Philosophy and Religion (R0)

The North American Wildlife Conservation Model (NAM) is the driver of a strong anthropocentric stance, which has legalized an ongoing, annual exploitation of hundreds of millions of wild animals, who are killed in the United States through trapping, hunting and other lethal practices. Increasingly, the American public opposes the killing of wild animals for recreation, trophies and profit but has little—if any—knowledge of the Model. The purpose of this book is to empower the public with knowledge about the NAM’s insufficiencies and to help expedite the shift from lethal to compassionate conservation, an endeavour urgently needed particularly under the threats of climate change, human population growth and accelerating plant and animal species extinctions.

With a focus on trapping, this book exposes the NAM's belief in human supremacy and its consequences for wild animals and their ecosystems, the same value that is driving the ongoing global destruction of nature and accelerating species extinction. Motivated by a deep concern for wild animals who suffer and whose lives are extinguished each year by 'sportsmen and women', this book exposes the violent treatment of wild animals inherent in governmental-promoted hunting and trapping programs, while emphasizing the importance of empathy and compassion for other animals in conservation and in our lives.

This book relates the unique experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) people in Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christian churches. Grounded in the theoretical contributions of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Lewis Coser, and others, the book exposes the discursive ‘battleground’ over the ‘truth’ of sex which underlies the participants’ stories. These rich and complex narratives reveal the stakes of this conflict, manifested in ‘the line’ – a barrier restricting out LGBTQ+ people from full participation in ministry and service. Although some participants related stories of supportive—if typically conservative—congregations where they felt able to live out an authentic, integrated faith, others found they could only leave their formerly close and supportive communities behind, ‘counter-rejecting’ the churches and often the faith that they felt had rejected them.

This book uses Karl Barth’s Der Römerbrief (1922) as a prism through which to explore the role of religion and its interactions with cultural and political thought in the turbulent interwar period in Europe. One of the most influential books in twentieth-century protestant theology, Der Römerbrief found Barth arguing that the crisis of the time was grounded in an even more profound crisis that pertained to the human condition as such. While much research has been conducted on Der Römerbrief, most of it has focused on the book’s explicit theology. The aim of the present volume is to mark the centenary of this seminal book with a broader investigation into the movements of thought within Der Römerbrief and its reception and impact within its cultural and intellectual context. This broader approach by a range of Northern European researchers brings attention to interconnections between cultural and theological movements intimes of crisis.

Should religion and politics be kept apart? What should be the relationship between the church and the state? M.Y. Ciftci answers these questions by studying the most important event in the recent history of the Catholic Church: The Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

The book provides a new interpretation of the Council’s teaching on church-state relations to better appreciate its flaws and need for reform. By paying attention to the (often overlooked) importance given by the Council to the lay apostolate, it reveals how the Council did not reform, as is often thought, but retained a flawed conception of the laity’s role in politics. 

It then proposes a new framework for understanding church-state relations using the ressourcement method of returning to scripture and tradition, and by a critical dialogue with Oliver O’Donovan and various Protestant biblical scholars of the Powers in the New Testament. Ciftci shows how fruitful an self-consciously ecumenical approach can be for political theology. As most ressourcement theologians have overlooked political issues, and since ecumenical theology rarely touches on issues of church-state relations, this work makes an original contribution to the ressourcement project and to ecumenism. 

This book addresses the phenomenon of rumors about the occult in contemporary Ghanaian politics. Drawing on data from fieldwork interviews and analysis of case studies, it examines: why political rumors in Ghana often focus on the occult; what political-occult rumors accomplish and for whom; the ways in which Ghanaian politicians use rumors about the occult to gain political advantage; and some of the popular attitudes of the electorate to the rumors. The book demonstrates that political-occult rumors have become important tools in the hands of Ghanaian politicians to gain political advantage over opponents, and the electorate as means to critique the actions and behavior of political actors and the political process, generally. In a nutshell, this book highlights the important role of occult rumors in modern Ghanaian politics, with a particular focus on the period between the late 1970s and present. The main thrust of the argument in this book is that the flourishing of political-occult rumors and the strength of Pentecostalism are related, and that far from being a phenomenon existing on the margins of modern Ghanaian society, the occult is powerful, public and mainstream.

This book offers a historical analysis as well as contextual management strategy on Nigeria’s lingering ethno-religious conundrums. From a rigorous examination of ethno-religious related violence—considering historical events such as the Civil War, Niger Delta armed struggle, and the rise of Boko Haram—to the application of philosophical, religious, and social frameworks for peacebuilding. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and potential solutions for managing the complex heterogeneous ethno-religious diversity in Nigeria (and Africa) by exploring survey, sacred texts, and relevant theories like Kantian and Gurr’s RD theories. Moreover, the book provides insights for policy makers on how ethno-religiously diverse society normatively induce conflicts, and discusses the importance of proactive policies that enhance good governance and prevent violent conflicts that may fester if unattended. This work would be beneficial to scholars and students of religious studies, peace studies, political science, history, social studies, and Africans and Africans in Diaspora.

This contributed volume presents eco-imagination as a new tool for knowledge and cultural, artistic, as well as scientific expression.  Herein eco-phenomenology becomes capable of opening a viable path towards a future of environmental and human sustainability. The contemporary urgency of sustainable configurations of the world and of life has made clear the inadequacy of the traditional phenomenological conception of imagination, understood in the mere relationship with perception. These chapters verify the ecological potential of the imagination, thanks to which the latent virtualities in the processes of self-individualization that constitute evolving life become visible. The book collectively argues that only if we use the eco-imagination can one introduce new forms of design thinking needed, since they are intrinsic to the ontopoietic progression of the logos of life.  This volume appeals to students and researchers in phenomenology and related fields.

This book provides a detailed overview of philosophical ramifications of the emerging area of plant behavior. It is also a response to some of the main criticisms of this heterogeneous discipline.  This volume is both a practical guide for those new to the subject, providing a historical reconstruction of the development of the topics, while at the same time an opportunity to allow for discussion at a more advanced level.  It is not a demonstrative text, but rich in insights to guide future theoretical and practical research.  This monograph appeals to interdisciplinary researchers and students working within the spectrum of life sciences to academic philosophy.

This book explores the impact of ethical reasoning in forensic science and demonstrates that it is in fact a foundational skill required by those engaged in the field. Forensic science is viewed as a mechanism to aid the criminal justice system in finding truth, but failures within the field contribute to the growing injustice facing society. The author recognizes these failings and brings a new perspective by establishing bioethical principles as a foundation for improving ethical reasoning skills. These skills are a critical component of forensic science education for upcoming professionals. While other books focus on egregious cases of ethical misconduct, this text highlights the daily decisions and issues that occur during the forensic investigation and analysis processes. It is written for future forensic professionals and forensic science educators, as well as those individuals already working in the forensic science field.