David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book considers two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death?; and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? It does so by considering the ...
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This book considers two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death?; and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? It does so by considering the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner. These philosophers' thoughts constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death which can be set out in relation to the practical realities of grief, fear, and hope in the face of death. There is a rightful place for grief, a good grief, even for a Christian. Augustine teaches us that death is something with which we have to contend, and indeed that the difficult and painful process of contending with death is a means through which we are brought to our final joyful end. A key point for Thomas Aquinas is that, in itself, it is always wrong to kill a human being on account of the dignity of human nature. Rahner adds that it also stands in contradiction to the supernatural destiny of human beings. Rahner is at his most profound in describing how the need to surrender oneself to God in death is anticipated throughout life. The aim of this book is not primarily to make a contribution to the knowledge of the history of theology, but rather, through engagement with the thought of theologians of the past, to reflect on some of the practical and existential issues that the approach of death presents for us.Less
This book considers two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death?; and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? It does so by considering the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner. These philosophers' thoughts constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death which can be set out in relation to the practical realities of grief, fear, and hope in the face of death. There is a rightful place for grief, a good grief, even for a Christian. Augustine teaches us that death is something with which we have to contend, and indeed that the difficult and painful process of contending with death is a means through which we are brought to our final joyful end. A key point for Thomas Aquinas is that, in itself, it is always wrong to kill a human being on account of the dignity of human nature. Rahner adds that it also stands in contradiction to the supernatural destiny of human beings. Rahner is at his most profound in describing how the need to surrender oneself to God in death is anticipated throughout life. The aim of this book is not primarily to make a contribution to the knowledge of the history of theology, but rather, through engagement with the thought of theologians of the past, to reflect on some of the practical and existential issues that the approach of death presents for us.
Margaret P. Battin, Leslie P. Francis, Jay A. Jacobson, and Charles B. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335842
- eISBN:
- 9780199868926
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335842.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter examines the characteristics of infectious disease that raise special medical and social ethical issues, and explores ways of integrating both current bioethics and classical public ...
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This chapter examines the characteristics of infectious disease that raise special medical and social ethical issues, and explores ways of integrating both current bioethics and classical public health ethics concerns. Many of the ethical issues raised by infectious disease are related to these diseases' powerful ability to engender fear in individuals and panic in populations. The chapter addresses the association of some infectious diseases with high morbidity and mortality rates, the sense that infectious diseases are caused by invasion or attack on humans by foreign microorganisms, the acute onset and rapid course of many infectious diseases, and, in particular, the communicability of infectious diseases. The individual fear and community panic associated with infectious diseases often leads to rapid, emotionally driven decision-making about public health policies needed to protect the community that may be in conflict with current bioethical principles regarding the care of individual patients. The discussion includes recent examples where dialogue between public health practitioners and bioethicists has helped resolve ethical issues that require us to consider the infected patient as both a victim with individual needs and rights, and as a potential vector of disease that is of concern to the community.Less
This chapter examines the characteristics of infectious disease that raise special medical and social ethical issues, and explores ways of integrating both current bioethics and classical public health ethics concerns. Many of the ethical issues raised by infectious disease are related to these diseases' powerful ability to engender fear in individuals and panic in populations. The chapter addresses the association of some infectious diseases with high morbidity and mortality rates, the sense that infectious diseases are caused by invasion or attack on humans by foreign microorganisms, the acute onset and rapid course of many infectious diseases, and, in particular, the communicability of infectious diseases. The individual fear and community panic associated with infectious diseases often leads to rapid, emotionally driven decision-making about public health policies needed to protect the community that may be in conflict with current bioethical principles regarding the care of individual patients. The discussion includes recent examples where dialogue between public health practitioners and bioethicists has helped resolve ethical issues that require us to consider the infected patient as both a victim with individual needs and rights, and as a potential vector of disease that is of concern to the community.
Bernard Cooke
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195174519
- eISBN:
- 9780199835119
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195174518.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of ...
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Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of social scientific and psychological analysis. The book then relates the divine Spirit power to each of these instances of power: force and violence, fear, official and religious authority, law, wealth, images and symbols, language, teaching, sexuality, friendship and love. Finally, as a synthesizing metaphor to help gain insight into the divine outreach, i.e. the Spirit of God, the author uses the experience of a human embrace, examining this with a phenomenological hermeneutic and correlating it to the various forms of power studied.Less
Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of social scientific and psychological analysis. The book then relates the divine Spirit power to each of these instances of power: force and violence, fear, official and religious authority, law, wealth, images and symbols, language, teaching, sexuality, friendship and love. Finally, as a synthesizing metaphor to help gain insight into the divine outreach, i.e. the Spirit of God, the author uses the experience of a human embrace, examining this with a phenomenological hermeneutic and correlating it to the various forms of power studied.
Samuel Justin Sinclair and Daniel Antonius
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195388114
- eISBN:
- 9780199949816
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388114.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The psychology of terrorism, in its most basic form, is about fear. While academics continue to debate the meaning of terrorism, the end result for many people affected is fear and terror. However, ...
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The psychology of terrorism, in its most basic form, is about fear. While academics continue to debate the meaning of terrorism, the end result for many people affected is fear and terror. However, many studying the effects of terrorism have focused more exclusively on discrete psychopathological constructs, most of which are clinically based. Ironically, these paradigms fail to acknowledge the primacy of basic fear in the context of terrorism, as well as how fear affects people in both positive and negative ways—above and beyond whether one meets criteria for a clinical disorder. The purpose of this book is to unpack the complexity of terrorism fears, and to present a new paradigm for understanding the psychology of terrorism. As such, this book will present empirical and theoretical frameworks for understanding fear as a dynamic process that motivates and affects people on a myriad of levels, from the individual to society at large. The book will also highlight the paradox of how fear can negatively affect people and societies and can also be a central force underlying resilience and post-traumatic growth in the context of terrorism and political violence. Finally, this volume will discuss how society has changed as a function of terrorism, and specifically how our own systems for managing terrorism may in fact contribute to fear.Less
The psychology of terrorism, in its most basic form, is about fear. While academics continue to debate the meaning of terrorism, the end result for many people affected is fear and terror. However, many studying the effects of terrorism have focused more exclusively on discrete psychopathological constructs, most of which are clinically based. Ironically, these paradigms fail to acknowledge the primacy of basic fear in the context of terrorism, as well as how fear affects people in both positive and negative ways—above and beyond whether one meets criteria for a clinical disorder. The purpose of this book is to unpack the complexity of terrorism fears, and to present a new paradigm for understanding the psychology of terrorism. As such, this book will present empirical and theoretical frameworks for understanding fear as a dynamic process that motivates and affects people on a myriad of levels, from the individual to society at large. The book will also highlight the paradox of how fear can negatively affect people and societies and can also be a central force underlying resilience and post-traumatic growth in the context of terrorism and political violence. Finally, this volume will discuss how society has changed as a function of terrorism, and specifically how our own systems for managing terrorism may in fact contribute to fear.
James Warren
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199252893
- eISBN:
- 9780191601408
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199252890.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
A comprehensive study and articulation of the interlocking Epicurean arguments against the fear of death found not only in the writings of Epicurus himself but also in Lucretius' poem De Rerum Natura ...
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A comprehensive study and articulation of the interlocking Epicurean arguments against the fear of death found not only in the writings of Epicurus himself but also in Lucretius' poem De Rerum Natura and in Philodemus' work De Morte. These arguments are central to the Epicurean project of providing ataraxia (tranquillity, freedom from anxiety) and therefore central to an understanding of Epicureanism as a whole. They also offer significant resources for modern discussions of the value of, and possible harm of, death. A number of modern philosophers' criticisms or defences of the Epicureans' views are examined and evaluated in the light of a detailed study of the precise form and intention of the Epicureans' original arguments. The Epicureans were interested in showing also that mortality is not to be regretted and that premature death is not to be feared. Their arguments for these conclusions are to be found in their positive conception of the nature of a good and complete life, which divorce the completeness of a life as far as possible from considerations of its duration. Later chapters investigate the nature of a life lived without the fear of death and pose serious problems for the Epicureans being able to allow any concern for the post mortem future and being able to offer a positive reason for prolonging a life which is already complete in their terms.Less
A comprehensive study and articulation of the interlocking Epicurean arguments against the fear of death found not only in the writings of Epicurus himself but also in Lucretius' poem De Rerum Natura and in Philodemus' work De Morte. These arguments are central to the Epicurean project of providing ataraxia (tranquillity, freedom from anxiety) and therefore central to an understanding of Epicureanism as a whole. They also offer significant resources for modern discussions of the value of, and possible harm of, death. A number of modern philosophers' criticisms or defences of the Epicureans' views are examined and evaluated in the light of a detailed study of the precise form and intention of the Epicureans' original arguments. The Epicureans were interested in showing also that mortality is not to be regretted and that premature death is not to be feared. Their arguments for these conclusions are to be found in their positive conception of the nature of a good and complete life, which divorce the completeness of a life as far as possible from considerations of its duration. Later chapters investigate the nature of a life lived without the fear of death and pose serious problems for the Epicureans being able to allow any concern for the post mortem future and being able to offer a positive reason for prolonging a life which is already complete in their terms.
Robert C. Solomon
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195368536
- eISBN:
- 9780199852031
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195368536.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This book states that we live our lives through our emotions, and that it is our emotions which give our lives meaning. What interests or fascinates us, who we love, what angers us, what moves us, ...
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This book states that we live our lives through our emotions, and that it is our emotions which give our lives meaning. What interests or fascinates us, who we love, what angers us, what moves us, what bores us; all of this defines us, gives us character, constitutes who we are. This book illuminates the rich life of the emotions: why we don't really understand them, what they really are, and how they make us human and give meaning to life. The book provides a guide to cutting-edge scientific research, as well as to what philosophers and psychologists have said on the subject, but it also emphasizes the personal and ethical character of our emotions. The book shows that emotions are not something that happen to us, nor are they irrational in the literal sense; rather, they are judgments we make about the world, and they are strategies for living in it. Fear, anger, love, guilt, jealousy, compassion—they are all essential to our values, to living happily, healthily, and well.Less
This book states that we live our lives through our emotions, and that it is our emotions which give our lives meaning. What interests or fascinates us, who we love, what angers us, what moves us, what bores us; all of this defines us, gives us character, constitutes who we are. This book illuminates the rich life of the emotions: why we don't really understand them, what they really are, and how they make us human and give meaning to life. The book provides a guide to cutting-edge scientific research, as well as to what philosophers and psychologists have said on the subject, but it also emphasizes the personal and ethical character of our emotions. The book shows that emotions are not something that happen to us, nor are they irrational in the literal sense; rather, they are judgments we make about the world, and they are strategies for living in it. Fear, anger, love, guilt, jealousy, compassion—they are all essential to our values, to living happily, healthily, and well.
Alexandra Barahona de Brito
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280385
- eISBN:
- 9780191598852
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280386.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This book analyses the Uruguayan and Chilean experiences with the transitional politics of truth and justice regarding past human rights violations. These policies are shaped by the legacy of ...
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This book analyses the Uruguayan and Chilean experiences with the transitional politics of truth and justice regarding past human rights violations. These policies are shaped by the legacy of repressive rule, and the dynamics of the politics of transition and of the balance of power under the new democratic governments peculiar to each country. The issue is central to the politics of transition for ethical, symbolic, practical and political reasons: politically it is the most explosive transitional issue; on a practical level, only official acknowledgement can resolve pending legal questions for survivors and families of victims; ethically, it is hard to generate democratic consensus or social endorsement for social reform without involving principles and ideals that appeal to the underlying values and aspirations of the citizenry. Dealing with legacies of state repression permits the beginning of the process of ‘deconstruction of cultures of fear’ without which democratization cannot occur. This is not only desirable and necessary; some kind of truth telling policy has proved to be both required and feasible in a wide range of contemporary regime transitions. However, justice is not always possible: limitations on prosecutions are more self-imposed than 'structural', more political than institutional, and clearly there is a tension between the conditions necessary to ensure accountability and those that govern periods of transition. Unconsolidated democracies are not able to practise the politics of a consolidated democracy; the politics of consolidated democracies includes the capacity to call the powerful to account. This is perhaps the yardstick with which to measure consolidation. Instead of practising the politics of consolidated democracy, what these countries have to engage in is the politics of democratic consolidation. Although truth and justice policies may remain relevant after the transition and 'leak into' the politics of democratization, (where they can continue to be a source of conflict in the judicial system and of latent or overt painful and deep-seated social animosities), the resolution of the issue in the formal political arena can and does make it marginal in terms of day-to-day politics. Consolidation depends more crucially on the reform of key institutions that permitted abuse and impunity: the thorough reform of the judiciary and of the forces of repression. If a government does not undertake a proper reform of the institutions that made abuse and impunity possible, the democracy it presides over will be lame and incomplete.Less
This book analyses the Uruguayan and Chilean experiences with the transitional politics of truth and justice regarding past human rights violations. These policies are shaped by the legacy of repressive rule, and the dynamics of the politics of transition and of the balance of power under the new democratic governments peculiar to each country. The issue is central to the politics of transition for ethical, symbolic, practical and political reasons: politically it is the most explosive transitional issue; on a practical level, only official acknowledgement can resolve pending legal questions for survivors and families of victims; ethically, it is hard to generate democratic consensus or social endorsement for social reform without involving principles and ideals that appeal to the underlying values and aspirations of the citizenry. Dealing with legacies of state repression permits the beginning of the process of ‘deconstruction of cultures of fear’ without which democratization cannot occur. This is not only desirable and necessary; some kind of truth telling policy has proved to be both required and feasible in a wide range of contemporary regime transitions. However, justice is not always possible: limitations on prosecutions are more self-imposed than 'structural', more political than institutional, and clearly there is a tension between the conditions necessary to ensure accountability and those that govern periods of transition. Unconsolidated democracies are not able to practise the politics of a consolidated democracy; the politics of consolidated democracies includes the capacity to call the powerful to account. This is perhaps the yardstick with which to measure consolidation. Instead of practising the politics of consolidated democracy, what these countries have to engage in is the politics of democratic consolidation. Although truth and justice policies may remain relevant after the transition and 'leak into' the politics of democratization, (where they can continue to be a source of conflict in the judicial system and of latent or overt painful and deep-seated social animosities), the resolution of the issue in the formal political arena can and does make it marginal in terms of day-to-day politics. Consolidation depends more crucially on the reform of key institutions that permitted abuse and impunity: the thorough reform of the judiciary and of the forces of repression. If a government does not undertake a proper reform of the institutions that made abuse and impunity possible, the democracy it presides over will be lame and incomplete.
Stuart Weeks
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291540
- eISBN:
- 9780191710537
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291540.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Where Proverbs 1-9 offers specific advice in chapter 3, this involves commendations of proper behaviour towards God and other humans, linked by an association of wisdom and teaching with God. The ...
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Where Proverbs 1-9 offers specific advice in chapter 3, this involves commendations of proper behaviour towards God and other humans, linked by an association of wisdom and teaching with God. The work also employs terms that strongly evoke the language of Jewish piety, reminding us that this is the religious and literary context from which it emerged. Against this background, the emphasis on instruction can be understood in terms of internalizing the Torah, and so enabling wisdom and fear of God, with the personification of Wisdom further developing the idea of receiving insight into the divine will. This is poetry, however, not precise allegory, and the personification also inhibits clear expression of the theme.Less
Where Proverbs 1-9 offers specific advice in chapter 3, this involves commendations of proper behaviour towards God and other humans, linked by an association of wisdom and teaching with God. The work also employs terms that strongly evoke the language of Jewish piety, reminding us that this is the religious and literary context from which it emerged. Against this background, the emphasis on instruction can be understood in terms of internalizing the Torah, and so enabling wisdom and fear of God, with the personification of Wisdom further developing the idea of receiving insight into the divine will. This is poetry, however, not precise allegory, and the personification also inhibits clear expression of the theme.
Jonathan Fox
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199208852
- eISBN:
- 9780191709005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208852.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter analyzes persistent exclusionary electoral practices, using quantitative indicators of access to the secret ballot in Mexico's 1994 presidential election in rural areas. While the ...
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This chapter analyzes persistent exclusionary electoral practices, using quantitative indicators of access to the secret ballot in Mexico's 1994 presidential election in rural areas. While the opposition expected a re-run of the repertoire of fraud and manipulation that characterized the 1988 race, instead the state effectively deployed a range of levers of intervention in rural economic and social life that, in combination with the systematic lack of access to the secret ballot, reduced the ruling party's need to resort to fraud by inducing a widespread ‘fear vote’. This study draws on two previously unstudied data sets to estimate the degree of rural voter access to the secret ballot in the 1994 presidential elections, including a focus on opposition party oversight in indigenous municipalities in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Chiapas.Less
This chapter analyzes persistent exclusionary electoral practices, using quantitative indicators of access to the secret ballot in Mexico's 1994 presidential election in rural areas. While the opposition expected a re-run of the repertoire of fraud and manipulation that characterized the 1988 race, instead the state effectively deployed a range of levers of intervention in rural economic and social life that, in combination with the systematic lack of access to the secret ballot, reduced the ruling party's need to resort to fraud by inducing a widespread ‘fear vote’. This study draws on two previously unstudied data sets to estimate the degree of rural voter access to the secret ballot in the 1994 presidential elections, including a focus on opposition party oversight in indigenous municipalities in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Chiapas.
Paul Borgman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331608
- eISBN:
- 9780199868001
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331608.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Immediately following the slaying of Goliath and Saul's mystifying query about who that young slayer was, David becomes the object of Saul's fear and murderous jealousy, a mini‐drama of cat‐and‐mouse ...
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Immediately following the slaying of Goliath and Saul's mystifying query about who that young slayer was, David becomes the object of Saul's fear and murderous jealousy, a mini‐drama of cat‐and‐mouse that takes up the last half of I Samuel and Saul's suicide. The contrast between David and Saul continues to be spelled out, implicitly but surely, through various repetitions of narrative detail, most conspicuously the motifs of fear and of sword‐and‐spear use. Still another and striking pattern, to be taken up in the following chapter, occurs in the middle of David's fleeing from Saul, when twice David spares the king's life—and spares, as well, the life of a common fool. The two motifs of this chapter plus the triadic pattern of the next serve to further illustrate just what distinguishes David from Saul. Such advancing clarity, of course, functions also to explain better the mind of God in fastening on David rather than Saul.Less
Immediately following the slaying of Goliath and Saul's mystifying query about who that young slayer was, David becomes the object of Saul's fear and murderous jealousy, a mini‐drama of cat‐and‐mouse that takes up the last half of I Samuel and Saul's suicide. The contrast between David and Saul continues to be spelled out, implicitly but surely, through various repetitions of narrative detail, most conspicuously the motifs of fear and of sword‐and‐spear use. Still another and striking pattern, to be taken up in the following chapter, occurs in the middle of David's fleeing from Saul, when twice David spares the king's life—and spares, as well, the life of a common fool. The two motifs of this chapter plus the triadic pattern of the next serve to further illustrate just what distinguishes David from Saul. Such advancing clarity, of course, functions also to explain better the mind of God in fastening on David rather than Saul.
Lynne Dale Halamish and Doron Hermoni
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195325379
- eISBN:
- 9780199999811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325379.003.0004
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine and Older People
This chapter discusses ways of talking about the fears of chronically ill patients, describing the case of a 55-year-old man who had negative feelings about his hospitalization. It explains that ...
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This chapter discusses ways of talking about the fears of chronically ill patients, describing the case of a 55-year-old man who had negative feelings about his hospitalization. It explains that talking about fears usually reduces them and that keeping secrets isolates both the dying person and the support system. The chapter also highlights the importance of hearing the patient's language and way of speaking, and responding to them in the same language.Less
This chapter discusses ways of talking about the fears of chronically ill patients, describing the case of a 55-year-old man who had negative feelings about his hospitalization. It explains that talking about fears usually reduces them and that keeping secrets isolates both the dying person and the support system. The chapter also highlights the importance of hearing the patient's language and way of speaking, and responding to them in the same language.
Lynne Dale Halamish and Doron Hermoni
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195325379
- eISBN:
- 9780199999811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325379.003.0006
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine and Older People
This chapter discusses the importance of talking openly about the death of chronically ill patients. It suggests opening the discussion about death and fears by giving the patient the confidence that ...
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This chapter discusses the importance of talking openly about the death of chronically ill patients. It suggests opening the discussion about death and fears by giving the patient the confidence that one is really interested in what he or she has to say. The chapter also recommends avoiding isolating the dying person either physically or emotionally and explains how the personal story of narration gives meaning to both the dying person and to the listener. It describes the case of Rachel, whose mother admitted to her that she did not want to live anymore.Less
This chapter discusses the importance of talking openly about the death of chronically ill patients. It suggests opening the discussion about death and fears by giving the patient the confidence that one is really interested in what he or she has to say. The chapter also recommends avoiding isolating the dying person either physically or emotionally and explains how the personal story of narration gives meaning to both the dying person and to the listener. It describes the case of Rachel, whose mother admitted to her that she did not want to live anymore.
David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
At least two well-developed bodies of literature have emerged on practical questions relating to death, one the concern of psychology, the other the concern of ethics. These flow from two basic ...
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At least two well-developed bodies of literature have emerged on practical questions relating to death, one the concern of psychology, the other the concern of ethics. These flow from two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death? and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? The perspective of faith can help to assess and evaluate the many, sometimes conflicting, responses to these questions of different schools of psychology and of philosophy. The method adopted by this book is to consider the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner.Less
At least two well-developed bodies of literature have emerged on practical questions relating to death, one the concern of psychology, the other the concern of ethics. These flow from two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death? and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? The perspective of faith can help to assess and evaluate the many, sometimes conflicting, responses to these questions of different schools of psychology and of philosophy. The method adopted by this book is to consider the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner.
David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The argument of Augustine in De civitate Dei is strikingly similar to that of Ambrose in De bono mortis. However, while Ambrose treats death as something good in itself, Augustine sees it as bad in ...
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The argument of Augustine in De civitate Dei is strikingly similar to that of Ambrose in De bono mortis. However, while Ambrose treats death as something good in itself, Augustine sees it as bad in itself. Their contrasting attitudes have practical effects on how they regard virginity, marriage, and mortification; on how each reads the letters of Paul; and on their discussions of suicide and martyrdom. Furthermore, it leads to a noticeable shift in the Christian treatment of fear of death, grief, and the care of the dead (that is, prayers said for those who have died).Less
The argument of Augustine in De civitate Dei is strikingly similar to that of Ambrose in De bono mortis. However, while Ambrose treats death as something good in itself, Augustine sees it as bad in itself. Their contrasting attitudes have practical effects on how they regard virginity, marriage, and mortification; on how each reads the letters of Paul; and on their discussions of suicide and martyrdom. Furthermore, it leads to a noticeable shift in the Christian treatment of fear of death, grief, and the care of the dead (that is, prayers said for those who have died).
David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
In the Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas develops Augustine's anthropology with the help of the rediscovered metaphysics of Aristotle. Thomas comes to stress that the power of understanding of the ...
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In the Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas develops Augustine's anthropology with the help of the rediscovered metaphysics of Aristotle. Thomas comes to stress that the power of understanding of the ‘separated soul’ is very weak. Death is natural as regards matter (the destructible body) but not as regards form (the indestructible soul). Death in itself is always a bad thing and it is only incidentally (per accidens) that death is, for some, the beginning of heavenly bliss. Thus, homicide and suicide can be seen to be wrong because, in themselves, they are acts of destruction.Less
In the Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas develops Augustine's anthropology with the help of the rediscovered metaphysics of Aristotle. Thomas comes to stress that the power of understanding of the ‘separated soul’ is very weak. Death is natural as regards matter (the destructible body) but not as regards form (the indestructible soul). Death in itself is always a bad thing and it is only incidentally (per accidens) that death is, for some, the beginning of heavenly bliss. Thus, homicide and suicide can be seen to be wrong because, in themselves, they are acts of destruction.
David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Karl Rahner develops his own distinctive theological approach to death in Zur Theologie des Todes – On the Theology of Death published in 1958. For Rahner, death is an event that affects the human ...
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Karl Rahner develops his own distinctive theological approach to death in Zur Theologie des Todes – On the Theology of Death published in 1958. For Rahner, death is an event that affects the human being as a whole, not just the body, while leaving the immortal soul essentially unchanged. Understood as the conclusion of a personal life, death must itself be construed as an act. Rahner seems, like Ambrose, to interpret fulfilment as belonging to death as such. Nevertheless, as with Augustine, Rahner's thought continues to develop and his discussion of ‘the liberty of the sick’, while flawed, represents an important contribution to moral reflection on end of life issues.Less
Karl Rahner develops his own distinctive theological approach to death in Zur Theologie des Todes – On the Theology of Death published in 1958. For Rahner, death is an event that affects the human being as a whole, not just the body, while leaving the immortal soul essentially unchanged. Understood as the conclusion of a personal life, death must itself be construed as an act. Rahner seems, like Ambrose, to interpret fulfilment as belonging to death as such. Nevertheless, as with Augustine, Rahner's thought continues to develop and his discussion of ‘the liberty of the sick’, while flawed, represents an important contribution to moral reflection on end of life issues.
David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
An examination of the thought of Ambrose, Augustine, Thomas, and Rahner shows them to constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death. This can be set out in relation to the realities ...
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An examination of the thought of Ambrose, Augustine, Thomas, and Rahner shows them to constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death. This can be set out in relation to the realities of grief, fear, and hope in the face of death; in relation to the practices of suicide and euthanasia; and in relation to the more complex issue of withdrawal of treatment. Christian hope affirms both the need and the difficulty of acknowledging one's own approaching death. Rahner is at his most profound in describing how the need to surrender oneself to God in death, the need to die like a martyr, is anticipated throughout life. If, by the grace of God, death can be freely endured — and this is no easy task — then the final surrender in death will be the end of death and the preamble to our true end: eternal happiness in which death will be no more.Less
An examination of the thought of Ambrose, Augustine, Thomas, and Rahner shows them to constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death. This can be set out in relation to the realities of grief, fear, and hope in the face of death; in relation to the practices of suicide and euthanasia; and in relation to the more complex issue of withdrawal of treatment. Christian hope affirms both the need and the difficulty of acknowledging one's own approaching death. Rahner is at his most profound in describing how the need to surrender oneself to God in death, the need to die like a martyr, is anticipated throughout life. If, by the grace of God, death can be freely endured — and this is no easy task — then the final surrender in death will be the end of death and the preamble to our true end: eternal happiness in which death will be no more.
Jason C. Bivins
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195340815
- eISBN:
- 9780199867158
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195340815.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The book's introduction describe the image of “Scary Jesus,” which prompted a shift in approach to American political religions from one rooted in conventional studies of protest and government to ...
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The book's introduction describe the image of “Scary Jesus,” which prompted a shift in approach to American political religions from one rooted in conventional studies of protest and government to one oriented around cultural politics and representation. The chapter explores the way in which popular discourse and imagery can be manipulated for political purposes, and specifically engages the efficacy of tales of fright and horror in these endeavors. The chapter surveys standard approaches to religion and politics, and — drawing on multiple disciplines — proposes to move beyond standard approaches to “church and state” or “civil religion”. The chapter concludes by proposing two new terms — the Erotics of Fear and the Demonology Within — for thinking about the Religion of Fear.Less
The book's introduction describe the image of “Scary Jesus,” which prompted a shift in approach to American political religions from one rooted in conventional studies of protest and government to one oriented around cultural politics and representation. The chapter explores the way in which popular discourse and imagery can be manipulated for political purposes, and specifically engages the efficacy of tales of fright and horror in these endeavors. The chapter surveys standard approaches to religion and politics, and — drawing on multiple disciplines — proposes to move beyond standard approaches to “church and state” or “civil religion”. The chapter concludes by proposing two new terms — the Erotics of Fear and the Demonology Within — for thinking about the Religion of Fear.
Alvin I. Goldman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195138924
- eISBN:
- 9780199786480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138929.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
People have a primitive and largely automatic ability to recognize emotions in faces, an ability best explained by simulation, more specifically, mirror processes. In lesion studies of fear, disgust, ...
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People have a primitive and largely automatic ability to recognize emotions in faces, an ability best explained by simulation, more specifically, mirror processes. In lesion studies of fear, disgust, and anger, paired selective deficits have been found in experiencing and recognizing these emotions. A patient with insula and basal ganglia damage, for example, scored very low on a questionnaire for experiencing disgust and was also significantly and selectively impaired in recognizing disgust in facial expressions. Such findings are best explained by simulation theory, which predicts that damage to a neural system responsible for undergoing a certain emotion would also yield impairment in recognizing it. Mirror processes involve matching neural activation in both a subject and an observer of a specific mental state, and such processes have been identified (via single cell recordings and neuroimaging studies) for motor intention, touch, pain, and the several emotions listed above.Less
People have a primitive and largely automatic ability to recognize emotions in faces, an ability best explained by simulation, more specifically, mirror processes. In lesion studies of fear, disgust, and anger, paired selective deficits have been found in experiencing and recognizing these emotions. A patient with insula and basal ganglia damage, for example, scored very low on a questionnaire for experiencing disgust and was also significantly and selectively impaired in recognizing disgust in facial expressions. Such findings are best explained by simulation theory, which predicts that damage to a neural system responsible for undergoing a certain emotion would also yield impairment in recognizing it. Mirror processes involve matching neural activation in both a subject and an observer of a specific mental state, and such processes have been identified (via single cell recordings and neuroimaging studies) for motor intention, touch, pain, and the several emotions listed above.
Will Kymlicka and Wayne Norman
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198297703
- eISBN:
- 9780191602948
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829770X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Attempts to give an overview of the range of cases where minority rights and multiculturalism interact with citizenship, and of the potential tensions between them. The current debates on minority ...
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Attempts to give an overview of the range of cases where minority rights and multiculturalism interact with citizenship, and of the potential tensions between them. The current debates on minority rights and citizenship are outlined, and the need for an integrated theory of diverse citizenship, including the wider context of ethnic conflict management, is discussed. Notes are given on the different kinds of minority groups (national, immigrant, religious, and sui generis—African Americans, Roma (gypsies) and Russians in former Soviet states, etc.). The ways that groups within liberal democracies seek respect for their cultural/religious distinctiveness are classified. Lastly, the main fears about citizenship in the face of minority rights are outlined.Less
Attempts to give an overview of the range of cases where minority rights and multiculturalism interact with citizenship, and of the potential tensions between them. The current debates on minority rights and citizenship are outlined, and the need for an integrated theory of diverse citizenship, including the wider context of ethnic conflict management, is discussed. Notes are given on the different kinds of minority groups (national, immigrant, religious, and sui generis—African Americans, Roma (gypsies) and Russians in former Soviet states, etc.). The ways that groups within liberal democracies seek respect for their cultural/religious distinctiveness are classified. Lastly, the main fears about citizenship in the face of minority rights are outlined.
