bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Science and Religion: Getting Ready for the Future
Authors: Jackelén Antje 
Published: May 2003

AbstractI explore three challenges for the current dialogue between science and religion: the challenges from hermeneutics, feminisms, and postmodernisms. Hermeneutics, defined as the practice and theory of interpretation and understanding, not only deals with questions of interpreting texts and data but also examines the role and use of language in religion and in science, but it should not stop there. Results of the post‐Kuhnian discussion are used to exemplify a wider range of hermeneutical issues, such as the ideological potential of scientific concepts, the dynamics of interdisciplinarity, and the significance of the socioeconomic situatedness of science and religion. Feminist research analyzes the consequences of the interplay of masculine, feminine, and gender typologies in religion and science. Examples from the history of science as well as current scientific conceptualizations indicate that beliefs in the inferiority of woman form part of our inherited scientific, religious, and metaphysical framework. It is argued that postmodernism in its most constructive form shares the best fruits of modernity, especially of the Enlightenment, while avoiding some of its most serious mistakes. In conclusion, reflecting on the three publics engaged in the dialogue between science and religion—academe, religious communities, and societies—I offer constructive suggestions and critical observations concerning the future of this dialogue.
What Poetry Brings to the Table of Science and Religion
Authors: Schaible Robert M. 
Published: May 2003

AbstractEver since Plato's famous attack on artists and poets in Book 10 of The Republic, lovers of literature have felt pressed to defend poetry, and indeed from ancient times down to the present, literature and art have had to fight various battles against philosophy, religion, and science. After providing a brief overview of this conflict and then arguing that between poetry and science there are some noteworthy similarities—that is, that some of the basic mental structures with which the scientist studies the “text” of nature (facts, laws, theories) find their counterparts in ways an informed reader studies the poetic text, I develop what I see as the most important differences between poetry, on the one hand, and science, philosophy, and theology, on the other. These differences lie chiefly in two areas: (1) in the stance that each takes toward language itself and (2) in the stance each takes toward that ancient polarity between the one and the many. The aim of my argument is neither to privilege poetry over the other modes of knowing the world nor to grant, particularly to science in its reductive “objectivity,” a higher epistemological status than that accorded to poetry and the arts. Instead, I wish to argue that science, by pushing the boundaries of knowledge about the material world, shows the poet, as well as the theologian, some of the more important work to be done and that poetry, with its emphasis on the particular over the abstract and on the ambiguities and paradoxes of language as inherently metaphorical, serves science and religion by providing a caution against the naive acceptance of language as literal and the consequent enthrallment to the power of absolutes and totalizing abstractions.
Feminism, Family, and Women's Rights: A Hermeneutic Realist Perspective
Authors: Browning Don 
Published: May 2003

AbstractIn this article I apply the insights of hermeneutic realism to a practical‐theological ethics that addresses the international crisis of families and women's rights. Hermeneutic realism affirms the hermeneutic philosophy of Hans‐Georg Gadamer but enriches it with the dialectic of participation and distanciation developed by Paul Ricoeur. This approach finds a place for sciences such as evolutionary psychology within a hermeneutically informed ethic. It also points to a multidimensional model of practical reason that views it as implicitly or explicitly involving five levels—background metaphysical visions, some principle of obligation, assumptions about pervasive human tendencies and needs, assumptions about constraining social and natural environments, and assumed acceptable rules of conduct. The fruitfulness of this multidimensional view of practical reason is then demonstrated by applying it to practical‐theological ethics and the analysis of four theorists of women's rights—Martha Nussbaum, Susan Moller Okin, Lisa Cahill, and Mary Ann Glendon. Finally, I illustrate the importance and limits of the visional dimension of practical reason by discussing the concept of “Africanity” in relation to the family and AIDS crisis of Eastern Africa.
Risk and Religion: Toward a Theology of Risk Taking
Authors: Gregersen Niels Henrik 
Published: May 2003

AbstractHistorically the concept of risk is rooted in Renaissance lifestyles, in which autonomous agents such as sailors, warriors, and tradesmen ventured upon dangerous enterprises. Thus, the concept of risk inseparably combines objective reality (nature) and social construction (culture): Risk = Danger + Venture. Mathematical probability theory was constructed in this social climate in order to provide a quantitative risk assessment in the face of indeterminate futures. Thus we have the famous formula: Risk = Probability (of events) × the Size (of future harms). Because the concept of harm is always observer relative, however, risk assessment cannot be purely quantitative. This leads to the question, What are the general conditions under which risks can be accepted? There is, after all, a difference between incurring a risk and bearing the costs of risks selected for by other agencies. Against this background, contours of a theology of risk emerge. If God creates a self‐organizing world of relatively autonomous agents, and if self‐organization is favored by cooperative networks of autopoietic processes, then the theological hypothesis of a risk‐taking God is at least initially plausible. Moreover, according to the Christian idea of incarnation, God is not only taking a risk but is also bearing the risks implied by the openness of creation. I thus argue for a twofold divine kenosis—in creation as well as in redemption. I discuss some objections to this view, including the serious counterargument that risk taking on behalf of others remains, even for God, a morally dubious task. What are the conditions under which the notion of a risk‐taking God can be affirmed without leaving us with the picture of God as an arbitrary, cosmic tyrant? And what are the practical implications for the ways in which human agents of faith, hope, and love can learn to cope with the risks of everyday life and of political decisions?
On Brain, Soul, Self, and Freedom: An Essay in Bridging Neuroscience and Faith
Authors: Oomen Palmyre M. F. 
Published: May 2003

AbstractThe article begins at the intellectual fissure between many statements coming from neuroscience and the language of faith and theology. First I show that some conclusions drawn from neuroscientific research are not as firm as they seem: neuroscientific data leave room for the interpretation that mind matters. I then take a philosophical‐theological look at the notions of soul, self, and freedom, also in the light of modern scientific research (self‐organization, neuronal networks), and present a view in which these theologically important notions are seen in relation both to matter (brain) and to God. I show that religious insights expressed with soul and free will bear a remarkable resemblance to certain insights from neuroscience and the science of complex, self‐organizing systems, including emphasis on corporeality and emphasis on organization as a form of that corporeality, and that they also show an interesting parallel — albeit described in different terms — concerning the crucial role of a valuation principle that generates attraction. With that, the common‐sense idea that freedom simply is the same as indeterminism is refuted: freedom primarily means self‐determination. I bring to the fore that the self is not a static thing but a “longing.” Such longing springs from something, and it is the relationship to this source that constitutes the self. The main concern is to point out the crucial role of attraction with respect to being and to life, and to draw attention not only to the astonishing parallel on this point between Thomas Aquinas and Alfred North Whitehead but also to a surprising — albeit more implicit — analogy between these philosophical‐theological views and scientific theories of self‐organization (such as those concerning neuronal networks). In short, being attracted toward what appears as “good” is what constitutes us as selves and what thereby signifies the primary meaning of our freedom.
Relativity and Religion: The Abuse of Einstein's Theory
Authors: Hodgson Peter E. 
Published: May 2003

AbstractEinstein's special theory of relativity has had a wide influence on fields far removed from physics. It has given the impression that physics has shown that there are now no absolute truths, that all beliefs are relative to the observer, and that traditional stable landmarks have been washed away. We each have our own frame of reference that is as good as any other frame, so that there are no absolute standards by which our actions may be judged. The predictions of relativity theory, such as the elimination of simultaneity, the variation of mass with velocity, and the equivalence of mass and energy, are all highly counterintuitive and yet are precisely confirmed by detailed measurements. The clear rocklike mechanical physics of Newton seems to have dissolved into a swirling mist of unintelligible concepts, and familiar certainties seem to have disappeared.A detailed analysis of relativity theory shows, however, a completely different picture. Properly understood, it is a logical extension of Newtonian physics that expresses the relations of space and time in a more exact and elegant way and in the process shows forth more clearly the invariant features of the world. The apparently counterintuitive features appear as natural consequences that extend and refine our classical concepts. The traditional landmarks remain, but God's world is more subtle than we had previously imagined.
The Emergent Order
Authors: Sharpe Kevin , Walgate Jonathan 
Published: May 2003

AbstractWe examine the phenomenon of emergence, referring particularly to Arthur Peacocke's ideas on emergence, the self, and spirituality. He believes that the whole of an emergent structure influences the way its parts cohere and that emergent structures (including minds and persons) and their effects are very important. He thereby hopes to remove the reductionist challenge that seeks to understand a whole fully in terms of its parts. We argue that emergent phenomena are not influential in the above sense. The holistic completeness of these structures at their own theoretical level does not substitute for the causal independence Peacocke suggests by the idea of influence. Some computer simulations that generate emergent complexity follow simple and self‐contained sets of rules. Peacocke also adheres to a hierarchical account of reality as a series of levels into which matter is organized, running from atoms through molecules to cells and eventually to whole ecosystems. But influential behavior does not respect this ordering. Further, Peacocke's opposition to reductionism is unnecessary; any “completeness” of lower‐level models does not imply the redundancy of higher‐level descriptions. Emergence transforms reductionism into a constructive and positive principle.
Varieties of Reasoning: Assessing Adequacy
Authors: Teske John A. 
Published: May 2003

AbstractHelmut Reich's theory of relational and contextual reasoning is a courageous initiative for the resolution of cognitive conflicts between apparently incompatible or incommensurable views. Built upon Piagetian logico‐mathematical reasoning, cognitive complexity theory, and dialectical and analogical reasoning, it includes the development of a both/and logic inclusive of binary either/or logic. Reich provides philosophic, theoretical, and even initial empirical support for the development of this form of reasoning along with a heuristic for its application. A valuable step beyond the limits of binary, static, and formal reasoning, it takes relationship, context, and perspectival variations seriously in an explicitly reflective and iterative system. We can and do address conflicts not resolvable by conventional appeals to logic or evidence, including those at epistemic boundaries or produced by belief‐commitment differences. Although this form of reasoning has real promise, including stepping beyond complementarity in the religion‐science dialogue, it seems better directed to causally explanatory theories than to other forms of rendering meaning. Finally, its coextension requirement may render it problematic where functionally coherent explananda cannot be identified or are themselves produced or constituted by a belief system.
Developing the Horizons of the Mind: Reich's Response to the Commentators
Authors: Reich K. Helmut 
Published: May 2003

AbstractSome aspects of my writing the monograph Developing the Horizons of the Mind (2002) are highlighted, the central characteristics of relational and contextual reasoning (RCR) are explained, and the contributions to this symposium by John Albright, Varadaraja V. Raman, and John Teske are discussed.
Practitioner Review: Computerized assessment of neuropsychological function in children: clinical and research applications of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB)
Authors: Luciana Monica 
Published: May 2003

Background: Computers have been used for a number of years in neuropsychological assessment to facilitate the scoring, interpretation, and administration of a variety of commonly used tests. There has been recent interest in applying computerized technology to pediatric neuropsychological assessment, which poses unique demands based on the need to interpret performance relative to the child's developmental level.Findings: However, pediatric neuropsychologists have tended to implement computers in the scoring, but not administration, of tests. This trend is changing based on the work of experimental neuropsychologists who frequently combine data obtained from test batteries with lesion or neuroimaging data allowing descriptions of brain–behavior relations to be made with increasing confidence. One such battery is the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB), and current studies in which the CANTAB has been used to measure executive functions in children are reviewed.Conclusions: Computerized batteries of this type can record aspects of performance that are difficult for psychometrists to achieve, and these may reflect activity in developing neural networks with more sensitivity than can be achieved with traditional tests. However, before computerized test administration becomes a routine part of pediatric neuropsychological assessment, several obstacles must be overcome. Despite these limitations, it is concluded that computerized assessment can improve the field by facilitating the collection of normative and clinical data.
The validity of adolescent types of alcohol use
Authors: Steinhausen Hans‐Christoph , Metzke Christa Winkler 
Published: May 2003

Background: Alcohol is the most frequently used substance among adolescents with different patterns of consumption. Various types of adolescent alcohol use have been proposed, but only a few studies have looked for external validation of these types.Method: Data from 794 adolescents participating in the Zurich Adolescent Psychology and Psychopathology Study (ZAPPS) were used to evaluate the discriminant validity of the classification of four types of adolescent drinkers: abstainers, social drinkers, heavy drinkers, and problem drinkers. Data were based on questionnaires dealing with substance abuse, emotional and behavioral problems, life events, coping capacity, self‐related cognitions, perceived parental behavior, perceived school environment, and the social network.Results: There was a clear differentiation of the problem drinkers’ group on almost all dimensions of the emotional and behavioral problems questionnaires, with the heavy drinkers’ profile situated in between on some dimensions, and the abstainers and social drinkers almost ideally meeting the expectation of a mean normal population profile. Problem drinkers were also marked by high life impact scores, low self‐esteem, high self‐awareness, low perceived parental acceptance and high amount of rejection by the parents, and various indicators of a stressful and less rewarding school environment. Again, the heavy drinkers were positioned on an intermediate level on some of these scales, whereas the abstainers and social drinkers scored more normally.Conclusion: These findings support the validity of the distinction of various adolescent alcohol use types.
Population level assessment of the family risk factors related to the onset or persistence of children's mental health problems
Authors: Dwyer Sarah B. , Nicholson Jan M. , Battistutta Diana 
Published: May 2003

Background:Despite their great potential to inform intervention planning, screening instruments that assess children's exposure to multiple, non‐behavioural risk factors are rare. The Family Risk Factor Checklist – Parent (FRFC‐P), was designed to facilitate community risk factor profiling and subsequent intervention planning. The aims of the current study were to establish the psychometric properties of the FRFC‐P and to examine the relative importance of family risk factors in relation to the onset versus persistence of children's mental health problems.Method:Data were collected from 1022 parents of 4–8‐year‐old children as part of the Promoting Adjustment in Schools Project (PROMAS). The FRFC‐P assessed children's exposure to risk across five domains: adverse life events and instability (ALI); family structure and SES (SES); parenting practices (PAR); parental verbal conflict and mood problems (VCM); and parental antisocial and psychotic behaviour (APB).Results:The FRFC‐P had satisfactory test‐retest reliability and construct validity, but modest internal consistency. Risk assessed by the PAR domain was the most important determinant of mental health problem onset, while the PAR, VCM, and APB domains were the strongest predictors of mental health problem persistence.Conclusions:These findings highlight the importance of considering risk factors for onset separately from risk factors for persistence of mental health problems and indicate that the studied population may benefit the most from preventive interventions that address parenting practices and treatment interventions that address parenting practices, and parental mood problems, conflict, antisocial behaviour, and psychiatric disorders.
Social anxiety in childhood: the relationship with self and observer rated social skills
Authors: Cartwright‐Hatton Sam , Hodges Laura , Porter Justine 
Published: May 2003

Background: Social anxiety of childhood is a common and pervasive problem. Traditional approaches to treating these difficulties have focused on providing afflicted children with social skills training. This approach has met with some, but not complete success. Recent reconceptualisations of social anxiety in the adult literature have emphasised the role of negative cognition regarding one's own social skills. Experimental evidence has demonstrated that a misperception of social skills, rather than a skills deficit per se, may be most pertinent to the understanding of social anxiety. This study set out to examine the relationship between self and observer ratings of social skill, and social anxiety in children.Method: One hundred and ten non‐referred schoolchildren aged 8–11 years were asked to give a two‐minute speech to a video camera, after which they were asked to rate their performance on a number of social skill dimensions. Neutral observers also watched the videos and rated each child on the same dimensions.Results: There was very little correlation between social anxiety level and observer ratings of children's social skills. Indeed, some very anxious children achieved high observer rated social skill scores. State socially anxious children self‐reported that their social skills were poorer than less anxious children. However, other than looking more nervous than less anxious children, the social skills of the high anxious children were indistinguishable from those of their less anxious peers.Conclusions: Socially anxious children may not necessarily lack social skills. Rather, their deficits may relate to nervousness and appraisals of their skills. Treatment programmes for these children should take care to assess social skills carefully before prescribing social skill remediation, and should consider employing a cognitive element to tackle negative misperceptions of subjective social skill.
Adult psychosocial functioning following childhood cancer: the different roles of sons’ and daughters’ relationships with their fathers and mothers
Authors: Hill Jonathan , Kondryn Helena , Mackie Erica , McNally Richard , Eden Tim 
Published: May 2003

Background: Adult survivors of childhood cancer have impaired psychosocial functioning, but not much is known about the causes. In this study we examined the role of relationships with parents as a possible mediating factor.Method: One hundred and two adult survivors (82% of those eligible, 35 female and 57 male) of childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and Wilms’ Tumour, and 102 matched controls (74% of those eligible) aged 19–30 were interviewed. Interpersonal and social role functioning, and current relationships with each parent were assessed in standardised investigator‐based interviews with subjects.Results: Adult survivors were more likely than controls to have impaired close relationships (love relationships and friendships), and poorer day‐to‐day coping. Lower encouragement from fathers and greater involvement with mothers were each independently associated with impaired close relationships outside the family. This association was evident across the sample and in the cancer survivor group. It was much stronger in young adult females. Lower paternal encouragement was also associated with poor day‐to‐day coping, and this association was stronger in young men. There was, however, little evidence that quality of relationships with parents mediated the link between childhood cancer and adult psychosocial functioning.Conclusions: Within this cross‐sectional design we could not determine the direction of influence, nor exclude third variable effects. However, the findings indicate that mothers and fathers have different roles in the transition to adult life, and understanding these may assist the development of interventions designed to improve adult psychosocial functioning.