Latin American religious political thought includes colonial Spanish and Portuguese ideologies that preceded independence but have survived into the post-independence era, authoritarian ideologies supportive of military governments in the twentieth century, and progressive liberation theologies. In this article, I present a distinct tradition: a version of classical liberal thought. This tradition is skeptical of big government, opposed to caste systems, supportive of a high degree of federalism, uneasy with militarism, and supportive of democratic institutions while affirming religious social norms. This (...) ideology was developed in northeastern Brazil in the early nineteenth century by a Carmelite activist named Frei Caneca (Brother Mug), who published a newspaper titled the Typhis Pernambucano (Tiphys of the State of Pernambuco). (shrink)

Forty years af ter the cold-bloo ded as sas - si na tion –or de red by the CIA– of Ernes to (Che) Gue va ra, (im pri sio ned and still ali ve in Bo li - via), a symbo lic let ter to him is writ ten by a do - mi ni que priest –Frei Bet to– a Bra zi lian, which re sult sin a sort of `act-of-so rr..

Executive functions (EFs) and impulsivity are dimensions of self-regulation that are both related to psychopathology. However, self-report measures of impulsivity and laboratory EF tasks typically display small correlations, and existing research indicates that impulsivity and EFs may tap separate aspects of self-regulation that independently statistically predict psychopathology in adulthood. However, relationships between EFs, impulsivity, and psychopathology may be different in childhood compared to adulthood. Here, we examine whether these patterns hold in the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive (...) Development (ABCD) sample, a national sample of over 11,000 children (including 749 twin pairs) ages 9–10 years. We examine the phenotypic and genetic relationships among latent variables for different components of EFs and multiple facets of impulsivity. Additionally, we assess how EFs and impulsivity relate to composite measures and latent variables of psychopathology derived from parent report. EFs were weakly correlated with impulsivity, and the strength varied by impulsivity facet, emphasizing their separability. We did not identify significant genetic and environmental correlations between EFs and impulsivity. Moreover, controlling for their small relationships with each other, both EFs and some facets of impulsivity statistically predicted an Externalizing factor, attention problems, and social problems, and twin analyses suggested these relationships were genetic in origin. These findings indicate that EFs and impulsivity represent phenotypically and genetically separable aspects of self-regulation that are both transdiagnostic correlates of psychopathology in childhood. (shrink)

This article explores the history of ‘subordination-authority-relation’ (SAR) psychotherapy, a brand of psychotherapy largely forgotten today that was introduced and practised in inter-war Vienna by the psychiatrist Erwin Stransky (1877–1962). I situate ‘SAR’ psychotherapy in the medical, cultural and political context of the inter-war period and argue that – although Stransky’s approach had little impact on historical and present-day debates and reached only a very limited number of patients – it provides a particularly clear example for the political dimensions of (...) psychotherapy. In the early 20th century, the emerging field of psychotherapy was largely dominated by Freudian psychoanalysis and its Adlerian and Jungian offshoots. Psychotherapists’ relations with academic psychiatry were often uneasy, but the psychodynamic schools succeeded in establishing independent institutions for training and treatment. However, as this article shows, the gulf between mainstream psychiatry and psychotherapy was not as wide as many histories of the psy-disciplines in the early 20th century suggest. In inter-war Vienna, where these conflicts raged most fiercely, Stransky’s ‘SAR’ psychotherapy was intended as an academic psychiatrist’s response to the challenge posed by the emerging competitors. Moreover, Stransky also proposed a political alternative to the existing psychotherapeutic schools. Whereas psychoanalysis was a liberal project, and Adlerian individual psychology was closely affiliated with the socialist movement, ‘SAR’ psychotherapy with its focus on authority, subordination and social hierarchy tried to translate a right-wing, authoritarian understanding of society into a treatment for nervous disorders. (shrink)

To get distracted, to enclose and to give oneself. The Gesture of Transcendence in Jan Patočka The problem of transcendence can be traced throughout the whole work of Jan Patočka. The appeal to transcend our bonds to mere objectivity is a constant issue of his thought. It finds a new substantiation in the 1960s in his studies focusing on the meaning of the other as human being. The relation to the other person offers a special "occasion" or "place" of transcendence (...) and poses the challenge to transcend one's own particular setting. While in the mid-1960s Patočka maintains his earlier dramatic vocabulary to describe the process of transcendence, in the late 1960s his idiom becomes less vehement. Yet, it is precisely within this more "sober" framework that he symbolizes the process of transcendence with an emphatic turn to a "myth of the divine man" and its key metaphor of resurrection. To transcend means, for Patočka, always to liberate oneself from a state of self-distraction between things. However, in his late lectures, he briefly refers to a deeper layer, suggesting that this self-distraction has its "roots" in a self-enclosure or self-isolation, in the exclusive concentration on our own interests and in the illusion of our self-sufficiency. Transcendence, then, means to overcome this self-enclosure by means of a self-forgetting love. Are these rarely mentioned "roots" perhaps implicitly present in all Patočka's accounts of transcendence? (shrink)

In the first part, the author sketches the problem of human existence as it appears in the texts of both philosophers. The second part enumerates all Patočka’s texts mentioning Jaspers as well as all of the works by Jaspers that we know Patočka reflected on. The third part traces in more detail Jaspers’ book Philosophical Faith, in which Patočka, in his own words, found “great stimuli”, and shows several links between Patočka’s own philosophy and the book (especially four themes: the (...) relation between philosophy and science; between philosophy and revealed religion; between philosophy and “non-philosophy”; between philosophy and history). The fourth part traces the idea of the origin of the free human act, which was explored by both Patočka and Jaspers. Finally, the article shows that despite similar or even identical lines of thought on certain topics – including a topic as fundamental as human freedom –, the authors offer two fundamentally different visions of reality that could be labelled as “ontology vs. metaphysics” or “the totality of the world vs. extra-worldly transcendence”. (shrink)

The strategy of deterrence suffers from at least 8 deficiencies: 1. The deterrence threat may be underestimated or overestimated. 2. The efficacy of deterrence is conditioned by o variety of factors. 3. Deterrence is highly questionable inasmuch as it represents the principle of revenge. 4. Deterrence may lead to self-deterrence. 5. Extended deterrence may have a low degree of credibility. 6. The stability of the deterrence system is constantly jeopardized. 7. Deterrence may lead to accidental nuclear war. 8. Moral acceptability (...) of deterrence is decreasing. Attempts to overcome these deficiencies by upgraded deterrence postures, arms control, unilateral disarmament and defensive systems have been futile. Therefore mankind will have to live with deterrence; efforts ought to be undertaken, however, to prevent a ‘nuclear Sarajevo’ by appropriate measures stabilizing the strategic system. (shrink)

This article aims to elucidate Patočka’s impact on contemporary Czech philosophy. As a preliminary, it presents Patočka’s general conception of the possible impact of philosophy as such. It seems that for Patočka, the clarifying function of philosophy was the most relevant, much more than its possible capacity to stimulate objective or social processes. It then explains what impact Patočka himself expected from his own activity as a philosopher. Here we can see that his main concern was to pass on the (...) great philosophical tradition neglected by Czech intellectuals, primarily ancient philosophy and German Idealism. Finally, it sketches the impact of Patočka’s writings and lectures that can actually be seen today in Czech philosophy—in the study of ancient and Classical German Philosophy, in new philosophical conceptions inspired by him, in phenomenology, and in debates about modern Czech history. (shrink)

Background: In the context of new reimbursement systems like diagnosis-related groups, moral distress is becoming a growing problem for healthcare providers. Moral distress can trigger emotional and physical reactions in nurses and can cause them to withdraw emotionally from patients or can cause them to change their work place. Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to develop an instrument to measure moral distress among acute care nurses in the German-speaking context, to test its applicability, and to obtain initial (...) indications of the instrument’s validity. Method: The study was designed in 2011 as a cross-sectional pilot survey. Conducted on eight units of one university hospital in German-speaking Switzerland, 294 registered nurses were asked to fill out a web-based questionnaire on moral distress. Ethical considerations: The study proposal was approved by the cantonal ethics committee. All participating nurses provided informed consent and were assured of data confidentiality. Results: The survey had a response rate of 55%. The results show the prevalence of statements on the questionnaire indicating situations with the potential to trigger moral distress. The entire range of answers was used in the responses. Most participants found the questionnaire comprehensible, while some criticized the phraseology of certain statements. Many more found the registration process prior to online access to be too time consuming. Nurses confirmed that the results reflect their subjective assessment of their situation and their experience of moral distress. Conclusion: The newly developed moral distress questionnaire appears to produce face validity and is sufficiently applicable for use in our study. The results indicate that moral distress appears to be a relevant phenomenon also in Swiss hospitals and that nurses were experiencing it prior to the introduction of Swiss diagnosis-related groups. (shrink)

The authors present the preliminary publication of seven hitherto unpublished inscriptions from the Roman colony at Philippi in the province of Macedonia. These inscriptions make known a number of new notables who were active in the colony during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Amongst them is a soldier from Philippi who had pursued a career in the cohortes vigilae in Rome, as well as several municipal magistrates and seviri augusti from Philippi. All the inscriptions connected with the institutions of (...) the colony, and also those mentioning members of the senatorial and equestrian orders and soldiers, will shortly be included in the first volume of the Corpus of Greek and Latin Inscriptions of Philippi. The assembling of the epigraphic material relating to the municipal and imperial administration of Philippi, enriched by numerous unpublished inscriptions, will enable us to renew our acquaintance with the social and political structures of the colony. (shrink)

Leszek Kolakowski delves into some of the most intellectually vigorous questions of our time in this remarkable collection of essays garnished with his characteristic wit. Ten of the essays have never appeared before in English. "Exemplary.... It should be celebrated." —Arthur C. Danto, _New York Times Book Review_ "This book... express[es] Kolakowski's thought on God, man, reason, history, moral truth and original sin, prompted by observation of the dramatic struggle among Christianity, the Enlightenment and modern totalitarianism. It is a wonderful (...) collection of topics." —Thomas Nagel, _Times Literary Supplement_ "No better antidote to bumper-sticker thinking exists than this collection of 24 'appeals for moderation in consistency,' and never has such an antidote been needed more than it is now." —Joseph Coates, _Chicago Tribune_ "Whether learned or humorous, these essays offer gems in prose of diamond hardness, precision, and brilliance." —Thomas D'Evelyn, _The Christian Science Monitor_ A "Notable Books of the Year 1991" selection, _New York Times Book Review_—a "Noted with Pleasure" selection, _New York Times Book Review_—a "Summer Reading 1991" selection, _New York Times Book Review_—a "Books of the Year" selection, _The Times_. (shrink)

Frente uma situação sócio-cultural, eclesial e societária onde vive-se a falta de liberdade criativa e de uma ação ousada, alternativa e esperançosa, Paulo parece apontar caminho, à luz do Evangelho da liberdade, para uma experiência nova e prometedora. O que importa é assumir com responsabilidade a Vida e superar toda "escravidão", vale dizer, o que vale é viver em liberdade na experiência do amor diante do império da impotência e da morte. A experiência da fé tem que levar ao agir (...) ético que revele uma vida livre e construtora de uma nova realidade de vida, relacionamento e compromisso no atual contexto. (shrink)

Los problemas del desarrollo que enfrenta Chile desde aproximadamente una década son cualitativamente diferentes a los que enfrentó en etapas anteriores. El artículo propone una perspectiva conceptual que sea adecuada al tipo específico de desafíos que tiene actualmente el país. Para ello justifica y define la pertinencia de la perspectiva de las prácticas en relación al análisis del desarrollo. En el pasado el principal desafío de la política y de las políticas públicas consistió en cómo diseñar las transformaciones institucionales y (...) de infraestructura necesarias para desencadenar causalmente los cambios sociales pretendidos por las elites. Hoy, en cambio, las dificultades del desarrollo que enfrenta Chile tienen uno de sus principales orígenes en la persistencia o aparecimiento de fenómenos a nivel de la coordinación de la acción de las personas y grupos que no pueden ser ni adecuadamente observadas ni eficazmente intervenidas desde una perspectiva que relegue las prácticas sociales a un segundo plano. Para fundamentar esta tesis, el artículo expone los fundamentos del enfoque de las prácticas a partir de los aportes conceptuales de diversas teorías elaboradas en las ciencias sociales. Dicho enfoque teórico sustentó las indagaciones empíricas contenidas en el Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano 2009. (shrink)

The strong political portrait of Eduardo Frei Montalva, the Christian-democratic president of Chile between 1964 and 1970 and, before the violent establishment of general Augusto Pinochet dictatorship regime in 1973, leader of democratic opposition, includes, already in his time, a powerful thought about democracy, rule of law, and global citizenship, and about the origin and meaning of history. And his analysis and proposals retain full political and legal validity.

Atuação singular no contexto da dominação neerlandesa nas capitanias açucareiras da América portuguesa foi a de Frei Manoel Calado, popularmente conhecido como Frei Manoel dos Óculos. Perseguido pelo bispo D. Pedro da Silva e Sampaio, foram os contatos do religioso com os holandeses, e não propriamente sua prática missionária, mas sobretudo, sua amizade com o governador Conde de Nassau, que levantaram as suspeitas do bispo da Bahia, ex-Inquisidor português. Investigar as tramas deste frade que é mais conhecido pelo (...) seu papel de cronista no contexto do Brasil holandês que conseguiu escapar das malhas inquisitoriais, por meio da análise das acusações registradas nos Cadernos do Promotor da Inquisição de Lisboa é o objetivo central do presente artigo que acaba por revelar, também, o confuso modus operandi próprio do tribunal, articulado através da ação do bispo da diocese. O artigo parte de uma breve discussão historiográfica sobre a caracterização do ambiente do Brasil holandês como tempo de liberdade ou de intolerância religiosa; avança sobre a análise das fontes que apontam como o frei se tornou suspeito entre os católicos e foi perseguido entre os calvinistas; e conclui demonstrando a importância da prática missionária deste religioso para a manutenção do catolicismo na região. (shrink)

A filosofia é filha do tempo e reflete a compreensão possível de deter- minado momento histórico. Embora isso pareça banal, não o é. Se a afirmação é justa, deve-se admitir que a filosofia segue o espírito do tempo (Zeitgeist ou a forma mentis) em que foi produzida. Isso torna-a mais próxima da compreensão resultante da pedagogia que a originou e da mentalidade reinante em certo tempo. Partindo da forma mentis que instituiu o ensino no Colégio Serenense no Mato Grosso e (...) na Universidade de Königsberg na Prússia, investigamos dois grupos conceituais: o primeiro, referente à filosofia, ao pensamento e à verdade, e o segundo, à lógica, às ciências e ao método. Nesse sentido, fizemos um estudo comparado entre o Cursus Philosophicus (1756), de Frei Manuel dos Anjos, e o Manual dos cursos de Lógica Geral (1799-1800), de Immanuel Kant. Nesse estudo, a questão central é entender se as similaridades e diferenças entre os escritos dos dois filósofos permitem compreendê-los como escritos verdadeira- mente filosóficos ou se o Serenense seria representante apenas de uma filosofia precária, sem densidade, rala e de segunda mão. Palavras-chave: Lógica geral. Cursus Philosophicus. Frei Manuel dos Anjos. Immanuel Kant. (shrink)

Sind wir in unserem Denken, Entscheiden und Handeln frei? Diese Frage beschäftigt Menschen nicht erst seit der neueren Hirnforschung. Bereits die Römer kennen die Vorstellung eines willentlich handelnden Subjekts und haben daher den Begriff des Willens (voluntas) geprägt. Und auch die biblische Tradition von den Geboten Gottes, die der Mensch befolgen soll, legte einen solchen Gedanken nahe. Aus diesen Überlieferungssträngen schöpfend, verfasste der Kirchenvater Augustin seine Schrift De libero arbitrio (Über den freien Willen). Durch die weitere Theologie- und Philosophiegeschichte (...) zieht sich dann die Auseinandersetzung darüber, in welchem Mass der menschliche Wille frei bzw. unfrei ist. So bestritt etwa Luther gegen Erasmus die Willensfreiheit in Fragen des Heils. Die Beiträge des Bandes bedenken das Thema der Willensfreiheit jedoch nicht nur in theologischer und philosophischer Hinsicht, sondern beziehen auch biologische, psychologische und ethische Perspektiven mit ein, die den gegenwärtig geführten Debatten verpflichtet sind."-- Back cover. (shrink)