bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SIMONE WEIL'S SPIRITUAL CRITIQUE OF MODERN SCIENCE: AN HISTORICAL‐CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
Authors: Cosgrove Joseph K. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Simone Weil is widely recognized today as one of the profound religious thinkers of the twentieth century. Yet while her interpretation of natural science is critical to Weil's overall understanding of religious faith, her writings on science have received little attention compared with her more overtly theological writings. The present essay, which builds on Vance Morgan's Weaving the World: Simone Weil on Science, Necessity, and Love (2005), critically examines Weil's interpretation of the history of science. Weil believed that mathematical science, for the ancient Pythagoreans a mystical expression of the love of God, had in the modern period degenerated into a kind of reification of method that confuses the means of representing nature with nature itself. Beginning with classical (Newtonian) science's representation of nature as a machine, and even more so with the subsequent assimilation of symbolic algebra as the principal language of mathematical physics, modern science according to Weil trades genuine insight into the order of the world for symbolic manipulation yielding mere predictive success and technological domination of nature. I show that Weil's expressed desire to revive a Pythagorean scientific approach, inspired by the “mysterious complicity” in nature between brute necessity and love, must be recast in view of the intrinsically symbolic character of modern mathematical science. I argue further that a genuinely mystical attitude toward nature is nascent within symbolic mathematical science itself.
INTERNISTS OF THE MIND OR PHYSICIANS OF THE SOUL: DOES PSYCHIATRY NEED A PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY?
Authors: Browning Don 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Although psychiatry is interested in what both body and mind contribute to behavior, it sometimes emphasizes one more than the other. Since the early 1980s, American psychiatry has shifted its interest from mind and psyche to body and brain. Neuroscience and psychopharmacology are increasingly at the core of psychiatry. Some experts claim that psychiatry is no longer interested in problems in living and positive goals such as mental health, happiness, and morality but rather has narrowed its focus to mental disorders addressed with psychotropic drugs. In view of this trend, psychiatry needs to confront two questions in social philosophy. If it is no longer directly concerned with health and happiness, how does it relate to these positive goals? And how does it relate as a medical institution to religious institutions, schools, and other organizations that directly promote health, happiness, morality, and the purposes of life? It is not enough for psychiatry to renounce its moral role; its practices still shape cultural values. Psychiatry should take more responsibility for developing a public philosophy that addresses these issues.
STEPS TOWARD A COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF RELIGION
Authors: Oviedo Lluís 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.The article chronicles the different panels devoted tothe cognitive science of religion at the meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) in Tampa, Florida, in November 2007. The aim is to verify the state of this subdiscipline and to check how much this work‐in‐progress affects the present state of the dialogue between science and religion. Several signs point to a positive development in this scientific branch and favor a sound reception in theology, which should not ignore the new research.
THE DIVINE CONJECTURES: A CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNT OF HUMAN ORIGINS AND DESTINY
Authors: Russell Allan Melvin , Gerhart Mary 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Six “divine conjectures” frame the place of Theóne (The One to Whom we pray) in the creation of our universe and for its continuing development in five subsequent stages into a loving universe. The first stage, the cosmological universe, establishes the laws of nature, understood by scientists as the “standard model”. The second stage introduces life and death into the universe by a process we are only now beginning to understand. Stage 3 requires certain life forms to become conscious with a subset of those life‐forms acquiring language that results in that subset becoming self‐conscious. The next stage, Conjecture 4, identifies certain persons who become addicted to learning in their unrelenting effort to learn as much of what can be known as possible. The fifth conjecture requires individual persons to act as agents of Theóne in achieving Conjecture 6—a universe that is both loving and lawful. During the course of the exposition subsidiary discussions of the concepts of conjecture and hypothesis explicate the function of each in the advancement of knowledge and understanding. There are brief discussions of prayer and purpose in relation to the Divine.
THE QUR'AN, SCIENCE, AND THE (RELATED) CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE
Authors: Guessoum Nidhal 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.We discuss the special place of the Qur'an in the Muslim discourse in general and on science in particular. The Qur'an has an unparalleled influence on the Muslim mind, and understanding the Islamic treatise on science and religion must start from this realization. We explore the concept of science in the Islamic culture and to what extent it can be related to the Qur'an. Reviewing various Islamic discourses on science, we show how a simplistic understanding of the plan to adopt modern science within an Islamic revival program has been corrupted in the form of the theory of “scientific miraculousness of the Qur'an.” We assess and dismiss this theory but use it to show how a serious misunderstanding of the nature of modern science and a narrow view of the Qur'an has led to that embarrassingly popular yet misguided theory. We conclude by promoting a multiplicity of readings of the Qur'an and show that this allows for an enlightenment of one's interpretation of Qur'anic verses, using various tools at one's disposal, including scientific knowledge. We uphold Averroes's principle of “no possible conflict,” which can be used to persuade the Muslim public of a given idea not by proving that it can be found in the Qur'an but rather by showing that at least some readings of it are fully consistent with the given scientific theory.
TWO BAD WAYS TO ATTACK INTELLIGENT DESIGN AND TWO GOOD ONES
Authors: Koperski Jeffrey 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Four arguments are examined in order to assess the state of the Intelligent Design debate. First, critics continually cite the fact that ID proponents have religious motivations. When used as criticism of ID arguments, this is an obvious ad hominem. Nonetheless, philosophers and scientists alike continue to wield such arguments for their rhetorical value. Second, in his expert testimony in the Dover trial, philosopher Robert Pennock used repudiated claims in order to brand ID as a kind of pseudoscience. His arguments hinge on the nature of methodological naturalism as a metatheoretic shaping principle. We examine the use of such principles in science and the history of science. Special attention is given to the demarcation problem. Third, the scientific merits of ID are examined. Critics rightly demand more than promissory notes for ID to move beyond the fringe. Fourth, although methodological naturalism gets a lot of attention, there is another shaping principle to contend with, namely, conservatism. Science, like most disciplines, tends to change in an incremental rather than revolutionary manner. When ID is compared to other non‐ or quasi‐Darwinian proposals, it appears to be a more radical solution than is needed in the face of the anomalies.
PRIMATES AND RELIGION: A BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST'S RESPONSE TO J. WENTZEL VAN HUYSSTEEN'S ALONE IN THE WORLD?
Authors: King Barbara J. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.For a biological anthropologist interested in the prehistory of religion, J. Wentzel van Huyssteen's book is welcome and resonant. Van Huyssteen's central thesis is that humans' capacity for spirituality emerges from a transformation of cognition and emotions that takes place in the symbolic realm, within Homo sapiens and apart from biology. To his thesis I bring to bear three areas of response: the abundant cognitive and emotional capacities of living apes and extinct hominids; the role of symbolic ritual in the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens; and the closely intertwined nature of biology and culture in the workings of evolutionary change.
UNIQUENESS, THE IMAGE OF GOD, AND THE PROBLEM OF METHOD: ENGAGING VAN HUYSSTEEN
Authors: Peterson Gregory R. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Wentzel van Huyssteen's book Alone in the World? provides a thoughtful and nuanced account of human evolution from a theological perspective. Not only does his work provide what is perhaps the only sustained theological reflection specifically on human evolution, but his working through of many of the issues, particularly on the image of God literature in theology, has few parallels. Despite this, I focus on what I consider to be several weaknesses of the text, including areas of theological method, theological interpretation, and the central topic of human uniqueness. Addressing these weaknesses will, I propose, improve van Huyssteen's argument and lead in new and fruitful directions.
HAND IN GLOVE: EVALUATING THE FIT BETWEEN METHOD AND THEOLOGY IN VAN HUYSSTEEN'S INTERPRETATION OF HUMAN UNIQUENESS
Authors: Wildman Wesley J. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Wentzel van Huyssteen's Alone in the World? (2006) presents an interpretation of human uniqueness in the form of a dialogue between classical Christian theological affirmations and cutting‐edge scientific understandings of the human and animal worlds. The sheer amount of information from different thinkers and fields that van Huyssteen absorbs and integrates makes this book extraordinary and, indeed, very rich as a work of interdisciplinary theology. The book commands respect and deserves close attention. In this essay I evaluate van Huyssteen's proposal as well as the method he uses to produce it. Special attention is given to the concept of embodiment. Van Huyssteen's concept of embodiment is substantially correct in most respects and largely consistent with the scientific and theological pictures of human nature. In a few respects, however, his interpretation of the bodily character of human life appears to be insufficiently thoroughgoing relative to our best contemporary knowledge of human nature from the natural sciences.
UNIQUENESS IN CONTEXT
Authors: Howell Nancy R. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.Wentzel van Huyssteen's Gifford Lectures, published as Alone in the World? Human Uniqueness in Science and Theology, accomplish critical and constructive thinking about interdisciplinary reflection on science and religion and about the meaning of human uniqueness. One approach to discussion of van Huyssteen's text entails consideration of three issues: the contextual character of research on humans and animals, the difficult problem of defining uniqueness, and the important consequences of exploring human uniqueness. Evolutionary biology and primatology contribute specific scientific insights.
PRIMATES, HOMINIDS, AND HUMANS—FROM SPECIES SPECIFICITY TO HUMAN UNIQUENESS? A RESPONSE TO BARBARA J. KING, GREGORY R. PETERSON, WESLEY J. WILDMAN, AND NANCY R. HOWELL
Authors: Van Huyssteen J. Wentzel 
Published: May 2008

Abstract.In this response to essays by Barbara J. King, Gregory R. Peterson, Wesley J. Wildman, and Nancy R. Howell, I present arguments to counter some of the exciting and challenging questions from my colleagues. I take the opportunity to restate my argument for an interdisciplinary public theology, and by further developing the notion of transversality I argue for the specificity of the emerging theological dialogue with paleoanthropology and primatology. By arguing for a hermeneutics of the body, I respond to criticism of my notion of human uniqueness and argue for strong evolutionary continuities, as well as significant discontinuities, between primates, humans, and other hominids. In addition, I answer critical questions about theological methodology and argue how the notion of human uniqueness, theologically restated as the image of God, is enriched by transversally appropriating scientific notions of species specificity and embodied personhood.
Changing cerebral blood flow velocity detected by transcranial Doppler ultrasound during head up tilt in patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Gonul M. , Asil T. , Balci K. , Celik Y. , Turgut N. , Uzunca I. 
Published: May 2008

Background and purpose:  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of central nervous system. We aimed to investigate the cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) changes in MS by transcranial Doppler.Methods:  Twenty patients with MS, 20 age‐matched healthy controls were included in the study. In both groups, blood flow velocities (BFVs) of middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) were evaluated. The changes of blood pressure, heart rate along with the changes in BFV of MCA were recorded after the patients were raised to upright position.Results:  In both groups, upon raising the tilt table to the upright position, the mean CBFV values were found to be lower in comparison with the recorded baseline values (P values <0.05). The decline in the mean CBFV values was more significant in patients with MS (P = 0.01).Conclusion:  Our study showed upon raise of the tilt table, the mean BFVs decreased more in MS patients than control group with a more prominent change in the subgroup of MS patients with expanded disability scale scores ≥2. By use of transcranial Doppler ultrasound, it may be possible to evaluate BFV changes in patients with MS.
The neuroprotection of prodromal transient ischaemic attack on cerebral infarction
Authors: Fu Y. , Sun J.L. , Ma J.F. , Geng X. , Sun J. , Liu J.R. , Song Y.J. , Chen S.D. 
Published: May 2008

Background and purpose:  To evaluate the potential neuroprotection against subsequent cerebral infarction conferred by a prodromal transient ischaemic attack (TIA).Methods:  Various measures, including blood pressure, blood serum glucose, serum lipids, cardiovascular imaging and changes to NIHSS scores were evaluated upon admission and discharge for patients presenting with ischaemic stroke with or without prodromal TIA (n = 60 per group).Results:  When all patients from each group were considered together, no significant group effects emerged. However, when the NIHSS difference scores from the prodromal TIA group were subdivided based on (i) prodromal TIA lasting up to 4 min; (ii) two prodromal TIA attacks and/or; (iii) prodromal TIA‐stroke interval within 7 days separately, patients in subgroups 1 and 2 exhibited significantly better outcome on discharge. There was no significant effect found in subgroup three although this TIA group did show better outcome in considering the NIHSS changes.Conclusions:  Prodromal TIA prior to cerebral infarction may result in an ischaemic tolerance effect. Moreover, the neuroprotection conferred by the TIA may be associated with the duration and the frequency of the TIA, although the relationship between the TIA‐stroke interval and prognosis is not clear.
Electrophysiological correlates of presaccadic remapping in humans
Authors: Parks Nathan A. , Corballis Paul M. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSaccadic eye movements cause rapid displacements of space, yet the visual field is perceived as stable. A mechanism that may contribute to maintaining visual stability is the process of predictive remapping, in which receptive fields shift to their future locations prior to the onset of a saccade. We investigated electrophysiological correlates of remapping in humans using event‐related potentials. Subjects made horizontal saccades that caused a visual stimulus to remain within a single visual field or to cross the vertical meridian, shifting between visual hemifields. When an impending saccade would shift the stimulus between visual fields (requiring remapping between cerebral hemispheres), presaccadic potentials showed increased bilaterality, having greater amplitudes over the hemisphere ipsilateral to the grating stimulus. Results are consistent with interhemispheric remapping of visual space in anticipation of an upcoming saccade.
Saccade generation and suppression in schizophrenia: Effects of response switching and perseveration
Authors: Franke Cosima , Arndt Doris , Ploner Christoph J. , Heinz Andreas , Reuter Benedikt 
Published: May 2008

AbstractPoor antisaccade performance is a reliable index of action control deficits in schizophrenia. To further elucidate the underlying cognitive impairments, the current study aimed to confirm effects of switching the response direction on saccadic performance and to investigate whether response switch effects relate to perseveration. Fourteen schizophrenia patients and 14 healthy controls performed sequences of 1 to 3 simple volitional saccades to one direction and a subsequent volitional saccade with distractor to the same or the opposite direction. Response switches increased error rates in schizophrenia if they followed 3 saccades to the opposite side, suggesting that response switching affects performance on conditions of strong persisting response programs. The increase of response switch error rates with multiple repetitions of the prior response points to a relationship between perseveration and response selection.
Characterizing the ERP Old–New effect in a short‐term memory task
Authors: Danker Jared F. , Hwang Grace M. , Gauthier Lynne , Geller Aaron , Kahana Michael J. , Sekuler Robert 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe early and late components of the event‐related potential (ERP) Old–New effect are well characterized with respect to long‐term memory, and have been associated with processes of familiarity and recollection, respectively. Now, using a short‐term memory paradigm with verbal and nonverbal stimuli, we explored the way that these two components respond to variation in recency and stimulus type. We found that the amplitude of the early component (or frontal N400, FN400) showed Old–New effects only for verbal stimuli and increased with recency. In contrast, the later component (or late positive component, LPC) showed Old–New effects across a range of stimulus types and did not scale with recency. These results are consistent with the way that these same ERP components have been characterized in long‐term memory, supporting the idea that some of the same processes underlie long‐ and short‐term item recognition.
Effects of chloramphenicol on brain energy metabolism using 31P spectroscopy: influences on sleep‐wake states in rat
Authors: Chahboune Halima , Mahdjoub Rachid , Desgoutte Pierre , Rousset Colette , Briguet André , Cespuglio Raymond 
Published: May 2008

AbstractEffects of chloramphenicol (antibiotic inhibiting complex‐1 of respiratory chain) and thioamphenicol (TAP, a structural analog of CAP inactive on complex‐1) were examined on cerebral energy metabolites and sleep‐wake cycle architecture in rat. In the first group, animals were chronically equipped with a cranial surface resonator and 31P spectroscopic measurements were performed using a 2 T magnetic resonance spectrometer (operating frequency 34.46 MHz). CAP administration (400 mg/kg, tail vein, light period) induced deficits in phosphocreatine (−30%, p < 0.01) and ATP (−40%, p < 0.01), whereas TAP (400 mg/kg) had no effect. In the second group, animals were chronically implanted with polygraphic electrodes for EEG and electromyogram recordings. CAP administered intraperitoneally at light‐onset reduced rapid‐eye movement (REM) sleep (−60% in the first 6 h of light period, p < 0.01), increased waking state (+65% in the first 6 h of light period, p < 0.01), and slightly affected slow‐wave sleep (SWS). During waking state, θ and σ power bands of the EEG were, respectively, increased and decreased (p < 0.05). During SWS, delta power band was reinforced (p < 0.05), while θ, α, and σ bands were decreased (p < 0.05). No changes occurred during REM sleep. TAP had no effect on sleep‐wake states and spectral components of the EEG. Overall, these data indicate that REM sleep occurrence is linked to an aerobic production of ATP.
Myristoylation of p39 and p35 is a determinant of cytoplasmic or nuclear localization of active cycline‐dependent kinase 5 complexes
Authors: Asada Akiko , Yamamoto Naoyuki , Gohda Masaki , Saito Taro , Hayashi Nobuhiro , Hisanaga Shin‐ichi 
Published: May 2008

AbstractCdk5 is a member of the cyclin‐dependent kinases (Cdks), activated by the neuron‐specific activator p39 or p35. The activators also determine the cytoplasmic distribution of active Cdk5, but the mechanism is not yet known. In particular, little is known for p39. p39 and p35 contain localization motifs, such as a second Gly for myristoylation and Lys clusters in the N‐terminal p10 region. Using mutant constructs, we investigated the cellular distribution mechanism. We observed that p39 localizes the active Cdk5 complex in the perinuclear region and at the plasma membrane as does p35. We demonstrated the myristoylation of both p39 and p35, and found that it is a major determinant of their membrane association. Plasma membrane targeting depends on the amino acid sequence containing the Lys‐cluster in the N‐terminal p10 region. In contrast, a non‐myristoylated Ala mutant (p39G2A or p35G2A) showed nuclear localization with stronger accumulation of p39G2A than p35G2A. These results indicate that myristoylation regulates the membrane association of p39 as well as p35 and that the Lys cluster controls their trafficking to the plasma membrane. The differential nuclear accumulation of p39 and p35 suggests their segregated functions, p35–Cdk5 in the cytoplasm and p39–Cdk5 in the nucleus.
Endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ dysregulation and endoplasmic reticulum stress following in vitro neuronal ischemia: role of Na+‐K+‐Cl‐ cotransporter
Authors: Chen Xinzhi , Kintner Douglas B. , Luo Jing , Baba Akemichi , Matsuda Toshio , Sun Dandan 
Published: May 2008

AbstractWe investigated the role of Na+‐K+‐Cl‐ cotransporter (NKCC1) in conjunction with Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) in disruption of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ homeostasis and ER stress development in primary cortical neurons following in vitro ischemia. Oxygen‐glucose deprivation (OGD) and reoxygenation (REOX) caused a rise in [Na+]cyt which was accompanied by an elevation in [Ca2+]cyt. Inhibition of NKCC1 with its potent inhibitor bumetanide abolished the OGD/REOX‐induced rise in [Na+]cyt and [Ca2+]cyt. Moreover, OGD significantly increased Ca2+ER accumulation. Following REOX, a biphasic change in Ca2+ER occurred with an initial release of Ca2+ER which was sensitive to inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) inhibition and a subsequent refilling of Ca2+ER stores. Inhibition of NKCC1 activity with its inhibitor or genetic ablation prevented the release of Ca2+ER. A similar result was obtained with inhibition of reversed mode operation of NCX (NCXrev). OGD/REOX also triggered a transient increase of glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), phospho‐form of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (p‐eIF2α), and cleaved caspase 12 proteins. Pre‐treatment of neurons with NKCC1 inhibitor bumetanide inhibited upregulation of GRP78 and attenuated the level of cleaved caspase 12 and p‐eIF2α. Inhibition of NKCC1 reduced cytochrome C release and neuronal death. Taken together, these results suggest that NKCC1 and NCXrev may be involved in ischemic cell damage in part via disrupting ER Ca2+ homeostasis and ER function.