Forgiveness in The Arab and Islamic Contexts

This essay explores the current and historical meaning of forgiveness in Arab and Islamic cultural and religious contexts. It also hopes to encourage further empirical research on this understudied topic in both religious and peacebuilding studies. In addition to the perceived meaning of forgiveness in an Arab Islamic context, this essay examines the links between forgiveness and reconciliation. Relying on religious sources including the Qur'an and Hadith, as well as certain events in Islamic history, the essay identifies various ways to conceptualize and explain the meaning of forgiveness. This theoretical and conceptual segment is followed by a section which explores current perceptions of forgiveness among Arab Muslim teachers in five different communities. The empirical data for this analysis is based on a larger comparative regional study that has been completed through surveys and structured interviews with educators from Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel. Our study concluded that the teachers' perceptions of forgiveness were mainly derived from religious sources and identities and that Islamic religious discourse provided a solid foundation for framing the meaning of forgiveness.     

Introduction

Journal of International Migration and Integration -     

虚无主义、语言和创造性：尼采与德里达的界限

尼采和德里达对虚无主义危机做出了不同的回应.这是因为作为主体解读活动及其结果,虚无主义危机本身表现出两可性:一方面,形而上学的真理意志已经演变为一种桎梏,带来了虚无主义的"虚无化"或人类创造性和历史的终结;另一方面,危机也构成主体走出形而上学的条件.德里达更注重对前者进行否定性批判,揭开了形而上学追求超验真理所带的虚无性,或追问本源所掩盖的"本源"缺失.尼采开启了这种批判,不过他更渴望逆转这种潮流,进行更具建设性的重构,而不只是把主体抛在丧失了"意义"的空场上.其目的是脱离消极的虚无主义,复兴各种冲动在主体创造性中的作用.     

Effects of Visual Representation on Social Influence in Computer‐Mediated Communication

Two experiments investigated if and how visual representation of interactants affects depersonalization and conformity to group norms in anonymous computer‐mediated communication (CMC). In Experiment 1, a 2 (intergroup versus interpersonal) × 2 (same character versus different character) between‐subjects design experiment (N= 60), each participant made a decision about social dilemmas after seeing two other (ostensible) participants’ unanimous opinions and then exchanged supporting arguments. Consistent with the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE), when the group level of self‐identity was rendered salient in an intergroup encounter, uniform virtual appearance of CMC partners triggered depersonalization and subsequent conformity behavior. By contrast, when the personal dimension of the self was salient, standardized representation tended to reduce conformity. To elucidate the mediation process, Experiment 2 investigated the causal links between depersonalization, group identification, and conformity. The results show that depersonalization accentuated adherence to group norms, both directly and indirectly via group identification.     

Moral Persuasion and the Diversity of Fictions

Narrative representations can change our moral actions and thoughts, for better or for worse. In this article, I develop a theory of fictions' capacity for moral education and moral corruption that is fully sensitive to the diversity of fictions. Specifically, I argue that the way a fiction influences our moral actions and thoughts importantly depends on its genre. This theory promises new insights into practical ethical debates over pornography and media violence.     

从结构主义到后结构主义（下）

索绪尔的宏大构想,是展示一个伟大发现:存在着种种神的名字,诗人以神秘而固定的样式创制出来,编织入(梵文、希腊文、拉丁文)古诗的行节中,这些名称经由依次选择数个特定的字,使其可被人理解。简括地说,索绪尔发现诗是双层的:行上覆行,字上覆字,词上覆词,能指上覆能指。这种变换字序以形成新词的圆转若环的现象,索绪尔以为到处都可见;他被它迷住了;若是听不到原初意义的籁籁细响,他就无法读一行诗。若干字结了盟,播撒遍了诗行,历历在目……意义决不是单一的,数个字形成一个词,虽则每个字理性上都是毫无意义的,字继续在我们身上寻觅它的自由,去意指别的什么。     

马克思唯物史观对吉登斯的影响与启发

安东尼·吉登斯是当代国外马克思主义的代表性人物之一.在对历史事件的分析中,吉登斯既肯定了后现代主义对于宏大叙事的"解构",拒斥各种寻求普适性规律的观念及其理论形式,又承认能够对某些确定性的历史事件予以辨认与概括,尝试提出一种与马克思相异的历史解释理论.     

Resource scarcity aggravates ingroup bias: Neural mechanisms and cross-scenario validation

Previous studies examining the relationship between ingroup bias and resource scarcity have produced heterogeneous findings, possibly due to their focus on the allocation of positive resources (e.g. money). This study aims to investigate whether ingroup bias would be amplified or eliminated when perceived survival resources for counteracting negative stimuli are scarce. For this purpose, we exposed the participants and another confederate of the experimenters (ingroup/outgroup member) to a potential threat of unpleasant noise. Participants received some ‘relieving resources’ to counteract noise administration, the amount of which may or may not be enough for them and the confederate in different conditions (i.e. abundance vs. scarcity). First, a behavioural experiment demonstrated that intergroup discrimination manifested only in the scarcity condition; in contrast, the participants allocated similar amounts of resource to ingroup and outgroup members in the abundance condition, indicating a context-dependent allocation strategy. This behavioural pattern was replicated in a follow-up neuroimaging experiment, which further revealed that when contrasting scarcity with abundance, there was higher activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as well as stronger functional connectivity of the ACC with the empathy network (including the temporoparietal junction and medial prefrontal cortex) for ingroup compared to outgroup members. We suggest that ACC activation reflects the mentalizing process toward ingroup over outgroup members in the scarcity condition. Finally, the ACC activation level significantly predicted the influence of resource scarcity on ingroup bias in hypothetical real-life situations according to a follow-up examination.     

Fragile promise: The role of justification in promise-breaking

People who consider themselves moral sometimes use self-serving justifications to rationalize their selfish behaviours. Previous studies have tested the role of ambiguity in justifying wrongdoings, but it remains unclear whether ambiguity also plays a role in justifying promise-breaking behaviour and whether heterogeneity exists. To investigate justification in promise-breaking, we introduced a new experimental paradigm called the card-guessing task and used hierarchical cluster analysis to classify participants based on their promise-breaking decisions in unambiguous and ambiguous conditions. Experiment 1 revealed three clusters of solutions: Cluster 1 always kept their promises (i.e., keepers); Cluster 2 only exploited the vague promises and broke their promises in the ambiguous condition (i.e., intermediates); Cluster 3 tended to take advantage of vague promises and broke their promises irrespective of ambiguity (i.e., breakers). Experiment 2 confirmed that participants in the three clusters differed in their norm-abiding preferences and social value orientations. Keepers were more altruistic and had a stronger sense of norm compliance than intermediates and breakers. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that self-serving justifications were more likely to be employed by people who are moderately sensitive to deviation from social norms, which has implications for strategic interventions and policy formulation concerning unethical behaviour.     

The complex relationship between creativity and consumer ethics depending on endemic corruption in emerging and developed countries

Creativity and ethics are two topics that are extremely important to business managers and researchers. However, only limited research has examined their relationship and has shown contradictory results: the effect of creativity on unethical behavior proves to be sometimes positive, sometimes negative. In this vein, building on social cognitive theory, we examine whether this relationship depends on a macroeconomic factor – endemic corruption – as a boundary condition. We further consider the mechanism through which creativity can lead to unethical behavior and focus on the role of subjective well-being. We collect data from 1463 individuals in two high-corruption and emerging countries, Brazil and China, and two low-corruption and developed countries, France and the United States. Based on a multi-level (or hierarchical) analysis, our results show that, in high-corruption countries, creativity is negatively related to unethical behaviors. Conversely, in low-corruption countries, the relationship is positive and mediated by subjective well-being.