World Ethos Research Articles

From Social Visibility to Political Invisibility: The School in Nationalist Taiwan as Fulcrum for an Evolving World Ethos

From Social Visibility to Political Invisibility: The School in Nationalist Taiwan as Fulcrum for an Evolving World Ethos

От епос към етос с Хезиод: между митологията и моралистиката

The purpose of the article is to present the role and significance of Hesiod's poetry for the formation and development of the moral canon and the moral-philosophical thought of ancient Greece. For this purpose, the text traces and analyzes various biographical information, comments and evaluations about Hesiod's life and work. Special attention is given to the uses and meanings of the world ethos by Homer and Hesiod and their evolution under the influence of Hesiod's moral maxims (gnomes) in „Works and Days “. The main conclusion is that Hesiod's individualized, systematic and rational reading of archaic myths played a decisive role in the transition from myth to logos and the formation of the moral-philosophical views of ancient Greece about the happy life, the good person and the ideal state.

From Social Visibility to Political Invisibility: The School in Nationalist Taiwan as a Fulcrum for an Evolving World Ethos by Allen Chun (review)

From Social Visibility to Political Invisibility: The School in Nationalist Taiwan as a Fulcrum for an Evolving World Ethos by Allen Chun (review)

Becoming the Imperfect Friend: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Contemplative Pathways to Healing and Reconciliation in Higher Education

Throughout this reflective essay I explore Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Indigenous philosophy and contemplative education as ethical pathways to healing and reconciliation in higher education. I put forth the idea of becoming the imperfect friend in a world ethos of death by a thousand cuts as a response to the violence of colonialism perpetuated in academia. I reflect on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh values of eslhélha7kwhiws and stélmexw as contemplative dispositions that lend themselves to the process of becoming the imperfect friend. I conclude by describing a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh -led program hosted by Simon Fraser University (SFU) in 2022-2023, named Moving Together In The Ways of The People. The program is captured in a documentary film following a dedicated group SFU educators, graduate students and staff endeavouring to take meaningful action towards reconciliation by embarking on a sacred learning journey led by Sḵwx̱wú7mesh elders and knowledge carriers on traditional, ancestral, unceded Coast Salish territories.

Rationality Meets Ren: beyond Virtue Catalogues for a World Business Ethos

The Confucian tradition, which places the virtue of ren or fellow feeling at its heart as a ‘gateway’ to the more concrete virtues of common Western parlance, offers a potential antidote to the excesses of a Western business ethics which, even after its recent academic reembrace of the Aristotelian tradition, in practice still too often instrumentalises virtue in the service of a ‘rational’ or ‘reasonable’ constraining of the profit motive. The deeper, intrinsic ‘ethos’ promised by a Confucian approach also finds its echo in the West in the work of Hans Kung’s Weltethos (World Ethos) project, led today on the business ethics front by Klaus Leisinger and Claus Dierksmeier. This paper explores a dilemma at the heart of the World Ethos movement seen from the twin peaks of the World Ethics Institute at Peking University and the Weltethos Institut at the University of Tubingen: namely, whether a business ethics culture accustomed to thinking in terms of CSR-esque lists of corporate values, virtues or principles can best be reformed via documents like the UN Global Compact, the 2010 Global Economic Ethic Manifesto, or even the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or whether a more radical, revolutionary quest for an inner ‘ethos’, to be lived and experienced by self-cultivating individuals engaged in business all over the world regardless of background, ought somehow to be undertaken parallel to these endeavours. The authors outline possible steps towards such a transformation of the management community’s understanding of virtue, without, however, dismissing the contribution of traditional, dilemma-oriented Western thinking about applied ethics in general, and business ethics in particular.

Humanistic Management: a Universalist Perspective Based on a World Ethos

Humanistic Management: a Universalist Perspective Based on a World Ethos

Using the World Ethos Body of Thought as a Compass for Managers some Thoughts on the Practical Application of a Philosophical Concept

Today’s social, economic, ecological and political state-of-affairs, the lack of confidence in business and political leaders and the associated rise of populist parties pose new and structurally different challenges to mankind. They are likely to be deepened in the course of the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. While all societal actors are called upon to reflect on their contribution to necessary reforms, business has a particularly important role to play. Competing with integrity today means much more than compliance with law and regulation. The article discusses the necessity of top manager’s reflection on values and coherent practical action and uses the World Ethos body of thought as a compass. It also draws attention to the complexity of such a values management and stresses the importance of ethical leadership.

O pluralismo religioso no horizonte de um ecumenismo planetário em Claude Geffré

Segundo Claude Geffré, Pentecostes é a imagem bíblica neotestamentária que afirma a manifestação pluriforme do desígnio de Deus, em contraposição à imagem bíblica veterotestamentária de Babel, expressão da idolatria monolítica de uma humanidade que se coloca no lugar de Deus. O fenômeno da religião em sua expressão plural é uma questão intransponível para a razão teológica contemporânea. Partindo das obras Crer e interpretar e De Babel a Pentecostes de Geffré, e em diálogo com autores correlacionados, o presente texto pretende refletir sobre a necessidade de um diálogo entre as religiões no contexto de uma sociedade globalizada. A construção de um ecumenismo planetário e de um ethos mundial depende disso. É preciso superar toda forma de fundamentalismo escriturístico e de integrismo doutrinal que são atitudes perniciosas para a convivência humana sadia a nível planetário.

Діалог релігій як підґрунтя реалізації проекту «Світового етосу» Ганса Кюнга

Діалог релігій як підґрунтя реалізації проекту «Світового етосу» Ганса Кюнга

A World Ethos for Humanistic Management: Love Story or Dialogue Platform?

Humanistic reform of management theory and practice could be expected to take a plurality of guises. One such manifestation of the desire for a humanistic reorientation of management discourse is the Weltethos Institut at the University of Tubingen, Germany. The Institute’s work builds on the legacy of founder Hans Kung in the sphere of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and seeks to apply the humanistic insights learnt there to the world of organisations. For Kung, the ‘World Ethos’ (Weltethos) is a discovery, less of a common letter than of a common spirit among the world’s major and minor spiritual and cultural traditions, which he summarises as ‘Basic Trust in life and reality’ (in German Grundvertrauen or Lebensvertrauen), a yes-saying disposition of love for life ‘despite all temptations to reject it’. Without such a basic disposition, Kung argues, ‘no one can behave ethically’. This paper explores the paradox at the heart of the ‘World Ethos’ idea as it applies to questions of organisational leadership and management: if a certain spirit of Grundvertrauen among employees is indeed a feature of successful organisations, the attempt to cultivate it directly in the name of increased efficiency or profit is a potentially sinister and counter-productive enterprise. A more truly humanistic approach to organisational management might ease up on the top-down ‘love and trust’ message and instead provide a platform on which all members of an organisation feel free to reveal their ‘whole selves’ and explore their own spiritual sources—and those of colleagues—in a critical but ultimately trusting and constructive climate.

Connecting with the “Other” in Technical Communication: World Englishes and Ethos Transformation of U.S. Native English-Speaking Students

This article reports my classroom-based qualitative research, conducted at a midwestern university, on the role of World Englishes in the ethos transformation of U.S. native English-speaking students. The 30 participants completed assignments that enhanced their understanding of how the English language affects discursive tasks in international audience adaptation. Efforts at internationalizing technical communication can benefit immensely from the inclusion of the World Englishes paradigm in training programs to account for students' language attitudes.

Religiosität als erwünschte Anregung in der Hermeneutik

Paul Ricoeur insists on some kind of philosophical agnosticism although in everyday practice he is consciously bound to Christianity. That said, his poetical approach in Biblical hermeneutics when he confronts his position with his no believing contemporaries, very clearly shows that religious dimension of man, especially in its openness to new meanings, makes the understanding more proli fi c. This opens the way for new attempts of repeated search for human need for religious dimension also at Luc Ferry and Gianni Vattimo. It is not necessary that there is a very certain form of religiosity; the important thing is openness for these questions. In this way we liberate the science, to seriously confront with religious dimension of man. This is especially important in a globalized world where religiosity on one hand can be a cause for the clash of civilizations and on the other it can be a possibility of a common search for a world ethos.

Hermeneutik und Religiosität

Hermeneutical circle needs encouragement. Could that be religiosity? Paul Ricoeur insists on some kind of philosophical agnosticism, although in everyday practice he is consciously bound to Christianity. His poetical approach in Biblical hermeneutics when he confronts his position with his non-believing contemporaries, very clearly shows that religious dimension of man, especially in its openness to new meanings, makes the understanding more prolific. This opens the way for new attempts of repeated search for the human need for religious dimension at Luc Ferry and Gianni Vattimo as well. It is not necessary there to be a very certain form of religiosity; the important thing is openness towards these questions. In such a way we liberate the science to seriously confront with religious dimension of a man. This is especially important in a globalized world where religiosity, on the one hand, can be a cause for the clash of civilizations and, on the other, it can be a possibility of a common search for a world ethos.

КОНФУЦИЙ И ПРОЕКТ "ГЛОБАЛЬНАЯ ЭТИКА"

The article investigates the relationship between the philosophy of Confucius and «global ethics». It is emphasized that the fundamental Confucian principles coincide with the important moral and ethical installations of «world ethos».

Art and religion in Africa

Creation, creativity and agency envisioning and representing the spirit world ethos, cosmos and hierarchy revealing and concealing - the art of initiation and secret societies the aesthetic as antidote and transformer shrines as ritual and aesthetic space allusion and illusion - the rituals and symbols of death and beyond conclusion - winds of change.

Why was the macalot collection (Ps 120-134) written?

Why was the macalot collection (Ps 120-134) written? A dose reading of the macalot collection (Ps 120-134) proves that it is a work of unity and poetic worth. I f the ‘answer’ communicated by the text is ‘trust in Yahweh’, what might the ‘question’ or ‘problem’ be? How does the social context illuminate the text? With the sociological insights of C Geertz and W Brueggemann the sociological function of the collection is determined. Relevant sociohistoric data are used in reconstructing the possible social setting of the collection. Text and context match! The first in fact ‘mirrors’ the latter. The (macro-) context is that of disconsolation (ca 445-350 B C in Jerusalem) and a dire need for a message of trust and hope - which the text does provide. The theme of trust is given substance within the world view and ethos of Zion, national and Godwith- us-theology.

The moral elevation of animals: The case of ?gorillas in the mist?

All cultures provide their members with ways to understand differ? ences between animals and humans and with ideas of appropriate "human" or "animal" behavior. Conceptions of animals in pre-modern societies are part of an integral conceptual system where there is considerable agree? ment about world view and ethos. For example, the Balinese characterize animals as hairy beings who walk on four legs and have sharp teeth. Hu? mans must separate themselves from any animal-like behavior. They must be hairless, walk on two legs and have flat teeth. To keep a clear separation between human and animal, the Balinese do not allow babies to crawl, file their teeth flat at puberty and view hairy people (e.g. Europeans) as ani? mal-like demons. In modern technological societies, however, these conceptual systems lose their integrity and become a complexly interwoven proliferation of cul? tural beliefs about humans and animals (cf. Berger 1979, Levy 1972). For example, in modern America, there are a variety of belief systems which people can use to address human/animal distinctiveness. Human/animal re? lationships assume variegated forms ranging from animals as "family" mem? bers ("children in fur coats"), animals as property, or for human consumption to idealized beings in need of protection. Under the condition of modernity, the semantics of everyday life (those systems of meanings people use to interpret their participation in society) become highly multifaceted and multi-vocal (Frank 1987). Con? trasted with traditional culture, where the range of answers to fundamental questions is less diverse, in contemporary society there is no single system to impart consistent meaning to the daily actions of everyone (Swidler, 1986). With regard to distinctions between animals and humans, we might expect mutifaceted and multi-vocal expressions as indicators of ideological competition for meaning. For example, Kellert (1978, 1988) surveyed a

Selako Male Initiation

The detailed description and analysis of religious rituals is the very stuff of ethnography. Moreover, in a world still enriched by a few traditional societies not yet enmeshed in the universalistic world religions, we should not neglect present opportunities to explore a diversity that will be unavailable to later generations, who will wonder at our lack of foresight. Detailed examination of rituals that are fast disappearing should be a primary task of the anthropologist. Boas recognized this almost a century ago and made it a key justification of his program for American Indian ethnography, but modern anthropology neglects what in the past has been seen as a principal task of ethnography. The ritual the Selako Dayak call basunat is of central importance in their culture.1 Basunat accomplishes the all-important status transformation of boys into adult men. It expresses and reaffirms the Selako construction of the nature of the world and the Selako place in the world. The symbolism of basunat ritual informs our understanding of the essential differences Selako make between maleness and femaleness. Through the ritual boys are made aware of those qualities that separate boys from men and males from females. Basunat allows a statement of the household's position in village society and provides an important opportunity to enhance or maintain the household's rank in the society at large. Selako culture is rich in ritual performance, but there are few rituals more intense, dramatic, or expensive than basunat. Our understanding of the basunat ritual derives from both the symbolic and social domains. Attention to the social context in which the actors move illuminates the meanings of the ritual itself and the symbols of rank and position that the actors manipulate. Our concern with symbolism leads us to look for binary oppositions and to relate those oppositions to other symbolic formulations in Selako culture. Turner (1964) directs us to look for the ways in which ritual moves boys into men and transforms society. Following Geertz (1965) we attend to how ritual symbols encapsulate world view or ethos and organize the lives and behavior of actors.

The Jew of Malta: Marlowe's Ideological Stance and the Play World's Ethos

<i>The Jew of Malta</i>: Marlowe's Ideological Stance and the Play World's Ethos