Global Health Needs and the Short-Term Medical Volunteer: Ethical Considerations Content Type Journal Article Pages 71-78 DOI 10.1007/s10730-011-9158-5 Authors Michele K. Langowski, Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics, Salus Center, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette, 5th Floor, St. Louis, MO 63104-1314, USA Ana S. Iltis, Department of Philosophy and Center for Bioethics, Health and Society, Wake Forest University, P.O. Box 7332, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA Journal HEC Forum Online ISSN 1572-8498 Print ISSN 0956-2737 Journal Volume Volume 23 Journal Issue (...) Volume 23, Number 2. (shrink)

Are conscious states conscious in virtue of representing themselves? Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-8 DOI 10.1007/s11098-011-9762-x Authors Berit Brogaard, Department of Philosophy, University of Missouri, St. Louis, 599 Lucas Hall, One University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121-4400, USA Journal Philosophical Studies Online ISSN 1573-0883 Print ISSN 0031-8116.

I have been proposing for ‘christo‐dao’ rather than traditional christo-logy or modern christo‐praxis as a more appropriate paradigm for the understanding of Jesus Christ in the new millennium. This christological paradigm shift solicits a radical change of its root-metaphor, from logos (Christ as the incarnate logos) or praxis (Christ as the praxis of God’s reign) to ‘dao’ (Christ as the embodiment of the Dao, the “theanthropocosmic” Way) with a critical new interpretation. For EastAsian Christians, the christological adoption of dao is (...) as inevitable and legitimate as that of logos for the Western church at the fourth century. This adoption has been operative since the beginning of Korean Christianity. As an example, in this paper, I introduce the intriguing thoughts of Dasŏk Ryu Young-mo 柳永模 (1890-1981). According to John 14:6, Ryu comprehended Jesus as the Dao, the way of the truth toward the life in God. Christ is the brightest way on which we can walk safely (the truth) to attain the unity with God (the life). It coincides with the goal of Confucianism, the anthropocosmic unity of Heaven and humanity. Fromthis vantage point, he further expressed a nobel East Asian definition of God; namely, God is the One who is ‘the Being in Non-Being’ (Ŏpshigyeshin-nim): He believed that this event of Being-in-Non-Being has been historically manifested in the crucifixion (the Non-Being) and the resurrection (Being) of Jesus Christ. Christ is both the Non-Being (the Non-Ultimate, Vacuity) and Being (Great Ultimate, Form). Finally, confessing Jesus as the embodiment of the Dao is none other than Ryu’s East Asian way of saying “the Word made flesh.”. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungIm vorliegenden Artikel wird das von historischer Seite wenig erforschte Ereignis der Magdalenenflut von 1342 unter Einbeziehung administrativer Überlieferung, vor allem aus Urkunden und Rechnungsbüchern, und durch Heranziehung naturwissenschaftlicher Proxydaten, insbesondere aus Baumring-Niederschlagsrekonstruktionen, neu ausgeleuchtet. So gelingt es nicht nur, einen wesentlich differenzierteren Verlauf einer insgesamt zweijährigen Hochwasserkatastrophe mit peaks im Februar und Juli 1342, aber auch im Juli 1343 zu gewinnen, sondern auch mehrmonatige Trockenphasen im März bis Juni 1342 erstmals zu fassen, die den (auch in Schriftquellen nachgewiesenen) Erosionseffekt (...) der Starkregenfälle im Juli 1342 besser erklären als bislang. Dabei wird klar, dass 1342/43 ein multifaktorieller compound event vorliegt, der erst durch die Koinzidenz natürlicher Extremereignisse mit sozio-ökonomischen Faktoren zur Katastrophe führt. Die bewusste Ausweitung des Quellenspektrums lässt beispielsweise erstmals eine überregionale Teuerung bei Lebensmitteln im Nachklang der Flutereignisse feststellen, die aber wesentlich im zufälligen Auftreten des Hochwassers noch vor der Getreideernte begründet liegt. Der Fokus des Beitrags liegt auf infrastrukturellen Anpassungsmaßnahmen, etwa veränderten Brückendesigns (am Bsp. der Balduinbrücke in Koblenz) und großer Wasserbaumaßnahmen (am Beispiel des Donaudurchstichs von Oberalteich), oder normativen Reaktionen wie den Würzburger Polizeisätzen 1342/43 und der Errichtung von Deichbaugemeinschaften am Niederrhein, die zumindest als indirekte Reaktionen auf die Hochwasserereignisse verstanden werden müssen. Diese technisch-normativen Adaptionsvorgänge können einerseits im Luhmann’schen Sinn als Umweltbeobachtungen zweiter Ordnung verstanden werden, andererseits erläutern sie die Bedeutung von natürlichen Extremereignissen als Taktgeber für vormoderne Infrastrukturentwicklung aufgrund ihrer als kritisch erlebten, ungenügenden Ausgestaltung oder gar ihres völligen Fehlens. Nordalpin sehen wir nach 1342/43 im Bereich des Hochwasserschutzes zaghafte Anfänge obrigkeitlicher Daseinsvorsorge jenseits lokaler Zuständigkeiten. (shrink)

The Physics is a most remarkable work, and profoundly influenced Medieval Philosophers. Thomas Aquinas wrote a detailed, impressive commentary. This essay studies in particular the composition of the Physics as Thomas saw it, his thorough study of Aristotle’s way of arguing and the important distinction he made between disputative arguments, which are only partially true, and arguments which determine the truth. Aristotle frequently uses proofs which are wrong when one considers the proper nature of bodies, but possible considering their common (...) nature. Thomas accepts proofs in the field of physics but discards those related to a certain mathematization of nature. Aristotle holds the unlimited possibility of movements becoming faster or slower, but according to Aquinas he is considering things in general : when we consider specific bodies there is a fastest movement. Thomas speaks of a way of reading a text which is according the intention of Aristotle, and proposes an understanding of particular texts based on the general doctrine of the Stagirite. Sometimes he goes beyond the text, as when defending the unity of time as dependent on the unity of the First Mover. The essay shows that in the commentary a coherent philosophy of nature shaping up. In some places Aquinas brings in God’s causality: nature is nothing else but the plan of divine art, placed within things. The study of nature shows that there is a first principle of the whole nature which is above everything, sc. God who gives being to things. (shrink)

다석의 ‘가온찍기’ 리더십 정신은 자연을 훼손하면서 되돌려 받은 패닉 상태의 인류에게 이 위기를 벗어날 수 있는 바른 길의 대안을 제시한다. 이는 ‘늘 살림’[常道]의 정신을 통한 인간과 자연과의 조화를 이루는 방식이다. 자연과 인간의 관계를 친화적 관계로 회복하고 온갖 것을 본래의 자리로 되돌아오게 하는 리더십 정신이다. 도의 가온으로부터 일어나는 ‘늘 살림’의 무한 에너지는 무궁무진하고 ‘줄곧 하나’로 뚫려있어 생겨나지도 없어지지도 않 는다. 이는 아무리 써도 다 함이 없어 소모시킬 방법이 없다. 모든 것은 이러한 살림의 기운 이 솟아나는 도의 가온 자리로 돌아가야 본래의 자기(慈己)를 (...) 회복할 수 있게 된다. 천지만물은 ‘늘 살림’의 길을 따라 서로 돕고 화해하며 발전하고 스스로 성장한다. 인간 은 가온의 생명흐름이 온통하나로 이어지고 있음을 체득함으로써 ‘잘사는 삶’[善攝生]을 살 수 있다. 인간은 스스로 사는 것이 아니라 도의 늘 돕는 저절로 된길[常輔自然]을 따라 잘 사는 것이다. 이에 따른 인간 ‘속알’[德]은 천지상합에 따른 ‘고른 어울림’[自均自化]을 통하여 인간의 존재 의미를 지켜 살림의 길을 추구할 수 있는 길을 마련 할 수 있다. 그리 고 사회의 이로움을 되돌려 주는 공익의 ‘세상 본보기’[天下式]를 구현하게 된다. 이는 세 상의 흐름과 인간이 늘 살림줄로 이어짐을 알고 그것을 지켜 사회구성원간의 친화적 공생 사회를 만들어 나가는 것이다. 도가 펼치는 ‘늘 살림’의 본보기는 인간의 현묘하고 또 현묘한 삶의 과정에서 고른 변화 를 통하여 본래의 삶을 유지할 수 있게 그 근거를 제공한다. 만물의 존귀함을 알고 지켜 행함으로써 자연과의 공생을 이루는 리더십이다. 변혁의 중심에 서있는 자연과 인간을 조 화와 화해의 길로 이끌어 만물의 진정한 생명살림의 본보기를 세우는 것이다. 세상을 구성 하고 있는 모든 것들은 서로 뗄 수 없고 구별할 수도 없는 하나의 살림줄로 이어져 있다. 늘 살림의 가온찍기 리더십 정신은 도가 스스로 펼치는 자연함으로 우주의 모든 것의 마음을 단 하나로 묶는 총체적 개념이다. 그리고 꼬인 실타래와 같은 세상 일의 실마리를 찾 아 늘 살림줄로 잇고 사회 구성원 간의 공존의 살림살이를 구현하게 된다. (shrink)

St. Thomas’s commentary on the Book of Psalms, known as the Postilla super Psalmos, gives us a privileged insight into the mind and heart of a Dominican friar and theologian at work and at prayer. In this contribution I will elucidate these claims on the basis of elements found in his commentary and in particular in the areas of prayer and the liturgy, Christ, Mary and the Church, Sin and Mercy and Contemplation and Preaching.

Intentaremos mostrar en este estudio qué significa la expresión “hermenéutica en san Buenaventura”. Esto significa que no pretendemos hacer una lectura hermenéutica del pensamiento bonaventuriano y que situados desde una perspectiva de historia del pensamiento nos preguntaremos si realiza lo que podría señalarse en términos modernos una “teología hermenéutica” o más bien una “hermenéutica teológica”, es decir, una aproximación y lectura teológico-filosófica como herramienta para conseguir un fin teológico determinado. Para ello realizaremos una lectura del Prólogo del Breviloquium, sin duda, (...) el texto que mejor muestra la “hermenéutica en Buenaventura” como instrumento privilegiado para presentar la ciencia teológica como camino de comprensión de la Sagrada Escritura. (shrink)

In this article, the philosophical-anthropology of St. Thomas Aquinas is examined. In particular, the non-dualistic aspects of his anthropology are explicated and shown to have the potential to provide an underpinning for a holistic approach to psychology. In the course of this examination, parallels are drawn between Thomism and existential-phenomenology. The article concludes with an exploration of the ways in which a dialogue between existential-phenomenology and Thomism might benefit both traditions of thought, particularly as regards their relevance to metapsychology.

Contemporary critics have argued that medieval philosophers have transmitted a concept of divine omnipotence that is self-contradictory. This study of the first Latin treatise on omnipotence places it in its patristic and early medieval context and demonstrates that for Peter Damian divine omnipotence stands beyond contradictiion.

This is a well-written and interesting little book about a long and meandering letter drafted around 1067 by the great Christian reformer St. Peter Damian. It concerns the question of whether or not God can change the past. The letter is addressed to Desiderius, abbot of Monte Cassino and later Pope Victor III, but the object of Damian's concern apparently is certain dialecticians, possibly Berengar of Tours or Anselm of Besate, who put too great a stress on the capacity of (...) reason to grasp truth independently of Scripture. (shrink)

All scientific knowledge is in some way unified; the scheme of the speculative sciences is not just a method of arrangement that is casual and artificial. There is a true hierarchy of the sciences. In popular thought to-day the empirical sciences have gained the ascendancy; there are those who are confident that science will not only unlock the mysteries of nature but will solve eventually all our problems. There is no mistake about its success, for its practical benefit to mankind (...) is immense. The modern mind is so impressed by utility that it refuses to be concerned with anything else. (shrink)

In his Confessions, Augustine says that he achieved great intellectual insight from what he cryptically calls the “books of the Platonists.” Prior to reading these books, he was a corporealist and was unable to conceive of incorporeal beings. Because of the insurmountable philosophical problems corporealism caused for the Christian belief he was seeking, Augustine claims that this was the greatest intellectual barrier he faced in converting to Christianity. As such, the specific contents and effects of these Platonist books are of (...) great biographical and philosophical interest. Heretofore, the explanation of the contents and effects of these books has not been forthcoming. This essay aims to supply it. I argue that Augustine learned the mereological distinction between pertensive and entensive presence in the books of the Platonists. This distinction is required for properly conceiving of incorporeal beings. In support of this thesis, I show that Augustine himself says that he learned this very distinction, that the distinction is present in Platonist texts that scholars agree were among “the books of the Platonists,” that the distinction is present in one of Augustine’s earliest works, and that this distinction is uniquely capable of resolving the philosophical difficulties he faced as a corporealist. (shrink)

Morals of 13th-20th century Mongolian Moral Doctrines.

Denis Walsh has written a striking new defense in this journal of the statisticalist (i.e., noncausalist) position regarding the forces of evolution. I defend the causalist view against his new objections. I argue that the heart of the issue lies in the nature of nonadditive causation. Detailed consideration of that turns out to defuse Walsh’s ‘description‐dependence’ critique of causalism. Nevertheless, the critique does suggest a basis for reconciliation between the two competing views. *Received December 2009; revised December 2009. †To contact (...) the author, please write to: Department of Philosophy, 599 Lucas Hall, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO 63121; e‐mail: [email protected] (shrink)

Hodgkin and Huxley’s model of the action potential is an apparent dream case of covering‐law explanation in biology. The model includes laws of physics and chemistry that, coupled with details about antecedent and background conditions, can be used to derive features of the action potential. Hodgkin and Huxley insist that their model is not an explanation. This suggests either that subsuming a phenomenon under physical laws is insufficient to explain it or that Hodgkin and Huxley were wrong. I defend Hodgkin (...) and Huxley against Weber’s heteronomy thesis and argue that explanations are descriptions of mechanisms. †To contact the author, please write to: Department of Philosophy, Philosophy‐Neuroscience‐Psychology Program, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, Wilson Hall, St. Louis, MO 63130; e‐mail: [email protected] (shrink)