This new association of scholars may be of interest to some of our readers.
You are invited to join a newly founded society
THE CULTURAL MEETING OF EAST AND WEST:
THE OCCIDENT AND ISLAM
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOLARS
MISSION STATEMENT:
“Human Interests, progressively globalizing, call for breaking the barriers and bridging the gaps between the great cultures – especially the Occident and Islam - toward harmonization of existential concerns while preserving cultural identity.
The aim of our association of scholars from various fields of inquiry is to elaborate the foundation for such a cultural harmonization and to establish new links of communication. The reaching of common roots in the Human Condition in-the-unity-of-everything-there-is-alive* may set us on the way.
All scholars interested in participating in this enterprise are invited to join.”
Founding Committee:
Acting Director: Dennis Logue, Professor of Economics, Dean, University of Oklahoma, Norman
Associate Director: Alexander W. Schimmelpenninck, Publisher, Vice President, Springer-Verlag, The Netherlands
Program Coordinator: Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Professor of Philosophy, President, World Phenomenology Institute
Honorary President: Seyyed Hossein Nasr, University Professor, George Washington University
Assessors:
-Grahame Lock, Professor of Political Science at Queens College, Oxford and
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
-Salahaddin Khalilov, Professor of Philosophy, Rector, Azerbaijan University
-Hendrik S. Houthakker, Professor Em. of Economics, Harvard University
For all information please contact:
The Executive Committee of CMEW
1 Ivy Pointe Way
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA; Fax: 802-295-5963
* Cf. The introduction to The Passions of the Soul in the Metamorphosis of Becoming, the first book of the book series: ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY AND OCCIDENTAL PHENOMENOLOGY IN DIALOGUE, Springer, 2003.
Steffen Johnson makes a compelling case for ending the practice of filibustering judicial nominees in his op-ed, How Filibusters Drain Quality. Here is a sample:
"Beyond the issue of who controls the presidency or the Senate, filibustering judges is plainly a bad idea. It enables the minority party to blackball any nominee with any record of distinction, since any nominee worth his or her salt will have offended one or another interest group in the course of prior government or academic service. This means the courts will be filled with undistinguished, inoffensive "moderates" rather than a diverse group of the most talented judges from both parties."
Monday, May 16, 2005
Several recent posts have dealt with the responsibilities of Catholic journalists arising from the resignation of America's editor, Fr. Reese, S.J. Russell Shaw provided his analysis in Friday's Wall Street Journal:
"[E]diting a religious magazine is, for a priest, analogous to preaching a homily. Catholics rightly expect to hear their church's teaching expounded from the pulpit, and they have the same right to find it upheld in the pages of a Catholic journal edited by clerics and published by a religious order. Parallels are easy to find in other fields. Junior officers do not have the right to lecture the troops on the folly of the strategy and tactics devised by senior officers. Diplomats are not free to criticize their governments' policies before their foreign counterparts. And public officials of the church have no right to undermine its authoritative doctrine and policy in the eyes of the Catholic people.
That doesn't mean marching in lockstep. Differences in approach and emphasis are welcomed, and there is ample room for spirited debate over truly open questions, such as the conditions under which capital punishment is allowable. But the fundamental obligation, for the editors of America and other such publications, is to represent the church faithfully and to convey its teachings loyally."
For the full article, click here.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Mike C. has written a very thoughtful post arguing that the Church should exercise it prudential judgment and not condone (or even turn a blind eye to) condom use as a means to fight AIDS.
He has also challenged Rick and coach K to join the ACC basketballblog.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Mike C. says that he doesn't understand my logic in my post entitled The Church, Condoms, and AIDS. I posted my response as a comment on his blog.
Dear Mirror of Justice bloggers and readers,
I am a professor at Duquesne University School of Law.
Our Law School, together with the Wecht Institute for Law and Forensic Science, will be holding a conference entitled "Justice for All" in November 2005. Given the nature of the Wecht Institute and its emphasis on forensics, a large part of the conference will be devoted to forensic science and its use in relation to the "Justice for All" act.
However, the conference will also include a separate component on religious, moral and ethical reflections on the death penalty and the law.
Since Duquesne is a Catholic university, we are very interested in Catholic scholarship in this area, but we also welcome and encourage contributions from other faith traditions. If you are interested in learning more about the conference or making a presentation about the conference, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or to telephone me at 412-396-4994.
Alison Sulentic
