scholarly journals 關文讀後——兼談儒家的靈魂與倫理

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-60
Author(s):  
Ruiping FAN
Keyword(s):  
Basic Element ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Religious View ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Digital Commons ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Near Death Experiences

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract in English only.Kwan addresses near death experiences (NDEs) from different perspectives. His attitude is reasonable and humble. Basically, he indicates that scientific studies of NDE can neither prove nor falsify the existence of the soul. Given this circumstance, religious explanations cannot be excluded as unreasonable. He also rightly points out that one may not draw on NDEs to defend only one particular religious view, such as that of Christianity. This commentary essay suggests that it may also be heuristic to study NDE from a Confucian metaphysical perspective. The classical Confucian view considers the basic element of the cosmos to be qi (air/energy 氣), which is believed to be both material and spiritual at the same time. Thus, Confucianism has kept a distance from either Platonic dualism or modern materialistic reductionism. The soul under the Confucian conception includes two parts: the hun (魂the intelligent soul) and the po (魄the animal soul). When a human being dies, “the intelligent soul returns to heaven; the body and the animal soul return to the earth.” Accordingly, it is crucial for Confucians to perform ritual sacrifices to seek the union of a deceased ancestor’s soul. NDE may take place at the moment the hun and po have just separated, but are not yet far from each other.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 54 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

A Study on the Hierarchy of Values

1998 ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong-Keun Min
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Mass Killing ◽  
Regional Society ◽  
Absolute Truth ◽  
The Earth ◽  
It Education ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
The Right

I attempt to look into the issue of the ranks of values comprehensively and progressively. Anti-values can be classified into the following six categories by ascending order: (1) the act of destroying the earth-of annihilating humankind and all other living organisms; (2) the act of mass killing of people by initiating a war or committing treason; (3) the act of murdering or causing death to a human being; (4) the act of damaging the body of a human being; (5) the act of greatly harming society; (6) all other crimes not covered by the above. Higher values can be classified into the following five categories in descending rank: (1) absolute values such as absolute truth, absolute goodness, absolute beauty and absolute holiness; (2) the act of contributing to the development and happiness of humankind; (3) the act of contributing to the nation or the state; (4) the act of contributing to the regional society; (5) the act of cultivating oneself and managing one's family well. Generally, people tend to pursue happiness more eagerly than goodness, but because goodness is the higher value than happiness, we ought to pursue goodness more eagerly. In helping people to get the right sense of values and to internalize it, education and enlightenment of citizens based on the guidance of conscience rather than compulsion will be highly effective.

La riflessione impossibile e il rispecchiamento nel mondo. Dall’esperienza infantile alla surréflexion

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 135-151
Author(s):  
Prisca Amoroso ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Way Of Knowing ◽  
The Moment

This essay builds on two questions: the relation of the child with the other and the child’s way of knowing, in which the resistance of the unreflected is not yet problematized. Through a reconstruction of Merleau-Ponty’s critique of Piaget’s idea of the child’s linear intellectual progression toward reflexive abstraction, I highlight the moment of unreflection by taking up the notion of ultra-thing, which Merleau-Ponty borrows from Henry Wallon. These ultra-things are entities with which the child entertains a vague relation and which always remain at the horizon of her perception without yet being possessed in a representation or grasped in a concept. They include, for example, the sun, the sky, the Earth, the body as an object, existence before the birth of the child – uninhabitable dimensions or, to the contrary, ones that are necessarily inhabited. The concept of ultra-thing has not been sufficiently explored in Merleau-Pontian studies and its importance remains underappreciated. This essay thus formulates a hypothesis about the relation between ultra-things and hyper-reflection.

The Linguistic Tangle in Treatment of the Incarcerated

Metamorphosis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Basic Element ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
The Continuum

This chapter talks about how confinements restrict the body and, through it, mental well-being. Right after the decision from a judge, the person destined for confinement is put in handcuffs; it makes no difference if the application is unnecessary to prevent escape or resistance. It makes no difference because the importance of the moment lies elsewhere. The symbolism in handcuffing initiates the continuum in confinement at the same time that the image of it satisfies retributive alignments. This is all most people see of incarceration. The chapter shows that handcuffing represents the basic element in all of punishment: it visualizes one's helplessness in the hands of others.

scholarly journals Patrystyczna interpretacja Rdz 2, 7: „Pan Bóg ulepił człowieka z prochu ziemi i tchnął w jego nozdrza tchnienie życia”

Vox Patrum ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 141-154
Author(s):  
Bogdan Czyżewski
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
The Body ◽  
Material Body ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Natural Decomposition

The article aims at the presentation of the exegesis of Gen 2:7 made by some early Christian writers. Their interpretation contains three essential elements. Fathers start with pointing out the matter as a material from which God created man. Although the human body undergoes natural decomposition, it is not be­cause of the material from which it is built, but because of its frailty due to sin. Fathers also pay attention to the soul, which has its source in what Genesis calls the breath of God. However, it did not exist before the creation of the material body, as proclaimed by Origen, but was created along with the body. The soul animates the body putting it in motion. Although man was formed from the dust of the earth by the hands of God, he should be seen as a spiritual being. Whereas the soul is created, the body has been formed and this clearly differentiates the two. Due to the greatness and grandeur of man, he cannot be reduced to animal being, as it has a rational soul that animates his body. Finally, the third thread in connec­tion with the exegesis of the Gen 2:7 indicates the union of the body and the soul at the moment of creation. It occurred at the time when God breathed into man’s nostrils and put in some part of his grace. This does not mean, however, that the nature of God has changed into the soul of man. Not only did the first man receive the breath of God – everyone gets a second breath, the Holy Spirit, which leads to the creation of a new humanity.

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 HUMAN BEINGS’ BIRTH, DEATH AND BEYOND

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 404-414
Author(s):  
Y. V. Subba Rao
Keyword(s):  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Subtle Body ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Born Again ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Connecting The Dots ◽  
Human Birth ◽  
Birth Death

Everything in the physical creation, including the human body, is composed of the five great natural elements called ‘Panchabhutas’. These elements have originated in a particular order of ‘akāsh’ (ether) to the last element ‘prithivi’ (earth) and the birth as a human being, which is exceedingly rare, is thus born on earth with its matching fundamental frequency of the earth. As the existing literature is quite unclear regarding the human birth, death and beyond, it is attempted to show a plausible way connecting the dots of the process of birth, death, rebirth and liberation based on vibrations of frequency of mind, word, and deed. The final moments of death, step by step, where these pancha- bhutas are dissolved, in the reverse order of their formation, following the chakra system (wheels of energy) of Kundalini in a human being, similar to DNA, withdrawing the soul from the base (mulādhāra) upwards.  Subtle bodies (sookshma sarira) and soul have infinite possibilities for their onward journey at the moment of death go to the dimension that corresponds to how one lived one’s life on Earth. The subtle body finds its dimension and level of frequency according to merits of purity of the subtle body derived by one’s life’s activities rise to higher lokas for enjoying the fruits of good actions or attain liberation or to be reborn. An enlightened soul attains liberation from bondage as in the case of Swāmi Vivekānanda, and also has the freedom to be born again or not.

scholarly journals Body–Soul and the Birth and Death of Man: Benedict Hesse’s Opinion in the Mediaeval Discussion

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-63
Author(s):  
Wanda Bajor
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Human Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Being ◽  
De Anima ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Immortal Soul ◽  
The Moment

This issue was discussed with regard to chosen commentaries to Aristotle’s treatise De anima, formed in the so-called via moderna mainstream, in particular those of John Buridan, Nicole Oresme and Laurentius of Lindores. In such a context, the Cracovian commentaries referring to Parisian nominalists were presented by those of Benedict Hesse and Anonymus. The analyses carried out above allow one to ascertain that although William of Ockham’s opinion questioning the possibility of knowledge of the soul in the field of philosophy, nominalists of the late Middle Ages did not resign from speculation on the beginning (birth) and the separation (death) from the body of the soul, also the fate of the soul after death. They focused on the nature of the matter – human body (embryo, semen) and his relation with the soul (forma) – in the moment of birth. In the aspect of death 14th century scholars undertook the struggle, which was one with the justification of the psycho-physical unity of the human being existing after death solely as an immortal soul.  In both thems, they tried to find their solutions, while if they could not solve these aporeticals questions – they had the courage to admit, that is not possible by solely relying on the natural forces of reason. They had to refer to the teaching of christianity, without however falling prey to fideism. This was a methodical endeavour based on the experience that natural reason in searching for the truth is not capable of its own efforts to attain to certain concepts and might on occasion err, it is then that faith becomes its guide and supplies it with more acceptable solutions. This is the courage of one of the greatest philosophers – Plato, who said that you have to have this “great courage” to undertake only probable knowledge, when another is not possible.

Sacrifice and Sustainability

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 221-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Key Chapple
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Physical World ◽  
The Body ◽  
Moral Code ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Sustainable Lifestyles ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Web

AbstractSacrifice in the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Christian traditions involves a giving up, a surrendering of something for the sake of a greater good. Sacrifice in times past took the form of a bloody offering. In Christianity this has been replaced with the Eucharist, which promotes human conscience and adherence to a moral code. Sacrifice in the ancient Vedic traditions of India entailed the offering of an animal or the symbolic offering of a human being that correlated bodily parts to functions of society and the cosmos. Sacrifice in India in rare instances still includes the killing of animals. Ritual throughout India, known as Puja, celebrates the body, the senses, and their connection with the physical world through offerings of fruits, flowers, incense, and other ritual objects.The contemporary challenge presented by the need to develop sustainable lifestyles can draw from both traditions of sacrifice. The Mediterranean model urges people to do with less for the sake of a greater good. The Indic model encourages people to recognize the web of relations among humans, nature, and animals and develop sensitivity to the need for the protection of the earth. Both models of sacrifice can serve as inspiration for the development of reasonable patterns for resource management.

Eschatological Expectation in the Works of J. S. Bach

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 217-223
Author(s):  
Jan R. Luth
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Moment

When we look at the texts with which Bach was involved, we discover that eschatology has several meanings. In many texts we find a wish for death, which is the moment in which the body finds rest and the soul is liberated from sin. Dying means also standing before Jesus, not at the day of final judgement, but immediately after death. A difference is made between the body, which is buried, and the soul, which is ascending. Sometimes death is not glorified, because one also knows the pangs of death. However death remains welcome, because all necessities disappear. Dying means going to heaven and enjoying eternal rest. The body is the dress of mortality and is given back to the earth, and then begins the time in which the faithful are with Christ. One can take leave from the sinful world with pleasure. We find this approach—that eternal life starts with dying—much more than eschatology seen as the time of the return of Christ and final judgement. So let us look at the exceptions.

scholarly journals The mental image of lightning in Lithuanian poetry

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Rūta Kazlauskaitė
Keyword(s):  
Mental Image ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Natural Energy ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Specific Manifestation ◽  
Light Green ◽  
Living Being

The aim of the present article is to compose and to evaluate the image of lightning that has been formed in Lithuanian poetry. The fragments of 148 poets’ 509 poems have been analysed. In the poetical worldview lightning is active. It is natural energy. It naturally manifests itself during the warm season and time of day (at evening, at night). Lightning usually acts as a living being (a human being, a reptile, less often as a bird or an ungulate), a plant or as a part of the body of a living being or a plant, an instrument of a living being. Less often lightning manifests itself as fire, water, earth. Lightning is compared and identified with the realities that are characterized by the following features: ‘glowing / bright / heated’, ‘sudden, short’, ‘formed in the heights, above’, ‘moving / moved’, ‘zigzag / twisting’, ‘increasing / branching out’, ‘powerful’, ‘piercing / sharp / hurting’.  The oppositional features ‘dull / extinguishing’, ‘slow, lingering’, ‘formed near the ground, below’, ‘calmed down / settled down’, ‘moving straight’, ‘vanishing, disintegrating’, ‘weak’, ‘streamlined’ show the approaching of lightning to a human being, its identification with a human being. Lightning in fact is defined by three features. The first one – the ability to strike: hit, cut, kick, scald, splash, etc. Lightning changes the current situation: injures or destroys, eliminates the object it points to (for example, cuts and cuts off, splits and splits up, stabs and pierces, burns and burns out). Thus the earth is cleaned up, renewed, refreshed. Lightings as instruments are ruled by the highest god of the Lithuanians, the ruler of nature Perkūnas, such mythical creatures as witch and devil, natural phenomena, the sky, the night, a human being (usually a young woman). The second feature – a specific manifestation or showing up of lightning. The electric current moving from above in zigzag or spiral (the metaphorical verbs bends, curls, twists, etc. are used) pulsates and increases (i.e. shines, flashes and grows, branches out, pours out). The third feature – the glowing and brightness of lightning. A special tone of light is shown by light, green, silver, fiery and similar epithets.  In the broad sense lightning is perceived as strength, life and illumination (the moment of change).  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document