The flesh of the forest: Wild being in Merleau-Ponty and Werner Herzog

The history of the sublime within aesthetics has tended to focus on the natural world. Within this history, the sublime has been a category reserved for awe-inspiring and overwhelming experiences, in which the finite subject is dwarfed by a more expansive force. Despite subjectivity being foremost in this topic, what has been overlooked, is the role the body plays in being the centre of aesthetic experience. In this paper, I will turn the tide on this omission and thematize the role of the body within the experience of the sublime. My plan for reconsidering this movement is to unite Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972) with the late thought of Merleau-Ponty, especially his enigmatic notion of "flesh" (Merleau-Ponty, 1968). In both Herzog and Merleau-Ponty, a philosophy of nature exists which challenges the dichotomy between the autonomous self encountering the objective realm of wilderness. In each case, an ambiguity undercuts the idea of wilderness existing "there" while human subjectivity remains placed "here." I will "read" the film as an instant of the chiasmatic relation between nature and humanity. Doing so, I will suggest that the reversibility between the body and the environment can be seen as an amplification of Merleau-Ponty’s notion of "wild being" (l’etre sauvage).     

试论李通玄的三圣圆融思想

李通玄的三圣圆融一般是指文殊、普贤、佛三位一体,相互融通,不可分割;从整个《新华严经论》看来,三圣圆融是一种表法,其所表示的佛法具有灵活性,即不只是用来说明三圣之间的关系。而这一圆融的思想所表示的种种佛法都是心的体现,即法不自生,因心而起,心生则种种法生,心灭则种种法灭。所以本文认为,李通玄的三圣圆融思想的实质是心的圆融。     

Zorba The Buddha: Capitalism,Charisma and the Cult of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

This essay suggests a new way of understanding the notorious Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, by examining the intimate relationship between his religious teachings and his business practices. Rajneesh's ideal was in fact that of ‘Zorba the Buddha’, the perfect synthesis of the spiritual and material, the religious and capitalist impulses. After analysing and criticizing the classical Weberian concept of ‘charisma’, this paper argues that charismatic authority is by no means incompatible with bureaucratic organization or rational business practices. On the contrary, not only can charismatic authority be combined with a complex bureaucratic organization, but it can also be transformed into a kind of ‘commodity’ which is bought and sold on the consumer market. Rather than a ‘routinization of charisma’ what we find in the Rajneesh movement is a kind of ‘commodification’ and ‘commercialization’ of charisma. Bhagwan offered (and sold) his followers the promise of the same charismatic authority and divine freedom which he himself enjoyed (though, in practice, this authority could never actually be attained by any of his followers). Moreover, charismatic authority became the basis for a new kind of bureaucratic organization in Rajneesh's world-wide network of commercial enterprises—an organization characterized by a high degree of fluidity and flexibility, able to adapt itself rapidly to meet the changing demands of its consumer market.     

Thanks for being,loving, and believing

Philosophical Studies - Gratitude to others is typically understood as a response to good things people give to us or do for us. Occasionally, though, we thank people for things other than gifts or...     

We-intentions, free-riding, and being in reserve

A person can intend to achieve his own personal aims and ends, but he can also intend to promote the goals of his groups or collectives. In many cases of collective action these two types of intention will coincide, but they need not, and when they clash, collective action dilemmas, like free-riderism, will emerge. In this paper we discuss and analyze a central kind of group-intentions termed we-intentions, and distinguish between absolute and conditional we-intentions. The analyses of the latter are then applied to a study of two related social phenomena: the agent's standing in reserve and free-riding.It is our claim that when the agent is intentionally in reserve, this involves his having a specific conditional we-intention to participate in the group's action. On the other hand, if he intends to free-ride, he intends not to participate. We also discuss and analyze different types of free-rider intentions. A person can also have a more complex intention concerning the group's action: He can have a conditional personal intention to free-ride combined with a conditional reserve member's we-intention to participate in the group's action. This may indicate that his motives are confused or mixed, but in most cases it can be taken to express his uncertainty of the fulfillment of the relevant conditions of his actions.A similar uncertainty of other players' actions is also embedded in various game-theoretic settings, and we conclude the paper by representing some free-riding situations in terms of game-theoretic structures. We claim that not only Prisoner's Dilemma but also other games, in particular Chicken, are relevant for studies of free-riding.     

略论魏晋南北朝的佛性思想

佛教自两汉传入中土之后,于发展过程中形成自身的特色,而成为中国化的佛教.中土的佛性思想,最早者当推慧远的"法性论";在诸论说中,最能代表中国文化思想者,则首推梁武帝萧衍之"真神说";但在中国佛教史上,真正上承性空般若之学,下启涅槃佛性思想的关键人物,则当推晋宋之际的竺道生.本文对魏晋南北朝之慧远、梁武帝萧衍、竺道生之佛性思想加以探讨,以了解魏晋南北朝时期的佛性思想之发展状况.     

Narcissism lost: On translating and being translated1

The authors present a detailed account of the experiences shared in translating and having one’s work translated. Carneiro maintains that, in order to communicate with their readers, writers should relinquish the narcissistic satisfaction they derive from their texts in the original. Beyond this, she feels that, owing to a good understanding between her and her translator, the creativity in her original text persists in the translation. Brakel introduces himself to the IJPA readership and shows how he works when translating the cultural and linguistic nuances and peculiarities of Brazilian Portuguese. He concludes with some thoughts about the affect he experiences from his original work and the work he has translated.     

论于慎行的佛、道思想

于慎行是明代后期著名的政治家和文学家、史学家,其佛、道思想生动而集中地反映了晚明时代的思想风貌.于慎行参禅学佛,但对佛教现状多有批评.他探讨了佛经的翻译问题,援引佛经义理来诠释儒家经典.于慎行严格区分作为宗教组织的道教和作为学派的道家,除开晚年,他对道教基本上抱持相对疏离的态度.他服膺黄老之学,以无为政治为其施政理念,同时也深受老庄学说的影响.于慎行主张以儒家为主导,统摄佛、道,实现三教融合.     

医药产业、市场与人

技术进步能否增进人类的福祉,可能有因人而已的答案.在这种背景下,与人类生存息息相关的医药产业疯狂进步与扩张是以人为中心的还是以利益为中心的,医学的人类关怀为中心的道德准则是否受到商业利益的影响.本文对这些问题进行了分析和探讨,并指出医学应当在新形势结合本民族对福祉的理解保持为人服务的本质.     

湖州铁佛寺与观音中国化

在浙江省湖州市繁华的主城区,有一座建于南朝梁天监年间的寺院,那里供奉着一尊北宋乾兴初铸造的铁观音菩萨立像。据说,她是我国现存最早的观音变女相菩萨像,其容貌具有唐宋时期太湖流域女性的特征,故被我国学者誉为"东方维纳斯"。因此,这座千年古刹,也被视为观音中国化的典范。它,就是湖州铁佛寺。