Spiritual Entity Research Articles

Vox populi (Dei), vox Dei: Pope Francis’ Theology of the People of God, the Priesthood of All Believers and Democracy

The Holy See is an absolute monarchy, both as a political and as a spiritual entity. The Second Vatican Council indicated, retrieving biblical terms and metaphors, a new way of giving value to the whole people of God, the laity (laos theou), constituted by baptism. Rather than a societas perfecta in a pyramidal system, the intention was to declericalise and in this sense democratise the church and its decision-making, not least seeking to secure its witness in an ever more secular world. Even if a sacramental and ontological difference is maintained, this indicates clergy are no longer a first class of believers against which the laity would be a second class; rather, they are rooted and stand with and within the whole people of God with their specific vocation and ordination. The notion of the royal and universal priesthood of believers, taken from 1 Peter 2:9 and emphasised by Luther and other reformers as they distributed power between ordained and not ordained leaders, was visible in the Second Vatican Council and finds new enactment in the synodality process which culminated in the Ordinary Synod in Rome, in October 2024. Based on his own theology of the people of God, developed during the dictatorship and economic oppression in Argentina, with strong cultural and religious connotations, Pope Francis seeks to further major involvement of the laity and especially of women in the church’s administration and transformation processes. Not surprisingly, this process has been receiving criticism both from those who find it is not going far enough and from those who believe the process has already gone far too far. Based on bibliographical and documental research, the intention of this article is to describe and analyse the notion of the people of God as proposed by Pope Francis and its forms of concretisation including its deficiencies, as well as, in dialogue with ongoing debates on populism, highlight the precariousness of any “people” as a concept and as a reality. A dynamic notion of “people” and a theological accountability of the people and the clergy towards each other, towards God and towards the world can do justice to both the ambiguities and the irreplaceability of the people as citizens of the church as well as the world.

Modern Human Essence in the Quran: Comparative Views of Muhammad Iqbal and Plato

This study explores the essence and dimensions of modern humanity from the perspective of the Quran, focusing on the views of Muhammad Iqbal and Plato. In modern society, there is a prevailing notion that religion and science are irreconcilable entities, complicating the understanding of their relationship. This study aims to analyze the views of Iqbal and Plato on the essence and dimensions of modern humanity. The research method employed is a literature review, utilizing primary data from Iqbal's “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam” and Plato's “The Republic.” Secondary data include books, journals, essays, and other relevant sources. The findings indicate that Iqbal perceives the essence of humanity in its spiritual entity, complemented by intelligence, belief, and morality, while Plato identifies three essential elements of humanity: spirit, reason (intellect), and desire (appetite).

The interplay of social capital, faith, and offender resettlement

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the intricate relationship between social capital, faith and prison-leaver resettlement, emphasising how penal voluntary sector organisations (PVSOs) aid prison-leavers in their resettlement and desistance journeys, following incarceration.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a combination of narrative and thematic analysis, data was collected from 20 prison-leavers in England through semi-structured interviews. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit participants from various community-based resettlement settings.FindingsThematic analysis revealed the emergence of faith in various iterations in facilitating desistance, Transforming Rehabilitation failure, identity transformation of the prison-leaver, the role of social capital in effective resettlement and the importance of PVSOs. In particular, the findings demonstrate the vital role of a “Faith Anchor”, defined in this paper as a trust-based relationship with an individual or spiritual entity, in facilitating desistance. This paper argues the need to recognise and fully integrate social capital building, faith and specialised support from PVSOs, as essential components of successful offender resettlement and desistance journeys.Research limitations/implicationsThe study considers the connection between faith, social capital and offender resettlement. Although demonstrating the role of faith in positive change and community engagement, there are limitations. Primarily, by exclusively recruiting participants through PVSOs, it might overlook varied resettlement experiences. Additionally, measuring desistance is complex and is limited by some academic views that it centres around abstinence. Although small-scale saturation was reached; generalisation should be approached with caution. Notably, post-Transforming Rehabilitation, the human cost of resettlement gaps became evident. Future research could benefit from a longitudinal lens, tracing desistance beyond initial PVSO interactions and offering richer, longitudinal insights.Practical implicationsSignificance of “faith anchors”: A “faith anchor” aids the desistance process. Integrating faith in resettlement offers emotional support for prison leavers. Value of social capital: It is pivotal for offender resettlement. Positive social networks are key for successful reintegration. Role of PVSOs: They provide vital resettlement support. Enhanced collaboration can optimise assistance for prison leavers. Addressing current system shortcomings: Rectifying the effects of Transforming Rehabilitation ensures holistic support, catering to prison leavers’ needs. Concept of “faith exchange”: Merging faith and support offers tailored resettlement approaches, fostering effective reintegration.Social implicationsThe study underscores the social implications of effective offender resettlement strategies. The integration of “faith anchors” and social capital aids in the personal rehabilitation of prison leavers and also supports community cohesion. By acknowledging faith as indictive to building trust-based relationships, communities can reduce the stigma associated with former offenders, promoting inclusivity and understanding. Additionally, the essential role of PVSOs highlights the value of community-driven initiatives in supporting reintegration. A combined approach that combines faith, social capital and community support can reshape societal perspectives on desistance, encouraging a more inclusive and empathetic approach to offender reintegration.Originality/valueThe insights gained contribute to the evolving discourse on prison-leaver resettlement and desistance and uniquely highlight the potential of a combined approach between social capital, faith and voluntary sector support, in achieving desistance goals. The term “faith exchange” emerges from this study as an original conceptual contribution, accentuating the relationship between faith and support in resettlement and desistance.

韓·中·日 고전문학 속에 보이는 여성과 눈(雪)

This paper is about snow used as a main theme underpinning narratives about women from ancient East Asian literature. In the Eastern world, snow was engraved on people’s minds as a symbol of serene beauty embracing all things in the universe. It enriched the world of literature and arts as it represented beauty, evoked emotions, served as a symbol, and portrayed transcendence. Its color and figure were thoughtful gifts of nature for expressing women’s beauty. It also stimulated their emotions, and connected lovers. While snow represented the pureness of their inner beauty, its cold nature also symbolized the adversity and the bleak situations they experienced. Snow falling from the sky was believed to be connected with heaven, so it was viewed as a spiritual entity providing a channel of communication between the earth and heaven and as a judge presiding over heavenly trials. Constructing narratives about women from Eastern classics, snow helped women grow and change. It was a lifelong companion for women: it provided solace and comfort to those suffering from patriarchal ideals. Though it started as an image of beauty, it developed as a tool for eliciting emotions and a symbol and became a pathfinder to transcendence.

SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF THE DIDACTICS SUBJECT AS THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING AND EDUCATION

The proposed article is devoted to the problem of a scientific approach to the definition of the subject of didactics as an independent science of learning and education. The authors conducted a critical analysis from the standpoint of the natural science approach to learning, determined the methodological basis of didactics as a science that is dual in nature, i.e. epistemology and sociology. In this article, based on a materialistic understanding of the essence of learning, the substantiation of the materiality of learning as a process that can be investigated using scientific methods is given. If we assume that learning is an immaterial process, then we cannot investigate it using scientific methods. Therefore, we proceed from the fact that learning is a material process that obeys the laws of nature. We also proceed from the fact that there is no special spiritual entity that would be behind the learning. All the so-called spiritual or cognitive processes are material phenomena that obey the laws of nature. It is this approach that makes it possible to bring didactics into the category of an independent science.

Pursuit of Spiritual Happiness: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali on The Theory of Human Nature

This article explores the philosophical and spiritual perspectives of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, focusing on his views on the nature of humanity, the spiritual and material aspects of existence, and the pursuit of happiness. Al-Ghazali's philosophy is deeply rooted in Islamic thought and draws upon the Quranic and Prophetic teachings. Al-Ghazali posits that humans are composed of both a physical, ephemeral dimension (the material aspect) and an intellectual-transcendental dimension (the spiritual aspect). The article delves into al-Ghazali's classification of existence into two realms: the realm of decrees ('ālam al-amr) and the realm of creation ('ālam al-khalq). Human beings, according to al-Ghazali, embody both of these realms, with their physicality falling under the realm of creation and their spirituality under the realm of decree. Al-Ghazali introduces various terms to describe the spiritual entity within humans, such as al-‘aql (intellect), al-nafs (soul), al-qalb (heart), and al-rūh (spirit). He argues that while the body is material and earthly, the spirit is divine in origin and immortal. The soul, as God's creation, reflects this governance by ruling over the body without being located in any specific physical part. It emphasizes that the spirit belongs to the realm of Divine decrees, making it distinct from material entities. Al-Ghazali identifies different qualities within the human spirit, ranging from animalistic to angelic. He argues that the angelic quality, associated with the worship of God and the pursuit of Divine Beauty, represents the true essence of humanity. To attain happiness, individuals must purify themselves from worldly desires and base instincts. The article underscores the importance of knowledge in al-Ghazali's philosophy, with knowledge being derived from God and serving as the criterion that separates humans from other creations. Knowledge enables individuals to understand their purpose, responsibilities, and the path to happiness. The article explores al-Ghazali's perspective on happiness, highlighting his belief that it is primarily a spiritual and intellectual state. It emphasizes the significance of attaining knowledge of God for true happiness, as well as the importance of spiritual discipline and self-purification.

Augustine on Israel and Jerusalem

This essay is written in view of the heartbreaking crisis in the Middle East, especially the terrible Gaza war. What did the influential (and for many still authoritative) church father Augustine think about Israel and Jerusalem? From his entire oeuvre, the texts in which he discusses Israel and Jerusalem have been examined. The conclusion is that he considers their material significance to be of only temporary value: he emphasises their “spiritual” and “eternal” significance. In close connection with his view of salvation history, Augustine never speaks of a lasting land promise for Israel in Palestine: the true Israel is a spiritual entity, as is the true spiritual Jerusalem. Based on his Christian views, Augustine would reject any Zionist zeal for present-day Israel and Jerusalem; and, a fortiori, any current war practice.

The Coronavirus Came with the (One of the) World

April 2019. In an indigenous community in the Nepalese Himalayas, a ritual is performed for Sansari, “the One of the World,” to ward off coronavirus. Why respond to an epidemic with a ritual? On what basis do we associate a virus with a spiritual entity? How do we articulate anchoring in tradition and innovation? What does all this tell us about the relationship of this population to the world? In addition to a film on this ritual, this article proposes avenues of analysis and reflection on procedures of interpretation, of integration of the new and the foreign into a local system of knowledge and defense.

Under the Shade of Thipaak: The Ethnoecology of Cycads in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean by Michael D. Carrasco et al.

Reviewed by: Under the Shade of Thipaak: The Ethnoecology of Cycads in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean by Michael D. Carrasco et al. Robert Voeks Michael D. Carrasco, Angélica Cibrián-Jaramillo, Mark A. Bonta, and Joshua D. Englehardt Under the Shade of Thipaak: The Ethnoecology of Cycads in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. Gainesville, Florida, USA: University Press of Florida, 2022. XV + 358 pp. Tables, notes, references, index. $95 hardcover (ISBN 978-0-8130-6936-4). $50 hardcover (IBSN 978-0-8165-4279-6); $50 eBook (ISBN 978-0-8165-4525-4). Each spring, i tour the california State University-Fullerton Arboretum with my biogeography students. Among the many sectors of the arboretum (most meant to resemble California biomes) is a sizeable section given over to cycads—odd because the group is not native to California. I would share my limited knowledge of the plants: that they are ancient conifers, that they are dioecious (separate male and female individuals), that they have highly toxic seeds that have been associated with neurological disease among Pacific Islanders, and finally, in spite of their frond-like leaves, that they are not palms. A few students would recognize them as fairly common front-yard ornamentals, known unfortunately as sago palm, further cementing their taxonomic confusion. Under the Shade of the Thipaak, a fascinating collection of essays on this misunderstood order of plants by Michael Carrasco and colleagues, explores the agronomic, historical, and cultural significance of this underappreciated and understudied group. Having survived in the tropics and subtropics since well before the Great Dying some 250 million years ago, cycads are today one of the most useful undomesticated plants in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean, and yet are also "one of the world's most threatened land plants" (p. 27). The term Thipaak in the title refers to a child fertility deity among Mexico's Teenek whose name means "heart of maize"; but this spiritual entity also takes the form of certain cycads, which are understood to be the Maize Lord (p. 176). It is this convergence of maize, cycads, and people that is the genesis of this volume. In eight chapters, written by anthropologists, biologists, chemists, and geographers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States, much of the misunderstanding regarding the role of cycads in the ethnoecology of the region is put to rest, while at the same time fertile avenues for future inquiry are opened up. The Introduction provides a useful overview of the significance of cycads around the world. After a brief review of the ecology and biogeography of the group, the authors explore the surprising ethnobotanical significance of cycads to cultures throughout the tropical realm—past and present. In India, the pollen cones (microstrobili) are consumed by young men as an aphrodisiac, and in parts of Japan cycads are prepared into a miso. In Vanuatu, cycads retain tremendous symbolic value, and are "revered as sacred ancestors" (p. 13). In South Africa, the Rain Queens (hereditary rainmakers of Limpopo Province) operate in lush gardens festooned by one of the world's largest cycads (Mudjadji's cycad, Encephalartos transvenosus). Wherever they occur, cycads have been consumed, used as medicine, made into crafts, and in [End Page 226] many cases attained deep symbolic value. Geographers will be drawn to several chapters, including chapter 3, in which Jaime Pagán-Jiménez explores the paleohistory of cycads in the Caribbean. The author notes that the earliest written description of cycad consumption was made by the Spanish priest Bartolomé de las Casas in the early 1500s. He recorded that "bread" was made by grating the underground stems of guáyiga (Zamia pumila), leaving it out several days to become "swollen with maggots," and then cooked as cakes (p. 98). Using starch grain evidence from sites throughout the Caribbean, the author shows that this (or similar species) of cycads have been exploited for food for at least 7,800 years. Interestingly, because this evidence for early Caribbean use of cycads is outside of the plant's current natural range, it seems likely that the plants were driven to extinction in the region, or perhaps they were acquired in exchanges with people from regions where it grows...

Gratitude among advanced cancer patients and their caregivers: The role of early palliative care.

A cancer diagnosis represents a unique trauma, given its life-threatening, multidimensional, and uncertain nature. Gratitude is a construct representing the emotional state that arises when individuals recognize that a benefit has been received as a result of someone else's action or a spiritual entity's intervention. Based on the positive psychological wellbeing, gratitude has been associated with improved health outcomes even in the disease setting. Thus, the models of care that foster gratitude should be adopted in the clinical context. This study aims to explore whether and how gratitude may originate in patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers undergoing early palliative care (EPC). We analyzed 251 reports from 133 patients and 118 caregivers describing their clinical experience in two EPC units. The sources of gratitude were identified and ranked based on their frequencies. Words expressing gratitude and words referring to communication and spirituality were collected by means of the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software and correlated. In total, 123 (92.5%) of 133 patients' and 97 (82.2%) of 118 caregivers' reports, respectively, included explicit or implicit expressions of gratitude. Gratitude was associated specifically with successful physical symptom management, emotional support, improved attitude toward death, better information, humanity, and the familiar environment. The use of words of gratitude in patients' reports was positively correlated with the use of words referring to communication (r = .215, p = .026) and spirituality (r = .612, p <.001). Our results suggest that interventions within the EPC model based on doctor-patient-caregiver communication may allow patients and caregivers to experience a feeling of gratitude, and this may represent a resource to be exploited to improve their physical and psychosocial wellbeing.

대순진리회의 미륵사상 현황과 그 과제

A majority of religious orders in Jeungsanism believe in Jeungsan as a spiritual entity or incarnation of Maitreya. However, Daesoon Jinrihoe insists that the destiny of Maitreya lasts for fifty-thousand years and the ‘gold (金)’ associated with the Maitreya icon (Geumsan-sa Temple) symbolizes the ‘Later World.’ A different Maitreya icon was produced for Daesoon Jinrihoe’s Toseong Training Temple Complex. That icon of Maitreya looks similar to the one at Gwanchok-sa Temple. That is because the icon in Daesoon Jinrihoe has been formed in order to emphasize Maitreya as a symbol different from the one in Geumsan-sa Temple. If the Maitreya icon of Geumsan-sa Temple is a core that symbolizes two figures, Jeungsan and his successor, Jeongsan, who inherited his religious orthodoxy, then the Maitreya icon at Toseong Training Temple Complex is a symbol that suggests faith and religious practice from a more conventional perspective. The Maitreya icon in Geumsan-sa Temple deals with issues of religious orthodoxy whereas the icon at Toseong is related to the prophecies on the redemption of people and the advent of Dao-empowered sages. According to Daesoon Thought, Maitreya is not just the future Buddha. He has already descended on the earth in modern times. Due to Jeungsan’s descending on the earth, the incarnation of Maitreya has been accomplished as far as the Daesoon faith is concerned. Henceforth, the true practice of Maitreya reverence in the context of Daesoon Jinrihoe should be focused around a group of devotees who specifically practice Jeungsan’s Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth. An attempt to do so will enable the formation of the ideal world aimed upon by Maitreya.

Conversion Among the Dragomans and the Language Boys of the Venetian Republic in Istanbul (1596-1709)

Conversion was an event that had social, political and economic dimensions besides being a religious fact for both Muslim Ottoman Empire and Christian Venetian Republic. From a social point of view, the diversion from the existing traditions of society and the peculiar rules that shaped the social morality was an unacceptable situation for the societies of both states. However, the mobility and intense interactions between societies made the fact of conversion ordinary. From a political point of view, the two states that experienced an intense rivalry in putting the Mediterranean coasts under the influence considered the transfer of their own subjects to the side of the rival state as an unfavourable and risky situation for their spheres of influence. From an economic point of view, it can be seen that certain personal interests, the struggle of the Venetian subjects for releasing from their debts, the attraction of the Ottoman patronage, a plan of career which was founded on the basis of the bonds with the Ottoman ruling élite and society are effective over the conversion of the dragomans of the Venetian Republic. The conversion realized in the framework of religious ideas, principles, and rules on both the Ottoman and Venetian sides. The Ottomans saw the invitation of a non-Muslim person to Islam as a very propitious event from the aspect of religion. The convert person, the one who found the true path with their expression, was assumed to have returned not to a new religion but to the original one which was existent in his or her natality. The acception of the oneness of Almighty and the prophecy of the Prophet Mohammad and the reciting of the kalima shahadah were adequate for the conversion.and no ceremony was held. As for Catholicisim which included the Venetian Republic, being Catholic was possible through the divinal benevolence and mercy. In Catholicism, the reasons of conversion were expressed as a fear of death, an inner conflict, and a struggle with the person’s own will. According to Catholicism, the divinal benevolence of God and the spiritual entity of the Prophet Christ made human being come back to Christianity. The person who would convert to Catholicisim should have behaved under the guidance of his/her intellect. He/she should have carried the wish of faith inside him/her. He/she should have declared that he/she believed that the Catholic Church evangelised the word of God. When these three conditions were fulfilled, the ceremony of baptism woul be held. By swearing on the Bible he/she stated that he/she believed in Catholicism and would abide by the orders. In this article, all these social, political and economic reasons and their outcomes in the presence of the states will be explained through the events that happened and the dragomans who were mentioned. This will help us to have at least partial information about the spiritual and te material worlds of the dragomans. The sect-based conversions will be evaluated rather with their effects over the Ottoman and the Venetian rulers and societies and with the way that these conversions directed the relations between them. During this evaluation, the time period between 1596 and 1709 which are the dates of the earliest and the latest example cases, are taken as a basis.

Hidden Gem for Tourist in Central Part of Bali : Kehen Temple in Bangli

Tourist visits drastically fell for several months in Kehen Temple, as The Bangli Regency Tourism and Culture Office reported. From January-May 2021, the number of tourist visits to tourist objects and attractions in Bangli Regency reached 57,417, dominated by foreigners. However, there was nil visitor to the temple. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism objects and attractions in Bangli Regency were packed with tourists from July to August. The most exceptional temple in Bangli, Kehen Temple, is a museum in disguise that display ancient remnants of old Balinese culture. The researcher presumed the shrine was established between the late IX century and early X century, according to the Kehen temple's copper inscriptions. During the reign of King Anak Wungsu, the place was the location for the inauguration ceremony for the royal officer. The event was held in the presence of the Hyang Kehen, a spiritual entity believed to be the Lord of Fire. In the 14th century, a priest from Java, Danghyang Nirartha, redesigned the site without losing its authenticity. Nirartha introduced the latest architectural landscape that is generally used by most of the temples in Bali. Kehen Temple has been developed as a tourist attraction with fully supported amenities, facilities, and access. In Kehen Temple, the visitor may directly witness the architectural design of the temple's entrance, the standout point that makes the temple exceptional. Then, various relics from the megalithic period and a sacred banyan tree in the temple courtyard.

The mind possessed: well-being, personality, and cognitive characteristics of individuals regularly experiencing religious possession.

Objective:To further our understanding of religious possession experiences by focusing on personality, cognitive, and quality of life outcomes.Methods:Data collection was undertaken at Umbanda sessions in Brazilian cities. Participants were mediums who regularly experienced possession (n=334) or those who attended the same rituals but had never been possessed (n=54).Results:We found that mediums were not significantly different across variables from the control group, except for anxiety, which was lower among mediums. Correlational and regression analysis showed that the level of meaningfulness attributed to possession and fusion with the spiritual entity were strongly positively correlated with most quality-of-life dimensions, and negatively with anxiety; in addition, level of meaningfulness predicted lower anxiety, and psychological quality of life was predicted by level of fusion and meaningfulness. Contrary to expectations, there were no detrimental effects of a lower level of bodily control over the possession experience.Conclusion:Together, these results suggest that individuals regularly experiencing possession within a religious context are psychologically similar to those who attend the same rituals without experiencing possession, and that the way they appraise their experiences as meaningful, as well as the level of spiritual fusion, are predictors of well-being.

METAPHYSICS OF LANGUAGE AS A TEACHING ABOUT DEEP KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WORLD AND MAN

In linguistics, there are traditions coming from W. von Humboldt, to consider language not just as a system of signs or an instrument of cognition, but also as a spiritual entity. The article shows the importance of metaphysical teaching about language for revealing indepth knowledge about the world and man. The purpose of the article is to explore the deep and irrational aspects of the language that are almost inaccessible for rational comprehension, but they play a huge role in the formation of the spirituality of both an individual and the spiritual code of a nation. As a result, we were able to identify the fundamental deep connection of language with religion and metaphysics.

Spirituality and Mindfulness Practices of Early Childhood and Elementary Preservice Teachers: A Snapshot

This paper describes the results of a research survey that interpreted the patterns of mindfulness and spirituality within a convenience sample of preservice teachers at a Midwest teacher education institution. Mindfulness and spiritualty represent topics of developing interest in teacher education that serve to increase candidate focus and revision of practice. Respondents completed a survey as part of a semester’s project that interpreted the results of a semester-long mindfulness intervention on student mindfulness and spiritual attitudes and practices. The findings determined that participants had senses of mindfulness and self the emphasized themselves, and their external worlds, let weak connection with a higher spiritual entity. Significant differences were observed between early childhood and elementary majors.

How does the brain function when a person is in love?

Abstract: This article identifies the nature of love and some of its conscientious and political implications. It is a question to the thinker, 'What is love?'Many problems arise. Love is an ideational noun. That is, for some people, it is a word that is not connected to reality or sensibly. For others, it shows our existence, ourselves and the world, is irreversibly affected after we "refer to love". Some are trying to analyse it, others prefer to leave it as an inefficient area But it is undeniable that love plays a huge and inevitable role in our different cultures. We see it discussed with humour and seriousness in songs, films and novels. It is a constant theme of maturity in life and a vibrant theme for young people. Philosophically, the nature of love has been at the heart of philosophy since ancient Greece, from the materialistic concept of love as a purely physical phenomenon (the animal or genetic motif that governs our behaviour) to theory. That moment Love as an intense spiritual entity, to the highest degree, allows us to come into contact with divinity. Historically, in the Western tradition, Plato's Feast presents the original text to provide us with a very influential and compelling idea that love is characterized by several levels. To love. This is also overcome by what can be explained by the theological view of love the research sends sexual attraction and reciprocity. Since then, there have been various alternative theories, including Plato’s critics and advocates of love, Plato's disciple Aristotle, and his more mundane theory of true love. It reflects what he described as "two bodies and one soul". The philosophical treatment of love covers a variety of disciplines, including epistemology, metaphysics, religion, humanity, politics and ethics. Often, for example, statements or discussions about love, its nature and, its role in human life refer to one or all of the central theories of philosophy and are compared or considered in the context of philosophical sex. And not just sex, but the body as well. It is intentional. The mission of the philosophy of love is to present relevant issues in a targeted way, based on relevant theories such as human nature, desire and morality. The research concludes that biological, mind and ideology stand significant for the analysis of love. Nonetheless, additional study is preferred for differentiating that what actually is and how this knowledge can be applied in everyday life. With the divorce rate on the rise and the idea of a changing marriage during present time community, significance for researching a theory in affection can’t be ignored. In this study, as a community, we can understand its importance for human love and survival. Keywords: Physical, Mental, affection, intercourse, divorce, serotonin, oxytocin, Oedipus complex, Electra complex, ideology, soul mate, neurotransmitter, dopamine, odour, psychosexual

Toward a More Expansive Discourse in a Changing World: An Analysis of Political Leaders’ Speeches on Biodiversity

Speeches delivered in the Conference of the Parties (COPs) to the Convention on Biological Diversity represent leading discourses about biodiversity conservation. The discourse shared by high-level politicians is especially influential in the financing and decision-making process of global biodiversity governance. However, the speeches given in the COPs have not been the subject of systematic analyses until now. This study analyzes the host countries’ speeches given at the six most recent COPs and investigates which discourses have been expressed in the speeches. The regulatory discourse that views nature as a resource was found to be the dominant discourse, while other discourses that view nature as a scientific object or a spiritual entity were represented only marginally. As the need for a transformational policy for biodiversity conservation is growing amid a global pandemic, it is essential to deepen our understanding of the dynamics and complexity of nature and reflect it in the policy process. This study suggests that more balanced discourse on biodiversity may earn broader audiences’ consensus on biodiversity conservation.

Stoicism, a Philosophical Basis for Ecology?

Through its ideal of “living in harmony with nature”, the Portico appears to be a philosophy that invites men to take the relationship with the world seriously. In order to achieve wisdom, the essential mark of which is sobriety, it has established principles, some of which seems to have an ecological value. While considering nature as an organic and spiritual entity which parts together form a whole, stoicism posits that it constitutes the destiny whose laws are inescapable and instructs men never to rebel against the already established order but always to seek the best way to collaborate with it so as not to suffer the evils of their action. With the principle of “universal sympathy”, he adds that everything is interwined and interdependent so that one cannot touch other elements of the cosmos without acting on the whole. Through the principle of oikei?sis, i.e. the appropriation of oneself, a familiarity with what is close, extending from the human species to other natural beings, to the whole earth, develops. Apart from all these doctrinal considerations, we discover paradoxically that Seneca’s work conceals several clues relating to the environmental problems. In this sense, it would be difficult to deny that the philosophy of the Portico has nothing to do with the foundation of ecology. Rather, its interest would lie, in terms of effectiveness, in the education of virtue, consisting of a habitus animi, a disposition of the soul in a certain way, which naturally implies ecological behaviour.

A Comparative Study of Walt Whitman and Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal on “SELF”

In both religion &amp; philosophy, the concept of self is of tremendous significance. It has always been an idea of contemplation for mankind as man has always discovered himself uncertain about the true value of his self. Self is a spiritual entity that contains the whole cosmos in itself &amp; has dominion over the physical part of the body. Its power is fathomless &amp; moves freely around the whole universe. Allama Iqbal &amp; Walt Whitman are associated with different religious &amp; cultural backgrounds, but despite this divergence, spiritual, ideological &amp; poetical convergence can be seen in their works. The most striking similarity that can be spotted in their poetry, is their treatment of self. Both use self as a symbol of spirituality &amp; mysticism. Iqbal’s Secret of Self &amp; Whitman’s Song of Myself presents a distinct composition of religious, cultural, political &amp; spiritual changes, their nations were going through. This research paper seeks to examine the poetry of Iqbal &amp; Whitman to highlight the convergence as well as divergence in their beliefs on self.