scholarly journals Cassirer and Dirac on the Symbolic Method in Quantum Mechanics: A Confluence of Opposites

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Ryckman
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Physical Theory ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Symbolic Thought ◽  
Symbolic Method ◽  
Symbolic Meanings ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Determinismus und Indeterminismus in der modernen Physik (DI) is one of Cassirer’s least known and studied works, despite his own assessment as “one of his most important achievements” (Gawronsky 1949, 29). A prominent theme locates quantum mechanics as a yet further step of the tendency within physical theory towards the purely functional theory of the concept and functional characterization of objectivity. In this respect DI can be considered an “update”, like the earlier monograph Zur Einsteinschen Relativitätstheorie: Erkenntnistheoretische Betrachtungen (1921), to Substanzbegriff und Funktionsbegriff (1910), a seminal work considering only classical and pre-relativistic physics. But how does DI cohere with the three volumes of The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (1923–29) providing a systematic survey of symbolic meanings in diverse aspects of culture, each with its own mode of “objectification” via self-created signs and images? Cassirer’s “phenomenology of cognition” via distinct types of symbolic form locates Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics (1930) as an exemplar within physical theory of purely symbolic thought, a realm of pure relations and their correlated meanings. In particular, Dirac’s characterization of the new notion of “physical state” in quantum mechanics by a “symbolic algebra of observables” severed from particular representations points to a limiting pole of the Bedeutungsfunktion, the third and highest mode of symbolic formation.

scholarly journals The Mythical Foundation of Money and its Early Moments of Abstraction. Connections Between Georg Simmel and Ernst Cassirer

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-98
Author(s):  
Timo Klattenhoff
Keyword(s):  
Abstract Thinking ◽  
Georg Simmel ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Are there similarities between Georg Simmel's concept of money in its early stages and Ernst Cassirer's works on myth as a symbolic form? To answer this question, this paper discusses parts of Simmel's “Philosophy of Money” and Cassirer's “Philosophy of Symbolic Forms”: By showing how primeval use of objects which carry monetary characteristics can be parallelized with ways of mythic world interpretation, similarities between Simmel's and Cassirer's arguments can be highlighted. It is not only the mind, which gains the ability of abstract thinking their examples and concepts point to, but also an idea of culture, which reflects this development.

scholarly journals The missing piece in E. Cassirer’s theory of symbolic forms: the economy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg D. Blind ◽  
Raji Steineck
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Institutional Innovation ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Abstract Ernst Cassirer’s Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (PSF) primarily reflects on culture as a system of normative domains that are path-dependently configured. PSF elaborates on the domains of myth/religion, language, and science, but misses a discussion of the economy. By sketching a corresponding exposition, we contribute to the ongoing discussion of how economic science may investigate the world beyond utility functions. Our argument proceeds along historical and comparative lines with a ‘reciprocal comparison’ of the medieval economies of Europe and Japan. We thus approach the normative essence of economic thought and behaviour and test its variability in socio-cultural contexts diverging from ‘now’ and ‘here’. Our sketch of the economy as a symbolic form has important implications for the theoretical understanding of change in social systems. We argue that existing factors of change recognised in the economics discipline, such as fluctuations in supply and demand, and institutional innovation, critically require a superposition with patterns of cognition as they guide agents in their grasp of economic problems and, consequently, in their responses that shape material economies. We suggest that conceiving of the economy as a symbolic form makes these patterns of cognition accessible.

Cassirer, Ernst (1874–1945)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Elder
Keyword(s):  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Symbolic Expression ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Absolute Idealism ◽  
Aby Warburg ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms ◽  
Hermann Cohen

Ernst Alfred Cassirer was a philosopher and intellectual historian. The central concept of Cassirer’s system is that of symbolic form. Owing to Cassirer’s affiliations with Hermann Cohen (1848–1918) and the Marburg School, the concept is generally taken to be extension of Kant’s notion of the categories. There is some truth to the claim: Cassirer does maintain that human knowledge depends on our ability to give form to experience and that we use symbolic forms to give experience its shape. Neo-Kantians (among whom Cassirer is often counted) believed that sensation provides the material of experience, while the faculty they usually called "understanding" imposes form on the material of sensation to produce experience. However, the concept goes well beyond Kant’s ideas on the categories or their neo-Kantian extensions. Heinrich Hertz’s (1857–1894) Die Prinzipien der Mechanik (1894), especially its concept of "pictures," which linked concepts to intuition, transformed Cassirer’s Kantianism. Friedrich Theodor Vischer’s (1807–1887) Hegelian-inspired Ästhetik oder Wissenschaft des Schönen (3 vols., 1846–1857), endowed the concept with an idealist cast—indeed, a broader influence was the notion of the Idea in the German absolute Idealism. Cassirer traced the development of symbolic form through myth (Cassirer was influenced by Aby Warburg [1866–1929] and his Bibliothek Warburg), art, mathematics, science, and philosophy, identifying the stages of development as mimetic, analogical and the symbolic expression. He expounded his conception of symbolic form in the magisterial three-volume work, Philosophie der symbolischen Formen [The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms] (1923–1929).

Monetäre »Grundformen des ’Verstehens‘ der Welt«? Von Simmels Substanzwert zu Cassirers Darstellungsfunktion

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 159-170
Author(s):  
Timo Klattenhoff
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Cultural Philosophy ◽  
The World ◽  
Way Of Thinking ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms ◽  
The Way

Among many things, Simmel in his Philosophy of Money works out a cultural perspective on money. In reference to socio-historical examples, Simmel differentiates between the »Substanzwert« of those objects, which serve monetary purposes: Whereas the former quality stands for the equalization of material attributes and value, the later describes money's capability for universal exchange. With Ernst Cassirer's Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, we can argue that this a »revolution of the way of thinking«: Drawing a parallel between Simmel's »Substanz-« and »Funktionswert« and Cassirers »Ausdrucks-« und »Darstellungsfunktion« does not only point out characteristics of each thinkers cultural philosophy. It also shows how an argument for a monetary understanding of the world money as a symbolic form can be developed.

Functional characterization of human brown adipose tissue metabolism

2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (7) ◽  
pp. 1261-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Anne Richard ◽  
Hannah Pallubinsky ◽  
Denis P. Blondin
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Brown Adipose Tissue ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity ◽  
And Function

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has long been described according to its histological features as a multilocular, lipid-containing tissue, light brown in color, that is also responsive to the cold and found especially in hibernating mammals and human infants. Its presence in both hibernators and human infants, combined with its function as a heat-generating organ, raised many questions about its role in humans. Early characterizations of the tissue in humans focused on its progressive atrophy with age and its apparent importance for cold-exposed workers. However, the use of positron emission tomography (PET) with the glucose tracer [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) made it possible to begin characterizing the possible function of BAT in adult humans, and whether it could play a role in the prevention or treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). This review focuses on the in vivo functional characterization of human BAT, the methodological approaches applied to examine these features and addresses critical gaps that remain in moving the field forward. Specifically, we describe the anatomical and biomolecular features of human BAT, the modalities and applications of non-invasive tools such as PET and magnetic resonance imaging coupled with spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) to study BAT morphology and function in vivo, and finally describe the functional characteristics of human BAT that have only been possible through the development and application of such tools.

Functional Characterization of PM6/13, a β3-specific (GPIIIa/CD61) Monoclonal Antibody that Shows Preferential Inhibition of Fibrinogen Binding over Fibronectin Binding to Activated Human Platelets

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (01) ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashia Siddiqua ◽  
Michael Wilkinson ◽  
Vijay Kakkar ◽  
Yatin Patel ◽  
Salman Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Platelet Aggregation ◽  
Platelet Rich Plasma ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Human Platelets ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Activated Platelets ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Fibronectin Binding

SummaryWe report the characterization of a monoclonal antibody (MAb) PM6/13 which recognises glycoprotein IIIa (GPIIIa) on platelet membranes and in functional studies inhibits platelet aggregation induced by all agonists examined. In platelet-rich plasma, inhibition of aggregation induced by ADP or low concentrations of collagen was accompanied by inhibition of 5-hydroxytryptamine secretion. EC50 values were 10 and 9 [H9262]g/ml antibody against ADP and collagen induced responses respectively. In washed platelets treated with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, PM6/13 inhibited platelet aggregation induced by thrombin (0.2 U/ml), collagen (10 [H9262]g/ml) and U46619 (3 [H9262]M) with EC50 = 4, 8 and 4 [H9262]g/ml respectively, without affecting [14C]5-hydroxytryptamine secretion or [3H]arachidonate release in appropriately labelled cells. Studies in Fura 2-labelled platelets revealed that elevation of intracellular calcium by ADP, thrombin or U46619 was unaffected by PM6/13 suggesting that the epitope recognised by the antibody did not influence Ca2+ regulation. In agreement with the results from the platelet aggregation studies, PM6/13 was found to potently inhibit binding of 125I-fibrinogen to ADP activated platelets. Binding of this ligand was also inhibited by two other MAbs tested, namely SZ-21 (also to GPIIIa) and PM6/248 (to the GPIIb-IIIa complex). However when tested against binding of 125I-fibronectin to thrombin stimulated platelets, PM6/13 was ineffective in contrast with SZ-21 and PM6/248, that were both potent inhibitors. This suggested that the epitopes recognised by PM6/13 and SZ-21 on GPIIIa were distinct. Studies employing proteolytic dissection of 125I-labelled GPIIIa by trypsin followed by immunoprecipitation with PM6/13 and analysis by SDS-PAGE, revealed the presence of four fragments at 70, 55, 30 and 28 kDa. PM6/13 did not recognize any protein bands on Western blots performed under reducing conditions. However Western blotting analysis with PM6/13 under non-reducing conditions revealed strong detection of the parent GP IIIa molecule, of trypsin treated samples revealed recognition of an 80 kDa fragment at 1 min, faint recognition of a 60 kDa fragment at 60 min and no recognition of any product at 18 h treatment. Under similar conditions, SZ-21 recognized fragments at 80, 75 and 55 kDa with the 55kDa species persisting even after 18 h trypsin treatment. These studies confirm the epitopes recognised by PM6/13 and SZ-21 to be distinct and that PM6/13 represents a useful tool to differentiate the characteristics of fibrinogen and fibronectin binding to the GPIIb-IIIa complex on activated platelets.

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