Communication for Life in Cyberspace

Cyberspace communication is a key driving force of the neoliberal globalization that has led to worldwide crisis. Despite some positive perspectives, cyberspace communication has played a crucial role in the dominance of global markets by transnational corporations. The ethical foundations of the problematics of cyberspace communication lie in a social Darwinism that leads to ruthless competition based on egoistic morality. This article posits the notion of love as an alternative ethics, drawing on perspectives of Christian love (especially those of US ethicist Paul Ramsey) as unselfish love for others, as well as on East Asian traditions of love (such as Buddhist compassion, Confucian jen, and Korean jung). The article argues that unselfish love offers a perspective to overcome an anthropocentric perspective of communication. In this way, human beings can build a community with all living beings and develop harmonious relationships with them to live together on the earth.     

Can Politics Practice Compassion?

On realist terms, politics is about power, security, and order, and the question of whether politics can practice compassion is irrelevant. The author argues that a politics of compassion is possible and necessary in order to address human security needs. She extend debates on care ethics to develop a politics of compassion, using the example of asylum seekers to demonstrate that politics can practice compassion with (1) attentiveness to the needs of vulnerable people who are suffering, (2) an active listening to the voices of the vulnerable, and (3) open, compassionate, and appropriate responses to particular needs.     

The Impostor Phenomenon in Mental Health Professionals: Relationships Among Compassion Fatigue,Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction

Imposter phenomenon is defined as a sense of intellectual fraudulence and an inability to internalize success and competency. Although imposter phenomenon has been noted in several populations, literature is sparse that focuses on mental health professionals. In addition, little is known about the relationships between imposter phenomenon, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction for mental health workers. Using a survey design with a convenience sample of 158 mental health workers, this study found that imposter phenomenon was positively associated with compassion fatigue, as well as negatively associated with compassion satisfaction, when controlling for years of work and age. Further, the combination of lower levels of compassion satisfaction and higher levels of burnout predicted higher levels of imposter phenomenon. Implications and preventative measures are discussed.

     

Transculturality and tradition - renewing the continuous in late modernity

The status and sovereignty of Jerusalem remains one of the most difficult, not to say the most difficult issue to be resolved before a lasting peace can arrive to the Middle East region. This article assumes that any solution to the Jerusalem-issue should be strongly accompanied by a shared vision of it among Jews, Christians and Muslims. In order to explore and elucidate the religious importance and reconciliatory potential of Jerusalem, selected writings by the British scholar and Anglican bishop Kenneth Cragg are examined in light of metaphorical theory (Lakoff &; Johnson). The article demonstrates how the theological and interreligious elasticity of Cragg's approach related to core issues within Christian teaching, and in conversation with the Jewish and Islamic tradition, exhibits an attempt at negotiation and expansion of the meaning of Jerusalem. Such attempts are surely needed if this central metaphor is to be shared among people and traditions with high stakes in the Holy City.     

EVOLUTION OF RELIGIOUS CAPACITY IN THE GENUS HOMO: TRAIT COMPLEXITY IN ACTION THROUGH COMPASSION

In this third and last article on the evolution of religious capacity, the authors focus on compassion, one of religious expression's common companions. They explore the various meanings of compassion, using Biblical and early related documents, and derive general cognitive components before an evolutionary analysis of compassion using their model. Then, in taking on neural reuse theory, they adapt a model from linguistics theory to understand how neural reuse could have operated to fix religious capacity in the human genome. They present a teaching tool on “Religious Capacity in Action,” and develop an example of compassionate decision making in very early Homo sapiens in North Africa. They round out their analysis of compassion by exploring theory in neuroscience on a standard decision‐making model, and investigate what goes on in the human brain when a values‐based decision is made.     

Dispositional Attachment Orientations,Contextual Variations in Attachment Security,and Compassion Fatigue Among Volunteers Working With Traumatized Individuals

In the present article, we report a series of studies examining the links between attachment orientations and compassion fatigue among volunteers working with traumatized individuals. Participants were volunteers in several trauma‐related organizations, ranging in age from 18 to 69 years. In Study 1 (N = 148), we examined associations between self‐reports of attachment insecurities and compassion fatigue. In Study 2 (N = 54), we used a diary design to assess attachment‐related differences in emotional reactions to actual helping encounters over a 2‐month period. In Study 3 (N = 108), we examined the effects of the experimental enhancement of attachment security (security priming) on reactions to a hypothetical helping encounter. As expected, attachment insecurities, either anxiety or avoidance, were associated with heightened compassion fatigue. Moreover, security priming reduced compassion fatigue in response to a hypothetical helping encounter. These findings underscore the relevance of attachment theory for understanding and preventing compassion fatigue.     

The Moderating Effects of Age on the Relationships of Self‐Compassion,Self‐Esteem,and Mental Health

This study investigated the interactive effects of self‐compassion, self‐esteem, and age on mental health. Numerous previous studies have found that self‐compassion has a significant positive association with well‐being but most of these studies were conducted with young adults represented by college students. This study extended the previous findings by comparing its distinctive functions in different age groups. A total of 1,813 adults whose age ranged from twenties to fifties (M = 39.28 years, SD = 11.27) completed a questionnaire measuring self‐compassion, self‐esteem, subjective well‐being, and depression. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the positive relationship between self‐compassion and subjective well‐being was rendered stronger with older adults. In addition, self‐compassion moderated the relationship between self‐esteem and depression regardless of age. These results imply that self‐compassion may be complimentary to self‐esteem in improving mental health, especially for older adults.     

Individual Differences in Good Manners Rather Than Compassion Predict Fair Allocations of Wealth in the Dictator Game

One of the most common tools for studying pro‐sociality is the dictator game, in which allocations to one's partner are often described in terms of altruism. However, the motivations driving these allocations may represent either emotional concern for others (compassion), adherence to social norms regarding fairness (politeness), or both. In this article, we apply personality psychology to the study of behavior in the dictator game, in which we examine the discriminant validity of distinct pro‐social constructs from the Big Five and HEXACO models in relation to allocations of wealth. Across four studies (Study 1: N = 192; Study 2: N = 212; Study 3: N = 304; Study 4: N = 90) utilizing both hypothetical and incentivized designs, we found that the politeness—but not compassion—aspect of Big Five Agreeableness, as well as HEXACO Honesty‐Humility, uniquely predicted dictator allocations within their respective personality models. These findings contribute to a growing literature indicating that the standard dictator game measures “good manners” or adherence to norms concerning fairness, rather than pure emotional concern or compassionate motives, and have important implications for how this paradigm is used and interpreted in psychological research.     

Predicting the Level of Pastors’ Risk of Termination/Exit from the Church

This study conducts an exploratory factor analysis on Wickman’s (2004) Pastors at Risk Inventory that measures the likelihood of whether clergy may face forced or unforced resignation. An online survey was administered to 285 evangelical pastors containing 42 Likert-type items developed from 20 years of qualitative practitioner ministry among clergy. The two factors identified—vision conflict and compassion fatigue—are discussed in relation to the extant literature and in their unique function with clergy. Results indicate that varying levels of disparity typically exist between expected ministry outcomes and actual ministry experiences, and that vision conflict and compassion fatigue are more likely among clergy who lack a support team and/or whose church has recently plateaued or declined in attendance.     

Becoming Human in the Face of God: Gregory of Nyssa's Unending Search for the Beatific Vision

This article seeks to effect a ressourcement of the theology of the beatific vision through reflection on Gregory of Nyssa's engagement with biblical passages that he believes speak of this vision. Through attention to Nyssen's sixth homily on the Beatitudes, commentary on The Life of Moses and Homilies on the Song of Songs, I argue that, for him, human persons find their telos when in union with Christ they become ever purer, in an ever‐increasing growth in the beatific vision. Gregory maintains that the perfection of human personhood consists of the soul always remaining in search of greater fulfilment of its desire to see God in Christ.     

RESILIENCE,AGENCY, AND EVERYDAY LOJONG IN THE TIBETAN DIASPORA

ABSTRACT

Despite exposure to political violence, many Tibetans in the diaspora avoid framing past experience in terms of trauma. Instead, they deploy shared cultural understandings often infused with Buddhist doctrine, to reframe loss, violence and displacement. Drawing on 14 months of ethnographic research in Dharamsala, India conducted in the Tibetan language, this article investigates how Tibetans utilise everyday cultural wisdom framed by lojong (mind-training) teachings to cope with adversity. Here, compassion practices serve to orient members of the diaspora towards recovery even, and perhaps, especially, when they are struggling. In this article, I argue that this cultural form of resilience is better conceived of as a practice of agency than a mental health practice, despite a global interest in adapting meditation and mindfulness for use in clinical settings. This study also challenges theory on structural violence and social suffering, which tends to overemphasise victimhood, bypassing the ordinary (and extraordinary) ways that people find agency.     

Taming the Brain Weasels: Reducing Self-Criticism Through Externalization and Compassion

ABSTRACT

Self-criticism is a natural process occurring across mental health disorders. When self-criticism is excessive, vulnerability to mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety increases. Compassion-focused approaches can effectively address a variety of concerns; however, highly self-critical individuals might balk at the idea of self-directed compassion due to shame, self-blame, or discomfort with positive emotions, resulting in treatment resistance. The brain weasel is an intervention strategy that uses the Narrative Therapy technique of externalization as an intermediate step toward compassion-oriented work. Through creative externalization and therapeutic humor, self-critical individuals can decenter and explore their self-critical dialogue. This article contains several ways to introduce and use the brain weasel personification in counseling.     

Narrative imagination and taking the perspective of others

Narrative imagination, as MarthaNussbaum (1996) discusses it, is ``the abilityto be an intelligent reader of another person'sstory', an ability tied to being a democraticand cultivated world citizen, one whounderstands the lives of others. Narrativeimagination does not only need knowledge andlogical reasoning but also love and compassion.This article argues that in order to be agenuine tool for democracy, narrativeimagination and consciously taking theperspective of others has to be based on anunderstanding of humans as basicallypluralistic, as homines aperti. Criticalexamination and reflection should be broughtcloser to the lives we live and confront ourhabits and implicit values in order tocultivate us as humans so that we are genuinelyaffected and touched.     

A Feminist Ethic and the New Romanticism Mothering as a Model of Moral Relations

This paper claims that recent attempts to draw on the maternal experiences of women in order to articulate an ethic of care and compassion is a new romanticism. Like earlier romantic views, it is both attractive and potentially dangerous. The paper examines the basic claims of this new romanticism in order to identify both its strengths and weaknesses. I conclude that there are at least two versions of this new romanticism, one that relies primarily on the experiences of child-bearing in grounding” an ethic of care and compassion, and a second that relies primarily on child-rearing. I suggest that the former version of the new romanticism is deeply flawed be-cause such a view ought to be unacceptable to women and will be inaccessible to men.     

The Imperative of Diakonia for the Church and Theological Education

This article begins by arguing that diakonia is an imperative for the church, be it at the local, national, regional, or global level. It goes on to describe how diakonia has been part of the identity of the World Council of Churches during its 70 years of existence, and highlights the struggle of diakonia and development within the fellowship and ecumenical partners. The article focuses on the document Called to Transformative Action: Ecumenical Diakonia as the most recent attempt to reflect on who we are and what we do as church. It identifies one important aspect of diakonia as reflected in the Pan‐African Women's Ecumenical Empowerment Network perspective on theological education. The article concludes by reflecting on the author's vision for a just community of women and men in prophetic diakonia.     

Capture and rumination,functional avoidance,and executive control (CaRFAX): Three processes that underlie overgeneral memory

This article reviews the papers published in this Special Issue of Cognition and Emotion on Specificity in Autobiographical Memory. Together, the studies address some critical issues relating to the etiology of and mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of overgeneral memory. In terms of etiology, there is now substantial evidence of links between overgeneral memory and current or past depression, and between overgeneral memory and trauma history, and suicidal ideation and behaviour, independent of depression. In terms of mechanisms, three factors are emerging as the critical mechanisms underlying the phenomenon: Capture and rumination (CaR), functional avoidance (FA), and executive control dysfunction (X). Each of these has separately been found to produce overgenerality in memory; together they are almost certain to do so.     

There are no Degrees in a Bodhisattva's Compassion

This paper is to argue that there are no degrees in a Bodhisattva's compassion and also to explore the Western account of compassion, which suggests that there are degrees in our compassion. After analyzing and comparing both positions, I affirm that they are opposite views.     

Old Wine in New Bottles? The Case of Self‐compassion and Neuroticism

Research on self‐compassion, which is defined as being understanding and kind to oneself when confronted with negative experiences, has produced an impressive number of articles in recent years. This research shows that individual differences in self‐compassion, as measured by the Self‐Compassion Scale (SCS), are positively related to life satisfaction, health and social functioning. However, a critical and systematic test of self‐compassion from a personality perspective has not yet conducted so far. In the present study (N = 576), we (i) tested the factor structure of the SCS, (ii) examined the distinctiveness of self‐compassion with regard to the five‐factor model of personality, focusing on neuroticism, and (iii) tested the incremental predictive power of self‐compassion beyond the five‐factor model in the context of life satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two‐factor plus six facets solution of self‐compassion (a positive factor and a negative factor). Additional analyses revealed that the negative factor was redundant with facets of neuroticism (rs ≥ .85), whereas the positive factor had some unique variance left. However, neither the negative factor nor the positive factor could explain substantial incremental variance in life satisfaction beyond neuroticism. Recommendations for how to use the SCS are provided, and the future of research on self‐compassion is discussed. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology