On the rationality of conversion (Part II)

Africa ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Horton

IntroductionIn the first part of this paper I began by dealing with those of Fisher's objections to the Intellectualist Theory which seemed to me to require short, sharp, and destructive answers. I then went on to consider an objection which seemed to require a longer and more constructive answer. This was the objection that the Theory did not account adequately for variation in the concept and cult of the supreme being in settings uninfluenced by Islam and Christianity. I suggested that, although the evidence was probably insufficient for a decisive verdict, the Theory appeared to give a rather good account of religious dynamics in such settings. A demonstration of its plausibility in this context was, as I pointed out, an important preliminary to my main argument. For it was crucial to the credibility of the thesis that Islam and Christianity were more than anything else catalysts for changes that were ‘in the air’ anyway.

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
O N Olawoyin

This article is an interpretation of John Hick’s philosophy of religious pluralism in the context of traditional Yoruba religion. The ultimate goal of the article is pragmatic, viz. to provide a theoretical basis for peaceful coexistence among different religions in Nigeria. The methods adopted to achieve this objective are hermeneutical/analytical and comparative. Hick’s theory is interpreted and analysed before it is applied to traditional Yoruba theology. His concept of the Transcendent or Ultimate Reality is equated with the Yoruba concept of the Supreme Being or Olodumare. Both Hickean Ultimate Reality and Olodumare are conceived as transcategorial. However, Yoruba divinities are equated with Hick’s personae and impersonae of the Real: like the personae and impersonae of Hickean Ultimate Reality, the divinities are manifestations of Olodumare. This interpretative method can be used to account for differences in the conceptions of the Supreme Being among competing religions in Nigeria, especially Islam and Christianity in their conceptions of God. KeywordsJohn Hick, pluralism, Yoruba, Nigeria, Olodumare, divinities


Author(s):  
Veronika Lerche ◽  
Ursula Christmann ◽  
Andreas Voss

Abstract. In experiments by Gibbs, Kushner, and Mills (1991) , sentences were supposedly either authored by poets or by a computer. Gibbs et al. (1991) concluded from their results that the assumed source of the text influences speed of processing, with a higher speed for metaphorical sentences in the Poet condition. However, the dependent variables used (e.g., mean RTs) do not allow clear conclusions regarding processing speed. It is also possible that participants had prior biases before the presentation of the stimuli. We conducted a conceptual replication and applied the diffusion model ( Ratcliff, 1978 ) to disentangle a possible effect on processing speed from a prior bias. Our results are in accordance with the interpretation by Gibbs et al. (1991) : The context information affected processing speed, not a priori decision settings. Additionally, analyses of model fit revealed that the diffusion model provided a good account of the data of this complex verbal task.


Author(s):  
Sloane Speakman

In examining the strikingly high prevalence rates of HIV in many parts of Africa, reaching as high as 5% in some areas, how does the discourse promoted by the predominant religions across the continent, Islam and Christianity, affect the outlook of their followers on the epidemic? This question becomes even more intriguing after discovering the dramatic difference in rate of HIV prevalence between Muslims and Christians in Africa, confirmed by studies that have found a negative relationship to exist between HIV prevalence and being Muslim in Africa, even in Sub-Saharan African nations. Why does this gap in prevalence rates exist? Does Islam advocate participating in less risky behavior more so than Christianity? By comparing the social construction, epidemiological understanding and public responses among Muslim populations in Africa with Christian ones, it becomes apparent that many similarities exist between the two regarding discourse and that, rather than religious discourse itself, other social factors, such as circumcision practices, contribute more to the disparity in HIV prevalence than originally thought.


EMPIRISMA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Limas Dodi

According to Abdulaziz Sachedina, the main argument of religious pluralism in the Qur’an based on the relationship between private belief (personal) and public projection of Islam in society. By regarding to private faith, the Qur’an being noninterventionist (for example, all forms of human authority should not be disturb the inner beliefs of individuals). While the public projection of faith, the Qur’an attitude based on the principle of coexistence. There is the willingness of the dominant race provide the freedom for people of other faiths with their own rules. Rules could shape how to run their affairs and to live side by side with the Muslims. Thus, based on the principle that the people of Indonesia are Muslim majority, it should be a mirror of a societie’s recognizion, respects and execution of religious pluralism. Abdul Aziz Sachedina called for Muslims to rediscover the moral concerns of public Islam in peace. The call for peace seemed to indicate that the existence of increasingly weakened in the religious sense of the Muslims and hence need to be reaffi rmed. Sachedina also like to emphasize that the position of peace in Islam is parallel with a variety of other doctrines, such as: prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and so on. Sachedina also tried to show the argument that the common view among religious groups is only one religion and traditions of other false and worthless. “Antipluralist” argument comes amid the reality of human religious differences. Keywords: Theology, Pluralism, Abdulaziz Sachedina


2013 ◽  
pp. 110-117
Author(s):  
Thi Tan Nguyen

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness neck shoulder pain treatment by acupuncture, massage and traditional medicine remedy. Materials and Methods: 42 patients included in the inpatient and outpatient at the Department of Traditional Medicine, Hue Central Hospital and Traditional Medicine Hospital of Thua Thien Hue, was diagnosed as neck shoulder pain. Patients were treated with acupuncture, massage and medicine, according to the research methodology, assessing the results before and after treatment. Results: The age accounted for the highest proportion of 31-45 (42.49%), the second is between the ages of 46-60 (26.18%) and> 60 (26.18%). Incidence in the city (66.67%) than rural (33.33%) (p <0:05). Patients presented with neck shoulder pain (100%), together with the head pain, pain in the shoulder, arm numbness, movement restrictions tilted head bowed. Conclusion: good variety and accounted for 71.42% of which are quite good account of 14.28%, only 2.38% is poor. Results of good, high aged 31-45 (35.72%) and in patients with a course of treatment (66.66%). Key words: neck shoulder pain, acupuncture, massage, traditional medicine remedy.


Author(s):  
Abraham A. Singer

This chapter introduces the main argument of the book, describing key concepts such as the idea of “norm-governed productivity,” the use of norms to structure cooperation instead of prices. It then defines the concept of the corporation, describing the institution’s key features, and lays out the general structure of the book. Finally, it considers some conceptual and methodological issues that frame the rest of the book: the distinction between economic and political approaches, and the problem of trying to subsume the topic wholly into one or the other; and an argument for why a normative analysis of the corporation has to take certain features of markets and capitalism for granted.


Author(s):  
Javier Corrales

Chapter 2 lays out the book’s main argument on the importance of power asymmetry. It draws from three strands in the literature. From the literature on democratization, this chapter borrows the notion of constitutions as pact-making. From bargaining theory is borrowed the notion of self-dealing: Incumbents will seek to advance the powers of the office that they hold. And from the literature on elite theories of regime formation, the chapter develops the argument that power asymmetries among elite actors are the fundamental drivers of balanced constitutions. This book also seeks to explain the origins of an important institution: constitutions. It takes seriously the insight from institutionalists that institutions emerge from actors’ de facto power and bargaining outcomes. Yet, this book does not assume that actors’ preferences are exogenous, or exclusively ideological, and partisan; rather, those who negotiate a constitution have preferences that depend on whether they are Incumbents or Opposition forces, often regardless of their ideologies and partisan orientation.


This chapter reviews the book Having and Belonging: Homes and Museums in Israel (2016), by Judy Jaffe-Schagen. In Having and Belonging, Jaffe-Schagen explores the connection between identity, material culture, and location. Focusing on eight cases involving Chabad, religious Zionists, Moroccan Jews, Iraqi Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Russian Jews, Christian Arabs, and Muslim Arabs, the book shows how various minority groups in Israel are represented through objects and material culture in homes and museums. According to Jaffe-Schagen, in the politicized cultural landscape of borderless Israel, location not only affects the interplay between objects and people but can also provide important insights about citizenship. Her main argument is that the nation-state of Israel is not a multicultural society because it has failed to serve as a cultural “melting pot” for the various immigration groups.


Author(s):  
Chris Hanretty

This book explains how judges on the UK Supreme Court behave. It looks at different stages in the court's decision-making process—from the initial selection of cases, to the choice of judges to sit on panels, to the final outcome. The main argument of the book is that judges' behavior is strongly affected by their specialism in different areas of law. Cases in tax law (or family law, or public law) are more likely to be heard by specialists in that area, and those specialists are more likely to write the court's decision—or disagree with the decision when there is dissent. Legal factors like specialization in areas of law explains more of the court's work than do political differences between judges.


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