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This paper examines the process of the UK's ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon using a liberal intergovernmentalist approach. Traditionally, in contrast to other member states of the European Union, the UK has often been hesitant to pursue European integration. And yet, over the past half century, the European Union has become a significant model of voluntary regional integration. The ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, which brought important changes to the European Union, marked a significant milestone for European integration in the early twenty-first century. This paper aims to explore the process and challenges of the UK's ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon by employing a liberal intergovernmentalist analysis. Such an approach has been developed over several decades and become a major theoretical approach to the study of European integration. Liberal intergovernmentalism, which draws special attention to the processes of negotiating, signing, and ratifying the EU's major treaties, provides a suitable theoretical approach to the analysis of the UK's passage of the Treaty of Lisbon. This paper is, therefore, designed with the dual purpose of examining the empirical case study of the UK's passage of the Treaty of Lisbon, and of examining the theoretical validity of liberal intergovernmentalism against empirical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhongxue is a Chinese translation of W. Whewell's An Elementary Treatise on Mechanics, which was translated by Joseph Edkins and Li Shanlan and published in 1859. There are seven editions of Whewell's treatise. That Zhongxue is translated from which of the editions is still an unresolved issue. Based on a comparison of the Zhongxue with different editions of An Elementary Treatise on Mechanics, this paper comes to conclusion that the Zhongxue was translated from the fifth edition published in 1836. The paper also analyzes the differences between Zhongxue and its original texts, and corrects some popular inaccurate statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic circles usually narrate functionalism without strictly classifying its internal structure, and they are ambiguous on the origin and change of Hsiao-tung Fei's functionalism. Meanwhile, it is generally accepted that Fei Xiao tong became a functionalism after he acknowledged Malinowski as his master and followed him all along. The paper classifies the different development stages of Hsiao-tung Fei's functionalism: the rudimentary stage of Hsiao-tung Fei's functionalism before he studied in Britain; influenced by Malinowski's functionalism greatly during his staying in Britain; he became a structural functionalism of Brown from functionalism of Malinowski after he returned home from abroad. The paper lays special emphasis on analyzing the last stage and concludes five causes bringing about the change which makes him accomplish The Institutions for Reproduction. Therefore, Fei Xiao tong completed the functionalism of Malinowski and transcended the structural functionalism of Brown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the British philosopher Hume has often been labeled "empirical"or "skepticism", yet his thinking of "religion", no matter from form or content, is also with special philosophical meanings. In form, Hume rejects the theory of " natural religion" from the perspective of logical analysis and empiricism. In content, Hume holds that; the proper position of religion is to standardize people's morality, make person's behavior humanitarian, and infuse the spirit of abstention, order and obedience. That is to say, its purpose is to affirm the meaning of "religion" from the perspective of "religious socialization" and "religious moralization". The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct Hume's religious ideas by "natural religion dialogues", clarify its meanings of "true religion". At last, it attempts to examine philosophical implications of Hume's religious thought through the perspective of the contemporary religious philosopher Paul tillich'sultimate concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]