The Influence of Community Upon the Development of Self: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Ritual, a universal human mode of action that serves multiple functions in every culture, is also a powerful source of psychological healing. In recent years therapists have drawn upon the power and creativity of ritual and the rite of passage to help people bring order and definition into their lives and to master various life transitions. This paper describes how adult incest survivors, in published autobiographical accounts, have incorporated the use of ritual into their self‐healing processes. Implications for clinical work are drawn.     

Limitations for measuring religion in a different cultural context - the case of Japan

The article points out the limitations in surveys measuring religiosity and spirituality using the measures developed in Christian or Western contexts. Japanese people think of religion (shūkyō) as revealed religion such as Christianity that has specific doctrinal belief and faith. Through their history of religious regulation, Japanese people came to consider themselves "non-religious" as a way of survival, not to be punished by political authorities and not to be stigmatized in their community. Thus they tend to answer that they consider themselves "non-religious" in surveys, while performing ritual performances for their ancestors in Buddhist temples and Buddhist altars not only to thank ancestors but also to ease the psychological fear people have toward muenbotoke, restless ancestors who have no legitimate offspring to take care of them. To extend the study of spirituality or religiousness in the Japanese context, qualitative studies are necessary not to misinterpret religiousness and spirituality in Japanese context.     

山上与山下:从清水祖师巡境仪式看社会的构成

本文基于在福建安溪清水岩的田野调查，围绕清水祖师迎春绕境仪式，考察清水岩所在的蓬莱山与山下平原社会的关系。居于半山的清水岩，一半和山下社会粘合，一半与山上非人世界相连。清水祖师巡境仪式使岩下社会组成特定的地域共同体，形成社会化程度强弱有序的生活节律并实现周期性的更新重生。清水岩又与山顶象征的非人世界相通，通过在山上和山下之间流通的物，为山下社会引入超越性灵力，赋予各种人、物及其代表的共同体以神圣性。清水岩的中间性或双重性，是安溪人对其生活世界的划分和认知。活跃于山岩的士、僧、道被奉为真人，穿行于山上和山下，跨越人间社会和非人世界，融通自然和社会。清水岩呈现的不仅是安溪人的社会观，也是其人观。     

丧礼相声与民国时期京津平民的社会关系运作

在近代城市人口流动增大的背景下,有必要对基于差序格局的社会关系运作方式有何变化展开深入探讨。虽然民国时期京津两地人口流动规模较大,但其城市文化在旗人生活方式的影响下依然重视基于血缘伦理的礼数。通过分析反映京津城市文化的丧礼相声可以发现,在人口流动与城市文化碰撞下,京津平民倾向于接纳外人与陌生人进入其丧服体系,亦即差序格局的核心圈层,以完成礼数的正常运行。民国时期京津平民的社会关系运作逻辑基于“义利之辨”的“交情”与“占便宜”,“交情”使外人、陌生人得以进入差序格局核心圈层,而“占便宜”则是外人、陌生人调适自身在差序格局中的合理位置的过程。     

哀敬两尽：从“君视大敛”看君臣、父子伦理的情感内涵

以君臣、父子为代表的政治伦理与亲属伦理及其内在的精神情感构成了中国社会结构、家国关系及政治秩序的深层根基。本文通过对《士丧礼》中“君视大敛”这一环节的描述分析，指出君臣之间以敬为主的情感内涵与父子之间以哀为主的情感内涵相互影响，交织在一起，而从根本上讲，这两种情感及其相互作用统一于儒家的仁义思想之中。通过对这两种伦理之情感内涵的讨论，文章进一步明晰了中国历史传统中家国关系的内在精神情感通路，即性情仁厚之人在家庭内部孝敬父母，才能在国家层面忠于君主，而国家层面的君臣关系也关照、影响着家庭内的父子关系。文章同时也为理解当下身处尊卑有等与亲疏有差两层关系中的中国人的内在情感状态、行动伦理以及在此结构中形成的社会人格提供了一种新的解释。     

论中国当代公共行为文明的价值内涵

在西方和中国学者的政治社会论述中,现代公共领域概念涵盖了政治公共领域、文化公共领域和日常生活的公共领域三个相互关联又各具独立性的论题,其中日常生活的公共领域与当代中国人的生存现实最为切近。中国当代公共行为文明的构建蕴含着三个依次递进的价值原则:基于利益纽带的工具性价值,在自主意识与伦理责任之间达成均衡的"健全的个人主义",以及基于"健全的人道主义"的公共精神。     

“礼不下庶人刑不上大夫”辨正

"礼不下庶人刑不上大夫"不连读,两者涉及两种不同的仪礼。因为庶人无庙,故其君、上轼庙时不必下车回避,此即"礼不下庶人"。君使臣以礼,会见大臣当以礼意而非刑意,故"刑人不在君侧"。自贾谊在《新书.阶级》中以"礼不及庶人,刑不至大夫"对之加以阐释后,所引起的争论迄今未决。在承认"礼不及庶人,刑不至大夫"的前提下,通过对"礼"、"刑"的外延加以限制,将之修订为"某些或某种礼不及庶人,某些或某种刑不至大夫",这种说法在逻辑上是不通的;而据此否认"礼不下庶人,刑不上大夫"是真实存在过的制度,其观点虽有可取,但仍然存在前提性错误;"刑无等级"比"礼有等级"更专制。     

Coping skills of ritual abuse survivors: An exploratory study

Abstract

This research project was undertaken with survivors of ritual abuse to explore their coping skills at the time of the abuse and in adulthood around the memories of the abuse. In this qualitative study, data were gathered both from 14 therapists who specialize in treating survivors of ritual abuse and from three survivors of ritual abuse. Data gathering utilized semi‐structured interview schedules and structured coping scales.

Principal findings were that the ritual abuse survivors represented in this study used dissociation as the main coping mechanism both during the time of the abuse and in adulthood around memories of the abuse, that there was a developmental progression of coping skills used by these survivors over time, and that they relied on the use of self‐mutilating behaviors as creative means of affect management. Implications and future research are discussed.     

中国传统礼仪和社会主义荣辱观辩证关系的研究

传统文化是民族传承的基因,礼仪是古老中国最基本的社会现象,是中国传统文化的核心部分。讲“礼”重“仪”是中华民族世代相传的优良传统。社会主义荣辱观是中国传统礼仪、文化与时代精神的统一。本文主要对中国传统礼仪和社会主义荣辱观辩证关系进行研究,中国传统礼仪蕴含了社会主义荣辱观的思想渊源,社会主义荣辱观是对中国传统礼仪的继承与创新,两者相互依存,相互联系,辩证统一,还论述了中国传统礼仪在实践社会主义荣辱观的时代意义,最后阐述了在传承中国传统礼仪中考量荣辱评价标准问题及对高校大学生思想政治工作的启示。     

农村留守老人需要社会关怀

本文分析了我国农村留守老人的形成原因,并对农村留守老人的社会关怀展开具体论述。对农村留守老人施以社会关怀,既是农村留守老人的主观愿望,又是农村经济发展的客观需要。对这一问题的探讨,具有很强的现实意义。     

日常生活的结构与意义：《礼记·曲礼》的社会学研究

社会人类学对于礼与仪式的研究有助于我们认识日常社会生活和加深对社会结构的理解,因为研究所侧重的仪式过程激活了人在社会交往和互动中的实践主体性。通过对《礼记·曲礼》的社会人类学解读,我们发现,人的日常生活具有社会结构与时间性这些基本要素,礼制结构内含复杂的人伦结构与天人关系,以及丰富的时间体验。礼所体现的情感与意义是社会生活之神圣感的源泉,礼仪就是将人和社会带入这种境界的手段与过程。这种尝试性的解读意在将传统礼仪纳入社会学的研究范围。     

Rituals of intimate legal touch: regulating the end-of-game handshake in pandemic culture

This article situates recent attempts to regulate the end-of-game handshake in youth team sports within a broader context of the troubling of touch within pandemic culture. It suggests that the end-of-game handshake is most productively understood as simultaneously: embodied ritual, form of intimate touch, and legal gesture. The analysis invites readers not only to understand the handshake as a complex and meaningful quotidian ritual, but also to see it as an increasingly unstable mode of handwork. The end-of-game handshake, in particular, highlights the clash of values between sport’s imperative to re-establish the normative hetero-masculine haptic order between players at the conclusion of the match, and pandemic culture’s framing of the skin of the palms as dirty and its corresponding requirement, asked of all prudent subjects, that we hygienically manage our everyday haptic contact. In this way, the contested fate of the end-of-game handshake in pandemic culture highlights the multiple ways that touch is understood as a volatile practice demanding regulation.     

Disaster and deritualization: A re-interpretation of findings from early disaster research

This study investigates how ritual practices are disrupted in disasters and the ways people deal with those situations. We employ structural ritualization theory to conduct this investigation focusing on deritualization, which refers to the breakdown or loss of ritualized activities that occur in daily life. The thesis of this paper is that ritual practices are disrupted in a disaster leading to the breakdown of action and meaning. Data were collected from 19 seminal sociological studies from the National Academy of Sciences published first under the name of the Committee on Disaster Studies (1951–1957) and then under the rubric of the Disaster Research Group (1957–1962). A content analysis of these studies revealed many instances of deritualization. Deritualization is manifested or most evident through its effects on action and meaning in rituals. Examples were categorized according to the loss of action, meaning, or a combination of both.     

历史价值的错位——吴宓的道德理念探讨

在新文化运动对“旧道德”猛烈批判的呼声中，吴宓却把道德作为救国救世的落脚点，由此，吴宓的道德理念在当时不仅不受重视，甚至被视为迂腐守旧而备受批判，其根本原因是不符合时代的要求，是一种历史价值的错位。吴宓的道德理念是他延续传统、会通东西文化的一部分，其思想不仅是对当时激进时代主流思想的一种反思和补充，对我们强调道德普世性的今天，亦有重要的意义。     

整合药礼:阿卡医疗体系的运作机制

本文以云南省普洱市哈尼族阿卡人的整体宇宙秩序为观照,运用文化阐释方法剖析其病痛观及相应医疗实践,以理解其“药礼结合”的治病方式,并挖掘阿卡社会医疗体系的运作机制。研究发现,阿卡人认为人包括人体与人魂,有些病痛只是身体的病痛,可以用药物治疗;有些病痛则被视为人与不可见的灵、鬼、神、老天爷等非人存在物互动交流的渠道,是人违背宇宙秩序招致的惩罚,需诉诸献祭仪式以求病愈。社会—宇宙的集体道德通过这些病痛被内化到个体当中,后者在不确定的病痛及相应治疗仪式中反复确认和维护宇宙秩序的权威,维持了社会—宇宙的更新与延续。正是“药礼结合”的多元实践,保证了阿卡礼成功以病痛作为落点来整合社会—宇宙秩序,从而保证了阿卡礼的持续运作。     

影响性诉讼:社会转型与构建和谐社会的法治精灵

中国建设和谐社会正处于中国社会全面转型的历史时期。转型时期的中国社会既有新旧体制与机制的强力对垒,也有新旧观念和思维方式的激烈碰撞,更有各种复杂矛盾与疑难问题的集中爆发。由于人们法律意识及法治观念的逐渐增强,转型时期频繁发生的影响性诉讼成为人们观察和关注社会发展脉动的重要兴奋点。影响性诉讼对构建和谐社会具有重要意义和深刻影响:使人们对社会发展现实有无比清醒而理智的认识;对正在建设中的和谐社会法治提供助力并树立信心。     

A parsimonious model of subjective life expectancy

On average, “young” people underestimate whereas “old” people overestimate their chances to survive into the future. Such subjective survival beliefs violate the rational expectations paradigm and are also not in line with models of rational Bayesian learning. In order to explain these empirical patterns in a parsimonious manner, we assume that self-reported beliefs express likelihood insensitivity and can, therefore, be modeled as non-additive beliefs. In a next step we introduce a closed form model of Bayesian learning for non-additive beliefs which combines rational learning with psychological attitudes in the interpretation of information. Our model gives a remarkable fit to average subjective survival beliefs reported in the Health and Retirement Study.     

苌弘的史书形象嬗变与士人的精神传承

苌弘是春秋时代周王朝的大夫,辅佐几代周王长达57年。88岁的苌弘凭借数十年的忠心和声望,保持与晋国的关系,维持了周王朝的稳定;主持礼乐活动,以德服人,坚守周文化,等到了孔子访学,实现了薪尽火传;知天命不可违,依然抗争,竭尽全力维护周王朝的存续。苌弘的鞠躬尽瘁,碧血丹心,对古代士人精神有独特而持久的影响。     

Longevity insurance annuities: China adopts a benefit innovation from the past

Longevity insurance annuities are deferred annuities that begin payment at advanced older ages, such as at age 80. Such annuities would benefit some older retirees who have drawn down their savings, but the private sector has problems in providing them. Originally, social insurance old‐age benefits programmes in some countries were structured as longevity insurance programmes, with 50 per cent or less of those entering the workforce surviving to receive the benefits. Over time, however, as life expectancy has improved, the benefits these programmes provide have slowly transformed into benefits that most people entering the workforce ultimately receive. This article argues that the reintroduction of longevity insurance benefits as part of social insurance old‐age benefit programmes could be an important policy innovation, in particular because this benefit is generally not provided by the private sector. China has introduced longevity insurance benefits as part of its social insurance system, offering a model for other countries, particularly those providing modest social insurance old‐age benefits.     

Family Support for Old People in Rural China

In China the family is still the major welfare provider for old people in rural areas. Although the implementation of this role has varied significantly, in different historical periods, owing to social and economic changes in the rural environment, the core functions of the family have remained the same, that is, the provision of welfare for dependants, particularly for the aged. In the more traditional China, providing care for the aged was indeed assumed to be a paramount function of the family. Whereas, following the founding of the PRC in 1949, the welfare function of the family was reduced, as a result of the collectivization of the rural economy, which meant a part of family responsibilities being shared by collective organizations. However, after more than twenty years' experience of agricultural collectivization, China embarked on a course of further rural economic reform in the early 1980s, replacing the commune system with one of private production based on the family unit. As a result, rural welfare responsibilities were shifted back from the commune to the family, which became solely responsible for providing support for its dependent members. This paper attempts to set out the real situation with regard to family support for rural old people in China. The first section offers a brief introduction to the declining family status of rural old people as a consequence of socio-economic change. The second section reviews the implications of rural economic reform for the (declining) status of old people with regard to family support, focusing on patterns of rural old age dependency and the changing roles of family caregivers. Lastly, cases of family support disputes and community responses are presented, drawing on findings from fieldwork conducted by the author between 1995 and 1996 in three rural localities in China.