A certain objection to belief in God is based on the intrinsic incoherence of the concept of Divine Being or God. In particular, it questions the major traditional characteristic, notably omniscience, and its relation to omnipotence, moral unassailability, and absence of embodiment on the part of the Divine Being. In this paper, an attempt is made to counter this objection by an appeal, not to natural theology, but rather to physicalism in its application to human beings, and by extension to (...) the possible consistency of God’s omniscience with the other divine attributes, which philosophers such as Michael Martin have found to be mutually inconsistent and therefore wanting. (shrink)

In this work, I argue for the overall explanatory superiority of philosophical naturalism to a theistic worldview. Pursuant to that, this piece develops and defends a functionalist theory of explanation, which is then used in addressing several particular topics in the philosophy of religion: the law-governed nature of the world, the intelligibility of the world, alleged "fine-tuning", reports of religious experiences and the occurrence of evils. In each case, I argue that a naturalistic explanation is as good or superior to (...) a theistic worldview in helping us to understand such phenomena. Some original parts of the work include developing out a naturalistic explanation of religious experiences grounded in normal human perceptual and cognitive fallacies, an explanatory critique of several traditional theodicies, and a rebuttal of contemporary fine-tuning arguments on the basis of their reliance on unestablished assumptions that add no explanatory improvement. (shrink)

While Western attention might have been shifting towards Kirgistan in recent decades, little is truly known about this central Asian country and its people. In words and pictures, this photoethnographic catalogue exposes the reader to the unique culture and customs of the place. At the heart of the presentation are the people and traditions of the Talas region. Mountainous landscapes, an oriental way of life, hospitable people, national break-up and revolution: these are the things most commonly associated with Kirgistan. The (...) real history and culture of the country, however, proves to be much more multi-facetted, as this book of photographs and ethnographic essays has documented. With the rise of the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz, once a nomadic people, were forced to settle, though they have retained much from their nomadic days and value living in harmony with the land. The publication illuminates local histories, day-to-day customs, social structure and the way of life. Central to the investigation are the people. Who are they? How do they live? What do they live from? Chapters on livestock and agriculture, homemaking, school, religion, festivities and village structure round off the impression. The lengthy period during which the authors immersed themselves in the region has made for a very insightful and personal account of Talas and the whole of Kirgistan. (shrink)

This paper argues that several communitarian critiques of Rawls' original position miss the mark by attacking a straw man of Rawls' view of the self under political liberalism.

Alzheimer's disease remains the most common form of dementia. Dementia symptoms vary depending on individual personality, life experience, and social and cultural influences. As dementia progresses, involvement of multi-disciplinary health care professionals is needed to manage the disease. Alzheimer research is progressing rapidly. While 5% of all Alzheimer's disease may be genetically determined, the majority is not. Susceptibility genes can reveal the risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease. Early life risk factors such as education, nutrition, and vascular disease may increase the (...) likelihood of dementia in later life. In the United States, two acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have been approved as cognitive enhancers. Possible prevention and symptomatic treatment interventions have focused on estrogen replacement therapy, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory medications. Research advances have improved the clinical management of dementia. Ethical implications to the patient, family, and society are multiple and remain challenging. (shrink)