Philosophy, self-knowledge, and personality in Iranian teachers and students of philosophy

Like psychology, philosophy apparently operates from a commitment to the belief that self-knowledge should be a goal of disciplinary and personal development. Iranian teachers and students of philosophy responded to a Philosophical Orientations Scale created for this study that assessed the possible content of a high school philosophy course, along with instruments measuring self-knowledge, need for cognition, the five-factor model, anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. As the authors hypothesized, self-knowledge predicted higher levels of a philosophical orientation, even after controlling for the variance explained by need for cognition and openness to experience. Philosophical orientations and self-knowledge were also correlated with psychological adjustment, and teachers scored higher than students on these two sets of constructs. These data supported the hypothesis that personal and disciplinary interests in an adaptive self-knowledge converge in philosophy.     

Two facets of self-knowledge: cross-cultural development of measures in Iran and the United States

Self-knowledge is an ideal not only within psychological theory and practice but also within the religious and philosophical foundations of many cultures. In 6 studies conducted in Iran and the United States, the authors sought to construct and to validate scales for measuring two facets of self-knowledge. Experiential self-knowledge was defined as an ongoing sensitivity to the self in the present. Reflective self-knowledge was described in terms of personal efforts to integrate experience within self-schemas developed in the past. Thirteen-item experiential self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge scales were created by the authors using samples of Iranian and American university students. A confirmatory factor analysis verified this 2-factor structure in a second study, and these results were replicated in a 3rd study. Correlations with a broad array of self-report variables established the two scales as valid measures of adjustment. Both displayed adequate test-retest reliability. Correlations with peer reports suggested that the two factors had behavioral implications in both cultures. Reflective self-knowledge proved to be as important as educational abilities in predicting the academic performance of Americans who were motivated to attend class. Experiential self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge also interacted to predict better grades. In short, the experiential self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge scales operationalized cross-cultural personality processes that deserve additional research attention.     

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR TOWARD HUMAN RIGHTS ACROSS DIFFERENT CONTEXTS: THE ROLE OF RIGHT-WING AUTHORITARIANISM,POLITICAL IDEOLOGY,AND RELIGIOSITY*

Three studies were carried out to examine attitudes and behavior toward human rights. ‘Universal’ human rights implies that there should be cross-situational consistency in attitudes and behavior toward human rights. An alternative interpretation is that attitudes and behavior toward human rights may shift across contexts, as a function of ideology. We reasoned that Canadian subjects would be more critical of the human rights records of Soviet and the Third World societies, and thus show stronger support for human rights in these than in Canadian society. Hypothesis two predicted that right-wing political ideology and support for human rights would be negatively correlated in contexts Canada and Third World, but not in the Soviet context; hypothesis three predicted the same pattern of associations between religiosity and support for human rights. Hypothesis four predicted that authoritarians, because of their fundamental opposition to individual liberties, would oppose human rights in all contexts. Study 1 involved 155 students expressing attitudes toward a range of human rights issues. Study 2 involved 74 Pro-Life supporters expressing attitudes on human rights, as well as on abortion. Study 3 involved a behavioral measure of support for human rights among 450 students. The findings generally supported hypotheses one and four, and provided some support for hypotheses two and three. The results seem to provide further evidence of an association between ideology and moral reasoning.     

Revolutions, Samurai, and Reductons: The Parodoxes of Change and Continuity in Iran and Japan

This paper assesses policies for managing cultural diversity in Iran and Japan, with particular focus on the treatment of women as a cultural minority. Following social reducton theory, the distinction between rates of cultural change at macro- and microlevels is highlighted. It is argued that macro political and economic changes have taken place fairly rapidly, but micro changes in everyday social practices have changed much more slowly. The latter, it is argued, are structured by social reducton systems, which can act to slow down societal change. This insight is used to cast light on the situation of women and other minorities in North America.     

Ethnic differences in endorsement of the Protestant work ethic: the role of ethnic identity and perceptions of social class

The authors examined ethnic differences in endorsement of the Protestant work ethic (PWE; M. Weber, 1905) among Black (n = 96) and White (n = 149) college students and tested whether differences in ethnic identity and perceptions of social class mediated the relationship between ethnicity and the endorsement of PWE values. Blacks were higher in levels of ethnic identity, more likely to see themselves as working or middle class, and less likely to endorse the PWE. Only perceptions of social class partially mediated the relationship between ethnicity and PWE values. The authors concluded that perception of social class is an important construct that might influence the cultural psychology of different ethnic groups. The authors recommended further research involving PWE and other cultural variables.     

Diversity and Complexity of Religion and Spirituality in Iran: Relationships With Self-Compassion and Self-Forgiveness

This study examined religious-spiritual types in Iran by comparing seminary and university students on self-compassion, self-forgiveness, and other measures of religious and psychological functioning. Islamic seminarians (N = 198) more frequently self-identified as both religious and spiritual or as religious only. University students (N = 302) more commonly described themselves as spiritual only or as neither spiritual nor religious. The both religious and spiritual type was highest in religious commitment, self-compassion, and psychological adjustment, with the neither religious nor spiritual type tending to score lowest. The religious-only type displayed the lowest self-forgiveness. Seminarians were also lower in self-forgiveness, but otherwise higher than university students in their mental health. In correlations, self-compassion was compatible, but self-forgiveness was incompatible with Muslim commitments. Muslim spirituality moderated Muslim attitude relationships. These data documented the diversity and complexity of religion, spirituality, and perspectives on the self in Iranian Muslims.     

Shunyata,A Philosophical Endeavor Against Assured Philosophical Method in Realizing Truth and Existence and Establishing Perfection of Wisdom Through Non-dual Experience

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - Madhyamaka defines existence in self-being. There is interdependency between all beings and the human mind. Everything is empty from...     

Recollections of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Complexities of Religious Coping and Muslim Religious and Psychological Adjustment in Afghanistan

Journal of Religion and Health - Religious coping is a double-edged sword. Clarification of the psychological benefits for positive religious coping requires statistical controls for negative...     

Mindfulness and integrative self‐knowledge: Relationships with health‐related variables

This study examined how mindfulness and integrative self‐knowledge were related to health‐related issues. Men in general population (n = 103) and coronary heart disease samples (n = 101) completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the Integrative Self‐knowledge Scale, the Type 2 subscale of the Interpersonal Reactions Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Anxiety and Depression Scales. In both samples, there was a moderate positive correlation between mindfulness and integrative self‐knowledge and they were negatively correlated with all health‐related variables. However, only integrative self‐knowledge explained independent variance in health‐related variables. Specifically, in both samples, the relationship between mindfulness and health‐related variables was mediated by integrative self‐knowledge. Mindfulness and integrative self‐knowledge are related domains of self‐awareness that are associated with a range of health‐related variables. These relationships are robust across samples drawn from general population and patients with coronary heart disease. The finding that integrative self‐knowledge explained additional variance in the health‐related variables after the contribution of mindfulness had been accounted for suggests that reflective self‐awareness in integrative self‐knowledge may make a unique contribution to the explanation of individual differences in health variables.