The sacramental nature of peacemaking rituals: a case for a sacramental spirituality of reconciliation

South African scholar and peace activist John de Gruchy sees a close relationship between sacraments and peacemaking processes. Even though a Protestant, he calls the Church a sacramental community and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) a ‘civic sacrament’. This raises the question of the relationship between processes and rituals of peacemaking and sacramentality. Moreover, how does reconciliation, as a core doctrine of Christian theology, relate to sacramentality and peacemaking efforts in society? Is reconciliation sacramental? Hans Boersma’s sacramental ontology provides a theological basis for an affirmative answer. Furthermore, the notion of Christ (and the Church) as primal sacrament(s) (Semmelroth, Schillebeeckx) gives a further basis to see processes of peacemaking as sacramental. The article argues for a sacramental spirituality of reconciliation (Schreiter). However, applying the arguments to two concrete cases, the TRC and the twinning of Coventry and Dresden, shows some difficulties in claiming sacramental status for reconciliation efforts.     

Infinite Reasoning

Our relationship to the infinite is controversial. But it is widely agreed that our powers of reasoning are finite. I disagree with this consensus; I think that we can, and perhaps do, engage in infinite reasoning. Many think it is just obvious that we can't reason infinitely. This is mistaken. Infinite reasoning does not require constructing infinitely long proofs, nor would it gift us with non-recursive mental powers. To reason infinitely we only need an ability to perform infinite inferences. I argue that we have this ability. My argument looks to our best current theories of inference and considers examples of apparent infinite reasoning. My position is controversial, but if I'm right, our theories of truth, mathematics, and beyond could be transformed. And even if I'm wrong, a more careful consideration of infinite reasoning can only deepen our understanding of thinking and reasoning.     

Combined stimulus control over time allocation in response-independent schedules

Rats were exposed to concurrent schedules in which reinforcers occurred independently of behavior. In Experiment 1, rats could control time spent in the following conditions: (1) a light, (2) white noise, and (3) the absence of both light and noise. Response-independent reinforcers occurred at the same rate during the light and the noise and at either a higher rate or not at all in the absence of both stimuli. In subsequent tests, the rats spent more time in a light and noise compound than in either light or noise alone after the absence of both stimuli had signaled no reinforcers. When the absence of both stimuli had signaled a higher rate of reinforcement, however, the rats typically spent less time in the compound than in light or noise alone. In Experiment 2, rats could control time spent in the presence of a light and of a buzzer. The reinforcement rate in the light was twice that in the buzzer. In a later test, the rats spent more time in a light and buzzer compound than in the buzzer, but less time in the compound than in the light. The results show that additive summation, suppressive summation, and stimulus averaging of time allocation occur and that response rate differences between training stimuli are not necessary for these phenomena.     

New Media and Event: A Case Study on the Power of the Internet

With the rapid growth of the number of netizens in China, the Internet has become one of the most important parts in the lives of people who not only can get more information on the Internet, but can also express their own views. In other words, the Internet has also become a part of real-world events. Drawing on a case study about ‘The Boycott of Carrefour’ in China during the spring of 2008, the paper first discusses the role and functions of new media during the incident. Through analyses of a story about the culture of labeling others and a conflict between burning a wrong flag in this case, the paper then explores the capriciousness of Chinese cyberspace. The author proposes an explanation on how the illusion of truth is generated on the Internet and then influences the events in the real world. The paper concludes that the Internet is not just a simple technological tool, but it is intertwined with the sociocultural contexts in which it is rooted.

La relance du processus conventionnel relatif au clonage humain – Réflexions de lege ferenda

As regards human cloning, should the convention process – which failed at UN level following several years of procrastination – be relaunched? A United Nations University report (September 2007) and, subsequently, certain reflections on behalf of the International Bioethics Committee, point to the fact that an international convention, banning human reproductive cloning, could emerge in the near future. This convention – the content of which calls for pragmatism and humanism – is at the convergence of several choices. Even though the institutional framework of the UNESCO appears more suitable than that of the United Nations Organization, ambiguities remain regarding convention policy that need to be carefully considered: should a treaty only ban reproductive cloning, without considering, in the same treaty, regulations governing therapeutic cloning, or should both reproductive and therapeutic cloning be approached in a single treaty instrument?     

Contextualism,relativism and ordinary speakers’ judgments

Some authors have recently claimed that relativism about knowledge sentences accommodates the context sensitivity of our use of such sentences as well as contextualism, while avoiding the counterintuitive consequences of contextualism regarding our inter-contextual judgments, that is, our judgments about knowledge claims made in other contexts. I argue that relativism, like contextualism, involves an error theory regarding a certain class of inter-contextual judgments.

Sad, thus true: Negativity bias in judgments of truth

An effect observable across many different domains is that negative instances tend to be more influential than comparably positive ones. This phenomenon has been termed the negativity bias. In the current work, it was investigated whether this effect pertains to judgments of truth. That is, it was hypothesized that information valence and perceived validity should be associated such that more negative information is deemed more true. This claim was derived from the findings that negative instances tend to demand more attentional resources and that more elaborate processing can render messages more persuasive. In three experiments, manipulating information valence through framing - and assessing judgments of truth - the hypothesized negativity bias was corroborated. Potential explanations and implications for further research are discussed.     

Brogaard and Salerno on antirealism and the conditional fallacy

Brogaard and Salerno (2005, Nous, 39, 123–139) have argued that antirealism resting on a counterfactual analysis of truth is flawed because it commits a conditional fallacy by entailing the absurdity that there is necessarily an epistemic agent. Brogaard and Salerno’s argument relies on a formal proof built upon the criticism of two parallel proofs given by Plantinga (1982, Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 56, 47–70) and Rea (2000, Nous, 34, 291–301). If this argument were conclusive, antirealism resting on a counterfactual analysis of truth should probably be abandoned. I argue however that the antirealist is not committed to a controversial reading of counterfactuals presupposed in Brogaard and Salerno’s proof, and that the antirealist can in principle adopt an alternative reading that makes this proof invalid. My conclusion is that no reductio of antirealism resting on a counterfactual analysis of truth has yet been provided.

Trauma, forgiveness and the witnessing dance: making public spaces intimate

In this paper I explore the concept of forgiveness as a response to gross human rights violations. I present a conceptual examination of the effects of massive trauma in relation to what I refer to as the 'unfinished business' of trauma. Using a psychoanalytic framework, I consider the process of 'bearing witness' about trauma and examine how this process opens up the possibility of reciprocal expressions of empathy between victim and perpetrator. I then argue that, in this context of trauma testimony and witnessing, empathy is essential for the development of remorse on the part of perpetrators, and of forgiveness on the part of victims. Using a case study from South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) I clarify the relationship between empathy and forgiveness, and show how the restorative model of the TRC can open up an ethical space and create the possibility of transformation for victims, perpetrators and bystanders. In my conclusion I suggest that forgiveness in politics is the only action that holds promise for the repair of brokenness in post-conflict societies, particularly if, as in South Africa, victims have to live together with perpetrators and beneficiaries in the same country.     

From great commission to inclusive education: a tangible illustration of missionaries’ legacy

This article analysed missionaries’ roles in the development of general and special education by examining the relationship between the Great Commission and education and the biblical perspective on disabilities as the foundational links between their work and inclusive education. While missionaries have not been directly involved in the practices of inclusive education today, their work in initiating and formalising special education services has facilitated a more welcoming attitude toward individuals with disabilities, and propelled governments around the globe to make special and inclusive education a public responsibility when socio-political environments demand it. To provide a concrete illustration, this article used Hong Kong as an example by examining missionaries’ key involvements and impact in its development of public education from the early colonial era to today’s inclusive education. The missionaries’ legacy in Hong Kong’s inclusive education development lay in their nurturing of Christian educators as supported by a high number of public Christian schools and Christian educators advocated for inclusive education, and in their efforts to formalise special education during the early colonial era (175).