UNIVERSAL INSTANTIATION: A STUDY OF THE ROLE OF CONTEXT IN LOGIC

The rule of universal instantiation appears to be subject to counterexamples, although the rule of existential generalization is not subject to the same doubts. This paper is a survey of ways of responding to this problem, both conservative and revisionist. The conclusion drawn is that logical validity should be defined in terms of assertibility in a context rather than in terms of truth on an interpretation. Contexts are here defined, not in terms of the attitudes of the interlocutors, but in terms of the goals of conversation, and assertibility is explained in terms of cooperation.     

THE CONCEPT OF DIGNITY IN THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

This essay examines the function of the concept of human dignity (both as an inherent feature of human existence and as an ideal achievement) in the United Nations's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It explains why the key framers of the document affirmed an inherent human dignity in order to provide an explanatory basis for the validity of universal human rights while eschewing any religious or metaphysical justification for this affirmation. It argues that the key framers, while aware of the Christian anthropology informing the modern Western concept of the dignity of the person, grasped (1) that the Declaration, to be ratifiable, would need to be free of religious reference, and also (2) that the notion of inherency suffices to suggest heuristically not only a universal human nature but also, crucially, a transcendent reality in which all persons participate.     

TWO MODELS OF SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: YOGA AND CONFUCIUS

At first glance, to juxtapose the ascetical recommendations of Patanjali and Yoga next to the counsels of Confucius and the classical Chinese tradition seems improbable and even contradictory; indeed, each thrust contrasts very sharply with the other. India's Samkhya-Yoga tradition attests to an inward thrust, to a radical probing of what some have even described as the "frontiers of inner-space". From the very dawn of history, Yogis have pioneered an interior exploration of the psyche and human spirit; ultimately these Yogis proclaim the hidden value of each person, a dimension they call " purusa ". The Sanskrit word purusa has been variously translated as "consciousness", "spirit", "light", or simply as the authentic and genuine identity of the human being. Quite naturally then, the quest for realizing this purusa - identity became the preoccupation and all-consuming goal of the Yogis — even at the cost of an almost total disregard for the social order including the abandonment of such traditional values as our commonly accepted virtues of family, society, and social growth and development.