english articles

The origin of everything

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The origin of everything

Dear little philosophers,

how are you all? Are you enjoying your summer holiday? I really hope you don’t spend all the day with your smartphone but also with other activities, like reading books, going out with your friends, walking but above all playing.

However, even if you are on holiday we will try to keep your attention awake through our little philosophy lessons. So: let’s start!

Today we’ll try to answer these questions: “Where do we come from and what is the origin of everything”?

Thales, Anaximander and Anaximene tried to find an answer but who are they? They were philosophers of nature.

Originally from Miletus, a Turkey city, they lived about 600 years before the birth of Jesus and they were really curious, especially about the beginning of everything so each of them has thought of a primordial cause, the arché.

Thales thought that the base of all was water: in fact, without this liquid there is no life. If we observe our person, we must consider that more than 80% of our body is made of it.

Anaximander  instead believed that at the origin of life was the apeiron, something unlimited or endless. Furthermore, only what is endless can give life to what has an end and limits, like us.

Anaximene’s arché was the air. Like Thales, he believed that “… there had to be a primordial matter at the bottom of all the changes that occur in nature”.

Who was right, on your opinion? What do you think about this theme? Where does everything we know come from? And we?

Before saying goodbye waiting for the next lesson, I suggest you the title of the book from which I took the sentence in bold and an interesting video. Good reading and good vision!

The book is “The world of Sofia” written by Jostein Gaarder, ed. Longanesi. And here is the video

 

Maria Domenica Depalo

Travel experiences

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Travel experiences

Everyone of us has a place to visit and discover because every place, street or landscape is an expression of who we are and of our inner life.
In fact we could talk about a philosophy of travelling as a way to explore known and unknown spaces but especially ourselves.

It isn’t necessary to go too far or distant. You can move from your town to the nearest and make your travel: the one you need.

The contact with different people, cultures, languages, dresses and food could be read as an incredible instrument not only to  learn  more about what surrounds us but, at the same time, to evolve and  improve.

There are many ways to travel around the world but the first one is thanks to imagination.

Through it, we approach in a first, personal and unique way with people, colours, tastes and new places creating situations and moments we hope to realize.

What do you really see when you cross new roads or see new horizonts? What happens to your life?

Share with us your ideal travel or describe a place you visit often and know. If you want you can publish a photo.

I will publish the first.

Thank  you.

scorcio di Giovinazzo

Scorcio di Giovinazzo foto di ©MariaDomenicaDepalo

 

Maria Domenica Depalo

 

Festa della mamma (ita+engl version)

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Festa della mamma

In questo giorno così speciale, omaggiamo le nostre madri con le parole di Kahlil Gibran e con una galleria di foto che vogliono render onore a tutte quante loro. Parliamo di madri di figli propri e/o di figli partoriti da altre donne ma anche di madri non ancora tali ma desiderose di esserlo, senza dimenticare quelle donne che lo sono pur non avendo figli perché sono capaci di donare se stesse appieno esattamente come se lo fossero.

La parola più bella 
sulle labbra del genere umano è “Madre”, 
e la più bella invocazione è “Madre mia”. 
E’ la fonte dell’amore, della misericordia, 
della comprensione, del perdono. 
Ogni cosa in natura parla della madre.

Kahlil Gibran
fonte della citazione: http://www.aurorablu.it/frasi/Frasi_Mamma.htm

Maria Domenica Depalo

Mother’s Day

In this special day, we want to homage our mothers with the words of Kahlil Gibran and with a gallery of photos that want to honor all of them. We make honor to all the mothers of the world not only of those ones that have children but also to the mothers who want to realize that desire and those women who don’t have children but  are able to give themselves fully exactly as if they were mothers.

The most beautiful word
on the lips of mankind  is “Mother”,
and the most beautiful invocation is “My Mother”.
It is the source of love, of mercy,
of understanding, of forgiveness.
Everything in nature speaks of the mother.

Kahlil Gibran
source of the poem: http://www.aurorablu.it/frasi/Frasi_Mamma.htm

Maria Domenica Depalo

 

 

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World press freedom day 2018

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World press freedom day 2018

Today, May the 3rd, we celebrate the “World press freedom day”. Instituted in 1993, this day remembers the journalists and bloggers who risk their life every day in order to let know to each of us what happens in every corner of the world. Especially in that one where there is no place for freedom and democracy, where the crime dominates and the fear to express your own opinion is too strong.

“I ask the governments to strengthen the freedom of the press and to protect the journalists. Promote free press is fundamental to our right to the truth”, says Antonio Guterres, secretary of Onu. (transl. from https://tg24.sky.it/mondo/2018/05/02/giornata-mondiale-liberta-di-stampa.html)

The principal event has been organized by Onu and the Republic of Ghana where it has taken place. The themes addressed embrace politics, culture and the increasing importance of the media and their influence on the society.

This day is celebrated everywhere. In Rome, in the Liceo Tamiani,  journalists like Paolo Borrometi, president of Art. 21, has talked about their life constantly menaced by crime. Let’s remember Peppino Impastato killed in Sicily by the killers of Mafia because he wasn’t afraid to say the truth about crime in his region.

The Italian president Mattarella has sayed «On the occasion of the XI Memorial Day dedicated to journalists killed by mafias and terrorism organized by the National Union of Italian Reporters, I wish to express first of all my feelings of closeness and solidarity to family members, friends, life and workmates, who assisted to the end of the existence of their loved one. […] They have put their professionalism at the service of the growth of society. And thanks to these men and women, to their work, where before there was widespread silence, now there are often symbols of associations against the Mafia. Where there was silence dictated by fear, or by connivance, now there are the words, strong and courageous, of our boys. Where there was indifference or resignation, now legality is taught. A new season of violence against the press, in Italy, in Europe, in the world, seems to reappear: even today aggressions and intimidation threaten the work of those reporters who don’t bend to the logic of illegal interests and powers and crime, thus bringing a significant contribution to the cause of democracy. It is necessary to support their work because they defend our social life and our personal and family freedom through aggression, through free and correct information. It is necessary to protect their voices that refuse every abuse. Freedom of information, as our Constitution attests, is the foundation of democracy “.(translation of http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/cultura/2018/05/03/ACKSV2TD-liberta_mondiale_giornata.shtml)

Maria Domenica Depalo

 

 

Imagination, fantasy and comics

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Imagination, fantasy and comics

Dear philosophers,

our journey to understand the numerous manifestations of fantasy and imagination continues. But what is imagination precisely? According to Aristotle, imagination is a typical characteristic connected to the sensations: the senses in fact are important when we imagine. However, we aren’t limited by them: our mind can “create” starting from the reality that surrounds us and perceives through the senses but can also “create” ex novo, giving life to fantastic worlds, dimensions and creations.

gem lauris

fonte: Photo by Gem & Lauris RK on Unsplash

So our attention goes to the world of comics and in particular to the “Torino Comics” held at the Lingotto Fiere in Turin and just concluded. Superheroes, characters, cosplay and so on were in this festival of creativity, imagination and fantasy.

Three days of comics but not only: workshops dedicated to graphic design, moments of reflection on sensitive topics such as discrimination and diversity and their representation, Manga workshops, photographs, art studies and even “Fantasy portrait of fantastic races “with Andrea Bertone. Really for all tastes and passions!

The 24th edition of the festival saw the participation of more than 56,000 people: simple curious but also passionate, everyone was part of a reality certainly very different from the daily one. Just let’s think of the cosplayers who, on their own or in pairs, have taken part to the International Cosplay League.

But why do you think these events are so successful? I believe that the reason is the possibility to leave  your own reality, even only for a few moment. On your opinion, what is essentially the reason for taking refuge in the imagination and fantasy?

jr-korpa-529181-unsplash

Links:

www.torinocomics.com

http://torino.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/04/14/foto/cosplayer_e_fumetti_al_lingotto_per_il_torino_comics-193881750/

http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/immaginazione_%28Dizionario-di-filosofia%29/

Maria Domenica Depalo

Pope Francis in Molfetta

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Pope Francis in Molfetta

Faith, devotion and joy have animated an incredible day. Molfetta, a pleasant and welcoming city of Puglia, in the province of Bari, welcomed the beloved Pope Francis on April 20.

The occasion of his presence here was the dies natalis of Don Tonino Bello, our beloved bishop, an extraordinary example of faith, generosity and love for the others who has left us a message of devotion and gratuitousness that is always current and strongly felt.

Pope Francis arrived in Molfetta after being first in Alessano in the province of Lecce to pray at the tomb of our bishop who disappeared just 25 years ago.

The helicopter carrying Pope Francis should have landed near the Cathedral around ten o’clock but it was late. So the Pope first celebrated the holy mass surrounded by bishops, priests and seminarians and then with the Papamobile he skirted the sea arriving at the port authority, the cathedral and the municipal park.

People also came from the neighboring cities with cars, trains, bicycles or even on foot, regardless of the weather, their age and their tiredness, has crossed the streets of a Molfetta armored since the early hours of dawn.

The affection and love of 40000 people were perceived in the air. Children, men and women have followed with attention and devotion the words of the pope focused on the concepts of service and sharing with others.

“The other is a face to be discovered and caressed … We are called to love every face […] to be builders of peace,” said the Pope who added “We must avoid suffering life. said Don Tonino! Always get up! “. The call for activism clearly appears, although this may involve risks.

“It is an uncontrollable emotion – commented the bishop of Molfetta, Monsignor Domenico Cornacchia – because it is a joy of a territory, of a hard-working region and of faith […] we hope it will be the beginning of a renewal of the territory, of consciences, of believers and not “. (From http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/04/18/news/il_papa_in_puglia_molfetta_si_blinda_niente_aerei_e_barche_previste_misure_contro_attacchi_chimici-194214279/)

Here are some images of this extraordinary and incredible day and the message of the bishop of our diocese.

rosa

I Molfettesi sono particolarmente devoti alla Madonna dei martiri e nelle sue mani verrà posta questa rosa d’oro proprio dal nostro papa. fonte: http://www.quindici-molfetta.it/ecco-la-rosa-d-oro-che-domani-papa-francesco-porra-fra-le-mani-della-statua-della-madonna-dei-martiri-a_42246.aspx

The image above shows the rose given, like a gift of our Pope, to the beloved Madonna dei Martiri.

Links:

https://freewordsmagazine.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/molfetta-papa-francesco-ricorda-don-tonino-bello/http://www.quindici-molfetta.it/ecco-la-rosa-d-oro-che-domani-papa-francesco-porra-fra-le-mani-della-statua-della-madonna-dei-martiri-a_42246.aspx

http://www.giovinazzolive.it/news/attualita/712767/cresce-lattesa-per-il-papa-da-giovinazzo-partiranno-in-1500-sveglia-allalba-e-tanta-emozione

http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/04/18/news/il_papa_in_puglia_molfetta_si_blinda_niente_aerei_e_barche_previste_misure_contro_attacchi_chimici-194214279/

Maria Domenica Depalo

The fantasy

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The fantasy

Here we are again with our questions about ourselves and what surrounds us. Let’s start begining with a famous sentence pronounced by the French philosopher Descartes, one of the fathers of mathematics and modern philosophy: Cogito ergo sum, I think therefore I am. This statement links our existence to the thought: our ability to conjecture and to doubt is the proof of our existence.

We think and therefore we exist. However, this thinking doesn’t coincide only with the ability to formulate thoughts and to structure logical and rational reasoning. Thought is also linked above all to imagination and fantasy.

Hence our question that should be considered as a starting point for a journey whose destination is fantasy. But I don’t want to anticipate anything.

Meanwhile, if you like, answer this question and look at the picture:

How important is fantasy for you?

La storia infinita

fonte: Di Johnny Freak – fotogramma, Copyrighted, https://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4947608

Maria Domenica Depalo

Destiny and Israel

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Destiny and Israel

At the French border, in the attempt to escape hunger and desperation but above all illness, a young pregnant Nigerian woman has asked for help for herself but especially for her child. However, her request was not heard and she wasn’t accepted because she was a clandestine immigrant.

A cancer patient and pregnant, Destiny was rejected on the French border. She was not even brought to the hospital by the gendarmes. The hope and the possibility of a dream were denied.

She and her husband just wanted to get to France to start a new life with their baby but that wasn’t possible. The French authorities didn’t make it possible and therefore she remained in Italy where, taken to the hospital, she was operated to save the baby.

Israel was born but his mother who fought to the end died dreaming of a future that was denied.

Can the strict application of laws and rules supplant that humanity that should characterize and distinguish us as a species but above all as people?

Maria Domenica Depalo