Ulysses, the towering mythological figure and the hero of the world＇s most famous epic The Odyssey, put on the pretence of madness to shirk the Trojan War. This is not mentioned in Homer, but in Fabulae by Gaius Juli...Ulysses, the towering mythological figure and the hero of the world＇s most famous epic The Odyssey, put on the pretence of madness to shirk the Trojan War. This is not mentioned in Homer, but in Fabulae by Gaius Julius Hyginus. Similarly, Hamlet put on an ＂antic disposition＂ after the ghost exhorted him to kill King Claudius. In these two cases taken from mythology and literature, and pertaining to the Classical period and the Elizabethan age respectively, intelligent characters put on the pretence of madness, in their battle with society though they are in control of their senses. It is the aim of this paper to examine the dynamics of reason and non-reason when combined and brought so close to one another, that they could be easily confounded, in light of Derrida＇s reading of Descartes＇ formulations about reason. Since the two examined works pertain to the Classical and Elizabethan ages respectively, the paper will shed light on the historical background of madness in these periods to give a broader perspective of reason and madness in these works.展开更多
Sexual differences in morphology can evolve by sexual selection and/or natural selection.In some species,only males have morphological structures that are used as weapons.Since some weapons may also be used for defens...Sexual differences in morphology can evolve by sexual selection and/or natural selection.In some species,only males have morphological structures that are used as weapons.Since some weapons may also be used for defensive purposes,males and females may behave differently towards predators.In some species of harvestmen(Arachnida and Opiliones),males have sharp apophyses("spines")on their 4th pair of legs whereas females lack them.Those apophyses are used in malemale fights and in antipredatory behaviors.The harvestmen antipredatory repertory also encompasses passive defenses such as thanatosis(death feigning),retaliation(attack on predators),and chemical defense.Due to the sexual differences on weaponry,we hypothesized that males and females of Mischonyx cuspidatus(Gonyleptidae)rely on different defensive strategies.We experimentally induced males and females to perform 3 defensive behaviors:thanatosis,pinching with legs,and chemical release.We predicted that females would engage more in passive and chemical defenses than males,whereas males would rely more on retaliation than females.As expected,females performed thanatosis more often than males.Likewise,males performed retaliation more often than females.We did not find differences in the rate of chemical defense use between the sexes.This study provides evidence that due to sexual dimorphism,alternative antipredatory behaviors may have been selected in the different sexes in M.cuspidatus.展开更多
文摘Ulysses, the towering mythological figure and the hero of the world＇s most famous epic The Odyssey, put on the pretence of madness to shirk the Trojan War. This is not mentioned in Homer, but in Fabulae by Gaius Julius Hyginus. Similarly, Hamlet put on an ＂antic disposition＂ after the ghost exhorted him to kill King Claudius. In these two cases taken from mythology and literature, and pertaining to the Classical period and the Elizabethan age respectively, intelligent characters put on the pretence of madness, in their battle with society though they are in control of their senses. It is the aim of this paper to examine the dynamics of reason and non-reason when combined and brought so close to one another, that they could be easily confounded, in light of Derrida＇s reading of Descartes＇ formulations about reason. Since the two examined works pertain to the Classical and Elizabethan ages respectively, the paper will shed light on the historical background of madness in these periods to give a broader perspective of reason and madness in these works.
文摘Sexual differences in morphology can evolve by sexual selection and/or natural selection.In some species,only males have morphological structures that are used as weapons.Since some weapons may also be used for defensive purposes,males and females may behave differently towards predators.In some species of harvestmen(Arachnida and Opiliones),males have sharp apophyses("spines")on their 4th pair of legs whereas females lack them.Those apophyses are used in malemale fights and in antipredatory behaviors.The harvestmen antipredatory repertory also encompasses passive defenses such as thanatosis(death feigning),retaliation(attack on predators),and chemical defense.Due to the sexual differences on weaponry,we hypothesized that males and females of Mischonyx cuspidatus(Gonyleptidae)rely on different defensive strategies.We experimentally induced males and females to perform 3 defensive behaviors:thanatosis,pinching with legs,and chemical release.We predicted that females would engage more in passive and chemical defenses than males,whereas males would rely more on retaliation than females.As expected,females performed thanatosis more often than males.Likewise,males performed retaliation more often than females.We did not find differences in the rate of chemical defense use between the sexes.This study provides evidence that due to sexual dimorphism,alternative antipredatory behaviors may have been selected in the different sexes in M.cuspidatus.
