Physician–patient disputes are a major problem in healthcare. Physician–patient conflicts, workplace violence, and direct involvement in disputes have a significant negative impact on the well-being of physicians. China and Japan have similar cultures but differing healthcare systems. The present study aimed to examine and compare the experiences and perceptions of Chinese and Japanese physicians regarding medical disputes. Qualitative descriptive content analysis was performed for 18 cases from each country to assess the major issues involved in each case and their impact (...) on the physicians. Common issues in medical disputes for both countries included monetary motives of patients and/or families, violence/threats from patients and/or families, the inability of patients and/or families to understand the risk of complications, and the uncertainties of medicine. The serious impact of medical disputes on the mental health and professionalism of physicians was also an issue shared by physicians of both countries. There were, however, differences in the magnitude and frequency of these issues between the two countries. Pre-existing distrust of physicians among patients and/or families was noted only by Chinese physicians, and insufficient information disclosure by physicians was noted only by Japanese physicians. In conclusion, there were similarities and differences between the two countries in the perceptions of physicians regarding medical disputes. Our analysis revealed differing healthcare situations due to cultural and institutional differences as well as universal problems intrinsic to medicine. Based on our results, we propose several key principles to improve the physician–patient relationship. (shrink)

Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge attracts the attention of ethnologists who are interested by the symbolical analysis of kingship. Although this book does not deal with the theme of kingship as such, it overlaps it on a mythical level. It is a novel about the rise and fall of a man, Henchard, whose initial act is to sell his wife and daughter; in order to commit this act he deviates from the context of the human norm by way of (...) drunkenness. He then enjoys great success as a corn merchant and becomes mayor of the town. Twenty years after this the graph of his destiny starts to fall with the arrival of a young man named Farfrae, who eventually ousts Henchard from his business as well as from his political position, and who goes to the length of taking over not only Henchard's mistress, Lucetta, but also his daughter, Elizabeth-Jane. (shrink)

As is well known, Frege gave an explicit definition of number (belonging to some concept) in ?68 of his Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik.

One of the remarkable results of Frege’s Logicism is Frege’s Theorem, which holds that one can derive the main truths of Peano arithmetic from Hume’s Principle (HP) without using Frege’s Basic Law V. This result was rediscovered by the Neo-Fregeans and their allies. However, when applied in developing a more advanced theory of mathematics, their fundamental principles—the abstraction principles—incur some problems, e.g., that of inflation. This paper finds alternative paths for such inquiry in extensionalism and object theory.

This collection of Abe's essays is a welcome addition to philosophy and comparative philosophy.

Wenn auch das Postulat vollständiger Autarkie in der Gegenwart an Bedeutung verloren hat, so ist doch die Forderung nach einer begrenzten Autarkie der Staaten wenigstens in bestimmten Wirtschaftsbereichen grundsätzlich unentbehrlich für ihr friedliches Nebeneinanderbestehen. Das damit angesprochene Problem läßt sich am negativ zu bewertenden Beispiel Japans sehr deutlich aufzeigen, einem Land, das einerseits seinen ungewöhnlichen Reichtum der Ausbeutung anderer nicht industrieller Staaten verdankt, das andererseits jedoch im Bereich der Agrarwirtschaft vom Ausland abhängig ist. In einer solchen unbalancierten wechselseitigen Abhängigkeit liegen (...) prinzipielle Gefahren für eine friedliche Koexistenz. (shrink)

Understanding consciousness is a truly multidisciplinary project, attracting intense interest from researchers and theorists from diverse backgrounds. Thus, we now have computational scientists, neuroscientists, and philosophers all engaged in the same effort. This book draws together the work of leading researchers around the world, providing insights from these three general perspectives. The work is highlighted by a rare look at work being conducted by Japanese researchers.

Wegner's monograph presents the view that conscious will is a feeling that we experience when we perform an action through a mechanistic process of the brain, rather than a mental force that causes the action. The view is supported by several lines of evidence in which conscious will is dissociated from the actual performance of voluntary movements, as in automatism. The book further extends an insightful analysis of the mental system behind the illusion of conscious will and inspires neuroscientists to (...) reflect on its neural substrates. (shrink)

In Volume i of his Systematic Theology , Paul Tillich says, ‘Being precedes nonbeing in ontological validity, as the word “nonbeing” itself indicates’ . He also says elsewhere, ‘Being “embraces” itself and nonbeing’, and ‘Nonbeing is dependent on the being it negates. “Dependent”—points first of all to the ontological priority of being over nonbeing’ . Tillich makes these statements in connection with a tendency among some Christian thinkers to take God as Being itself. The same understanding of the relation of (...) being and non-being can be discerned in major strands of Greek philosophy through the ideas of to on and me on . Although Greek philosophy and the Christian movement have different starting points in time, in geographical locale, in conceptual orientation, Tillich's statements demonstrate the manner in which the two strands have, to a significant degree, merged, and his comments reflect a basic under standing of being and nonbeing in the West. (shrink)

This volume concludes the two-volume sequel to Masao Abe's Zen and Western Thought. Like its companion, Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue, this work contains many previously published essays and papers by Abe. Here he clarifies the true meaning of Buddhist emptiness in comparison with the Aristotelian notion of substance and the Whiteheadean notion of process.

Regional planning has been regarded as a design activity. Usually planners focus on physical design rather than on societal issues. Nowadays, mass communication, environmental issues and social awareness lead to often complex and conflicting needs and interests of the public in regional planning. This paper focuses on the regional planning as a group problem solving process from the view of information processing. It offers an analysis of the causes of conflicts in the group decision process, and defines the characteristics of (...) group decision process support systems. (shrink)

1 Buddhist-Christian Dialogue: Its Significance and Future Task1 The contemporary world is rapidly shrinking due to the remarkable advancement of science ...

本书对西方思想结构和思维方式作了相当深的探讨,力图澄清西方对禅的种种误解,同时对禅学和佛教,作了严密的逻辑论证。.