Images and Symbols in Ancient and Modern Sport

Several aspects of human life are pervaded with images and symbols that often belong to what Jung (1981 Jung, G. Carl. 1981. Archetypes and the collective unconscious, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.  [Google Scholar]) called archetypes, characteristics of the mind with a profound influence on most aspects of culture and sport. The rationality introduced into our society, as the fruit of both the positivist concept of progress and the rapid development of technology, has, albeit while driving out excessiveness due to irrational explanations and often knavery, also disregarded the importance of images and symbols in everyday life. Yet a number of these inevitably still exist, since they are archetypal. With this observation as a starting point, the present work has been designed to analyse whether it is still possible to find ancient images and symbols in modern sport activities. The a priori reason for such a question arises from the acceptance that modern and ancient sports are profoundly different. This has been historically proved in terms of organisation and quantification, among other characteristics (Guttmann 1978 Guttmann, Allen. 1978. From ritual to record, New York: Columbia University Press.  [Google Scholar]).

The present analysis refers to a limited number of images and symbols concerning ancient and modern sport, which include a primordial Ur-symbol, that of bodily action or of body in movement. Others concern various aspects of the athlete's life, such as expression of religious beliefs, immortality, eternal return and the front. It suggests that many of these images and symbols may still be found in contemporary sports, in open contrast with some of the Olympic principles suggested by De Coubertin and chiefly prevalent in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.     

Challenges for Christianity and Barriers to Dialogue in World Religions

Abstract

Mutual respect and understanding between the world's religions has become increasingly necessary in a global society where peace can be tenuous. This article will concentrate on challenges for Christianity in relationship with other world religions. Can interreligious dialogue benefit from what we learn from the dialogue 1 ?1?Ian G. Barbour in his work, Religion in an Age of Science, Gifford lectures, vol. 1 (San Francisco: HarperSanFranscisco, 1990), ch. 1 proposed a fourfold “typology” for relating science and theology, each containing subtypes. One of those types, Barbour called “dialogue”—which is of interest here as the model for shaping the dialogue between world religions. In his revised edition in 1997, he made minor modifications; however, in his When Science Meets Religion, Enemies, Stranger or Partners, (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2000), Barbour uses the typology as the organizing structure for all his book's chapters, which is instructive for those wanting to do more reading and understand dialogue beyond what is given here. between science and theology? Yes. 2 ?2?Email from Ted Peters, Professor at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), Program Director of the Science and Religion Course Program of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS); Prof, Peters proposed using a relational statement of this type. The science–theology dialogue is part of the ongoing effort to bridge 3 ?3?Ted Peters and Gaymon Bennett, eds., Bridging Science and Religion (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), Foreword (Robert John Russell), ix–xii; Introduction (Gaymon Bennett), 14. the intellectual divide between the discoveries of natural science that have made our lives in the material world better, and interpretations and understandings in the various faith traditions that have given meaning and value to our living in the material world.     

Graham Priest's Mathematical Analysis of the Concept of Emptiness†

In his article ‘The Structure of Emptiness’ (cf. Priest 2009 Priest, G. 2009. ‘The structure of emptiness’, Philosophy East and West, 59 (4), 467–80. doi: 10.1353/pew.0.0069[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Graham Priest examines the concept of emptiness in the Mādhyamaka school of Nāgārjuna and his commentators Candrakī?rti and Tsongkhapa from a mathematical point of view. The approach attempted in this article does not involve any commitment to Priest's more controversial dialethic Mādhyamaka interpretation. The purpose of the present paper is to explain Priest's sketchy but very insightful interpretation of objects as non-well-founded sets in greater detail. Some problems concerning his idea to model the Mādhyamaka claim of the emptiness of emptiness by means of this kind of framework will be noted. Moreover, we will also discuss the possibility to represent the Mādhyamika's denial of the existence of irreducible constituents of empirical reality within a well-founded system of set theory. Finally, some slight mistakes in Priest's mathematical construction need to be pointed out.     

The Age of Imagination

Galileo once said that one cannot understand the universe without comprehending its language: mathematics. Unfortunately, most individuals will approach physical sciences with dread, due in part to the difficulty with speaking the language of the universe, and for this reason may fail to perceive its breathtaking beauty. When we look deeper than the letter of reason, we encounter a flow of imagination that appears to be integral to the cosmos. The Enlightenment of the 18th century was an Age of Reason that deeply shaped our modern society. By following the movement of ideas from classical physics to quantum mechanics, passing by chaos theory and Einstein’s special and general relativity, it is argued that a new Enlightenment might be in sight, an Age of Imagination, wherein the creatures that we are will consciously re-enter the flow of imagination. This exploration concerns classical physics and its repression of imagination; the difficult emergence of deterministic chaos is viewed as a return of what was left behind, so to speak: the shadow of reason.

The one-after-another is a bearable prelude to the deeper knowledge of the side-by-side, for this is an incomparably more difficult problem.—C. G. Jung (1970 Jung, C.G. (1970). The collected works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 14: Mysterium coniunctionis (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; H. Read, M. Fordham, G. Adler, &; W. McGuire, eds.). Bollingen Series XX. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Google Scholar], par. 206)     

Dinergy: The Primordial Meta-Pattern in Nature

In Answer to Job, Jung quotes Tertullian from his De Testimonio Animae: “What you allow to the mistress you will assign to the disciples.” Nature is the mistress and we are all potential disciples.

If we look carefully and sympathetically at nature, we see that she is a process with one main overlying meta-pattern. All stable patterns in nature contain a balance of forces, a kind of reconciliation of opposites. This is true from the formation of hydrogen soon after the Big Bang, through the process of star formation and in the biological functions of living systems. One of the more beautiful ways to understand this concept of dinergy is to look at the pattern formations on the surface of seashells. Just as the telescope has enabled us to understand the process and pattern of planetary motions, so has the computer enabled a better understanding of weather patterns and the patterning on seashells.

Although the neo-Darwinists would have us believe that such intricate and beautiful designs must have some survival benefit, I think that the deeper insight into nature comes from Thomas Mann (1947/1999 Mann, T. (1999). Doctor Faustus. New York: Vintage. (Original work published 1947) [Google Scholar]) in his novel Doctor Faustus, in which he wrote that “meaning and design always run alongside one another” (p. v). These patterns are a manifestation of process and emergence. But most importantly, these patterns represent an essential feature in all dynamic systems: that is, a positive feedback that self-enhances the initial deviation from the mean. However, sooner or later, self-enhancing processes evoke antagonistic (opposing) reactions. Of course, Jung understood this long before systems theory, as enantiodromia.     

Sorai and xunzi on the construction of the way1

While Sorai's intellectual debt to Xunzi is often mentioned, the similarities between their views have not often been explored at length in English².2 ?One exception is J. R. McEwan, who does spend four pages on this, if that can be considered ‘at length.’ See McEwan (1962 McEwan JR 1962 The political writings of Ogyû Sorai New York Cambridge University Press  [Google Scholar], pp. 11–14). It has been addressed more in the Japanese literature, notably in Imanaka (1992 Imanaka Kanji 1992 Sorai gaku no shiteki kenkyû [An historical study of the Sorai school] Kyoto Shibunkaku Shuppan  [Google Scholar], pp. 95–114). View all notes Further, while Maruyama Masao does compare the two thinkers in his influential monograph Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa Japan, he stresses (apparent) differences between Xunzi and Sorai, in order to hail Sorai's uniqueness. Without meaning to take anything away from Sorai as an independent thinker, I maintain that with regard to precisely those views for which Sorai is lauded as unique—that dao is a product of real people that evolved over time and continues to evolve—his position was also held by Xunzi. In addition, there is a related yet rarely highlighted aspect of Xunzi's thought that is also acknowledged by Sorai. That is, virtues acquired by participating in the way in turn qualify one to contribute to its continuous open-ended development.     

Heidegger's Contrasting Notion of Worldview in the Early,Middle, and Later Writings

Heidegger sharply distinguishes philosophy from worldview. In this he was quite unlike Hegel, Dilthey, Nietzsche, and Jaspers, who more or less equated the two, but instead followed the lead of Husserl. Nevertheless, Heidegger did not accept Husserl's unqualified reduction of philosophy to science. Early on, 1919–1922, Heidegger's concern for facticity was tied to a thinking of worldview. Conversely, Heidegger's Being and Time (1933–34/2010a Heidegger, M. (2010a). Being and truth (G. Fried and R. Polt Trans.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. (Original work published 1933–34) [Google Scholar]) considered worldview to be a fixed interpretation of the universe of beings, as opposed to philosophy as the study of Being, and suggested that fundamental ontology could demonstrate the condition of possibility for something like worldview. Later, Heidegger extended his historico-ontological critique of the Western philosophical tradition to include worldview. Worldview was now the notional equivalent of the modern subject's picturing or representing of beings as a whole to herself/himself, a fallout of the technological understanding of being. This article provides a historical précis of the notion of worldview in Heidegger's thinking and, at the same time, argues that philosophy cannot be absolutely separated from worldview in Heidegger's works.     

Reconsidering the Value of Equality

Some people believe that the equality of people's well-being makes an outcome better, other things being constant. Call this Telic Egalitarianism. In this paper I will propose a new interpretation of Telic Egalitarianism, and compare it with the interpretation that is proposed by Derek Parfit 1995 Parfit, Derek. 1995. Equality or Priority? University of Kansas: Lindley Lecture. Reprinted in Clayton and Williams [2000: 81–125] [Google Scholar] and widely accepted by many philosophers. I will argue that my proposed interpretation is more plausible than Parfit's. One of the virtues in my interpretation is that it shows his Levelling Down Objection does not undermine Telic Egalitarianism. I also believe that my interpretation better explains the important similarity and difference between Telic Egalitarianism and his proposed Priority View.     

Unconcealing Jung's Transcendent Function with Heidegger

In the first sentence of his book, The Transcendent Function, Jeffery Miller says “The transcendent function is the core of Carl Jung's theory of psychological growth and the heart of what he called individuation, the process by which one is guided in a teleological way toward the person he or she is meant to be” (Miller, 2004 Miller, J. C. (2004). The transcendent function: Jung's model of psychological growth through dialogue with the unconscious. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. [Google Scholar], p. 1). Consequently, for Jung, the transcendent function is the question of unveiling the unconscious for individuation to take place or, as Heidegger would say, the question of unveiling Being for authenticity to take place. As a result of the apparent equivalence, these questions can be synthesised to demonstrate that read together, each of these thinkers brings deeper understanding, meaning, and interpretation to the projects of the other in such a way that an extension for application is created for both philosophy and psychotherapy.     

The spiritual wellness of Beyers Naudé: A psychobiographical study of a South African anti-apartheid theologian

The study explores and describes Beyers Naudé's (1915–2004) spiritual wellness across his lifespan. Naudé's life history was uncovered through the systematic collection and analyses of life history materials. Data were interpreted applying the Wheel of Wellness model (WoW) by Sweeney and Witmer (1991 Sweeney, T. J., & Witmer, J. M. (1991). Beyond social interest: Striving toward optimum health and wellness. Journal of Individual Psychology, 47(4), 527–540. Retrieved from http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/journals/jip.html [Google Scholar], 1992). Findings suggest that spirituality, as the major life task of the WoW, characterised Naudé's earlier years and also epitomised his later years. Underlying life-span and life-space influences included important life-forces such as the roles of the community, religion, government and politics in his life. Hope and optimism embodied Naudé's belief about promoting and preserving human dignity, human rights and respect for life.     

Parental Bullying,Aggression, and Assertion: A Philosophical and Psychoanalytic Revisioning of Frank Summers' Case of Anna

Historically, psychoanalysis has failed to differentiate adequately between aggression and assertion. It is uncontroversial to state that bullying is a form of aggression. However, if aggression and assertion are not adequately distinguished, bullying could also be viewed as a form of assertion. Some psychoanalysts have attempted to resolve this by using the terms aggression and assertion as synonyms but introducing the notion of nondestructive aggression. Bullying, then, is understood to be hostile aggression or hostile assertion. In this article, I aim to prepare psychoanalytic and philosophical groundwork for a meaningful differentiation between aggression and assertion, and, at the same time, to shed light on the nature of bullying, parental bullying in particular. To achieve these aims, I critique an aspect of the case material presented by Frank Summers in his (2005) Summers, F. 2005. Self Creation: Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Art of the Possible, Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.  [Google Scholar] book, Self Creation: Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Art of the Possible. I also critique Parens' (2008) Parens, H. 2008. The Development of Aggression in Early Childhood, Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.  [Google Scholar] notion of nondestructive aggression as used by him and by Summers. Additionally, I discuss some of the philosophical notions Summers introduces and discusses relevant to a critique of his notion of the analyst's vision of the patient's development in its relevance to his case of Anna.     

Childhood Interrupted: A Story of Loss,Separation, and Reconciliation

This essay presents a story of personal loss and childhood trauma experienced by the author in 1968. Written in autoethnographic form, the author narrates a particular time in his life when he lost his hearing and subsequently experienced “disrupted attachment”(Becker, 1997 Becker, G. (1997). Disrupted lives: How people create meaning in a chaotic world. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. [Google Scholar]) caused by forced separation from family on the day he began life at a residential school for deaf children. Forty-six years later, the author weaves together a narrative of loss and trauma followed by his own reflections, showing how he used writing conversation as a source of healing that allowed him reconcile with his past.     

Editorial

Abstract

The concept of mentalization (Fonagy, Steele, Moran, Steele, &; Higgitt, 1991 Fonagy, P., Steele, H., Moran, G., Steele, M. and Higgitt, A. 1991. The capacity for understanding mental states: The reflective self in parent and child and its significance of security of attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 13: 201–218. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) has been used to describe the way in which the child's ability to understand his own and others' minds crucially depends on the developmental opportunity to recognize himself as represented in the mind of another. Within the context of a case presented for supervision, this paper discusses the importance of mentalization or ‘reflective function’ in the development of the psychological self, drawing on recent attachment-related research. Peter Webber's film Girl with a Pearl Earring is also presented and discussed as illustration of the psychotherapeutic significance of searching for the individual's inner psychological potential.     

Christology as a Function of Epistemology: A Bibliographic Study in the Theology of Paul Tillich

ABSTRACT

Paul Tillich is widely regarded as one of the theological giants of twentieth-century theology, and yet, according to Russell Re Manning, remains perhaps the most neglected great theologian of recent times (Re Manning, 2009 Reijnen, Anne Marie, “Tillich's Christology.” In: The Cambridge Companion to Paul Tillich, Russell Re Manning (ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 56–73.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). This study, based on Tillich's three-volume Systematic Theology (1967) describes Tillich's epistemology and discusses its effect upon his Christology, specifically with a view towards the concept “the uniqueness of Christ.” The article concludes with bibliographic annotations on Tillich's life.     

Psychoanalytic Healing,Love, Life,and Death: Commentary on Paper by Sheldon Bach

In his seminal clinical writings on psychoanalysis, Sheldon Bach transcends the limiting confines of individual and parochial schools of psychoanalysis. Both in “On Digital Consciousness” and in his 2006 Getting From There to Here: Analytic Love, Analytic Process, we see a strong relational dimension in Bach's work (see also Bach 1985 Bach, S. 1985. Narcissistic states and the therapeutic process, Northvale, NJ: Aronson.  [Google Scholar] and 1994), though he comes from firmly within the psychoanalytic mainstream. Bach's writings speak to clinicians across schools of thought, are clinically near to experience and are often moving. While he makes occasional mention of his contemporaries, Bach is grounded in more traditional references and only hints at his intellectual connection to relational and intersubjective theorists. One purpose of this commentary is to reflect on Bach's contribution to contemporary psychoanalysis and to draw out the connections between his work and the work of those within the broader relational and intersubjective community of psychoanalysis.     

The organization of children's secure base behaviour in two-parent Portuguese families and father's participation in child-related activities

The organization of children's secure base behaviour was studied in two-parent Portuguese families, with 44 father–child and mother–child dyads, children's age was on average 31.91 months. An analysis of Attachment Q-sort (AQS; Waters, 1995 Waters, E. 1995. “Appendix A: Attachment Q-set (version 3.0)”. In Caregiving, cultural, and cognitive perspectives on secure base behavior and working models: New growing points of attachment theory and research Edited by: Waters, E., Vaughn, B. E., Posada, G. and Kondon-Ikemura, K. Monographs of the Society for Research in the Child Development, 60(2–3), 234–246 [Google Scholar]) data revealed no significant differences in security scores for mothers and fathers. Both parents independently responded to a questionnaire about their participation in child-related activities, relative to their spouse's participation in these activities. A traditional division in the Care/Organization tasks and a shared participation in the Play/Leisure activities emerged. Fathers with higher scores for both types of activities tended to have children with higher security scores. Fathers' participation in Play/Leisure activities was associated with children's AQS scores with their mothers. In this sample father's participation is positively associated with the quality of secure base relationships within the family context.     

The own-age face recognition bias in children and adults

Children recognize children's faces more accurately than adult faces, and adults recognize adult faces more accurately than children's faces (e.g., Anastasi & Rhodes, 2005 Anastasi, J. S. and Rhodes, M. G. 2005. An own-age bias in face recognition for children and older adults. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 12: 1043–1047. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This is the own-age bias. Research has shown that this bias is at least partially based on experience since trainee teachers show less of an own-age bias than do other adults (Harrison & Hole, 2009 Harrison, V. and Hole, G. J. 2009. Evidence for a contact-based explanation of the own-age bias in face recognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16: 264–269. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The present research tested the own-age bias in three groups of children (age 4–6, 7–9, 10–12 years) and a group of adults in the recognition of three age groups of faces (age 7–9, 20–22, and 65–90 years). Results showed an own-age bias for 7- to 9-year-old children and adults. Specifically, children could recognize faces more accurately if they were less than two years different from their own age than if they were more than two years older or younger. These results are discussed in terms of short-term experience with faces creating biases, and this rapidly changes with age.