Other minds,other people,and human opacity

This paper explains the absence of the problem of other minds in ancient philosophy and links its rise in early modern philosophy with the distinction between primary and secondary qualities and the consequent veil of ideas. The futile struggles of early modern philosophers with the problems is delineated. So too are the incoherent theories of modern neuroscientists and psychologists. The sources of the manifold confusions are pinned down to use and misuse of the concept of mind, to misunderstandings about the nature of the human ability to say how things are subjectively with oneself, to misconstruals of the nature of introspection and self-knowledge, and to the misguided picture of the “inner” and the “outer”. Philosophical misunderstandings about knowledge of other minds has masked the genuine limitations on our knowledge and understanding of our fellow human beings. Some of these rest on ignorance, others on the constitutional indeterminacy of the mental.     

Self-compassion reduces parental burnout: Mediation roles of parental psychological control and support

This study investigated the mediating role of parental psychological control (PPC) and support in the relationship between self-compassion and parental burnout syndrome. The study participants included 1185 Vietnamese parents who completed questionnaires regarding demographic information, parental burnout, self-compassion, parental support of the child, and PPC. We used data analyses, including structural equation modeling, to test the mediation roles of PPC and parental support of the child. Our main findings include: (1) self-compassion had a significant negative effect on parental burnout; (2) the mediation roles of PPC and parental support of the child were also significant. These results suggest that parents with high self-compassion tend to provide more support for children in daily parenting, which helps reduce parental burnout. In contrast, parents with low self-compassion were more likely to use PPC, which exacerbated their burnout. The results from this study provide suggestions for creating effective interventions in the family context to reduce parental burnout and improve parenting effectiveness.     

“Shame: The Misplaced Debt of Structural Sin”

Although sexual violence and economic distress are often understood and responded to as individual problems, they are rooted in and must be understood within the social systems of patriarchy and advanced global capitalism, both of which normalize these traumas. The problem is that social systems divert guilt for structural sin onto individuals in the form of shame, which I argue is the misplaced debt of structural sin. Through narrative and analysis, I demonstrate the problems of silence, judgement, and death associated with the misplaced debt of shame in structural sin. Preliminarily, I suggest that the theology of the cross enables Christians to name structural sin for what it actually is; judge who or what is truly guilty; and remove shame and guilt from survivors to foster flourishing.     

Dreaming a New Future

“Mission from the Margins” is not about the victims but about confronting the forces of marginalization. It is about naming and dismantling cultures and structures that keep the world unjust by legitimizing abuse of human beings and creation. The Ecumenical Conversation “Dreaming a New Future” was an attempt to be enriched by the yearnings for justice, freedom, and life of those who are thus pushed to the margins. It calls the churches to resist the schemes and solutions of those who occupy the centres and instead opt to be signs and symbols of God's reign by partnering with the marginalized in their struggles. As such, “Mission from the Margins” is both a subversive and a creative mission engagement. It insists that our actions of love, reconciliation and unity must critically engage with the dispensers of injustice. This essay proposes Life-centred affirmations and actions, repatterning “sentness,” partnership for justice as a way toward unity, and the need for the church to be a moral force as signposts for the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation and Unity.     

《序卦》研究辨析

本文就唐宋以来对通行本《序卦》的义理与象数两个方面的研究进行了综述,对各种研究的结果进行了考辨。并在前人研究的基础上提出了个人的看法,指出似乎从当时《易经》成书及揲蓍变卦等方面考虑《序卦》之卦序安排,则可能会得到令人信服的结果。     

释《五行》与《系辞》之型

《五行》中的施与型很准确的概括了客体对主体的影响以及主体对客体的反映。《系辞》中的型则是道与器联系的中介,说明人的实践活动就是对于道的模仿。《老子》的“天象无型”已经深刻地概括了自然生成与人工生产的联系与区别。由《老子》到郭店简《五行》、《成之闻之》,再到《系辞》,有关“型”的思想的形成与发展是一脉相承的。     

南北朝禅学

南北朝时代,禅学是佛教的重要修持方式,尤其是在北朝形成了相对稳定的禅师传承关系和禅僧群体,在南朝则是沿着长江两岸和浙东出现多处禅修基地,颇具时代特色。本文拟就南北朝禅学及其特点作一简要的论述。     

“先行组织者”教学策略在中学历史教学中的实验研究

“先行组织者”教学策略是奥苏伯尔提出的一种较为完善的教学理论。该研究运用自然实验的方法对该理论在中学历史教学中的实际效果进行了研究。结果表明:该策略能提高学生的学习与保持效果,而且它对学习的帮助主要是通过提高学生的理解能力而实现的。     

Reviews

Books reviewed:
Unsnarling the World-Knot: Consciousness, Freedom, and the Mind-Body Problem , by David Ray Griffin
Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam , by Talal Asad
This is Biology: The Science of the Living World , by Ernst Mayr
River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life , by Richard Dawkins