Absence Of Belief Research Articles

Why Everybody Must Embrace Islam

People in terms of belief in God, can be divided into three groups, theism atheism and agnosticism. Theism is the belief in at least one deity. Atheism is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. . Agnosticism, is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. The majority of the people in the world are theists that are believers, and few are atheists that are nonbelievers. According to the Pew Research Center's (2012) global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's populations are not affiliated with any religion, while 84% are affiliated with a religion. This paper will analyze critically the truth about theism and atheism. It will explain why we should believe in one deity, and the superiority of Islam over other Religions. The paper will make a comparative analysis between theism and atheism, Islam and Christianity, and conclude why everybody should be a Muslim. Islam is always viewed as a problem. (Edis. T 2007). Lewis B.E& Churchill B.E (2008) affirmed that the knowledge of Islam is essential and unfortunately the knowledge is rarely available. So the paper will add to the public the knowledge of Islam all people must accept Islam.

Conversational Silencing of Racism in Psychological Science: Toward Decolonization in Practice

This article addresses a paradox between self-perceptions of psychology as a liberal, progressive, antiracist discipline and profession and the persistent criticisms of racism and calls for decolonization. It builds on the criticisms of epistemic exclusion and White centering, arguing that White supremacy is maintained by “conversational silencing” in which the focus on doing good psychology systematically draws attention away from the realities of racism and the operation of power. The process is illustrated by investigations of disciplinary discourse around non-Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic psychology and on stereotyping, racism, and prejudice reduction, which constitute the vanguard of liberal scholarship in the discipline. This progressive scholarship nurtures “White ignorance,” an absence of belief about systemic racism that psychology plays a part in upholding.

Питання термінології в неказковій прозі

The corpus of folk prose is considered in the article from the point of view of genre studies. It is about legends, lore and stories interpreted by leading Ukrainian researchers (I. Franko, V. Hnatiuk, F. Kolessa, H. Sukhobrus, S. Myshanych). They have used the presence or absence of beliefs as a basis for differentiation. The characters have been considered as important markers. These are mythical or Christian heroes, historical figures or ordinary people. A considerable role is played by the temporal remoteness of the events depiction (past, present time), as well as the epic position of the narrator (a direct participant of the events or not). The critical view of scientists regarding the term of narrative is submitted (O. Tkachuk and others). The debatable positions of international experts regarding memorate, chronicate, and fabulate, expressing a specific form of messages, are outlined. This terminology is proposed by the Swedish scientist K. Sydov. He has placed the function of genres at the center of the distinction: memorate is a personal message of one’s own experience, fabulate is information about an event full of conjecture, and chronicate is a sequence of the conveying facts. However, memorate as well as fabulate are not discrete genres, but rather represent a form of event rendering. The issues of genre studies in this area are still debatable. The purpose of the article is to present a critical analysis of the practice of distinguishing folklore prose. Historical and general theoretical research methods are used.

Memories people no longer believe in can still affect them in helpful and harmful ways

People can come to “remember” experiences they never had, and these false memories—much like memories for real experiences—can serve a variety of helpful and harmful functions. Sometimes, though, people realize one of their memories is false, and retract their belief in it. These “retracted memories” continue to have many of the same phenomenological characteristics as their believed memories. But can they also continue to serve functions? Across four experiments, we asked subjects to rate the extent to which their retracted memories serve helpful and harmful functions and compared these functions with those served by “genuine” autobiographical memories. People rated their retracted memories as serving both helpful and harmful functions, much like their genuine memories. In addition, we found only weak relationships between people’s belief in their memories and the extent to which those memories served perceived functions. These results suggest memories can serve functions even in the absence of belief and highlight the potential for false memories to affect people’s thinking and behavior even after people have retracted them.

The free will problem: Implications from experimental philosophy, psychology and neuroscience

Throughout history, the phenomenon of free will has mainly been considered from a philosophical perspective, and in the last few decades, it has been investigated in scientific disciplines such as psychology and neuroscience as well. Additionally, some authors suggest that insight into folk intuitions on the problem of free will and determinism would contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon itself. Lay theories about the free will problem have been empirically examined in experimental philosophy and psychology. The results show that the belief that free will exists is associated with desirable psychological outcomes and that the absence of belief in free will has negative social consequences. Furthermore, the question arises as to how the findings in neuroscience research are presented to society and thus affect free will beliefs. The problem of free will is discussed within experimental philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.

Medical students in Karachi and COVID-19: Myths and facts.

Objectives:COVID-19 pandemic brought mortalities, morbidities, fear, and financial despair among people around the world. As it advanced, misinformation and myths about it caught wildfire, contributing to misbelief among the already shocked population. Medical students are the building blocks of the medical community and can provide a pivotal role in combating COVID-19 misinformation by delivering correct knowledge and awareness to the non-medical population of the country. Hence, it is important to assess their knowledge and perception of COVID-19 myths. Therefore, this study evaluates medical student’s knowledge regarding myths and misinformation related to COVID-19 infection and its vaccine. The study also assesses the belief of medical students on various conspiracy theories of COVID-19.Methods:An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 401 undergraduate medical students of Karachi in June–August 2021. A validated, structured, and self-administrated questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were entered on an open EPI version 3.01 and Statistical Package of Social Science version 26 for analysis. A chi-square test was performed to identify determinant factors. All p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant.Results:Overall knowledge score of participants about myths and misinformation related to COVID-19 and its vaccine was as follows: 166 (28.9) participants possess good knowledge, while 167 (41.6) and 118 (29.4) had moderate to poor knowledge, respectively. Senior students, vaccinated, and participants infected by COVID-19 had good to moderate knowledge. Overall, 139 (34.7) participants strongly disagree and 103 (25.7) participants somewhat disagree with conspiracy theories related to COVID-19. Absence of belief in the conspiracies is associated with vaccinated participants.Conclusion:The study shows that most medical students possess adequate knowledge of misinformation about COVID-19 and its vaccines, and have low belief in conspiracy theories of COVID-19.

Awareness, Attitude, and Current Practices Toward Influenza Vaccination Among Physicians in India: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Although annual influenza vaccination is recommended for healthcare providers (HCPs), vaccination rate among HCPs in India is generally low. This cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate physicians' awareness, attitude, and current practices toward influenza vaccination in high-risk groups in India.Methods: The survey was performed in June–July 2020, wherein consulting physicians, pulmonologists, diabetologists, obstetricians/gynecologists, or cardiologists across 14 cities completed a 39-item questionnaire consisting of 3 sections, one each on awareness, attitude, and practice patterns. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the study results. Statistical analysis was performed for comparison of subgroups by physician specialty, city of practice (metro/non-metro), and zone of practice (north/south/east/west). Level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: In all, 780 physicians completed the survey. Of these, 3.97, 53.08, and 42.95% had high, medium, and low level of awareness about influenza/influenza vaccination, respectively. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) between-group differences were found by physician specialty and zone of practice. In terms of attitude toward vaccination of high-risk group subjects, only 0.9% physicians were “extremely concerned,” while the majority (92.56%) were “quite concerned” and 6.54% were a “little concerned,” with no reported significant differences between different subgroups. With regard to practice patterns, 82.82% of physicians offered influenza vaccines to their patients, 32.69% vaccinated 10–25% of patients per month, and 38.85% required and offered the vaccine to their office staff. Physicians' reasons for not prescribing influenza vaccines to patients included fear of side effects (16.54%), cost (15.64%), lack of awareness about availability (15.38%), absence of belief that it is beneficial (14.36%), history of side effects (13.46%), and patients' fear of needles (11.28%).Conclusion: These findings suggest the need to implement educational strategies among physicians to enhance their awareness about influenza vaccination and improve their attitudes and current practices toward influenza vaccination especially in high-risk groups in India.

Vulnerability to rumours during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many rumours have emerged. Given prior research linking rumour exposure to mental well-being, we conducted a nationwide survey to document the base rate of rumour exposure and factors associated with rumour vulnerability. Between March and July 2020, 1,237 participants were surveyed on 5 widely disseminated COVID-19 rumours (drinking water frequently could be preventive, eating garlic could be preventive, the outbreak arose because of bat soup consumption, the virus was created in an American lab, and the virus was created in a Chinese lab). For each rumour, participants reported whether they had heard, shared or believed each rumour. Although most participants had been exposed to COVID-19 rumours, few shared or believed these. Sharing behaviours sometimes occurred in the absence of belief; however, education emerged as a protective factor for both sharing and belief. Our results suggest that campaigns targeting skills associated with higher education (e.g. epistemology) may prove more effective than counter-rumour messages.

Factors associated with the acceptability of the human papillomavirus vaccine, Huanuco, Peru

Human papillomavirus (HPV) produces the most frequent sexually transmitted viral infection in the world. A strategy to reduce infection rates for this virus is vaccination to young women between 9 and 13 years, so it is imperative to ensure the highest degree of acceptability to the vaccine. To determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs associated with the acceptability of the HPV vaccine in the parents of a rural and urban area of ​​the Huanuco. Analytical cross-sectional study in 168 parents. The χ2 test was used to assess associations, with 95% confidence, p significant < 0.05. The mean age was 35.08 years, 67% had secondary education and 27.3% of parents did not accept the vaccine. A statistically significant relationship was found between the level of medium-high knowledge (p = 0.017), positive attitudes towards vaccines (p < 0.001), absence of beliefs (p < 0.001), Catholic religion (p = 0.002) and presence of studies in the degree of education (p = 0.016) with the acceptability towards the vaccine. Those parents whose beliefs were evidenced were 6.56 times more likely not to accept the human papillomavirus vaccine. The factors associated with the acceptability of the human papillomavirus vaccine are the level of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, religion and the degree of instruction.

Hopeful universalism

AbstractThis article argues against the rationality of ‘hopeful universalism’, the components of which include the unconditional considered hope that soteriological universalism is true, and an absence of belief that it is true. Some proponents maintain that there is simply not enough evidence to affirm or deny universalism; others believe that it is probably false but nonetheless hope they are mistaken. This article argues that worshippers of God who maintain unconditional considered hope in the truth of universalism ought either to believe universalism or seek to abandon their hope in its truth, depending (in part) on how their confidence in the considerations that steer them away from universalism measure up against the beliefs that underwrite their hope in its truth. For such people, neither withholding belief in universalism nor believing that it is false while continuing to hope that it is true is a rational option.

Determinants of favorable or unfavorable opinion about euthanasia in a sample of French cancer patients receiving palliative care

BackgroundOpinion about euthanasia has been explored among the general population and recently in patients receiving palliative care. 96% of the French population declared themselves in favor of euthanasia while less of 50% of palliative care patients are. The aim of the present study was to explore and identify potential determinant factors associated with favorable or unfavorable opinion about euthanasia in a French population of cancer patients receiving palliative care.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study among patients in two palliative care units. Eligible patients were identified by the medical staff. Face-to-face interviews were performed by two investigators. Two groups were defined as favorable or unfavorable about euthanasia according to the answer on the specific question about patient opinion on euthanasia. A multivariate analysis including age, belief in God, chemotherapy and gender was built.ResultsSeventy-eight patients were interviewed. Median age was 60.5 years (range: 31–87.2). In univariate analysis, patients with a favorable opinion were most often under 60 years old (62 versus 38% unfavorable; p = 0.035), in couple (64 versus 35%; p = 0.032), didn’t believe in God (72 versus 28% were non-believers; p < 0.001) and had more frequently an history of chemotherapy treatment (58 versus 42% received at least one cycle of chemotherapy; p = 0.005). In a multivariate analysis, age < 60 years, absence of belief in God and an antecedent of chemotherapy were independently associated with a favorable opinion about euthanasia (OR = 0.237 [0.076–0.746]; p = 0.014, OR = 0.143 [0.044–0.469]; p = 0.001, and OR = 10.418 [2.093–51.853]; p = 0.004, respectively).ConclusionWe report here determinants of opinion about euthanasia in palliative care cancer patients. Thus, young patients who do not believe in God and have a history of chemotherapy treatment are more likely to request the discontinuation or restriction of their treatment. A better understanding of these determinants is essential for the development of information and/or interventions tailored to the palliative context.

Decision Making on Oil Extraction under Z-information

In modern conditions, the refining process is complicated and ambiguous, requiring a precise knowledge of all the internal and external factors. However, in many cases, it is impossible to get complete information. Therefore, the process of oil production takes place in conditions of uncertainty accompanying the various situations. A partial absence of beliefs and fuzziness are some of the aspects of uncertainty. In this paper we consider a somewhat different framework for representing our knowledge. Zadeh suggested a Z-number notion, based on a reliability of the given information. In this study we apply Z- information to decision making on oil extraction problem and suggest the framework for decision making on a base of Z-numbers. The method associates with the construction of a non-additive measure as a lower prevision and uses this capacity in Choquet integral for constructing a utility function.

The “Hard Freight” Borne by the “Brave Child”: Theological Humanism in the Poetry of Charles Wright and Gregory Orr

Using Religion and the Human Future by Klemm and Schweiker as a reference point, I argue for the placement of the Appalachian poets Gregory Orr and Charles Wright within the emerging thought of theological humanism, which emphasizes acceptance of the full spectrum of moods and the integrity of life, specifically life in this world. Although neither Orr nor Wright is a religious poet per se, their poetry illustrates that Christianity continues to offer meaning even in the absence of belief in literal resurrection.

Religion in the Roman Empire by James B. Rives

PHOENIX Religion in the Roman Empire. By James B. Rives. Maiden, MA: Blackwell. 2007. Pp. x, 237, 11 illustrations, 4 maps. Merely conceptualizing a scholarly introduction to "religion" in the Roman empire poses quite a challenge to anyone familiar with recent work on the complexity of the subject. Wisely, this new introduction by James Rives, part of Blackwell's new series on ancient religions, undertakes this task as an experiment, less a "definitive account," but rather "a possible framework for thinking about" religion in the Roman empire which acknowledges the rich variety of evidence (2). The framework Rives suggests is based on the commonalities of religion across the heterogeneous mix in this era, a unity which he locates in a normatively understood idea of religion in the "social and conceptual world" of the empire (6). Chapter One, "Identifying 'Religion' in the Graeco-Roman World," begins to outline how different the religious was in a culture that did not have a commonly understood category of "a religion," with the associated coherence of religious practices and beliefs. While discussing in detail the variety of conceptions of the divine, as well as the multiple approaches or levels through which it could be addressed, Rives endorses a singular notion of religion in which context is key in the choice of any particular religious form. Including an admirable range of evidence, from inscriptions, through texts of various kinds, to visual remains, he goes on to discuss what he sees as the three key differences between this Roman imperial and modern, Western concepts of religion: first, the absence of belief in a singular doctrinal system in Rome; secondly, their vague association of any morality with religion; and, finally, the multiple and varied sources of religious authority. Of these, the last, "authority," may appear problematic, especially given that Rives tries to reconcile the republican tradition of civic religion with the notion of a religious marketplace in the empire, but he succeeds in delivering an excellent survey of the complexities involved in any such singular model of religious authority for this period. To approach religious diversity, Chapter Two, "Regional Religious Traditions of the Empire," turns to a geographically organized overview of the empire. From classical Greek polis religion to the local cults in Asia Minor, from the aniconic cults in ancient Syria to what came to be seen by the Romans as the particularly "Egyptian" and "African" gods, and "Celtic" and "Thracian" divinities, the survey offers the insight that an ancient traveler might have had of the local religious flavors on a journey around the empire. Rives is good at pointing out the veiy diversity of religious traditions even within Italy, and how such local elements may have been important in shaping Roman priestly colleges and divinatory practices. The chapter's concluding remarks, suggesting a dynamic tension between particularization and generalization, and between continuity and change, are especially well formulated (86-87). Chapter Three, "The Presence of the Gods," offers a detailed discussion of Rives's notion of Rome as a "world full of gods": gods in nature, gods at times of need, and gods in their myriad manifestations. A particular strength of this chapter is the way in which Rives juxtaposes "pagan" and Christian experiences of the divine, offering an important contextualization of early Christianity. This juxtaposition continues in Chapter Four, "Religion and Community," in which Rives addresses the communal experience of religion. Here, as the apostle Paul addresses the citizens of Ephesus, we see not only religious traditions and practices stirred up, but also civic pride, as well as the economic BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 201 interests of the city's craftsmen who live on selling cult paraphernalia. The same multiple, religious, social, and economic connections are observed in the organization of sacred space and in religious experience in general across various levels of community (the city, households, as well as voluntary associations, following a framework of Aristotle). With Chapter Five, "Religion and Empire," Rives moves to the less obvious connections among the various social and geographical divides that he has discussed earlier. The mobility of worshippers and of gods is neatly connected, and so are the multiple social and religious factors that might go into...

Free Will Skepticism and Personhood as a Desert Base

In contemporary free will theory, a significant number of philosophers are once again taking seriously the possibility that human beings do not have free will, and are therefore not morally responsible for their actions. (Free will is understood here as whatever satisfies the control condition of moral responsibility.) Free will theorists commonly assume that giving up the belief that human beings are morally responsible implies giving up all our beliefs about desert. But the consequences of giving up the belief that we are morally responsible are not quite this dramatic. Giving up the belief that we are morally responsible undermines many, and perhaps most, of the desert claims we are pretheoretically inclined to accept. But it does not undermine desert claims based on the sheer fact of personhood. Even in the absence of belief in moral responsibility, personhood-based desert claims require us to respect persons and their rights. So personhood-based desert claims can provide a substantial role for desert in free will skeptics’ ethical theories.

The biochemistry of belief

Byline: T. Sathyanarayana Rao, M. Asha, K. Jagannatha Rao, P. Vasudevaraju Man is what he believes Anton Chekhov Beliefs are basically the guiding principles in life that provide direction and meaning in life. Beliefs are the preset, organized filters to our perceptions of the world (external and internal). Beliefs are like 'Internal commands' to the brain as to how to represent what is happening, when we congruently believe something to be true. In the absence of beliefs or inability to tap into them, people feel disempowered. Beliefs originate from what we hear - and keep on hearing- from others, ever since we were children (and even before that!). The sources of beliefs include environment, events, knowledge, past experiences, visualization etc. One of the biggest misconceptions people often harbor is that belief is a static, intellectual concept. Nothing can be farther from truth! Beliefs are a choice. We have the power to choose our beliefs. Our beliefs become our reality. Beliefs are not just cold mental premises, but are 'hot stuff' intertwined with emotions (conscious or unconscious). Perhaps, that is why we feel threatened or react with sometimes uncalled for aggression, when we believe our beliefs are being challenged! Research findings have repeatedly pointed out that the emotional brain is no longer confined to the classical locales of the hippocampus, amygdala and hypothalamus.[sup] [1] The sensory inputs we receive from the environment undergo a filtering process as they travel across one or more synapses, ultimately reaching the area of higher processing, like the frontal lobes. There, the sensory information enters our conscious awareness. What portion of this sensory information enters is determined by our beliefs. Fortunately for us, receptors on the cell membranes are flexible, which can alter in sensitivity and conformation. In other words, even when we feel stuck 'emotionally', there is always a biochemical potential for change and possible growth. When we choose to change our thoughts (bursts of neurochemicals!), we become open and receptive to other pieces of sensory information hitherto blocked by our beliefs! When we change our thinking, we change our beliefs. When we change our beliefs, we change our behavior. A mention of the 'Placebo' is most appropriate at this juncture. Medical history is replete with numerous reported cases where placebos were found to have a profound effect on a variety of disorders. One such astounding case was that of a woman suffering from severe nausea and vomiting. Objective measurements of her gastric contractions indicated a disrupted pattern matching the condition she complained of. Then a 'new, magical, extremely potent' drug was offered to her, which would, the doctors proclaimed, undoubtedly cure her nausea. Within a few minutes, her nausea vanished! The very same gastric tests now revealed normal pattern, when, in actuality, she had been given syrup of ipecac, a substance usually used to induce nausea! When the syrup was presented to her, paired with the strong suggestion of relief of nausea, by an authority figure, it acted as a (command) message to the brain that triggered a cascade of self-regulatory biochemical responses within the body.[sup] [2] This instance dramatically demonstrates that the influence of placebo could be more potent than expected drug effect. An important observation was that, part of the placebo response seemed to involve the meaning of the disorder or the illness to the individual. In other words, the person's belief or how she/he interprets (inter-presents or internally represents) directly governs the biological response or behavior. Another remarkable study involved a schizophrenic. This woman was observed to have split personality. Under normal conditions, her blood glucose levels were normal. However, the moment she believed she was diabetic, her entire physiology changed to become that of a diabetic, including elevated blood glucose levels. …

Social Control Theory and the Connection With Ideological Offenders Among Israeli Youth During the Gaza Disengagement Period

The present study examined whether social control theory is capable of explaining youth's law violations in instances of conflict between the ideological religious worldview and the laws of the country in which they reside. Differences in the control factors (commitment, belief, attachment, and involvement) were examined among Israeli adolescents who took part in legal activity (n=163) and illegal activity (n=99) during the resistance to the Gaza evacuation. The findings indicate that the model provides a partial explanation for ideological delinquency. It was found that involvement with friends and the absence of belief in the formal legal system were associated with illegal ideology activity. Attachment to friends and parents and involvement with parents had no effect on youth's participation in illegal ideological activities.

Religion, Opportunism, and International Market Entry Via Non-Equity Alliances or Joint Ventures

One challenge that globalization has brought to business is that firms, as they expand their market globally through cross-border alliances, need to deal with partner firms from countries of different religious background. The impact of a country’s dominant religion on its firms’ international market entry mode choices has not been examined in traditional approaches. Focusing on hypothesizing the influence of Christian beliefs and atheism (i.e., the absence of belief in any deities), this research aims to fill the gap by exploring religion’s role in providing moral restraint on managers’ propensity for opportunism, which in turn affects these managers’ choices of their firms’ international market entry via non-equity alliances or joint ventures. A study of 22,156 cross-border alliances formed in 48 industries world-wide over 9 years provides new insight toward understanding religion’s influence on firms’ international market entry mode decisions through the ethical dimension of strategic leadership.

Monopolization of Information and Female Status: A Cross-Cultural Test

The world-wide cross-cultural tests performed in this paper support the hypothesis that monopolization of politically important information is inversely related with female status. Monopolization of politically important information displays a significant negative correlation with such important characteristics of female status as female leadership posts in kinship or extended family units, female ownership or control of dwellings, high value of female life, absence of a double standard in regard to extramarital sex, absence of physical punishment of wives, and absence of belief that women are generally inferior to men.

The Manor, the Plowman, and the Shepherd: Agrarian Themes and Imagery in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance English Literature by Ordelle G. Hill

REVIEWS crucial vision ofGod and goes on to analyze the failure ofConscience in the last two passus, which continue, and even intensify, the poem's series of defeats.In particular he traces the similarities between Dobest and the Visio, noting the crucial differences (the roles of Piers and Conscience) as the results ofthe discoveries made in the Vita. I like his discussion ofredde quod debes, which roughly follows R.W. Frank's lead in keeping it within the context of the parable of the debtor, and so seeing it as an injunction to be charitable.But this world seems fundamentally flawed.No longer are "conformity to the moral conscience and possession of the virtues ...pre­ conditions for pardon" (p.129); "the Church is merely an institution ex­ pected to suffice in the absence of belief" (p. 132).Even remorse and suffering, the two guides to Will in the Vita, are undermined by the Friars and by Need.Only an awareness in the Conscience of God's divine love as knight, king, and conqueror can offer hope.And in the last chapter Har­ wood shows that Piers himself possessed such knowledge at the moment when he tore the pardon, when "suffering itself has become cognitive" (p.138).In conformity with his almost Calvinist interpretation of Lang­ land, he sees this moment as the point where Piers's complacency is shat­ tered, and he realizes that God has "bou3te" him too.Clearly salvation depends on grace, whether experienced as a vision ofGod or as the "sudden blow" at which a Christian realizes his dependence on Him.Harwood's view of the poem is at least dramatic, though it is, eventually, too personal to have converted me. ANNA BALDWIN Cambridge University OR.DELLE G.HILL.The Manor, the Plowman, and the Shepherd: Agrarian Themes and Imagery in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance English Litera­ ture. Selinsgrove, Pa.: Susquehanna University Press, 1993.Pp.2 57. $42.50. Beginning and ending his text with a meditation on Brueghel's Icarus, Ordelle G.Hill capably argues that Brueghel was ahead of his time in foregrounding the figure of the plowman, for now in the wake of New Historicism in Renaissance and medieval studies, constellated by the names Stephen Greenblatt, Gary Waller, Stephen Knight, and Lee Patter207 STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER son, the life of the plowman along with his fellow laborers is getting the attention it deserves for indeed creating the world on which the literature of the period is to a certain extent dependent. Although the subject of this book is in vogue, this is not by any means a trendy cultural critique. In fact, it is a rather traditional, often referentialist, treatment of the history and artistic representation of farming in England from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. While some readers may look for a more problematized view of history and while others will find the absence of it comforting, both will find this work a most welcome addition to their libraries because of its thorough cataloguing of pastoral and agrarian images, themes, and symbols in the literature under discussion; and for its pictures, charts, and maps, docu­ menting the changing history of agrarian economy; and finally for the exceptional bibliography and notes. In the preface Hill confesses that his book began in the 1950s as a humble attempt to add some footnotes to Piers Plowman on the history of plowing. The resulting study offers an interesting star-crossed history of the plowman and the shepherd. The manorial system and the farmers attached to the manor began to fragment in the fourteenth century, and as a result the plowmen either became poorer, sometimes rebels associated with thugs (pace the Peasants' Revolt), or became somewhat prosperous franklins, providing they were able to manage successfully in the new cash economy and leasing of enclosed lands. As the fifteenth and sixteenth cen­ turies played out the changes in agrarian economy, however, the plowman began to disappear from the literature as a significant figure, and the shep­ herd took his place in the pastoral literature of the Renaissance. Since the chapter on Piers is the heart of the book, Hill precedes that discussion with a...