After the unification process of 1918, in the former Hungarian State schools Romanian language was introduced as a teaching language. Consequently, the Hungarian as a teaching language was solely pre- served in the vocational schools. The governments showed little understanding toward the minorities’ vocational schools, aiming rather at the unification of the scholar system. The Roman Catholic Church sustained and administrated hundreds of elementary and secondary schools, many of them having a multi-secular history. Based on the documents from the churches’ (...) archives, this study presents the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to preserve and maintain all these schools. (shrink)

The role of religion in the public space is a matter of debate. The public sphere understood as a space oriented to achieving interests of common concern, reaching social and political consensus by means of deliberation has relegated religion to the private sphere. The last decades have attested a revival of the public role of religion, a “de-privatization” of religion. This paper explores the contemporary influence of religious beliefs and liturgical practice on issues of public concern focusing on the statements (...) and liturgical gestures of Pope Francis, notably regarding the disenfranchised and the refugees, as well as his engagement for the environment. The statements and liturgical gestures of Pope Francis have challenged the dissociation between religious practice and social ethics, and have returned religion to the forefront of public debates. A symbolic example is his unconventional practice of a traditional rite, that of the washing of the feet during liturgical celebrations on Holy Thursday. This classical liturgical rite, brought to public attention through the media, has become the vehicle of Francis’ social ethical views, and due to his involvement in the refugee-debate, a powerful political statement. Such statements are not limited to Catholics or individuals of other denominations, but contribute to the agenda of public discussions. (shrink)

This book illustrates how Aristotle's ethical concepts such as justice, reciprocity and friendship offer a basis for his political philosophy. In particular, it points out the importance of Aristotle for articulating the concept of a civic relationship and developing a theory of integration, by exploring how he includes a wide variety of people within the deliberative and judicial processes. Comparisons between Aristotle's own thought and present-day 'Aristotelian' political theories, such as communitarianism, civic republicanism and the capabilities approach, are also among (...) the unique approaches offered by the book and are used to illustrate his original vision of politics. They can also, however, offer new insights into the problems of how to read his texts appropriately in their context and why we now need to read them, not only out of an antiquarian interest but also out of our concern for politics. (shrink)

This paper addresses the problem of how to make 'democratic' elements in Aristotle's political philosophy compatible with his aristocratic framework for distributing political authority. To this end, it is argued that in Aristotle's framework, the idea of aristocratic governance is justified, because it contributes most greatly to the achievement of the well-being of people in a city , or the common benefit of a wide range of free individuals , and that Aristotle's argument for the wisdom of the multitude is (...) actually not democratic, but rather aristocratic to the extent that he proposes integrating the multitude into the deliberative and judicial processes by identifying their 'virtuous character' as a group, not by offering an idea that human beings are created equal. The paper also offers a more constructive criticism of Nussbaum's capabilities approach by arguing that Aristotle's aristocratic idea of distributive justice provides more useful insights into the problem of popular participation than Nussbaum's emphasis on people's capacity for choosing their own way of life. (shrink)

This paper addresses the problem of how to make ‘democratic’ elements in Aristotle’s political philosophy compatible with his aristocratic framework for distributing political authority. To this end, it is argued that in Aristotle’s framework, the idea of aristocratic governance is justified, because it contributes most greatly to the achievement of the well-being of people in a city, or the common benefit of a wide range of free individuals, and that Aristotle’s argument for the wisdom of the multitude is actually not (...) democratic, but rather aristocratic to the extent that he proposes integrating the multitude into the deliberative and judicial processes by identifying their ‘virtuous character’ as a group, not by offering an idea that human beings are created equal. The paper also offers a more constructive criticism of Nussbaum’s capabilities approach by arguing that Aristotle’s aristocratic idea of distributive justice provides more useful insights into the problem of popular participation than Nussbaum’s emphasis on people’s capacity for choosing their own way of life. (shrink)

This article maintains that Aristotle develops his political theory as a craft and science in Politics 4–6. The literature, however, has argued that he views political knowledge as a form of practical wisdom or prudence. This article discusses the way that Aristotle proposes political theory as a skill to help deal with unfavorable circumstances. In Greek political thought, craft and science are characterized as skills of cooperating with nature, taking up opportunities, and coping with uncertainty. Aristotle uses this conception when (...) he develops his political theory in Politics 4–6. He understands that political theorists should advise prudent legislators on practical reforms of constitutions and help them address non-ideal situations. Serious efforts to gain causal knowledge are indispensable for statesmanship. This view of statesmanship better illustrates political theory as part of human efforts and cooperation to resolve uncertainty rather than the one that sharply distinguishes among theoretical, practical, and productive sciences. (shrink)

This paper argues that what Aristotle has in mind as the criterion for estimating the value of products in Nicomachean Ethics V.5 is neither the Marxian concept of 'human labour' nor Polanyi's concept of 'status', but the benefit of a recipient, and maintains that Aristotle here does not analyse the mechanism of a market economy, but addresses the problem of how to build reciprocal relationships among citizens through the exchange of goods. Furthermore, unlike Nussbaum's capability approach, which draws attention to (...) the concept of well-being, the paper argues that the concept of reciprocity plays the key role in Aristotle's distributive theory of property in the Politics and lays the foundation for his understanding of political governance as the exchange of governing and being governed in turn. (shrink)

Dans quelle mesure peut-on reconnaître certaines influences du naturalisme français, mouvement éminemment représenté par Émile Zola, dans les œuvres romanesques de naturalistes américains tels que Dreiser et Norris? Stephen Crane, l’un de ces derniers, nie l’influence des œuvres romanesques zoliennes sur son chef d’œuvre, Maggie : A Girl of the Streets (1893). Pourtant, en lisant cette nouvelle de l’écrivain américain, on peut bel et bien retrouver des motifs zoliens, ce qui contredirait son affirmation. Il existe, en effet, des rapports d’intertextualité (...) avec certains romans de Zola. En prenant cette idée comme point de départ, nous nous proposons de réfléchir à la représentation de l’espace urbain, notamment à Paris dans L’Assommoir, ainsi qu’aux personnages féminins de ce roman, pour mettre en évidence l’importance de l’idéalisation de la vie rurale. En ce sens, nous voulons prendre ces aspects comme points de comparaison entre Zola et Crane. Comment, chez ce dernier, sont représentées la ville de New-York et les personnages féminins? In fine, cela permettra d’aboutir à une réflexion plus globale, tout en étant précise, sur les particularités de la littérature naturaliste des deux côtés de l’Atlantique. (shrink)

This essay consists of two parts. In the first part we show in general outline the development of modern Japanese philosophy since 1867. And as one of the typical products of that process we analyse in the second part the metaphysics of the late Prof. Nishida.

The paper explores the events that preceded the conclusion of the Concordat between the Holy See and Romania (1927) and its effects. Both the Vatican and the Romanian Monarchy aimed at concluding a Concordat: the first, because the document was expected to provide a legal frame for the life of the Catholic Church, and the second, because such document contributed to its international visibility. Early talks, during the reign of Prince Al. I. Cuza and King Carol I, were eventually unsuccessful. (...) Discussions were resumed after the end of World War I. The Concordat was drafted essentially by the representatives of the Greek Catholic Church, without the consultation of the Latin bishops of Transylvania. The finalization and the ratification of the document were delayed, partly because of the objections of the Orthodox Church, and partly due to the disagreement regarding the fate of the Latin dioceses of Transylvania and the Patrimonium Sacrum. The Concordat was highly contested by the Latin bishops of Transylvania as it produced serious changes and difficulties. It stipulated the merger of the dioceses of Oradea and Satu Mare and caused severe problems concerning the management of Latin Catholic funds, previously administered by the Roman Catholic Status. The Concordat also affected the functioning of the confessional schools. (shrink)

Platforms for sharing genomic and phenotype data have been developed to promote genomic research, while maximizing the utility of existing datasets and minimizing the burden on participants. The value of genomic analysis of trios or family members has increased, especially in rare diseases and cancers. This article aims to argue the necessity of protection when sharing data from both patients and family members. Sharing patients’ and family members’ data collectively raises an ethical tension between the value of datasets and the (...) rights of participants, and increases the risk of re-identification. However, current data-sharing policies have no specific safeguards or provisions for familial data sharing. A quantitative survey conducted on 10,881 general adults in Japan indicated that they expected stronger protection mechanisms when their family members’ clinical and/or genomic data were shared together, as compared to when only their data were shared. A framework that respects decision-making and the right of withdrawal of participants, including family members, along with ensuring usefulness and security of data is needed. To enable this, we propose recommendations on ancillary safeguards for familial data sharing according to the stakeholders, namely, initial researchers, genomic researchers, data submitters, database operators, institutional review boards, and the public and participants. Families have played significant roles in genetic research, and its value is re-illuminated in the era of genomic medicine. It is important to make progress in data sharing while simultaneously protecting the privacy and interests of patients and families, and return its benefits to them. (shrink)

The motor modules during human walking are identified using non-negative matrix factorization from surface electromyography signals. The extraction of motor modules in healthy participants is affected by the change in pre-processing of EMG signals, such as low-pass filters ; however, the effect of different pre-processing methods, such as the number of necessary gait cycles in post-stroke patients with varying steps, remains unknown. We aimed to specify that the number of GCs influenced the motor modules extracted in the consideration of LPFs (...) in post-stroke patients. In total, 10 chronic post-stroke patients walked at a self-selected speed on an overground walkway, while EMG signals were recorded from the eight muscles of paretic lower limb. To verify the number of GCs, five GC conditions were set, namely, 25, 20, 15, 10, and 5 gate cycles with three LPFs. First, the number of modules, variability accounted for, and muscle weightings extracted by the NNMF algorithm were compared between the conditions. Next, a modified NNMF algorithm, in which the activation timing profiles among different GCs were unified, was performed to compare the muscle weightings more robustly between GCs. The number of motor modules was not significantly different, regardless of the GCs. The difference in VAF and muscle weightings in the different GCs decreased with the LPF of 4 Hz. Muscle weightings in 15 GCs or less were significantly different from those in 25 GCs using the modified NNMF. Therefore, we concluded that the variability extracted motor modules by different GCs was suppressed with lower LPFs; however, 20 GCs were needed for more representative extraction of motor modules during walking in post-stroke patients. (shrink)

La Ética es la parte de la filosofía práctica que se ocupa del hecho moral y de los problemas filosóficos que nacen de la conducta humana, la bioética resulta la rama de la ética que se dedica a proveer los principios para la correcta conducta humana; respecto a la vida. En el proceso de atención a los pacientes con enfermedades reumáticas se emplean variados procedimientos. Las nuevas tecnologías han mejorado notablemente su tratamiento integral; estos adelantos científicos deben ser empleados con (...) la intención fundamental de no producir daño y previo consentimiento informado; por lo que resulta necesario argumentar acerca de las implicaciones bioéticas que resultan del empleo de los avances científico-tecnológicos en el tratamiento a los pacientes con enfermedades reumáticas. Ethics is the part of Practical Philosophy that deals with moral facts and philosophical problems that have their roots in human behavior. Bioethics is the branch of Ethics devoted to providing the principles for correct human behavior, with respect to life. Various procedures are used when treating patients with rheumatic diseases. New technologies have considerably improved their integral treatment; these scientific advances must be used with the main purpose of causing no harm and with prior informed consent. Therefore, it is necessary to argue on the bioethical implications that turn out from the use of scientific-technological advances in the treatment of patients with rheumatic diseases. (shrink)