Baltasar Gracián: Philosophy, Style, and El Criticón
Baltasar Gracián: A Baroque Master
Baltasar Gracián, a poet and writer of the Spanish Golden Age, is considered a master of didactic and philosophical prose. His style, characterized by very personal, short sentences, is dense, concentrated, and polysemous. He mastered wordplay and ingenious word associations, resulting in a terse language, full of aphorisms, capable of conveying many ideas and meanings.
The thought of this Baroque author is profoundly pessimistic; he believed the world is hostile
Read MoreAristotle’s Philosophical Foundations: Soul, Ethics, and Governance
While Plato viewed man as an accidental composite of two distinct substances (body and soul), Aristotle presented a unified, spiritual, and non-biological perspective. For Aristotle, man is a single substance, a complete living organism, composed of a body (the subject) and a soul (the form). Aristotelian psychology is organized as follows:
Aristotle’s Anthropology: Body and Soul
Unlike Plato, who believed the soul and body were separable substances, with the soul potentially surviving the body (implying
Read MoreKey Concepts in Social and Organizational Psychology
Social Psychology & Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts
Latané & Darley’s Decision Model (1968)
Latané & Darley’s decision model outlines the steps individuals take when deciding whether to intervene in an emergency:
- Notice the incident.
- Define the situation as an emergency.
- Assume personal responsibility.
- Feel competent to help.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Geert Hofstede’s framework identifies six dimensions reflecting how a society values relationships, social structures, achievements,
Read MoreChallenging Western Culture: Language, Instinct, and Truth
Deconstructing Western Culture’s Foundations
This critique examines the pervasive interests that claim lives and sow chaos, seeking to uncover the origin of language and its role in Western culture. Western society believes it has generated humanity’s greatest progress through reason. However, this has also created ultraworlds—worlds of fiction. This emphasis on reason has led to the repression of movement and instincts, alienating each individual and converting them into a mere ‘slice’ of their
Read MoreHuman Body Systems: Anatomy and Physiology for Performance
Skeletal System Functions
Protects the body’s organs: Ribs and sternum protect the heart and lungs; the cranium protects the brain; the pelvis protects the intestines.
Allows movement: Movement is achieved through the use of joints and muscle attachment. Without the ability to use our muscles for movement, sports would be impossible to play.
Helps formation of blood cells: Platelets, red blood cells, and most white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow.
Stores minerals: Bones store calcium and
Specialized Diets and Clinical Nutritional Interventions
Isolation Diet
The Isolation Diet is a monotonous diet, low in bacteria, indicated for patients with immunosuppression or hematologic malignancies. It often leads to suboptimal nutrient intake, aggravated by factors such as prolonged hospital stays, physical isolation, discomfort associated with chemotherapy treatment, and depression. This diet consists of cooked or pasteurized foods with minimal handling during preparation. It strictly excludes raw foods, including vegetables and unpeeled fruits.
Read MoreKey Elements of Strategic Business and Marketing Planning
Strategic Planning Fundamentals
Defining Mission, Vision, and Values
The Mission declares the overall role of the company in society, its general purpose, and what consumer needs it aims to satisfy. A strong mission statement has four key functions:
- Satisfying customer needs
- Referring to the benefits it will supply
- Referring to the stage in the value-adding process it will complete
- Referring to the competencies it will develop (skills and capabilities they focus on)
The Vision outlines the company’s aspirational
Globalization, Technology, and Media Evolution
Session 1: Economic and Political Dynamics of Globalization
- Definition of Globalization: Interconnectedness of economies, cultures, and societies.
- Key Features:
- Economic Integration: Trade, multinational corporations, capital flows.
- Technological Connectivity: Internet, transportation, AI.
- Political and Social Interactions: Shared global values, security concerns.
- Cultural Exchange: Spread of languages, entertainment, hybrid identities.
- Economic Growth: Driven by capitalism, innovation, and free markets.
Philosophical Foundations: Knowledge, Intelligence, Tradition, and Reason
Understanding Knowledge: Definitions and Models
Knowledge is the understanding of things or a state of being. It involves two main components: the subject (the one who knows or performs the activity of knowing) and the object (what is known or understood). Knowledge also has two aspects: the process of knowing (the activity, the search for truth) and the outcome of knowing (the result, the truth found).
Models of Knowledge
Realism (Aristotle)
In realism, the object has priority. It is considered a fundamental
Linguistic Heritage of Spain: Origins and Evolution
Understanding Language: Core Concepts
- Language: A set of signs and structures shared by members of a particular linguistic community.
- Dialect: A variant of a language specific to a particular geographical area or a particular moment in the evolution of the language.
- Talk: The individual act of using language by a particular individual.
The Linguistic Landscape of Spain
Spain is a multilingual country where several languages coexist. Castilian is spoken throughout the territory, coexisting in some autonomous
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