bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cross-reactive antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination
Authors: Grobben Marloes , van der Straten Karlijn , Brouwer Philip JM , Brinkkemper Mitch , Maisonnasse Pauline , Dereuddre-Bosquet Nathalie , Appelman Brent , Lavell AH Ayesha , van Vught Lonneke A , Burger Judith A , Poniman Meliawati , Oomen Melissa , Eggink Dirk , Bijl Tom PL , van Willigen Hugo DG , Wynberg Elke , Verkaik Bas J , Figaroa Orlane JA , de Vries Peter J , Boertien Tessel M ,   Amsterdam UMC COVID-19 S3/HCW study group, Bomers Marije K , Sikkens Jonne J , Le Grand Roger , de Jong Menno D , Prins Maria , Chung Amy W , de Bree Godelieve J , Sanders Rogier W , van Gils Marit J
Published: November 2021

Current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are losing efficacy against emerging variants and may not protect against future novel coronavirus outbreaks, emphasizing the need for more broadly protective vaccines. To inform the development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine, we investigated the presence and specificity of cross-reactive antibodies against the spike (S) proteins of human coronaviruses (hCoV) after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. We found an 11- to 123-fold increase in antibodies binding to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV as well as a 2- to 4-fold difference in antibodies binding to seasonal hCoVs in COVID-19 convalescent sera compared to pre-pandemic healthy donors, with the S2 subdomain of the S protein being the main target for cross-reactivity. In addition, we detected cross-reactive antibodies to all hCoV S proteins after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in macaques and humans, with higher responses for hCoV more closely related to SARS-CoV-2. These findings support the feasibility of and provide guidance for development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine.
BengSentiLex and BengSwearLex: creating lexicons for sentiment analysis and profanity detection in low-resource Bengali language
Authors: Sazzed Salim
Published: November 2021

Bengali is a low-resource language that lacks tools and resources for various natural language processing (NLP) tasks, such as sentiment analysis or profanity identification. In Bengali, only the translated versions of English sentiment lexicons are available. Moreover, no dictionary exists for detecting profanity in Bengali social media text. This study introduces a Bengali sentiment lexicon, BengSentiLex, and a Bengali swear lexicon, BengSwearLex. For creating BengSentiLex, a cross-lingual methodology is proposed that utilizes a machine translation system, a review corpus, two English sentiment lexicons, pointwise mutual information (PMI), and supervised machine learning (ML) classifiers in various stages. A semi-automatic methodology is presented to develop BengSwearLex that leverages an obscene corpus, word embedding, and part-of-speech (POS) taggers. The performance of BengSentiLex compared with the translated English lexicons in three evaluation datasets. BengSentiLex achieves 5%–50% improvement over the translated lexicons. For identifying profanity, BengSwearLex achieves documentlevel coverage of around 85% in an document-level in the evaluation dataset. The experimental results imply that BengSentiLex and BengSwearLex are effective resources for classifying sentiment and identifying profanity in Bengali social media content, respectively.
Construction of an AI-2 quorum sensing induced heterologous protein expression system in Escherichia coli
Authors: Shang Fei , Wang Hui , Zhang Dan , Wang Wenhui , Yu Jiangliu , Xue Ting
Published: November 2021

Background

The pET expression system based on T7 promoter which is induced by isopropyl-β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) is by far the most commonly used system for production of heterogeneous proteins in Escherichia coli. However, this system was limited by obvious drawbacks including the host toxicity and metabolic burden imposed by the presence of IPTG.

Methods

In this study, we incorporated the autoinducer-2 (AI-2) quorum sensing system to realize autoinduction of the pET expression system. The autoinduction expression vector pXWZ1 was constructed by inserting the lsr promoter regions into the pET28a(+) vector. The expression efficiency of the reporter genes gfpuv and lacZ by the pXWZ1 and pET28a(+) vectors were compared.

Results

The results showed that the expression levels of the both report genes in the cells transformed with pXWZ1 without any addition of exogenous inducer were higher than that transformed with pET28a(+) vectors by the induction of IPTG.

Conclusion

This new auto-induction system will exclude the limitations of the IPTG induction including toxic to host and increasing formation of inclusion body and will become a more economical and convenient tool for recombinant protein expression.
Analysis and Study of the Socio Economic and Nutritional Status of Farmers Selected Under DST- SARTHI Project of District Hoshiarpur, Punjab
Authors: Dubey R. K. , Kaur Rajveer , Deepika Ravi , Dhillon T. S.
Published: November 2021

The present study was carried out in the department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana under DST- SARTHI project, New Delhi to analyse the socio economic and nutritional status of beneficiaries selected under the project. Moreover, nutritional status of farmers recorded to also assess the association between FVS, DDS and socioeconomic status at household level. The Data on vegetable production, selling, buying and socio-economic status were collected using questionnaire developed by PAU Ludhiana. A total 100 beneficiaries from three landholding categories viz small (<5 acre), medium (5-10 acre) and large (>10 acres) in Hoshiarpur were selected. The data have been collected to check the difference in the nutrition intake of beneficiaries during the interventional period and before the intervention. Correlation of both years (before and during intervention) calculated as 0.892243. It is concluded that the previous year diet was not healthier integration of both quality and quantity in the scores but both scores (DDS& FVS) increased during intervention period through DST Project.
Efficacy of Selected Bio-Agents and Neem Cake on Cercospora Leaf Spot and Growth of Black Gram (Vigna mungo L.)
Authors: Kumar Reddy Narreddula Nijesh , Simon Sobita , A. Lal Abhilasha
Published: November 2021

Black gram (Vigna mungo L.) is a vital pulse crop globally and one of the most vital pulse in India. It is understood to be affected by many varieties of diseases, Cercospora leaf spot is certainly considered one among them. Cercospora leaf spot due to Cercospora canescens causes much damage to the production of black gram. The neem cake, Trichoderma viride, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Paecilomyces lilacinus, Carbendazim were tested under field conditions during Rabi 2020-2021 for their efficacy against the disease and growth and yield parameters. A survey was conducted during Rabi, 2020-2021 to know the severity of Cercospora leaf spot of black gram in farmer’s fields in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. In-situ (field) experiment was carried out in randomized block design with five treatments and three replications. The highest plant height at 60 DAS (56.96 cm), fresh weight (35.59 gm), dry weight (14.98 gm), number of pods per plant (18.17 pods/plant), yield (7.96 q/ha) and Benefit Cost ratio (1:3.48) showing better result when treated with treatment neem cake @ 0.5 t/ha + Trichoderma viride @ 2.5 kg/ha.  The treatment T1 – neem cake @ 0.5 t/ha + Trichoderma viride @ 2.5 kg/ha significantly decreased the disease intensity at 30, 45 and 60 DAS (10.02%), (12.02%) and (16.42%) respectively. It is concluded that T1 – neem cake @ 0.5 t/ha + Trichoderma viride @ 2.5 kg/ha found superior in all the growth and yield parameters.
Functional Outcome of Shaft of Humerus Fractures Managed Surgically by Dynamic Compression Plating Technique
Authors: Krishnan Midhun
Published: November 2021

The study analyzed 20 cases of fracture shaft of hummers treated with Dynamic Compression Plate. There was a male preponderance in our study 17 (85%). Almost Also 13% of patients treated by functional bracing end up with cosmetically unacceptable angulation of>15%, whereas all operative procedures achieve good alignment of the fractured bone was observed. The rate of union in Plate osteosynthesis is 93% and the time of union is 16 - 20 weeks, and more than 90% united in 18 weeks and 7% went for non union.
Bilateral Hydronephrosis with Grade 3 To 4 Vesicoureteral Reflux
Authors: Wanjari Mayur B. , Rodge Hina , Mendhe Deeplata , Wankhede Pratibha , Late Sampada
Published: November 2021

Introduction: Bilateral hydronephrosis is the enlargement of the parts of the kidney that collect urine. Bilateral means both sides. Bilateral hydronephrosis occurs when urine is unable to drain from the kidney into the bladder. Hydronephrosis is not itself a disease. It occurs as a result of a problem that prevents urine from draining out of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. VUR grade 3 is similar to grade 2 where urine travels up the ureter and enters the part of the kidney where urine is collected before it drains to the ureter (renal pelvis). However, in grade 3 the ureters and renal pelvis appear abnormal in size or shape.

Case Presentation: A 3 Years old female child is a known case of bilateral vesicoureteric reflex with bilateral hydroureteronephrosis with the developmental delay with sickle cell anemia came to the hospital for further management. As narrated by mother-child was apparently alright till 6 months of age after the child developed excessive passing of urine and in increased more times.

Conclusion: After taking treatment for the bilateral vesicoureteric reflex with bilateral hydroureteronephrosis patient was hemodynamically stable hence the patient is being discharged.
Hair Transplant: Challenges, Solutions and Guideline for Beginners
Authors: Gawande Mayur J. , Bansal Shallu , Daga Akshay , Latke Siddhesh , Joseph Simmona , Agrawal Rishabh
Published: November 2021

The aim of this article is to summarize the challenges which might have to be faced by the beginners while setting up a hair transplantation practice. Hair transplantation is one of the most rapidly evolving procedures in aesthetic surgery that is steadily gaining attention in dermatology practice in the recent times. It is a very time‑consuming and tedious procedure to be performed even by the trained practitioner.Hair transplantation is a procedure which needs highly skilled professional and helping labor. Hand and eye co‑ordination are also utmost important to perform such delicate surgeries.Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it will dehydrate you. This can prolong your recovery time and increase your risk of discomfort. Moreover, it can elevate your blood pressure to an unsafe level and reduce the supply of blood and crucial nutrients to your head. Avoid alcohol for the first five days after your procedure.
Histopathological Effect of Emzolyn Codein Cough Syrup on Lungs and Its Oxidative Stress Biomarkers
Authors: Okorie Nnaemeka , Obeagu Emmanuel Ifeanyi , Nnamani Adaobi Doris , Ude Ugomma Agwu , Agada Uchechukwu Nelson , Obi Ihuoma A. , Ibiam Gideon Ama
Published: November 2021

Despite the dangers associated with the increased use of codeine drugs, limited researches have addressed the specific effects of emzolyn codeine on the lung. The aim of this study was to assess the histological effects of emzolyn codeine cough syrup on the lung of Wistar rats and its oxidative stress. Twenty one (21) Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups labeled T1, T2 and T3. Group T1 served as control and was given distilled water and diet for 42 days, group T2 was treated with 0.1 mg/g bodyweight emzolyn codeine cough syrup for 21 days while group T3 was treated with 0.1 mg/g bodyweight emzolyn codeine cough syrup for 42 days. At the end of the duration, the wistar rats were sacrificed under anaesthesia and the lungs were collected after dissection and transferred into 10% buffered formalin. Sections of the lungs were obtained and processed for histological studies using Hematoxylin and Eosin stain, Periodic acid Schiff’s solution, Phosphotungstic acid Haematoxylin stain and Methanamine Silver stains. Results from the study suggested that acute and chronic exposure to emzolyn codeine cough syrup produced significant (P<0.05) decrease in body weight, edematous  aveolar space with marked type 11 pneumocyte, marked hypertrophy (H) of the septa and marked inflammatory cells. The levels of total antioxidant status (TAS) was also determined using standard spectrophotometric techniques. The mean MDA of the exposed groups were significantly higher while the mean levels of SOD, GPx, CAT, and GSH were significantly lower than the control group. In conclusion, this study confirmed the risk of increased oxidative stress, pulmonary toxicity and decreased body weight due to emzolyn codeine cough syrup administration. Thus, indiscriminately and prolong use emzolyn codeine drug should be avoided and antioxidant supplements are advised as a prophylactic supportive therapy for adequate measures in preventing development of oxidative stress-associated complications among exposed individuals.
To Assess the Parents Reported Causes of Physically Abuse Children the Age Group of 6 to 12 Years
Authors: Pohekar Savita , Sharma Ranjana , Ankar Ruchira , Raut Arti , Tembhare Vaishali , Gujar Samruddhi
Published: November 2021

Introduction: Child maltreatment and neglect are considered important issues in the US. However, parental-child violence is not studied enough to provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes.

Aim: To determine the parent's reported causes of actual children who are abusing the age bracket of 6 to 12 years.

Methods and Materials: The descriptive survey study design was used with a quantitative research approach conducted in a selected community area of Wardha town. The sample size was 200 parents with children aged 6 to 12. Pre-tested and validated structured questionnaires were used. The data gathered was registered into the Microsoft Excel sheet. The statistical analysis ended up being done SPSS. The frequencies and percentages of categorical variables had been provided.

Results: The parents reported causes for physical abuse among children of 6 to 12 years were seen into 4 categories, once in a week, sometimes, twice in a week, and never respectively. 37.5% of the parents reported twice in a week and 62.5% of them never reported causes.

The mean score of parents who reported causes of physically abuse children in the age group of 6 to 12 years was 44.58 ± 4.66 and the range of the score was 32 to 56.  Demographic variables such as age in years, gender, monthly income, education, area of residence, and relationship with parents were statistically associated with their reported causes.

Conclusion: Community-based methods, such as house visits, are incredibly efficient in changing the behavior of parents at risk of misuse. Targeted programs for moms with mental disorders and substance abuse are also shown to be effective in stopping emotional abuse [1].
Prevalence of Infections, the Rate of Bacterial Resistance and Antibiotics Use in Al-kharj: Narrative Review
Authors: J. Ahmed Nehad , A. Menshawy Menshawy , Khan Mohd. Faiyaz
Published: November 2021

Aim: The present review aimed to describe the rate of different infections, the rate of bacterial resistance and antibiotics use in Al-kharj.

Methodology: This was a narrative review that included searching Web of science for the keywords “infections” or “bacterial resistance” or “antibiotics use” and “Al-kharj” from 1st of January 2015 to 14th of October 2021.

Results: Searching Web of science for the keywords resulted in 29 papers that was conducted during the study period and investigate the rate of different infections, the rate of bacterial resistance or the use of antibiotics in Al-kharj. So, 29 articles were included in the present review.

Conclusion: Most of the studies about infections included only some types of infections and most of the conducted studies about the use of antibiotics focused only on the outpatient setting. More studies are needed to explore the rate of other infections and to describe the prescribing of antibiotics in other hospital settings.
Regenerative Endodontic Therapy Using Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and Amelogenin for the Treatment of Non-vital Immature Permanent Teeth with Apical Periodontitis: An Animal Study
Authors: Y. Alhazzazi Turki , M. Rashed Fatma , A. Matar Moustafa , F. Bogari Dania , F. Mounir Maha M.
Published: November 2021

Background: Platelet-rich plasma (PRR) was proposed to serve as a possible scaffold model for regenerative endodontic therapies. However, its treatment outcomes are still controversial. Amelogenin protein has been shown to induce stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of amelogenin to PRP in non-vital immature permanent teeth with apical periodontitis can improve their treatment outcomes. Methods: Root canals of both maxillary and mandibular premolars in 8 mongrel dogs (n= 128) were instrumented and left open. After 14 days, in a second surgical procedure, canals were cleaned, irrigated, and treated with PRP (n=64) and PRP + amelogenin (n=64). After 1 and 3 months, animals were killed, and treated teeth were evaluated for histological and immune detection for nestin markers. Results: After 1 and 3 months post-surgery, PRP-treated canals showed full closure of opened apexes but minimal cementum, periodontal ligament (PDL), and bone regeneration. Importantly, no pulp regeneration was recognized. In contrast, PRP + amelogenin-treated canals at 1 and 3 months showed full closure of opened apexes, significant deposition of cementum, bone, regeneration of PDL, and pulp-like tissue regeneration compared to PRP-treated groups (p<0.001). By the 3-month period, full regeneration of all the lost dental-pulp complex tissues was seen, including vascular pulp-like tissue. Conclusions: PRP alone did not achieve the desired treatment outcomes, but after addition of amelogenin protein, it induced pulpal regeneration and regenerated the whole attachment apparatus. This combination could serve as a novel approach for regenerative endodontic therapy in non-vital immature permanent teeth with apical periodontitis. However, additional research is warranted to further evaluate the effect of such a combination in different animal settings before administrating this approach in clinical cases.
Agnosticism
Authors: Oppy Graham
Published: November 2021

Agnosticism is defined by its place in a fourfold scheme of classification of truth‐directed attitudes: theists believe that God exists; atheists believe that God does not exist; agnostics suspend judgment on the question whether God exists; and innocents have never so much as entertained the claim that God exists. Each of the first three positions in the fourfold scheme of classification admits of variation along a range of dimensions: strength of attitude; attitude towards the rational standing of the attitudes of others; views about proof; views about knowledge; and views about meaningfulness. Because historical usage has not always conformed to this account of the meanings of terms, not all who have called themselves “agnostics” turn out to be agnostics. We conclude by considering how Darwin, Huxley, Ingersoll, Einstein, and Russell are classified under the fourfold scheme.
Anselm, Saint
Authors: Rogers Katherin
Published: November 2021

Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109
ce
) is generally acknowledged to be one of the great philosophers of religion, to the extent that one standard methodology in the area, sometimes called “perfect being theology,” is also sometimes referred to as the “Anselmian” approach. In addition to his “perfect being theology” – unpacking analytically the concept of “a being than which a greater cannot be thought” – he is best known for his
Proslogion
(“Ontological”) argument for the existence of God, his
Cur Deus homo
argument for the necessity of the incarnation, and his discussion of free will and topics related to free will.
Asaṅga
Authors: Meyers Karin
Published: November 2021

Asaṅga (fl. fourth century
ce
) is regarded as one of the key figures in the establishment of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India and as co‐founder of the Yogācāra (or Vijñānavāda) school along with his brother, Vasubandhu. He is understood to have received a novel set of Mahāyāna texts from the future Buddha Maitreya, which, together with his own works and those of Vasubandhu, define the distinctive views of Yogācāra‐Vijñānavāda, e.g. emptiness understood in terms of the three natures, the dependent origination (
pratītyasamutpāda
) of suffering understood in terms of the interaction between eight modes of consciousness, and the idea of a subliminal level of consciousness (
ālayavijñāna
). He also formulated a Mahāyāna Abhidharma and his descriptions of the common Buddhist and bodhisattva paths of practice are regarded as authoritative by Mahāyāna Buddhists of many persuasions.
Bhedābheda Vedānta
Authors: Nicholson Andrew J.
Published: November 2021

Bhedābheda (“difference and nondifference”) Vedānta, arguably the earliest recorded subschool of Vedānta philosophy, argues that the universe should be understood as both one and many. Based on a systematic interpretation of the Upaniṣads, it rejects one‐sided Vedāntic perspectives such as Advaita (nondualism) and Dvaita (dualism). This ancient philosophy had a resurgence in late medieval north India, where devotionally oriented Hindu sects drew upon Bhedābheda Vedānta's realist philosophy to portray worship of the god Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa as the highest path to liberation.
Reformed Tradition, The
Authors: Rehnman Sebastian
Published: November 2021

This entry reviews some representative primary sources that were formative in the codification of the Reformed tradition to further a historically informed philosophical investigation of that tradition. The first section deals with the relation between philosophical and theological claims about divinity, while the second deals with the relation between philosophical and theological claims about morality. The entry establishes the Reformed tradition's ardent endorsement of a philosophical account of the existence and attributes of divinity on the one hand, and its systematic account of the unity and distinction of philosophical and theological ethics centralized in a concept of virtue on the other.
Chinese Thought (Classical Period)
Authors: Perkins Franklin
Published: November 2021

While philosophy and religion were never sharply distinguished in China, what we now call Chinese philosophy incorporated, theorized, and sometimes opposed practices and views that can reasonably be called religious. These included questions about cosmogony, the problem of evil, and the relationship between human beings and the divine. Philosophers were also concerned with common aspects of religion that are now often neglected in philosophy, such as ritual and divination. Finally, the disagreements between different ways and different philosophies led to reflection on pluralism and its value. All of these fit generally into the category of philosophy of religion.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius
Authors: Schofield Malcolm
Published: November 2021

Cicero – Roman orator, politician, voluminous writer of the late Republic – composed a large corpus of philosophical dialogues, including works on theology and divination. Plato was the philosopher he most admired. His own stance was skeptical in the tradition of the Academy, worked out in his philosophical encyclopedia of 45–44
bce
.
Clement of Alexandria
Authors: Hengstermann Christian
Published: November 2021

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215) is the author of a first system of Christian Platonism. Its principle is that of divine and human freedom. Drawing on Stoicism and Platonism, which he views as the pagans' Old Covenant with God, he defines human freedom as the soul's ability to give or refuse to give its assent to an affect. It is given to man by God who is both transcendent unity and benevolent intellect seeking to save man in his philosophical and biblical revelation, culminating in the incarnation of his Word in Christ, the teacher of humankind.
Cognitive Science and Debunking Arguments of Religious Belief
Authors: Clark Kelly James
Published: November 2021

This entry presents some of the main ideas of the cognitive science of religion and then considers their implications for the rationality of religious belief; it concludes with a brief discussion of the cognitive science of atheism.
Comte, Auguste
Authors: Bourdeau Michel
Published: November 2021

Auguste Comte's (1798–1857) theory of religion is one of the most controversial aspects of his philosophy but also one which most appeals to contemporary readers. Its two most characteristic features are: religion must get rid of God; and religion is a social fact, closely connected with the existence of a spiritual power.

Positivist religion is not a religion of science. It is the religion of humanity, to which its three components – doctrine, worship and regime – are related: “Our thoughts will be devoted to the knowledge of Humanity, our affections to her love, our actions to her service.” Comte came to put much emphasis on worshipping. The best‐known aspect of positivist religion, namely the calendar of great men, belongs to the public worship, which is essentially a system of commemoration.
Confucianism
Authors: Ni Peimin
Published: November 2021

Confucianism is a Chinese spiritual tradition that served the function similar to a state religion in China for over 2000 years and exerted profound influences across East Asia. It has been long debated whether Confucianism is a religion or not. While there appear to be reasons to take it either way, the religiosity of Confucianism is not in obtaining religious truth but in cultivating a spiritual life. Through nurturing a reverent human‐heartedness and applying ritual proprieties in every aspect of human life, it turns the secular sacred. This immanent transcendence is “the unity between heaven and human,” and it is the way Confucians view immortality and the meaning of life.
Contemporary Analytic Thought: 1950–Present
Authors: Kraay Klaas J.
Published: November 2021

This entry surveys the area of philosophy known as analytic philosophy of religion. This area emerged in the 1950s in the English‐speaking philosophical world, and has grown considerably. The first section outlines its origins and characteristics. The second lists venues in which this work appears, and recommends other survey‐style resources. The third section discusses central topics in this area, including the divine attributes, arguments for the (non)existence of God, the epistemology of religious belief and experience, miracles, the meaning of life, life after death, and heaven and hell. The fourth section introduces two contemporary developments: a movement called “analytic theology,” and increasing philosophical reflection on nontraditional versions of theism and other religious worldviews. The fifth section discusses two important criticisms of this area: one holds that the range of topics it considers is too narrow, and the other holds that the standpoints its practitioners hold, and the methods they use, are limited and limiting.
Deconstructionism
Authors: Kluchin Abby
Published: November 2021

“Deconstructionism” emerges from the work of Jacques Derrida. A prolific writer and controversial figure, Derrida was preoccupied with questions of language, meaning, and representation. Yet the meaning of deconstruction itself has been famously hard to pin down. Derrida himself was resistant to such efforts, denying that deconstruction was a method at all. Nonetheless, one can productively understand deconstruction as a practice of reading that is attuned to how meaning is articulated through operations of language. Deconstructive or deconstructionist readings seek out the binary opposites that underwrite key terms in systems of thought, unpacking the hierarchical logics by which terms are valued and emphasized.
Deism
Authors: Byrne Peter
Published: November 2021

Deism is a movement in Enlightenment thought about religion which elevates rational, natural religion whilst downplaying revealed religion. Deism has no fixed, universally shared tenets but a sample formulation of typical key beliefs is offered. Deism is related to: the desire of philosophy to break free of traditional, clerically controlled thought about the divine, and to the promotion of liberty and tolerance in religious matters. Its consequences for subsequent philosophy of religion are briefly commented on.
Dharmakīrti
Authors: Franco Eli
Published: November 2021

Dharmakīrti (c. 600–660) is arguably the greatest Buddhist philosopher of South Asia. He eclipsed all his predecessors and his influence in South Asia lasted as long as Buddhism was alive there; his influence continues in Tibetan Buddhism up to the present day. Practically the entire surviving literature of the South Asian Buddhist epistemological tradition was written in a form of commentaries or subcommentaries on his work. Even the independent treatises are almost always comments on some portions of his work.
Divine Illumination
Authors: Marrone Steven P.
Published: November 2021

Divine illumination covers a group of doctrines accounting for the human mind's knowledge of truth and cognitive certitude. All of these doctrines rely on the notion of divine influence on normal human processes of knowing and are usually linked to the image of a certifying or concept‐forming intelligible light streaming from the divinity into the human intellect. Developing from Platonic and Neoplatonic roots, a version of divine illumination appears early among Christian thinkers in the writings of Augustine. In the twelfth century, Scholastic thinkers drew upon Ibn Sīnā to work their way towards a theory of divine illumination articulated in precise, technical language, a process that culminated in what can be considered the classic form of the doctrine in the latter half of the thirteenth century, as, for instance, in Bonaventure. The fourteenth century marks for most Scholastics a rejection of that classic view.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor
Authors: Blank Ksana
Published: November 2021

After opening with a brief overview of Fyodor Dostoevsky's (1821–1881) life, this entry surveys his thought about Christian belief in the context of religious existentialism, knowledge and faith, evil and suffering, human freedom, and the meaning of life.
Dvaita Vedānta
Authors: Zydenbos Robert
Published: November 2021

Dvaita Vedānta (commonly called “Dvaita”) is one of the three main currents of Vedānta or living Hindu brahminical philosophical and religious thought and is based on the work of Madhva or Madhvācārya (1238–1317
ce
), who lived and worked in southern India. Like the other forms of Vedānta, it purports to present the true meaning of the Vedas, but it fundamentally differs from the two older varieties of Vedānta in its ontology and soteriology. It has been largely neglected in academic studies outside India, although its study provides a necessary corrective to the stereotypical image of the history of Indian philosophical and religious thought.
Edwards, Jonathan
Authors: Helm Paul
Published: November 2021

Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) used ideas of the early enlightenment, especially of John Locke, not to undermine revealed religion but to underpin it. This is best seen in his main writings, the
Religious Affections
(1746),
The Freedom of the Will
(1754),
The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin
(1758), and
The Nature of True Virtue
, (1785), as well as in his many Miscellanies.
Engels, Friedrich
Authors: Boer Roland
Published: November 2021

This entry offers an analysis of Friedrich Engels's (1820–1895) key contribution to the philosophy of religion.
Epictetus
Authors: Heidgerken Benjamin E.
Published: November 2021

Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher whose
Discourses
and
Enchiridion
provide some of the earliest lengthy extant Stoic texts. Epictetus emphasizes a practical philosophy of living according to nature and commanding the limited range of events that are within the individual's power to control. His ethical work is distinct in its focus on social roles as the basis for moral duties, leading to possible divergences from some earlier Stoic claims in physics.
Al‐Rāzī
Authors: Griffel Frank
Published: November 2021

One of the most influential exponents of Islamic philosophy and theology in the era after al‐Ghazālī (d. 1111), Fakhr al‐Dīn al‐Rāzī (1150–1210) made important contributions to philosophy in the Islamic world and helped usher in a period of rationalism in Islamic theology and law. He integrated many arguments from Aristotelian philosophy (
falsafa
) into Muslim rationalist theology (
kalām
), a process that already began with al‐Ghazālī. Original in his own thinking, Fakhr al‐Dīn al‐Rāzī was influenced by the systematic philosophy of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna, d. 1037) and the response to it by Abū l‐Barakāt al‐Baghdādī (d. c. 1165). His works were widely studied, particularly during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In his philosophy of religion, al‐Rāzī follows the views on the political role of revealed religions, developed by
falāsifa
such as al‐Fārābī (d. 950–951) and Ibn Sīnā, and tried to reconcile them with the position of the Ashʿarite school of Muslim theology on the greater abundance of revealed over rational knowledge.
Fichte, Johann Gottlieb
Authors: Rudd Anthony
Published: November 2021

Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1764–1814) was a German philosopher whose attempt to transform Kant's critical philosophy into a rigorously consistent idealistic system played a historically crucial role in the development of German idealism. His insights into self‐consciousness and his articulation of idealism as an essentially practical philosophy make him a thinker of continuing relevance.
Gender and Feminist Perspectives
Authors: Green Deidre Nicole
Published: November 2021

The field of feminist philosophy of religion employs gender and sex as fundamental categories of analysis that affect both the topics and methods of philosophy of religion. It seeks to expose both the sexism of mainstream philosophy of religion and to construct systems of thought that recognize women's full humanity and promote communal flourishing. With an eye to the emancipatory efficacy of their projects, feminist philosophers of religion take seriously the role of the body, social location, emotion, and desire in religious knowledge, belief, and practice. Their efforts engage various methodologies and perspectives, including psychoanalysis, poststructuralism, postmodernism, and deconstruction. Frequently amalgamating analytic and Continental approaches to philosophy, feminist philosophers of religion further work to expand the resources of philosophy of religion by going beyond the Western Christian tradition and its androcentric, dualistic views.
Goodness
Authors: Baggett David , Pruitt Jonathan
Published: November 2021

Goodness most generally stands for whatever is an object of approval or desire, whereas for moral goodness such approval is not sufficient, for it must also objectively deserve approval. The specific locution of “moral goodness” is ambiguous between moral goodness and moral value. Human persons arguably possess the former contingently and the latter necessarily. Moral goodness includes various character traits and settled dispositions. Hope for complete moral transformation requires an explanation of how the moral gap between our moral best and the uncompromising standards of moral goodness can be closed. Hope for the convergence of happiness and holiness, arguably needed to make the moral enterprise fully rational, remains an important moral phenomenon in need of adequate explanation. The best explanation for persons possessing intrinsic human value remains a vexed question. An Anselmian God is said to instantiate moral goodness essentially and is arguably the efficient and final cause of moral goodness.
Herbert of Cherbury
Authors: Byrne Peter
Published: November 2021

This entry first outlines Edward Herbert's (1583–1648) general epistemology and then explains some of his key ideas on religious truth. His epistemology is characterized by a rejection of skepticism and a reliance on common notions which derive from God‐given guidance to the human mind. Herbert's common notions of religion are described and their role in providing a universal and simple core to all religion is plotted. His implicit questioning of the uniqueness of Christianity and the necessity of Christian revelation are then explored.
Hick, John
Authors: Badham Paul
Published: November 2021

This entry seeks to summarize the main themes of John Hick's (1922–2012) philosophical theology. These include his justification of religious belief, his discussion of the problem of evil, and his speculation about a possible future life. The entry also describes Hick's reexamination of the doctrine of the incarnation and his exploration of the relationship between Christianity and other world faiths. Finally the entry discusses Hick's response to the challenge posed to all religious belief by the findings of modern neurology.
Hildegard von Bingen
Authors: Furchert Almut
Published: November 2021

Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) was a German abbess and polymath, who was canonized and proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 2012. Her uniquely wide‐ranging literary work includes her visionary trilogy, texts on medicine and natural science, musical compositions, various homilies and commentaries, and more than 300 pastoral letters. Steeped in medieval symbolism, Hildegard goes beyond it by reclaiming the place of the feminine in the Divine order. Her philosophy is inspired by her visions, her monastic upbringing, and her appreciation of the sacredness of nature. At its heart stands the human asimago Dei, embedded in the cosmic order and embraced by Divine motherly love. Hildegard's visual hermeneutics, her theocentric use ofrationalitas, and her anthropocentric cosmology distinguishes her summa from other medieval summas, enfolding a complex interplay of the visible and invisible world, micro and macro cosmos, body and soul, pointing to the interconnectedness of creation, history, and human responsibility.
Ignorance and Illusion in Indian Philosophies
Authors: Kapstein Matthew T.
Published: November 2021

“Ignorance,” frequently used to translate Sanskrit terms including
avidyā
, “nescience,”
moha
, “stupidity,” and
bhrānti
, “error,” is a central issue in Indian religious and philosophical systems. For many schools of Indian thought, it is the chief cause of our worldly suffering and hence that from which we must strive for freedom through the achievement of wisdom, or insight. In some systems the problem of ignorance was closely tied to the concept of
māyā
, the cosmic illusion in which we are entrapped until ignorance is dispelled and illusion dissolved in the liberating knowledge of reality.
Islamic Theology (
Kalām
)
Authors: Aminrazavi Mehdi
Published: November 2021

Following a discussion about the early theological sects in Islam, the two major schools of theology – the reason‐based Muʿtazilite and the faith‐based Ashʿarite – are elaborated upon. Major Sunni and Shiʿite theologians and their texts, and the rise of philosophical theology, are mentioned here. The entry ends with a discussion of modern and contemporary theological thought in Islam.
Jesus of Nazareth
Authors: Moser Paul K.
Published: November 2021

Jesus of Nazareth has had a profound influence on many philosophers of religion, including many who dissent from him. His influence extends to ethics, social philosophy, spirituality, and even epistemology, among other areas that bear on the philosophy of religion. Even so, he is an enigmatic figure for many philosophers, owing in part to his distinctively interpersonal and existential approach to the questions he raises for inquirers. This entry accommodates his approach.
KalāmCosmological Argument
Authors: Craig William Lane
Published: November 2021

Thekalāmcosmological argument is an argument for the existence of a Creator of the universe, based on the universe's beginning to exist. Its provenance is Christian, Islamic, and Jewish theological reflection on creationex nihilo. Having fallen into disuse after Kant, the argument returned to contemporary prominence due to newfound philosophical and empirical support for its two premises. Rebuttals to the argument often assume a view of time according to which beginning to exist does not entail objective temporal becoming. Thus, debates in philosophy of time bear especially on the argument. Another prominent objection assumes the possibility of an actual infinite series of events, or of forming an actual infinite by successive addition. Defenders of thekalām argument reply by employing, inter alia, Hilbert's Hotel and Grim Reaper Paradox thought experiments, to argue for the impossibility of the existence, or formation by successive addition, of an actual infinite.
Maṇḍana Miśra
Authors: Flood Gavin
Published: November 2021

Maṇḍana Miśra was a philosopher in the Advaita Vedānta tradition, an older contemporary of Śaṅkara who lived around 660–720
ce
. His most famous work is the
Brahmasiddhi
in which he argues for nondualism against rival philosophical schools, particularly the Mīmāṃsā and Buddhism. He was a major philosopher in the history of the tradition and an important influence on later Indian philosophy.
Maritain, Jacques
Authors: Jones Stephen A.
Published: November 2021

Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) is arguably one of the most important and influential philosophers in the Thomistic tradition of the twentieth century. It is not possible to get a handle on the philosophical thought of Maritain without considering his work within the context of his theology. For Maritain, there is a necessary continuity between philosophy and theology, and no philosophy can be considered authentically as such without submitting philosophical conclusions to the superior science (
scientia
) of theology. Maritain's key philosophical endeavor was the restoration of metaphysics, which he considered to be essential for any coherent philosophical and ethical system, but which he considered to have been totally undermined by the Enlightenment rationalists and their successors.
Mullā Ṣadrā
Authors: Saeedimehr Mohammad
Published: November 2021

Mullā Ṣadrā (c. 1572–1640) locates his views about philosophical theology within his metaphysics. As a rationalist, who also values the products of mystical intuition, he tries to present his theological claims. Using his own metaphysical principles, Ṣadrā proposes his own version of the arguments for the existence of God, usually called “the proof of the veracious people” (
burhān‐e Siddīqīn
). Ṣadrā also endorses a view on God's simplicity according to which God is beyond any type of composition. As a Muslim philosopher, he also provides innovative arguments for God's unity. He presents a comprehensive and coherent picture of Divine knowledge and power and tries to show the consistency of God's omniscience and omnipotence with human freedom, and to explain His knowledge of His essence and of His creatures even prior to the creation.
Nāgārjuna
Authors: Arnold Dan
Published: November 2021

An Indian Buddhist philosopher who flourished around 150ce, Nāgārjuna wrote the texts foundational for the Madhyamaka tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhist thought. Nāgārjuna characteristically argued that all existents – not only persons, but also the ontological primitives to which Ābhidharmika Buddhists reduced them – are ultimately “empty” of any essence; there are, he thus argued, no “ultimately existent” entities of any kind. Modern interpreters typically characterize Nāgārjuna's arguments to this effect as skeptical, but some characterize them as metaphysical, while others characterize them as therapeutic. Among the upshots of his arguments is a recuperation of the conventionally described world; what is ultimately true, Nāgārjuna is often said to have claimed, is thatthere is no ultimate truth. Nāgārjuna's works are widely taken by Tibetans as advancing the Buddhist tradition's definitive arguments, and he was also very influential for East Asian traditions.
Natural Law
Authors: Jacobs Jonathan A.
Published: November 2021

While there are nontheistic roots of some of the elements of natural law theorizing, the Abrahamic religious traditions have had an important influence on the development of some of the most influential conceptions of natural law. This is especially true of Christianity in both the Catholic and Protestant traditions. In medieval times and in the early modern and modern eras, theistic considerations have had a pronounced role in shaping conceptions of the content of natural law and also the prescriptive authority of natural law. The resurgence of interest in natural law in recent decades includes studies and defenses of the place of theistic considerations in natural law and the place of natural law in ethical and political theory. Some of the current, central debates are variants of issues with a long history, exhibiting the importance and persistence of those questions concerning natural law.
Naturalism
Authors: Dawes Gregory W.
Published: November 2021

The term “naturalism” is used by philosophers to refer to both a view of philosophy itself and a way of understanding the subject matter of particular disciplines. In both contexts we may distinguish between a substantive and a methodological naturalism. These define themselves by reference to either the conclusions or the methods of our best natural sciences. When it comes to religion, a substantive naturalism would rule out, in principle, certain (but not all) kinds of religious claims, namely those that made reference to non‐natural entities. A methodological naturalism would not necessarily rule out such claims, although whether it does will depend on how broadly one understands the term “science.” A final option in this regard is “religious naturalism,” which accepts that there are no non‐natural entities, but adopts a religious attitude towards the natural world.
Nicholas of Cusa
Authors: Blum Paul Richard
Published: November 2021

Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) wrote on the government of the church (
Catholic Concordance
), on interreligious dialogue (
Peace of Religion, Scrutiny of the Quran
), on philosophical theology, and on mathematical speculations (
The Bowling Game
, mathematical treatises); he also discussed these issues in many of his sermons. His principal tenets were the unity in all plurality in the world and in the various religions, and the accessibility of the divine through investigation of human thinking. Thus he influenced early modern natural theology and the atheism debate of modernity.
Omnipotence
Authors: Wielenberg Erik J.
Published: November 2021

This entry examines the philosophical debate surrounding the concept of omnipotence, a concept central to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with particular attention paid to various puzzles about omnipotence and attempts to analyze omnipotence in contemporary philosophy.
Omnipresence
Authors: Hoffman Joshua , Rosenkrantz Gary S.
Published: November 2021

Some theists and philosophers have attributed omnipresence to God. Omnipresence is, literally, being located everywhere. Although there are those who have meant this attribution to be literal, for example, Spinoza, the majority of such thinkers have attributed omnipresence to God in a metaphorical way. Usually, what they have meant by God's omnipresence is, centrally, that God is both omnipotent and omniscient. On the traditional notion of God as a perfect being, there are plausible reasons for making this latter sort of attribution.