scholarly journals Strong and Weak Teleology in the Life Sciences Post-Darwin

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Michael A. Flannery
Keyword(s):  
Life Sciences ◽  
Evolutionary Synthesis ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Origin Of Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Descent Of Man

It is often assumed that direction and purpose in nature—teleology—is a dead relic of the past, a result of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) and Descent of Man (1871). But teleology has had a long and complex relationship with science. This paper will trace its general history with an emphasis upon the life sciences, especially biology. Particularly important is the fact that all teleology is not equal; strong (transcendent) teleology (designated Ts) should be distinguished from weak (purely descriptive and utilitarian) teleology (designated Tw). A working definition of teleology in its most meaningful aspects is then given. The challenges that Darwinism faced in dealing with purpose in nature are discussed, as is their proposed solution in the evolutionary synthesis, and the persistence of Ts following that synthesis is outlined and critiqued. Evidence of Ts persistence in the life sciences is presented with several relevant examples, and strong teleology is further differentiated by specific (Ts+) and nonspecific (Ts−) varieties. This essay concludes that Ts remains an ongoing and integral part of the life sciences and will likely remain so, even though it may be true but not verifiable empirically.

A Sociology of Luck

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sauder
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Social World ◽  
Real Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Theoretical Inquiry ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Definition Of

Sociology has been curiously silent about the concept of luck. The present article argues that this omission is, in fact, an oversight: An explicit and systematic engagement with luck provides a more accurate portrayal of the social world, opens potentially rich veins of empirical and theoretical inquiry, and offers a compelling alternative for challenging dominant meritocratic frames about inequality and the distribution of rewards. This article develops a framework for studying luck, first by proposing a working definition of luck, examining why sociology has ignored luck in the past, and making the case for the value of including luck in sociology’s conceptual repertoire. The article then demonstrates the fertile research potential of studying luck by identifying a host of research questions and hypotheses pertaining to the social construction of luck, the real effects of luck, and theoretical interventions related to luck. It concludes by highlighting the distinctive contributions sociology can make to the growing interdisciplinary interest in this topic.

Defining Urban Sustainability in the Context of North American Cities

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Lorr
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Urban Sociology ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Green Cities

Urban sociology and urban studies increasingly employ the idea of sustainability to explain, analyze, and critique city redevelopment. While the ambiguous and oxymoronic nature of sustainability goals has been extensively covered in the past, the current resurgence and popularity of the term “sustainability,“ especially under the aegis of “urban sustainability“ or “green“ cities, requires us to rethink the usefulness of sustainability as a concept for understanding and evaluating urban redevelopment. Confronting this challenge, this article reviews three of the most common theoretical approaches to sustainability, problematizes those approaches in the context of North American cities, and then provides a working definition of urban sustainability. Finally, the article recommends four plausible research hypotheses to guide future research on urban sustainability.

scholarly journals Socio-rhetorical interpretation: Theoretical points of departure

2001 ◽  
Vol 57 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Van Eck
Keyword(s):  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Narrative Criticism ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
New Methodologies ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

In the past two decades, narrative criticism (narratology) and social-scientific criticism have come to the fore as the two most prominent new methodologies to be associated with gospel research. When these two methodologies are integrated in the reading of biblical texts, this is now referred to as "socio-rhetorical interpretation". This article departs from a specific understanding of what is meant by a narratological reading of a text on the one hand and, on the other hand, by a social-scientific interpretation of biblical texts, in order to propose a working definition of a socio-rhetorical analysis of texts.

scholarly journals Historicity and theology, and the quest for historical Jesus1

1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Geyser
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
New Historicism ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Dialectical Approach ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Radical Relativism

The issue of history and historicity is reviewed in this article. The efforts of New Historicism is brought to bear on this question in an effort to find a way out of the impasse created by the modernist demand for objectivity and the postmodern resignation to radical relativism. The possibility of historiography is explored in conjunction with the pragmatic approach and leads to the conclusion that a kind of historical knowledge is attainable which can be described as useful even if not perfect. The author concurs with Crossan and his working definition of history as the past reconstructed interactively by the present through argued evidence in public discourse. The intersubjective nature of any historical enterprise leads the author to the conclusion that the search for the historical Jesus can only be done in the dialectical approach of a both ... and: both the historical Jesus and the kerygmatic Christ

scholarly journals On defining dietary fibre

2003 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan W. DeVries
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Fibre ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Official Method ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Scientific Review ◽  
Analytical Methodology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Scientific Review Committee

Establishing a definition for dietary fibre has historically been a balance between nutrition knowledge and analytical method capabilities. While the most widely accepted physiologically-based definitions have generally been accurate in defining the dietary fibre in foods, scientists and regulators have tended, in practice, to rely on analytical procedures as the definitional basis in fact. As a result, incongruities between theory and practice have resulted in confusion regarding the components that make up dietary fibre. In November 1998 the president of the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) appointed an expert scientific review committee and charged it with the task of reviewing and, if necessary, updating the definition of dietary fibre. The committee was further charged with assessing the state of analytical methodology and making recommendations relevant to the updated definition. After due deliberation, an updated definition of dietary fibre was delivered to the AACC Board of Directors for consideration and adoption (Anon, 2000; Jones 2000/7). The updated definition includes the same food components as the historical working definition used for approximately 30 years (a very important point, considering that the majority of the research of the past 30 years delineating the positive health effects of dietary fibre is based on that working definition). However, the updated definition more clearly delineates the make-up of dietary fibre and its physiological functionality. As a result, relatively few changes will be necessary in analytical methodology. Current methodologies, in particular AACC-approved method of analysis 32–05 (Grami, 2000), Association of Official Analytical Chemists' official method of analysis 985.29 (Horwitz, 2000a) or AACC 32–07 (Grami, 2000) Association of Official Analytical Chemists 991.43 (Horwitz, 2000a) will continue to be sufficient and used for most foods. A small number of additional methods will be necessary to quantify the dietary fibre levels in foods containing fibres such as fructans (polymers and oligomers of fructose, inulin), modified dextrins, and/or synthetic dietary fibre analogues.

The CPA-Client Privilege under I.R.C. § 7525: The Elusive Definition of “Tax Advice”

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Robert R. Oliva
Keyword(s):  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Tax Practitioners ◽  
Definition Of

This paper analyzes the privilege extended by I.R.C. § 7525 to protect the confidentiality between federally authorized tax practitioners, such as CPAs, and their clients. Due to the complexity of the elements the article concentrates on the element that triggers the privilege, that is “tax advice.” Congressional intent, I.R.S. interpretations, and all the appellate opinions and the most relevant court opinions in the past 30 years are considered to provide a working definition for “tax advice.”

Immunoferritin localization of intracellular antigens in positively stained frozen sections

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-169
Author(s):  
K. T. Tokuyasu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
Water Surface ◽  
Thin Layers ◽  
The Other ◽  
Positive Staining ◽  
Frozen Sections ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ultrathin Frozen Sections ◽  
Definition Of

During the past investigations of immunoferritin localization of intracellular antigens in ultrathin frozen sections, we found that the degree of negative staining required to delineate u1trastructural details was often too dense for the recognition of ferritin particles. The quality of positive staining of ultrathin frozen sections, on the other hand, has generally been far inferior to that attainable in conventional plastic embedded sections, particularly in the definition of membranes. As we discussed before, a main cause of this difficulty seemed to be the vulnerability of frozen sections to the damaging effects of air-water surface tension at the time of drying of the sections.Indeed, we found that the quality of positive staining is greatly improved when positively stained frozen sections are protected against the effects of surface tension by embedding them in thin layers of mechanically stable materials at the time of drying (unpublished).

A Working Definition of Mind

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (25) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Farr
Keyword(s):  
Working Definition ◽  
Definition Of

Derrida on Pornography: Putting (It) Up for Sale

Derrida Today ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Morris
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
English Translation ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Past ◽  
French Original ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Critical Discourses ◽  
Academic Debate

Over the past thirty years, academic debate over pornography in the discourses of feminism and cultural studies has foundered on questions of the performative and of the word's definition. In the polylogue of Droit de regards, pornography is defined as la mise en vente that is taking place in the act of exegesis in progress. (Wills's idiomatic English translation includes an ‘it’ that is absent in the French original). The definition in Droit de regards alludes to the word's etymology (writing by or about prostitutes) but leaves the referent of the ‘sale’ suspended. Pornography as la mise en vente boldly restates the necessary iterability of the sign and anticipates two of Derrida's late arguments: that there is no ‘the’ body and that performatives may be powerless. Deriving a definition of pornography from a truncated etymology exemplifies the prosthesis of origin and challenges other critical discourses to explain how pornography can be understood as anything more than ‘putting (it) up for sale’.

Holism, Chinese Medicine and Systems Ideologies: Rewriting the Past to Imagine the Future

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Scheid
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Medical Humanities ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Past ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Us ◽  
Shared Objective ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter explores the articulations that have emerged over the last half century between various types of holism, Chinese medicine and systems biology. Given the discipline’s historical attachments to a definition of ‘medicine’ that rather narrowly refers to biomedicine as developed in Europe and the US from the eighteenth century onwards, the medical humanities are not the most obvious starting point for such an inquiry. At the same time, they do offer one advantage over neighbouring disciplines like medical history, anthropology or science and technology studies for someone like myself, a clinician as well as a historian and anthropologist: their strong commitment to the objective of facilitating better medical practice. This promise furthermore links to the wider project of critique, which, in Max Horkheimer’s definition of the term, aims at change and emancipation in order ‘to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them’. If we take the critical medical humanities as explicitly affirming this shared objective and responsibility, extending the discipline’s traditional gaze is not a burden but becomes, in fact, an obligation.

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