Kierkegaard suggests that the distinctive feature of modern life is "abstraction", which in this instance means a mode of relationship that is emptied of personal feeling and significance.
Robert Lawrence, professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, notes that between 7-8% of average calorie intake in the US comes from sweetened beverages that are "empty of nutrients.
Its squat, dank headquarters in the heart of Kabul, the capital, has the air of a condemned building, with ballroom-size offices off echoing corridors that are empty of people, and of furniture.
Unfortunately, as Mr. Spector discovered this summer, that created a loophole that subverted the mandate: Manufacturers could sell condenser units — the major component of every air-conditioning system — that were empty of coolant gas.
Police officers from Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, found his body in a house in Gaza City that was empty of furniture, except for the mattress on which the body was lying, according to witnesses.
In a disused office block north of Oxford Street, I remember pausing to wonder why the door was jammed at an uncomfortable angle, and then toured a room that was empty of everything except the dust that infects old workspaces.
"We need to make sure there are views to photograph that are empty of people," explains Priest, who is also troubled by the fact that the garden is not as open as Monet kept it.
Failing to act, though, will leave future generations with seas that are empty of the kind of rich biodiversity there once was in our oceans.
But ordinary Japanese, notably in the regions that are emptying of people, feel left behind.
How to play Find a corridor in your halls of residence that is empty, and free of any breakable objects.
