Antievolution arguments of Christian and Hindu creationists often critique Darwin's metaphor of the geological record as an ill‐preserved book of life, while highlighting the problem of anomalous fossils. For instance, Bible‐based young‐Earth creationists point to anomalous humanlike prints alongside authenticated dinosaur tracks to argue for the creation of all life some few thousand years ago. But Vedic‐based ancient‐hominid creationists view the same sort of evidence as indicating the existence of all species, including the hominids, billions of years ago. I examine (...) the roots of this Hindu Vedic creationism and its recent elaboration among scientifically minded members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Similarities in the methods and rhetorical strategies of the two creationist groups are considered, as well as the underlying motives that have brought together such otherwise disparate religious worldviews. (shrink)

This article addresses the cultural influence of Hindu reflection on human attitudes toward animal welfare at a time of rapid globalization and worldwide environmental destruction. The hope is that it can contribute to deliberations on practical ethics across religious and cultural boundaries. It considers the extent to which existing Vaishnava resources have the potential to advance new transcultural orientations toward the protection of nonhuman forms of life by exploring what the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), (...) a monotheistic Hindu-related movement, says about the condition, purpose, and rights of animals. It analyzes whether in rejecting anthropocentric worldviews ISKCON is able to contribute to broader theological discussion about the place of animals in the world. (shrink)

The article offers a critical analysis of the cognitive science of religion (CSR) as applied to new and quasi-religious movements, and uncovers implicit conceptual and theoretical commitments of the approach. A discussion of CSR’s application to new religious movement (NRM) case studies (charismatic leadership, paradise representations, Aḥmadiyya, and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) identifies concerns about the theorized relationship between CSR and wider socio-cultural factors, and proposals for CSR’s implication in wider processes are discussed. The (...) main discussion analyses three themes in recent work relating CSR to religious and religion-like activities that extend and reframe the model. These include (1) identification of distinctive and accessible cognitive pathways associated with new forms of religious belief and practice (in particular in ‘New Age’ movements), (2) application of CSR to movements and practices outside traditional definitions of religion (near death experiences, conspiracy theories, virtual reality), and (3) engaging CSR in wider cultural processes and negotiations (religion in healthcare settings, and the definition of the study of esoteric religious traditions within academic domains). The conclusion identifies two particular findings: (1) that application of CSR in these areas renders underlying cognitive processes more available to scrutiny and (2) that CSR is employed to identify and enlarge the category of religion. The conclusion suggests that the study of CSR in its application to NRMs and quasi-religion identifies a wide field of common and overlapping themes and interests in which CSR is a more active operand than is commonly assumed. (shrink)

Becoming Vaishnava in an Ideal Vedic City centers on a growing multinational community of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) devotees in Mayapur, West Bengal. While ISKCON's history is often presented in terms of an Indian guru 'transplanting' Indian spirituality to the West, this book focusses on the efforts to bring ISKCON back to India. Paying particular attention to devotees' failure to consistently live up to ISKCON's ideals, and the ongoing struggle to realize the utopian vision (...) of an 'ideal Vedic city', this book argues that beyond a focus on virtue, the anthropology of ethics must account for how moral systems accommodate the problem of moral failure. (shrink)

His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda was a highly revered ācārya from the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, an important Hindu lineage of Kṛṣṇa bhakti that historically can be traced back to the venerated saint Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu in sixteenth-century Bengal. Among a variety of other groundbreaking achievements, Bhaktivedānta Swami is notable for being the founding Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York City in 1966. At a surprising rate, it quickly (...) became a large international movement and, therefore, is an interesting case study for theologies of religion in the contemporary, global era. (shrink)

According to media specialist and resident of multiple intentional communities Jesse Drew, “Communes and collectives provide the critical mass, the people power, and the collective wisdom to test out ideas in practice, not just in theory.”1 To test the vision of an ideal Vedic society grounded in devotion to the Hindu deity Krishna, in 1968, four followers of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada set out for Moundsville, West Virginia, to establish New Vrindaban. These devotees were members of the Hare (...) Krishna Movement, also called the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, which Bhaktivedanta founded in 1966 and which has established temples and intentional communities in the United States and around.. (shrink)

This handsomely produced volume contains 22 contributions from international scholars, which were originally presented at the 2000 Conference of the International Society for Phenomenology, Fine Arts, & Aesthetics. The papers center around the theme of gardens and include a wide range of topics of interest to phenomenologists but also, perhaps, to gardeners with a philosophical bent. A sampling of topics: Leonardo's Annunciation Hortus Conclusus and its reflexive intent; hatha yoga--a phenomenological experience of nature; the Chinese attempt to (...) miniaturize the world in gardens; conflating and compressing time in commodified space and architecture; constructing the deconstructive landscape (the ruin aesthetic); and a phenomenological-anthropological aproach to Zen gardens. The volume is lightly indexed by name (mostly philosophers). Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com). (shrink)

Interest in the Eastern religions has arisen for a long time and has not subsided so far. A common picture of many Ukrainian cities is the people in orange clothing who chant the Hare Krishna mantra and actively promote religious literature. These are members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, an Indian religious movement that has become more popular outside India than in India itself.

Proceedings of the First Conference of the International Society for Hermeneutics and Science.

The papers in this volume reflect much of the current unease of a world that perceives itself once more at the edge of chaos. The authors present different vistas of that experience and their inherent dialectic, expressed in numerous and ceaseless conflicts between ordering and disordering processes. They can be read as comments on the ongoing processes that lead toward greater complexity.

The International Society of Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the Hare Krishna Movement, has disseminated a flurry of antievolutionist media since its inception in 1966. Such communications frequently co-opt arguments employed by Christian creationists and Intelligent Design theorists. At the same time, however, there are indications that a scattering of ISKCON publications have articulated relatively ambiguous, less oppositional statements about evolutionary theory. This article reconsiders ISKCON's Darwin-skepticism by appraising recent, largely unexamined Hare Krishna publications, (...) as well as responses to evolutionary theory expressed by ISKCON's founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta, and his immediate Vaishnava forerunners. The analysis reveals that, although the majority of contemporary ISKCON materials are vehemently opposed to evolution, some leading voices demonstrate less combative, cautiously accommodating stances. These cases are suggestive of complexities in ISKCON's responses to evolution, both past and present, which are not necessarily encapsulated in the terms Vedic creationism or antievolutionism. (shrink)

(2002). Conscious Evolution of Humanity: Using Systems Thinking to Construct Agoras of the Global Village. Announcing the 47th Annual Conference 2003 of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISS) www.isss.org. World Futures: Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 335-338.

This study explores and analyses funerary rite struggles in a nation where Christianity is a comparatively recent phenomenon, and many families have Christian and Hindu, Buddhist and Traditionalist members, who go through traumatic experiences at the death of their family members. The context of mixed affiliation raises questions of social, psychological and religious identity for Christian converts, which are particularly acute after a death in their family. Using empirical research, this thesis focuses on the question of adaptation and identity in (...) relation to church life, within the familial and social sphere of individual Christians and within the wider society in which they live, particularly with reference to death and disposal. This research has used an applied theology approach to explore and analyse the findings in order to address the issue of funerary rites with which the Nepalese church is struggling. For the need of adaptation, this study seeks to understand the funerary rites of the host culture alongside Jewish-Christian characteristics of adaptation, especially in terms of the Nepalese Evangelical Christian context. It also poses the challenge of finding an identity in a wider cultural and societal milieu. The case studies and interviews have portrayed tripartite relationships and tensions between an individual, family and church or community at the death in a ‘split’ family where a Christian convert’s loyalty to the deceased and the family is tested. Participation and non-participation in the last rites create problems for both the church and the family, and some solution needs to be found. The study has discovered that adaptation of the technique of the funerary rites, rather than of their content, could ease this tension in a ‘split’ family, and enhance a family and community’s reconciliation and solidarity. The mode of disposal, whether burial or cremation, could be used and a theology of cremation be developed in order to provide a theological framework. (shrink)

Technology Integration (TI) has been incorporated into education and how it has affected both the efficacy of coaching and the development of teams. The research used a blended-techniques approach, integrating qualitative interviews, consciousness businesses, and quantitative surveys to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role that generations play in schooling. As part of the inquiry, 150 educators and administrators participated in awareness seminars and surveys. The findings demonstrate significant gains in instructional efficacy due to technology-enabled tools like interactive software (...) and digital platforms that provide individualized instruction and instant feedback. Employees report higher levels of involvement and improved accessibility awareness.Staff readiness for TI is likewise evaluated, revealing that, while many educators are assured and prompted, there remains a need for continuing help and education. Statistical analysis, the usage of Cronbach's Alpha, confirms high internal consistency across the examinee’s constructs, inclusive of cronbach's Alpha values across the Technological Integration (TI)(0.81), Teaching Effectiveness (TE) (0.87), and Staff Development (SD)(0.80).There is generally positive emotion toward the role that technology plays in career advancement, despite the persistence of some challenging circumstances. Overall, the findings underscore the transformative ability of generation in education while emphasizing the need for strategic assistance and assets to maximize its benefits. (shrink)

Drawn from the contributions to the 9th international “Consciousness Reframed” research conference held at University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2008, this publication aims for a timely re-definition of contemporary syncretic inquiries into the fields of art, science, technology and society through theory and practice alike, reframing the concept of innovation in its relationship to progress and change within the context of perception and its transformation. It comprises a wide range of outstanding expertise and insights of artists, (...) architects, performers, musicians, writers, scientists, and scholars. Among the authors from at least 20 countries are most prominently Roy Ascott, Gerald Bast, Jim Gimzewski, Pierre Lévy, Ryohei Nakatsu, Michael Punt, Ruth Schnell, Barbara Maria Stafford, Alfred Vendl, Victoria Vesna and Peter Weibel. The publication includes full papers and a DVD, edited by Ruth Schnell, with short video extracts of the event and accompanying visual reference. (shrink)

The International Panel on Social Progress is an independent association of top research scholars with the goal of assessing methods for improving the main institutions of modern societies. The IPSP has produced a report consisting of twenty-two chapters in three volumes that distills the research of these scholars and outlines what the best social science has to say about positive social change. Written in accessible language by scholars across the social sciences and humanities, these volumes assess the achievements of (...) world societies in past centuries, the current trends, the dangers that we are now facing, and the possible futures in the twenty-first century. It covers the main socio-economic, political, and cultural dimensions of social progress, global as well as regional issues, and the diversity of challenges and their interplay around the world. The authors offer a cautious optimistic conclusion: multiple ideas for social progress and better policies are already available and deserve to be tested and implemented. (shrink)

In 1955, an obscure socio-spiritual organization dedicated to the twin aims of individual spiritual realization and social service was formed in the state of Bihar, India. It was named Ānanda Mārga Pracāraka Saṃgha (abbreviated AM), literally translated as "Community for the Propagation of the Path of Bliss." AM stands alongside other New Religious Movements of Indian origin that have captured the imagination and allegiance of a substantial number of followers in both Asia and the West. It is in much the (...) same genre as New Religious Movements such as Transcendental Meditation and the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. The founder of AM was a charismatic spiritualist and visionary, Prabhāt Ranjan .. (shrink)

Neither for today’s Russia, nor for the whole of the contemporary world is there, perhaps, a more important issue than the possibility of a civilized, peaceful dialogue between cultures, peoples, governments and individuals. The International Society for Universal Dialogue is one among other philosophical schools, societies and organizations which promote the idea of universal dialogue. It tries to solve problems associated with language and ideological barriers, strengthening professional and friendly ties and implementation, through joint efforts, of a peaceful (...) and fair world order. (shrink)

Does the ‘Zeitenwende’ herald the beginning of a new and as yet undefined open society realism? The present essay argues this question requires critical discussion of nature and value of realist political theory, particularly at a time where international society is accelerating to somewhere which is itself as yet unclear. Adding to revisionist research on political realism in International Relations (IR) theory I sketch how a political vision I call open society realism may be developed (...) out of Classical realism, in sharp distinction to academic IR neorealism for methodological and political reasons. To strip foreign policy realism from Continental philosophy, law, and history risks that we become what political liberalism ought to avoid: a closed society with a good conscience retreating from world politics, hiding behind the ‘national’ interest as if strategic great power management is a methodic function of structure rather than the politics of an ethically conscious diplomacy. (shrink)

This article seeks to contextualize Marx's path to the Capital volumes through what might be called its 'international dimension'. It explores how Marx experienced an array of differentially developed yet related societies through a consciousness of backwardness, and how this consciousness moulded his praxis. In this respect, the article takes issue with the Marxist assumption that the silence in Capital regarding the multi-linear character of modern world development is ultimately non- harmful to the volumes' uni-linear notion of (...) modern world development. The aim of the article is essentially to clear the way for a more rigorous Historical Materialist appreciation of multi-linearity in modern world development. It does so by arguing that the condition of multi-linearity in modern world development formed the very terrain upon which Marx intellectually journeyed towards Capital. Specifically, the framing of the Capital volumes around a singular dialectic of social transformation should be considered as the failed outcome of Marx's pre-existing engagement with the problem of multi- linearity. This argument has ramifications for contemporary Marxist understandings of world development, as well as demonstrating the general importance of contextualizing political thought through an international rather than national or universal historical narrative. (shrink)

This article seeks to contextualize Marx's path to the Capital volumes through what might be called its 'international dimension'. It explores how Marx experienced an array of differentially developed yet related societies through a consciousness of backwardness, and how this consciousness moulded his praxis. In this respect, the article takes issue with the Marxist assumption that the silence in Capital regarding the multi-linear character of modern world development is ultimately non- harmful to the volumes' uni-linear notion of (...) modern world development. The aim of the article is essentially to clear the way for a more rigorous Historical Materialist appreciation of multi-linearity in modern world development. It does so by arguing that the condition of multi-linearity in modern world development formed the very terrain upon which Marx intellectually journeyed towards Capital. Specifically, the framing of the Capital volumes around a singular dialectic of social transformation should be considered as the failed outcome of Marx's pre-existing engagement with the problem of multi- linearity. This argument has ramifications for contemporary Marxist understandings of world development, as well as demonstrating the general importance of contextualizing political thought through an international rather than national or universal historical narrative. (shrink)

This is the first of three volumes containing a report from the International Panel on Social Progress. The IPSP is an independent association of top research scholars with the goal of assessing methods for improving the main institutions of modern societies. Written in accessible language by scholars across the social sciences and humanities, these volumes assess the achievements of world societies in past centuries, the current trends, the dangers that we are now facing, and the possible futures in the (...) twenty-first century. It covers the main socio-economic, political, and cultural dimensions of social progress, global as well as regional issues, and the diversity of challenges and their interplay around the world. This particular volume covers topics such as economic inequality and growth, finance and corporations, labor, capitalism, and social justice. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Neo-Idealist Reception of Kant in the Moscow Psychological SocietyRandall A. Poole*The Moscow Psychological Society, founded in 1885 at Moscow University, was the philosophical center of the revolt against positivism in the Russian Silver Age. By the end of its activity in 1922 it had played the major role in the growth of professional philosophy in Russia. 1 The Society owes its name to its founder, M. (...) M. Troitsky (1835–99), an empiricist psychologist. Although it sponsored significant psychological research, its greater importance in the history of Russian philosophy began to emerge already in 1888, when Nikolai Ia. Grot (1852–99) took over as director. Grot’s principal colleagues in the affairs of the Society included the major Russian idealist philosophers Vladimir S. Solov’ev (1853–1900), Sergei N. Trubetskoi (1862–1905), and Lev M. Lopatin (1855–1920). In 1889 the Psychological Society began publication of Russia’s first regular, specialized journal in philosophy, Questions of Philosophy and Psychology (Voprosy Filosofii i Psikhologii). Grot characterized the journal’s prevailing direction as idealist or, “in respect to method, metaphysical.” 2While the cultural revival of the Silver Age mounted a broad-based revolt against positivism, neo-idealist philosophy in the Psychological Society was distinctive in the theoretical depth of its critique. Positivism was remarkably pervasive [End Page 319] in Russia from the middle of the nineteenth century. The main characteristics of this positivist Weltanschauung were reductionism, which dismissed as a meaningless proposition (neither analytic nor empirical) the possibility of being beyond the positively-given data of sense experience, i.e., phenomena in space and time; scientism, the claim, consistent with the positivist reduction of being to natural phenomena, that the methodology of the natural sciences covered eve-rything; and utopianism, the hope that the application of natural scientific methods to man and society would make human existence as regular and well-ordered as nature. 3 The defining trait was reductionism or, in other words, naturalism or atheism: the reduction of being to nature. In ethics, epistemology, ontology, and social philosophy neo-idealism emerged as a response to these characteristics. Its development by philosophers in the Psychological Society, apart from comprising a basic chapter in the history of Russian thought, informs the European-wide revolt against positivism characteristic of fin-de-siècle culture.According to scientistic positivism, philosophy had no distinctive methodology and thus no legitimate right to exist as its own type of scientific (nauchnyi or wissenschaftlich) discipline. Empirical sciences were the only sciences; philosophy could at best serve as a field that systematized empirical research. Against these claims Russian neo-idealists sought to advance the autonomy of philosophy by showing that the positivist measure of reality was far from exhaustive and that what it did not exhaust comprised the domain of philosophy. This domain was human consciousness itself, to the extent it could be shown to be irreducible to empirical experience (the positivist sphere). Neo-idealism thus took shape as a type of philosophy of consciousness. In the inaugural issue of Questions of Philosophy and Psychology S. N. Trubetskoi published the first installment of a large essay bearing the title, “On the Nature of Human Consciousness.” “The question of the nature of consciousness is the principal question of philosophy, not only of psychology,” Trubetskoi wrote, “for in consciousness we know everything that we know.” 4 Trubetskoi and his colleagues in the Psychological Society were convinced that philosophy had to develop through specification of its own internal standards and through autonomization from the spurious criteria positivism applied externally to it. Their goal was to match, in theoretical rigor, the professionalism associated with the natural sciences by making philosophy “scientific,” but on idealist, not empirical grounds. [End Page 320]The Kantian Critique of PositivismIn their defense of the self against positivist reductionism and naturalism, neo-idealists of the Psychological Society were deeply indebted to Kant, in both epistemology and moral philosophy. This claim revises the traditional view that Russian philosophy developed without significant assistance from Kant. 5In two ways Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason defends the minimal idealist claim that not everything intellectual can be reduced to the natural (sensible or psychological), that consciousness cannot... (shrink)

This is the third of three volumes containing a report from the International Panel on Social Progress. The IPSP is an independent association of top research scholars with the goal of assessing methods for improving the main institutions of modern societies. Written in accessible language by scholars across the social sciences and humanities, these volumes assess the achievements of world societies in past centuries, the current trends, the dangers that we are now facing, and the possible futures in the (...) twenty-first century. It covers the main socio-economic, political, and cultural dimensions of social progress, global as well as regional issues, and the diversity of challenges and their interplay around the world. This particular volume covers topics such as world cultures and religions, families, global health, education, and the contributions of social sciences to institutional change. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Sixth International Buddhist-Christian Conference, August 5–12, 2000Paul IngramThe Sixth International Buddhist-Christian Conference, sponsored by the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies, will take place at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, from August 5 to 12, 2000. The Program Committee has approved the general conference theme as “Buddhism, Christianity, and Global Healing.” The conference will follow the structure, with some variations, of the last international conference that (...) met at DePaul University in 1996: morning working group sessions on several themes interrelated with the general conference theme; afternoon sessions devoted to individual papers; and evening plenary sessions.Evening plenary themes and speakers have been identified: Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne and Dr. Cecil Murray (senior pastor of the First AME Church in Los Angeles) will address the topic “The Non-Violent Struggle for Economic and Social Justice”; Sulak Sivaraksa and John B. Cobb Jr. will speak on “Consumerism and Ecology: Buddhist and Christian Perspectives”; Rita Gross and Daniel Maguire will speak on “Buddhism, Christianity, and Issues of Gender”; and Virginia Straus and a Christian speaker yet to be identified will address “The Earth Charter: A Buddhist and Christian Response.”Working Group cochairs and themes have also been identified: Buddhist-Christian Practice and Mind-Body Healing (Venerable Yifa and Mary Jo Meadow); Ecology, Consumerism, and Corporate Consciousness (David Chappell and Donald Mitchell); Gender: Issues of Oppression and Justice (Judith Simmer-Brown and Donald Luck); Buddhist-Christian Dialogue with the Natural Sciences (Ken Tanaka and Nancy Howell); Buddhist-Christian Dialogue on the Earth Charter (Virginia Straus and Jay McDaniel); The Interior Dialogue: Buddhist-Christian Meditative/ Contemplative Practice (Susan Postal and Ruben Habito); and The Role of Orthodoxy/Orthopraxis in Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (Rita Gross and John Keenan).For the first time in the twenty-year history of our international conferences, a special afternoon seminar will be cochaired by Sallie King and Paul Knitter that will focus on specific case studies on particular issues of peace and justice work that are [End Page 179] interrelated with the themes of the plenary sessions and working groups. These sessions will meet in the afternoon throughout the conference week and will involve a presentation in case-study format from a Buddhist and a Christian engaged in a practical way that illustrates the themes of the conference. They will be asked to describe their situation and what they are doing and, particularly, to speak about how Buddhism or Christianity guides them in their work, the problems and successes they have had, their hopes, and their struggles, after which there will be open conversation with those present. Finally, afternoon sessions will be devoted to individual papers and presentations organized around the conference’s themes and other themes that emerge as individual papers are submitted.A preliminary call for papers will be published in the spring 1999 edition of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies Newsletter. Individuals who are not members of the society but wish to have a copy of this call for papers may E-mail the editor of the newsletter, Harry Wells, at.The Department of Religion of Pacific Lutheran University, along with its administration, faculty, and staff, are currently working hard to make this conference enjoyable and memorable. Travel, room and board, and other information regarding Tacoma, Pacific Lutheran University, motels, and excursion arrangements will be made available in the fall 1999 edition of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies Newsletter. The final call for papers appears on pp. 242–243.Paul IngramPacific Lutheran UniversityCopyright © 1999 The University of Hawai’i Press... (shrink)

In today’s society, it becomes increasingly important to assess which non-human and non-verbal beings possess consciousness. This review article aims to delineate criteria for consciousness especially in animals, while also taking into account intelligent artifacts. First, we circumscribe what we mean with “consciousness” and describe key features of subjective experience: qualitative richness, situatedness, intentionality and interpretation, integration and the combination of dynamic and stabilizing properties. We argue that consciousness has a biological function, which is to (...) present the subject with a multimodal, situational survey of the surrounding world and body, subserving complex decision-making and goal-directed behavior. This survey reflects the brain’s capacity for internal modeling of external events underlying changes in sensory state. Next, we follow an inside-out approach: how can the features of conscious experience, correlating to mechanisms inside the brain, be logically coupled to externally observable properties? Instead of proposing criteria that would each define a “hard” threshold for consciousness, we outline six indicators: goal-directed behavior and model-based learning; anatomic and physiological substrates for generating integrative multimodal representations; psychometrics and meta-cognition; episodic memory; susceptibility to illusions and multistable perception; and specific visuospatial behaviors. Rather than emphasizing a particular indicator as being decisive, we propose that the consistency amongst these indicators can serve to assess consciousness in particular species. The integration of scores on the various indicators yields an overall, graded criterion for consciousness, somewhat comparable to the Glasgow Coma Scale for unresponsive patients. When considering theoretically derived measures of consciousness, it is argued that their validity should not be assessed on the basis of a single quantifiable measure, but requires cross-examination across multiple pieces of evidence, including the indicators proposed here. Current intelligent machines, including deep learning neural networks and agile robots, are not indicated to be conscious yet. Instead of assessing machine consciousness by a brief Turing-type of test, evidence for it may gradually accumulate when we study machines ethologically and across time, considering multiple behaviors that require flexibility, improvisation, spontaneous problem-solving and the situational conspectus typically associated with conscious experience. (shrink)

This article explores what Cicero as a political thinker can offer to the study of international relations. Although previous readings of Cicero have emphasized his Stoic influences and his natural law teaching as the basis of a cosmopolitan world society, I emphasize the way in which Cicero can deepen the concept of international society. International society relies on certain norms and institutions to function properly, such as international law, sovereignty, and the use of (...) war to restrain violence and redress injustice. We find all these concepts articulated clearly in Cicero’s moral and political thought. Cicero also shows the limits of these institutions and norms, explaining why none of them is absolute. Finally, Cicero adds to our theorizing about international society by drawing attention to the role of honor, ruling, and inequality in international society. As such, classical political thought, and Cicero’s in particular, provide a valuable resource for future thinking about international theory. (shrink)

Symbolic healing, that is, responding to meaningful experiences in positive ways, can facilitate human healing. This process partly engages consciousness and partly evades consciousness completely (sometimes it partakes of both simultaneously). This paper, presented as the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness Distinguished Lecture at the 2011 AAA meeting in Montreal, reviews recent research on what is ordinarily (and unfortunately) called the “placebo effect.” The author makes the argument that language use should change, and the relevant (...) portions of what is often called the placebo effect should be referred to as the “meaning response.”. (shrink)

Since the late 1900s the business world has been under increasing pressure to demonstrate responsible social behaviour and the pressure continues to grow. Today, the role of business in society is on the Boardroom agenda and at stake are corporate reputation, innovation, competitiveness and growth. It is a clarion call, that either, the CEO and the Board manage it or someone else will manage it for them. As we know that we cannot solve our problems with the same level (...) of thinking that created them; therefore it is imperative that we look beyond the 20th century’s scientism and materialism dominated worldly ways for solutions. In view of the above, I believe that the ‘Indian Philosophy of Consciousness’ which focuses on practicing “better-worldliness” rather than “worldliness” and has developed over the past 4000 years has the potential to help business. Better worldliness is ‘a disposition towards life that is based on a Dharmic (righteous) way of conduct; a conduct with compassion and forbearance for fellow man, no matter what the nationality, or the colour of the skin, religion or caste.’ Society expects similar compassion and forbearance from business. (shrink)

I finished the first draft of this lecture just before the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia began — a campaign that provides, I think, a prime example of the failure of international society. A double failure in this case: its political agencies were not able to respond in a timely fashion to the disaster of the former Yugoslavia, and then they were not able to find a more effective form of military intervention. The problem both times wasn't one (...) of organization but of political will, and I am afraid that I won't have much to say in this lecture about how to solve it. No doubt there are organizational structures that lend themselves to swift and strong action in a crisis.But these structures can as easily produce reckless and cruel acts as wise ones, and so we need to limit their powers. And then, properly limited, they may not act at all. This dilemma is an old one, and my way of dealing with it — which, as you will see, is to multiply structures and agents in the hope that somewhere, somehow, someone will do the right thing — will certainly seem inadequate. I concede immediately that I cannot produce an organizational chart showing how a decision to act rightly in international society would be deliberated, and decided, and then resolutely carried out. There is no such procedural or organizational solution; we have to think instead of a political strategy for coping with crises and for creating the sorts of agents that might cope successfully. That's my goal. It doesn't answer to the urgency of the daily news, but these days nothing could answer.I imagine the possible political arrangements of international society as if they were laid out along a continuum marked off according to the degree of centralization. Obviously, there are alternative markings: the recognition and enforcement of human rights could also be measured along a continuum, as could democratization, economic laissez-faire, welfare provision, pluralism, and so on. But I think that focusing on centralization is the best way of opening a discussion of international politics and the quickest way to reach all the other political and moral questions, above all the classical question: what is the best or the best possible regime? What constitutional goals should we set ourselves in an age of globalization?My plan is to present seven possible regimes or constitutions or political arrangements. I will do this discursively, without providing a list in advance, but I do want to list the criteria against which the seven arrangements have to be evaluated: these are their capacity to promote peace, distributive justice, cultural pluralism, and individual freedom. Obviously, within the scope of a single lecture, I will have to deal much too briefly and summarily with some of the arrangements and some of the criteria. This is especially regrettable since the criteria turn out to be inconsistent with, or at least in tension with, one another. So my argument will be complicated, and could be, probably should be, much more so. (shrink)

Vietnam is implementing global socio-economic integration, so the law must also be renovated to meet the requirements of international integration. Because the law is attached to the country's institutions, it shows the consistency in Vietnam's politics, economy, and diplomacy. In the world, the rule of law is a typical value that humanity aims for because it upholds the law, expressing our nation's aspiration for a democratic and equal society. Therefore, Vietnam has built a socialist rule of law. To (...) achieve this, Vietnam must ensure the free power of its citizens, promote the democracy of the state, and ensure that power belongs to the people. The paper uses a materialist dialectical method to examine the building of civic consciousness that promotes the perfection of Vietnam's current socialist rule of law. At the same time, the article also uses analytical methods and synthetic methods to clarify the sense of citizenship in the Vietnamese state, Vietnam's political institutions, and the development of the socialist rule of law is correct. (shrink)

The article examines the modalities of social development. Reconsidering the history of the evolution of ideas, it can be noted that the development of countries was usually interpreted only in two modalities – evolution and revolution. But the concepts of revolution and evolution – qua states of progress – cannot explain the whole variety of real but unique processes and events, cannot reflect the specifics of the development process in countries of different regions of the world. In the humanities, there (...) is a domination of formal pragmatic ideas that social well-being is determined by the level of the economic and technical base of society, by the total volume of the benefits consumed. However, the state of public consciousness, being a form of the internal state of society, directly affects social well-being. For this reason, the concept of “trauma” is proposed as a term for a specific state, different from a revolutionary or evolutionary one, a state that draws society away from the logic of development and progress. Thus, we should talk about the “trauma society,” which should be understood as the third modality of social development along with evolution and revolution. The trauma state primarily manifests itself in the forms of social self-awareness. Trauma society lacks a clear strategy and understanding of its own prospects. The actions of society are inconsistent in nature and are not able to mobilize resources to overcome destructive processes. Due to that, the traumatic conditions have economic and political consequences. In a trauma society, national specificity is usually either ignored or, contrarily, exaggerated. The degradation of economic and government institutions leads to a merger of power and property. Therefore, the harmonization of public consciousness should be considered as one of the conditions for overcoming the institutional crisis. (shrink)

Today's world is post-colonial and post-Cold War. These twin characteristics explain why international society is also riddled with the two major forms of injustice which Nancy Fraser identified as afflicting national societies. First, the economic and social disparities between states caused outcry in the 1950s when the first steps were taken towards decolonisation. These inequalities, to which a number of emerging states now contribute, are still glaring and still pose the problem of the gap between formal equality and (...) true equality. Second, international society is increasingly confronted with culture- and identity-related claims, stretching the dividing line between equality and difference. The less-favoured states, those that feel stigmatised, but also native peoples, ethnic groups, minorities and women now aspire to both legal recognition of their equal dignity and the protection of their identities and cultures. Some even seek reparation for injustices arising from the past violation of their identities and the confiscation of their property or land. In answer to these two forms of claim, the subjects of international society have come up with two types of remedy encapsulated in legal rules: the law of development and the law of recognition. These two sets of rights are neither wholly autonomous and individualised branches of law nor formalised sets of rules. They are imperfect and have their dark side. Yet they can be seen as the first milestones towards what might become a fairer international society; one that is both equitable (as an answer to socio-economic injustice) and decent (as an answer to cultural injustice). This book explores this evolution in international society, setting it in historical perspective and examining its presuppositions and implications. (shrink)

Chronicling the emergence of an international society in the 1920s, Daniel Gorman describes how the shock of the First World War gave rise to a broad array of overlapping initiatives in international cooperation. Though national rivalries continued to plague world politics, ordinary citizens and state officials found common causes in politics, religion, culture and sport with peers beyond their borders. The League of Nations, the turn to a less centralized British Empire, the beginning of an international (...) ecumenical movement, international sporting events and audacious plans for the abolition of war all signaled internationalism's growth. State actors played an important role in these developments and were aided by international voluntary organizations, church groups and international networks of academics, athletes, women, pacifists and humanitarian activists. These international networks became the forerunners of international NGOs and global governance. (shrink)

Reviews the book, Challenges to theoretical psychology by Wolfgang Maiers, Betty Bayer, Barbara Duarte Esgalhado, Rene Jorna, and Ernst Schraube . This stimulating and wide-ranging collection is composed of selections from the program of the Seventh Biennial Conference of the International Society for Theoretical Psychology that was held in Berlin, Germany in April and May of 1997. The 55 essays are grouped into ten major thematic fields: Psychological Understanding and the Role of Theory; Critical History of Psychology; Foundational (...) Issues in the Sciences of Mind; Agency, Action, and Consciousness; Implications of Life Narratives for Psychological Theorization; Social Practice, Discourse, and Subjects; Psychological Studies and the Notion of Culture; Technology and the Body in Psychology; Feminist Research and Subjectivity; Postmodernism, Marxism, and Critical Psychology. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

This article analyses the forms of human thinking which fundamentally influence political life. The author distinguishes two of these forms – a monologic and a dialogic consciousness – and reveals philosophical pre-conditions for their formation in modern and postmodern times. The collision of these different forms of thinking is particularly relevant both for the countries of post-communist space and the old democratic traditions fostering Europe. The monologic consciousness is a closed thinking scheme rejecting the possibility of engaging in (...) a dialogic relationship with a person holding a different viewpoint and with the reality itself. In modern-time politics, it emerged through the creation of ideologies. Surprisingly, the contemporary postmodern society also creates pre-conditions for the formation of the monologic consciousness. It is determined by the mechanisms of manipulation of thinking, the consequence of democracy turning into demagogy. However, complex postmodern thinking is also disposed towards formation of the dialogic consciousness. The author demonstrates this process by the analysis of texts of postmodern authors, J. Derrida in particular. (shrink)

This volume collects selected papers delivered at the 15th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies, which was held at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in July 2018. It includes papers dealing with the past, present, and future of utilitarianism – the theory that human happiness is the fundamental moral value – as well as on its applications to animal ethics, population ethics, and the future of humanity, among other topics.