bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Intersubjective Worlds of Science and Religion
Authors: Wallace Alan B.
Published: February 2006

This essay explores the possibility of intersubjective truth in science and religion to present an alternative to metaphysical realism on the one hand, and relativism and constructivism on the other. Wallace gives a summary of objectivism — the view that there is a world separate from human perceptions and concepts. As scientific naturalism proceeded to build knowledge of the objective world, religion recoiled against this naturalism as insufficient to account for God or the soul, thus maintaining a sort of mind/matter dualism. Wallace argues that the science of mental phenomena has been largely speculative and not systematically empirical, largely due to the strong emphasis of science on external phenomena. Thus, contemporary cognitive science focuses on the mechanics of mental phenomena instead of the dynamics of the mind. Wallace discusses the pioneering work of William James, suggesting that science could consider the ways that brain and mind influence each other, rather than taking mind to be simply an outcome of brain processes. He asserts that science works with the world of experience, not a world independent of human experience, though truth-claims can be organized according to their intersubjective invariance across multiple frames of experience-based reference. Wallace then discusses how one may validate scientific and religious claims made by those who are highly trained and have opportunities for extraordinary experiences of consciousness — those which outsiders cannot share nor perhaps understand; yet both apply intersubjective empirical and pragmatic criteria to determine the utility of their truths.
Kant and the Empiricists
Authors: Waxman Wayne
Published: February 2006

This book explores the transcendental philosophy of Immanuel Kant as a continuation of British Empiricism by non-empiricist means. It argues that philosophies of John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume are united not by their empiricism, but their commitment to sensibilism — the thesis that all ideas originate in being perceived, and have no existence prior to or independently of their immediate presence to consciousness in perception. These philosophies are examined in detail to expose the gaps, preconceptions, and misunderstandings that contributed to obscuring the underlying continuity and unity of their thought. The book is divided into four parts. The General Introduction presents four chapters dealing with the philosophies of Kant and Hume. Part I explores Locke’s new model philosophy. Part II discusses Berkeley’s theory of understanding. Part III focuses on Hume’s associationism.
Kant's Extension of Humean Skepticism to Mathematics
Authors: Waxman Wayne
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines Kant’s belief that Hume’s premises, if strictly adhered to and pursued to their farthest implications, would have led him to abandon empirical psychologism in favor of Kant’s own transcendental philosophy. It is argued that that the same reasoning Hume used to show causal necessity is grounded not on the constitution of perceived objects — sensations, reflexions, and their images in thought — but on the psychological constitutions of the mind in considering them, and applies with equal force to the necessity of mathematical relations, and thus has the same skeptical implication. Two objections likely to arise from the claim that Kant’s transcendental philosophy must be understood as a psychologism modeled upon Hume are addressed.
Understanding in Language
Authors: Waxman Wayne
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines Locke’s theory on language. Since most knowledge depends on views that can be attained only through the intervention of words, Locke came to realize that his inquiry into “what Knowledge the Understanding hath by those Ideas” it “comes to be furnished with” must be prefaced with an investigation of language — the indispensable medium in which so much of human knowledge is framed. The signification of words, the philosophical uses of language, Locke’s critique of essentialism, and mental and verbal propositions are discussed.
Berkeley's Separability Principle: Semantics, Psychology, and Ontology
Authors: Waxman Wayne
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines Berkeley’s separability principle. It is argued that Berkeley misrepresented Locke’s doctrine of abstract ideas due to deficiencies in his initial characterization of it. Whenever Berkeley exposes a doctrine in Locke, in other philosophers, in Newtonian science, or in any other domain as an instance of the doctrine of abstract ideas, his reasoning turns on applications of the separability principle. Berkeley used this principle as an ontological touchstone: a means of deciding which of the things we can conceive by means of denotations correspond to things actually existing or capable of existing in the real world disclosed to us through our ideas.
Objective Understanding Transformed
Authors: Waxman Wayne
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines Berkeley’s theory of vision. He endorsed the essentials of Locke’s account of visual depth perception while deepening and extending it beyond anything contemplated by Locke. The core idea common to both is the need for “the Experience that what affects his touch so or so, must affect his sight so or so”. The synthesis of visual spatiality, Berkeley’s theory of spatial representation, the tactual bases of spatial imagination, the phenomenology of vision, the formal multiplicity of vision, the visual language of spatiality, and objects as chapters in the volume of nature are discussed.
The Pre‐Humean Problem of Origins
Authors: Waxman Wayne
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines the state of the theory of origins prior to Hume’s arrival on the scene. It begins with the Rationalists’ intellectualist accounts, and then draws together the elements of the sensibilist response to it. The Rationalist problem of origins, Locke’s critique of Rationalist intellectualism, the limits of Lockean sensibilism, Berkeley’s idealism, and Hume’s psychologism are discussed.
The Exodus in Biblical Memory
Authors: Hendel Ronald
Published: February 2006

The narrative of the Exodus preserves various facets of collective memory. The memories of Egyptian slavery, of devastating plagues, and of the figure of Moses can be correlated in various ways with historical effects during the Egyptian Empire in Canaan. The figure of Moses serves as a unifying element in these stories, and may derive from a dimly perceived historical figure.
Performing Execution, Part 1
Authors: Berkowitz Beth A.
Published: February 2006

This chapter focuses on the people who enact an execution according to rabbinic law, beginning with those found in the Bible: the blood-avenger, the community, and the witnesses to the crime. It argues that the blood-avenger serves as a focal point for tensions between the individual and the rabbinic authorities. In addressing the role of the community and witnesses, it shows that the Rabbis withdraw the agency of execution from the community and deliver it into the hands of the crime’s witnesses. This transfer of power can be interpreted as a strategy for controlling the power of execution, while at the same time maintaining some distance from the execution itself.
Performing Execution, Part 2
Authors: Berkowitz Beth A.
Published: February 2006

This chapter completes the study of the cast of characters found in rabbinic execution, turning attention to the criminal’s relatives and to the role of the Rabbis themselves. In exploring the part of the relatives, it extricates the relevant passages of Mishnah from their accepted interpretation by the Babylonian Talmud to show that the criminal is permanently buried in a location separate from the family burial site. It argues that the Mishnah’s laws prescribing separate burial, prohibiting the relatives from mourning, and requiring the relatives to reconcile with the court are all means of asserting the primacy of the rabbinic community over the bonds of family. Finally, the chapter examines narratives in which sages are portrayed as agents of execution. It shows that these stories project the power of execution onto the Rabbis, but also evince a strategic ambivalence about that power.
The Judge and the Martyr
Authors: Berkowitz Beth A.
Published: February 2006

This chapter juxtaposes the death penalty discourse of the Rabbis with that of Christians. It shows that the early Christians, like the Rabbis, used death penalty discourse to great effect, but in an almost diametrically opposite way — Christian identification was with the executed, not the executioner. It examines the passion narrative in the four gospels: the stories of the execution of Stephen and the conversion of Paul in Acts, martyrdom narratives, and the writings of Ignatius and Justin to show that the identification with the judged and correlative criticism of the judge was central to the development of early Christian culture. It shows that the rabbinic and Christian discourses are not as far apart as they might initially seem — both produce new sites of authority for their respective audiences. The chapter considers the paradoxical ways in which the rabbinic embrace of power functions as critique, and the Christian critique of power functions also as an embrace, in an attempt to undermine enduring stereotypes of both the religious constellations of early rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity.
Seeds of the Kingdom
Authors: Peterson Anna L.
Published: February 2006

Seeds of the Kingdom explores the utopian religious ethics practiced in Amish settlements in the United States Midwest and in former war zones in El Salvador. These communities stand as a counter-example to dominant trends not only in agriculture and economics, but also in political and religious culture. Residents organize their lives according to social ethics drawn from the Anabaptist and progressive Catholic streams within Western Christianity. Out of these traditions, they have developed a this-worldly Christian utopianism that provides both a guide for everyday life and a long-term vision of a possible future. This book offers a detailed portrait of these communities’ histories, environmental and social practices, religious values, and hopes for the future. It compares the differences and commonalities in their ethical systems, in the context of the larger religious traditions and social movements out of which they emerge. Another important area of comparison is the communities’ efforts to develop sustainable farming practices, as part of a larger argument about the importance of agriculture for both social and environmental ethics. Although the Amish and Salvadoran communities differ in many important aspects, their collective experiences suggest that efforts to create more environmentally sustainable practices and societies have a greater chance of success if they share certain common traits. These include a strong collective identity and commitment to the common good; deep attachment to local landscapes and species combined with awareness of larger dynamics; a desire to preserve non-human as well as human lives; and a utopian horizon that provides both goals and the hope of reaching them.
Community
Authors: Peterson Anna L.
Published: February 2006

This chapter looks at the extent to which the Salvadorans and Amish settlements have achieved social justice, protection for vulnerable groups, and democratic institutions and processes in their communities. It analyzes and compares the distinctive contributions of Anabaptist and progressive Catholic theology to these issues. Particular attention is given to the religious dimensions of social movements and other mechanisms for seeking political change, and to the interactions between religious ethics and the actual practices of religious communities.
Visions and Versions of the Miraculous
Authors: Dempsey Corinne G.
Published: February 2006

This chapter describes the Rush temple as a place where miraculous worldviews thrive amid a worldly, well-educated population. It begins with a description of miracle debates as historically and currently played out within Christian and Hindu contexts, and suggests that Rush temple members represent a larger global trend rather than an aberration. It recounts miracle narratives along with an analysis of their function and meaning and organizes miracles into two groups: “guru miracles” and “deity miracles.” Guru miracles, such as the transfusion of śaktipat into an initiate, are associated with the supernatural powers of the guru, or siddhis, an anticipated byproduct of their many years of religious discipline. Deity miracles, featuring the goddess and other members of her Rush temple entourage such as Ganeś and Dattatreya, tend to be more capricious and directly associated with the power of divinity.
A Fine Balance
Authors: Dempsey Corinne G.
Published: February 2006

This chapter investigates the nature and effect of religious discipline at the Rush temple, and notes how participants from various backgrounds, possessing very different motivations for visiting the temple, encounter temple expectations in very different ways. For instance, the majority of participants, often loosely affiliated with the temple and drawn primarily to the power and grace of the temple goddess, are not typically interested in religious discipline. As a result, they sometimes receive admonitions from the guru, Aiya, ever the perfectionist, that warn them of the pitfalls of a utilitarian connection to the goddess and of an overemphasis on material well-being. Inner core devotees, typically highly dedicated to and invested in the heavy demands of temple rituals and upkeep, receive a different set of messages from Aiya. Ever the trickster-maverick and dedicated to the tantric mandate to narrow the human-divine divide, Aiya infuses humor and playfulness into temple rituals and interactions with his students, encouraging them to engage with the deity with intimacy and light-heartedness amid their serious devotion.
Moral Skepticisms
Authors: Sinnott-Armstrong Walter
Published: February 2006

Moral Skepticisms provides a detailed overview of moral epistemology, addressing such profound questions as: Are any moral beliefs true? Are any justified? Is moral knowledge possible? These questions lead to fundamental issues about the nature of morality, language, metaphysics, justification, and knowledge. They also have tremendous practical importance for controversial moral debates in politics, law, education, and health care ethics. To help understand these questions, Part 1 provides essential background, clarifies the issues, and argues for a novel contrastivist account of justified belief. Part 2 then explores the main alternatives in moral epistemology, including naturalism, normativism, intuitionism, contextualism, and coherentism. Sinnott-Armstrong argues that all of these approaches fail to rule out moral nihilism-the view that nothing is really morally wrong or right, bad or good. Then he develops his own novel theory — moderate classy Pyrrhonian moral skepticism — which concludes that some moral beliefs can be justified out of a modest contrast class, but no moral beliefs can be justified out of an unlimited contrast class, and neither contrast class is the relevant one, so no moral belief is justified without qualification.
Is War Necessary for Economic Growth?
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W.
Published: February 2006

Military and defense-related procurement has been an important source of technology development across a broad spectrum of industries that account for an important share of U.S. industrial production. This book focuses on six general-purpose technologies: interchangeable parts and mass production, military and commercial aircraft, nuclear energy and electric power, computers and semiconductors, the Internet, and the space industries. It addresses three questions that have significant implications for the future growth of the U.S. economy: Will changes in the structure of the U.S. economy and of the defense-industrial base preclude military and defense-related research, development, and procurement from playing a role in the future comparable to the role it played in the past? Will public support for commercial research and development become an important source of new general purpose technologies? Will a major war, or the threat of major war, be necessary to mobilize the scientific, technical, and financial resources necessary to induce the development of new general-purpose technologies? It argues that when the history of U.S. technology development over the next half century is written, it will focus on incremental rather than revolutionary changes in both military and commercial technology. It will also be written within the context of slower productivity growth than the relatively high rates that prevailed in the U.S. through the 1960s or during the information technology bubble that began in the early 1990s.
War and Economic Growth
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W.
Published: February 2006

The relationship between war and economic development has been controversial in economic history. During the Cold War, defense and defense-related research and development were criticized as a burden on commercial technology development. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that military and defense-related research, development, and procurement have represented major sources of technology development across a broad spectrum of industries that account for an important share of U.S. industrial production. This first chapter presents an overview of the theoretical perspectives that economists have used to interpret the rate and direction of technical change.
The Space Industries
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W.
Published: February 2006

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) was created in 1958 to ensure U.S. leadership in areas of space technology considered important to national prestige, national defense, and foreign policy. It has played an important entrepreneurial role in the development of both communications and earth-observing satellites for military and commercial purposes. Nonmilitary and intelligence applications of satellite communication technology achieved commercial viability much more rapidly than satellite earth-observing and geographic positioning systems. During the past several decades, the development and implementation of civilian applications have been slowed by national security considerations, and by ideologically burdened privatization policies that have threatened economic viability.
Is War Necessary?
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W.
Published: February 2006

Several important questions bear on the impact of military and defense-related research, development, and procurement on future technology development in the U.S. One is whether changes in the structure of the American economy and of the defense industrial base preclude military procurement from playing a role in the development of advanced technology comparable to that it played in the past. Another is whether the military and defense-related industries have become so small relative to the size of the U.S. industrial sector that they no longer exert significant leverage on the rate and direction of technical change. A more disturbing question is whether a war, or threat of war, will be necessary to induce the mobilization of the scientific, technical, and financial resources to generate new general-purpose technologies. It is argued that war or its threat will be a less powerful inducement to technical change in the first half of the 21st century than it was during the last half of the 20th century.
The Monastic Paradigm and the Romanesque Style
Authors: Viladesau Richard
Published: February 2006

The Romanesque ivory crucifix of Fernand and Sancha, with a smiling victorious Christ reigning from the cross, illustrates the aesthetic mediation of soteriology in the early middle ages. The theme of Christ as victorious hero is also seen in the vernacular religious poetry of the period like the “Dream of the Rood” and “The Heliand”. The theoretical mediation of “Christus Victor” theology is expressed in classical form by Gregory the Great. The “satisfaction theory” of Anselm produced a systematic theoretical alternative to earlier Patristic images. Abelard’s emphasis on Christ as teacher and example anticipated major themes of scholasticism, while Bernard of Clairvaux represented the monastic protest against incipient scholastic method. But these divergent theological paradigms nevertheless coincided in representing a new devotion to the humanity of Christ.
The Theology of High Scholasticism and Gothic Art
Authors: Viladesau Richard
Published: February 2006

The crucifix, painted by Giunta Pisano for the basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, represents the triumph of Franciscan spirituality of devotion to Christ’s humanity, along with a new style of representation that would develop into the Gothic image of the suffering but beautiful Christ. The theological theories of atonement developed during the period of high Scholasticism by Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, and John Duns Scotus combined elements of Anselm’s “satisfaction theory” with a more theoretical emphasis on grace, developing a “sacramental” model of salvation. Medieval methods of exegesis and new “revelations” led to the introduction of further detail in the portrayal of the crucifixion. The humanism of the period also extended to an increasing emphasis on the suffering of Christ’s mother Mary, as seen in the famous hymn “Stabat Mater”.
Free Will and Neuroscience
Authors: Mele Alfred R.
Published: February 2006

This chapter argues that neuroscientist Benjamin Libet’s data do not justify his assertion that “the brain ‘decides’ to initiate [certain actions] before there is any reportable subjective awareness that such a decision has taken place,” and do not justify associated worries about free will. The data are examined in light of some recent findings about reaction times, and some familiar distinctions in the philosophy of action, for example, the distinction between decisions and desires (or urges).
Conclusion
Authors: Mele Alfred R.
Published: February 2006

This chapter summarizes the compatibilist and libertarian positions developed in previous chapters. It also explores the implications for free will and moral responsibility of a pair of thought experiments featuring imagined empirical discoveries.
Minds and Gods
Authors: Tremlin Todd
Published: February 2006

This book provides an introduction to the cognitive science of religion, a new discipline of study that explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas and behavior on the basis of evolved mental structures and functions of the human brain. Belief in gods and the social formation of religion have their genesis in biology — in powerful, often hidden, processes of cognition that all humans share. Arguing that we cannot understand what we think until we first understand how we think, the book describes ways in which evolution by natural selection molded the modern human mind, resulting in mental modularity, innate intelligences, and species-typical modes of thought. The book details many of the adapted features of the brain — agent detection, theory of mind, social cognition, and others — focusing on how mental endowments inherited from our ancestral past lead people to naturally entertain religious ideas, such as the god concepts that are ubiquitous the world over. In addition to introducing the major themes, theories, and thinkers in the cognitive science of religion, the book also advances the current discussion by moving beyond explanations for individual religious beliefs and behaviors to the operation of culture and religious systems. Drawing on dual-process models of cognition developed in social psychology, the book argues that the same cognitive constraints that shape human thought also work as a selective force on the content and durability of religions.
The Architecture of the Modern Mind
Authors: Tremlin Todd
Published: February 2006

This chapter presents an overview of the development and architecture of the human brain, and shows what evolutionary history has to do with the nature of cognition today. Drawing on the perspectives and techniques of evolutionary psychology, it pursues the following questions: (1) Given our ancestral world, what kinds of mental structures and functions should we expect to find in the brain, and do we? and (2) What roles do mental structures and functions formed in the Pleistocene world continue to play in “modern” minds? In the course of the discussion, it also outlines contemporary models of the mind — from the “blank slate” view to the idea of massive modularity — and surveys the range of intuitive knowledge (e.g., intuitive biology, intuitive physics, and intuitive psychology) and innate cognitive processes that both shape and constrain human thought.
Gods and Why They Matter
Authors: Tremlin Todd
Published: February 2006

This chapter looks at how god concepts are represented and processed by the human mind, particularly at features of social cognition that support thinking about supernatural agents, enhance their relevance to daily life, and lead people to accept them as real. Gods are naturally represented as concerned, relational beings made salient by their counterintuitive access to strategic information. Gods also evoke important emotional responses and fit into the ritual structures that organize human social relations. In addition, the chapter describes the nature of belief formation, differences between intuitive and reflective beliefs, and explains belief in gods on the basis of “aggregate relevance” — the combined activation of crucial mental inference systems not only renders the representation of gods possible but also plausible.
Gods and Religious Systems
Authors: Tremlin Todd
Published: February 2006

This chapter describes how mental representations of gods are transmitted through a population as public representations, and ultimately serve as the basis of the cultural systems called “religion.” Drawing on an “epidemiological” model of culture, the chapter shows how religious ideas, like other kinds of ideas, depend on shared mental mechanisms in the process of acquisition, storage, and transmission. These shared mechanisms in turn explain the underlying similarity of god concepts in diverse cultures. The chapter also defines and defends religion as belief in supernatural beings and the public ideas (doctrines), behaviors (rituals), and social structure (community) that coalesce around them, arguing that contrary to past perspectives on what constitutes religion, the presence of god concepts are necessary for fostering the commitment, motivation, and transmission potential that such systems require.
Worldwide Financial Reporting
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

This book provides readers with reasonably concise descriptions of the state of global markets, the benefits and limitations of financial accounting and accounting/auditing standards, and the development, status, and current policy issues of corporate financial reporting in major countries and the European Union. The globalization of financial markets has contributed to a growing consensus that national financial reporting standards should give way to a single, harmonized set of global reporting standards. This book takes a more practical approach and reaches a different conclusion: that global standards are unlikely to be achieved, and in any event, are not likely to remain unified in the face of continued changes in markets and financial practices. National accounting standards are likely to continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future, and for that reason, the book discusses the national systems and their origins in some detail. The authors also consider a range of other substantive reporting issues, notably the debate over the issue of “fair value” measurement of assets and liabilities, which the authors reject in favor of a system that marks to market only those assets with deep traded markets, coupled with additional disclosures, where relevant.
Changes in Equity Markets in the Major Developed Countries and Overview of the Book
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

This chapter provides an introduction to recent and likely future trends in financial reporting in the United States, Europe, Japan, and in the international arena (through reporting standards set by the International Accounting Standards Board). It sets the stage by providing a brief overview of changes in equities markets around the world, which have led to global participation. It is this trend toward globalized investing that has given rise to calls for a single set of global accounting standards. A central thesis of this book is that these calls are misplaced, that global accounting standards are not necessary and are not likely to remain unified even if initially adopted.
Why and How Audited Financial Accounting Statements Are Useful
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

Investors, creditors, government officials, and others require information to evaluate companies’ economic position, performance, and prospects. This chapter examines the usefulness of financial accounting statements and their limitations in providing this information, particularly measures of economic values. The essential features of the traditional market-transaction, cost-based accounting system, and the benefits and costs of fair-value accounting and of audits and attestations by independent public accountants (IPAs) are described and evaluated.
Auditing and Accounting Standards: Their Roles and Usefulness to Independent Public Accountants and Investors
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

Following a description of the ways that standards benefit users and producers of financial statements, this chapter considers alternative organizational procedures for setting those standards. The benefits and costs of having standards determined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) rather than by professional accountancy organizations are analyzed. Principles-based versus rules-based accounting standards are also examined.
Corporate Financial Reporting and Regulation in the United States
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

This chapter reviews the rules governing financial disclosure by corporations in the United States. It begins with an overview of state regulation (which is still in force) and then turns to federal regulation, which began in 1933. The public securities markets are described and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rules governing financial disclosure of public corporations are outlined. Standard setting by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and investor protection and corporate governance are considered next. Current issues such as the scope of auditing practices, auditor independence, audit failures, principles- versus rules-based accounting standards, and convergence of U.S. and international standards are discussed.
Corporate Financial Reporting and Regulation in the United Kingdom
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

This chapter reviews the systems of regulation of financial markets, investor protection, accounting disclosure, and corporate governance in the UK. It charts the recent dynamic changes in all these regimes, while discussing the export of some of changes to other countries. The reactions within the UK to the US accounting scandals are also addressed.
Corporate Financial Reporting and Regulation in Germany
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

Germany has a very different regulatory tradition from the other countries covered in this book. This chapter explains the origins, current status, and recent changes of the German financial reporting environment and relevant related institutions. It describes in detail financial disclosure for listed and for non-listed companies, the legislative and regulatory environment, investor protection, corporate governance, auditing, and enforcement. It closes with a discussion of shortcomings and recent legislative actions to provide remedies.
Corporate Financial Reporting and Regulation in Japan
Authors: Benston George J. , Bromwich Michael , Litan Robert E. , Wagenhofer Alfred
Published: February 2006

Japanese accounting standards have developed out of a very different set of national characteristics and financial markets from the other countries surveyed in the book. In particular, they have been strongly influenced by government over the years. In recent years, the government has stepped up efforts to harmonize Japanese standards with international standards, although the Japanese experience suggests that it is not easy to export one regime to other countries.
5 Situating Victorinus' Commentaries on Paul
Authors: Cooper Stephen Andrew
Published: February 2006

This chapter surveys the various hypotheses suggested by scholars for establishing Victorinus’ motivations for commenting on the Pauline corpus. Reader-response criticism is employed to elucidate Victorinus’ intentions toward his audience. The dating of the commentaries, in relation to that of his Trinitarian treatises, is closely examined. Two major thematic complexes emerge from a reading of the extant commentaries on Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians: the Trinitarian Controversy; and justification by faith, often accompanied by polemics against Judaizing Christians. Victorinus’ concern to articulate an understanding of God and Christ consonant with the creed of Nicea is patent, but the attempt to identify that concern as the major motivation for his authorship of the commentaries is unconvincing. Victorinus’ frequent polemics against Jewish practices derives his own concern about Christians engaged in Judaizing — such Judaizing being well-documented by a variety of fourth-century sources. Victorinus’ pioneering employment of the formulation ‘faith alone’ (sola fides) and his understanding of justification by faith does not reach the point of Augustine’s anti-Pelagian exegesis but is not itself reducible to an incipient Pelagianism.
Time for Aristotle
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: February 2006

This book is about Aristotle’s account of time in Physics IV.10-14. Aristotle claims that time is not a kind of change, but that it is something dependent on change. He defines it as a kind of ‘number of change’ with respect to the before and after. It is argued that this means that time is a kind of order (not, as is commonly supposed, that it is a kind of measure). It is a universal order within which all changes are related to each other. This interpretation is used to explain two puzzling claims that Aristotle makes: that the now is like a moving thing, and that time depends for its existence on the soul.
Time is Not Change but Something of Change
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: February 2006

This chapter begins with a discusion of Aristotle’s two reasons for saying that time cannot be a kind of change: time is universal in a way that change is not, and changes are fast or slow, whereas time is not. It then examines Aristotle’s defence of the claim that time should be defined partly in terms of change. It argues that Aristotle is presupposing the truth of certain assumptions made in ordinary life about the relation between time and change. It is assumed that there is time when and only when there is change. Aristotle thinks there is good prima facie reason for supposing that common assumptions of this kind are true, and hence, for thinking that time is something essentially related to change.
Time Follows Change and Change Follows Magnitude
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: February 2006

Aristotle says that time ‘follows’ change and change ‘follows’ magnitude. This chapter discusses the notion of ‘following’. It also explains how Aristotle uses the notion of following to justify a claim he makes about the continuity of time and of change: the claim that that time is continuous because change is, and change is continuous because magnitude is.
Time as a Measure of Change
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: February 2006

This chapter explains Aristotle’s claim that time measures change, and is measured by change. It argues (against Julia Annas) that Aristotle does not equate measuring and counting. His usual view (for example, in Metaphysics X) is that counting is a special type of measuring that can be used to find the quantity of collections of things. This provides extra evidence for the view (defended in chapter five) that when Aristotle defines time as a kind of number, he is using the word ‘number’ in a special sense. In order to measure time, it is necessary to find an appropriate unit. Aristotle thinks that the appropriate unit is a certain change: the revolution of the outermost sphere of the heavens. He thinks it is prima facie puzzling, given that time is not a kind of change, that a unit of change can be used to measure time. The interpretation in this chapter explains why he thinks this is puzzling, and how he can solve the puzzle by appealing to his view that time is a number of change.
The Sameness of Earlier and Later Times and Nows
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: February 2006

Aristotle says that although earlier and later nows are different, there is also a way in which they are the same. He compares the way in which earlier and later nows are the same but different to the way in which something in motion is, during its motion, the same and yet different. This chapter explains this comparison. It argues that by ‘moving thing’, Aristotle means an odd entity: a thing defined as in motion. An example would be Coriscos-moving-from-A-to-B. In comparing the now to an entity of this sort, Aristotle is not saying that the now is something that moves. His view is that there is a way in which all nows are the same: that by being which the now is (ho pote on esti) is the same. In Aristotle’s view, nows are only countable in virtue of the fact that they are the same in this way.
Time and the Soul
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: February 2006

At the end of his account, Aristotle raises a puzzle about whether or not there could be time if there were no ensouled beings. It is argued that his answer to this puzzle is that time depends upon the soul in a way in which change does not. Aristotle puts this by saying that if there were no souls, there could not be time, but there might perhaps be change. This chapter explains why Aristotle’s definition of time leads him to this conclusion. It contends that he views time as essentially countable, and because of this, could not exist in the absence of beings able to count. Moreover, Aristotle’s view implies, that time is not just essentially countable but also essentially counted. Because of the way in which time is a number, it can only be countable if it is in fact counted.
The Stoic Life
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This reader-friendly introduction to the ethical system of the Ancient Greek Stoics combines state-of-the art scholarship with lively and accessible prose. It builds on the renewed attention that the Hellenistic philosophers have enjoyed in the last few decades, incorporating the best results of recent critical debates while staking out new positions on a variety of topics. Starting from scrupulous attention to the evidence (references are provided to all of the standard collections of Stoic texts), it then provides translations of the original texts, with extensive annotations that will allow readers to pursue further reading. No knowledge of Greek is required. An introductory section provides context by introducing the reader to the most important figures in the Stoic school, the philosophical climate in which they worked, and a brief summary of the leading tenets of the Stoic system. The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a thorough exploration of the Stoic school’s theories of psychology, focusing on their analyses of fear, desire, and other emotions. The second section develops the more centrally ethical topics of value, obligation, and right action. The third section explores the Stoic school’s views on fate, determinism, and moral responsibility.
5 Impressions and Assent
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This chapter explores the Stoics’ views about impressions and assent. Assent is the linchpin of the Stoic system. It is the fundamental psychological activity; the key to the difference between virtuous and vicious people. One assents to impressions, which are alterations or changes in the mind. Two schools of thought are discussed, that imply that what one assents to is not an impression, but rather a proposition — something like a statement or sentence — connected with the impression.
6 Belief and Knowledge
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines the Stoics’ views on belief and knowledge. Stoics define belief as an assent of an impression. There are different kinds of beliefs; the most important ones follow from the fact that there are different kinds of assent, and different kinds of impressions to assent to. Stoics identify a special class impressions — called kataleptic impressions — that have a certain sort of vivid clarity, fidelity, and reliability. A kataleptic impression is one that comes from what is, is stamped and sealed and moulded in accordance with what is, and is of such as sort that it could not come from what is not. Knowledge is defined as a strong assent to a kataleptic impression.
10 OikeiôsisandOthers
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This chapter discusses the Stoics’ theory of oikeiôsis. Texts have referred to a process called oikeiôsis, whereby things are rendered oikeion to human beings. When one thinks of something as oikeion, one thinks of its welfare as giving one reasons to act. An examination of oikeiôsis shows that the one desire that is completely incapable of reformation is the desire for the good. Whatever one takes to be good, one pursues with a selfishness and intensity that is both insatiable and unsociable.
14 God and Fate
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This chapter discusses the Stoics’ views about God and Fate. The Stoics believe that every event that occurs in the cosmos was fated and determined to occur. When events are controlled by Fate — which is the same thing as Necessity, Zeus, and Providence — they are not influenced from a distance, or controlled from on high. Instead, Fate works on every portion of every object’s being. Thus, the Stoic understanding of fate was intended to play a role on helping individuals take a different view of their lives.
15 Necessity and Responsibility
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines two anti-Stoic arguments. The first claims that the Stoic acceptance of divination and fate commits them to the conclusion that everything happens by necessity. The second claims that the Stoics’ view of causation entails that nothing one does is really ‘up to us’, thus nothing one does can justifiably be praised or blamed. These arguments will provide a broader view of the significance of the Stoic position on Fate and its relation to moral responsibility.
18 Taking Stock
Authors: Brennan Tad
Published: February 2006

This chapter presents synthesis of the discussions on the Stoic system in this volume. These include what is means to be a Stoic, theory of indifferents, theory of determinism, theory of ethics, and misconceptions about Stoicism. It concludes by saying that the study of Stoicism provides all sorts of small phrases and images that are attractive and easily taken away. One can learn from the interconnectedness of the whole system, even when one can no longer support or embrace the system as a whole.
Changing Governance of Local Economies
Authors: Crouch Colin , Le Galès Patrick , Trigilia Carlo , Voelzkow Helmut
Published: February 2006

This book features case studies on national patterns of local production systems, focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. It is divided into three parts. Part I analyses the two cases that dominated the initial, 1980s industrial district literature: Emilia-Romagna and Baden Wurttemberg; and the machinery industry. Part II focuses on pre-crisis, large-firm, Fordist specialization. Part III presents examples of new industries where SME clusters are important: the biopharmaceutical industries around Oxford, the media sector in Cologne, information technology in Pisa, and computer technologies in Grenoble.
Refining National Policy: The Machine-Tool Industry in the Local Economy of Stuttgart
Authors: Glassman Ulrich
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines the preconditions for the success of the machine-tool industry in Stuttgart. It considers the historical origins of the machinery industry in Stuttgart, the development of the Diversified Quality Production (DQP) regime after World War II, and the city’s economic performance and challenges faced by firms and supporting institutions in the 1980s and 1990s. The responses of firms to these challenges and the fate of the DQP regime are then analysed.
Machine Tools in France: A Century of Failure to Build a Competitive Industry
Authors: Le GalÈs Patrick , Gaubert Nicolas>
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines the machine-tool industry in France. It analyses the governance of the industry, and emphasizes the interdependence between the sector, other industrial sectors, and the state, which led to its collapse. Firms were reorganized following market-modes of regulation and using local collective competition goods (LCCGs) by machine tool firms from Japan, Italy, and Germany. The recovery of the industry shows the success of this strategy; the dependence on the success of leading French industries; the absence of clustering processes; and the attempt to develop the production of LCCGs organized by business leaders and public agencies.
Restructuring Duisburg: A New Local Production System Substitutes an Old Steel Plant
Authors: Glassman Ulrich , Voelzkow Helmut
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines the rise, decline, and restructuring of the steel industry in Duisburg. Structural policy initiatives led to the shift from steel production to a logistics cluster. The former steel city was attractive for larger enterprises of the logistics branch due to its market proximity and connection to different means of transportation.
After Steel: Some Minor Emergence of Local Production Systems Based on SMEs
Authors: Le Galès Patrick
Published: February 2006

This chapter synthesizes the results of the four case studies discussed in chapters nine to twelve. The changing modes of governance in steel cities, and provision of local collective competition goods are discussed. It is shown that the restructuring of former steel cities requires heavy public policies and investments; partnerships between the public and private sectors; and the use of concepts, rhetorics, and strategies associated with networked small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), governance, and local clusters.
Recombining Governance Modes: The Media Sector in Cologne
Authors: Baumann Arne , Voelzkow Helmut
Published: February 2006

This chapter examines the media sector in Cologne and its neighbouring municipalities. It argues that the growth of the media industry in Cologne is due to the large number of collective competition goods in the area. However, this availability is a secondary consequence of a set of political decisions, with the Cologne-based broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk as the starting point for the cluster.