Openings: Acknowledging Essential Moments in Human Communication

Index

235 index abortion, 68 acknowledgment, 5, 7, 11, 18, 21, 56–83, 87, 93, 100, 104, 116, 124, 137, 145, 147–48, 160, 166–68, 173, 175, 207; ethos of, 60; negative, 59, 158; a life-draining force, 59; as a holy act, 62–66; as something other than a holy act; 66–69; actions, speak louder than words, 109 Adam and Eve, 48–49, 64–65 Advance Planning Consultation, 178 African Americans, 117, 121, 124–27 ageism, 59 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 180–81 Alcoholics Anonymous, 2–3 alienation, 97 Alinsky, Saul, 140 Alper, Matthew, The “God” Part of the Brain, 96 altruism, 52 Alzheimer’s disease, 81 American Beauty, 131, 151–77 American capitalism, 117, 196 American character, 191–92 American Dream, the, 117 American with Disabilities Act, 74 American people, the, 114 antiviral software, 50 anxiety, 32, 46, 50, 55, 64, 96, 135, 207; magnitude of, 94 apostates, 50 architects, 17 argumentation theory, 122 Aristotle, 48 arrangement (dispositio), 34 art: beauty of, 130; greatness of, 154 assertion, 33–34 atom, the, 4 Augustine, Confessions, 85 authenticity, 47 automatons, 27, 29 awe, 3 Bard, the, 34 Barrett, William, 97, 207 baseball fan, 89–90 Baudrillard, Jean, 218n16 236 • Index beauty, 90; of being open, 153–76; and deliberation, 147; as interruption of the usual, 153–54, languages of, 223n. 14; see also confession Beck, Glenn, 112 Becker, Ernest, 58–59 beginnings, 4, 66 Being, 13; the shepherd of, 71 being with and for others, 29 Bellah, Robert, 19 Bible, 31, 49, 52, 62, 208; and the widow, orphan, and stranger, 31 big bang, 11, 26, 69, 201–2, 205–6 big crunch, 201 bigotry, 71 biotechnology, limits of, 209 black church, the, 117 black community, 119 black holes, 201 Black, Edwin, 8 blackberry, 20 body, the broken, 75 body politic, 8, 19, 43 Boehner, John, 180–81 brain, physiological function of, 98 breakdowns, 94 Brown v. Board of Education, 121 Broyard, Anatole, 102–6; and crisis of language, 102; and desire, 102; and metaphysical self, 104; and nature, 103, and Pampers, 103; posing for eternity, 104; and storytelling , 103; his style, 102–4 Buber, Martin, 1, 58, 212n8 Buddhism, 17 Burke, Kenneth, 15, 89, 110 Bush administration, 126 Camus, Albert, The Myth of Sisyphus, 5–6, 25, 141–42 capitalism, spirit of, 187–88 capitalist culture, 19 cardiac arrest, 41 caress, 19 Carr, Nicolas, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, 20 Casey, Edward, 14 Cavell, Stanley, 60–61 cell phones, 28, 140 chaos, 92 charity, 100 cheerleading, 161 chess, 3 choice, 81 Christ, 68, 115; Church of, 143 Christianity, 93, 204, 206 Cicero, 110–11 circumspection, 27 civic-mindedness, 54 civic republican tradition, 19, 110 civic virtue, 29, 112, 177 Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, 229n14 civil society, 178 closed fist, 8 closed-mindedness, 54, 193, 197–98, 204 cognitive science, 98 collaborative deliberation, 8, 69, 116–17, 191 collateral damage, 81 Collins, Francis S., 51, 204; The Language of God, 52 common sense, 27, 109, 150 communication, 55, 67; competence, 181; computer-mediated, 20; faceto -face, 20; interpersonal, 18, 210 communication ethics, 23, 177, 210 community: authentic, 52, dialogic logic of, 136 compassion, 42, 81 conclusion (conclusio), 35 confession, 7, 64, 85, 130; and beauty, 136–51; and law enforcement , 134; as an opening, 133–51; and religion, 134; a speech act, 135; therapeutic, 141 confessing society, 134; see also Frank Warren confirmation, 58 conscience, call of, 5, 7, 23, 39, 42, 45–47, 49–52, 56, 59, 69, 80, 87, 91–92, 93, 119–22, 124–26, 166, 130–31, 138–141, 147–48, 150, Index • 237 175, 198, 205; and call of Being, 218n9; challenge-response logic of, 48; cultivation of, 117; deconstructive and reconstructive function of, 96; and health care crisis, 191; voice of, 4 consciousness, 5, 12, 37; moral, 88, 115–16; reflexive turn of, 62 conservatives, religious, 81 Constitution, the, 114 contemplation, 20 contradictions of our character, 121 conversation, 53, 55, 136, 177 Corn, David, 193 Copeland, Aaron, “Fanfare for the Common Man,” 121 cosmic inflation, epoch of, 200–1, 206 cosmic microwave background, 12 cosmos, 18, 201 courage, acts of, 157 creation, mechanics of, 39, 93 Creationism, 200 cremation urns, 15 Cruzan, Nancy, 77 culture war, 81, 101 cyberspace, 19–21, 136 dark energy, 201 Darwin, Charles, 38 Dawkins, Richard, 35–39, 45, 50, 66 death, 16, 75, 144; camps...