The Study of Western Postmodern Philosophy of History in China in the Four Decades of Reform and Opening Up

In the 1960s and 1970s—as structuralism, post-structuralism, and literary criticism seeped into history—the “linguistic turn” or “narrative turn,” leading to what is known as postmodern philosophy of history, took place in Western philosophy of history. In the past forty years of reform and opening up to the outside world, and especially in the most recent two or three decades, Chinese research on Western postmodern philosophy of history has proceeded from overall review to in-depth research, and then on to reflection, criticism, and even transcendence. Neither the rethinking of historical objectivity and rationality nor the reconstruction of convictions about historical reason can work without the profound insights or theoretical tensions of postmodern philosophy of history.     

Contributors to this issue

Reid W. Anderson.
James Astor.
Coline Covington.
Michael Horne.
David Isenman.
Richard Kradin.
Joyce McDougall.
Owen Renik.
Ana Maria Andrade de Azevedo.
Angela Sowa.
Beverley D. Zabriskie.     

Developing a Leadership Perspective in the Classroom

This paper presents a normative pedagogical model that integrates leadership theory, student development, and cognitive/ego development. The first step, assessment of students' developmental stage/needs, uses a developmental model to assess students' developmental and motivational needs. The second step, selection of teaching style, incorporates leadership literature to develop teaching styles selected based on the developmental and motivational needs of students. The third step in the continuous process, evaluation of outcomes, involves assessment of either continued development and/or increased student motivation and improved student learning. Research and teaching implications of the proposed model are also discussed.     

PHILOSOPHY AS ART IN ARISTOTLE’S PROTREPTICUS

Observing certain affinities with Plato’s Alcibiades, this paper argues that a distinction between care (epimeleia) of the soul and philosophy as its art (technê) is reflected in Aristotle’s Protrepticus. On the basis of this distinction, it claims that two notions of philosophy can be distinguished in the Protrepticus: philosophy as epistêmê and philosophy as technê. The former has the function of contemplating the truth of nature, and Aristotle praises it as the natural telos of human beings; whereas philosophy as technê helps nature to accomplish the end it designed for human beings. It emerges that according to Aristotle in the Protrepticus philosophy is the art of making oneself coincide with one’s nature as a human being.     

From parent education to collective action: ‘Childrearing with love’ in post‐war Guatemala

The paper discusses the implementation and effect of group‐based parenting workshops oriented by the principles of liberation psychology in a low‐income, hispanicized community in Guatemala City. The objective of this initiative was not only to improve outcomes in the parent–child relationship, but to galvanize the formation of community‐based support groups that could have multiple ends. The theoretical foundations of the project are introduced, before illustrating their practical application. Sixteen months post‐intervention, largely positive effects were being sustained in parent child relations. The project was also successful in generating social action through the formation of grass‐roots women's organizations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The reception of western philosophy in the Lithuanian philosophy of religion

The article examines the reception of Western philosophy in Lithuanian philosophy of religion. The purpose is to show how the discourse of philosophy of religion came about in Lithuania. This branch of philosophy has been not only culturally and socially important in Lithuania, it has been significant as well for the formation and maintenance of national identity. By the same token, it also was the most developed and controversial theoretically. The first part of the article lays out the genesis of the autonomous Lithuanian philosophy of religion, though strongly influenced by the transformations in the broader context of European philosophy. For that reason it will be useful to present the ideas of the most prominent Lithuanian thinkers in the field who have successfully adopted and adapted vital trends in Western philosophy into the Lithuanian cultural and intellectual context. The second part of the article is less historical and more problematic as it deals with specific issues concerning faith, God, anthropological problems as reflected in the works of contemporary Lithuanian philosophers of religion. Only after having explored certain affiliations of Lithuanian philosophy of religion with Western thought can we state that, although the latter was the necessary precondition of the former, Lithuanian philosophy of religion does substantiate its sovereign status while correlating in an original way major cultural transformations with the changes in theoretical context, according to the specific concerns of Lithuanian society. In addition, this historical and philosophical examination aims to look at the formation of Lithuanian identity, mentality, values, their roots in the Christian tradition as well as the capacity to respond at critical historical moments.

脾窝异位辅助性活体肝移植治疗Wilson’s病的多方位思考

肝豆状核变性（wilson’s病）是一种铜代谢异常的遗传性疾病,肝移植是治疗Wilson’s病的良好方法。我院器官移植中心于2007年6月至2008年6月期间应用脾窝异位辅助性活体肝脏移植治疗肝豆状核变性4例,在评估治疗效果和总结经验的同时,我们对这一治疗方法进行了几点思考,并对其伦理学争议进行了讨论。脾窝异位辅助性活体肝移植为治疗Wilson’s提供一条有效的、安全的、简单的全新途径。     

Duchenne型肌营养不良基因诊断技术的发展及其哲学评析

Duchenne型肌营养不良（DMD）是发病率较高的神经系统遗传病,其基因突变机制复杂,探索简便、准确的基因突变检测技术是DMD研究的热点之一。随着分子生物学的进展,DMD基因诊断技术不断发展,经历了DNA印迹杂交、聚合酶链反应、生物芯片、多重连接探针扩增等。其发展过程带给我们许多哲学思考。     

扩散张量成像在弱视中应用的探讨

弱视是儿童常见眼科疾病,发病机制目前尚不完全清楚。扩散张量成像（diffusion tensor imaging,DTI）是MRI技术的一个新应用,将DTI引入弱视发病机制的研究使人们能更加直观地研究弱视患者视路相关结构有否解剖改变。正确运用哲学观点、充分发挥创新能力并灵活选用适宜技术与高新技术以期达到弱视诊断的最优化。