TOWARDS A POSTMODERN CONCEPTION OF METAPHYSICS: ON THE GENEALOGY AND SUCCESSOR DISCIPLINES OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY

Postmodernism in philosophy holds that traditional philosophy has come (or should come) to an end, and that it must be succeeded by something else, such as "thinking" (Heidegger), empirical science (Quine), linguistic therapy (Wittgenstein), or an "attempt to prevent the conversation of the West from attaining the secure path of science" (Rorty). Clearly, the claim to be postmodern presupposes a view of traditional philosophy, of its characteristics, and of its genesis. In this essay, such a view will be developed, and its consequences for our conception of philosophy will be discussed. The view defended here is different from those of Heidegger and Rorty. For ease of exposition the discussion will refer to Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature.     

PHYSICS, BUDDHISM, AND POSTMODERN INTERPRETATION

Abstract. Arguing that the revolution in postmodern physics is concerned essentially not with a change in paradigm but with a change in interpretive standpoint, this paper explores a parallel between the aetiology of disease in Buddhism and the interpretive standpoint introduced by twentieth-century quantum physics. The paper suggests a need to revise central interpretive assumptions of the natural and human sciences, including the traditional projection of an atomistic self.     

A CRITIQUE OF EMERGENT THEOLOGIES

This article is an analysis and critique of emergent theologies, focusing on areas of Christology and pneumatology. An increasing number of Christian theologians are integrating (strong) emergence theory into their work. I argue that, despite the range of theological commitments and methodological approaches represented by these scholars, each faces similar problematic tendencies when their Christian doctrines are combined with (strong) emergence theory. It is concluded that the basic logic of emergence theory, whereby matter is seen to precede mind, makes it difficult for emergent theologies to offer an account of salvation, avoid significant issues regarding God's involvement with evil, and maintain divine transcendence. It is concluded, therefore, that Christian theology should look elsewhere for a complementary metaphysical framework with which to bridge scientific and theological discourse.     

POSTMODERN PSYCHOANALYSIS1

In keeping with the spirit of the postmodern, the author suggests that psychoanalysts should be wary of subscribing to a set of rules and/or a proper method for the conduct of psychoanalysis. He puts forward instead the suggestion that some patients do well with certain rules and not with others, and offers a brief report concerning a group of patients who were unable to ‘live by the rules’ to support such a viewpoint. He suggests that a corollary of this perspective is one that links the analyst's own capacity to live within or outside of rules to his or her effectiveness with these particular patients. From this unique illustrative group, the general conclusion is offered that only the singular goal of understanding in depth is the proper guiding rule of psychoanalysis.     

GLOBAL VISIONS AND COMMON GROUND: BIODEMOCRACY,POSTMODERN PRESSURES,AND THE EARTH CHARTER

The theme of this article is a rise in notions of a planetary community, and the tensions this evokes in global‐local and universal‐contextual debates. The primary focus is the realization that new visions are needed to respond to ecological dilemmas in a culturally diverse yet global world and interconnected Earth. Of the many ways to discuss this, I first consider the growing interest in and expansion of biodemocracy as a way to combine these dimensions. Insights and issues from postmodern perspectives follow this, surveying the suspicion of what lurks behind “global.” The next segment turns to ecological postmodernists who realize that a unifying path must be found for a viable planetary future. A brief and final section considers the Earth Charter to be an initiative responsive to postmodern pressures, and yet seeking a global vision and common ground for an emerging world community.     

ETHICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL TENSIONS IN APPLYING A POSTMODERN PERSPECTIVE TO FEMINIST RESEARCH

We examine tensions that arise in applying postmodernism to feminist research. First, we consider epistemological tensions generated in the process of deconstructing existing knowledge and constructing new knowledge that benefits women. Second, we examine six ethical issues that reflect the tensions in feminist practice as we attempt to justify the dialectic between knowledge and power. In keeping with a postmodernist perspective, we pose these six issues as questions: Is feminist post-modernism postfeminist? Does postmodernist language mystify feminist practice and goals? Are qualitative methods more feminist than quantitative ones? Must feminists have a liberatory purpose in their research? Is the personal too personal? Whose aims are served, feminists or their collaborators? We conclude that by adopting a postmodern feminist perspective, we can embrace the struggle between knowledge and practice rather than privilege one over the other.     

POSTMODERN THOUGHT AND RELIGION: OPEN‐TRADITIONALISM AND RADICAL ORTHODOXY ON RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND EXPERIENCE

This paper considers some of the ways in which ‘postmodernism’ is construed, before turning to several important representative examples of religious postmodern thought. It highlights some common features possessed by prominent examples of religious postmodern thought within Judaism and Christianity. Much postmodern religious thought is characterised by the separation of religious belief from religious experience, and is marked by the tendency to emphasise the latter at the expense of the former. This paper argues that, despite this tendency, the work of certain key postmodern religious thinkersparticularly those associated with open‐traditionalism and radical orthodoxy—does not conform to this characterisation and needs to be understood in a broader cultural and theological context.     

CREATION EX NIHILO AND EX AMORE: ONTOLOGICAL FREEDOM IN THE THEOLOGIES OF JOHN ZIZIOULAS AND CATHERINE MOWRY LACUGNA

This essay takes as its starting point Reinhard Hütter's analysis of the crisis of meaning of “freedom” in late modernity. The essay argues that the trinitarian theologies of John Zizioulas and Catherine Mowry LaCugna make an important contribution to the reconstruction of a theology of freedom in our postmodern era. God's ontological freedom, they explain, is both unorigination and ecstatic love. The essay concludes with reflection on how the work of these theologians can be used constructively to address the issues of freedom and the modern quest for unorigination, freedom as love in a free market economy, and the relation of freedom and law.     

边界研究——后现代进路

新进路的丰富传统与前提可以在地理边界学这门有关边界的新学科中,区分出多个可以认为是传统的或者后现代的连续的理论进路。每个阶段都会看到结合而不是替代始终在不断加以完善的传统进路,来应用新的进路(明吉,1963;鲁姆莱和明吉,1991)。诸如历史地图绘制、类型地图绘制、功能地图绘制和政治地图绘制等等传统的进路,在一些理论著述中已经早有描述(科洛索夫和奥洛克林,1998;科洛索夫和图罗夫斯基,1998;科洛索夫和米罗年科,2001)。我们在这里将论述大多在20世纪90年代和最近10年之间出现的后现代进路。地缘政治进路全球化和一体化对于政治边…     

A POSTMODERN APPROACH TO WOMEN'S USE OF VIOLENCE: DEVELOPING MULTIPLE AND COMPLEX CONCEPTUALIZATIONS

We review the research on intimate partner abuse and, in particular, the articles in this issue, from within a feminist and postmodern framework. Research on women's use of violence is reviewed in terms of how researchers have constructed and measured violence and have conceptualized intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender. What and how we measure determines what we find ( McHugh & Cosgrove, 2005 ). We call for new conceptualizations of intimate violence and for more complex constructions of gender. We offer a postmodern perspective on gender and IPV arguing that interpersonal violence always involves gender, that approach and method influence results, and that men and women use violence in both similar and different ways.     

作为一种新人文主义的后现代自由主义

在欧洲,理性信念曾经走过一段辉煌的历程。最重要的因素存在于开端,存在于伟大的希腊哲学家们对所有各种无法控制的东西,以及对所有各种威胁人、使人堕落到内心的混沌或者外在的混沌之中去的东西所具有的憎恶之中。这种东西既可能是肉体方面的各种感情,也可能是对群氓的非理性意志的服从。必须用某种由于始终保持不变、因而能够抵制永远变化的逻辑的东西,来祛除这个世界所具有的不稳定性和脆弱性。这种作为古代哲学的典型特征而存在的态度,导致了对理性和真理的热爱,也导致了对绝对确定性的希冀、导致了有关发现存在于所有各种事物背后的原…     

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN EXTINCTION AND PUNISHMENT EFFECTS OF RESPONSE BLOCKING: A REPLICATION

Lerman and Iwata (1996) described a method for distinguishing between sensory extinction and punishment effects of response blocking on self-injurious behavior maintained independent of social contingencies. Results of their study suggested that blocking decreased the self-injurious hand mouthing of their participant via punishment. The current replication of these procedures with the self-injurious eye poking of a woman with developmental disabilities produced patterns of responding indicating that, for this participant, blocking functioned as an extinction procedure.