Radical Attitudes Research Articles

Beggars of God: The Christian Ideal of Mendicancy

In contemporary Western societies, public begging is associated with economic failure and social opprobrium—the lot of street people. So Christians may be puzzled by the fact that an interpretation of the imitation of Christ in the late Middle Ages elevated religious mendicancy into an ideal form of life. Although voluntary religious begging cannot easily be resurrected as a Christian ideal today, the author argues that a radical attitude and practice of trust, self‐abandonment, and acknowledgment of dependence on God can be a Christian ideal in any time and place. To follow this way of life, which the author calls mendicancy in attitude, is to become a beggar of God.

Alimentació i ascetisme als segles VI i VII. Anàlisi comparativa d'alguns models dietètics monacals italians i ibèrics

Since the fifth century, as a result of the fall of the Roman Empire and the settlement of Germanic peoples, a lot of changes took place in the landscape and in the patterns of nourishment of the population: meat and lard were revaluated. In this new context, only the monks kept on feeding themselves with bread, oil and vegetables. The ascetics' mistrust against animal food was a result of their conviction that a strong diet stimulated greed and luxury, both vices opposed to the spiritual perfection. The refusal of meat was equivalent to a refusal of aristocracy and its values. The habit of eating meat was so generalized that the monastic reformers did not dare to adopt a radical attitude against it. They only invited the adults and healthy ascetics to avoid eating meat completely, but they allowed them to eat poultry.

Managed Care: “New Moves,” Moral Uncertainty, and a Radical Attitude

Managed Care: “New Moves,” Moral Uncertainty, and a Radical Attitude

Third molars in Norwegian general dental practice.

A questionnaire containing 37 questions on oral surgery was mailed to a systematic random sample of 500 Norwegian general dental practitioners in October 1989. A 60% return rate was obtained. A selected part of the questionnaire was also presented to all 5th-year dental students in Bergen and Oslo. The total return rate was 43%. From the 17 questions dealt with in this paper the following conclusions were drawn: Norwegian general practitioners' attitudes towards indications for third-molar removal are in general agreement with the current conservative approach. Norwegian 5th-year dental students had more radical attitudes. Norwegian general practitioners indicated the use of adequate technical measures when surgically removing third molars in practice. Every month 4.3 patients presented to general practice with symptoms or findings indicating removal of an impacted or partially erupted third molar. This suggests that in 1 year a situation indicating third-molar removal will occur in 20% of the patients who have third molars.

No Other Name? A Critique of Religious Pluralism

John Hick and Paul Knitter propose a radical attitude to the plurality of religions and religious truth-claims which they call religious pluralism. The strategy of relativising Jesus' salvific status, which they propose, has serious ramifications. Three issues emerge from the arguments concerning religious pluralism. The Christological issue is fundamental. Second is the essential task of assessment of religious truth-claims. Finally, the possibility of dialogue itself emerges as problematic for religious pluralism. Is religious pluralism an intellectually reasonable and ethically responsible attitude for Christians to adopt in regard to the plurality of religious traditions and their truth-claims? It is the author's conclusion that it is not.

Granice reformy więziennictwa

Granice reformy więziennictwa

Dominium in Thirteenth and Fourteenth-Century Political Thought and its Seventeenth-Century Heirs: John of Paris and Locke

Dominium, the notion of lordship, underwent important changes during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. An examination of the de potestate regia et papali genre, especially the tract by the Dominican John of Paris (1302), illustrates not only a radical attitude to property rights, private ownership and the defence of one's own in theory, but reflects important evolutions in contemporary property law and its consequences for secular sovereignty. John of Paris's analysis of the origins of property prior to government, based on natural law, is directly related to early fourteenth-century justifications of the profit economy, reflecting the passage of dominium from being a relative, interdependent, feudal thing, to independent property. Other theorists also justified the proliferation of active rights to property, responding not only to theory but also to current economic and legal practices. Such arguments were known and used by seventeenth-century writers, especially Locke, whose library holdings and own tract ‘on civil and ecclesiastical power’ as well as his Second Treatise, express a debt to the de potestate regia et papali genre of the late scholastics.

Worker Consciousness and Union Orientation: The Case of Mexican Steel Workers

A central question for industrial sociology has been to study the determinants of working class consciousness. Relationships have been hypothesized between types of worker consciousness and socio-economic variables (Di Tella, 1965; Moore and Feldman, 1960; Faletto, 1966; Handelman, 1978); and between worker consciousness and labour process and organizational structure (Braverman, 1975;Touraine, 1965; Kerr and Siegel, 1971;Chinoy, 1965;Goldthorpe, 1968). The first of these currents holds that the rural origins of workers is a key determinant of the economistic type of consciousness held by them (Faletto, 1966; Moore and Feldman, 1960). Level of education has been singled out as a key variable in determining the radical (Handelman, 1978) or conservative (Kahl, 1968) attitude of a group of workers, as well as influencing their perspectives for social mobility in a closed social structure (Di Tella, 1965) and their participation in a combative union environment (Handelman, 1978). These are clearly part of what is meant by class consciousness. The second current relates the determinants of industrial work with expressions of labour conflict such as strikes (Kerr and Siegel, 1971) and the orienta? tion of these movements towards economic, social and labour questions and towards solidarity with other groups of workers (Knowles, 1963). These authors have presented an argument which, despite frequent criticism (Shorter and Tilly, 1974), asserts that the radicalism of labour conflict in certain economic sectors is a consequence of the specific characteristics of work in those sectors. Other studies, focusing on assembly line work and on the motor industry, have offered interpretations which link repetition, noise, the incessant rhythm of

Normen in Schriftelijk Taalgebruik

In this paper, part of the preliminary results of a spelling survey project are presented along with some general theoretical consider-ations about writing. In the first part it is argued, that until recently, spelling research had either psycholinguistic or educational aims. There is now a growing awareness of the importance of trying to incorporate various factors, originating on the one hand from psycho- and sociolinguistic research, and on the other hand from educational psychology. As a result the acquisition and development of writing skills is now looked upon from a broader angle. However, school teachers are reluctant to adopt these insights, first, because this means a radical attitude change toward the traditional idea of "writing correctly", and second, because up to now, little didactic support is offered in this respect. In the second part, part of the examination results of 664 compositions from 183 pupils from two schools, one in Louvain and one in Antwerp, are discussed. We did not just look at spelling failures but also at lexicological, morphological and syntactic shortcomings. Moreover we looked at the teacher and the didactic methods. The general results are discussed, as well as certain details such as the dropping of the final -n, letter changes and verb ending in the simple present. Apart from differences between the schools, there are a number of differences compared to previous Dutch research as well. In the final part some theoretical aspects of "invented spelling" are discussed. It is argued that current didactics should devote more time to stimulating writing procedures than to inventing new techniques for the teaching of spelling.

Red and Expert: The Revolution in Education at Shanghai Teachers’ University, 1975–76

Educational policy is of central significance in revolutions because it determines both the nature of the leadership and the policies to promote social change. It has been an explosive issue in China where a Marxist revolution has predated the establishment of a developed economic base and a mature urban proletariat.(The “red versus expert” debate which has reverberated in China since 1949 has been a by-product of the struggle to promote the growth of the economic infrastructure while maintaining radical political institutions and attitudes)1 In Mao Zedong's view this struggle represented not the conflict of two irreconcilable principles but the dynamic relationship between two complementary ingredients of China's educational process.2

Modèles culturels socio-religieux des groupes élitiques catholiques à Sri Lanka

This study, which is an extract from the more general resarch on interrelations between the religious and political fields in Sinhalese society, tries to establish the cultural patterns of westernized and nonwesternized Catholic elite groups. Following the schools' question, which polarised opposition in the political field between Christians and Buddhists, religion formed the basis of social belonging in the collective situation. With the alleviation of this problem, the question of development became the main political objective, at least in the officially proclaimed ideologies. What then of the social viewpoint of the Catholic groups and their relationship with religion ? Only the elite groups are taken into account here. The data of the survey was studied by means of factor analysis which showed the existing patterns for the three sub-groups studied : westernized elite, nonwesternized elite and clergy. If the function of religion as an ideological structure is evident only among a very small group, it serves however to conserve the dominant position of the westernized elite. Differing attitudes prevail among the nonwesternized elite, particularty a combination of a stereotyped attitude with regard to authority and more critical positions regarding the socio- political organization. As for the Catholic clergy, their cultural patterns strongly resemble the westernized group, which is understandable given their formation and cultural environment. However, it is interesting to note that in each group there exists a minority who see in religious motivation a basis for a more radical attitude towards the transformation of society.

Status Inconsistency and Class Consciousness

The Problem Regarding the relation between status inconsistency and attitude, there have been reports on findings which are contradictory to each other. One is the finding which substantiates that status inconsistency affects one's political attitude, voting behavior, class consciousness, etc. ; the other denies the above relation between status inconsistency and political attitude, etc. The paper deals whit the issue of how status inconsistency is substantially related to class consciousness in Japanese society. Class consciousness consists of various aspects, consequently, its relation with status inconsistency should be considered separately with regard to each aspect. Sensitivity for class structure, one of the aspects of class consciousness, is presumed to have direct connection with status inconsistency while preference for change in existing class structure dose not seem to be necessarily connected with status inconsistency. Findings Following is the result of the research made on male adults living in Tokyo. As to class existence, more people in the status inconsistency group than in the consistency group have replied that class does exist. However, there have been no definite trends regarding patterns of class structure. As to class identification, less people in the former group than in the latter identified themselves with middle class. As to drift of change in the class structure, many in the status inconsistency group replied that society should be improved with the effort of each individual, and those against socialism were seen more in the inconsistency group than in the consistency group. As to political party, more people in the inconsistency group than in the consistency group expressed their support for Liberal Democratic Party. Conclusion People in the status inconsistency group are more sensitive for class structure and their own status than those in the consistency group. This seems to result from the facts that people in the status inconsistency group have contacts with people in various classes and/or that the former are destined to notice the discrepancy between their neighbors' norm and their own status. However, people in the status inconsistency group were rather conservative as to changing the existing class structure. It may be said that radical attitude is not the only reaction they can take but just one of the alternatives in various reactions.

Liberal and Radical Attitudes to Christology

Liberal and Radical Attitudes to Christology

Editor's Note

The most significant article in this issue is the one in criticism of Chang Tai-nien's reflections on some characteristics of classical Chinese philosophy. The four younger Marxist philosophy workers in Commuist China, Hsiao Chieh-fu, Chu Po-kung, T'ang I-chieh, and Lu Yü-san, have sharply denounced Chang's interpretation of Chinese philosophy, which attempts to present some universal elements in Chinese classical thinking. The rejection is made in the name of orthodox Marxism-Leninism, and what is rejected is called anti-Marxist revisionism. This radical attitude ominously points to the Red Guard Movement in the sixties. But, curiously and ironically, what Chang has emphasized in classical Chinese philosophy regarding the Taoist dialectics of reversal (fan-yan) has gradually reversed the Red Guard Movement from successful power concentration to unsuccessful power diffusion. In a sense Chang has achieved a kind of vindication.

Critics of Empire: British Radical Attitudes to Colonialism in Africa, 1895-1914, by Bernard Porter

Critics of Empire: British Radical Attitudes to Colonialism in Africa, 1895-1914, <i>by Bernard Porter</i>

4. Critics of Empire: British Radical Attitudes to Colonialism in Africa, 1895–1914. By Bernard Porter. London: Macmillan, 1968. Pp. xvi + 369. 70s.

4. Critics of Empire: British Radical Attitudes to Colonialism in Africa, 1895–1914. By Bernard Porter. London: Macmillan, 1968. Pp. xvi + 369. 70<i>s</i>.

The New Deal, the Immigrants and Congressman Vito Marcantonio

Like the Finns in Northern Minnesota, Italians in New York City accepted a politically radical leader, despite the fact that the majority of them remained conservative. According to the following author, this was due not to their heritage but rather to conditions they faced in their new environment. Future research might do well to focus attention upon the relative role of ethnic culture versus environment in producing radical attitudes among immigrants.

Pendidikan Islam dan Pluralisme Beragama

Islam is a religion that has prophetic mission, namely rahmatan lil ‘alamin, blessing to universe. To realize this mission, Islamic education must able to produce outputs that have inclusive character, pluralist, and appreciative to pluralism. Pluralism in Islam not only normatively supported by religious texts, but also on praxis-empiric level. Islam also has practiced life orientation that reflected religious plurality. Therefore, on global scale, acknowledgment to religious plurality became essential and significant matter. To realize this, it’s urgently needed wisdom to suppress emotional and radical attitude on everyday life.

The Official Social Philosophy of the French Third Republic: Léon Bourgeois and Solidarism

At the turn of the century, the authoritative political theorist Henri Michel had this to say of the characteristic approach in France to all problems, and in particular to political problems. “We are infatuated withisms, it is part of the national temperament. It is significant that a large number of our fellow-citizens like them so much, that every time they are presented with a new one, they greedily seize upon it, without asking themselves whether it can be accomodated alongside the one with which they were previously enamoured.”; The accuracy of this observation has not substantially diminished over the last half-century, the parties left of centre being particularly addicted to doctrinaire formulations of their political philosophies and programmes and to the consequent verbal fetishism and pompous dogmatism. The rise of Socialism in the late nineteenth century overshadowed the contemporary crystallisation of Radical attitudes and aims into the doctrine of Solidarism. Solidarism, however, played a major part in galvanising and rallying the protagonists of state intervention and voluntary association; uniting them in the task of building, by a series of piecemeal reforms inspired by a simple principle and a multiplicity of imperative needs what has come to be known as the “Welfare State”. Despite the doctrinal fragility of Solidarism, its practical programme was inspired by and was appropriate to the social and political needs of a society in transition from individualist and non-interventionist liberalism to associationist and statist socialism, just as liberal economism had secured the transition from corporativism and mercantilism to private enterprise, laisser faire and laisser passer. To-day it is Gaullism that dominates the political scene, but the tenacious Radical tradition of the Third and Fourth Republics may yet reassert itself, transforming in retrospect the tidal wave of to-day into a ripple, as it has so frequently done during the last eighty years of France's tormented history.

The consideration for surgery in ulcerative colitis

From this small series of cases, all of which could be considered moderately severe to severe in type, only twelve per cent were subjected to surgery. Possibly a more radical attitude might be taken and ileostomy performed more frequently. True, one might occasionally save another life with the policy of more frequent and earlier surgery but this policy would also give more patients ileostomies, which in itself carries a mortality rate. Also important is the fact that the greater percentage of them probably would have been able to carry on their activities without this undesirable procedure. At present, we do not have sufficient evidence to conclude that early ileostomy in ulcerative colitis will result in permanent cure of the disease and permit permanent closure of the ileostomy and re-establishment of bowel continuity, thus avoiding permanent ileostomy. It is my impression that the case ileostomized in the early stage without an adequate trial by medical management, with subsequent successful closure of the ileostomy, is the type which would have responded satisfactorily to proper medical management. However, ileostomy at times is definitely life saving and at other times is the only means by which we can make ulcerative colitis compatible with life.