scholarly journals 靈魂存在嗎？——瀕死經驗的啟示

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-41
Author(s):  
Kai Man KWAN
Keyword(s):  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Oxygen Deficiency ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Veridical Perception ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Near Death Experiences ◽  
Considerable Support

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.人有靈魂嗎？唯物論與二元論的哲學爭論很複雜，任何一方要徹底駁倒另一方都不容易。隨著醫學進步，近年不少關於瀕死經驗(NDE)的研究為這問題提供不少新的資料。若有一些NDE 被證明是可靠和真實的話，的確會對唯物論構成挑戰。本文會指出對NDE 的認識與醫療照顧（特別是垂危的病人）息息相關，然後探討種種對瀕死經驗的自然主義解釋。生理學理論包括：NDE 純粹是藥物的作用；是缺氧所致等。而心理學理論則包括建構論，人格解體的效應，幻想和想像，或出生時的記憶等。我認為現時還沒有醫學科學或心理學的理論能充分和全面解釋NDE 的現象。我接著探討一些可靠知覺的案例和研究，並指出這對瀕死經驗的可靠性提供相當支持。我的結論是：NDE 的存在是不能抹殺的，而且NDE 對靈魂的存在似乎提供了某程度的支持。Do human beings have a soul? The philosophical debate between materialism and dualism is highly complex, and it is difficult for one side to convince the other. Due to advances in modern medicine, we now have much more research on the phenomena of near-death experiences (NDEs), and these new data provide more information to settle this debate. If some NDEs were shown to be veridical, it would pose a challenge to materialism.This paper is the first to argue that the understanding of NDEs is in fact very relevant to medical care, especially the care of terminally ill patients. I explore various naturalistic explanations of NDEs. Physiological theories appeal to the effects of drugs or oxygen deficiency. Psychological theories include constructivism, the defense mechanism of depersonalization, and the appeal to fantasy. I argue that these theories cannot provide an adequate explanation of the phenomena of NDE. I then examine cases of veridical perception in NDE and review the related research. I argue that these cases provide considerable support for the veridicality of at least some NDEs. I finally conclude that we should not dismiss the significance of NDEs and that they seem to provide some support for the existence of the soul.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 3681 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

scholarly journals 再論瀕死經驗的可信性——探索一些常見的質疑

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-84
Author(s):  
Kai Man KWAN
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Scientific Explanations ◽  
Reasonable Belief ◽  
Life After Death ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Death Experience ◽  
Near Death Experiences ◽  
Academic Debate

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.筆者在2016 年撰文探討瀕死經驗 (Near-death Experience-NDE) 的可信性，指出還沒有充分證據支持「醫學科學或心理學的理論能充分和全面解釋NDE 的現象」這觀點，我也認為「NDE 的存在是不能抹殺的，而且NDE 似乎提供了某程度證據顯示，心靈的存在能獨立於身體存在，所以死後生命的可能性是不能輕率否定的。」但我從未說過我能絕對證明NDE 的可信性，也肯定「學術的爭辯還會繼續，更多的研究也須進行」。劉彥方與冼偉林對我作出回應，且基本上採取批判的態度，及偏向懷疑瀕死經驗的可信性。我在此文對他們作出回應，一方面指出他們對我的一些誤解，另一方面繼續探討他們對瀕死經驗的質疑，例如瀕死經驗個案的可靠性、對瀕死經驗的科學解釋以及一些方法論問題等等。我再次重申，我並沒有宣稱我能絕對證明NDE 的可信性，但認為「相信最少有一些NDE 是可靠的」，是一個合理的信念(reasonable belief) ，而劉彥方與冼偉林的批判，並未能推翻這點。The author argued for the credibility of at least some near-death experiences (NDEs) in a previous paper (Kwan 2016), pointing out the lack of sufficient evidence to support the claim that physiological or psychological theories had already fully explained the entire NDE phenomenon. The author proposes that we should not dismiss the existence of NDEs, and states that they seem to offer some support for the ability of the soul to exist independently of the body. Thus, we should not dismiss the possibility of life after death. However, the author has never claimed that he can absolutely demonstrate the veridicality of NDE, and he has explicitly stated that the academic debate will continue and more research should be conducted.In their previous writings, Dr. Joe Lau and Dr. William Sin doubted the credibility of NDEs.In this paper, the author responds to their criticisms, clarifying some of their misunderstandings and further exploring their doubts about NDE, such as the reliability of NDE reports, the scientific explanations of NDE, and some methodological issues.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 177 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

scholarly journals Animal Rights: A Philosophical Evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Issue 4) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
Innocent Sanga
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
Moral Status ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
General Overview ◽  
Christian Perspective

Animal right is one of the most controversial issues in the contemporary world. A number of scholars have been discussing on whether the animals have rights like human beings or not. Through this debate, their opinions can be put into three groups; those who deny animal moral status, those who give some moral considerations to animals but deny them a fuller moral status, and those who extend rights to animals. This paper then gives a general overview on ‘Do Animals have Rights?’ It gives the meaning of the term “right” and explains whether the term right applies to animals too. It also portrays a drama whereby animals complain against sufferings imposed on them by human beings and a response given by a human being. It is also followed by philosophical debate on animal rights: pro and cons arguments. The Christian perspective is not left out. Finally, the paper ends with critical evaluations and conclusion. In evaluation of the debate on animal rights, the study found that, animals deserve to be treated well based on the argument that they have rights as animals. The main recommendation is that human beings should change their perception concerning animals by respecting animal.

scholarly journals PP2Ac Modulates AMPK-Mediated Induction of Autophagy in Mycobacterium bovis—Infected Macrophages

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 6030
Author(s):  
Hussain ◽  
Zhao ◽  
Shah ◽  
Sabir ◽  
Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Kinase Inhibitor ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ampk Signaling ◽  
Autophagy Induction ◽  
Wide Range

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis in cattle population across the world. Human beings are at equal risk of developing tuberculosis beside a wide range of M. bovis infections in animal species. Autophagic sequestration and degradation of intracellular pathogens is a major innate immune defense mechanism adopted by host cells for the control of intracellular infections. It has been reported previously that the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2Ac) is crucial for regulating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated autophagic signaling pathways, yet its role in tuberculosis is still unclear. Here, we demonstrated that M. bovis infection increased PP2Ac expression in murine macrophages, while nilotinib a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) significantly suppressed PP2Ac expression. In addition, we observed that TKI-induced AMPK activation was dependent on PP2Ac regulation, indicating the contributory role of PP2Ac towards autophagy induction. Furthermore, we found that the activation of AMPK signaling is vital for the regulating autophagy during M. bovis infection. Finally, the transient inhibition of PP2Ac expression enhanced the inhibitory effect of TKI-nilotinib on intracellular survival and multiplication of M. bovis in macrophages by regulating the host’s immune responses. Based on these observations, we suggest that PP2Ac should be exploited as a promising molecular target to intervene in host–pathogen interactions for the development of new therapeutic strategies towards the control of M. bovis infections in humans and animals.

scholarly journals Palliative Care in Turkish Medical History

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alparslan Koç
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Medical History ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Quality Life ◽  
Medicine Today ◽  
The Moment

From the moment that human beings begin perceiving the value of life, they have also started to strive for the continuation of life. It would not be wrong to divide Turkish societies into three parts as sociological history. Turkish social life before Islam, the differences in the social structure with Islam, and Europe's social structure with the westernization influx with the end of the 19th century can be examined. Health system and patient care was also greatly affected by these processes. Health care, which was carried on with Shamanism and Herbalism in the old Turkish states and continued with bimarhanes and darüssifas, and health professionals have been mobilized to serve the society with the opportunities of modern medicine today. Acute and chronic diseases that occur with the continuation of life make it difficult to lead a quality life. This process can sometimes be painful. Palliative care is also useful in chronic diseases whose mortality has decreased with successful treatment methods recently applied, but which impairs the quality of life due to the disease. Thus, this process, which puts the patient's relatives psychologically, socially, and financially difficult, and the patient, can be managed more easily. Although it started with reducing and caring for cancer patients' pain, palliative care has now become a necessity in all areas of clinical practice. Our aim in this review is to examine the development process of the concept of palliative care in Turkish medical history.

scholarly journals 新冠疫情背景下的人類命運共同體探析

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Junxiang LIU ◽  
Qiang YUE ◽  
Xiaomu MA
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Pursuit Of Happiness ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Continuous Progress ◽  
The Common ◽  
And Control ◽  
Health And Well Being

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.The COVID-19 pandemic requires people and political bodies to reflect on the abundant and complicated relationships between human beings, governments, and organizations. We hold that Prof. Sass emphasizes the urgency and necessity of the view that “life is interconnected.” With the continuous progress of globalization, mankind has become an interdependent community with a shared future. However, global cooperation and communication face numerous challenges due to the diversity of cultures, national conditions, and competing interests. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven individuals and political bodies to discuss effective measures and control the disaster together, which demands that a basic consensus be reached on how to manage the tension between individual freedom and interests and public health and well-being. Even more importantly, the pursuit of happiness is the common goal of mankind. Solidarity and mutual aid are required to create a stable, harmonious, healthy, and orderly community. Chinese traditional philosophy can contribute some wisdom and strategies to build similar but not identical bodies and societies. DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 8 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

scholarly journals 大疫當前: 訴諸儒家文明的倫理資源

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-107
Author(s):  
Ruiping FAN
Keyword(s):  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Confucian Virtue ◽  
Human Practices ◽  
Chinese Ethics ◽  
Political Decisions

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.本文論證對於新冠狀病毒疫情只做政治學論證是不夠的，還需要倫理學的反思，因為一個社會的倫理價值承諾才是對其現實政治的一種基礎性指導而不是相反。中華傳統文化的倫理精神同現代西方文化的倫理精神大異其趣。如果突出其不同特點的話，可以分別標識為儒家的天命美德倫理及其家庭主義與和諧主義的特點，針對現代的世俗原則倫理及其原則主義與自由主義的特點。東亞國家對於這次疫情的應對，至少在疫情明顯出現之後，總體上處理得較之西方國家更好，背後實有不同的倫理精神的反應和支撐。本文訴諸儒家美德倫理學的資源，宣導人類進行倫理學的範式轉向：我們需要和諧主義（而不是科學主義）的發展觀、美德主義（而不是原則主義）的決策觀、家庭主義（而不是契約主義）的天下觀。的確，不少人憂慮，這次疫情將會扭轉近些年的全球化發展趨勢，使國際社會進入互相敵對的、封閉的惡性競爭時代。儒家美德倫理學所攜帶的美德、和諧和和平的資訊，應該給予我們深遠的啟示。Why have some countries done better than others in dealing with the coronavirus crisis so far? One popular answer is in terms of politics: everything depends on state capacity, the level of political trust in society, and the quality of leadership. This paper suggests the need to go beyond politics and turn to ethics. If one does not delve into the ethical spirit and substance that underlie tangible political decisions and activities to combat the coronavirus pandemic in a state, one will fail to see the cultural momentum of the people’s responses in that state and miss the moral foundation of the social practices embedded within that state’s civilization in comparison with other civilizations. In particular, this paper argues that the spirit and substance of Chinese ethics differ from those of the contemporary mainstream Western ethics characteristic of secular principlism, which, although they possess important advantages and merits, suffer from a series of defects and failures, including untenable reductionism, a type of dogmatism, and even radicalism. In contrast, Confucian civilization provides the Chinese with a virtue ethics that is not principlism. It is rather an exposition of Confucian virtue (de), as a powerful but peaceful moral force, that is entrenched within the fundamental structures of the universe (as portrayed in the images of yin-yang, the eight trigrams, and the 64 hexagrams in the Classic of Change) and within the ritual activities of human beings (as described in the ceremonial and minute rituals in the three Confucian ritual classics) to shape the Confucian moral character. Confucian virtue principles and rules are implicit in such structures and the rituals to be formulated in connection with them, but they cannot be created through pure reason. They play their roles in human practices along with structures and rituals but can never exhaust their richness and profundity. The paper indicates that this virtue ethics contains a Confucian notion of harmonious freedom (that can counter scientific determinism) and a familist ethic (that can be adopted to check and balance runaway contractualism), which can be fruitfully used to direct political decisions and activities to combat the coronavirus pandemic and to accomplish peaceful and fruitful outcomes in society.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 9 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

scholarly journals 經絡現象研究的沉寂與出新

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Chengzhong LIU
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
Physical Basis ◽  
Clinical Neurology ◽  
Anatomical Structures ◽  
Research Orientation ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Patient Will ◽  
Tremendous Amount

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.經絡現象主要指循經感傳。它的表現形式是當向人體上施加一點刺激時，其所產生的定位覺會緩慢地移動走行，或者走行到軀體的病灶 處，或者走行到頭頂。它的走行軌跡呈現為特殊的分佈形式，在中華醫學中被稱為經絡。從現代醫學的角度來看，循經感傳的科學稱呼應該是移動性定位覺或知覺延伸。這是一個很常見但卻不被人們所認識的高等臨床神經學現象。多年來，誤認為循經感傳的軌跡是一個有結構的管道，曾經投入大量的人力與財力企圖找到它的實物或物質基礎，但卻是遠遠失敗，使中國的經絡現象研究陷入沉寂。《臨床經絡現象學》與《高等臨床神經學》兩本書的出版；季鍾樸學術思想的成熟與彰明；以經絡現象為研究對象與「透過現象看本質」的正確路線的被承認；經絡研究新一輪五年計劃的啟動。中國的經絡現象研究正在走向出新。Channel-phenomenon (or jingluo phenomenon, in Chinese) is a special sensational phenomenon discovered by traditional Chinese medicine over two thousand years ago. When stimulating certain points on a patient's skin, the patient will have a sensation moving along specifiable routes, terminating at the location of disease or the top of the head. With a definite distribution pattern on the human body, such specifiable routes are named jingluo by traditional Chinese medicine and constitute the theoretical and practical basis for the treatment of acupuncture. In modern medicine, this propagated sensation along channels can be called "moving topesthesia", or "perceptual extension."For many years researchers on channel-phenomenon had concentrated their efforts on attempting to discover a concrete tubing structure below the specified routes. They wanted to find an observable anatomical structure or particular physical basis so as to ground the channel-phenomenon on a solid basis. According to their understanding, the essence of channel-phenomenon had to lie in particular anatomical tubes as a physical basis. Without such a physical basis, the channel-phenomenon could not have real objective existence. However, although tremendous amount of labor and energy were invested in the hope of finding particular anatomical tubes for channels, it was done in vain. Consequently, Chinese intellectual research on channel-phenomenon came to silence.However, it is mistaken to believe that the essence of channel-phenomenon has to lie in a particular physical basis. The propagated sensation along channels as a phenomenon has been there for thousands of years and continue to be confirmed by patients in the present time. Why must research on channel-phenomenon be separated from patients’ vivid experiences and instead be focused only on looking for special anatomical structures? On reflection, it happened that some had held a very narrow-minded and simplified notion of objectivity. Indeed, objectivity does not always require a particular physical basis. Patients’ experiences and feelings are equally objective facts for intellectual research.Fortunately, as we can learn from the lessons and experiences we had in the past, we will readjust our research orientation. With the recent publication of the two new books about higher clinical neurology in the field, it looks that the research on channel-phenomenon will encounter its renaissance.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 38 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

scholarly journals TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF COPING STRATEGIES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

2021 ◽  
pp. 93-97
Author(s):  
Deepak Kumar Gupta ◽  
Dr.Bhartendra Sharma ◽  
Dr.Surendra Kumar Meena ◽  
Dr.Neha Jain
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Key Words Autism ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

An understanding of how human beings cope with stressful situation represents an important dimension for understanding families with an exceptional child. The Psychiatric Dictionary defines defense mechanism as “the means by which the organism protects itself against impulses and threats” (Hensie and Campbell 1970). KEY WORDS –Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD).

scholarly journals 瀕死經驗的解釋及其在哲學上的限制

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
William SIN
Keyword(s):  
Good Reason ◽  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
Experiential Content ◽  
Exact Moment ◽  
Near Death Experiences

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.The objective of this paper is to reject Kwan’s claim in his paper “Does the Soul Exist? What Near-Death Experiences Reveal.” As Kwan draws heavily on references from Pim van Lommel, I also reject van Lommel’s position. Kwan and van Lommel’s claim is that the phenomenon of NDE supports the view that people’s experiential content and their consciousness exist independently of their physical bodies. I raise three objections to Kwan. First, I argue that there is a fundamental difference between life and death; therefore, the phenomena of NDE may give us little idea of whether some form of experience exists after death. Second, there is no evidence that an NDE happens at the exact moment the patient’s body shuts down. Third, the potential biological and physiological explanations of NDE are excluded by Kwan and van Lammel without good reason, and the explanations they offer to replace them are far from convincing.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 181 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

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