Religion,Democracy and the ‘Dawla Madaniyya’ of the Arab Spring

The object of this article is to review and evaluate a debate that has been taking place among Muslim and Arab writers for some time now about the concept of ‘dawla madaniyya’ (‘civil state/government’), and the place of religion in democratic politics. More precisely, it will be suggested that the current popularity of the term ‘dawla madaniyya’ signifies only a partial meeting of minds between Islamists and their liberal and secular opponents. By and large, the concept seems to have an instrumental value as part of an on-going discursive struggle between various political orientations about the place of Islam in the social–political order. On the basis of our discussion of the terms of the debate, a new approach to conceptualizing the disagreement will be suggested. The goal of this is not to resolve the disagreement, but rather to sharpen it in a way that shows what is required to achieve significant progress. The final resolution of the disagreement must await a more radical convergence of ideas than currently exists – a convergence that touches not only on standards of reasonableness but also on substantive beliefs and values.     

Does “Arab Spring” Mean The Beginning Of World System Reconfiguration?

In a previous article, “The Coming Epoch of New Coalitions: Possible Scenarios of the Near Future” (Grinin and Korotayev 2011 Grinin, L. E. 2011. The coming epoch of new coalitions: Possible Scenarios of the Near Future. World Futures, 67(8): 531–563. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), it was preliminarily demonstrated that the turbulent events of late 2010 and 2011 in the Arab World may well be regarded as a start of the global reconfiguration. The subsequent events have confirmed this supposition. That is why in the present article we develop this important theme. The article offers a thorough analysis of the internal conditions of Arab countries on the eve of revolutionary events, as well as causes and consequences of the Arab Revolutions. The article also offers an analysis of similar historical World System reconfigurations starting with the sixteenth-century Reformation. The analysis is based on the theory (developed by the authors) of the periodical catch-ups experienced by the political component of the World System that tends to lag behind the World System economic component. Thus, we show that the asynchrony of development of various functional subsystems of the World System is a cause of the synchrony of major political changes. In other words, within the globalization process, political transformations tend to lag far behind economic transformations. And such lags cannot constantly increase, the gaps are eventually bridged, but in not quite a smooth way. The article also suggests an explanation why the current catch-up of the World System political component started in the Arab World.     

‘Thank God We Are in Syria!’ Modernization,Interfaith Relations and Women’s Rights in Syria Before the ‘Arab Spring’ (2000–2010)

The status of women is generally considered a measure of ‘modernity’ and it has often been exploited by the West to highlight the ‘backwardness’ of non-Western countries and to justify colonialism and ‘civilization’ endeavours. The question of women’s rights and its connection to ‘modernity’, however, is not simple. This article considers the example of Syria immediately before the revolts of 2011, and highlights that the government’s approach to the issue of women’s rights appears to have been inspired by a peculiar idea of ‘modernity’ that is not in line with the Western mainstream view, because it is not based on the centrality of the individual and does not include a view of secularization that underestimates the social and political importance of religious beliefs. Reflections on the peculiarities of the Syrian approach may help avoid simplifications and – more generally – may help us reflect on the premise of the mainstream Western approach to the issue in countries considered as ‘other’.     

Who,What, When,Where, How,and Mostly Why?

SUMMARY

The death of a client by suicide was very emotionally destabilizing to this therapist. She worked hard to distance herself personally from the pain at first and at the same time she found herself overfocused on the “psychological autopsy.” She had difficulty accepting new clients and wanted to withdraw from a meaningful appointment to a state advisory committee. Only when she was able to identify with the client's pain and realize how that pain touched her own history of loss was she able to grieve productively. She realized that gender was relevant in her identification with the victim and in sorting out each of their histories of loss.     

Identität, Familie, Patienten, Olympier

The author deals with the tradition of mental patterns in psychoanalytic institutes shaping the character of training. He discusses several patterns which in his opinion have become dysfunctional and are already in change: the family model, the patient model, the conception of training analysts as Olympians, the psychoanalytic identity as the endpoint of training and the model of the closed society. He argues for further transformation of these institutionalized patterns in order to avoid stagnation and remain future oriented. For each pattern he proposes concrete measures, which can be helpful for change.     

The Jerusalem of Jesus: space and Pentecostal-evangelical branding in Orlando’s Holy Land Experience and Eureka Spring’s Holy Land Tour

Jerusalem, Israel, holds a special place as a holy pilgrimage destination for devotees of Christianity and other religions, although travel to the holy sites of Jerusalem is costly and can be difficult for many. For evangelical Protestants (and especially Pentecostals), the significance of Jerusalem – as the place where Christ the Messiah lived and accomplished his works – can be mobilised and channelled (decentralised) by creating sites which participate in the spiritual ‘power’ of Jesus Christ. Spiritual ‘power’ in this sense is not dependent on recorded miracles or canonisation by a central religious authority, but in the creation of spaces which through various strategies effectively evoke for their Protestant consumers the ‘authenticity’ of Jesus’ Jerusalem, and thus the ‘power’ and ‘reality’ of Christ. This paper examines the spatial strategies and branding of two such sites, the Holy Land Experience (Orland, Florida) and the Holy Land Tour (Eureka Springs, Arkansas).     

学习科学,破除迷信,提高素质

二十年以前就有过一场争论,是关于"耳朵认字"的问题.当时一批科学家起来揭露它的虚伪性,但也有一批科学家却出来支持它,认为这是人体的特异功能.九十年代初,这种伪科学越演越烈,越说越神奇.这两年似乎不大听说了.但另一种歪门邪说却又泛滥起来,这就是法轮功.当然法轮功已成为残害人民、残害社会的邪教组织,与一般相信特异功能是两种不同性质的问题.但是究其思想基础却同出一源,即迷信二字.     

(Math, Science, ?)

In science as in mathematics, it is popular to know little and resent much about category theory. Less well known is how common it is to know little and like much about set theory. The set theory of almost all scientists, and even the average mathematician, is fundamentally different from the formal set theory that is contrasted against category theory. The latter two are often opposed by saying one emphasizes Substance, the other Form. However, in all known systems of mathematics throughout history, mathematicians have moved fluidly between ideas conceived of as thing-like, property-like, and process-like. On the other hand one way to advance science is to better distinguish between thing, property, and process. All this constitutes a distracting background for those interested in, or distressed by, the possible application of category theory to science, and to mathematics as well.     

附生性,因果性,还原性

一、引论在过去的 20多年里, 戴维森的反常一元论和附生性概念占据了心灵哲学讨论的中心领域。一方面, 戴维森的理论面临以金在权为代表的众多哲学家的尖锐批评; 另一方面, 大家似乎相信, 弄清楚附生性概念就意味着心物问题的解决。本文首先将论述戴维森的附生性概念及其非还原的物理主义学说, 然后将介绍金在权的批评意见, 随后将对戴维森的反常一元论作一个唯名论的诠释, 弄清戴维森的附生性概念到底是什么意思、它是一种什么样的共变关系, 以维护戴维森的反常一元论, 并抵御金在权的指控。最后还将论证, 附生性既不是一个因果关系, 也不…     

怒斥北约,保卫和平,普度众生

中华崛起外夷忧，使馆被轰蓄预谋。玩火自焚因嫉忌，惹来抗义震环球。遇难无辜魄未收，人神共怒泛洪流。严惩凶手循因果，不祭英魂誓不休。神州舜日固根基，团结精诚时世熙。北约当知停战火，炎黄亿万岂能欺。怒斥北约,保卫和平,普度众生@黄诚伦...     

面向生活,关注人生,接近人民,致力普及

<正> 中国传统文化的重要精神,是面向生活,关注人生,教人如何处理个人与他人、与社会的关系,在此基础上求得社会的和谐和安定。在长期的发展中,中国在这方面积累了极丰富的,也可以说是最丰富的思想资料。这是一笔宝贵的遗产;中国传统文化的积极方面和消极方面都在这里反映出来。人们批评传统文化在维护封建制度方面起了重要作用,这无疑是对的;然而正是这一事实,也证明了古人在维护社会的和谐、安定方面是成功的,传统文化在这方面有着许多     

学究天人,道贯古今,成就斐然,举世敬仰

今天,我们在这里隆重举行任继愈研究会成立大会,深切缅怀任继愈先生的生平业绩和历史贡献,学习和弘扬他的学术精神和崇高品格。在此,我谨代表德州市委、市政府向研究会的成立表示热烈的祝贺!任继愈先生毕生从事教育和学术研究工作,学究天人,道贯古今,成就斐然,举世敬仰,为弘扬中华民族传统文化和繁荣学术研究做出了卓越贡献．其为人与为学都是中国学者的典范。任继愈先生是我国坚持运用马克思主义原理进行学术研究的优秀代表．解放以后．他用马克思主义系统总结了中国古代哲学，由他主编的《中国哲学史》，从上世纪60年代开始．就是大学哲学系的基本教材。任继愈先生是我国马克思主义宗教学的开创者和奠基人，他的论文集——《汉唐佛教思想论集》，成为新中国用马克思主义研究宗教问题的奠基之作．被毛泽东同志誉为“凤毛麟角”。