Literary critics in a new era

In this article I look at changes in the role of literary criticism in Russian literature since perestroika. The article draws on the research of Sergej Čuprinin and Birgit Menzel. Based on my readings of the debate among literary critics about what literary criticism is and should be, and focusing on the interrelationship in the triangle writer-critic-reader, I establish a typology of contemporary literary criticism: 1. the critic as a master of the “literary process”, 2. the critic as co-writer, 3. the critic as a guide for the reader.

Agents of Reform?: Children’s Literature and Philosophy

Children’s literature was first published in the eighteenth century at a time when the philosophical ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on education and childhood were being discussed. Ironically, however, the first generation of children’s literature (by Maria Edgeworth et al) was incongruous with Rousseau’s ideas since the works were didactic, constraining and demanded passive acceptance from their readers. This instigated a deficit or reductionist model to represent childhood and children’s literature as simple and uncomplicated and led to children’s literature being overlooked and its contribution to philosophical discussions being undermined. Although Rousseau advocates freeing the child to develop, he does not feel that reading fiction promotes child development, which is a weakness in an otherwise strong argument for educational reform. Yet, rather ironically, the second generation of children’s writers, from Lewis Carroll onwards, more truly embraced Rousseau’s broader philosophical ideas on education and childhood than their predecessors, encouraging and freeing readers to imagine, reflect and actively engage in ontological enquiry. The emphasis had changed with the child being embraced in education and society as active participant rather than passive or disengaged recipient. Works deemed to be seminal to the canon of children’s literature such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan and The Chronicles of Narnia challenge readers to work through conflicts many of which can be identified retrospectively as exhibiting postmodern characteristics. By exploring moral and spiritual dilemmas in their writing, Carroll, Barrie and Lewis’s works can be regarded as contributing to discussions on theodical postmodernism. The successes of The Lord of the Rings and Narnia films suggest that there is an interest in exploring moral dilemmas, fulfilling a need (perhaps for tolerance and understanding) in society at large. Children’s literature has an almost divine power to restore, to repair and to heal, all characteristics of theodical postmodernism but differing from the more widely held conception of postmodernism which pulls apart, exacerbates and exposes. Children’s literature therefore offers a healthy and constructive approach to working through moral dilemmas. In their deconstruction of childhood, these authors have brought children’s literature closer to aspects of enquiry traditionally found in the domain of adult mainstream literature. As the boundaries between childhood and adulthood become more fluid, less certain, debate is centring around whether the canon of children’s literature itself has become redundant or meaningless since there are no longer any restrictions on which subjects can be treated in children’s literature. Despite the fact that children’s literature clearly engages with difficult issues, it continues to be left out of the critical equation, not given serious attention, disregarded as simplistic and ignored in contemporary philosophical discussions concerning morality, postmodernism and the future of childhood. With children’s literature coming closer to mainstream literature, and exhibiting prominent features of postmodernism, however, it is only a matter of time before philosophical discussions actively engage with children’s literature and recognise its contribution to the resolution and reconciliation of ontological dilemmas. When this occurs, philosophy and children’s literature will re-engage, enriching contemporary investigations of existence, ethics and knowledge and fruitfully developing thought in these areas. This paper aims to contribute to this process.

Robots and the Sacred in Science and Science Fiction: Theological Implications of Artificial Intelligence

In science-fiction literature and film, human beings simultaneously feel fear and allure in the presence of intelligent machines, an experience that approximates the numinous experience as described in 1917 by Rudolph Otto. Otto believed that two chief elements characterize the numinous experience: the mysterium tremendum and the fascinans. Briefly, the mysterium tremendum is the fear of God's wholly other nature and the fascinans is the allure of God's saving grace. Science-fiction representations of robots and artificially intelligent computers follow this logic of threatening otherness and soteriological promise. Science fiction offers empirical support for Anne Foerst's claim that human beings experience fear and fascination in the presence of advanced robots from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AI Lab. The human reaction to intelligent machines shows that human beings in many respects have elevated those machines to divine status. This machine apotheosis, an interesting cultural event for the history of religions, may—despite Foerst's rosy interpretation—threaten traditional Christian theologies.     

A review of the methods used to describe and measure aggressive behaviour in physiological studies

A review of the methods used to study behaviour in a number of experiments investigating the physiology of aggression highlights in the following problems: 1) the narrow range of species studied, 2) the inappropriate conditions in which animals are often housed for observation, 3) the inappropriate stimuli used to elicit aggressive responses in some cases, and 4) the lack of adequate detail with which behaviour is often recorded and analysed. It is stressed that without better techniques for studying behaviour, many questions about the organisation of aggression will remain unanswered.     

从楚地出土易类文献看《周易》文本早期形态

从楚地出土的多种易类文献来看,《周易》一书在形成与起源之初表现出了种种样态。至少形成了三种使用周易的方式,即“只用易卦”的方式、“实用筮书”的方式以及“经典文本”的方式。在《周易》经典文本的定型过程中,《周易》文本早期形态在占筮内容、文献编撰、易类体例以及卜筮关系等诸多方面得以充分展开。     

我国少数民族心理研究的文献计量分析2000~2005

对2000~2005年发表在国内期刊关于民族心理研究的182篇论文进行文献计量分析。少数民族心理研究论文总体数量较少,以心理学9种期刊为例,不到6年发文总量的1%;研究领域广泛,研究对象几乎包括了所有少数民族;关注群体主要集中于中学生和大学生,研究方法以测量为多,研究思路以少数民族与汉族比较为主,民族、年级和性别成为考察差异的三个纬度。存在的主要问题是：研究方法单一,模仿国外研究和运用国外量表的研究较多,具有创新性的研究较少,对理论问题关注不足;研究人员主要分布在西北和西南地区,6年中发文量在3篇以上的作者不足10人,没有形成稳定的研究群体     

文艺的信念:反抗道德虚假与道德虚无

在人类生活中,审美艺术创造发挥着重要的作用,它激发着人们的想象,显现着生命的形象力量。从价值论意义上说,人类生命活动的审美反恩,就是要探索生命的自由伦理,反抗道德虚假与道德虚无。道德虚假的盛行,是公正价值不畅的必然结果;道德虚无的兴起,是怀疑主义思潮作用的后果。现代文艺伦理学必须重建新型价值伦理,通过生命自由形象的创造,表达我们时代的内在呼声。     

WISDOM, PESSIMISM, AND "MIRTH"Reflections on the Contribution of Biblical Wisdom Literature to Business Ethics

Ancient Israel's wisdom literature dealt explicitly with moral education. Applying this literature to modern challenges of business ethics requires reading the texts in the light of existential structures that bond the ancient with the modern world. Such structures could include the temporal categories of present and future along with the challenging angst of managing the future. By providing conflicting positions the ancient wisdom literature provides an attitude of heart for the modern person, especially the modern business person, whose all‐absorbing attention to the future may well be based on an underlying existential situation behind much unethical behavior in modern business.     

易道:中国古代文论的哲学基础

《周易》是中国文化的宝贵遗产,它影响了中国文化的诸多方面。《周易》中的天人合一、阴阳互动、通变致久理论,为中国古代文论的主要哲学基础。