How are social protections evolving in the developing world, particularly as those nations confront the challenges of globalization? Scholars in this special issue examine the challenges, continuity, and changes in social protections across the developing world over the last few decades. The common theme that emerges from this informative group of papers is that developing nations are confronting unique politico-economic difficulties as well as opportunities for the development of their welfare programs. This is a vastly understudied topic. The studies in (...) this issue tackle some of the unanswered questions of the globalization–social protection debate in developing economies, with a particular focus on how politics plays into the relationship. These articles hope to initiate a dialogue and offer suggestions for further research in this critical area of study. (shrink)

Positive changes or transformations have been the subject of study within spiritual traditions as well as humanistic and transpersonal psychology. The aim of the current study is to understand the process of transformation among Moslems in Indonesia, who follow spiritual practices, to achieve the nafs al-muṭma ínnah [tranquil self]. Ten participants in Yogyakarta province were involved in this study. They were recruited using nafs al-muṭmaʾinnah scale developed by the authors. In-depth interviews of both the participants and their significant others were (...) conducted. To analyse the data, an interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed. Five themes emerged from the data, including deviation from the basis of religious environment, spiritual discipline, transformative experiences, new characters and a continuous process. We conclude that participants experience spiritual-religious transformation and achieve the state of nafs al-muṭma ínnah [tranquil self]. The process of transformation occurs gradually after a sudden experience, and it continuously happens throughout the course of life. Three factors contribute to the transformation, including the role of predisposition, the role of a spiritual guide and the role of spiritual experiences.Contribution: As the study of spiritual-religious transformation is mainly conducted within a Judea-Christian tradition, this study significantly contributes to the literature by providing spiritual-religious transformation from an Islamic-Sufi perspective. (shrink)

We were delighted to be asked by the editors of the American Journal of Bioethics to provide this editorial in response to Dr. Ariane Lewis’s paper “An Overview of Ethical Issues Raised by Medicole...

In this age of “free-sex”, gurus, Hare-Krishna chanters and transcendental meditation teachers J. Кrisimamurti stands almost alone as a non-guru of outstanding grandeur. His lecture tours in major centers of the world remind one of the historical Buddha who reversed the Upanishadic tradition of teaching in a forest hermitage to a select few by travelling on foot from village to village in North-Eastern India to carry his message of love, compassion and understanding to the masses regardless of caste, color or (...) sex. But historical comparisons are never complete. Whereas the Buddha used the local dialect, adapted his message to the intellectual level of his audience and made free use of stories and parables, Krishna-multi lectures in the English language in his intense analytic style to rapt audiences without any such aid. No wonder the Buddha's appeal and impact historically has been infinitely wider than that of Krishnamurti. And yet, both eschewed dogma, tradition and metaphysical subtleties, and deliberately refused to offer any sugar-coated pills and panaceas for overcoming the pervasive human condition of suffering. They endeavoured to make people “see” and “understand” the human condition in an act of total awareness so as to take them to the very brink of that “creative emptiness”, ultimate freedom and radical change which alone is conducive to the attainment of transcendent peace. In other words, the doctrine of Krishnamurti as that of the Buddha is not for the weak and effeminate who need “crutches” of all kinds but for those who have the courage to help themselves by an act of understanding the way things are without being entangled in theories and conceptual puzzles. It is the intention of this paper to analyze, understand and critically evaluate Krishamurti's concepts of self, action and freedom. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage est l'hommage qu'une des deux filles de Jean Klein (1912-1998), Nita, comédienne et artiste, a décidé de rendre à son père, un des plus célèbres maîtres spirituels du XXe siècle, pour le centième anniversaire de sa naissance. Nita Klein a rassemblé ici de nombreux souvenirs de conversations avec Jean Klein, des inédits, des photographies autour de la question de l'art et de la spiritualité. Jean Klein a été philosophe et un maître spirituel remarquable auteur d'une oeuvre (...) essentielle qui a infuencé de nombreux enseignants contemporains comme Eric Baret, Jean-Bouchart D'Orval, Francis Lucille, Jean-Marc Mantel etc. Même si Jean Klein n'appartenait à aucune école, sa quête de la vérité a rencontré l'Advaïta Vedânta (Non-Dualité) dont il a dit lui-même que " ce n'est pas un système, une religion, une technique. Ce n'est même pas une philosophie, c'est simplement la vérité. " Mais Jean Klein était aussi violoniste (il pratiqua toute sa vie le violon) et s'intéressait à toutes les formes d'art : au théâtre, à la peinture (il était ami de Hans Hartung), à la danse (son autre fille, Malavika, est professeur de danse indienne). Il s'agit donc dans ce livre d'une rencontre entre l'intuition d'un artiste et la recherche indienne de la vérité, recherche plus orientée vers la perception globale de la Réalité que vers les certitudes offertes par le savoir. Nita Klein nous invite à découvrir comment la spiritualité authentique conduit à la création artistique ; comment, dans l'art du théâtre, l'interprétation d'un personnage, peut atteindre à la vérité, quand la personnalité du comédien consent à s'effacer. " En l'absence du "Moi", il y a seulement la vie. ", dit Jean Klein. Et pas seulement dans le théâtre, mais dans la peinture, le dessin, la danse. La Non-Dualité, avec Jean Klein, est une ouverture à la Beauté. (shrink)

Researchers studying human behavioral genetics have made significant scientific progress in enhancing our understanding of the relative contributions of genetics and the environment in observed variations in human behavior. Quickly outpacing the advances in the science are its applications in the criminal justice system. Already, human behavioral genetics research has been introduced in the U.S. criminal justice system, and its use will only become more prevalent. This essay discusses the recent historical use of behavioral genetics in criminal cases, recent advances (...) in two gene variants of particular interest in the criminal law, MAOA and SLC6A4, the recent expert testimony on behalf of criminal defendants with respect to these two gene variants, and the future direction of behavioral genetics evidence in criminal cases. (shrink)

Leibniz sustains three arguments for spontaneity: the argument from the complete notion, the argument from substantial forms and the argument from monadicspontaneity. In order to see the nature of spontaneity and whether the spontaneity is an inferior value with respect to freedom, as it appears in the Theodicy, inthe first part of the paper I will present spontaneity in connection with the theory of complete notion; in the second part, spontaneity and substantial forms; in the third part, spontaneity of monads; (...) then I will finish with a more general view about spontaneity and freedom. (shrink)

L’une de très importants idées sur l’idéalisme transcendantale kantien vise les notions qui sont impliquées dans cette démarche philosophique: l’espace, le temps et la réalité. On a ici le motive pour lequel nous nous proposons de presenter les relations entre l’existence et la réalité, d’une partie, et l’actualité et la réalité, d’autre partie, dans le conditions que la plupart des traductions de Kant usent dans un mode indistincte les termes “réalité ” et “actualité”.

We will focus on the theory of complete concept in the philosophy of Leib-niz. We will not emphasise the epistemological aspects, but rather will concentrate on the metaphysical implications of this theory. Some questions requiring an answer will be: are there two individual substances of the same kind? What is the nature of a substance that is only possible? What kind of notion has the unactualised possible? What is the nature of the relationship between individual substance and the complete no-tion? (...) In order to answer these questions, we will present in the first part of the paper the concept of individual substance, in the second part, we will focus on the problem whether the possible objects have or have not a complete concept, and in the third part we will give some additional arguments to support our answer. (shrink)

For the average person, genetic testing has two very different faces. The rise of genetic testing is often promoted as the democratization of genetics by enabling individuals to gain insights into their unique makeup. At the same time, many have raised concerns that genetic testing and sequencing reveal intensely personal and private information. As these technologies become increasingly available as consumer products, the ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges presented by genomics are ever looming. Assembling multidisciplinary experts, this volume evaluates the (...) different models used to deliver consumer genetics and considers a number of key questions: How should we mediate privacy and other ethical concerns around genetic databases? Does aggregating data from genetic testing turn people into products by commercializing their data? How might this data reduce or exacerbate existing healthcare disparities? Contributing authors also provide guidance on protecting consumer privacy and safety while promoting innovation. (shrink)

Around 96 percent of children with hearing loss are born to parents with intact hearing, who may initially know little about deafness or sign language. Therefore, such parents will need information and support in making decisions about the medical, linguistic, and educational management of their child. Some of these decisions are time-sensitive and irreversible and come at a moment of emotional turmoil and vulnerability (when some parents grieve the loss of a normally hearing child). Clinical research indicates that a deaf (...) child’s poor communication skills can be made worse by increased level of parental depression. Given this, the importance of reliable and up-to-date support for parents’ decisions is critical to the overall well-being of their child. In raising and educating a child, parents are often offered an exclusive choice between an oral environment (including assistive technology, speech reading, and voicing) and a signing environment. A heated controversy surrounds this choice, and has since at least the late 19th century, beginning with the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf in Milan, held in 1880. While families seek advice from many sources, including, increasingly, the internet, the primary care physician (PCP) is the professional medical figure the family interacts with repeatedly.The present article aims to help family advisors, particularly the PCP and other medical advisors in this regard. We argue that deaf children need to be exposed regularly and frequently to good language models in both visual and auditory modalities from the time hearing loss is detected and continued throughout their education to ensure proper cognitive, psychological, and educational development. Since there is, unfortunately, a dearth of empirical studies on many of the issues families must confront, professional opinions, backed by what studies do exist, are the only option. We here give our strongly held professional opinions and stress the need for improved research studies in these areas. (shrink)