he letters that Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his younger brother, Theo, document this painter’s thoughts over a period of 20 years with the same brilliance and clarity of his canvases. As a contribution to literature, these letters stand on the same level as Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and far above Benvenuto Cellini’s autobiography. They reveal that Van Gogh was stifled by depression often thro...

Le travail est désormais assuré d'avoir toute la bonne conscience de son côté : la propensionà la joie se nomme déjà " besoin de repos " et commencè a se ressentir comme un sujet de honte. [...] Oui, il se pourrait bien qu'on en vˆıntà ne point céderà un penchant pour la vita contemplativa (c'est-` a-dire pour aller se promener avec ses pensées et ses amis) sans mauvaise conscience et mépris de...

A semiotic theory of systems derived from language would have the purpose of classifying all the systems of linguistic expression: philosophy, ideology, myth, poetry, art, as much as the dream, lapsus, and free association in a pluridimensional matrix that will interact with many diversified fields. In each one of these discourses it is necessary to consider a plurality of questions, the essenc...

Recent legislation in Wisconsin mandating provision of emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault may create a conflict of conscience for some health care professionals. Although disputes exist over the exact mechanism of action of emergency contraception, those professionals who espouse a particularly strict stance may be reluctant to dispense the medication for fear that it could pr...

(1809-49)-American poet, short-story writer, and critic who is best known for his tales of ratiocination, his fantastical horror stories, and his genre-founding detective stories. Poe, whose cloudy personal life is a virtual legend, considered himself primarily a poet. William Wilson (1839)-A tale about a man's struggle with his conscience — an allegory in which William Wilson meets William Wil...

Medical school curricula and postgraduate education programmes expend considerable resources teaching medical ethics. Simultaneously, whistleblowers’ agitation continues, at great personal cost, to prompt major intrainstitutional and public inquiries that reveal problems with the application of medical ethics at particular clinical ‘‘coalfaces’’. Virtue ethics, emphasising techniques promoting ...