マイクロファイナンス：薄れゆく光

The challenges for global civilization today are gargantuan, with the world’s population careening toward 8 billion and with half living on less than a few dollars a day. Development programs have had trouble coming to grips with what can effectively be done to bring people along. In this article I will discuss a little of the clashing ideologies in the debate of what to do. Microfinance, originating in Bangladesh in 1974, has been almost universally accepted as a solution; these banking programs lend small amounts of money, on average about $26 USD, at a low rate of interest, to assist the poor in small businesses. Real gains have been made in the past thirty years that may lead to a better future, if only those in wealthy nations can get beyond their tendency of seeing the world as a place for limitless financial profits.世界の人口が80 億人に迫り、その半数が一日数ドル以下で生活する中、現代のグローバル文明社会が直面する課題はとてつもなく巨大である。人々の支持を得て効果を上げるために何ができるのか、開発プログラムはその見極めに苦心してきた。本稿は、何をなすべきかを議論する上で衝突するイデオロギーについて若干の考察を試みる。1974 年にバングラデシュで始まったマイクロファイナンスは、一つの解決策としてほぼ世界的に受け入れられてきた。それは、低金利で少額（平均26米ドル程度）を貸し付けることで貧困層の小規模事業を支援する、金融プログラムである。過去30 年間で重要な成果を上げており、それがより良い未来につながる可能性はある。しかしそのためには、富裕国の人々が、世界を際限のない利益を得るための舞台として見る傾向から脱却する必要がある

カバラ：四つの重要局面

Kabbalah is seen today as Judaism\u27s most important gift to world spirituality, accessible in ways that its other sacred texts, the Tanakh (The Hebrew Bible) and the Talmud (c. 500 CE), are not. The Zohar (c. 1280), the kabbalistic text extraordinaire and Judaism’s third sacred text, was originally synonymous with orthodoxy, but it has transcended it. The Zohar is the main reason for Kabbalah’s continual regeneration. Kabbalah’s career, however, has not been even and has itself gone through Exile and Return, its central themes. In this article I will describe a little of Kabbalah’s history within Jewish culture in four phases that span about seven hundred years, from the twelfth-century to the eighteenth-century. Each of these phases is very much alive today, in varying degrees, across all branches of Judaism, but more so in Hasidic Judaism.カバラは、タナハ（ヘブライ語聖書）やタルムード（500 年頃）といった聖典よりも親しみ易い点において、世界のスピリチュアリティに対するユダヤ教の最も重要な貢献と捉えられている。ゾハール（1280 年頃）はカバラの特別な聖典であり、ユダヤ教において三番目に重要なテクストであるが、その本来の正統性を越え、カバラの絶え間ない再生の主因となっている。しかし、カバラの辿った道のりは平坦ではなく、その中心的主題である「追放」と「帰還」を自ら経験してきた。本稿は、ユダヤ教文化におけるカバラの歴史を、12 世紀から18 世紀のおよそ700 年間に渡る四つの局面に分けて記述する。それぞれの局面は、程度の差こそあれ、ユダヤ教の全ての分派、特にハシド派において現在も生き続けている

モビー・ディック『白鯨』：異質なる神を求めて

Religion, for reasons difficult to fathom, summons a culture’s underlying sensibility. If one is a Jungian, based on the work of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875-1961), then religious impulses are one of the ways the “collective unconscious” emerges (Jung 1954:3-48). If one is a secularist, then perhaps Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is a better guide: religious belief is a defense against nature and death (Freud 1927:31). The tens of millions of Americans with a more literal orientation toward religion would vehemently disagree with both views; for them the divine is an objective reality in everyday life. Religion in America, derived mainly from the Scottish Reformation (1560), has evolved into something uniquely its own. America’s defining moment came in August 1801 during a revival that lasted a week in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, altering forever America’s spiritual consciousness inherited from Europe. What is the best way to get a handle on America’s love affair with God? Or is the affair one of love? Herman Melville (1819-1891), through his sublime novel Moby Dick (1851), poetically reflected America’s outrageous spiritual expressions, predicting even what religion in America would become: oddly the individual spiritual quest in a collective context of shared beliefs. The fundamental orientations of America’s spiritual life have changed little since Moby Dick was first published. I will highlight Melville’s insights into America’s homegrown religions as well as compare his great aesthetic achievement, Captain Ahab, with the founder of the Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), which I hope will help to gain a better sense of America’s spiritual consciousness.宗教は、その理由を突き止めることは難しいのだが、文化の奥深い感受性を呼び起こす。ユング派なら、スイスの精神分析医であるカール・ユングの業績に基づいて、宗教的衝動は集合的無意識が現れる一つのあり方と考えるだろう。また世俗主義者なら、ジークムント・フロイトの宗教的信念は自然と死に対する防御であるという考えに惹かれるかもしれない。宗教を文字通り信じる傾向のある数多くのアメリカ人は、このどちらに対しても猛反対するだろう。彼らにとって、神聖なるものは日常生活における客観的な現実なのだから。アメリカにおける宗教は、スコットランドの宗教改革にその多くが由来するのだが、アメリカに来てかなり独特な発展を遂げている。その特徴的な出来事は１８０１年８月、ケンタッキーのケインリッジで１週間続いたリバイバルの時に起きた。そこでは、ヨーロッパ由来の精神的意識が永遠に変わってしまった。アメリカ人の神との恋愛関係をどのように扱うのが一番いいのか。そもそもその関係自体は愛といえるのか？ハーマン・メルヴィルは、その崇高な小説『白鯨』で、アメリカの無法な精神的表現を詩的に表現し、アメリカの宗教がどのようになっていくのかを予言さえしている。共同体で共有された宗教信念において、個人的な精神的探求が行われるという奇妙なものになるというのである。アメリカの精神的生活の基本的な方向性は、白鯨が最初に出版された時からほとんど変わっていない。本論文では、アメリカで発展した宗教についてのメルヴィルの考察を取り上げると同時に、彼の美的な創造物であるエイハブ船長とのちにモルモン教の創始者となったジョセフ・スミスとの比較を行う。それによって、アメリカの宗教的意識の永続的方向転換をより明確にする

ラニング・オン・エンプティ−動機説批評−

The study of motivation in the field of second language acquisition, now in its sixth decade, has focused on distinctions between two types of motivation: xtrinsic and intrinsic. This has become a fixed star in the English education osmos, as accepted as any other ongstanding theory. Without minimizing the labor of so many who shaped the direction of this research, I believe it is important to step away from this body of literature and consider its relevance, since research on motivation seems to have been accepted incritically. Since it is largely “unquantifiable,” teachers are left with either belief or disbelief, and this, I feel, is counterproductive and may in fact add stresses to both teachers and English education programs. Here, I will briefly consider the conclusions from some studies on motivation

The Hebrew Prophets:Architects of a Moral Universe

Seeing the prophets on their own terms and in their own historical context is daunting (often we lack the reference points for such a journey). Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (1962) and Norman Podhoretz The Prophets (2002), are two valiant attempts and through them we see our shortcomings in understanding the prophets. Heschel, a liberal, emphasized the prophets’ stand on social justice issues, especially toward the most vulnerable in society (as I will do below), a position that animates modern progressives. Podhoretz, a social conservative, saw the prophets as more concerned with preserving traditional culture, especially the Temple system. Above all, the prophets, according to him, sought to root out all vestiges of idolatry. Both works are immensely valuable, since the prophets are broad enough and sweeping enough to accommodate many modern interpretations. Taking the prophets out of the Early Iron Age and transplanting them in our time, though, to reinforce a current political perspective, is similar to taming a beautiful, wild bird. Our concerns, values, and perspectives color all efforts, howevers incere. Yet the prophets continue to speak to the modern world and people continue to listen. Are we that different from the Hebrew prophets and their culture? I will discuss the value system that nurtured these remarkable individuals and inspired their messages. Though these powerful voices come from what is for us a murky, distant past, we know more about their cultural context than ever before

Baruch Spinoza: Prophet of a Modern Worldview

application/pdfBaruch Spinoza (1632-1677), one of the callosal figures of Western philosophy, has been underappreciated.Few today recognize his contribution to global civilization, especially his focus on human rights and democratic values. His concern for the psychological health of people is also unique among modern philosophers. In some of this he followed various Greek philosophers, insisting that the pursuit of meaning and understanding must also be a social good, even transformative for those engaged in it. His valuesystem came from his Jewish upbringing, however, where the methodical study of the Torah, Talmud, and Kabbalah was also meant to be elevating. Spinoza took this approach, along with concepts from philosophers of his day, and applied them universally, believing that an enlightened humanity would create a more peaceful world (or at least one where religious conflict is reduced). He also answered the question of what kind of world would emerge when religion, politics, and even ethics were based on empirical objectivity rather than on religion or ideology. A rational world, he asserted, would be a much better one for everyone. In this article I will review a little of Baruch Spinoza’s major ideas, before considering his two most important works: Treatise on Theology and Politics (1670) and Ethics (1677). Spinoza’s view of the divine is singularly distinctive in world history and staggering in its scope. I will consider a few of the ways in which he may have developed this and how his views completely remove the divine from dogmatic disputes.departmental bulletin pape

These Journeymen Divine: Interiors of American Spirituality

Why does humanity have religion—or to use a more current term—a spiritual life? The Enlightenment (1715-1789) helped turn a more critical eye on this universal phenomenon and it has vexed nearly all the great thinkers from the nineteenth century. Some have felt that religion is more for group cohesion. Frederick Nietzsche (1841-1900) wrote of it as a collective effort to remember because it sears memory into civilization (Nietzsche 1887:42-43). Carl Jung (1875-1961) believed it was how the “collective unconscious” emerged (Jung 1954:3-48), with shared metaphors for meaning. Franz Kafka (1883-1924), more relevant to this discussion, wrote of its internal dimension: “Believing means liberating the indestructible element in oneself. . . . One of the ways in which this hiddenness can express itself is through faith in a personal god” (Kafka 1954:29). Jung’s “collective consciousness” and Kafka’s “personal god” are at odds, however, part of an uncanny paradigm—collective authority versus personal autonomy. These have clashed for centuries. Religion in America today is decidedly personal and autonomous. Originally derived from the Scottish Reformation (1560), it has evolved into something uniquely its own. How this happened is hotly debated. Revivalism, it is clear, is part of the answer, since it has shaped and reshaped the culture from colonial times. These tumultuous waves of revivalism have left their marks. Below, I will refer to a few important moments, with figures that indeed are“ journeymen divine,” to use Walt Whitman’s (1819-1892) expression from his great poem Sleepers (1855) (with Whitman certainly one of them). The awakening of the deepest self, or the divine within, is the center of American spirituality

Economic Equality: A Humane Goal for Globalization

In this article I will consider some of the dangers for social upheaval that come from extreme economicinequality and a few of the policies that have proven effective in reducing it. As my headings suggest,today’s economic order in fact originated from humane impulses, visions that a vibrant economic-life notonly increased prosperity and ethical behavior but also ingenuity and creativity. As the Great Depression(1929) threatened the very foundations of laissez-faire-capitalism, even Western civilization itself,government-initiated programs had proven remarkably effective in ensuring everyone had a job with adecent standard of living. Yet, reactions against government regulations and safety-nets, especially afterthe worldwide oil embargo of 1973 that halted growth and increased inflation, derailed many of the socialadvances of the post-war-period. This fervor for deregulation that has dominated macroeconomics for thepast fifty-years, created a world where twenty-six individuals have a combined wealth that equals those ofthe bottom four-billion people. Yet, many recognize the harm that comes when so many are left behind,especially in developed countries that once enjoyed a higher standard of living. Humanitarian effortsworldwide are slowly but surely changing the paradigm — toward more humane goals for the well-beingof everyone. I will consider some of these remarkable public-profit organizations and the extraordinarypeople who started them

Triumph in Defeat:Lost Origins of Jesus’ Sayings

John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed the arrival of a new kingdom for first-century Palestine. Both turned away from the violence of Zealots (resistance fighters) and preached a higher way, creating in the process universal ideals. Working together, they launched a transformative moment in human history that is still shaping the world. John offered repentance to enter this newly forming kingdom and Jesus gave the lifestyle injunctions for how to live in it, for both believed that an age of peace and justice was about to begin. As Christianity developed early in the second-century CE, with Paul of Tarsus’ message of a completely spiritual kingdom, it appropriated John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth’s vision into its own framework and so severely contextualized it. Yet, the teachings of John and Jesus were too dynamic to keep under wraps for long and have tumbled out again and again in new ways. Studies of these origins have significant applications for our time: how words and symbols have the power to inspire throughout the ages, how to sift through a mythology for core truths, the horrors of prejudice when combined with religious ideologies, even of how to approach ancient cultures for a greater understanding. Here I will consider a little of how these teachings originated and a few of those at the center of it

グローバル時代の飢餓 ―多様な価値観に基づく解決策の提案―

中央大学総合政策学部の上級課程における2010年秋学期コース「グローバル時代の飢餓」について要点を幾つか挙げさせていただきます．まず始めに，私の研究対象は主に児童労働問題です．しかしながら，今学期の授業では学生達に現代の飢餓について学んでもらいたいと考えています．児童労働問題と密接な関わりを持つ今日的な飢餓の問題とその解決策について，政治的な視点での様々な解決策――穏健主義者から反グローバル化を推進する改革主義者まで――を例に挙げ，理解を深めていきます．具体的な学習法の概要は以下の通りです