Browsing by Subject "state"

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    Pascal's Wafer: The Concept of Piety in Blaise Pascal's Theological Anthropology
    (2024-04-22) Whelan, Maximillian
    The concept of piety occupies a central, if hidden or obscure place in the theological anthropology of Blaise Pascal (1623–1662). Like many aspects of Pascal’s thought, piety has a two-sided, paradoxical nature stemming from the broader human condition, a condition marked by—indeed, torn between—misery and greatness. On the one hand, for Pascal, an individual can never, in their earthly existence, achieve a sense of certainty or definitive self-constitution through any act, pious or otherwise, no matter how visible or numerous such acts may be. As a product of the Fall, the human self is “hateful” and perpetually incapable of fulfilling, through its own merits or capabilities, any sense of duty or purity before God. As the means by which the human self is “annihilated,” piety hence entails a spirit of endurance and embrace of uncertainty. On the other hand, however, piety does not exclusively entail unceasing, self-annihilating acts. There are also different earthly states of piety—what Pascal refers to as the “beginning,” “progress” and “consummation” of piety—that are increasingly “filled” and directed toward a final, heavenly state. There is thus a way in which annihilating acts and vivifying states of piety work in tandem and toward the same end. This simultaneity and synergy of pious acts and states may be discerned in the three orders constituting Pascal’s anthropology, namely, those of the body, mind, and heart. Crucially and at each step of the way, this process is dependent on God’s action, that is, on grace. As I seek to show, piety, for Pascal, is fundamentally a childlike phenomenon—an act and state simultaneously whereby, rather than a person presenting themselves before God, God presents Himself both before and within the person.
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    The synergy between stress and self-compassion in building resilience: A 4-year longitudinal study
    (Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2024-07-01) Park, J; Bluth, K; Lathren, C; Leary, M; Hoyle, R
    This 4-year prospective study investigated the dynamic relationship between stress, self-compassion, and resilience among university students, a population with increasing rates of mental health challenges. Drawing on stress theories, the research explored whether the combination of stress and self-compassion strengthens resilience over time. A sample of 1137 university students (47.6% White, 38% female) completed measures of stress, resilience, and self-compassion annually during the Spring semester across their four undergraduate years. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model with latent interactions was used to test the hypothesized causal relationships. Contrary to the common belief that stress is debilitating, the results revealed a positive association between an increase in stress and a subsequent increase in self-compassion. Moreover, when stress levels increased alongside self-compassion, students demonstrated higher resilience. Notably, an increase in either stress or self-compassion alone did not enhance resilience. These findings highlight the synergetic effect between self-compassion and stress in enhancing resilience; under the right conditions, stress can lead to positive outcomes and increased capacity for coping with future stressors.