David Wallace argues that we should take quantum theory seriously as an account of what the world is like--which means accepting the idea that the universe is constantly branching into new universes. He presents an accessible but rigorous account of the 'Everett interpretation', the best way to make coherent sense of quantum physics.

On the face of it, suffering from the loss of a loved one and suffering from intense pain are very different things. What makes them both experiences of suffering? I argue it’s neither their unpleasantness nor the fact that we desire not to have such experiences. Rather, what we suffer from negatively transforms the way our situation as a whole appears to us. To cash this out, I introduce the notion of negative affective construal, which involves practically perceiving our situation (...) as calling for change, registering this perception with a felt desire for change, and believing that the change is not within our power. We (attitudinally) suffer when negative affective construal is pervasive, either because it colours a large swath of possibilities, as in the case of anxiety, or because it narrows our attention to what hurts, as in the case of grief. On this view, sensory or bodily suffering is a special case of attitudinal suffering: the unpleasantness of pain causes pervasive negative affective construal. Pain that doesn’t negatively transform our world doesn’t make for suffering. (shrink)

SUMMARYSchleiermacher's doctrine of the Trinity is constituted not only by his Glaubenslehre but also in Über den Gegensatz zwischen der Sabellianischen und der Athanasianischen Vorstellung von der Trinität . Schleiermacher can be seen to construe the persons of the Trinity as the circumscription of divinity. This point leads to consideration of divine wisdom as the ground of both the immanent and economic Trinity.

Irrespective of the short academic history of Christian spirituality, a vast number of academic and popular publications ensued and is still dynamically growing. Many definitions have been proposed to define (Christian) spirituality. Spirituality is also no longer connected only to religion, although in this research the focus will fall on Christian spirituality. This research intends to partake in the continuing academic dialogue to define Christian spirituality. Christian spirituality is interpreted from the perspective of the divine-human conversation. This research consists of (...) three sections. In the first section, a working definition of Christian spirituality is formulated. In the second section, various aspects that constitute spiritualities are distinguished and discussed. In the last section, the constituents of Christian spirituality are pointed out and are reviewed from a conversational perspective. The focus will be on ‘the experience of the divine’ when living a life that resonates with the Christian life. (shrink)

In the late 1930's Blondel precipitated a debate over the question of a Christian philosophy in a series of articles on St. Augustine insisting on the philosophical nature of the saint's thought. Rationalist historian of philosophy Bréhier objected to the very idea of a Christian philosophy. Other historians like Gilson allowed that a philosophy could be characterized loosely as Christian when it was associated with Christian thought, as in the Middle Ages. But Blondel argued against both of these positions as (...) presupposing a separation between philosophy and religion that allowed only for a false hybridization between the two when they were juxtaposed. His own approach to philosophy had been to show a necessary intersection between the two in the question about the ultimate meaning of human action as it relates to God in his infinite transcendence, as this had long been understood in the Catholic tradition, that is, as relating to something supernatural in the strictest sense, something bound to appear as scandalous and paradoxical to reason alone. The present article examines how he first came to his philosophical method for dealing with this question in the 1890's and how he later used this method in defending the idea of a philosophy that was integrally rational and Catholic in the strict sense of both terms. /// Na década de 1930, Maurice Blondel desencadeou um importante debate acerca da questão da chamada Filosofia Cristã mediante uma série de artigos sobre Santo Agostinho, os quais insistiam em particular sobre a natureza filosófica do pensamento do grande santo. Bréhier, um historiador da Filosofia de tendência racionalista, objectou à própria ideia de uma Filosofia Cristã. Outros historiadores, tais como E. Gilson, concediam que uma Filosofia poderia ser vagamente caracterizada como Cristã quando a mesma esteja associada com o pensamento cristão, como era o caso na Idade Média. Mas Blondel argumentava contra estas duas posições na medida em que achava que as mesmas pressuponham a separação entre Filosofia e Religião, separação esta que permitia apenas uma falsa hibridização entre as duas quando as mesmas eram justapostas. A sua posição pessoal em relação à Filosofia defendia que entre esta e a Religião existia uma intersecçdo necessária acerca da questão relativa ao sentido ultimo da acçdo humana na medida em que esta remete para Deus na sua infinita transcendência, tal como esta era desde há muito compreendida na tradição Católica, ou seja, enquanto que remetendo para algo sobrenatural no sentido mais estrito, algo destinado a aparecer como escandaloso e paradoxal à razão enquanto que entregue a si mesma. O presente artigo examina de que modo Blondel primeiro chegou ao seu método filosófico no tratamento desta questão na década de 1890 e de como ele mais tarde usou este método para defender a ideia de uma Filosofia que é integralmente racional e católica no sentido mais estrito de ambos os termos. (shrink)