The Justinian Apologetical Turn, away from Original Petrine Apologetics

The Second Vatican Council, social upheaval, and quickly changing cultural norms were a part of the fabric of life in the 1960s. Values and beliefs held firmly for generations were called into question. Faith, once solid, appeared to some Catholics to turn fluid and doubtful. Though now well over seven centuries old, the work of Thomas Aquinas can itself be understood and appreciated as a response to the demands of philosophical challenges that threatened to make things fall apart. By his fitting together of faith and reason, Aquinas' intellectual approach can serve as a inspiration for educators, especially those at the high school level.

SummaryThe article explores the historical, legal and philosophical background and justification of informed consent. Anaesthesiologists have a responsibility to obtain separate informed consent, both to prevent litigation and to satisfy the requirement of rationality and respect for personal autonomy. The three-tiered model—competence, information, and consent—is described. The inherent nature and current practice of anaesthesiology problematizes proper informed consent. This includes timing, time-constraints, managed care, same-day surgery and emergencies. Wider use of pre-op clinics is advocated. There is a move towards written consent. Properly documented consent relieves the burden of proof, yet is neither a legal requirement nor confirmation of a proper interview. Authors generally advocate written consent in obstetric analgesic practice. Pre-printed forms do not replace an interview. The interview should be tapered to the needs and requirements of the particular patient. The reason why information is provided should be explained. Appropriate illustrative material and aids are advised. The uninformed patient cannot give consent. The supply of information empowers the patient to engage in an interactive conversation with the anaesthesiologist, and broadens the base for further discussions and questions. At least a full explanation of the procedure and techniques (particularly of all invasive procedures), information about the chances of success, incidence of complications, risks involved, available alternatives, the relative risks and complications of alternatives, costs, and the role of the anaesthesiologist is required. Particular reference to the training of students is mandatory. Separate consent is required for all research purposes.

Why Veganism Matters presents the case for the personhood of nonhuman animals and for veganism in a clear and accessible way that does not require any philosophical or legal background. This book offers a persuasive and powerful argument for all readers who care about animals but are not sure whether they have a moral obligation to be vegan.

The concept of desert (the principle that punishment should be made proportional to the severity of the crime committed) is introduced against its philosophical and legal background. Discussion focuses on the role of desert in contemporary sentencing reform proposals and the relationship between desert and other goals of legal punishment. Previous empirical research has addressed a between-offense conception of desert and suggests proportionality does control individuals' responses to crimes differing in severity. Our research focuses on the operation of desert within offenses (or the balance of harm done and punishment deserved for the individual offender) within the context of crimes of increasing severity. Six experimental simulations varied the relativity of victim/offender suffering prior to sentencing. Results show that for a minor crime punishment is an inverse monotonic function of offender suffering, but for crimes of moderate and high severity only excessive offender suffering successfully mitigated punishment. The source of offender suffering made no difference, supporting earlier work by Kalven and Zeisel; suffering exerted no effect on conviction decisions. Overall results are viewed as demonstrating the influence of both within-and between-offense conceptions of desert and the importance of the symbolic and moral blame components of legal punishment.

The collision of “traditional” and “non-traditional” in the present day Russian religious landscape as well as in the present day world could not be interpreted as a kind of direct confrontation between Past and Present. This collision displays its global nature connected with subtle and complicated problems of revival of seemingly obsolete archaic ideas, habits and institutions in unique post-modern conditions of social life, economy, technology, mass culture and cross-cultural interplay. It seems to be valid either for interpretation of universal religious dynamics of modern and post-modern world (including Japan, India and Latin America), or for understanding and interpretation of the present day cultural, religious and legal realities in Russia including life and status of the Russian religious minorities. Many Russian domestic problems in the field of religious matters seem to be dependent not only on unique constellations of the present day universal and domestic history, but also on certain shortages of legal, philosophical and theological background of the Russian political class as well as (partly) of intelligentsia.

The modern liberal idea of citizenship is constructed by a fixed notion of identity which gains meaning through a number of binary oppositions, such as we/ they, citizen/ foreigner, self/ other and so forth. Defined by these binaries, where the first term is perceived as dominant because it is considered to be derived from reason, the fixed notion of identity inevitably produces exclusion and marginalization. Importantly, the postmodern concept of citizenship stems from a critique of these essentialist and universalist conceptions of identity. Exploring European identity and European citizenship from a philosophical perspective, this book reveals the discursive construction of these two concepts whilst at the same time attempting to define them as either modernist or postmodernist categories. Dr. Ivic takes a hermeneutic approach in her interpretation of European citizenship and identity through a close reading of European treaties and other official documents. Through her detailed analysis, Dr. Ivic is able to present the reader with well-informed and concrete examples of modern and postmodern concepts of identity within Europe. Moreover, this book explores the impact that contemporary issues such as Brexit, the migration crisis in Europe, and the proliferation of nationalist discourses, have on European citizenship and identity. Where existing research literature has failed, this book offers a dynamic and textual analysis of citizenship that takes into account the complex philosophical, legal, political and theoretical background of Europe. Dealing with issues that have not yet been sufficiently explored, ‘EU Citizenship’ is an important contribution to the field of philosophical analysis. Aimed at university students, this book will also provide a baseline and set of reference points for researchers and practitioners of European studies that are working with projects that look at European citizenship.

Providing a concise but comprehensive overview of Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s larger philosophical program, this book studies one of the most important modern Orthodox Jewish thinkers. It incorporates much relevant biographical, philosophical, religious, legal, and historical background so that the content and difficult philosophical concepts are easily accessible. The volume describes his view of Jewish law (Halakhah) and how he answers the fundamental question of Jewish philosophy, namely, the “reasons” for the commandments. It shows how many of his disparate books, essays, and lectures on law, specific commandments, and Jewish religious phenomenology can be woven together to form an elegant philosophical program. It also provides an analysis and summary of Soloveitchik’s views on Zionism and on interreligious dialogue and the contexts for Soloveitchik’s respective stances on issues that were pressing in his role as a leader of a major branch of post-war Orthodox Judaism. The book provides a synoptic overview of the philosophical works of Joseph B. Soloveitchik. It will be of interest to historians and scholars studying neo-Kantian philosophy, Jewish thought, and philosophy of religion.

The author evokes Nicolae Titulescu’ personality, thought and actions in favor of strengthening the multilateral cooperation for peace and security during the interwar period.To him – a profound democratic and visionary spirit with a solid legal, philosophical, and political background, and a considerable international experience – the long-lasting Peacemeans nothing if not built on the only foundation suited to support it – Security. But in his view, security has always been closely linked to the manifestation of sovereignty of independent states and national identity. In conclusion, Titulescu’s political stance, his remarkable diplomatic work aiming at setting up a solid European and international security system able to deter the aggressor, bring peace and raise trust among nations, continue to be a stimulative example and an appeal still valid in its fundamental nature for the necessary and constructive steps to be taken in order to give meaning and continuity to our lives in the Third Millennium when we have to face so many crucial existential challenges.Keywords: Nicolae Titulescu, Romania, Europe, Great Powers, Latin America, League of Nations, peace, European and International Security, alliances, The Little Entente, The BalkanPact.

The concept of open texture (OT) is often used without explanation of what it really means. I aim to shed some light on its philosophical and legal theoretical background, focusing solely on the pre-Hartian period. While this paper aims to dig more deeply into the concept than has previously been the case, it also examines philosophers’ life stories. I start with the history of the concept, beginning with legal philosopher Herbert Hart and delving back as far as the philosopher of science and language Friedrich Waismann. Certain other important scholars (J.L. Austin, Wittgenstein, McKinnon) from Oxford and Cambridge from the periods both before and after World War II are mentioned in the paper. Records such as in memoriam speeches form an important part of the story presented here. In any event, OT is an extremely important element of both legal practice and science nowadays. It does not matter who first hit upon this concept and it is likely that it cannot be attributed to any sole individual in any case. Hart was involved in the same academic environment and was influenced by J. L. Austin, while the philosophy of that time in the two English strongest philosophical academic communities was also deeply influenced by both the thought and the personality of Wittgenstein. The origins of OT are complicated and sophisticated.

The diagnosis of brain-stem death requires clinical testing of brain-stem function, with clear prior identification of the cause of apnoeic coma and exclusion of potentially reversible factors. This article explores the historical, philosophical and legal background of brain-stem death that has led to the UK code of practice for the diagnosis of death. The process for clinical diagnosis is discussed, stressing the importance of establishment of preconditions prior to testing. Basic brain-stem anatomy is reviewed in order to illustrate the systematic testing of cranial nerve nuclei, through brain-stem reflexes, that forms the core of brain-stem function tests. We highlight potential pitfalls that may occur in testing. Although not legally required in the UK, supplementary tests of brain-stem integrity are briefly reviewed, including electroencephalography (EEG) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); these tests are used more routinely in the USA and Australia. Finally the legal requirement to ascertain any prior consent of the brain-stem dead patient to organ donation is discussed.

The author of this article presents the notion and meaning of international protection of the marine environment and offers a solid legal and philosophical background to this issue. He points at and systematically analyzes a kind of compendium of selected main legal and philosophical principles as environmental values, included in the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea (1982). The author discusses both environmental management at seas as a global system and topical issues in the light of international legal instruments, doctrine, and some practical experiences. He also shows the environmental law as an increasingly important area of new interdisciplinary study and addresses how this law and science may best able to address the key issues facing the marine environment in the 21st century.

Apologetic Discourse and the Scribal Tradition: Evidence of the Influence of Apologetic Interests on the Text of the Canonical Gospels, by Wayne C. Kannaday. SBL TextCritical Studies 5. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature; Leiden: Brill, 2004. Pp. xiii + 274. $130,00/$39.95. ISBN 9004130853/1589831012. That the early Christians were engaged textual wars with pagan critics is by now well known. What has scarcely been explored, until now, is the degree to which early Christian scribes participated these wars the process of reproducing-copyingearly Christian texts. This study succeeds filling this gap. Kannaday's study, a revision of his doctoral dissertation under the of Bart D. Ehrman, is a compelling one: he argues, quite conclusively to my mind, scribes engaged the work of transmitting the canonical Gospels did indeed, some cases, modify their exemplars under the influence of apologetic (p. 57). To build his case for apologetics (p. 139), Kannaday focuses his attention on the textual traditions of the NT Gospels and proceeds successive chapters to show how the precise arguments made by pagan critics and Christian apologists can be found variant readings throughout the Gospels. The opening chapter introduces the various subfields that will be united the volume: the field of NT textual criticism and the field of early Christian apologetics. Specialists either of these fields will find little here, but including this material (which may well be a remnant of its once-dissertation status) allows the volume to reach a much broader audience. Kannaday offers brief introductions to the works of pagan critics (e.g., Pliny, Tacitus, Seutonius, Lucian, Apuleius, Marcus Cornelius Pronto, Celsus, Porphyry) and early Christian apologists (e.g., Quadratus, Aristides, Justin Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Melito, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, and Minucius Felix). Particularly helpful this first chapter is Kannaday's overview of the directions taken the field of NT textual criticism: while the seeds of this new direction were sown a century ago by the works of J. Rendel Harris and others, Kannaday is right to highlight how the work of his mentor, Bart Ehrman, (and others) has sought to redirect the focus away from establishing the original text of the NT and toward exploring how the transmission of the NT intersected with the historical dynamics of the second, third, and fourth centuries. Chapter 2 (Antiquity, Harmony, and Factual Consistency) brings the reader to the evidence itself. In a pattern that will repeat itself for the next three chapters, Kannaday begins by highlighting a particular theme the controversies between Christians and their pagan opponents and then demonstrates how the theme is apparent the textual traditions themselves. Here the subject is the pagan attacks on the apparent novelty (i.e., newness) of Christianity and their criticisms of the inconsistencies Christian Scriptures. Kannaday shows how Christian apologists and scribes worked to prove the antiquity of the Christian faith and modified the Scriptures so as to make them more consistent. Many of the variants Kannaday treats here and elsewhere, of course, have been studied by other NT textual critics, but Kannaday offers plausible, and often highly compelling, explanations for the cause of the variants. For example, his lengthy treatment of a variant at Mark 1:2 (Does the text read in Isaiah the prophet or in the prophets?), Kannaday suggests that, although scribes may simply have wished to omit errors-and hence preferred the more general reading in the prophets since what follows is not simply a prophetic passage from Isaiah-there may well have been an additional motivation at work: it is reasonable to posit apologetic interests as the momentum behind this scribal alteration. Certainly the effect of the change served apologetic interests, as the correction buttressed a vulnerable spot the text that had already been exploited by an antagonist [i. …

The early Christian literature preserved in the Corpus Apologetarum provides some remarks about the place and the value of the writings of the Apologists. The second century authors have not had a good press in theological literature. It is customary to divide the history of the early Church before its stabilisation around AD 180 into three phases, the New Testament period the Apostolic Fathers and the Apologists. The usual estimate of this period is that the waters rapidly ran out, not in order to make the deserts blossom, but merely to run into sand. We need only place side by side the figures of Paul, 1 Clement, Justin Martyr or of John, Ignatius and Theophilus of Antioch, to sense the all too rapid beginning and continuing process of spiritual decline and rationalising superficiality.Keywords: early Christian apologetics; early Christian literature; early Church; New Testament period

Reviewed by: Barbarian or Greek?: The Charge of Barbarism and Early Christian Apologetics by Stamenka E. Antonova Jörg Ulrich Stamenka E. Antonova Barbarian or Greek?: The Charge of Barbarism and Early Christian Apologetics Studies in the History of Christian Traditions 187 Leiden: Brill, 2019 Pp 336. $138.00. Originating in the author's doctoral thesis at Columbia University, this book examines the use of the word "barbarian" or "barbarism" in the literary debates of the first centuries c.e. The—rather surprising—result is that there is a wide variety of implications connected with the use of the term "barbarian," and this applies to both pagan and Christian authors. In the second chapter (the first chapter is a short prologue), Antonova contextualizes the material within ancient rhetorical practices and explains her theoretical framework, which rests on postcolonial theories and on literary constructions [End Page 675] of identity ("self" and "other"). Relevant examples from Aristotle and Quintilian are thoroughly examined, whereas examples from early "Second Sophistic" authors are not included here. The context of the "Second Sophistic," however, plays some role in the analysis of Philostratus and Lucian of Samosata in the following chapter. Chapter Three then examines the conceptualizations and representations of the "barbarian" in Greco-Roman literature. For the Latin tradition the author takes a look at authors such as Caesar, Cicero, Tacitus, and Seneca; for the Greek tradition, the author turns to Aristides, Dio Chrysostom, Philostratus, and Lucian. Antonova should have paid attention to the Middle Platonic philosopher Kelsos's True Logos here (a text which can be extracted from Origen, which was excellently done in recent works: Horacio E. Lona, Die Wahre Lehre des Kelsos: Übersetzt und erklärt [Freiburg: Herder, 2005]; and Johannes Arnold, Der Wahre Logos des Kelsos: Eine Strukturanalyse [Münster: Aschendorff, 2016]). However, it can be shown that the use of the term "barbarian" covers a wide range of meanings, including low social class, low education, immorality, and criminality, and above all foreign-ness in language and ethnic descent. This insight helps us to understand why nearly all of the Christian apologists in the first centuries saw themselves forced to react in one way or another as soon as the term "barbarian" was used as a charge against early Christianity. Chapters Four and Five represent the major part of the book. Both examine how the apologists deal with the charge of "barbarism." It was certainly a wise decision to concentrate on some selected authors from the second to the early fourth centuries here, and also to divide the analyses into one chapter on the Greek and another one on the Latin writers. Proceeding chronologically, Antonova begins with the Greek authors (Chapter Four) and presents short studies on Justin, Tatian, Clement, Origen, and Eusebius of Caesarea. For the use of the term "barbarian," it is possible to identify five major significations: first, it serves as a reference to foreign origin and tongue; second, as a reference to the contents and style of scripture; third, it is connected with criticism of certain features of Christian language; fourth, it has the sense of belonging to a low and uneducated segment of society; fifth, it implies sub-human behavior. This wide range of implicit and explicit accusations connected with the term "barbarian" is sometimes sustained by the apologists, sometimes re-defined, and sometimes even turned into a counter-charge or a positive argument. In Justin Martyr's argument, for example, the "barbarian" character of Christian preaching actually proves the fact that the rise of Christianity cannot be due to human efforts, but evidently owes itself to the godly spirit instead. For the Latin Christian texts, Antonova chooses Tertullian, Arnobius, and Lactantius as her major references. As a result we find (similar to the Greek apologetic tradition) an enormous semantic range in the term "barbarian," both in pagan charges against Christians and in apologetic refutations of these charges. However, at least in Tertullian, the construction of the "other" by using the term "barbarian" reaches fantastic and nearly unrealistic dimensions, maybe due to the author's tendency to rhetorical exaggeration. But interestingly enough, in Tertullian we also find an example for an "inner-Christian" use of [End Page...

The author presents in his article the Eucharist in early centuries of the Church in the light of the most important sources available today. He shows that it is a reality very rich in the theological, liturgical and pastoral aspects. The author analyzes and presents the most important documents such as the Didache. Science of the Twelve Apostles (I/II), Apology of St. Justin Martyr (150), Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome (215), Records of Martyrs. The martyrs of the Sunday Eucharist in Abitene (304) and Apostolic Constitutions with the so called “klementynian” mass (380), which division into the mass of the catechumens (currently liturgy of the word) and the mass of the faithful (now the liturgy of the Eucharist) survived to the new Roman Missal (1970) edited by the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Analyzed by the author of this article the most important source of the Eucharistic of the early centuries of the Church (II–IV c), confirms the teaching of pope St. John Paul II (1978–2005), that “the Eucharist, understood as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church has on the roads of history” (John Paul II, encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”.