Dr. Laszlo’s hypothesis (2009) is in my opinion appealing on many levels. He proposes that phenomena of apparent transpersonal communication between human beings are due to the intermediary of information-carrying holograms in the reactive quantum vacuum produced by human brain activity. He also suggests that valid information regarding the world in general is available through the same mechanism, on the grounds that all material objects “excite the ground state of the [zero point] fi eld” and produce further such holograms. On (...) this hypothesis we are literally immersed in a sea of information, with the capacity for accessing that information as well as producing more of it by our own thought processes. (shrink)

Illustrates how the theory of evolution can be expanded into a source of social guidance.

The book aims to provide a comprehensive, new look at business ethics topics and models from a European perspective. Apart from theoretical arguments and empirical data, case studies and games are used to get closer to real life problematics of business. The book is written by leading business ethics professors of the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS). Chapters of the handbook first describe the central issue and the latest theories and practices. They then introduce new approaches and analyze real (...) world examples. Finally conclusions are provided, which include ethical warning signals, proposals for future research and suggested policy recommendations. (shrink)

The conference of Salat Levente, "The Challenge of Diversity Answers and Dilemmas".

Background: Medical education literature suggests that ethics education should be learner-centered and problem-based rather than theory-based. Team-based learning is an appropriate method for this suggestion. However, its effectiveness was not investigated enough in medical ethics education. Research question: Is team-based learning effective in medical ethics education in terms of knowledge retention, in-class learner engagement, and learner reactions? Research design: This was a prospective controlled follow-up study. We changed lecture with team-based learning method to teach four topics in a 2-week medical (...) ethics clerkship, while the remaining topics were taught by lectures. For comparison, we formed team-based learning and lecture groups, in which the students and instructor are the same, but the topics and teaching methodologies are different. We determined in-class learner engagement by direct observation and student satisfaction by feedback forms. Student success for team-based learning and lecture topics in the end-of-clerkship exam and two retention tests performed 1 year and 2 years later were compared. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for the study was granted by Akdeniz University Board of Ethics on Noninvasive Clinical Human Studies Ethics committee. Findings: Short-term knowledge retention did not differ; however, team-based learning was found superior to lecture at long-term retention tests. Student satisfaction was high with team-based learning and in-class engagement was better in team-based learning sessions. Discussion: Our results on learner engagement and satisfaction with team-based learning were similar to those of previous reports. However, knowledge retention results in our study were contrary to literature. The reason might be the fact that students prepared for the end-of-clerkship pass/fail exam (short term) regardless of the teaching method. But, at long-term retention tests, they did not prepare for the exam and answered the questions just using the knowledge retained in their memories. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that team-based learning is a better alternative to lecture to teach ethics in medical education. (shrink)

Chapter 1 WHY SYSTEMS PHILOSOPHY? Some reasons, for synthetic philosophy generally The persistent theme of this study is the timeliness and the necessity of ...

The paper is meant to introduce a symposium on aesthetics in Hungary today. Through a brief survey of the Hungarian aesthetic tradition, which goes back to the eclectic “university aesthetics” of the late 18 th century and produced a number of prominent figures such as Georg Lukács and his disciples in the “Budapest School” in the 20th century, the paper seeks to point out some key characteristics of this tradition and to reflect on the intellectual landscape of contemporary aesthetics in (...) Hungary, diversified by many fields of study, methods and subdisciplines. (shrink)

The strong focus seen on »culture«, as it describes itself or is described, has lead to critical reflection on the term's ubiquitous use. In the current article various forms of »culturalisation« are traced and put in the context of a wider diagnosis of time, based on the example of the treatment of Muslim immigrants. Thereby, both the attribution of a collective identity and governmental strategies for the construction of an accountable Muslim community are examined. On the other hand, the attribution (...) of a collective identity can be included in a modern theoretical programme that perceives the integration of a minority to be a cultural task. Finally, culturalisation arises, being explicitly used as a strategic argument in the interpretation of conflict insofar as it points out the »societal« causes of problem as an alternative to putting the emphasis on cultural origin. (shrink)

The articles in this volume are the outcome of the successful BRIDGE Workshop held in Düsseldorf in 2014. The workshop gathered a number of distinguished researchers from formal semantics and conceptual semantics and aimed to initiate a deeper conversation and collaboration instead of separating the two sides as competing views. The workshop provided a platform to further discuss parallelisms on specific semantic issues on the one hand and on the other hand to confront opposed claims from the two different perspectives. (...) This volume represents a selected number of high-quality papers presented at the workshop featuring various approaches to meaning from linguistics, logic and philosophy of language.0This series explores issues of mental representation, linguistic structure and representation, and their interplay. The research presented in this series is grounded in the idea explored in the Collaborative Research Center?The structure of representations in language, cognition and science? (SFB 991) that there is a universal format for the representation of linguistic and cognitive concepts. (shrink)

This article presents the ancient Mesopotamian Mīs Pî ceremony as a case study in the relationship between ritual and the natural world using Roy Rappaport’s framework of Ecological Anthropology as a guide. Rappaport’s premise is that human populations do not operate independently but are instead, “ecological populations in an ecosystem that also includes the other living organisms and the nonliving substances found within the boundaries of [their] territory.” In Rappaport’s framework, rituals involving the use of animal, plant, and other organic (...) materials link human communities to the ecosystems in which they dwell and to that which they seek to ritualize. Applying this mode of analysis to the Mīs Pî ritual yields the thesis that, from the perspective of the Mīs Pî, nature is integral to the ritual maintenance and well-being of the divine and human realms, and, in effect, the well-being of the cosmos. (shrink)

"The Consciousness Revolution is an extrodinary discussion among three of the very finest minds of our time, spirited in its exchange, compassionate in its embrace, brilliant in its clarion call to awaken our conscience and consciousness." Ken Wilber, author of Sex, Ecology, Spirituality and One Taste.

Works concerning the history of the Hungarian Reform had been almost absent until the second half of the seventeenth century. The relatively peaceful process of the Hungarian Reform, the lack of armed conflicts, and the tragic memory of the battle of Mohács made the appearance of self-justifying religious narratives in Hungarian historiography seem unnecessary. On the other hand, the changes caused by the Tridentine Catholic renewal movement and the deterioration of the religious and political condition of the Protestant confession culminated (...) in punishing actions. This brought the polemical and self-justifying narratives to the forefront in both literature and historiography. First signs of interest regarding the history of Protestantism appeared on the Catholic side, but they emerged under the pressure of the circumstances. On the other hand, a growing foreign interest gradually appeared on the Protestant side, making way to historiographical works. An example of such an opus is the Historia Ecclesiae Reformatae in Hungaria et Transilvania (1706) by Pál Debreceni Ember. The author presents the history of the Reformed Church in Hungary. He also tries to present the origins of Hungarian Christianity, projecting it onto the Apostolic Period. Finally, he turns to the early Christian writers such as Jerome to prove his theory. The paper aims to present this chapter in Jerome’s reception and its religious background. (shrink)

The author discusses and critically questions the historical development of the nation-state – the „success story” of the last three hundred years. Its fundamental ideas are embraced both by the common mentality regarding the role of the state and the theory of international relations, which recognizes the nation-states as legitimate actors on the stage of international politics. The main challenges toward this model are, in the author’s view, the process of globalization and the reality of diversity (ethnic and linguistic). Even (...) if the nation-state successfully manages to adapt to globalization, in many cases it will still sacrifice the idea of diversity, through its various processes of homogenization. In the end, the author discusses the relation between democracy and the nation-state, and its influences in managing inner diversity. (shrink)

We are surrounded by threats of environmental harm whose actual dangers to public health are scientifically unverified. It is widely presumed that under conditions of uncertainty, when it is not possible to foresee the outcomes of our actions, or to calculate the probability they will actually cause harm, we cannot be held culpable for the risks and harms our actions impose on others. It is commonly presumed, that is, that exposing others to what this paper terms ‘uncertain threats’ is permissible, (...) because conventional theories of moral responsibility understand uncertainty as implying that the effects of our actions are out of our control and, therefore, beyond our fault. In contrast, in rejecting arguments from moral luck, this paper denies that authors of uncertain threats of environmental harm are excusably ignorant, and denies that prevailing uncertainty diminishes their moral obligations or attenuates their culpability. For under conditions of uncertainty, culpability turns on the lack of due regard for others as moral equals – a consideration that neither luck nor ignorance excuses. To expose others to unconsented-to uncertain threats of harm without exercising due care to prevent possible injury is to wrongfully gamble with their welfare and their capacity for self-authorship. (shrink)

Altered states of consciousness (ASC), especially hallucinatory ones, are philosophically and scientifically interesting modes of operation of the mind–brain complex. However, classical definitions of ASC seem to capture only a few common characteristics of traditionally regarded phenomena, thus lacking exact classification criteria for assessing altered and baseline states. The current situation leads to a priority problem between phenomena-based definitions and definition-based phenomena selection. In order to solve the problem, this paper introduces a self-mapping procedure that is based on a three-part (...) analysis on certain aspects of hallucinatory altered consciousness. Starting with commonalities found in current definitions of ASC, issues with self-evaluation, sources of data, and baseline comparison are analyzed first. Next, the concept of alterations is examined with respect to temporal dynamics, change mechanisms, and mental subsystems. Finally, hallucinatory phenomena are discussed regarding various definitions, the relationship between “external” and “internal,” and the “trueness” issue of hallucinations. Conclusive to the analysis above, a technically based working definition of ASC and a stepwise operationalization procedure are also proposed. (shrink)

Based on a brief overview of the history of ontology and on some philosophical problems of virtual reality, a new approach to virtuality is proposed. To characterize the representational technologies in the Internet age, I suggest that Aristotle’s dualistic ontological system be complemented with a third form of being: virtuality. In the virtual form of being actuality and potentiality are inseparably intertwined. Virtuality is potentiality considered together with its actualization. In this view, virtuality is reality with a measure, a reality (...) which has no absolute character, but which has a relative nature. This situation can remind us the emergence of probability in the 17th century: then the concept of certainty, now the concept of reality is reconsidered and relativized. Currently, in the descriptions of the world created by representational technologies, there are two coherent worldviews with different ontologies: the world is inhabited by actual and potential beings—or all the beings in the world are virtual. (shrink)

In the traditional formalism of quantum mechanics, a simple direct proof of the Spin Geometry Theorem of Penrose is given; and the structure of a model of the ‘space of the quantum directions’, defined in terms of elementary SU-invariant observables of the quantum mechanical systems, is sketched.

The article discusses why the notion of infinity is indispensable in contemporary phenomenology. I will heavily rely on some of L(szl) Tengelyi’s ideas, who in his turn uses Marc Richir’s early works on Cantor and Kant. Although – similarly to Richir and Tengelyi – I also examine some of Cantor’s ideas, I concentrate on a different and more fundamental part of his theory than Tengelyi and Richir.

Humanistic management is emerging as a response to the economistic paradigm prevalent in today’s business schools, corporations, and society. There are many compelling reasons why the economistic paradigm is becoming obsolete, and even dangerous, for business if it is to become an agent of world benefit. The purpose of this article is not to explain these reasons but rather to situate the transition to humanistic management in the context of multiple worldviews. We propose an historical sequence of worldviews each with (...) its own paradigmatic assumptions about what it means to be human and the nature of the world. We draw on converging insights between new science and ancient spiritual traditions to outline an emerging quantum worldview. We further submit that integrating elements of the quantum worldview into humanistic management strengthens it in ways that are essential to humankind’s ability to shift to full-spectrum flourishing, defined as a world in which people and all life thrive now and across future generations. (shrink)

The evidential problem of evil involves a rarely discussed challenge, namely the challenge of defending theism against the hypothesis of a morally indifferent creator. Our argument uses a Bayesian framework and it starts by showing that if the only alternative to classical theism is naturalistic atheism, then fine-tuning can render theism virtually certain, even in the face of evil. But if the alternatives include the hypothesis of a morally indifferent creator, theism is defeated even if the fine-tuning premise is accepted. (...) The resulting version of the evidential problem is unsolvable using the tools that are currently deployed by theists against evil. (shrink)

The story of quantum probability theory and quantum logic begins with von Neumann’s recognition1, that quantum mechanics can be regarded as a kind of “probability theory”, if the subspace lattice L of the system’s Hilbert space H plays the role of event algebra and the ‘tr’-s play the role of probability distributions over these events. This idea had been completed in the Gleason theorem 2.

If physicalism is true, everything is physical. In other words, everything supervenes on, or is necessitated by, the physical. Accordingly, if there are logical/mathematical facts, they must be necessitated by the physical facts of the world. The aim of this paper is to clarify what logical/mathematical facts actually are and how these facts can be accommodated in a purely physical world.

In my paper, I propose to investigate the philosophical underpinnings of representative indigenous Japanese psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly that of Morita and Naikan therapies, that have, at their foundations, distinctly Buddhist psychological tenets, and that offer to deal with mental health issues in a manifestly different way compared with their western counterparts. I offer a comprehensive account of how the characterizations of madness and mental illness have been shifting over the last two hundred years in Japanese society and culture, and how (...) this has affected mental health care in Japan. Finally, the ways in which modern day thinkers, such as Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki and Keiji Nishitani have been re-shaping the concepts of the self in Japanese religion and philosophy while, at the same time, taking care to remain faithful to the original East Asian sensibilities will also be expounded and connected to the themes of mental health and mental illness. (shrink)