The purpose of this article is to initiate a philosophical discussion about the ethical component of professional competence in nursing from the perspective of Brazilian nurses. Specifically, this article discusses professional competence in nursing practice in the Brazilian health context, based on two different conceptual frameworks. The first framework is derived from the idealistic and traditional approach while the second views professional competence through the lens of historical and dialectical materialism theory. The philosophical analyses show that the idealistic view of (...) professional competence differs greatly from practice. Combining nursing professional competence with philosophical perspectives becomes a challenge when ideals are opposed by the reality and implications of everyday nursing practice. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to initiate a philosophical discussion about the ethical component of professional competence in nursing from the perspective of Brazilian nurses. Specifically, this article discusses professional competence in nursing practice in the Brazilian health context, based on two different conceptual frameworks. The first framework is derived from the idealistic and traditional approach while the second views professional competence through the lens of historical and dialectical materialism theory. The philosophical analyses show that the idealistic view of (...) professional competence differs greatly from practice. Combining nursing professional competence with philosophical perspectives becomes a challenge when ideals are opposed by the reality and implications of everyday nursing practice. (shrink)

Making History Matter: Kuroita Katsumi and the Construction of Imperial Japan. By Lisa Yoshikawa. Harvard East Asian Monographs, vol. 402. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, Harvard University Press, 2017. Pp. xii + 367. $49.95.

This article deals with developments of Shinto in the seventeenth century, focussing on the school of Yoshikawa Shinto. It is presented as an example of the coalition between Shinto and Neo-Confucianism intellectuals typical for that time. Pointing out the medieval predecessors of this coalition, the article argues that the theological ideas of Yoshikawa Shinto were much more indebted to medieval Shinto than is generally assumed. This is demonstrated by a doctrinal comparison as well as by a historiographical sketch (...) of the relations between Yoshikawa Shinto and Yoshida Shinto. Both schools regarded themselves as legitimate representatives of Japan's original Way of the kami. The article examines the internaljustifications of these claims as well as their acknowledgments by thepolitical authorities. (shrink)

This article looks into how Tibetan Buddhism is framed in terms of East-West dichotomy in six popular books on Buddhism and spirituality. Discourse Historical Approach is employed to uncover the rhetorical representation of Tibetan Buddhism to the readers. A critical post-colonial perspective offers an insight into various power dynamics, arising from these representations, structured according to Yoshikawa's model of intercultural communication between East and West. The various power outcomes of rhetorical styles range from Ethnocentric to Dialogical, with their ethical (...) consequences and problematics discussed. (shrink)