Dale Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In classical Mahayana Buddhism, the “six perfections—pāramitā—define the meaning of human enlightenment. Buddhist enlightenment is understood to be a particular way of being in the world, a way of ...
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In classical Mahayana Buddhism, the “six perfections—pāramitā—define the meaning of human enlightenment. Buddhist enlightenment is understood to be a particular way of being in the world, a way of being in which six distinct dimensions of human character have been cultivated to the level of excellence—generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. In this book, Dale Wright explores each of these six dimensions of character and the kinds of self‐cultivation that Buddhists correlate with them in order to assess the “six perfections” as ethical ideals suitable for contemporary global culture. Each chapter takes up one of the six perfections and is divided into two sections. The first section describes how each of the six perfections was understood in classical Mahayana Buddhist sutras and philosophical works. The second section takes that traditional Buddhist account of ethics up into current consideration, asking: what would each of these “perfections” need to look like today in order to be considered an ideal dimension of human character? What role would generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, or wisdom play in the lives of people who we would most admire in our own contemporary setting? The aim of the book is to develop a philosophy of self‐cultivation using these Buddhist resources as its point of departure.Less
In classical Mahayana Buddhism, the “six perfections—pāramitā—define the meaning of human enlightenment. Buddhist enlightenment is understood to be a particular way of being in the world, a way of being in which six distinct dimensions of human character have been cultivated to the level of excellence—generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. In this book, Dale Wright explores each of these six dimensions of character and the kinds of self‐cultivation that Buddhists correlate with them in order to assess the “six perfections” as ethical ideals suitable for contemporary global culture. Each chapter takes up one of the six perfections and is divided into two sections. The first section describes how each of the six perfections was understood in classical Mahayana Buddhist sutras and philosophical works. The second section takes that traditional Buddhist account of ethics up into current consideration, asking: what would each of these “perfections” need to look like today in order to be considered an ideal dimension of human character? What role would generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, or wisdom play in the lives of people who we would most admire in our own contemporary setting? The aim of the book is to develop a philosophy of self‐cultivation using these Buddhist resources as its point of departure.
Naomi E. Chayen, John R. Helliwell, and Edward H. Snell
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199213252
- eISBN:
- 9780191707575
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213252.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Crystallography: Physics
Structural crystallography provides key information to understand the mechanism involved for biological processes. The technique requires high‐quality crystals. The book Macromolecular ...
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Structural crystallography provides key information to understand the mechanism involved for biological processes. The technique requires high‐quality crystals. The book Macromolecular crystallization and crystal perfection covers the techniques to get these high quality crystals and then obtain the best structural data from them. We focus on two areas, the crystal and the diffraction experiment. We briefly address crystallization theory and then focus on practical crystallization strategies discussing screening and optimization. Where high quality crystals are not initially obtained, remediation strategies and alternative approaches are discussed. Diffraction is covered from both the X‐ray and neutron viewpoint. A physical analysis of long and short‐range order is used to explain features seen in the diffraction pattern and the causes of those features. Diffraction disorders are discussed. Factors that cause degradation to the diffraction and strategies to mitigate those factors are addressed. We then address beamline and detector optimization as a means to improve the data quality. Crystallization is still a largely empirical process and our final chapters focus on the use of powder methods, where crystals are small, complementary techniques where we have no crystals at all and what the future holds with the advent of fourth generation X‐ray sources. Overall the book is aimed at both more experienced researchers and graduate students. We aim for it to become a reference work for all researchers in these interdisciplinary subjects on these topics.Less
Structural crystallography provides key information to understand the mechanism involved for biological processes. The technique requires high‐quality crystals. The book Macromolecular crystallization and crystal perfection covers the techniques to get these high quality crystals and then obtain the best structural data from them. We focus on two areas, the crystal and the diffraction experiment. We briefly address crystallization theory and then focus on practical crystallization strategies discussing screening and optimization. Where high quality crystals are not initially obtained, remediation strategies and alternative approaches are discussed. Diffraction is covered from both the X‐ray and neutron viewpoint. A physical analysis of long and short‐range order is used to explain features seen in the diffraction pattern and the causes of those features. Diffraction disorders are discussed. Factors that cause degradation to the diffraction and strategies to mitigate those factors are addressed. We then address beamline and detector optimization as a means to improve the data quality. Crystallization is still a largely empirical process and our final chapters focus on the use of powder methods, where crystals are small, complementary techniques where we have no crystals at all and what the future holds with the advent of fourth generation X‐ray sources. Overall the book is aimed at both more experienced researchers and graduate students. We aim for it to become a reference work for all researchers in these interdisciplinary subjects on these topics.
Frederick C. Beiser
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199573011
- eISBN:
- 9780191722202
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573011.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics, History of Philosophy
This book is a re-examination of the rationalist tradition of aesthetics which prevailed in Germany in the late 17th and 18th century. It is partly an historical survey of the central figures and ...
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This book is a re-examination of the rationalist tradition of aesthetics which prevailed in Germany in the late 17th and 18th century. It is partly an historical survey of the central figures and themes of this tradition, but it is also a philosophical defence of some of its leading ideas such as: that beauty plays an integral role in life; that aesthetic pleasure is the perception of perfection; and that aesthetic rules are inevitable and valuable. It shows that the criticisms of Kant and Nietzsche of this tradition are largely unfounded. The rationalist tradition deserves re-examination because it is of great historical significance, marking the beginning of modern aesthetics, art criticism, and art history.Less
This book is a re-examination of the rationalist tradition of aesthetics which prevailed in Germany in the late 17th and 18th century. It is partly an historical survey of the central figures and themes of this tradition, but it is also a philosophical defence of some of its leading ideas such as: that beauty plays an integral role in life; that aesthetic pleasure is the perception of perfection; and that aesthetic rules are inevitable and valuable. It shows that the criticisms of Kant and Nietzsche of this tradition are largely unfounded. The rationalist tradition deserves re-examination because it is of great historical significance, marking the beginning of modern aesthetics, art criticism, and art history.
Francesca Aran Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199219285
- eISBN:
- 9780191711664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199219285.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter first reiterates the argument of Chapter III under the form that proving God's existence via the distinction of essence and existence is ultimately experiential, coming down to a ...
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This chapter first reiterates the argument of Chapter III under the form that proving God's existence via the distinction of essence and existence is ultimately experiential, coming down to a psychological conviction that death, as endangering my existence, is poetically unjust. A better argument for God's existence would begin below the level of conceptual language, starting from animality and movement. It then describes Etienne Gilson's re-statement of Thomas' Five Ways (moves, causes, necessity/contingency, perfections, design), in order to give a satisfactory argument for God's existence, that is, Hans Urs von Balthasar's ‘four distinctions’. Based on the ‘Five Ways’ and building on their empirical character, the ‘four distinctions’ give an argument to God which is primarily objective and realistic, but which takes the subject and his experience into account, by beginning from the dialogue between mother and child which first ‘moves’ the child into reality.Less
This chapter first reiterates the argument of Chapter III under the form that proving God's existence via the distinction of essence and existence is ultimately experiential, coming down to a psychological conviction that death, as endangering my existence, is poetically unjust. A better argument for God's existence would begin below the level of conceptual language, starting from animality and movement. It then describes Etienne Gilson's re-statement of Thomas' Five Ways (moves, causes, necessity/contingency, perfections, design), in order to give a satisfactory argument for God's existence, that is, Hans Urs von Balthasar's ‘four distinctions’. Based on the ‘Five Ways’ and building on their empirical character, the ‘four distinctions’ give an argument to God which is primarily objective and realistic, but which takes the subject and his experience into account, by beginning from the dialogue between mother and child which first ‘moves’ the child into reality.
William Bain
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199260263
- eISBN:
- 9780191600975
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199260265.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Offers some thoughts about the idea of trusteeship and its place in the history of international society. The first section, Unity, Progress, and Perfection of Humankind, puts forward the claim that ...
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Offers some thoughts about the idea of trusteeship and its place in the history of international society. The first section, Unity, Progress, and Perfection of Humankind, puts forward the claim that trusteeship is a historic idea that is distinctive of a particular time and place, and, specifically, that it is intelligible in relation to other ideas that are especially characteristic of the Enlightenment. Thus, trusteeship discloses moral excellence, and indeed obtains powerful justification, when it contributes to the unity, progress, and perfection of the human family. The second section, A Society of States and a Family of Peoples, argues that these ideas call forth an understanding of international life that conceives international society and human society as forming a perfect identity, and which is underwritten by the duty that we should act so as to secure the good of our fellows. The third section, The Limit of Obligation, considers the limits of this duty, and concludes that in seeking the good of our fellows we must stop short of treating people paternally. This conclusion casts a pall of doubt on the legitimacy of trusteeship in contemporary international society, even when it is aimed at protecting fundamental human rights, because it proposes to treat an equal unequally—indeed, trusteeship is morally objectionable because it offends the irreducible sanctity of human personality by repudiating the essence of what it means to be human, a thinking and choosing agent.Less
Offers some thoughts about the idea of trusteeship and its place in the history of international society. The first section, Unity, Progress, and Perfection of Humankind, puts forward the claim that trusteeship is a historic idea that is distinctive of a particular time and place, and, specifically, that it is intelligible in relation to other ideas that are especially characteristic of the Enlightenment. Thus, trusteeship discloses moral excellence, and indeed obtains powerful justification, when it contributes to the unity, progress, and perfection of the human family. The second section, A Society of States and a Family of Peoples, argues that these ideas call forth an understanding of international life that conceives international society and human society as forming a perfect identity, and which is underwritten by the duty that we should act so as to secure the good of our fellows. The third section, The Limit of Obligation, considers the limits of this duty, and concludes that in seeking the good of our fellows we must stop short of treating people paternally. This conclusion casts a pall of doubt on the legitimacy of trusteeship in contemporary international society, even when it is aimed at protecting fundamental human rights, because it proposes to treat an equal unequally—indeed, trusteeship is morally objectionable because it offends the irreducible sanctity of human personality by repudiating the essence of what it means to be human, a thinking and choosing agent.
Michael Slote
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199790821
- eISBN:
- 9780199919185
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790821.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Most people think that the difficulty of balancing career and personal/family relationships is the fault of present‐day society or is due to their own inadequacies. But in this major new book, ...
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Most people think that the difficulty of balancing career and personal/family relationships is the fault of present‐day society or is due to their own inadequacies. But in this major new book, eminent moral philosopher Michael Slote argues that the difficulty runs much deeper, that it is due to the essential nature of the divergent goods involved in this kind of choice. He shows more generally that perfect virtue and perfect human happiness are impossible in principle, a view originally enunciated by Isaiah Berlin, but much more thoroughly and synoptically defended here than ever before. Ancient Greek and modern‐day Enlightenment thought typically assumed that perfection was possible, and this is also true of Romanticism and of most recent ethical theory. But if, as Slote maintains, imperfection is inevitable, then our inherited categories of virtue and personal good are far too limited and unqualified to allow us to understand and cope with the richer and more complex life that characterizes today's world. And The Impossibility of Perfection argues in particular that we need some new notions, new distinctions, and even some new philosophical methods in order to distill out some of the ethical insights of recent feminist thought and arrive at a fuller and more realistic picture of ethical phenomena.Less
Most people think that the difficulty of balancing career and personal/family relationships is the fault of present‐day society or is due to their own inadequacies. But in this major new book, eminent moral philosopher Michael Slote argues that the difficulty runs much deeper, that it is due to the essential nature of the divergent goods involved in this kind of choice. He shows more generally that perfect virtue and perfect human happiness are impossible in principle, a view originally enunciated by Isaiah Berlin, but much more thoroughly and synoptically defended here than ever before. Ancient Greek and modern‐day Enlightenment thought typically assumed that perfection was possible, and this is also true of Romanticism and of most recent ethical theory. But if, as Slote maintains, imperfection is inevitable, then our inherited categories of virtue and personal good are far too limited and unqualified to allow us to understand and cope with the richer and more complex life that characterizes today's world. And The Impossibility of Perfection argues in particular that we need some new notions, new distinctions, and even some new philosophical methods in order to distill out some of the ethical insights of recent feminist thought and arrive at a fuller and more realistic picture of ethical phenomena.
Oren Izenberg
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691144832
- eISBN:
- 9781400836529
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691144832.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter examines the philosophical origins and political urgencies of William Butler Yeats's demand for “perfection” and “completeness.” It begins with a discussion of Yeats's conception of ...
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This chapter examines the philosophical origins and political urgencies of William Butler Yeats's demand for “perfection” and “completeness.” It begins with a discussion of Yeats's conception of extreme and paradoxical theories of poetic agency and why such an excessive account of poetic agency might have appeared necessary in his historical situation. It then considers Yeats's early and abiding commitment to the esoteric roots of symbolism and his late interest in eugenics, both of which addressed the local project of forging a counterfactual identity. It also shows how Yeats's poetry bridges the gap between the perfected Ireland he envisioned and the degraded one he conjured. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Yeats's explicit rebellion, not against his universalist notion of personhood, but against his own will to poetic mastery.Less
This chapter examines the philosophical origins and political urgencies of William Butler Yeats's demand for “perfection” and “completeness.” It begins with a discussion of Yeats's conception of extreme and paradoxical theories of poetic agency and why such an excessive account of poetic agency might have appeared necessary in his historical situation. It then considers Yeats's early and abiding commitment to the esoteric roots of symbolism and his late interest in eugenics, both of which addressed the local project of forging a counterfactual identity. It also shows how Yeats's poetry bridges the gap between the perfected Ireland he envisioned and the degraded one he conjured. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Yeats's explicit rebellion, not against his universalist notion of personhood, but against his own will to poetic mastery.
Peter van Inwagen
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199245604
- eISBN:
- 9780191715310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199245604.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter considers a more or less traditional list of the ‘divine attributes’. The following theses are defended: (i) this list represents an attempt to flesh out the Anselmian notion of a ...
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This chapter considers a more or less traditional list of the ‘divine attributes’. The following theses are defended: (i) this list represents an attempt to flesh out the Anselmian notion of a ‘something than which a greater cannot be conceived’; (ii), the concept of God should be understood in this Anselmian sense; (iii) it is implausible to suppose that a ‘something than which a greater cannot be conceived’ should lack any of the attributes in the traditional list. The chapter raises and attempts to answer the question: to what extent is it possible to revise the traditional list of divine attributes without replacing the concept of God with another concept?Less
This chapter considers a more or less traditional list of the ‘divine attributes’. The following theses are defended: (i) this list represents an attempt to flesh out the Anselmian notion of a ‘something than which a greater cannot be conceived’; (ii), the concept of God should be understood in this Anselmian sense; (iii) it is implausible to suppose that a ‘something than which a greater cannot be conceived’ should lack any of the attributes in the traditional list. The chapter raises and attempts to answer the question: to what extent is it possible to revise the traditional list of divine attributes without replacing the concept of God with another concept?
K.M. Jaszczolt
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199261987
- eISBN:
- 9780191718656
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261987.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter analyzes the Gricean legacy in the domain of sentential connectives and proposes a more cognitively plausible account of them in terms of merger representations. For example, conditional ...
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This chapter analyzes the Gricean legacy in the domain of sentential connectives and proposes a more cognitively plausible account of them in terms of merger representations. For example, conditional perfection of if to ‘if and only if’ is regarded as too strong a rule to capture the process of interpretation of sentences with a conditional. It is argued that sentential connectives do not constitute a self-contained, interesting category as far as their processing is concerned.Less
This chapter analyzes the Gricean legacy in the domain of sentential connectives and proposes a more cognitively plausible account of them in terms of merger representations. For example, conditional perfection of if to ‘if and only if’ is regarded as too strong a rule to capture the process of interpretation of sentences with a conditional. It is argued that sentential connectives do not constitute a self-contained, interesting category as far as their processing is concerned.
Wolfram Hinzen
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199289257
- eISBN:
- 9780191706424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289257.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter reviews current 20th-century philosophical and biological traditions that deny human nature as a valid concept of inquiry. These include most traditions of both continental and analytic ...
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This chapter reviews current 20th-century philosophical and biological traditions that deny human nature as a valid concept of inquiry. These include most traditions of both continental and analytic philosophy; various versions of evolutionary psychology and ‘New Synthesis’ biology; functionalism; and eliminative materialism. Opposing all of these traditions, the chapter also introduces the notion of human mind design as an empirical topic for rational inquiry similar to that of early modern ‘natural philosophy’.Less
This chapter reviews current 20th-century philosophical and biological traditions that deny human nature as a valid concept of inquiry. These include most traditions of both continental and analytic philosophy; various versions of evolutionary psychology and ‘New Synthesis’ biology; functionalism; and eliminative materialism. Opposing all of these traditions, the chapter also introduces the notion of human mind design as an empirical topic for rational inquiry similar to that of early modern ‘natural philosophy’.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 1 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of generosity. The second section raises questions about how ...
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Chapter 1 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of generosity. The second section raises questions about how admirable generosity might be conceived today. It asks questions about giving: how to give, when to give, when not to give, and how to conceive of yourself as a giver without self‐centered implications. It asks how the enlightenment of the Mahayana bodhisattva, brings the quality of his giving, dana, to perfection, danaparamita.Less
Chapter 1 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of generosity. The second section raises questions about how admirable generosity might be conceived today. It asks questions about giving: how to give, when to give, when not to give, and how to conceive of yourself as a giver without self‐centered implications. It asks how the enlightenment of the Mahayana bodhisattva, brings the quality of his giving, dana, to perfection, danaparamita.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 2 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of morality, Śilapāramitā. The second section raises questions ...
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Chapter 2 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of morality, Śilapāramitā. The second section raises questions about how admirable morality ought to be conceived today. It inquires into the roles of shame and regret, rules and prohibitions. It also asks about the applicability of the concept of karma in contemporary morality and poses several questions about the ways that karma might best be conceived.Less
Chapter 2 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of morality, Śilapāramitā. The second section raises questions about how admirable morality ought to be conceived today. It inquires into the roles of shame and regret, rules and prohibitions. It also asks about the applicability of the concept of karma in contemporary morality and poses several questions about the ways that karma might best be conceived.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 3 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on ksāntipāramitā, the perfection of tolerance or patience. The second section raises ...
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Chapter 3 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on ksāntipāramitā, the perfection of tolerance or patience. The second section raises questions about how admirable tolerance might be conceived today. It asks how to understand the limits of tolerance, how to know when to tolerate and how much. The chapter inquires into the Buddhist teachings on anger and on tolerating contingencies and uncertainties in life.Less
Chapter 3 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on ksāntipāramitā, the perfection of tolerance or patience. The second section raises questions about how admirable tolerance might be conceived today. It asks how to understand the limits of tolerance, how to know when to tolerate and how much. The chapter inquires into the Buddhist teachings on anger and on tolerating contingencies and uncertainties in life.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 4 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of energy, viryapāramitā, sometimes translated as the perfection of ...
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Chapter 4 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of energy, viryapāramitā, sometimes translated as the perfection of effort, striving, or courage. The second section raises questions about how today we might conceive of the virtue of energy. It asks how to understand the role of energy, endurance, and spiritedness in human life, and how to cultivate them.Less
Chapter 4 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of energy, viryapāramitā, sometimes translated as the perfection of effort, striving, or courage. The second section raises questions about how today we might conceive of the virtue of energy. It asks how to understand the role of energy, endurance, and spiritedness in human life, and how to cultivate them.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into ...
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Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into various ways to conceive of contemplative practice in the contemporary, global world. It analyzes meditation at three levels of human consciousness—immediate experience, reflective experience, and reflexivity, or self‐awareness. The chapter reflects on the relations between meditation and philosophy.Less
Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into various ways to conceive of contemplative practice in the contemporary, global world. It analyzes meditation at three levels of human consciousness—immediate experience, reflective experience, and reflexivity, or self‐awareness. The chapter reflects on the relations between meditation and philosophy.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 6 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of wisdom, prajñāpāramitā. The second section seeks to articulate a ...
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Chapter 6 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of wisdom, prajñāpāramitā. The second section seeks to articulate a contemporary understanding of wisdom. It divides the range of wisdom into six different characteristics from enlightened judgment to imagination, humor, composure and reverence. The chapter reflects on the role of wisdom in contemporary life.Less
Chapter 6 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of wisdom, prajñāpāramitā. The second section seeks to articulate a contemporary understanding of wisdom. It divides the range of wisdom into six different characteristics from enlightened judgment to imagination, humor, composure and reverence. The chapter reflects on the role of wisdom in contemporary life.
Paul Crowther
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579976
- eISBN:
- 9780191722615
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579976.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics, History of Philosophy
This chapter considers Kant's distinction between adherent and free beauty. It shows that whilst not compelling, his structure of argument is at least consistent and, indeed, contains two crucial ...
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This chapter considers Kant's distinction between adherent and free beauty. It shows that whilst not compelling, his structure of argument is at least consistent and, indeed, contains two crucial insights; namely, that beauty must sometimes take second place to perfection, and is thence of conditional rather than absolute value; and that judgements of perfection can themselves be aesthetic in character. An argument is offered in defence of this first claim. It is then argued that there is a better way than Kant's of grounding the second claim. The disinterestedness and freedom whereby Kant defines the pure aesthetic judgement, can also hold, in a modified way, for some judgements of perfection. The theory is developed through consideration of a range of different examples.Less
This chapter considers Kant's distinction between adherent and free beauty. It shows that whilst not compelling, his structure of argument is at least consistent and, indeed, contains two crucial insights; namely, that beauty must sometimes take second place to perfection, and is thence of conditional rather than absolute value; and that judgements of perfection can themselves be aesthetic in character. An argument is offered in defence of this first claim. It is then argued that there is a better way than Kant's of grounding the second claim. The disinterestedness and freedom whereby Kant defines the pure aesthetic judgement, can also hold, in a modified way, for some judgements of perfection. The theory is developed through consideration of a range of different examples.
William C. Chittick
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195139136
- eISBN:
- 9780199834075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195139135.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Includes translations of 10 essays, several quatrains, 4 complete treatises, and excerpts from two others. The first treatise, Makings and Ornaments of Well‐Provisioned Kings, provides a mirror for ...
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Includes translations of 10 essays, several quatrains, 4 complete treatises, and excerpts from two others. The first treatise, Makings and Ornaments of Well‐Provisioned Kings, provides a mirror for princes presented in terms of perfecting the soul through the realization of the correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm and the actualization of the virtues. The Book of the Everlasting describes the origin of the soul and its return to God and, uniquely among the treatises, cites proof‐texts from the Koran. The Rungs of Perfection analyzes the soul in terms of being, perception, and the faculties and offers a systematic map of the stages whereby one can achieve full actualization of selfhood and linkage with the divine light. The Book of the Road's End provides a more technical discussion of many of the issues dealt with in the other three treatises. The chapter concludes with excerpts from The Clarifying Method, an important treatise on logic.Less
Includes translations of 10 essays, several quatrains, 4 complete treatises, and excerpts from two others. The first treatise, Makings and Ornaments of Well‐Provisioned Kings, provides a mirror for princes presented in terms of perfecting the soul through the realization of the correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm and the actualization of the virtues. The Book of the Everlasting describes the origin of the soul and its return to God and, uniquely among the treatises, cites proof‐texts from the Koran. The Rungs of Perfection analyzes the soul in terms of being, perception, and the faculties and offers a systematic map of the stages whereby one can achieve full actualization of selfhood and linkage with the divine light. The Book of the Road's End provides a more technical discussion of many of the issues dealt with in the other three treatises. The chapter concludes with excerpts from The Clarifying Method, an important treatise on logic.
Alexander Nehamas
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199289974
- eISBN:
- 9780191711008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289974.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter focuses on the role of kalon in the thought of Plato and Aristotle. Plato's conception of kalon consists of many strands, all of them contestable and deeply controversial. One is an ...
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This chapter focuses on the role of kalon in the thought of Plato and Aristotle. Plato's conception of kalon consists of many strands, all of them contestable and deeply controversial. One is an effort to transform the social fully into the psychological, and pre-eminence completely into virtue. Another is the view that beauty is a real feature of things to which, to the extent that it is genuine, love is the proper response — but beauty seems no less love's creature than its cause. In beauty, Plato saw not just a promise of happiness but a pledge of virtue as well. The pursuit of beauty brings both the philosopher and his companions closer to human perfection, a perfection determined purely in terms of the soul's inherent nature and not the accretions it has acquired as a result of its embodied state and its historical place. The ascent thus accomplishes something inherently good — an achievement and a distinction of which one can be rightly proud, whether or not anyone else knows of it or not.Less
This chapter focuses on the role of kalon in the thought of Plato and Aristotle. Plato's conception of kalon consists of many strands, all of them contestable and deeply controversial. One is an effort to transform the social fully into the psychological, and pre-eminence completely into virtue. Another is the view that beauty is a real feature of things to which, to the extent that it is genuine, love is the proper response — but beauty seems no less love's creature than its cause. In beauty, Plato saw not just a promise of happiness but a pledge of virtue as well. The pursuit of beauty brings both the philosopher and his companions closer to human perfection, a perfection determined purely in terms of the soul's inherent nature and not the accretions it has acquired as a result of its embodied state and its historical place. The ascent thus accomplishes something inherently good — an achievement and a distinction of which one can be rightly proud, whether or not anyone else knows of it or not.
Morwenna Ludlow
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270225
- eISBN:
- 9780191600661
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270224.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter aims to explain Rahner's complex idea of the perfection, or consummation of the human individual. He stresses that it has two aspects: immanent consummation (individuals determine their ...
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This chapter aims to explain Rahner's complex idea of the perfection, or consummation of the human individual. He stresses that it has two aspects: immanent consummation (individuals determine their fate through human freedom and decision) and transcendent consummation (the transforming grace of God). Paradoxically, he tries to collapse the distinctions between these two aspects (which seems to point to universalism and leads to his controversial notion known as ‘anonymous Christianity’) whilst still maintaining the possibility of humans rejecting God. The chapter explores how Rahner links his philosophical analysis of human perfection to the classical Christian doctrines of heaven and hell. Similarly, his discussion of the possibility of making decisions for or against God after death is connected with the concepts of indulgences and purgatory.Less
This chapter aims to explain Rahner's complex idea of the perfection, or consummation of the human individual. He stresses that it has two aspects: immanent consummation (individuals determine their fate through human freedom and decision) and transcendent consummation (the transforming grace of God). Paradoxically, he tries to collapse the distinctions between these two aspects (which seems to point to universalism and leads to his controversial notion known as ‘anonymous Christianity’) whilst still maintaining the possibility of humans rejecting God. The chapter explores how Rahner links his philosophical analysis of human perfection to the classical Christian doctrines of heaven and hell. Similarly, his discussion of the possibility of making decisions for or against God after death is connected with the concepts of indulgences and purgatory.
