论周敦颐的人生哲学

周敦颐的人生哲学思想主要有两部分 :第一 ,政治人生 :“政事精绝 ,宦业过人” ;第二 ,人生态度 :“孔颜之乐”与“吟风弄月”。周子人生哲学思想的影响 :一是周子把政治建于其人生理念的基础之上 ,视其为人生延伸的一个领域 ,从而保持了在政坛险恶与污浊包围中的清白和高尚 ,成为中国古代儒家学者从政的典范。二是周敦颐揭示出 ,在人生过程中 ,保持一个快乐的人生态度是非常重要的 ,而这种“乐”决非源于现实之物质性功利 ,而只能来自于人们心灵对仁义道德获取后产生的愉悦。     

Happiness and Pleasure1

This paper argues against hedonistic theories of happiness. First, hedonism is too inclusive: many pleasures cannot plausibly be construed as constitutive of happiness. Second, any credible theory must count either attitudes of life satisfaction, affective states such as mood, or both as constituents of happiness; yet neither sort of state reduces to pleasure. Hedonism errs in its attempt to reduce happiness, which is at least partly dispositional, to purely episodic experiential states. the dispositionality of happiness also undermines weakened nonreductive forms of hedonism, as some happiness‐constitutive states are not pleasures in any sense. Moreover, these states can apparently fail to exhibit the usual hedonic properties; sadness, for instance, can sometimes be pleasant. Finally, the nonhedonistic accounts are adequate if not superior on grounds of practical and theoretical utility, quite apart from their superior conformity to the folk notion of happiness. “And does his philosophy make you happy?” “I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure.” Oscar Wilde, the Picture of Dorian Gray (p. 209)     

Pleasure, Pain, and Moral Character and Development

I distinguish two kinds of pleasures – value–based pleasures, which can be explained in terms of the values of those who experience them, and brute pleasures, which cannot be so explained. I apply this distinction to three related projects. First, I critically examine a recent discussion of moral character by Colin McGinn, arguing that McGinn offers a distorted view of good character. Second, I try to elucidate certain remarks Aristotle makes about the relationships between pleasure and courage and pleasure and temperance. Third, I appeal to the distinction to elucidate the topic of moral improvement.     

Labour discipline in a Christian Orthodox sisterhood in Russia*

This article discusses the issue of labour discipline in a Christian Orthodox organisation in Russia. The sisterhood which I analyse is the meeting point of two types of ‘work’: the ‘secular work’ of employed workers is embedded into the ‘religious work’ of the sisters who live a monastic life. I argue that the religious–economic mix of the sisterhood suggests that three employment models are evident: ‘work more, get less’, ‘work less, get more’ and ‘work for free’. Religious and economic spheres are mediated by labour which takes different forms, creating distinct, but related disciplinary labour spaces. I thread the concept of discipline through religious and economic discourses in the monastic workplace, the conflicts between the religious and economic motivations to work and the role of ‘emotional work’. The analysis is based on the participant observation, conducted over a period of four months while I was a staff member of the sisterhood.     

Orthodox Christian Healthcare Ministry amidst the Tensions of Ecumenism

The paradoxes of globalization and the efforts toward the establishmentof a consolidated healthcare ministry have caused tensions whileaffording the possibility for true ecumenical dialogue. As today'ssocieties become more pluralistic, Orthodox Christian healthcareministry finds itself amongst these paradoxes and tensions.The content of Orthodox healthcare chaplaincy, which is centeredin its Eucharistic expression, maintains a sense of catholicityand unity. This though differs from a "psychological" understandingof pastoral care, which has developed. Therefore, there is aquestion of the chaplain's identity, a crisis of theology andecclesiology, which must be faced so that true unity can beattained. This article explains the content of Orthodox healthcarechaplaincy and addresses the issues of pastoral identity, theologyand psychology, together with the crisis of ecclesiology. Itis written with a true agony for unity.     

Developing a transpersonal approach to pastoral counselling

A key area of difficulty for those engaged in pastoral counselling often concerns the adequate integration of pastoral, psychological and spiritual concepts and resources. The roots of this tension can be identified within modernity between what can be known through objective observation and reason over what is known through subjective experience. Pastoral counselling, in general, represents an attempt to hold together both scientific and subjective accounts of human existence. Existing forms of Christian pastoral counselling will benefit, however, through a deeper use of spiritual resources drawing both on transpersonal psychology and the tradition of Christian mysticism.     

Ethical Issues in Counselling and Pastoral Care

The historical and contemporary context of pastoral care and counselling within the judaeo/Christian tradition is reviewed. Three kinds of pastors who use counselling in their work - Christian, specialist, and generic - are identified and the ethical problems of their positions clarified. The ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice are applied to the counselling work of pastors. Theology's definition of various ethical levels, and the impact of these upon the professional ethics of pastoral carers and counsellors, are explored, and some conclusions for the future drawn.     

Infant temperament,pleasure in parenting,and marital happiness in adoptive families

Temperamental characteristics have been related to later externalizing and internalizing behavioral outcomes. To assess the relationship between temperament and the early family environment, we measured infant temperament, pleasure in parenting, and marital happiness via parent report in 99 families with a nonrelative adoptive infant. Perceptions of child temperament were assessed using two subscales of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ; Rothbart, 1981). Mothers and fathers who rated their adoptive child as showing more Distress to Limitations (on the IBQ) reported less pleasure in routine parenting activities; this effect was mediated by marital happiness for fathers. Mothers reported less pleasure in parenting with infants perceived to be more temperamentally fearful (on the IBQ). The bidirectional relationship between temperamental characteristics and pleasure in parenting is discussed. © 2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Hedonism and Happiness

Hedonism is a way of life, characterised by openness to pleasurable experience. There are many qualms about hedonism. It is rejected on moral grounds and said to be detrimental to long-term happiness. Several mechanisms for this 'paradox of hedonism' have been suggested and telling examples of pleasure seekers ending up in despair have been given. But is that the rule? If so, how much pleasure is too much? An overview of the available knowledge is given in this paper. The relation between hedonism and happiness has been studied at two levels: that of the nation and the individual. At the national level average happiness is correlated with moral acceptance of pleasure and with active leisure. At the individual level it is similarly linked with hedonistic attitudes and also correlated with hedonistic behaviours such as frequent sex and use of stimulants. In most cases the pattern is linearly positive. The relation between happiness and consumption of stimulants follows an inverted U-curve, spoilsports and guzzlers are less happy than modest consumers. Yet, these data cannot settle the issue, since the observed relations may be spurious or due to the effects of happiness on hedonism rather than the reverse. Even if we can prove a positive effect of (mild) hedonism on happiness, there is still the question of how that gains balances against a possible loss of health. A solution is to assess the effect of hedonistic living on the number of years lived happily.     

Philosophy and the care of the self: A literature survey

This article reviews a number of recent books and practices that address a renewed interest in the role that philosophy might play in the living of a rich and fulfilling life. The review looks at books addressed to the general public as well as books which discuss such classical and Hellenistic philosophers as took their task to be helping people achieve happiness in life. It then turns to contemporary studies of the self and of wisdom and turns finally to some newly emerging philosophical practices such as philosophical counselling and philosophical discussion groups of various kinds in order to explore whether philosophy can still be a source of consolation or guidance in contemporary life.     

Towards a Christian bioethics.

Rather than revealing itself as a single, unified, ecumenical faith, Christianity is sundered with Christians united neither in one communion nor in one baptism. Christian Bioethics seeks to examine the traditional content-full moral commitments which the Christian faiths bring to life, sexuality, suffering, illness and death within the contexts of medicine and health care. Seeking to understand the differences which separate the bioethics of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and the Orthodox, Christian Bioethics explores the manners in which the faiths diverge. The failure of the Enlightenment project to disclose a content-full communality that would bind mankind has left much to be reconsidered by Christians who face new ethical dilemmas in the novel guise of advances in health care technologies.     

Do Orientations to Happiness Mediate the Associations Between Personality Traits and Subjective Well-Being?

Personality traits have frequently been observed to be associated with subjective well-being. It has been suggested that personality traits may lead individuals to experience life in certain ways which, in turn, influences their subjective well-being. However, the exact mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unknown. The present study hypothesized that the ways in which individuals endorse strategies for achieving happiness (i.e., orientations to happiness: through a life of pleasure, through a life of engagement, or through a life of meaning) mediates the associations that personality traits have with subjective well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect). Our results indicated that an orientation to meaning in life partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and life satisfaction. In addition, all three orientations to happiness (i.e., pleasure, engagement, and meaning) partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and positive affect. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the connection between personality traits and subjective well-being.     

The prophetic nature of pastoral counselling

The role of pastoral counselling is explored in the light of the increasing interest among secular therapists in spirituality and the escalation in the number of clients presenting themselves with spiritual issues. Definitions are offered of spirituality, sexuality and religion as well as of pastoral counselling itself. The development of pastoral counselling is contrasted with the upsurge of Christian counselling in the latter years of the 20th century.The central influence of Carl Rogers is examined and it is argued that his late embracing of the spiritual dimension makes him, once more, a potential source of inspiration for pastoral counsellors in the years ahead. The critical tasks of integrating science and religion and of communicating across inter-faith boundaries require both an emphasis on contemplative and mystical experience and a radically evolving theology. Rogers' 'person of tomorrow' is seen as a possible blueprint for the pastoral counsellor of the future who can be assured of a difficult path and much hostility and misunderstanding.     

A Christian philosopher's view of recent directions in the abortion debate.

From the standpoint of a Christian philosopher, heeding the teaching and exhortations of Pope John Paul II and previous popes, I examine three directions in which the recent philosophical debate has developed. In the last seven or eight years there has been 1) a renewed focus on the biological issue of when a human individual comes to be, 2) new arguments for the proposition that personhood is a characteristic acquired after birth, and 3) refinements of the early argument of Judith Thomson. Replying to these developments, I defend, on philosophical grounds, the pro-life position. I argue that a distinct, whole (though immature) human individual comes to be at conception, that he or she is a person, with full moral worth, from the moment he or she comes to be, and the mothers and fathers have a special responsibility to their children which entails (at least) that they ought not to choose to abort them. I conclude by briefly indicating, from the standpoint of Christian faith, why Christian philosophers should vigorously pursue this debate.     

Ressourcement or Aggiornamento? An Assessment of Modern Liturgical Reforms

This article assesses the liturgical reforms attributed to Alexander Schmemann and New Skete monastery. A close examination of these reforms demonstrates that they were primarily pastoral attempts to continue the work inaugurated by the Moscow Council of 1917–18 (Schmemann), and to restore monastic stewardship of venerable liturgical traditions (New Skete). The author suggests that it would be more fruitful to approach the question of renewing tradition on the basis of the goals of liturgical renewal, which happen to be common to both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, namely liturgical theosis, or divinization of the people through liturgical events.     

Christian Bioethics: Challenges in a Secularized Europe

This article summarizes in three specific sections the key challengesfaced by Christian and, particularly Orthodox, ethics in a secularizedsociety. The first section, focusing on the task and aim ofethics, defines Orthodox ethics, which is linked with asceticism(man's attempt to keep the commandments of Christ) and aimsat overcoming death and encountering the personal God. Put differently,the purpose of Orthodox ethics is the deification of human beings.The second section defines secularization and explores its consequencesfor the theology and pastoral work of the Church. Europe isdominated by scholasticism and moralism, whereas Orthodox theology,without rejecting it, transcends such a narrow preoccupationwith our own world. Orthodoxy does not regard human beings solelyfrom the perspective of their biological existence but assiststhem in going beyond mechanistic theories and the pursuit ofhappiness. The third section briefly describes how what canbe termed "bio-theology" surpasses anthropocentric ethics withregard to the relationship between creation and grace, birthand rebirth, cloning and incarnation, transplantation and deification,and death and resurrection. The article concludes that Orthodoxtheology (a) does not reject the achievements of biotechnologyor biomedicine; (b) assists humans in overcoming mortality byfinding meaning for their existence and fullness of life, and(c) does not simply postpone death, but overcomes the fear ofdeath and leads people to deification by grace.     

Christianity and Eudaimonia,Luck and Eudaimonism

I argue that Christians have at least two reasons to reject eudaimonism, interpreted as the view that attaining eudaimonia—or happiness—is what fulfills the moral life. First, I contend Christian conceptions of eudaimonia should encompass more than realized moral excellence and its requirements. Second, I claim Christians should construe the love at the heart of their moral life as fully realizable even if it is not evidently reciprocated. Both affirmations contradict eudaimonism by implying that eudaimonia depends on more than fulfilling the moral life—the former by rendering eudaimonia more subject to luck than eudaimonists can allow, the latter by depicting the moral life as less subject to luck than eudaimonists can accept. These affirmations also enable Christians to regard God’s love integral to eudaimonia apart from its role in realizing moral excellence and to deny all inability to attain eudaimonia manifests moral failure.     

The Value of Heterogeneous Pleasures

Pleasure is one of the most obvious candidates for directly improving wellbeing. Hedonists claim it is the only feature that can intrinsically make life better for the one living it, and that all of wellbeing derives from the relative pleasantness and unpleasantness of conscious experience. But Hedonism is incompatible with the ‘heterogeneity’ of pleasure: it cannot allow that distinct pleasures can feel completely differently, if experiences count as pleasant due to how they feel. I argue that a pluralistic variant of Hedonism can match its theoretical attractions while also accommodating the heterogeneity of pleasure. This has interesting implications for both the philosophical debate over the nature of wellbeing and psychological theories of how to measure and aggregate positive affect. In particular, my argument implies that there is no single dimension of ‘valence’ or ‘intensity’ on which pleasantness can be measured.     

Physician-assisted death: doctrinal develoment vs. Christian tradition.

Physician-assisted suicide offers a moral and theological Rorschach test. Foundational commitments regarding morality and theology are disclosed by how the issue is perceived and by what moral problems it is seen to present. One of the cardinal differences disclosed is that between Western and Orthodox Christian approaches to theology in general, and the theology of dying and suicide in particular. Confrontation with the issue of suicide is likely to bring further doctrinal development in many of the Western Christian religions, so as to be able to accept physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.     

Life satisfaction and perception of happiness among university students

The aim of this essay has been the evaluation of three orientations towards happiness: pleasure, meaning and engagement, as well as their relation to life satisfaction and the perception of happiness in a sample of 320 university students. The results show that the most used kind of orientation towards happiness is pleasure, followed by meaning, and finally engagement. It has also been found that pleasure is the orientation most closely associated to happiness while engagement seems to be more related to life satisfaction. These findings aim to the distinction between the concepts of happiness and life satisfaction and lead the attention to the actions which can improve the levels of happiness.