423 Matching Annotations
  1. Mar 2017
    1. hreshold of the existence of signs. Yet even here, things are not so simple, and the meaning of a term like "the existence of signs" requires elu-cidation. What does one mean when one say!, that there are signs, and that it is enough for there to be signs for there to be a statement? What spe-cial status should be given to that verb to be?

      The existence of the statement proves that signs exist. However, they are not one in the same: first, one must determine what he or she means by "signs;" then, he or she must determine exactly the connotation of "to be" for something "to be a statement" or "to be a sign," because this distinction can change the meaning one assigns to what a statement or a sign is.

    2. scansions
    3. conditions necessary for the appear-ance of an object of discourse, the historical con-ditions required if one is to "say anything" about it, and if several people are to say different things about it, the conditions necessary if it is to exist in relation to other objects, if it is to establish with them relations of resemblance,

      Foucault argues that rhetorical objects are contingent upon many conditions in order to enter the historical discussion. He also mentions that the time in history that a rhetorical object is being discussed influences what is said about it, because the cultural practices vary throughout time and influence those living in that time period and the way they think.

    1. The completeness of any reference varies; it is more or less close and clear, it "grasps" its object in greater or Jes~ degree.

      There is ambiguity within meaning in terms of the accuracy of certain symbols; e.g. some symbols are more accurate than others, but that is not necessarily clear at first glance. It must be studied and researched in order to determine what definition is the most accurate.

    1. So that A may become non-A. But not merely by a leap from one state to the other. Rather, we must take A back into the ground of its existence, the logical substance that is its causal ancestor, and on to a point where it is con-substantial with non-A; then we may return, this time emerging with non-A instead.

      The idea that in order to reinvent something, you must take it back to its basic form. Once it is in its basic form, you can better understand it; once you have an understanding of it, only then can you transform it into something else.

  2. Feb 2017
    1. and if we consider that the same process must have gone on with the words of our mother tongue from childhood upwards, we shall clearly see that the earliest learnt and of-tenest used words, will, other things equal, call up images with less loss of time and energy than their later learnt synonyms.

      Spencer states that the simple words we first learn as children are more efficient than the synonyms we learn later in life. There are less connections to be made with the original word that we use, and therefore using original language is more economic.

    1. I rejoice, because I am persuaded that the rights of woman, like the rights of slaves, need only be examined to he un-derstood and asserted, even hy some of those, who arc now endeavoring lo smother the irre-pressible desire for mental and spiritual freedom which glows in the breast of many, who hardly dare to speak their sentiments.

      She's ecstatic that women, like the slaves, will be able to fight for more rights and free themselves from oppression, even if that end result is still far down the road. At least people are starting to "wake up" to how subservient and lower class women are seen as in this time, even those most adamant on keeping those customs.

    2. Until our inlercourse is purified by the \ \ forgelfulness of sex,-until we rise above the present low and sordid views which entwine themselves around our social and domestic inter-change of senliment and feelings, we never can derive lhat benefit from each other's society which it is the design of our Creacor that we should.

      Grimke is saying that we will not live to our full potential, what God has destined for us, if we continue to live our lives in extreme separation between the sexes. Interesting point to suggest that society was living against what God manifested for humanity.

    1. Wherefore, my respected friends, let us no longer talk of prejudice, till prejudice becomes extinct at home. Let us no longer talk of opposition, till we cease to oppose our own. For while these evils exist. to talk is like giving breath to the air, and labor to the wind.

      Discussing prejudice ironically keeps it alive; it is only through action and relationships that prejudice can be phased out.

      This sentiment is slightly concerning, though. If one never discusses how they may be prejudiced against, will they ever be able to recognize it and act appropriately? Can prejudice by solved through action and character alone?

    2. f such women as are here described have t-.... once existed, be no longer astonished then, my s brethren and friends, that God at this eventful pe-5~ riod should raise up your own females to strive, ~' by their example both in public and private, to · assist those who arc endeavoring stop the strong current of prejudice that flows so profusely against us at present. No longer ridicule their ef-forts, it will be counted for sin. For God makes use of feeble means sometimes, to bring about his most exalted purposes.

      Here, Stewart is arguing that in many past respected societies (Greek, Roman, Jewish), women were well-respected in a religious sense. As a reference to her earlier claim, that she was visited by the Holy Spirit and therefore had the temerity and the right to speak publicly on religious grounds. I do find it interesting that she said: "For God makes use of feeble means sometimes, to bring about his most exalted purposes." Her use of the word "feeble" is interesting, because it seems like she is ascribing to the expected gender roles/personalities, in that women are the "softer sex," and not perceived as strong or powerful.

    3. Take us generally as a people, we arc neither lazy nor idle; and considering how Huie we have to excite or stimulate us, I am almost astonished that there arc so many industrious and ambitious ones to be found; although I acknowledge, with extreme sorrow, that there arc some who never were and never will be serviceable lo society. And have you not a similar class among your· selves'!

      This is a nice summary of one of Stewart's main points: African Americans, of any sex, are just as capable, just as intelligent, and just as American as whites are. She concedes that there are some who are "idle," but counters that this does not just apply to African Americans, but also to whites (and by extension, all races). I wonder if this helped the reception of her speech: acknowledging shortcomings, but pointing out that these shortcomings apply to others as well, suggesting that all people are equal.

    1. franchise

      franchise

      It's most often used in reference to the right to vote, but the term carries the larger meaning of just a right or privilege in general. It can also be "freedom or immunity from some burden or restriction vested in a person or group."

      I think the broader political and social meanings of "franchise" and its derivations -- most commonly "enfranchise" and "disenfranchise" -- make it a key term for rhetoric, particularly as we continue to ask questions like “What is Rhetoric?” or “What was Rhetoric?” or “Whatever Rhetoric?” or “Which Rhetorics?” or “When Rhetoric?” or “Whenever Rhetoric?” or “What will be Rhetoric?” or “What will have been Rhetoric?” or “What isn’t Rhetoric?”

  3. Jan 2017
  4. Dec 2016
  5. Oct 2016
  6. May 2016
    1. I first give you the Key that will unlock every mystery that now hides from you the secret of MyBeing.This Key, when you once know how to use it, will open the door to all Wisdom and all Power inheaven and Earth. Yea, it will open the door to the Kingdom of Heaven, and then you have but toenter in to become consciously One with Me.This Key is"To THINK is to CREATE", or"As you THINK in your HEART, so is it with you."Stop and meditate on this that it may get firmly fixed in your mind.A Thinker is a Creator.A Thinker lives in a world of his own conscious creation.When you once know how "to think," you can create at will anything you wish, -- whether it be anew personality, a new environment, or a new world.

      "This Key is"To THINK is to CREATE", or"As you THINK in your HEART, so is it with you".

      The word that really stands out here is 'heart'. It doesn't say as I think in my mind. And it continues to on with "When you once know how "to think," you can create at will anything you wish." This suggests there is something for me to learn about 'thinking' in the context that is is used here.

  7. Apr 2015
  8. Mar 2015
    1. Therefore, I learned — and learned well — that forgiveness is an essential key to healing. The opposite of forgiveness is judgment, and judgment always creates separation and guilt. Judgment will evoke a sense of guilt in the one who has been judged, unless, of course, they are perfectly awake. But more than this, each time that you judge anything or anyone, you have literally elicited guilt within yourself, because there is a place within you, yet still, that knows the perfect purity of your brother and sister, and sees quite clearly that all things within the human realm are either the extension of Love, or a cry for help and healing.
  9. Feb 2014
    1. Interdependence and Regeneration2c5c7 A very important feature to be noted from the discussion in this section bears upon the interdependence among the various types of structuring which are involved in the H-LAM/T system, where the capability for doing each type of structuring is dependent upon the capability for doing one or more of the other types of structuring. (Assuming that the physical structuring of the system remains basically unchanged during the system's operation, we exclude its dependence upon other factors in this discussion.) 2c5c7a This interdependence actually has a cyclic, regenerative nature to it which is very significant to us. We have seen how the capability for mental structuring is finally dependent, down the chain, upon the process structuring (human, artifact, composite) that enables symbol-structure manipulation. But it also is evident that the process structuring is dependent not only upon basic human and artifact process capabilities, but upon the ability of the human to learn how to execute processes--and no less important, upon the ability of the human to select, organize, and modify processes from his repertoire to structure a higher-order process that he can execute. Thus, a capability for structuring and executing processes is partially dependent upon the human's mental structuring, which in turn is partially dependent upon his process structuring (through concept and symbol structuring), which is partially dependent upon his mental structuring, etc. 2c5c7b All of this means that a significant improvement in symbol-structure manipulation through better process structuring (initially perhaps through much better artifacts) should enable us to develop improvements in concept and mental-structure manipulations that can in turn enable us to organize and execute symbol-manipulation processes of increased power. To most people who initially consider the possibilities for computer-like devices augmenting the human intellect, it is only the one-pass improvement that comes to mind, which presents a picture that is relatively barren compared to that which emerges when one considers this regenerative interaction. 2c5c7c We can confidently expect the development of much more powerful concepts pertaining to the manner in which symbol structures can be manipulated and portrayed, and correspondingly more complex manipulation processes that in the first pass would have been beyond the human's power to organize and execute without the better symbol, concept, and mental structuring which his augmented system provided him. These new concepts and processes, beyond our present capabilities to use and thus never developed, will provide a tremendous increased-capability payoff in the future development of our augmentation means.

      I think these notions of interdependence and regeneration are a very key observation.

  10. Jan 2014
    1. A key component of data management is the comprehensive description of the data and contextual information that future researchers need to understand and use the data. This description is particularly important because the natural tendency is for the information content of a data set or database to undergo entropy over time (i.e. data entropy ), ultimately becoming meaningless to scientists and others [ 2 ].

      I agree with the key component mentioned here, but I feel the term data entropy is an unhelpful crutch.

    1. Researchers may be underestimating the need for help using archival storage systems and dealing with attendant metadata issues.

      In my mind this is a key challenge: even if people can describe what they need for themselves (that in itself is a very hard problem), what to do from the infrastructure standpoint to implement services that aid the individual researcher and also aid collaboration across individuals in the same domain, as well as across domains and institutions... in a long-term sustainable way is not obvious.

      In essence... how do we translate needs that we don't yet fully understand into infrastructure with low barrier to adoption, use, and collaboration?