Despite the fact that Mary Shelley and E. M. Cioran have never been previously analyzed in the same context (they belong not only to different ages but also to divergent genres), we will find that they share at least two similar themes. The motif of solitude, common among Romantic poets (Coleridge, Byron, Poe), finds a deep expression in Shelley's Frankenstein and in Cioran's early oeuvre. A more thorough investigation of the British novelist and the Romanian-French self-described " anti-philosopher " discloses that hatred (a theme that is not frequently researched from a philosophical point of view) might be another of their obsessions. The concept of the nihilistic not-man becomes useful when we will follow the tripartite shape of hatred (of others, of myself and of God) not only in literature or philosophy but also in pop culture. Romanticism and Nihilism: Mary Shelley and E. M. Cioran Cioran's early work contains many post-Romantic features: the fierce (almost extreme) individualism (a trait shared with Kierkegaard and Stirner, among philosophers, but also present in the works of poets such as Jean Paul and Byron), the antihumanism and obvious misanthropy of his diatribes (in the 19 th century tradition of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Mainländer), his focus on the " night soul " , on the dark side of being (a process similar to the Romantic discovery of the unconscious, anticipating the discoveries of psychoanalysis), his anti-intellectualism and criticism of the decadence of Western civilization (influenced by theoreticians such as Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Weininger, and Spengler), his reactionary radicalism and dismissal of the values of Enlightenment (we might remember here that Romanticism is considered a counter-Enlightenment by D. J. Moores). Moreover, his entire

Pseudo-relevance: science, scientism and pseudo-science? Challenges of science upheld as an exclusive mode of inquiry Vulnerability of collective initiatives to memetic diseases Masks as symbols from popular perspectives Pandemic implications from a professional "psychoscience" perspective Implications of masking: sexual and otherwise Strategic panic in response to vaccine hesitancy Symbolism of obsessive sanitising as a preventive measure Panic engendered by cultivation of fear of death Interrelating the pandemic as symbol, as imagined and in reality Eradication of evil in the guise of health misinformation? Symbolic integration of a cognitive challenge of civilization? Psychosexual connotations of a toroidal configuration Configurative design clues from the traditional Ouroboros, Tesla and the Tokamak Force-field analysis and pandemic responses A 12-fold configuration of strategic responses to the pandemic?

A través de nueve ensayos y un prólogo, escrito por el presidente y portavoz de la Internationale Philipp Mainländer Gesellschaft (IPMG), W. H. Müller-Seyfarth, el lector podrá adentrarse en reflexiones en torno a la muerte, la autodestrucción, el caos, el nihilismo o la nada, considerando fundamentalmente planteamientos que fueron sondeados más allá de los cánones establecidos durante la tradición; específicamente le será posible recoorer estos temas a través de la vida y obra de un pensador muy desatendido por la filosofía: Philipp Batz, mejor conocido como Philipp Mainländer (1841-1876). Además, se anexan, a modo de apéndice, una biografía y un fragmento autobiográfico titulado, Conversaciones con mi demonio, que serán de gran importancia para los hispanopensantes y que están traducidos del alemán al castellano por Manuel Pérez Cornejo. Sandra Baquedano Universidad de Chile

In this paper, we address true humour, which three luminaries in Western thought have already sought to resolve. They were, respectively, Joseph Addison in 18th-century Britain, Arthur Schopenhauer in 19th-century Germany, and Luigi Pirandello in 20th-century Italy. First, we present their reflections about humour in general and their specific conceptions of 'true humour' in particular. Second, we offer a concise rendition of the three main theories of humour in Western philosophy, i.e., superiority, incongruity and relief. In the third and last place, we discuss true humour in the works of Addison, Schopenhauer and Pirandello, indicating how it constitutes an instance of the superiority theory of humour, despite this theory being, in modern times, the subject of extensive criticism. We conclude with some reflections on how the three main theories of humour can be combined. In: Appraisal 13(1-2)/2021: 13-21 (https://www.britishpersonalistforum.org.uk/uploads/1/2/8/3/128394511/12.3___4_issue.pdf).