scholarly journals The Concept of Abhisamaya in Indian Mahāyāna Philosophy

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Sergey L. Burmistrov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Principles ◽  
Buddhist Teaching ◽  
Sentient Beings ◽  
Radical Transformation ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Ideal

Buddhist term abhisamaya is usually translated as insight or direct intuitive realization. Hināyāna texts treat it as a synonym for other terms de-noting the realization of the essence of Buddhist teaching. In Mahāyāna treatises it is interpreted as an intuitive recognition of the fact of the verity of Buddhist teaching before the logical realization of the basis of this verity. This recognition is the support for further logical comprehension of the essence of Buddhist teaching. It necessarily entail radical transformation of the person according to the moral principles of Buddhism. Therefore the knowledge acquired through this intuitive realization, unlike mundane knowledge, can never be lost. The question as to whether this abhisamaya gives the knowledge of entire Buddhist teaching or just its different parts that must be comprehended in a given stage of the Buddhist path was given different answers by Mahāyāna thinkers, but common idea was that this path is divided into stages and prelogical recognition is necessarily precedes logical com-prehension. The highest form of this intuitive realization is the realization of the bodhisattva ideal – the ideal of a person who refuses to be absorbed in nirvāṇa for salvation other sentient beings from saṃsāra. The acceptance of this ideal was treated in Mahāyāna as a necessary prerequisite for any intuitive realization of Buddhist Dharma

The Rule of Law: The New Leviathan?

1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olufemi Taiwo
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Global Level ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Ordering ◽  
Soviet Communism ◽  
Just Society ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Ideal

These are the best of times for the Rule of Law. In all parts of the world, states, governments, and individuals, have found in the rule of law, at various times, a rallying cry, a principle of social ordering that promises the dawn of a just society that its supporters in Euro-American democracies claim to be its crowning glory, or a set of practices that is a sine qua non of a good society. The pursuit of the ideal is nothing new: after all, even those states where it was observed more often in its breach always paid lip service to it. And the defunct socialist countries of Eastern Europe, while they existed, could not escape its lure even as they sought to give it a different nomenclature—socialist legality. The movement towards the rule of law has accelerated after the collapse of Soviet communism and its foster progeny in different parts of the world. Given the present momentum towards the rule of law and the widespread enthusiasm with which it is being embraced and pursued at the global level, some would consider it somewhat churlish for anyone to inject any note of doubt or caution. This is more so when such a note emanates from Marxist quarters. But that is precisely what I wish to do in this essay. Although I do not intend to rain on the rule of law’s entire parade, I surely propose to rain on a segment of it: the Marxist float. I propose to look at the issue within the context of the Marxist politico-philosophical tradition.

The Changing Way of the Bodhisattva

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbra R. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Social Activist ◽  
Altruistic Motive ◽  
Modern View ◽  
Canonical Texts ◽  
Sentient Beings ◽  
The Ideal

This chapter explores the nature of the connections between contemporary understandings of the bodhisattva path as socially engaged, and the canonical Mahāyāna tradition in India—the Ugraparipṛcchā-sūtra and the works of Śāntideva. These canonical treatments of the bodhisattva’s career are compared with a contemporary understanding as reflected in the commentary on Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra by Pema Chödrön. This analysis reveals distinct visions of the bodhisattva, from the Ugra’s elite superhero, to Śāntideva’s saintly bodhisattva, to the modern view of the bodhisattva as social activist. The career of the bodhisattva is furthermore shown to involve a range of types of social engagement. While the canonical texts support the ideal of imbuing all daily activities with an altruistic motive, as well as endorsing selfless service to meet the needs and wants of sentient beings, only the contemporary reading of the bodhisattva path advocates social action to address systemic causes of collective suffering.

scholarly journals Philosophical conceptualization of evil in the ethical space of Confucianism

2021 ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Aleksei Ivanovich Aleksandrov ◽  
Andrei Andreevich Kovalev
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Virtuous Life ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Ethical Space

The subject of this research is the philosophical conceptualization of evil in the Confucianism. This goal is achieved by solving the following tasks: 1) assessment of Confucianism as a synthesis of the philosophical views of Confucius and Mencius; 2) determination of good and evil as  the contrasting concepts in the ethical space, which is based on the ideal of a “person of high nature” Junzi and the real world of a “petty person"; 3) evaluation of evil as the antipode of good, which is based on the sense of duty and regard of moral rules. The novelty of this research consists in the first within the Russian historical-philosophical literature comparative analysis of the views of Confucius and Mencius upon the nature of evil, examination of the genesis of such representations, and their relevance for modern philosophy. Representations on the nature of good and evil of Confucius and Mencius are based on the contrast within the ethical space of the ideal of a “gentleman” (due) and the reality of a “petty person”. The virtue of a “gentleman” is a means of achieving good; and the virtuous life leads to prosperity of the country. Evil of a “petty person” captured by selfish motives, leads to social demise and political disintegration. Mecius applies same moral principles, which govern the individual’s everyday life, to the political sphere of social existence. The thinker underlines circumscription of the monarchs, indicating that even the monarch – if not a “gentleman”, but merely a “petty person” – can be corrupted by evil, in which case the country faced demise.

scholarly journals Geographical Analysis of Ruralization Phenomenon in Rania City and Impact on Their Urban Enviroment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-109
Author(s):  
Bestun Ahmed Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Geography ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Urban Issues ◽  
Infrastructure Services ◽  
The City ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Ideal

Ruralization of Urban areas is one of the most important topics of Urban Geography as it is one of the issues of urban areas and a major contributor to other urban issues; therefore, researchers need to look at this issue with caution. Ranya city has experienced this issue to a great extent mostly due to population growth and urban expansion. Ruralization has caused major issues such as infrastructure issues in terms of education, health, transportation and increased crime rates in different parts of the city. This research addresses this issue and aims to investigate the causes and characteristics of ruralization in Ranya city. This effort will help the local government to look for solution to address this issue. This research has used descriptive and analytical methods.The research concludes that ruralization has caused some drastic consequences when it comes to providing and delivering different public and infrastructure services. The paper recommends to authorities that preparing a master plan for the city would be the ideal resolution for this issue and other issues in the city.

scholarly journals MORAL IDEAL-BASED QUR`AN INTERPRETATION ACCORDING TO SHĀṬIBĪ’S CONCEPT OF MAQĀṢID AL-SHARĪ’AH

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Wardani Wardani ◽  
Majed Fawzi Abu Ghazalah ◽  
Mazlan Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Moral Ideal ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
Historical Interpretation ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Moral Dimensions ◽  
The Ideal

The interpretation of the Qur`an has been frequently subjected to exploring legal aspects of verses, regardless of their underlying ethical bases. The goals of Islamic doctrines called as maqāṣid al-sharī'ah provide ethical judgements that can be functioned for this sake. Unfortunately, they have been applied just for legal formulation. This article employs Fazlur Rahman’s theory of distinction between legal-specific and moral-ideal of Qur`anic doctrines. This perspective will be used to analyze moral dimensions of Shāṭibī’s maqāṣid. In this article, it will be argued that the moral principles extracted from these goals can be functioned as the paradigm for interpreting the Qur`an. There are two models of moral value-based interpretation that can be developed. The first is ethical-historical interpretation. This interpretation aims to understand the verses of the Qur'an in the light of a historical context as the starting point, not only based on background or reason behind the verse that respond the historical situation, but also based on the moral message extracted from these ends. The second is the ethic-contextual interpretation. It is an interpretation that is projected to respond current issues by applying three interacting sides; present situations, the literary context, and the ideal-moral paradigm drawn from these ends.

scholarly journals The Ideal Romantic Partner Morality

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Oda ◽  
Kanako Hayashi
Keyword(s):  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Romantic Partner ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Group Breeding ◽  
The Ideal

Assortative mating must be important for maintaining morality in a population, as moral principles are shared by most people in a group. Breeding by a pair with similar morals results in genetic and cultural transmission of these morals to the next generation, which maintains the moral norms of the group. In this study, we investigated absolute and relative mate preferences in relation to particular moral foundations, as represented by five general moral values. In both sexes, correlations between ratings for self and an ideal romantic partner on these factors were rather high (.67  ≤ r ≤ .84). Differences between self-ratings and ratings for the ideal romantic partner did not deviate significantly from zero for any of these factors.

"Bodhisattva-icchantika": On the problem of the state of bodhisattva in Mahayana

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-377
Author(s):  
S. L. Burmistrov
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Buddhist Teaching ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Sentient Beings

According to Buddhist teaching icchantikas are sentient beings that cut off their roots of merit (abilities to free themselves from three basic vices, greed, hatred and ignorance). In Hinayana doctrine icchantikas are doomed to be in samsara forever, without hope of deliverance. But in Mahayana even those who had cut off their roots of merit can restore them due to the infinite compassion of bodhisattvas and attain nirvana at last. Bodhisattva, knowing the illusoriness of the difference between nirvana and samsara, rises above it and can act in samsara for the salvation of all sentient beings without losing the state of enlightenment. So bodhisattva is similar to icchantikas in that he intentionally refuses to leave samsara, but, unlike them, his motive is not depravity but great compassion (mahakaruna). Paradoxical phrase “bodhisattva-icchan-tika” is a rhetorical method aimed at the activation of hearer's or reader's attention in order to let him to fully comprehend the essence of the teaching and promote him to the attainment of nirvana.

Utilitarianism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Chappell
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Average Utility ◽  
A Charge ◽  
The Right ◽  
Common Sense Morality ◽  
Sentient Beings

Utilitarianism is a theory about rightness, according to which the only good thing is welfare (wellbeing or ‘utility’). Welfare should, in some way, be maximized, and agents are to be neutral between their own welfare, and that of other people and of other sentient beings. The roots of utilitarianism lie in ancient thought. Traditionally, welfare has been seen as the greatest balance of pleasure over pain, a view discussed in Plato. The notion of impartiality also has its roots in Plato, as well as in Stoicism and Christianity. In the modern period, utilitarianism grew out of the Enlightenment, its two major proponents being Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Hedonists, believing that pleasure is the good, have long been criticized for sensualism, a charge Mill attempted to answer with a distinction between higher and lower pleasures. He contended that welfare consists in the experiencing of pleasurable mental states, suggesting, in contrast to Bentham, that the quality, not simply the amount, of a pleasure is what matters. Others have doubted this conception, and developed desire accounts, according to which welfare lies in the satisfaction of desire. Ideal theorists suggest that certain things are just good or bad for people, independently of pleasure and desire. Utilitarianism has usually focused on actions. The most common form is act-utilitarianism, according to which what makes an action right is its maximizing total or average utility. Some, however, have argued that constantly attempting to put utilitarianism into practice could be self-defeating, in that utility would not be maximized by so doing. Many utilitarians have therefore advocated non-utilitarian decision procedures, often based on common sense morality. Some have felt the appeal of common sense moral principles in themselves, and sought to reconcile utilitarianism with them. According to rule-utilitarianism, the right action is that which is consistent with those rules which would maximize utility if all accepted them. There have been many arguments for utilitarianism, the most common being an appeal to reflective belief or ‘intuition’. One of the most interesting is Henry Sidgwick’s argument, which is ultimately intuitionist, and results from sustained reflection on common sense morality. The most famous argument is Mill’s ‘proof’. In recent times, R.M. Hare has offered a logical argument for utilitarianism. The main problems for utilitarianism emerge out of its conflict with common sense morality, in particular justice, and its impartial conception of practical reasoning.

Orchestral Layout and the Best Concert Seats

2019 ◽  
pp. 221-240
Author(s):  
Peter Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Time Lags ◽  
Sound Emission ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Power Difference ◽  
New Instruments ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Ideal

Orchestras have grown larger over the last 200 years, with more volume, and many new instruments. There are time lags produced between playing and arrival at a seat in the audience. This can produce a disconnect between the visual actions and when the note that is heard. Worse is that notes from different parts of the orchestra, or after reflections, will blur and overlap. The pattern of sound emission differs noticeably between instruments (e.g. for a trumpet, or singer, power is sent forward at high frequencies). Power levels along a row of seats can differ by as much as 1000 times (we hear this power difference as just eight times, as our hearing scale is logarithmic). Understanding this allows us to select the ideal seat if we like particular instrumental sounds.

On the Importance of Species for Rule-Consequentialism: A Reply to Galvão

Utilitas ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190
Author(s):  
EZE PAEZ
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Rule Consequentialism ◽  
Sentient Beings ◽  
The Ideal

Pedro Galvão claims that, on the ideal rule-consequentialist code, all sentient humans have rights, whereas animals do not. Because agents are not impartial, total well-being would be lower if they were aware of a general disposition to harm in order to promote the good. Animals cannot be aware of that disposition, so it would be justified to harm them when that is best. Galvão also claims it is wrong to help an animal, even when optimific, if that harms another animal. I argue he is misguided. First, impartial agents would err in the moral calculus, causing falsely optimific harms. To compensate for that, all sentient individuals must have rights – though those protecting some humans may be stronger. Second, when helping is optimific, it is at least permitted. Moreover, since most sentient beings are wild animals with net negative lives, agents should be generally disposed to intervene in nature on their behalf.

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