bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Theology as the Construction of Piety: A Critique of the Theology of Inculturation and the Pentecostalization of African Christianity
Authors: Ngong David T.
Published: November 2012

This essay argues that an important task of theology is the construction of piety. It draws from a few critical moments in the development of Christianity, such as the development of the doctrine of God and Christology in the early church and the rejection of materialistic Christianity in early modern Europe, to argue that these moments reflect the theological struggle to shape Christian piety. The idea that theology is concerned with the shaping of piety is then used to evaluate African theology of inculturation, which has now flowered in the Pentecostalization of African Christianity. It argues that although the theology of inculturation may be helpful in constructing a viable African theology, uncritically embracing the spiritualized cosmology of African traditional societies in salvific discourses promotes a form of piety that is ill-equipped to overcome the marginalization of the continent in the modern world.
The Science of Santa Claus: Discussions on the Manna of Nicholas of Myra in the Modern Age
Authors: de Ceglia Francesco Paolo
Published: November 2012

Nicholas of Myra, a bishop who lived between the third and fourth centuries AD, is considered to be the historical character on which the legendary figure of Santa Claus is based. His bones, which were brought to Bari in the Italian region of Apulia in 1087, are known in the Christian world for a particular trait: they exude a substance, considered miraculous by some, called manna. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the debate that was conducted on natural philosophical grounds during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on the origins and nature of this liquid.
Focusing on the Exception to the Rule for a Time: On the Border Between Life and Death in a Case of Scheintod in 1833
Authors: Rüve Gerlind
Published: November 2012

This article reconstructs the social impact and consequences of Scheintod, literally translated as “apparent death”. The term arose in the German-speaking states at the end of the eighteenth century and served to observe more closely the border between life and death. The article looks at the historical actors, cultural practices and material manifestations involved in a case of Scheintod dating back to the year 1833 in the German province of Westphalia. After witnessing a young man’s three-week state of unconsciousness, a local physician initiated the building of a Leichenhaus as a place to observe the border between life and death. Calling the comatose state Scheintod was embedded in a specific natural philosophy prevalent during the late Enlightenment in the German lands. The case occurred in 1833, on the periphery of academic centres and hubs, where the natural philosophy of the late Enlightenment was still alive. As rare and unusual incidents became crucial for examining the border between life and death, this case illustrates the continuities and discontinuities of the period in determining the time of death, following funeral customs, and caring for the dead. It also serves as a magnifier through which general problems with death in the modern age following the Enlightenment became pronounced: death was highly individualized and its meaning was defined by the feelings and relations of the modern subject.
Public Diplomacy in Croatia:Sharing NATO and EU Values with the Domestic Public
Authors: Andrlić Mladen , Tarle Iva , Sopta Suzana Simichen
Published: November 2012

Summary

In a globalized world, with dynamic flows of information and communication, public diplomacy also supports internal understanding of international values and relations. The sharing of international standards, democratic changes and market reforms in Central, Eastern and South-East Europe has become more effective by communicating with the domestic public. This has also been experienced in Croatia, which has long been considered as one of the more advanced transition countries. Croatia’s strategic goal of becoming a functional market democracy has always been in line with NATO and EU values, although the costs and benefits of accession were, and still are, to be discussed both abroad and with the domestic public. Creating pluralistic, well-structured and institutionalized platforms for permanent public dialogue is a multifaceted activity that allows all segments of society to practise democracy. The lessons learned in Croatia confirm that a government — if and when it develops a domestic dialogue — not only gains public support for its foreign policy goals at home and abroad, but also becomes better articulated internationally.
Defining Strategic Publics in a Networked World: Public Diplomacy’s Challenge at Home and Abroad
Authors: Fitzpatrick Kathy R.
Published: November 2012

Summary

This article addresses the issue of how strategic publics should be defined in public diplomacy. The article first reviews widely accepted theories of stakeholders and publics in business and public relations that help to explain the role and value of publics to organizations and provide alternatives for the conceptualization of strategic publics. It applies these concepts to public diplomacy in an effort to demonstrate their potential usefulness in identifying and prioritizing strategic publics at home and abroad. The article then suggests that although stakeholder theory and situational theory are useful tools for conceptualizing strategic publics in public diplomacy, these theories must be expanded to capture fully the complex nature of the contemporary diplomatic environment. An expanded framework that is based on networks of influence is suggested as an alternative for defining public diplomacy publics in a networked world.
Thomas More’s Quarrel with Reform
Authors: Rockett Gordon William
Published: November 2012

In letters to family and friends while he was confined in the Tower of London in 1534 and the first few months of 1535, Thomas More explained his refusal to comply with the first Act of Succession with the argument that his allegiance was to a council higher than the parliament of England. The “higher council” to which More referred was the General Council of Christendom, whose determinations embodied Christianity’s canonically enjoined consensus fidelium and therefore held precedence over laws enacted by lesser assemblies such as England’s parliaments. Ecclesiastical consensus was the foundation of all More believed. It was the test that screened Catholic from heretical doctrine, and it was infallible. But More could not lawfully adhere to the principle of consensus and at the same time swear to uphold the royal supremacy enacted in 1534 because the king’s supremacy in the English church implicitly asserted England’s separateness and therefore broke up Christianity’s consensual uniformity. Thus the oath of allegiance to the first Act of Succession was one of several pieces of legislation that More could not in conscience obey.
Midrashim from Bordeaux: A Theological Controversy inside the Portuguese Jewish Diaspora at the Time of Spinoza’s Excommunication
Authors: Wilke Carsten L.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This article reconstructs an unknown theological controversy that took place during the years 1655–1658 inside the Portuguese converso diaspora, manifesting the conflictive dynamics of its internal religious pluralism. Defending Catholicism with the help of Midrashic quotations, the Bordeaux canon Jérôme Lopès provoked replies from two Jewish physicians of Amsterdam, who can be identified as Isaac Naar and (possibly) Benjamin Mussaphia. Their Portuguese and Spanish manuscripts, progressively decontextualized and anonymized, had a clandestine transmission among the Sephardim. They also influenced Spinoza and other Jewish freethinkers and made an impression on Christian readers of the early Enlightenment period.
The Jew That Miller Drew: Religion, Ethnicity, and Death of a Salesman
Authors: Cardullo Robert J.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This note proposes, through an investigation of the drama’s flashback structure, that Death of a Salesman illustrates a divided impulse in Arthur Miller—a division immediately noticeable in his choice of first names for his characters—between making his play and his protagonist Jewish, and making them universal or representatively American.
Islamist Columnists Discussing ‘Women in the Public Sphere’: A Discourse Analysis of the Turkish Press
Authors: Beybin Kejanlıoğlu D. , Kubilay Çağla , Ova Nalan
Published: November 2012

Beginning with the so-called ‘turban issue’ in universities in the 1980s, public discussion about women in the public sphere in Turkey has arisen due to the veiled women’s demand for a presence in public life. Since the banning of the veil in public life, Islamist columnists have been in a struggle against Kemalists to make the veil public, though there are different views on the limits of veiled women’s visibility in public life. By analyzing the content of hundreds of columns in five pro-Islamist newspapers, each representing a different faction among Islamists since 1997, this article reveals both the Islamist discourse vis-à-vis the Kemalist discourse on the public sphere and the conflicting gendered discourses among Islamists. This article suggests that there is an ongoing hegemony struggle among Islamist columnists about the presence of veiled women in the public sphere, contrary to their common position in the hegemony struggle against Kemalists.
Political Thought in Bosnia and Herzegovina During Austro-Hungarian Rule, 1878–1918
Authors: Fejzić Elvis
Published: November 2012

Political thought in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian rule can be researched by a thorough analysis of the engagement of local political elites with pressing contemporary issues. There were four distinct political clusters in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time: the Bosniak Muslim, Serbian, and Croatian ones were crystallized around an ethnoreligious principle; while Social Democrats as a coherent group were based on the principle of civic and working class identity, and were consequently indifferent towards ethnicity and religion. Members of the four groups markedly differed in their views on nation and nationalism, Austrian rule and the future of the Bosnian polity, social and economic development, and religion. However, within the three ethnic clusters it is possible to make further distinctions between moderates and radicals, modernists and traditionalists, conformists and revolutionaries, and liberals and conservatives. Along these lines, the article maps this complex field and introduces the reader to the main lines of Bosnian political thought in this eventful period.
The Central Committee Secretariat, the Nomenklatura, and the Politics of Personnel Management in the Soviet Order, 1921-1927
Authors: Monty Christopher S.
Published: November 2012

This article re-examines early efforts to put into practice the nomenklatura system for assigning elite office holders adopted by the Organization Bureau of the Central Committee (Orgburo) of the Russian Communist Party in late 1923. Until recently, scholarly treatments of this issue have largely taken for granted Stalin’s ability to transform the formal authority this initiative concentrated in the executive agencies of the Central Committee into effective administrative power. This article challenges that assumption by looking past official regulations in order to examine the operational records of the body most closely involved in managing the assignment of responsible officials across the soviet political order, the Organization-Assignment Department of the Central Committee Secretariat. The working papers of the Organization-Assignment Department, the Secretariat and the Orgburo make it evident that the nomenklatura had not yet evolved into the central vehicle for managing elite office holding that it was intended to be prior to the Stalin Revolution. The evidence suggests the persistence of ad hoc improvisation in the management of personnel, which produced a hybrid order that relied on an unstable mix of bureaucratic, personalistic and campaign-style methods to extend communist influence over government and economic administration.
Советское «пропагандистское государство» в годы II мировой войны: ресурсные ограничения и коммуникативные возможности
Authors: Лившин Александр , Орлов Игорь
Published: November 2012

Alexander Livshin and Igor Orlov

The Soviet “Propaganda State” during World War II: Resource Constraints and Communication Capabilities

“The new history of propaganda” studies the historical experience of using propaganda by different countries, including democratic ones, in the time of wars and other crises. It is evident that particular attention is paid to Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR, the two excessively ideology-driven and politicized societies where propaganda played the role far beyond the boundaries of simple ideological indoctrination and manipulation of the public opinions and attitudes with the purpose of pushing the people towards a desired model of behavior. In both states propaganda became a fundamental core institution aimed at building and sustaining the social order. At the same time, if we consider the experience of Stalin’s USSR, then the usage of the term “propaganda state” introduced by Peter Kenez requires a significant caveat.
Malaysia: Religious Pluralism and the Constitution in a Contested Polity
Authors: Harding Andrew
Published: November 2012

Malaysia has a classically plural society with a Malay/ Muslim majority and a legal system which, for historical reasons, is bifurcated between the common law and Islamic law. It also has a colonial-era federal constitution under which Islam is a state issue. Disputes concerning religion are both many and divisive. They are dealt with mainly in constitutional terms, especially in debates about the notion of an Islamic state, in light of Article 3 and the enshrinement of an official religion and in litigation. The latter is rendered complex by the separation of Islamic from common law jurisdiction in 1988, a fact that has given rise to highly sensitive and troubling litigation involving, especially, religious conversion in Lina Joy (2007). This article traces historical developments relating to religion and the law, and finds cause for some optimism that religious divides can be bridged by constitutional means, in light of recent judicial responses and evolving debates about the constitutional position of Islam.
A Solution to Soames’ Problem: Presuppositions, Conditionals, and Exhaustification
Authors: Romoli Jacopo
Published: November 2012

This paper focuses on sentences like Nixon is guilty, if Haldeman is guilty too, first discussed by Soames (1982) and Karttunen and Peters (1979), which raise three problems. First, they are felicitous and do not appear to have presuppositions. However all major theories of presuppositions predict that they should presuppose what the antecedent presupposes (e.g., the sentence above should presuppose that Nixon is guilty). Second, there is a contrast between these sentences and the corresponding sentence-initial conditionals like if Haldeman is guilty too, Nixon is guilty. Finally, a way to solve the problem would be to locally accommodate the presupposition in the antecedent. However, this wrongly predicts tautological truth-conditions. In the case above, the predicted meaning could be paraphrased as “Nixon is guilty, if both Haldeman and Nixon are guilty.” As a solution to these three problems, I propose that the presupposition is nonetheless locally accommodated in the antecedent and furthermore that the sentence is also interpreted exhaustively, which gives rise to a non-presuppositional and non-tautological meaning analogous to Nixon is guilty, only if both Haldeman and Nixon are guilty. Furthermore, I argue that the degraded status of the sentence-initial case is an independent fact rooted in the topic-focus structure of sentence-final conditionals. Finally, the present proposal can also be extended to treat related non-presuppositional cases like I will go, if we go together.
The Provenance and Cataloguing of the Younghusband Collection
Authors: Phuntsho Karma
Published: November 2012

This article provides an overview of the contents of the Younghusband Collection of Blockprints and Manuscripts that Waddell had assembled during the military expedition to Tibet in 1903–04. Cataloguing this collection offered the opportunity to engage with the controversial provenance of the materials and the new opportunities offered by digital technology to deal with items of cultural heritage.
Al-Azhar Sufism in Post-Revolutionary Egypt
Authors: Albo Moshe
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This article examines the intellectual Sufi voice of the late Shaykh al-Azhar, ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd (1910–78). Maḥmūd was a devout Sufi and a major propagator of Salafi views in the Egyptian political and social spheres of the 1960s and 1970s. His ideas represented a reassertion of the importance of Islamic law as the basis for the quest for inner spiritual knowing, social activism in the cause of moral reform, and the search for mystical awareness with jurisprudential erudition. His aim was to integrate the exoteric and esoteric aspects of Islam in a way that would strengthen Islamic solidarity in post-revolutionary Egypt. His importance as the head of the religious, theological, and educational center of al-Azhar University and his employment of this post to advance Sufi ideas and beliefs in the public arena through his writings, speeches and fatwas, reveals a multifaceted religious leader who contradicted prevalent dichotomies of much popular writing on Islam and Sufism in the modern era. Maḥmūd’s spiritual belief and his understanding of Islamic jurisprudence complemented each other in a coherent intellectual theory. The combination of jurisprudential thought with a profound spiritual belief was in his eyes natural and necessary in order to promote and revive Islam in post-revolutionary Egypt. This article illuminates another important aspect of Islamic Sufism that challenges the dichotomous patterns that we use in order to interpret the convergence of alleged conflicting religious ideas. It also reveals an important aspect of Islamic Sufism that contributes to a more complex understanding of the institutionalized Islamic voice in post-revolutionary Egypt.
Faithful Dissenters: Sunni Skepticism about the Miracles of Saints
Authors: Brown Jonathan AC
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Belief in the miracles of saints (karāmāt al-awliyāʾ) is a requirement in Sunni Islam. Challenges to this position are generally seen as limited to Islamic modernists affected by Western historical criticism. This article demonstrates that there have actually been leading Sunni Muslim scholars from the fourth/tenth century until the modern period who held positions regarding the miracles of saints that were much more skeptical than the mainstream Sunni stance. These ‘faithful dissenters’ were motivated by both theological and social concerns, and the methodologies they presented for sifting true from false miracle claims were based entirely on indigenous Islamic epistemological and textual criticism.
Printing for Prestige? Publishing and Publications by Ming Princes Part 4: Appendices
Authors: Kerlouégan Jérôme
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Scattered throughout the realm in a great number of provincial courts, Ming imperial clansmen did not wield political or military power. Some among them therefore used their energies to publish books; indeed, the publishing activities of the Ming princes constitute one of many elements of what can be termed “princely culture.” Even though princely imprints formed an insignificant proportion of Ming publications, a large number of them have survived to our day. Based on the examination of approximately 240 such editions, this essay explores the relationships between the princes and the literati who assisted them. It raises questions central to princely publishing: How learned were the princes? What books did they publish? For which audiences and with what objectives? What are the main characteristics of princely publications? Did princes have well-defined publishing strategies? The last section of the essay addresses the heritage of Ming princely publications in the Qing dynasty.

The first three parts of this essay have been published in East Asian Publishing and Society 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1.
Homo Respondens on the Historical Nature of Human Reason
Authors: Geertsema Hendrik
Published: November 2012

The central theme of this essay concerns the historical character of human nature and especially of human reason. This theme I will develop first of all by discussing briefly that aspect of the present-day philosophical debate, in which this theme takes pride of place. Thus, in the first section, I will try to show which predicament the participants of this debate face in the defense of their position. In the second section, I will discuss the main ideas of Herman Dooyeweerd’s transcendental critique of theoretical thought. This critique, which Dooyeweerd himself considered to be a Christian critique on the whole tradition of philosophical thought, is closely tied up with the theme of this chapter. The problem of the historical character of human rationality — or in the words of Dooyeweerd, ‘the problem of historicism’ — formed for a large part the setting in which he developed his critique. Although I fully accord with the main thrust of Dooyeweerd’s philosophy and especially endorse that which motivated him in his transcendental critique, there are, nevertheless, elements in his conception which have dissatisfied me for a long time. His critique needs to be revised, in my opinion. In section three, I shall attempt such a revision, by taking as a starting point the idea of the ‘answering nature of humankind,’ an idea which I have worked out elsewhere.
Juridische Bakens Bij Informatisering: Inleiding voor de studieconferentie van de Vereniging voor Calvinistische Wijsbegeerte op 8 januari 1994
Authors: Koekkoek A.K.
Published: November 2012

inleiding aangekondigd. Ik hoop dat mijn verkenning van het verschijnsel informatisering en van de grenzen die het recht daaraan stelt, voor u even spannend is als voor mij. Informatisering is een verzamelbegrip. Ik zal proberen het nader te omlijnen: Hoe kan het worden omschreven? Valt informatisering nader te kwalificeren door verschillende aspecten eraan te onderscheiden of door haar te plaatsen in een sociale context? Modelleert informatisering onze werkelijkheid? Zo ja, is dat goed of verkeerd? Hoe kan informatisering worden benaderd vanuit het recht? Welke grenzen stelt het recht? U mag van mij niet verwachten dat ik de grenzen van het recht ga trekken. Niet de grenzen, hooguit grenzen. Nog liever wil ik spreken van bakens, juridische bakens. Bakens markeren de route, maar leggen die niet vast. Bakens kunnen verboden inhouden, maar ook opdrachten. Bakens kunnen ook signalen geven dat iets is toegestaan: het moet niet, het mag. Met u wil ik op zoek gaan naar juridische bakens bij informatisering. Niet zozeer naar vaststaande, geldende bakens, maar naar mogelijke bakens. Anders gezegd: niet de geldende rechtsregels, maar de rechtsbeginselen die eraan ten grondslag liggen, zijn het doel van onze zoektocht.
Pluralism of Norms and Values : On the Claim and Reception of the Universal
Authors: Klapwijk Jacob
Published: November 2012

By way of introduction I want first to distinguish between several types of pluralism; then I want to consider more closely the pluralism of norms and values in order to formulate, finally, the problem that is central to this essay, the problem of particular versus universal norms.
Modelvorming Als Heuristisch Instrument in Het Wetenschappelijke Ontsluitingsproces
Authors: Stafleu M.D.
Published: November 2012

De ontsluiting van de kosmos, de dynamiek van de schepping, de onrust in ons bestaan doortrekt de systematiek van Dooyeweerd. Zij is wetmatig, subjectief èn objectief. Zij heeft betrekking op de modale aspecten en op de structuren van de werkelijkheid. We kennen natuurlijke ontwikkeling, de evolutie zoals beschreven door de natuurwetenschappen, we kennen de beschavingsgeschiedenis van de mensheid, we kennen de artistieke ontsluiting in de kunsten, we kennen de juridische ontsluiting in de rechtsvorming, we kennen de wetenschappelijke ontsluiting. De ontsluiting is normatief oorzover mensen er een leidende rol in spelen, het script van die rol is de wereldbeschouwing en het middel is de techniek.
Fantastic Things: Critical Notes Toward A Social Ontology of the Arts
Authors: Zuidervaart Lambert
Published: November 2012

Future historians will note many parallels between the 1930s and the 1990s in Europe and North America. Both decades appear to be times of dramatic cultural upheaval and societal transformation. Indeed, many of the battles fought over capitalism, democracy, and cultural modernism in the 1930s have returned in recent struggles over a global economy, the welfare state, and cultural postmodernism. Hence it may be instructive for contemporary Christian scholars to revisit the seminal texts of European philosophy in the 1930s. Cultural theorists have long recognized the significance of Martin Heidegger’s essay “The Origin of the Work of Art,” both as a turning point in his own thinking and as a fundamental challenge to modern aesthetics. Presented as lectures in 1935-36 and first published in German in 1950, the essay develops a conception of artistic truth that breaks entirely with Kantian divisions among epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics. Much less recognized, even among his students and followers, is the significance of Herman Dooyeweerd’s discussion of art from around the same time.3 First published in Dutch in 1936 and then revised and republished in English in 1957, Dooyeweerd’s discussion presents a conception of the artwork that reconfigures the Kantian divisions discarded by Heidegger.
The Language of all the Earth Confounded, or, Directional Pluralism
Authors: van Eijnatten Joris
Published: November 2012

In the following I offer several comments on a recent discussion by Sander Griffioen and Richard Mouw on modern pluralism. Pluralisms and Horizons (Mouw & Griffioen, 1993) is a deceptively small book of wide compass, which for three reasons makes interesting reading. First, the authors have much to say on one of the current hot-items in Western civilization: pluralism. Second, they take their point of departure in Christian philosophy, and more specifically in the Reformed tradition. And third, they unite a principled stance based on Christian faith with an openminded readiness to seriously take issue with many different points of view. Their book is in my opinion worth reading merely as an exemplary exercise in intellectual tolerance. The following offers, then, for what it is worth, a short and limited critique of some aspects of Pluralisms and Horizons. Since I am especially interested in the history of Christian thought, and since Philosophia Reformata is historically and philosophically rooted in the Reformed tradition, my criticism will particularly centre on Calvinist (or, if you will, Calvinian) thought. I have two specific objections to the views put forward by Mouw and Griffioen. Both are connected with the idea of “directional pluralism” upon which the authors elaborate; both centre on my contention that the authors fail to appreciate the nature of modern (Dutch) culture.
Iron Sharpening Iron: Exchange on Directional Pluralism
Authors: J. Mouw Richard , Griffioen Sander
Published: November 2012

Joris van Eijnatten’s critique of our view of ‘directional pluralism’ touches on matters central to Pluralisms and Horizons. It is a honour to have our book subjected to such a careful and sensitive reading. Some of the points he raises we want to keep thinking about, but others are so pivotal to our account — as well as, we believe, to Reformational philosophy as a whole — that a prompt answer is called for. Therefore, we welcome this opportunity for a public response.
Time and Change in Vollenhoven
Authors: Tol Anthony
Published: November 2012

Within the movement of reformational philosophy much attention has been given to the topic of time. Dooyeweerd initiated the discussion in the mid-30’s with his first publications on this topic. What turned out to be most challenging was not so much his treatment of time as such—e.g. his distinction between “cosmic time” and “modal time”—but the anthropological implication of the supra-temporality of the heart that transcends the temporal human functions of body and mind. Vollenhoven long remained in the background of this debate, at least in its printed form, though it is common knowledge that he did not share this implication as regards the human heart. Only when he relinquished his leadership role in the Association for Calvinistic Philosophy in 1963 did he feel free to express himself more openly on matters in which he differed with Dooyeweerd. In that year Vollenhoven gave three lectures on the topic of time. Five years later, in 1968, he reviewed the topic again. The material of these lectures has recently been published.3 It is now possible, despite the somewhat fragmentary character that such lecture notes usually have, more or less to reconstruct Vollenhoven’s view and to assess its chief points of difference with Dooyeweerd. However, this whole topic is too broad to be treated adequately within the confines of one article. Therefore I shall limit myself to the first step of such a discussion and concentrate on reconstructing Vollenhoven view of time, or rather offer an interpretation of that view, on the basis of his later thought. The scattered remarks about time found in Vollenhoven’s earlier work will also be brought to bear. The main trend of the ensuing discussion is therefore expository and constructive.
A Comparison Between Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven on the Historiography of Philosophy
Authors: Bril K.A.
Published: November 2012

The founders of reformational philosophy, H. Dooyeweerd and D.H.Th. Vollenhoven, each published in short succession, viz. 1949 and 1950, a voluminous study in the history of philosophy. Whoever reads both works is struck by the remarkable differences in treatment. In this contribution these differences are analysed, but there is also indication of agreement. The article ends with a number of conclusions based on the analysis.
Overheid en Normhandhaving
Authors: Dengerink J.D.
Published: November 2012

Klop snijdt in zijn eind 1993 aan de Rijksuniversiteit ter Leiden gepresenteerde dissertatie een uitermate actuele en belangrijke zaak aan. In de ondertitel formuleert hij deze als ‘Noodzaak èn onwenselijkheid van overheidsinvloed op normen en waarden.’ We worden hier herinnerd aan de discussie die zich ontwikkeld heeft rondom de oproep van vroegere ministers Van Agt tot een ethisch réveil en Hirsch Ballin om ook in de politiek normen en waarden een centrale plaats te geven. Het is een probleem, dat om gedegen doordenking vraagt. ‘Noodzaak èn onwenselijkheid”: is hier sprake van een reële of een schijnbare tegenstelling?
Bij De Grenzen Van Verplegingswetenschap
Authors: Blokhuis P.
Published: November 2012

In de eerste hoofdstukken van vakwetenschappelijke handboeken wordt de lezer vaak met de grenzen van de betreffende vakwetenschap geconfronteerd. Het terrein en de aard van de vakwetenschap worden geschetst en daarmee de plaats van het terrein binnen de werkelijkheid en de betekenis van de verworven kennis. Het is de filosofie eigen dat zij zich in tegenstelling tot de vakwetenschap langdurig ophoudt bij dergelijke grenzen en er regelmatig naar terugkeert. Voor de vakwetenschap betekent nadenken over de grenzen gedwongen oponthoud dat niet tot gewenste resultaten leidt. Men gaat liever zo snel mogelijk het terrein op om daar onderzoek te doen. De filosofie blijft niet alleen langer stilstaan bij de grenzen, ze beweegt zich vervolgens ook in een andere richting dan de vakwetenschap, de richting van het meer omvattende.
Hartstocht En Rede (I)
Authors: van der Hoeven J.
Published: November 2012

Dit artikel is, samen met een nog volgend tweede, bedoeld als aanzet tot een bredere studie. Die studie zal, naar ik hoop, binnen twee jaar voltooid zijn. Ze maakt in zekere mate deel uit van een onderzoeksprogramma dat in uitvoering is aan de Faculteit der Wijsbegeerte van de Vrije Universiteit. Het is nu niet van belang de eigen plaats ervan binnen dat programma nauwkeuriger te omschrijven. Wel kan worden gezegd dat de studie een sterk historische inslag heeft, maar uitmondt in een meer persoonlijke, systematische beschouwing. Dat artikelen met dit thema een plaats krijgen in Philosophia Reformata, behoeft waarschijnlijk weinig betoog. Een tijdschrift dat ontstaan is uit een herbezinning op reikwijdte en functie van “rede”, een herbezinning die ertoe leidde “liefde” als dieptemotief in de werkelijkheid te honoreren, —zo’n tijdschrift lijkt geen ongeschikte plek.
Onverenigbaarheid En Evolutie-Werkelijkheid
Authors: Stellingwerff Johan
Published: November 2012

Herman Philipse is aan de Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden hoogleraar in de wijsbegeerte, in het bijzonder in de kennisleer en haar ontwikkeling sinds Descartes. In de bundel: Filosofie aan de grens (voor Theo de Boer) schreef Philipse: ‘Het probleem van de relatie tussen het fysische wereldbeeld en de alledaagse werkelijkheid is mijns inziens het meest fundamentele vraagstuk van de moderne wijsbegeerte’.1 Over die relatie schreef Philipse elders: ‘Common sense en fysica zouden onverenigbaar zijn. Ik noem deze gedachte de onverenigbaarheidsstelling. Deze stelling is in mijn ogen de diepste vooronderstelling van de moderne wijsbegeerte, die ten grondslag ligt aan uiteenlopende problemen zoals dat van vrijheid en determinisme en dat van het bestaan van de buitenwereld’.2 Hoe een stelling tevens een vooronderstelling kan zijn, legde Philipse niet uit. Is ‘onverenigbaarheids-vooronderstelling’ bedoeld?
Hellenization and Keeping Body and Soul Together
Authors: Keizer Heleen M.
Published: November 2012

The Christian church had its early development in the Hellenistic, Greco-Roman world and for that reason it can certainly be stated that the church was “Hellenized”. But how should we define this Hellenization? And what should be our judgement of it? The collection of essays entitled Hellenization revisited centers on an important theme.
Hartstocht En Rede (II)
Authors: van der Hoeven J.
Published: November 2012

Na de terugblik op hoofdstations en hoofdfiguren in de begripsgeschiedenis zijn we nu toe aan de bespreking van een viertal 19deeeuwse filosofen die een opmerkelijke kentering in het denken over ons tweespan demonstreren. Zoals gezegd, het gaat om Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard en Nietzsche. Sterk verschillend, ongetwijfeld, ook in de uitwerking van ons thema; maar bij elkaar toch representatief voor de genoemde kentering en van historische betekenis voor onze hedendaagse interesses. Het onderlinge verschil en ieders formaat maken het wenselijk, zelfs onvermijdelijk, eerst elk afzonderlijk in beeld te brengen.
De Oorspronkelijkheid En Actuele Betekenis Van H. Van Riessen Als Filosoof Van De Techniek
Authors: Haaksma H.W.H.
Published: November 2012

Ondanks het door Kroes gemelde en in de inleiding aangegeven feit dat op de Burndy Library conferentie in 1973 de meeste deelnemers het lineaire model, waarin techniek als toegepaste natuurwetenschap wordt gezien, afwezen, stelt G. de Vries in 1989 in een artikel in Kennis en Methode dat dit model nog steeds het gangbare beeld is.33 Daarin “wordt de weg van een wetenschappelijke vinding naar het uiteindelijke gebruik in een aantal stappen voorgesteld. Om te beginnen wordt in fundamenteel onderzoek de natuur bestudeerd. Hier legt men de feiten bloot en onderzoekt men de mogelijkheden van ingrijpen die de natuur ons biedt. In een aantal volgende stappen worden vervolgens deze mogelijkheden op maat gesneden en omgevormd tot daadwerkelijk geproduceerde en bruikbare produkten. Elk van de stappen vindt plaats binnen een gemakkelijk te identificeren institutie [..]” (p. 280). Maar hij stelt vrijwel onmiddellijk daarna de vraag of dit wel klopt en richt voor de beantwoording van deze vraag de aandacht op het verleden om te kunnen schetsen hoe een nieuwe techniek wordt geïntroduceerd.
Kennis en Transcendentie
Authors: Munnik René
Published: November 2012

In de OU-cursus presenteert Prof. Dr. H.G. Geertsema de kennisopvatting vanuit reformatorisch wijsgerig perspectief. Daarin wordt uitgegaan van de gedachte dat de werkelijkheid vanuit Gods bedoeling moet worden verstaan; als diens maaksel en als antwoord op diens belofte-bevel. Dat betekent voor de kennis dat overeenkomstig die bedoeling recht moet worden gedaan aan de eigen aard en de kwalitatieve bepaaldheid van de dingen. Deze opvatting fungeert als een kritische toets voor andere kenopvattingen, met name die van Plato en Descartes. In dit artikel zal ik daarop een reactie geven vanuit rooms katholiek gezichtspunt.
Filosofie en Geloof
Authors: G. Geertsema Henk
Published: November 2012

Het punt dat René Munnik in zijn reactie aan de orde stelt is van fundamentele betekenis. Is het wijsgerig geoorloofd geloof en filosofie zo met elkaar te verbinden als ik dat doe in ‘Kennis in reformatorisch wijsgerig perspectief’, mijn bijdrage aan de OU-cursus ‘Cultuurfilosofie vanuit levensbeschouwelijke perspectieven’? Is het niet beter de argumentatie ‘strikt wijsgerig’ te houden en de filosofie te beperken tot de ‘natuurlijke’ kennis in plaats van een op openbaring gebaseerd geloofsperspectief als uitgangspunt te nemen (vgl. p.28)?1 Ik wil hierover graag enkele opmerkingen maken, in de hoop dat daarmee ook mijn erkentelijkheid voor zijn kritische notities tot uitdrukking komt.
A Contextual Analysis of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women
Authors: McQuigg Ronagh
Published: November 2012

This article examines the Council of Europe’s recent Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women. The focus of this article is on the specific issue of domestic violence. The article seeks to place the Convention in the context of other developments as regards the analysis of domestic violence as a human rights issue.
Muscovite Arithmetic in Seventeenth-Century Russian Civilization: Is It Not Time to Discard the “Backwardness” Label?
Authors: Brown Peter B.
Published: November 2012

Muscovite civilization utilized Byzantine-Greek alphanumerals for its mathematical symbols. Occasionally derided by historians for being retrograde in comparison to the Hindu-Arabic numerals sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe adopted, Muscovy’s alphanumerals were versatile and suitably contoured to perform a variety of computational tasks. Muscovite alphanumerals were an integral part of early Moderen Russia’s administrative culture, and played a prominent role in fostering the experiential knowledge underlying the educational achievements of the Imperial Period. Though they lacked the zero and the decimal, Muscovites still had a reasonable grasp of the base-ten system, and comprehended well basic arithmetical skills and relationship properties, less so equational ones. The Russians developed complex abaci well suited for commercial transactions, large-scale construction, military inventories and payrolls, and the land registry, to name a few. These instruments manipulated an extensive variety of weights, measures, linear distances, area dimensions, volume measurements, and currency. Muscovite arithmetic was a prominent factor assisting in the advancement of critical thinking skills in 1600’s Russia. Nonetheless, as the seventeenth century wore on, sociological, educational or pedagogical, military scientific, administrative, and cultural arguments or interactive phenomena came to bear and increasingly found the Muscovite algorithmic symbols wanting. In 1699 the government decreed that Hindu-Arabic numerals henceforth were to be used in official documents throughout the country. Directly and indirectly, the complex thought processes bound up when operating with Muscovite alphanumerals were one impetus for the further unfolding of Russian civilization after 1700.
Loop Current Growth and Eddy Shedding Using Models and Observations: Numerical Process Experiments and Satellite Altimetry Data
Authors: Chang Yu-Lin , Oey L.-Y.
Published: November 2012

Recent studies on Loop Current’s variability in the Gulf of Mexico suggest that the system may behave with some regularity forced by the biannually varying trade winds. The process is analyzed here using a reduced-gravity model and satellite data. The model shows that a biannual signal is produced by vorticity and transport fluctuations in the Yucatan Channel because of the piling up and retreat of warm water in the northwestern Caribbean Sea forced by the biannually varying trade wind. The Loop grows and expands with increased northward velocity and cyclonic vorticity of the Yucatan Current, and eddies are shed when these are near minima. Satellite sea surface height (SSH) data from 1993 to 2010 are analyzed. These show, consistent with the reduced-gravity experiments and previous studies, a (statistically) significant asymmetric biannual variation of the growth and wane of Loop Current: strong from summer to fall and weaker from winter to spring; the asymmetry being due to the asymmetry that also exists in the long-term observed wind. The biannual signal is contained in the two leading EOF modes, which together explain 47% of the total variance, and which additionally describe the eddy shedding and westward propagation from summer to fall. The EOFs also show connectivity between Loop Current and Caribbean Sea’s variability by mass and vorticity fluxes through the Yucatan Channel.
Effects of Anti-Fatigue Mats on Perceived Discomfort and Weight-Shifting During Prolonged Standing
Authors: Wiggermann Neal , Keyserling W. Monroe
Published: November 2012

Objective:

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of anti-fatigue mats on perceived discomfort and behavioral responses (weight-shifting between the feet) during prolonged standing.

Background:

Prolonged standing is a common requirement in the workplace and is a well-known cause of discomfort. Anti-fatigue mats have been shown to reduce discomfort resulting from standing, but no study has identified a particular mat that performs better than others or examined the relationship between discomfort and weight-shifting.

Methods:

Participants stood for 4 hours on four commercially available “anti-fatigue” mats and a hard surface (control condition). Subjective ratings of discomfort were measured, and in-shoe pressure was recorded and used to evaluate weight-shifting during standing.

Results:

Compared to the control condition, after 4 hours of standing discomfort was reduced by three of the four mats, but discomfort ratings did not significantly differ among mats. However, significant differences among mats were found in the frequency of weight-shifting, and weight-shifting was positively correlated to discomfort.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that subjective reports of discomfort were not sufficiently sensitive to detect differences among mats for the experimental conditions tested. Behavioral responses, specifically weight-shifting between feet, may provide a more sensitive alternative to subjective reports.
Another Waltz? Methodological Rhetoric and Practice in Theory of International Politics
Authors: Humphreys Adam RC
Published: November 2012

Although Theory of International Politics is a standard-bearer for explanatory theory in international relations (IR), Waltz’s methodology has been subject to numerous quite disparate analyses. One reason why it has proved hard to pin down is that too little attention has been paid to how, in practice, Waltz approaches real-world problems. Despite his neopositivist rhetoric, Waltz applies neorealism in a notably loose, even indeterminate, fashion. There is therefore a disjunction between what he says and what he does. This is partly explained by his unsatisfactory attempt to reconcile his avowed neopositivism with his belief that international politics is characterized by organized complexity. The inconsistencies thus created also help to make sense of why competing interpretations of his methodology have emerged. Some aspects of his work do point beyond these particular methodological travails in ways that will continue to be of interest to IR theorists, but its most enduring methodological lesson may be that rhetoric and practice do not necessarily fit harmoniously together.
The Influence of a Positive Psychology Course on Student Well-Being
Authors: Maybury Karol K.
Published: November 2012

This study examined the influence of participation in a positive psychology course on undergraduates’ well-being. Twenty-three students from a small liberal arts college in the Northeastern United States participated in this study. As hypothesized, students reported gains in hope, self-actualization, well-being, agency, and pathway hopefulness, purpose, and mission in life. However, contrary to the hypotheses, students did not report significant gains in presence of meaning, or reduction in the envy of others. These findings are discussed in light of previous research supporting the efficacy of positive psychology exercises on mood and well-being, The APA Guidelines for the Psychology Major major, and the increasing number of positive psychology courses offered at undergraduate institutions.
Clinical Effects of Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum BB536 on Immune Function and Intestinal Microbiota in Elderly Patients Receiving Enteral Tube Feeding
Authors: Akatsu Hiroyasu , Iwabuchi Noriyuki , Xiao Jin‐zhong , Matsuyama Zenjiro , Kurihara Rina , Okuda Kenji , Yamamoto Takayuki , Maruyama Mitsuo
Published: November 2012

Background: Immune system function declines with age. We evaluated the effects of supplementation with the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum BB536 on immune function and intestinal microbiota in the elderly. Materials and Methods: In a double‐blind study, 45 elderly patients fed by enteral tube feeding (mean [SD] age 81.7 [8.7] years) were given BB536 (n = 23) or a placebo powder (n = 22) for 12 weeks and were observed for an additional 4 weeks posttreatment. At week 4, all patients received an influenza vaccination (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B). Clinical data were assessed, including body temperature, bowel movements, fecal microbiota, and immunological biomarkers in blood. Results: BB536 intake significantly increased cell numbers of bifidobacteria in fecal microbiota. There was a tendency toward an increase (P = .085 at week 4 and P = .070 at week 16) of serum IgA in the BB536 group compared with the placebo group. BB536 intake did not significantly affect hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers in response to the influenza vaccine. Natural killer (NK) cell activity decreased significantly in the placebo group during the intervention but not in the BB536 group. Among those subjects with low NK cell activity (<55%, n = 10 for each group), a significant intergroup difference (P < .05) was observed in the changed values from baseline of NK cell activity at weeks 8 and 12. Conclusions: These results shed new light on the potential of long‐term ingestion of BB536 in increasing the cell number of bifidobacteria in intestinal microbiota and modulating immune function in the elderly.