Across the Martian Frontier? Thoughts on Planet B,a Martian Safety Valve,and the Earth as Our Body

Even though we are on the precipice of a “bad Anthropocene,” humankind should not colonize Mars. Mars is often depicted as our “Planet B”—an evacuation plan for Earth. But in this time of ecological crisis, theologian Sallie McFague suggests that we think of the Earth as God’s body and take our obligation to care for our common home seriously. Likewise, in contrast to calls for colonization, I contend that two American historical anecdotes—the safety valve theory and the Yellowstone—illustrate why humanity should think less about becoming Martians and instead find meaning and purpose in remaining Earthlings.     

市场化与人际信任变迁

在中国的市场化进程中, 我们正在面对一个确定的事实：人际信任逐年衰落。虽然已有研究一致证明信任可以促进经济发展, 然而, 很少有文献阐明市场经济发展对信任的影响。整合近年来各种新获得的宏观和微观证据可以发现, 市场化对信任存在抑制作用。具体来说, 我国的市场化进程中, 市场的动力属性充分彰显, 鼓励人们逐利和竞争, 激活了人们的创富热情, 但也造成经济人信念的流行, 破坏了信任者对人性的乐观预期; 然而, 相应的市场规则和社会规则发育不足, 无法充分保护信任者。最终, 市场化在消蚀经济赖以发展的基础——信任, 致使信任下滑。因此, 建立基于规则的、诚信的市场经济是阻遏信任衰落乃至重建信任的必要路径。     

当代生态危机的认识论根源及出路

对自然的数学化必然导致人类对自然的对象化思维,从而把自然当作可以加以征服和驾驭的对象物;近代以来科学技术的成功运用更是助长了人类对自然的狂妄,误认为以人类有限的智慧能认识自然的无限奥秘。这是造成当代全球性生态危机的认识论根源。因此,为了走出当代生态危机,人类必须深刻认识到自己认识的有限性,找回“有学识的无知”,从而对无限的终极实在保持应有的敬畏之感。     

情绪即社会信息模型的理论及应用

情绪即社会信息(EmotionsasSocialInformationmodel,EASI)模型旨在阐释他人情绪如何通过情感反应和推断加工机制影响观察者的决策,以及认知动机和合适性判断在其中的调节作用。文章将EASI模型与相关理论进行了辨析,并基于对63项使用该理论的实证研究的分析,梳理归纳了EASI模型在领导力、团队、顾客服务、谈判及说服领域展开的应用,以及影响EASI模型的边界条件——信息加工程度和合适性判断的具体因素。未来研究需加强系统化验证、深化与其它理论的整合、拓展应用情境和优化测量方法。     

Is it dangerous? The role of an emotional visual search strategy and threat-relevant training in the detection of guns and knives

Counter-terrorism strategies rely on the assumption that it is possible to increase threat detection by providing explicit verbal instructions to orient people's attention to dangerous objects and hostile behaviours in their environment. Nevertheless, whether verbal cues can be used to enhance threat detection performance under laboratory conditions is currently unclear. In Experiment 1, student participants were required to detect a picture of a dangerous or neutral object embedded within a visual search display on the basis of an emotional strategy ‘is it dangerous?’ or a semantic strategy ‘is it an object?’. The results showed a threat superiority effect that was enhanced by the emotional visual search strategy. In Experiment 2, whilst trainee police officers displayed a greater threat superiority effect than student controls, both groups benefitted from performing the task under the emotional than semantic visual search strategy. Manipulating situational threat levels (high vs. low) in the experimental instructions had no effect on visual search performance. The current findings provide new support for the language-as-context hypothesis. They are also consistent with a dual-processing account of threat detection involving a verbally mediated route in working memory and the deployment of a visual template developed as a function of training.     

THE ART OF RETRIEVAL: Stoicism?

This essay argues that retrieving insights from the ancient Stoic philosophers for Christian ethics is much more difficult than is often assumed and, further, that the “ethics of retrieval” is itself something worth prolonged reflection. The central problem is that in their ancient sense both Christianity and Stoicism are practically dense patterns of reasoning and mutually incompatible forms of life. Coming to see this clearly requires the realization that the encounter between Stoicism and Christianity is a conflict of lived traditions. Precisely because we cannot simply extract Stoic insights from the lives in which they belong, the task of determining how Stoicism is useful for Christianity is exceptionally challenging. Indeed, doing justice to the Stoics has more to do with facing an alternative to Christianity than it does with appropriating insights for our own use. These points are developed in conversation with Elizabeth Agnew Cochran's recent article on the Stoic influence upon Jonathan Edwards.     

CONSIDERING STANLEY HAUERWAS

After introducing the five articles that comprise this focus issue, I consider Hauerwas's claim that he is a theologian without a position. The claim has merit, I hold, since Hauerwas writes in response to what he reads, which is his way of learning it better. Moreover, he writes socially, characteristically soliciting help from his friends. As such, he purposefully makes himself accountable to those he addresses. In his later years this accountability has extended especially to the Church and to the Bible, which helps explain why Hauerwas cares so deeply about his sermons, which he takes to be his most important work.     

Belief in altruistic human nature and prosocial behavior: a serial mediation analysis

According to the theory of internal working model, belief in altruistic human nature positively influences prosocial behavior. However, the precise influencing mechanism remains unclear. Based on the determinants of human behavior theory and self-efficacy theory, we hypothesized that belief in altruistic human nature indirectly influences prosocial behavior through causally linked multiple mediators of prosocial attitude and prosocial self-efficacy. The results of the current research supported our hypothesis and demonstrated that this serial mediation model could be generalized across individualistic and collectivistic cultures.     

Spinoza’s Christology A Brief Summary

Abstract

This article summarizes a number of Spinoza texts relating to his Christology and soteriology based on his Christology. The texts show that Spinoza’s Christology underpins his formulation of human nature or the constitution of the essence of the human mind. Considering Spinoza’s texts concerning God or Nature, “Christ according to the spirit”, the spirit or mind of Christ, and human salvation or blessedness; this article illustrates that given the texts, the study of Spinoza’s Christian religion is skewed and ought to be more balanced. The author’s reading of Spinoza and its application to his work presented in this article provides a coherent and tenable understanding of Spinoza’s efforts “to commend and establish the authentic purpose of the Christian Religion”.