Moral Perspective as Depicted in the Archetypes on Divine-Human Perspective of Dianshizhai Pictorial

This article examines the archetypes related to the divine-human perspective in the Dianshizhai Pictorial and uses the basic theory of“Myth-Archetype Criticism”to analyze the concepts of moral perspective and the view of cause and effect reflected in the text.It summarizes the interactive modes and various archetypes of cause and effect in three contexts:gods to humans,humans to gods,and humans to humans,explores the social reality and the relevant views of moral perspective and causality reflected in the illustrated magazine,and reveals the archetype foundation of the narrative of moral perspective retribution in Dianshizhai Pictorial in the three dimensions of psychology,literature,and society.

Religious Narratives and Religious Coping Strategies in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

Recent findings demonstrate a growing interest in religiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest that religiousness has a Janus-face impact on coping with stress.On the one hand,the empirical data indicates a positive link between religiosity and mental health,agreeableness,and higher emotion regulation skills.On the other side,some surveys describe religious people as being reluctant to follow the recommendation of public health experts,and they also tend to score lower on intelligence and analytic thinking measures.However,how religiosity in our country impacts psychological processes of perception and coping with stress during the pandemic is not studied yet.The research reveals religious views on the COVID-19 pandemic through the analysis of semi-structured interviews with believers from different Bulgarian religious communities—Orthodox Christians,Catholics,Protestants,and Muslims.The focus of the one religious interpretation is pandemic as retribution for the self-forgetfulness of a man and the consumerist attitude towards God’s creation.The main narrative in the other interpretation considers diseases and suffering that accompany human life as a natural consequence of original sin and perishable human nature.Both points of view relate to various coping methods with challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Literati＇s Polyphonic Answers to Social Changes in Late Imperial China

The article aims to rethink the pluralistic intellectual currents and social changes of the last centuries in China： How literati reacted to the historical changes, the economic developments, the collapse of the hierarchical order, and the social mobility from the end of the Ming to the middle of the Qing dynasty. Urbanisation, the great silver inflow, the acceleration of trade, and social mobility raised new challenges to the orthodox view of the world and to Neo-Confucian norms. These new attitudes of the Chinese literati--which can be inferred both from literary and philosophical works--uncover new attitudes in the mental structure of the intellectual strata of the time. In the history of ideas we notice a progressive detachment from the orthodox view of the conflictual relationship between principle and desires, especially in the ambit of the Taizhou school. The elaboration of a new anthropological mindset aimed at the rehabilitation of passions and desires culminated with Li Zhi. This trend went on in the Qing period, from Wang Fuzhi to Dai Zhen. In literature, a similar trend, the so-called ＂cult of qing,＂ can be found with the moral justification of emotion-desire （establishing emotion as a genuine and active source of virtue）, and with the vitalistic identification of emotions as the source of life and reproduction. Another indication of change is the challenge of common and accepted truisms through the praise of ＂folly＂ in real life situations and literary works： To be ＂crazy＂ and ＂foolish＂ became a sign of distinction among certain intellectual circles, in contrast with the pedant orthodox scholars and officials and the vulgar nouveaux ziches. The unconventional character of the anti-hero Baoyu is emblematic, with his aversion for any kind of official ceremony and convention, his abnormal sensibility and impractical and naive mentality, and his consciousness of being different from others. The crisis of the established ladder of values can be seen in the exaltation of ＂amoral＂ wisdom and in the presentation of various dimensions of love, from the idealistic sentiment of ＂the talented student and the beautiful girl＂ to the metaphysical passion that overcomes death, and to the minimalist concept of＂loveis like food＂ in a carpe diem perspective. And finally another challenge is exemplified by Yuan Mei＇s reflections on the concept of Heavenly Mandate, retribution, human responsibility, and historical constructions by resorting to ＂abnormal＂ phenomena to uncover the absurdity of reality and unconscious imagery. His questions testify the polyphonic debates of the late imperial China, besides established conventions and Neo-Confucian orthodoxy.

Philosophy and Science Dialogue： Free Will

In this dialogue Derk Pereboom and Marcel Brass discuss the free will problem from the perspective of philosophy and cognitive neuroscience. First, they give their opinion on how the two disciplines contribute to the free will problem. While Pereboom is optimistic regarding the contribution of science, Brass is more pessimistic and questions the usefulness of an empirical approach to the question whether free will exists or not. Then they outline their position on the free will problem. The idea of a transcendental agent is discussed in more detail. Furthermore, it is discussed whether free will scepticism is a politically, socially, psychologically viable position. Pereboom argues that promoting the idea of free will scepticism can have a positive impact on retributive emotions and the political practice regarding retributive punishment. Brass argues that retributive emotions are deeply rooted in evolution and therefore difficult to change via high-level beliefs about free will. Finally, the future of the free will debate is discussed. Both agree that the dialogue between philosophy and psychology should be intensified. Philosophy can benefit from taking empirical research more seriously. Psychology and neuroscience can benefit from philosophy by appreciating the sophistication and conceptual clarity of the philosophical debate. Both have to find a common language and define common problems that can be tackled from both perspectives.

A General Clause of Punitive Damages Should Be Established in China's Future Civil Code

Punitive damages have several functions that are worthy of serious research.For instance,punitive damages could help to compensate victims for moral damages suffered and offer more sufficient ex-ante compensation in cases of wrongful death or bodily injury,thus compensating for the losses suffered by victims more completely;they could punish private wrongs more effectively and provide a means of personal revenge within the law,incidentally deterring and preventing future wrongs;they could be used to correct abuses of power or status by the rich,large corporations,or the government;and they could be used to complement criminal law,etc.In order to fully realize the advantages of this institution in the Chinese society,we should expand its application in China's tort law and carefully design the scope of its application,including the subjects to which it would be applicable and the amounts that would be allowable.In the short term,the application of punitive damages could be expanded through specific individual legislation,increase of the amounts of compensation for mental damages in individual cases or local legislation.In the long term,a general clause on punitive damages should be established in tort law in China's future Civil Code,stipulating that"punitive damages can be applied to those who have performed tortious acts that deserve severe moral condemnation,due to the actor's malicious intent or indifference or disregard for others,rights."