Wang Yangming (1472–1529)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun Kwong-Loi
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
The Self ◽  
Chan Buddhism ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Wang Yangming ◽  
The Mind

Wang Yangming was an influential Confucian thinker in sixteenth-century China who, like other Confucian thinkers, emphasized social and political responsibilities and regarded cultivation of the self as the basis for fulfilling such responsibilities. While sometimes drawing on ideas and metaphors from Daoism and Chan Buddhism, he criticized these schools for their neglect of family ties and social relations. And, in opposition to a version of Confucianism which emphasized learning, he advocated directly attending to the mind in the process of self-cultivation.

Evangelical Conversion and the Transformation of the Self in Amazonia and Melanesia: Christianity and the Revival of Anthropological Comparison

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 559-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Robbins ◽  
Bambi B. Schieffelin ◽  
Aparecida Vilaça
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
Anthropology Of Christianity ◽  
Recent Theoretical Work ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
The Mind

AbstractThe last several decades have seen both a renewed anthropological interest in the possibility of cross-cultural comparison and the rapid rise of the anthropology of Christianity. These two trends should be mutually supportive. One of the promises of the anthropology of Christianity from the outset has been that it will allow people to compare how processes of Christianization have unfolded in different parts of the world and to consider how the resulting Christian configurations are similar to and different from one another. But to this point, relatively little detailed comparative empirical work on Christianity has appeared. Our aim here is to contribute to remedying this situation. Drawing on recent theoretical work on comparison, we set comparative work on Christianity on a new footing. Empirically, we examine how processes of Evangelical Christianization have transformed notions of the self in one Amazonian society (Wari') and two unrelated societies in Melanesia (Bosavi and Urapmin). We define the self for comparative purposes as composed of ideas of the mind or inner self, the body, and relations between people. In our three cases, Christianization has radically transformed these ideas, emphasizing the inner self and downplaying the importance of the body and of social relations. While our empirical conclusions are not wholly unexpected, the extent to which the details of our three cases speak comparatively to one another, and the extent to which the broad processes of Christian transformation they involve are similar, are surprising and lay a promising foundation for future comparative work in the anthropology of Christianity.

Cartesian Fingerprints in Beckett's Imagination Dead Imagine

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-243
Author(s):  
Irit Degani-Raz
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Levels Of Abstraction ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Limiting Case

The idea that Beckett investigates in his works the limits of the media he uses has been widely discussed. In this article I examine the fiction Imagination Dead Imagine as a limiting case in Beckett's exploration of limits at large and the limits of the media he uses in particular. Imagination Dead Imagine is shown to be the self-reflexive act of an artist who imaginatively explores the limits of that ultimate medium – the artist's imagination itself. My central aim is to show that various types of structural homologies (at several levels of abstraction) can be discerned between this poetic exploration of the limits of imagination and Cartesian thought. The homologies indicated here transcend what might be termed as ‘Cartesian typical topics’ (such as the mind-body dualism, the cogito, rationalism versus empiricism, etc.). The most important homologies that are indicated here are those existing between the role of imagination in Descartes' thought - an issue that until only a few decades ago was quite neglected, even by Cartesian scholars - and Beckett's perception of imagination. I suggest the use of these homologies as a tool for tracing possible sources of inspiration for Beckett's Imagination Dead Imagine.

Nihilistic Thinking as the Self-Will of the Mind and the Projects of Its Overcoming

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 74-87
Author(s):  
Irina N. Sidorenko
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Radical Transformation

 The author analyzes the conceptions of ontological nihilism in the works of S. Kierkegaard, F. Nietzsche, M. Heidegger, E. Jünger. On the basis of this analysis, violence is defined as a manifestation of nihilism, of the “will to nothingness” and hypertrophy of the self-will of man. The article demonstrates the importance of the problem of nihilism. The nihilistic thinking of modern man is expressed in the attitude toward a radical transformation of the world from the position of his “absolute” righteousness. The paradox of the current situation is that there is the reverse side of this transformative activity, when there is only the appearance of action and the dilution of responsibility. Confidence in the rightness of own views and beliefs increases the risk of the violent imposition of own vision of reality. Historical and philosophical reconstruction of the conceptions of nihilism allowed to reveal the following projects of its comprehension and resolution: (1) the project of “positing of values,” which consists in the transformation of the evaluation, which is understood as another perspective of positing values, leading to the affirmation of being; (2) the project of overcoming nihilism from the space of temporality, carried out through the resoluteness to accept the historicity of own existence; (3) the project of overcoming nihilism as the oblivion of being from the spatial perspective of the “line,” allowing to realize the “glimpse” of being. The author concludes that it is impossible to solve the problem of violence and its various forms of its manifestation without overcoming “ontological nihilism.” Significant role in solving the problem of ontological violence is assigned to philosophy as a critical and responsible form of thinking, which is capable to help a person to bear the burden of the world, to provide meanings and affirm being, as well as to unite people and resist the fundamentalist claims of exclusivity and rightness.

Some References to Visualization Practices in Early Chán Buddhism with an Emphasis on guān 觀 and kàn 看

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Anderl
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Sensory Perception ◽  
Ontological Status ◽  
Chan Buddhism ◽  
Visual Processes ◽  
The Mind

Abstract In the analysis of processes of sensory perception in the framework of Buddhist contemplation practices, the visual sense faculty has played a crucial role. In this paper, references to Chinese Buddhist terminology referring to visual processes will be analyzed in their historical context, with a focus on the interpretations of guān 觀 and kàn 看 by proponents of the early Chán School. Crucial questions include the notions of the “agent” (i.e., the entity engaging in the process of visualization or viewing), as well as the ontological status of the “object” to be viewed, in addition to the nature of the process of viewing and the bodily preconditions for engaging in visualization practices. The creative reinterpretations of terms such as guānxīn 觀心 “contemplate the mind” and kànxīn 看心 “view the mind” were also important devices to create a distinctive identity for this newly emerging Chinese Buddhist school. As will be shown, despite the fierce attacks on “gradualist” meditation practices by proponents of the “Southern School” of Chán during the 8th century, the concepts of guānxīn and kànxīn by no means disappeared from the discourse on meditation but continued to play an important role at least until the 10th century and beyond.

“The New Generation”: Mental Hygiene and the Portrayals of Children by the National Film Board of Canada, 1946–1967

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Low
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Mental Hygiene ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Mass Psychology ◽  
National Film Board ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Schooling Practices ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Impact

That is the achievement of the psychologists. In our own society they are very kind, and do everything for our own good. The tales of what they do elsewhere are rather terrifying.—Hilda NeatbySo Little for the Mind (1953)Documenting the impact of the mental hygiene movement has been problematical for historians. The hygienists operated in the realm of mass psychology and social relations, within the “mentalities” of children—particularly of the postwar generation—who have left little observable evidence of changing social attitudes and relationships resulting from changes to mass child-rearing and schooling practices. The influence of the movement upon parenting literature and curricular documents may be readily observed in postwar baby books, magazines, newspapers, radio scripts, and films, as well as in the changing language of educational theorists and practitioners. But as to seeing the actual effects of this material upon any society, documentary evidence has remained elusive.

William James, the Self, and the Selective Industry of the Mind

1990 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-698
Author(s):  
Jerry Suls ◽  
Christine A. Marco
Keyword(s):  
William James ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Mind

Liberate our Library: doing decolonisation work at Goldsmiths Library

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Marilyn Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Study Skills ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o ◽  
The Self ◽  
Hierarchical Systems ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
The Mind

Library work now has a role to play when it comes to decolonisation. This article outlines what Goldsmiths Library, University of London is doing, through the Liberate our Library initiative, to diversify and decolonise its collections and practices against the backdrop of worldwide movements for education and social justice led by both students and academics to challenge the dominance of the ‘Westernised university’.2Examples of how we are doing this work are explained using critical librarianship as our guide, whilst recognising that we are still developing expertise in this evolving field of practice. This decolonisation work also uses critical race theory (CRT) as a means to dismantle racial inequality and its impact on higher education.Here, I would like to acknowledge the excellent and inspirational content of ALJ, Critical Librarianship: Special Issue (v.44, no.2) and I see this article as an ongoing companion piece.Goldsmiths Library's liberation work endeavours to empower its users with critical thinking and study skills whilst conducting their research using hierarchical systems and resources which in themselves are in the process of being decolonised.Decolonising a library collection and a profession must of course always begin or at least happen in tandem with the self, through a process that Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o describes as ‘decolonising the mind.’3

Reasons to be Fearful: Strawson, Death and Narrative

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 133-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Behrendt
Keyword(s):  
Good Deal ◽  
The Self ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Internal View ◽  
Rational Discourse ◽  
Continental Thought ◽  
The Mind

When attempting to face the prospect of one's own death, it has been said that ‘the mind blanks at the glare’. Perhaps we should not treat our attitude towards our death as rational or reflective of our views on the self and on life. But to exempt views on death from the scrutiny of rational discourse seems to be a last resort (albeit one we may need recourse to in the end). There is a general tendency to neglect death within those discussions of the self that fall outside the confines of a certain strain of continental thought roughly construed, or at best to treat it as a topic that resides beyond the borders of the rational. I do not aim to rectify this situation here, nor do I think it obvious that death is something that can be clearly and consistently dealt with by those theories of persons and selves that primarily represent, to use Thomas Nagel's words, ‘an internal view that sees only this side of death—that includes only the finitude of [one's] expected future consciousness’. But I do believe that those who have spent a good deal of time thinking about the life of the self ought to spare a thought or two for its demise, and that such thoughts may contribute to our over-all assessment of their view.

Between the Islamic and Chinese Universal Empires: The Ottoman Empire, Ming Dynasty, and Global Age of Explorations

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 422-456
Author(s):  
Yuan Julian Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
The Self ◽  
Global Age ◽  
Age Of Exploration ◽  
Imperial Expansion ◽  
The Ming Dynasty

Abstract This article studies two sixteenth-century Asian texts: Khitay namah, a Persian travelogue about the Ming dynasty written by the Muslim merchant Ali Akbar and presented to the Ottoman sultan, and Xiyu, an illustrated Chinese geographical treatise with detailed travel itinerary from China to Istanbul by the Ming scholar-official Ma Li. In addition to demonstrating the breadth of Ottoman and Chinese knowledge about each other in the global Age of Exploration, these two books, written respectively for the monarchs of the self-proclaimed Islamic and Chinese universal empires, reflect the Ottoman and Chinese imperial ideologies in an era when major world powers aggressively vied for larger territories and broader international influence. Both the Ottoman and Chinese authors recast the foreign Other as the familiar Self – Ali Akbar constructed an Islamized China while Ma Li depicted a Sinicized Ottoman world – to justify their countries’ claims to universal sovereignty and plans for imperial expansion. Like many contemporary European colonial writers, Ali Akbar’s and Ma Li’s exploration of foreign societies, their literary glorification of their own culture’s supremacy, and their imposition of their own cultural thinking on foreign lands all served their countries’ colonial enterprise in the global Age of Exploration.

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