bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Warranted Christian Belief
Authors: Plantinga Alvin
Published: October 2003

In this book's companion volumes (Warrant: The Current Debate and Warrant and Proper Function), I examined the nature of epistemic warrant, that quantity, enough of which distinguishes knowledge from mere true belief; in this book, I turn to the question of whether Christian belief can be justified, rational, and warranted. Among objections to Christian belief, we can distinguish between de facto objections and de jure objections, i.e., between those that claim that Christian belief is false (de facto objections) and those that claim that Christian belief, whether or not true, is at any rate unjustifiable, or rationally unjustified, or irrational, or not intellectually respectable, or in some other way rationally unacceptable (de jure objections). The main question of this book is the question of whether there are any viable de jure objections to Christian belief; I argue that there are not. In Part I (Chs. 1 and 2), I consider and address an initial objection to my project: the objection that there isn’t really any such thing as Christian belief (or at any rate that Christian belief is incoherent) since human concepts cannot apply to a transcendent God. In Part II, I explore, first, the question of whether a viable de jure objection to Christian belief can be developed in terms of justification or rationality (Chs. 3 and 4); after arguing for a negative answer to that question, I turn to the objections offered by Freud, Marx, and Nietzche, objections best understood as the claim that theistic and Christian belief lack warrant (Ch. 5). In Part III, Ch. 6, I address this claim, doing so by presenting a model of how it is that belief in God can have warrant, and even warrant sufficient for knowledge; I call this model the Aquinas/Calvin (or A/C) model, since it draws on the thought of Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. In Ch. 7, I consider the noetic effects of sin, and the way in which the existence of sin throws a monkey wrench into the A/C model. In Chs. 8 and 9, I extend the A/C model in such a way as to deal both with sin and with the full panoply of Christian belief (trinity, incarnation, atonement, resurrection, etc.); the extended A/C model shows how full‐blooded Christian belief (not just theistic belief) can have warrant. After dealing with objections to the A/C model in Ch. 10, I turn in Part IV to potential or actual defeaters for Christian belief – possible reasons to give it up or hold it less firmly. The proposed defeaters I examine relate to projection theories of religious belief (Ch. 11), contemporary historical biblical criticism (Ch. 12), postmodernism and religious pluralism (Ch. 13), and the age‐old problem of evil (Ch. 14); none of these, I argue, presents a serious challenge to the warrant Christian belief can enjoy.
Kant
Authors: Plantinga Alvin
Published: October 2003

My interest in Warranted Christian Belief is in this question: Is it rational, or reasonable, or justified, or warranted to accept Christian belief? But there is a prior question: Is the very idea of Christian belief coherent? Many theologians and others believe that there is real difficulty with the idea that our concepts could apply to such a being as the Christian God (infinite and transcendent as he is supposed to be), and that this constitutes a serious problem for Christian belief: Christian belief involves the belief that it is possible to think of, refer to, and predicate properties of God, but in fact none of these things are possible, because human concepts cannot apply to God (so goes the argument). In this chapter and the next, I examine this objection to Christian belief, turning in this chapter to the thought of Immanuel Kant. Against the opinions of some, I argue that there is no good reason provided by Kant (or constructible from materials found in Kant) for the conclusion that our concepts do not apply to God.
Justification and the Classical Picture
Authors: Plantinga Alvin
Published: October 2003

Since the Enlightenment, most discussions of the rational justifiability of religious belief have assumed the truth of evidentialism, the view that religious belief is rationally justifiable or acceptable only if there is good evidence for it, where good evidence usually means good propositional evidence. But what is this rational justification, and why does it require propositional evidence, and why did everyone just take for granted this connection between justification and propositional evidence? In order to address these questions I turn first to the thought of John Locke, and then to an examination of the classical picture (or classical package) comprised of evidentialism, deontologism, and classical foundationalism – a picture of which Locke is a main source. After briefly indicating the great extent to which the classical picture is still with us in contemporary discussions of religious belief, I point out some of the crippling problems the classical picture faces, and then consider contemporary analogical extensions of the various elements of the classical picture to see whether any of them supports evidentialism. I conclude that in fact there is no reason at all to think that Christian belief requires argument or propositional evidence if it is to be justified; Christians can be justified even if they don’t hold their beliefs on the basis of arguments or evidence, even if they aren’t aware of any good arguments for their beliefs, and even if, indeed, there aren’t any such arguments.
The Extended Aquinas/Calvin Model: Revealed to Our Minds
Authors: Plantinga Alvin
Published: October 2003

In Ch. 6, I presented a model (the Aquinas/Calvin, or A/C, model), which illustrates how belief in God could have the three varieties of positive epistemic status with which we have been concerned: justification, rationality, and warrant. My main aim in this chapter is to extend the A/C model to cover full‐blooded Christian belief (e.g., belief not just in God, but in trinity, incarnation, atonement, salvation, Christ's resurrection, etc.); this model (the extended A/C model) illustrates how Christian belief can be justified, rational, and warranted. The central elements of the extended A/C model are the Bible, the internal instigation of the Holy Spirit, and faith; I begin the chapter with a quick overview of these three elements. I then look more carefully at faith, which is, in part, belief in the central teachings of the gospel that results from the internal instigation of the Holy Spirit, and show how Christian belief can be justified, rational, and warranted, according to the model. In the final four sections of the chapter, I (1) explore and defend the claim that Christian belief is properly basic, (2) show why the supernaturally inspired writings (the Bible) and the individual action of the Holy Spirit, which are part of the model are so important (and here I scrutinize one popular approach to Christian apologetics), and (3) argue that if Christian belief is true, then very likely it does have warrant in the way suggested by the extended A/C model, or in some similar way.
The Ideology of the Path to Liberation
Authors: Cort John E.
Published: October 2003

Outlines the normative Jain ideology of the path to liberation from suffering and rebirth. This path is described as consisting of correct faith, correct knowledge, and correct conduct: faith in, knowledge of, and conduct according to the nine tattvas or ”verities” of Jain metaphysics. Normative conduct also revolves around the person taking the twelve vows (vrata) of a Jain layperson and then the five great vows (mahavrata) of a world‐renouncing mendicant, who then shapes his or her daily conduct around six obligatory ritual actions (avasyaka). Correct faith also involves confidence in the truth of the Jain teachings as demonstrated in the lives of those liberated souls (both the Tirthankaras or Jinas, who after enlightenment teach the Jain truths to the world, and the siddhas, all other enlightened and liberated souls) that constitute a Jain definition of ”God.”
Holy Asceticism
Authors: Cort John E.
Published: October 2003

A key aspect of Jain religious practice involves a wide range of activities falling under the rubric of asceticism (tapas). The model ascetic in the Jain tradition is the 24th and final Jina of this time period, Mahavira. Mendicants engage in asceticism that is shaped by their vows (mahavrata) and the obligatory ritual actions (avasyaka). For the laity, asceticism is more a matter of food and diet, in particular, the continual effort to restrict the amount of harm done to living beings in the preparation and consumption of food, emphasizing the cardinal Jain ethical principle of ahimsa (nonharm). Asceticism both advances the Jain person toward the ideological goal of liberation and improves his or her worldly well‐being.
Purple Haze
Authors: Levine Joseph
Published: October 2003

Consciousness presents a problem. There are excellent reasons for believing that materialism, or physicalism, is the correct metaphysical view of our world, yet it is extremely difficult to see how conscious experiences, or qualia, can be incorporated into the materialist framework. Both aspects of the problem are defended. First, a positive argument for materialism is given, with responses to dualist objections. Second, objections are presented to most materialist attempts to explain consciousness – in particular, higher‐order theories, representationalism, and eliminativism. Finally, it is argued that to make genuine progress on this problem we need to delve deeper into the question of our cognitive access to our own experience. Thus the problems of intentionality and consciousness are not as separable as has often been thought.
“All in My Brain” Materialism
Authors: Levine Joseph
Published: October 2003

The doctrine of materialism, or physicalism, is articulated and defended, based on the causal role of conscious states. Three objections are dealt with: epiphenomenalism, the explanatory exclusion argument, and an argument to the effect that naturalization is not required to secure the causal role of the mental.
“Lately Things Don't Seem the Same” The Conceivability Argument
Authors: Levine Joseph
Published: October 2003

The “conceivability argument” for dualism is presented and analyzed in depth. It is argued that in order to derive the possibility of zombies – creatures physically like us but without conscious experience – from their conceivability, certain unwarranted semantic and epistemic doctrines must be accepted. By introducing the idea of a nonascriptive mode of presentation, it is argued that a materialist can consistently allow the conceivability of zombies without admitting their metaphysical possibility.
“Actin' Funny, But I Don't Know Why” The Explanatory Gap
Authors: Levine Joseph
Published: October 2003

The problem of the explanatory gap is introduced. First, a survey of various theories of scientific explanation reveals that deductive inference plays a crucial role in explanation. Then it is argued that the conceivability of zombies, among other things, demonstrates that we cannot explain conscious experience in terms of underlying physical and functional properties. Finally, an objection to the effect that we do not need to explain identity claims is dealt with.
“Don't Know if I'm Comin' Up or Down” Reductive Strategies
Authors: Levine Joseph
Published: October 2003

Various reductive strategies for explaining consciousness are discussed. The problem of subjectivity is distinguished from the problem of qualia, noting that some theories treat one but not the other. Higher‐order theories are then considered and found wanting. Finally, representationalism, both externalist and internalist, is considered and found inadequate as well.
King Josiah of Judah
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

King Josiah of Judah (ruled 640–609 b.c.e.) is a figure of extraordinary importance for the history of ancient Israel and Judah. According to the biblical narrative, a Torah scroll was discovered during the renovation of the Jerusalem Temple in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign. This scroll, commonly identified as a form of Deuteronomy, became the basis of an ambitious program of religious reform and national restoration in which Josiah closed down all pagan worship sites throughout the land of Israel, centralized worship at the Jerusalem Temple, and attempted to reunite Israel and Judah as an independent monarchy under the rule of the royal house of David. The narratives concerning Josiah's reign have proved to be pivotal in discussion among biblical scholars, insofar as they have provided the basis for the reconstruction of the history of Israelite/Judean religion and the compositional history of much of the Hebrew Bible. This study reexamines the relevant biblical literature and the archeology evidence concerning the reign of King Josiah of Judah and its impact on ancient Judean thought. It argues that early forms of the book of Deuteronomy, the so‐called Deuteronomistic History (Joshua; Judges; 1–2 Samuel; and 1–2 Kings), and much of the prophetic literature (Isaiah; Hosea; Amos; Micah; Jeremiah; Zephaniah; Nahum; cf. Habakkuk) were written or edited to support King Josiah's reform and to present him as the righteous Davidic monarch, who would realize the divine promise of security for the land and people of Israel. Following the tragic death of Josiah at the hands of the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo in 609 b.c.e., Josiah's program of religious reform and national restoration came to an end as Judah was subjugated first to Egypt and then to Babylon prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 b.c.e. The image of Josiah as a righteous Davidic monarch and his program nevertheless continued to influence Israelite/Judean expectations of restoration in the aftermath of the Babylonian exile.
Introduction
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Although much of the Hebrew Bible is shaped to address the historical and theological problems posed by the Babylonian exile of 587 b.c.e., scholars have consistently noted that the program of religious reform and national restoration instituted by King Josiah of Judah (ruled 640–609 b.c.e.) appears to play a substantial role in the composition of the Hebrew Bible's legal, historical, and prophetic books. Nevertheless, scholars have been unable to provide a convincing case for this contention due to the difficulties in establishing appropriate redaction‐critical models for the composition of such generically distinct books. This study employs advances in redaction‐critical theory that call for a synchronic analysis of the present form of the biblical text as the basis for diachronic reconstruction of its compositional history. Although the archeological record indicates that Josiah did not succeed in carrying out his program, analysis of the relevant legal, historical, and prophetic books points to Josiah's efforts to provide an ideologically charged history, prophetic justification, and legal reforms that would support his efforts to reunite all Israel and Judah under his rule.
The Regnal Evaluation of Josiah in 2 Kings 22:1–23:30
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

The present form of Josiah's regnal account in 2 Kings 22–23 clearly presupposes the death of Josiah insofar as it presents an oracle by the prophetess Huldah that states that Josiah will die before he sees the judgment decreed by YHWH against Jerusalem, Judah, and the house of David. Analysis of this oracle indicates that it is formulated in relation to a similar oracle concerning King Ahab of Israel by the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 21:17–29). Nevertheless, literary tension in the presentation of this oracle and the superlative evaluations of Josiah throughout these chapters concerning his righteousness in following the example of King David and in observing Mosaic Torah indicate that an original narrative concerning Josiah's righteous rule has been reworked to account for his death and the upcoming Babylonian exile.
The Regnal Evaluation of Manasseh in 2 Kings 21:1–18
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

The present form of 2 Kings 21 in the Deuteronomistic History clearly blames King Manasseh of Judah for the Babylonian exile, insofar as it states that YHWH decided to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple because of his great sins. Prior scholarship contends that this chapter has been redactionally reworked to point to the exile, but has been unable to provide a coherent redaction‐critical analysis of the chapter to support this claim. An analysis of YHWH statements concerning Manasseh points to an interest in settling Israel securely in the land if the people would observe Mosaic Torah. This indicates that the oracle may have originally functioned as Huldah's promise of security to Josiah, but that it has been reworked and placed in its present position to justify the Babylonian exile.
The Critique of Solomon in 1 Kings 1–11 and 2 Samuel 9/11–24
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Biblical scholarship has struggled with the two‐fold portrayal of Solomon in 1 Kings 1–11, viz., on the one hand, he is lauded for his wisdom and role as builder of the Jerusalem Temple, but on the other hand, he is condemned for his love of foreign women, who led him to idolatry. Scholars are also perplexed by the so‐called Succession Narrative or Court History in 2 Samuel 9/11–24, which portrays David's adulterous affair with Solomon's mother, Bath Sheba, and the deaths of his older sons. An analysis of this material contends that an earlier Hezekian portrayal of Solomon lauded him as a righteous Davidic monarch, but that the Josianic edition of the DtrH emphasized his marriage to foreign women as the cause of his idolatry, which Josiah had to correct. The portrayal of David's adulterous affair with Bath Sheba and the murder of her husband Uriah indicates that Solomon follows in the footsteps of his father in his love for women and his penchant for spilling the blood of his enemies. Altogether, this critical portrayal of both David and Solomon serves the interests of the Josianic edition of the DtrH by portraying Josiah as the true righteous monarch of the house of David.
David, Saul, and the Presentation of the Judges
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Prior scholarship on the rise of David in 1 Samuel 1–2, Samuel 8 and the period of the Judges in the book of Judges tends to treat each as separate literary entities. An analysis of both of these bodies of literature indicates a common interest in pointing to Davidic interests in the presentation of Israel's origins. The Samuel traditions emphasize YHWH's favor for David as monarch over against Saul, and the book of Judges is organized to emphasize that the Judges from the northern tribes are flawed in comparison to the Judean Othniel. Rather than appendices to the Judges narrative, Judges 17–21 represent the culmination of the book of Judges, insofar as these chapters portray the foundation of the northern temple at Dan by a corrupt man who steals money from his own mother and the outrageous crime of the Benjaminites at Gibeah, Saul's home town, in raping and murdering a Judean Levite's concubine. These narratives were written to justify the Hezekian edition's contention that the house of David should rule all Israel, and they later functioned as part of the Josianic and Exilic editions of the DtrH.
Zephaniah
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Although many scholars maintain that the book of Zephaniah shows evidence of considerable editing during the postexilic period, a form‐critical analysis of the structure of the book indicates that it was written to support Josiah's reform. Zephaniah is formulated as a prophetic exhortation to seek YHWH. It employs the threat of punishment to motivate its audience to reject pagan worship, and it points to the downfall of Judah's primary enemies to emphasize that YHWH was already beginning to act. Zephaniah's portrayal of Jerusalem's restoration points to Josiah's efforts to reunite Israel and Judah around the Jerusalem Temple.
Nahum
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Most scholars tend to overlook Nahum because of its purportedly vengeful spirit, but the book is designed to celebrate the downfall of the city of Nineveh in 612 b.c.e. Because Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire that had subjugated Judah for approximately a century prior to Josiah's reign, its downfall was pivotal to Josiah's efforts to reestablish Israelite/Judean independence. An analysis of the structure of the book indicates that Nahum is formulated as a prophetic refutation speech that is designed to convince its audience of YHWH's role in bringing down the Assyrian oppressor.
Jeremiah
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Although the superscription of Jeremiah maintains that the prophet began his career in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, the book contains little indication of Jeremiah's activity during this period. Nevertheless, various clues have led scholars to speculate that some of Jeremiah's Josian oracles may have been reworked in relation to later concerns. Redaction‐critical study of Jeremiah 2–6 and 30–31 indicate that these blocks of oracles originally called for the return of northern Israel to Judean, Davidic rule in keeping with Josiah's reform. The unexpected death of Josiah and the emergence of Babylonian power over Judah, however, prompted Jeremiah to reconsider his views and to rework his earlier oracles to address the Babylonian exile.
Hosea
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Biblical scholarship tends to focus on the reconstruction of the oracles of the eighth‐century prophet, Hosea ben Beeri, and the exilic or postexilic redaction of his book. Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence that the book was edited in the seventh century b.c.e. to support Josiah's reform. An analysis of the contents and structure of the book points to its concern to oppose Israel's relationship with Assyria and Egypt, key enemies of Judah in the time of Josiah, and to reunite Israel and Judah under the reign of a Davidic monarch.
Amos
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

Biblical scholarship has tended to focus on the reconstruction of the “authentic” oracles of the prophet Amos and the exilic or postexilic redaction of his book. An analysis of the structure of the book indicates that it is formulated as a polemic against the northern Israelite sanctuary at Beth El, one of the primary targets of Josiah's reform. The concluding call for the restoration of the “fallen booth of David” is a call for the restoration of Davidic rule over northern Israel.
Conclusion to Part II
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

This chapter summarizes the conclusions to Part II of the study. The books of Zephaniah and Nahum were written to support Josiah's program of religious reform and national restoration. Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah were redacted to support Josiah's program, and Jeremiah reformulated original Josian oracles to account for the later Babylonian exile. Habakkuk was written to address the problem of theodicy in the aftermath of Josiah's death.
Conclusion
Authors: Sweeney Marvin A.
Published: October 2003

This chapter summarizes the primary conclusions of the book and points to the implications of this study. There is considerable evidence that the Deuteronomistic History was originally written in the reign of King Hezekiah to support his attempt to reunite Israel and Judah under Davidic rule, that it was reworked and expanded during the reign of Josiah to support his program of religious reform and national restoration, and that it was reworked and expanded once again to account for the Babylonian exile. Prophetic literature was heavily influenced by Josiah's reform, viz., Zephaniah and Nahum were written to support the reform; Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah were edited to support the reform; Jeremiah originally supported the reform but reworked his oracles in the aftermath of Josiah's death; and Habakkuk addressed the problem of theodicy following Josiah's death. The image of the righteous Josiah continued to have an impact on Judean thinking and literature insofar as it informed portrayals of postexilic restoration of Israel/Judah under the rule of a righteous Davidic monarch.
From Frege to Wittgenstein
Authors: Reck Edited by Erich H.
Published: October 2003

In recent years, analytic philosophy has gained a new historical self‐consciousness. A considerable amount of work, both historically informed and philosophically subtle, is being done now on its origins and development. This is especially true for early analytic philosophy (roughly 1880–1930) and the corresponding works of Frege, Russell, Moore, and Wittgenstein. In this collection, 15 previously unpublished essays explore different facets of this period, with special emphasis on the vital intellectual relationship between Frege and the early Wittgenstein. The essays examine a number of important issues: the content and the analysis of thought, the nature of truth, the special status of logic, the foundations of mathematics, the basis of linguistic representation, the distinction between sense and nonsense, and the peculiarities of philosophical elucidation and understanding.
Wittgenstein's “Great Debt” To Frege
Authors: Reck Erich H.
Published: October 2003

It is well known that Frege and his writings were an important influence on Wittgenstein. There is no agreement, however, on the nature and scope of this influence. In this paper, I clarify the situation in three related ways: (1) by tracing Frege's and Wittgenstein's actual interactions, i.e., their face‐to‐face meetings and their correspondence between 1911 and 1920; (2) by documenting Wittgenstein's continued study of Frege's writings, until the very end of his life in 1951; and (3) by constructing, on that basis, a new framework for understanding the themes that connect Wittgenstein to Frege, both in his early and his later works.
One Wittgenstein?
Authors: Gerrard Steven
Published: October 2003

In this paper I argue, contrary to the traditional interpretation, that dividing Wittgenstein's career into “The Early Wittgenstein” and “The Later Wittgenstein” is a serious distortion. The main task of the paper is to outline a reading of the Tractatus that will give us one Wittgenstein. Building on the work of James Conant, Cora Diamond, Juliet Floyd, Warren Goldfarb, John McDowell, and Hilary Putnam, I will argue that throughout his career, Wittgenstein argued against metaphysical realism. I offer a reading of the Tractatus which is a retelling of the history of early analytic ontology.
Frege on the Indefinability of Truth
Authors: Sluga Hans
Published: October 2003

One of Frege's most original insights is the claim that the concept of truth is simple and indefinable. This paper seeks to show how Frege reached that doctrine and what role it plays in his thinking. It then goes on to confront Frege's argumentation with Tarski's theory of truth and concludes that, far from being made obsolete by Tarski, these arguments remain of the greatest significance for understanding the philosophical problem of truth.
Wittgenstein Against Frege and Russell
Authors: Ricketts Thomas
Published: October 2003

The paper examines Wittgenstein's criticisms of Frege's and Russell's views of logical segmentation encapsulated at Tractatus 4.431 and 4.063. These criticisms proceed from Wittgenstein's 1913 conception of atomic sentences as models of reality and the distinctive conception of sense embedded in this conception. While Russell mistakenly assimilates the structure of truth‐functionally compound sentences to that of atomic sentences, Frege mistakenly makes the converse assimilation.
The Tractatus on Inference and Entailment
Authors: Proops Ian
Published: October 2003

In the Tractatus, Wittgenstein criticizes Frege and Russell for maintaining that “laws of inference” justify inferences (Tractatus 5.132). I argue that what lies behind this criticism is a rejection of attempts to analyze the relation of logical entailment in other terms – e.g., Russell's 1905 analysis of logical entailment as the derivability from logical laws of the corresponding conditional. I conclude with an examination of Wittgenstein's positive view of logical entailment as an internal relation between propositions.
Charisma, Routinization, and Rastafari
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

Max Weber's theory of charisma and routinization is related to his concern with ideas as social forces, to his view of rationalization as the basis for human action and societal organization, and to his concern about how domination/authority is acquired and legitimated. This chapter reviews and critiques this theory and suggests that, contrary to Weber's contention, Rastafari has entrenched itself in Jamaican society without the development of formal organizational structures. Rastafari's routinization has been occasioned by the development of an informal network and ethos, by the changing attitudes of Jamaican society to the movement, and by the dominant influence the movement has exerted on Jamaican society since the 1960s.
Dread Uprising
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

The emergence of Rastafari in Jamaica in the early 1930s must be viewed in the historical and social context of economic deprivation, political marginalization, and cultural alienation of masses of Jamaicans of African descent. Furthermore, Rastafari has deep historical roots in the tradition of resistance etched in Jamaican history by the enslaved and oppressed Africans. In this respect, Rastafari is the direct heir of the radicalism of African and Afro‐Christian religions and the African‐centeredness of Ethiopianism and Garveyism. With the crowning of Haile Selassie as emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, deprived and marginalized Jamaicans steeped in the tradition of resistance and informed by the liberation ideas of Ethiopianism and Garveyism acclaimed him as the black messiah, and thus started the Rastafarian movement. At the forefront of the movement was the charismatic Leonard P. Howell, who articulated the Rastafarian critique of Jamaican society and expressed and embodied the desire to return to the African homeland.
Babylon and Dread Revitalization
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

Rastafari is about the delegitimation of Babylon – the forces of oppression and exploitation that Africans faced under colonialism and its legacies – and the revitalization of African culture and sensibilities in the African Diaspora. This delegitimation is expressed as “beating down Babylon,” and is accomplished by condemning Jamaica and the West for its historical atrocities, economic exploitation, mental slavery or cultural imperialism, and political trickery. The attempt to revitalize African culture and sensibilities focuses on the reappropriation of Africa as the spiritual and cultural home of Rastas and all Africans in the Diaspora, on the lion as the symbol of Rastafarian self‐assertiveness and confidence in response to the coward Anancyism of alienated slave personality, and on the cultivation of dreadlocks, “dread talk,” and “ital levity” (natural or organic living).
The Ethos of Rastafari
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

The continued existence of social movements usually depends on the development of hierarchical institutional structures. Rastafari, however, is characterized by an ethos rather than institutional structures. This ethos is characterized by three essential elements: (1) a reticulated social structure or web‐like network of individuals, “houses,” and “mansions” (various groupings of Rastas); (2) a worldview encoded in symbols and symbolic references such as dreadlocks, Ethiopian colors, and Babylon; and (3) ritual activities – primarily ganja (marijuana) smoking and “reasoning” – collectively known as “grounding.”
“Coming in from the Cold”
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

Starting out among the most marginalized in Jamaican society, Rastafari vociferously rejected and condemned the political and social establishment, which reacted by branding the members of the movement as a criminal or lunatic fringe. However, over the years, the relationship between Rastafari and Jamaican society has gone through a series of changes that have facilitated the entrenchment of Rastafari in Jamaica. In this respect, the relationship has moved from resistance and repression to accommodation and assimilation, and eventually to cooptation and commodification.
Rastafari Rules
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

Jamaican popular music started with ska in the early 1960s, evolved into rock‐steady in the mid‐1960s, and eventually into reggae in the late 1960s. This development was driven and facilitated by Jamaica's sound systems – mobile discos – and the emerging recording industry. The influences on Jamaican popular music are quite diverse, including African sensibilities mediated through Jamaican folk genres, British popular and religious music, American rhythm and blues, Trinidadian calypso, and Latin rhythms. As the music evolved into reggae, the Nyabinghi rhythms of Rastafari – adopted from Burru drumming – became the characteristic sound, and the Rastafarian philosophy pervaded the lyrics. The influence of Rastafari on the development of Jamaican popular music (reggae) has been the most salient factor in moving Rastas from the margins toward the center of Jamaican cultural life.
Summary and Conclusions
Authors: Edmonds Ennis Barrington
Published: October 2003

This study of Rastafari suggests that charisma is a collective social phenomenon, generated as much by historical and social forces, as by the extraordinary qualities of charismatic leaders. The simultaneous appearance of multiple charismatic leaders advocating a similar message during the emergence of Rastafari supports this conclusion. With regard to routinization, this study of Rastafari further suggests that a new movement may become entrenched in the fabric of a culture or society without developing the institutional structures generally associated with routinization. In this respect, closer attention should be paid to the internal development of the movement, its ongoing relationship with the rest of the society, and especially its ability to influence cultural change. Future development in the structure and ethos of Rastafari will depend on which impulse gains ascendancy – the traditional philosophical individuality or the yearning for some kind of centralized organization that will be able to pursue more systemic structural change in Jamaican society.
TheConsolation, V.3–6
Authors: Marenbon John
Published: October 2003

Devoted to a detailed discussion of Boethius's later treatment, at the end of the Consolation of Philosophy, of the problem of divine prescience and human free will. It analyzes Boethius's conception of eternity and argues that it need not involve timelessness: what is important, rather, is that God lives in an eternal present. It argues that Boethius was blind to the distinctions of scope within propositions that many later thinkers saw as the heart of the problem of prescience.
Interpreting theConsolation
Authors: Marenbon John
Published: October 2003

After looking at the verse in the Consolation of Philosophy and other more literary aspects of it, this chapter proposes an interpretation of the work as a whole, which takes account of the fact that it is a prosimetrum – a genre in which the claims of learning were often challenged. Boethius, the chapter argues, regards philosophy with great respect, but considers it limited when it comes to providing a comprehensive and coherent understanding of the order of things. The differing attitudes of Boethius and Augustine, as Christians, to pagan Neoplatonism are contrasted.
Persistence
Authors: Olson Eric T.
Published: October 2003

This chapter is about how to state the question of personal identity over time. The question is often put in a way that assumes a person cannot start out or end up as a nonperson. This prejudges an important metaphysical question, and rules out the Biological Approach. The chapter then turns to the language of identity over time in general.
Are People Animals?
Authors: Olson Eric T.
Published: October 2003

This chapter argues that we are animals. Otherwise numerous metaphysical and epistemological problems arise. It is then argued that human animals do not have psychological identity conditions. Thus, our being animals is incompatible with the Psychological Approach.
Introduction
Authors: McDermott Rachel Fell
Published: October 2003

The central concern of this book is the influence of bhakti, or the devotional attitude, in transforming perceptions of Hindu deities and their famous poet‐saints. Methodologically, this study combines textual, historical, and anthropological approaches: transformations in the presentation of the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and their poets are charted through historical reconstructions of textual history and augmented, for the modern period, by fieldwork carried out in West Bengal, India, in 1988–90, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. The book has three principal aims: the first is to introduce the life stories and contexts of Śākta poet‐devotees who, though not much known outside Bengal, represent an important three‐hundred year literary and spiritual tradition centered around Hindu goddesses; the second is to provide the material necessary for the Bengali Śākta padas (short poems written according to a particular meter and rhyme) to be noticed, discussed, and recognized within the larger field of bhakti literary studies; and the third is to contribute to a “history of ideas” about Bengali goddesses.
Building Fences With Kālī: Rāmprasād Sen and the Popularization of the Tantric Goddess
Authors: McDermott Rachel Fell
Published: October 2003

This is a study of the Hindu Śākta poet Rāmprasād Sen (ca. 1718–1775), who has long been recognized as the premier Bengali Śākta poet, although very little is actually known about him. The approach adopted is to combine what historical material there is with looking at his poetry and various biographical legends. The largest section of the chapter looks at the available manuscripts on Rāmprasād, and includes quotations from his poetry and various historical illustrations; this is followed by a brief look at Rāmprasād's temple in Halishar. The next part of the chapter tries to create a composite portrait of Rāmprasād by examining the nature of his relationship with the Nadia rajas, the degree to which he should be treated as a Tāntrika, and his place within the Śākta tradition; these topics provide clear examples of the way in which Rāmprasād has been used and interpreted by his descendants and admirers. The last part of the chapter draws inferences on the “real” Rāmprasād.
Dancing on the Heart‐Lotus: Kālī and the Rāmprasāds of Bengali Literature
Authors: McDermott Rachel Fell
Published: October 2003

An assessment is made of Rāmprasād Sen's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in the last chapter. The first part of the chapter looks briefly at the texts, editions, and musical notations. The remainder is mostly devoted to the Kālī‐centered poetry, with a short section following it on the Umā‐centered poetry, and a brief roundup. Many quotations are included.
Keeping the Legacy Alive: Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya and the Śākta Padāvalī Tradition
Authors: McDermott Rachel Fell
Published: October 2003

An assessment is made of Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the light of the textual precedents examined in Ch. 5. The first part of the chapter looks briefly at the texts, editions, and musical notations. The remainder is devoted to the Kālī‐centered poetry, examining in turn the Śākta padas, and a Tantric meditation manual, Sādhak Rañjan (which is treated more briefly). Many quotations are included. A short conclusion assesses Kamalākānta's role in evolving trends in the goddesses Kālī and Umā.
“Mā, Come and Stay Awhile”: Kālī and Umā In Eighteenth‐ To Twentieth‐Century Bengali Poetry
Authors: McDermott Rachel Fell
Published: October 2003

The discussion of Rāmprasād Sen's and Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya's poetic contributions to the Bengali Hindu Śākta literature in the last two chapters is brought up to the present by referring comparatively to the literary output of other important Śākta poets, so as to gauge trends and themes in the poetic genre as a whole. The first part of the chapter discusses the intersection of nineteenth‐century and twentieth‐century literature with interest in the goddesses Kālī and Umā, and the rest (the main part) examines in chronological order the poetry to the two goddesses of several major eighteenth‐century to twentieth‐century poets. The underlying interpretative questions are the ways in which and degrees to which these depart from the examples and trends set by Rāmprasād and Kamalākānta. Many quotations are included.
Indeterminism and Agency
Authors: Horty John F.
Published: October 2003

Develops the formal theory of action, or agency, that forms the background of the book. The account is cast against the background of Prior's theory of branching, or indeterministic, time. Against this background, the chapter develops precise notions of action and ability for both individuals and groups.
Ought to Be
Authors: Horty John F.
Published: October 2003

Supplements the background theory of indeterministic time with a standard deontic logic, representing what ought to be the case. Taken together with the formal notion of action introduced in the previous chapter, the framework now allows us to speak about what it ought to be that the agent does, and to explore the possibility that this notion should be identified with the notion of what the agent ought to do. Examples are developed to show that the two notions should not be identified.
Spirituality for the Skeptic
Authors: Solomon Robert C.
Published: October 2003

For most of my life, I have been dismissive of both spirituality and religion. I say this to make clear the perspective and the starting point of this book, this search. No doubt, many of my readers will think of me as simpleminded, trying to recover what I should have learned had I been rightly raised in the matrix of religion, ritual, and belief. Others, my friends from the field of science and most of my political friends, will think that I am benighted, or perhaps something of a sell out, for giving up my lifelong down‐to‐earth scientific, and admittedly hyperrational way of thinking about things. But if the very idea of spirituality seemed to me to be contaminated by sectarian religion and by uncritical and antiscientific thinking, my view of life, which manifested in my becoming a philosopher (it did not come from philosophy) pointed to something else. Spirituality is not just organized religion. Nor is it antiscience, unnatural or supernatural. There is a naturalized spirituality that I have always had a glimpse of, and this is what I want to pursue in this book.
From Philosophy to Spirit and Spirituality
Authors: Solomon Robert C.
Published: October 2003

Spirituality is coextensive with religion and it is not incompatible with or opposed to science or the scientific outlook. Naturalized spirituality is spirituality without any need for the “other‐worldly.” Spirituality is one of the goals, perhaps the ultimate goal, of philosophy.
The Origins of Biblical Monotheism
Authors: Smith Mark S.
Published: October 2003

As the Bible tells us, ancient Israel's neighbors worshipped a wide variety of Gods. It is now widely accepted that the Israelites’ God, Yahweh, must have originated as among these many, before assuming the role of the one true God of monotheism. Mark Smith seeks in this book to discover more precisely what was meant by “divinity” in the ancient Near East and how these concepts apply to Yahweh. Part I, The Structures of Divinity, offers a detailed examination of the deities of ancient Ugarit (Middle East), known to us from the large surviving group of relevant extra-biblical texts. In Part II, Characteristics of Divinity, Smith looks closely at four classic problems associated with four Ugaritic deities and considers how they affect our understanding of Yahweh. Part III, The Origins of Monotheism in the Bible, returns to the question of Israelite monotheism, seeking to discover what religious issues it addressed and why it made sense at the time of its emergence. Smith argues that within the Bible, monotheism is not a separate “stage” of religion but rather represents a kind of rhetoric reinforcing Israel’s exclusive relation with its deity. Throughout the work, the Ugaritic material is emphasized.
The Divine Council
Authors: Smith Mark S.
Published: October 2003

An examination is made of the basic concept used to refer to the polity of deities, namely the divine “council” or “assembly,” studied in particular by E. T. Mullen and L.}{\charscalex149 }{K. Handy. This organization was ancient already by the time of the Late Bronze Age texts of Ugarit. Ugaritic literature develops a further conceptual coherence of divinity through the notion of the divine family. The different sections of the chapter look at the language of this divine council, the assemblies of El and Baal, the four tiers of the divine council, and the tiers of the pantheon in Israelite texts.
El, Yahweh, and the Original God of Israel and the Exodus
Authors: Smith Mark S.
Published: October 2003

This chapter begins the discussion on Israelite monotheism by noting the deep impact on Yahweh of the god El; the formative traditions of Israel, now largely lost in the mists of time, camouflage a complex relationship between El and Yahweh. The chapter turns in particular to a seminal question in the religion of ancient Israel: who was the original chief god of Israel? Thanks to the pioneering work of B. A. Levine on El traditions in Iron Age Transjordan, it is possible to explore further old traditions about El in early Israel. Because the name of the god El appears as the divine element in the name of IsraEL, it has been supposed that El was the original god of Israel, and some evidence may point to El as the god associated with the Exodus from Egypt in some early biblical tradition. The implications for the religious origins of ancient Israel are profound, and they raise basic questions for anyone, scholar and non-scholar alike, who takes seriously the complexity of the biblical witnesses to the god of Israel. The chapter also addresses the origins of Yahweh and the problems surrounding their reconstruction.
The Emergence of Monotheistic Rhetoric in Ancient Judah
Authors: Smith Mark S.
Published: October 2003

Monotheism is addressed in the context of the polytheisms of ancient Ugarit and early Israel. Within the Bible, monotheism is not a separate stage of religion in ancient Israel, as it is customarily regarded. It was in fact a kind of ancient rhetoric reinforcing Israel’s exclusive relationship with its deity. Monotheism is a kind of inner community discourse using the language of Yahweh’s exceptional divine status over and in all reality (“there are no other deities but me”) in order to absolutize Yahweh’s claim on Israel and to express Israel’s ultimate fidelity to Yahweh in a world where political boundaries or institutions no longer offered sufficiently intelligible lines of religious identity. In its political and social reduction in the world (first because of the rise of foreign empires in the seventh century, followed by its exile in 587–538 ), Israel elevated the terms of its understanding of its deity’s mastery of the world. Put summarily: Israel was now no nation, but the gods of other nations, including the greatest powers, were not really gods; and Yahweh was the sole force over both.