Trinity and revelation: An appraisal of Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen

In Trinity and Revelation, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen surveys a broad theological landscape before constructing a theological edifice for grasping the mystery of God's revelation in Christ with its significance for religious pluralism. This reader applauds Kärkkäinen for providing an integrated theological proposal that considers significantly not only the rich Christian theological tradition but also current scientific knowledge while respecting local or contextual theologies. This work will definitely contribute towards a more inclusive, open-minded, balanced, and dynamic theological enterprises in the field of constructive theology.     

Parental Choice in Israel's Educational System: Theory vs. Praxis

In the last two decades the Israeli educational system has undergone major changes which have transformed it from a state-controlled, overly bureaucratic and almost fully state-financed system into a decentralized, partly locally controlled and increasingly privately financed system. Advocates of this transformation of the educational system appeal to the ideal of parental choice. They argue that the implementation of parental choice programs in education shows more respect to the children and their unique talents, take their self-realization seriously and promotes equal opportunities in education. The ideal of parental choice is also upheld in relation to value of cultural pluralism. Supporters of educational autonomy advocate the restructuring of schools in a way allowing them to develop a unique climate and curriculum consistent with respective communities and parents' preferences. The aim of this paper is to assess critically the changes that Israeli educational system has undergone against the background of the principle of equal educational opportunities. The main claim of the paper is that these changes undermine this principle. It will be argued that these changes actually cater mainly to the educational interests of middle and upper middle classes in Israeli society.     

Postfoundationalism and Interdisciplinarity: A Response to Jerome Stone

Abstract. In my recent work I argued that the religion and sciencedialogue is most successful when done locally and contextually. However, I also argued against theology's epistemic isolation in a pluralist, postmodern world, and for a postfoundationalist notion of human rationality that reveals the interdisciplinary, public nature of all theological reflection. I now want to explore the possibility that, when we look at what the prehistory of thehuman mind reveals about the biological roots of all human rationality, some forms of contemporary evolutionary epistemology may actually hold the key to understanding the kind of cognitive fluidity that enables true interdisciplinary reflection. Philosophically the religion and science dialogue benefits from this move when a postfoundationalist notion of rationality redescribes the dynamic interaction of our various disciplinary dialogues with one another as aform of transversal reasoning. Transversality in this sense justifies and urges an acknowledgment of multiple patterns of interpretation as one moves across the borders and boundaries of different disciplines.     

Naturalism,Formalism, and Supernaturalism: Moral Epistemology and Comparative Ethics

If the much discussed fragmentation of the West meansthat we can seldom hold constructive moral conversations with our near neighbors, why imagine that comparative ethics is feasible as a critical enterprise with a coherent method? How, more specifically, do we understand the relative merits of naturalism, formalism, and supernaturalism as ethical orientations? The author addresses these questions first by examining the meaning of the quoted terms, then by criticizing the inordinate optimism of most naturalisms and formalisms. The article ends by briefly elaborating and defending a supernaturalist conception of Christian love. As a fruit of the Spirit, agape leaves one neither heteronomous nor autonomous, but holy. Such holiness can move one to appreciate, judiciously, cultures different from one's own.     

日本人格心理学研究动向及启示

日本人格心理学领域近几年的研究表明,对“大五”和“自我”的研究是其主要关注点,同时还重视对人际关系的研究,强调理论研究的应用化取向与研究方法的多元化和整合。但目前日本人格心理学研究仍然存在一定局限,对此加深认识,具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Does anything go? Towards a framework for the more transparent assessment of psychoanalytic competence1

It has been difficult to know what does and does not constitute competent psychoanalytic work and so equally difficult to assess when it is being practised and when it is not. This makes difficult any form of disciplined evaluation of the outcome of training, which has a series of problematic outcomes for psychoanalytic practice, psychoanalytic institutions and the relationship to allied disciplines and professions. In this paper, the author considers how far it might be possible to devise a framework for assessment of training programmes within a disciplined psychoanalytic pluralism. The aspiration is to develop a transparent framework, based on an empirically supported demonstration of analytic capacity. The framework needs to be sensitive and subtle, and to be able to withstand challenge. It needs to take cognisance of the twin facts that there is more than one way to practise psychoanalysis and that it is necessary to avoid ‘anything goes’. Drawing on an ongoing project undertaken by European IPA institutes, the author describes some of the problems colleagues have been experiencing in European institutes, because they have not had available transparent criteria for assessment. He outlines a preliminary form of a proposed method for making more transparent and supportable assessment. The author intends for this paper to inspire hope, enquiry and debate.     

(STILL) DISAGREEING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE: WHICH WAY FORWARD?

Why does climate change continue to be a forceful idea which divides people? What does this tell us about science, about culture, and about the future? Despite disagreement, how might the idea of climate change nevertheless be used creatively? In this essay I develop my investigation of these questions using four lines of argument. First, the future risks associated with human‐caused climate change are severely underdetermined by science. Scientific predictions of future climates are poorly constrained; even more so the consequences of such climates for evolving human socio‐technological and natural ecosystems. Second, I argue that to act politically in the world, people have to pass judgments on the facts of science; facts do not speak for themselves. Third, because these judgments are different, the strategic goals of policy interventions developed in response to risks associated with future climate change are inevitably multiple and conflicting. Finally, reconciling and achieving diverse goals requires political contestation. “Moving forward” on climate change then becomes a task of investing in the discursive and procedural preconditions for an agonistic politics to work constructively, to enable ways of implementing policies when people disagree.     

Extra ecclesiam nulla revelatio?: God’s self-disclosure to non-Christian religions in contemporary Catholic theology

The author explores the conciliar and post-conciliar documents of the Catholic Church in order to draw out the tensions and ambiguities of its position regarding the nature and role of revelation in the origin of non-Christian religions. Within the framework of this position, moderate Catholic theologians have argued that, as other religions have their origins in God’s specific self-disclosure, they differ only in degree from Christianity. Their arguments combined with an in-depth analysis of Church documents yields the conclusion that the position of the Catholic Church is logically amenable to an affirmation of religious pluralism de iure. If the Catholic Church desires to officially reject this conclusion, it must explicitly address the apparent inconsistencies that its own theologians find in this rejection.