George Yancy gathers white scholarship that dwells on the experience of whiteness as a problem without sidestepping the question’s implications for Black people or people of color. This unprecedented reversion of the “Black problem” narrative challenges contemporary rhetoric of a color-evasive world in a critically engaging and persuasive study.

In this collection, white women philosophers engage boldly in critical acts of exploring ways of naming and disrupting whiteness in terms of how it has defined the conceptual field of philosophy. Focuses on the whiteness of the epistemic and value-laden norms within philosophy itself, the text dares to identify the proverbial elephant in the room known as white supremacy and how that supremacy functions as the measure of reason, knowledge, and philosophical intelligibility.

Caring for the competent, fragile, elderly patient at the end of life is becoming increasingly challenging. This case explores several ethical areas of concern that arise when caring for patients who have written durable powers of attorney for health care decisions and face life or death choices. Areas covered are informed consent with the elderly patient, the family's right to be involved in decision-making, futility of treatment, and the nurse's role as patient advocate during times of difficult decision-making. Recommendations for (...) increased nursing intervention during these times are incorporated. Les soins des personnes âgés, fragiles mais toujours compétentes et dont la vie touche à sa fin, posent des problèmes de plus en plus urgents. Cet article discute de plusieurs aspets qui se manifestent dans les soins des malades ayant écrit des mandats concernants leurs soins et qui doivent maintenant prendre des décisions graves concernant la vie ou la mort. Les aspets dont il s'agit dans cet article sont: le consentement informé des personnes âgés: le droit de la famille de participer à la décision; les traitements inutiles; et le rôle des infirmiers/ères pour plaider leur cause pendant des moments difficles de prises de décisions. Des recommendations pour de plus importantes interventions infirmières sont comprises. Die Pflege der geistig kompetenten aber hinfälligen Personen im hohen Alter stellt immer grössere Anforderungen. Dieser Artikel untersucht verschiedene ethische Aspekte, die bei der Pflege von Patienten, die eine schriftliche Vollmacht über medizinische Behandlung ausgestellt haben für ihre Pflege und jetzt Entscheidungen über Leben oder Tod treffen müssen. Der Artikel umfasst folgende Bereiche: informierten Zustimmung des Patienten, das Mitbestimmungsrecht der Familie, Zwecklosigkeit der Behandlung, und die Rolle des Pflegepersonals als Fürsprecher der Patienten bei schwierigen Entscheidungen. Empfehlungen für eine grössere Beteiligung oder Mitbestimmung des Pflegepersonals in diesen Fällen sind eingeschlossen. (shrink)

Objetiva-se neste artigo apresentar a religião à luz da fenomenologia hermenêutica heideggeriana, cujo centro é a faktische Lebenserfahrung , elaborada por Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) nos primórdios de sua obra. Para atingir esse objetivo, serão tomadas três obras do filósofo alemão: Phänomenologie des Religiösen Leben s , de 1920-21; Phänomenologische Interpretationen zu Aristoteles , de 1921-22; e Ontologie. Hermeneutik der Faktizität , de 1923. Delas serão inferidos os conceitos de fenomenologia, de hermenêutica e de facticidade, que fundamentam outros conceitos importantes, tais (...) como mundo, história, fenômeno e experiência. Em seguida, será apresentado o modo como, em três experiências cristãs, o filósofo desenvolve esses conceitos na análise da religião: as cartas paulinas aos Gálatas e aos Tessalonicenses, o livro X das Confissões de Agostinho e a mística medieval. Com isso, conclui-se que a religião é experiência religiosa, desenvolvida em meio à vida fática, com todas as suas tensões, inquietações e projeções. A religião é, então, experiência do divino no locus fático da vida em que a existência encontra seu próprio sentido. Palavras-chave : Fenomenologia. Hermenêutica. Faktische Lebenserfahrung .: This article aims to present religion in the light of Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology, based on the faktische Lebenserfahrung developed by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) in the early writings of its work. To achieve this goal, three works of the German philosopher will be taken into account: Phänomenologie des Religiösen Lebens from 1920-21, Phänomenologische Interpretationen zu Aristoteles de 1921-22 e Ontologie. Hermeutik der Faktizität de 1923. From these works, it will be inferred concepts of phenomenology, hermeneutics and facticity, that underlie other important concepts such as world, history, phenomenon and experience. Afterwards, the way how this philosopher develops these concepts in the analysis of the Christian religion will be presented through three Christian experiments: the Pauline letters to the Galatians and Thessalonians, the Book X of Augustine Confessions and the medieval mysticism. Finally, this article points out that religion is religious experience developed through factual life, with all its tension, anxieties and projections. Religion is then the experience of the divine in the factual locus of the life in which the existence finds its own meaning. Keywords : Phenomenology. Hermeneutics. Faktische Lebenserfahrung. (shrink)

Quando uma vida e uma morte estão totalmente incorporadas na doutrina cristã ou muçulmana, e quem deve ter a palavra final sobre uma questão tão importante? No cristianismo e no islamismo, o martírio nunca aparece como algo independente, é sempre colocado em conexão com a bravura, o amor, a coragem e a determinação – e muito mais. O mártir é uma “espécie” específica, um crente por excelência. Que critérios devem ser cumpridos para falar de um mártir no cristianismo e no (...) islamismo? Esta é uma questão que está se tornando cada vez mais importante devido a vários processos de radicalização no mundo. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar os critérios cristãos e muçulmanos do martírio de uma forma compacta e elaborar o interesse da política no martírio. Über die Ambivalenzen des Martyriums Wann ist ein Leben und ein Tod ganz in der christlichen bzw. der muslimischen Lehre eingebettet und wer soll über eine so fundamental wichtige Frage das letzte Wort haben? Im Christentum und im Islam tritt das Martyrium niemals als etwas Eigenständiges auf, es wird immer in Beziehung zu Tapferkeit, Liebe, Mut und Entschlossenheit – und vielem mehr – gesetzt. Der Märtyrer ist eine spezifische Spezies“, ein Gläubiger par excellence. Welche Kriterien müssen erfüllt sein, damit im Christentum und Islam von einem Märtyrer gesprochen werden kann? Eine Frage, die aufgrund verschiedener Radikalisierungsprozesse auf der Welt immer wichtiger wird und die nach einer Antwort verlangt. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, christliche und muslimische Kriterien des Martyriums kompakt aufzuzeigen und das Interesse der Politik herauszuarbeiten. Schlüsselwörter: Martyrium. Christentum. Islam. Gewalt. Politik. (shrink)

Structured interviews were held with 149 registered nurses in seven countries in America, Asia, Australia and Europe concerning the feeding of severely demented patients who do not accept food. The most common reasons for nurses being willing to change their decision to feed or not to feed were an order from the medical head, a request from the patient's husband and/or the staff meeting. There was a connection between the willingness to feed and the ranking of ethical principles. Nurses who (...) were most prone to feed the patient most often gave a high rank to the ethical principle of sanctity of life, while those who primarily chose not to feed the patient gave a high rank to the ethical principle of autonomy. All nurses stressed the ethical principle of beneficence. Des interviews structurés ont eu lieu avec 149 infirmiers/ères dans sept pays en Amérique, Asie, Australie et Europe concernant l'alimentation des malades gravement dément qui refusent de manger. La raison la plus générale pour des infirmiers/ères d'être prêt à changer leures décisions de donner à manger ou non sont: un ordre du médecin, la demande du mari de la malade ou de la réunion du personnel. Il y avait un lien entre la volonté de nourir et le rang des principes éthiques. Les infirmiers/ères les plus enclins de nourir la malade le plus souvent donnaient un rang supérieur au principe éthique de la sainteté de vie, pendant que ceux et celles qui choisissaient de ne pas nourrir la malade donnaient un rang supérieur au principe éthique de l'autonomie. Tous insistaient sur l'importance du principe éthique de la bienfaisance. Konstruktive Interviews wurden mit 149 ausgebildeten Krankenschwestern und Pfleger in sieben Ländern in Amerika, Asien, Australien und Europa gehalten über die Ernährung von schwer von Dementia praecox leidenden Patienten, die das Essen verweigern. Die gewöhnlichsten Gründe des Pflegepersonals für die Bereitwilligkeit, ihre Entscheidung, zu ernähren oder nicht, zu ändern, waren Anordnungen vom medizinischen Chef, Anfragen vom Ehemann der Patientin und/oder einer Personalsitzung. Es bestand ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Bereitwilligkeit zur Ernährung und dem Rang der ethischen Prinzipien. Die Pflegenden, die sich am meisten neigten, die Patientin zu ernähren, gaben dem ethischen Prinzip der Heiligkeit des Lebens einen hohen Rang, während die, die meistens vorzogen, die Patientin nicht zu ernähren, gaben dem ethischen Prinzip der Autonomie einen hohen Rang. Alle Pflegenden legten grossen Wert auf das ethische Prinzip der Wohltätigkeit. (shrink)

My topic may seem a bizarre mixture of epistemology and value theory; and perhaps it is best to acknowledge this oddity at once. I should also, perhaps, confess that such a mixture has always seemed something to aspire to. Any philosopher who has made it seem that feeling strongly about something, valuing it highly, is an inevitable consequence of the nature of human understanding, that from the facts of knowledge or perception one can derive the inescapable facts of emotion or (...) desire, any such philosopher has always deeply appealed to me. I am therefore a confessed perpetrator of the naturalistic fallacy. Indeed I go further, and say that I love the fallacy. So Spinoza, Hume and Sartre all seem to me to be real philosophers, on the grounds that for them this connexion between knowing and wanting seemed inevitable. My aim is to illustrate this kind of connexion by suggesting that the human imagination is such that we ought to value it and respect it more highly than anything else; and that therefore, if it can be educated and improved, it is to this education that we should give priority, if we are concerned with education at all. It may seem on the face of it absurd to say that we ought to value any particular human faculty or capacity. It may be thought that this is not the kind of object or evaluation with which at any rate philosophers should be concerned. But the fact is, of course, that we do value very highly indeed all kinds of capacities that we have, such as sight, and hearing and understanding. And being unashamedly naturalistic, I have no hesitation in saying not only that we do value them, but that we ought to; they are, in every sense, valuable. (shrink)

First published in 1984, Cultural Analysis is a systematic examination of the theories of culture contained in the writings of four contemporary social theorists: Peter L. Berger, Mary Douglas, Michel Foucault, and Jürgen Habermas. This study of their work clarifies their contributions to the analysis of culture and shows the converging assumptions that the authors believe are laying the foundation for a new approach to the study of culture. The focus is specifically on culture, a concept that remains subject to (...) ambiguities of treatment, and concentrates on questions concerning the definition and content of culture, its construction, its relations with social conditions, and the manner in which it may be changing. The books demonstrates how these writers have made strides towards defining culture as an objective element of social interaction which can be subjected to critical investigation. (shrink)

This collection provides a complete version of Shelley's masterpiece Frankenstein as well as her short fiction and letters.

The past 25 years have seen an upsurge of interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene, whose image has been transformed through feminist scholarship from penitent prostitute to prominent disciple of Jesus. This article documents another, non-academic, interpretation of Mary Magdalene – the image of Mary as goddess or embodiment of the female divine. The most influential proponent of this view is Margaret Starbird, who hypothesizes that Mary was both Jesus’ wife and his divine feminine counterpart. The author suggests that (...) feminist theologians/thealogians should be aware of this popular understanding of Mary; and consider what it is about Mary Magdalene as the sacred feminine/bride of Jesus/sophia that captures the public imagination in a way that other feminist christologies do not. (shrink)

Feared and admired in equal measure, Mary Midgely has carefully, yet profoundly challenged many of the scientific and moral orthodoxies of the twentieth century. The Essential Mary Midgley collects for the first time the very best of this famous philosopher's work, described by the Financial Times as "commonsense philosophy of the highest order." This anthology includes carefully chosen selections from her best-selling books, including Wickedness, Beast and Man, Science and Poetry and The Myths We Live By . It provides a (...) superb and eminently accessible insight into questions she has returned to again and again in her renowned sharp prose, from the roots of human nature, reason and imagination to the myths of science and the importance of holism in thinking about science and the environment. It offers an unrivalled introduction to a great philosopher and a brilliant writer, and also includes a specially written foreword by James Lovelock. (shrink)

In February 1828 a Royal Commission was appointed to examine the law of Real Property of England and Wales. The Commission sat for four years and examined a vast amount of material, recommended certain changes in the law, and drafted several bills for consideration by parliament. Four massive reports were eventually presented to parliament in May 1829, June 1830, May 1832, and lastly in April 1833. As a result parliament enacted a limited number of piecemeal reforms, but did not attempt (...) a major revision of the law. (shrink)

Mary Daly had a complicated relationship to the Catholic tradition. While it is commonly assumed that she rejected it thoroughly, this article offers a more nuanced look at the various ways in which it shaped her thinking. What is clear is that she had a decisive impact on the Catholic tradition, indeed on religion in general. Language about the divine, images of deities, human participation in things spiritual will never be the same after her thorough-going feminist critique. Her legacy is (...) multi-faceted like the woman herself. (shrink)

La Colombiade war bis zur französischen Revolution ein in Frankreich und in den westeuropäischen Ländern vielbeachtetes Epos. Aus heutiger Sicht ist das gut lesbare Gedicht erneut von Interesse: es wägt Segnungen und Schäden der Kolonialisierung gegeneinander ab, propagiert die Idee eines auf wissenschaftlichem und humanistischem Ethos gegründeten Europas, und artikuliert das aufklärerische Selbstbewusstsein einer schreibenden Frau. Die Einführung der Herausgeberin stellt das Gedicht in den Wissenshorizont der Entstehungszeit und skizziert die Rezeption. Der Anhang informiert über Textvarianten, bringt erläuternde Anmerkungen und (...) einen bibliographischen Informationsteil. (shrink)