Ethics, theism and metaphysics: An analysis of the theocentric ethics of James Gustafson

Modern ethics has been shaped by two dominant philosophical assumptions: (1) that there can be no theoretical knowledge of God, i.e., denial of metaphysics, and (2) that moral claims can be redeemed independently of theistic affirmations, i.e., morality does not require theism. These assumptions have influenced much of modern theological ethics. Yet, insofar as theological ethics accepts that morality does not require any explicit or implicit religious beliefs, it affirms that a secularistic morality is possible. But this affirmation is directly at odds with the essence of theism, namely, that God is the source and end of all things, including the moral life. By accepting the dominant consensus, therefore, theological ethics undermines its fundamental theistic claim. Focusing on James Gustafson's theocentric ethics, I seek to show the price that theological ethics pays for subscribing to the dominant consensus. I argue that: (1) Gustafson embraces an inconsistent self-understanding, which undermines his theocentric claim, (2) this is due to his dismissal of metaphysics, and (3) his theocentric ethic would be more compelling if formulated in terms of Whitehead's process metaphysics.     

Journal Reviews

Journal of Child Psychotherapy Samuels , Andrew (ed.). (1996). ‘Symposium: post-Jungian thought,’The Psychoanalytic Review Schwartz -Salant , Nathan . ‘On the interactive field as analytic object’. In The Interactive Field in Analysis, Vol 1. Chiron Clinical Series Jacobs , Theodore J. ‘On therapeutic interventions in the analysis of certain “unana-lyzable” patients’. Contemporary Psychoanalysis Guntrip , Harry . ‘My experience of analysis with Fairbairn and Winnicott. (How complete a result does psychoanalytic therapy achieve?)’. First published in The International Review of Psycho-Analysis Padel , John . ‘The case of Harry Guntrip’. Markillie , Ronald . ‘Some personal recollections and impressions of Harry Guntrip.’ Published together in The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis Plaut , F. ‘Analytiker als Minorität’. [Analysts as a minority]. Analytische Psychologic Samuels , Andrew ‘The politics of transformation/the transformation of polities’, International Journal of Psychotherapy     

Nurses' Anxieties about Biohazards as a Function of Context and Knowledge1

Final-year nursing students (N= 96) described their anxieties about biohazards, not only in relation to the occupational context of a hospital ward, but also in relation to their general life context. These contexts were reported to vary in the extent to which they permitted control over exposure to the two particular biohazards chosen for study: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV). The data showed that nurses' anxiety about contracting HIV infection varied significantly across the two contexts, while anxiety about contracting HBV infection did not. In the general life context, anxiety about HIV was greater than anxiety about HBV for all subjects. This difference was significantly greater for those with incorrect knowledge about objective HIV seroconversion rates than for those with correct knowledge.     

B.F. SKINNER AND THE GRAND INQUISITOR

Abstract. B.F. Skinner allures us with the possibilities of turning the stones of materialistic rewards into the bread of human values. He tempts us by assuring success in achieving our goals through behavioral science, if only we give up our autonomy. He offers the power of complete control over our behaviors, on condition that we relinquish responsibility for our lives to a technological elite. Is B. F. Skinner a flesh-and-blood Grand Inquisitor? This essay tries to persuade the reader that Skinner's offers are worth considering.     

Organizational factors in the effect of irrelevant speech: The role of spatial location and timing

Typically, hearing a repeated syllable produces minimal disruption of serial recall of visual lists, but a sequence of different syllables impairs performance markedly. Two conditions for presenting anidentical sequence of three syllables are compared: one, in which, by means of stereophony, each syllable is assigned to the left, center, or right auditory locus (three streamsnot changing in state), and another, in which the same syllable sequence occurs in one location only (one streamwith changing state). Disruption was significantly less in the stereophonic than in the monophonic condition. There was a joint effect of changing state and location, not an effect of the number of locations alone. In Experiment 2, temporal predictability was used to manipulate changing state. The disruptive effect ofregular presentation of a repeated syllable was markedly increased when it was presentedirregularly. The results are discussed in the context of organizational factors in short-term memory.     

On the Relation Between Philosophical Worldviews and Theories of Counseling and Development: A Comment

An alternate understanding of the role of organicism (Pepper, 1942) in contemporary developmental and constructivist thought is offered in reaction to Steenbarger's (1991) recent analysis of contextualist themes in counseling and development.     

A DEVELOPMENTAL DEFICIT IN LOCALIZING OBJECTS FROM VISION

Abstract— We describe a college student, A. H., with a developmental deficit in determining the location of objects from vision. The deficit is selective in that (a) localization from auditory or tactile information is intact, (b) A H reports the identity of mislocalized objects accurately, (c) visual localization errors preserve certain parameters of the target location, and (d) visual localization is severely impaired under certain stimulus conditions, but nearly intact under other conditions. These results bear on the representation and processing of location information in the visual system, and also have implications for understanding developmental dyslexia.