Undermining the axiological solution to divine hiddenness

Lougheed (Ratio 31:331–341, 2018) argues that a possible solution to the problem of divine hiddenness is that God hides in order to increase the axiological value of the world. In a world where God exists, the goods associated with theism necessarily obtain. But Lougheed also claims that in such a world it’s possible to experience the goods of atheism, even if they don’t actually obtain. This is what makes a world with a hidden God more valuable than a world where God is unhidden (where it’s impossible to experience atheistic goods), and also more valuable than an atheistic world with no God (and hence no theistic goods). We show that Lougheed never considers the comparison between a world where God hides and an atheistic world. We argue that it’s possible for a person to experience theistic goods in a world where God does not exist, a possibility Lougheed never considers. If this is right it undermines his axiological solution to divine hiddenness. We conclude by showing how our discussion of the axiology of theism connects to the existential question of whether God exists; that is, we show that the axiological question is (partly) dependent on the existential question.

     

Vowel and consonant recognition with the aid of a multichannel cochlear implant

In this report we review the vowel and consonant recognition ability of patients who use a multichannel cochlear implant and who achieve relatively good word identification scores. The results suggest that vowel recognition is accomplished by good resolution of the frequency of the first formant (F1) combined with poor resolution of the frequency of the second formant (F2). The results also suggest that consonant recognition is accomplished (1) by using information from the amplitude envelope, including periodicity/aperiodicity, as cues to manner and voicing, (2) by using F1 as an aid to the identification of manner and voicing, and (3) by using information from cochlear place of stimulation to provide a very crude indication of the shape of the frequency spectrum above 1kHz.     

Some sociopsychological factors in attempted suicide among urban black males.

This study tests three hypotheses relating to suicidal behavior among urban black males: that black consciousness and group cohesiveness will be lower and depression will be higher. Inner-city, young adult black males with a suicide attempt in the last 6 months, and matched controls were examined. Hypothesis was one supported; the other two received partial support. The validity of the theory of black self-hatred as the basic cause of suicidal behavior among blacks is questioned. Atwo-factor theory of suicide, focusing on forces moving the person away from suicide toward positive subgroup ties, is proposed.