The Bhumisukta Revisited in the Background of Contemporary Environmentalism

In this paper I like to revisit Bhumisukta of the Atharvaveda in the backdrop of present-day environmentalism. It is divided into three parts. In Part 1 I like to give a synoptic view of contemporary environmentalism, as reflected in Arne Naess＇s Deep Ecology. In Part 2 I make an exposition of the Bhumisukta, particularly those verses （mantras） which are directly relevant to our environmental concerns. To say the truth, this Bhumisukta （also called the Pcthivisitkta） epitomizes the Vedic Hindu eco-culture. The Bhumisukta （which literally means, the Hymn or Prayer to the Earth） is the oldest and the most evocative environmental discourse. It is called ＂the first natural anthem＂ in the history of mankind. It constitutes the first anuvgtka of dvgtda~ kgm. da of the Atharvaveda and contains 63 verses （mantras） devoted to glorifying the Earth as sacred and inviolable. Many prayers have been sung for the preservation and conservation of Nature and its gifts of splendor. The Bh^misftkta talks about human dependence on the Nature and respect for the same that follows naturally. It proclaims of the Earth as the mother, and humanity as her children Bhumisukta, putro＇ham pr. thivyah＂ In Part 3 1 like to make a brief but critical observation regarding the loss of continuity of Vedic tradition in view of an objection made by some Western environmentalists. In this concluding part I like to respond to the objection that so called eco-sensitive cultures could not avert environmental pollution and depletion of Nature in countries, like India.

Controversies on the Values for Health Instruments of Chinese Medicine

Currently, there are increasing debates on the necessity of health instruments in Chinese medicine（CM） emerging in China. This study aims to reevaluate its status and values. Analyzing the causes, limits, advantages, and properties characters of health instruments in CM, it is found that weak fundamental research, incomplete self-awareness, and complicated social factors are the primary causes of debates. A comprehensive analysis showed health instruments in CM have health evaluation benefits to people from a dominant Chinese culture, meet the requirements of cultural background, and bring long-term value to Chinese instrument researches. However, its values and status should be treated differently depending on various subtypes. Although little theoretical and practical evidences proved that patients-reported health instruments in CM should be proposed independently, the doctors- and nurses-reported questionnaires are necessary. With this in mind, the study group proposes the ＇Chinese cultural instruments（CCIs）＇ and ＇health-related CCIs＇. The latter one aims to evaluate the health status of people in a dominant Chinese culture. The CCIs theory represents Chinese instrument researches on a larger regional and higher level, and resolves the debates on instruments between CM and Western medicine in China. Health instruments in CM bring more scientific and social benefits for Chinese instrument researches. However, it does not include cultural demands, and lacks scientific significance. CCIs have all its virtues, and add solutions to the latter＇s theory bottleneck and scientific debates, thus bringing increased benefits to clinical assessment in complementary and alternative medicine researches.

Why We Care Whether Our Beliefs Are True： An Answer to Stephen Stich

Do we really care whether our beliefs are true？ Stephen Stich gives us a very surprising but challenging answer： Once we find out what it means for a belief to be true, the answer to the above question is ＂a consistently negative＂ one. He argues that there is neither intrinsic nor instrumental value in having true beliefs. However, his argument is based on some very dubious reasons. For instance, one of his reasons is that if we value true beliefs intrinsically, we will leave out a huge space of mental states that have no truth values but would vastly increase their user＇s power or happiness or biological fitness. But this is false because we can value different things intrinsically at the same time. He is even less successful in arguing against instrumental value in having true beliefs. He admits that he does not establish a knockdown argument against the value of having true beliefs, but he insists that the burden of argument be surely on those who maintain that there is value in having true beliefs. To meet his challenge, we have shown that there is cognitive intrinsic value in holding true beliefs and that generally, true beliefs are more conducive to our survival than false beliefs. If we completely depend on our false beliefs to achieve our goals, we will act like a blind cat who can only catch a mouse by chance.