A Model for Structural Changes of Belief

The paper suggests a way of modeling belief changes within the tradition of formal belief revision theories. The present model extends the scope of traditional proposals, such as AGM, so as to take care of “structural belief changes” – a type of radical shifts that is best illustrated with, but not limited to, instances of scientific discovery; we obtain AGM expansions and contractions as limiting cases. The representation strategy relies on a non-standard use of a semantic machinery. More precisely, the model seeks to correlate knowledge states with interpretations of a given formal language L, in such a way that the epistemic state of an agent at a given time gives rise to a picture of how things could be, if there weren’t anything else to know. Interpretations of L proceed along supervaluational ideas; hence, the model as a whole can be seen as a particular application of supervaluational semantics to epistemic matters. Presented by Hannes Leitgeb     

荀子的经济制度伦理思想及其现代价值

当前学界对于荀子经济制度伦理思想的研究十分少见。荀子的经济制度及其制度伦理蕴涵源于人性恶的道德起源论,义利辩证统一的义利观、“欲”、“物”“相持而长”的可持续发展观和朴素的分配正义观念是其经济制度伦理思想的主体内涵,它对于当前我国的伦理经济和市场经济体制建设主要在“义利两有”、“以义制利”的制度伦理导向可以促进“经济人”和“道德人”的有效统一,保障市场经济秩序的稳定和谐与可持续性发展,以及树立分配正义观念,促进制度创新,提高制度运作效率等方面有一定的启示意义。     

"良知坎陷":牟宗三的思想脉络与理论开展

在牟宗三哲学发展中,"良知坎陷"说有认识论、历史文化论和存有论三义。"良知坎陷"说的理论开展,既表现为存有论意义上的理论综合,也体现在以"道德实践"对"坎陷"所作的理论规定。在"良知坎陷"说中,存在着文化诉求与哲学思考的思想纠结。由于对"坎陷"之辩证义的独特规定,牟宗三存有论意义的"良知坎陷"既不同于黑格尔绝对精神的辩证开展,也改造了康德现象与物自身超越区分的理论架构,展露出"彻底的唯心论"的基本意蕴,具有新的理论意义。     

Compatibilism,Evil, and the Free-Will Defense

It is widely believed that (1) if theological determinism were true, in virtue of God’s role in determining created agents to perform evil actions, created agents would be neither free nor morally responsible for their evil actions and God would not be perfectly good; (2) if metaphysical compatibilism were true, the free-will defense against the deductive problem of evil would fail; and (3) on the assumption of metaphysical compatibilism, God could have actualized just any one of those myriad possible worlds that are populated only by compatibilist free creatures. The primary thesis of this essay is that none of these propositions is true. This thesis is defended by appealing to a recently proposed novel, acausal, composite, unified theory of free action – the Theory of Middle Freedom – that evades the central problems plaguing traditional theories of metaphysical compatibilism.

Crime: Self and Society: Psychoanalytical Perspectives on Taking Responsibility and Moving Forward

The occurrence of a tragic and unnecessary act of evil (crime) induces in us a need to search for blame, to find who or what is responsible. Often this search amounts in a Kleinian splitting between personal and social responsibility – we either blame the person or blame the society, or oscillate between the two. In fact, even movement into a more integrated, depressive position does not solve the problem—the evil of the event is too hot to be contained anywhere. True healing from crime will not result by perfecting the “assigning blame” mechanism in ourselves or our criminal justice system, but rather when we recognize the futility of that search. To use Lowe’s concept of creative limits, only by recognizing our own limitedness will creative and healing spaces that allow the return to innocence occur. Jessica Van Denend serving as an intern chaplain at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for the past 2 years, became increasingly interested in the complexity of societal and personal complexes wrapped up in the criminal justice processes, and their manifestation in the prison system. While studying under Prof. Ann Ulanov (in the Psychiatry and Religion program at Union Theological Seminary), the author had time to examine what some psychoanalytical tools might have to say about crime and its repercussions.     

The Economy of the Gift: Paul Ricoeur's Significance for Theological Ethics

Paul Ricoeur's understanding of the relations of faith, love, and hope suggests a unique approach to theological ethics, one that holds fresh promise for bringing together considerations of the good (teleology) and the right (deontology) around the notion of an “economy of the gift.” The economy of the gift articulates Ricoeur's distinctively dialectical understanding of the relation of the human and the divine, and the resulting dialectical moral relation of the self and the other. Despite our fallen condition, Ricoeur suggests, we are called by the divine to embrace the radical possibility of the reconciliation of human goods under the requirement of accountability to human diversity and otherness.     

PERCEIVING NATURAL EVIL THROUGH THE LENS OF DIVINE GLORY? A CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTOPHER SOUTHGATE

Finding a way to come to terms with the disvalues in the evolutionary world is a particular challenge in the light of Neo‐Darwinian theories. In this article I trace the shift in Christopher Southgate's work from a focus on theodicy to a theologian of glory. I am critical of his rejection of the tradition of the Fall, his incorporation of disvalues into the work of divine Glory, and the specific theological weight given to scientific content. I offer a critique of Holmes Rolston III's approach to the valuation of nature that I believe has influenced Southgate's theology. Constructively, I offer an alternative that seeks to recover an understanding of the origin of evil and the Adamic event that draws on the work of Paul Ricoeur. I also draw on the work of anthropologist Tim Ingold for an alternative philosophical approach to evolution which opens up a space for a recovery of the concepts of creaturely Sophia and shadow Sophia in the work of Sergius Bulgakov.     

EVOLUTION,CONTINGENCY, AND CHRISTOLOGY

Christopher Southgate has made important contributions to theodicy and the theory of divine action in light of the contingency in evolution and the suffering of creation. What happens then when one thinks through the implications of contingency for Christology? One can admit that aesthetic and moral judgments are products of a contingent history and yet affirm that they really are valid. Similarly, we argue, one can acknowledge the contingency of Jesus’ existence, actions, and subsequent impact and still maintain that his will was uniquely united with the divine will. Following a critical engagement with the recent work of Keith Ward, we argue that a high Christology is compatible with the actual contingencies of evolutionary and social history, without the necessity of interventionist divine action.     

Belief in Supernatural Evil and Mental Health: Do Secure Attachment to God and Gender Matter?

This study examines whether belief in supernatural evil is associated with mental health. In addition, it assesses how secure attachment to God moderates this association and how gender conditions the moderating effect of secure attachment to God. Among a variety of mental health outcomes, this study focuses on general mental health problems as well as anxiety-related disorders (e.g., general anxiety, social anxiety, and paranoia). Using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey (N = 1,627), the analyses reveal that belief in supernatural evil is positively associated with general anxiety and paranoia. In addition, secure attachment to God buffers the positive associations between belief in supernatural evil and social anxiety and paranoia. Yet, when general mental health problems and general anxiety serve as the outcome measures, secure attachment to God attenuates the positive associations of belief in supernatural evil with mental health only for women, but not men. These results underscore the ways that religious beliefs have both positive and negative implications for mental health. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of gender in the complex relationships between religious beliefs and mental health.