SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN LATIN AMERICA: DEVELOPMENTS AND PROSPECTS

The state of the debate surrounding issues on science and religion in Latin America is mostly unknown, both to regional and extra‐regional scholars. This article presents and reviews in some detail the developments since 2000, when the first symposium on science and religion was held in Mexico, up to the present. I briefly introduce some features of Latin American academia and higher education institutions, as well as some trends in the public reception of these debates and atheist engagement with it in Mexico and Argentina. The primary conclusion of this article is that, even though the discussion is new to Latin American academic circles, it is gaining traction and will certainly grow in the coming years.     

HORACE M. KALLEN'S USE OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY IN SUPPORT OF AMERICAN JEWS AND DEMOCRACY

This article examines the rhetorical deployment of Darwinian natural selection by the Jewish social philosopher Horace M. Kallen (1882–1974), in what is now widely regarded as the first articulation of cultural pluralism, “Democracy versus the Melting‐Pot” (1915). My analysis proceeds in two steps. First, I identify specific strategies by means of which Kallen endeavored to insert his ideas more deeply into national discourse. I also trace reactions to his essay in the Jewish press, and argue that these indicate ongoing conversations concerning Kallen's ideas, and they also reveal how he was reinterpreted for different reading audiences. Second, I argue that Kallen's strategy was to stress the survival value of cooperation rather than competition in natural selection, and he believed that this view supported both the natural biological inclinations of social groups and reflected American democratic values. Kallen's intervention serves as a striking example of how Darwinian natural selection was deployed to support Jewish participation in American life.     

CULTURAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES UPON SPATIAL-PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES IN WEST AFRICA.PART II1

Influences culturelles et physiologiques sur les processus spatio-perceptifs dans L'Ouest africain, 2^e partie. — Plusieurs études ont été réalisées dans le Sierra Leone pour tester la validité de certaines hypothèses relatives aux effets d'une culture tribale et d'un trouble endocrinien (Kwashiorkor) sur le développement de la dépendance vis-à-vis du champ et L'acquisition d'aptitudes spatio-perceptives. Dans cette seconde partie, les résultats de L'étude sur le Kwashiokor et la gynécoplastie montrent, comme prévu, que les sujets qui en sont affectés ont un style perceptif plus féminin. L'analyse statistique fait apparaître un facteur de dépendance à L'égard du champ, ce qui apporte une confirmation supplémentaire aux hypothèses.