In the article, first I present the atheistic argument from pointless evil and the argument from chance. The essence of the argument from chance consists in the incompatibility of the existence of purposeless events and the existence of a God who planned the universe to the last detail. Second, I would like to show that there is a relation between the evidential argument from evil and the argument from chance. An analysis of the theistic argument from small probabilities is a helpful starting point for the presentation of how the two arguments are related.
The argument from ignorance mounted by John Schellenberg argues from the existence of non-faulty unbelief to the non-existence of God, from the fact of atheism or agnosticism to the truth of atheism. It relies on two putative conceptual relations: between the idea of love and that of personal relationship, and between personal relationship and existential belief on each side of the relation concerning the other relatum. I argue that each is debatable, and so the argument cannot proceed.
This article examines the connections between meaning-making practices and how those practices are codified into institutions and structures that shape individual identities. The theoretical and geographical locus of this article is Indonesia where one can be Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, or Confucian, but not outwardly an atheist. In practice, there are a lot of hybrid religious identities, and this is echoed in Indonesia's economic and legal institutions, and even its architecture. In other words, what Tom Boellstorff identifies as an "archipelagic" understanding of the self in Indonesia is supported by multiple meaning-making practices and is reinforced through such technologies as copyright laws and architecture. Whereas the monotheistic traditions of the West, and even the Middle East, take place over large uninterrupted geographical spaces, the Muslim monotheism that spreads throughout the Indonesian archipelago takes on different forms depending on the context of the Island. With the rise of Indonesian nationalism, these various contexts are drawn together into a hybrid-monotheism. Such pastiche is reinforced in legal, economic, and architectural technologies. The pluralistic and hybrid beliefs and identities of the archipelago, can provide fertile grounds for articulating a planetary environmental ethic.
The stories we tell about crisis and catastrophe often intensify structural violence, augmenting existing dynamics of racism, sexism, classism, and ableism. Disaster stories often reinforce cultural narratives of suffering womanhood and tragic stories of disability to portray people with disabilities—especially women—as "natural" and "inevitable" victims of a harsh new world. Examining both contemporary rhetoric in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and classical rabbinic Jewish narrative, I argue that tales of communities in crisis commonly depoliticize disaster. By inscribing the disabled body with a narrative of "natural" vulnerabilities and inevitable suffering, conventional disaster discourse obscures the political significance of structural inequalities that render people with disabilities more at risk in disaster. Bringing together disability studies scholarship and Jewish feminist ethics, I challenge the discursive tendency to portray disabled individuals as symbols of suffering—and to focus on the pathos of an individual in distress instead of critiquing social inequality. I advocate a constructive, redemptive storytelling that illuminates and critiques social and political exclusion, that underscores the agency and dignity of people in crisis, that valorizes the disability justice movement's call for interdependence in community, and that captures the artistry and resiliency of disabled lives.
With the metaphor of leveling hills and filling valleys, Isa 40:4 presents an image of homogenizing violence toward Earth. This biblical text has been adopted by proponents of Mountaintop Removal Mining (hereafter, MTR). Justification of MTR by explicit reference to Isa 40:4 has occurred principally in response to Christian protests against MTR. The same text has been used by those resisting MTR. This article begins with ecophilosopher Val Plumwood's critique of homogenization and draws on Paul Ricoeur's reading of Aristotle on metaphor, to ask if, other than as a crass use as a proof-text for MTR, the application of Isa 40:4 to this destructive practice points to a deeper problem with homogenizing metaphors whose content is other-than-human. While the Isaian metaphor is problematic, it is grounded in the underlying liveliness of its subject. Attention to the liveliness of these biblical mountains and valleys allows that the text, and its metaphors, can also empower resistance to MTR. The liveliness underlying the mountains and hills of the Isaian metaphor can prompt a renewed focus on, and solidarity with, the Appalachian mountains and their communities.
Neoliberal economic globalization is motivated by the quest for ever-increasing profits and endless economic growth. Both the motive and means of economic globalization prove to be irrational in the context of the ecological limits of the planet. Rising rates of social and economic inequality coupled with growing ecological breakdown and climate change demonstrate that this economic model is neither socially just nor environmentally sustainable. Ethical analysis of different models of globalization provides alternatives rooted in moral norms of justice, equity, democratic participation and environmental sustainability. Studies of human happiness demonstrate that once basic needs are met, there is little to no correlation between increasing levels of per capita consumption and human wellbeing and happiness (Diener et al., 2009; Helliwell, Layard & Sachs, 2012). Hence affluent nations can and must decrease rates of per capita consumption, which can be accomplished while enhancing happiness and wellbeing. While economic growth for poor nations remains a priority to meet basic needs, affluent nations such as the United States need to shift away from neoliberal economics based on endless growth to more localized and sustainable ways of living.
Brunei Darussalam is rich in natural resources, including fossil fuels and biodiversity, which it uses to develop its economy, while at the same time, conserve them in order to ensure that it maintains a clean and green environment. However, as a developing Islamic nation, Brunei Darussalam cannot escape from creating an undesirable change to its environment. Pollution is considered to be one of the most critical problems facing the environment today. Haze and solid waste are among the most prominent kinds of pollution in the country. The paper will look into the attitudes of the largely-Muslim society in Brunei Darussalam on environmental pollution, and their knowledge and behaviour regarding this issue. Finally, the paper attempts to explain what seems to be uncaring attitude and behaviour among Muslims in Brunei Darussalam towards environmental issues.
