Words Of Men Research Articles

Time and Desire in the Woman's Film

Max Ophuls' 1948 film, Letter from an Unknown Woman, which is set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, begins late at night with the hero of the story, Stefan, returning by coach to his home and promising to fight a duel at dawn. That his attitude toward the situation is utterly frivolous is obvious from his remark as he steps out of the coach: Gentlemen, I don't so much mind being killed, but you know how I hate to get up in the morning. Reaching his home, he tells his mute servant, John, that they should prepare for immediate departure since he does not intend to fight the duel. At stake here is a man's word. A man's word is his honor, and, as Adrienne Rich observes, this notion of honor usually has something to do with killing.' The terms of the drama seem already to have been posed with utter clarity. Stefan lives a life of ease, indulgence, and irresponsibility, unwilling to accept the values of duty and sacrifice espoused by his patriarchal society. We might suspect, then, that the film's movement will involve Stefan's coming to repudiate the former childishness of his ways and to acknowledge the sway of patriarchal law. And indeed the final sequence of the film shows Stefan bravely setting off to keep his word and get himself killed. Thus, though the body of the film concerns the story of Lisa, the woman referred to in the title, it would appear that her story is really a story of and for the man, and, looked at this way, the film seems to provide exceptionally strong support for those critics who contend that there is no such thing as a woman's film, that Hollywood films are always dramas of and for the male. When Stefan enters the house, he is given a letter which begins, By the time you read this, I may be dead. It is the letter from the unknown woman who has indeed lived her life in and for Stefan, has even had a child by him, and yet has remained silent about her life-long devotion until her words, written in death's shadow, can no longer possibly bring her any benefit. At stake, then, is not only a man's word, but a woman's silence. At one point in the film, Lisa explains her radical refusal to speak about her own and their

The Poor Man's Word Processor

The Poor Man's Word Processor

Re-Review: Karl Barth's: The Word of God and the Word of Man

Re-Review: Karl Barth's: <i>The Word of God and the Word of Man</i>

Responsible Preaching

Bored congregations, discouraged ministers, and many attempts to discover new forms of communicating the gospel signal a crisis of preaching. This crisis is not explained by the fact that preaching is difficult and often frustrating. We could live with that. Difficulties and frustrations can be utilised, if the preacher is convinced that his task is necessary and worth while. As long as we can see meaning in preaching; as long as we can hope that the words of men may become the word of God, no difficulties would deter the preacher from pursuing the privilege of preaching. The crisis is therefore a theological one. We have become uncertain as to who God is. We are not sure—deep down—whether our preaching corresponds to his will. This then creates our modern situation where responsible and effective preaching is declining and is also discouraged in our churches.

Adolf Schlatter's Interpretation of Scripture

Four years ago Paul Ricoeur gave a lecture here in Tübingen on ‘Philosophische und theologische Hermeneutik’,and advised us theologians in particular to give thought to our current practice and teaching in regard to the understanding of the biblical text. A real understanding of texts means, according to Ricoeur ‘to understand oneself in the light of the text. It does not mean imposing upon the text one's own limited capacity for comprehension, but exposing oneself to the text…It is not the (understanding) subject who forms…understanding, but … the self is formed by the “subject matter” of the text’ If we follow Ricoeur and attempt to practise such a form of understanding of the biblical text, then in the present-day situation of theology and church we fall all too quickly into a dilemma. The splendid tradition of modern biblical criticism, founded in Tübingen above all by F. C. Baur, seems to conflict with Ricoeur's proposal. How are we, trained and dedicated as we are to the historical and critical investigation and analysis of the biblical texts, to return again to that readiness and capacity for exposing ourselves to the texts and understanding ourselves anew in the light of them, i.e. before the tribunal of the Bible? Would that not mean precisely to abandon the scientific ethos to which we have so long considered ourselves bound? It is a searching question and, as we well know, a source of distress to many. This distress is intensified when today we hear not a few Christians pronounce a decisive ‘No!’ to all scientific biblical criticism. For them ‘understanding oneself in the light of the text’ of the Bible is only possible when all the historical insights we possess in regard to the Bible have first been rejected. A study document of the Lutheran Missouri Synod affirms: ‘We reject the doctrine, which under the name of science has gained wide popularity in the church of our day, that Holy Scripture is not in all its parts the Word of God, but in part the word of man and hence does, or at least might, contain error. We reject this erroneous doctrine as horrible and blasphemous, since it flatly contradicts Christ and His holy apostles, sets up men as judges over the Word of God, and thus overthrows the foundation of the Christian church and its faith.’

Troens grund

The Basis of Faithby Henning SørensenIn the period 1811-23 Grundtvig is forced into a continuous process of differentiation in the Bible in an attempt to find the Word of God that is the basis of faith. But in the course of the Church year 1822-23 this process is interrupted by Grundtvig’s discovery of the power of the audible word, a discovery that the audible word is better suited to being the word by which faith is born, fed, strengthened, and therefore, grows. The word of man is not just a sound, but can be “tuned” to have a spiritual content. In other words, faith is born and strengthened by the word being heard, and faith in this audible word implies that it seeks to be professed. The unparalleled discovery in 1825 is therefore already being prepared for in 1823, even though right up to the 9th Sunday in Trinity 1825 Grundtvig may be retaining the written word as the basis of faith, in an attempt to defend himself against unbelievers.In 1832 Grundtvig reaches a new understanding of mankind that goes against his Lutheran origins. Recreation must now start from what is created by the Creation and what has fallen of Man at the Fall. This Man is capable of believing and verbalising this faith. The life of Jesus was a divine life lived under the laws of human nature. This life can be linked to Man’s by Man being baptized with Jesus’ baptism and thereby sharing in the blessing that was heard at His baptism. With regard to this starting-point, that is, baptism, Jesus is born and grows as a child together with Mankind to consummation.Since Man was created by a Creative Word, he should remain true to the purpose of creation through faith. But Man doubted, the Fall occurred, and faith became blind. It shrank until it was no more than a vague memory of the original life in God’s image. Through re-creation the heart hears a Word that corresponds to the original Word of Creation, and the faith created at the Creation is re-created into a Christian faith through the Word of faith that illuminates the truth. This does not mean, however, that the faith given to all people at the Creation has no further purpose. For that is precisely the faith which is the source of the Christian faith, and this faith will still be a prerequisite if men are to believe one another and human life is to be lived at all.The blind and the seeing faith, like the fallen and the raised man, are therefore of the same nature. But the seeing faith knows where truth is to be found and will be able to believe this truth if it can be helped towards it.

Hans Küng on Propositions and their Problematic: A Critique

HANS KUNG ON PROPOSITIONS AND THEIR PROBLEMATIC: A CRITIQUE I N HIS BOOK on infallibility 1 Hans Kung has made of use an " auxiliary " philosophical argument to support his general conclusion that no set of propositions can a priori be said to be infallible. His argument takes the following form. Articles of faith are propositions. Formulas of faith, professions of faith, and definitions of faith, are propositions-simple or complex -and are not a priori free from the laws that govern propositions. Nor are propositions of faith ever directly God's word, but at best God's word attested and mediated by man's word: perceptible and transmissible by human propositions. But, as such, propositions of faith participate in the problematic of human propositions in general.2 Kung claims that his aim is " a very modest one." He will make use of certain "basic and scarcely disputable observations" about propositions in order to make clear "that propositions -of which the Church's faith has to make use-are a problematic affair. The obvious conclusion will be that a Church which summarizes or defines its faith in propositions and perhaps has to do this, cannot get away from the problematic inherent in propositions as such." 3 Kung's point seems to be that ' a consideration of certain "general laws" about propositions will substantiate the conclusion that all propositions have what he terms an inherent "capacity for error," and that therefore dogmatic propositions must also share inherent " capacity for error" which capacity, according to Kung, is incompatible with the claim that they are infallible. 1 Hans Kiing, Infallible? An Inquiry, trans. Edward Quinn (Garden City, 1971). 2 Ibid., p. 157. • Ibid., p. 158. 758 754 VINCENT M. COOKE In the first part of this article I will argue that there is no such problematic of propositions such as Kling alleges, and that his "basic and scarcely disputable observations" about propositions are either false, nonsensical, or have nothing to do with the conclusion he wants to establish. Propositions are really unproblematic. In the concluding section of this article I will propose an alternative way in which one could reformulate Kling's central proposals without employing highly questionable philosophical theses. Whether Kling's position, reformulated clearly, is acceptable or not is something for theologians , not a philosopher, to decide. Kling has written an important theological treatise. It would be a shame if philosophical imprecision were to distract from the central theological -arguments . Kling proposes five laws about propositions. First of all, he suggests that " propositions fall short of reality: this is fundamental . I can never totally capture reality either by a word or by a proposition, simple or complex. There always remains a difference between what I want to state and what I do state, between my intention and my spoken word." 4 Kling here has perhaps been misled by his highly picturesque ~ay of talking . A few remarks, of obvious Wittgensteinian inspiration, may make this clear. How can one know that his propositions " fall short " of reality? Can they sometimes "go beyond" reality? If reality cannot be " captured " by a word or a proposition, what can it be "captured" by? What precisely is meant by this "reality "? Is it appropriate to ask how big it is? It must surely be very big if propositions cannot capture it! One wants to say that language sometimes goes on a holiday. " But surely there is always a difference between what I want to say and what I do say, between my intention and my spoken word." Indeed sometimes this may be so. But as a general truth about propositions it is false. When I see the white snow outside and say "The snow is white," I have said • Ibid., p. 158. HANS KUNG ON PROPOSITIONS & THEIR PROBLEMATIC 755 exactly what I want to say, i.e., that the snow is white. "But didn't your intention go beyond that?" No, I did not have an intention at all. Kling gives an example: " What would be conveyed if the Church were to define the proposition (which is certainly fundamental),' God exists'? Everything-and yet so infinitely little and almo~t nothing at all by comparison to what might...

The hysterical personality: A “woman's disease”

It is widely recognized that the diagnosis of hysteria is infrequently applied to male patients and very commonly to female ones. A paper by Robins et al. 1 suggests that hysteria in men is extremely rare, if indeed it occurs at all, and there is general agreement that an initial diagnosis of hysteria in males is somewhat of a clinical anomaly. 2 It should be noted that grave hysterical symptoms (e.g., conversion reactions, dissociative phenomena) have been observed in male patients, but these individuals tend not to manifest the type of cognitive and personality organization that is characteristic of the hysterical individual. 3 It is especially in regard to the hysterical personality, character, or “style” that the male patient is a rarity, and it is in this sense that the word hysteria will be used in the present paper. In explaining the preponderance of female hysterics, psychoanalytic theorists have focused on differences in preoedipal and oedipal developmental tasks that the two sexes must master. 4 It is my opinion, however, that theories of libidinal development offer only a partial explanation of the sex difference in hysteria and that social and cultural factors play a major role. Although the importance of such extrapsychic factors has not been fully appreciated, neither have these factors been entirely ignored. Marmor, 5 for example, has noted that the traits characteristic of the hysterical personality are feminine ones and are thus more acceptable in women than in men. Chodoff and Lyons 3 have commented that the hysterical personality “is a picture of women in the words of men and … what the description sounds like amounts to a caricature of femininity!” But beyond noting that the concept of hysteria involves a description of traditionally feminine qualities, the theoretical and diagnostic significance of this observation has not been explored. The plan of the present paper is first to review the diagnostic indications and behavioral characteristics of this patient group in order to outline with some specificity the criteria that will lead to a diagnosis of hysterical personality. Next it will be demonstrated how a girl's immediate social environment puts enormous pressure on her to develop a style of cognition and personality that will lend itself to this diagnosis on the clinical test battery or diagnostic interview. In this regard, it will be noted how the ego-constricting effects of a feminine socialization process may too readily be confused with the effects of massive repression. Finally, certain conceptual tangles that have resulted from the overlap between the hysterical character and the feminine character will be outlined.

Some Psychological Aspects of Privacy

Man's words and actions are intelligible to others only if the experience reflected therein is known or inferable. If an individual's behavior evokes puzzlement from another, the first may seek to give an account of the experiencing revealed by his action. But man, being free, may conceal his experiencing if he wishes, thus leaving the meaning of his acts a mystery for others to conjecture about. He may choose the time and place for disclosures of his experience, as well as the company before whom such disclosures are made. He may also elect to remain in solitude, so none can see or hear him. In extreme cases, a man may become mute and immobile, enacting a charade of invisibility or death. But so long as he remains alive, it is reasonable to assume that, even though he be thus unmoving and uncommunicative, he is yet disclosing some experience of the world, albeit in an undecipherable code. It will be assumed throughout this article that man always experiences the world in some mode; that he is always involved in some form of communication with other people; that he is always involved in some project or other; and that he is the embodiment of freedom. Within this framework, which is adapted from the tradition of existential phenomenology,l the state of privacy is related to the act of concealment. Privacy is an outcome of a person's wish to withhold from others certain knowledge as to his past and present experience and action and his intentions for the future. The wish for privacy expresses a desire to be an enigma to others or, more generally, a desire to control others' perceptions and beliefs vis-a-vis the self-concealing person.2 A man may seek to elude others' direct experience of his action, and he may seek to distort or misrepresent his experiencing to others in order that their view of him will not coincide with his direct view and knowledge of himself. Why will a person allow himself to be seen or known? And why might he seek to conceal his being or to encourage others to form concepts and beliefs about his being that he knows are not veridical? What consequences follow from chronic selfconcealment, from authentic self-disclosure, from compulsory visibility? Under what conditions will a person reveal or conceal his being-for-himself, i.e., his experience, and before whom will his intended being-for-others coincide with his being-for-

REVIEWS

REVIEWS in this articles: Commonplace Book, 1919–1953 By George Edward Moore, o.m. Edited by Casimir Lewy. Meinong's Theory of Objects and Values (Second edition). By J. N. Findlay, F.B.A. La Doctrine de ľ Analogie deľĚtre ďaprès Saint Thomas ď Aquin. By Bernard Montagnes, o.p. An Introduction to Metaphysics. By Martin O. Vaske, S.J. An Elementary Christian Metaphysics. By Joseph Owens, c.ss.r. Henry More. The Rational Theology of a Cambridge Platonist. By Aharon Lichtenstein. Masterpieces of World Philosophy in Summary Form. Edited by Frank N. Magill. Associate Editor Ian P. McGreal. Twentieth‐Century Religious Thought. By John Macquarrie. Theories of Revelation. An Historical Study. By H. D. McDonald. The Bible‐Word of God in Words of Men. By Jean Levie. A Historical Introduction to the New Testament. By Robert M. Grant. Nelson's Bible Commentary, Based on the Revised Standard Version, Vol. 6, Matthew‐Acts, and Vol. 7, Romans‐Revelation. By Frederick C. Grant. Word and Faith. By Gerhard Ebeling. Saint Ambrose. Theological and Dogmatic Works. Translated by Roy J. Deferrari. Anglican Devotion. By C. J. Stranks. The Sacrament of Orders. With a preface by the Rt. Rev. Mgr Guyot, Bishop of Coutances. Parole de Dieu et Sacerdoce. With introduction by Mgr L. A. Elchinger. Psychology and Religion. By G. Stephens Spinks. The Layman in Christian History. Edited by Stephen Charles Neill and Hans‐Ruedi Weber. L'Église et les Laics. By Jean Guitton. Joseph: the Man Closest to Jesus. By Francis L. Filas, S.J. Die Welt der Engel bei Hildegard von Bingen. By Heinrich Schipperges. I Santi e Il Loro Culto By Paolo Molinari, S.J. A Calendar of Saints. Compiled by Vincent Cronin. Faith and History in the Old Testament. By R. A. F. MacKenzie, S.J.

The Bible, Word of God in Words of Men, by Jean LevieS.J.; Geoffrey Chapman, 30s.

The Bible, Word of God in Words of Men, by Jean LevieS.J.; Geoffrey Chapman, 30s.

Civic Education, Community Norms, and Political Indoctrination

non-legal norms mentioned by Macaulay may be interpreted as part of the of businessmen. Let me repeat the norms he cites: commitments are to be honored in almost all situations; ''one does not welsh on deal; ought to produce good product and stand behind it; a man's word or handshake . . . is the equivalent of the bindingness of These and other norms comprising the of business executives and some staff specialists may function as counter-norms, from the point of view of the legal system, as the recent price-fixing case in the electrical industry suggests. Eventually, some of these new and emerging non-legal norms may supersede the of contract. Historically, it is noteworthy that as mercantilists and early entrepreneurs came into conflict with one another they gradually developed body of in England called the law merchant. This body of private self-regulatory was eventually incorporated into the common of England and subsequently into the common of the United States. After giving rise to this elaborate system of law, the modernday successors to mercantilists and entrepreneurs-as Macaulay has discoveredoften find it convenient to disregard the labors of their predecessors in going about their daily transactions. Will some of the non-contractual norms that are evolving as part of the occupational morality of businessmen lay the groundwork for new body of for the regulation of business? We sociologists may be tempted to conclude that Macaulay's paper is merely gloss on Durkheim's well-known analysis of the non-contractual elements in contract. I think that it is more than that. This study adds to our understanding of the relationship between legal and non-legal norms in society and of the relationships among formal organizations.

Book Review: The Influence of Greek Ideas on Christianity, by Edwin Hatch (written 1888). Harper and Brothers, New York, 1957. 359 pp. $1.45; What Is Christianity? by Adolf Harnack (published 1900). Harper and Brothers, New York, 1957. 301 pp. $1.35; Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, by Adolf Deissmann (published 1912; second edition revised and enlarged 1927). Harper

Book Review: <i>The Influence of Greek Ideas on Christianity</i>, by <scp>Edwin Hatch</scp> (written 1888). Harper and Brothers, New York, 1957. 359 pp. $1.45; <i>What Is Christianity?</i> by <scp>Adolf Harnack</scp> (published 1900). Harper and Brothers, New York, 1957. 301 pp. $1.35; <i>Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History</i>, by <scp>Adolf Deissmann</scp> (published 1912; second edition revised and enlarged 1927). Harper

Book Reviews

Journal Article Book Reviews Get access The Word of God and the Word of Man. By KARL BARTH. New York: Harper &Brothers, 1956. viii + 327 pages. $1.65. HAROLD A. DURFEE HAROLD A. DURFEE The American University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Volume XXV, Issue 4, October 1957, Pages 382-a–382, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/XXV.4.382-a Published: 01 October 1957

The Construction of a New Type of Attitude Measure1

SummaryAttitude surveys are widely used throughout industry today, as modern management has become aware of the value of sampling employee opinion both in connection with changes of policy or procedure and with current conditions within the organization. It has been found that more harmony can be achieved within an organization and serious labor trouble sometimes can be averted if employee opinion is determined and potential problems rectified before they become serious.Most attitude surveys utilize words as the vehicles by which attitudes are expressed. The items may require that the employee decide which of a series of phrases best expresses his feelings about a designated topic or, alternatively, whether or not a given sentence is indicative of his attitude. It is felt that a certain amount of distortion is an invariable result of this process which necessitates the translation of one man's feelings into another man's words. Error creeps in, both in the interpretation of the meaning of the items by the respondent, and in the selection of the item which most accurately indicates the true feelings of the respondent on the topic in question. This is particularly difficult for persons of low verbal facility to achieve with any accuracy.The present paper is an account of the development of a qualitative or projective attitude scale. Two series of faces have been constructed which run the gamut of feeling from extremely positive to extremely negative. These faces have been quantified so that attitude scales in which they are used can be scored in the same manner as can any other form of attitude measuring device. They have, however, the advantage of eliminating the necessity for translating feelings into words. The respondent is required only to check the face which “looks like he feels” rather than verbalizing his feelings. It is felt that the resulting measure provides a more accurate measurement of attitudes than is otherwise possible.

Book Review: The Word of God and The Word of Man

Book Review: The Word of God and The Word of Man

Book Review: I. Missions, Philosophy and Apologetics: The Word of God and the Word of Man.

Book Review: I. Missions, Philosophy and Apologetics: The Word of God and the Word of Man.

On the Occasion of the Commemoration of the Bicentenary of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (November 15, 1708–May 11, 1778), at a Meeting of the Royal Historical Society, November 16, 1908

OUR special meeting to-day is the fruit of a suggestion made to me by one of our Fellows, Mr. Basil Williams, who has devoted much time to the study of Chatham's life. I am sorry that the duties of his profession prevent him from being with us; indeed, he is now in South Africa. Although it is not, I am sure rightly, the custom of our Society to commemorate anniversaries, the Council consider that yesterday, the bicentenary of the birth of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, is an altogether exceptional case, that it is an anniversary which should be observed with gratitude by all subjects of the British Crown, both because of the immediate and of the lasting benefits which that great man's work and words have conferred upon his countrymen. And if it is incumbent on all Englishmen to-day to praise his memory and to lay to heart the lessons he has left us, it is certainly specially incumbent on us who, as a Society, are bound to investigate his work and to extract from it the wisdom that it has to teach. From two of our Honorary Vice-Presidents I have received letters warmly commending the decision of the Council. Lord Rosebery, whose sympathy with Chatham's spirit is well known, has written to me more than