Eucharist, Matter and the Supernatural: Why de Lubac Needs Teilhard

Abstract:  Henri de Lubac intended to found his theology on a revaluation of nature achieved by reasserting nature's dependence on divine supernatural action. He usually identifies nature with human nature however, and therefore fails to demonstrate that the wider natural order also depends on God for its creation, preservation and redemption. In his extensive engagement with the oeuvre of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, de Lubac nevertheless begins to revise this reduction of nature to human nature, although does not fully incorporate the insights gained into his theology. Teilhard's fundamentally eucharistic understanding of materiality provides suggestive possibilities for the successful completion of de Lubac's abolition of the philosophy of pure nature.     

THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF WEB-BASED AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION: A META-ANALYSIS

Meta-analytic techniques were used to examine the effectiveness of Web-based instruction (WBI) relative to classroom instruction (CI) and to examine moderators of the comparative effectiveness of the 2 delivery media. The overall results indicated WBI was 6% more effective than CI for teaching declarative knowledge, the 2 delivery media were equally effective for teaching procedural knowledge, and trainees were equally satisfied with WBI and CI. However, WBI and CI were equally effective for teaching declarative knowledge when the same instructional methods were used to deliver both WBI and CI, suggesting media effects are spurious and supporting Clark's (1983, 1994) theory. Finally, WBI was 19% more effective than CI for teaching declarative knowledge when Web-based trainees were provided with control, in long courses, and when trainees practiced the training material and received feedback during training. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

从参照到敬重:道家与自然界

作为哲学的道教读者们都知道,“道教”这个术语即代表“哲学”,也指“宗教”教义和实践。由于我本人关注作为哲学的道教,所以我先介绍“道家”与广义的道教的关系。与儒家有一个主要的创立者不同,道家是事后的追溯。在公元前2世纪被历史学家司马谈第一次命名为一个学派。司马谈对学派的分类主要依据于它们对治国的贡献,没有提到后来追认的两个主要的道家思想家庄子与老子的关系。对“道家”的进一步说明则源于“道家”与“道教”的区分,后者一般认为始于公元142年。道教指有组织的宗教,延续至今。直到最近,道教学者,尤其是西方的道教学者,在…     

That He Might Fill All Things: Creation and Christology in Two Treatises by Nicholas of Cusa

Abstract:  Theology in modernity is especially assisted by elements of Christian tradition which work to reunify, after Louis Dupré's formula, the lost synthesis of self, world and God. This article examines the tradition of Christ's immanence in creation, as seen in two short treatises by Nicholas of Cusa from 1445–46. Read together, these treatises illumine Cusa's 'pan-Christic ontology'. The first describes the prospect of 'filiation', the intellect's virtual participation in the Word's sovereignty over created being; the second explains how all beings are lesser theophanies participating in the theophany of God which is the body of Jesus.     

Descartes on the Dubitability of the Existence of Self

In a number a passages Descartes appears to insist that "I am, I exist" and its variants are wholly indubitable. These passages present an intractable problem of interpretation in the face of passages in which Descartes allows that any result is dubitable, "I am, I exist" included. Here I pull together a number of elements of Descartes' system to show how all of these passages hang together. If my analysis is correct, it tells us something about the perspective that Descartes himself thinks we should take in reading the Meditations.     

When Best Theories Go Bad1

It is common for contemporary metaphysical realists to adopt Quine’s criterion of ontological commitment while at the same time repudiating his ontological pragmatism. 2 Drawing heavily from the work of others—especially Joseph Melia and Stephen Yablo—I will argue that the resulting approach to meta‐ontology is unstable. In particular, if we are metaphysical realists, we need not accept ontological commitment to whatever is quantified over by our best first‐order theories.     

Family Focused Treatment for Patients with Bipolar Disorder in Turkey: A Case Series

Family-focused therapy (FFT) is a 9-month, 21-session structured psychoeducational treatment for bipolar disorder. Several US-based studies have documented its efficacy as adjunctive to medication for depression stabilization and relapse prevention. However, FFT has never been applied outside of the United States. The objective of this case series is to explore the applicability of FFT in a non-Western culture. Ten patients with bipolar disorder and their family members attended the 9-month FFT as adjunctive to pharmacotherapy in an outpatient specialty clinic in Izmir, Turkey. Patients improved in Global Assessment of Functioning Scores and Clinical Global Impression Scores from pre- to posttreatment. Case studies are given, which illustrate the differences between Western and non-Western families coping with bipolar disorder. FFT was easily applied to a Turkish sample with few changes in format or focus. Adaptations included substitution of oral for written therapeutic tasks or homework assignments. Randomized controlled trials are needed to test the clinical effectiveness of FFT and other psychosocial interventions in non-Western cultures.     

SELF‐SACRIFICE TO SAVE THE LIFE OF ANOTHER IN JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS1

Although both the Jewish and Christian traditions permit and even valorize self‐sacrificial death for the sake of God (martyrdom), and for other people, they diverge on the issue of self‐sacrificial death for the sake of a single individual. The Jewish tradition prohibits such self‐sacrifice on the basis of the principles that (1) God owns the body and that (2) one cannot exchange one's life for another's. Christian ethics, in contrast, permits sacrificing one's life to save a single person based on the model of Christ's self‐sacrificial love. This ethical disagreement exposes a fundamental theological disagreement between the two traditions concerning what constitutes the imago Dei.