It is suggested that an understanding of blackbody radiation within classical physics requires the presence of classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation, the restriction to relativistic (Coulomb) scattering systems, and the use of discrete charge. The contrasting scaling properties of nonrelativistic classical mechanics and classical electrodynamics are noted, and it is emphasized that the solutions of classical electrodynamics found in nature involve constants which connect together the scales of length, time, and energy. Indeed, there are analogies between the electrostatic forces for groups (...) of particles of discrete charge and the van der Waals forces in equilibrium thermal radiation. The differing Lorentz- or Galilean-transformation properties of the zero-point radiation spectrum and the Rayleigh-Jeans spectrum are noted in connection with their scaling properties. Also, the thermal effects of acceleration within classical electromagnetism are related to the existence of thermal equilibrium within a gravitational field. The unique scaling and phase-space properties of a discrete charge in the Coulomb potential suggest the possibility of an equilibrium between the zero-point radiation spectrum and matter which is universal (independent of the particle mass), and an equilibrium between a universal thermal radiation spectrum and matter where the matter phase space depends only upon the ratio mc 2/k B T. The observations and qualitative suggestions made here run counter to the ideas of currently accepted quantum physics. (shrink)

Etymology might encourage us to begin a discussion of Aristotle on philanthropy with a discussion of philanthropia ; and it is instructive to see why this is not quite the right place to look. The Greek term initially refers to a generalized attitude of kindness and consideration for a human being. The gods accuse Prometheus of being a ‘human-lover’, intending the term in an unfavorable sense, when he confers on human beings the benefits that should have been confined to the (...) gods. Aristotle uses the abstract noun only once, to refer to sympathetic fellow-feeling ; and he mentions our feeling of kinship with other human beings to explain our approval of the philanthropos person. Philanthropia is the attitude of a kind and considerate person, even if she lacks material resources, and it can be displayed without the transfer of material resources. (shrink)

Students of the history of ethics sometimes find themselves tempted by moderate or extreme versions of an approach that might roughly be called ‘historicist’. This temptation may result from the difficulties of approaching historical texts from a ‘narrowly philosophical’ point of view. We may begin, for instance, by wanting to know what Aristotle has to say about ‘the problems of ethics’, so that we can compare his views with those of Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Sidgwick, and Rawls, and then decide what (...) is true or false in each theorist's position. But this narrowly philosophical attitude soon runs into difficulties, and writers on the history of ethics often warn us against it. (shrink)

Transformations of the Confucian Way. John H. Berthrong. Westview, Boulder, Colorado, and Oxford 1998. xiv, 250 pp. Cloth £53.95, pbk £15.95. ISBN 0-8133-28055/2804-7.

The general goal of psychology is usually the understanding of human behaviour.

Actuality of the conducted research is practically oriented character. Without the use of information and communication technologies in the field of higher education, it is impossible to carry out qualitative training of specialists in engineering, the results of which are necessary for the implementation of a national strategy for modernizing the economy and forming a progressive state of European type. Formulation of the task - the specificity of the use of ICT in the system of higher education has not been (...) studied sufficiently. ICT form a complex environment, which includes a lot of information objects and the links between them. It can be argued that the structural and functional analysis of the use of ICT in higher education is the basis of the theoretical justification in the formation of technical professionalism of future engineers. ICTs form a complex system, which includes not only technical and software-hardware capabilities, but also psycho-pedagogical, organizational, methodological. Without taking into account all of these components, as well as the needs of the subjects of the educational process, the use of ICT tools may be accompanied by risks and negatively affect the quality of high education. An analysis of recent research and publications-is actively exploring the experience of using ICT in high school, it is possible to distinguish the work of foreign specialists D. Stevenson, G. Reinhold, E. Wenger, S. Papierta, I. Zakharova, E. Patarakina, A. Khutorskogo, E. Polat The founders of this scientific direction in our country were M. I. Zhaldak, Y. I.Mashbits. The recent significant increase in the number of studies, the subject of which was the use of information and communication technologies in the educational process. Tsitemi in Ukraine is dedicated to the study of such scholars as V. Yu. Bykov, Ya.V. Bulakhova, O.M. Bondarenko, V.F. Zabolotny, G.O. Kozlakova, O. Moiko, O. Naumenko, Yu.Burovitskaya, I. Stavyts'ka, O.P. Pinchuk, O.V. Shestopal and others. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. The use of information technologies in the educational process is the foundation of innovative development of the educational system. The rapid development of ICT provides not only significant pace of innovative progress, but also requires the definition of information resources that guarantee the quality of learning, the choice of techniques that are in line with the general strategy for the formation of professional competences. Therefore, the problem of choosing an approach to the process of learning with the use of ICTs remains one of the main tasks of education. Research methods. In theory and practice, the study of the application of information and communication technologies in high school uses empirical methods of collecting and analyzing information based on the results of the survey of 120 students. Presenting main material. The essence of professionalism of future specialists of the technical direction is revealed. The scientific point of view on the professionalism of the engineer is presented. The peculiarities of formation of the basis of technical professionalism of future engineers in the process of studying at a higher school are theoretically grounded. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results of empirical researches of this problem is presented. The practical significance of the research topic is that the innovative approaches to the training of specialists in engineering specialties are differentiated, which differentiate in the educational concepts of teaching in higher educational institutions of European countries. (shrink)

Any dialogue conducted via mutually unintelligible languages constitutes no more than a dialogue of the deaf. Yet intelligibility in dialogue at the most basic linguistic level seems to have provoked little extended discussion in China, even though in practice getting one’s ideas across was plainly a major concern, in the late Ming period (1368-1644). Whilst Buddhists of the period had ceased in any real sense to act as translators of fresh Buddhist materials into Chinese from other languages, we do find (...) an essayist with things to say about translation. This was Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623), a major Buddhist monk of the age. Yet his essays are not readily to be found in his Buddhist writings, but in the preface to his annotations to the Daoist classic Daode jing. It is therefore within the context of dialogue with another rival tradition that his remarks were made, and so they have a particular relevance for those with an interest in the conduct of inter-religious dialogue in the Chinese tradition. (shrink)

This study takes up a portion of the early hagiography of a Japanese prince who was reputedly a reincarnated Chinese monk, and uses a peculiarity in a colophon dated 718 to argue that though the text may have been composed in China, it must in that case derive from the writing of a Japanese visitor. A possible identification of the visitor is made, and some attention is given to the likely sources he used.

Confucian Values and Popular Zen: Sekimon Shingaku in Eighteenth-Century Japan. Janine Anderson Sawada. Univerity of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1993. xi, 256 pp. $30.

Nagarjuna in China. A Translation of the Middle Treatise. Brian Bocking. The Edwin Mellor Press, Lewiston/Queenston/Lampeter 1994. iv, 499 pp. £59.95, US$119.95.

The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism. Edited by Steve Heine and Dale Wright. Oxford University Press, New York 2000. xii, 322 pp. £30.00, 13.95. ISBN 0-19-511748-4, 0-19-511749-2.

Hanshan, which means Cold Mountain, was the pseudonym adopted by an unknown poet who lived in China as a hermit twelve hundred years ago. The poems collected under his name have had an immense impact worldwide, especially among Zen Buddhists, and have been translated into many languages. Peter Hobson's translation of more than a hundred of the poems, almost all of which are published for the first time in this volume, brings those qualities of timelessness, poetic diction and engaging rhythm (...) that do justice to the concepts and language of the original. This edition includes not only a clear and succinct introduction for the general reader but also highly informative sections on Hanshan's place in history and on issues involved in translating Hanshan. (shrink)

Islamic civilization; philosophical thought; schools of Arab philosophy; a historical critical treatise.

Objectives: To quantify the use of do-not-resuscitate orders in a tertiary-care children’s hospital and to characterise the circumstances in which such orders are written.Design: Retrospective study conducted in a 500-bed children’s hospital in Taiwan.Patients: The course of 101 patients who died between January 2002 and December 2005 was reviewed. The following data were collected: age at death, gender, disease and its status, place of death and survival. There were 59 males and 42 females with a median age of 103 months (...) . 50 children had leukaemias, and 51 had malignancies other than leukaemia. The t test and the χ2 test were applied as appropriate.Results: The study found that 44% of patient deaths occurred in the paediatric oncology ward; 29% of patient deaths occurred in the intensive care unit; and 28% of patients died in their home or at another hospital. Other findings included the following: 46 of 101 patients died after attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and 55 died with a DNR order in effect. The mean age at death was 9.8 years in both groups with or without DNR orders.Conclusions: From the study of patient deaths in this tertiary-care children’s hospital, it was concluded that an explicit DNR order is now the rule rather than the exception, with more DNR orders being written for patients who have been ill longer, who have solid tumours, who are not in remission and who are in the ward. (shrink)

Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai. Shunryu Suzuki, edited by Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles 1999. viii, 195 pp. $22.50. ISBN 0-52-21982-1.

The Skill in Means Sutra. Mark Tatz. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1994. 128 pp. Rs 150.