Kleidon’s ambitious review [1] of the thermodynamic machinery of Earth starts out as an accessible primer in non-equilibrium thermodynamics (this is necessary because entropy is probably the least understood and most central concept to the physics of life). He then builds a comprehensive model of how solar power spreads around the Earth through a hierarchy of levels – a trophic pyramid of power...

A review of Morals, Reason, and philosophy is (in)famous, the combined force of their Animals by Steven F. Sapontzis work has been to put apologists for theory's traditional (Philadelphia: Temple University pretensions somewhat on the defensive. The critics' Press, 1987) positive views about the form of moral philosophy sans moral theory, have, however, been even more varied (and rather vaguer)...

The uses and abuses of history are many. Most of them stem from the search for power rather than the truth. In a post-totalitarian country, the misremembered past may be used both against the previous regime and in its defense. From the perspective of “pure scholarship” both cases are deplorable, but the latter seems more obviously dangerous. Here we examine a few examples of this tendency in c...

i pass with relief from the tossing sea of cause and theory to the arm ground of result and fact. —winston churchill, 1898 Social science, like any science, achieves progress through the accumulation of systematic knowledge. To improve our collective understanding of international politics we need to regularly assess both the empirical regularities observed in the world around us and the theori...

Данная статья посвящена понятию «изменённые состояния сознания», используемому апологетами против медитативных практик. В некоторых исследованиях авторы утверждают, что медитация вводит человека в такое состояние, может указывать на ложность духовного опыта и опасность для психического здоровья практикующего. Цель статьи — показать, почему сложно использовать понятия сознания» критики работе пр...

Queerness—the lived identity of LGBTQ+ and non-normative people—and Mormonism—the theological social structures adhered to by the Church Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints—always seem be at odds. Blaire Ostler's Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction rejects this conflict with an approach that collapses two into each other: queerness is Mormonism queerness. This unapologetic stance toward different...

The paper considers how a number of features of Stalin’s rule that appear most pointless or counter–productive from a present day standpoint, summed up as “futile repression”, can be understood as the rational choices of a dictator optimising his regime. The same reasoning may be applied to those aspects of Stalin’s legacy that are most commonly seen as positive, such as the industrial and mili...

Reviewed by: Positive Atheism: Bayle, Meslier, d'Holbach, Diderot by Charles Devellennes Lloyd Strickland Devellennes, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 2021). Pp. 240. $105 cloth. How best to study the development of modern atheism? In Atheism, argues that while others have sought do so from perspective those who accused atheism, there is instead "an obvious alternative has at least equal val...

Drawing on observations and suggestions from scholars of Tibetan Buddhism Mormonism, this article compares the production Book Mormon with that class Buddhist scripture known as gter ma (“Treasure,” pronounced “terma”).2 In brief, both are said to have been authored by ancient religious figures, buried anticipation future discovery, discovered visionaries help supernatural beings, “translated” ...

Nurses worldwide have been rightly lauded for their tireless contributions during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Amid a serious shortage, nursing remains plagued by recruitment and retention problems as it struggles to attract, educate retain best potential nurses who reflect diverse composition of communities. The world has shaken Black Lives Matter movement growing awareness that many health p...