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Humanity
Selected AbstractsINTRODUCTION: THE LONG ROAD TO GLOBAL JUSTICE, PEACE, AND HUMANITYJOURNAL OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2007XUNWU CHEN [source] Writing the History of Humanity: The Role of Museums in Defining Origins and Ancestors in a Transnational WorldCURATOR THE MUSEUM JOURNAL, Issue 1 2005Monique Scott ABSTRACT This article explores the question of how transnational audiences experience anthropology exhibitions in particular, and the natural history museum overall. Of interest are the ways in which natural history museums reconcile anthropological notions of humanity's shared evolutionary history,in particular, African origins accounts,with visitors' complex cultural identities. Through case studies of British, American, and Kenyan museum audiences, this research probed the cultural preconceptions that museum visitors bring to the museum and use to interpret their evolutionary heritage. The research took special notice of audiences of African descent, and their experiences in origins exhibitions and the natural history museums that house them. The article aims to draw connections between natural history museums and the dynamic ways in which museum visitors make meaning. As museums play an increasing role in the transnational homogenization of cultures, human origins exhibitions are increasingly challenged to communicate an evolutionary prehistory that we collectively share, while validating the cultural histories that make us unique. [source] The Perils of Cognitive Enhancement and the Urgent Imperative to Enhance the Moral Character of HumanityJOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2008INGMAR PERSSON abstract As history shows, some human beings are capable of acting very immorally.1 Technological advance and consequent exponential growth in cognitive power means that even rare evil individuals can act with catastrophic effect. The advance of science makes biological, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction easier and easier to fabricate and, thus, increases the probability that they will come into the hands of small terrorist groups and deranged individuals. Cognitive enhancement by means of drugs, implants and biological (including genetic) interventions could thus accelerate the advance of science, or its application, and so increase the risk of the development or misuse of weapons of mass destruction. We argue that this is a reason which speaks against the desirability of cognitive enhancement, and the consequent speedier growth of knowledge, if it is not accompanied by an extensive moral enhancement of humankind. We review the possibilities for moral enhancement by biomedical and genetic means and conclude that, though it should be possible in principle, it is in practice probably distant. There is thus a reason not to support cognitive enhancement in the foreseeable future. However, we grant that there are also reasons in its favour, but we do not attempt to settle the balance between these reasons for and against. Rather, we conclude that if research into cognitive enhancement continues, as it is likely to, it must be accompanied by research into moral enhancement. [source] Psychology of Promoting Environmentalism: Psychological Contributions toAchieving an Ecologically Sustainable Future for HumanityJOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 3 2000Stuart Oskamp The most serious long-term threat facing the world is the danger that human actions are producing irreversible, harmful changes to the environmental conditions that support life on Earth. If this problem is not overcome, there may be no viable world for our descendants to inhabit. Because this threat is caused by human population growth, overconsumption, and lack of resource conservation, social scientists have a vital role in helping our world escape ecological disaster and approach a sustainable level of impact on the environment,one that can be maintained indefinitely. Enormous changes to human lifestyles and cultural practices may be required to reach this goal. This article discusses major obstacles to this goal, describes a variety of motivational approaches toward reaching it, and proposes that we should view the achievement of sustainable living patterns as a superordinate goal,a war against the common enemy of an uninhabitable world. [source] Habitat For Humanity: Building Social Capital Through Faith Based ServiceJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2002R. Allen Hays This essay examines citizen involvement in community housing issues through Habitat for Humanity as a faith, based expansion of social capital in urban communities. This article expands Putnam's model of social capital to include criteria for evaluating the conditions under which social capital formation has a positive impact on the larger community. Using a representative sample of nine cities from various regions of the US, it examines the functioning of the Habitat affiliate in each of these cities and the attitudes and motivations of their most active volunteers. Habitat has emerged as a highly effective volunteer, non, profit producer of housing for lower income persons, yet the nature of the social capital created by this organization also reflects the contradictions raised by such an undertaking in a complex urban environment characterized by deep social divisions. [source] Ad Hoc Humanity: UN Peacekeeping and the Limits of International Community in GazaAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 3 2010Ilana Feldman ABSTRACT, In this article, I explore the work of the first UN peacekeeping force: the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) in Gaza (1956,67). UNEF's experience helped shape the basic principles of UN peacekeeping. First-generation peacekeeping was defined in significant part by its limits: need for consent, constraints of its mission, and attenuated knowledge of and involvement with the local population. Peacekeeping was intended to assert global ideals and expand the reach of the "international community." The idea of international community is instantiated in global laws and institutions, but it also finds expression at the small scale when the "international" personnel come into contact with "locals." The limits of peacekeeping missions in turn shaped the kinds of relationships that could develop on the ground. Anthropological attention to these complicated, sometimes messy encounters can help both policy makers and scholars understand the limits and possibilities of peacekeeping as a site of international community. [source] Bodies Beautiful: The Religious Implications of Constructing Black HumanityRELIGIOUS STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Article first published online: 18 JUN 200 First page of article [source] Divinity and Humanity: the Incarnation Reconsidered.THE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009By Oliver D. Crisp No abstract is available for this article. [source] Bringing Humanity Back into International Migration: Anthropological ContributionsCITY & SOCIETY, Issue 1 2007TAKEYUKI TSUDA First page of article [source] On the Compatibility of a Conservation Ethic with Biological ScienceCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007MARK SAGOFF Darwinismo; estética; ética de conservación; teología Abstract:,If value entails or implies purpose, it follows that natural objects (e.g., endangered species) lack value and thus cannot be worth protecting except for a purpose they may serve,either the end for which God created the world (according to natural theology) or some use to which human beings may put them (according to a consequentialist or utilitarian ethic). If value requires purpose, the refutation of natural theology after Darwin implies that humanity has no obligation to respect or preserve the natural world except insofar as it is economically efficient to do so. Drawing on the distinction between explanation and communication found in Calvinist theology, I argue that value does not entail purpose. The expressive, aesthetic, or communicative aspects of nature may be valuable or endow natural objects with value apart from any use or purpose these objects may serve. The crucial distinction between explanation and communication,one scientific, the other aesthetic,offers a rationale for an obligation to protect the natural world that may appeal to members of faith communities and to biologists and other scientists. This approach also helps resolve the "lurking inconsistency" some scholars see in the relationship between a deterministic biological science and a conservationist ethic. Resumen:,Si el valor conlleva o implica propósito, se entiende que los objetos naturales (e.g., especies en peligro) carecen de valor y por lo tanto no merecen ser protegidos excepto porque pueden servir para el fin por el que Dios creó al mundo (de acuerdo con la teología natural) o para algún uso asignado por humanos (de acuerdo con la ética consecuentalista o utilitaria). Si el valor requiere propósito, la refutación de la teología natural después de Darwin implica que la humanidad no tiene obligación para respetar o preservar el mundo natural excepto si es económicamente eficiente hacerlo. Con base en la distinción entre explicación y comunicación encontrada en la teología Calvinista, argumento que el valor no implica propósito. Los aspectos expresivos, estéticos o comunicativos de la naturaleza pueden ser valiosos o proveer valor a los objetos naturales independientemente de cualquier uso o propósito que puedan tener estos objetos. La distinción crucial entre explicación y comunicación,una científica y la otra estética,ofrece un fundamento para la obligación de proteger el mundo natural que pueda interesar a miembros de comunidades religiosas, a biólogos y otros científicos. Este método también ayuda a resolver la "inconsistencia al acecho" en la relación entre una ciencia biológica determinista y una ética conservacionista que algunos académicos ven. [source] The threat to Islamic humanity after 11 September 2001CRITICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 1-2 2003Ronald A. T. Judy First page of article [source] The Education of Story Lovers: Do Computers Undermine Narrative Sensibility?CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 2 2005DAVID GORDON ABSTRACT This article argues that computers, at least in their common or prevalent uses, constitute an important undermining influence on people's ability to tell, enjoy listening to, view, and read good stories. We discuss the centrality of narrative in defining our humanity and in educating our children, and justify the emphasis on "good" stories, invoking Ricoeur's views on the hermeneutic level of interpretation. We then address the question of the nonneutrality of electronic wrapping of words and the problematic relationship between computers' navigational properties and narrative, particularly vis-à-vis Deleuze and Guattari's notion of rhizomatic structures. We consider and critique some counterarguments to our claim, specifically those that appeal to postmodern and hypertextual conceptions of narrative, and suggest ways that education can play an important role in counteracting the negative influences we have indicated. [source] Cardiovascular metabolic syndrome , an interplay of, obesity, inflammation, diabetes and coronary heart diseaseDIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 3 2007J. S. Rana Cardiovascular disease is currently one of the biggest causes of morbidity and mortality facing humanity. Such a paradigm shift of disease pattern over the last century has only worsened due to the alarming global prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In recent years there is increasing focus on inflammation as one of the key players in the patho-physiology of these disorders. In addition to these overt risk factors new research is unraveling the significance of a constellation of early metabolic abnormalities that include weight gain, insulin resistance, prehypertension and a specific pattern of dyslipidaemia. There exists a complex interrelationship of these various metabolic disorders and their effect on cardiovascular system. Simplified explanation can be that inflammation increases insulin resistance, which in turn leads to obesity while perpetuating diabetes, high blood pressure, prothrombotic state and dyslipidaemia. While inflammation and insulin resistance have direct adverse effects on cardiac muscle, these metabolic abnormalities as a whole cause causes cardiovascular complications; warranting a multi pronged therapeutic and preventive approach for the ,Cardiovascular Metabolic Syndrome' as an entity. [source] Salvation: Its Forms and Dynamics in the New TestamentDIALOG, Issue 3 2006Arland J. Hultgren Abstract:, Salvation takes several forms in the New Testament, including earthly-historical saving acts by the earthly Jesus and eschatological salvation by God's saving work in Christ. The dynamics of salvation can be considered from both anthropocentric and theocentric approaches. In the former salvation is by works, faith, or grace, but issues can be raised about each. In the latter salvation is spoken of as the act of God in Christ (a theopractic approach) or by the act of Christ on God's behalf (a Christopractic approach). Issues arise concerning canonical contexts, whether something happened at the cross effective for humanity and the cosmos, and the scope of redemption. [source] Response to Sayler Liturgical Texts, Ritual Power, and God's Glory: The Deconstruction of a Homosexual Identity through the Lens of a Doxological AnthropologyDIALOG, Issue 1 2005Amy C. Schifrin Abstract:, Looking at the scriptures as that which bear witness to a doxological anthropology, this essay responds to Gwen Sayler's article, "Beyond the Biblical Impasse: Homosexuality through the Lens of Theological Anthropology." This essay argues that the approach to the church's decision concerning the ordination of open and active self-identified homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex homoerotic relationships needs to be based on the sacramentality of the Creator's design of male and female and the doxological anthropology present in the apostolic witness. It examines the meaning of ritualizing the complementarity of male and female as the patterning by which humanity understands its source and its destiny. [source] The humanitarians' tragedy: escapable and inescapable crueltiesDISASTERS, Issue 2010Alex De Waal Paradoxically, elements of cruelty are intrinsic to the humanitarian enterprise., This paper focuses on some of these. Escapable cruelties arise from technical failings, but the gradual professionalisation of the field and improvements in relief technologies mean that they have been significantly reduced in comparison to earlier eras. Other cruelties arise from clashes among rights, and the tensions inherent in trying to promote humanity amid the horrors of war. These are inescapable and constitute the ,humanitarians' tragedy'. Among them is the individual cruelty of failing to do good at the margin: a clash between the individual's impulses and ideals and the constraints of operating in constrained circumstances. This is a version of triage. In addition, there is the cruelty of compromising dearly-held principles when faced with other competing or overriding demands. There is also the cruelty whereby humanitarians feed victims' dreams that there is an alternative reality, which in fact cannot be attained. [source] A Brief Commentary on the Hegelian-Marxist Origins of Gramsci's ,Philosophy of Praxis'EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 6 2009Debbie J Hill Abstract The specific nuances of what Gramsci names ,the new dialectic' are explored in this paper. The dialectic was Marx's specific ,mode of thought' or ,method of logic' as it has been variously called, by which he analyzed the world and man's relationship to that world. As well as constituting a theory of knowledge (epistemology), what arises out of the dialectic is also an ontology or portrait of humankind that is based on the complete historicization of humanity; its ,absolute "historicism"' or ,the absolute secularisation and earthliness of thought', as Gramsci worded it (Gramsci, 1971, p. 465). Embracing a fully secular and historical view of humanity, it provides a vantage point that allows the multiple and complex effects of our own conceptual heritage to be interrogated in relation to our developing ,nature' or ,being'. The argument presented in this paper is that the legacy of both Hegel and Marx is manifest in the depth of Gramsci's comprehension of what he termed the ,educative-formative' problem of hegemony. It is precisely the legacy of this Hegelian-Marxist radical philosophical critique that is signified in his continuing commitment to the ,philosophy of praxis' and the historical-dialectical principles that underpin this worldview. [source] Black youth, identity, and ethicsEDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 1 2005Garrett Albert Duncan This article examines stage models of racial identity that researchers and educators use to explain the subjective processes that influence how black youth navigate school. Despite the explicit challenge that most models of racial identity have posed to racist discourses in the research literature, the underlying ethics of their developmental trajectories is constrained by a politics of respectability that subverts a larger project of affirming black humanity. I use interview data to propose an alternative model for how black adolescent identity is formed. I conclude with a discussion of the importance of rethinking black adolescence in the context of changes in communication technologies associated with postindustrialism and globalization. [source] Providence and Sympathy: Consoling the Bereaved in the Late Eighteenth CenturyGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 3 2006Anna Richards In the Enlightenment period restrictions were imposed on mourning practices but grief was valued as a sign of natural humanity, as long as it remained moderate. Consolation was offered to the bereaved to help them temper excessive sadness. In the second half of the eighteenth century, influenced by the period's psychological thinking, the theory and the practice of consolation became more secular and more individualised than they had previously been; consolers took the demands of self-interest and of the emotions into account to a greater extent. This meant an emphasis on the role of providence in the death of the loved one and on the need for sympathy. This article discusses the consequences and the challenges of these developments for consolatory texts. It suggests that they called for narrative strategies and concludes that the ,Trostschrift' and the sentimental novel began to occupy some of the same ground at this period. [source] The carrying capacity of ecosystemsGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2004Pablo Del Monte-Luna ABSTRACT We analyse the concept of carrying capacity (CC), from populations to the biosphere, and offer a definition suitable for any level. For communities and ecosystems, the CC evokes density-dependence assumptions analogous to those of population dynamics. At the biosphere level, human CC is uncertain and dynamic, leading to apprehensive rather than practical conclusions. The term CC is widely used among ecological disciplines but remains vague and elusive. We propose the following definition: the CC is ,the limit of growth or development of each and all hierarchical levels of biological integration, beginning with the population, and shaped by processes and interdependent relationships between finite resources and the consumers of those resources'. The restrictions of the concept relate to the hierarchical approach. Emergent properties arise at each level, and environmental heterogeneity restrains the measurement and application of the CC. Because the CC entails a myriad of interrelated, ever-changing biotic and abiotic factors, it must not be assumed constant, if we are to derive more effective and realistic management schemes. At the ecosystem level, stability and resilience are dynamic components of the CC. Historical processes that help shape global biodiversity (e.g. continental drift, glaciations) are likely drivers of large-scale changes in the earth's CC. Finally, world population growth and consumption of resources by humanity will necessitate modifications to the paradigm of sustainable development, and demand a clear and fundamental understanding of how CC operates across all biological levels. [source] The Cage of Nature: Modernity's History in JapanHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2001Julia Adeney Thomas "The Cage of Nature" focuses on the concept of nature as a way to rethink Japanese and European versions of modernity and the historical tropes that distance "East" from "West." This essay begins by comparing Japanese political philosopher Maruyama Masao and his contemporaries, Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno. Both sets of authors define modernity as the moment when humanity overcomes nature, but Maruyama longs for this triumph while Horkheimer and Adorno deplore its consequences. Maruyama insists that Japan has failed to attain the freedom promised by modernity because it remains in the thrall of nature defined in three ways: as Japan's deformed past, as the mark of Japan's tragic difference from "the West,"and as Japan's accursed sensuality, shackling it to uncritical bodily pleasures. In short, Maruyama sees Japan as trapped in the cage of nature. My argument is that Maruyama's frustration arises from the trap set by modern historiography, which simultaneously traces the trajectory of modernity from servile Nature to freedom of Spirit and at the same time bases the identity of the non-Western world on its closeness to nature. In other words, nature represents both the past and the East, an impossible dilemma for an Asian nationalist desirous of liberty. By revising our historical narratives to take into account the ways in which Western modernity continued to engage versions of nature, it becomes possible to reposition Japan and "the East" within modernity's history rather than treating them as the Other. [source] Kantian Marriage and Beyond: Why It Is Worth Thinking about Kant on MarriageHYPATIA, Issue 2 2010LINA PAPADAKI Kant has famously argued that monogamous marriage is the only relationship where sexual use can take place "without degrading humanity and breaking the moral laws." Kantian marriage, however, has been the target of fierce criticisms by contemporary thinkers: it has been regarded as flawed and paradoxical, as being deeply at odds with feminism, and, at best, as plainly uninteresting. In this paper, I argue that Kantian marriage can indeed survive these criticisms. Finally, the paper advances the discussion beyond marriage. Drawing on Kant's conception of friendship, I suggest that he might have overlooked the possibility of sex being morally permissible in yet another context. [source] Impairment and Disability: Constructing an Ethics of Care That Promotes Human RightsHYPATIA, Issue 4 2001JENNY MORRIS The social model of disability gives us the tools not only to challenge the discrimination and prejudice we face, but also to articulate the personal experience of impairment. Recognition of difference is therefore a key part of the assertion of our common humanity and of an ethics of care that promotes our human rights. [source] Values, mutual trust and terrorismINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES, Issue 4 2006Elliott Jaques Abstract Elliott Jaques explores what is evil about terrorism and the specific good that this evil destroys. It is essential to formulate the foundations of systems of relationships, justice, and law that can guarantee the global victory of good over evil. The basic glue that allows humanity to live together is global mutual trust that each will not harm the other. To be able to rely upon that bond is the final good. For individuals to decide to break that bond is the essence of evil. One prominent condition that succors and supports the primal evil expressed in terrorism is the experience of circumstances in which some seem to be succeeding unjustly at the expense of others. The war against terrorism requires both that the USA leads a coalition of willing nations against the perpetrators of evil as well as becoming the leader of the people of the world in sustaining the primal good of world-wide mutual trust. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An investigation into blood donation intentions among non-donorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 1 2008Mike Reid In broad terms, the donation of blood along with organ and bone marrow donation is considered to be the ultimate act of humanity involving a voluntary and anonymous exchange between two people of a life saving commodity. Yet motivating people to donate blood is a significantly difficult task. The aim of this paper is to use the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine non-donors on the basis of their likely intention to donate blood in the future and to identify barriers on these more favourable non-donors. This exploratory research finds that subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and time related barriers are related to intent to donate by current non-donors. Differences between higher and lower intention donors are also explored. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Merit in the Midst of Grace: The Covenant with Adam Reconsidered in View of the Two Powers of GodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2008JOHN HALSEY WOOD JR However, the difficulty of seeing the harmony between these principles is real. This article reconsiders the covenant with Adam in light of the medieval concept of the two powers of God, or as we shall argue here, the two perspectives on God's power. These two perspectives, part of the original intellectual milieu in which covenant theology arose, demonstrate that the divine covenant with humanity may include aspects of both God's grace and human merit simultaneously. God's grace is apparent de potentia absoluta, from the perspective of God's absolute power, and God's justice and the possibility of Adam's merit are apparent de potentia ordinata, from the perspective of God's ordained power. Both perspectives, what God could do and what he has in fact chosen to do, are valid and necessary perspectives for understanding God's covenant dealings. [source] Faith as Self-Understanding: Towards a Post-Barthian Appreciation of Rudolf BultmannINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2008BENJAMIN MYERS Following Barth's critique, contemporary theologians have argued that Bultmann's concept of faith as self-understanding undermines the reality of God and reduces theology to anthropology. This article argues that such arguments rest on a misreading of Bultmann. Far from anthropologizing theological knowledge, Bultmann identifies faith with self-understanding precisely in order to maintain the distinctiveness of God's reality. According to Bultmann, the locus of all true knowledge of God is the living christological event of divine,human encounter in which God is both related to and differentiated from humanity. This conception of God and faith remains relevant, and it offers valuable resources to theological reflection today. [source] Did Christ have a Fallen Human Nature?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Oliver Crisp This seems a difficult thing to say with a traditional understanding of original sin. This article explores this difficulty, proposes a possible solution, and then shows that the solution proposed also faces logical difficulties. The article thus argues that it is not possible to make logical sense of the notion that Christ's humanity was fallen. [source] Calvin's View of Natural Knowledge of GodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 3 2001Edward Adams For Calvin, the relation between God's revelation in the sensus divinitatis and God's revelation in his works is not reducible to the distinction between internal and external revelation. Adams' contextual interpretation of Calvin's treatment of the natural knowledge of God in the Institutes illumines some the subtle complexity of Calvin's argument , an argument which is informed both philosophically and biblically. Both Calvin's positive evaluation of natural revelation and his pessimistic stance vis-à-vis the ability of humanity to appropriate it emerge from Adams' analysis. [source] Theologizing the Human Jesus: An Ancient (and Modern) Approach to Christology ReassessedINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2001Ivor Davidson Many contemporary Christologies, while paying lip-service to the primacy of the human Jesus, devote little attention to the theological status of his humanity. They may be deflected from this task by such factors as preference for experienced-based symbol; the fragmentation of biblical studies and dogmatics; the imperatives of contextual hermeneutics; and the preoccupation with methodology rather than substance. But the human Jesus is only theologically meaningful when viewed on a larger canvas than that of either idealist metaphysics or historical reconstruction. The classical doctrines of the anhypostasis and enhypostasis of Jesus' humanity offer a still useful way of highlighting the primacy of grace, and, contrary to common caricature, do not undermine the density of his human experience. Such an account needs to be supplemented, however, with a robust pneumatology in order to specify the relevance of the human Jesus for revelation, salvation, anthropology, ethics and eschatology. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||