Five Key Topics on the Frontier of Theology and Science Today

Abstract : This article explores the creative mutual interaction between Christian theology and the natural sciences through five key issues: (1) the relation between creation ex nihilo and Big Bang cosmology; (2) biological evolution and continuous creation; (3) the search for non‐interventionist objective divine action in light of physics and biology; (4) the problem of suffering in nature and with it the turn to redemption theology via the bodily Resurrection of Jesus; and (5) the challenge raised for its eschatological implications by scientific predictions for the future of the universe. The article concludes with a brief suggestion for the ways Christian theology, reformulated in light of these sciences, might offer creative suggestions for future scientific research, and, in doing so, complete the loop promised by the phrase “mutual creative interaction.”     

Between Pragmatism and Critical Theory: Social Philosophy Today

This paper aims at renovating the prospects for social philosophy through a confrontation between pragmatism and critical theory. In particular, it contends that the resources of pragmatism for advancing a project of emancipatory social philosophy have so far been neglected. After contrasting the two major traditions in social philosophy—the analytical and the critical—I proceed to outline the main traits of a pragmatist social philosophy. By inscribing pragmatism within the tradition of social philosophy, my aim is to promote a new understanding of pragmatism as one of the central Euro-American traditions in social and political philosophy, deserving to be on an equal footing with critical theory and political liberalism. And, furthermore, one whose critical and radical force may be of great help in the wake of the dismissal of the metaphysical certainties upon which the critical program of social philosophy had once set its hopes of social emancipation.     

Altruism: A Social Science Chameleon

The self-interest paradigm that has dominated and defined social science is being questioned today in all the social sciences. Frontline research is represented by C. Daniel Batson's experiments, which claim to present empirical evidence of altruism. Impressive though this is against the background of the self-interest paradigm, its ultimate significance might be to illustrate the inadequacy of social science to deal with a transcendent reality like altruism.     

Science and the welfare state program: The growth of state activism in finland

Finland has followed the Scandinavian model of the welfare state in which the level of state activism is high, the economic pressures on the scientific activities are strong, and the left-wing parties and the Center Party have formulated the main ideas. In the 1970s welfare ideology was adopted in science policy by emphasizing the promotion of socially relevant scientific activities and the expansion of the university system as a means of effecting equal opportunity. Currently, the trend is toward a mixed welfare economy. Programs have been prepared in spite of the radical cut in government expenditure, and without a consideration of the long-term consequences.     

The Social Capital of Blacks and Whites: Differing Effects of the Mass Media in the United States

This study relied on telephone survey interviews of adults in two U.S. metropolitan areas to examine whether the relationship between mass media use and social capital varies according to ethnicity. A multigroup approach taken with structural equation modeling validates a four‐factor model of social capital for Blacks and Whites and then, with the implementation of a comprehensive model that also includes mass media inputs, tests for structural variance between the ethnic groups. A well‐fitting comprehensive model is achieved, with significant differences between Blacks and Whites in terms of the mass media use structures. In support of the two hypotheses, the relationship between news use and social capital is less positive for Blacks than for Whites and the relationship between entertainment TV viewing and social capital is more negative for Blacks than for Whites. These findings are discussed in terms of literature involving mass media effects on social capital, news coverage of ethnic groups, and ethnic differences in self‐conceptualization and media responses.     

科学哲学中的社会科学因果性争论述评

自20世纪90年代以来,社会科学的因果性问题越来越引起科学哲学界的关注.一条比较鲜明的线索是,三大主要的因果性研究进路一以斯皮尔斯(Peter Spirtes)和格利默(Clark Glymour)为代表的贝叶斯网(Bayes-nets)进路;以伍德沃德(James Woodward)和豪斯曼(Daniel Hausman)为代表的模块性(modularity)与不变性(invariance)进路以及胡佛(Kevin Hoover)的功效性(efficacy)进路一的提出,以及卡特赖特分别对他们的批判和由此引起的争论.     

霍耐特:"歧视的社会动力学:今日批判理论定位"

尽管今日"社会批判理论"已不具有法兰克福学派最初的意义,但它依然保持了社会批判理论的本性,即寻求一种具体的规范性批判形式.     

Taming Chance: Social Science and Everyday Narratives

Although the impacts of chance occurrences play an important role in some of our everyday narratives, they are rarely discussed in social science accounts of the life cycle. The discrepancy between chance's relative significance in each of these portrayals is partly attributable to the highlighting of the unusual and unexpected in order to make our narratives interesting. The difference is also based in social sciences' attempt to tame chance using stochastic models enriched by recent nonlinear dynamic systems approaches. A critical factor affecting our accounts, whether in everyday life or in the search for robust general laws of behavior, is our commitment to prediction and control.     

Toward a Value-Laden Theory: Feminism and Social Science

Marjorie Shostak's ethnography, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman, is analyzed as a case study of feminist social science. Three principles of feminist research are suggested as standards for evaluation. After discussion of the principles and analysis of the text, I raise a criticism of the principles as currently sketched. The entire project is framed by the question of how best to resolve conflict between researcher and participant accounts.