Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are considered as a potential biotechnological tool for improving phytostabilization efficiency and plant tolerance to heavy metal-contaminated soils. However, the mechanisms through which AMF help to alleviate metal toxicity in plants are still poorly understood. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of two AMF species on the growth, Pb accumulation, photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities of a leguminous tree at Pb addition levels of 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg kg-1 soil. AMF symbiosis decreased (...) Pb concentrations in the leaves and promoted the accumulation of biomass as well as photosynthetic pigment contents. Mycorrhizal plants had higher gas exchange capacity, non-photochemistry efficiency, and photochemistry efficiency compared with non-mycorrhizal plants. The enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidases and glutathione peroxidase were enhanced, and hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde contents were reduced in mycorrhizal plants. These findings suggested that AMF symbiosis could protect plants by alleviating cellular oxidative damage in response to Pb stress. Furthermore, mycorrhizal dependency on plants increased with increasing Pb stress levels, indicating that AMF inoculation likely played a more important role in plant Pb tolerance in heavily contaminated soils. Overall, both F. mosseae and R. intraradices were able to maintain efficient symbiosis with R. pseudoacacia in Pb polluted soils. AMF symbiosis can improve photosynthesis and reactive oxygen species scavenging capabilities and decrease Pb concentrations in leaves to alleviate Pb toxicity in R. pseudoacacia. Our results suggest that the application of the two AMF species associated with R. pseudoacacia could be a promising strategy for enhancing the phytostabilization efficiency of Pb contaminated soils. (shrink)

Individual health savings accounts are an important part of the current basic medical insurance system for urban workers in China. Since 1998 when the system of personal medical insurance accounts was first implemented, there has been considerable controversy over its function and significance within different social communities. This paper analyzes the main problems in the practical implementation of individual medical insurance accounts and discusses the social and cultural foundations for the establishment of family health savings accounts from the perspective of (...) Chinese Confucian familism. Accordingly, it addresses the direction of the reform and the development of the current system of individual health insurance accounts in China. (shrink)

Adaptation to climate change impacts is a key research topic in business ethics that poses substantial implications on the good lives of human beings. The commercial port sector is a highly relevant study focus with its pivotal roles in supply chains and international trade. Hence, it is important to investigate whether the port planning system and practice is appropriate in tackling climate change impacts. But beforehand, we must thoroughly understand the attitude and behaviors of port planners and operators on ports’ (...) climate adaptation planning. Through a survey towards 21 ports in Canada, the paper investigates the attitude and behaviors of port planners and operators on ports’ climate adaptation planning. Towards the end, we propose a new approach so as to enable port stakeholders to carry out climate adaptation planning effectively. The paper offers important insight to researchers to investigate the ways in developing effective climate adaptation plans and practice for ports and other business sectors. (shrink)

One kind of generalized measures called quantum measures on finite effect algebras, which fulfil the grade-2 additive sum rule, is considered. One basis of vector space of quantum measures on a finite effect algebra with the Riesz decomposition property (RDP for short) is given. It is proved that any diagonally positive symmetric signed measure \(\lambda \) on the tensor product \(E\otimes E\) can determine a quantum measure \(\mu \) on a finite effect algebra \(E\) with the RDP such that \(\mu (...) (x)=\lambda (x\otimes x)\) for any \(x\in E\) . Furthermore, some conditions for a grade-2 additive measure \(\mu \) on a finite effect algebra \(E\) are provided to guarantee that there exists a unique diagonally positive symmetric signed measure \(\lambda \) on \(E\otimes E\) such that \(\mu (x)=\lambda (x\otimes x)\) for any \(x\in E\) . At last, it is showed that any grade- \(t\) quantum measure on a finite effect algebra \(E\) with the RDP is essentially established by the values on a subset of \(E\). (shrink)

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the activity of the human glymphatic system in type 2 diabetes mellitus using diffusion tensor image analysis along with the perivascular space.Methods: Diffusion tensor images were acquired to calculate the diffusivities in the direction of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis of the plane of the lateral ventricle body in 20 patients with type 2 diabetes and 10 people in a control group. We evaluated the diffusivity along with the perivascular spaces, as well as the projection (...) fibers and association fibers, separately. The analysis along the perivascular space was defined as the mean /mean, where the Dxpro and Dxasc were the Dx values in the projection and association fiber areas, respectively.Results: There were significant differences in diffusivity along the projection fibers and the association fibers among the groups. The significant differences among the groups along the perivascular spaces, shown as the ALPS-index and medical history of T2DM, indicating lower water diffusivity along the perivascular space concerning type 2 diabetes severity, was also observed.Conclusion: Lower diffusivity along the perivascular space on DTI-APLS can reflect impairment of the glymphatic system in T2DM. This study showed that the activity of the glymphatic system could be evaluated by diffusion tensor image analysis. (shrink)

Quantum B-algebras, the partially ordered implicational algebras arising as subreducts of quantales, are introduced axiomatically. It is shown that they provide a unified semantic for non-commutative algebraic logic. Specifically, they cover the vast majority of implicational algebras like BCK-algebras, residuated lattices, partially ordered groups, BL- and MV-algebras, effect algebras, and their non-commutative extensions. The opposite of the category of quantum B-algebras is shown to be equivalent to the category of logical quantales, in the way that every quantum B-algebra admits a (...) natural embedding into a logical quantale, the enveloping quantale. Partially defined products of algebras related to effect algebras are handled efficiently in this way. The unit group of the enveloping quantale of a quantum B-algebra X is shown to be always contained in X, which gives a functorial subgroup X× of X. Similar subfunctors are obtained for the non-commutative extensions of BCK-algebras and effect algebras. The results of Galatos, Jónsson, and Tsinakis on the splitting of generalized BL-algebras into a semidirect product of a partially ordered group operating on an integral residuated poset are extended to a characterization of twisted semidirect products of a po-group by a quantum B-algebra. (shrink)

In this paper, we prove that there exist computably enumerable degrees a and b such that $\mathbf{a} > \mathbf{b}$ and for any degree x, if x ≤ a and x is a minimal degree, then $\mathbf{x}.

Automated reasoning issues are addressed for a finite lattice-valued propositional logic LnP(X) with truth-values in a finite lattice-valued logical algebraic structure—lattice implication algebra. We investigate extended strategies and rules from classical logic to LnP(X) to simplify the procedure in the semantic level for testing the satisfiability of formulas in LnP(X) at a certain truth-value level α (α-satisfiability) while keeping the role of truth constant formula played in LnP(X). We propose a lock resolution method at a certain truth-value level α (α-lock (...) resolution) in LnP(X) and have proved its theorems of soundness and weak completeness, respectively. We provide more efficient resolution based automated reasoning in LnP(X) and key supports for α-resolution-based automated reasoning approaches and algorithms in lattice based linguistic truth-valued logic. (shrink)

In this note we shall show that if L is a balanced pseudocomplemented Ockham algebra then the set ${\fancyscript{I}_{k}(L)}$ of kernel ideals of L is a Heyting lattice that is isomorphic to the lattice of congruences on B(L) where ${B(L) = \{x^* | x \in L\}}$ . In particular, we show that ${\fancyscript{I}_{k}(L)}$ is boolean if and only if B(L) is finite, if and only if every kernel ideal of L is principal.

Specifically, the aim of this study is to see the role and correlation between transformational and transactional leadership with effective followership. Using multiple regression, research found that transformational leadership had positive and significant correlation with effective followership but transactional leadership didn’t have significant effect. Regression model proves that transformational and transactional can be used to predict effective followership.  .

Maudemarie Clark adalah salah satu dari sekian akademisi yang cukup tekun menggeluti teks-teks Nietzsche dalam 20 tahun terakhir ini. Buku pertamanya berjudul Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy juga diterbitkan oleh Oxford University Press pada tahun 1990. Sejak saat itu, Clark sering menuliskan kajian-kajiannya mengenai Nietzsche pada berbagai antologi buku maupun jurnal, termasuk Journal of Nietzsche Studies (New York: Penn State University Press). Salah satu kekhasan pendekatan Clark adalah pendekatan kombinasinya yang bercorak analitis. Ia menamakannya kombinasi karena ia mengambil (...) unsur-unsur pendekatan tradisional (Walter Kaufmann dan John Wilcox) dan pendekatan Nietzsche Baru (Alexander Nehamas dan Sarah Kofmann) seraya menganalisisnya dengan gaya analitis (seperti Arthur Danto dan Bern Magnus). Dan hasilnya adalah suatu kajian simpatik mengenai filsafat Nietzsche yang berkaitan erat dengan perkembangan sains, pendidikan, etika, dan politik terkini. Dua tema terakhir itulah (etika dan politik) yang menjadi tema besar buku terbarunya, Nietzsche on Ethics and Politics (NEP). Tentu saja kajian Clark ini menarik karena bertentangan dengan pandangan umum yang sering dikenakan kepada Nietzsche: imoralis dan apolitis. NEP sendiri sebetulnya terdiri dari empat belas artikel yang telah disusun secara terpisah oleh Clark entah sebagai artikel jurnal, konferensi, ataupun kuliah. Namun, untuk memudahkan pembaca, Clark menggolongkan keempat belas artikel tersebut ke dalam tiga topik besar, yakni etika, politik, dan metafisika. Melalui dua tema tersebutetika dan politikClark menghadirkan tafsiran tak lazim atas teks-teks Nietzsche. Meski demikian, tafsiran ter sebut bukanlah hal yang baru di kalangan akademisi Nietzschean yang berkembang pesat dalam satu dekade terakhir ini. Misalnya, tafsir yang memprioritaskan nilai-nilai aristokratis ketimbang institusi/tatanan politik aristokratis sekurang-kurangnya telah muncul sejak tahun 1990-an seperti yang dipaparkan oleh Ted Sadler dalam buku Nietzsche: Truth and Redemption (London: Athlone Press, 1995). Dalam buku tersebut, Sadler mengistilahkannya dengan roh aristokratis yang dibedakan dengan dua jenis roh lainnya: roh kelas jelata dan roh kelas menengah. Selain itu, format NPE sebagai kumpulan esai-esai Clark lebih menekankan kekayaan sudut pandang ataupun kritik atas tafsiran umum mengenai etika dan politik Nietzschean ketimbang kedalaman argumentasi akan suatu isu tertentu. Penekanan tersebut tampak ketika Clark membahas pandangan-pandangan para komentator Nietzsche kontemporer (khususnya Anglo-Amerika), seperti: Lawrence J. Hatab, Bernard Williams, Allan Bloom, Keith Ansell-Pearson, Julian Young, dan Brian Leiter. Meski demikian, NPE menawarkan posisi tafsir yang cukup kokoh karena Clark menunjukkan secara langsung teks-teks Nietzsche yang menjadi sumber rujukannya. Tentu saja iklim tersebut baik guna membuka polemik dan variasi pemahaman yang lebih teruji seiring waktu. (Yulius Tandyanto, Mahasiswa, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta.). (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Great Synthesis of Wang Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok) by Edward Y.J. ChungMaria Hasfeldt Long (bio)The Great Synthesis of Wang Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok). By Edward Y.J. Chung. Landham: Lexington Books, 2020. Pp. vii+ 351. Hardcover $137.00, isbn 978-1-7936-1469-8. The Korean Neo-Confucian tradition during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) was dominated (...) by the orthodox Sŏngnihak (School of Human Nature and Principle), which is also known as the Chŏngjuhak (Cheng–Zhu School). This school of Neo-Confucianism followed the doctrines and teachings of the Great Synthesizer Zhu Xi (1130–1200) to such a point that other Neo-Confucian schools were labeled as wrong and even persecuted until the late nineteenth century. One of these schools was Simhak (School of the Mind/Heart) established by the Chinese scholar Wang Yangming (1472–1529), which during the Ming dynasty (1382–1644) had grown to rival the Cheng–Zhu school. However, the academic-political power of the Cheng–Zhu school in Korea managed to suppress Yangming scholarship and maintain dominance throughout the dynasty. Despite that, a few scholars did take up the scholarship of Simhak in Korea, with the most influential being Chŏng Chedu, also known as Hagok (1649–1736) (p. 4). In his book, The Great Synthesis of Wang Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok), Edward Y.J. Chung presents not only an annotated translation of Hagok's main writings but also a look into intellectual scholarship that opposed the orthodoxy of the Cheng–Zhu school of Korea. This in-depth study and translation of Hagok into English was motivated by the lack of attention in Western scholarship on Korean Neo-Confucianism. It presents a study that goes beyond the three most famous scholars, Yi Hwang T'oegye (1501–1570), Yi I Yulgok (1536–1584), and Chŏng Yagyong Tasan (1762–1836), who founded the three mainstream schools of the Chosŏn dynasty. According to Chung, Hagok's writing not only represents important aspects of intellectual history but also serves as a fourth and lesser-known school of Korean Neo-Confucian thinking that should be placed on the same level as the other three. Unlike other Korean scholars who tried to take up the Yangming doctrine, Hagok did not care that the doctrine was prohibited. This set him apart from other scholars. Despite the Cheng–Zhu school being the "right learning," Hagok did not agree with the majority of it and based his theories on the Yangming doctrine. Although Hagok openly followed the Yangming doctrine, he did not do so blindly. [End Page 1] Hagok was aware that Yangming's theories had their flaws and he agreed with some theories of the Cheng–Zhu school (p. 7–8). This resulted in him trying to synthesize the two schools into one harmonious doctrine, which is why Chung believes Hagok to be important and has undertaken the task of bringing attention to this Korean scholar. Consisting of two distinct parts, Chung gives the reader a solid introduction to Hagok and his main theories via the selected translations from his most influential text, Chonŏn, which can be translated into "testament" or "living words." The first part of the book is divided into notes on the translation itself, such as transliteration, citation style, abbreviations, and, more importantly, how and why Chung selected the sections of the Chonŏn that have been translated. Through the selection, translation, annotation, and discussion of forty-one important essays from Chonŏn's three parts, Chung wishes to show the heart of Hagok's Neo-Confucian thought (p. x). The Chonŏn is not organized according to any thematic system and consists of different paragraphs, notes, and comments. Chung has, therefore, chosen which parts to translate in order to best portray Hagok's interpretation of the key concepts, the theories found in the Yangming Neo-Confucianism, and Hagok's criticism of Zhu Xi and T'oegye. All of this is properly introduced and explained in... (shrink)

Buku berjudul The Problems of Contemporary Philosophy: A Critical Guide for the Unaffiliated patut dibaca untuk memahami perdebatan dalam filsafat kontemporer. Buku ini ditulis oleh dua profesor filsafat yang berlatarbelakang dari tradisi analitik maupun tradisi kontinental. Paul Livingston adalah profesor filsafat di University of New Mexico. Ia mendalami filsafat kesadaran (mind), filsafat bahasa, fenomenologi, filsafat politik, serta menaruh minat besar pada filsafat ilmu. Beberapa karyanya: The Logic of Being: Realism, Truth, and Time (Northwestern, 2017); The Politics of Logic: Badiou, (...) Wittgenstein, and the Consequence of Formalism (Routledge, 2011); Philosophy and the Vision of Language (Routledge, 2008); serta Philosophical History and the Problem of Consciousness (Cambridge, 2004). Penulis kedua, Andrew Cutrofello, adalah profesor filsafat di Loyola University of Chicago. Cutrofello mengkhususkan ranah penelitiannya pada Kant, Hegel, dan filsafat kontinental. Saat ini, Cutrofello sedang menggeluti soal titik temu antara filsafat dan kesusasteraan, khususnya puisi-puisi berbahasa Inggris. Karya-karya Cutrofello di antaranya: Beyond the Analytic-Continental Divide: Pluralist Philosophy in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2015)—buku yang disunting bersama Jeffrey Bell dan Paul Livingston; All for Nothing: Hamlet’s Negativity (MIT, 2014); dan Continental Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2005). Dalam ranah filsafat kontemporer, Livingston dan Cutrofello berupaya mengembangkan suatu filsafat “majemuk,” yang berupaya melampaui pemisahan antara tradisi analitik dan tradisi kontinental. Proyek itu pulalah yang mewarnai dan menjadi tema utama buku The Problems of Contemporary Philosophy—selanjutnya disingkat PCP...... Sebagai catatan, keterbatasan PCP sebagaimana diakui oleh Livingston dan Cutrefello sendiri terletak pada fokus dan pembatasan mengenai persoalan-persoalan filosofis itu sendiri. Kedua penulis tersebut memusatkan perhatian pada beberapa persoalan mendasar yang menarik perhatian para filsuf kontemporer. Karena itu, Livingston dan Cutrefello tidak menawarkan sebuah pemetaan komprehensif dan utuh mengenai semua persoalan filosofis. Keterbatasan lainnya juga terletak pada pembahasan yang berorientasi seputar filsafat Eropa dan Anglo-Amerika sehingga meminggirkan tradisi-tradisi lainnya. Bahkan, pembahasan Livingston dan Cutrefello secara eksklusif terpusat pada filsafat-filsafat yang ditulis atau diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggris saja sehingga mengecualikan berbagai kajian filsafat di luar bahasa Inggris. (Yulius Tandyanto, Alumnus Pascasarjana Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta). (shrink)

Buku berjudul Franz Magnis Suseno: Sosok dan Pemikirannya, berisi tiga belas artikel yang terdiri dari empat artikel mengenai sosok Franz Magnis-Suseno, lima artikel mengenai pemikiran Magnis, dan empat artikel sebagai catatan, ditulis oleh beliau-beliau yang tidak diragukan lagi profesionalisme mereka. Baiklah kini dimulai dengan mengulas dahulu lima pokok pemikiran yang secara singkat dapat disebut secara tematis: 1) tentang Pancasila, 2) tentang Etika Dialog, 3) tentang sosok agama modern, 4) tentang menalar Tuhan dari dunia, 5) tentang pendekatan ilmiah (...) sesuai teori multijagat dan celah kuantum bagi Tuhan. Ternyata urutan pengulasan tidak sesuai dengan urutan dalam buku, agak mengalami perubahan karena pertimbangan tematik yang runtut.... Komaruddin Hidayat menyebut Magnis sebagai pejuang moral dan pembela hak azasi manusia. Bukankah kekuatan agama menjadi sumber moral dan penggerak masyarakat dalam bidang pendidikan, ekonomi dan lingkungan hidup demi timbulnya kelas menengah yang mandiri? Anjurannya sebaiknya ormas-ormas agama mengambil jarak dari per- mainan politik praktis, dan tidak menjadi bagian birokrasi dan politisi Lele yang sangat menikmati kondisi air keruh yang berlumpur. Kami ingat pepatah memancing di air keruh. Salah satu pemakalah F. Budi Hardiman menyebutkan bahwa Magnis tidak menempuh spiritualitas jalan mistik, meskipun mengawali pengalaman hidup intelektual di Indonesia lewat etika Jawa dan mau tidak mau berurusan dengan wayang, tetapi lebih wayang purwa terkait dengan kejawen atau kebatinan. Pada makalah perihal Etika Dialog pula disebutkan oleh Budi Hardiman bahwa di Indonesia ada jalan lain untuk mengupayakan titik temu agama-agama, yaitu jalan mistik. Memang bila dikembalikan pada bentuk bentuk spiritualitas, spiritualitas mistik yang tidak menjadi pilihan, lebih pada spiritualitas religius, kosmik dan humanistik. Ini merupakan catatan pada ulasan Sudiarja. Kini pemakalah pertama yang disebut terakhir ialah Al. Andang L Binawan yang menarik ulasannya perihal riwayat hidup dan panggilan Magnis, dan penting menyebutkan pada usia 11 tahun sudah berniat menjadi Jesuit, meskipun sempat diuraikan dengan simpatik Magnis kurang suka latihan doa panjang-panjang malah lebih suka latihan musik, dan hobby naik gunung hingga sekarang masih tapi sudah berkurang. Ia juga menguasai dua hal yang perlu baginya ialah Marxisme dan Kromo Inggil. Baginya Tuhan adalah kebenaran, keadilan dan kasih. (Toeti Heraty N. Roosseno, Guru Besar Emeritus Ilmu Filsafat, Universitas Indonesia). (shrink)

Tidak bisa disangkal bahwa filsafat Barat dewasa ini hampir identik dengan wacana filosofis (philosophical discourse), berupa konsep, teori, atau sistem, yang umumnya berkembang dinamis dan dipelajari sebagai disiplin keilmuan dalam lingkungan akademis melalui satuan kurikulum perguruan tinggi modern. Maka tidak mengherankan bila filsafat cenderung identik dengan filsafat akademis (academic philosophy). Namun berkat dua buku Pierre Hadot (1922-2010) kita terbantu untuk menyadari hilangnya sebagian besar pemahaman filsafat itu sendiri terutama wawasan klasik yang mengungkapkan fokus utama penghayatan maupun lintasan peralihan (...) fokus utama tersebut dalam perkembangan sejarah. Hadot berpendapat bahwa filsafat pada awalnya adalah bios atau way of life (manie de vivre). Filsafat sebagai way of life terungkap dalam serangkaian latihan rohani (melete dalam arti Platonis, askesis dalam arti Stoa dan Kekristenan Yunani, atau exercitium spirituale dalam arti Kekristenan Latin awal), dengan mengembangkan berbagai wacana filosofis sebagai sarana panduan untuk membentuk (to form) alih-alih hanya menginformasikan (to inform) pilihan hidup dan kebebasan eksistensial seseorang menurut bingkai penghayatannya dalam sekolah filsafat. Tujuannya adalah memandu pilihan hidup dan mengembangkan kebebasan eksistensial mereka sesuai kodrat insaninya (phusis tou anthropou), seperti menguasai diri (enkrateia) atau kemandirian diri (autarkheia) di hadapan pengaruh eksternal, serta menyadari tempat (topos) mereka dalam kosmos (phusis tou kosmou). Nilai absolut aktivitas berfilsafat lebih menekankan tindakan baik alih-alih mengetahui kebaikan. Berwacana filosofis tanpa pembalikan sekaligus penentuan arah baru (peristrophe - periagoge) melalui pelatihan rohani hanya akan membentuk seseorang menjadi sofistik atau ahli retorika alih-alih sosok filsuf. Pihak pertama dalam sejarah Yunani antik abad kelima dan keempat SM memang dikenal sebagai sosok terpelajar yang licin bersilat kata (elenkhos) memperdagangkan seni kecakapan dan pengetahuan demi memuaskan hasrat ego. Namun, pihak terakhir sosok filsuf selalu sadar akan ketidaktahuan maupun kekurangan diri (bahwa ia bukan sage atau orang bijak) sehingga ia selalu memandu hasratnya untuk terus mencintai dan mendekatkan diri ke arah kebijaksanaan. Hadot berupaya menjelaskan pandangannya, filsafat sebagai way of life, setidaknya melalui dua pembacaan. Dalam PWL (4 bagian dan 11 bab), ia membingkai pandangannya melalui pembacaan eksegese untuk menguraikan klaimnya dengan mengembangkan metode, materi, tokoh, dan tema terkait. Dalam PAW (3 bagian dan 12 bab), ia mengembangkan pembacaan eksegesenya dengan menelusuri fenomena kerohanian dalam sejarah filsafat Barat, meliputi awal kemunculannya pada era antik, peralihannya pada monastisisme Kristen, keterputusannya pada Abad Pertengahan, dan jejak kesinambungannya pada era modern. [] Akhirnya, dalam PWL dan PAW, Hadot benar-benar menyajikan bingkai pemahaman yang kokoh terhadap klaimnya mengenai filsafat sebagai way of life, termasuk implikasinya dalam merangsang diskusi lebih lanjut baik untuk mengungkap persetujuan atau bantahan maupun kemungkinan alternatif atas klaim tersebut berdasarkan sumber teks serupa. Selain itu, layak untuk diperhatikan bahwa melalui uraiannya yang rinci dan seksama dalam mendekati setiap konteks lintasan filsafat seturut Sitz im Leben, Hadot rupanya juga menawarkan pesan inspiratif dan relevan bagi pembaca budiman ahli, pengajar, pelajar, peminat filsafat, atau siapa saja yang selalu berhasrat mencintai kebijaksanaan untuk bertanya: apa makna berfilsafat dewasa ini? (Haryanto Cahyadi, peneliti filsafat dari Keuskupan Timika, Papua.). (shrink)

Membaca buku yang terbit dalam Brills Series in Church History ini mempesona. Buku ini begitu menarik karena menggariskan perjalanan intelektual dan teologis Gereja Katolik sejak Revolusi Prancis (1789-95) dan kekalahan Napoleon (1815) sampai ke tahun 2013, tahun Paus Benedikt XVI mengundurkan diri. Padahal 200 tahun itu adalah tahun-tahun terwujudnya modernitas. Maka buku ini memaparkan dan menganalisa bagaimana Gereja Katolik dan teologinya menghadapi modernitas. Di atas hanya 220 halaman para penulis memperkenalkan pembaca secara ketat, tetapi jelas dan rinci, dengan perkembangan (...) amat dramatis teologi Katolik, dengan peranselalu peran kuncipara Paus, para teolog dan aliran-aliran teologi Katolik utama. Suatu perjalanan yang mulai dengan penolakan total Gereja terhadap modernitas, melalui tu-nas-tunas pembaruan sesudah perang dunia pertama yang akhirnya bermuara dalam pembukaan diri Gereja terhadap cita-cita manusia masa kini dalam Konsili Vatikan II (1962-65), namun pembukaan mana justru membawa Gereja ke dalam suatu krisis baru. Modernitas yang dibahas dalam buku ini mulai dengan revolusi intelektual yang namanya pencerahan dengan segala macam kejutan: Rasionalisme, liberalisme dan sekularisme sebagai ideologi politik baru. Nasionalisme sebagai kekuatan politik amat dahsyat. Restorasi monarki-monarki sesudah kekalahan Napoleon, gerakan-gerakan populis-nasionalisseperti Risorgimento yang akan mempersatukan Italia, dengan sekaligus menghapus Negara Kepausan yang sudah berumur seribu tahun. Dua perang dunia di abad ke-20 yang mengubah wajah Eropa dan akhirnya membongkar kolonialisme dan imperialisme Eropa. Munculnya ideologi-ideologi sekuler keras seperti komunisme dan fasisme. Perang dingin dan anarki sesudah perang dingin selesai. Para penulis berhasil menempatkan Gereja dalam pusaran global itu. Mereka menunjukkan bagaimana Gereja di bawah Paus Gregor XVI (1831-46), di bawah syok Revolusi Prancis, mengambil sikap konfrontatif total terhadap modernitas, menolak tuntutan demokrasi, kebebasan beragama dan perpisahan antara Gereja dan Negara. Konsili Vatikan I (1869-70) di mana penolakan itu memuncak dibahas secara rinci dengan latar belakangnya dan keanekaan aliran teologis yang sebenarnya kompleks, dan bagaimana Gereja Katolik mendefinisikan diri sebagai Gereja Kepausan. Kita mengikuti bagaimana Gereja kemudian mau mengamankan diri dari tantangan pemikiran filsafat modern dengan menetapkan neo-skolastik sebagai filsafat dan teologi resmi Gereja, bagaimana obsesi anti-modernisme mencapai puncaknya di bawah Paus Pius X (1903-14). Kita membaca tentang ultramontanisme, gerakan Oxford, perhimpunan ekstrem kanan Prancis Action Catholique (yang akhirnya dibubarkan oleh Paus Pius XI [1922-1939]), dan juga tentang Sodalitium Pianum (Persaudaraan Pius), suatu jaringan rahasia yang memata-matai para dosen teologi dan filsafat, yang kalau dicurigai ketularan modernisme dilaporkan ke Roma, lalu dipecat (ada sekitar lima puluh dosen yang disingkirkan sebagai terjangkit modernisme). Kita menyaksikan gerakan-gerakan pembaruan yang muncul sesudah PD I seperti gerakan liturgis, gerakan biblis, gerakan ekumenis, para imam buruh dan nouvelle theologie (teologi baru, yang meski 1949 dilarang oleh Paus Pius XII (1939-58) namun akan memberi dorongan-dorongan kunci pada pembaruan Gereja dalam Konsili Vatikan II).... Gambaran Gereja 2013 pada permulaan Kepausan Fransiskus dalam buku ini berkesan ambivalen. Sebenarnya pimpinanPaus, para Uskupmendasarkan diri pada paham Gereja Konsili Vatikan II. Tetapi reformasi struktur pemerintahan Gereja tetap macet. Tentang banyak masalah rincikeluarga berencana, selibat wajib, kemungkinan pe-nahbisan perempuan menjadi imam, desentralisasi kekuasaan, peng-angkatan uskup atau peresmian teks-teks liturgi bagi Gereja lokal, misalnya terdapat perbedaan-perbedaan pandangan serius antara banyak teolog Katolik dengan Vatikan. Padahal Gereja adalah komunitas ber-iman yang dibangun atas keyakinan bahwa Gereja adalah ruang di mana kita bertemu dengan, dan dibimbing oleh, Yesus Kristus. Kekuasaan yang dipegang oleh Paus semata-mata harus demi menunjang panggilan Gereja itu. Kalau dalam umat terjadi kesan bahwa pimpinan Gereja memakai kekuasaan yang ada di tangannya untuk mempertahankan struktur-struktur kekuasaan yang tidak lagi dapat dilegitimasi atas dasar Injil, kredibilitas Gereja sendiri bisa mengalami kemerosotan. Barangkali keengganan Vatikan untuk mengadakan reformasi nyata bukan karena Vatikan masih, untuk sebagian, terperangkap oleh gambaran Gereja Vatikan I, sebagaimana disindir dalam buku ini, melainkanmengikuti kritik ideologi Karl Marxkarena Vatikan, seperti setiap aparat, seakan-akan dengan sendirinya mati-matian mau mempertahankan kekuasaan. Apakah Paus Fransiskus yang telah membawa angin baru ke dalam Vatikan akan membawa perubahan? (Franz Magnis-Suseno, Program Pascasarjana, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta). (shrink)

The analysis of a previous paper (see Ref. 1), in which the possibility of a Finslerian generalization of the equations of motion of gravitational field sources was demonstrated, is extended by developing the Finslerian generalization of the gravitational field equations on the basis of the complete contractionK = K lj lj of the Finslerian curvature tensorK l j hk (x, y). The relevant Lagrangian is constructed by the replacement of the directional variabley i inK by a vector fieldy i (x), (...) so that the notion of osculation may be regarded as the key concept on which the approach is based. The introduction of the auxiliary vector fieldy i (x) is shown to be of physical significance, for the field equations refer not only to the proper field variables but also to a special coordinate system associated withy i (x) through the Clebsch representation of the latter. The status of the conservation laws proves to be similar to that in the theory of the Yang-Mills field. By choosing a special Finslerian metric function we elucidate in detail the structure of the field equations in the static case. (shrink)

ABSTRACT I argue that this examination and appreciation for the shift to abductive reasoning should be extended to the intersection of neuroscience and novel brain-computer interfaces too. This paper highlights the implications of applying abductive reasoning to personalized implantable neurotechnologies. Then, it explores whether abductive reasoning is sufficient to justify insurance coverage for devices absent widespread clinical trials, which are better applied to one-size-fits-all treatments. INTRODUCTION In contrast to the classic model of randomized-control trials, often with a large number of (...) subjects enrolled, precision medicine attempts to optimize therapeutic outcomes by focusing on the individual.[i] A recent publication highlights the strengths and weakness of both traditional evidence-based medicine and precision medicine.[ii] Plus, it outlines a tension in the shift from evidence-based medicine’s inductive reasoning style (the collection of data to postulate general theories) to precision medicine’s abductive reasoning style (the generation of an idea from the limited data available).[iii] The paper’s main example is the application of precision medicine for the treatment of cancer.[iv] I argue that this examination and appreciation for the shift to abductive reasoning should be extended to the intersection of neuroscience and novel brain-computer interfaces too. As the name suggests, brain-computer interfaces are a significant advancement in neurotechnology that directly connects someone’s brain to external or implanted devices.[v] Among the various kinds of brain-computer interfaces, adaptive deep brain stimulation devices require numerous personalized adjustments to their settings during the implantation and computation stages in order to provide adequate relief to patients with treatment-resistant disorders. What makes these devices unique is how adaptive deep brain stimulation integrates a sensory component to initiate the stimulation. While not commonly at the level of sophistication as self-supervising or generative large language models,[vi] they currently allow for a semi-autonomous form of neuromodulation. This paper highlights the implications of applying abductive reasoning to personalized implantable neurotechnologies. Then, it explores whether abductive reasoning is sufficient to justify insurance coverage for devices absent widespread clinical trials, which are better applied to one-size-fits-all treatments.[vii] ANALYSIS I. The State of Precision Medicine in Oncology and the Epistemological Shift While a thorough overview of precision medicine for the treatment of cancer is beyond the scope of this article, its practice can be roughly summarized as identifying clinically significant characteristics a patient possesses (e.g., genetic traits) to land on a specialized treatment option that, theoretically, should benefit the patient the most.[viii] However, in such a practice of stratification patients fall into smaller and smaller populations and the quality of evidence that can be applied to anyone outside these decreases in turn.[ix] As inductive logic helps to articulate, the greater the number of patients that respond to a particular therapy the higher the probability of its efficacy. By straying from this logical framework, precision medicine opens the treatment of cancer to more uncertainty about the validity of these approaches to the resulting disease subcategories.[x] Thus, while contemporary medical practices explicitly describe some treatments as “personalized”, they ought not be viewed as inherently better founded than other therapies.[xi] A relevant contemporary case of precision medicine out of Norway focuses on the care of a patient with cancer between the ventricles of the heart and esophagus, which had failed to respond to the standard regimen of therapies over four years.[xii] In a last-ditch effort, the patient elected to pay out-of-pocket for an experimental immunotherapy (nivolumab) at a private hospital. He experienced marked improvements and a reduction in the size of the tumor. Understandably, the patient tried to pursue further rounds of nivolumab at a public hospital. However, the hospital initially declined to pay for it given the “lack of evidence from randomised clinical trials for this drug relating to this [patient’s] condition.”[xiii] In rebuttal to this claim, the patient countered that he was actually similar to a subpopulation of patients who responded in “open‐label, single arm, phase 2 studies on another immune therapy drug” (pembrolizumab).[xiv] Given this interpretation of the prior studies and the patient’s response, further rounds of nivolumab were approved. Had the patient not had improvements in the tumor’s size following a round of nivolumab, then pembrolizumab’s prior empirical evidence in isolation would have been insufficient, inductively speaking, to justify his continued use of nivolumab.[xv] The case demonstrates a shift in reasoning from the traditional induction to abduction. The phenomenon of ‘cancer improvement’ is considered causally linked to nivolumab and its underlying physiological mechanisms.[xvi] However, “the weakness of abductions is that there may always be some other better, unknown explanation for an effect. The patient may for example belong to a special subgroup that spontaneously improves, or the change may be a placebo effect. This does not mean, however, that abductive inferences cannot be strong or reasonable, in the sense that they can make a conclusion probable.”[xvii] To demonstrate the limitations of relying on the abductive standard in isolation, commentators have pointed out that side effects in precision medicine are hard to rule out as being related to the initial intervention itself unless trends from a group of patients are taken into consideration.[xviii] As artificial intelligence (AI) assists the development of precision medicine for oncology, this uncertainty ought to be taken into consideration. The implementation of AI has been crucial to the development of precision medicine by providing a way to combine large patient datasets or a single patient with a large number of unique variables with machine learning to recommend matches based on statistics and probability of success upon which practitioners can base medical recommendations.[xix] The AI is usually not establishing a causal relationship[xx] – it is predicting. So, as AI bleeds into medical devices, like brain-computer interfaces, the same cautions about using abductive reasoning alone should be carried over. II. Responsive Neurostimulation, AI, and Personalized Medicine Like precision medicine in cancer treatment, computer-brain interface technology similarly focuses on the individual patient through personalized settings. In order to properly expose the intersection of AI, precision medicine, abductive reasoning, and implantable neurotechnologies, the descriptions of adaptive deep brain stimulation systems need to deepen.[xxi] As a broad summary of adaptive deep brain stimulation, to provide a patient with the therapeutic stimulation, a neural signal, typically referred to as a local field potential,[xxii] must first be detected and then interpreted by the device. The main adaptive deep brain stimulation device with premarket approval, the NeuroPace Responsive Neurostimulation system, is used to treat epilepsy by detecting and storing “programmer-defined phenomena.”[xxiii] Providers can optimize the detection settings of the device to align with the patient’s unique electrographic seizures as well as personalize the reacting stimulation’s parameters.[xxiv] The provider adjusts the technology based on trial and error. One day machine learning algorithms will be able to regularly aid this process in myriad ways, such as by identifying the specific stimulation settings a patient may respond to ahead of time based on their electrophysiological signatures.[xxv] Either way, with AI or programmers, adaptive neurostimulation technologies are individualized and therefore operate in line with precision medicine rather than standard treatments based on large clinical trials. Contemporary neurostimulation devices are not usually sophisticated enough to be prominent in AI discussions where the topics of neural networks, deep learning, generative models, and self-attention dominate the conversation. However, implantable high-density electrocorticography arrays (a much more sensitive version than adaptive deep brain stimulation systems use) have been used in combination with neural networks to help patients with neurologic deficits from a prior stroke “speak” through a virtual avatar.[xxvi] In some experimental situations, algorithms are optimizing stimulation parameters with increasing levels of independence.[xxvii] An example of neurostimulation that is analogous to the use of nivolumab in Norway surrounds a patient in the United States who was experiencing both treatment-resistant OCD and temporal lobe epilepsy.[xxviii]Given the refractory nature of her epilepsy, implantation of an adaptive deep brain stimulation system was indicated. As a form of experimental therapy, her treatment-resistant OCD was also indicated for the off-label use of an adaptive deep brain stimulation set-up. Another deep brain stimulation lead, other than the one implanted for epilepsy, was placed in the patient’s right nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum region given the correlation these nuclei had with OCD symptoms in prior research. Following this, the patient underwent “1) ambulatory, patient-initiated magnet-swipe storage of data during moments of obsessive thoughts; (2) lab-based, naturalistic provocation of OCD-related distress (naturalistic provocation task); and (3) lab-based, VR [virtual reality] provocation of OCD-related distress (VR provocation task).”[xxix] Such signals were used to identify when to deliver the therapeutic stimulation in order to counter the OCD symptoms. Thankfully, following the procedure and calibration the patient exhibited marked improvements in their OCD symptoms and recently shared her results publicly.[xxx] In both cases, there is a similar level of abductive justification for the efficacy of the delivered therapy. In the case study in which the patient was treated with adaptive deep brain stimulation, they at least had their neural activity tested in various settings to determine the optimum parameters for treatment to avoid them being based on guesswork. Additionally, the adaptive deep brain stimulation lead was already placed before the calibration trials were conducted, meaning that the patient had already taken on the bulk of the procedural risk before the efficacy could be determined. Such an efficacy test could have been replicated in the first patient’s cancer treatment, had it been biopsied and tested against the remaining immunotherapies in vitro. Yet, in the case of cancer with few options, one previous dose of a drug that appeared to work on the patient may justify further doses. However, as the Norwegian case presents, corroboration with known responses to a similar drug (from a clinical trial) could be helpful to validate the treatment strategy. (It should be noted that both patients were resigned to these last resort options regardless of the efficacy of treatment.) There are some elements of inductive logic seen with adaptive deep brain stimulation research in general. For example, abductively the focus could be that patient X’s stimulation parameters are different from patient Y’s and patient Z’s. In contrast, when grouped as subjects who obtained personalized stimulation, patients X, Y, and Z demonstrate an inductive aspect to this approach’s safety and/or efficacy. The OCD case holds plenty of abductive characteristics in line with precision medicine’s approach to treating cancer and as more individuals try the method, there will be additional data. With the gradual integration of AI into brain-computer interfaces in the name of efficacy, this reliance on abduction will continue, if not grow, over time. Moving forward, if a responsive deep brain stimulation treatment is novel and individualized (like the dose of nivolumab) and there is some other suggestion of efficacy (like clinical similarities to other patients in the literature), then it may justify insurance coverage for the investigative intervention, absent other unrelated reasons to deny it. III. Ethical Implications and Next Steps While AI’s use in oncology and neurology is not yet as prominent as its use in other fields (e.g., radiology), it appears to be on the horizon for both.[xxxi] AI can be found in both the functioning of the neurotechnologies as well as the implementation of precision medicine. The increasing use of AI may serve to further individualize both oncologic and neurological therapies. Given these implications and the handful of publications cited in this article, it is important to have a nuanced evaluation of how these treatments, which heavily rely on abductive justification, ought to be managed. The just use an abductive approach may be difficult as AI infused precision medicine is further pursued. At baseline, such technology relies on a level of advanced technology literacy among the general public and could exclude populations who lack access to basic technological infrastructure or know-how from participation.[xxxii] Even among nations with adequate infrastructure, as more patients seek out implantable neurotechnologies, which require robust healthcare resources, the market will favor patient populations that can afford this complex care.[xxxiii] If patients already have the means to pay for an initial dose/use of a precision medicine product out of pocket, should insurance providers be required to cover subsequent treatments?[xxxiv] That is, if a first dose of a cancer drug or a deep brain stimulator over its initial battery life is successful, patients may feel justified in having the costs of further treatments covered. The Norwegian patient’s experience implies there is a precedent for the idea that some public insurance companies ought to cover successful cancer therapies, however, insurance companies may not all see themselves as obligated to cover neurotechnologies that rely on personalized settings or that are based on precision/abductive research more than on clinical trials. CONCLUSION The fact that the cases outlined above rely on abductive style of reasoning implies that there may not be as strong a justification for coverage by insurance, as they are both experimental and individualized, when compared to the more traditional large clinical trials in which groups have the same or a standardized protocol (settings/doses). If a study is examining the efficacy of a treatment with a large cohort of patients or with different experimental groups/phases, insurance companies may conclude that the resulting symptom improvements are more likely to be coming from the devices themselves. A preference for inductive justification may take priority when ruling in favor of funding someone’s continued use of an implantable neurostimulator. There are further nuances to this discussion surrounding the classifications of these interventions as research versus clinical care that warrant future exploration, since such a distinction is more of a scale[xxxv] than binary and could have significant impacts on the “right-to-try” approach to experimental therapies in the United States.[xxxvi] Namely, given the inherent limitations of conducting large cohort trials for deep brain stimulation interventions on patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, surgically innovative frameworks that blend abductive and inductive methodologies, like with sham stimulation phases, have traditionally been used.[xxxvii] Similarly, for adaptive brain-computer interface systems, if there are no large clinical trials and instead only publications that demonstrate that something similar worked for someone else, then, in addition to the evidence that the first treatment/dose worked for the patient in question, the balance of reasoning would be valid and arguably justify insurance coverage. As precision approaches to neurotechnology become more common, frameworks for evaluating efficacy will be crucial both for insurance coverage and for clinical decision making. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This article was originally written as an assignment for Dr. Francis Shen’s “Bioethics & AI” course at Harvard’s Center for Bioethics. I would like to thank Dr. Shen for his comments as well as my colleagues in the Lázaro-Muñoz Lab for their feedback. - [i] Jonathan Kimmelman and Ian Tannock, “The Paradox of Precision Medicine,” Nature Reviews. Clinical Oncology 15, no. 6 (June 2018): 341–42, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-018-0016-0. [ii] Henrik Vogt and Bjørn Hofmann, “How Precision Medicine Changes Medical Epistemology: A Formative Case from Norway,” Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 28, no. 6 (December 2022): 1205–12, https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13649. [iii] David Barrett and Ahtisham Younas, “Induction, Deduction and Abduction,” Evidence-Based Nursing 27, no. 1 (January 1, 2024): 6–7, https://doi.org/10.1136/ebnurs-2023-103873. [iv] Vogt and Hofmann, “How Precision Medicine Changes Medical Epistemology,” 1208. [v] Wireko Andrew Awuah et al., “Bridging Minds and Machines: The Recent Advances of Brain-Computer Interfaces in Neurological and Neurosurgical Applications,” World Neurosurgery, May 22, 2024, S1878-8750(24)00867-2, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2024.05.104. [vi] Mark Riedl, “A Very Gentle Introduction to Large Language Models without the Hype,” Medium (blog), May 25, 2023, https://mark-riedl.medium.com/a-very-gentle-introduction-to-large-language-models-without-the-hype-5 f67941fa59e. [vii] David E. Burdette and Barbara E. Swartz, “Chapter 4 - Responsive Neurostimulation,” in Neurostimulation for Epilepsy, ed. Vikram R. Rao (Academic Press, 2023), 97–132, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91702-5.00002-5. 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Okun et al., “Deep Brain Stimulation in the Internal Capsule and Nucleus Accumbens Region: Responses Observed during Active and Sham Programming,” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 78, no. 3 (March 1, 2007): 310–14, https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2006.095315. (shrink)

Orthomodular lattices with a two-valued Jauch–Piron state split into a generalized orthomodular lattice and its dual. GOMLs are characterized as a class of L-algebras, a quantum structure which arises in the theory of Garside groups, algebraic logic, and in connections with solutions of the quantum Yang–Baxter equation. It is proved that every GOML X embeds into a group G with a lattice structure such that the right multiplications in G are lattice automorphisms. Up to isomorphism, X is uniquely determined (...) by G, and the embedding \\) is a universal group-valued measure on X. (shrink)

In order to provide a unified framework for studying non-commutative algebraic logic, Rump and Yang used three axioms to define quantum B-algebras, which can be seen as implicational subreducts of quantales. Based on the work of Rump and Yang, in this paper we shall continue to investigate the properties of three axioms in quantum B-algebras. First, using two axioms we introduce the concept of generalized quantum B-algebras and prove that the opposite of the category GqBAlg of generalized quantum (...) B-algebras is equivalent to the category LogPQ of logical pre-quantales, but we can not prove that pre-quantales can be used as the injective objects in GqBAlg. Next, we use one axiom to propose the concept of C-algebras and show that a C-algebra is a group if and only if each of its elements is dualizing. Further, by dualizing elements of a C-algebra X, we can define different binary operations on X such that X is a moniod. Finally, we by the Zig–Zag relation discuss some properties of quantum B-algebras. (shrink)

Satu lagi, buku teologi (sosial) yang berbobot terbit! Berawal dari penelitian yang dimaksudkan untuk penyusunan disertasi pada The South East Asia Graduate School of Theology (SEAGST), 2004, Pendeta Gereja Masehi Injili di Halmahera, Julianus Mojau menyodorkannya kepada khalayak ramai di Indonesia. Argumen utama buku ini dapat diformulasikan dalam pertanyaan berikut ini: bagaimana model teologi sosial sebagaimana dihasilkan oleh tokoh-tokoh Kristen Protestan dan dokumen-dokumen yang meretas dari Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia selama kurun waktu tiga dasawarsa, konkretnya semasa pemerintahan (...) Orde Baru? Selama kurun waktu tersebut, Mojau mengenali tiga model teologi sosial di lingkungan Kristen Protestan, yakni teologi sosial modernisme, liberatif, dan pluralis. Ketiga model itu diuraikan dengan sangat runtut, gamblang, sistematis, kritis, berikut logika analitik yang memperlihatkan keluasan dan kedalaman wawasan penulis. Terminologi “teologi sosial” ramai dimanfaatkan dalam blantika percaturan keilmuan di lingkungan Kristen Protestan Indonesia setelah (alm.) Pendeta Eka Darmaputera, Bernard Adeney-Risakotta, Martin Lukito Sinaga, dan Th. Sumartana menggantangnya pada awal tahun 2000.Ditunjukkannyadengan sangat jelas, bahwa “praksis” yang mengawali suatu proses berteologi sudah muncul jauh sebelum angka tahun tersebut. Pada prinsipnya segala teologi adalah teologi sosial, menurut kesimpulan A.G. Hoekema, (hlm. xv), meskipun J.S. Aritonang memberikan batasan simpel dan meyakinkan, yang intinya: “Berteologi di tengah realitas sosial yang kompleks,” itulah Teologi Sosial, (hlm. xiii). Setelah Pendahuluan yang panjang (26 halaman), yang memaparkan duduk perkara dan hal ikhwal diskursus yang diusung, berturut-turut dari Bab 1 (tentang teologi sosial modernisme, hlm. 27-142), Bab 2 (tentang teologi sosial liberatif, hlm. 143-279) dan Bab 3 (teologi pluralis, hlm. 280-365), Bab 4 (retrospeksi dan prospek teologi sosial pasca Orde Baru, hlm. 366-403) penulis memperlihatkan kajian dan analisis secara kritis ketiga model kategori teologi sosial Kristen Protestan di Indonesia. Ketiga model teologi tersebut ditempatkan oleh penulis dalam babak Orde Baru Indonesia (tahun 1969-1990-an) di bawah rezim Soeharto dan dalam pertautannya dengan Islam Politik............... Sebagai paparan dan kajian ilmiah yang mengedepankan pandangan putera-puteri terbaik Kristen Protestan berikut dokumen-dokumen DGI/PGI, karya Mojau ini tidak mampu menyembunyikan keyakinannya bahwa kebangkitan Islam Politik hanyalah sebuah euforia artikulasi kesadaran politis-humanistis yang sedang mencari format yang cocok dalam perubahan zaman di tengah proses transisional. Justru karena itulah Gereja-gereja perlu merangkul dan membuka komunikasi serta dialog yang tulus dengan saudara-saudara penganut Islam Politik sebagai sesama yang merindukan kedamaian, kebaikan, dan keadilan. Perjuangan bersama itulah yang dimaksudkan agar politik sebagai kearifan menatalayani kehidupan bersama tercapai. Dalam pembacaan saya, buku ini sangat inspiratif, kaya dengan informasi, mengedepankan pandangan secara komprehensif tanpa menghilangkan sikap kritis dan tajam. Ini fenomenal dan monumental! Mungkin inilah satu-satunya karya yang “berani” mengritik karya T.B. Simatupang. Mojau sendiri, menurut saya, memperlihatkan diri sebagai pribadi yang memegang teguh spirit Protestan sejati, yakni selalu bersikap kritis terhadap segala bentuk deifikasi. Karya ini akan lebih baik lagi jika ada indeks nama atau masalah pada halaman-halaman akhir. Selain itu, istilah “modernisme” yang diimbuhkan pada Teologi Sosial di mata saya memiliki konotasi lain, yakni aliran modernisme yang dikecam oleh (alm.) Pius X sebagai “biang dari segala kesesatan.” Tetapi di atas segala-galanya, analisis Mojau yang tajam membuat lorong-lorong kebuntuan koeksistensi damai dan adil dengan Islam Politik dapat diurai. Dengan demikian tanda tanya pada judul buku ini terjawab dengan pasti. (A. Eddy Kristiyanto, Program Studi Ilmu Teologi, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta). (shrink)

It has been shown that the orbits of motion for a wide class of non-relativistic Hamiltonian systems can be described as geodesic flows on a manifold and an associated dual by means of a conformal map. This method can be applied to a four dimensional manifold of orbits in spacetime associated with a relativistic system. We show that a relativistic Hamiltonian which generates Einstein geodesics, with the addition of a world scalar field, can be put into correspondence in this way (...) with another Hamiltonian with conformally modified metric. Such a construction could account for part of the requirements of Bekenstein for achieving the MOND theory of Milgrom in the post-Newtonian limit. The constraints on the MOND theory imposed by the galactic rotation curves, through this correspondence, would then imply constraints on the structure of the world scalar field. We then use the fact that a Hamiltonian with vector gauge fields results, through such a conformal map, in a Kaluza-Klein type theory, and indicate how the TeVeS structure of Bekenstein and Saunders can be put into this framework. We exhibit a class of infinitesimal gauge transformations on the gauge fields ${\mathcal{U}}_{\mu}(x)$ which preserve the Bekenstein-Sanders condition ${\mathcal{U}}_{\mu}{\mathcal{U}}^{\mu}=-1$ . The underlying quantum structure giving rise to these gauge fields is a Hilbert bundle, and the gauge transformations induce a non-commutative behavior to the fields, i.e. they become of Yang-Mills type. Working in the infinitesimal gauge neighborhood of the initial Abelian theory we show that in the Abelian limit the Yang-Mills field equations provide residual nonlinear terms which may avoid the caustic singularity found by Contaldi et al. (shrink)