Atheism,faith, and the social scientific study of religion

The social “scientific”; study of religion originated in atheism and the basic theses pursued today, especially by psychologists and anthropologists, are little changed since they were first proposed by militant opponents of religion in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. In this essay I trace these links from major scholar to major scholar across the centuries. I then examine the remarkable irony that the recent emergence of a truly scientific approach to religion was accomplished mainly by an influx of “believers”;. I sketch why and how this happened before turning to an assessment of the persistence of atheistic biases. I conclude with suggestions about how a truly scientific study of religion can be pursued by both believers and unbelievers, if not by fanatics of either stripe.     

Masculinity and farming-related accidents

Survey data collected from 450 male farmers in Canada revealed that three variables — conservative farming, willingness to risk life and limb to make a profit, and safe equipment operation — directly predicted the rate of serious farming-related accidents. Three dimensions of masculinity — suppression of emotions, “men in charge,” and recklessness — had strong indirect effects. Masculine recklessness tended to increase profit-oriented personal risk taking and to decrease the safe operation of farm equipment. Suppression of emotions also increased risk taking.     

Derogation of an innocent victim as a function of authoritarianism and involvement

Two studies are reported in which observers witnessed a peer (learner) receiving electric shock and where they did or did not play a role in her suffering (Involved vs Noninvolved conditions). It was found in both studies that while High authoritarians were more likely than Low authoritarians to derogate the learner in Involved conditions, the reverse was true in Noninvolved conditions. These significant interactions (p < .03, p < .01) were interpreted in terms of Low authoritarians derogating in order to preserve their belief in a “just world” and High authoritarians derogating in order to avoid self-blame.     

Social Status and Guidance Involvement

This is a study of the relationships of 3 measures of social stratification to students' utilization of school guidance services and knowledgeability about chosen vocation. A survey of students in 8 high schools suggests that, in a majority of the groups studied, social status of parents and projected social status of the student (based upon chosen occupation) are positively related to knowledgeability about chosen career. The extent of the student's utilization of career guidance services was related to his social status within the microcosm of the school as defined by amount of participation in valued extracurricular activities. Parental and projected social status measures did not appear to be so consistently related to utilization of career guidance. The degree of the student's participation in other guidance services not directed at career planning was, in a majority of the groups studied, negatively related to the social status of the student's parents.     

Book reviews

Time's Arrow and Archimedes’ Point: New Directions for the Physics of Time Huw PRICE, 1996 New York, Oxford University Press xiii + 306 pp. SCAN 37.00 (hardcover) ISBN 0–19–510095–6

Mental Reality GALEN STRAWSON, 1994 Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press xiv + 337 pp., S37.50 (cloth), $17.50 (paper) ISBN 0–262–19352–3 (paper)

The Rule of Reason: The Philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce JACQUELINE BRUNNING & PAUL FORSTER, Eds, 1997 Toronto, University of Toronto Press 316 pp., $80.00 (hardcover), $24.95 (paperback) ISBN 0–8020–0829–1 (cloth), ISBN 0–8020–7819–2 (paper)

Scientific Knowledge: A Sociological Approach BARRY BARNES, DAVID BLOOR & JOHN HENRY, 1996 Chicago, University of Chicago Press xvi + 230 pp., ISBN 0–226–03730–4 (cloth), 0–226–03713–2 (paperback)

The Scientific Revolution STEVEN SHAPIN, 1996 Chicago, University of Chicago Press x + 218 pp., ISBN 0–226–75020–5 (cloth), 0–226–75021–3 (paperback)     

Themes of Agency and Communion In Significant Autobiographical Scenes

ABSTRACT In three studies employing over 350 community adults and college students, participants wrote or told narratives of personally important scenes in their lives. The autobiographical accounts were coded for themes of agency and communion, the two general content dimensions in lives and life stories that have been identified by many theorists and researchers. The four agentic themes of self-mastery, status, achievement/responsibility, and empowerment were positively associated with Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) measures of achievement and power motivation, self-report scales of dominance and achievement, and personal strivings concerning being successful and feeling strong. Similarly, the four communal themes of love/friendship, dialogue, care/help, and community were positively associated with intimacy motivation, needs for affiliation and nurturance, and personal strivings concerned with warm and close relationships. The results suggest a thematic coherence in personality across the arenas of key autobiographical memories, social motives, and daily goals.     

An economical,humane, and effective method for short—term suppression of hand mouthing

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a serious health hazard, especially among individuals with severe and profound mental retardation, sometimes leading to drastic therapeutic measures. Environments in which there are long periods with minimal opportunities for constructive activity are conducive to the development of SIB, but even highly motivated, hard-working caregivers sometimes have difficulty providing sufficient personal interactions to prevent it. In this case study, one person's self-injurious hand mouthing was significantly reduced by analyzing her toy play and consistently providing her with preferred toys. The results showed that careful and consistent attention to assuring that preferred materials are available for self-entertainment may be an effective and efficient method for managing some cases of SIB during times when other activities and treatments are unavailable.     

THINKING ABOUT RELIGION AND EXPERIENCING THE BRAIN: EUGENE D'AQUILI'S BIOGENETIC STRUCTURAL THEORY OF ABSOLUTE UNITARY BEING

Abstract. Religious experiences, including mystical states and experience of the divine, are the ultimate reality of human existence that demand an account. Eugene d'Aquili weaves together that account using paradigms of thought which historically have made mutually exclusive claims about the nature of religious experience. While pointing out the deficiencies of the theory from a narrowly scientific point of view, this paper recognizes that neuroscience, or any other solitary discipline, is incompetent to explain religion. This paper emphasizes the significance and truth of d'Aquili's holistic theory, a religious vision which itself explains science and philosophy.     

A split-screen electronic messaging system for Apple II computers

A method is described for configuring an Apple II+ or Apple IIe computer to create a multiuser, multiwindowed, electronic messaging system for use in computer-mediated communication research.     

Neural and Pavlovian influences on immunity

The traditional view that the nervous and immune systems are functionally independent (aside from general stress effects and autoimmune disorders of the nervous system) is being challenged by a new view that the nervous system regulates the activity of the immune system. If this is true, it should be possible to change the activity of the immune system by means of Pavlovian conditioning, just as it is possible to condition other physiological events influenced by the autonomic nervous system or neuroendocrine substances. Evidence for autonomic and neuroendocrine modulation of immune activity is briefly reviewed; and, the various studies reporting conditioned immune effects, the physiological mechanisms most likely involved, and their possible significance are discussed.