Transcript of conversations with various individuals in India, Switzerland, and California, 1983, by a theosophist.

In this book we meet with the modern sage, U.G. Krishnamurti, and listen to his penetrating voice describing life and reality as it is. What is body and what is mind? Is there a soul? Is there a beyond, a God? What is enlightenment? Is there a life after death? Never before have these questions been tackled with such simplicity, candour and clarity. In these unpublished early conversations with friends (1967-71), U.G.discusses in detail his search for the truth and how (...) he underwent radical biological changes in 1967. Preferring to call it the natural state over enlightenment, he insists that whatever transformation he has undergone is within the structure of the human body and not in the mind at all. It is the natural state of being that sages like the Buddha, Jesus and, in modern times, Sri Ramana, stepped into. And U.G.never tires of pointing out that 'this is the way you, stripped of the machinations of thought, are also functioning.'. (shrink)

In this book we meet with the modern sage, U.G. Krishnamurti, and listen to his penetrating voice describing life and reality as it is. What is body and what is mind? Is there a soul? Is there a beyond, a God? What is enlightenment? Is there a life after death? Never before have these questions been tackled with such simplicity, candour and clarity. In these unpublished early conversations with friends, U.G.discusses in detail his search for the truth and how he (...) underwent radical biological changes in 1967. Preferring to call it the natural state over enlightenment, he insists that whatever transformation he has undergone is within the structure of the human body and not in the mind at all. It is the natural state of being that sages like the Buddha, Jesus and, in modern times, Sri Ramana, stepped into. And U.G.never tires of pointing out that 'this is the way you, stripped of the machinations of thought, are also functioning.'. (shrink)

We contribute to the empirical debate on whether we understand and predict mental states by using simulation (simulation theory) or by relying on a folk psychological theory (theory theory). To decide between these two fundamental positions, it has been argued that failure to predict other people's choices would be challenging evidence against the simulation view. We test the specific claim that people prefer the rightmost position in choosing among equally valued objects, and whether or not this position bias can be (...) correctly predicted. A series of experiments shows that the bias appears only in a specific spatial arrangement and that it can be correctly predicted given adequate imaginative input. In concert with other recent findings on the correct prediction of choices these findings do actually strengthen, rather than challenge, the simulation account on the prediction of mental states. (shrink)

Two decades have passed since the first attempts were made to establish systematic ethical review of human research in the Baltic States. Legally and institutionally much has changed. In this paper we provide an historical and structural overview of ethical review of human research and identify some problems related to the role of ethical review in establishing quality research environment in these countries. Problems connected to (a) public availability of information, (b) management of conflicts of interest, (c) REC composition and (...) motivation of REC members, and (d) differing levels of stringency of ethical review for different types of studies, are identified. Recommendations are made to strengthen cooperation among the Baltic RECs. (shrink)

Introduction Stored human samples and the establishment of biobanks are increasing in the world. Along with this there are the questions of ethics that arise such as the correct method of obtaining informed consent for research on stored samples and the policies involved in collaborative research using collected samples. This study is an attempt to evaluate the researchers, academics and policy makers' views on these ethical aspects. Methods This was an anonymised study involving a Sri Lankan population of researchers, ethics (...) committee members, and policy makers. A self administered questionnaire was utilised as the study instrument. The questionnaire captured four major areas of interest: demographic characteristics of respondents, their attitudes on informed consent policy, their opinion on rights of collaborating researchers, their attitudes on dealing with international differences in regulatory frameworks. Results The study included 55 responders with 40/55 agreeing that donors should receive the option of giving informed consent for future research, with 31/55 considering multiple- type consent options most appropriate. Regarding the issue of shared samples in collaborative research majority agreed that source country ethics review committee approval was necessary 53/55. Conclusion The study concludes that sample donors should be given the option of giving advance consent to unspecified future research provided that future research is approved by an ethics committee. In collaborative research, it is necessary to involve ethics committees from donor countries in the research approval process. (shrink)

This article presents the new German law on advance directives from 1 September 2009. The history of the parliamentary process of this law is described, the present regulations are explained, their relevance for medical practice discussed and shortcomings are identified. Finally, the new law is compared with other regulations in the international context. Previously established legal practice in Germany has now become largely confirmed by the new law: An advanced directive must be respected in any decision concerning medical treatment, regardless (...) of the stage of the illness. It can be informally revoked at any time, even with limited decision-making capacity. Nobody may be obliged to issue a directive in any way. Advance directives do not need notarisation or routine updating after certain time intervals. Provided that the patient, who is no longer mentally competent, has issued a lasting power of attorney, or provided that the patient has been appointed a healthcare proxy by the courts, this authorised surrogate must assert the patient's will. The role of the guardianship court is clarified: it only needs to be involved in cases of disagreement as to the patient's will. The new German law thus combines more legal certainty with a liberal emphasis on patient autonomy and flexible, adaptable regulations. (shrink)

This article discusses the concept of God with a focus on the translation of God in the Chinese and Yoruba religious contexts. Translating the word God is of the essence when comparing concepts of god. The translation of the Christian God as Olodumare misrepresents the latter. As suggested by Africanists, there should be appropriate translations for God, Olodumare, and other African gods. As a preliminary comparative attempt, this article presents a case on the introduction of God to the Chinese people. (...) The translation of God into Chinese reflects different views regarding the correlation between the Christian God and the Chinese gods. (shrink)

Based on extensive questionnaire data, this paper focuses on parents’ views about children’s right to decide about participation in research. The data originates from 4000 families participating in a longitudinal prospective screening as 1997. Although current regulations and recommendations underline that children should have influence over their participation, many parents in this study disagree. Most (66%) were positive providing information to the child about relevant aspects of the study. However, responding parents were split about whether or not children should at (...) some point be allowed decisional authority when participating in research: 41.6% of the parents reported being against or unsure. Those who responded positively believed that children should be allowed to decide about blood-sampling procedures (70%), but to a less extent about participation (48.5%), analyses of samples (19.7%) and biological bank storage (15.4%). That as many as possible should remain in the study, and that children do not have the competence to understand the consequences for research was strongly stressed by respondents who do not think children should have a right to decide. When asked what interests they consider most important in paediatric research, child autonomy and decision-making was ranked lowest. We discuss the implications of these findings. (shrink)

Data from the 5–6 year control questionnaire of the ABIS study, a Swedish prospective screening of children for Type 1 diabetes, indicates a genuine trust in the researchers—very few participating families expressed concern about their participation. Nevertheless, a majority do not want their research data to be used beyond the agreement of the original consent. They want to be asked for renewed consent in such cases. A vast majority also want potential high-risk information about their child to be communicated to (...) them. Most participating families want this regardless of whether any preventive treatment is available. Although potential benefits for their child is a motivation for participation for a majority of the respondents, they also claim to be motivated by altruistic reasons. These results are compared to results from two similar studies in the UK. (shrink)

To what extent is the neural organization of language dependent on factors specific to the modalities in which language is perceived and through which it is produced? That is, is the left-hemisphere dominance for language a function of a linguistic specialization or a function of some domain-general specialization(s), such as temporal processing or motor planning? Investigations of the neurobiology of signed language can help answer these questions. As with spoken languages, signed languages of the deaf display complex grammatical structure but (...) are perceived and produced via radically different modalities. Thus, by mapping out the neurological similarities and differences between signed and spoken language, it is possible to identify modality-specific contributions to brain organization for language. Research to date has shown a significant degree of similarity in the neurobiology of signed and spoken languages, suggesting that the neural organization of language is largely modality-independent. (shrink)

Сборник издан к 60-летию доктора филологических наук, профессора Тверского государственного университета Михаила Викторовича Строганова. Авторы и составители построили его как праздничное торжество: здесь есть и серьезные научные чтения.