Spatialities of Power and Postmodern Ethics—Rethinking Geopolitical Encounters

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Slater

There is still a tendency in contemporary currents of political theory to marginalize the spatialities of power. In this paper I argue that the development of a critical geopolitical imagination can help to illuminate issues of inside and outside, the transgression of borders, and the subversion of sovereignties, and that these issues are vital to our global understanding of democracy, justice, and ethics. I consider three interrelated questions. First, I emphasize the importance of situating the discussion of justice, equality, and power in a context which is not only transnational but in which a consideration of the geopolitics of power over other non-Western societies is also in the foreground. Second, I examine critically those treatments of ethics and politics that tend to isolate the national from the international, especially when the West is represented as a self-contained entity. Third, in the context of recent discussions on politics and the postmodern, I explore aspects of the ethics of difference and intersubjectivity. This is done against a general background of West–non-West relations, and the impact of geopolitical encounters.

1999 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward F. Findlay

This article examines the ties between the work of Václav Havel and his dissident mentor Jan Patočka. Havel's political theory consists largely of an evocative, literary reformulation of a number of themes developed by Patočka, the student of Husserl and Heidegger generally recognized as the most significant Czech philosopher of the century. Insofar as Patočka's work continues to be ignored in the West, the intuitively appealing essays of Havel will themselves fail to be fully understood. This study offers an analysis of Havel's debt to Patočka, as well as an explication of the latter's political thought. With Patočka's phenomenological interpretation of ancient and contemporary thought, of Socrates and Heidegger, a bridge is built between the classical and the postmodern that seeks to ground ethics and politics without recourse to the foundationalism of metaphysical accounts of reality.


Author(s):  
Daniel A. Bell

This article explores the influence of Confucianism on Anglo-American political theory. It describes two recent developments in contemporary Anglo-American political theory which have allowed for substantial engagement with Confucian political theory and may set the stage for further interest in East Asian political theory more generally. One is the communitarian critique of liberal universalism and the other is the feminist emphasis on the politics of the family. This article discusses East Asian contributions to the debate on universalism versus particularism and to the debate on family and justice.


2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Morteza Karimi-Nia

The status of tafsīr and Qur'anic studies in the Islamic Republic of Iran has changed significantly during recent decades. The essay provides an overview of the state of Qur'anic studies in Iran today, aiming to examine the extent of the impact of studies by Western scholars on Iranian academic circles during the last three decades and the relationship between them. As in most Islamic countries, the major bulk of academic activity in Iran in this field used to be undertaken by the traditional ʿulamāʾ; however, since the beginning of the twentieth century and the establishment of universities and other academic institutions in the Islamic world, there has been increasing diversity and development. After the Islamic Revolution, many gradual changes in the structure and approach of centres of religious learning and universities have occurred. Contemporary advancements in modern sciences and communications technologies have gradually brought the institutions engaged in the study of human sciences to confront the new context. As a result, the traditional Shīʿī centres of learning, which until 50 years ago devoted themselves exclusively to the study of Islamic law and jurisprudence, today pay attention to the teaching of foreign languages, Qur'anic sciences and exegesis, including Western studies about the Qur'an, to a certain extent, and recognise the importance of almost all of the human sciences of the West.


Paragraph ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-350
Author(s):  
Kaya Davies Hayon

This article argues that Mariam uses its eponymous heroine's lived and embodied experiences of veiling to explore the impact of French secular legislation on Muslim schoolgirls' everyday lives in France. Interweaving secularism studies, feminism and phenomenology, I argue that the film portrays the headscarf as the primary means by which its protagonist is able to resist male patriarchal authority and negotiate her hybrid subjectivity. I conclude that Mariam offers a nuanced representation of veiling that troubles the perceived distinctions between Islam and secularism, oppression and freedom, and the veil and feminism in France and the West.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 144-153
Author(s):  
Alexander S. Zapesotsky

Book Review: P.P. Tolochko. Ukraine between Russia and the West: Historical and Nonfiction Essays. Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2018. - 592 pp. ISBN 978-5-7621-0973-4This author discusses the problem of scientific objectivity and reviews a book written by the medievalist-historian P.P. Tolochko, full member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), honorable director of the NASU Institute of Archaeology. The book was published by the Saint Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences in the autumn of 2018. The book presents a collection of articles and reports devoted to processes in Ukraine and, first of all, in Ukrainian historical science, which, at the moment, is experiencing an era of serious reformation of its interpretative models. The author of the book shows that these models are being reformed to suit the requirements of the new ideology, with an obvious disregard for the conduct of objective scientific research. In this regard, the problem of objectivity of scientific research becomes the subject of this review because the requirement of objectivity can be viewed not only as a methodological requirement but also as a moral and political position, opposing the rigor of scientific research to the impact of ideological, political and moral systems and judgments. It is concluded that in this sense the position of P.P. Tolochko can be considered as the act of profound ethical choice.


Author(s):  
Adibah Binti AbdulRahim

ABSTRACT Secularism is the most serious challenge of modernity posed by the West. Its main ideology is to liberate man from the religious and metaphysical values and expel religion from the practical aspect of man’s life. It clearly presents its materialistic viewpoint which is cut off from Divine, Transcendent or Supernatural principles and does not refer to and is isolated from Revelation. In terms of its intensity and scope as well as its discernable effects upon people’s mind, the repercussion of secularism is so pervasive and universal. It gives a great impact on every facet of life including individual and family lives as well as educational, political, economic and social-cultural realm. Most importantly, secularism affects the very tenets of traditional religious beliefs and practices. This paper tries to focus on the danger of secularism and its principles which are contradict to the religious worldview.  


2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-93
Author(s):  
Roger Willett ◽  
Maliah Sulaiman

This paper discusses the impact of western accounting technologies on belief structures such as those of the Islamic faith. It assesses a theory of accounting reporting originally proposed by Baydoun and Willett (1994). It goes on to consider the nature and origins of western materialist philosophy and contrasts the belief structure of Islam with the West. The paper also ex.amines the historical context in which western values became adopted in Muslim societies and discusses the policy issues that confront Islamic accounting standard setters.


2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (08) ◽  
pp. 301-304
Author(s):  
Gavin Reid ◽  
Mark Hughson

Aims and Method We conducted a postal questionnaire survey of the practice of rapid tranquillisation among 215 consultant psychiatrists in the West of Scotland, before and after the withdrawal of droperidol by the manufacturer. Results One hundred and eighty questionnaires (84% of those sent) were returned. Droperidol had been used extensively, often combined with lorazepam, for rapid tranquillisation. The main replacement suggested for droperidol was haloperidol. About half of the respondents to our survey chose to comment on the withdrawal of droperidol. More than half of the comments were unfavourable, including lack of an adequate replacement and lack of consultation with the psychiatric profession. Clinical Implications The abrupt withdrawal of droperidol, partly for commercial reasons, was regrettable. There was no time for an adequate evaluation of possible replacement medications and a lack of consultation with the profession regarding the impact on clinical care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samah W. Al-Jabi ◽  
Ansam Sous ◽  
Fatimah Jorf ◽  
Mahmoud Taqatqa ◽  
Mahdi Allan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The impact of end-stage renal disease on the patient’s psychological status necessitates the value of increasing depression awareness. The current study aimed to assess the depression prevalence among Palestinian hemodialyzed patients and its association with patients’ characteristics. Methods A convenience clustered sampling technique was followed. Sample was collected from ten hemodialysis centers in the West Bank, Palestine, during 3 months in 2015. We used the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale (BDI-II) to evaluate depression among participants. All data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16.0. Results Two hundred and eighty-six hemodialyzed patients were interviewed. The mean age (± standard deviation) of the patients was 52.0 ± 14.3 years, and most participants were males 172 (60.1%). Regarding the dialysis characteristics, the median of years of dialysis was 2 years (1–4). The prevalence of depression was 73.1%. Elderly patients (p = 0.001), female (p = 0.036), living in rural areas or camp (p = 0.032), low income (p = 0.041), unemployment (p = 0.001), not doing regular exercise (p = 0.001), and having multi comorbidities (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with more depression scores. The results of binary logistic regression showed that only patients who were living in camps, patients who were previously employed, and patients who were not practicing exercise remained significantly associated with a higher depression score. Conclusions This study is the first one confirmed about depression and its prevalence among hemodialyzed patients in the West Bank, Palestine. Compared to other communities, the study found a higher depression prevalence rate. There is a need to offer psychological interviews and non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions.


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