An Appreciation of Hal Childs' Critique of Historical Jesus Research

Biblical scholars have been exceedingly slow to grasp the implications of the Heisenberg principle, namely, that the observer is always a part of the field being observed, and disturbs that field by the very act of observation. In terms of the interpretive task, this means that there can be no question of an objective view of Jesus as he really was. Objective view; is itself an oxymoron; every view is subjective, from a particular angle of vision. We always encounter the biblical text with interests. We always have a stake in our reading of it. We always have angles of vision that can be helpful or harmful in interpreting texts. Historical writing does not treat reality; it treats the interpreter's relation to it, according to Brian Stock. All history, said the poet Wallace Stevens, is modern history. And historical criticism is a form of criticism of the present, according to Walter Kasper. All that is true, but only partially. For historical criticism can still help us recover an understanding of that past that holds out to us present meaning.     

“The General's Abduction by Aliens from a UFO: Levels of Meaning of Alien Abduction Reports”

A case study is presented of a patient who claims to have been abducted by aliens from a distant planet. Four related levels of meaning for the patient's belief that he—and other contactees—were deducted is provided. These explanations can be categorized as: historical, moral, metaphorical, and psychological. A rationale is offered for the treatment of patients with alien abduction beliefs.     

The logic of historical necessity as founded on two-dimensional modal tense logic

We consider a version of so called T × W logic for historical necessity in the sense of R.H. Thomason (1984), which is somewhat special in three respects: (i) it is explicitly based on two-dimensional modal logic in the sense of Segerberg (1973); (ii) for reasons of applicability to interesting fields of philosophical logic, it conceives of time as being discrete and finite in the sense of having a beginning and an end; and (iii) it utilizes the technique of systematic frame constants in order to handle the problem of irreflexivity in tense logics, well known since Gabbay (1981). Axiomatizations are given for two infinite hierarchies of two-dimensional modal tense logics, one without and one with the characteristic operators for historical necessity and possibility. Strong and weak completeness results are obtained for both hierarchies as well as a result to the effect that two approaches to their semantics are equivalent, much in the spirit of Di Maio and Zanardo (1996) and von Kutschera (1997).     

Age differences in cognitive performance: A study of cultural differences in Historical Context

Ethnicity and cultural experience can affect neuropsychological performance, but they are rarely assessed in historical context. Attention measures are considered strongly biologically determined and therefore potentially culture‐fair. In this study, we assessed the cross‐cultural equivalence of Spanish and English versions of the Trail Making Test (TMT; Reitan, 1958, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 8, 271–276) and the Brief Test of Attention (BTA; Schretlen et al., 1996, The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 10, 80–89) in two large samples of Americans (N = 203) and Spaniards (N = 213), divided into younger and older subgroups. The older Spaniards lived under Franco's political regime (1936–1975), whereas the Americans never experienced such repression. Overall, TMT performance was culture‐sensitive, whereas BTA performance was not. However, when both groups were stratified by age, cultural differences in TMT performance were restricted to older participants, suggesting that historical experience across generations might have contributed to the observed differences in cognitive performance. Even such basic cognitive processes as attention, working memory, and resource sharing might be shaped to some degree by historical experiences that contribute to cultural differences.     

Race,Gender, and Class Distinctions Among Aging Middle Class Black and White Women: Implications for Feminist Interventions

Although Black¹For the sake of simplicity, the generic terms Black and White are used to denote differences between the two groups of women. and White women’s relationships have received considerable attention, the important questions of how and if these relationships change with age and social class have received less attention. This article using the metaphor of intersectionality, and grounding women’s relationships in historically and contextually relevant frameworks, provides an understanding of the social and cultural tensions that continue to influence the standpoints of aging middle class Black and White women. The authors pose many probing questions about whether or not aging middle class Black and White women are capable of developing genuine friendships rather than superficial acquaintanceships. The article concludes with implications for Black and White feminist therapists, which highlight the necessity for personal reflections about issues of power and oppression and how they permeate interactions, depth of historical knowledge, and the promotion of positive aging techniques. Each of these and others help to forge a greater understanding of relationship building between these two groups of heterogeneouswomen.     

Biographical truths and their clinical consequences: Understanding ‘embodied memories’ in a third psychoanalysis with a traumatized patient recovered from severe poliomyelitis

The relationship between ‘narrative’ and ‘historical–biographical truth’ in psychoanalytic treatment has become the subject of many controversial debates in recent years. Findings of contemporary memory research have lead to great scepticism as to whether therapists are able objectively and reliably to reconstruct biographical events on the basis of their observations in the therapeutic situation. Some authors even claim that psychoanalysts should concentrate exclusively on observing the here and now of the patient′s behaviour within the transference relationship to the analyst. In this paper it will be discussed whether the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater in this debate. Centred around the insights from a third psychoanalysis with a patient who suffered from a severe case of childhood polio, the hypothesis will be discussed that working through the traumatic experience in the transference with the analyst, as well as the reconstruction of the biographical–historical reality of the trauma suffered, prove to be indispensable for a lasting structural change. Integration of the trauma into one′s own personal history and identity is and remains one of the main aims of a psychoanalytic treatment with severely traumatized patients. The reconstruction of the original trauma is indispensable in helping the patient to understand the ‘language of the body’ and to connect it with visualizations, images and verbalizations. The irreversable wounds and vulnerability of his body as the ‘signs of his specific traumatic history’ have to be recognized, emotionally accepted and understood in order to live with them and not deny them any longer. Another important aspect in psychoanalysis is to develop the capability to mentalize, in other words, to understand the intentions of central (primary) objects related to the trauma. The concept of ‘embodied memory’ might be helpful in understanding precisely in what way ‘early trauma is remembered by the body’. Observing in detail the sensory‐motor coordinations in the analytic relationship enables one to decode the inappropriate intensity of affects and fantasies which match the original traumatic interaction and are revealed as inappropriate reactions in the present, new relationship to the analyst.     

The ethics of belief and two conceptions of christian faith

This article deals with two types of Christian faith in the light of the challenges posed by the ethics of belief. It is proposed that the difficulties with Clifford’s formulation of that ethic can best be handled if the ethic is interpreted in terms of role-specific intellectual integrity. But the ethic still poses issues for the traditional interpretation of Christian faith when it is conceived as a series of discrete but related propositions, especially historical propositions. For as so conceived, the believer makes claims that fall within the province of an intellectual discipline, history, that requires evidence and rules of procedure for the adjudication of such claims. It is noteworthy how few Christian theologians and philosophers of religion deal with the issue in these terms. Alvin Plantinga is a noteworthy exception and his views are examined and criticized because, among other things, his conclusion is that any believer without having any training in biblical languages or historical studies can know that the New Testament narratives are true. The article then considers a second conception of Christian faith in which this conflict does not arise. One finds it in the works of Schleiermacher, Wittgenstein, and, surprisingly, in the conception of faith found in the early writings of Karl Barth.     

The European school of MCDA: Emergence,basic features and current works

Multiple-criteria decision analysis has evolved considerably since its birth during the 1960s. As part of this evolution, several schools of thought have developed emphasizing different techniques and, more generally, different attitudes as to the way of supporting or aiding decision making. One of these schools is now commonly referred to as the ‘European School’, its members being part of a European Working Group entitled ‘Multicriteria Aid for Decisions’. In the first part of this paper (Section 1) we follow a historical perspective in order to trace the emergence of the European School. Its distinctive features and main ideas are then outlined in Section 2. Finally we provide a general review of the current major research topics developed within this framework (Section 3).     

理性行为理论及其拓展研究的现状与展望

作为一种广泛地用于预测多种多样的社会行为的权威理论,理性行为理论（Theory of Reasoned Action, TRA）已经被大量的学者进行了拓展。根据研究视角的差异性,现有的这些对理性行为理论进行拓展的研究被归结为三类,理性行为理论自身的深化研究;理性行为理论适用性的拓展研究;理性行为理论模型的拓展研究。这三类研究首先被系统地总结和分析,然后在分析现有研究的不足的基础上,理性行为理论进一步拓展研究的方向被提出来,期望以此推动理性行为理论在国内的进一步开展     

Hawking Says that Discovering Intelligent Life Elsewhere Would Spark Greater Compassion and Humility among Us … But Why Wait?

It matters how we talk to each other about METI and about contact, and Hawking could set a better example.