Greek philosophers in general share a strong commitment to a life of reason and excellence. It is therefore surprising to see some of them argue in defense of symposiastic drunkenness. This essay investigates several ...Greek philosophers in general share a strong commitment to a life of reason and excellence. It is therefore surprising to see some of them argue in defense of symposiastic drunkenness. This essay investigates several such arguments. Its main source texts are books I and II of Plato's Laws and a passage in the excerpts on Peripatetic ethics in the doxography of Arius Didymus. The arguments are analyzed and situated in a broader cultural and philosophical context. The Peripatetic passage approves of drunkenness as an aspect of certain established forms of communal activity, with the caveat that the virtuous person will not desire drunkenness for its own sake. While it is clear that the Peripatetic author grounds the need for communal activities in our social nature, he fails to justify the existence of communal activities that lead to drunkenness. Plato's arguments, by contrast, sketch out and justify a new, non-traditional framework for certain highly regulated forms of communal drunkenness. His first main argument relates to the goal of testing and nursing self-control through exposure to wine, while the second is based on the idea that the rejuvenating force of wine renders mature men again susceptible to the formative influence of song and dance as vehicles of good ethical qualities.展开更多
Variability in the blood-breath ratio(BBR)of alcohol is important,because it relates a mea-surement of the blood-alcohol concentration(BAC)with the co-existing breath-alcohol con-centration(BrAC).The BBR is also used ...Variability in the blood-breath ratio(BBR)of alcohol is important,because it relates a mea-surement of the blood-alcohol concentration(BAC)with the co-existing breath-alcohol con-centration(BrAC).The BBR is also used to establish the statutory BrAC limit for driving from the existing statutory BAC limits in different countries.The in-vivo BBR depends on a host of analytical,sampling and physiological factors,including subject demographics,time after end of drinking(rising or falling BAC),the nature of the blood draw(whether venous or arterial)and the subject's breathing pattern prior to exhalation into the breath analyzer.The results from a controlled drinking study involving healthy volunteers(85 men and 15 women)from three ethnic groups(Caucasians,Hispanics and African Americans)were used to evaluate various factors influencing the BBR.Ethanol in breath was determined with a quantitative infrared analyzer(Intoxilyzer 8000)and BAC was determined by headspace gas chromatography(HS-GC).The BAC and BrAC were highly correlated(r = 0.948)and the BBR in the post-absorptive state was 2 382±119(mean ± SD).The BBR did not depend on gen-der(female:2 396±101 and male:2 380±123,P>0.05)nor on racial group(Caucasians 2 398±124,African Americans 2 344±119 and Hispanics 2 364±104,P>0.05).The BBR was lower in subjects with higher breath-and body-temperatures(P<0.05)and it also decreased with longer exhalation times into the breath-analyzer(P<0.001).In the post-absorptive state,none of the 100 subjects had a BBR of less than 2 100∶1.展开更多
On a drunken night,Shenzhen construction workers Old Zhao and Old Liu make a pact that,if either dies on the job,the other must arrange for his body to be sent home.One morning,Liu doesn't wake up from the pair...On a drunken night,Shenzhen construction workers Old Zhao and Old Liu make a pact that,if either dies on the job,the other must arrange for his body to be sent home.One morning,Liu doesn't wake up from the pair's latest bender,and Zhao,worried about the cost of cremation,decides to pretend his friend is still alive while accompanying the body on its journey home to Sichuan.展开更多
文摘Greek philosophers in general share a strong commitment to a life of reason and excellence. It is therefore surprising to see some of them argue in defense of symposiastic drunkenness. This essay investigates several such arguments. Its main source texts are books I and II of Plato's Laws and a passage in the excerpts on Peripatetic ethics in the doxography of Arius Didymus. The arguments are analyzed and situated in a broader cultural and philosophical context. The Peripatetic passage approves of drunkenness as an aspect of certain established forms of communal activity, with the caveat that the virtuous person will not desire drunkenness for its own sake. While it is clear that the Peripatetic author grounds the need for communal activities in our social nature, he fails to justify the existence of communal activities that lead to drunkenness. Plato's arguments, by contrast, sketch out and justify a new, non-traditional framework for certain highly regulated forms of communal drunkenness. His first main argument relates to the goal of testing and nursing self-control through exposure to wine, while the second is based on the idea that the rejuvenating force of wine renders mature men again susceptible to the formative influence of song and dance as vehicles of good ethical qualities.
文摘Variability in the blood-breath ratio(BBR)of alcohol is important,because it relates a mea-surement of the blood-alcohol concentration(BAC)with the co-existing breath-alcohol con-centration(BrAC).The BBR is also used to establish the statutory BrAC limit for driving from the existing statutory BAC limits in different countries.The in-vivo BBR depends on a host of analytical,sampling and physiological factors,including subject demographics,time after end of drinking(rising or falling BAC),the nature of the blood draw(whether venous or arterial)and the subject's breathing pattern prior to exhalation into the breath analyzer.The results from a controlled drinking study involving healthy volunteers(85 men and 15 women)from three ethnic groups(Caucasians,Hispanics and African Americans)were used to evaluate various factors influencing the BBR.Ethanol in breath was determined with a quantitative infrared analyzer(Intoxilyzer 8000)and BAC was determined by headspace gas chromatography(HS-GC).The BAC and BrAC were highly correlated(r = 0.948)and the BBR in the post-absorptive state was 2 382±119(mean ± SD).The BBR did not depend on gen-der(female:2 396±101 and male:2 380±123,P>0.05)nor on racial group(Caucasians 2 398±124,African Americans 2 344±119 and Hispanics 2 364±104,P>0.05).The BBR was lower in subjects with higher breath-and body-temperatures(P<0.05)and it also decreased with longer exhalation times into the breath-analyzer(P<0.001).In the post-absorptive state,none of the 100 subjects had a BBR of less than 2 100∶1.
文摘On a drunken night,Shenzhen construction workers Old Zhao and Old Liu make a pact that,if either dies on the job,the other must arrange for his body to be sent home.One morning,Liu doesn't wake up from the pair's latest bender,and Zhao,worried about the cost of cremation,decides to pretend his friend is still alive while accompanying the body on its journey home to Sichuan.
