Focusing on the anthropological consequences of the disappearing of materiality and sensory embodiment, On Insignificance highlights some of the most perturbing patterns of insignificance that have seeped into our everyday lives. Seeking to explain the semiotic causes of feelings of meaninglessness, Leone posits that caring for the singularities of the world is the most viable way to resist the alienating effects of the digital bureaucratization of meaning. The book will be of int...

The way in which people change and represent their spiritual evolution is often determined by recurrent language structures. Through the analysis of ancient and modern stories and their words and images, this book describes the nature of conversion through explorations of the encounter with the religious message, the discomfort of spiritual uncertainty, the loss of personal and social identity, the anxiety of destabilization, the reconstitution of the self and the discovery of a new langua...

Focusing on masks and faces as figures and objects that carry ethical and political meanings, this volume examines the scientific, cultural, visual, and philosophical histories and traditions in which they are imbricated and which allow them to gather force and to become central to how human relationships are made.Offering interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives on masks and faces, the book studies the prominent role they play in shaping ideals and norms of political p...

This book offers a critical exploration of how digital technologies are reshaping religious belief, ethical frameworks, and social cohesion. As faith and ideology increasingly migrate to online platforms, the book examines how algorithm-driven content, echo chambers, and decentralized authority structures influence discourse and deepen societal divides. Drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives in religious studies, sociology, philosophy, and digital humanities, this volume interrogates ...

Fuel cells are widely regarded as the future of the power and transportation industries. Intensive research in this area now requires new methods of fuel cell operation modeling and cell design. Typical mathematical models are based on the physical process description of fuel cells and require a detailed knowledge of the microscopic properties that govern both chemical and electrochemical reactions. Advanced Methods of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Modeling proposes the alternative method...

This book provides essential insights into the current state of knowledge regarding the main aspects of cluster headache and trigeminal autonomic cephalgias. The first chapters focus on classification and clinical features, together with familial and genetic aspects. Relevant animal models and the putative role of key nervous structures as the hypothalamus, brainstem, diencephalon and sphenopalatine ganglion are reviewed. Evidence gained from key molecules such as CGRP in animals and human...

This unique volume focuses on religion and spirituality, along with rituals, practices and symbols, discussed and analysed from a semiotic perspective. It covers both cognitive and social dimensions of religious practices and beliefs, various aspects of spirituality, multiple forms of representation, as well as spheres of religious beliefs and practices. The volume is an outcome of the Signum-Idea-Verbum-Opus project initiated by Umberto Eco’s keynote address during his visit at t...

This original and interdisciplinary volume explores the contemporary semiotic dimensions of the face from both scientific and sociocultural perspectives, putting forward several traditions, aspects, and signs of the human utopia of creating a hybrid face.The book semiotically delves into the multifaceted realm of the digital face, exploring its biological and social functions, the concept of masks, the impact of COVID-19, AI systems, digital portraiture, symbolic faces in films, vi...