La dialectique pluralisme religieux/incertitude religieuse dans la pensée de Peter L. Berger : analyse conceptuelle et essai critique.

La dialectique pluralisme religieux/incertitude religieuse, sur laquelle porte cette thèse, se révèle être un thème majeur dans la pensée de Peter L. Berger, en sociologie des religions et en théologie protestante. Une analyse systématique et détaillée des concepts-clés qui la constituent débouche sur la question des rapports entre sociologie et théologie à laquelle Berger lui-même s’est confronté. Abordée sous l’angle de l’idée du principe protestant, cette question s’est résolue, dès la fin des années 1960, en un certain « mariage » entre son approche de la sociologie de la connaissance et son approche théologique libérale. Les concepts de foi et théologie « inductives », de « voie médiane entre le fondamentalisme et le relativisme », semblent jaillir de cette dialectique et de ce « mariage ». Si néanmoins cette dialectique se retrace dans la pensée de Berger dès ses premières œuvres, la défense d’une via media théologique appliquée à toutes les religions se révèle être la conséquence de l’abandon (dès 1967), de sa posture théologique néo-orthodoxe. Dans cette posture, la dialectique bergérienne s’appliquait à toutes les religions mais laissait la foi chrétienne intouchée et pensée en termes de certitude. Or, une analyse critique de sa pensée permet de situer au moins à trois niveaux un certain nombre de problèmes : le niveau de sa conception de la religion manifestant une ambiguïté; le niveau des rapports entre sociologie et théologie révélant un biais libéral et une absence de contenu religieux concret pour le principe protestant; enfin le niveau de sa critique des quêtes contemporaines de certitudes religieuses, critique dont le fondement sur sa dialectique peut être questionné par des exemples de conception différente de la religion et de la certitude religieuse. Pour ces trois niveaux, l’exemple de la conception de la certitude religieuse par les protestants évangéliques permet au moins une ébauche d’un tel questionnement. Cette conception, surtout dans son idée de l’« assurance du salut», se fonde, dans son approche surnaturelle de la certitude religieuse, sur une adhésion et une confiance fortes quant aux contenus traditionnels de la foi chrétienne. Si les arguments avancés dans cette perspective demeurent discutables, ils semblent assez pertinents puisque la vitalité contemporaine de la religion à l’ère du pluralisme religieux (voir notamment le protestantisme évangélique aux États-Unis) constitue une indication que la validité empirique de la dialectique bergérienne, et la critique qu’elle fonde, sont largement problématiques si l’on tient compte de l’auto-compréhension des groupes religieux eux-mêmes.

Leben im Mietshausprojekt

Zunehmend mehr Menschen wünschen sich ein selbstbestimmtes Leben, neue Formen eines sozialen Miteinanders und mehr zwischenmenschliche Verbindlichkeit im Alltag. Die Möglichkeiten zur Mitsprache bei der Entwicklung und in der Organisation des alltäglichen Wohnens bleiben jedoch in der Regel nur einer kleinen Gruppe von BauherrInnen vorbehalten. Doch was ist mit jenen, die zwar gemeinschaftliche Lebensmodelle suchen, sich jedoch aufgrund ihrer Lebensplanung oder ihrer fnanziellen Situation nicht langfristig binden wollen oder können? Etwa siebzig Prozent der deutschen Haushalte mit geringem Einkommen wohnen zur Miete – viele von ihnen in anonymen Mietverhältnissen, in denen Wunsch und Wirklichkeit hinsichtlich einer guten und verlässlichen Nachbarschaft weit auseinander liegen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit gehe ich der Frage nach, wie nachbarschaftliches Wohnen in klassischen Mietshäusern organisiert werden kann. Welche Motivationen haben die BewohnerInnen? Wie kann unterstützend in die Entwicklung der Projekte eingegrifen werden? Wo liegen die natürlichen Grenzen des Konzeptes? Und wie kann verhindert werden, dass die Projekte nach einer euphorischen Phase des Neubaus oder der Sanierung entweder an inneren Widersprüchen oder an äußeren Zwängen scheitern? Als Forschungsansatz wählte ich eine Einzelfallstudie. Das Untersuchungsobjekt ist ein Mietshaus mit siebenundzwanzig Wohneinheiten und zweiundvierzig BewohnerInnen im Berliner Stadtteil Wedding. Ich habe das Projekt und die beteiligten Akteure während der Projektentwicklung, der Sanierungs- und der Wohnphase über einen Zeitraum von insgesamt zehn Jahren aktiv als Planer, Bewohner und Beobachter begleitet. Im Rahmen der Untersuchung wurden die unterschiedlichen Projektphasen, die Entwicklung des nachbarschaftlichen Miteinanders, sowie besondere Ereignisse in deren Verlauf beschrieben. Dabei wurden vor allem die eingesetzten Werkzeuge und Methoden, sowie wesentliche Faktoren, die zu der Entwicklung beigetragen haben, herausgestellt und analysiert. Anhand von Einzelinterviews, Gruppengesprächen und teilnehmenden Beobachtungen wurden die Wünsche, Bedürfnisse und Ängste der BewohnerInnen, sowie deren Auswirkungen auf das alltägliche Miteinander erfasst. Die Ergebnisse der Beobachtungen wurden interpretiert und abschließend in Empfehlungen zusammengefasst. Da sich das Projekt auch zehn Jahre nach der Gründung ständig weiter entwickelt, kann und soll in dieser Arbeit nur der Prozess beschrieben und analysiert, jedoch kein Endergebnis der Projektentwicklung präsentiert werden. Die vorliegende Studie soll vielmehr dazu beitragen, das Mietshausprojekt als alternatives Wohn- und Lebensmodell weiterzuentwickeln und zu seiner weiteren Verbreitung beitragen.

Say yes

Proponer matrimonio no es cualquier cosa, por lo cual la manera en la que se entrega el anillo es un momento que nunca se olvida y tiene que ser perfecto. Es a partir de esto que en los últimos años, se ha venido fortaleciendo una tendencia en la que las propuestas de matrimonio se han tornado mucho más creativas, llamativas y ostentosas, por lo cual cada vez más personas buscan de una manera creativa proponer matrimonio a su pareja, sin embargo aunque esta tendencia está en auge en otros países, en Colombia la gente no se esfuerza para proponer matrimonio de una forma creativa Say Yes es una empresa del sector de servicios ubicada en Bogotá que se encarga de crear, desarrollar y planear las propuestas de matrimonio soñadas para las parejas. La empresa nace de la idea de 3 jóvenes emprendedores que lo que se quieren lograr con este proyecto es brindarle a la comunidad una forma fácil y segura de planear y desarrollar su propuesta de matrimonio, creando y uniéndose a las tendencias mundiales que hay hoy en día, ayudando a elaborar, planear y tener éxito en la propuesta de matrimonio soñada para la pareja. Para la conformación de la compañía se debe hacer una inversión de alrededor de 28 millones, la cual se espera recuperar en un plazo de cuatro años con una tasa de interna retorno del 5,37% y en adelante generar ganancias, adicionalmente se espera lograr alcanzar el punto de equilibrio para finales del segundo año de funcionamiento.

The politics of weddings at Athens: an iconographic assessment

Despite recent scholarship that has suggested that most if not all Athenian vases were created primarily for the symposium, vases associated with weddings constitute a distinct range of Athenian products that were used at Athens in the period of the Peloponnesian War and its immediate aftermath (430-390 BCE). Just as the subject matter of sympotic vases suggested stories or other messages to the hetaireia among whom they were used, so the wedding vases may have conveyed messages to audiences at weddings. This paper is an assessment of these wedding vases with particular attention to function: how the images reflect the use of vases in wedding rituals (as containers and/or gifts); how the images themselves were understood and interpreted in the context of weddings; and the post-nuptial uses to which the vases were put. The first part is an iconographic overview of how the Athenian painters depicted weddings, with an emphasis on the display of pottery to onlookers and guests during the public parts of weddings, important events in the life of the polis. The second part focuses on a large group of late fifth century vases that depict personifications of civic virtues, normally in the retinue of Aphrodite (Pandemos). The images would reinforce social expectations, as they advertised the virtues that would create a happy marriage—Peitho, Harmonia (Harmony), and Eukleia (Good Repute)—and promise the benefits that might result from adherence to these values—Eudaimonia and Eutychia (Prosperity), Hygieia (Health), and Paidia (Play or Childrearing). Civic personifications could be interpreted on the private level—as personal virtues—and on the public level—as civic virtues— especially when they appeared on vases that functioned both in public and private, at weddings, which were public acknowledgments of private changes in the lives of individuals within the demos.

'A theatre of ruins'. Edward Bond & Samuel Beckett: theatrical antagonists

The playwright Edward Bond has long made known his antagonism to dramatists allied to Martin Esslin’s Theatre of the Absurd. The work of Samuel Beckett has come in for particular criticism by Bond. Using published writings (and unpublished correspondence between myself and Bond), I hope to trace the development of this antagonism between ‘Bondian’ and ‘Beckettian’ views of theatre. However, this article will also set out to argue that both early work such as The Pope’s Wedding (1962), and more recent work such as Coffee (1995), make use of motifs, characters and ideas from Beckett’s theatre. The article will set out provisional reasons why Bond, despite his misgivings, is not averse to incorporating elements from Beckett’s ‘theatre of ruins’, as he terms it, into his own work.

Tea caddy

The tea caddy was a present from Alfred and his sister Catherine to their mother Sarah on her silver wedding anniversary on 18 October 1874.

Getting Hitched: Weddings and Reality Television

From watching reality shows like A Wedding Story on TLC, I have learned that planning a wedding is stressful, kills friendships, and is generally not fun. In my opinion, I think it’s crazy. So why do people do this? What is the allure of this madness? In addition to the general insanity of weddings, the institute of marriage has been shown to be deeply flawed and quite unequal, but we are still tuning in to watch Engaged & Underage and Perfect Proposal. The fantasy shows that we watch and the glossy magazines we read seem to cover up the fact that the institution of marriage has problems. I want to find out why we are obsessed with getting married, even though many of us won’t actually carry through with the event or will end our marriages in divorce. Is it just the pageantry? The attention one receives as a bride and a new wife? To me, the huge attention paid to marriage in the media these days brings out some really interesting questions.

Concept design of a novel tactile probe tip for down scaled 3D CMMs

Although coordinate metrology has reached a very high state of development concerning versatility and accuracy for common engineering parts, a high precision capability with nano scale resolution and accuracy is often hard to achieve when it is required to measure very small parts and features. The limiting component is the bulky probing system of traditional CMMs (coordinate measuring machines). In order to satisfy increasing demand for highly accurate geometrical measurements on small parts and small structures, a new measuring probe of high sensitivity and small geometrical dimension with low contact forces needs to be developed. In this paper, a novel probing system, which combines a FBG (Fibre Bragg Grating) embedded optical fibre tactile probe with an optical sensing technique, has been proposed. With the sensor elements integrated into the probe tip directly, the system sensitivity can be increased significantly. A preliminary theoretical analysis of the sensitivity of the FBG fibre sensor under axial and lateral end point loading has been presented and the results show that this micro scale probe has great potential to realize a resolution of 1nanometer on geometrical measurement of small parts.

Development of a contact probe incorporating a bragg grating strain sensor for nano coordinate measuring machines

This paper presents a novel optical fibre based micro contact probe system with high sensitivity and repeatability. In this optical fibre probe with a fused spherical tip, a fibre Bragg grating has been utilized as a strain sensor in the probe stem. When the probe tip contacts the surface of the part, a strain will be induced along the probe stem and will produce a Bragg wavelength shift. The contact signal can be issued once the wavelength shift signal is produced and demodulated. With the fibre grating sensor element integrated into the probe directly, the probe system shows a high sensitivity. In this work, the strain distributions along the probe stem with the probe under axial and lateral load are analysed. A simulation of the strain distribution was performed using the finite element package ANSYS 11. Performance tests using a piezoelectric transducer stage with a displacement resolution of 1.5 nm yielded a measurement resolution of 60 nm under axial loading.

All things bright and beautiful

The famous hymn played on a piano.

Ave Maria

Ave Maria is the famous hymn and it features piano and 5 synths. I decided to use synth pads to create the evolving strings part and sounds of synth bells to add tone. The piano part makes this hymn distinctive.

Mothering siblings: Diaspora, desire and identity in American born confused Desi

In this essay we consider the construction of cultural identity, motherhood and the family in ABCD, a film of the Indian diaspora that had its world premiere at the 2001 London Film Festival. This film reads family, apparently within familiar narrative structures such as the U.S.-immigrant story, as portrayed in films like Goodbye, Columbus and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and the "leaving home" story, as classically portrayed in Pride and Prejudice, where a young person needs to escape from her clueless family. The irritating presence of the mother in the film, and the quickness with which her two children appear to make life-determining decisions following her death, seem to invite discussions of plot and character organized around ideas of individual development, self-improvement and understanding. This is the territory of the desire plot, an account of family history captured for the twentieth century by Freudian-Lacanian readings which position sexual desire within the unconscious history of familial fantasies, understood as vertical and Oedipal. In this territory, mothers and old ladies become, as Mary Jacobus memorably phrased it, little more than "the waste products" of a system in which marriageable women are objects of exchange between men (142) and a mother's death would be expected to grease the wheels of narrative. Identity and narrative are inextricably linked here: a certain understanding of narrative as developmental and teleological paves the way for an understanding of identity as either/or. There are problems, however, in trying to read ABCD as a bildüngsroman structured by what Susan Freidman calls "the temporal plots of the family romance, its repetitions and discontents" (137), rendering the "Indian" characteristics of the plot unreadable, and the apparently self-defeating nature of the characters' choices and behavior, rather pointless. A central [End Page 16] difficulty is that the film both responds to and resists readings based on the Oedipal model of the bildüngsroman with its focus on linear development through time.