Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, and there is currently no cure. The “β‐amyloid cascade hypothesis” of AD is the basis of current understanding of AD pathogenesis and drug discovery. However, no AD models have fully validated this hypothesis. We recently developed a human stem cell culture model of AD by cultivating genetically modified human neural stem cells in a three‐dimensional (3D) cell culture system. These cells were able to recapitulate key events of AD pathology including (...) β‐amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. In this review, we will discuss the progress and current limitations of AD mouse models and human stem cell models as well as explore the breakthroughs of 3D cell culture systems. We will also share our perspective on the potential of dish models of neurodegenerative diseases for studying pathogenic cascades and therapeutic drug discovery. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of compassion experienced by low-cost carriers customers on their brand attitudes. Specifically, this study aims to unbox the mechanisms through how the customers’ experiences of compassion influence the formation of positive brand attitudes. Using the data from 423 low-cost carriers customers in South Korea, this study found that the more low-cost carriers’ customers experience compassion, the more positive their brand attitudes are toward the low-cost carriers. Notably, this study demonstrated that (...) the positive relationship between compassion and brand attitudes is serially mediated by positive emotion and positive brand image. The results from this study contribute to the literature on the airline industry by examining the roles of compassion, which is relatively new to the field, and also provide practical insights for a low-cost carrier to come up with competitive strategies to achieve a competitive advantage over its competitors in the industry. (shrink)

Human resource management in managing environmental, social, governance, or corporate social responsibility initiatives has been recently raised. Yet, little attention has been paid to integrating CSR and HRM. Our primary goal was to identify how and whether certain HR practices are critical for developing employee capability to operate in firms with active CSR initiatives. We first examine the impact of external CSR activities on firm-level work outcomes. Moreover, we attempt to identify a choice of particular HR practices that could be (...) aligned with external CSR activities. We then empirically examine how each HR practice interacts with external CSR activities that influence employee retention and labor productivity. Using three longitudinal datasets conducted by the government-sponsored research institution over 154 publicly traded Korean firms for five waves of survey years, the results show that external CSR has a limited impact on employee retention and labor productivity. However, when external CSR activities are combined with a specific set of HR practices, including person-organization fit-based selection, performance-based pay, extensive investment of training and development, and employee suggestion program, the impact of external CSR on employee work outcomes is more substantial. The results indicate that external CSR and a particular set of HR practices as internal CSR can be complementary and generate a positive interaction on creating sustainable human capabilities. (shrink)

This study examined the mediating role of meaning in life in the effect of calling on posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth among navy soldiers of the Republic of Korea deployed to the Gulf of Aden, Somalia. Participants responded to the questionnaire survey three times at 4-month intervals. From the first, second, and third surveys, data were collected for 223, 195, and 103 respondents, respectively. Results showed that calling had a negative effect on PTSD, fully mediated by meaning in life, (...) whereas calling had a positive effect on PTG, partially mediated by meaning in life. Our findings suggest that calling acts as a positive psychological resource for maintaining the meaning in life throughout stressful events experienced during deployment, thereby reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms and promoting post-deployment psychological growth. Finally, theoretical and practical implications and the need for follow-up studies are discussed. (shrink)

In this essay I examine how compulsory military service and the Roman Catholic Church uphold and perpetuate an inadequate notion of masculinity in South Korea. I argue that the militaristic and Catholic definitions of masculinity significantly and pejoratively affect Korean culture. To unlearn these definitions, I propose an educational "readjusting" program that denounces any unjust discrimination on the basis of sex and gender.

Storytelling is getting increasing attention as one of the effective strategies for revitalizing the local festivals and even regional economies. Yet, the mechanisms through how storytelling helps the success of local festivals are still relatively less known. Using the data from 322 individuals who participated in local festivals using storytelling, our results showed that local festival storytelling is positively related to tourists’ revisit intention. Furthermore, the positive relationship between local festival storytelling and tourists’ revisit intention was serially mediated by authenticity (...) and positive emotion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

Our discussion should open with a story in the “Weizi” 微子 chapter of the Analects. Confucius, while traveling on a long journey, sent his disciple Zi Lu 子路 to ask two hermits, Chang Zu 長沮 and Jie Ni 桀溺, where a ferry could be found. Sneering at Confucius for canvassing around the country, they retorted: “Turbulent waves are sweeping away everything under Heaven. With whom, then, are you to change the world?” Zi Lu reported their words back to Confucius, who (...) said, “Since I cannot live among the birds and animals, if I do not live among these men, with whom should I live? If there were a Way under Heaven, I would not need to strive to change the world.”1What world was it that Confucius dreamed of? What vision did.. (shrink)

La subcultura sadomasochistica della “dominazione femminile” (femdom) ha dato vita a una modalità rilevante di carnalità digitale, prevalente nelle interfacce dei nuovi media e capace al contempo di radicalizzarne l’interattività. La relazione dell’uomo sottomesso con la donna dominante non è mai semplice in questo caso: non meramente pornografica, bensì sintomatica di fenomeni complessi. Essi riguardano il potere e la società, i media e la vita che danno forma alla nostra epoca tecno-libidinale. L’articolo getta luce sulle implicazioni sessuali, psicologiche, psicoanalitiche e (...) socio-etiche di tale relazione, delineando e ricontestualizzando le teorie su masochismo, abiezione, biopolitica, nichilismo e così via. Pieno di paradossi, il femdom incarna un governo, formalmente strutturato, della sensazione e della determinazione: una legge eccezionale oltre la legge normale, secondo cui la sottomissione a un sovrano sessuale conduce contemporaneamente alla autoprivazione e al recupero della libertà dello schiavo. Il suo desiderio frustrato di un oggetto irraggiungibile si orienta allora verso una pulsione di tipo lacaniano: la soddisfazione istantanea di circolare intorno al vuoto, come se ci si “avvicinasse” continuamente, senza fine, così com’è esemplificato nel loop digitale delle immagini GIF. Più precisamente, desiderio e deriva si confondono, al punto di essere indistinguibili, nella disintegrazione del Simbolico e del Reale, del privato e del pubblico, che caratterizza la cultura dell’assuefazione autodistruttiva, tipica dell’edonismo capitalistico. In tale contesto il mondo di sogno del femdom si rivela essere una rete permeabile di numerose comunità fondatrici di forme di vita di dominatrici e sottomessi: un cielo interattivo, capace di automodularsi, di desiderio-impulso senza una fine, senza un fuori, senza un nirvana. (shrink)

In his book Ockham on Concepts, Claude Panaccio suggests a strong externalist interpretation (SE) of Ockham’s view on perceptual content. I argue that his SE is in conflict with his another interpretation of Ockham’s view on conceptual similitude.

Les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication (NTIC) se sont infiltrées dans notre vie quotidienne. Ces technologies, representées dans cet article par l‘internet et par le téléphone portable, devront montrer un potentiel encore plus remarcable dans le future, pouvant changer non seulement les structures économiques et industrielles, mais aussi la façon de penser et d’agir des êtres humains.

There is debate over whether the content of an intuitive cognition is determined externally or internally in Ockham’s theory. According to the most common view, which I call the Strong Externalist Interpretation, intuitive content is wholly determined externally. Opposed to SE is the Strong Internalist Interpretation, according to which the content of an intuition is wholly determined by internal features of a cognizer. The aim of this paper is to argue against those interpretations, and to argue for a third kind (...) of interpretation which preserves interpretative advantages of SE and SI without falling into the difficulties that each faces. On this view, intuitive content is complex, and its complexity is analyzed into a mix of internalist and externalist elements. (shrink)

The idea of entrepreneurial discovery of profitable opportunities neglected by others as the driving force of the market process is the key contribution of Kirzner to economics. However, to enrich our understanding of the process of entrepreneurial discovery and to derive testable implications we need something more concrete than Kirzner’s alertness. The paper builds on Kirzner’s distinction between the logic of choice and perception, by arguing that the essence of decision making is coming to an understanding, and learning how to (...) act. A set of behavioral implications follows as patterns of learning in different contexts. Further, conventions emerge as a means of stabilizing mutual expectations. Stability of conventions on the one hand and learning over time on the other creates possibility of entrepreneurial discovery and endogenous process of change.L’idée de découverte entrepreneuriale des opportunités profitables ignorées par les autres en tant que force motrice du processus marchand représente la contribution fondamentale de Kirzner à la science économique. Cependant, nous devons disposer de quelque chose de plus concret que la vigilance kirznerienne si nous voulons approfondir notre compréhension du processus de découverte entrepreneuriale et en déduire des implications testables. L’article se fonde sur la distinction qu’opère Kirzner entre la logique des choix et la perception et propose que l’essence de la prise de décision consiste à parvenir à une compréhension et à apprendre comment agir. Un ensemble d’implications au niveau des comportements en découle comme schème d’ apprentissage dans des contextes différents. De plus, les conventions émergent en tant que moyens de stabilisation des anticipations mutuelles. La stabilité des conventions, d’un côté, et l’apprentissage dans le temps, de l’autre, créent la possibilité de découverte entrepreneuriale et de processus de changement endogènes. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Asian American Christian Ethics: Voices, Methods, Issues eds. by Grace Y. Kao and Ilsup AhnAlex MikulichAsian American Christian Ethics: Voices, Methods, Issues Edited by Grace Y. Kao and Ilsup Ahn WACO, TX: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2015. 355 PP. $44.95This volume opens new horizons in Christian ethics. Editors Grace Y. Kao and Ilsup Ahn suggest two ways of conceptualizing Asian American Christian ethics. They describe the first as "agency- (...) or advocacy-centered" and the second as "bringing Western and Asian philosophical, theological, and cultural traditions together in critical dialogue and for selective retrieval for Asian American Christian ethics" (11). While the contributors to this book rightfully develop agency and advocacy-centered approaches within complex histories of colonialism and oppression, they also emulate Michael Walzer's "connected critic" who is not naïvely or uncritically "neutral" or dispassionate. The contributors appropriately use co-critical approaches that make possible "new and creative 'traditioning'" that does not uncritically reinscribe some "purer" Asian past or "undefiled by Western contact" (15).Nearly every chapter unpacks the deeply problematic term "Asian American" that was originally employed by activists who sought a new identity as "self-determining subjects rather than as 'oriental objects' in the United States" (4). But the term obfuscates multiple diversities within richly divergent national, geographical, colonial, and cultural histories and traditions.Hoon Choi explores the complexity of gender and sexual identities through a richly textured intersectional approach, examines how these identities become intertwined in double and triple binds, and reinterprets Christ as the fullness of humanity against Western hegemony and Eastern sexism. Choi's vibrant reinterpretation of Jesus Christ is complemented by a wise and compassionate pastoral approach.Sharon M. Tan calls for a reinterpretation both of Christian and Asian traditions of marriage, family, and parenting that will "entail a bicultural approach to life" and "creative new ways of retelling their stories and imagining their futures" (42). Tan underscores the difficulty of describing a Pan-Asian approach to marriage, family, and parenting by exploring the complexities of "Tiger Mothers," multigenerational households, the "special case of refugees," transnational families, and biculturality and adaptation.Hannah Ka deconstructs a wide range of Christian approaches to environmental ethics and reinterprets Sallie McFague's Body of God ecological theology through a distinctive Asian American approach. Drawing on beautiful and challenging stories from her own family as well as Confucian and Taoist [End Page 215] thought, Ka suggests a reinterpretation both of existential and functional indebtedness between human beings and all living things. She contends that "humans cannot survive even a day without … all other inorganic and organic existents on earth, while [other existents] can flourish without humans. The life of the human species is not merely interdependent with, but utterly indebted to, all the other existents on earth, rendering humans more vulnerable than others" (221).These are only a few examples of how this volume exemplifies clear, cogent, and constructive Christian ethics. Chapters by Ilsup Ahn ("Virtue Ethics"), Keun-Joo Christine Pae ("Peace and War"), Christina A. Astorga ("Wealth and Prosperity"), Ki Joo (KC) Choi ("Racial Identity and Solidarity"), SueJeanne Koh ("Health Care"), Hak Joon Lee ("Immigration"), Irene Oh ("Education and Labor"), and Jonathan Tran ("Cosmetic Surgery") all expand the horizons of contemporary ethics. I highly recommend this text for scholars to engage new horizons of Christian ethics and to use for a wide variety of upper level undergraduate and graduate courses in Christian ethics as well as constructive and pastoral theology.Alex MikulichLoyola University New OrleansCopyright © 2017 Society of Christian Ethics... (shrink)

L’ouvrage de Julie De Ganck se veut une histoire de la médecine belge concernant l’« hermaphrodisme » et les « anomalies sexuelles » couvrant la période allant de 1830 à 1914. Comme l’explique l’auteure, la période voit l’émergence de travaux médicaux sur la question de l’« hermaphrodisme » – ce qui se traduit notamment en Belgique par la publication croissante d’articles d’auteurs européens sur ce thème dans des revues médicales, qui constituent le corpus d’étude de l’ouvrage. L’auteure choi...

A crise dos modelos de representação fundadas em unidades coerentes e ordenadas parece ter como um dos traços o que Bruno Latour (1993) chamou de “híbridos”(1). Os híbridos são a figura da multiplicidade que não cabe em categorias e que a modernidade “varia para baixo do tapete”. Atualmente, assistimos ao “retorno dos que nunca foram”, que interpelam de forma contundente nossas formas de vida, fortemente apoiadas na técnica. Mas como apreender os fluxos de discursos e práticas mediatizadas que nos atravessam (...) sem cair nas armadilhas do tecnicismo? Que configurações poderiam hoje assumir práticas e discursos críticos? Que agenciamentos propor? Tentar compreender o estatuto do tecnológico, do político, do artístico, do urbano e do banal como “artes do fazer” parece-nos uma tarefa urgente e necessária. Gilles Deleuze (1977), em “Kafka, por uma literatura menor” (2), deixa-nos uma importante pista, ao afirmar, em sua definição de agenciamento, que “a técnica é antes de tudo social”. A direção nos permite avançar para além das concepções instrumentalistas e dicotômicas da técnica e percebê-la enquanto processo complexo de mediação. De fato, como também afirmava Simondon (1989), os objetos técnicos sempre foram gerados por mediação e geradores de mediação(4). O presente número da Revista Logos traz justamente contribuições para fomentar esse debate e para compor o já vasto quadro das cartografias sobre tecnologia e sociabilidade no Brasil, no campo das possibilidades de mediação sociotécnica. Trata-se de um número especial, organizado dentro da parceria PPGC-Uerj e Centre d’Etudes sur l”Actuel et lê Quotidien (CEAQ) - Paris V, com a colaboração do Professor Stéphane Hugon, coordenador do GRETECH, grupo de pesquisa sobre Tecnologia e Quotidiano. Se, por um lado, o conjunto de artigos compartilha determinados referenciais teóricos, por outro, acolhe também visões próprias, forjadas a partir de diferentes experiências sociais e em distintos contextos culturais. Em comum, todos partem de certa forma da percepção de que as mediações presentes nos processos de sociabilidade podem colaborar nos processos de negociação com as regras e códigos sociais vigentes para inventar outros possíveis. Todos, de certa forma, dão a ver, em seu conjunto, que entramos numa arena onde os diversos elementos que constituem o social interagem e ganham novos contornos: o político não dialoga apenas com o “ideológico”, mas também com o cultural, o subjetivo, o artístico. Da mesma forma, a arte, por exemplo, não diz respeito apenas ao cânone, mas também ao político, ao urbano, ao sensual e ao banal. Com isso, também a noção de tecnologia se amplia e, entendida como “máquina social”, pode ajudar-nos a melhor apreender as dimensões dos fenômenos culturais e de comunicação hoje. Os onze textos reunidos neste número apontam exatamente para o momento singular em que vivemos sob alguns de seus mais diversos ângulos. Stéphane Hugon da Universidade René Decartes-Paris V/CEAQ discute a importância dos processos de apropriação da tecnologia no quotidiano; João Maia e Eduardo Bianchi, da UERJ, abordam a sociabilidade de jovens adolescentes de uma favela carioca como forma criativa de cidadania; Vicenzo Susca, da Universidade René Decartes-Paris V e da Università di Lingue e Comunicazione de Milão, aborda o aspecto subversivo das tecnologias, através de uma perspectiva transpolítica; Beatriz Bretas da UFMG apresenta estudos de caso sobre modos de organização de redes sociais virtuais no Brasil; Fabio Larocca discute como as tecnologias alteram nosso olhar sobre as dinâmicas sócio-espaciais no contexto das cidades; Florian Dauphin faz uma análise do sofware livre na França, país com uma das mais fortes tradições de organização social desse movimento na Europa; José Pinheiro Neves, da Universidade do Minho, recupera a contribuição de Simondon para uma análise da percepção das imagens nas telas dos computadores; Shangsub Choi, do Korea Information Society Development Institute, aborda as mudanças propiciadas pela internet no quotidiano de pessoas e empresas e as possibilidades de contra-poder; a arquiteta e urbanista Julieta Leite aposta na integração das tecnologias digitais aos tecidos da cidade para a construção de novas experiências espaciais coletivas; Maria da Luz Correia analisa a recuperação da comunicação por cartões postais nos dias atuais. Finalmente, Hedi Zamouri faz uma etnografia da Brigada Anti-Pub, movimento contra o abuso da publicidade nos espaços públicos de Paris e José Cláudio Castanheira resenha o último livro de Shetyl Turkle, “História íntima dos objetos”. A Logos 29, edição especial, chega assim aos leitores com uma gama variada de proposições e de lugares de observação, brindando-nos com novas pistas para a análise de questões que compõem a pesquisa atual no campo da comunicação. Desejamos a todos uma boa leitura. Fernando Gonçalves Editor temático desta edição especial da Logos. Professor adjunto da Faculdade de Comunicação Social da Uerj e membro do Grupo de pesquisa Comunicação, Arte e Cidade, do PPGC-Uerj, onde leciona a disciplina “Tecnologias e Formas de Vinculação Social”. Notas 1 Latour, Bruno. Jamais fomos modernos. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. 34, 1994. 2 Deleuze, Gilles. Kafka, por uma literatura menor. Rio de Janeiro: Imago, 1977. 3 Simondon, Gilbert. Du mode d’existence des objets techniques. 4eme Édition. Paris: Aubier, 1989. (shrink)

L’ouvrage Spiritualité, vie et monde historique dans la phénoménologie transcendantale de Husserl est la version remaniée de la thèse d’Andrea Sebastiano Staiti, soutenue en février 2009. L’ouverture proposée résulte d’un constat bibliographique : Husserl, dans son projet d’une étude de la conscience transcendantale pure, s’est également confronté à des thèmes tels que l’intersubjectivité, l’histoire, l’éthique, la culture ou encore la théologie. Parmi ses nombreux thèmes, l’histoire est choi..

The lack of attention to sustainability, as a concept with multiple dimensions, has presented a developmental gap in green marketing literature, sustainability, and marketing literature for decades. Based on the established premise of customer–corporate (C–C) identification, in which consumers respond favorably to companies with corporate social responsibility initiatives that they identify with, we propose that consumers would respond similarly to companies with sustainability initiatives. We postulate that consumers care about protecting and preserving favorable economic environments (an economic dimension of sustainability) (...) as much as they care about natural environments. Thus, we investigate how two sustainability dimensions (i.e., environmental and economic) and price can influence consumer responses. Using an experimental method, we demonstrate that consumers favor sustainability in both dimensions by giving positive evaluations of the company and purchase intent. In addition, consumers respond more negatively to poor company sustainability than to high company sustainability. In comparison, consumers respond more negatively to the company’s poor commitment to caring for the environment than to the company’s poor commitment to economic sustainability. We also find that consumers do not respond favorably to low prices when they have information about the firm’s poor environmental sustainability. Finally, we find support for an interaction effect between consumer support for sustainability and corporate sustainability; that is, consumers evaluate a company more favorably if the company shares the consumers’ social causes. Overall, we conclude, from our empirical study, support for the idea that consumers do respond to multiple dimensions of sustainability. (shrink)

For the last several decades, dispositional properties have been one of the main topics in metaphysics. Still, however, there is little agreement among contemporary metaphysicians on the nature of dispositional properties. Apparently, though, the majority of them have reached the consensus that dispositional ascriptions cannot be analysed in terms of simple counterfactual conditionals. In this paper it will be brought to light that this consensus is wrong. Specifically, I will argue that the simple conditional analysis of dispositions, which is generally (...) thought to be dead, is in fact an adequate analysis of dispositions. I will go on to discuss Mumford’s view of dispositions from the perspective of the simple conditional analysis of dispositions. (shrink)

The central theme of this paper is the dispositional/categorical distinction that has been one of the top agendas in contemporary metaphysics. I will first develop from my semantic account of dispositions what I think the correct formulation of the dispositional/categorical distinction in terms of counterfactual conditionals. It will be argued that my formulation does not have the shortcomings that have plagued previously proposed ones. Then I will turn my attention to one of its consequences, the thesis that dispositional properties are (...) not susceptible to intrinsic finks. This thesis was first advanced by me and has ever since stirred up a big controversy, endorsed by some philosophers like Handfield, Bird, and Cohen but rejected by others like Clarke and Fara. Against this background, I will remedy my defense of the impossibility of intrinsically finkable dispositions and then refute some of apparently powerful criticisms of it. And so the upshot is that it is much more reasonable to hold on to the thesis that dispositions are intrinsically unfinkable. This will have the effect of putting the dispositional/categorical distinction on firmer and more secure ground. (shrink)

This study investigated how coda voicing contrast in English would be phonetically encoded in the temporal vs. spectral dimension of the preceding vowel (in vowel duration vs. F1/F2) by Korean L2 speakers of English, and how their L2 phonetic encoding pattern would be compared to that of native English speakers. Crucially, these questions were explored by taking into account the phonetics-prosody interface, testing effects of prominence by comparing target segments in three focus conditions (phonological focus, lexical focus, and no focus). (...) Results showed that Korean speakers utilized the temporal dimension (vowel duration) to encode coda voicing contrast, but failed to use the spectral dimension (F1/F2), reflecting their native language experience—i.e., with a more sparsely populated vowel space in Korean, they are less sensitive to small changes in the spectral dimension, and hence fine-grained spectral cues in English are not readily accessible. Results also showed that along the temporal dimension, both the L1 and L2 speakers hyperarticulated coda voicing contrast under prominence (when phonologically or lexically focused), but hypoarticulated it in the non-prominent condition. This indicates that low-level phonetic realization and high-order information structure interact in a communicatively efficient way, regardless of the speakers’ native language background. The Korean speakers, however, used the temporal phonetic space differently from the way the native speakers did, especially showing less reduction in the no focus condition. This was also attributable to their native language experience—i.e., the Korean speakers’ use of temporal dimension is constrained in a way that is not detrimental to the preservation of coda voicing contrast, given that they failed to add additional cues along the spectral dimension. The results imply that the L2 phonetic system can be more fully illuminated through an investigation of the phonetics-prosody interface in connection with the L2 speakers’ native language experience. (shrink)

Angelaki, Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 123-144, June 2012.

Despite contemporary Confucianism’s aspirations to be a world philosophy, there is an ethnocentric strand within the Confucian tradition, most glaringly exemplified in Han Yu’s attacks on Buddhism. This paper re-assesses Confucian ethnocentrism in the context of contrary practices that indicate a more pragmatic attitude among Confucians toward cross-cultural interactions. It argues that while the ethnocentric tendency serves as constant reminder of the need for vigilance, and recognition of the difficulties of crossing cultural boundaries, there are nevertheless resources within Confucianism for (...) constructing an ethics of communication that is urgently needed to deal with the moral problems of cultural pluralism. The paper analyses the role of various common Confucian virtues such as ren, yi, li, zhi in communication, and argues that a virtue of flexibility is implicit in Confucius’s insistence of bugu and could contribute significantly to a Confucian ethics of communicative virtues. (shrink)

This study investigated the relative contribution of perception/cognition and language-specific semantics in nonverbal categorization of spatial relations. English and Korean speakers completed a video-based similarity judgment task involving containment, support, tight fit, and loose fit. Both perception/cognition and language served as resources for categorization, and allocation between the two depended on the target relation and the features contrasted in the choices. Whereas perceptual/cognitive salience for containment and tight-fit features guided categorization in many contexts, language-specific semantics influenced categorization where the two (...) features competed for similarity judgment and when the target relation was tight support, a domain where spatial relations are perceptually diverse. In the latter contexts, each group categorized more in line with semantics of their language, that is, containment/support for English and tight/loose fit for Korean. We conclude that language guides spatial categorization when perception/cognition alone is not sufficient. In this way, language is an integral part of our cognitive domain of space. (shrink)

Those who see Confucianism as a premodern imperial ideology or a traditional religion have no problem characterizing its social ideal as inherently hierarchical, as this is fairly typical of such systems of thought. From this perspective, rather than valuing equality Confucianism takes for granted inequalities among people, and justifies social hierarchies and unequal distribution of power, resources, prestige, and other goods as part of its ethics and its ideal of good government by sagely kings, the justification sometimes involving metaphysical claims (...) about cosmic and religious hierar-chies.1 While some reject Confucianism for its supposed opposition to egalitarianism from perspectives that consider equality a.. (shrink)

In this paper I will first consider Bird's cases against the conditional analysis of dispositions and defend them from Gundersen's objection. This does not mean that I believe that Bird's cases are successful. To the contrary, I take it that we can save the conditional analysis from Bird's cases by taking Lewis's two-step approach to dispositions. However, I will go on to argue that if Bird's cases are supplemented with the assumption that dispositions are intrinsic matter, they are able to (...) do what they are intended to do. (shrink)

The concept of brain death — first defined decades ago — still presents medical, ethical, and legal challenges despite its widespread acceptance in clinical practice and in law. This article reviews the medicine, law, and ethics of brain death, including the current inconsistencies in brain death determinations, which a lack of standardized federal policy promotes, and argues that a standard brain death policy to be used by all hospitals in all states should be created.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Of Diversities and Comparisons...Sor-hoon TanEncyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. Edited by Antonio S. Cua. New York and London: Routledge, 2003. Pp. 1,020.Encyclopedias can be useful in teaching philosophy when students need some reading that sets out the basics on a key topic in a few pages without their getting lost in too many complex details or being misled by oversimplifications. They can also be edifying for the philosophy teacher (...) and scholar—providing reliable, up-to-date information on topics that lie in their field but that are not part of their working knowledge. For these reasons, those working in Chinese philosophy will welcome the publication of the Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. The 187 entries cover a variety of subject areas such as "Moral Philosophy" and "Philosophy of language"; Confucianism in different periods and countries, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, the school of names, Buddhism, and Marxism in China; philosophical trends in post-Mao China, Taiwan, and overseas; key concepts such as dao (the way), fa (law, standards), liyi fenshu (principle and manifestations), and quanli (rights); texts such as the Huainanzi and the Wenzi; and thinkers from Laozi and Confucius to Hu Shih and Mou Zongsan.Instead of more numerous short entries, this encyclopedia has opted for fewer entries of greater length—the Preface tells us that entries on important thinkers and philosophical topics typically range from five thousand to nine thousand words in length, and a quick check reveals that even the shortest entry is at least two pages long (more than one thousand words). This format allows authors to explore the philosophical issues at some depth, and expound even complex arguments in detail. The connections between different concepts, thinkers, texts, philosophical theories, and development that stretch across different periods and territories can be delineated more clearly in a single entry. There is a danger of duplication with this format, as some texts and concepts may be covered in several articles; for example, most of "Confucianism: Constructs of Classical Thought" is on what the author identifies as six key texts of Classical Confucianism: the Analects, Mencius, Xunzi, Yizhuan, Zhongyong (Doctrine of the mean), and Daxue (Great Learning). The sections on Mencius and Xunzi (pp. 66-67) merely introduce a small part of what is discussed in much greater depth and detail in the entries on these two thinkers (pp. 440-448 and 821-829). The Zhongyong and Daxue also have their own entries, and "Confucianism: Confucius" (p. 61) contains an entire section on the Analects.As it turns out, the duplication is less than expected. Pei-jung Fu, author of "Confucianism: Constructs of Classical Thought," implicitly questions Xunzi's Confucian pedigree, beginning his discussion with "Xunzi professed to be an advocate of Confucianism" (p. 67). Such doubt is clearly not shared by A. S. Cua, who authored [End Page 111] the entry on "Xunzi," introducing the thinker as "an important exponent of classical Confucianism" (p. 821). Cua also does not share Fu's view that "the real issue between Mencius and Xunzi lies in their concepts of heaven (tian)" (p. 67). Fu and the author of the entry on the Zhongyong translate key terms in the texts differently: Fu discusses "five ethical codes" and "three comprehensive virtues" (p. 68) while Yanming An calls them "five universal paths" and "three universal virtues" (p. 890). Such differences can be either thought provoking or confusing (especially when unaccompanied by Chinese characters or even pinyin), depending on the reader. The sections on the Analects in "Confucianism: Confucius" and "Confucianism: Constructs of Classical Thought" have hardly anything in common; the first examines it as an account of how Confucius lives as an exemplar remembered by his students, while the latter discusses its content, focusing on ren and li, as well as on Confucius' religious concerns. While concepts such as ren and li are frequently discussed, the different ways in which authors employ them and the different characteristics, contexts, and philosophical stakes they pay attention to enrich one's understanding of the many dimensions of these concepts even as similarities in diverse entries reinforce certain aspects and perspectives.One comes across disagreements to various degrees on common or related topics among different entries. While... (shrink)