TOWARD A NEW CREATION OF BEING

Abstract. The author traces the path from split brains to basic beliefs by linking the deautomatized pattern of spiritual masters, as reorted in Rorschach protocols, with subsymbolic, parallel, distriguted processing, The older brain structures constitute humanity's common heritage, while the new brain constitutes particular cultural heritages. Expanding levels of complexity move from the limbic system throuh conitive left-mind vigilance and right-mind responsiveness to %Pelie patterns of proclamation and manifestation to the world-integrating mysticism of limbic input and the world-fulfilling action of the new brain. Whole brain activity combines emotional meaning and propositional explanation. Analogically seaking, the brain provides clues to understanding God. A ialectical theology parallels the reciprocal integration of brain processes. Whole brain belief originates in the old brain's evolutionary adaptation to our genetic inheritance and in the new brain's conscious intention to fulfill the will of God through our cultural inheritances.     

BETWEEN SUBORDINATION AND KOINONIA: TOWARD A NEW READING OF THE CAPPADOCIAN THEOLOGY1

This article argues that it is inappropriate to read Cappadocian theology exclusively from the angle of Basil of Caesarea's identification of the Godhead with the Father alone. As an alternative to the Basilian‐based reading that undermines the view that the three persons are together co‐constitutive of the Godhead and restricts the Godhead to the Father alone, this article calls for a more comprehensive reading of the theology of the Cappadocian fathers that takes into consideration the trinitarian perspective of Gregory of Nazianzus, and claims that his understanding of the Godhead as the reciprocal koinonia of the three persons together not only completes and corrects Basil's view and presents a more coherent view of the Cappadocian theology, but also salvages the theology of the Trinity from any possible semi‐monarchical logic that could undermine one of the divine persons for the sake of, or at the expense of, the others.     

TOWARD A NEW RELATION BETWEEN HUMANITY AND NATURE: RECONSTRUCTING T'IEN-JEN-HO-I

Abstract. The traditional Chinese idea of t'ien-jen-ho-i (Heaven and humanity in union) implies that humanity has to live in harmony with nature. As science and technology progress, however, the idea appears increasingly outmoded, and it becomes fashionable to talk about overcoming nature. Ironically, though, the further science reaches the more clearly are its limitations exposed. The exploitation of nature not only endangers many life forms on earth but threatens the very existence of the human species. I propose that a reconstruction of the traditional Chinese idea of T'ien-jen-ho-i will help us envisage a new and salutary relation between humanity and nature.     

PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY,ETHICS, AND LOVE: TOWARD A NEW RELIGION AND SCIENCE DIALOGUE

Religion and science dialogues that orbit around rational method, knowledge, and truth are often, though not always, contentious. In this article, I suggest a different cluster of gravitational points around which religion and science dialogues might usefully travel: philosophical anthropology, ethics, and love. I propose seeing morality as a natural outgrowth of the human desire to establish and maintain social bonds so as not to experience the condition of being alone. Humans, of all animals, need to feel loved—defined as a compassionate present‐with in dynamic dyadic relation such that one experiences the sense of mattering—but that need has an equally natural tendency to be met by creating biased us‐and‐them distinctions. A “critical” natural ethics, then, is one in which we become aware of and work to undermine our tendency to reify in‐group distinctions between “us” and “them.” Religious communities that work intentionally on this can be seen, to some extent, as laboratories of love—or as sites for co‐creating knowledge in perilous times.     

ALTRUISM: TOWARD A PSYCHOBIOSPIRITUAL CONCEPTUALIZATION

Altruism, defined here as a regard for or devotion to the interest of others with whom we are interrelated, is pitted against two other dispositions in human beings: nepotism and egoism. We propose that to become fully human is to become more altruistic. We describe how altruism is mediated by our physiology, is expressed in our psychological development, is evolving in our social institutions, and becomes the moral communities that enforce our sense of right and wrong. A change in any one of these influences changes our disposition—changes who we are and what we do—potentially making altruism more possible in the world.     

INTRODUCTION: TOWARD A METAPHYSIC OF MEANING

We introduce a two‐part collection of articles (Part 2 to appear in the September 2010 issue) exploring a possible new research program in the field of science and religion. At the center of the program lies an attempt to develop a new theology of nature drawing on the philosophy of C. S. Peirce. Our overall idea is that the fundamental structure of the world is exactly that required for the emergence of meaning and truth‐bearing representation. We understand the emergence of a capacity to interpret an environment to be important to the emergence of life, and we see the subsequent history of biological evolution as a story of increasing capacities for meaning making and meaning seeking. Theologically, we understand God to be the ground of all such meaning making and the ultimate goal of the universe's emerging capacity for interpreting signs. Here we explain our reasons for seeking a new metaphysical framework in which science and theology may each find a home. We survey the contributions to the two‐part collection, and we suggest that the interdisciplinary collaboration from which these have arisen may serve as a methodological model for the field of science and religion.     

TOWARD A MESSAGE-CENTERED THEORY OF PERSUASION: THREE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF LANGUAGE INTENSITY1

Based on accumulated knowledge concerning the effects of language intensity on attitude change, a set of propositions were advanced that provide a skeletal theoretical framework. Based on the propositions, three separate studies were done to extend the predictive power of the formulation. Predicted interactions between sex of the source, situational anxiety, source credibility, and language intensity were obtained. There were also significant person perception changes as a result of the level of language intensity employed in the persuasive message. Discussion centered on the import of the new findings in formulating a message-centered theory of persuasion.     

WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARD THEIR JOBS: SOME LONGITUDINAL DATA ON A NATIONAL SAMPLE1

This study examines a number of aspects of job satisfaction among women in their thirties and forties over the 1967–1972 period using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The data presented suggest that black women were less satisfied with their jobs than whites, and that levels of job satisfaction declined between 1967 and 1972. When asked which aspects of their jobs they liked best, these women were most likely to mention a dimension of their work which stemmed from the job content. Also of particular importance were the socio-emotional aspects of their jobs. There were remarkably few changes in the pattern of responses over the 5-year period. Furthermore, there is evidence that women whose skills were underutilized tended to be more dissatisfied than women for whom this was not the case. Conflicting demands between responsibilities at home and at work also appear to result in lower-than-average levels of job satisfaction. The greatest conflict in this regard appeared to result from an unfavorable attitude of the woman's husband toward her working, indeed more so than by the presence of young children or by her own attitude toward the propriety of women working. The lack of certain straightforward relationships between job satisfaction and such dimensions as family circumstances, skills and labor market characteristics is interpreted in the context of the conceptual framework of Lawler (1973).     

MANAGERIAL VALUES: A METHODOLOGICAL STEP TOWARD A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC APPROACH

Managers from Private Enterprises and Public Services answered a questionnaire where they were asked to give the 60 concepts and 40 adjectives that are the most useful to describe and characterize their managing function. Some concepts and adjectives appear with a frequency beyond the chance level they fix the limits of a managerial subjective culture. Additional entropy measures show that concepts are more stereotyped than adjectives and that Public Services Managers are more stereotyped than Private Enterprises Managers although in both cases the entropy curves are quasi-linear meaning that the semantic space of management is economically organized.