Giving Voice to Values is a very important tool that has helped many professionals better align what they do with what they value and believe. This book introduces the methodology of Socratic Dialogue as a complementary set of tools for creating spaces of joint reflection in which one can gain clarity about one's values and gain the confidence to voice them effectively. Socrates' main concern was to progressively reach a higher alignment between ideas and actions: that is, to achieve a (...) harmony between what we think, what we say and what we do. The first step to giving voice to our values involves introspection and dialogue with others - which is how we can become aware of what we really think and value. An examined life, Socrates reminds us, is a fulfilled one. Based on more than 10 years' experience teaching Socratic Dialogue to business and law students, executives and professionals, faculty, incarcerated people and other vulnerable groups, the book provides teachers and practitioners with a roadmap to conceive, design and conduct Socratic Dialogue courses and sessions. It provides context for the method and its adaptation to the challenges of the 21st century. The book also offers guidance on how to structure a Socratic Dialogue classroom, as well as a series of tried-and-true activities and exercises, practical recommendations, and testimonies of the transformative impact that dialogue courses have had on participants. The book is of prime interest to professors and educators of business ethics, as well as professional consultants working to help organizations become more responsible and introduce ethical reasoning in their decisions. It also serves as a valuable resource for social educators and practitioners in prisons and rehabilitation units, as well as teachers in primary and secondary education. (shrink)

Training in scientific integrity continues to be an important topic in universities and other research institutions. Its main goal is to prevent scientific misconduct and promote good scientific practice. However, there is still no consensus on how scientific integrity should be taught. Moreover, the perspective of those who receive such training is often underrepresented. Yet it is precisely their interests and needs that must be considered when developing educational programs. Against this backdrop, we conducted a mixed-methods study with the goal (...) of capturing students’ perspectives on the teaching of scientific integrity. Using our online Scientific Integrity course, we explore what specific aspects of digital teaching on scientific integrity are valued, and explore other topics of interest from students’ perspectives on scientific integrity. The article presents (1) students’ self-assessment before (Q1) and after (Q2) taking the online Scientific Integrity course at the RWTH Aachen University in Germany (2) students’ feedback on the course format, video, exam, organization, and support (Q2) (3) a list of other topics of interest in the area of scientific integrity (Q2). The research outcomes demonstrate an improvement in the study participants’ self-assessment after following the online course and there is a general satisfaction among the students in regard to the course digital format and its components although a desire to have more exchange and discussion was expressed. Further topics of interest in the area of scientific integrity that study participants would like to learn about have a practical appeal and among others include research pressure, examples of applications, preventive measures, theory of science, citation rules, funding of university research. Although the results relate to our course, they provide insight into students’ perspectives on online teaching of scientific integrity. Thus, they may be helpful to higher education institutions developing online courses on scientific integrity that are tailored to university students. (shrink)

Behavioral interventions have shown promising neuroprotective effects, but the cascade of molecular, brain and behavioral changes involved in these benefits remains poorly understood. Projecte Moviment is a 12-week multi-domain, single-blind, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial examining the cognitive effect and underlying mechanisms of an aerobic exercise, computerized cognitive training and a combined groups compared to a waitlist control group. Adherence was > 80% for 82/109 participants recruited. In this study we report intervention-related changes in plasma biomarkers and structural-MRI and how they (...) related to changes in physical activity and individual variables and their potential role as mediators in the cognitive changes. Our results show that although there were no significant changes in molecular biomarker concentrations in any intervention group, changes in ICAM-1 and SDF1-α were negatively associated with changes in physical activity outcomes in AE and COMB groups. Brain volume changes were found in the CCT showing a significant increase in precuneus volume. Sex moderated the brain volume change in the AE and COMB groups, suggesting that men may benefit more than women. Changes in molecular biomarkers and brain volumes did not significantly mediate the cognitive-related benefits found previously for any group. This study shows crucial initial molecular and brain volume changes related to lifestyle interventions at early stages and highlights the value of examining activity parameters, individual difference characteristics and using a multi-level analysis approach to address these questions. (shrink)

Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya is often used as a reference to violence in Islam, mainly because war narration is so dominantly displayed. The tendency of using Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya as the basis of violence conception in Islam drives Islamic teaching practices to become violence-oriented. This article presents a re-reading of Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya by Wakhiduddin Khan, Tariq Ramadan and Satha-Anand, with a mimetic anthropology framework. The reading on Al-Sira resulted in three conclusions. Firstly, there are many non-violence stories at all (...) stages in the life of Prophet Muhammad, since the pre-prophetic era until his death. Secondly, the Prophet Muhammad was a teacher who based his activities on the principles of tawhîd, patience, love, forgiveness and appreciation for humanity. Thirdly, educational activities are Muhammad’s exemplary activities which are full of non-violent values. The findings of this article can be used as the basis for the reformulation of Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya teaching materials in Islamic Education as well as the basis of teaching activities for Islamic teachers. Contribution: This article contributes to a paradigm shift in teaching the History of the Prophet Muhammad in a peaceful Islamic education system. The peaceful paradigm in this article can also divert the tendency of Islamic extremism to become an Islam that provides peace and prosperity to the universe ( rahmatan lil ‘alamin ). (shrink)

L'A. présente en premier lieu une histoire textuelle du Siracide, puis il étudie sa situation dans le judaïsme rabbinique et dans l'Eglise primitive.

The biblical Books of Proverbs and Ben Sira yield no narrative continuity or logical outline. They are simply collections. The best way to interpret these books is with the aid of a topical index. Most topical indexes are based on English translation. This article proposes a tentative topical index reflecting Middle East North African culture and its values. It will serve as the outline for a full length commentary already in process.

This article examines Mughulṭāy b. Qilīj’s (d. 762/1361) al-Zahr al-bāsim fī siyar Abī al-Qāsim, a ḥāshiya (gloss, marginal notes) on ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suhaylī’s (d. 581/1185) commentary on Ibn Isḥāq’s Sīra. Drawing on evidence from Mamlūk-era chronicles, biographical dictionaries, and commentarial introductions, it analyzes Mughulṭāy b. Qilīj as a historical figure and the context and content of his work. This is done in order to demonstrate how commentaries and glosses are deeply related to the schol­arly and cultural life of the period. (...) These resources testify to the antagonistic relationship between Mughulṭāy and his opponents and to the ensuing rivalry between them. Hence, this article seeks to examine the correlation between his personality and the rationale for his commentary, to determine the reasons behind his choice of text to write a gloss on and his sustained and harsh criticism against al-Suhaylī and his scholarly legacy. (shrink)

On the background and within the framework of the traditional Israelite-Jewish anthropology Ben Sira advises his pupils and readers to accept death as a fate and to draw the consequences of the fact that human beings have no other life than the present one. For the Lord the shortness of human life gives reason for his mercy, if they return to his commands. On the other hand the way a man dies is a parameter for God's judgement. Apart from (...) the fact that everybody is responsible for his fate the transitory character of life gives reason to enjoy oneself using his property for gifts to his friend and the embellishment of the own transitory days. But he should as well take care of his name, for a good name is just what may survive. In regard to the death of other people one should not withdraw from a dying, but after his death not lengthen the mourning for this would weaken himself whithout helping the dead one. This in the whole conservative outlook of Ben Sira protected him against philosophical and apocalpytic speculations, which he judged as devorced from reality. All what a humans may need for their life became revealed to them by the Lord. To act according to his commandments is better than to look out for fresh revelations. So we may understand Ben Sira as a representative of Judaism as a religion of reason in a transitional age, even if we would credit to his unnamed opponents that they had some idea about the transcendent mystery of life. (shrink)

The assassinations of the Prophet Muḥammad’s antagonists were, according to the sīra, the harsh measures he took toward the consolidation of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. These incidents’ narratives are often labeled in modern scholarship as “completely free of any tendentiousness.” This contention seems, however, to be grounded in the lack of full cognizance of the sources’ ulterior motives and of the extent of literary devices deployed in the traditional biography of the Prophet. The present study identifies the topoi appearing (...) in the murder accounts of the Prophet’s political opponents that shed light on the extent of these stories’ dependence on each other and on the possibility of literary borrowing between them. This analysis shows that the use of literary tools in the sources are more widespread than what may appear at first sight. Our accounts exhibit striking resemblances with one another in both form and content, a point seriously undermining the trustworthiness of the sīra as a straightforward source for reconstructing the Prophet’s life. (shrink)

"Bu araştırmada Meraga Rasathanesi'nin kurucusu Nasîrüddin Tûsî'nin öğrencisi, meşhur alim, matematikçi, astronom ve İşrâkî filozof Kutbüddîn-i Şîrâzî'nin hayatı, eserleri, öğrencileri ile XIII. Yüzyılın son çeyreğinde İlhanlı nüfuzu altında bulunan Selçuklu Türkiye'sindeki faaliyetleri incelenmiştir. Şîrâzî, Sivas'ta kadılık ve Gök Medrese'de müderrislik yapmış, daha sonra İslamı kabul eden ilk İlhanlı hükümdarı Ahmed Tekudar tarafından elçi olarak Memluk sultanı Kalavun'a gönderilmiştir. Siyasi görevleri bununla sınırlı olmayan Şirazî, Argun Han tarafından Yakın-Doğu haritasını çizmekle vazifelendirilmiş, o da bu görevi başarıyla ifa ederek İlhanlı Devletinde önemli (...) bir konuma yükselmiştir. Ancak Şirazî bu siyasî görevleriyle pek anılmamaktadır. Nitekim onun ilim adamı sıfatı daha önde olmuş, siyaseti bazı nedenlerle tercih etmiştir. Şirazî Anadolu'da aklî ilimler sahasında dersler vererek Meraga matematik ve astronomi ekolunun buraya taşınmasını sağlamıştır. Daha sonra Tebriz'e giderek yetiştirmiş olduğu öğrenciler ve telif ettiği eserleriyle Anadolu, İran ve Türkistan coğrafyasında ilmî ve fikrî bir birliktelik oluşturmuştur. Daha sonra Semerkant matematik astronomi okulu mensuplarının Osmanlı ülkesine göçmeleriyle, Şirazî'nin astronomi ve matematik sahasındaki eserleri Osmanlı medreselerinde ders kitabı olarak okutulmuştur."--Back cover. (shrink)

Due to the discoveries of manuscripts at Masada and Qumran in the mid-sixties, the study of the Book of Ben Sira has produced considerable progress since. This contribution offers a small survey of topics that are still in the centre of Ben Sira research, such as the book’s text and textual history, its structure, its author’s attitude towards Hellenism, and his use of Scripture.

Name der Zeitschrift: Der Islam Jahrgang: 94 Heft: 2 Seiten: 385-422.

(1984). THE “PRAISE OF THE FAMOUS” AND ITS PROLOGUE: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON BEN SIRA 44:1–15 AND THE QUESTION ON ENOCH IN 44:16. Bijdragen: Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 374-383.

The _Biakē _custom, an ancient practice among the Ogoni indigenous people, refers to a system by which certain girls or women are not allowed to marry, but are legitimately allowed to raise children for their parents or family, because of some peculiar circumstances of the household, thus the idea of ‘mothers but not wives.’ However, the _Biakē _practice has been misconstrued with the malapropism called ‘_Sira_-Custom,’ implying a system in which the first daughters are not given out for marriage. This (...) study focused on the philosophical foundation of _Biakē _and its implications on the Ogoni contemporary society. The study discovered that there was never a time in Ogoni history when _Sira _(first daughters) was denied the right to marry out. Every Ogoni daughter is eligible for marriage. The study argues that though the philosophy of _Biakē _emphasizes the continuity of the family/lineage, women serving under _Biakē _and their children may experience psychological trauma due to the absence of a “father figure” and other unmet needs. Using the prescriptive method, this paper advocated for the promulgation of laws, and regulations to modify the _Biakē _custom to accommodate the Ogoni modern-day reality. (shrink)

SIRA conference of philosophy of medicine in Crakow, August 2000, offered the opportunity to visit Auschwitz—an offer reluctantly accepted by the author who had two decades ago, spent some months in Israel, cried at Dachau, treated many holocaust survivors, and counts among close friends and colleagues persons profoundly affected by Auschwitz and associated activities. Surely, the visit would be simply a mark of respect, and an episode of further personal grieving maybe, but not enlightenment. This was not the case.The (...) lasting impression has been that of the dangers of efficiency as a value in itself, the inadequacy of outcome measures if the array is incomplete, and the need for clear articulation not only of goals, but …. (shrink)

Le prologue du livre de Ben Sira est le seul texte biblique qui nous livre une réflexion sur l’acte de traduire. Cet article vise deux objectifs : 1) mieux comprendre ce que le petit-fils de Ben Sira dit au sujet de la traduction du livre de son grand-père ; 2) comparer sa conception de la traduction avec celles que l’on trouve dans d’autres textes judéens et alexandrins relatifs à la traduction de la Bible hébraïque en grec, afin de (...) mettre en évidence le caractère singulier des propos du petit-fils de Ben Sira. (shrink)

"In his study of Philo Mr. Bentwich has done good service by demonstrating this characteristically Jewish combination of qualities in the spirit of the great Alexandrine, and by vindicating the claim of Philo to rank among the great teachers of Judaism." -The Jewish Review "Philo, the chief light of Hellenistic Judaism, by a strange fate was rejected and forgotten by his own people, while he was taken up by the Christians and almost adopted as one of their own. This difference (...) of attitude towards him on the part of Jews and Christians is easily explained. Philo was alien in spirit to the narrow rabbinical Judaism which became universal among the Jews in the second century after Christ, and hence was suspected as unorthodox and put under the ban. On the other hand, his philosophy and exegetical method appealed to the early Fathers, especially those of the Alexandrian school, and even much of his religious teaching was more in sympathy with Christian than with later Jewish thought. In modern times, however, Jewish sentiment towards this illustrious coreligionist has undergone considerable change. In the volume before us Mr. Norman Bentwich has undertaken to make him better known among his own people, and to remove any prejudice that might still exist against him by showing that, after all, he was a true Jew. Though the work is written for Jews, and, as the author frankly tells us, from a Jewish standpoint, by reason of its subject it is likely to attract also some Gentile readers." -America "Having specialized in Jewish history and literature, Mr. Bentwich was eminently fitted to undertake the work on Hellenism. It is this movement in Judaism which Mr. Bentwich has set himself to describe. During the last two or three centuries before the common era the Jewish people came in close contact with the Greek-speaking world, and naturally, could not entirely escape its influence. Greek thought prevailed throughout the Eastern world, and Hellenism, or the culture of Greece, for which Hellas is the older name, dominated the intellectual activity of men. Although the Jews were always opposed to foreign influences which conflicted with their mode of thinking, the Greek culture nevertheless penetrated Jewish life in one way or another....The struggle of Judaism with Hellenistic culture marks one of the most fundamental conflicts in the march of civilization, and as a result, Hellenistic Judaism is one of the most remarkable contributions to Jewish genius to the world's thought....The author treats this subject from the Jewish point of view. Others are chiefly interested in the relation of Hellenism to Christianity. The school of writers contrast the broad universalism of Hellenistic Judaism with the supposed narrow legalism of the Pharisees which eventually prevailed in Palestine. Mr. Bentwich combats this attitude. The present volume is popular in character and the author has not refrained from pointing out parallels in modern Jewish life....Mr. Bentwich apart from giving historical descriptions of the various phases of Hellenism in Palestine and in the Diaspora, fully describes the literature produced by the Jews during that period. He graphically and minutely describes the life and works of Philo, Josephus and other important Jewish writers. He gives a fine resume of the wisdom of Ben Sira and also, deals with the influence of the Septuagint and the attitude of the Jewish Rabbis toward it. The book will appeal to the cultured layman who wishes to be informed on the various movements of Judaism." -The Advocate: America's Jewish Journal. (shrink)

In the past decade, a few countries have created a third gender category to legally recognize gender-nonconforming individuals. However, we know relatively little about the response of the gender-nonconforming individuals toward the legal third gender category. To address this gap, this article analyzes the different social, religious, and institutional discourses that have emerged around the recently created third gender category in Pakistan and their influence on the legal consciousness of the Khawaja Sira community, a marginalized gender-nonconforming group. Even though (...) the third gender category was created to address the unique gender identity of the Khawaja Sira community, most continue to legally register as men. My research indicates that the patriarchal stigma, high compliance costs, and limited material benefits associated with the legal third gender category dissuade the Khawaja Sira community from choosing to register. My findings point to the limitations of a legal third gender category within a patriarchal sociolegal order where important benefits associated with the masculine identity are forfeited by registering. In doing so, I caution against over emphasizing the symbolic value of legal recognition for gender-nonconforming groups. (shrink)

L'article est une étude exégétique de Sir 27,30-28,7, dont l'objet est de mettre en évidence que l'appel au pardon des offenses était déjà pratiqué dans le judaisme du deuxième siècle avant le Christ. Après avoir fait une analyse comparative des trois formes du texte , on procède à une étude détaillée de 27,30-31; 28,1-2; 28,3-5; 28,6-7, en ayant recours fréquemment à des textes de la littérature rabbinique. En son instruction sur la rancune, Ben Sira ne mentionne explicitement ni l'amour (...) du prochain ni l'amour des ennemis, mais il insiste sur le pardon des offenses. L'allusion à Lév 19,18 et l'appui d'autres passages du livre surprennent le lecteur par leur doctrine clairement évangélique. (shrink)