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

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.

Interior Conversion

In the early Middle Ages, the monastic model of conversion represented Christianity’s highest form of spirituality. Conversion meant becoming a religious or entering a religious order; it represented withdrawal into a cloistered community where the soul’s quest for perfection in imitation of Christ could be fully realized. Conversion signified a lifelong pursuit of God, a desire for a final conversion culminating in the beatific vision. By the High Middle Ages, however, this monastic model was increasingly challenged by friars and lay movements (e.g., Beguines, tertiaries, and the Devotio Moderna movement in the Low Countries). For them, conversion meant a call to return to the primitive church in active pursuit of holiness in the world, not a retreat into the confines of the monastery.

The importance of ionic conduction in microwave heated polyesterifications

Significant increases in the reaction rate and final conversion of a model polyesterification are reported by the use of microwave heating.

Kinetic Study on Photopolymerization of TPGDA under Containerless Condition

The TPGDA drop was suspended in the atmosphere under acoustic levitation and induced by photoinitiation for polymer preparation at the first attempt. The kinetics of TPGDA photopolymerization induced by the UV light under containerless condition was studied. Compared to the normal condition, the average initial polymerization rate of TPGDA under acoustic levitation is relatively lower, while the final conversion is higher. Relative to oxygen inhibition, container effect plays a more significant role on the conversion in this polymerization system.

Engorda de corderos Pelibuey con diferente nivel de alfalfa en la dieta

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto de diferentes niveles de alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) en la dieta de corderos sobre el comportamiento productivo, durante 11 semanas. Se utilizaron 36 corderos machos Pelibuey de 5 meses de edad, en estabulación, con peso inicial promedio de 22 kg, distribuidos homogéneamente en cuatro grupos de 3 animales cada uno, con 3 repeticiones por grupo. Los grupos fueron asignados al azar a cada uno de cuatro tratamientos evaluados: 0, 20, 30 y 40 % de alfalfa (base seca). Se utilizó un diseño completamente al azar, utilizando el Proc GLM (SAS, 1999) y cuando se observaron diferencias estadísticas, se realizó una comparación de medias utilizando la prueba de Tukey. Se determinó consumo de alimento, ganancia de peso, conversión, eficiencia alimenticia, rendimiento de canal en caliente y frio, y pH de la canal; además de la degradabilidad in situ de la MS de las dietas. El consumo de MS aumentó (p0,05), promediando 271 g animal-1 día-1. Tampoco hubo variación (p>0,05) en el peso final, conversión y eficiencia alimenticia, promediando 38,0 kg animal-1,4,74 y 0,212, respectivamente. El peso (19,3 y 18,8 kg) y rendimiento (54,4 y 53,0 %) de canal en caliente y fría, fueron similares entre tratamientos. Incluir alfalfa en la dieta de corderos, no ofrece ventajas en la ganancia de peso, sin embargo hasta 40 %, podría ser atractivo económicamente para el productor, además de promover mayor consumo de MS.

Comparison of Different Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Estolides Synthesis from Oleic Acid

Different catalysts, namely various loading of perchloric acid on various supports; HClO4/silica (SiO2), HClO4/silica gel (SG) and HClO4/alumina (Al2O3) were tested for the direct addition reaction of oleic acid (OA) to form estolide compounds. The reactions were carried out under vacuum (2 mBar) for 10 hours at 70 °C under solvent-less conditions. LC-MS ToF of reaction products results showed chromatographic peaks for the presence of two new estolide compounds, oleic-oleic monoestolide acid (m/z563.51, as [M-H]-), and oleic-oleic diestolide acid (m/z845.77 [M-H]-). The optimum loading of HClO4for every support are 15 wt.% HClO4/SiO2(SiO215), 10 wt.% HClO4/SG (SG10) and 35 wt.% HClO4/Al2O3(Al2O335). The SG10 turned out to be the best catalyst, achieving a final conversion of 97.5 % with 79.8 % selectivity to oleic-oleic monoestolide acid and 17.7 % selectivity to oleic-oleic diestolide acid. The activity and selectivity of the SG10 have been investigated and compared with homogeneous HClO4. The optimum catalysts for every support were characterized by XPS analysis, BET, TEM and TPD-NH3.