Rational Foundation Research Articles

Strategies for Studying the Political Trust of Youth in Modern Political Science

The article examines the main approaches to assessing and measuring political trust used by Russian and foreign scientists in conducting empirical research in 2018-2022. The authors proceed from one of the accepted in the social sciences understanding of methodology as a set of methods of used for analysis. In this regard, the purpose of the paper is to systematize methods for measuring and evaluating political trust and determining the relevance of their application in the study of youth as a specific socio-demographic group. The relevance of the study is related to the tendency of some scientists to associate the youth political trust with the character of political regime in a particular state and the potential for its transformation. The analysis of scientific literature revealed that the main methods of obtaining information on the topic of political trust are mass surveys and expert interviews. The most important component of studying this area is the comparison of the mechanisms for the formation of political attitudes of various social groups in states with different types of political regimes. The article substantiates the need to develop narrowly focused methods for studying the youth political trust, since a number of studies show the specificity of the formation and individual indicators of this setting of the political consciousness of generations Y and Z. In particular, there is a significant differentiation in the levels of institutional and personalized political trust among different subgroups of young people, a large variability of this political attitude, with a relatively low awareness of real political processes, the desire to articulate rational grounds for the formation of trust. A systematic study of these features of the youth political trust requires the use of a more complex, combining elements of quantitative and qualitative analysis tools than is currently used in empirical studies. It is necessary to develop special methods of analysis based on an integrated approach that combines mix-methods of research. The information obtained with the help of the updated methodology on the state and characteristics of the youth political trust seems to be a significant basis for the formation of strategies for the interaction of government institutions with this socio-demographic group, which is of fundamental importance for the sustainable development of modern states.

New Transformations of the public Sphere: Contemporary Discussions in Germany

The article discusses the main stages and approaches to analyzing the problem of publicity using the example of the works of Heidegger, Horkheimer, and Adorno. The reasons for the absence of a positive concept of publicity in German philosophy of the first half of the twentieth century are shown, as well as the connection between a negative attitude towards publicity and the global socio-historical pessimism of that time. The significance of the theory of publicity presented in two studies of Habermas, “Structural Changes of the Public Sphere” (1962) and publications 2021–2022, is analyzed, as well as its connection with the political theory of democracy. Habermas interprets the “public sphere” as a special space for the application of critical discourse, emerging in the era of the emergence of capitalism. If in feudal society “publicity” is identified with the state, then in the 18th–19th centuries. a practice of discussions about literature is emerging, gradually expanding to a critical discussion of social processes. With the achievement by the middle of the twentieth century bourgeois society at the stage of “mass democracy” and the intervention of the state, which actively uses manipulative technologies, the rational foundations of the discourse of the public sphere give way to non-rational ones. The area of publicity becomes an area of confrontation and conflict between the interests of various social groups. New structural transformations in the sphere of publicity become noticeable in 2010–2020 and are associated with the emergence of new media, the new role of social networks. One of Habermas’ main critical arguments points out that the media structure changed by digitalization may deepen contemporary problems with contemporary Western democracy and result in deepening of it’s crisis. Habermas’ theory is contrasted against the theories of other media theorists (Marshall McLuhan, Niklas Luhmann and others).

Razor sharp: The role of Occam's razor in science.

Occam's razor-the principle of simplicity-has recently been attacked as a cultural bias without rational foundation. Increasingly, belief in pseudoscience and mysticism is growing. I argue that inclusion of Occam's razor is an essential factor that distinguishes science from superstition and pseudoscience. I also describe how the razor is embedded in Bayesian inference and argue that science is primarily the means to discover the simplest descriptions of our world.

The Role of Islamic Education Management in Improving Human Resources: A Review of the Implementation of Islamic Education in Indonesia

This research aims to provide various innovations in improving human resources in an Islamic educational institution. This research was conducted by collecting journal articles to combine ideas and innovations that a leader or management can do in an Islamic educational institution. Planning in an Islamic educational institution is important for achieving maximum results. This research aims to relieve leaders or management in Islamic educational institutions in innovating to advance their human resources to keep up with the times and fierce competition, especially in Islamic education. Besides, the purpose of this research is expected to be used as a reference in improving human resource management. This systematic review shows that the existing management in Islamic educational institutions is in dire need of various motivations and innovations in improving its human resources. a) the characteristics of Islamic education management must be based on the Qur'an and Hadith, b) the foundation of Islamic education management is based on four foundations: theoretical foundations, rational foundations, and rational foundations, c) Islamic education management is based on hablu min an-nas (human-oriented) and hablu min Allah (oriented to Allah SWT), d) the key to achieving success in an Islamic educational institution is the desire to learn in everything continually. Positively, this is to raise the spirit of its human resources.
 Keywords: Islamic Education Management, Human Resources, Islamic Education

Ciceronian Jurisprudence and the Law of Nations

AbstractAt the turn of the seventeenth century, jurists such as Alberico Gentili (1552–1608) and Hugo Grotius (1583–1645), began to advance a novel account of the law of nations (ius gentium) as a law that binds a world of sovereign states. That they would produce such a theory is surprising, however, considering that sovereign states were neither the dominant form of political organization at the time, nor did conventional medieval jurisprudence treat them as the normative standard. This article traces this evolution to a broader transformation in legal interpretation. In an effort to put Roman law on a more rational foundation, jurists such as François Connan (1508–51) and Hugues Doneau (1527–91) connected the origin of law to the unfolding of a certain account of human sociability, with the result that a conception of the state as an autonomous body acquired a normative status within their version of the global legal order. It then argues that we should see Gentili’s work on the ius gentium as part of this tradition. In so doing, the article demonstrates how the innovations of a particular school of legal interpretation, by combining Roman law with a distinctive social theory, contributed to making the sovereign state the legal norm.

Developing the Digital Economy: Overcoming Institutional Constraints and Unravelling Information Asymmetry

The purpose of the study is to identify ways to reduce the risks faced by economic agents in interaction with institutional traps caused by information asymmetry in the developing digital economy. To achieve this goal, the author applies a structural approach based on the following methodology. An analysis of the foundations of uncertainty and rationality in the digital economy is conducted, and then the risks associated with falling into institutional traps due to information asymmetry are investigated using the labor market as an example. The final part of the paper considers ways to mitigate these risks. The practical significance of this study is to identify the possibility of falling into institutional traps due to information asymmetry using the labor market as an example. In the context of the digitalization of the education market, the study shows that a higher education diploma cannot be a reliable signal of a potential employee’s future productivity. The importance of this study in the social aspect is the need to create an electronic platform containing digital portfolios of potential employees formed in the process of education and subsequent labor activity. This will help to reduce information costs for employers and avoid the institutional trap of being tied to a higher education diploma. The author suggests ways to increase the target rationality of economic agents in the context of growing information asymmetry in the digital economy.

The Rationality of Faith: Examining Arguments for the Existence of God in the Light of Islamic Teachings

A theist believes there is a God, an atheist believes there is no God, an agnostic is unsure if there is a God or not. This study focuses on the Islamic perspective, aiming to explore the rationality of faith by examining arguments for the existence of God within the context of Islamic teachings. The research delves into the rich tapestry of Islamic thought, drawing from the Holy Qur'an, Hadith (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad), and the works of prominent Islamic scholars such as Imam Ghazali and Allama Iqbal. Through a comprehensive analysis, the study evaluates various arguments, such as teleological, cosmological, personal spiritual experiences, and moral arguments, as they appear in Islamic thought. These arguments are scrutinized through the lens of reason, logic, and critical thinking while acknowledging the intrinsic interplay between faith and reason in Islamic tradition. The research identifies the significance of faith as a powerful force in human nature, not immune to challenges and doubts. To address these concerns, the study explores how Islamic teachings embrace both intellectual and experiential aspects, providing a harmonious integration of intellect, emotions, and spirituality in the pursuit of faith. Furthermore, the study examines some common challenges to faith in the modern scientific age considering the role of revelation and natural theology in bolstering the rational foundations of faith. It also investigates the concept of personal experience and intuitive encounters with the divine, acknowledging their importance in strengthening one's belief in God. By examining arguments within the context of Islamic teachings, this study contributes to the broader discourse on faith's rationality, offering valuable insights into the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of the human journey in seeking a connection with the divine.

The mediating role of strategic planning awareness in the impact of organizational innovation on business excellence in hospitals

PurposeEvaluating the operational outcomes of hospitals is critical concerns for hospital managers. The realization of these evaluations through the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) is important so that decision-makers can base their decisions on rational grounds. To achieve TQM principles, hospitals need innovative processes that can adapt to changing patient expectations. Innovation activities that will lead to business excellence can be achieved with the strategic planning awareness of healthcare professionals. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the effect of organizational innovation on business excellence and to reveal the role of strategic planning awareness in this relationship in hospitals.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected using a quantitative questionnaire to 450 healthcare professionals working in private hospitals operating in Istanbul (Turkey). The data were analyzed using the AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) 23.0 and SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) for Windows 25.0 program. In addition to the reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis was performed using the AMOS program to test the construct validity of the scales. The model established in line with the research hypotheses was tested with path analysis and mediator role analysis.FindingsThe results confirm that organizational innovation has a statistically significant and positive effect on strategic planning awareness and business excellence. In addition, it has been determined that strategic planning awareness has a statistically significant and positive effect on business excellence. Moreover, the research model confirms that strategic planning awareness plays a mediating role in the relationship between organizational innovation and business excellence.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the study is that it was conducted only in private hospitals. A comparative study that includes the public health sector can further strengthen the research framework.Practical implicationsHospitals that invest in innovative activities can get the reward of their efforts as business excellence. However, this is affected by the strategic planning awareness of healthcare professionals. Research results present the role of strategic planning awareness on the way to business excellence led by organizational innovation. Achieving business excellence in complex and constantly changing environmental conditions depends on an appropriate strategic plan for hospitals. In order to achieve these goals included in the strategic plans, the education of healthcare professionals that contributes to their strategic perspectives should be supported and their participation in decision-making processes should be ensured.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the literature on the relationship between organizational innovation and business excellence in the health sector. In addition, revealing the role of strategic planning awareness of healthcare professionals in this relationship is the originality of the research. In addition, the research supports the literature that allows performance evaluation in hospitals to be carried out with a business excellence model based on TQM.

An Analysis on the Nature of Morality and Its Social Projections in Durkheim's Sociology

Durkheim, one of the pioneering representatives of the sociological tradition, placed religion and morality at the center of his studies throughout his professional life. Therefore, it would not be wrong to call Durkheim's sociology the sociology of morality. It is important to examine Durkheim's intense interest in morality, his purpose, and implications in order to understand his understanding of morality and his relationship with sociology. Also, this study has not remained indifferent to this interest, and has made it the subject of analyzing the theoretical and practical dimensions of his understanding of morality. Durkheim could not control but focus on the issue of religion. Because morality, which has an important place in the field of social regulations and is one of the key concepts of Durkheim's sociology, largely depends on the reference of religion and is positioned parallel to religion. To understanding Durkheim's sociology does not seem possible without understanding the value he gives to subject of the morality. Durkheim examined an abstract issue such as morality and made it the subject of sociology, which is a modern discipline. On the one hand, Durkheim was influenced by Kant's rational morality, which was free from theological considerations, and on the other hand, he adopted Aristotle's 'ethics', which he called a practical science based on action. The importance of this the study is that Durkheim's theoretical and practical evaluation of the issue of morality is analyzed on the basis of the social reflections of morality and its relationship with religion and society. Durkheim's most characteristic contribution to the sociology of religion is his acceptance of religion as the most important social phenomenon in terms of its effect on collective consciousness and its relation to morality, and his view of society as the basis of social phenomena. According to him, among social phenomena, morality is a social reality, and this reality is not the reality of abstract theories and ideas, but the reality of morality in action. This study aims to analyze the nature of morality in Durkheim's sociology, its necessity, source, continuity, reality, validity, and social manifestations. Moreover, it is aimed to make evaluations and analysis about his sociology and moral understanding as a result of this examination. Within the scope of this study, all of Durkheim's books on morality, which are the accessible in Turkish and English books, especially were examined. The study is presented within the framework of a comparative method by considering the causality and cause-effect relationship between concepts and phenomena. Durkheim, one of the pioneers of the positivist understanding in sociology, is in favor of a rational and secular morality. He struggled to free morality from the dominance of religion and made it the tool of sociology to give it freedom and adapt it to its own age. He turned a phenomenon with abstract, subjective metaphysical aspects into an object of science on a concrete objective rational ground. He used sociology, which he cared enough to call the science of morality, to identify and enforce moral rules. He is a conservative moralist who attaches great importance to social solidarity and integration. He prefers the believers of society to the believers of God. The extreme importance and value he attributed to society is considered sociologism. Durkheimian morality is an ideal secular morality that should be taught to all citizens and substituted as the rules of 'religion', which he calls 'society'. Durkheim attempted to dislocate the relationship between the individual and morality, society and morality, religion and morality, and the organic link in these relationships in rational and secular understanding.

HUBUNGAN FILSAFAT DENGAN ILMU PENGETAHUAN DAN RELEVANSINYA DI ERA REVOLUSI INDUSTRI 4.0 DAN SOCIETY 5.0

Philosophy serves as the foundation or basis of human thinking in the academic world, providing rational grounds for the pursuit and research of knowledge. Both philosophy and science are continuously evolving to address the challenges of the time. They act as bridges between change and progress in the world of science and technology. The current technological advancements, known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Society 5.0, have shifted human lifestyles from manual labor to the utilization of sophisticated technologies like the internet, robots, artificial intelligence, and computers. This period is often referred to as a dynamic era, as society faces numerous challenges resulting from the rapid development of science and technology. Present-day society must be proactive in confronting the challenges of the times and capable of analyzing the needs for technology.

The Network Systems Underlying Emotions: The Rational Foundation of Deep Brain Stimulation Psychosurgery.

Science and philosophy have tried to understand the origin of emotions for centuries. However, only in the last 150 years have we started to try to understand them in a neuroscientific scope. Emotions include physiological changes involving different systems, such as the endocrine or the musculoskeletal, but they also cause a conscious experience of those changes that are embedded in memory. In addition to the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit, which is the most important of the basal ganglia, the limbic system and prefrontal circuit are primarily involved in the process of emotion perceptions, thoughts, and memories. The purpose of this review is to describe the anatomy and physiology of the different brain structures involved in circuits that underlie emotions and behaviour, underlying the symptoms of certain psychiatric pathologies. These circuits are targeted during deep brain stimulation (DBS) and knowledge of them is mandatory to understand the clinical-physiological implications for the treatment. We summarize the main outcomes of DBS treatment in several psychiatric illness such as obsessive compulsive disorder, refractory depression, erethism and other conditions, aiming to understand the rationale for selecting these neural systems as targets for DBS.

Доверие современной российской молодежи политическим институтам в условиях кризисных потрясений

Introduction. The article is devoted to the analysis of the interaction between government and society in modern Russia, expressed in the phenomenon of trust. The focus of the authors’ attention is directed to the study of the impact of crisis upheavals (the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine) on the change in the trust of the population of the Russian Federation in the main political institutions. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to fix the existing forms of interaction between the authorities and society as well as identify the prospects for changing these practices in the perspective of society’s transition to a post-crisis state. Methods and materials. The methodological basis of the study was the neo-institutional approach, which made it possible to present trust because of the activity of political institutions in building and observing the “rules of the game.” The empirical basis of the study is public opinion polls conducted by the largest Russian sociological centers. Analysis and results. Trust in political institutions is presented as an important phenomenon of civilized societies, characterizing the importance of rules rather than specific personalities. The study revealed that in Russia, crisis situations, which are institutionally determined trajectories caused by external shocks that change the “rules of the game” that have developed in society and forms of communication with the authorities, are a condition for an exponential growth of trust (both generalized and institutional). At the same time, during crises, an increase in the level of trust is observed even for institutions that are traditionally criticized by most of society (such as the government and the State Duma). The youth, being reactionary and variable in their political behavior, show increased trust in political institutions. However, if adult trust is based on emotional hope for the future, youth trust is usually based on rational grounds. Yet a sharp increase in trust in the main political institutions during crises can be replaced by the same rapid decline in the conditions of “normality” when the traditional problems of socio-economic development again come to the fore on the agenda formed by society. Authors’ contributions. S.I. Morozov carried out an analysis of studies on institutional trust in modern Russia, chose and substantiated the theoretical and methodological framework of the work, and also formed the general concept of the study. K.M. Makarenko summarized and analyzed empirical data on the research topic, substantiated the role and impact of crisis shocks on institutional trust in the Russian Federation, and formulated the main conclusions of the work.

Analysis of the Five-Fold Role of Philosophy in National Development

The role of philosophy in national development raises a big question in the contemporary epoch, given the presumed giant stride of natural science. Ascriptions such as abstract and esoteric discipline, a course engrossed in scandal and at a crossroads, are often the complementary tags attributed to philosophy. Nevertheless, the question remains: Is philosophy as described above, or is it an appellation born out of naivety and prejudice? Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the relevance of philosophy, specifically to national development. Such is necessary to correct the misconceptions and bias above and to accord philosophy its proper domain in national development. Principally, this paper focuses on five areas: philosophy as a rational foundation, roadmap, roof, moral lens, and a national development stimulant. This study considers this as the five-fold role of philosophy in national development. Hence, every other goal of philosophy in national development revolves around these five. The theoretical framework is existentialism, and the method of inquiry is philosophical analysis. The primary data sources are the library and Internet materials. The findings, however, show that philosophy plays a critical role in national development. It constitutes the foundation, runs through the trunk, and materialises in the fruits of national development. To think of national development devoid of philosophy is akin to conceiving a plant without roots. Philosophy constitutes the rational root, rudder, ceiling, ethical/moral compass, and catalyst of national development. This paper, therefore, recommends giving philosophy its pride of place in the academic world, stressing its inevitability in every aspect of national development, and engaging in philosophy-mending to corroborate emergent national development exigencies. Keywords: Philosophy, National Development, Rational Foundation, Moral Lens, Analysis, Role

Further Thoughts on Defining f(x) for Ethical Machines: Ethics, Rational Choice, and Risk Analysis

There is a tendency to anthropomorphize artificial intelligence (AI) and reify it as a person. From the perspective of machine ethics and ethical AI, this has resulted in the belief that truly autonomous ethical agents (i.e., machines and algorithms) can be defined, and that machines could, by themselves, behave ethically and perform actions that are justified from a normative standpoint. Under this assumption, and given that utilities and risks are generally seen as quantifiable, many scholars have seen consequentialism (utilitarianism) and rational choice theory as likely candidates to be implemented in automated ethical decision procedures, for instance to assess and manage risks as well as maximize expected utility. Building on a recent example from the machine ethics literature, we use computer simulations to argue that technical issues with ethical ramifications leave room for reasonable disagreement even when algorithms are based on ethical and rational foundations such as consequentialism and rational choice theory. By doing so, our aim is to illustrate the limitations of automated behavior and ethical AI and, incidentally, to raise awareness on the limits of so-called ethical agents.

Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas III by John F. Wippel

Reviewed by: Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas III by John F. Wippel Cecilia Trifogli Metaphysical Themes in Thomas Aquinas III. By John F. Wippel. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2021. Pp. 317. $65.00 (hard). ISBN: 978-0-8132-3555-0. This volume is the third collection of essays on Aquinas’s metaphysical thought by John Wippel, an eminent scholar of Aquinas. It consists of nine substantial essays, which Wippel completed after the publication of his monumental work, The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas (2000), and which were originally published as journal articles or book chapters. In a forty-page Introduction, Wippel offers a detailed outline of each of the essays, which provides a helpful guide to their reading. The essays cover topics central to Aquinas’s metaphysical thought: the subject of metaphysics (chap. 1), the preambles of faith (chaps. 2 and 5), the distinction of essence and esse (chap. 3), the Fourth Way (chap. 4), the unity of substantial form (chap. 6), the cognitive status of the separated soul (chap. 7), the metaphysics of evil (chap. 8), and the composition of angels (chap. 9). In the essay on the subject of metaphysics Wippel first draws an important distinction between a prephilosophical notion of being and the metaphysical notion of being as being, that is, being as the subject of the metaphysics. He points out that, according to Aquinas, there is a corresponding distinction between the intellectual processes by which we discover these two notions. Wippel then devotes special attention to the most difficult side of this distinction: the discovery of the metaphysical notion of being. He argues that the negative judgement Aquinas refers to as separatio and contrasts with abstractio is the relevant cognitive process. Wippel is well aware that his interpretation is not universally accepted, and he takes into account alternative views on this controversial topic. He offers a convincing defense of his interpretation by providing an accurate assessment of the textual evidence in support of it. The general issue addressed in the two essays about the preambles of faith is that of the harmony between faith and philosophy or reason. Wippel’s crucial concern in the first essay is to reach an accurate understanding of what Aquinas means by a preamble of faith. According to Wippel’s careful reconstruction of Aquinas’s scattered remarks on this topic, a preamble of faith is a truth about [End Page 343] God that can be discovered by natural reason and is logically presupposed by articles of faith. In other words, preambles of faith provide the rational foundation that Aquinas thinks is required for faith. Wippel also points out that, while Aquinas’s standard examples of preambles of faith are the claims that God exists and that he is one, there is textual evidence for the inclusion of eleven other theological truths in this category. In the second essay on this topic Wippel investigates Aquinas’s view about the preambles of faith as applied to the specific case of creation. The question addressed here is, which parts of Aquinas’s account of creation are preambles of faith and which are articles of faith? This is indeed a question of crucial importance. Wippel points out that in order to answer this question we need to be clear about what Aquinas means by creation. Aquinas’s discussion of creation ex nihilo indicates that he distinguishes two meanings of creation. According to both meanings, creation is a production of something from no preexisting subject and involves the priority of nonexistence to existence. The difference between the two meanings is in the notion of priority involved: according to the first meaning, the priority is in order of nature, not necessarily in the order of time, whereas according to the second meaning, the priority is in the order of time. The distinction is approximately that between the possibility of eternal creation and temporal creation. Aquinas maintains that creation in the first sense can be proved philosophically, and it is indeed a preamble of faith. And the article of faith of which it constitutes the immediate rational foundation is temporal creation, which cannot be proved philosophically. Wippel then turns to the...

The Philosophical Foundation of Western Higher Education: A Critical Review of Theory and Practice

Philosophy of education especially higher education is central to making a discipline or subject rational regarding its study as well as its implication in human society. In this regard, the research is an attempt to examine the philosophical foundation of higher education as stated in the major western-liberal philosophies e.g. Idealism, Realism, Thomism, and Pragmatism. It also figured out the strengths and weaknesses of the philosophical basis of the western education system. The study argues that every philosophical endeavor represents the rational ground, which is universal in nature. Besides, the philosophy by and large espouses a value-laden system, which is based on ethics and morality. Although western liberal philosophies on higher education are Universalist, they are value-free or value-neutral as opposed to rationality. In fact, value-free educational philosophy devalues life as a whole and fails to accomplish the desired goals of a graduate.

Is subversion just another version of state aversion? Notes on Herzfeld’s Subversive archaism

Is subversion just another version of state aversion? Notes on Herzfeld’s <i>Subversive archaism</i>

Prometheus by S.I. Taneyev and A.N. Scriabin: Stylistic parallels in the interpretation of the mythosymbolic image

Two chronologically close musical interpretations of the myth of the ancient titan Prometheus are considered as the subject of the study: the symphonic poem by A.N. Scriabin and the chorus by S.I. Taneyev from the cycle "Twelve Choirs for Mixed Voices to the poems of Ya.P. Polonsky". The article discusses the specifics of the interpretation of Prometheus, one of the central symbols of European culture. It is noted that over its long history, the content of the Prometheus myth has been interpreted in a wide range from a rebel who goes to self-sacrifice for humanity, to an inspired artist-creator who revealed the benefits of culture to people; from the holy great martyr and prophet of the true God, to the leader of the revolutionary masses of the people. As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that the central motive in Taneyev's work is the vocation of the artist, who goes to self-sacrifice against the forces of evil and ignorance. In Scriabin, Prometheus is interpreted as the active creative energy of the Universe, entering into a struggle with matter and transforming it. The analysis also reveals a number of stylistic parallels in the legacy of the two composers, such as philosophical conceptuality, monumentality of the idea and its implementation, striving for the transformation of a person through art, rational foundations of creativity, orientation to Western European art samples. As opposite stylistic features, the composers belong to different poles of protectiveness and innovation in art, and different approaches to the use of the literary word are noted. The influence of innovative insights of composers on the development of musical art of the XX century is emphasized.

Mystical and mythological believes not only limited to psychiatric diseases? A dynamic overview of medicine.

The concept of supernatural forces has always been part of medicine and allied science. These beliefs play a pivotal role in the patient-healthcare bond and disease awareness. Traditionally it was believed that psychiatric illnesses are mostly linked with mythologies and paranormal beings since most mental diseases appear to be lunatic and have no rational ground. Paradoxical to this conventional belief we discovered that mythological beliefs have penetrated all fields of medicine. Porphyria, hepatomegaly presenting with photosensitivity, are associated with "vampirism." Similarly, holoprosencephaly, a congenital anomaly presenting facial deformity is thought to be cyclops folktales. Epilepsy though is simply a neurologic illness believed to be "demonic possession." Patients of pellagra, a deficiency of vitamin B3 are thought to be werewolves. Thus, we found the presence of mythological association in all types of illnesses. We expect our healthcare infrastructure to not limit their management to counseling patients suffering from psychiatric illnesses only.

Godless Fictions in the Eighteenth Century: A Literary History of Atheism by James Bryant Reeves

Reviewed by: Godless Fictions in the Eighteenth Century: A Literary History of Atheism by James Bryant Reeves Lisa O'Connell James Bryant Reeves, Godless Fictions in the Eighteenth Century: A Literary History of Atheism (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2020). Pp. 260. $99.99 cloth. That God is dead is a commonplace of modern literary history and, at least until recently, of the secularization and modernization narratives that have shaped our understanding of Enlightenment. Yet, despite the presence of many atheists in eighteenth-century fiction, the "literary history of atheism" has largely gone untold. In Godless Fictions in the Eighteenth Century, James Reeves aims to change that. He offers a fresh, post-secular take on the literary representation of religious non-belief in Britain, arguing that it animated a broad sweep of early fiction, from Tory satire and verse essay to sentimental-moral fiction and pre-Romantic poetry. Reeves's five author-focused chapters make the case that atheism functioned as a richly "generative literary concept" (5–6) and that it did so precisely as a reviled Other for eighteenth-century fictional worlds. The book begins with twinned chapters on Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, for whom the rise of atheistic materialism signaled the degeneracy and dullness of the age. Paradoxically, atheism energized each author's most excoriating satires, including The Dunciad and Gulliver's Travels. The analysis continues into less well-traversed literary territory, with chapters on Sarah Fielding and Phebe Gibbes, mid-late-century female writers of didactic novels (David Simple, Lady Louisa Stroud, and Hartly House, Calcutta), whose polite marriage plots, Reeves insists, were no less reliant on godless worlds and characters, set here against author-sanctioned modes of sympathy, sociability, and (female) community tied to Christian belief. Pivoting back to canonical verse, the book's concluding chapter examines a selection of William Cowper's poems and hymns, in which his abiding opposition to atheism grounds an emergent Romantic critique of slavery, imperialism, and oppression. It is fair to say that, for Reeves, atheism's literary history unfolds under the dispensation of an English Anglican nation-state for which unbelief was the antithesis of a godly, ordered society. Accordingly, British authors became "preoccupied with unbelief," he argues, either as a force of imaginative chaos or as a reliable fictional means "to interrogate discourses of selfhood, sociability, tolerance and empire" (5). Only belatedly, under the influence of avowedly atheist writers like Percy Shelley (whose 1810–11 epistolary prank "The Necessity of Atheism" is the subject of the book's coda) as well as the promise of radical political transformation fueled by revolutionary critiques of religion and absolute authority, did the literary treatment of atheism detach from belief and godliness and connect to modern secularization narratives. Even as it unsettles secularization narratives, however, Godless Fictions does not seek to historicize the literary representation of unbelief by framing it within received intellectual histories of atheism or materialism, or even within the politics of the English state which regulated Christian orthodoxy and promoted broader moral reform and outreach efforts. Instead, Reeves's key analytical move is to insist on the primarily affective nature of literary responses to unbelief, noting that "[r]ather than arguing against atheism on rational or epistemological grounds, eighteenth-century literature often rejects it out of pure reflexive disdain" (7). Early in his study, Reeves tells us that, while eighteenth-century commentators and divines [End Page 339] routinely conflated atheism with Christian heterodoxy (Deism, Socinianism, anti-Trinitarianism, etc.), this was not the case in the literary sphere where the atheist emerged as a reviled fictional figure, native to satiric-dystopic speculative worlds and the minor characterology of the novel. Reeves's affect-oriented approach yields two important insights. The first is that British fiction's recurring negative treatment of godless worlds and characters—materialists, dunces, rakes, freethinkers, misanthropes, and the like (all reviled and almost all male)—is subtended by a steady and insistent theism. But this is not a theism tied to religious creed or to Christian-theological argument. It is, rather, as Reeves notes, precognitive, affective, and intensely imaginative, defined by its hostility to unbelief rather than by any positive or prescriptive conception of the divine. A...