In this chapter, we take stock of existing critiques of contemporary migration research and bring these debates into contact with ongoing debates among decolonial scholars and in feminist social epistemology. We illustrate how the ethical and epistemic concerns voiced by migration scholars in regard to the socio-epistemic functioning of their field can be understood using the conceptual apparatus that has been developed around the notions of epistemic injustice and oppression. In so doing, we illustrate the relevance and usefulness of both (...) feminist social epistemology and of decolonial theory for theorising the socio-epistemic challenges that migration scholars face. The conceptual framework of epistemic injustice and oppression not only offers clarity in what is at stake within migration studies both ethically and epistemically, but also elucidates moral and epistemic reasons for why these issues should be addressed. This framework both calls attention to issues of undue epistemic marginalisation, and centres these issues as a core concern as migration scholars critically reflect upon the knowledge production and dissemination practices of their field. Understanding the processes through which this happens, rather than just the epistemic outcomes, can help us to identify ways to address the structural inequalities with which the production of migration knowledge is often associated. (shrink)

This philosophically and legally grounded volume explores the human right to health in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on corporate responsibility. Combining practical insights with thorough scholarship, it analyzes the universal legal basis of the right, the responsibilities it entails, and how it is applied within specific African contexts. Health has long been recognized as a fundamental human right, protected by Article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and (...) Cultural Rights. While the obligation of states to uphold this right is clear, the extent of corporate responsibility, legally and in stakeholder expectations, remains unclear. This book fills that gap by advocating for a strategic and context-aware approach to corporate health obligations in Africa. It emphasizes that such responsibilities should stand apart from the capacity or political will of states to fulfill their own human rights commitments. The book gathers contributors from diverse countries and disciplines, such as law, political science, ethics, and medicine. It examines whether, and how, corporations, businesses, and other private entities can be held to binding human rights duties, especially concerning the right to health. It also discusses how these duties might be implemented in African settings through policies, regulations, public health programs, and corporate accountability systems. A distinctive feature of the book is its engagement with African intellectual traditions to strengthen the normative concept of corporate responsibility. It also emphasizes the importance of shared responsibility between public and private actors in addressing structural health challenges on the continent. The Human Right to Health and Corporate Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa is a timely academic and research resource for scholars and students in law, philosophy, ethics, business, public health, and the social sciences. It is also of interest to policymakers, NGOs, and human rights advocates seeking to align corporate conduct with fundamental human rights in African settings. (shrink)

Xunzi's philosophy provides a rich resource for understanding how ethical relationships between humans and nature can be articulated in terms of harmony. In this paper, I build on his ideas to develop the concept of reciprocal harmony, which requires us to reciprocate those who make our lives liveable. In the context of the environment, I argue that reciprocal harmony generates moral obligations towards nature, in return for the existential debt that humanity owes towards heaven and earth. This can be (...) used as a normative basis for an environmental ethic that enables humanity and nature to flourish together. (shrink)

The text of each poem is given in letterpress on the page facing the beautiful color reproductions of the plate. The book is printed on vellum.

In this succinct yet ample work, Zhao Tingyang as one of China's most distinguished and respected intellectuals, provides a profoundly original philosophical interpretation of China's story. Over the past few decades, the question "where did China come from?" has absorbed the thoughts of many of China's best historians. Zhao, keenly aware of the persistent and pernicious asymmetry in the prevailing way scholars have gone about theorizing China according to Western concepts and categories, has tasked both Chinese and Western scholars alike (...) to "rethink China." To this end, Zhao introduces what he terms a distinctively Chinese centripetal "whirlpool" model of world order to interpret the historical progression of China's "All-Under-Heaven" Tianxia identity construction on the central plain of China. In this book, Zhao forwards a novel and compelling thesis on not only how we should understand China, but also until recently, how China has understood itself. (shrink)

Propagating omens constituted a crucial strategy to bolster a dynasty’s claim of political legitimacy in early medieval China. While it was believed that Heaven indicated its approbation or reproach of the ruler through omens, in the fifth and sixth centuries, when rival states fought with weapons and words, how to interpret signs and understand Heaven’s will became a contentious issue. A “semiotic warfare” was waged, where the Northern Wei and its southern enemies, Song, Qi, and Liang, competed to (...) define and contest the rules of reading and the scope of their semiotic practices. This aticle examines omen reading in Shen Yue’s (441–513) treatises on “Heavenly Patterns” (“Tianwen”), the “Five Phases” (“Wuxing”), and “Auspicious Omens” (“Furui”) in the Song shu. The three treatises show a drastic shift in strategies of interpretation: from a contextualized mode of sense making in “Tianwen” and “Wuxing” to a decontextualized reading in “Furui.” Analyzing these treatises against the background of semiotic competition, this article argues that “Furui zhi” represents Shen Yue’s attempt to redress the interpretive multiplicities in the other two treatises and to prevail in the discursive wars over legitimacy by forestalling verbal maneuvers of contexts and eliminating interpretive flexibility. (shrink)

Paradise Understood: New Philosophical Essays about Heaven systematically investigates heaven, or paradise, as conceived within theistic religious traditions such as Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It considers a variety of topics concerning what life in paradise would, could, or will be like for human persons. The collection offers novel approaches to questions about heaven of perennial philosophical interest, and breaks new ground by expanding the range of questions about heaven that philosophers have considered. The contributors wrestle (...) with questions about human life in paradise that span the spectrum of the major subfields of philosophical enquiry. By employing both historical and contemporary philosophical resources, the volume makes a pioneering contribution toward answering pressing questions about human life in paradise. It will serve as a platform for future research, reinvigorating philosophical investigation into these neglected topics within philosophy of religion. (shrink)

This essay suggests a coherent reading of Mengzi 孟子 2B13 where Mengzi appears to at once resent Heaven for the current social disorder and also deny his resentment. Some scholars opt to argue that Mengzi resents Heaven either briefly in the beginning or throughout the whole passage, presupposing that Mengzi considers Heaven as an agent that can be responsible for social disorder. The present essay opposes such view, suggesting that Mengzi cannot resent Heaven in a strict (...) sense, but only figuratively. During the pre-Qin 秦 period, resentment was understood to consist of hatred toward the intentional object and belief that the agent is ultimately responsible for the undesirable event or action. Therefore, to resent Heaven requires one to hold Heaven morally accountable for certain events. However, there are good reasons to believe that Mengzi might not hold such a belief. In 2B13, what Mengzi is expressing is not his resentment against Heaven, but rather displeasure over the social disorder. At the same time, he is showing his pleasure at his virtues themselves or their potential good results. His displeasure and pleasure are compatible, since their intentional objects are not identical. (shrink)

There is a plethora of research showing that empathy promotes prosocial behaviour among young people. We examined a relatively new construct in the mindfulness literature, nonattachment, defined as a flexible way of relating to one’s experiences without clinging to or suppressing them. We tested whether nonattachment could predict prosociality above and beyond empathy. Nonattachment implies high cognitive flexibility and sufficient mental resources to step out of excessive self-cherishing to be there for others in need. Multilevel Poisson models using a sample (...) of 15-year olds (N=1831) showed that empathy and nonattachment independently predicted prosocial behaviours of helpfulness and kindness, as judged by same-sex and opposite-sex peers, except for when boys nominated girls. The effects of nonattachment remained substantial in more conservative models including self-esteem and peer nominations of liking. (shrink)

This paper explores the philosophical interplay among different conceptualizations of the heaven-human relationship (tian-ren guanxi 天人關係) in Zhuangzi. While existing scholarship often explains the apparent tensions among these conceptualizations in terms of different authors and historical dating, this paper sets aside questions of textual formation and brings to light conceptual patterns that emerge from Zhuangzi’s rich philosophical resources. Through a comprehensive analysis of the heaven-human relationship and its contextual usages across the corpus, this paper reveals that these seemingly (...) incongruent conceptualizations constitute progressive transformations in philosophical perspective, with each conceptual layer building upon and refining the previous one. From one-sided views to the recognition of both sides, from rigid dichotomies to acknowledging ambiguities in epistemological categories and ultimately transcending these categories, this layered interpretative framework reveals an internally coherent and self-reflective vision underlying the Zhuangzi corpus as a whole. (shrink)

Benjamin Matheson has recently critiqued the escapist account of hell that we have defended. In this paper we respond to Matheson. Building on some of our work in defense of escapism that Matheson does not discuss we show that the threat posed by Matheson’s critique is chimerical. We begin by summarizing our escapist theory of hell. Next, we summarize both Matheson’s central thesis and the main arguments offered in its defense. We then respond to those arguments.

The concept of “unity of heaven and humanity” (tian-ren he-yi) is a central proposition in Chinese intellectual tradition. However, within the classical Confucian framework, it is often ethicalized and anthropocentric, placing humans at the center of the cosmos. This has contributed to ecological imbalances, technological risks, and systemic crises in civilization. Based on the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology, this paper proposes a Lao-Yang model of unity of heaven and humanity, transforming the concept from a philosophical ideal into a scientific, (...) systematic, and operational framework for civilization. Its core lies in the cosmological generative chain of “Dao generates all things, Dao follows nature”: galaxy → sun → Earth → moon → life → civilization, where humans and all other beings function as nodes within a system, and the development of civilization follows natural constraints and hierarchical adaptation. -/- Through literature analysis, cosmological evolution theory, complex systems, and cybernetics, this study systematically elaborates the philosophical foundations, cosmic system structure, principles of natural civilization, technological adaptation, and applied value of Lao-Yang’s unity of heaven and humanity. Results indicate that the Lao-Yang framework is theoretically decentralized, non-ethicalized, and empirically verifiable, providing a scientific basis for ecological governance, technological system control, and risk management in modern civilization. Future research directions include modeling the cosmological generative chain, simulating civilizations, interdisciplinary applications, and long-term strategies for aligning civilization with cosmic laws. This study demonstrates a pathway to integrate classical philosophical ideas with modern scientific methodology, offering a theoretical and practical framework for sustainable global civilization. (shrink)

The majority of philosophers of religion, at least since Plantinga’s reply to Mackie’s logical problem of evil, agree that it is logically possible for an omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent God to exist who permits some of the evils we see in the actual world. This is conceivable essentially because of the possible world known as heaven. That is, heaven is an imaginable world in a similar way that logically possible scenarios in any fiction are imaginable. However, like some (...) of the imaginable stories in fiction where we are asked to envision an immoral act as a moral one, we resist. I will employ the works of Tamar Gendler on imaginative resistance and Keith Buhler’s Virtue Ethics approach to moral imaginative resistance and apply them to the conception of heaven and the problem of evil. While we can imagine God as an omnibenevolent parent permitting evil to allow for morally significant freedom and the rewards in heaven or punishments in hell (both possible worlds), we should not. This paper is not intended to be a refutation of particular theodicies; rather it provides a very general groundwork connecting issues of horrendous suffering and imaginative resistance to heaven as a possible world. (shrink)

This paper takes a look at historical literature and archeological evidence concerning the city planning of the Western Zhou’s 西周 (1070–771 bce) eastern capital at Luoyi 雒邑 in the tradition of “modeling heaven and earth.” After providing a survey of relevant pre-imperial sources, we will examine evidence concerning the theory behind the planning, the choice and location of the site, the timeline of events, and the timing and implications of “positioning” (gongwei 攻位). By way of conclusion, this paper will (...) argue that a coincidence in timing between the start of “positioning” and the spring equinox in 1062 bce suggests rereading a passage from the Yi Zhou shu 逸周書 to the effect that the city’s north–south axis was aligned to the constellation Yi 繹 (also known as Tiantian 天田, ο–τ Vir) and that its layout was modeled on the Nine Palaces (jiugong 九宮). (shrink)

I will argue that Avicenna’s and Aquinas’s faith-based virtue ethics are crucially different from Aristotle’s virtue ethics, in that their ethics hinges on the theological notion of heaven, which is constitutively independent of the ethical life of the agent. As a result, their faith-based virtue ethics is objectionable. Moreover, I will also argue that the notion of heaven that Avicenna and Aquinas deploy in their moral philosophy is problematic; for it can rationally permit believers to commit morally horrendous (...) actions. Finally, I will present a Kantian notion of heaven which is immune to the aforementioned moral objection. The Kantian notion of heaven, nevertheless, cannot ground any view of ethics as it is constitutively dependent on the ethical life of the agent. (shrink)

The political ethics of the ancient Chinese was a microcosm of their cosmology, and the principles and norms of state governance were constructed based on their understanding of “heaven, earth, and human beings” and their relationship. Therefore, the ethics of the Chinese people must move beyond the state, and can only be justified and completed between heaven and man. Self, family, community, and heaven and earth constitute the four dimensions or stages of Chinese ethical thinking, forming personal (...) ethics, family ethics, community and political ethics, as well as cosmic ethics in a special sense. Their relationships are both parallel, representing the four aspects of human life, and progressive, representing the different levels of personal moral growth. In arguing that Confucianism is a system of “spiritual humanism” that is distinct from European secular humanism, Du Weiming points out, “as an inclusive and comprehensive humanism, spiritual humanism is divided into four inseparable aspects: the first is the individual, referring to the integration of the individual’s body, mind, spiritual consciousness, and divinity; the second is the healthy interaction between the individual and the other, and between the individual and the community, which includes the family, the neighborhood, the community, the city, the nation, the world, and even the universe; the third is a lasting harmony between human beings and the natural world; the last and, I think, the most crucial is the complementation of the hearts of people and the way of the heaven. Generally, when we think about humanism, we only consider the first three aspects, but in fact, the true spiritual humanism should also include the issue of the relationship between human beings and the way of the heaven”. These arguments are in line with the basic features of traditional Confucian theoretical thinking and they should also be given special attention when we explore the ethics of the Chinese people. (shrink)

The history of Chinese intelligence witnesses a constant probe into the chiasmic encounters between the heaven (tian) and the human (ren). It is therefore conducive to a core conception of heaven-human oneness as the general ethos of Chinese philosophy. The polysemy of the conception is extended along with the passage of time according to the sociocultural context. This discussion attempts to look into the essential bearings and relevance of heaven-human oneness by tracing back to its historical line (...) of thought with reference to updated reinterpretations. It covers the trifold significance regarding tiandi (heaven and earth) and its naturalistic aspects, tiandao (the Heavenly Way) and its moralistic expectations, and tianxia (all under heaven) and its cosmopolitan ideal; the two-dimensional orientation concerning the humanization of Nature and the naturalization of humanity; a pragmatic alternative involving a set of specific and constructive stances toward the world and human affairs at large. (shrink)

Although Zia Nai-zin, the Chinese philosopher and theologian, was the editor of the first Chinese translation of Kierkegaard’s writings, studies of Kierkegaard’s influence on Zia’s theology are limited. His theology of neo-in-ism (新唯中論) remarks Zia’s contribution to Sino-Christianity, i. e. the Christian doctrines of incarnation and the Unity of Divinity and Humanity and the Confucian Doctrine of the mean, which is essentially about the unity of Heaven and Humans, complement each other. While Zia himself did not relate his theology (...) of neo-in-ism to his studies of Kierkegaard’s philosophy, this paper argues that Kierkegaard’s implicit influence on Zia’s thoughts could be found in two aspects: firstly, Zia’s criticism of New Confucians’ failure to distinguish religiousness and morality is inspired by Kierkegaard’s three stages of life, and, secondly, Zia’s reinterpretation of the Confucian idea of the Unity of Heaven and Humans align with Kierkegaard’s concepts of contemporaneity and God-man relationship. Yet this paper also revealed an implicit disagreement between Zia’s and Kierkegaard’s thoughts: different from Kierkegaard’s individualistic approach to the God-man relationship, Zia also highlights the unity of individuality and sociality. (shrink)

It might seem too obvious to start with this quotation:O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.But then, I think it is obviously correct, as Professor Waterman suggests, that "There are more things in heaven and earth" than simply the application of the scientific method to medical practice. Perhaps there are two quick comments to make about (...) the quotation. First, in Shakespeare's time, "philosophy" would have included science; second, Shakespeare apparently contemplated using "our" rather than "your." So Hamlet is speaking to us, not just to Horatio, and he's speaking about our... (shrink)

There is [that which is controlled by] Heaven, and there is [that which is within the power of] man, and each has its separate lot. Once one has examined the division between Heaven and man, one will know how to act.1Since the discovery of the Guodian 郭 店 manuscripts in 1993, the Qiongda yi shi 窮 達 以 時 has gathered much attention, mainly thanks to this opening line, which practically invalidates the previously widely held belief that the (...) division between Heaven and humanity was Xunzi's original idea.2 Consequently, much effort was spent on analyzing similarities and differences between the Xunzi and the QDYS, focusing on their concepts of Heaven.3 But... (shrink)

This is an essay on the relationship between Heaven and man. It tells their difference and also shows their unity. It is a reflection of the dialectical view of the ancient Chinese on this issue. Master Xun developed this topic in two respects: how to treat Heaven and how to look at man himself. He pointed out that the evolution of Heaven follows its own rules instead of taking human factors into account. This opinion serves as the (...) logical foundation of the whole essay. With this understanding, man will be aware of improving his environment by following the laws of nature, stop being fascinated by and dependent upon the personified Heaven, and clarify the distinction between Heaven and man. Compared with man, Heaven “succeeds without effort and receives without seeking.” It is formless and intangible, and displays its achievement rather than its effort. Basing on this enlightenment, man will keep from competing with Heaven in its operation or going beyond the boundary of its knowledge. (shrink)

The traditional Chinese ecological aesthetics takes ‘the Unity of Heaven and Humanity’ [天人合一] as its philosophical core and constructs a cosmological landscape of coexistence and prosperity between humans and nature. Given the challenges of the global ecological crisis, this research draws on the ecological aesthetic wisdom of ‘the Unity of Heaven and Humanity’ to systematically explore its theoretical support and practical value for building a Beautiful China. By employing a mixed-method approach that integrates textual analysis, policy review, and (...) multi-case comparative study, this research finds that in the process of building a Beautiful China, the traditional ecological aesthetic wisdom of ‘the Unity of Heaven and Humanity’ has achieved creative transformation and innovative development through the spatial creation of ‘Poetic Dwelling’, the green economy characterized by ‘Suitable for Employment’ and the ecological empowerment for the principle of ‘Suitable for Nurturing Life and Tourism’. This has paved a distinctive path for green development that integrates cultural subjectivity, ecological principles, and modern governance technologies. The discussion further emphasizes that intelligent ecological governance, leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, provides a key technological pathway for the contemporary transformation of ‘the Unity of Heaven and Humanity’ philosophy. This study provides a unique ecological and cultural foundation for building a Beautiful China and for global ecological protection. (shrink)

"We live in a World no longer under heaven. At least in most people's minds and imaginations that vision of reality has become little more than a caricature, conjuring up the saints and angels of baroque frescoes. And in the church only a hint remains of the power it once exercised in the hearts of believers". So begins A. J. Conyers in this provocative book, and suggests that the eclipse of heaven has resulted in a shallower view of (...) life and death, in a loss of cultural and individual purpose, and in moral disarray. This is a powerful, persuasive plea to stop blocking heaven from our sight, and so to regain hope, meaning, and richer lives -- in this world and the one to come. (shrink)

In the early morning hours of August 4, 2013, Joy Pavelich's world was shattered when she found out that her twenty-year-old son Eric had taken his own life at the family farm in Saskatchewan. Struggling to make sense of Eric's sudden and unexpected suicide, Joy takes a deeply personal and difficult journey through his past--from his happy childhood, to his mental health struggles in his early teens, to his death and the resulting aftermath of his passing. CHASING MY SON ACROSS (...) HEAVEN demonstrates how to rebuild a life fractured by extreme trauma using storytelling as a powerful healing tool. The author tackles some of the most pressing issues facing society today: youth mental health, suicide and post-traumatic stress. Through her explorations, Joy reveals how we can all find the courage to rebuild our lives while continuing to honor the deep love for those we've lost."--Back cover. (shrink)

The relation between heaven and man has been the key issue of inquiries explored and studied by countless Chinese ancestors and scholars. During its long-lasting historical course, the Chinese nation developed the thought of “unity of heaven and man（天人合一）” as the answer to the relation between the two and never stopped to improve it. Unlike previous research, this article chose to unveil this great thought and shed some new lights on further research in this field, from a different (...) angle of ding（鼎），an important type of cultural artifact embodying the thought from the very early times of the Chinese history. By analyzing the path of historical development of the thought, this article generalized the intrinsic connotation of the thought as threefold that man and heaven are identical in nature and analogous in composition, and they are mutually connected and responsive in terms of emotion and spirit, and consistent and corresponding in terms of morality and ethics. By enhancing the cognitive and practical levels of the above-mentioned three aspects, man can constantly improve, and finally reach the state of complete unity with heaven. Then this article introduced the historical changes of dings and analyzes the influence of the thought on their appearances and functions, claiming that it is due to the thought embodied in this type of vessels over all the historical periods that “ding” gradually developed into a kind of unique cultural symbol conveying the notions of authority, unity, solemnity and harmony in the hearts of Chinese people. (shrink)

Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines and live forever in cyberspace, has become commonplace. This view now affects robotics and AI funding, play in online games, and philosophical and theological conversations about morality and human dignity.

Background: There is a growing interest in using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with people who have Asperger Syndrome (AS) and comorbid mental health problems. Aims: To examine whether modified group CBT for clinically significant anxiety in an AS population is feasible and likely to be efficacious. Method: Using a randomised assessor-blind trial, 52 individuals with AS were randomised into a treatment arm or a waiting-list control arm. After 24 weeks, those in the waiting-list control arm received treatment, while those initially (...) randomised to treatment were followed-up for 24 weeks. Results: The conversion rate for this trial was high (1.6:1), while attrition was 13%. After 24 weeks, there was no significant difference between those randomised to the treatment arm compared to those randomised to the waiting-list control arm on the primary outcome measure, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety. Conclusions: Trials of psychological therapies with this population are feasible. Larger definitive trials are now needed. Declaration of Interest: None Trial Registration: ISRCTN 30265294 (DOI: 10.1186/ISRCTN30265294), UKCRN 8370. (shrink)

摘要 Abstract 天人合一（Tianrenheyi）是中国哲学传统中最为深刻的命题之一。然而，两千年来它却被古典儒家道德化和政治化，将“天”降格为人类伦理的外延，将“人”升格为宇宙中心。杨兴平（Charles X. Yang）以“老-杨宇宙观”为元框架，对天人合一进行了系统的科学哲学重构。本文综合其PhilArchive系列论文，从宇宙名题论、儒家批判、科学对话、工程邪褽、和文明实践五个维度，全面展示老-杨天人合 一模型的核心内涵。 Tianrenheyi (Unity of Heaven and Humanity) is one of the most profound propositions in Chinese philosophical tradition. Yet for two millennia it has been moralized and politicized by classical Confucianism, reducing Heaven to an extension of human ethics and elevating humanity to the center of the cosmos. Charles X. Yang, using the Lao-Yang Genesis Cosmology as the overarching framework, systematically reconstructs Tianrenheyi on scientific-philosophical foundations. This paper synthesises his PhilArchive series across five dimensions: (...) cosmic ontology, Confucian critique, scientific dialogue, engineering embodiment, and civilizational practice, offering a complete presentation of the Lao-Yang model of Tianrenheyi. (shrink)

This paper deciphers the "divine consciousness" embedded in the Beijing Temple of Heaven—a Ming-Qing imperial sacrificial site for heaven worship—through the lens of Daoist alchemical "mandala" (坛城 Tancheng ). As a physical manifestation of ancient Chinese cosmology and spiritual pursuit, the Temple is interpreted as a three-dimensional mandala encoding the stages of Daoist Internal Alchemy (内丹学 Neidan Xue): refining essence into vital breath (炼精化炁 Lianjing Huaqi), transforming breath into spirit (炼炁化神 Lianqi Huashen), and sublimating spirit to merge with (...) the divine (炼神还虚 Lianshen Huanxu). Key architectural elements-such as the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿 Qinian Dian) with its triple eaves (corresponding to the Lower, Middle, and Upper Elixir Fields 下/中/上丹田 Xia/Zhong/Shang Dantian), celestial blue tiles (symbolizing divine purity), and numerical symbolism (12 pillars for earthly cycles, 4 pillars for cosmic order)-are analyzed as symbolic vessels for consciousness ascension. The Temple’s layout (Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Danbi Bridge) forms a nested cosmological model mirroring the human body as a microcosm, facilitating the integration of mortal and divine. Ultimately, the Temple of Heaven is revealed as a monumental "mandala writing" (坛城书写 Tancheng Shuxie), where architecture serves as both a ritual space and a catalyst for achieving the Daoist goal of "Heaven-Human Unity" (天人合一 Tianren Heyi). (shrink)

ABSTRACTIn this study, I examine the Confucian influence upon An Inquiry into the Good, the first publication of Nishida Kitarō. Nishida’s student Kōsaka Masaaki depicts his mentor’s conception of the good in terms of realising the 'Mandate of Heaven'. Taking this to be indicative of the importance of Confucianism for Nishida’s early thought, I compare his philosophy of pure experience and ethical project of ‘self-realisation’ with corresponding ideas found in the Confucian corpus. I especially focus on the Great Learning (...) and Doctrine of the Mean as interpreted by the Neo-Confucian Wang Yang-Ming. This study builds upon the pioneering work of Michel Dalissier, Dermott Walsh and David Williams on the Kyoto School and Confucianism. My portrayal of Confucianism is indebted to the ‘philosophical’ translations of Roger Ames, David Hall and Henry Rosemont, Jr., which bring into relief the tradition’s ‘relational ontology’ that Graham Parkes teaches is shared by the Kyoto School. (shrink)

The traditional view of heaven holds that the redeemed in heaven both have free will and are no longer capable of sinning. A number of philosophers have argued that the traditional view is problematic. How can someone be free and yet incapable of sinning? If the redeemed are kept from sinning, their wills must be reined in. And if their wills are reined in, it doesn’t seem right to say that they are free. Following James Sennett, we call (...) this objection to the traditional view of heaven ‘the Problem of Heavenly Freedom’. In this paper, we discuss and criticize four attempts to respond to the Problem of Heavenly Freedom. We then offer our own response to this problem which both preserves the traditional view of heaven and avoids the objections which beset the other attempts. (shrink)

The God of biblical revelation is present everywhere in the Gospel according to Matthew, but often in a self-effacing way, receding behind Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us. God's presence is veiled by divine passives, hidden behind the reverent circumlocution “heavens.” The parable of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God is widely stated in our Gospel of Matthew. Many scholars claim that the Gospel of Matthew reveals more about Jesus as a powerful King.

The belief in heaven's mandate (tianming 天命) in earlier documents referred to divine‐ethical sanctions of political rulers. It later developed multiple implications such as an individual's destiny or fate and became one of the most fundamental concepts in Chinese intellectual and cultural history. In modern times, this concept has received long‐lasting attention in the field of Chinese philosophy, and almost all major scholars have more or less been involved in discussions and debates, especially on the topic of the classical (...) Confucian conception of heaven's mandate. Their discussions on this topic have largely focused on two major controversies: (i) whether early Confucians view heaven's mandate as prescriptive ethical command or descriptive amoral fate, and (ii) whether their attitude toward heaven's mandate is voluntarist or fatalistic. While this scholarship has been fruitful and insightful, it has continued for almost a century with certain variants. Therefore, it is time to address this topic with new approaches and hermeneutic horizons. In this essay, I propose a new approach and horizon to viewing the classical Confucian conception of heaven's mandate as their reflections on individual existence and self‐realization under the constraints of mandate or destiny. I examine the texts associated with Confucius and Mencius such as the Analects and the Mencius, as well as some recently unearthed texts, to suggest that early Confucians accommodate individual initiative and self‐determination of life choices through their conceptualization of heaven's mandate. To them, the vocabulary of heaven's mandate empowers individuals, especially through situating their places in society and the cosmos. By knowing and standing firmly on one's mandate or destiny, the individual not only realizes the value of their existence but also goes beyond the ultimate destiny of death. This fresh reading of heaven's mandate is grounded in the context of the development of Confucian ideas in the early period and presents an optimistic vision of Confucian humanism. (shrink)

A familiar trope in many Hollywood films dealing with race is a symmetry between white and black with respect to some aspect of racism—both blacks and whites are shown to be prejudiced, or discriminatory, or using stereotypes of the other. Generally, this symmetry is false or misleading, as illustrated in _Far From Heaven_, a 2002 film set in the 1950’s. An upper middle class housewife begins a romantically-charged friendship with her black gardener. Her social set disapproves of this relationship, and (...) the film nicely portrays the racism of these well-bred Northerners. But it also shows the black community similarly disapproving, and ultimately running the gardener out of town by throwing stones through his window. This alleged racial symmetry—both blacks and whites viciously oppose a black-white romance—is entirely false to the period in which the film is set. Other films exhibiting or not exhibiting false symmetries in relation to interracial relationships are also discussed. (shrink)

This is a philosophical rumination on Shawn Loht’s important extension of “film as philosophy” into a Heideggerian phenomenological account of the philosophical response that cinema can engender. After considering the importance of these kinds of approaches, I turn to Loht’s phenomenological engagement with Terrence Malick’s early masterpiece, Days of Heaven (1978). After sympathetically reviewing his “interpretation”, I expand upon its delineation of “earth and world” to include the “fallenness” of the world as well as the possibility of a metanōetic (...) awakening to the vocation of “mud doctor”, that is, to heal the rift between earth and world, a rift made more exigent by world war, economic exploitation, and the ecological catastrophe of the Anthropocene. (shrink)

Examples of classic thought experiments are presented and some morals drawn. The views of my fellow symposiasts, Tamar Gendler, John Norton, and James McAllister, are evaluated. An account of thought experiments along a priori and Platonistic lines is given. I also cite the related example of proving theorems in mathematics with pictures and diagrams. To illustrate the power of these methods, a possible refutation of the continuum hypothesis using a thought experiment is sketched.

In this essay, I attempt to think along with Kevin Hart, though improvising on his text in my own way, by suggesting that ‘the way’ is one that calls anyone who wishes to follow, that it is, at heart, all about doing battle with oneself, and that this battle is best thought of as an endless hermeneutic, one inaugurated by Jesus yet also with classical precedents.

The news about the Kingdom of Heaven is the central news in the preaching of Jesus during His life, specifically based on the Gospel of Matthew. The Lord Jesus always preached the news about the Kingdom of Heaven because the news carried by Jesus was not only limited to political or geographical dimensions but also spiritual. The preaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of Heaven brings about an important message, specifically concerning the restoration of the relationship between (...) humans and God. However, this news or preaching seems to be hidden and veiled. Even the values of the Kingdom of Heaven are increasingly unidentified in the form of church service and ministry because the news about the Kingdom of God is less voiced out and disseminated. Based on this, a theological study is very important and necessary to discuss Jesus’s news about the Kingdom of Heaven, which can be implied in the Borneo Evangelical Mission church today. The methods used in this study are qualitative research and literature study. Through this study, it can be concluded that the News of Jesus about the Kingdom of Heaven can be implied and applied in the BEM Miri Sarawak church. First, Jesus prioritizes changes of heart and repentance as basic teachings of the Kingdom of Heaven. Second, Jesus emphasized the High Moral Teachings and Ethical Values in the expression of “Blessed or Beatitude” about the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5: 3–12). Third, Jesus proclaimed Unconditional Love as a basic principle in the Kingdom of Heaven. Fourth, Jesus taught about His Power as evidence of the Presence of the Kingdom of Heaven. Fifth, the Secret of the Kingdom of Heaven is revealed in the form of Parables. (shrink)

Jean-Luc Marion is often interpreted as a thinker of the purely invisible and apophatic, in tension with the rich forms of mediation found in Christian practice. I will challenge these assumptions through a close reading of one of Marion's rare concrete examples, the “icon”— not his philosophical use of the term, but the holy image that initially inspired it. Marion defines the sacred image by its “transparency,” “self-effacement,” or “kenosis.” This seems to indicate that the icon must cancel itself out (...) to make room for God, an iconoclastic attitude with troubling consequences for the believer who prays to the icon and for the rest of the finite world. By rigorously developing Marion's understanding of this word “kenosis,” I argue that, counter to initial impressions, this account of the sacred image is deeply faithful to the essential aspects of the Byzantine icon understood as a “window into heaven.”. (shrink)

Since heaven is the most perfect state or position possible – namely of loving God perfectly – and sinning is failing to love God, it will not be possible to sin in heaven. However, if freedom is a mark of perfection, and loving God is only possible when one freely loves God, will we be loving God at all if we are not free not to love him? Three cumulative arguments for an affirmative answer are developed. The first (...) is to distinguish the ability to love or sin from the opportunity to do so. In heaven we are loving God in an infinite variety of ways, so we are freely exercising our ability to love, even when God has taken away any opportunities for sinning. However, one might reply that our freedom will only be the freedom to love God in various ways, not the freedom to love God or not. Hence the second argument is that in heaven are only people who have freely chosen to love God while on earth, where there was a real opportunity not to love God. Since the free choice to love God was made before entering heaven, loving God in heaven remains a free choice. Moreover, since in heaven God takes away the opportunity to sin, and stopping to love God would be a sin, you will remain steadfast in that free choice. However, one might reply that also having the opportunity to sin would add an extra possibility for willing something, so one would be 'more free' in heaven, and heaven would be more perfect, if one would also have the opportunity to sin. Hence the third argument is that freedom is a perfection shared by both God and humans, and the freedom of God is in an important respect a freedom to create. Hence, our human freedom is also greater if our creative power is greater. We have no creative power but by participating in God’s creative power, which is necessarily directed towards the good. So by willing what is good we extend and perfect creation and thereby extend and perfect our possibilities for willing, hence we become more free. On the contrary, by sinning we destroy creation and possibilities for willing and we become less free, so an opportunity to sin is not a possibility that increases our freedom. (shrink)