《周易参同契》的月体纳甲学

《周易参同契》所推阐的金丹原理,将丹道与易道结合,运用汉代象数易学的成果,巧妙地阐明了修炼金丹的道理和方法。它的“月体纳甲说”用周易八卦模拟月体在太空运行过程中,一月之内所出现的晦朔弦望之盈虚变化,并以其出没方位作为纳甲的依据。它的“乾体六爻模拟月相说”,以乾六爻之象模拟月体的晦朔弦望,以明阴阳的消长变化。它的“十二消息卦变说”,以十二辟卦论说周天火候,以明进阳火和退阴符之分。     

敦煌写本《无量寿观经义记》和《无量寿经义记》考论

仅存于敦煌写卷中的《无量寿观经义记》和《无量寿经义记》,虽然在半个多世纪以前曾引起日本学者的注意,但至今尚无人对此二义记作深入的探讨。本文对它们的时代和撰者作了考证,修正了日本学者望月信亨先生认为它们皆为隋释灵裕所撰的观点;净土往生者的阶位判属问题是二义记的主要的思想内容,阐明其特点对于全面而正确地认识弥陀净土教理的演进史是非常有价值的,故本文对它们的思想特点也作了论述。     

关于《上清经》

本文探讨《上清经》与上清派的命名、《上清原统经目注序》的撰作时间和作者以及东晋《上清经》的成书等问题。着重考察了华侨、杨羲、许谧、许翽等制作的首批上清经、传、诰的情况,并列书名、篇目;同时指出《上清经》的某些复杂性质。本文对与经书相关的道教分派标准问题也提出了自己的见解。     

Do the laws of physics forbid the operation of time machines?

We address the question of whether it is possible to operate a time machine by manipulating matter and energy so as to manufacture closed timelike curves. This question has received a great deal of attention in the physics literature, with attempts to prove no-go theorems based on classical general relativity and various hybrid theories serving as steps along the way towards quantum gravity. Despite the effort put into these no-go theorems, there is no widely accepted definition of a time machine. We explain the conundrum that must be faced in providing a satisfactory definition and propose a resolution. Roughly, we require that all extensions of the time machine region contain closed timelike curves; the actions of the time machine operator are then sufficiently “potent” to guarantee that closed timelike curves appear. We then review no-go theorems based on classical general relativity, semi-classical quantum gravity, quantum field theory on curved spacetime, and Euclidean quantum gravity. Our verdict on the question of our title is that no result of sufficient generality to underwrite a confident “yes” has been proven. Our review of the no-go results does, however, highlight several foundational problems at the intersection of general relativity and quantum physics that lend substance to the search for an answer.     

Forbidding Science: Some Beginning Reflections

Growing powers to manipulate human bodies and minds, not merely to heal disease but to satisfy desires, control deviant behavior, and to change human nature, make urgent questions of whether and how to regulate their use, not merely to assure safety and efficacy but also to safeguard our humanity. Oversight in democratic societies rightly belongs to the polity, not merely to self-appointed experts, scientific or ethical. Yet the task of governing the uses of dangerous knowledge is daunting, and there is little evidence that we have the will or the wisdom to do it well.

Elaboration on potential outcomes (EPO) and the consultative salesperson: investigating effects on attributions and performance

Past work has found that salespeople make very different attributions when describing successful versus unsuccessful sales. In this article, we explore the influence of elaboration on potential outcomes (EPO), a relatively new individual-specific personality construct that has not been previously examined in the sales context. We show that salespeople's predisposition to engage in predecision elaboration on the potential outcomes of their sales activities across the sales cycle has an important impact on their selling attributions and on their performance, even after accounting for the effects of self-efficacy and trait competitiveness, two other person-specific variables that have been heavily examined in past research. Juxtaposing survey responses with objective sales performance data from 301 salespeople drawn from two sales organizations, the results show that EPO and the more heavily examined variables help to systematically explain salespeople's attributions for success but are only weakly linked to attributions for failure. Moreover, the results show that EPO itself explains a modest, but nevertheless promising, portion of variance in sales performance.     

Approaching Laozi.Comparing a Syncretic Reading to a Synthetic One

Is Laozi a syncretic text whose primary body of ideas were cobbled together from multiple and various sources,none of which can reasonably be identified as Daoist,or is it a synthetic text whose ideas emerged from a single source that for all intents embodies the core elements of a tradition that meets the standards of inclusion for a tradition of early Daoism? The present work examines the key points of Hongkyung Kim's sophisticated account of Laozi's origins as a syncretic text.It then goes on to present the key points of what would have to be involved in its original circulations as a synthetic text.It concludes by suggesting a middle ground that is able to explain why an originally synthetic Laozi is all too easily read by modern scholars as a syncretic text.     

Challenges and Gifts of Teaching Luther in a Lutheran College1

This article examines what can be learned from teaching Luther to American college students. It reviews several ways in which college students benefit from studying Luther. The article suggests that identifying the “operating principles” in Luther's thought can help students more carefully discern the contemporary significance of his thought. After discussing some challenges encountered when teaching Luther to college students, the article ends with reflections on the theological significance of the college context. While Luther's discovery of a gracious God remains central, the college setting promotes a retrieval of several broader themes in Luther's thinking that have often been neglected by Lutherans: ongoing creation, wisdom, the Bible as “torah,” the suffering of God, and societal reform.     

范围假设解释大学生性别刻板印象表征的适用性*

通过任务助长实验范式考察范围假设对于某一熟悉群体刻板化特质判断的适用性。研究结果表明当大学生对于某一熟悉群体的刻板印象的抽象表征被激活时,违反刻板印象的样例表征也得到激活,用以限定抽象表征的适用范围。研究结果支持范围假设,即当一个抽象概念从语义记忆中被提取时,与抽象概念相冲突的情景记忆也被提取,以用来限定抽象概念的适用范围。     

Exploring the role of sexual experiences in on‐again/off‐again dating relationships

As an important dimension of romantic relationships, sexual activity has received little attention in research on on‐again/off‐again (on–off) relationships. Study 1 assessed the prevalence and perceptions of sexual experiences in on–off relationships as compared to non‐cyclical relationships (those without a history of breakups and renewals); furthermore, current and post‐dissolution (PD) relationships were assessed. Findings showed that on–off partners were four times more likely to engage in sex after breakups than non‐cyclical partners (55 vs. 13%). Results also suggested that on–off partners' perceptions of PD sexual experiences were more satisfying, more compatible, and less stressful than were non‐cyclical partners'. Using longitudinal data, Study 2 showed that PD sex was linked with reconciling the relationship. Conclusions from these findings and future directions are discussed.