This study sought to understand the effects of tone language repertoire and musical experience on nonnative lexical tone perception and production. Thirty-one participants completed a tone discrimination task, an imitation task, and a musical abilities task. Results showed that a larger tone language repertoire and musical experience both enhanced tone discrimination performance. However, the effects were not additive, as musical experience was associated with tone discrimination performance for single-tone language speakers, but such association was not seen for dual-tone language speakers. (...) Furthermore, among single-tone language speakers, but not among dual-tone language speakers, musical experience and musical aptitude positively correlated with tone discrimination accuracy. It is thus concluded that individuals with varying extents of tone language experience may adopt different strategies when performing tone discrimination tasks; single-tone language speakers may draw on their musical expertise while dual-tone language speakers may rely on their extensive tone language experience instead. (shrink)

This volume answers the question: Why do we believe what we believe? It examines current research on the concept of beliefs, and the development in our understanding of the process of believing. It takes into account empirical findings in the field of neuroscience regarding the processes that underlie beliefs, and discusses the notion that beyond the interactive exploratory analysis of sensory information from the complex outside world, humans engage in an evaluative analysis by which they attribute personal meaning and relevance (...) to the probabilistic representations of objects and events. Beliefs exert a strong influence on behaviour, decision-making, and identifying and solving problems. Despite their importance, beliefs have until recently not been at the centre of scientific interest. In fact, "belief" is an ill-defined phenomenon. From a transdisciplinary perspective the actual approaches to understanding belief seem incompatible as they attempt to highlight such different topics as "belief - religion", "belief - spirituality", "belief - faith", "belief - knowledge", "belief - attitude", "belief - disbelief", "belief - illusion", and "believing - brain function". This situation contradicts the idea that belief is close to pathological phenomena and that it should be eliminated from scientific discussions. Rather, believing is fundamental for understanding the many problems of every-day life. In fact, the book shows that beliefs are relevant for politics, international affairs, economy, law, or religions also in modern societies. This book presents the increasing scientific interest in beliefs and believing, and reflects the change in focus from the content aspect of belief towards the fluid nature of believing. (shrink)

Collection of articles from a conference on the philosophy of Aristotle in Thai society.

1 Grasping Properties I will present an argument for property dualism. The argument employs a distinction between having a concept of a property and grasping a property via a concept. If you grasp a property P via a concept C, then C is a concept of P. But the reverse does not hold: you may have a concept of a property without grasping that property via any concept. If you grasp a property, then your cognitive relation to that property is (...) more intimate then if you just have some concept or other of that property. To grasp a property is to understand what having that property essentially consists in. (shrink)

In this paper a set of categorical sentences called an antilogistic tetrad is presented as a perspective on Aristotle's square of opposition. An antilogistic tetrad is formed by collecting the premises of a pair of valid syllogisms the conclusions of which are contradictory categorical sentences. A set of such premises serves to bring together Aristotle's concern with debate and the syllogism, and as such may be seen as a way of “completing” Aristotle's analysis of the square of opposition.The debate context (...) is characterized by opposing views for which arguments are offered. The square of opposition captures that contending of opposing views; and is also basic to the presentation of categorical sentences, a necessary condition for the syllogism. By using C. S. Peirce's notion of abductive argument to produce the middle term, and hence to construct deductive syllogistic arguments, antilogistic tetrads may be formed on any contended subject. For that reason, the process sketched above for forming antilogistic tetrads is called “completing the square of opposition.”. (shrink)

Nous voudrions mettre en question une vision réductrice des encyclopédistes : contrairement à une représentation convenue émanant d ’ une lecture biaisée de l ’Encyclopédie due à la lunette déformante des positivistes et des scientistes du XIX e siècle, les encyclopédistes sont loin d ’ être des chantres du progrès mais développent plutôt, notamment dans le Discours préliminaire de l'Encyclopédie et les articles épistémologiques et scientifiques, une conception sceptique de l ’ esprit humain et de sa capacité à connaître l (...) ’ Univers. Ajoutons que cette lecture biaisée a été reprise haut et fort au XX e siècle par l ’ École de Francfort qui n ’ a pas hésité à forcer le trait du prétendu optimisme rationaliste des philosophes des Lumières jusqu ’ à en faire les initiateurs des formes contemporaines de totalitarisme. C ’ est contre cette lecture que le présent article s ’ inscrit. (shrink)

Стаття є першим розділом дослідження історії та герменевтичних обріїв коментування Біблії у слов’янському контексті. У ній дається огляд історії тлумачення Біблії у Східній Європі, аналізується діахронний розвиток принципів коментування біблійного тексту, показані герменевтичні засоби, які використовувались в євангельському русі XIX – XX ст. та відповідні герменевтичні підходи у православній традиції цього періоду. Автором виділені головні герменевтичні принципи, на які спирались коментатори XIX – початку XX ст., а також підходи до тлумачення, які практикувались у слов’янському контексті. Особливу увагу отримали випадки тлумачення (...) Біблії національними авторами, які опублікували свої тексти за період останніх 20 років. Основний акцент автор робить на огляді літератури з герменевтики, яка була видана в останні роки і застосовується в євангельських навчальних закладах. (shrink)

Анотація. У статті проаналізовані досягнення Соціального Вчительства Католицької Церкви, репрезентовані працями Лева ХІІІ, Пія ХІ, Пія ХІІ, Івана Павла ІІ, що розкривають змістовні характеристики поняття «принцип субсидіарності», його роль і значення в системі християнських цінностей. Принцип субсидіарності робить можливими такі взаємовідносини в соціальному житті, коли спільнота вищого порядку не втручається у внутрішнє життя спільноти нижчого порядку, перебираючи на себе належні тій функції; заради спільного добра, спільного блага вона надає їй у разі потреби підтримку й допомогу, узгоджуючи у такий спосіб її (...) взаємодію з іншими соціальними структурами. Принцип субсидіарності скеровує соціальну практику на утвердження спільного блага в людському співтоваристві. Поширення і застосування принципу субсидіарності протистоїть небезпеці «одержавлення» суспільства та найзагрозливіших проявів колективізму, обмежує абсолютизацію влади, бюрократизацію державних і соціокультурних структур, стає одним із гарантів дотримання прав і свобод громадян своєї країни. (shrink)

В статті С.Присухіна «Діалог релігії і науки: аспекти дослідження в працях Івана Павла ІІ» проаналізовано філософсько-богословські рефлексії Івана Павла ІІ щодо сутнісних характеристик діалогу релігії і саме сучасної науки, завдання його вдосконалення в контексті становлення і розвитку культури життя.

Стаття С. Присухіна «Іван Павло ІІ про логіку діалогу між Католицькою Церквою та ісламом» присвячена філософськобогословським напрацюванням Папи Римського Івана Павла ІІ щодо аналізу змістовних характеристик поняття «діалог між католицизмом і ісламом», а також логіки його здійснення в непростому й суперечливому сьогоденні.

Монографія "Функціональність релігії: український контекст".

Анотація. У статті проводиться аналіз текстів донікейських Отців, які показують сприйняття ними водного хрещення. Зокрема, розглядаються праці чотирьох видатних богословів, що писали свої праці в III ст. – Орігена, Іполита Римського, Тертуліана і Кипріяна. На підставі їхніх текстів, що відбивають розуміння водного хрещення в різних регіонах Римської імперії, проводиться вивчення процесу формування дитячого хрещення, який активно проходив у цей період. Автор визначає фактори, що зробили значний вплив на заміну кредохрещення на педохрещення. Провідну роль в появі дитячого хрещення зіграли ситуації екстремального (...) хрещення, за умов якого суворі правила входження в громаду могли ігноруватися. Богословською підставою таких дій було уявлення про роль хрещення як очищення гріхів, яке поступово трансформувалося з прощення гріхів по вірі кандидата на хрещення на прощення гріхів ex opera operato. Так як в богослов’ї цієї епохи відсутнє поняття первородного гріха, то для пояснення хрещення невинних немовлят стало розвиватися орігенівське уявлення про так звану «пляму гріха». (shrink)

Стаття висвітлює досягнення соціального вчення Католицької Церкви в справі подолання «культури смерті» через утвердження миру як складової системи цінностей і принципів «культури життя».

Confucius (551–479 BCE) is the Latinized name of Kong Qiu, best known in Chinese as Kongzi (Master Kong). Only partially successful in his public career, Confucius' private teaching inaugurated an era of reflectiveness and helped to define core elements of Chinese civilization. Subsequent generations of students built on his initial formulations to develop one of the world's great philosophical traditions, which in English we call “Confucianism”; various terms are used in Chinese, including Ru jia (the Scholars' School) and Dao xue (...) (the Learning of the Way). While later Confucian thinkers would develop elaborate frameworks of metaphysics, mind, and epistemology, Confucius' own teachings concentrated on ethics, politics, social values, and personal improvement. These teachings and the key terms in which they are phrased remained touchstones for the tradition ever after, and the Confucian tradition became absolutely central to what it meant to be Chinese. Given the scope of China and its civilization, it is no exaggeration to say that Confucius is among the most influential of humanity's thinkers. (shrink)

Der Band enthält Beiträge von Juristen, Medizinern und Philosophen aus Australien, Estland, Polen, Rußland, Tschechien, den U.S.A. und Deutschland zu Themen der Ethik und Wissenschaftstheorie der Medizin. Die Mehrzahl der Beiträge sind von Nachwuchswissenschaftlern des College for Advanced Central European Studies an der Europa-Universität Viadrina erarbeitet worden. Sie wurden im Rahmen der Jahrestagung des Arbeitskreises für Ethik und Wissenschaftstheorie der Medizin in Ostmitteleuropa neben weiteren Beiträgen, die hier zum Abdruck kommen, zur Diskussion gestellt. Der Arbeitskreis beruht auf einer Kooperationsvereinbarung des (...) Interdisziplinären Zentrums für Ethik der Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) und des Instituts für Geschichte und Ethik der Medizin der Universität Halle-Wittenberg. Die Beiträge befassen sich u. a. mit der Gesundheitsreform in Polen, mit ethischen und rechtlichen Problemen bei der künstlichen Befruchtung, der Abtreibung, medizinischen Experimenten an Menschen, der Gentechnik, der Patientenautonomie, Außenseitermethoden in der Medizin, dem Patiententestament, dem Todesbegriff, Drogenkonsum, der Sterbehilfe und der Gentechnik. (shrink)

Early commentators and traditionists embed and amplify Q 2:102—an enigmatic allusion to angelic complicity in the transmission of esoteric knowledge to humankind—within a rich layer of interpretive lore frequently bearing the rubric “Tale of Hārūt and Mārūt.” A close study of this verse alongside its external narrative embellishments uncovers a wealth of structural and contextual motifs that suggestively link the “Tale” with biblical and parascriptural myths about “fallen angels” and their perceived role in the corruption of antediluvian humanity. The present (...) article catalogs a representative number of these motifs, speculates about their mode of transmission, and offers some guidelines for analyzing the different versions of the “Tale” that surface centuries later in medieval Jewish interpretive and mystical literature. Particular attention is devoted to unpacking the identity of the woman who is responsible for the seduction of the angels. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Manufacturing Confucianism: Chinese Traditions and Universal CivilizationStephen C. AngleManufacturing Confucianism: Chinese Traditions and Universal Civilization. By Lionel M. Jensen. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997. Pp. xx + 444. Hardcover $59.95. Paper $19.95.Confucianisms, according to Lionel Jensen, in his Manufacturing Confucianism: Chinese Traditions and Universal Civilization, are the results of a four-century-long process of pious manufacture—pious because aimed at truth rather than manipulation, manufacture because the work has been (...) done out of materials close to hand. [End Page 120] These materials are the texts, words, and symbols out of which traditions are invented and reinvented. Jensen's book is simultaneously a meditation on the ecumenical goals of "traditionary invention" and a close study of the specific ways in which sixteenth- and twentieth-century communities have negotiated between inherited meanings and current circumstances. Its case studies splendidly exemplify its broader theoretical themes; I will look at each before returning to an assessment of the book's conclusion.The first two chapters explore what Jensen aptly calls the "sino-Jesuit community." He surveys the degrees to which the Jesuits were sinified and their efforts to find room for Chinese traditions in an expanded idea of natural religion, in part by redefining their own canon and seeing "Confucius" as an "ethnic philosopher" akin to Plato. Jensen argues that the Jesuits adopted and popularized the rarely used formulation "kong fu zi" as an appellation for their Chinese hero, and it is from this term that "Confucius" was ultimately derived.Jensen works to make us see things sympathetically from the inside: the challenges the Jesuits faced, and the reasonableness of their responses, from initially likening themselves to Buddhists to their later identification with the "ru." He criticizes Jacques Gernet's China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985) for being too ready to see the Jesuits as engaged in cynical manipulation for their own ends. Instead, Jensen urges us to see the Jesuits as working within the constraints of their adopted cultural universe to seek the truth as they understood it. This process of seeing universal significance in the particulars of Chinese culture is then repeated when a fairly crude version of the Jesuits' "Confucius" makes an appearance on the European stage— providing, for Europeans, evidence of the possibility of harmonious life under a benevolent monarchy—in the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus of 1687.The book's second pair of chapters take up two twentieth-century Chinese efforts to understand the early history of "ru," the term that, at least until modern times, functioned "as an emblem of the culture's central value system" (p. 155). For Zhang Binglin, with whose "The Etiology of Ru" Jensen begins, the ru began as a group of broadly talented gentlemen, but under the pernicious influence of the teacher Kongzi (a.k.a. Confucius), they turned toward the narrower concerns of government careerism. Reacting against the calls by some in his day to make "Kongjiao (Confucianism)" into a national religion, Zhang argued that the original goal of the "ru," and thus China's true intellectual heritage, was wide-ranging service to and direct engagement with China's people.Hu Shi's "Explaining Ru," on the other hand, argues for a positive connection between the ru and Kongzi. According to Hu, the ru had been priests in the Shang dynasty whose status declined after the Zhou conquest only to be revitalized and transformed by Kongzi, a sage prophesied to save the world. Jensen finds a number of parallels between Hu's picture of Confucius and Christian accounts of Jesus, and argues that these similarities are not coincidental. Hu was determined to find a way to make modern (universal) civilization "congenial and congruous" with Chinese civilization; this he accomplished, in Jensen's words, by collapsing China and the [End Page 121] West "into a single process of civilizational growth, the self-same identity of which was explicit in the patterned variation in the biographies of their spiritual exemplars, Kongzi and Jesus" (p. 263).While Jensen sometimes seems to want to confine the application of "Confucianism" to the Jesuits' sixteenth-century notion—arguing that at least... (shrink)

Agriculture in Western Europe has become efficient and productive but at a cost. The quality of biodiversity, soil, air, and water has been compromised. In the search for ways to ensure food security and meet the challenges of climate change, new production systems have been proposed. One of these is the transition to circular agriculture: closing the cycles of nutrients and other resources to minimise losses and end the impact on climate change. This development aims to address existing problems in (...) food production but also raises questions about animal health and welfare. Although the role animals can play in this development is not ignored, the animal welfare dimension of circular agriculture seems to be overlooked. We argue that this is a problem both for the success of circular agriculture and for the animals involved. To substantiate this claim, we analyse the background to this lack of attention, which we find in (a) the way circular agriculture is conceptualised; (b) the institutional hurdles related to the legal, political and economic context; and (c) the concept of animal welfare, which requires further innovation. By analysing these aspects, we develop stepping stones for an animal-welfare inclusive concept of circular agriculture. These stepping stones include: recognising the animal as a participant with its own interests in the innovation towards circular agriculture; using a dynamic concept of animal welfare; a concept of circularity that provides space for social values, including animal welfare; and attention to institutional innovation by improving public engagement and building trust. (shrink)

On Buddhist ethics for better conduct of life.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology attempts both to familiarize readers with the directions in which the scholarship of this discipline has gone and to pursue the discussion into hitherto under-examined areas. Philosophical theology is aimed primarily at theoretical understanding of the nature and attributes of God and of God's relationship to the world and its inhabitants. During the twentieth century, much of the philosophical community (both in the Anglo-American analytic tradition and in Continental circles) had grave doubts about our (...) ability to attain any such understanding. In recent years the analytic tradition in particular has moved beyond the biases that placed obstacles in the way of the pursuing questions located at the interface of philosophy and religion. Written by some of the leading scholars in the field, the articles in the book are grouped into five sections. In the first section, articles focus on the authority of scripture and tradition, on the nature and mechanisms of divine revelation, on the relation between religion and science, and on theology and mystery. The next section focuses on philosophical problems connected with the central divine attributes: aseity, omnipotence, omniscience, and the like. In the third section, articles explore theories of divine action and divine providence, questions about petitionary prayer, problems about divine authority and God's relationship to morality and moral standards, and various formulations of and responses to the problem of evil. The fourth section examines philosophical problems that arise in connection with such central Christian doctrines as the trinity, the incarnation, the atonement, original sin, resurrection, and the Eucharist. Finally, the fifth section introduces readers to current work in Jewish, Islamic, and Chinese philosophical theology. (shrink)

Rü’yetullah, insanın fizyolojik gözüyle Allah’ı görmesi anlamına gelmektedir. Bu tartışmayı Kur’an’daki âyetlerden ve Hz. Peygamber’in sözlerinden hareketle erken döneme kadar götürmek mümkünse de asıl olarak Cehm b. Safvan’ın (ö. 128/745-46) rü’yetullahın mümkün olmayacağını ileri sürmesiyle gün yüzüne çıkmış, Muʿtezile’nin de bu görüşü desteleyerek Allah’ı tenzihten hareketle rü’yetullahın mümkün olmayacağını söylemesiyle yeni bir boyut kazanmıştır. Ehl-i sünnet kelâmını başlatanlardan ve Eşʿarîliğin kurucusu olan Ebü’l-Hasan el-Eşʿarî’de (ö. 324/935-36) Allah’ın baş gözüyle görüleceği üzerinde durmuştur. Allah’ın görülmesi meselesi Ehl-i sünnetin genelinde olduğu gibi Eşʿarî’de (...) de aklen caiz ve naklen vacip olan konular arasındadır. Eşʿarî bu konuyu eserlerinde ele alırken öncelikle rü’yetullah ile ilgili âyetlerden hareket ederek kelimelere verilen çeşitli anlamları açısından değerlendirmeye tabi tutmuştur. Bu anlamları tek tek eleyerek âyetlerde geçen görmeyi ifade eden kavramların gözle görme anlamına geldiğini ispat yoluna gitmiştir. Daha sonra da bu âyetlerin asıl anlamının Allah’ın görülmesine işaret ettiği, bu görmenin Allah’ın kudreti dâhilinde olduğunu hatırlatarak belki dünya cihetiyle değil de âhiret açısından Allah’ın görüleceği anlamına geldiğini belirtmiştir. Aynı zamanda bunu destekleyen hadisleri de ele alarak Hz. Peygamber’in buna işaret ettiğini bildirmiştir. Eşʿarî’nin kelâm konularını ele almasında daha çok nakilci yaklaşımın ağırlıklı olduğunu söylemek mümkündür. Ancak Allah’ın görülmesi meselesinde naklî olmasının yanı sıra bunun aklî olduğunu belirtmesiyle farklı bir yaklaşım sergilediği görülmüştür. Bu açıklamalarında özellikle görenin hadis olması kadim olan görüleni etkilemeyeceğini açıklayarak öncelikle varlık açısından hâdis ve kadim ayırımına gitmektedir. Eşʿarî’ye göre nasıl ki tatma, koklama ve dokunma birer duygu olup insan için kullanıldığında hâdistir. Aynı şekilde görme de insan için hâdis bir duygudur. Gören insanın ve görme duyusunun hâdis ama görülen olan Allah’ın ise hâdis olamayacağını belirtmektedir. Allah’ın gözle görülebileceğine dair ontolojik açıdan yaklaşımına bir başka kanıt ise O’nu görülmesi caiz olan bir varlık olduğunu belirtir. Çünkü olmayanı görmek caiz değildir. Oysa Allah mevcut, sabit olup kendisini görmemiz muhal olmadığına göre o görülecektir. Eşʿarî’ye göre Allah’ın görülmesinin ispatında Onu yaratılmışlara benzetme ve hakikati ters yüz etme anlamına gelmeden şanına yakışacak bir şekilde görülmesinin aklen caiz olduğu yaklaşımı vardır. Çeşitli çalışmalarda farklı konular işlenirken Eşʿarî’nin rü’yetullah ile ilgili görüşlerine arada değinildiği halde konuyla ilgili tüm görüşlerini bir araya getiren özel bir çalışmaya rastlanmamıştır. Bu makalede İmam Eşʿarî’ye göre Allah’ın görülmesi konusunda ortaya koymuş olduğu hem naklî hem de aklî delilleri onun eserlerinden ve birinci elden hareketle ortaya çıkarılması amaçlanmaktadır. (shrink)

Allah'ın görülebilirliğini ifade eden rü'yetullah kavramı, tarih boyunca farklı kelâm disiplinleri tarafından derinlemesine incelenmiş önemli bir konudur. Kelâm tarihinde, rü’yetullah’ı kabul edenler ve reddedenler olmak üzere bu konuda ana hatlarıyla iki temel bakış açısı bulunmaktadır. Ehl-i Sünnet, rü’yetullahı benimseyen grupların başında gelirken; Muʻtezile mezhebi ise rü’yetin cisimliği içermesi veya onunla ilişkili bazı konuları gerektirmesi nedeniyle onun ulûhiyet makamıyla uyumsuz olduğunu düşünerek kesin bir dille reddetmiştir. Rü’yeti kabul edenler aklî ve naklî birtakım temellendirmelere başvurmuşlardır. Ehl-i sünnet perspektifinden bakıldığında, erken dönemde rü’yetullahın (...) “zâtıyla kıyâm” esasına dayalı olarak temellendirilirken; bilahare “varlık” esaslı temellendirildiği görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada Eşʻarî mezhebine mensup iki düşünür olan Fahreddin er-Râzî (ö. 606/1210) ve onun yakın takipçisi Sirâceddin el-Urmevî’nin (ö. 682/1283), varlık eksenli rü’yetullah konusundaki yaklaşımları ele alınacaktır. Râzî, birçok konuda birbirinden farklı görüş serdeden muhakkik bir âlimdir. Birden fazla görüş beyan ettiği mevzulardan biri, varlık merkezli rü’yetullahın temellendirilip temellendirilemeyeceğidir. O, varlık merkezli rü’yetullahın temellendirilmesi yöntemine dair kabul, ret ve tevakkuf olmak üzere üç farklı yaklaşım sergilemektedir. Onun başta rü’yetullah olmak üzere birçok metafizik ve teolojik konuda fikirlerini değiştirmesini, benimsediği yaklaşımları farklı açılardan temellendirmesi, bir taraftan onun felsefî ve kelâmî derinliğini ortaya koyarken, diğer taraftan ise onun tahkik yöntemiyle doğrudan ilişkilidir. Bu yüzden Şihâbüddîn el-Karâfî (ö. 684/1285) gibi düşünür şarihler, Râzî’nin düşüncesindeki bu değişimi, onun bilgisinin olgunluğuna, aklî yeteneklerinin üstünlüğüne ve dinî kavrayışının derinliğine bağlamışlardır. Nitekim bu değişim, Râzî'nin her daim hakikat arayışında olduğunu ve fikirlerini sürekli sorguladığını göstermektedir. Birçok eserinde “varlık” odaklı rü’yetullaha dair çeşitli eleştiriler yapan Râzî, Erʻbaîn adlı eserinde bu konuyu daha düzenli bir sistem içinde ve maddeler halinde açıklamaya gayret etmektedir. Mezkûr eserinde Râzî, varlık merkezli rü’yetin temellendirilemeyeceğine dair “ʻâdemin malûliyeti”, “her hükmün bir illete dayanmasının zorunlu olup olmadığı” ve “cevher ve arazların farklı illetlerle muallel olup olamayacağı” gibi birtakım felsefî ve kelâmî delilleri merkeze koyarak eleştirisini temellendirmeye çalışmaktadır. Râzî'nin bu eserini özetleyen ve eleştiren Urmevî, Lübâb’da, Râzî’nin tespitlerine itiraz edip sunduğu argümanlara karşı çıkarak, varlık merkezli rü’yetullahın temellendirilebileceği düşünmektedir. Her iki düşünürün rü’yet merkezli ortaya koydukları argümanlar, bir taraftan Tanrı tasavvurlarını ortaya koyarken; diğer taraftan ise felsefî ve teolojik duruşlarına da ışık tutmaktadır. (shrink)