MORALITY THROUGH INQUIRY,MOTIVE THROUGH RHETORIC: THE POLITICS OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE EPOCH OF THE ANTHROPOCENE

In an epoch marked by the threat of global warming, the conflicts between science and religion are no longer simply matters that concern only intellectual elites and armchair philosophers; they are in many ways matters that will determine the degree to which we can meet the challenges of our times. John H. Evans's Morals Not Knowledge represents an important provocation for those committed not only to using scientific method as a resource for making moral judgments but also to creating political alliances with religious constituencies. In this important work, Evans argues that most conflicts between science and religion do not concern a clash between two contradictory ways of knowing, but rather a clash over our moral responsibilities and ultimate values. In my response to his work, I suggest that integrating both John Dewey's pragmatic understanding of the moral situation and Kenneth Burke's rhetorical interpretation of motives helps bolster Evans's cause and provides support for a political movement that aims to bridge the divide between science and religion in the epoch of the Anthropocene.     

Should Humans Colonize Mars? No

Space advocates, presidents, and NASA administrators have talked for decades about sending people back to the Moon and on to Mars, to stay. Neither funding nor public support has materialized. Billionaire Elon Musk has declared his intent to establish a human colony on Mars, drawing much media attention. Here Linda Billings argues that it would be unethical to contaminate a potentially habitable planet for further scientific exploration and immoral to transport a tiny, non-representative, subset of humanity—made up of people who could afford to spend hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on the trip—to live on Mars.     

Qualities of reflection: using Saul’s (2001) On Equilibrium to restore humanity to reflection in healthcare

Reflection features strongly in health and care work as a tool for personal and professional development and can support us as practitioners to be critical and self-aware in practice, of practice and the impact on clients and patients. Its power to transform learning and practice, however, has been watered down through recipe-following in reflective recording and through the avoidance of recording uncertainty or practice that might not measure against professional codes. Drawing on the humanist philosophy of John Ralston Saul, I suggest using Saul’s ‘six qualities’ as themes for reflective questions. I reflect on the influence of reason through codes of practice and offer suggestions for questions to restore an awareness of Self in work with clients and patients. Finally, from my experience as a counselling student and healthcare educator, I argue that we should have a greater appreciation of the power of uncertainty in reflective recording.     

Humanism after posthumanism: or qualitative psychology after the “posts”

Almost 25 years ago, psychologist and qualitative methodologist Steinar Kvale conjectured that psychology might become obsolete or redundant in a postmodern age due to the modernist legacies of this science. This, of course, has not materialized, but the question of redundancy reemerges today in new philosophical guises related to the rise of posthumanist philosophy and what has come to be known as postqualitative research. In this article, I aim to (1) introduce the posthuman and postqualitative critique of conventional qualitative research with an eye to its relevance for psychology, (2) introduce a distinction between ontological and advocacy issues concerning the post qualitative critique in order to (3) propose the idea that qualitative psychologists can accept much of the ontological theorizing developed by posthuman and postqualitative scholars, and yet advocate a humanist agenda for both scientific and ethical reasons. Historically, this was attempted by pragmatists such as James and Dewey. In short, the goal of the article is to sketch the contours of a qualitative psychology after the postqualitative critique, amounting to a form of humanism after posthumanism.     

WHAT IS “SECULAR”? TECHNO‐SECULARISM AND SPIRITUALITY

Abstract. I argue that there is no “roaring reality of rampant secularism” with “technological application as its chief agent,” as claimed by John Caiazza (2005). Two phenomena, techno‐religion and a spirituality of technology, suggest a different picture of reality: Technology may be an alternative spirituality rather than an ally of a secularism that makes “nutcrackers of the soul” out of people who should be “dancers” (Nietzsche). An analysis of secularism and its manifold causes indicates that secularism is a fruit of both science and religion. The secular is a companion of religion rather than its enemy. Hence, I recommend a heuristic instead of an ontological use of the concept of secularism. In a technological age, religion is changing rather than being displaced. These changes are illustrated by the increase of private religiosity, megachurches, and cyber‐spirituality. Energized by the tension between finitude and creativity, technology shares in the marks of spirituality (Philip Hefner) and in the potential for good and evil. In this situation, fundamentalism and dogmatism in religion, science, and technology are a greater threat than secularism.     

731部队--半个多世纪后的反思

通过对日本731部队进行细菌战及美国掩盖这一事实的案例分析,强调科学不能背离人道,而要为人道服务;政治也不能不顾人道,反人道的政治终究是要失败的.因此,尊重伦理的基本价值、基本原则和基本规范具有极大的重要性和现实性.     

心、脑科学与医学人道主义价值观

当今,心、脑科学的研究进展及成果极大支持了科学的医学人道主价值观应当以正确认识、把握、运用脑模式科学假说为基础的观点.试从意识的本质、医学人道价值观的机制、与价值相关的医者心灵的自我控制和意志自由等三个方面探讨心、脑科学同医学实践中的医学人道价值观的关系.     

关于全科医学兴起和发展的哲学审视

全科医学的兴起已经成为"必然",当今医学科学的发展应该对这种"必然"做出理性的思考.全科医学的兴起和发展隐含着对现代医疗中失人性化倾向的反动,揭示了人道主义精神在现代医疗中的回归.全科医疗与专科医疗是一种互补关系,共同丰富和完善医疗卫生服务体系.     

全面深入理解“以人为本”

以人为本是一项符合人类文明发展趋势并指导当代社会发展的重要原则 ,是科学发展观的核心内容。以人为本并非只有西方人文主义那样的理解 ,它既是一种共同价值观和价值取向 ,又是一种思维方式 ,同时还是一种执政理念。     

科技道德的两种精神

本文致力于挖掘各种科技道德规范背后的伦理精神 ,提出科学精神和人本精神是科技道德规范的灵魂 ;阐释两大精神的丰富内涵 ;辨析二者间的学理关系和实践关系。