Ecology, Community, and AIDS Prevention

I explore the role that may be played by an ecological view of AIDS prevention and AIDS-related social concerns. The study of AIDS risk behavior and interventions designed to prevent AIDS have challenged Health Psychology's typically individualistic perspective. Issues of empowerment, psychological sense of community, interpersonal ties, resources, and culture are central to an understanding of risky sexual behavior and helping people to guard themselves from the threat of AIDS. However, despite Community Psychology's historical expertise in these areas, the field has only recently become involved in AIDS prevention efforts. I outline how resource-based, ecological theories may prove more helpful in addressing the AIDS pandemic than the individual, cognitive theories that have typically been adopted. Sexual behavior and associated risk are tied not simply to people's personal behavior and thoughts but to the likelihood of disease exposure in their ethnic group, the power and choices associated with power in that group, and the alternative means available of meeting their overall sexual, romantic, economic, and social goals. As such, AIDS research and intervention must simultaneously address the individual, social, and cultural spheres if insights that can translate to meaningful change can be expected to occur.     

A Culture‐Inclusive,Socially Engaged Agenda for Creativity Research

The 50 years anniversary of The Journal of Creative Behavior offers a festive occasion to reflect on the recent history of the field as well as look toward its future. From the standpoint of sociocultural psychology, I celebrate the growing importance of society and culture within creativity research. However, I also note an important distinction between “social inside” and “social outside” approaches. A truly culture‐inclusive field would go beyond the view of culture as “container” and explore the ways in which sociocultural contexts actively participate in creativity. At the same time, it would examine how creative action, in turn, shapes society and culture, particularly at times of growing intolerance, nationalism, and inequality. A socially engaged agenda for creativity research is timely both conceptually and practically. Taken together, these two pillars could not only advance but also fundamentally transform our field, carrying it for the next 50 years and beyond.     

The Essentiality of “Culture” in the Study of Religion and Politics

This article reviews various theoretical approaches political scientists employ in the analysis of religion and politics and posits culture as a conceptual bridge between competing approaches. After coming to the study of religion slowly in comparison with other social science disciplines, political science finally has a theoretically diverse and thriving religion and politics subfield. However, political scientists’ contributions to the social scientific study of religion are hampered by a lack of agreement about whether endogenous or exogenous theoretical approaches ought to dominate our scholarship. I assert that the concept of culture—and more specifically, subculture—might help create more connections across theoretical research traditions. I emphasize how the concept of religion‐based subculture is inherent in psychological, social psychological, social movement, and contextual approaches to religion and politics scholarship, and I explore these theoretical connections using the example of religion‐based “us versus them” discourses in contemporary American politics.     

War on heaven and earth: Misotheistic themes in popular culture

In this article, I evaluate particular critical narratives of religion in pop culture. I note briefly some early cases where criticism is primarily directed at religious abuses. Next, I make some observations about the misotheistic tradition in which the relationship between religious reality and human life is more complicated. Finally, I make some remarks on the use of religious and quasireligious elements in pop culture and what kind of effects these might have on our social imagination.     

The Ethics of Visual Culture

To introduce this set of essays on visual ethics, I address the conceptual and methodological contours, as well as difficult theoretical questions, that might emerge with a visual turn in religious ethics. In addition I situate the work represented in this focus issue within ongoing conversations about moral perception, culture as a topic of normative analysis, and the various roles of visual culture in the moral life.     

Migrations,transformations and tradition in the Finnish Pentecostal movement: why does all global not become local?*

In this article, I will outline the dynamics of social transformations and cultural preservation in the Finnish Pentecostal movement, which are caused and affected by different migrations in the history of the movement. With a history of hundred years, immersed by social and societal transformations, missionaries, new converts and new cultures, the Finnish Pentecostal movement has its own traditions, but nevertheless is constantly facing influences from different cultures. My aim in this article is to analyse the logics of transformation and preservation of Pentecostal religion and culture on a congregational level. I will compare two different migrations, the Karelian evacuation and the international immigration, as well as analyse the differences in acculturation between these groups. The analysis will include not only the language and cultural habits, but also the social situations, structures and the styles that matter in the way Pentecostalism transforms, and how migrant groups are acculturated within the church.     

Multilevel Selection Theory and Major Evolutionary Transitions: Implications for Psychological Science

ABSTRACT— The concept of a group as comparable to a single organism has had a long and turbulent history. Currently, methodological individualism dominates in many areas of psychology and evolution, but natural selection is now known to operate at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy. When between-group selection dominates within-group selection, a major evolutionary transition occurs and the group becomes a new, higher-level organism. It is likely that human evolution represents a major transition, and this has wide-ranging implications for the psychological study of group behavior, cognition, and culture.     

从山东地名解读齐鲁文化

地名是一种特殊的文化现象,可以反映特定地域的自然和人文条件。山东地名与齐鲁地理文化、齐鲁历史文化、齐鲁居民生活、齐鲁方言文化等方面密切相关。本文从这些方面解读山东地名所反映的齐鲁文化。     

Asian social psychology: Achievements, threats, and opportunities

A scan of citation impact suggests that Asian social psychologists have made significant contributions in three areas: indigenous research, culture and social behaviour, and in several topics in social psychology. An analysis of the most cited articles published in Asian Journal of Social Psychology ( AJSP ) in 1998–2002 in March 2005 reveals that most papers are concerned with culture, with a focus on either popular topics in the West or indigenous concepts. Asian social psychology seems to be closely associated with cultural issues, but it still lacks unique theoretical contributions, and the number of internationally visible scholars is limited and is mostly confined to East Asia. However, Asian cultures provide a fertile ground for identifying new constructs. Many Asian universities are now under pressure to internationalize, which will motivate more academics to participate in Asian conferences and publish in AJSP . To develop Asian social psychology, effort should be focused on nurturing the next generation of Asian social psychologists, who not only need an international perspective, but also ambition and creativity.     

少数民族压力应对研究的文化视角

随着社会的急剧变迁与多元文化的相互融合与碰撞, 少数民族的压力应对问题已经变得日益重要。对少数民族压力应对与文化的关系进行全面的审视与探讨, 能够更好地理解多元文化交融下少数民族压力应对的心理机制, 促进民族团结与社会和谐。文章总结了少数民族压力应对研究的4种文化视角, 包括压力应对的跨文化研究、文化适应的压力应对研究、宗教应对研究、中国传统文化的应对思想研究, 并对不同研究视角进行了评述。未来中国少数民族压力应对研究应该综合多学科、多元文化视角的研究思路, 加强量与质的研究范式的整合, 进一步扩展少数民族压力应对的研究领域与研究范围, 从我国民族地区社会变迁的实际情况出发, 加强对少数民族不同社会群体的压力应对研究。     

The meaning of boundaries and barriers in the development of cultural identity and between cultures

Abstract

In this paper I shall argue that, although currently in the world of psychotherapy and counselling allusions to culture and cross-cultural work are becoming increasingly frequent, the issues are often talked about in simplistic ways. I shall unpack some of the complexities in the notions of culture and identity to show that they are not the monolithic self-evident natural categories that they are often taken to be. I will do this primarily by focusing on the function of cultural difference rather than the usual procedure of focusing on the differences in the contents of cultures. Although the subject matter of this paper is not drawn directly from the clinical sphere, the contention is that it is pertinent to it none the less.     

From Nature to Culture? Diogenes and Philosophical Anthropology

This essay is concerned with the central issue of philosophical anthropology: the relation between nature and culture. Although Rousseau was the first thinker to introduce this topic within the modern discourse of philosophy and the cultural sciences, it has its origin in Diogenes the Cynic, who was a disciple of Socrates. In my essay I (1) historically introduce a few aspects of philosophical anthropology, (2) deal with the nature–culture exchange, as introduced in Kant, then I (3) relate this topic to the Ancient Cynic Diogenes. Surprisingly, although we usually identify Critical Theory and Freudian psychoanalysis as theories that have shown that cultural progress should not be comprehended as a development from nature to culture, and that instead it should be conceived as a development from culture against (external as well as internal) nature, I show that Cynicism can be conceived as a vivid example within the history of our culture that reveals a double sense of repression and alienation, which is part of human civilization and mankind.     

Art, authenticity and appropriation

It is often suggested that artists from one culture (outsiders) cannot successfully employ styles, stories, motifs and other artistic content developed in the context of another culture. I call this suggestion the aesthetic handicap thesis and argue against it. Cultural appropriation can result in works of high aesthetic value. While in China as a visiting scholar in the Department of Philosophy of Beijing Normal University, I gave a series of lectures at leading Chinese universities. This essay is based on a lecture that I gave at Renmin University of China on 17 April 2006.     

Feminism and Women's Autonomy: the Challenge of Female Genital Cutting

Feminist studies of female genital cutting (FGC) provide ample evidence that many women exercise effective agency with respect to this practice, both as accommodators and as resisters. The influence of culture on autonomy is ambiguous: women who resist cultural mandates for FGC do not necessarily enjoy greater autonomy than do those women who accommodate the practice, yet it is clear that some social contexts are more conducive to autonomy than others. In this paper, I explore the implications for autonomy theory of these understandings of the relation between culture, FGC, and women's agency. I review the range of worldwide FGC practices – including "corrective" surgery for "ambiguous genitalia" in Western cultures as well as the various initiation rites observed in some African and Asian cultures – and the diverse cultural rationales for different forms of FGC. I argue that neither latitudinarian, value-neutral accounts of autonomy nor restrictive, value-saturated accounts adequately explain women's agentic position with respect to FGC. I then analyze a number of educational programs that have enhanced women's autonomy, especially by strengthening their introspection, empathy, and imagination. Such programs, which engage women's autonomy skills without exposing them to autonomy-disabling cultural alienation, promote autonomy-within-culture. This understanding of autonomy as socially situated, however, entails neither endorsement of FGC nor resignation to its persistence.     

神经培养的发展史与启示

简述神经培养技术与各学科关系的现状并回顾神经培养的发展历史,将神经培养历史划分为萌芽期、起步期、迅速发展阶段和新发展阶段等。从神经培养技术发展的角度入手,分析了新技术的突破与学科发展的密切关系。     

Producing atmospheres at the match: Fan cultures,commercialisation and mood management in English football

By focussing on Premier League club, Manchester City, this paper explores the ways in which a shifting flow of atmosphere is generated inside and outside football stadia, generated by events on the pitch, spatial formations, fan culture, and other factors such as weather, season and light. I argue that such atmospheres are co-productions by fans, who play their part in encouraging their team by suspending emotional and social restraint. I also investigate how with the intensified commercialisation of football, there have been recent concerns about a lack of atmosphere. All-seater stadia, sponsorship and corporate provision and the influx of new middle class fans seems to contrast with the packed terraces of fervent working class spectators of yesteryear, where closely packed bodies and loud collective chanting and singing produced a heady atmosphere. Accordingly, I will explore how clubs and fans have devised a range of strategies to manage atmospheres to inculcate greater intensities on match days.     

关于孝文化批判的再思考

中国传统孝化构建的权利义务关系,是一种不公正的权利义务关系,在五四运动中受到较为彻底的批判。梁漱溟、陈寅恪、冯友兰对孝化批判保持了较为冷静的态度;当代新儒家和海外学杜维明对孝化给予更为积极的肯定,他们的肯定意见启发人们对孝化批判进行新的思考。孝化是一个以孝为教的化丛,发挥着社会道德教育的功能。对孝化的绝对化否定带来道德教育的家庭缺位,也带来公忠伦理的畸重和人伦、情感伦理的畸轻。     

Gilbert Simondon's plea for a philosophy of technology

This paper argues that most contemporary philosophy of technology hardly lives up to its name. What goes by that name gives nearly exclusive attention to the social and political consequences of technological innovations, leaving unattended the properly philosophical questions related to the nature and mode of existence of technical objects. After reviewing some of the reasons for this situation, I argue that, over thirty years ago, Gilbert Simondon offered a stimulating analysis of these problems which is still relevant today. I then present some of the major concepts of Simondon's analysis of technical objects and of his criticism of the then (and still) current reflections on technology. The concepts of technical objects, of concretization, of technical progress, of hypertelic adaptation, and of technical individual are presented and analysed. Finally, I recall Simondon's claim that our difficult relationship to technology stems, to a large extent, from a lack of understanding, and that philosopher's have a role to play in creating a new technical culture. Throughout the paper, I try to evaluate the importance of Simondon's achievement and suggest the need for further research and the way in which Simondon's analysis indicates fruitful areas of inquiry.     

Institutional culture and individual behavior: Creating an ethical environment

Much of the work in professional ethics sees ethical problems as resulting from ethical ignorance, ethical failure or evil intent. While this approach gets at real and valid concerns, it does not capture the whole story because it does not take into account the underlying professional or institutional culture in which moral decision making is imbedded. My argument in this paper is that this culture plays a powerful and sometimes determinant role in establishing the nature of the ethical debate; i.e., it helps to define what are viable action options, what is the organization’s genuine mission, and what behaviors will be rewarded or criticized. Given these conclusions, I also argue that consulting ethicists need more than an understanding of ethics theory, concepts and principles; they also need a sufficiently rich understanding of organizational culture and a willingness and an ability to critique that culture. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the “Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology” meeting, New Orleans, 2003.     

Sport,nature and worldmaking

Many philosophers of sport maintain that athletics can contribute to our understanding of ourselves and the environments in which we live. It may be relatively easy to offer accounts of how athletes might acquire self-knowledge through sport; however, it is far more difficult to see how sport could add to the general understanding of human individuals, cultural frameworks or the material world. The study of sport as a way of worldmaking is helpful in understanding how sport can contribute to the pursuit of knowledge in such areas.

The position I present is based on arguments made by Gunter Gebauer in his 1993 presidential address to the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport, ‘Sport, theater, and ritual: Three ways of worldmaking’, and in my explanation and interpretation of Gebauer's position, I rely heavily on Nelson Goodman's Ways of worldmaking. Gebauer's work is focused on traditional sports, and he argues that such sports create worlds that represent fundamental attitudes and values of the cultures that produce them. I argue that alternative sports are well suited to create new and original worlds that instantiate value systems in opposition to mainstream culture. I argue further that nature sports such as climbing and surfing represent relationships between humans and natural features, and that such sports, as a subcategory of alternative sports, are in a position to create new and original frameworks that can help us to better comprehend our relationships with natural environments.