Postmodernism: What One Needs to Know

This essay is an introduction to postmodernism and deconstruction as they relate to the special challenges of scholarship and teaching in the science and religion multidiscipline.     

From dialectic to organization: Bogdanov’s contribution to social theory

This paper situates Bogdanov in the context of social theory generally and socialist theory in particular. It outlines briefly the principal characteristics of his mature system, and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of his approach to the fundamental problems of social thought. The paper devotes particular attention to the problem of just how systems develop from less complex to more complex forms of organization, and evaluates Bogdanov’s solution to this problem against the background of populist, social democratic, and Leninist alternatives.     

外强中瘠、虚饰以财?自我威胁情境下异质性高自尊与物质主义的关系

通过3个研究探讨异质性高自尊与物质主义的关系, 以及在自我威胁情境下异质性高自尊与物质主义的关系是否会发生变化。研究1采用问卷法考察异质性高自尊与物质主义的相关关系, 结果发现, 安全高自尊者的物质主义显著低于脆弱高自尊者; 研究2通过要求不同高自尊者与吸引力高/低的同性进行对比操纵自我威胁, 然后测量外显物质主义, 结果发现, 在吸引力威胁情境下, 安全高自尊者的外显物质主义显著低于脆弱高自尊者的外显物质主义; 研究3通过虚拟的智力测验排名反馈操纵自我威胁, 然后测量内隐物质主义。结果发现, 在智力威胁情境下, 安全高自尊者的内隐物质主义显著低于脆弱高自尊者的内隐物质主义。据此可认为, 异质性高自尊既是解开高自尊与物质主义矛盾关系的切入点, 也是瓦解自我威胁与物质主义正向关系的突破口。     

What a drag it is being relational: Developing planetary identities

Feminists scholars, among others, have long argued for a relational understanding of identity and the self. More recently queer theory and the new materialisms have taken that understanding and placed it within an evolutionary and planetary perspective. As most modern, western understandings of law, politics, and ethics take the individual as the base unit for reflection, what might this relational, planetary identity mean in terms of ethics? This brief essay explores some of the religious and theoretical supports for a relational, planetary self, and then develops a type of ethic that is based upon a critical romanticism for the planet.     

Wilhelm Reich in Soviet Russia: Psychoanalysis,Marxism, and the Stalinist reaction

Abstract

In 1929, Wilhelm Reich lectured on “Psychoanalysis as a natural science” before the Communist Academy in Moscow; he was the only Freudian-trained Central European psychoanalyst to do so. That same year, his article “Dialectical materialism and psychoanalysis” was published in the Academy's journal, Under the Banner of Marxism, in both Moscow and Berlin. By this time, Reich's involvement with political activism aligned with the Austrian Communist Party was increasing, while simultaneously psychoanalysis in the Soviet Union was in decline. Our paper places these events in their proper historical context and includes a discussion of the various attempts to determine the compatibility of psychoanalysis and Marxism. We offer analyses of both the article, “Dialectical materialism and psychoanalysis,” and the lecture, “Psychoanalysis as a natural science,” and the reactions to both by Reich's Russian critics. We show the ways in which responses to his lecture foreshadow what becomes the standard Soviet assessment of psychoanalysis. As an appendix to this paper, we provide the first English translation of the Russian account of his lecture, as published in the Herald of the Communist Academy.     

A new theory of religion? Introducing the review symposium on Manuel A. Vásquez: More Than Belief (2011)

This essay introduces a review symposium on More than Belief: a Materialist Theory of Religion (2011) by Manuel A. Vásquez. The essay outlines the context and summarizes the structure and argument of the book. The author discusses its limitation as a full-blown theory of religion and summarizes the main points of criticism advanced by the other contributions to the review-symposium.     

The role of religion in moderating the impact of life events on material life goals: some evidence in support of terror management theory

How would religion and a life event carrying an existential threat (LEET) jointly impact a person's life goals of becoming wealthy and successful in one's career? Goal reprioritisation, socioemotional selectivity, and gerotranscendence theories predict a shift away from material goals following a LEET, independent of the effect of religion. However, terror management theory (TMT) predicts that the effect of death thoughts depends on one's prevailing cultural values. As religion can be regarded as a culture, it is possible that Christians' and non-believers' material life goals would be differentially altered by LEET. Data from 1259 young Chinese adults reveal no main effect of LEET, but a strong effect of religion. Moreover, there was an interaction effect between LEET and religion on material life goals: LEET weakened material goals for Christians but not for non-believers. These findings suggest that TMT is more suitable than the other theories for predicting life goal changes.     

Looking for happiness in all the wrong places: The moderating role of gratitude and affect in the materialism–life satisfaction relationship

We propose a model that explains the negative relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. We test negative affect as a mediator of the relationship between materialism and dissatisfaction with life, and gratitude and positive affect as moderators of this effect. Self-report data collected from 246 (129 female) undergraduate students generally supported our predictions. The negative relationship between materialism and life satisfaction was mediated in part by an increase in negative affect. Additionally, gratitude – and to a lesser extent, positive affect – functioned as moderators of the effect of materialism on life satisfaction. Individuals high in gratitude showed less of a relationship between materialism and negative affect. Additionally, individuals high in materialism showed decreased life satisfaction when either gratitude or positive affect was low. Thus, negative affect, positive affect, and gratitude seem to be important variables in the relationship between materialism and dissatisfaction with life.     

Millennials’ national and global identities as drivers of materialism and consumer ethnocentrism

ABSTRACT

A major effect of globalization is one that occurs on the self-concept. This is especially the case for young consumers, and particularly for millennials. Despite this cohort’s idiosyncrasies, little attention has been paid to the study of their consumer identities, an important aspect of self-concept. The current research addresses this gap by examining the way millennial consumers’ global and national identities help explain two attitudinal outcomes associated with globalization: materialism and consumer ethnocentrism. Data were collected from millennials in two distinct socio-cultural contexts. A key finding suggests that distinct contexts (i.e., collectivist and ethnically homogeneous vs. individualistic and ethnically diverse) exhibit differences in the formation of materialism and consumer ethnocentrism among millennials. Additionally, results indicate that for similar consumer segments, each context’s configuration of millennials shows differences in global and national identities. Implications for future researchers and practitioners are discussed.