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How to think philosophically about religion? The separation of church and state takes form in the nineteenth century. In public universities in the Netherlands, systematic, church-related theology is replaced by philosophy of religion. As a window on academic thinking about faith, Willem B. Drees, Leiden University's last professor of philosophy of religion, reads the work of his predecessors. They were mostly modernists, who expected to find their footing in the use of reason, in historical knowledge about religions, or in personal faith. After World War I, faith is perceived more as a wager, to trust that life is meaningful. Later, we see agnostic reticence that is religiously motivated, because God is always greater than we think, a mystery. And scholarly reticence, because in academic terms nothing definitive can be said about God. Do we thus see a development from modern certitude to charged silence?

Philosophy of science and qualitative research
Philosophy of science and qualitative research
This essay discusses philosophical roots of qualitative research and quality criteria to enhance the plausibility of interpretations resulting from such research.

It is argued that contemporary Marxism is in a crisis from which it is not likely to recover. Nevertheless, discussion of Marxism in the context of contemporary political philosophy is appropriate for two reasons: (1) Marxists set the agenda for current political & philosophical debate; & (2) Marxism has recently, at least in the West, given rise to a new & lively debate about the value of fundamental Marxian notions such as the idea of historical materialism & exploitation by the so-called (& self-styled) "analytical Marxists." The Marxians have undertaken a critical evaluation of Marxist political philosophy & have departed from orthodox Marxism. The analytical Marxists have tried to rephrase & uphold the framework of Karl Marx's political & materialist philosophy or have taken it upon themselves to construct a new Marxist edifice of political philosophy, even to reconstruct the whole Marxist scheme. This analytical Marxism is discussed in detail, along with endeavors by Western Marxists & dissident Marxists in & from Eastern Europe to come to terms with actually existing socialist societies & their basic political tenets. 63 References. Modified HA

We live in an era where the university system is undergoing great changes owing to developments in financing policies and research priorities, as well as changes in the society in which this system is embedded. This change toward a more market-oriented university, which also has immediate effects in academic peripheries such as the Balkans, the Middle East, or South-East Asia, is of great influence for the pedagogical practice of "less profitable" academic areas such as the Humanities: philosophy, languages, sociology, anthropology, history. Because of the absence of a historically grounded establishment of the Humanities, academic peripheries, usually accompanied by a weak civil society infrastructure, seem to offer the most fertile ground for rethinking the Humanities, their pedagogical practice, and their politics, as well as the greatest threats, such as the ongoing capitalization of research, and profitability as the norm of educational achievement. The sprawling presence of for-profit universities and in academic peripheries such as Albania and Kosovo is indicative of this problematic, as are consistent underfunding of universities and the relentless budget cuts in American and English, and to a lesser extent European, universities. Motivations for this ongoing attack on the university are often driven by a political system or a politics with an aggressive stance to critical thought.

Review
Review
In this contribution the author reviews An introduction to the philosophy of methodology by K.E. Howell.

This article is an intervention into a recent OZP debate on the future of political science as a discipline. Its main goal is to mediate between the respective positions of Ulrich Brand's and Helmut Kramer's conception of a critical project and Thomas Konig's presentation of organisational preliminaries of an academic project of political science. To this end, I firstly reformulate the essentials of a project of critique, referring on a thick notion of critique. Consequently, the relationship of the disciplinary and critical side of political science is rearranged on the basis of an appropriation of certain deliberations on discipline formation and philosophy of science, which centrally draw on the philosophy of Critical Realism. Adapted from the source document.

The present article presents an actual discussion of topics concerning the use of language in academic (Flemish and Dutch-speaking) social- and political education, treating impact factor and web of science indexes motivating publishing in English, and the weight of cultural and scientific heritage influencing Dutch-language publications to continue to inform the public better. The article states that only by continuing to publish in English, Anglo-Saxon "dominance" in political publications can be countered, and challenge the ideas, concepts and practices expressed by the US and the UK. An article that goes right to the core of this particular revue, Res Publica being the only Dutch-language double blind peer reviewed journal in Dutch/Flemish political science. References. O. van Zijl