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False Friends:Poverty of Democracy and What to Do About It
No full textOratie bij de aanvaarding van de leerstoel Democratie als mensenwer
Spirituality as a Predictor of Well-Being, Mental Distress or Both:A Four-Week Follow-Up Study in a Sample of Dutch and Belgian Adults
No full textIn general, studies of spirituality show positive associations with measures of well-being, but less is known about the possible role of mental distress in this association. Following the two-continua model of mental health, the current quantitative four-week follow-up study examines how spirituality is associated with well-being and mental distress. Spirituality is measured using the Spirituality Attitude and Interest List questionnaire (SAIL), well-being by the Dutch Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHCSF-SF), and mental distress by the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ-48). At baseline, 874 adults from the Netherlands and Belgium completed the online questionnaire; four weeks later, 560 participants completed the follow-up questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses showed that spirituality at baseline, and in particular the subscale on ‘meaning in life,’ predicted higher well-being scores at follow-up after adjustment for baseline well-being scores. Spirituality also predicted changes in mental distress scores, in particular on the subscales of trust and transcendent experience. However, these associations were in opposite directions. Trust was associated with a small decrease in mental distress over time and transcendent experience was associated with a small increase in mental distress over time. The results confirm the importance of meaning in life, trust, and transcendent experience as elements of mental health
We have Never Been Latourians!:Religious Pluralism & New Materialism in Bruno Latour’s ‘Terrarism’
Get PDFIn his works on ecological philosophy, Bruno Latour develops an interestingontology. He proposes a new worldview, in which religion is reinterpreted in view of a Gaian philosophy. He extends ‘pluralism’ beyond the anthropocentrism that dominates modern humanism. In his book Facing Gaia Latour includes nonhuman beings in a larger community and works towards a larger concept of eco-humanism. In this paper, I try to reconstruct his position by showing that the philosophical foundation for his interpretation of ontology is to be classified as a form of new materialism. This new interpretation of materialism has postmodernist origins (inspired by Gilles Deleuze), but it is not identical to it, because Latour explicitly distances himself from ‘postmodernism’. He wants to contribute to a ‘positive’ ontology. My point is that Latour’s materialist grounding of ontology, which he tries to elaborate in order to make a religious pluralism possible, obstructs any foundation of transcendence and, finally, congests a pluralistic ecumene, because it renounces to the idea of the ‘whole’ and a unitary principle of being. His ideas on eco-humanism and pluralistic ecumene could gain momentum if we opted for a more holistic and idealistic way of thinking. In my last section I show how this is possible: objective idealism and panentheism are conceived as models that belong together and can offer a viable alternative for modern versions of materialism
Samen verder na de crisis:Lessen uit coronatijd over samenwerken en afstemmen in de zorg voor mensen met EV(M)B op beleidsniveau
No full textThe Impossible Encounter:: Creation, Incarnation, Trinity and Miracle in Nancy and Pontormo
No full textIf the predominant view of the last decades the so-called secular word – parts of the global North – is that of a ‘return of religion’ toward a ‘postsecular society’, Jean-Luc Nancy’s deconstructive studies of Western monotheism seem to contradict this view. His leading question is why the monotheistic traditions, in their ethical, imaginative, ritual, narrative and doctrinal forms, are persistent in secular modernity. Could it be that monotheism bears in itself an atheistic source? In this article, I pursue Nancy’s challenging question by focusing on three features of Christianity: creation, incarnation and the Trinitarian God. I will show how in these area’s of Christian narrative and doctrine an entanglement of presence and absence with regard to God and humanity is articulated, leading to a notion of ‘absentheism’. This ambiguous experience of the divine unveils a secular ‘truth’ within Christianity that has had and still has a deep impact on the secular age breaking away from the power of the Church since the Renaissance and early modernity. The article concludes with refining the analysis of this religious absentheism by concentrating on a painting by Pontormo, ‘Visitation’, that brings together most of the features studied earlier. Nancy’s own interpretation of this painting is elaborated with a brief account of its art historic history, that of the emergence of mannerism in the beginning of the sixteenth century, introducing magic and miracle in the new Renaissance world of realism
René Girard and Giorgio Agamben: Convergent and Divergent Political and Theological Prospects
No full textUnfortunately, categorical violence (violence wrought against a scapegoat minority, like ethnic cleansing and genocide) is a perpetual human problem. Although many thinkers concerned themselves with the issue of categorical violence, I would like to discuss René Girard (1923–2015) and Giorgio Agamben (born in 1942), two contemporary thinkers who present intriguing perspectives on categorical violence. Rather than viewing violence as an external element of societal life, they discuss the societal function of categorical violence while situating a sacred victim at the heart of their theories. Girard and Agamben are an unlikely pairing. Girard is renowned for his socio-anthropological mimetic theory, while Agamben is known for his political philosophy. However, despite these different perspectives, Girard's mimetic theory and Agamben's political philosophy share some intriguing similarities. For example, both thinkers employ an archaeological (anthropogenetic) methodology and situate their thoughts against the background of Judeo-Christian concepts such as messianism, revelation, and apocalypse..
A qualitative focus group study on legal experts’ views regarding euthanasia requests based on an advance euthanasia directive
No full textAbstract Background The Dutch Euthanasia law permits euthanasia in patients with advanced dementia lacking decisional capacity based on advance euthanasia directives. Nevertheless, physicians encounter difficulties assessing the criteria for due care in such cases. This study explores the perspectives of legal experts on the fulfillment of these criteria and the potential for additional legal guidance to support physicians’ decision-making processes. Methods A qualitative study was conducted with legal experts. Two focus group sessions were conducted. The data analysis was conducted iteratively, with the data being interpreted using thematic content analysis and the framework method. Results Participants emphasize the importance of considering the patient’s current wishes and informing them about the limitations of advance euthanasia directives. While representatives and healthcare professionals can assist in interpreting wishes, the final decision regarding euthanasia rests with the physician. The participants also discuss the challenges posed by pre-recorded wishes due to changing preferences. Furthermore, they present different views on the value of life wishes of patients with advanced dementia. While some participants prioritize life wishes over advance euthanasia directives, others question whether such expressions still reflect their will. Participants find it essential to assess unbearable suffering in the context of the current situation. Participants acknowledge the necessity to interpret advance euthanasia directives but also current expressions and they entrust this interpretation to physicians, viewing them as the primary authority, despite consulting multiple sources. Conclusions The Dutch Euthanasia law’s due care criteria are open norms –which are open in substance and require further elaboration, mostly determined on a case-by-case basis to the field standards of the profession–, placing the responsibility on physicians to interpret advance euthanasia directives and patient expressions. Despite potential support from various sources of information, there is limited additional legal guidance available to assist physicians in making decisions
Fostering collaborative moral learning in residential care for people with intellectual disabilities: The role of art and boundary work
No full textConducting participatory action research (PAR) with people with and without intellectual disabilities presents challenges, primarily due to participants’ varying verbal expression and reflective thinking abilities, leading to potential power imbalances and unfair outcomes. This study investigates using the arts to address these issues in a residential care setting. We specifically chose to collaborate with an artist who maintained an autonomous artistic practice on the research site. This collaboration, occurring at the intersection of the arts, academia, and the residential care context, presented new opportunities and challenges, and thus demanding extensive ‘boundary work.’ In this article we address the fieldwork challenges we encountered to deepen the understanding of two interrelated questions: how can the arts stimulate equitable, collaborative moral learning processes between individuals with and without intellectual disabilities? And what kind of boundary work is required to facilitate these processes within the context of residential care for people with intellectual disabilities? This study confirms that the use of the arts can have an emancipatory effect on knowledge production by making abstract questions tangible and offering embodied ways to engage in meaning-making processes. We underscore the moral dimensions of these endeavours. Noticing that embodied reactions depend on others to move beyond the here-and-now, boundary work and a shared problem definition are indispensable. This study stresses that within the context of a residential care setting, boundaries exist not only between the fields of arts and the care organization but also within the care organization itself
Flourishing as an aim of higher education:exploring the aspirations and challenges of the educational philosophy of the University of Humanistic Studies (UvH)
No full textIn the University of Humanistic Studies (UvH) research and education are inspired by an inclusive humanistic worldview. As a worldview-based university, the UvH has both an entitlement to promote humanism as the prime source of inspiration and a responsibility to live up to its worldview-based mission. It strives not only for the academic formation of students, but also promotes humanistic moral and ethical values and assists students in developing skills and dispositions that enable them to live a good life, more specifically a good working, civic, and personal life. In my own words, it aims for students' flourishing. This aim leads to various challenges in a university, and I discuss two of them. First, the university has to combine the promotion of humanistic values and the cultivation of students' disposition to put these into practice with respect for the autonomy of students. Second, it has to combine aiming for students' flourishing with looking after the mental well-being of students while ensuring that caring for, and preventing, students' psychological problems does not overrule, or even jeopardize, education for flourishing
Beyond Assumptions: Rethinking Intercultural Competence Development in North-South Virtual Exchanges:The potential of Art-Based Research
No full textIn today’s globalized higher education landscape, intercultural competence (ICC) is essential, particularly for graduates engaging in virtual exchange programmes like Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). This paper challenges the assumption that such exchanges inherently foster ICC development, especially in North-South contexts. Critically assessing the limitations of prevalent self-assessment methods and Eurocentric frameworks, the paper argues for a nuanced understanding of ICC before assuming its occurrence in COIL projects. To address these gaps, alternative research approaches, including narrative research and art-based research (ABR), are proposed. These methods aim to redefine ICC within North-South relationships, moving beyond Eurocentric perspectives. By utilizing narrative research and ABR, researchers can explore students’ experiences in a more collaborative and empathetic manner, fostering dialogue and mitigating stereotypes. The paper contends that such alternative approaches are crucial for a more equitable understanding of ICC within North-South COIL projects, providing valuable insights into ICC development and assessment in a globalized educational landscape