bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Intersubjective Worlds of Science and Religion
Authors: Wallace Alan B. 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
This essay explores the possibility of intersubjective truth in science and religion to present an alternative to metaphysical realism on the one hand, and relativism and constructivism on the other. Wallace gives a summary of objectivism — the view that there is a world separate from human perceptions and concepts. As scientific naturalism proceeded to build knowledge of the objective world, religion recoiled against this naturalism as insufficient to account for God or the soul, thus maintaining a sort of mind/matter dualism. Wallace argues that the science of mental phenomena has been largely speculative and not systematically empirical, largely due to the strong emphasis of science on external phenomena. Thus, contemporary cognitive science focuses on the mechanics of mental phenomena instead of the dynamics of the mind. Wallace discusses the pioneering work of William James, suggesting that science could consider the ways that brain and mind influence each other, rather than taking mind to be simply an outcome of brain processes. He asserts that science works with the world of experience, not a world independent of human experience, though truth-claims can be organized according to their intersubjective invariance across multiple frames of experience-based reference. Wallace then discusses how one may validate scientific and religious claims made by those who are highly trained and have opportunities for extraordinary experiences of consciousness — those which outsiders cannot share nor perhaps understand; yet both apply intersubjective empirical and pragmatic criteria to determine the utility of their truths.
Kant and the Empiricists
Authors: Waxman Wayne 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
This book explores the transcendental philosophy of Immanuel Kant as a continuation of British Empiricism by non-empiricist means. It argues that philosophies of John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume are united not by their empiricism, but their commitment to sensibilism — the thesis that all ideas originate in being perceived, and have no existence prior to or independently of their immediate presence to consciousness in perception. These philosophies are examined in detail to expose the gaps, preconceptions, and misunderstandings that contributed to obscuring the underlying continuity and unity of their thought. The book is divided into four parts. The General Introduction presents four chapters dealing with the philosophies of Kant and Hume. Part I explores Locke’s new model philosophy. Part II discusses Berkeley’s theory of understanding. Part III focuses on Hume’s associationism.
Kant's Extension of Humean Skepticism to Mathematics
Authors: Waxman Wayne 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
This chapter examines Kant’s belief that Hume’s premises, if strictly adhered to and pursued to their farthest implications, would have led him to abandon empirical psychologism in favor of Kant’s own transcendental philosophy. It is argued that that the same reasoning Hume used to show causal necessity is grounded not on the constitution of perceived objects — sensations, reflexions, and their images in thought — but on the psychological constitutions of the mind in considering them, and applies with equal force to the necessity of mathematical relations, and thus has the same skeptical implication. Two objections likely to arise from the claim that Kant’s transcendental philosophy must be understood as a psychologism modeled upon Hume are addressed.
Understanding in Language
Authors: Waxman Wayne 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter examines Locke’s theory on language. Since most knowledge depends on views that can be attained only through the intervention of words, Locke came to realize that his inquiry into “what Knowledge the Understanding hath by those Ideas” it “comes to be furnished with” must be prefaced with an investigation of language — the indispensable medium in which so much of human knowledge is framed. The signification of words, the philosophical uses of language, Locke’s critique of essentialism, and mental and verbal propositions are discussed.
Berkeley's Separability Principle: Semantics, Psychology, and Ontology
Authors: Waxman Wayne 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter examines Berkeley’s separability principle. It is argued that Berkeley misrepresented Locke’s doctrine of abstract ideas due to deficiencies in his initial characterization of it. Whenever Berkeley exposes a doctrine in Locke, in other philosophers, in Newtonian science, or in any other domain as an instance of the doctrine of abstract ideas, his reasoning turns on applications of the separability principle. Berkeley used this principle as an ontological touchstone: a means of deciding which of the things we can conceive by means of denotations correspond to things actually existing or capable of existing in the real world disclosed to us through our ideas.
Objective Understanding Transformed
Authors: Waxman Wayne 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter examines Berkeley’s theory of vision. He endorsed the essentials of Locke’s account of visual depth perception while deepening and extending it beyond anything contemplated by Locke. The core idea common to both is the need for “the Experience that what affects his touch so or so, must affect his sight so or so”. The synthesis of visual spatiality, Berkeley’s theory of spatial representation, the tactual bases of spatial imagination, the phenomenology of vision, the formal multiplicity of vision, the visual language of spatiality, and objects as chapters in the volume of nature are discussed.
The Pre‐Humean Problem of Origins
Authors: Waxman Wayne 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
This chapter examines the state of the theory of origins prior to Hume’s arrival on the scene. It begins with the Rationalists’ intellectualist accounts, and then draws together the elements of the sensibilist response to it. The Rationalist problem of origins, Locke’s critique of Rationalist intellectualism, the limits of Lockean sensibilism, Berkeley’s idealism, and Hume’s psychologism are discussed.
Performing Execution, Part 1
Authors: Berkowitz Beth A. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the people who enact an execution according to rabbinic law, beginning with those found in the Bible: the blood-avenger, the community, and the witnesses to the crime. It argues that the blood-avenger serves as a focal point for tensions between the individual and the rabbinic authorities. In addressing the role of the community and witnesses, it shows that the Rabbis withdraw the agency of execution from the community and deliver it into the hands of the crime’s witnesses. This transfer of power can be interpreted as a strategy for controlling the power of execution, while at the same time maintaining some distance from the execution itself.
Performing Execution, Part 2
Authors: Berkowitz Beth A. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter completes the study of the cast of characters found in rabbinic execution, turning attention to the criminal’s relatives and to the role of the Rabbis themselves. In exploring the part of the relatives, it extricates the relevant passages of Mishnah from their accepted interpretation by the Babylonian Talmud to show that the criminal is permanently buried in a location separate from the family burial site. It argues that the Mishnah’s laws prescribing separate burial, prohibiting the relatives from mourning, and requiring the relatives to reconcile with the court are all means of asserting the primacy of the rabbinic community over the bonds of family. Finally, the chapter examines narratives in which sages are portrayed as agents of execution. It shows that these stories project the power of execution onto the Rabbis, but also evince a strategic ambivalence about that power.
The Judge and the Martyr
Authors: Berkowitz Beth A. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter juxtaposes the death penalty discourse of the Rabbis with that of Christians. It shows that the early Christians, like the Rabbis, used death penalty discourse to great effect, but in an almost diametrically opposite way — Christian identification was with the executed, not the executioner. It examines the passion narrative in the four gospels: the stories of the execution of Stephen and the conversion of Paul in Acts, martyrdom narratives, and the writings of Ignatius and Justin to show that the identification with the judged and correlative criticism of the judge was central to the development of early Christian culture. It shows that the rabbinic and Christian discourses are not as far apart as they might initially seem — both produce new sites of authority for their respective audiences. The chapter considers the paradoxical ways in which the rabbinic embrace of power functions as critique, and the Christian critique of power functions also as an embrace, in an attempt to undermine enduring stereotypes of both the religious constellations of early rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity.
Seeds of the Kingdom
Authors: Peterson Anna L. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractSeeds of the Kingdom explores the utopian religious ethics practiced in Amish settlements in the United States Midwest and in former war zones in El Salvador. These communities stand as a counter-example to dominant trends not only in agriculture and economics, but also in political and religious culture. Residents organize their lives according to social ethics drawn from the Anabaptist and progressive Catholic streams within Western Christianity. Out of these traditions, they have developed a this-worldly Christian utopianism that provides both a guide for everyday life and a long-term vision of a possible future. This book offers a detailed portrait of these communities’ histories, environmental and social practices, religious values, and hopes for the future. It compares the differences and commonalities in their ethical systems, in the context of the larger religious traditions and social movements out of which they emerge. Another important area of comparison is the communities’ efforts to develop sustainable farming practices, as part of a larger argument about the importance of agriculture for both social and environmental ethics. Although the Amish and Salvadoran communities differ in many important aspects, their collective experiences suggest that efforts to create more environmentally sustainable practices and societies have a greater chance of success if they share certain common traits. These include a strong collective identity and commitment to the common good; deep attachment to local landscapes and species combined with awareness of larger dynamics; a desire to preserve non-human as well as human lives; and a utopian horizon that provides both goals and the hope of reaching them.
Community
Authors: Peterson Anna L. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter looks at the extent to which the Salvadorans and Amish settlements have achieved social justice, protection for vulnerable groups, and democratic institutions and processes in their communities. It analyzes and compares the distinctive contributions of Anabaptist and progressive Catholic theology to these issues. Particular attention is given to the religious dimensions of social movements and other mechanisms for seeking political change, and to the interactions between religious ethics and the actual practices of religious communities.
Visions and Versions of the Miraculous
Authors: Dempsey Corinne G. 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
This chapter describes the Rush temple as a place where miraculous worldviews thrive amid a worldly, well-educated population. It begins with a description of miracle debates as historically and currently played out within Christian and Hindu contexts, and suggests that Rush temple members represent a larger global trend rather than an aberration. It recounts miracle narratives along with an analysis of their function and meaning and organizes miracles into two groups: “guru miracles” and “deity miracles.” Guru miracles, such as the transfusion of śaktipat into an initiate, are associated with the supernatural powers of the guru, or siddhis, an anticipated byproduct of their many years of religious discipline. Deity miracles, featuring the goddess and other members of her Rush temple entourage such as Ganeś and Dattatreya, tend to be more capricious and directly associated with the power of divinity.
A Fine Balance
Authors: Dempsey Corinne G. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter investigates the nature and effect of religious discipline at the Rush temple, and notes how participants from various backgrounds, possessing very different motivations for visiting the temple, encounter temple expectations in very different ways. For instance, the majority of participants, often loosely affiliated with the temple and drawn primarily to the power and grace of the temple goddess, are not typically interested in religious discipline. As a result, they sometimes receive admonitions from the guru, Aiya, ever the perfectionist, that warn them of the pitfalls of a utilitarian connection to the goddess and of an overemphasis on material well-being. Inner core devotees, typically highly dedicated to and invested in the heavy demands of temple rituals and upkeep, receive a different set of messages from Aiya. Ever the trickster-maverick and dedicated to the tantric mandate to narrow the human-divine divide, Aiya infuses humor and playfulness into temple rituals and interactions with his students, encouraging them to engage with the deity with intimacy and light-heartedness amid their serious devotion.
Moral Skepticisms
Authors: Sinnott-Armstrong Walter 
Published: February 2006

AbstractMoral Skepticisms provides a detailed overview of moral epistemology, addressing such profound questions as: Are any moral beliefs true? Are any justified? Is moral knowledge possible? These questions lead to fundamental issues about the nature of morality, language, metaphysics, justification, and knowledge. They also have tremendous practical importance for controversial moral debates in politics, law, education, and health care ethics. To help understand these questions, Part 1 provides essential background, clarifies the issues, and argues for a novel contrastivist account of justified belief. Part 2 then explores the main alternatives in moral epistemology, including naturalism, normativism, intuitionism, contextualism, and coherentism. Sinnott-Armstrong argues that all of these approaches fail to rule out moral nihilism-the view that nothing is really morally wrong or right, bad or good. Then he develops his own novel theory — moderate classy Pyrrhonian moral skepticism — which concludes that some moral beliefs can be justified out of a modest contrast class, but no moral beliefs can be justified out of an unlimited contrast class, and neither contrast class is the relevant one, so no moral belief is justified without qualification.
Is War Necessary for Economic Growth?
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W. 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
Military and defense-related procurement has been an important source of technology development across a broad spectrum of industries that account for an important share of U.S. industrial production. This book focuses on six general-purpose technologies: interchangeable parts and mass production, military and commercial aircraft, nuclear energy and electric power, computers and semiconductors, the Internet, and the space industries. It addresses three questions that have significant implications for the future growth of the U.S. economy: Will changes in the structure of the U.S. economy and of the defense-industrial base preclude military and defense-related research, development, and procurement from playing a role in the future comparable to the role it played in the past? Will public support for commercial research and development become an important source of new general purpose technologies? Will a major war, or the threat of major war, be necessary to mobilize the scientific, technical, and financial resources necessary to induce the development of new general-purpose technologies? It argues that when the history of U.S. technology development over the next half century is written, it will focus on incremental rather than revolutionary changes in both military and commercial technology. It will also be written within the context of slower productivity growth than the relatively high rates that prevailed in the U.S. through the 1960s or during the information technology bubble that began in the early 1990s.
War and Economic Growth
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThe relationship between war and economic development has been controversial in economic history. During the Cold War, defense and defense-related research and development were criticized as a burden on commercial technology development. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that military and defense-related research, development, and procurement have represented major sources of technology development across a broad spectrum of industries that account for an important share of U.S. industrial production. This first chapter presents an overview of the theoretical perspectives that economists have used to interpret the rate and direction of technical change.
The Space Industries
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W. 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) was created in 1958 to ensure U.S. leadership in areas of space technology considered important to national prestige, national defense, and foreign policy. It has played an important entrepreneurial role in the development of both communications and earth-observing satellites for military and commercial purposes. Nonmilitary and intelligence applications of satellite communication technology achieved commercial viability much more rapidly than satellite earth-observing and geographic positioning systems. During the past several decades, the development and implementation of civilian applications have been slowed by national security considerations, and by ideologically burdened privatization policies that have threatened economic viability.
Is War Necessary?
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractSeveral important questions bear on the impact of military and defense-related research, development, and procurement on future technology development in the U.S. One is whether changes in the structure of the American economy and of the defense industrial base preclude military procurement from playing a role in the development of advanced technology comparable to that it played in the past. Another is whether the military and defense-related industries have become so small relative to the size of the U.S. industrial sector that they no longer exert significant leverage on the rate and direction of technical change. A more disturbing question is whether a war, or threat of war, will be necessary to induce the mobilization of the scientific, technical, and financial resources to generate new general-purpose technologies. It is argued that war or its threat will be a less powerful inducement to technical change in the first half of the 21st century than it was during the last half of the 20th century.
The Monastic Paradigm and the Romanesque Style
Authors: Viladesau Richard 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
The Romanesque ivory crucifix of Fernand and Sancha, with a smiling victorious Christ reigning from the cross, illustrates the aesthetic mediation of soteriology in the early middle ages. The theme of Christ as victorious hero is also seen in the vernacular religious poetry of the period like the “Dream of the Rood” and “The Heliand”. The theoretical mediation of “Christus Victor” theology is expressed in classical form by Gregory the Great. The “satisfaction theory” of Anselm produced a systematic theoretical alternative to earlier Patristic images. Abelard’s emphasis on Christ as teacher and example anticipated major themes of scholasticism, while Bernard of Clairvaux represented the monastic protest against incipient scholastic method. But these divergent theological paradigms nevertheless coincided in representing a new devotion to the humanity of Christ.
The Theology of High Scholasticism and Gothic Art
Authors: Viladesau Richard 
Published: February 2006

Abstract
The crucifix, painted by Giunta Pisano for the basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, represents the triumph of Franciscan spirituality of devotion to Christ’s humanity, along with a new style of representation that would develop into the Gothic image of the suffering but beautiful Christ. The theological theories of atonement developed during the period of high Scholasticism by Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, and John Duns Scotus combined elements of Anselm’s “satisfaction theory” with a more theoretical emphasis on grace, developing a “sacramental” model of salvation. Medieval methods of exegesis and new “revelations” led to the introduction of further detail in the portrayal of the crucifixion. The humanism of the period also extended to an increasing emphasis on the suffering of Christ’s mother Mary, as seen in the famous hymn “Stabat Mater”.
Free Will and Neuroscience
Authors: Mele Alfred R. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis chapter argues that neuroscientist Benjamin Libet’s data do not justify his assertion that “the brain ‘decides’ to initiate [certain actions] before there is any reportable subjective awareness that such a decision has taken place,” and do not justify associated worries about free will. The data are examined in light of some recent findings about reaction times, and some familiar distinctions in the philosophy of action, for example, the distinction between decisions and desires (or urges).
Minds and Gods
Authors: Tremlin Todd 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThis book provides an introduction to the cognitive science of religion, a new discipline of study that explains the origins and persistence of religious ideas and behavior on the basis of evolved mental structures and functions of the human brain. Belief in gods and the social formation of religion have their genesis in biology — in powerful, often hidden, processes of cognition that all humans share. Arguing that we cannot understand what we think until we first understand how we think, the book describes ways in which evolution by natural selection molded the modern human mind, resulting in mental modularity, innate intelligences, and species-typical modes of thought. The book details many of the adapted features of the brain — agent detection, theory of mind, social cognition, and others — focusing on how mental endowments inherited from our ancestral past lead people to naturally entertain religious ideas, such as the god concepts that are ubiquitous the world over. In addition to introducing the major themes, theories, and thinkers in the cognitive science of religion, the book also advances the current discussion by moving beyond explanations for individual religious beliefs and behaviors to the operation of culture and religious systems. Drawing on dual-process models of cognition developed in social psychology, the book argues that the same cognitive constraints that shape human thought also work as a selective force on the content and durability of religions.