Naturalistic theism on special divine action within the framework of the model of the levels of analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Piotr Bylica
Keyword(s):  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Divine Action

scholarly journals Second Thoughts on Naturalistic Theism and Model of Levels of Analysis: A Response to Mark Harris

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 275-285
Author(s):  
Piotr Bylica
Keyword(s):  
Science And Religion ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Methodological Naturalism ◽  
Biblical Scholarship

I shall show that Dr. Harris’ study of biblical scholarship is treated in a very serious manner in my paper, as it is the element identifying him as a representative of naturalistic theism (NT). NT is a position that has been recognized in the literature on science and religion for several years. Dr. Harris’ commitment to the rule of methodological naturalism in the natural sciences, as well as his lack of evidence for the limits of using it in his hermeneutical analysis of divine action, makes his academic papers represent the main assumptions of NT. Model of levels of analysis (MLA) helps to show the empirical character of accounts of divine action as an important part of the traditional theistic interpretation of this action, and scepticism towards such an interpretation as a main characteristic of all advocates of NT.

Unlocking Divine Action

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Dodds
Keyword(s):  
Divine Action

The Necessity of Sufficiency

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce L. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Structural Realism ◽  
Sufficient Reason ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Ontic Structural Realism ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
Principle Of Sufficient Reason ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
Quantum Phenomena

There is an argument for the existence of God from the incompleteness of nature that is vaguely present in Plantinga’s recent work. This argument, which rests on the metaphysical implications of quantum physics and the philosophical deficiency of necessitarian conceptions of physical law, deserves to be given a clear formulation. The goal is to demonstrate, via a suitably articulated principle of sufficient reason, that divine action in an occasionalist mode is needed (and hence God’s existence is required) to bring causal closure to nature and render it ontologically functional. The best explanation for quantum phenomena and the most adequate understanding of general providence turns out to rest on an ontic structural realism in physics that is grounded in the immaterialist metaphysics of theistic idealism.

Divine Agency and Contemporary Neo-Thomism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Divine Action ◽  
Philosophical Work ◽  
Divine Agency

In this chapter, the author explores the severe criticism directed at those who would talk of God as a being, or a person, and therefore also as an agent. The author engages the work of Thomist philosophers of religion Brian Davies and Herbert McCabe, and concentrates on their claims about divine agency and divine action. He argues that their criticisms against conceiving God as an agent fail for a variety of reasons. He further argues that these Thomists lose the concept of divine agency in their philosophical work, despite the fact that they need it to sustain their theological commitments. Finally, he argues that they are also guilty of confusion and equivocation in their account of the relation between divine agency and free human acts.

Entering the Whirlwind

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Divine Activity ◽  
Biblical Language ◽  
The 1960S

In the 1960s, Langdon Gilkey raised several philosophical issues regarding divine action in his paper “Cosmology, Ontology, and the Travail of Biblical Language.” This chapter engages Gilkey’s paper, and argues that philosophy can be applied to the initial efforts to deal with divine action in the debate which erupted in the wake of the Biblical Theology Movement that followed Gilkey’s paper. Enthusiastic advocates of divine action in the movement were attacked for failing to attend to the full range of divine action. This chapter indicates how and why efforts to develop a robust vision of divine action in the Biblical Theology Movement fell apart. The author focuses on the specific difficulties in the Biblical Theology Movement with respect to its claims about divine action, and positions this debate in a way that highlights the broad range of divine activity that anyone interested in divine action must attend to going forward.

The Puzzle of Precarity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven P. Vallas
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Organizational Fields ◽  
Precarious Employment ◽  
Neoliberal Capitalism ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Shed Light

Social scientific efforts to understand the political and economic forces generating precarious employment have been mired in uncertainty. In this context, the Doellgast–Lillie–Pulignano (D–L–P) model represents an important step forward in both theoretical and empirical terms. This concluding chapter scrutinizes the authors’ theoretical model and assesses the present volume’s empirical applications of it. Building on the strengths of the D–L–P model, the chapter identifies several lines of analysis that can fruitfully extend our understanding of the dynamics of precarization, whether at the micro-, meso-, or macro-social levels of analysis. Especially needed are studies that explore the dynamics of organizational fields as these shape employer strategy and state policy towards employment. Such analysis will hopefully shed light on the perils and possibilities that workers’ organizations face as they struggle to cope with the demands of neoliberal capitalism.

The Oxford Handbook of Emotion Dysregulation

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Externalizing Disorders ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Unified Protocol

Emotion dysregulation—which is often defined as the inability to modulate strong affective states including impulsivity, anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety—is observed in nearly all psychiatric disorders. These include internalizing disorders such as panic disorder and major depression, externalizing disorders such as conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder, and various other disorders including schizophrenia, autism, and borderline personality disorder. Among many affected individuals, precursors to emotion dysregulation appear early in development, and often predate the emergence of diagnosable psychopathology. Collaborative work by Drs. Crowell and Beauchaine, and work by many others, suggests that emotion dysregulation arises from both familial (coercion, invalidation, abuse, neglect) and extrafamilial (deviant peer group affiliations, social reinforcement) mechanisms. These studies point toward strategies for prevention and intervention. The Oxford Handbook of Emotion Dysregulation brings together experts whose work cuts across levels of analysis, including neurobiological, cognitive, and social, in studying emotion dysregulation. Contributing authors describe how early environmental risk exposures shape emotion dysregulation, how emotion dysregulation manifests in various forms of mental illness, and how emotion dysregulation is most effectively assessed and treated. This is the first text to assemble a highly accomplished group of authors to address conceptual issues in emotion dysregulation research; define the emotion dysregulation construct at levels of cognition, behavior, and social dynamics; describe cutting-edge assessment techniques at neural, psychophysiological, and behavioral levels of analysis; and present contemporary treatment strategies. Conceptualizing emotion dysregulation as a core vulnerability to psychopathology is consistent with modern transdiagnostic approaches to diagnosis and treatment, including the Research Domain Criteria and the Unified Protocol, respectively.

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