Written by leading international scholars, this interesting book traces how our modern understanding of faith and reason has evolved. It provides an invaluable guide to the history of modern philosophical theology and clearly identifies why the relationship between faith and reason is of such social and philosophical importance today.

Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) is an efficient mental practice with a long history that has recently attracted interest in the fields of neuroscience, medicine and education. However, the neural characters and underlying mechanisms have not yet been fully illustrated, which has hindered its practical usefulness. This study aimed to investigate LKM from varied aspects and interactions between the brain, the heart, and psychological measurements. A Buddhist monk practitioner was recruited to complete one 10-min LKM practice, in between two 10-min resting tasks (...) (pre- and post-resting) per experimental run. Two sets of single-channel wearable EEG devices were used to collect EEG data (placed at Fz and Pz) and heart rate simultaneously. A self-report evaluation was conducted to repeatedly record the comprehensive performance of mind and body in each session. EEG data were preprossessed and analyzed by EEGlab. Further statistics were made by SPSS. Spectrum analysis showed a significant increase of theta power (Fz: t = −3.356; p = 0.002; Pz: t = −5.199; p < 0.001) and decrease of heart rate between pre- and post-resting tasks (t = 4.092, p < 0.001). The analysis showed a negative correlation between theta power and heart rate (Fz: r = −0.681, p < 0.001; Pz: r = −0.384, p = 0.008), and a positive correlation between theta power and the self-designed report score (Fz: r = 0.601, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that LKM is accompanied by significant neurophysiological changes, mainly an increase in slower frequencies, such as theta, and a decrease in heart rate. More importantly, subjective psychological assessments were also correlated with objective neurophysiological measurements in a long-term meditator participant. During LKM meditation, this connection was stronger. The results of this case report have promising implications for LKM practice in daily life. (shrink)

This book is a collection of articles on different aspects of university education in China since the late nineteenth century, addressing how far the ideal of modern university education, which has gradually been developed in the West since the age of European Enlightenment, was adopted or transformed by Chinese universities.

Using two firm-level datasets in Korea, we analyzed the effects of corporate social responsibility on employment relations. We propose that participation in corporate social activity may not necessarily reflect an ethical commitment to do “the right thing,” but instead can be associated with mobilizing internal resources to offset the costs imposed by external CSR involvement undertaken because of social pressure. Analysis of the two datasets showed similar results. The results demonstrate that socially responsible actions facilitate employer tendency to use performance-based (...) pay and efficiency-based work practices. We also find that CSR has a negative association with employment growth and increased labor flexibility through contingent employment. These findings shed light on the internal impact of CSR involvement on a firm’s employment policies with respect to resource allocation. (shrink)

In this book, David B. Wong defends an ambitious and important new version of moral relativism. He does not espouse the type of relativism that says anything goes, but he does start with a relativist stance against alternative theories such that there need not be only one universal truth. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities existing across different traditions and cultures, all with one core human question as to how we can all live (...) together. (shrink)

Several important physical implications left out in The Five Dimension Space-Time Universe: A creation and grand unified field theory model. Book, are presented under rigorous mathematical theorems. It was found that Temperature, a classical variable, must be added as an imaginary component to time, under the Quantum uncertainty dt∙dE = h/2π, so that the Gell-Mann Quark model can be verified, with gauge invariance, to form hadrons at the Bethe Fusion Temperature. Accordingly from the corresponding uncertainty dp∙dr = h/2π. Pairs of (...) Diagonal Long Range Ordered gravitons, with continuous frequency spectrum together with those represented by magnetic monopoles must be formed within the space r, of the homogenous 5D manifold, without the presents of photons, thus defines the 5D as a Black Hole. Then from which we can derive the classical Newtonian Law of attractive Gravity, as the 5D manifold is mapped by Perelmann Ricci-flow entropy mapping and the DLRO graviton pair symmetry is broken and converted into two masses, with motions satisfying Special Relativity in the doughnut shape Lorentz manifold, thus indirectly verifies the principle of Covariant Riemannian curvatures and General Relativity theory. (shrink)

The present study investigates the dynamics of emotional processing and awareness using an affective facial priming paradigm in conjunction with a multimodal assessment of awareness. Key facial primes are visually masked, and are presented for brief and extended durations. Using a preference measure, we examine whether the effects of the primes differ qualitatively . We show that: unconscious affective priming with faces emerges strongly in initial presentations and diminishes rapidly with repetition; conscious affective priming also emerges strongly in initial presentations, (...) however it persists in strength with repetition; and in contrast to other reports on the salience of negative stimuli, happy faces appear more salient than sad faces when presented outside awareness. We discuss the limits and extensions of unconscious affective priming with faces, and consider several methodological and conceptual questions concerning emotional processing out of awareness. (shrink)

SummaryThe approaches to the possibility of theology as science are divided roughly into three types: first, the internalist approach which rejects any attempt to verify the objective validity of revelation under the general concept of science. Second, the externalist approach which demands the verification of objective validity of revelatory truth. Third, the inclusivist approach which seeks the scientificity of theology from a hermeneutic perspective. Outlining the crucial points and limits of these approaches and replacing the question about theology as science (...) with a theological reexamination of the possibility of science in general, this paper tries to suggest an alternative approach by establishing the possibility of scientific knowledge in general from the trinitarian perspective. Under this reformulation of the question, the philosophy of science set forth by Fichte as the most rigorous model of theory of science is critically explored. In conclusion, it is argued that the ultimate ground of all human knowledge and science consists in the eternal divine love and trust in it. (shrink)

This article presents Mencius' concept of human dignity in the Chinese Confucian moral tradition, focused on the context of long-term care. The double nature of Mencius' notion of human dignity as an intrinsic quality of human beings qua being human is analyzed and contrasted with the dominant Western account of human dignity as grounded in personhood. Drawing on the heuristic force of an interview with an elder person in Hong Kong, the insights of the Mencian theory of human dignity are (...) used to provide a moral foundation for long-term care for elder persons in a context of diminishing personhood and shrinking autonomy. (shrink)

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in organizational trends to hire irregular workers. This inclination, in a time of great flux and uncertainty, exacerbates human resource issues faced by firms. We argue that corporate social responsibility can be an important antecedent to improve the workplace attitudes of irregular workers and as a result reduce the negative impact on organizations of the increased use of an irregular workforce. Hence, we explore the relationship between perceived CSR and unfairness perception (...) and social relations of subcontracted workers with regular workers. We further attempt to explain these relationships through the mediating effects of psychological contract violation and organizational identity, respectively. Our analysis supports a negative effect of composite and external CSR on unfairness perception and positive effect on social relations. Additionally, our results support partial mediating roles of psychological contract violation and organizational identity. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are also discussed. (shrink)

ResumeLa question du filtrage de ľinformation génétique dans la cellule est fondamentale. Comment la cellule sélectionne‐t‐elle, avant de les transformer en RNA puis en protéines, certaines parties bien déterminées de son information génétique? Il ne sera probablement pas possible de donner une explication cohérente du développement embryonnaire, de la différentiation cellulaire et du maintien de ľétat différencie tant que nous n'aurons pas repondu de manière satis‐faisante à cette question.Dans un premier chapitre, quelques notions de base concernant ľexpression génétique sont préséntées. (...) Le dogme de flux de ľinformation génétique dans la cellule, DNARNA protéine est valable à la fois pour les procaryotes et les eucaryotes malgré des différences significatives au niveau de la structure et de la régulation des gènes. Contrairement aux génes procaryotes, la plu‐part des gènes eucaryotes sont morcelés. Le DNA codant pour une protéine est interrompu par des régions non‐codantes dont les transcrits sont éliminés par excision pendant la maturation du RNA messager ultérieurement traduit en protéine. Une grande variété de mécanismes interviennent dans la régulation de ľactivité de ces gènes.Le pouvoir et les limites des méthodes modernes de ľanalyse structurale et fonctionnelle des génes sont discutés dans la deuxième partie de ľarticle. Ľhybridation moléculaire reposant sur la complémentarité des bases azotées des acides nucléiques joue un rôle déterminant dans ľétude de la complexity des génomes et de leur expression. Récemment, ľapplication de la technologie du DNA recombinant et des techniques annexes a permis ľisolement ainsi que la caractérisation de plusieurs génes eucaryotes. La question de ľexpression différentielle de ces génes est actuellement intensément étudiée dans plusieurs systèmes de transcription ayant chacun ses points forts et ses faiblesses.En guise de conclusion, quelques implications de ľessor prodigieux que connaît la génétique moléculaire sont discutées.SummaryThe question of selective expression of genetic information in the cell is fundamental. How does a cell choose particular parts of its genetic information prior to transforming them into RNA and then into proteins? It will probably not be possible to give a coherent explanation of embryonic development, of cell differentiation, and of the maintenance of the differentiated state as until we have answered this question satisfactorily.In the first chapter, several basic notions concerning genetic expression are presented. The central dogma of the flow of genetic information in the cell, DNARNA‐ protein is valid both for prokaryotes and eukaryotes despite significant differences at the level of gene structure and regulation. In contrast to prokaryotic genes, most eukaryotic genes are split. The DNA coding for a protein is interrupted by non‐coding regions whose transcripts are eliminated by excision during the maturation of the messenger RNA which will subsequently be translated into protein. A wide variety of mecanisms are implicated in the regulation of these genes.The scope and limits of modern methods for the structural and functional analyses of genes are discussed in the second part of the article. Molecular hybridization, which is based on the complementarity between the bases of the nucleic acids, plays a key role in the study of the complexity and expression of genes. Recently, the application of recombinant DNA technology and associated techniques has allowed the isolation as well as the characterization of several eukaryotic genes. The question of the differential expression of these genes is currently studied intensively in many transcription systems which all have their strengths and weaknesses.As a conclusion, several implications of the prodigious progress of molecular genetics are discussed.ZusammenfassungDie Frage nach der selektiven Expression der genetischen Information in der Zelle ist fundamental. Wie wählt eine Zelle bestimmte Teile ihrer genetischen Information, um diese dann in RNA und Proteine zu übersetzen? Wahrscheinlich wird es nicht möglich sein, eine vollständige Erklärung für die Embryonalentwicklung, für die Zeildifferenzierung und für di Aufrechterhaltung des differenzierten Zustandes zu geben, bevor wir eine befriedigende Antwort auf diese Frage gefunden haben.Im ersten Kapitel sind mehrere grundlegende Erkenntnisse über die Genexpression dargestellt. Das zentrale Dogma über den Fluss der genetischen Information in der Zelle, DNA RNA Protein, gilt sowohl für Prokaryonten als auch für Eukaryonten trotz bedeutender Unterschiede auf der Ebene der Genstruktur und Genregulation. Im Gegensatz zu den Genen von Prokaryonten sind die meisten Gene der Eukaryonten unterteilt. Die DNA, welche für ein Protein kodiert, ist durch nicht‐kodierende Regionen unterbrochen, welche wahrend des Reifungsprozesses der messenger RNA herausgeschnitten werden. Diese messenger RNA wird schliesslich in ein Protein iibersetzt. Sehr verschiedenartige Mechanismen sind an der Regulation dieser Gene beteiligt.Im zweiten Teil des Artikels werden Ziele und Grenzen moderner Methoden zur Analyse von Struktur und Funktion von Genen diskutiert. Molekulare Hybridisation, welche auf der Komplementarität zwischen den Basen der Nukleinsäuren beruht, spielt eine Schlüsselrolle in der Analyse der Komplexität und Expression der Gene. Die Anwendung der rekombinanten DNA Technologie sowie damit zusammenhängender Methoden hat kürzlich die Isolierung und Charak‐terisierung verschiedener eukaryontischer Gene erlaubt. Die Frage nach der differenziellen Expression dieser Gene wird gegenwärtig mit Hilfe verschiedener Transkriptionssysteme, welche alle ihre Stärken und Schwächen haben, intensiv studiert.Zusammenfassend werden verschiedene Implikationen des gewaltigen Fortschrittes der molekularen Genetik diskutiert. (shrink)

This paper is to inform the recent situations of work by the foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Hong Kong through the lens of Covid-19. Through the interviews with seven informants — two employers and five FDWs, stories describing the changes in their working conditions, rights and entitlement, and the contextual environment related to the impacts of Covid-19 were collected. They were analysed through three theoretical tools — visibility/invisibility, mobility/immobility, and work boundary. The findings show that under the Covid-19 crisis, the (...) FDWs experienced more hardships and struggles in both the home country and host country. The paradoxes of visibility/invisibility and mobility/immobility together with blurred work boundary were found in their experience of work, rights and entitlement, and the contextual environment. On one hand, the employers’ power of controlling FDWs has increased, but the agency to resist by the FDWs has decreased making them to turn to more passive means of resistance which could harm the FDWs’ physical and mental health and wellbeing. (shrink)

I understand (MR) as meaning that there is a way the world is that is independent of our minds or representations. One may also state (MR) in terms of ‘A description/language independent world/reality’ or ‘a conceptual scheme independent world/reality’. For our purposes, we need not distinguish these variants of formulation.

SUMMARYThis paper purports to show that important traces of Chinese humanism existed in the Shang long before the founding of the Chou dynasty in 1111 B.C. despite the opinion in vogue which regards superstition as the Shang's style of life and humanism as the dominant theme of the Chou's culture. The discovery of humanism in the Shang enables us not only to endorse once more the continuity of cultures of Shang and Chou, but also to suggest placing the beginning of (...) Chinese humanism and thought at a much earlier date. (shrink)

I thought the paper by Kai-yee Wong and Chris Fraser was fascinating and insightful. Two things I especially appreciated are the clarity with which they summarize my views. I think they are quite fair and accurate. Second, I appreciate their suggestion that the way to deal with the practical problem of weakness of will has much to do with the role of the Background in shaping our actions. I think they are especially on the right track when they say (...) that the improvement of Background skills may actually narrow the range of real options for action, (p. 21) nonetheless, they do not decrease freedom. As they say, “It is a process of strengthening the self, and the agent is likely to experience the concomitant restriction of ‘live’ options not as a limitation but as strength of character.” (p. 21). That seems to me very much on the right track. What they are suggesting, and it is a powerful addition to my own writings, is that we should not just think of the Background as facilitating languages, games and social practices generally, but for morality as well (p. 23). (shrink)

Although the same environmental regulations apply to all regions in China, legal enforcement can be different due to local economic development priorities. There is still a lack of knowledge about how regional disparities affect the operating performance results of the implementation of corporate environmental management practices, thus providing little information for foreign companies when they invest and develop their production base in China. To fill this research gap, this paper collects data from the Fortune 500 Chinese firms to investigate the (...) moderating role of regional disparities in affecting the performance results of corporate environmental management efforts based on the institutional theory. The disclosed corporate environmental responsibility practices serve as proxy to represent corporate environmental management practices. Content analysis approach was applied to collect and analyze CER practices published in the corporate reports of Chinese manufacturers. The results show that CER has a positive impact on operating income, while regional disparities influence the relationship between CER and corporate operating income. Specifically, CER and operating income are positively related in Eastern China; on the contrary, they are negatively related in Western China. This paper adds to the body of knowledge about environmental discrepancies in the same emerging economy, and provides insights for systematic consideration in terms of the issues of government environmental regulations and corporate environmental strategies. (shrink)

The view defended is one sense externalist on the relation between moral reasons and motivation: A's having a moral reason to do X does not necessarily imply that A has a motivation that would support A's doing X via some appropriate deliberative route. However, it is in another sense externalist in holding that there are the kind of moral reasons there are only if the relevant motivational capacities are "generally present" in human beings, if not in all individuals. The process (...) of socialization is an attempt to embed the recognition of what we have moral reason to do in the intentional content of one's feelings. E.g., learning that about others' suffering embeds their suffering as a reason to help in the intentional content of incipient compassionate feelings. This endows the reason with motivational efficacy while conferring further direction to the feelings in ways that shape us for social cooperation. (shrink)

This is a critical discussion of Paul Humphreys's fusion view of emergence, focusing on the basal loss feature of his ontology. The discussion yields some general morals for special science ontology.

Violence against women is understood as a public health issue that has long-term health consequences for women. Economic inequality and women’s economic dependence on men make women vulnerable to violence. One approach to addressing poverty is through basic income, a cash transfer for all individuals which is not dependent on their employment status. This paper examines the relationship between basic income and violence against women by surveying different forms of cash transfer programs and their association with intimate partner violence, sexual (...) exploitation, and systemic violence. Previous reviews report that cash transfers can be associated with decreased intimate partner violence. This review goes beyond existing systematic reviews by including intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation, and systemic violence for a broader understanding of how cash transfers relate to violence against women. Search databases include EBSCOhost search with Medline, Social Science Abstracts, APA PsychINFO, Social Work Abstracts. Search terms were “basic income” or “cash transfer” and “women” and “violence” or “homicide” or “sexual risk.” Other terms searched were “indigenous” or “colonial” or “systemic”. This search included articles reporting on cash transfers as the exposure and an indicator of violence against women as the outcome. Articles were excluded if it did not fit these criteria and were not written in English. This search yielded 28 articles that described intimate partner violence (emotional, physical, or sexual), 15 articles that described sexual exploitation, and no articles describing systemic violence against women. We used other supplemental articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria to pinpoint gaps in literature on systemic violence. These papers were analyzed through a feminist lens, an intersectional approach in addition to other theories. This search resulted in 43 articles. Consistent with other reviews on this subject matter, many recipients of cash transfers reported feeling empowered by it. A large proportion of articles found that cash transfers have a decreased association with physical forms of IPV overall, however some articles report decreased, increased, or unchanged outcomes for emotional IPV, such as aggression, controlling behaviours, or threats. Cash transfers may also be associated with reduced sexual exploitation as nine out of 11 studies reported that participants reduced their number of sex trade interactions due to having their financial needs met and studies also reported their perceived increased autonomy in sexual decision-making. This article outlines the gaps in literature, including the examination of cash transfers and systemic violence that can guide future research to best understand how cash transfer impact violence against women. (shrink)

I argue that it is a main theme of Davidson's theory of interpretation that interpretive charity implies the impossibility of massive disagreement. There is clear textual support for that. I then argue that from the first-person point of view of a full-blooded interpreter, the theme must be accepted; and that is precisely why Davidson accepts it. If massive disagreement between speaker and interpreter seems to us easy to imagine, it is only because the imagination involved is third-personal and not full-blooded.

This article presents Mencius' concept of human dignity in the Chinese Confucian moral tradition, focused on the context of long-term care. The double nature of Mencius' notion of human dignity as an intrinsic quality of human beings qua being human is analyzed and contrasted with the dominant Western account of human dignity as grounded in personhood. Drawing on the heuristic force of an interview with an elder person in Hong Kong, the insights of the Mencian theory of human dignity are (...) used to provide a moral foundation for long-term care for elder persons in a context of diminishing personhood and shrinking autonomy. (shrink)

This paper aims to provide a rendition of the care ethic in Confucian philosophy and to argue that social policy developments in Hong Kong society, including health care policy, have been significantly shaped and justified in terms of the ideal of care in the Confucian moral tradition. On the basis of this analysis, the paper raises a number of questions about a recent proposal for health care reform for Hong Kong put forth by the Harvard School of Public Health which (...) argues for adopting the principle of equity as the overriding value for the moral foundation of Hong Kong's health care system. The paper examines how the over-emphasis on equity in the Harvard Report proposals can lead to the erosion of care and ultimately the eclipse of the vision of care in Hong Kong's health care system. It argues that the pursuit of equity, which is itself a valuable principle, should not displace the importance of the value of care or undermine the ideal of care and that health care decisions must be firmly embedded in local cultures and moral traditions. (shrink)

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese. Embedded in the narration of “Bioethics: Cross Cultural Explorations” is a trilogy of three nuanced and tightly interwoven accounts: (1) a descriptive account, (2) a reflective account, and (3) a futuristic account. Together, they offer invaluable insights into the complexity and challenges in conducting cross-cultural bioethics dialogues. These complexities are illustrated through Father Joseph Tham’s 12-year-long engagement with the project “Bioethics, Multiculturalism and Religion” in his capacity as Chair of (...) the UNESCO project in Bioethics and Human Rights. (Abstract taken from first paragraph of document) 本文評論了Tham的豐富論述，及其深刻解説後現代世界道德多元化和多元文化為跨文化生命倫理學對話帶來的複雜性和挑戰。本文亦回應了Tham提出應如何重塑跨文化接觸的本質、使命、目標和方法的關鍵問題，以協和 道德普遍性和多元性之間的緊張關係，並深化參與及對話，以促進有成效的跨文化接觸。. (shrink)

This paper is a tribute to H.T. Engelhardt Jr. for the intellectual resources he provided to challenge cosmopolitan liberalism as the foundation for an overarching global bioethics in the post-modern world. It is a also a tribute to the moral pluralism and cultural diversity which he argued so forcefully in all his works and which have inspired the flourishing of fierce bioethical debates across the world, including in the non-Western and Asian societies.

Elsewhere I have argued that particular degrees of imagination and consciousness, a cog­nitive process that I call reflective imagination, distinguish humans from other species and make possible, and underlie, the artistic experience. I take the artistic experience to be the universal and characteristically human capacity to experience oneself or others in a story by means of music, dance, song, pantomime, drawing, pretend play, or spoken or written language. In this paper I reconstruct the developmental path of the reflective imagina­tion via (...) the artistic experience in five stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and senescence, and its plausible evolutionary trajectory from Australopithecines to Homo sapiens. Drawing upon both evolutionary and developmental theory, I conclude that the reflective imagination via the artistic experience has fulfilled, and still fulfills, important functions by activating memory systems, regulating emotional expression, promoting mutuality, training attentional focus, developing motor control, enabling prediction, free­ing from actuality, sourcing identity, complexifying consciousness, and affording behav­ioral adaptation. (shrink)