Herbal Wisdom: memory and migration

Within contemporary Western herbal medicine, traditional knowledge and modern science are combined to provide a unique meeting of patient, practitioner and plant. In the Australian context, herbalists have based their practice on knowledge which originates from the traditions of Europe, and has more recently been influenced by traditional medicine from Asia. The combination of these diverse ways of knowing—traditional and modern, Eastern and Western—means herbal practitioners are influenced by ancient philosophy alongside phytochemistry and biomedical sciences. The challenge for herbal medicine today is that faced by all living (as opposed to ossified) traditions: how is a practice forged which retains what is valuable from the past while establishing relevance to the 21st century? We illustrate these issues in the context of the conference theme of ‘food for thought’ and consider medicinal plants which are used for the improvement of cognition. We focus on the therapeutic use of common herbs from the Eastern and Western traditions and present the scientific research which shows their ability to facilitate cognitive function and the laying down of memory. We also tell their traditional stories which indicate that these actions have been recognised and utilised for centuries. We go on to demonstrate, via case studies, the clinical application of this knowledge and in particular the importance of ancient practice of synergistic prescribing which occurs when a number of herbs are prescribed together in a formula. Scientific understanding of the basis of this practice is being developed which further complements and validates traditional herbal wisdom

A Critical Analysis of Neural Buddhism\u27s Explanation of Moral Transformation

As non-theistic arguments for morality become increasingly sophisticated and complex, they are harder to criticize without first admiring their skillful design and near-artistry. One such argument involves a relatively new innovation that is the child of naturalism and eastern philosophy—Neural Buddhism. Like two world-renowned designers collaborating on a new garment, Naturalism and Buddhism have come together in this distinct program to offer something inventive, especially in its explanation of moral transformation. However, this critical analysis will ultimately reveal that Neural Buddhism’s explanation of moral transformation is incapable of providing good answers to several compelling criticisms

Orientalisms in the interpretation of Islamic philosophy

In this paper, I argue that Edward Said’s central thesis in Orientalism has a direct explanatory role to play in our understanding of the work produced in at least one area of scholarship about the Arab and Islamic worlds, namely Arab-Islamic philosophy from the classical or medieval period. Moreover, I claim that it continues to play this role not only for scholarship produced in the West by Western scholars but also within the Arab world itself. After recalling some traditional varieties of Orientalism in the study of Islamic philosophy, I go on to isolate some neo-Orientalist theses and positions. Then I identify what I call “Oriental Orientalism” in the study of Islamic philosophy, which originates in the Arab world itself. In conclusion, I speculate as to why Orientalism persists in scholarship about the Islamic world, more than a quarter of a century after Said first unmasked it. Finally, I distinguish two accounts of Said's interpretive stance and attempt to justify a particular reading of his philosophical framework

What Is Wisdom? Cross-Cultural and Cross-Disciplinary Syntheses

This article explores the nature of wisdom using an integrative cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary approach by drawing on contemporary research as well as the philosophical and contemplative disciplines of both East and West. To do this the article first analyzes definitional issues. These issues include difficulties of definition in general, and of wisdom in particular, the common elements and limitations of current definitions, as well as possible varieties or subtypes of wisdom. It then uses integrative definitions of wisdom and its major subtypes as a framework to investigate the characteristics, capacities, and components of wisdom; the varieties of self-knowledge that foster and constitute it; the perceptual, cognitive, and developmental processes essential to it; and the existential issues—for example, meaning, mystery, suffering, and death—that wisdom ponders and responds to. The article then examines wisdom's intimate link with other virtues, especially ethics and benevolence, and questions the claim that emotional regulation is an inherent element of wisdom, arguing instead that emotional regulation and wisdom are distinct, yet mutually facilitating virtues. Finally, the article provides evidence for the “self-demanding” nature of wisdom which implies that to understand it fully we may need to cultivate it ourselves

Change is the Only Constant: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Can Be Made More Culturally Responsive Across Treatment Settings

This program design demonstrates how Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a well-regarded, existing evidence-based practice (EBP) used to treat many transdiagnostic and complex mental health disorders around the world, can be made more culturally responsive across treatment settings. An overview of the literature regarding global access to mental health treatment reveals that much effort has been made to close the mental health treatment gap by promoting EBPs. However, most EBP research is conducted in Western countries using majority white populations, which calls into question the generalizability and effectiveness of EBPs among U.S. cultural and racial minority and international populations. Despite the increasing global demand for DBT because of its flexible, principle-driven approach that has broad appeal for complex and transdiagnostic conditions, it is no exception. While several international studies demonstrate DBT’s effectiveness in other countries, virtually no studies have examined what parts of DBT make it effective for non-white populations both in the U.S. and globally. Despite its growing international popularity, there are also no published studies that investigate the overall cultural responsiveness of DBT, how cultural factors of the participants or the therapists impact treatment outcomes, or how it can be implemented in cross-cultural contexts while still adhering to treatment adherence and fidelity. Nonetheless, DBT’s unique dialectical philosophy, combining Western cognitive science with Eastern meditation practices, makes it an EBP with vast potential for global effectiveness and application. This project examines how DBT can be implemented, disseminated, and sustained in both U.S. minority populations as well as in international (especially non-Western) settings. Although not intended to be a panacea, questions about DBT’s cultural responsiveness have opened new directions consistent with one of its fundamental dialectical principles: change is the only constant

Essentializing the binary self: individualism and collectivism in cultural neuroscience

Within the emerging field of cultural neuroscience (CN) one branch of research focuses on the neural underpinnings of “individualistic/Western” vs. “collectivistic/Eastern” self-views. These studies uncritically adopt essentialist assumptions from classic cross-cultural research, mainly following the tradition of Markus and Kitayama (1991), into the domain of functional neuroimaging. In this perspective article we analyze recent publications and conference proceedings of the 18th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (2012) and problematize the essentialist and simplistic understanding of “culture” in these studies. Further, we argue against the binary structure of the drawn “cultural” comparisons and their underlying Eurocentrism. Finally we scrutinize whether valuations within the constructed binarities bear the risk of constructing and reproducing a postcolonial, orientalist argumentation pattern

The Faculty Notebook, September 2001

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost