scholarly journals Al-Ghazālī’s Heart as a Medium of Light: Illumination and the Soteriological Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 201-222
Author(s):  
Loumia Ferhat
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Practical Aspect ◽  
Sense Perception ◽  
Light Illumination ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Human Subjectivity ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Final Conversion ◽  
Proper Training ◽  
The Individual

Abstract This article focuses on the centrality of the heart in al-Ghazālī’s (d. 505/1111) thought. More specifically, it shifts the focus from al-Ghazālī’s doctrinal position, at stake when he defines the heart—which has already received much attention—to the practical aspect of the heart, namely its role within al-Ghazālī’s reformative project. In doing so, it brings to the fore the entanglement between knowledge acquisition, character refinement, and illumination at the end of the soteriological path, that is, the path leading to the soul’s salvation. Paying particular attention to the heart as a medium of light, this article seeks to extend the recent interrogation of philosophy as a way of life, expanding philosophy’s perceived boundaries in contemporary thought. In al-Ghazālī’s writings, the heart serves not only as the essence of man, but also as a synecdoche for the individual, that is, for the very essence of human subjectivity. As a medium of light, through proper training and spiritual practices, the heart becomes the locus of knowledge acquisition, character refinement, and the final conversion of the gaze. Al-Ghazālī’s conception of the heart, then, stands at the crossroads of Sufism and philosophy, where a conception of knowledge that is inseparable from ethics and aesthetics emerges. By examining this merging of ethics and aesthetics in al-Ghazālī’s thought, this article argues for the significance of aesthetics to al-Ghazālī, despite his ambivalence towards analogies and sense-perception.

scholarly journals Consumer-run services research and implications for mental health care

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 410-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Segal ◽  
S. L. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Services Research ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Mental Health Consumers ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Mental health consumers/survivors developed consumer-run services (CRSs) as alternatives to disempowering professionally run services that limited participant self-determination. The objective of the CRS is to promote recovery outcomes, not to cure or prevent mental illness. Recovery outcomes pave the way to a satisfying life as defined by the individual consumer despite repetitive episodes of disorder. Recovery is a way of life, which through empowerment, hope, self-efficacy, minimisation of self-stigma, and improved social integration, may offer a path to functional improvement that may lead to a better way to manage distress and minimise the impact of illness episodes. ‘Nothing about us without us’ is the defining objective of the process activity that defines self-help. It is the giving of agency to participants. Without such process there is a real question as to whether an organisation is a legitimate CRS or simply a non-governmental organisation run by a person who claims lived experience. In considering the effectiveness of CRSs, fidelity should be defined by the extent to which the organisation's process conveys agency. Unidirectional helping often does for people what they can do for themselves, stealing agency. The consequence of the lack of fidelity in CRSs to the origins of the self-help movement has been a general finding in multisite studies of no or little difference in outcomes attributable to the consumer service. This, from the perspective of the research summarised herein, results in the mixing of programmatic efforts, some of which enhance outcomes as they are true mutual assistance programmes and some of which degrade outcomes as they are unidirectional, hierarchical, staff-directed helping efforts making false claims to providing agency. The later CRS interventions may provoke disappointment and additional failure. The indiscriminate combining of studies produces the average: no effect.

scholarly journals Death following accidental compression of neck by safety harness: A case of fall from height

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 258-261
Author(s):  
Bedanta Sarma ◽  
Shreemanta Kumar Dash ◽  
Pankaj Suresh Ghormade
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Work Related ◽  
The Family ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Proper Training ◽  
Fall From Height ◽  
The Individual

Work related fall from height many a times causes fatal injuries and death amongst working in various construction sites. It leads to different types of fatal bodily injuries including spinal injuries causing economic burden to the family. Although, they have been provided with protective gears and proper training for its use; it has been observed that workers are not using these in a proper ways. They eventually met with accidents which can easily be prevented. Accidental compression of neck by safety harness following fall from height has rarely been described leading to death of the individual. A case was brought for autopsy following accidental compression of neck structure causing fracture of cervical spine and transaction of spinal cord. In this paper, the case has been described with its autopsy findings.

scholarly journals A new understanding of health and a healthy lifestyle: a holistic and existential-humanistic approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 10-21
Author(s):  
Ekaterina I. Akimova ◽  
◽  
Anatoly G. Madzhuga ◽  
Raisa V. Shurupova ◽  
Elena L. Bueverova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Value Of Life ◽  
Physical Aspect ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Natural Interaction ◽  
Fundamental Goal ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

Confronting current challenges, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, and striving to create a hopeful future – an era of life and active longevity – determine an urgent global need to implement the principles of humanity and create a new understanding of health and a healthy lifestyle, correlated with a fundamental respect for the dignity of life. Based on the idea of the relationship between health and a healthy lifestyle through the inherent value of the individual, embodying the intrinsic value of life, basic contradictions were identified: the contradiction between the understanding of health as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and a healthy lifestyle, which focuses on the physical aspect of health, omitting the spiritual component; the contradiction between the numerous proposed strategies for a healthy lifestyle and the lack of a fundamental goal that expresses its value-semantic result. In the aspect of philosophical-methodological ideas about health and a healthy lifestyle, their essential binding element was defined – the good that embodies the result of the ultimate aspiration of a person. The resolution of the basic contradictions revealed in the analysis of philosophical-methodological ideas about health and a healthy lifestyle made it possible to present new, clearer definitions of health and a healthy lifestyle: health is a good that allows a person to embody the value of life in a specific reality; a healthy lifestyle is an individual way of life, which is based on a person’s respect for the dignity of life and creates a benefit to him/herself and others, gaining the joy of existence. A new concept of a healthy lifestyle was developed, which defined the joy of existence as its fundamental goal, implemented by a person through the creation of good for oneself and others in a system of socio-cultural and natural interaction based on respect for the dignity of life.

scholarly journals The Individualist Power and Adaptive New Religious Movement: Scientology Individual as an Ethical Subject

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Ofer Parchev
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Description ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Liberal Society ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Individual Subject ◽  
Practical Operation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
New Religion

New religion movements are one of the most interesting social phenomena in recent decades. As an alternative communal and individualist way of life, these movements offer a transcendental, non-secular way of life that challenges the values of liberal society while remaining within its legal and normative boundaries. In the course of this paper, and by using an analytical description of Foucault’s assumptions, I will examine the discursive and practical operation of the Scientology Church as a new religion movement that transcends the individual subject. I will describe the themes of Scientology as pastoral techniques, and its neo-liberal subjective constitution as a part of the conservative, normative mechanism of modern Western society, while arguing that they pose, at the same time, a potential ethical alternative that subverts the epistemological boundaries of Western liberal society.

An Introduction, Review, and Conceptual Analysis of Mattering as an Essential Construct and an Essential Way of Life

2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110576
Author(s):  
Gordon L. Flett
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Current Article ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sense Of Mattering ◽  
Extended Discussion

While the importance of having self-esteem is widely recognized and has been studied extensively, another core component of the self-concept has been relatively neglected—a sense of mattering to other people. In the current article, it is argued that mattering is an entirely unique and complex psychological construct with great public appeal and applied significance. The various ways of assessing mattering are reviewed and evidence is summarized, indicating that mattering is a vital construct in that deficits in mattering are linked with consequential outcomes at the individual level (i.e., depression and suicidal tendencies), the relationship level (i.e., relationship discord and dissolution), and the societal level (i.e., delinquency and violence). Contemporary research is described which shows that mattering typically predicts unique variance in key outcomes beyond other predictor variables. Mattering is discussed as double-edged in that mattering is highly protective but feelings of not mattering are deleterious, especially among people who have been marginalized and mistreated. The article concludes with an extended discussion of key directions for future research and an overview of the articles in this special issue. It is argued that a complete view of the self and personal identity will only emerge after we significantly expand the scope of inquiry on the psychology of mattering.

YOGA- PERFECT SOLUTION FOR THE STRESS IN ELDERLY

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (06) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gandhali Upadhye
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Good Alternative ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Fourth Decade ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Average Individual

Since the ancient times, man has always been in a search for age-erasing methods. Yoga puts a leash on ageing and helps the individual to stay happy and have a healthy ageing. A long life span has no importance in today’s world as the average individual is conquered by diseases in the third-fourth decade of his life itself. Hence for such an individual, a diseased free old age is a far stretched dream. Yoga lends a helping hand to such people as it is a natural and correct way of life, simply organized into a systematic manner. It is thought that mental health problems are a normal aspect of ageing. Besides dementia, anxiety, insomnia, an elderly mainly experiences emotional and psychological stress related to loneliness, isolation, or loss of loved one. But unfortunately, these are either ignored or not taken seriously. Jara or old age is a swabhavbalapravritta vyaadhi i.e it is an inescapable phase of one’s life. It is an inescapable part of life. Although this phase comes naturally, with the help of yogic interventions, a healthy and happy old age can be experienced. Yogic interventions are absolutely cost free and can be a good alternative to fight against stress.

Factors Affecting Knowledge Acquisition

2015 ◽  
pp. 235-258
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
International Joint Ventures ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Cultural Specificity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Although there is a growing literature on knowledge management, limited attention has been paid to the factors that influence the process of knowledge acquisition. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to bring forward the main elements that may stimulate or inhibit knowledge acquisition at both the individual and organizational level. Knowledge acquisition is mainly affected by a company's absorptive capacity, organizational context and structure, and inter-firm alliances. These may increase the firm's awareness of the external challenges and stimulate inter-organizational interactions. The impact of each of these factors is highly visible in the context of international joint ventures. Still, in this case, another factor interferes, namely cultural specificity.

From the New Monastery to the Valley of Light, 1115–1124

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-53
Author(s):  
Brian Patrick McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Way Of Life ◽  
Desert Fathers ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Saint Bernard

This chapter examines how Saint Bernard founded Clairvaux Abbey. Bernard's desire was to save souls by bringing them to the monastery and keeping them there. He confided that his only concern was “to have a mother's love for every soul.” The theme of motherhood returns time and again in Bernard's writings and shows his attention to his brothers. In the anecdotes about the beginnings of Clairvaux, it is possible to see who Bernard was becoming. The isolated figure of the New Monastery was now father abbot and mother caregiver of a community of men. He expected his foundation to grow and prosper, but he was also afraid of failure. Like every monastic founder from the Desert Fathers onwards, Bernard faced the possibility that his way of life would come to nothing. But Bernard was attached to a movement where the individual monastery gained sustenance from a network. Bernard takes his place here as part of a monastic institution.

Democratic Justice

Free Justice ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 86-116
Author(s):  
Sara Mayeux
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Defender ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Defense Attorneys ◽  
The Public ◽  
Criminal Defense ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cold War

In contrast to earlier periods when elite lawyers expressed skepticism of the public defender, this chapter describes the Cold War moment when elite lawyers, like the New York lawyer Harrison Tweed, celebrated the public defender as central to the “American way of life.” By the 1950s, lawyers and political leaders touted the rights that U.S. Constitution afforded to criminal defendants as hallmarks of democracy. These rights were thought to exemplify democratic regard for the individual, in contrast to the state-dominated show trials that symbolized totalitarianism. Within this context, criminal defense attorneys were rhetorically celebrated and the public defender was reframed from a harbinger of socialism into an anticommunist figure. In 1963, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, further enshrining the constitutional right to counsel. Gideon held that the Sixth Amendment requires states to provide counsel to indigent defendants in all serious felony trials. The decision was celebrated and chronicled in the widely read book by journalist Anthony Lewis, Gideon’s Trumpet, and the Ford Foundation announced ambitious plans for a nationwide initiative to expand public defender offices.

Existentialism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B. Guignon
Keyword(s):  
Modern World ◽  
Not Given ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Jean Paul ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Treat All ◽  
Scientific Systems

The term ‘existentialism’ is sometimes reserved for the works of Jean-Paul Sartre, who used it to refer to his own philosophy in the 1940s. But it is more often used as a general name for a number of thinkers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who made the concrete individual central to their thought. Existentialism in this broader sense arose as a backlash against philosophical and scientific systems that treat all particulars, including humans, as members of a genus or instances of universal laws. It claims that our own existence as unique individuals in concrete situations cannot be grasped adequately in such theories, and that systems of this sort conceal from us the highly personal task of trying to achieve self-fulfilment in our lives. Existentialists therefore start out with a detailed description of the self as an ‘existing individual’, understood as an agent involved in a specific social and historical world. One of their chief aims is to understand how the individual can achieve the richest and most fulfilling life in the modern world. Existentialists hold widely differing views about human existence, but there are a number of recurring themes in their writings. First, existentialists hold that humans have no pregiven purpose or essence laid out for them by God or by nature; it is up to each one of us to decide who and what we are through our own actions. This is the point of Sartre’s definition of existentialism as the view that, for humans, ‘existence precedes essence’. What this means is that we first simply exist - find ourselves born into a world not of our own choosing - and it is then up to each of us to define our own identity or essential characteristics in the course of what we do in living out our lives. Thus, our essence (our set of defining traits) is chosen, not given. Second, existentialists hold that people decide their own fates and are responsible for what they make of their lives. Humans have free will in the sense that, no matter what social and biological factors influence their decisions, they can reflect on those conditions, decide what they mean, and then make their own choices as to how to handle those factors in acting in the world. Because we are self-creating or self-fashioning beings in this sense, we have full responsibility for what we make of our lives. Finally, existentialists are concerned with identifying the most authentic and fulfilling way of life possible for individuals. In their view, most of us tend to conform to the ways of living of the ‘herd’: we feel we are doing well if we do what ‘one’ does in familiar social situations. In this respect, our lives are said to be ‘inauthentic’, not really our own. To become authentic, according to this view, an individual must take over their own existence with clarity and intensity. Such a transformation is made possible by such profound emotional experiences as anxiety or the experience of existential guilt. When we face up to what is revealed in such experiences, existentialists claim, we will have a clearer grasp of what is at stake in life, and we will be able to become more committed and integrated individuals.

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