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Pagans often claim that their spiritual inspiration comes not from
a written scripture but from personal experience and original
creativity. Yet, there are many written works which also constitute
its testament. Some of them are thousands of years old, such as the
"Descent of Ishtar", and "The Homeric Hymn to Demeter". Others are
more recent, such as "The Charge of the Goddess". "A Pagan
Testament" collects these original works together, along with the
poetry and prose that inspired the founders of the modern Pagan
movement. It also includes the largest collection of circle songs
and wisdom teachings ever published, which are the Pagan equivalent
of the Biblical Psalms and Proverbs. They were collected by the
author in a survey of Pagan folklore, from almost 2,000 people in
twelve countries around the world. They show that Paganism is
continually expanding and developing. Finally, the book includes an
original and valuable philosophical commentary and interpretation.
What is the ethical significance of the environment? How shall we
dwell on, and with, the earth? And what, if anything, do we owe to
future generations? "Time and the Land" pursues these questions
through each of the four most prominent theories of ethics in the
western philosophical tradition: Utilitarianism, Distributive
Justice, Kantian Deontology, and Virtue Ethics. For each theory,
Derek Parfit's Non-Identity Problem serves as a test case. Parfit
showed how some environmental policy decisions might harm no one in
the far distant future, even if they produce situations all would
agree are intrinsically repugnant. Myers seeks a theory of
environmental ethics that not only responds to pressing moral
problems in environmental policy, but also avoids the paradox of
the Non-Identity Problem. Myers concludes that no single theory by
itself can accomplish this task. A synthesis of ethics is required:
but Virtue must lead the way. As Virtue is not a
'utility-maximizing' theory, it avoids the Non-Identity Problem. At
the same time, its potential for responding to environmental ethics
dilemmas is deep. Myers concludes that the aim for a worthwhile
human life must include the aim to create and sustain the
environmental conditions in which the worthwhile human life is
possible and supported. A Virtuous person takes care of the future
through aiming at ends which are, while achievable in the present,
also temporally continuous and ongoing, even beyond the one's own
lifetime. And the future which it is virtuous to aim for is the one
which brings out one's best qualities in the course of striving for
it.
"Iron Age" is a political strategy game, in which players compete
and co-operate with each other to build a community. The better you
manage your village, and the better you manage your relations with
other players, the more honour you will gain. And the more honour
you gain, the better your position will be at a special democratic
assembly called the Landsmoot, where one player is elected the
Chieftain. Originally designed as a teaching tool for a college
course in political science, the simple rules of Iron Age allow
many strategic possibilities. From the "hard power" of the army to
the "soft power" of trade and culture, just about every facet of
politics in the real world can be represented here - all depending
on how you play * Build farms, workshops, Great Halls, temples, and
more * Recuit specialists like warriors, priests, and poets * Trade
with other players to enrich your village, or put other players in
your debt * Raise an army to protect your village, or to loot and
pillage your neighbours * Build voting blocks, coalitions, and
alliances * If you can get elected Chieftain of the Landsmoot often
enough, and remain Chieftain long enough, you win the game Players:
Between 3 and 8 Ages: 15 and up Includes: * Basic and Advanced
versions of the game * Commentary on the philosophical roots of the
game, especially in the political thought of Thomas Hobbes and
David Hume, * Fifteen fun illustrations, * and a short essay on the
nature of "soft power" games. Requires: * Character sheets for each
player (available for free on the author's web site) * Three or
more 6-sided dice. A Note for Philosophers and Educators: This game
began as a project in experimental philosophy, which I presented to
students of my "Theories of Social Justice" class. It is not mainly
intended to teach facts: rather, it is intented to help students
develop skills, especially in public speaking, political
strategizing, and rational persuasion. It is also designed to
reproduce and to experiment with what some philosophers call "the
circumstances of justice," meaning the social or economic or
political problems that call for a justice-based solution. David
Hume is perhaps the first to draw up the list of circumstances that
most philosophers have used ever since. On his list of these
circumstances are: moderate scarcity of resources; approximate
equality of power among all players; and moderate self-interest.
Would players in these circumstances reach the justice-based
conclusions that Hume claimed they would? Or would they remain in a
Hobbsean "state of nature," leading nasty, brutish, and short
lives? As players calculate the best way to either win the game, or
else at least avoid being eliminated from the game, they end up
negotiating and co-operating with each other to handle these
circumstances. In the course of play, "Iron Age" also helps
demonstrate to students things like: * how political supporters are
won and lost * how players with the most honour are not always the
clear winners * how to find the right "balance" between
co-operation and competition * the importance of public speaking,
argumentation, and persuasion * the importance of being alert to
the movements of both allies and rivals * how political power flows
from numerous sources * how to plan for the future, and how to grow
a community sustainably * how much of our lives are unpredictable,
and why it's important to prepare for the unexpected. "Iron Age"
also demonstrates some features of Iron Age culture and history,
such as the Heroic Feast, the importance of Honour, the role of
fate and luck, and the early development of democracy.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has altered the landscape of health
care by forcing behavioral health workers from their silos into a
rapidly changing, fast-paced, integrative care setting of increased
accountability and accessibility. In order to survive in this
transition, behavioral health care will have to be transportable
beyond traditional one-to-one psychotherapy models, be viewed as a
less consumable commodity, and be able to efficiently treat the
myriad of comorbid psychological disorders that are present in
every area of medicine. Fortunately, cognitive behavioral therapy
(CBT) has a long tradition of empirical success with a wide variety
of clinical disorders in youth. Accordingly, CBT provides a robust
platform from which to launch new clinical models and delivery
systems beyond the limitations of a single-disorder paradigm to
target transdiagnostic factors that perpetuate psychological
disorders in youth. This book begins by briefly reviewing the
challenges that clinicians face, working with children in the new
health care era. The book then discusses trauma focused CBT for
children with developmental disabilities; CBT for informal cancer
caregivers; CBT in pain management of adult chronic nonmalignant
pain patients; and CBT for rheumatoid arthritis.
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