CIPHERS OF TRANSCENDENCE: COGNITIVE AESTHETICS IN SCIENCE

Modern epistemology is reluctant to presume the objectivity of a mental event. Because a valid theory of knowledge is subjected to objective standards of rationality, the invocation of a transcendent ground of existence termed ‘god’ is deemed extra‐systematic. This reference lacks warrant because it fails to satisfy the impartial criteria methodologically basic to contemporary paradigms of knowledge. Still the biochemist Arthur Peacocke (1924–2006) claimed defensible public truth for an ultimate reality based on the ‘supremely’ rational nature of existence; it is the further contention of this paper that there are intelligible patterns to the universe whose discovery is incapable of ‘objective’ explanation. By failing to meet these criteria, however, they do not fall into irrationality, still less do they disqualify or exclude themselves from public consideration; quite the opposite. There are perhaps depths to human experience then, including science, to which an existentialist epistemology is appropriate. In this connection the philosophy of Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) provides a compelling account of the transition of scientific research into aesthetics and theological discourse.     

THE MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GRATITUDE IN KANT'S ETHICS

In this essay, we examine the grounds, nature and content, status, acquisition and role, and justification of gratitude in Kant's ethical system, making use of student notes from Kant's lectures on ethics. We are especially interested in questions about the significance of gratitude in Kant's ethics. We examine Kant's claim that gratitude is a sacred duty, because it cannot be discharged, and explain how this claim is consistent with his insistence that “ought” implies “can.” We argue that for Kant a proper understanding of self‐esteem is importantly related to, if not necessary for, possession of the virtue of gratitude.     

BETWEEN RECEPTION AND SELF-PERCEPTION: TESTIMONIES OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN ISRAEL

Based on survivors’ testimonies the article discusses the encounters of Holocaust survivors in Palestine/Israel between 1945 and 1955. After addressing the issues of the historiography of these Holocaust survivors and the value of using their testimonies, it examines the interactions of survivors with official authorities: work, housing, kibbutzim, education, and the pre-military/IDF. It sheds light on the meaning of silence and the manifestation of stereotyping for the survivors themselves, and it assesses the impact of families and creating families. The article also examines the validity of these testimonies by studying some testimonies of Holocaust survivors who emigrated from Israel and those who immigrated directly from Europe to North America. The study concludes that although contemporary collective views influenced survivors’ perceptions, cases of their ill-treatment were not isolated. They were more the result of the attitudes of individuals than the policy of the state. Veteran Israelis' insensitivity affected survivors. Stigmatizing ostracized them. Lack of empathy and discrimination caused survivors to feel unwanted and lonely, which resulted in many volunteering for the military, or in self-isolation, or in getting married as quickly as possible. Lack of study and job opportunities for women were more difficult to overcome.     

社会判断中的样例激活效应

初步考察了社会判断过程中样例激活效应存在的条件、作用、强度和指向。被试为西北师范大学教育科学学院心理系2年级学生160人。实验结果表明：（1）样例激活效应在强启动和弱启动条件下都存在,而且表现为同化效应。（2）在强启动条件下,样例激活效应表现强烈。进一步讲,正、反样例对高、低效价的靶子都有同化效应,但正面样例对低效价靶子的效应更强;而反面样例对高效价靶子的效应更强。（3）在弱启动条件下,样例效价和靶子效价共同影响着社会判断及其决策过程,样例激活效应明显弱化,具体表现为：①样例激活仅对低效价靶子的判断影响显著,对高效价靶子影响不显著;②从具体样例对高、低效价靶子效应强度的比较看,正面样例对低效价靶子作用更强,反面样例只表现出略微差异。另外,“关联效应”会冲淡样例激活效应     

TENSIONS IN INTELLIGENT DESIGN'S CRITIQUE OF THEISTIC EVOLUTIONISM

“Intelligent Design” (ID) is a contemporary intellectual movement arguing that there is scientific evidence for the existence of some sort of creator. Its proponents see ID as a scientific research program and as a way to build a bridge between science and theology, while many critics see it merely as a repackaged form of religiously motivated creationism: both bad science and bad theology. In this article, I offer a close reading of the ID movement's critique of theistic evolutionism and argue that this critique is ultimately in tension with the movement's broader thought.     

THE RECEPTION OF DIONYSIUS IN THE BYZANTINE WORLD: MAXIMUS TO PALAMAS

The first major theologian to engage the CD in the Byzantine world is Maximus the Confessor. His is a highly individual engagement, but without any of the embarrassment alleged by many modern scholars. Dionysian influence in Byzantium seems to have been mostly confined to the monastic tradition, and is traced here, in outline, from Symeon the New Theologian to Gregory Palamas. Various issues recur: the distinction between apophatic and kataphatic theology, the notion of hierarchy (often understood in a much cruder way than in Dionysius himself), the nature and importance of angelic mediation, and the central place of the sacramental liturgy.     

A PRAGMATIC CRITIQUE OF PLURALISM IN TEXT INTERPRETATION

Abstract: I take a pragmatic approach to what interpreters do when they interpret and argue that critical pluralists have focused almost exclusively on one aspect of interpretation: the fact that it is an event taking place in a historical and cultural milieu that influences the many ways interpreters approach a given text. However, there is also in interpretation a pragmatic aspect: the fact that it is an act performed by individuals who, through the utterance of their statements, implicitly make claims, for example, regarding the truth of their interpretation. In the first part I explain what critical pluralists overlook and the consequences of such oversight. In the second part I indicate how the validity of interpretation can be assessed.     

SOCIAL PRESSURE IN THE MODIFICATION AND DISTORTION OF JUDGMENT

Pression sociale, modification et distorsion du jugement: une étude interculturelle. — Les résultats d'une réplique interculturelle de L'étude qu'a faite Asch de L'influence d'une pression sociale sur la modification et la distorsion du jugement, montrent que des sujets américains, brésiliens, arabes et chinois manifestent un degré de conformisme presque égal. Mais, pour des sujets rhodésiens, le degré de conformisme est significativement plus élevé que pour tous les autres groupes observés. Des recherches ultérieures sont nécessaires pour déterminer les raisons de L'indépendance ou du conformisme dans les cultures étudiées et pour déterminer également dans quelle mesure il est possible de généraliser les résultats observés dans une situation de type Asch à d'autres situations sociales.     

CONTINGENCY IN PHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY: A CRITIQUE OF THE THEOLOGY OF WOLFHART PANNENBERG

Abstract. The concept of contingency serves to bridge the doctrine of creation and natural science in Wolfhart Pannenberg's theology. My paper first analyzes the relation of creatio ex nihilo and creatio continua. Next I suggest three categories of contingency: global, local, and nomological. Under each category I assess Pannenberg's use of physics, cosmology, and philosophy of science. Although I agree with Pannenberg's emphasis on continuous creation and on the role of science in renewing the doctrine of creation, I argue for a shift in the discussion from Pannenberg's topics to others, such as the anthropic principle, quantum physics, and thermodynamics.