The Idea of Compassion

The paper discusses the Buddhist notion of compassion through an analysis and critique of the Mahayana doctrines of bodhisattva (enlightened beings) and upaya (skillful means). While it recognizes the importance of the soteriological context of the concepts considered, it proposes both the possibility and necessity to look beyond this original meaning to one encompassing the social-historical dimension. It is only in this way can the notion of Buddhist compassion contribute to a discussion of salvation in the fullest sense of the word. The process thought influenced by A. N. Whitehead as well as the Liberal Protestant tradition have influenced the development of this discussion.大乗仏教の菩薩と方便の二つの概念の分析と批判的再考を通じて仏教の慈悲論を新たに考える。慈悲の救済論的意味を認識した上で新たなる慈悲の社会的歴史的側面の展開の可能性と必然性も認めなければならない。これによって初めて仏教の慈悲論は救済論の全ての側面について論ずることができる。ホワイトヘッド・プロセス思想とキリスト教自由神学の考えを参考しながらこの論点を展開す

The Immoral Individual and the Even More Immoral Society : Reinhold Niebuhr's Notion of Christian Realism

本論文の題名「不道徳人間ともっと不道徳的社会」は、R.ニーバーの著書『道徳的人間と非道徳的社会』（Moral Man and Immoral Society, 1932）をもとにしている。ニーバーは20世紀前半、北アメリカ・プロテスタントキリスト教の中心的神学者であった。ニーバーは後に、著書の題名は内容上、本論文の題名の方がふさわしかった、と述べている。ニーバーは、個人の行動は宗教的罪によって穢れることはあっても、場合によってその個人は宗教的罪を越えて善い行いに近づくことが出来ると言う。しかし、集団の行いは個人の悪意をはるかに超えているために、集団の悪意・悪行と個人の悪意・悪行には比べられない差があると注意する。個人は良意識があり、たまにそれに従うが、集団には良意識はない

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)