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\"Why do \"aha moments\" strike us suddenly? Why do they so often come to us when we are focused on something completely unrelated? And when great ideas \"come to\" us, where do they come from? In Aha!: The Moments of Insight that Shape Our World, philosopher William B. Irvine explores these epiphanies, from the minor insights that strike us all daily, to the major realizations that alter the course of history. Focusing on aha moments as they take place in five different domains--religion, morality, science, math, and art--Irvine provides case studies that shed light on the different ways epiphanies happen in the different domains, and on their differing social impact. Along the way, he describes some of the great aha moments in history, from ancient times to the present day. We like to think that our greatest thoughts are the product of our conscious mind. Irvine demonstrates, though, that it is our unconscious mind that is the source of our most significant insights, and that the role the conscious mind plays in eliciting these insights is to try, unsuccessfully, to solve certain problems. Only if the conscious mind is willing to do this--and thereby experience considerable frustration--is the unconscious mind likely to reward it with a breakthrough insight--that the conscious mind will then take credit for. Irvine explores not only the neuroscience of aha moments but also their personal and social ramifications. How does a person respond to having a breakthrough insight that goes against a dominant paradigm? And how does the world respond when she shares that insight? He shows that in many cases, what is most remarkable about those who have had the great insights of human history is not their but their courage and perseverance in fighting for the world to accept them\"-- Provided by publisher.

The article studies shchedrivka-songs (Epiphany carols/shchedrivkas) of Western Podillya (Ukraine’s ethno-geographic region) regarding their thematic groups and typical motifs. Shchedrivka-songs are defined as musical and poetic works that accompany the rite of the third Christmas holiday, Epiphany, and are an integral part of this holiday. Special attention is drawn to the fact that the plot of Epiphany carols is based on the initial magic, as a mandatory producer of magic during the next calendar year. Dominant motifs in the plot of Epiphany carols in Western Podillya are the motifs of glorification of the main celestial bodies – the sun, moon, stars and terrestrial representatives of the family, i.e. the master, mistress and their children. Motifs of chivalry, youth’s work, choosing a match for marriage, honouring parents are often included in shchedrivka-songs. Epiphany carols in which the characters of the Lord’s Son, His Mother and saints play an important role.

The sociological study of music consumption has tended to focus on general and typical experience instead of discrete or extraordinary experiences, consistently with a wider lack of biographical analysis. However, a popular topic among music fans is the phenomenon of peak music experiences: specific experiences involving music that are especially memorable, influential and even pivotal for the individuals involved. Drawing on the results of a pilot study conducted in Brisbane, Australia, this article shows that participants in the city’s indie music scene cite peak music experiences as central to their biographical narratives of inspiration, influence, conversion and motivation. These experiences make visible the more subtle processes by which musical meaning, taste and identity are constantly made and remade, as well as showing how encounters with music can affect subjectivities in an enduring way. The listeners are conscious of these processes, reflect on them and even try to create them.

Both Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair (1951) and Muriel Spark’s The Girls of Slender Means (1963) feature bomb explosions during the London blitz which instigate instances of Catholic conversion that are traumatic. Faith unfolds belatedly in a phenomenon Freud calls nachtraglichkeit, or afterwardsness. Although the study of religion and literature has gained more legitimacy over the past decade, very little scholarship brings trauma theory into the field. This paper opens dialogue between literature, theology, and trauma by appropriating Richard Kearney’s religious hermeneutics to argue that Greene’s and Spark’s novels transform Joyce’s secular notion of epiphany into a Catholic aesthetic for trauma. Both novels depict bomb explosions as traumatic but epiphanic moments of conversion in which faith arises belatedly through the process of writing itself. Narration gives the past a future in the possibility for a renewed faith in God.

Abstract This article examines the function of epiphany in Joseph and Aseneth. Though central to the narrative, this literary device and theological phenomenon is frequently overlooked or only indirectly included in other studies. This reading argues that the mode of epiphany is central, not only to the plot, but to the main themes and messages of Joseph and Aseneth; epiphany operates as a boundary marker between two groups in Joseph and Aseneth. These two groups are insiders and outsiders, and mortal and (quasi-)divine beings. While epiphanies are used to distinguish between these groups, they also invite the narrative's heroine, Aseneth, to transcend these boundaries. The story's numerous epiphanies signpost Aseneth's transition from a mortal outsider to a quasi-divine insider. Used in this way, the epiphanies build a worldview wherein the divine intercedes directly on behalf of, and grants particular dispensations to certain individuals.

In this critical discussion I summarize Sophie-Grace Chappell’s excellent Epiphanies . Doing so leads me to ask a question. She is clearly against ‘moral theory’ and puts forward her preferred account of ‘epiphanic reflection’. But does she seek to wholly replace moral theory with epiphanic reflection or is she seeking to achieve a form of accommodation where both are given their due in our everyday moral lives? After voicing this issue I consider what options there might be in order to help us understand the question better and then to answer it.

On the night of January 5, in certain areas of southern Tuscany, a costumed, singing troupe of characters visits residents' homes, expecting to be fed and feted in a folk custom that has recurred in the region for centuries. This is the Befanata, a mumming tradition centered in Tuscany, whose main character-the Befana-is a kindly old woman or grandmotherly witch who delivers toys, candies, and gifts. Part of the Christmas season, the Befana is familiar in some form in much of Italy, but very little has been written about her, despite sustained interest in European mumming traditions in general. The Pigitliano Befanata is distinct in its emphasis on song and strong in its richly symbolic use of food, which is not only consumed at each home but is also carried away as a gift. The characters who make up the squad are unique to the Italian practice. They always include the Befana and her husband, the Befano, but other members of the befanotti vary from place to place over time. Siporin combines fieldwork and archival evidence to introduce the Befanata and its historical and social contexts: what it is, what it means, and how it feels. The Befana Is Returning is a deeply researched, deftly insightful presentation of this living tradition that adds a large missing piece to the array of contemporary ethnographic scholarship on mumming.

This article takes a consumer behavior perspective to investigate how constituents come to identify with organizations. Using longitudinal and cross-sectional interview data collected in two contexts (one consumer and one employee), the data illustrate that constituents engage with two conduits, one formal and one informal. These conduits provide opportunities for sensegiving, which features normative elements particular to an organization, and sensemaking, an integrative process in which productive consumption plays a key role. Three paths (epiphany, emulation, and exploration) leading from these conduits to identification are defined and explored. Second, this article reveals dynamic consequences of identification for both customer and employee constituents, including changes in their consumer values and behaviors extending beyond organizational concerns. Finally, this article defends the merit of softening hard conceptual distinctions drawn between consumers and employees, as the findings show that identification forms in parallel fashion with similar outcomes across a consumer-to-firm and an employee-to-firm context.

當代品德教育主要以Aristotle德行倫理學為學理基礎，首重受教者自小適當習慣的養成，卻未論及一旦錯失此發展關鍵期，以致養成惡行敗德者後，如何可能發生改邪歸正的情形。受到Plato理念之啟發，新亞里斯多德主義者Kristjánsson提出「道德頓悟」作為突破口，可望彌補理論上的闕如，並提供實務上可行之道。透過對不同類型頓悟事例的比較分析，本研究以道德頓悟為焦點。頓悟是一種「異乎尋常」的洞見時刻，主體發生認知觀點上的格式塔轉 換。在道德頓悟下，此一新的識見帶著穿透的清晰度，令個體看見倫理善，這通常會伴隨強烈的情感反應（如敬畏或道德提升感），喚醒個體渴望體現另一種存有方式。頓悟作為道德轉化與覺醒的催化劑，後續若能輔以適當習慣的重新養成，個體便有望發生激進的自我轉變。本研究指出，教育者固然不能確保頓悟必然發生，且若缺乏後續適當習慣的重新養成，也未必能成功導致自我轉變。但教育者確實可善用激發強烈的情緒感受，例如敬畏或道德提升感，作為觸發格式塔轉換的契機；另則可依循Socrates的做法，覺察有幫助學生掙脫常規性經驗的需求後，製造其困惑感與迷失感，再創造頓悟時刻，使其發生激進的心理結構重組，繼而導向重新的習慣養成，使轉化性成長有機會落實。 Contemporary character education is primarily grounded in Aristotelian virtue ethics, emphasizing the cultivation of appropriate moral habits from an early age. However, it remains largely silent on how moral transformation might occur when this crucial developmental period is missed, resulting in individuals of corrupt character. While Aristotle explicitly acknowledges the possibility of moral reformation, he does not elaborate on how such transformation might take place. Addressing this theoretical gap, neo-Aristotelian scholar Kristján Kristjánsson, drawing inspiration from Platonic ideas, introduces the concept of “moral epiphany” as a potential breakthrough. This concept not only fills a theoretical void but also offers a practical pathway for moral education. Against this backdrop, this study asks: In cases where individuals lack early moral habituation, the guidance of moral friends, or sufficient intellectual virtue for contemplative self-reflection, how can moral epiphany– a moment of profound moral awakening– still occur? This question is particularly relevant to cases of radical moral transformation, including instances of moral reformation among individuals of corrupt character. Accordingly, this study explores the nature of epiphany, its various types and attributes, and how character education might facilitate moral epiphanies. It is worth addressing in advance why moral epiphany has been largely overlooked in past (character) education research. Although education, as an endeavor aimed at cultivating individuals, inherently involves transformation and becoming, it is typically conceived as a gradual, long-term process– an undertaking that requires patience and persistence, akin to the proverbial “hundred-year project” of nurturing a person. The transformative power of education is generally understood as incremental, akin to water gradually wearing away stone, emphasizing slow and steady change rather than abrupt shifts. In contrast, epiphany represents a sudden, drastic, and often profound transformation, occurring in a moment of radical insight. This stark difference renders epiphany an anomaly in the discourse on education, often leading to its exclusion from mainstream academic discussions on educational transformation. This research falls within the domain of philosophy of education and employs conceptual analysis to examine the notion of moral epiphany. By analyzing various cases of epiphany, this study identifies its key attributes and elucidates how education might foster such transformative experiences. Through a comparative analysis of different types of epiphanies– such as intellectual, aesthetic, religious, and moral epiphanies– this paper focuses specifically on moral epiphany. Unlike the paradigmatic case of Paul on the road to Damascus, moral epiphany differs in at least three key respects. First, moral insight gained through epiphany does not guarantee immediate or complete moral transformation. Second, moral epiphany does not necessarily presuppose the existence of a transcendent being, such as a deity or spirit. Third, moral epiphany is inherently connected to ethical values and has the potential to inspire a fundamental shift in one’s mode of being. Overall, moral epiphany possesses six defining characteristics. First, it is a sudden, immediate, and sometimes even catastrophic turning point. Second, it involves a spontaneous and dramatic awakening, often accompanied by a radical reconfiguration of one’s psychological framework. Third, the events or factors that trigger moral epiphany are typically unplanned or fortuitous. Fourth, moral epiphany is usually accompanied by intense emotional experiences, such as awe or moral elevation. Fifth, it often entails a radical transformation of the self. Sixth, moral epiphany generally leads to positive moral progress rather than moral deterioration– although the latter possibility cannot be entirely dismissed. In essence, epiphany represents an extraordinary moment of insight that induces a Gestalt shift in one’s cognitive perspective. In the case of moral epiphany, this newfound moral vision is marked by penetrating clarity, allowing the individual to perceive ethical value. This experience is typically accompanied by powerful emotional responses, such as awe or moral elevation, which awaken a deep yearning to embody a new mode of existence. As a catalyst for moral transformation and awakening, moral epiphany, when followed by proper moral re-habituation, has the potential to facilitate radical self-transformation. This study argues that while educators cannot guarantee the occurrence of epiphany, and while epiphanies alone are insufficient without subsequent habituation, educators can nevertheless create conditions conducive to epiphany. Specifically, they can strategically invoke strong emotional responses, such as awe or moral elevation, to trigger cognitive shifts. Following the Socratic approach, educators may also cultivate moments of confusion or disorientation, disrupting students’ conventional experiences and thereby creating opportunities for epiphany. These transformative experiences, in turn, can lay the groundwork for moral re-habituation, increasing the likelihood of long-term moral growth. This study posits that the Aristotelian model of character education– centered on moral habituation and the support of moral friends– represents the “royal road” to virtue. However, given its limitations in accounting for real-life cases of moral transformation, this paper explores moral epiphany as an alternative “winding path” to character development. This metaphor underscores two key ideas: first, that this pathway is not a direct or straightforward route; second, that it is not the norm for most individuals, but rather a relatively rare and unconventional experience. Yet, the scarcity of discourse on moral epiphany in educational scholarship may itself be a reason why this pathway remains underexplored and underutilized. This study, therefore, seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of moral epiphany and its potential applications in education. The significance of this research is twofold. First, it addresses a theoretical gap in Aristotelian character education by proposing moral epiphany as a complementary concept. Second, by analyzing real-life cases of moral transformation, it explores the potential triggers and mechanisms that facilitate epiphanies, offering insights that educators may leverage in practice. After understanding the attributes of epiphany and its potential applicability in education, future research should further explore concrete pedagogical strategies for fostering moral epiphany in character education. Specifically, scholars may investigate how educators can deliberately create conditions conducive to epiphany cultivation, ensuring that transformative moral insights are not left to chance. This includes designing structured interventions, crafting meaningful learning experiences, and identifying key triggers that facilitate moral awakening. A more in-depth and comprehensive discussion on the systematic implementation of epiphany cultivation in educational practice would significantly enhance both theoretical and practical contributions to character education.

In this paper, we seek to demonstrate how Lucian Blaga’s poetic universe is double layered, in the sense that one can distinguish between, on the one hand, a phenomenological plane, characterized by a pervasive sense of the inexorable passage of time and of human mortability and, on the other hand, a supramundane (noumenal) plane which, in a profane world, has become unattainable and therefore intensifies the individual’s sense of loneliness and estrangement from a sacred universe. We attempt to show how there two planes interfere, mainly through revelations of the divine (epiphanies). In our paper, we follow a poetic and stylistic approach, founded on Mircea Borcilă’s attempt to formulate a poetic typology aiming to highlight the intrinsec mechanisms of a poetic finality oriented towards the creation of meaning, therefore inscribing Blaga’s poetry on the coordinates of a symbolic-mythical pattern. The linguist’s theory draws on Blaga’s conception of the duality of metaphor (“plasticizantă” and “revelatorie”), the latter having a revelatory function and being subdivided by Borcilă according to a cultural finality into a “plastic” finality in creating poetic meaning, whose universe of reference will be modelled upon the phenomenological world, and a ”revelatory” finality, whose universe of reference will be modelled upon a noumenal, transmundane world.