinsam gegen Batista gekämpft hatten... und schließlich ließen sie mich das Flugzeug zurück nach Paris nehmen. Es war klar, dass sie keinen Skandal verursachen wollten, solange die iberoamerikanischen Staatschefs noch auf der Insel waren.
ANA: Gibt es derzeit Raum für libertäre Debatten und Aktionen in Kuba? Wie siehst du die libertäre Landschaft in diesem Land?
Octavio Alberola: Es gibt „Räume“, insofern als die Kubaner ihre Angst, sich zu äußern, verlieren und das Regime (wie am Ende der Franco-Diktatur) nicht mehr so offen wie früher unterdrücken kann.
Das passiert auch mit den „Damas en Blanco” und anderen Oppositionsgruppen... Ich sehe die libertäre Perspektive ziemlich optimistisch, weil die Genossinnen, mit denen wir in Kontakt stehen (Mitglieder des Critical Observatory), sehr fähig und sich der Chance für Anarchistinnen bewusst sind, den falschen #Castro-Sozialismus zu entlarven und das revolutionäre Potenzial des libertären Sozialismus zu zeigen.
ANA: Stimmt es, dass ihr in den 1960er Jahren zwei Attentate auf General Franco organisiert habt? Was ist passiert?
Octavio Alberola: Das ist eine sehr lange Geschichte, aber ich werde versuchen, sie so kurz wie möglich zu machen. 1961 wurde auf dem CNT-Kongress in Limoges, Frankreich, die spanische libertäre Bewegung (MLE), die seit 1945 in zwei Flügel gespalten war, wieder vereint. Auf diesem Kongress wurde in einer geschlossenen Sitzung beschlossen, eine konspirative Organisation für den Kampf gegen die Franco-Diktatur zu gründen. Diese Organisation hieß Defensa Interior (DI) und sollte aus sieben Aktivisten der CNT, der #FAI und der FIJL bestehen. Anfang 1962 ernannte die Verteidigungskommission der #MLE die sieben Mitglieder der DI, und ich wurde als Vertreter der #FIJL (Libertäre Jugend) ausgewählt. Aus diesem Grund verließ ich Mexiko und schloss mich heimlich der DI in Frankreich und Spanien an. Die DI beschloss, Aktionen gegen die Franco-Diktatur zu starten, um die brutale Repression der Franco-Anhänger anzuprangern und Solidarität mit den in Spanien inhaftierten Gefangenen zu zeigen. Es wurde auch beschlossen, den Diktator zu töten, und zu diesem Zweck wurde eine erste Aktion gegen Franco vorbereitet. Diese Aktion fand im Sommer 1962 in San Sebastián statt, war aber wegen technischer Probleme (Batterie des Empfängers) und Informationsproblemen (Franco verzögerte seine Ankunft) erfolglos. Die Aktion sorgte für großes Aufsehen, und die Presse bezeichnete sie als gescheiterten Anschlag auf Francos Leben. Die Polizei von Franco nahm viele Leute aus baskischen Unabhängigkeitskreisen fest, musste sie aber wieder freilassen, weil sie die libertären DI-Mitglieder hinter dem Anschlag nicht identifizieren konnte. Im Sommer 1963 wurde eine weitere Aktion gegen Franco in Madrid geplant, als er auf dem Weg vom #Prado-Palast zum #Oriente-Palast war, um die Ernennungsschreiben der neuen Botschafter in Madrid entgegenzunehmen. Allerdings führten Umstände, die bis heute nicht ganz geklärt sind, zur Verhaftung von zwei Genossen aus der Gruppe, die den Anschlag auf Franco vorbereitet hatte, und zum Verlust des gesamten Materials, das für diese Aktion bestimmt war. Das Franco-Regime reagierte brutal und verurteilte innerhalb von 17 Tagen diese beiden Genossen, Francisco Granado und Joaquín Delgado, zum Tode und richtete sie hin. Außerdem nahm es wahllos zahlreiche Libertäre in Spanien und sogar in Frankreich fest, wo die französischen Behörden auf Anweisung des Franco-Regimes fast hundert junge Libertäre und einige alte Militante in verschiedenen Städten verhafteten. Diese Repression führte zur Lähmung der DI, und von da an setzte nur noch die FIIJL die Aktionen gegen die Franco-Diktatur fort. Weitere Informationen findest du in dem Buch „El anarquismo español y la acción revolucionaria (1961-1974)” und in Dokumentarfilmen auf TVE und dem europäischen Sender ARTE über die Anschläge auf Franco.
ANA: Wechseln wir das Thema. Wie beurteilst du die Tatsache, dass die Finanzkrise der letzten Jahre keine größeren Proteste in Europa ausgelöst hat?
Octavio Alberola: Die jüngste Finanzkrise hat in Europa keine größeren Proteste ausgelöst, obwohl sie erhebliche Folgen für die Beschäftigung hat, und zwar aus dem einfachen Grund, dass die meisten europäischen Arbeitnehmer ein hohes Kaufkraftniveau erreicht hatten und das Wirtschaftssystem diese Kaufkraft und damit ihre Konsumfähigkeit nicht drastisch eingeschränkt hat.
Ich glaube nicht, dass sich diese Situation in naher Zukunft ändern wird, und deshalb denke ich, dass das Kräfteverhältnis zugunsten des Kapitalismus bestehen bleiben wird ... bis sich die andere Krise, die ökologische, verschärft und der Mehrheit der Arbeitnehmer bewusst wird, welche Gefahr die Fortsetzung des kapitalistischen Systems für ihr Überleben darstellt. Dieses Bewusstsein könnte die Entstehung einer selbstverwalteten globalen Bewegung fördern, um den Planeten und die Menschheit vor allen Gefahren zu retten, die von der kapitalistischen und autoritären Verwaltung der menschlichen Gesellschaften ausgehen.
ANA: Gibt es einen Ort, an dem du mehr anarchistische Hoffnung, einen lebendigeren und inspirierenderen #Anarchismus siehst? Wird er von den jüngsten Ereignissen in #Griechenland beeinflusst?
Octavio Alberola: Was ich derzeit am hoffnungsvollsten finde, ist der Konsens vieler #Libertärer und #Marxisten in ihrer Kritik am #Autoritarismus und ihrer Wertschätzung von #Autonomie und #Selbstverwaltung. Dies ist ein spontanes und globales Phänomen, das dank des Internets und durch Netzwerke der Solidarität, des Dialogs und der Reflexion miteinander verbunden ist.
Es ist ein entschlossen undogmatischer Anarchismus, der außerhalb streng anarchistischer Kreise seinen größten Vertreter im französischen Philosophen Michel #Onfray gefunden hat (dessen Bücher in mehr als 15 Sprachen übersetzt wurden und dessen Auflagen sich auf Hunderttausende belaufen). Was in Griechenland passiert, kommt mir nicht wie eine besonders konsequente Manifestation anarchistischer Ideologie vor, da es mir so vorkommt, als würde die Konfrontation mit den Ordnungskräften um der Konfrontation willen überbetont, ohne dass eine echte Infragestellung der autoritären Ordnung stattfindet. Dieser Eindruck könnte allerdings auch daran liegen, dass wir nicht so leicht an ihre Texte kommen…
ANA: Zum Abschluss des Interviews, wenn du auf dein bisheriges Engagement zurückblickst, was waren deine größten anarchistischen Freuden?
Octavio Alberola: Meine größte Freude war es zu sehen, dass all die Anstrengungen und Opfer, die zwischen 1962 und 1967 von den jungen Libertären (#Spanier, #Franzosen, #Italiener, #Engländer, die in Spanien, aber auch in Frankreich, #Italien und #England unterdrückt wurden) unternommen wurden, um den anarchistischen revolutionären Aktivismus wiederzubeleben, nicht umsonst waren... Und zwar, weil sie entscheidend zu den Ereignissen vom Mai 1968 in Frankreich und anderen Ländern beigetragen haben, die von der anarchistischen Idee geprägt waren, alle Formen von Macht und #Dogmatismus in Frage zu stellen. Diese Infragestellung scheint mir ein wichtiger Beitrag zu dem hartnäckigen Streben nach einer egalitären und libertären Utopie zu sein, das die Menschheit seit Beginn der menschlichen Geschichte als ihr Ziel verfolgt, seitdem das Gehorchen und Befehlen die treibende Kraft der Menschheitsgeschichte geworden ist.
Joselito, 27. Juli via @freedomnews freedomnews..org.uk
Übersetzung, Bearbeitung und Korrektur: Thomas Trueten #Revolution #Aragon #Olot #Mexiko #Jugendbewegung #Oliver #Castro #Diaspora #Guerillakampf #Batista #Regime #Sowjetunion #Amerika #CNT #Limoges #Di #Franco #Leval #Katalonien #Andalusien #Madrid #GARI #Perpignan #Spanien #CGT #COJRA #Radio #Libertaire #Delgado #Granado #GALSIC #Kuba #ANA #Repression #Jalapa #Veracruz #Barcelona #Girona #Streik #Alayor #Menorca #Fraga #Kulturminister #Frankreich #Cervantes #Sozialismus #Institutionalisierung #Staatskapitalismus #Diktatur #Paris #Gewerkschaften #Buchhandlungen #Havanna #SAC #Schweden #Gewerkschaftsbewegung #Caudillismus #Betancourt #Trujillo
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
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🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI
-
🧠✨ What is consciousness—and how can it be scientifically researched? ✨🧠
In our latest #Zoomposium, we talk to Dr. #LukasKob, an interdisciplinary #philosopher working at the intersection of #consciousness, #language, and #artificialintelligence.
📽️ https://youtu.be/1zUuoApblYE
📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2026/01/14/struktur-des-bewusstseins/
#PhilosophyOfMind #Structuralism #NeuralCorrelates #NCC #ArtificialConsciousness #Neuroscience #MindSciences #ComputationalPhenomenology #StructuralRealism #AGI