Perbudakan dalam Perjanjian Lama: Sebuah Kajian Tekstual dan Intertekstual atas Teks-teks Perbudakan dalam Perjanjian Lama

By not explicitly prohibiting slavery has created the impression that the Bible does accept slavery. This paper intended to examine the biblical texts that raise the idea of slavery. Its main focus was texts in the Old Testament. These texts would be examined by considering the ancient Middle Eastern cultural setting. This paper would also bring together the pro and anti-slavery texts in a tensional relationship. This way distinguishes this writing from other writings which tend to take only one position, either pro or anti-slavery. The idea of seeing texts in a tensional relationship implies a postmodern thinking. The benefit of this paper is to build awareness that slavery is a practice that needs to be opposed but at the same time difficult to abolish. Therefore, a struggle against slavery still needs to be launched even though slavery has been formally and legally abolished.Abstrak. Dengan tidak tegasnya larangan terhadap perbudakan dalam Alkitab telah menimbulkan pemahaman bahwa Alkitab memang menerima perbudakan. Tulisan ini bermaksud memeriksa teks-teks Alkitab yang mengangkat gagasan perbudakan. Fokus utamanya adalah teks-teks dalam Perjanjian Lama. Teks-teks tersebut akan diperiksa dengan mempertimbangkan latar budaya Timur Tengah Kuno. Kemudian beberapa teks yang sering digunakan untuk mendukung dan menetang perbudakan akan dipahami kembali dalam sebuah ketegangan. Pilihan ini sekaligus membedakan tulisan ini dengan tulisan-tulisan lain yang cenderung mengambil salah satu posisi saja, entah pro atau anti perbudakan. Gagasan untuk melihat teks-teks dalam sebuah ketegangan ini secara implisit menyiratkan pemikiran posmodern. Manfaat tulisan ini adalah untuk membangun kesadaran bahwa perbudakan merupakan praktek yang perlu ditentang namun sekaligus sulit dihapuskan.

The Practice of Experimental Psychology: An Inevitably Postmodern Endeavor

The aim of psychology is to understand the human mind and behavior. In contemporary psychology, the method of choice to accomplish this incredibly complex endeavor is the experiment. This dominance has shaped the whole discipline from the self-concept as an empirical science and its very epistemological and theoretical foundations, via research practice and the scientific discourse to teaching. Experimental psychology is grounded in the scientific method and positivism, and these principles, which are characteristic for modern thinking, are still upheld. Despite this apparently stalwart adherence to modern principles, experimental psychology exhibits a number of aspects which can best be described as facets of postmodern thinking although they are hardly acknowledged as such. Many psychologists take pride in being “real natural scientists” because they conduct experiments, but it is particularly difficult for psychologists to evade certain elements of postmodern thinking in view of the specific nature of their subject matter. Postmodernism as a philosophy emerged in the 20th century as a response to the perceived inadequacy of the modern approach and as a means to understand the complexities, ambiguities, and contradictions of the times. Therefore, postmodernism offers both valuable insights into the very nature of experimental psychology and fruitful ideas on improving experimental practice to better reflect the complexities and ambiguities of human mind and behavior. Analyzing experimental psychology along postmodern lines begins by discussing the implications of transferring the scientific method from fields with rather narrowly defined phenomena—the natural sciences—to a much broader and more heterogeneous class of complex phenomena, namely the human mind and behavior. This ostensibly modern experimental approach is, however, per se riddled with postmodern elements: (re-)creating phenomena in an experimental setting, including the hermeneutic processes of generating hypotheses and interpreting results, is no carbon copy of “reality” but rather an active construction which reflects irrevocably the pre-existing ideas of the investigator. These aspects, analyzed by using postmodern concepts like hyperreality and simulacra, did not seep in gradually but have been present since the very inception of experimental psychology, and they are necessarily inherent in its philosophy of science. We illustrate this theoretical analysis with the help of two examples, namely experiments on free will and visual working memory. The postmodern perspective reveals some pitfalls in the practice of experimental psychology. Furthermore, we suggest that accepting the inherently fuzzy nature of theoretical constructs in psychology and thinking more along postmodern lines would actually clarify many theoretical problems in experimental psychology.

POSTMODERN NON-LAUGHTER IRONY IN OŚCI BY I. KARPOWICZ AND FRUTCHEN BY T. HAVRYLIV

Background. Irony and laughter in postmodern carnival prose are interrelated, yet notinterdependent. Irony is traditionally defined in terms of its laughter-causing trend; however,postmodern irony can be not funny. Its predominating sign is meaning ambiguity resulting from thegap between pronounced and non-pronounced. Irony is traced both in a meaning-shaping aspect(in which case both a message, and a code matter, and separate fragments of an ironic utterancegain significance), and in an intertextually-formal aspect of irony as a stylistic device and anexpression of the overall postmodern ironic mind. Purpose. The article seeks to trace the narrative forms of the ironic game’s domination as anarrative pattern and composition principle of the prose by postmodern writers. The research employs the methods of narrative analysis and receptive aesthetics. Results. The meaning vector of Ignacy Karpowicz’s narrative strategy in his Ości tends tocreate a peculiar range of polysemy, which, among other meanings, is implied in the book title. Thetitle’s polysemy transits to the level on non-pronounced, to “ness”, which indicates a leftover fromthe verbalized. The intertextually-formal aspect of the irony determines the novel’s receptivestrategy. The reader has to read characters’ “true” story following the picture provided by thenarrator. The reader is offered a detailed picture of their thinking and self-analysis. The authorseems to be kidding at the techniques innate in formula-based genres, inheriting them and breakingstereotypes at the same time. An ironic effect is produced via hints, understatements, unexpectedapproaches to representation. The “narrative” irony is combined with irony over contemporarytrends in literary studies and postmodern philosophical discussions. Irony becomes not onlypolysemic, but multidimensional: it unfolds on the surface of the text like language and narrativegame and alludes to other texts, emphasizing the need for professional interpretation. Frutchen byTymofiy Havryliv is explored in terms of conceptual comparison with “S / Z” by R. Barthes, wherehe outlines the principles of deconstructive analysis. T. Havryliv seems to be following reverselogic; he constructs his text as a reflection of the way to read a hermeneutic code declared by R.Barthes, he walks his reader through all “twists” of deconstructive thinking. A complex system ofnarrators and narrative in the story makes a multidimensional irony over the theme, forms andnorms of academic presentation and formula-based fiction texts. Discussion. The article outlines the forms of non-laughter irony and traces its impact on thecreation of polysemy of the postmodern fiction text. Besides, it indicates narrative devices andreceptive strategies used by the authors. In future, it is necessary to focus on the correlationbetween laughter and non-laughter poetics to emphasize ironic postmodern thinking in fiction texts.

Postmodernism

This chapter considers the fate of Epicureanism in the postmodern age by looking at three diverse figures, Hans Blumenberg, Jacques Derrida, and Michel Serres. It addresses the puzzling question of how Epicureanism was adopted into postmodern thought, even as the ancient school seems so resistant to the scepticism that forms the core of much postmodern thinking. For Blumenberg, the chapter ponders three of his main references to Epicurus and Epicureanism—in his Shipwreck with Spectator, The Legitimacy of the Modern Age, and Cave Exits—showing that Epicureanism does not serve so much as a body of thought he embraces as a whole, but rather as a point of reference he uses to outline the epistemological foundations of antiquity and modernity. For Derrida, the chapter explores how he sees Lucretius (and the atomist tradition more generally) as a forerunner of his idea of the trace. Serres, finally, draws upon Lucretius’s De rerum natura to describe the development of modern science, especially physics, from a different angle, aiming to re-establish a forgotten paradigm of physics which relies on fluidity.

O “intelectual” segundo o pensamento decolonial de Walter Mignolo: redescrição e axiologia

Com base no pensamento de Walter D. Mignolo, o artigo visa esboçar uma “redescrição” de correntes tradicionais que tematizam a figura do “intelectual”, tais como as “sociologias dos intelectuais” e o “pensamento pós-moderno”. Intenta-se mapear aquilo que a perspectiva decolonial chama de “eurocentrismo” dessas contribuições. O argumento é que essa base epistemológica moderna, quando aplicada ao entendimento de intelectuais periféricos, apresenta limitações e problemas específicos. Além disso, na segunda parte do artigo, argumenta-se que a proposta alternativa de intelectual projetada por Walter Mignolo, vai além de fornecer novas ferramentas heurísticas. Busca instaurar um movimento de “desobediência epistêmica” que tem como ideal político reforçar processos de liberalização das experiências, memórias e histórias daqueles que foram silenciados pela colonialidade. Walter D. Mignolo. Intelectual. Redescrição. Intelectual decolonial. The “intellectual” according to the Walter Mignolo’s study on decolonial thinking: redescription and axiology ABSTRACTBased on the thinking of Walter D. Mignolo, the article aims to outline a "redescription" of traditional currents that thematize the "intellectual" figure, such as the "sociologies of the intellectuals" and the "postmodern thinking". It attempts to map what the decolonial perspective calls the "Eurocentrism" of these contributions. The argument is that this modern epistemological basis, when applied to the understanding of peripheral intellectuals, presents specific limitations and problems. In addition, in the second part of the article, it argues that the alternative intellectual proposal designed by Walter Mignolo goes beyond providing new heuristic tools. It seeks to establish a movement of "epistemic disobedience" whose political ideal is to reinforce processes of liberalization of the experiences, memories and stories of those who have been silenced by coloniality. Walter D. Mignolo. Intellectual. Redescription. Decolonial intelectual.

Integral Thinking and its Application to Integral Education

After the exploration of different kind of thinking skills oriented to discerning complex issues and phenomena, this article argues about the need to use a new modality of thinking, defined as integral thinking. Based on the holonic theory and on the proprieties of the holons and their part-whole relationships, the paper proposes and characterizes integral thinking, a kind of thinking that is holistic but also has span and profundity, going beyond conventional Aristotelian epistemic-inspired ways. Integral thinking joins in a single model the assets of premodern, modern and postmodern thinking systems; and helps in going beyond the nowadays syncretism of many perspectives. Integral thinking is the kind of thinking appropriated to the contemporary need to think integrally in science, culture, professions, and arts or about the evolution of personal consciousness. It’s useful also to be applied in the diverse professional fields, especially when comprehensive approaches are needed. Integral thinking can be used in holistic education and pedagogies. The use of integral thinking in the educational actuality can help to characterize the integral education practice and agenda.

Uwalnianie lektury

In my article I analyse the contradictions between the institutional assumptions at school and the postmodern thinking about didactics. I quote the book entitled In defence of the school. A public issue by Jan Masschelein, Maarten Simons and make an attempt to reflect upon the reading assignment as the time which is free from institutional pressure. I analyse the school curriculum by pointing out the contradictions of its entries and the symbolic violence it includes both towards teachers and students.

“Seeking Refuge in God against God”: The Hidden God in Lutheran Theology and the Postmodern Weakening of God

Martin Luther emphasizes the affective experience of the living God rather than God as an abstract, metaphysical idea. Luther explains this experience of God by distinguishing between God as Deus absconditus in his hidden majesty and God as Deus revelatus suffering on the cross. According to Luther, sinners experience the hidden God as a terrifying presence causing them to suffer. Through faith, however, sinners are able to recognize that this wrathful God is one with the God of love and mercy revealed in Christ. Based on this paradoxical understanding of God, Luther admonishes Christians to seek refuge in God against God. In recent decades, Luther’s accentuation of the revealed God has inspired postmodern philosophers and theologians in their efforts to recast the notion of God in light of the Nietzschean outcry on the death of God and Heidegger’s critique of ontotheology. Hence, John D. Caputo and Gianni Vattimo have weakened the notion of an omnipotent God in favour of an anti-metaphysical understanding of “god” kenotically denouncing his power and occurring as an ethically obliging event. Conversely, postmodern thinking have inspired contemporary Lutheran theologians to reinterpret the notion of God. In this article, Luther’s theology serves as a resource for critiquing these postmodern attempts at post-metaphysically rethinking God the central claim being that they are unable to proclaim the saving promise of a reconciliatory union between God hidden and revealed and between sinful human beings and Christ. As a result, theology is reduced to an ethical manifesto or to compassionate anthropology leaving despairing humans without a language with which to express their sufferings.

Feminisms Troubling the Boundaries of International Relations

A constant source of concern for feminists working in International Relations (IR) has been the field’s implied or stated boundaries. During the first ten years of its existence (roughly covering the years 1985–1995), the main goal of feminist IR was to challenge a caged-in knowledge realm that excluded more phenomena than it promised to seek. By the early twenty-first century, IR had devolved into a camp structure that was able to accommodate on the inside all manner of theories, people, and places. Yet while feminism contributed to troubled boundaries of IR, it did so against the backdrop of internal boundary dilemmas of inside and outside, good women/bad women, authentic versus dominant voice, gender versus feminism, and so on. Today, feminist IR is somewhat different from its earlier orientations. It now draws heavily on postmodern thinking about margins, multiple truths, subjugated identities and discourses, and power in general, and takes on IR theory and methodology using insights from postmodern thinking and other disciplines such as anthropology and geography. Feminist IR continues to bring new locations of the international and relations to the fore. Two such areas deal with the subject of violent women in international relations and the urgencies of development around the world.