scholarly journals Sport: the Treasure of Temperance

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jernej Pisk

Sport: the Treasure of TemperanceThe modern lifestyle, with its emphasis on enjoyment and immoderation, could lead a human being to the point where he is not a master of himself anymore. Inner desires and outer pressures force a man to take those actions that are not in accordance with his rational human nature and that are not good for him. According to the classical philosophical view of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, this clearly shows the inner slavery of modern man. Temperance, moderation or asceticism today seem old fashioned and unnecessary virtues; nevertheless, it is obvious that many problems of modern societies have roots in the absence of these virtues. These problems include a high percentage of obese population, different addictions and other health problems concerning the immoderate life style. It seems that nowadays enjoyment is the highest imperative for the individual and for society as a whole. However, these days it is possible to recognize the revival of these virtues. This paper points out the case of sport where these virtues are still cultivated and highly appreciated. At first this may seem somehow strange, because many times sport is perceived as connected with pleasure, fun and excess, but in reality sport demands much of participants. It could be even said that professional athletes are modern ascetics, and a big part of recreational sport is all but not enjoyment. In conclusion we can assert that virtues acquired in the field of sport can indeed help a human being to live a better life in general.

Author(s):  
Douglas J. Den Uyl ◽  
Douglas B. Rasmussen

This chapter argues against the claim advanced by Daniel Haybron, Daniel C. Russell, and Mark LeBar that human self-perfection is ultimately based on notions of well-being and human flourishing that we bring to our understanding of human nature and in favor of the idea that it is human nature itself that ultimately grounds our understanding of human well-being or human flourishing. In doing so, the question of whether there is some gap between (a) what it is to be a good human being and (b) what is good for a human being is addressed. It is shown that the arguments on behalf of a such a gap fail and that the version of perfectionism that is advanced—that is, individualistic perfectionism—is ideally suited to not only avoid such a gap but also to display their unity, especially when perfection is understood as a process of living things and not as some cosmic or metaphysical process.


Author(s):  
Kristin Gjesdal

It is difficult to accept that Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), an influential philosopher of history, language, and culture, was a prolific preacher and clergyman. His apparent Spinoza connection, his agreement with the pre-critical Kant, and his alleged naturalism seem to contradict his unquestioning acceptance of God. But when the human being is considered as the middle point a reconstruction of Herder devoid of this dichotomy is possible. Herder’s religious anthropology understands human beings both as historical and religious beings, which gives rise to his rejection of Christianity in its actuality as the sole future religion. The church raised itself above the individual and destroyed religions, cultures, and languages, whereas Herder’s notion of human religion—for him a universal concept—allows individual nations, cultures, languages, and religions to remain particular. Central for the argument are Herder’s Christliche Schriften (1793–8), the Ideen (1801–4), and the Adrastea (1801–4).


Author(s):  
May Sim

Aristotle’s phronimos and Mencius’s sage are the paragons of virtue. They exemplify practical wisdom, enabling them to perform virtuous actions called for in different situations, and are the concrete models of virtue for all human beings, without whom others would not be able to cultivate their virtues. Aristotle and Mencius are also alike in holding that the virtues of character are based on human nature, and cultivation is key to achieving them. Despite these similarities, they differ in their accounts of human nature, details on the virtues, and how they are cultivated. Whether being the phronimos or the sage is the highest good for a human being, the degree of effectiveness he has on fellow citizens and the rest of the cosmos are issues about which they would disagree. Exploring similarities and differences between the phronimos and the sage will shed light on nature and nurture in their virtue-oriented ethics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid C Bernard

This article explicates Spinoza’s terms of self-preservation1 as his philosophical view in his book “Ethics”2 (published in 1677), written in a geometrical method. Generally, self-preservation refers to attention on the needs or desires of an individual self. The term self-preservation is often used simply to denote the attitude of caring about one’s own good. It is a view that human beings are always motivated by self-preservation, which is a necessity view of life. Spinoza has a broader view of the term. He identified self-preservation as the ultimate aim and proper motive of morality. His philosophical view of self-preservation is a more enlightened self-preservation, which shows that acting for one's own self-preservation can also serve others. Spinoza emphasized that the concepts of good, virtue, into perfection, have a ground in every human being, whilst evil is a condition in which virtue in ordinary people is still in its early unfoldment. Ordinary individuals tend not to undergo rigorous life and therefore they become preys for their passive emotions. According to Spinoza: evil actions are the result of ignorance. Therefore, he emphasized that individuals good potentials must be developed. The higher the individual understanding is, the more the individual has the power to propel himself from within, to enlighten himself, but also to help and bring happiness to others. He argued that an individual’s goodness will inspire others to achieve contenment. The difference of self-preservation term with other philosophical views of it can be observed through his propositions in his “Ethics”. Spinoza’s understanding of the importance of self-preservation, by improving one’s rational ability, is an exclusive view in his era, and can still be an inspiration to individuals today.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 205-230
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Kashchuk

In St. Maximus the Confessor’s teaching human nature consists of the soul and the body, in which logos of power that unifies them together is inscribed. Human nature manifests itself in the individual human being. The human being as the body and the soul naturally longs for God. This longing is fulfilled by the movement, which is connected to dynamism of the entire human structure. The dynamism is inscribed in the mind, reason, spirit, will, sense, passionate powers and body. The dynamic aspiration for God does not imply getting rid of any of the human elements, even passionate and bodily, but on the contrary, it demands ap­preciation and proper use of all the natural powers of the human being. Maximus the Confessor treats the human being as a whole. The human is not only mind, reason and spirit, but also will, sense, passionate powers and body. The dynamism of mental and spiritual sphere should be extended in the senses, passionate pow­ers and body, so that the body also becomes the source of virtues, and is deified together with the soul through unity with the Absolute. This unity as the goal of human longing will never be static, but dynamic, because the fulfillment of this longing is the state with eternal movement. So human being will constantly strive for even more perfect unity with God. Through this unity the human being becomes more human. The originality of the Author consists in the fact that using the anthropological views of the earlier tradition and interpreting them mystically and symbolically, he intertwined the entire dynamism of human being with the structure of the Platonic world. The human being through the longing for God and through the proper use of natural powers mystically unites with God not only himself/herself, but also the entire universe, because the structure of the human being is analogous to the structure of the universe.


2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-69
Author(s):  
Csaba Móczár ◽  
Ferenc Borda ◽  
Katalin Faragó ◽  
Gábor Borgulya ◽  
Ferencné Braunitzer ◽  
...  

A túlsúlyos és elhízott betegek kezelésében alapvető szempont az egészséges életmód elsajátítása és beépülése a beteg mindennapjaiba. A kecskeméti Irányított Betegellátási Modellkísérletben indított prevenciós program célja a túlsúlyos és elhízott betegek cardiovascularis kockázati tényezőinek csökkentése, illetve a szív- és érrendszeri megbetegedések megelőzése volt. A program keretében 2489 túlsúlyos és elhízott 18 éven felüli egyént szűrtek ki és vettek gondozásba. A betegek személyre szabott diétás és mozgásprogramot kaptak. A prevenciós programot szakképzett dietetikusok és gyógytornászok segítségével az obezitológiában jártas belgyógyász szakorvosok irányították. A betegek nyomon követése során a testsúlyváltozás mellett az eseti vérnyomásértékek alakulását, a metabolikus paramétereket és a fizikai terhelhetőséget is dokumentálták. A szerzők közleményükben a kétéves nyomon követés adatait dolgozták fel. A betegek 72%-a jutott el az egyéves követési vizsgálatig, 36%-a a kétéves vizsgálatig. Kismértékű, szignifikáns csökkenést észleltek a BMI-ben (átlagos csökkenés: 0,5605; p < 0,001), a koleszterinszintben (átlagos csökkenés: 0,23; p < 0,001). Az átlagos derékkörfogat sem az első, sem a második év folyamán nem mutatott érdemleges változást. A többi anyagcsere-paraméterben is statisztikailag jelentős csökkenést észleltek: éhomi vércukor 0,15 mmol/l (p < 0,001), ill. 0,19 mmol/l (p < 0,03), triglicerid: 0,18 (p < 0,001), ill. 0,08 mmol/l (nem szignifikáns), a HDL-koleszterin szintekben lényeges változást nem észleltek. Az első év végére a nyugalmi vérnyomás 5,9 Hgmm-rel (p < 0,001), majd a második év végére további 0,11 Hgmm-rel (nem szignifikáns) csökkent. Ez alapján a prevenciós programot sikeresnek, hatásosnak tekintjük, bár a részt vevők egészségi állapotában bekövetkezett javulás mértéke elmarad várakozásaiktól.


Author(s):  
Hetal S. Gusai ◽  
V. K. Kori ◽  
Rajagopala S. ◽  
K. S. Patel ◽  
Ronakgiri V. Gosai

Over the period of time, human race has evolved and till date the development is going on. There is continuous civilization and change in life style of human being. Due to these changes in life style, human being is constantly struggling against the changing environmental conditions to maintain optimum health and vigor throughout the life. These changes have lead to increase in the disease burden in the society. Juvenile Diabetes is also such condition which is going to increase day by day in children. Children are the most vulnerable community in society. Juvenile diabetes (Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus – IDDM/ Type 1 DM / T1DM) is the most common endocrine/metabolic disorder of childhood and adolescence. The high prevalence data of Juvenile Diabetes is also alarming. Globally, the incidence of Type 1 DM is increasing in children and youth by about 3% per annum. It is characterized by deficient insulin production and requires daily parenteral administration of insulin, otherwise may prove fatal. The cause of type 1 diabetes is not known and it is not preventable with current knowledge. So a survey of 50 diagnosed juvenile diabetes patients in Jamnagar city of Gujarat state was conducted. With this survey study an effort has been done to find out some contributory factors in the manifestation of the disease from an Ayurvedic perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23
Author(s):  
Thomas Crew

In this essay I consider the theme of individuation or self-becoming in Nietzsche’s Ecce Homo (1888) and Hesse’s Demian (1917) and Steppenwolf (1927). Although this task appears inter-disciplinary, Nietzsche’s autobiography can be considered a Bildungsroman in which ‘Nietzsche’ plays the protagonist. After showing the correspondences between Nietzsche’s and Hesse’s diagnoses of contemporary Europe, which can be summed up with the notion of ‘decadence’ or nihilism, I suggest that they both point towards the process of self-becoming as the ultimate remedy for both the individual and society. Self-becoming is a painful yet necessary process that holds the repeated destruction of the individual’s identity as the precondition for attaining the status of human being. It is a process implied by Nietzsche’s ‘formula for human greatness’: amor fati. Resistance to individuation leads to a state of ‘miserable ease’, embodied by what Hesse calls the ‘bourgeois’ and what Nietzsche terms the ‘last men’.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-534
Author(s):  
Jean Rhéaume

At least two important consequences follow from the fact that human rights are based on human nature. First, they exist according to natural law even in cases where positive law does not recognize them. Secondly, they cannot evolve because the nature and purpose of the human being does not change: only their formulation and level of protection in positive law can vary according to the socio-historical context.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 657-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Yamarik ◽  
Sucharita Ghosh

AbstractIn this paper, we estimate the individual effects of natural openness and trade policy on air pollution. Natural openness is the component of the trade share (imports and exports as a percentage of GDP) attributable to population, geography and factor endowment differences. We find that natural openness reduces air pollution, while trade policy has a limited impact. The implication is that ‘natural’ geographic and endowment differences play a more important role than deliberate trade policy decisions in explaining the trade and environment link.


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