Search Results (155)

This article undertakes a cross-cultural comparative inquiry into the motif of “women’s weaving” in medieval Daoism and Christianity. Although the two traditions developed with minimal historical contact, both elevate women’s textile labor into a central metaphor for cosmogenesis, sacred order, and individual salvation. Nevertheless, their hermeneutic trajectories diverge in essential ways. Working within a tripartite analytical framework (intellectual roots, artistic images, ritual practices) to argue that Daoism interprets “women’s weaving” as a proactive technique of transformation and nurture, based on a cosmology of immanent huasheng lun. In this reading, the image is affiliated with the cosmic creativity of nüxian, the inner transformation of their body, and the autonomous pursuit of transcendence. By contrast, within Christianity’s transcendent theological horizon of creatio ex nihilo, “women’s weaving” is configured primarily as an ethical discipline of responsive obedience, closely tied to the mystery of the Incarnation, the imitatio Dei, and communal spiritual exercises and charity under monasticism. The cross-cultural resonance of this motif, I contend, is grounded in the “men’s ploughing and women’s weaving” economic formation, patriarchal gender order, and shared symbolic cognition; its decisive bifurcation arises from contrasting deep cultural structures—namely, cosmology, conceptions of the body, soteriology, and church–state arrangements. Through this micro-case, the article further argues that the sacralization of secular gender roles constitutes an agentic cultural choice, one that indexes distinct civilizational pathways in understanding creation, nature, the body, and freedom. Full article

This study explores, from decolonial economics perspective, how nineteen Zimbabwean banks engage with both Euro-American and indigenous knowledge systems in their sustainable finance practices. Despite growing global interest in sustainability, limited research has examined the relevance of these models within Zimbabwe’s socio-economic context. Addressing this gap, the study employs transformative sequential mixed methods, incorporating 289 structured questionnaires, 30 focus group discussions, and 45 archival documents. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics, narrative analysis, Marxist immanent critique, and decolonial theory. Findings reveal that Zimbabwean banks predominantly adopt Euro-American sustainability frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Accords and accounting standards. However, these frameworks often misalign with local realities, obscuring sustainability colonialism, promoting exclusion of indigenous knowledge, reinforcing Global North dominance, and perpetuating weak sustainability theory. This results in superficial compliance that conceals extractive investments and carbon-intensive practices. Moreover, these models deepen subordinated financialization, commodification, elite capture, resource expropriation, and socio-environmental inequalities. The study calls for a paradigm shift, either rejecting Euro-American models in favor of indigenous approaches or adopting a hybrid model that integrates indigenous knowledge. Such a shift would promote strong sustainability, pluralism, and decolonized institutional frameworks to foster financial inclusion, community resilience, and ecological regeneration in Zimbabwe. Full article

This study restores the late Western Han thinker Yan Zun to his rightful place in the history of Daoist thought. Despite the deep influence of his Laozi zhigui, its fractured transmission has led to modern neglect. This paper illuminates Yan Zun’s overlooked philosophy through a comparative analysis of four readings of Daodejing Chapter 42, a passage famous for its generative ambiguity. It juxtaposes Laozi’s Yangsheng phenomenology of co-presence, Heshang Gong’s Huang-Lao typological metaphysics, and Wang Bi’s Xuanxue radical metaphysics. Situated against this fully developed philosophical backdrop, Yan Zun’s commentary emerges as a sophisticated synthesis. By distinguishing between xu (emptiness) for an ontological non-being and wu (nothingness) for a generative cosmology, Yan Zun forges a unique “onto-cosmology.” He integrates a transcendent Dao as non-being with an immanent Dao as cosmogonic source, a creative tension his successors would later dissect. This analysis recovers Yan Zun both as a lost Daodejing commentator and as the architect of a pivotal, synthetic path in Daoist philosophy. Full article

This study examines how the Donggyeong Daejeon (東經大全), the principal scripture of early Donghak, receives and theologically reconfigures the conceptual lexicon of Confucian classics through text mining-based analysis. Drawing on the classical Chinese texts of the Four Books and the Donggyeong Daejeon, and employing computational techniques such as keyword frequency, keyword-in-context (KWIC), and co-occurrence mapping, the study identifies structural parallels and semantic shifts across the two corpora. These patterns are then interpreted hermeneutically to assess how early Donghak appropriates, repurposes, and theologically transforms inherited Confucian categories. Findings suggest that while the Donggyeong Daejeon retains key Confucian terms, it situates them within a distinct theological framework. The Confucian triad of human being, the Way, and Heaven (人–道–天), for example, is recast in Donghak as “Heaven’s heart is the human-heart” (天心卽人心), a theological affirmation of the human as the locus of Heaven’s immanence. Similarly, the Confucian virtue of sincerity (誠) is reinterpreted through the lens of faith (信), transforming it from a metaphysical ideal into a performative mode of spiritual judgment. Most notably, the Confucian dualism of li (理) and qi (氣) is overcome through the theology of “ultimate energy” (至氣), a divine substance that animates and unifies all beings. By combining quantitative text analysis with interpretive discussion, this study presents Donghak not as a rhetorical appropriation of Confucian discourse, but as a conceptual innovation rooted in the resemanticization of its inherited language. This methodology offers a new model for tracking doctrinal transformation in East Asian religious texts and contributes to broader discussions on intertextual borrowing, and the semantic evolution of classical traditions. Full article

In this study, three different reactor concepts for the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reaction are examined at the miniplant scale. Their performance and response to variations in key process parameters, such as temperature and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), are evaluated over a wide range. In addition to the conventional Packed Bed Reactor (PBR), Packed Bed Membrane Reactor (PBMR), and Chemical Looping Reactor (CLR) approaches were tested. The PBMR was realized with a porous ceramic $\alpha$-Alumina membrane as air/O₂ distributor. The CLR was operated in a poly-cyclic operation. Similarities of the different reactor concepts as well as layout-immanent differences with regard to changes in reaction conditions could be identified and advantages and disadvantages of the processes highlighted. The results show that C₂ selectivity can be improved by both PBMR and CLR in comparison to conventional PBR, possibly reducing cost-intensive downstream units. While a PBMR can slightly improve selectivity (23%) while keeping the same conversion compared to a PBR, the use of a CLR allows for achieving exceptionally high selectivities of up to 90%. In order to address the low conversion, CLR tests were carried out with an additional O₂ carrier material, which led to a significant improvement in terms of C₂ yield. In addition to an evaluation and comparison of the different reactor concepts, the findings at the miniplant scale provide estimates of their potential use and scalability. Full article

Let ${\chi }_{n-1}\left(\sigma \right)$ denote the irreducible character of the symmetric group $S_n$ corresponding to the partition $(n-1,1)$. For an $n\times n$ matrix $M=\left(m_{i,j}\right)$, we denote its $(n-1)$-th immanant by $d_{n-1}\left(M\right)$. Let G be a simple connected graph and let $L\left(G\right)$ and $Q\left(G\right)$ denote the Laplacian matrix and the signless Laplacian matrix of G, respectively. The $(n-1)$-th Laplacian (respectively, signless Laplacian) immanantal polynomial of G is defined as $d_{n-1}(xI-L\left(G\right))$ (respectively, $d_{n-1}(xI-Q\left(G\right))$). In this paper, we partially resolve Chan’s open problem by establishing that the broom graph minimizes $d_{n-1}\left(L\left(T\right)\right)$ among all trees with given diameter. Furthermore, we give combinatorial expressions for the first five coefficients of the $(n-1)$-th Laplacian immanantal polynomial $d_{n-1}(xI-L\left(G\right))$. We also investigate the characterizing properties of this polynomial and present several graphs that are uniquely determined by it. Additionally, for the $(n-1)$-th signless Laplacian immanantal polynomial $d_{n-1}(xI-Q\left(G\right))$, we show that the multiplicity of root 1 is bounded below by the star degree of G. Full article

This paper challenges the Western philosophical and theological tradition’s subordination of finitude to the infinite, arguing instead for finitude as the positive ontological foundation of human existence and credible theological discourse. Drawing primarily on Emmanuel Falque’s critique of “the pre-emption of the infinite” and Jan Patočka’s concept of “being shaken,” the study demonstrates how finitude constitutes not a limitation to be overcome but the necessary horizon within which any authentic encounter with transcendence must occur. The argument proceeds through four stages: deconstructing the Cartesian legacy that privileges the infinite over the finite; establishing phenomenological reorientation toward “impassable immanence;” introducing “being shaken” as the existential manifestation of finitude; and addressing critiques of this approach. The paper argues that Christianity’s incarnational logic—particularly Christ’s assumption of human finitude—provides theological validation for this phenomenological insight. The central contribution lies in proposing “credible theology”—theological discourse that derives legitimacy not from abstract rationality but from fidelity to the common human condition of finitude. This approach offers a methodological alternative to traditional fundamental theology by grounding theological reflection in the shared structures of existence. Full article

The account of the fetus learning the Torah in its mother’s womb, forgetting it and reacquiring it (b. Niddah 30b) has often been compared to Plato’s doctrine of recollection or anamnesis. This essay argues that such a comparison is misguided, as the Talmudic story does not include the recollection of the forgotten Torah, nor does it address the philosophical difficulties that inform Plato’s doctrine, which arise from a commitment to a two-world ontology. Indeed, the story may be seen as an example of the general absence of a transcendent realm in the Talmud. In Plato’s stead, I argue that Lacan’s formation of the subject offers a more fruitful comparison, and that the Torah-learning fetus may be interpreted as an attempt to overcome the Lacanian moments of alienation that result in humanity’s tragic fate. Full article

Both feeling and thought operate largely through a process of associations. Some of these are learned; some seem to be transcultural. In Western art it has long been assumed that certain arrangement of sounds, shapes, and colors evoke particular emotions and ideas. Rudolph Otto applies this idea also to the experience of the “Holy,” the “mysterium tremendum et fascinans.” This is a unique experience, irreducible to any other. However, there is a “law of associations” by which aesthetic and moral experiences evoke the “numinous” by a kind of analogy. Otto’s analysis raises the question whether there is in fact a specific experience of “the holy.” Is religious consciousness a sui generis experience, or is it rather an interpretation of experience? Is Otto’s notion of the numinous tied to a particular stage of religion? Post-Kantian transcendental theology proposes that “depth” or “limit” experiences are implicit in consciousness, and provide the basis for a variety of associations with the ultimate mystery of existence. The divine is anticipated as infinite transcendence that is at the same time radical immanence. The implicit intentionality of the divine can be implicit or can be formulated at different levels as feeling, image, concept, and transcendental intentionality. The “sacred” is an aesthetic construct signifying heightened awareness of the mystery. Sacred spaces are places consecrated to such awareness; they can be constructed in response to various aspects of communal awareness. All such aesthetic mediations of the sacred have an ambiguous relation to religious conversion. Full article

This article explores Michel Henry’s interpretation of the canonical Gospels in his Christian Trilogy. While Henry’s phenomenology emphasizes the immanent self-manifestation of a truth transcending all linguistic mediations, he recognizes the canonical authority of the Gospels as authentic sources of Christ’s words, granting privileged access to that same truth. His surprising focus on Synoptic Gospels, especially in Words of Christ, contrasts with his usual preference for Johannine and Pauline writings. However, his interpretation of the Synoptics tends to uniformize their literary and theological diversity and ignore the narratives and particularities of each Gospel. We suggest that Henry’s hermeneutics is guided less by an exegetical intention than by the principles of his radical phenomenology of life. In short, the article shows the clear risk of eisegetical projection at the core of Henry’s philosophy of Christianity. Full article

This paper explores striking philosophical parallels between Karl Christian Friedrich Krause’s 19th-century articulation of panentheism and the much earlier non-dual Śaiva philosophy of the Pratyabhijñā school in Kashmir. While Krause is widely credited with coining the term panentheism, models of divine immanence and transcendence akin to panentheism are already present in the Pratyabhijñā tradition. Through comparative analysis, the study identifies key convergences between these two systems in their metaphysics of ultimate reality, their accounts of liberation through knowledge, the role of the teacher in the liberative process, their views on the purpose of creation and their respective treatments of evil. The paper concludes by examining significant points of divergence, shedding light on the distinctive trajectories and theological commitments of each tradition. Full article

By reconstructing the concept of the “Mandate of Heaven”, the Zisi School grounded the universality of Confucian ethics in the ontological stipulations of Heaven’s Way, bridging the intellectual gap between Confucius’s practical ethics and Mencius’s theory of mind-nature. Central to their framework is the proposition that “Heaven’s mold imparts form to mankind; and imparts inherent pattern to objects”, which constructs a generative chain from the Mandate of Heaven to the nature of objects and human nature. The School posited that the Heavenly Way endows all objects with inherent patterns, while human nature, derived from the Mandate of Heaven, harbors latent moral potential activated through edification. By dialectically reconciling the “differentiation between Heaven and humans” with the “unity of Heaven and humanity”, the Zisi School emphasized both the transcendent authority of the Mandate of Heaven and human moral agency, forming an “immanent yet transcendent” ethical paradigm. However, theoretical limitations persist, including ambiguities in the certainty of innate goodness due to the separation of Heaven and human nature, mind-body dualism that risks formalizing moral practice, and latent fatalism in their concept of mandate. Despite these unresolved tensions, the Zisi School’s metaphysics laid the groundwork for Mencius’s theory of innate goodness, Xunzi’s legalist emphasis on ritual, and Song-Ming Neo-Confucian discourses on “Heaven’s inherent pattern”. As a pivotal transitional phase in Pre-Qin Confucianism, the Zisi School highlights the interplay between metaphysical grounding and pragmatic adaptability, underscoring the enduring dynamism of Confucian ethics. Full article

This article examines the emotional and intellectual dimensions of Torah study in contemporary Lithuanian Haredi Judaism in Israel by analyzing the cultural construction of ahavat ha-Torah (love of Torah). While scholarly discussions of religious love have traditionally focused on interpersonal love or love of God, this study highlights a unique form of love directed toward a textual object—the Torah. Drawing on discourse-analytic approaches and engaging both high and popular cultural sources within the Lithuanian Haredi world, the article explores how the ethos of this tradition constructs the Torah as an object of emotional attachment. To understand the nature of this distinctive form of love, the article develops three interrelated conceptual lenses: (1) love of Torah as love of wisdom, (2) the perception of Torah as an entity capable of emotional relationship, and (3) the ethos of toil (amal ha-Torah) as a practice of devotional attachment. These categories serve to unpack how Lithuanian Haredi discourse constructs a model of love that fuses intellectual rigor with emotional intensity. The article concludes by suggesting that within Lithuanian Haredi Judaism, while God is often depicted as transcendent and distant, the Torah takes on an emotionally immanent role—serving as a locus of sacred attachment, identity, and even revelation. Full article

Background: Curiosity is an immanent aspect of human experience linked to motivation, information-seeking, and learning processes. Previous research has highlighted the significant role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in curiosity-driven behaviors, particularly in processing uncertainty and evaluating information. Methods: This study aimed to examine cortical activation during the induction of perceptual uncertainty using a modified blurred picture paradigm. A total of 15 participants were tested with fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) while viewing pairs of images designed to induce perceptual uncertainty. Results: The results revealed a differential hemodynamic response in one of the analyzed channels associated with orbitofrontal cortex activation, with higher activity when uncertainty was reduced (the matching condition compared to the non-matching condition). Conclusions: These findings confirm the existence of neural pathways of curiosity. Furthermore, our study also highlights the spatial limitations of fNIRS in precisely localizing OFC activity. Full article

This essay responds to Paul Molnar’s Torrance-inspired critique that Barth inappropriately read back elements of subordination into the immanent trinity, improperly introducing a notion of hierarchy within God’s life. It proposes that Nicene and pro-Nicene engagement with John 14:28 permits the kind of trinitarian negotiation Barth undertook and that Barth’s interpretation is to be preferred for exegetical and hermeneutical reasons and concludes with an implication for systematic theology. Full article