El objetivo central de este trabajo fue identificar los patrones funcionales-valorativos presentes en un corpus de informes de arbitraje, género clave en la producción de conocimiento científico. Para el análisis, se utilizó un procedimiento que implicó, primero, la identificación de los elementos funcionales o propósitos comunicativos más frecuentes y, luego, su descripción con algunas categorías del modelo de la valoración. El corpus, de carácter intencionado, estuvo compuesto por 42 informes de arbitraje de la revista de lingüística y traducción de la (...) Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Onomázein. Algunos de los resultados muestran que los propósitos comunicativos más frecuentes son “Describir un problema”, “Destacar un aspecto positivo”, “Solicitar una acción” y “Sugerir una acción”. La alta frecuencia de los propósitos “Describir un problema” y “Destacar un aspecto positivo” eran esperables en un género evaluativo. Ambos propósitos se focalizan más en elementos de contenido y presentan un fuerte posicionamiento monoglósico intensificado con significados de Gradación. El patrón monoglósico puede explicarse por la situación de poder en que se encuentra el árbitro al ser el evaluador del artículo. La alta frecuencia de los propósitos comunicativos “Solicitar acción” y “Sugerir acción” da cuenta de la función negociadora del género. Por último, tanto en la solicitud como en la sugerencia de acciones, los significados de actitud tienen como foco los elementos de forma y no de contenido. (shrink)

Este artículo parte de la perspectiva del materialismo posthumano, una línea de investigación que asume el presente como un contexto postantropocéntrico y postnatural en el que se ha vuelto indispensable volver a considerar las diversas lógicas de existencia que pueblan la Tierra. Es decir, se trata de pensar el espacio post/inhumano que se abre con la interacción, la hibridación y la co-emergencia de todo lo existente en la que los actores humanos están presentes pero no ya en el centro de (...) la acción, sino en una mezcla de agencialidades diversas. En esta oportunidad se presentará una lectura de Las aventuras de la China Iron, de Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, desde una estética materialista posthumana. Por un lado, en la medida en que la narradora es un animal humano, la novela será entendida como una descripción horizontal y no jerárquica del lugar de la “humanidad” en el planeta; y, por el otro, como la exploración de las mutuamente contaminadas potencias de actuar, pensar y sentir de lo existente en general: lo animal, lo vegetal y lo mineral no ya taxonomizados en reinos sino mezclados en el “compost” sin alambrado, ingobernable y fértil que podría ser el “desierto” argentino. De esta forma, en tanto que reescritura del Martín Fierro, texto considerado fundacional de la identidad nacional argentina, la novela de Cabezón Cámara podría ser la fabulación de una “matria” queer y holoéntica que alberga criaturas de múltiples especies y reinos. (shrink)

I address the objection that the concept of racism has become overly inflated. Critics of the conceptual inflation of “racism” argue that theories of institutional racism engage in untoward conceptual inflation insofar as they undermine our moral understanding of racial phenomena, hinder our ability to explain the causes of racial inequality, and even undercut struggles for racial justice. I develop an original account of institutional racism and show that it is immune to all three versions of the conceptual inflation challenge.

I defend impact-based accounts of institutional racism against the criticism that they are over-inclusive. If having a negative impact on non-whites suffices to make an institution racist, too many institutions (including institutions whose affirmative action policies inadvertently harm its intended beneficiaries) would count as racist. To address this challenge, I consider a further necessary condition for these institutions to count as racist—they must stand in a particular relation to racist ideology. I argue that, on the impact-based model, institutions are racist (...) if they have a negative racial impact AND this impact is legitimized by racist ideology. Racist ideologies limit social criticism of and collective action against institutions that have a negative racial impact, and in so doing, lend stability to systems of racial domination. (shrink)

I assess the contributions and limitations of Mariátegui’s Indo-American socialism as a solidarity project aimed at the liberation of indigenous people in Peru. I argue that Mariátegui’s Indo-American socialism offers a good starting point for a coalitional political project between Marxist and indigenous social movements in Latin America. Its decolonial contributions include recognizing indigenous people as revolutionary agents, prioritizing cross-racial solidarity, and centering the needs of indigenous people. However, I also contend that Mariátegui’s coalitional politics are flawed insofar as he (...) fails to fulfill duties of solidarity with indigenous people. I articulate this criticism by drawing on a prominent debate between Mariátegui and Luis Alberto Sánchez, as well as Sally Scholz’s deontic account of solidarity. (shrink)

This paper argues that racism should not only be conceived as a moral concept whose main aim is to condemn severe wrongs in the domain of race. The paper advances a complementary interpretation of racism as an explanatory concept--one that plays a key role in explaining race-based social problems afflicting members of subordinate racialized groups. As an explanatory concept, the term 'racism' is used to diagnose and highlight the causes of race-related social problems. The project of diagnosing race-based social problems (...) contributes to the pragmatic anti-racist end of developing better political and policy strategies for solving these social problems. The paper defends this interpretation of racism as an explanatory concept through a critical engagement with Urquidez's moral-philosophical account of racism. (shrink)

Taking language as its general theme, this book explores how the tradition of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophical speculation exemplifies the character of scholasticism. Scholasticism, as an abstract and general category, is developed as a valuable theoretical tool for understanding a variety of intellectual movements in the history of philosophy of religion. The book investigates the Buddhist Scholastic theory and use of scripture, the nature of doctrine and its transcendence in experience, Mahayana Buddhist hermeneutics, the theory and practice of exegesis, and questions (...) concerning the authority of sacred texts. It also deals with the Buddhist Scholastic theory of conceptual thought as the mirror of language, the Scholastic defense of logic and rationality as a method, as well as the role of language in the idealist and nominalist ontologies of the Mahayana. Finally, the author treats the question of ineffability and the silence of the Buddha from a new perspective. (shrink)

En los últimos años el desarrollo de modelos in vitro con células madre humanas que simulan el desarrollo embrionario temprano ha vivido un gran progreso. Las dificultades para acceder a embriones humanos, la escasez de material embrionario y los desafíos técnicos, legales y éticos existentes sobre la investigación y experimentación con embriones humanos in vitro siguen siendo una barrera para avanzar en el conocimiento de la embriogénesis tras la gastrulación. El objetivo del presente trabajo de investigación es introducir el estado (...) de la cuestión y analizar la situación ético-jurídica que regula estos modelos de desarrollo. Exponiendo brevemente la situación en territorio español. La metodología de investigación se ha basado en el análisis de publicaciones científicas, normas jurídicas y principios éticos. La principal conclusión recogida es que los límites de la investigación con embrioides no se han descrito y es probable que se vuelvan indispensables conforme avanza la investigación hacia modelos con potencialidad para ser trasferidos y gestados intraútero. (shrink)

This article aims to explore the concept of victimless damage. This refers to paradoxical cases where a perpetrator and a moral wrong can be easily identified, but where somehow the role of the victim as such can be questioned. In order to explore this concept, I will first offer a typology of cases that could be labelled under this umbrella concept—namely, cases of deceased victims, biotechnological or no-identity cases, and the ones related to lack of awareness due to epistemic injustice. (...) Then, after highlighting the common traits and discussing some fuzzy cases, I will flesh out the main arguments for and against of the existence of and need for this concept, on the basis of both moral objectivism and subjectivism. In my view, delving into these arguments could shed some light on the metaethical debate on the sine qua non conditions of moral damage and its relation to moral wrongness. Finally, I will conclude by advocating for the need to introduce a gradational concept of moral damage and the second-person perspective into moral philosophy in order to take into account potential cases of victimless damage, but without having to accept the premises of moral realism. (shrink)

Exploro las consecuencias y limitaciones de la noción de agencia moral aplicada la infancia señalando 1) cómo incluso una posición adultocéntrica sobre la agencia moral tendría que considerar a los niños como agentes morales ya que a cumplen sus criterios de autonomía, responsabilidad y conciencia moral; 2) cómo otras estrategias argumentativas centradas en la noción de persona o en conceptos graduales son también problemáticas. Así, sugiero un cambio de enfoque centrado en las condiciones específicas de una acción para evitar tanto (...) la adultización de los niños como el menosprecio de sus experiencias morales qua niños, lo que beneficiaría una ética de la infancia. (shrink)

Health is certainly a valuable asset in the life of every human being and of particular relevance for a flourishing childhood. As empirical research concerning the social determinants of health shows, its distribution can, at least to a certain extent, be influenced by the way a society is arranged. Many philosophers now acknowledge that a fair distribution of health has to be a central part of a just society and they discuss to what extent a right to health can be (...) justified. However, they do not typically distinguish between physical and mental health and neglect the special problems arising from these distinct, though related, perspectives. In this paper, we argue in favour of such a distinction and ask whether a minimally just society ought to include mental health among the goods that are to be distributed in a fair way among its children. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between mental health and happiness and ask whether making mental health a subject of justice implies that children are entitled not only to a healthy but also to a happy childhood. Despite the positive impact of happiness on the lives of children, we conclude that happiness cannot be incorporated into a functional theory of justice, since it does not fully meet the criteria of objectivity, measurability and influenceability. (shrink)

Leading scholars in the field of religious studies show that scholasticism as a comparative category is useful in the analysis of a variety of religious and philosophical traditions and even in the task of cultural criticism.

Our concern is with the ethical issues related to girlhood and bodily integrity—the right to be free from physical harm and harassment and to experience freedom and security in relation to the body. We defend agency, positive self-relations, and health as basic elements of bodily integrity and we advocate that this normative concept be used as a conceptual tool for the protection of the rights of girls. We assume the capability approach developed by Martha Nussbaum as an ethical framework that (...) enables us to evaluate girls’ well-being and well-becoming in relation to the potential, and often subtle, threats they face. The capability approach can be understood as a theory of justice, and, therefore, as an ethical and political approach. An enriched concept of bodily integrity can help in the design of better policies to address gender biases against girls because it could contribute to seeing them as active agents and valid participants. (shrink)

The incorporation of the gender mainstreaming principle into the judicial function presents combating gender stereotypes as one of its central tasks, for which the use of International Human Rights Law is a key tool. Based on this, this paper will analyze whether, in the case of the Chilean Judiciary, the use of the gender category and its mainstreaming remains merely cosmetic in the pursuit of achieving decisions free from gender stereotypes.

En el pensamiento contemporáneo la discusión filosófica ha encontrado una especie de límite en la imposibilidad teórica de volver a pensar en los presupuestos emancipatorios de la Ilustración. A mediados del siglo XX el programa político de la modernidad habría encontrado deconstruida por el fracaso de los proyectos políticos que habían surgido del imaginario moderno; esto significó un cierto apagón del siglo de las luces y, a su vez, una caída del pensamiento en el desánimo de la política. En el (...) caso de los filósofos que animaron el debate de la modernidad y la postmodernidad, el desánimo afectó tanto a defensores como detractores de las pulsiones emancipadoras como “un proyecto inconcluso”. En efecto, si bien, este artículo, no desconoce que el debate de la postmodernidad fue importante y que pueda seguir siendo relevante, sus argumentos se centran, más bien, en la posibilidad de explicar que hoy la amenaza de un probable colapso civilizatorio proviene de lo que Nick Land llama Ilustración oscura. El antídoto, es decir, la posibilidad de contener el giro neo-reaccionario del presente se halla en los postulados de una filosofía freudorepublicana con voluntad de vincular la crisis de los mundos de vida, con la filosofía y una forma-política freudorepublicana, cuyo más intenso exponente es el filósofo español José Luis Villacañas. (shrink)

Chemistry and dynamics are closely related in G.W. Leibniz's thinking, from the corpuscularism of his youth to the theory of conspiracy movements that he proposes in his later years. Despite the importance of chemistry and chemical thought in Leibniz's philosophy, interpreters have not paid enough attention to this subject, especially in the recent decades. This work aims to contribute to filling this gap in Leibnizian studies. In this first part of the work I will expose the theory of matter that (...) the young Leibniz conceives under the influence of chemical corpuscularism. Leibniz uses R. Boyle's interpretation of the Aristotelian idea of form in order to give an explanation of the unity and cohesion of bodies. As opposed to the Cartesians, Leibniz puts forth the idea of a dependence between the variables of extension, movement and figure, without losing analytical clarity and with the aim of extending the explanatory power of physics to natural phenomena difficult to approach by Cartesian mechanics. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza los procesos de secularización abiertos por la Modernidad y los efectos de ésta en la conformación del concepto de democracia. A partir del análisis que ofrece el teórico francés Claude Lefort también se explora la relación conceptual entre el vacío de poder abierto por la Modernidad y la emergencia de la democracia. Esta relación es considerada desde la caída del Antiguo Régimen y la imposibilidad de que la democracia pueda realizar sus aspiraciones de justicia social y restituir (...) la fragmentación de lo social. (shrink)

Una de las consecuencias más problemáticas para el pensamiento contemporáneo es el deterioro y extenuación de la crítica como agencia política. La crisis de la crítica es generalmente vista como una crisis de las humanidades en su intento por orientar las promesas de la modernidad. Este artículo es un intento por indagar en las condiciones de posibilidad que hoy tiene el pensamiento en la defensa de un programa de ilustración que se asienta en la obra del filósofo español José Luis (...) Villacañas y en la fuerza filosófica que ha tenido la propuesta kantiana de la razón. La hipótesis que el ensayo despliega es que hoy es posible una racionalidad de la crítica como condición de posibilidad de una res publica enunciada por el pensamiento de Kant y extendida en la reconstrucción y enunciación del pensamiento republicano de Villacañas. Sin embargo, la posibilidad de este pensamiento y de la racionalidad de la crítica pasa hoy por una crítica a la individualidad hedonista del capitalismo del siglo XXI. (shrink)

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo reflexionar sobre los estereotipos de género incluidos en la argumentación, a partir del uso de la perspectiva de género, que permitirá develar que mediante la utilización de estas preconcepciones sobre las mujeres (características, atributos y roles) la judicatura hace explícito el pacto patriarcal, pero al mismo tiempo por medio de las motivaciones que justifican una decisión pueden colaborar en la erradicación de los estereotipos de género.

Se plantea el problema de la influencia de Suárez en la concepción de la individualidad por Leibniz. Para ello se analiza principalmente la Disputatio Metaphysica de principio individui de Leibniz. Se diferencian tres posturas: tomista, scotista y suareziana. Se confronta la idea de ‘forma’ de Leibniz con la de Aristóteles y la idea de ‘forma sustancial’ con la escolástica y Suárez. La comparación de Leibniz con Suárez se centra en la noción clave de “forma sustancial” y se analizan sus diversos (...) significados. Se formula la coincidencia de ambos autores en torno a la tesis de que la individuación tiene lugar en virtud de la “entidad total”. Finalmente se analiza el significado exacto de esta expresión y se señalan las diferencias entre ambos autores, especialmente las que se producen en la evolución final de Leibniz. Ahí se introduce la concepción de la forma sustancial como principio vital que cohesiona los cuerpos. (shrink)

The aim of the present paper is to outline the synopsis and analysis of Suárez’s work Disputationes Metaphysicae by measuring the influence of his thinking in modern philoso­phy. To achieve such an objective, I will focus on a small but significant number of issues: e.g. the notion of matter and causality; the concept of individuality; and, finally, the theory on modal distinction.

This article explores the nature and consequences of being a successful child YouTuber as a new form of both child labor and play in the social media era. This new child activity can in principle act as an enhancer of child autonomy, creativity, and some specific goods of childhood, such as play, and exploration. However, the impact of becoming a micro-celebrity as a video blogger at a young age is to some extent underexplored. Thereby, I bring into the ethical discussion (...) the specific conditions of this activity, such as overexposure, and adultization. By doing so, I show how it can turn out to be a threat to child’s well-being and well-becoming, especially in relation to the identity construction and intrafamily dynamics. I highlight its double role as both an enhancer of childhood’s specific goods and child vulnerability, especially when it becomes a silent form of subjugation. Thereby, I suggest that the strong version of the precautionary principle could be a normative guide to balance the children’s need to explore and autonomy without jeopardizing other specific goods of childhood and their well-becoming. (shrink)

While many have celebrated Black Panther, some have also criticized it – such as contemporary philosopher Christopher Lebron, who argues that Black Panther 's plot is centrally driven by anti‐Black stereotypes about Black Americans, and particularly about Black American men. Anti‐colonial theory emerges in situations of colonial domination. But there are different kinds of colonialism, and there are different manifestations of anti‐colonial resistance. The image of colonialism that Black Panther most directly invokes – stopping short, however, of openly recognizing it (...) – is really just one species of colonizatism. As previously noted, Black Panther rarely invokes the concepts of slavery and colonialism. In Black Panther, Killmonger is the very site at which the terror of colonial history is sutured – the anti‐heroic figure who must be depicted as a genocidal and misogynistic monster in order to dissipate the shame and the guilt he would otherwise elicit. (shrink)

Considering the recent epigenetic studies on the transgenerational transmission of trauma, this article aims to 1) explore its ethical implications for the concept and nature of moral damage, and 2) offer normative suggestions on collective responsibilities both synchronic and diachronic. To do so, I first address recent epigenetic studies’ showing the crystallization of emotional information through generations, and second, defend that a unified approach to the concept of ghost damage may be useful to categorize this phenomenon, facilitate future research on (...) this type of moral damage, and recognize its importance in the identification of hermeneutical injustice. Finally, I suggest that granting a right to transgenerational information may help avoid the perpetuation of inherited damage that jeopardize mental and physical health in the offspring. (shrink)

El propósito del presente escrito es hacer un análisis de algunas defensas universalistas sobre el segundo argumento de Z13 el cual niega que el universal pueda ser forma y, de esta manera, que pueda ser substancia primera. El análisis tiene dos momentos: en el primero se sostiene que, basado en la evidencia textual de Z, hay una premisa falsa y esto conduce a que la estructura general de uno de los principales argumentos universalistas sea inconsistente. El segundo momento del análisis (...) consiste en mostrar una serie de distinciones importantes no trazadas del segundo argumento que conducen, nuevamente, a que el argumento universalista no sea consistente. (shrink)

Construimos fronteras con supuesta base biológica y derivamos juicios morales de ellas. Asimismo, suponemos que fueron nuestras emociones —el miedo, el asco o la rabia— las que nos llevaron a tal error, especialmente cuando nos damos cuenta de la inconsistencia lógica de derivar juicios morales de dichas fronteras. En consecuencia, solemos identificar emociones con prejuicios, creencias u opciones falaces de las que más nos valdría librarnos. Sin embargo, como se tratará de argumentar a continuación, las emociones no son la causa (...) del problema. Primero, porque el marco conceptual clásico dicotómico en el que razón y emoción son dos polos opuestos regidos por una tensión irreconciliable es a su vez cuestionable. Segundo, porque las emociones, en cuanto alarmas transmisoras de información relevante, pueden ser un elemento tremendamente útil en la identificación y superación de las discriminaciones surgidas de las fronteras dicotómicas. Así, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la relación de estos tres elementos, a saber, fronteras biológicas, juicios morales y emociones y, finalmente, argumentar a favor de las conexiones entre razón y emoción, mostrando los posibles beneficios de remplazar el modelo dualista por uno relacional. (shrink)

La ciencia económica preponderante descuidó el estudio de la cooperación humana. Esto se debe a que hay una contradicción entre ser seres racionales con propensión a maximizar el bienestar, por un lado, y la posibilidad de concretar objetivos de beneficiocomún e implementar procesos relacionales no coercitivos, por el otro lado. Sin embargo, la economía experimental se ha preocupado por hallar explicación a la actitud de reciprocidad que muestran los agentes en distintos juegos de estrategia, ya que posibilita concretar acciones colectivas (...) en las que subyace una intencionalidad compartida que permite cumplir objetivos mutuamente dispuestos. Se busca mostrar cuándo y por qué los seres humanos empiezan a relacionarse con sus semejantes y cuáles el fundamento normativo que logra orientar estos comportamientos. (shrink)

This article aims to answer a core normative question concerning child poverty: What types of responsibilities should be assumed by the state and caregivers as the main agents of justice involved in the problem? By approaching this question, I aim to explore the complex triangulation between children, caregivers, and the state, as well as the paradox of the double role of caregivers as former victims and current agents of justice. In order to accomplish this, I will first present the internal (...) and external issues that arise when the focus is placed on the victims, and, secondly, when attention shifts to the perpetrators. Finally, I will advocate for the need to fundamentally reframe the debates, centering attention on the damage, on investing the construction of a culture of care that includes preventive measures to dismantle common prejudices about poverty and neglect, and on introducing measures to care for the caregivers as a necessary step to break the perpetuation of poverty. (shrink)

El artículo trata del cambio conceptual desde el que percibimos el ocio en el siglo XXI, el ocio experiencial. Para ello nos acercamos a los autores y corrientes que gestionaron este cambio y también a las personas que viven el ocio de ese modo. Tras un primer apartado dedicado a la revisión de la literatura sobre la experiencia de ocio, se estudia a un grupo de personas implicadas durante al menos tres años en alguna práctica de ocio, a las que (...) se les ha preguntado sobre sus percepciones y experiencias. Se parte de una perspectiva émica, a partir de una metodología con base en la grounded theory. Este trabajo se limita al análisis de cinco características básicas de la experiencia de ocio: Persona, emoción, satisfacción, integración y proceso. El trabajo persigue perfilar un panorama general sobre el significado de la supervivencia de ocio, que difícilmente se explicaría sin el ocio experiencial. (shrink)

Desde una lectura organicista mostramos que la concepción de la ontogenia que desarrolla Jan Swammerdam a través de su idea de la metamorfosis nos permite revelar la existencia de una continuidad entre el epigenetismo de W. Harvey y el preformacionismo de G.W. Leibniz. La concepción moderna de la epigénesis (Harvey) y la preformación (Leibniz) no implica tanto un posicionamiento antagónico respecto al problema del origen del embrión cuanto un esfuerzo por desarrollar un mismo modelo de ontogenia frente a las alternativas (...) mecanicistas o vitalistas. En línea con esta lectura, hacemos una valoración crítica de las diferentes interpretaciones preformacionistas de Swammerdam. (shrink)

Western scholars have written on the theory of Buddhist argumentation. They have also analyzed examples of arguments found in philosophical and polemical writing. However, little has been written to date about what might have transpired when Buddhists and their opponents met in face-to-face debates in classical India. Drawing on Chinese and Tibetan historical and biographical writings about famous Indian debates, this essay analyzes the structure and conventions of these accounts as a literary form. While it is difficult to assess the (...) historicity of particular narratives, an analysis of this literature as a whole gives us clues about what might have occured when Indian scholars faced their adversaries in live debates. These sources provide us with a picture of the etiquette, rules of engagement, and strategies that may have been used in such encounters. They also suggest what constituted defeat in ancient Indian verbal contests, and they point to some of the real-political and material benefits of victory. The essay ends by reflecting on the function of these narratives vis-à-vis Tibetan Buddhist scholastic identity. (shrink)

States, as agents who make moral and political decisions, may also be influenced in decision making by emotions as fear, cognitive states as worry, expectations, etc. that will crystallize in the way they cope with the new challenging agenda. Bearing in mind that the argumentative debates about new risky technologies focus on the precautionary principle, and on an anticipated fear, this manuscript suggests to analyze the main biases that arise in the state anxiety (in attention, selection and evaluation of information, (...) and memory) and vice versa, the different types of coping with anxiety depending of the styles of processing the information ( i.e. highly sensitive, highly anxious, repressive, and non-defensive); and will relate them to the different ways of interpreting the precautionary principle. Eventually, I will emphasize the advantages of a better knowledge of our emotional nature and an emotional education, also in political decision making. (shrink)

The classical dichotomical framework has shaped the western conceptualization of emotions and is still alive in our common imagery impregnating our own assumptions about the polarity emotion/reason. Thereby, my main purpose is to suggest that another framework can be defended. In order to it, I will firstly analyse the basis of this logic, as well as I will also offer a critique of its main principles and consequences. Finally, as a way of surpassing the old dichotomic model, I will argue (...) in favour of the links between reason and emotions taking into account the new evidences found over the last decades. To conclude, I will point out some of the benefits of replacing a dualistic framework by an interactive one. (shrink)

As is the case with many of the more classically theistic religions, Mahāyāna Buddhism has attempted to elaborate doctrines of incarnation. This paper will first examine the philosophical / doctrinal context in which such doctrines are elaborated by offering a brief overview of Buddhism’s repudiation of theism. It then discusses both denaturalized / philosophical and naturalized / narrative versions of the doctrine of incarnation as it is found in both the exoteric and the tantric (esoteric) traditions of the Mahāyāna texts. (...) It concludes with a defense of the coherence of the docetism found in such texts. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Gordon Kaufman InterviewGordon Kaufman, emeritus professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School, has been a member of the Cobb-Abe Buddhist-Christian dialogue since its inception in 1987. As he mentions below, that experience has profoundly affected his work as a theologian and his conviction that theology is an activity of “the imaginative construction of a comprehensive and coherent picture of humanity in the world under God.” This perspective has characterized (...) his work from Systematic Theology (1968) through his more recent In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology (1993). Rita Gross and Terry Muck, coeditors of Buddhist-Christian Studies, explored with Gordon the important role Buddhism has played in his theological construction.Buddhist-Christian Studies: Does religious pluralism present Christian theologians with a unique task?Gordon Kaufman: Yes. Through most of Christian history theologians have argued that God revealed Godself to the Christian church in a way unlike any other religious group. Christians had the truth about human beings, their nature, their deepest problems, and solutions to those problems. Now, especially since World War II, a much greater consciousness of the significance of other religious traditions has grown among Christians. The unique challenge to Christian theologians is: What do we as theologians say to believers about what to do with this old tradition of uniqueness and infallible truth?Are Buddhist ‘theologians’ faced with a similar challenge in their communities?Yes.Are there specific features of either Christian theology or Buddhist theology that make either one of these religions more able or less able to step up to the challenge? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these two religions when it comes to the issues religious pluralism raises?I don’t want to speak for the Buddhist tradition in this respect. But I will say that both traditions have adapted to many different cultures around the world and there is a kind of flexibility in these traditions that gives hope. Christian monotheism, for example, is sometimes seen as contributing to exclusivism. But monotheism can be seen as including the notion of one source and ordering principle working in all of life, and that means we are all equal within the world and all related within the world to each other. And that leads to a central teaching of the Christian message: what God requires of us is that we be reconciled with those brothers and sisters from whom we are alienated. The simple Christian demand that we love not only our [End Page 43] neighbors but also our enemies now becomes a very powerful mandate if connected up with that one high monotheistic principle.Is there a certain commensurability between the way Buddhist and Christian theologians do their work?Let’s start by defining the terms. I don’t use the phrase ‘Buddhist theology’ but ‘Buddhist reflective thinking.’ This is less loaded than ‘theology,’ the study of God, but I have no objection if others want to call it Buddhist theology. Now, regarding ‘commensurability.’ I don’t regard myself as a good enough scholar of the history of religion to use that phrase. I’m a little suspicious of it because I am deeply impressed with the difference in lifestyles and commitments and value orientations that different symbols in various religious traditions promote. Thus I don’t want to assume there is a basic commensurability. The basic requirement for the Christian theologian is that we be open to all human beings. Then we’ll see what commensurability there is.So it’s not so much a cognitive category as an attitude or an approach—a common, human desire?Not necessarily a common human desire. I suspect there are strong motivations in all human beings, at least in many, not to be ‘open’ to all other persons. Many simply identify with the groups they are in and are not concerned much about others. I do say that there is a strong Christian imperative to enter into loving relationship with strangers, and whether that is true or not on the other side is for me to find out.How important is it to find out?Very important. It may have been that in earlier times we could continue to live in... (shrink)