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The authors explore a version of non-attachment, a prominent theme in Asian philosophies and religion. Topics discussed include the importance of eliminating attachment to self and other misguided ideasto the teaching on suffering in Buddhist traditions, and attachments that are sometimes avoided even if it is part of the non-selfish aspiration.

Christians are often encouraged to figure out which spiritual gifts they do or do not have, so that they can function most effectively within the body of Christ. But we do not apply this concept consistently; for example, many churches make no effort to balance the gifts of various leaders or treat the head pastor as if he or she should possess all gifts. This article seeks to enhance our practical deployment of the diversity of abilities among believers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christians treat the Ten Commandments as God's law because he gave them to us. But is that a sufficient justification for ethics? Is God an arbitrary lawmaker to whom we must blindly submit because of his power and authority? Is it reasonable to trust God's expertise? In this article, a long-respected evangelical ethicist offers mature reflections on these questions and more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Averroes or Ibn Rushd (520/1126-595/1198), the great Western Islamic thinker, contemplated the relationship between philosophy and religion seriously and created some important works such as Fasl al-maqal fīmā bayn al-ḥikma wa-l-sharīʿa min ittiṣāl (The decisive treatise, determining the nature of the connection between religion and philosophy), al-Kashf ʿan manāhij al-adillah fī ʿaqāʾid al-milla (Discovery of the methods of proof concerning religious doctrines), and Tahāfut al-tahāfut (The incoherence of the incoherence). Ibn Rushd believed that there is no contradiction between religion and philosophy, and they bear no opposition to each other. He argues that since Sharia (religious law) is true and encourages people to engage in rational reasoning which leads to knowledge of the Truth, then both are the truth; hence, truth does not oppose truth. On the contrary, these two agree and recognize each other. However, this statement that philosophy does not contradict religion is related to the innermost layer of religion and Quranic verses because philosophy or rational contemplation sometimes go against the exoteric meaning of religious ideas and scripture phrases. Achieving the esoteric meaning of the verses through inner interpretation or ta'wīl is Averroes's solution to eliminate this confliction. Unlike some other Islamic philosophers, Ibn Rushd does not accept the unity of religion and philosophy but simply thinks of their consistency with each other and the lack of opposition between them. That is why philosophy and religion are forced to be independent and separated from each other for their own safety. Therefore, we should not confuse the issues related to each of them. This current paper addresses the problem of the coordination between philosophy and religion from Ibn Rushd's point of view in general, and his theory on interpretation, in particular. I will demonstrate that one of the main goals of Averroes in raising the esoteric interpretation in the discussion of the harmony between religion and philosophy is to defend philosophy and to grant the "people of reasoning" (philosophers) the right to interpret the Quran esoterically. In this paper, we attempt to show that Averroes's theory has many insights to offer. Ultimately, we will review and criticize this theory from the perspectives of Khwaja Nasir Tusi and Mulla Sadra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not much attention has been paid to Malebranche's philosophy of time. Scholars who have written on it have typically written about it only in passing, and by and large discuss it only in relation to his philosophy of religion. This is appropriate insofar as Malebranche doesn't discuss his views of time in isolation from his religious metaphysics. I argue that Malebranche's conception of how created beings have their properties commits him to saying that God is omnitemporal rather than atemporal. For just as bodies get their spatiality by participating in God's omnipresence, so all creatures get their temporality by participating in God's omnitemporality. Moreover, Malebranche is a substantivalist about space and time: infinite space and time are one and the same divinely simple substance, God (partially considered), who contains the world. My exploration of Malebranche's metaphysics sheds light on his views of eminent containment, participation, and causation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his work Bruno, Schelling elaborates for the first time a concept of freedom and independence of the finite that extends through his reformulation in Philosophy and Religion of 1804, to the Freedom Essay of 1809 and beyond to the works of 1810 and 1811—Stuttgart Private Lectures and The Ages of the World. The question we will address in this article—taking a necessary detour through Bruno themes—concerns the status of the finite as such and how it is at all possible to admit both the existence of a world of finite beings as it appears to consciousness and the positing of an Absolute and infinite principle of philosophy. We will show how Schelling's interest shifts, almost unintentionally, from the infinite principle to the finite as such, as a principle of freedom and self-initiation independent of the real. The split opened by the duality of the two principles will continue in Philosophy and Religion of 1804 and will become more evident in the other works of the 1800s that are the subject of our broader philosophical interest. In analyzing Bruno, we fill for the first time a major existing gap in Schelling's now-renowned middle metaphysics culminating in his Freedom Essay of 1809 as well as proving its inception in the unresolved problems of the system prior to 1809. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to contribute to debate on Hegel's conception of the relationship between religion and philosophy by proposing that it can be a read as a division of labour between Christian religion and speculative philosophy. This reading allows us to understand better Hegel's idea that religion and philosophy have the same content in two different forms. I distinguish between the institutional and the intrapersonal dimensions of Hegel's claim of a division of labour between religion and philosophy. I then turn to a critique of Hegel's philosophy of religion by showing how David Friedrich Strauss's concluding dissertation from The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined can call our attention to some internal tensions within Hegel's conception. Although Strauss's interpretation does not present an insurmountable objection against Hegel's conception of a division of labour, it can help to illuminate to what extent Hegel oversimplified the practical implications that his conception might have for the priest's attempt to continue his instruction to the members of his community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scripta Mediaevalia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Cuyo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper I reevaluate the relationship between the figures of the felix and the fortunatus at the end of Georgics Book 2. Rather than representing an opposition between Epicurean natural philosophy and traditional religion, the figures are complementary, embodying the physical and ethical teachings of Epicureanism respectively. I first discuss the implications of Vergil's praise of the felix for his views on traditional religion and analyze allusions to Lucretius in his description of the fortunatus. Then I show that Vergil's treatment of the divine both has parallels to Epicurean cult practice and follows Lucretius' poetic model of divine symbolism, the divinities named at 2.494 being symbols for Epicurean ethical ideals. As a whole, my argument indicates a positive attitude towards Epicureanism in the Georgics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on how Christian theology and visual arts interact and share the same historical, ethical, and philosophical concerns. Topics include monographs have contributed to the discourse beyond traditional themes of iconoclasm, iconodulia, and iconophilia, reexamining the role of Christian history and theological perspectives; and interest in the reassessment of Reformed theology's relationship to the image, particularly John Calvin's perspective,.

Religions of the world are recognized, judged and valued by the system of morality they deliver to their followers and believers, and the system of morality in itself would be ranked through the driving force or sanctity behind it. As far as codes of conduct are concerned, different religions have different commanding and controlling authorities for this purpose. In all religions, physical and spiritual purity and piety had been the main objectives and taken as the basic and natural requirement of human being since the commencement of human life on the planet. But, the question arises as which is the religion to provide a code of conduct to meet all the requirements? Burhān Aḥmad Fārūqī (1905-1996) with his peculiar moral philosophy played a vital role to assure the Muslims about the originality of their morality derived from the holy Qurān. Only Islamic morality provides man with chastity and modesty, and through these characteristics he can reach the destination of exalted purification. According to Fārūqī the endorsement after this lofty morality is the exclusive belief of Islam; the Oneness of Allah Al-Mighty (Tauḥīd). This article presented an analytical study of his concept of sanctity of morality that is based on Tauḥīd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo revisa el papel de las filosofías y religiones de la India en el canon sapiencial defendido por el intelectual mexicano José Vasconcelos. Con ese fin, se propone un análisis retrospectivo invertido, que comienza con el testimonio de obras tardías como Lógica orgánica (1945), Manual de filosofía (1940) e Historia del pensamiento filosófico (1937), hasta llegar finalmente a sus famosos Estudios indostánicos (1921). Esta forma de proceder permite notar la centralidad de la noción de síntesis no solo respecto a la fascinación temprana de Vasconcelos por la India sino asimismo a su posterior desencanto con dicha tradición. Luego, con el apoyo de la indología, se establece exactamente qué India inspiró el ideal vasconcelista de una "sabiduría sintética", arrojando nueva luz sobre la complejidad de su "orientalismo" conforme al modelo reiterativo de "un orientalismo dentro de otro". Como epílogo, se subraya la utilidad de la indología en el estudio del orientalismo hispanoamericano en general. [End Page 93] This article reviews the role of the philosophies and religions of India in the canon of wisdom advocated by the 20th-century Mexican intellectual José Vasconcelos. To that end, I perform a reverse chronological analysis that retrieves the testimony of late works like Lógica orgánica (1945), Manual de filosofía (1940) and Historia del pensamiento filosófico (1937), and finally reaches his celebrated Estudios indostánicos (1921). This methodology allows me to underscore the important role played by the notion of synthesis, not only regarding Vasconcelos's early fascination with India but also regarding his later disenchantment with that tradition. After this, with the support of Indology, I establish just which India inspired Vasconcelos's ideal of a "synthetic wisdom," thus casting new light on the complexity of his orientalism, according to the iterative model "one orientalism within another." By way of epilogue, I note the usefulness of Indology for the study of Hispano-American orientalism in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of evil is of significant concern to theologians and to philosophers of religion. Despite the extensive discussion this problem has received in various Anglo-American philosophical circles, relatively little attention has been paid to the theodical insights specifically of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa (ca. ninth-tenth centuries C.E.). Here, it is sought to address this lacuna by highlighting certain theological insights within the Bhāgavatapurāṇa that offer explanations for the existence of suffering. These insights are also drawn upon in order to formulate a response to the evidential problem of evil. Although this is not an attempt to construct a comprehensive theodicy with these textual materials, it is highlighted how the Bhāgavatapurāṇa can address certain dimensions of the evidential problem for evil, and some pathways are noted for further inquiry into the theodical insights of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of evil asks why an all‐loving, all‐powerful God would permit evil and suffering. Gianni Vattimo, a postmodern philosopher influenced by Nietzsche and Heidegger, returned to religion in the 1990s, but only addressed the concept of evil in a sustained fashion some twenty years later. Vattimo's contribution to the problem of evil addresses the problem circuitously by analysing the concept of evil and by bringing in theological concept of grace, albeit rethinking these concepts in accordance with his own philosophical style of 'weak thought'. This article applies Vattimo's understanding of evil and grace to the problem of evil, comparing his approach to Pareyson's and analysing the extent to which Vattimo's understanding of evil enables someone drawing upon his weak thought to provide an appropriate response to the problem of evil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at examining similar thought processes regarding the concept of God of the German philosopher Nietzsche and the Tamil social reformer and thinker Periyar. Both these thinkers critiqued the religion with which they were associated, for different reasons. Nietzsche demanded an energetic religion that would reflect the power of real life and believed bringing back Greek myths would achieve this end. Periyar demanded a religion that accepted all people as equal, and hence rejected all myths that had a hidden politics of hegemony and hierarchy. The philosopher Nietzsche has thought like a social reformer, and the social reformer Periyar has thought like a philosopher. Philosophy and social ideologies intertwin these two great thinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mount Sinai had already been a site of the veneration of Moses for two centuries when Emperor Justinian founded a monastery on the site of the Burning Bush in the sixth century. Subsequently the site attracted worship from Muslims as well as Christians after the Arab conquest of Sinai, but although a mosque was built there the monastery remained protected under successive Muslim regimes. From the late twelfth century onward the monastery was also visited by western pilgrims, who identified Mount Sinai as the burial place of St Catherine, venerated her shrine and collected miraculous oil from her bones. Devotion to St Catherine eclipsed the biblical significance of the site in the medieval West, but by the end of the Middle Ages the Latin authorities were frustrated by the reluctance of the monks of Mount Sinai to recognize papal authority, and worship by Latins at the monastery became subject to restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines literature's intersection with philosophy and religion as illustrated by the theme of the discovery of the infernal nature of the inner human world, based on selected texts by Stanisław Przybyszewski and Tadeusz Miciński. The two writers sought to explore a transcendent reality, and also an infernal one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Oriental Studies (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) / Kazahskij Nacional'nyj Universitet Imeni Al'-Farabi Vestnik Seriâ Vostokovedeniâ is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper focuses on the analysis of conspiracy beliefs and conspiracy theories by taking into consideration some of the major contributions about the topic presently provided by several disciplines. A definition is given that helps illustrate the most prominent features of these beliefs, namely monological bias, logical and conceptual fallacies, dispositional influence and pseudorationality. Other important psychological preconditions are also provided (such as, among others, credulity, hypersensitive agency detection devices and proneness to self-deception), but, as the paper argues, they are features shared to a greater or lesser extent with other belief systems, like radical political ideologies and religious fundamentalisms. As a result, it is suggested that a more proper understanding of the phenomenon is attainable by approaches combining psychological data with the analysis of groups and sociopolitical dynamics. Participation in social structures and networks that act as "echo chambers" or "epistemic bubbles", as well as exceptional contingencies and shifts in power distribution among group/social actors seem to be the most influential factors that explain formation, spread and salience of this kind of beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the more general relationship between religion and philosophy, this essay reflects on the extent to which the author's Mennonite past is an ambiguous inheritance that can never be completely left behind but nevertheless leaves room for a certain kind of indignation, particularly as it relates to the exclusion of women. Drawing on diverse figures from Arendt to Derrida, the author suggests that there is something to be said for moving as far as one can to the peripheries of inherited traditions when they have taken something vital from us and, further, that there is a kind of exhilarating, if painful, liberation to be experienced on the edges of such traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western tradition of philosophical counseling determined its development in Russia, where the process of forming the branch of philosophical counseling and the professional community of philosophers-practitioners is currently underway, leading their activities in a wide field of philosophical counseling, where one can designate a philosopher-author (author of philosophical texts), a philosopher-practitioner, philosopher-layman (client, guest, visitor). The problem of finding a philosopher-layman either in a situation of religiosity or in a situation of secularity can be solved through an appeal based on the polylogue method to the texts of Russian religious philosophy of the first half of the 20th century. This allows in a situation of philosophical counseling through the disclosure of knowledge of the meanings of the symbols of sobornost of Russian religious philosophy "wandering", "exile", "heroism", "self-sacrificing", "symphony" to determine the form of sociality in which the philosopher-layman resides - secular, religious, religious-secular. We note that it is dialectically necessary to move away from the division of socialities into religious, secular and religious-secular, and it is possible to designate them as different forms of the dialectical formation of sobornost, or forms of disclosure of religiosity in the personality of a philosopher-layman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of Theology / Roczniki Teologiczne is the property of Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawla II and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article discusses the connection between the ideas of Fyodor M. Dostoevsky and Vladimir S. Solovyov on the need for cultural and moral transformation of those who would claim to participate in the historical process of Russia's development, as well as the contemporary interpretation of these ideas. Both Dostoevsky and Solovyov believed that it was Russia who was destined to restore universal meaning to Christianity, to lead Christianity out of the impasse of national exclusivity. Russia is capable of fulfilling this messianic role on the path to a universal theocracy that would impart the necessary spiritual elevation to humanity. Solovyov's theocratic dreams, which were based on Dostoevsky's religious ideas, were not destined to receive public support. The Russian intelligentsia found itself faced with the question, "What do we live for and what must we do?" Dostoevsky answered this question, followed by Solovyov: We must abandon any attempt to fight for cultural ideals when such a fight leads to resorting to violence. Those who are in charge of transforming life must themselves be spiritually transformed. Any other path would lead to social and cultural disaster. These thoughts of the two distinguished thinkers - the brilliant writer and the prominent Russian philosopher - are taking on a new significance in contemporary Russia. For today's reformers, the most important task is to restore the destroyed system of values (including, above all, values involving personal freedom of citizens). This means the cultural revival of Russia, without which social transformations will continue to be stuck in a vicious circle wherein one form of violence follows another. Fulfilling this task requires a spiritual feat akin to what the Russian thinkers were calling for in the late nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author rejects the concept of a best possible world (BPW) in the book "Theodicy" by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Topics include the author's argument that there is no necessary connection between God's character and his creation of the best among all possible worlds, his claim that Leibniz's theodicy cannot account for the goodness of God if God is only good to people globally as opposed to individually, and views on whether evils are really good-making features of a BPW.

The article explores the notion of supersensible as the guiding principle in philosopher Immanuel Kant's book "The Critique of Judgment." Topics include the author's argument that Kant's attempt to reconcile practical and theoretical reason forces the possibility of coherence in his argument for God's existence, Kant's reference of supersensible to ideas of reason such as the world of nature, free human psyche and God, and the relationship between the noumenon, God and the supersensible.

The article discusses French theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's theology of convergent evolution through the perspective of the doctrine of hierarchy by Greek theologian Pseudo-Dionysius. Topics include the role of divine activity in the universe such as how God influences creation and the form of that influence, the important elements related to divine activity, and the similarities between Teilhard and Pseudo-Dionysius and ways in which connections can be made between them.

Copyright of Veritas is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

R.M. Prabhulinga Shastry’s Vivekananda (The Voice of India) is a three-act play based on awakening dialogues on the being, the super-being, the Almighty, the soul, the world, Maya, duty, education, knowledge, marriage, truth, consciousness, love, sage or rishi, life, death, birth, rebirth, ultimate purpose of life, etc., for blissful living. In fact, these vivid and colorful dialogues on various subjects of socio-cultural and spiritual values are courteously taken from the real speeches of Swami Vivekananda, who himself is the most significant character of this play, and are intimately and intensely revealed during his communication with the other fictitious characters hailing from different parts of the world. The play, particularly through asking and answering questions, distinctively reproduces the practical philosophy of life as revealed in the Vedic literature for the thoughtful development of the global audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Oriental Studies (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) / Kazahskij Nacional'nyj Universitet Imeni Al'-Farabi Vestnik Seriâ Vostokovedeniâ is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses philosopher Klaus Heinrich's criticism of identity as the initial of a media philosophy that is enlightened in terms of religion and philosophy. Topics include philosophically fathom the political totalitarianisms of the 20th century; Heinrich's thinking as an ally in the undertaking to wrest a different, better, solidarity life from techno-economic totalitarianism; and the thinking of being and the thinking of God represent two essentially related.

The article focuses on a fall 1926 incident involving Miriam Stephenson, a Lawrence College sophomore, who wrote a paper on George Bernard Shaw's 'philosophy and religion.' Shaw's response, a note calling her an "ingenious young liar" and suggesting a career in journalism, is examined. The topics include the incident itself, Shaw's unconventional response, and the implications for Stephenson's future, potentially in journalism.

Introduction to Christianity (1968) is an important piece of the first reception of the Second Vatican Council and constitutes an interpretation of the post-conciliar scene and of the Council as such. It interprets the center of Christianity in continuity with Tradition and anticipates the hermeneutics of continuity and reform, in opposition to that of discontinuity and rupture. It contrasts heavily with Küng’s On Being a Christian (1974), while a polemic with Kasper (1969) clarifies the scope of Ratzinger’s point of view. The major significance of Introduction to Christianity lies in having articulated the hermeneutic of continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's consideration of Ruist thought, argues against the ability of Hegelian thought to incorporate Ruist insights. Topics discussed include Hegel's treatment of Chinese thought, focusing on the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion and Lectures on the History of Philosophy from the Berlin period; role and function of ritual in uniting a people through common morals in Hegel's cultus; and Hegel's lectures on the philosophy of religion.

The article offers information on conferences to be held from December 2020 to May 2021 include 4th Annual Academic International Conference on Social Sciences and Education; 7th International Conference on Humanity and Social Sciences and 11th Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy.

The article focuses on John Henry Newman fundamentally opposed John Locke's ‘love of truth' thesis allowed the intellectual appropriation of strict demonstrations for their persuasive force. It mentions need to explore religious, philosophical and cultural horizons against which the foreground of these doctrinal differences shaped themselves. It also mentions differences between Newman and Locke as they show on the doctrinal surface.

The article focuses on insights from philosophy and religion to assess critically Ruth Dann's contributions to the academic debate on the nature and purpose of feedback in an educational setting. It mentions use of Habermas' theory of Communicative Action to find a way to improve upon the Transmission Model and intersubjective nature of communicative action. It also mentions students might not ‘buy-into' their educators, have an alternative epistemology.

The article explains and advocates in favor of Quentin Meillassoux's proposal of "irreligious philosophy" or "philosophical irreligion", that is, of a third position between religion and atheism that defends the conception of a nonexistent God and a God to come (virtual God), as well as an ethicalphilosophical recovery of the notions of hope, immortality, justice, and divinity. With references to different thinkers in the history of philosophy, we seek to frame the meaning and value of Meillassoux's conception. After a brief exposition of his philosophy, the critical-philosophical recovery of basic religious concepts is carried out in successive sections, to conclude with a brief exposition of Meillassoux's refutation of "nihilism", an important philosophical task like none in our time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bayardo Pérez Arce, José. The Religion of Things in Marx. Based on Karl Marx's critique of religion and his proposal of the concept of thing, and in particular on his theory of fetishism, I argue that capitalism has managed to exploit this same critique to generate new forms of submission that encompass not only human beings but also things. Thus, human transformative-emancipatory praxis, when undertaken today, needs to include in its project the salvation of the dignity of things as part of the construction of the critique and the recognition of things' religious dimension, a dimension that also constitutes resistance to fetishism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article seeks to shed new light on an unresolved question in modern religious history, how did classical traditions of paganism come to be revived in modern times in the form of neo-paganism. It seeks to contribute to addressing this question by identifying a hitherto overlooked individual who embraced revived paganism as a religious philosophy before other, better known figures who have been discussed by previous scholars.

A common theological perspective holds that God does not deceive because lying is morally wrong. While Plato denies the possibility of divine deception in the Republic, his explanation does not appeal to the wrongness of lying. Indeed, Plato famously recommends the careful use of lies as a means of promoting justice. Given his endorsement of occasional lying, as well as his claim that humans should strive to emulate the gods, Plato's suggestion that the gods never have reason to lie is puzzling. Our solution to this puzzle centers on the fact that, unlike humans, the gods are self-sufficient. Although lying is good for the souls of neither humans nor gods, human interdependency necessitates lies that will prevent material harms and maintain a just order. In contrast, the self-sufficiency of the gods makes it impossible for them to benefit from deception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses ways in which G.W.F. Hegel's description of contemporary malaise reflects the postmodern condition. Exploration of Hegel's antipathy toward Friedrich Schleiermacher; Hegel's view that Schleiermacher's theology of feeling came to represent an exemplary expression of contemporary malaise that is presented as the manifest culmination of the history of Christianity; Origins of Hegel's dilemma between dogmatic faith and Enlightenment religion.