Embedded Files
Symposium
The Metaphor of the Odyssey in Western Culture:
Science, Art, and Religion
Symposium
The Metaphor of the Odyssey in Western Culture:
Science, Art, and Religion
Organiser
Tatiana DENISOVA, "Semiotics of Logic and Reasoning" Research Group
Description
Only by the incessant metamorphosis of its central idea can the myth continue to live.
Werner Jaeger
While popularising myths, Homer, Hesiod, and the other Greek tragedians expounded them in their own way, shifting the semantic accents in accordance with their times. Accordingly, their works were later interpreted in different ways. Each era used to read something of its own in them, which was closer, more intelligible and relevant to the contemporary times.
The Odyssey is full of existential symbolism. Throughout the post-Homeric history, interpreters often viewed it not just as a fascinating story about the life peripeteia (περιπέτεια – adventure) of one of the participants in the Trojan War but as a universal image of the existence of a man who searches, struggles, learns, discovers, makes mistakes, who is always alone and unique, always incomplete and capable of change.
Thus, the notion of the Odyssey was filled with unprecedentedly rich metaphors over its long life in the history of culture. The original idea of the Odyssey as a long and hard journey to return home has survived, but it has moved to the background of the subsequent interpretations. Nowadays, we use the notion of the Odyssey in a more general sense, as a long, complicated, sometimes fascinating journey, and more often, we interpret it even more broadly, as a man’s life and creative path, his individual and always unique experience of understanding and mastering the world, creating its holistic image and describing this image in a specific language. Therefore, the notion of the Odyssey often connotes not only the story of a great traveller or explorer but also the intellectual twists and turns of scientists, scholars, artists, religious reformers, engineers, and doctors in their discovery process. Furthermore, it signifies navigation across different cultures, traditions, alien planets, or galaxies. Each Odyssey is unique and unrepeatable because it is not just a sequence of events but a manifestation of the spirit of a “hero”, a community or the whole of mankind; it contains a part of the personality of a certain ingenious man who is always alone, unique, incomplete and capable of change.
An Odyssey can be considered a complex process of researching a scientific problem, achieving a discovery, creating a novel artistic style, exploring the unknown, and transforming an idea over time.
During the workshop, we expect to listen to exciting stories about the “Odysseys” of great people, great ideas, great scientific problems, breakthrough discoveries and artistic styles that bear the imprint of the personality of their creators and researchers.
Symposium
Formalising Diagrammatic Reasoning using
Peirce’s Existential Graphs
Symposium
Formalising Diagrammatic Reasoning using
Peirce’s Existential Graphs
Organisers
Gianluca CATERINA, Endicott College, USA, "Semiotics of Logic and Reasoning" Research Group
Jonathon "Rocco" GANGLE, Endicott College, USA, "Semiotics of Logic and Reasoning" Research Group
Fernando TOHMÉ, The Global Centre for Advanced Studies, National Research Council of Argentina,
Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina, "Semiotics of Logic and Reasoning" Research Group
Description
String diagrams have become a central tool in several branches of mathematics, physics, and computer science, as they provide an intuitive, purely graphical approach to reasoning about compositional structures. Charles S. Peirce was one of the first logicians to recognise the power of this kind of diagrammatic reasoning. His system of Existential Graphs (Beta) uses an elegant topological calculus to model first-order logic with identity.
In this workshop, we will introduce Peirce's system, providing details on the topological nature of its logical rules. We will investigate how Peirce's graphical calculus anticipates more recent developments in category theory and categorical logic, emphasising how soundness and completeness proofs can be recast in a native diagrammatic framework.
Symposium
Symposium
Symmetrical Structures, Patterns, and Imagination in
Islamic Architecture, Astronomy and Poetry
Symmetrical Structures, Patterns, and Imagination in
Islamic Architecture, Astronomy and Poetry
Organisers
Carol BIER, Research Scholar, Center for Islamic Studies, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley CA, USA
Charlotte HOWLEY, PhD Student, Iranian Studies, University of California - Los Angeles CA, USA
Elaheh KHEIRANDISH, Historian of Science, Center for Hellenic Studies, The Department of the Classics,
Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA
Description
Persian and Islamic lands witnessed an intense flourishing of art, architecture, mathematics, science and poetry beginning in the 9th century. From the poetry of Ferdowsi, Farrokhi Sistani, and Gorgani to the monuments of Bukhara, Isfahan, and Maragha, poetic, artistic, and architectural forms emerged that would become predominant throughout the Islamic world. At the same time, the translation and advancement of scientific, philosophical, and mathematical thought shaped an ‘Islamic Golden Age.’ Ghaznavid palaces were filled with poets and inscribed with poetry. Likewise, the Seljuk courts attracted literati and learned men of diverse backgrounds, contributing to a vibrant intellectual environment.
In response to this rich cultural flourishing from the 9th to 12th centuries, we envision an experimental gathering of scholars trained in different disciplines to provide interpretive insights and diverse perspectives on the use and significance of imagination in the arts and discourses of the pre-Mongol Islamic world. Papers will explore lines of thought that are literal, mathematical, and metaphorical with a view towards understanding how imagination figures in the articulation of worlds beyond that of the tangible.
The workshop focuses on the symmetries of intricate geometric patterns executed in cut and glazed bricks on monuments in Iran and neighboring regions, considered in relation to Qur’anic passages and contemporary poetry. In particular, the study of Nezami’s Haft Paykar, a literary masterpiece of enormous complexity and imagination, explores its architectural references and geometric structures. Together, we raise questions about the interpretation of patterns in spatial and imaginative realms.
Symposium
Symposium
Symmetry, Analogy and Proportionality
Symmetry, Analogy and Proportionality
Organiser
Katarzyna GAN-KRZYWOSZYNSKA, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Faculty of Philosophy, Poland
Description
The workshop proposes an interdisciplinary reflection on three relational concepts that are closely connected and sometimes even overlapping, namely symmetry, analogy and proportionality. It seems that the difference between symmetry and analogy is quite clear. However, proportionality is correlated with both. These three concepts are very useful in philosophical and artistic analysis.
During the workshop, we want to investigate both theoretical approaches to these concepts and the relation between them. We also wish to study examples of applications of the triad to such concepts as justice, dialogue, generosity, and mutuality. Therefore, we are particularly interested in contributions investigating symmetry, analogy and proportionality as heuristic tools from the perspective of social and gender issues and political and legal relations, among others.
For instance, Leszek Nowak (1943 – 2009), one of the founders and active members of the Poznań Methodological School (Poznańska Szkoła Metodologiczna) - the idealizational theory of science (see, for instance Martti Kuokkanen's paper) - and the author of the theory of action (the so-called non-Christian model of man), introduces three models of relations based on proportionality
normal situation and inverse proportionality
situation of constrain (also called enslavement), and
situation of exasperation/satanisation.
They correspond to the assumption of rationality (when a subject maximises their preferences), counter-rationality (maximisation of someone else’s, not one’s own, preferences) and irrationality (maximization of someone else’s counter-preferences), respectively.
We also invite contributions on symmetry, analogy, and proportionality as a basis for artistic expression and creativity in music, literature, architecture, and painting, especially in the context of such oppositions as academism/classicism versus baroque.
Symposium
Symposium
Choreia – The characteristics and asymmetries of the
common European heritage chain and round dance culture.
Choreia – The characteristics and asymmetries of the
common European heritage chain and round dance culture.
Organiser
Anna Mária BÓLYA, Dance Ethnologist, Theoretician of Art, Hungary
Tomaz SIMETINGER, Union of Cultural Societies of Slovenia (ZKDS), Slovenia
László Koppány CSÁJI, Cultural Anthropologist, Ethnographer, Writer, Art Theorist,
Director of the Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology, Hungarian Academy of Arts, Hungary
Description
In European social dance culture, a significant transformation occurred around the 12th century. The previously dominant chorea/carole, characterised by chain and circle dances, gradually gave way to paired dance traditions. These two dance cultures differ fundamentally in their structure, ritual significance, social roles, and rhythmic characteristics. While today both are broadly referred to as "dance," they represent entirely distinct cultural phenomena.
The rhythmic and choreological aspects of chorea are rich with asymmetries, which became far less prominent in later paired dance traditions. Even today, chorea persists as a living community practice in certain areas of the Balkans, serving as a cultural relic.
This shift between dance cultures will be explored in a dedicated section at the Hungarian Academy of Arts Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology (HAA RIATM) during the Multilingualism international conference in the autumn of 2025.
European chorea is likely a direct successor of ancient Hellenic choreia, which played a significant role in the social fabric of ancient Hellas. Some theories suggest that its origins can be traced back even further to Minoan culture.
One researcher examines the subtle shifts between music and dance, along with the rhythmic asymmetries present in accompanying musical structures. Another investigates labyrinth dances, widely practised in medieval European Christianity as chain dances guiding worshippers through profound mental experiences. Additionally, an ongoing HAA RIATM research project analyses the repertoire of distinguished Hungarian folk dance choreographers, emphasising multiethnic influences, in which chain and circle dances play a pivotal role.
The workshop integrates the discussion into the esteemed Symmetry research framework, aiming to generate fresh insights and discoveries.
Workshop
Workshop
Iconography
Iconography
Organiser
Konstantina STEFANAKI, Iconographer at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Kolymbari, Greece
Description
A defining feature of the Byzantine painting system is that Byzantine iconographers are interested in establishing a connection between the depicted saint or historical event and the viewer. This practice has a profound ecclesiological meaning.
In ancient Christian art, before the iconoclasm, the faces of the saints were in an entirely forward-facing pose. The faces and facial features are symmetrically positioned along the vertical and horizontal axes that divide the form. This symmetry lends it a sense of balance, despite its static nature. There is no movement in any direction. As a result, there is no relationship between the depicted and the viewer.
After the iconoclasm, this kind of symmetry and motionlessness was abandoned, and faces in the dynamic frontal pose became the norm. One of the versions of the dynamic frontal pose employed by the Palaeologan School of Painting also survives in the work of later schools. This particular one has a different fundamental structure. The proportions of the head are the same and symmetrical. The basic structural difference is that instead of the vertical and horizontal straight axes, the axis has a slight turn. The head turns slightly to the right or left, while the gaze moves in the opposite direction. In this way, one part of the face is narrower than the other. The Byzantine paintings aim to convey a stronger sense of rhythm and a more intense presence of the depicted saint to the viewer.
The composition of a historical event is organised around a vertical axis, creating balance. Typically, the most crucial figure (e.g., Christ or the Virgin Mary) is placed at the centre. In contrast, the other figures are arranged symmetrically around them, in rhythm and with curved lines, creating a dialogue between the composition and the viewer.
During the iconography workshop, we will experience the sacred art of drawing the face of an Angel of the Lord in a dynamic frontal pose.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse