Urban planning as a discipline has been continuously evolving in the past decades, aiming to become the response to diverse issues through transdisciplinarity, innovation, creativity and justice. As a result of an ever- accelerating pace of life, we constantly witness worldwide transitions and turbulences, from environmental crises to socio-economic struggles, that challenge cities, regions, and the nature of the planning discipline itself. Climate change and both natural and man-made disasters render territories fragile and force humans and species to migrate, while (...) the growing urban population requires solutions for sustainable transformation for life in the city and beyond. In this context of increasing uncertainty, the planning discipline attempts to suggest ways forward, yet often lacks in providing tangible examples of how to bridge theory and practice. Within this framework, the conference focuses on the predominant discontinuities that currently characterise the planning field. Those are articulated into two directions of discussion that are in dialogue with and between each other: the urban-rural divide (Track 1 and Track 2) and the academia-practice divide (Track 3 and Track 4). The conference aims to create space for these dialogues to emerge, and to ultimately bridge these gaps by reflecting on our role as researchers, on our position towards, and in relationship with, society and on the effectiveness of practice. The questions that arise are timely and crucial, contemplating on the complexities inherent in a perpetual endeavour for coexistence between humans, species and the environment (Track 5). How can planning reinvent itself? How can we reconcile a holistic perception of territories? Which theories, strategies and methods should planning adopt so as to contribute to a better future for the human and natural species? Which are the tools and practices that will ensure human well-being and coexistence with the world? (shrink)

The Prussian Protestant Daniel Hermann is an important Neo-Latin poet. He lived from probably 1543 until 1601. Hermann studied at Königsberg, Straßburg, Basel and Wittenberg. Afterwards he served as a secretary at the Imperial Court at Vienna, later as a secretary of the city of Danzig and permanent ambassador of Danzig at the Royal Polish court during the wars against Russia. After the war he married and settled down in Riga and became the secretary of the Polish governor Cardinal (...) Radziwil and later of the general Georg Fahrensbach. Besides lots of poems on academical, political and private occasions he wrote letters in poetic form as well as theological, philosophical and political poems. This paper provides an overview over Hermann ’s life and his poetry, especially the poems written and published in Riga, and a short summary of the research on this poet. (shrink)

Many famous philosophers visited Latvia during its first period of independence (1918–1940). In 1924, philosopher Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (1880–1936) gave a speech in Riga about Western civilization. German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) lectured in Riga in 1928. The same year, German psychologist and philosopher William Stern (1871–1938) conducted a series of lectures in Riga. Philosopher Rudolf Eucken (1846–1926) was one of the first influential philosophers to arrive in the newly founded country. The purpose of the article (...) is to outline why the philosopher came to Latvia, which thinkers he met in Riga and Liepāja, and what were the consequences of Eucken’s visit. Although Eucken was a well-known philosopher, he is now regarded as one of the forgotten thinkers. However, during the last two decades, when interest in German thinkers of the late 19th century has grown, significant steps have also been taken to recognize and research Eucken’s legacy. Dr. Frank Kuhlemann, a professor at the Technical University of Dresden, led the project to examine how Eucken’s philosophy influenced the German intellectual environment of the first half of the 20th century. The research resulted in several academic publications. At the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Eucken’s archive was researched. Published research and archival materials provide insight into some aspects of Latvian intellectual history. Several Baltic Germans from Latvia and some Latvians were Eucken’s students; for example, one of the first Latvian philosophers Pēteris Zālīte (1864–1939). He wrote to his former professor when the University of Latvia was founded to seek assistance in recruiting professors. He also invited the philosopher to come to Riga and give a guest lecture. It appears, though, that the philosopher’s trip to Latvia was primarily driven by concerns with cultural policy. The official Erich Krahmer-Möllenberg (1882–1942), who wanted to increase German influence in Latvia, persuaded the philosopher to travel to Riga. Eucken delivered lectures in Riga and visited the University of Latvia, libraries, and schools. The philosopher met not only with Baltic Germans but also with professors at the University of Latvia. While meeting with Latvian scientists, he expressed hope that in the future, Baltic Germans and Latvians will be able to cooperate in the field of science. In Liepāja, the philosopher met with representatives of Freemasonry. Following his visit, the Eucken League (Euckenbund) opened a section in Riga. Did the relationship between Germans, Baltic Germans, and Latvians grow stronger because of Eucken’s visit? As noticed by the ambassador of Germany to Latvia, Adolf Köster (1883–1930), Latvians perceived the events organized by the Germans in Latvia as meant for the Baltic Germans. These events did not promote unity – on the contrary, they promoted division. Eucken’s visit was no exception. (shrink)

É relativamente recente a perspectiva revisionista dos intentos filosóficos de Platão. Apesar disso, a ideia de um filósofo preocupado apenas em construir um edifício sistemático e hermético tem se mostrado cada vez menos sustentável, principalmente quando se observam as diversas fontes que apontam para interesses que não se restringem à filosofia, bem como para o desenvolvimento dos aspectos dramáticos presentes no corpus platônico como um todo. A ideia de que a literatura tem uma influência na obra platônica parece clara e (...) um consenso entre os estudiosos, visto as inúmeras referências que Platão faz, por exemplo, à poesia épica nas figuras de Homero e Hesíodo. Mas pouco parece ter sido dito a respeito do inverso: da influência que Platão poderia ter exercido na literatura posterior. Visando lidar com esse obscurecimento, o presente estudo tem como intento primordial identificar e analisar a possível existência de elementos platônicos em dois romances do período imperial grego, a saber, em Quéreas e Calírroe de Cáriton de Afrodísias e em Dáfnis e Cloé de Longo. Em seguida, intenta demonstrar de que modo Platão, ao exercer uma clara influência na literatura posterior, deixou atrás de si não somente o já reconhecido legado filosófico, mas contribuiu substancialmente para o desenvolvimento da atividade literária, efetuando uma síntese complexa entre filosofia e literatura, ao mesmo tempo em que nos leva a questionar a suposta rigidez inflexível que as distinguem. (shrink)

This article intends to shed new light on the impressive series of “war writings,” in which Hermann Cohen developed the idea of a possible messianic collaboration of German imperial ambitions and a modern Jewish Diaspora regenerated by German Spirit (from Russia to America). My paper pays special attention to two lecture tours planed by Cohen in the year 1914, one to Petersburg, Moscow, Riga, Vilna and Warsaw in May 1914, a few weeks before the outbreak of WWI; the other (...) a propaganda trip to America imagined at the beginning of WWI (Autumn 1914) by Cohen and a group of Jews linked to the Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens – a plan which failed and turned only into the publication of an article in several American newspapers in German, English and Yiddish in early 1915. The article brings into consideration new archival material concerning the political background of these two initiatives. The article demonstrates how Cohen’s writings and activities during WWI were deploying a new Jewish and Imperial politics – which sought to pave the way for a messianic integration of Jewish Diaspora in the Imperial project of Germany, understood as the political realization of German Idealism. (shrink)

A brief study of Saul Steinberg’s works on shadows and reflections, and of the seemingly paradoxical world that emerges from such works.