The purpose of this enquiry is to determine what relation might exist between Doctrine, or statement about Supreme Reality, and Experience of It. To this end, teachings about deity, the claimed sources of knowledge of It and the content of such experience have been examined, prior to considering what relation might exist between the two. The thesis is, therefore, considered that knowledge of Supreme Reality is derived from the experiences of the self, whether objective or subjective, empirical or mystical, and especially from an increasing self-knowledge and the accompanying moral, social and spiritual awareness. The underlying assumption is that Doctrine is primarily an assertion and summary of such Experience and that, if it is to possess any degree of authority, it must clearly be related to experience. Doctrine is, therefore, considered to be centrally-initiated and involving the whole self, and, as knowledge of the self increases , so the Ood-concept grows and develops, from a philosophical Absolute, with basically metaphysical attributes, to a Personal God rooted in man's affective and volitional nature, as Creator perhaps, but more especially as Father, Helper and Friend. In his self-understanding, in particular, then, man discovers and comes to know the Reality which is immanent but yet transcendent, in a synthesis of experience and a progressive articulation of life as an orientation towards that which ultimately transcends* Doctrine, then, is subject to change and development but also to limitations necessarily imposed by a certain conceptual ambience and religious milieu; by the significance end relevance of an earlier or later illative process and by the standpoints and culture of the age in which any experient lives.

Philosophical theories of religion often appeal to supposed facts about the way religions change and, in particular, to the role of innovators. This, is true of theories that stress the priority of experience and the priority of language. In this thesis an historical case study of innovation in religion is used as evidence of the inadequacy of both these sorts of theories and to suggest that same form of 'institutional' theory would form a base for a more satisfactory theory of religion. Consideration is given to William James' and Alasdair McIntyre's accounts of religion and the implications of these for the roles of innovators. A case study of George Fox, wham they both invoke, is shown to validate neither, but to raise several general requirements for a theory of religion if it is satisfactorily to characterize innovation. The problems that arise in meeting these requirements in both empiricist theories and current theories derived fran Wittgenstein's ideas about language are surveyed. Problems encountered in attempts at setting up institutional theories in the field of aesthetics are considered. Any sort of essentialist theory or theories which see institutions solely in terms of bodies of people are rejected. Institutions are characterized'rather as repetitive forms of behaviour that have special representative or expressive meaning for a human community. It is demonstrated that the central concepts of religions - religious activities, religious objects and religious experiences - are institutional concepts. The criticisms that an institutional theory will inevitably lead to unacceptable forms of essentialism, relativism and naturalism, are faced and shown to be unfounded. It is concluded that it is possible to set up an institutional theory of religion that offers a satisfactory characterization of innovation in religion.

<p>The plethora of contrary doctrines pertaining to salvation, among the variety of religions in the world today, creates a problem for the sincere investigator who seeks to find out if there is such a thing as salvation and, if there is, how to be saved. These contrary doctrines are problematic to the degree that the sincere investigator is unable to evaluate the probability of some of these doctrines over others. In order to aid the sincere investigator with this problem, I explore methods for evaluating doctrines that purport to affect one?s salvation.

This dissertation argues that Immanuel Kant's critical philosophy must be understood as an attempt to hold together a robust commitment to divine transcendence and an affirmation of immanent human activity. This argument is developed through an examination of Kant's Copernican revolution, or his account of how human beings must play an active rather than merely passive role in the theoretical and practical domains. Kant's revolution involves an appeal to what can be called our self-legislation, or our role in giving ourselves laws that structure our cognition and volition. A persistent strand of interpretation has maintained that Kant's emphasis on our self-legislation, signaled through his Copernican revolution, rules out any significant role for religious or theological claims. Indeed, Kant is often seen as initiating a modern anthropocentric turn, marking the shift away from a pre-modern theocentric perspective. This dissertation shows, however, that rather than privileging either a God-centered or a human-centered perspective, Kant is instead concerned both with what the divine and human share and with what distinguishes them from one another, and this theme is borne out in Kant's theoretical philosophy, his practical philosophy, and his philosophy of religion. The dissertation is divided into three parts, each of which corresponds to one of Kant's famous three questions: What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? These questions map on to Kant's theoretical philosophy, practical philosophy, and philosophy of religion, respectively. Kant sometimes added a fourth question: What is the human being? The dissertation suggests that Kant's answers to these first three questions involve an account of what it means to be a human being and thereby also serve to address his fourth question. This examination of Kant's Copernican revolution suggests that his anthropology is not a substitute for a discarded theology, but is itself theologically inflected. The dissertation draws on a number of works from Kant's mature corpus, including his three Critiques and Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, as well as other works of his theoretical and practical philosophy, including the Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics and Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.

<p>Hua-yen Buddhism is generally considered as the most theoretical and systematic presentation of Buddhist ideas among the various Buddhist schools that appeared in China during the Sui-T'ang period (589-900 A.D.). Furthermore, its philosophico-religious teachings played a significant role in the religious history of East Asia. In spite of such an importance, very little is known about Hua-yen Buddhism in the Western world. This thesis, therefore, attempts to achieve a proper understanding of Hua-yen Buddhism through an extensive investigation of its central doctrine of dharmadhātu(fa-chieh) as it occurs in the writings of the patriarchs of the Hua-yen school. Part One, as a background study, examines first of all the etymological and contextual meaning of the term dharmadhātu. It also surveys the Avatamsaka-sūtra(Hua-yen ching), the canonical scripture from which the Hua-yen school derived the idea of dharmadhātu as the central theme for teaching and meditation. In addition, it discusses the background and development of the Hua-yen school. In Part Two, the main body of the study, the dharmadhātu doctrine of the Hua-yen school is examined in terms of its development. The basic writings of its five patriarchs and their ideas concerning "the dharmadhātu are chronologically and systematically analyzed in detail. It is demonstrated that the dharmadhātu doctrine can be said to have been, by and large, founded by Tu-shun, formulated by Chih-yen, systematized by Fa-tsang, and elucidated by Ch'eng-kuan and Tsung-mi. Part Three, the concluding part, embarks upon an inquiry into the significance of the Hua-yen dharmadhātu doctrine. It is argued that the dharmadhātu doctrine is not "a pointless exposition of empty words," as characterized by some outside critics, but that it contains solid "philosophical," "religious," and "historical" significance within it. First, it is clarified that the dharmadhātu doctrine is meant to lead man toward an insight into the interrelatedness, that is, the "mutual identification" and "interpenetration," of all the dharmas — an insight which liberates him from all kinds of rigid philosophical preconceptions and dogmatism concerning reality. Second, it is also discovered that the dharmadhātu doctrine of mutual identification and interpenetration is relevant to the formulation of the religious conviction of the "instantaneous attainment of Buddhahood" upheld by the Hua-yen school. Finally, it is verified through concrete evidence that the dharmadhātu doctrine exerted a significant influence on the religious thought of China, especially on the Ch'an(Zen) and the T'ien- t'ai traditions, Taoism, and Neo-Confucianism.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Careful study of the commentaries of both Sankara and Rāmānuja concerning the relationship between Self-knowledge and dharma confirmed the usual doctrinal differences between them which have been the focal point of scholarship on Vedānta but as well it also uncovered areas of structural convergence co-existing with the former. Accordingly this investigation proceeded on two levels: the first level was concerned with those difference in their ontologies; the second level was concerned with the "meaning-structures" common to both. Previous scholarship on Vedānta has not made reference to these areas of structural convergence. The objective of this work has been to verify how these areas of structural convergence throw light on their respective explicit positions.</p> <p>The following are the major findings of this work: Whereas generally Sankara and Rāmānuja have been understood in terms of their doctrinal differences, with special attention to Rāmānuja's explicit refutation both of Sankara's māyā-vāda and his doctrine of Brahman as Nirguna, I have sought out and argued for a common ground between them. Sankara is usually understood as arguing for a radical discontinuity between Self-knowledge and dharma. I have demonstrated his implicit concession to their community is sāndhana and his use of two key categories to explain this apparent continuity: (i) Self-knowledge in its "secondary sense" as vrtti-jnana and (ii) dharma in its "primary sense" and jnana-yoga. Rāmānuja is usually understood as arguing for a continuity between Self-knowledge and dharma. I have shown his implicit emphasis on their discontinuity which is especially evident when dealing with the question of prapatti where a discontinuity is set up between dharma, understood as man's own isolated efforts and Self-knowledge, understood as Self-surrender, which is surrender to the Lord as the "eternally established means".</p> <p>Two distinct but inseparable strands were discovered in both Sankara and Rāmānuja. They were respectively designated as the "explicit Sankara", the "implicit Sankara" , and the "explicit Rāmānuja" and "implicit Rāmānuja". Two major areas of structural convergence were discovered between these strands: between the "implicit Rāmānuja" and the "explicit Sankara"; and between the "explicit Rāmānuja" and the "implicit Sankara", The structural convergence between the "implicit Rāmānuja" and the "explicit Sankara" threw light on their explicit areas of agreement on the nature of dharma which they share as Vedānta. The structural convergence between the "explicit Rāmānuja" and the "implicit Sankara" threw light on their explicit areas of agreement, which they share as Vedānta, on the nature of Self-knowledge.</p> <p>Areas of tension between their doctrines and methods were uncovered. The most striking example of such a tension is illustrated by Rāmānuja's explicit rejection both of Sankara's two levels of truth and of his māyā-vāda, in the context of Rāmānuja's use of methodological equivalents.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p> Murakami Haruki's primary readership consists of Japan's four million born between 1978 and 1990&mdash;an Ice Age of hiring freezes and layoffs. Murakami's cynical antiheroes modeled a blas&eacute; and passive cool. Japanese youth assimilated his tenor and tone. A moral struggle was missing. Following Tokyo's 1995 cult-instigated gas attacks, the repatriating author delved into his 1997-98 reportage, <i>Underground</i>. Despairing apocalyptic outlooks among the economically abandoned respondents rocked Murakami's insularity. The shock engendered his unprecedented compassion.</p><p> This thesis arises from phenomena revealed by current events' intersection with moral philosophy and disposition theory. This thesis claims that Murakami's compassion for Japan's stymied youth triggered his transformation from creating detrimental art to work of engaged responsibility, and that his moral turn manifests first as the 2002 didactic novel, <i>Kafka on the Shore</i>. Murakami's ensuing integration of moral values in his postmodernist narratives has led to the short-list for the Nobel Prize.</p>

No description available.

Positive social interaction between members of opposing social groups (intergroup contact) is an effective method of prejudice reduction (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). This thesis explores how intergroup contact theory can be applied to age groups to reduce ageism towards older adults. Chapters 1 to 3 form the theoretical chapters of the thesis. Chapter 1 defines psychological processes underpinning ageism, provides details of its prevalence, outlines its consequences in society, and gives a justification for its reduction. Chapter 2 introduces the psychological processes underpinning intergroup contact theory and its different formations. This is followed by a literature review of intergenerational contact research, which identifies research gaps in the field and research questions addressed in this thesis. Four empirical chapters then present findings from eight studies. In Chapter 4, Study 1 provides initial correlational evidence of the relationships between direct intergenerational contact, ageism and related psychological processes. Chapter 5 addresses the research question of whether extended contact can be successfully applied to age groups. Studies 2, 3 and 4 provide novel evidence that extended intergenerational contact reduces ageism and is effective via reduced intergroup anxiety, ageing anxiety and ingroup norms. These studies also support prior research demonstrating that direct contact reduces ageism via intergroup and ageing anxieties. Chapter 6 presents two studies that extend the focus of the thesis to include age stereotypes. Secondary analysis of national survey data in Study 5 explores the perception of older adults' competence across the lifespan and friendships with older adults. The degree to which young and middle-aged adults perceive that competence declines with age is attenuated by having as little as one older friend. Building on these findings, Study 6 explores the relationships between direct and extended intergenerational contact, ageist attitudes and warmth and competence stereotypes. Corroborating Chapter 4, both direct and extended contact predicted reduced ageism and are effective via increased competence stereotypes and increased warmth stereotypes. In the final empirical chapter in the thesis Chapter 7 presents two studies that explore intergenerational contact theory in applied contexts. Using an experimental design, Study 7 evaluated an intergenerational programme in which students had conversations with older adults about their technology use. Compared to a control group, the experimental group rated older adults as warmer yet more incompetent. However, only warmth and not incompetence stereotypes formed indirect pathways to subsequent attitudes towards older adults more widely. Study 8 examined care workers positively and negatively experienced intergenerational contact with care home residents. Although care workers experienced more positive than negative contact, negative (but not positive) contact was associated with their attitudes towards care home residents and it generalised to older adults more widely. This indirect effect of negative contact to older adults was effective only for subtle and not blatant ageist attitudes. Overall, the thesis provides a range of evidence suggesting that intergroup contact theory can be successfully applied to the reduction of ageism. It presents a detailed overview of current knowledge, corroborates existing evidence and presents novel findings for extended contact and mediators of both direct and indirect intergenerational contact.

<p> Conflicts in Mindanao can be caused by incidents such as adultery, land disputes, even jealousy within dominant clan groups. The incidents may emerge as an interpersonal conflict, but may result in wider aggression, escalating into interclan conflict when the victim&rsquo;s relatives or ethnic group get involved. Though the initial conflict is interpersonal, it might affect the inter-societal level and even the international level. </p><p> The central issue that directed this research was to discover the factors influencing Mindanao tribal students who seek <i>rido</i>, &ldquo;interclan revenge,&rdquo; and to revise &ldquo;Peace Generation&rdquo; from Indonesia in order to implement contextual methods of &ldquo;Training Tribal Students to Be Peacemakers&rdquo; that uses insiders to facilitate tribal students for conflict transformation in Mindanao. </p><p> As a missionary, I have attempted to equip mature Muslim-background believers associated with Yoido Full Gospel Mission in Mindanao to become facilitators of a program of training tribal people to be peacemakers and to mobilize some to become agents for peacemaking in Mindanao. </p><p> In order to implement sustainable peace among the entire Moro ethnic group, I adapted Lederach&rsquo;s conceptual framework to establish the foundation of trust or to restore trust among interclan or intertribal relationships. This process guided the research in light of historical perspectives recognizing colonial factors affecting the population in Mindanao. This research employs narrative interviews to listen to participants and develop deeper interaction regarding the issues that are verbalized in intergroup conflicts. </p><p> In order to train these Christian peace facilitators for the revised process, I chose <i>Tablig</i>: A Compilation of Resources for Understanding the Muslim Mindset. Over about a year and a half in three rounds of field research, I discovered factors in Peace Generation training that might be perceived differently from tribal students&rsquo; perspectives. All three of the facilitators agreed in Training Group interviews that love is always the main factor in conflict transformation. Furthermore, all three of the Tausug villagers affirmed love, justice, and God&rsquo;s guidance as factors in their marital conflict transformation. </p><p> After reflection on these three research periods, I chose to step back as an outsider facilitator and trainer and to empower &ldquo;voluntary insiders&rdquo; and &ldquo;insiders&rdquo; to facilitate tribal students in peacemaker training. I have clearly separated findings&mdash;peacebuilding facilitated by one of the insiders&mdash;that are significant from ones that are not. In my analysis, my leadership has not shifted appropriately in recognition of tribal people groups, which need indigenization. Hence, it is significant to note that transforming conflicts only through scriptural studies is not feasible; it should be conducted by an insider innovator/transformer, rather than by my entrepreneurship. </p><p> Indeed, if I did not step back from being a peace facilitator and did not train insider or voluntary peace facilitators, we would not have seen the remarkable result in the lifecycle of organizational leadership transition. The main factor influencing and equipping tribal students and adults to be peacemakers, as carried out by insider facilitators, is &ldquo;love and forgiveness,&rdquo; as Romans 13:10 says, &ldquo;therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.&rdquo; </p><p>