Humanities desk
< November 28	<< Oct \| November \| Dec >>	November 30 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

November 29[edit]

Scholarly article on religion and horror vacui?[edit]

Hi - I can find examples on the web of the idea that religion and superstition arise from a sort of horror vacui, but I'm hoping for a scholarly source - it's to support a bit of writing I'm doing. Can anyone help?

Thanks Adambrowne666 (talk) 00:01, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

For anyone (like me) who had never heard the term before, there is an article Horror vacui. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:26, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I’m out of time to do a proper search, but here is a lead: Aristotle's Horror Vacui by John Thorp, Canadian Journal of Philosophy Volume 20, Issue 2, 1990, DOI: 10.1080/00455091.1990.10717213: “Modern commentators... some of them have sought to explain Aristotle's aversion to the void as motivated by religious or aesthetic considerations.6”

The sources cited in that footnote6:

“Joseph Moreau thinks the real reason Aristotle rejected the void is that it would have meant that some movements were without cause, undetermined, and that this was repugnant to Aristotle; Éspace et le Temps selon Aristote (Padova: Antenore 1965), 182ff.”
“Solmsen writes, 'His objections are not of a metaphysical or ontological nature; they keep strictly to the sphere of physics. If deeper reasons account for his antipathy to the void, one may surmise that it offended either his aesthetic sense or his religious belief that some degree of perfection must obtain even in the subcelestial regions'( 143).”
“Pierre Duhem (Systhned u monde [Paris: Hermann1 913]i, 190-1) thinks that the real reason for Aristotle's rejection of the void is that it would provide for no absolute directions in space, and Aristotle cannot conceive of movement without absolute directions.” Taknaran (talk) 15:44, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It sounds as if Aristotle unwittingly discovered the notion of relativity - and it horrified him. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:52, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Taknaran, I think I can use that - and yes, Bugs, I guess when I think about it the void suggests relativity, which suggests no-god in turn Adambrowne666 (talk) 21:39, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The one does not necessarily imply the other. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:07, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Missing U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Census Records for 1917/1920[edit]

Based on the information here: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CARIBBEAN/2007-06/1182426044 and here: http://www.donslist.net/PGHLookups/IACensus1920.html (especially this part: "Virgin Islands 2076 VI Virgin Islands St Croix (EDs 32-43 and 22-31), St. John (EDs 17-21), and St. Thomas (U.S.S. Vixen, EDs 1 and 11-16).)"), it appears that the U.S. Census schedules from 1917/1920 (this census was taken in the USVI 1917-1918 but was officially a part of the 1920 U.S. Census) for EDs #1-10/#2-10 (which apparently cover most of capital, Charlotte Amalie) for the island of St. Thomas in the USVI are missing. This article (see here: http://www.stjohnhistoricalsociety.org/Articles/CaribbeanGenologicalLibrary.htm) likewise appears to mention missing U.S. Census schedules from 1917/1920 for St. Thomas island. Does anyone know the story behind/about why these U.S. Census schedules are missing? Thank you very much, and hopefully my question here is already clear enough for everyone here to understand right now. Futurist110 (talk) 06:07, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Alchitrof, Emperor of Ethiopia[edit]

This is a picture of "Alchitrof, Emperor of Ethiopia" as it can be seen in the Uffizi in Florence. In the list I cannot find a person whose name resmebles that of "Alchitrof." Can anyone tell which king is meant to be represented by this painting?--The Emperor's New Spy (talk) 20:35, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The painting is dated to 1568, at which time the emperor of Ethiopia was Sarsa Dengel. Not a great deal of resemblance in names, I must admit. Tevildo (talk) 21:19, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Image of the Black in Western Art (p.149) says that the painting represents "a fantastic approach" and that the feathered headdress is more like a North American than an African. Alansplodge (talk) 22:47, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This thesis, Ethiopia in the Uffizi: Collecting African kings in sixteenth-century Florence by Ingrid Greenfield says; "Alchitrof, meanwhile, is a less identifiable figure. The name is not easily associated with a known Ethiopian ruler, though I recently found an Uffizi inventory of 1784 that lists the portrait of Dawit II, followed by an entry for 'Alchitrof, emperor of Ethiopia, [Dawit II’s] successor known by the name Claudius Asnaf-Sahed, who sat on the Abyssinian throne for nineteen years and died in 1559.' Based on this, Alchitrof may be the emperor Gelawdewos (1521-1559), whose throne name was Asnaf Sagad I, Dawit II’s younger son who ruled from 1540-1559" (p. 11). She goes on to say that the feather headdress (which she equates with the Brazilian Tupinamba tribe) and the earrings are symbolic of the perceived unorthodoxy of Ethiopian Christianity. Alansplodge (talk) 22:59, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Latin says "king", not "emperor"... AnonMoos (talk) 13:33, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

And it says, Alchitrof, king of Aethiopia. This is black Africa in general, not modern Ethiopia. We could also translate: Alchitrof, king of Negroland. Aside from the series of portraits of Oriental rulers in the Uffizi in Florence there is another series of portraits of Oriental rulers at Ambras Castle described in a catalogue of 1855: ...#679 Alchitrof, king of Aethiopia, ... # 683 Atanadi Dingil, commonly called Preteianes (read Prete Gianni), king of Abyssinia, died 1540, i.e. Dawit II. Note that Aethiopia and Abyssinia designate different countries. The paintings at Ambras Castle are: Alchitrof and Atanadi Dingil. --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 16:07, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

A series of these portraits of oriental rulers in Paris in a catalogue of 1855, p. 57 has after Alchitrof's portrait one of Mutihara, Alchitrof's wife. --Pp.paul.4 (talk) 18:28, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Security camera - what does the law say?[edit]

This is not a request for legal advise, I am only asking what the law says (if anything) about a resident of an apartment complex having a security camera displayed outside the apartment door. The intention being allowing you to see who is at the door before opening it and being used as a criminal deterrent? 63.95.64.254 (talk) 21:42, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Before you even get as far as the law, you'd have to see what the lease said about making permanent changes to the building such as drilling holes and running cables through the wall. Dismas|^(talk) 21:48, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Also, there is not just one law on this matter that applies everywhere in the world. You would need to factor in whichever relevant jurisdictions apply to you (and yes, there could be more than one). -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:40, 29 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The jurisdiction is Texas, so you might need to consult a Texas lawyer as well as reviewing your lease and talking with your landlord. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:06, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Bugs is correct - in this case I am talking Texas. I was expecting/hoping there to be something in the law that allowed residents to take reasonable measures to protect themselves when the apartment complex is unwilling or unable to do so. 63.95.64.254 (talk) 00:47, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Presumably Peepholes are allowed for the same purpose. Why would a camera be any different? HiLo48 (talk) 00:58, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Allowed in what sense? You might have problems if you stick one in a door you don't actually own. That was Dismas's point.

Speculating wildly here, though, I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a wireless camera that would obviate the "running cables through the wall" problem. Actually I would be surprised if you couldn't. --Trovatore (talk) 01:12, 30 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'm a bit confused when you say the camera would be "displayed" outside the door. Do you mean it would be mounted there, or are you talking about having a view screen there so everyone can see they are on camera, and presumably being recorded ?

In any case, pointing a camera out the nearest window would solve many of the problems. StuRat (talk) 03:26, 1 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Not if it's illegal. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:57, 1 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]