The paper aims to explore Pound＇s early discovery of Confucianism and his conversion to Confucianism. Pound＇s interest in Confucianism coincided with the time when Christianity, already ＂contaminated＂ by ＂histori...The paper aims to explore Pound＇s early discovery of Confucianism and his conversion to Confucianism. Pound＇s interest in Confucianism coincided with the time when Christianity, already ＂contaminated＂ by ＂historical diseases＂ in Pound＇s view, could not offer a valid vision by which to guide the spiritual life, resulting in losing self in a modem society. Pound discovers three main deficiencies of Christianity： lack of respect for individuality, the decline of ethics, and open attack upon nature, which could not provide solutions to Western problems. Pound turned to Confucianism to search the existence of modem man in the face of society, and nature, which results in Pound＇s Confucian medicine to cure Western moral obtuseness.展开更多
In this article, 1 explore how the Long Geng Badeng Kenyah community of Sarawak converted to Christianity even though there was no sustained missionary persuasion from the outside. Over a period of study, I eventually...In this article, 1 explore how the Long Geng Badeng Kenyah community of Sarawak converted to Christianity even though there was no sustained missionary persuasion from the outside. Over a period of study, I eventually accept the simple emic explanation that ＂it is easy when you are a Christian＂ to be an important explanation. Central to this view is that Christianity provides an alternative religion that allows the people to avoid the need to observe the many troublesome taboos that hinder frequent traveling and engaging in various kinds of economic activities. The influence of relatives is an important factor, too, and as more people become Christians, the traditional Bungan followers lose the support to continue with the traditional religion and eventually almost all follow their relatives to adopt the new religion, which they find do not hinder practicing their culture other than replacing the traditional worship with the Christian way. The ethnographic study provides the opportunity to relate to recent scholarship on the anthropology of Christianity, and facilitates anthropological reflection on the study of cultural change, in particular, in relation to the work of Marshall Sahlins.展开更多
The ＂Tree of Death＂ is a metaphor I use to unlock my Christian assumptions on how the dead attain eternal existence in the afterlife state. The tree＇s unconcealedness, in this life and presumably the next, along wi...The ＂Tree of Death＂ is a metaphor I use to unlock my Christian assumptions on how the dead attain eternal existence in the afterlife state. The tree＇s unconcealedness, in this life and presumably the next, along with the moral habits an agent develops in this life explain the obstinacy of the dead, that is, how the agent＇s irrevocable decision to side with the God of Abraham, or not, is possible. For that to be the case, the existential relationships that generate personal identity in this life must accompany （individuate） the subject in the next life. In Christian philosophy, the person-making process mirrors the relationships of the Blessed Trinity. While Martin Heidegger is not a Christian philosopher, his view on truth and being＇s unconcealedness provides a useful piece of the argument to continue the Thomistic case for personal immortality. Heidegger is not a catholic philosopher, but the focus he places on being＇s unconcealedness is consonant with the focus Thomas Aquinas puts on the intelligibility of being. While Heidegger＇s discussion of being is rooted in Dasein＇s finitude, the Thomistic interpretation of being situates unconcealedness within the perspective of God＇s creative act. His vision resets the possibility of applying Heidegger＇s fundamental ontology beyond temporality. The paper develops through a discussion of the Tree＇s ＂branches, trunk, and roots＂ to conclude that the Christian perspective transforms Heidegger＇s view of death into ＂the ultimate possibility of possibility.＂展开更多
Starting with a personal definition of ＂myth＂, this paper seeks to substantiate the claim that every myth is essentially etiological, in the sense that myths somehow express a cosmogony or an eschatology, whether pa...Starting with a personal definition of ＂myth＂, this paper seeks to substantiate the claim that every myth is essentially etiological, in the sense that myths somehow express a cosmogony or an eschatology, whether particular or universal. In order to do that, this study reassesses Classical and Judeo-Christian mythologies to revisit and contrast the narratives of origin--of the cosmos, of the gods and of men--found in ancient polytheism and in Judeo-Christian monotheism. Taking into consideration how these general and particular cosmogonies convey a specific understanding of the passage of time, this article does not merely recount the cosmogonies, theogonies, and anthropogonies found in the Bible and in the works of authors from Classical Antiquity, but it also incorporates a critical commentary on pieces of art and literature that have reinterpreted such mythical tales in more recent times The result of the research is the disclosure of a sort of universal etiology that may be found in mythology which, as argued, explains the origins of the world, of the gods, and of men so as to satisfy humankind＇s ambition to unveil the mysteries of the cosmos. Myth thus functions in these cases as a vehicle that makes it possible for man to return the fullness of a primordial age, abandoning the fleeting time that entraps him and entering a time still absolute展开更多
The centuries before the renewal of both the scientific-philosophical and the everyday thinking were dominated by the Christian way of approaching all the phenomena of human life, love and sexuality not excluded. Howe...The centuries before the renewal of both the scientific-philosophical and the everyday thinking were dominated by the Christian way of approaching all the phenomena of human life, love and sexuality not excluded. However, the tran- scendence-based other-worldly concepts to grasp what happens in human beings-in- the-flesh were challenged by this-worldly concepts, whose explicit or hidden origin was the Epicurean approach to the same phenomena. In my paper, I outline firstly some of the main tenets of Lucretius the Epicurean poet, secondly, I characterize the basic convictions of Christian theological-philosophical writers, in order to present, thirdly, how they influenced each-other in Andreas Capellanus＇ treatise On Love.展开更多
文摘The paper aims to explore Pound＇s early discovery of Confucianism and his conversion to Confucianism. Pound＇s interest in Confucianism coincided with the time when Christianity, already ＂contaminated＂ by ＂historical diseases＂ in Pound＇s view, could not offer a valid vision by which to guide the spiritual life, resulting in losing self in a modem society. Pound discovers three main deficiencies of Christianity： lack of respect for individuality, the decline of ethics, and open attack upon nature, which could not provide solutions to Western problems. Pound turned to Confucianism to search the existence of modem man in the face of society, and nature, which results in Pound＇s Confucian medicine to cure Western moral obtuseness.
文摘In this article, 1 explore how the Long Geng Badeng Kenyah community of Sarawak converted to Christianity even though there was no sustained missionary persuasion from the outside. Over a period of study, I eventually accept the simple emic explanation that ＂it is easy when you are a Christian＂ to be an important explanation. Central to this view is that Christianity provides an alternative religion that allows the people to avoid the need to observe the many troublesome taboos that hinder frequent traveling and engaging in various kinds of economic activities. The influence of relatives is an important factor, too, and as more people become Christians, the traditional Bungan followers lose the support to continue with the traditional religion and eventually almost all follow their relatives to adopt the new religion, which they find do not hinder practicing their culture other than replacing the traditional worship with the Christian way. The ethnographic study provides the opportunity to relate to recent scholarship on the anthropology of Christianity, and facilitates anthropological reflection on the study of cultural change, in particular, in relation to the work of Marshall Sahlins.
文摘The ＂Tree of Death＂ is a metaphor I use to unlock my Christian assumptions on how the dead attain eternal existence in the afterlife state. The tree＇s unconcealedness, in this life and presumably the next, along with the moral habits an agent develops in this life explain the obstinacy of the dead, that is, how the agent＇s irrevocable decision to side with the God of Abraham, or not, is possible. For that to be the case, the existential relationships that generate personal identity in this life must accompany （individuate） the subject in the next life. In Christian philosophy, the person-making process mirrors the relationships of the Blessed Trinity. While Martin Heidegger is not a Christian philosopher, his view on truth and being＇s unconcealedness provides a useful piece of the argument to continue the Thomistic case for personal immortality. Heidegger is not a catholic philosopher, but the focus he places on being＇s unconcealedness is consonant with the focus Thomas Aquinas puts on the intelligibility of being. While Heidegger＇s discussion of being is rooted in Dasein＇s finitude, the Thomistic interpretation of being situates unconcealedness within the perspective of God＇s creative act. His vision resets the possibility of applying Heidegger＇s fundamental ontology beyond temporality. The paper develops through a discussion of the Tree＇s ＂branches, trunk, and roots＂ to conclude that the Christian perspective transforms Heidegger＇s view of death into ＂the ultimate possibility of possibility.＂
文摘Starting with a personal definition of ＂myth＂, this paper seeks to substantiate the claim that every myth is essentially etiological, in the sense that myths somehow express a cosmogony or an eschatology, whether particular or universal. In order to do that, this study reassesses Classical and Judeo-Christian mythologies to revisit and contrast the narratives of origin--of the cosmos, of the gods and of men--found in ancient polytheism and in Judeo-Christian monotheism. Taking into consideration how these general and particular cosmogonies convey a specific understanding of the passage of time, this article does not merely recount the cosmogonies, theogonies, and anthropogonies found in the Bible and in the works of authors from Classical Antiquity, but it also incorporates a critical commentary on pieces of art and literature that have reinterpreted such mythical tales in more recent times The result of the research is the disclosure of a sort of universal etiology that may be found in mythology which, as argued, explains the origins of the world, of the gods, and of men so as to satisfy humankind＇s ambition to unveil the mysteries of the cosmos. Myth thus functions in these cases as a vehicle that makes it possible for man to return the fullness of a primordial age, abandoning the fleeting time that entraps him and entering a time still absolute
文摘The centuries before the renewal of both the scientific-philosophical and the everyday thinking were dominated by the Christian way of approaching all the phenomena of human life, love and sexuality not excluded. However, the tran- scendence-based other-worldly concepts to grasp what happens in human beings-in- the-flesh were challenged by this-worldly concepts, whose explicit or hidden origin was the Epicurean approach to the same phenomena. In my paper, I outline firstly some of the main tenets of Lucretius the Epicurean poet, secondly, I characterize the basic convictions of Christian theological-philosophical writers, in order to present, thirdly, how they influenced each-other in Andreas Capellanus＇ treatise On Love.
