A key characteristic of an animal's nervous system is that it can respond to brief environmental stimuli with lasting changes in its structure and function. These changes are triggered by specific patterns of neuronal electrical activity and are manifested as changes in the strength and patterns of synaptic connectivity between activated neurons. The biochemical mechanisms that control these changes are unclear, but cytoplasmic rises in Ca2+ levels may play a critical role, especially in regulating neuronal gene expression for making activity‐induced (...) synaptic changes permanent. Recently, two reports have explored the spatial features by which activity‐induced rises in Ca2+ levels activate transcription factors and gene expression(1,2). The reports suggest that Ca2+ influx acts both locally at the synapse and distantly within the nucleus to regulate transcription factors and gene expression. The results also show that regulatory elements within genes can respond differentially, depending on spatial differences in intracellular Ca2+ rises. These reports suggest new spatial mechanisms by which Ca2+‐dependent gene expression could contribute to activity‐dependent synaptic changes. (shrink)

This paper deals with the role of Judaism in Walter Benjamin's famous 1921 essay on violence and law, Zur Kritik der Gewalt. Despite the intense attention devoted to this essay, the role of Jewish myth in it has not yet been thoroughly explained. This study contends that the association between what Benjamin termed revolutionary violence and the Jewish messianic tradition, which plays a central role in the evaluation of Benjamin's text, is far more problematic than has hitherto been assumed, and (...) poses a serious challenge, which has not been fully examined in its historical context. Second, this essay claims that the subversive elements that many have supposedly found in Benjamin's text and the attempts to link these elements to messianic traditions are also unconvincing. Third, the paper contextualizes Benjamin's thought within the framework of the Jewish political–theological debate of the period. It contends that Benjamin's theory of law and justice should be understood not as a revolutionary, anti-republican text, as has been generally accepted, but as a secularized conservative orthodox one. In doing so, it seeks to shed light not only on Benjamin's early thinking and its influences, but also on the neglected element of Jewish orthodoxy within the broader topic of political theology. (shrink)

Daniel, Michael E Review(s) of: Australians and the Christian god: An historical study, by Hugh Jackson, (Preston: Mosaic Press, 2013), pp.209, $37.95.

Daniel, Michael E Review of: It is right and just: Responses of the Roman Missal, by John M. Cunningham, Strathfield, NSW: St Pauls, 2017, pp. 63, paperback, $9.95.

What does it mean for men to join with women in preventing sexual assault and domestic violence? This book, based on life history interviews with men and women anti-violence activists, illuminates both the promise of men's violence prevention work, as well as the strains and tensions that inhere, both for men as feminist allies, and for the women they work with.

Cramer et al. contrast two possible explanations for psychological symptoms: latent variables (i.e., specific cause) versus a network of causality between symptoms. There is a third explanation: The reason for comorbidity and the reported network structure of psychological symptoms is that the underlying biological cause is a psychoneuroimmunoendocrine information network which, when dysregulated, leads to several maladaptive psychological and somatic symptoms.

Using terror management theory and research findings, we expand the framework provided by Lee and Schwarz to highlight the potential link between separation and connection effects to existential, death-related concerns. Specifically, we address how death awareness may motivate separation and connection behaviors and how engaging in these behaviors may serve a protective terror management function.

According to terror management theory, humans rely on meaningful and permanence-promising cultural worldviews, like religion, to manage mortality concerns. Prior research indicates that, compared to religious individuals, atheists experience lower levels of meaning in life following reminders of death. The present study investigated whether reminders of death would change atheists’ meaning in life after exposure to normative support for atheism. Atheists were either reminded of death or a control topic and exposed to information portraying atheism as either common or rare, (...) and then asked to rate their perceived meaning in life. Results showed that reminders of death reduced meaning in life among atheists who were told that atheism is common. Results were consistent with the view that atheism reflects the rejection of religious faith rather than a meaningful secular terror managing worldview. Discussion considers implications for maintaining healthy existential wellbeing, identifies limitations, and highlights future research directions. (shrink)

Daniel, Michael E Review of: Wehrmacht priests: Catholicism and the Nazi war of Annihilation, by Lauren Faulkner Rossi, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015, pp. 255, hardback, $79.00.

Michael Bratmans individualistischer Ansatz geteilter Absichten im Kontext gemeinsamen absichtlichen Handelns ist in seiner Betonung des Teilens von intentionalen Zuständen klar nicht-atomistisch: Wenn zwei Akteure eine Absicht teilen, greifen nicht bloß ihre Subpläne ineinander, sondern ihre individuellen Einstellungen müssen so zueinander in Wechselbeziehung stehen, dass die Bindung nicht bloß kognitiver Natur ist. Jede der Beteiligten muss auch die Wirksamkeit der Absicht der anderen wollen.

There is a paradox, or self-defeating supposition in the core of constructionism, for it would appear that any attempt to resolve a dispute in historical interpretation within a convention of self-contained criteria of confirmation by appealing to justificatory criteria outside the convention -to wit, the theory of constructionism -is self-defeating. Through the theoretical consideration of historians isolated in a vat, following Hilary Putnam's metaphor, it becomes clear that the vat language of the historians does not have the possibility of referring, (...) intrinsically or extrinsically, to anything external. The implications of the vat metaphor for an understanding of historical inquiry are: 1) we need to recognize and insist upon different levels of abstraction both in historical writing and in the justification of its claims; 2) applied to history, the set paradox reveals the need to recognize that at the most abstract level of consideration we encounter inescapable incoherence; and 3) we need to recognize that in some important sense reference must be completed in the world, regardless of the problems in characterizing this sense philosophically. (shrink)

In this book, Michael Brown provides original and critical analysis of the state of the social sciences and the humanities. He examines the different disciplines that address human affairs--from sociology, philosophy, political science, and anthropology to the humanities in general--to understand their common ground. He probes the ways in which we investigate the meaning of individuality in a society for which individuals are not the agents of the activities in which they participate, and he develops a critical method for (...) studying the relations among activities, objects, and situations. __The Concept of the Social in Uniting the Humanities and Social Sciences__ restores the centrality of sociality to all disciplines that provide for and depend on the social dimension of human life. Ultimately, he establishes a theory of the unity of the human sciences that will surely make readers rethink the current state and future of theory in those fields for years to come. (shrink)

Radical ecology typically brings to mind media images of ecological activists standing before loggers' saws, staging anti-nuclear marches, and confronting polluters on the high seas. Yet for more than twenty years, the activities of organizations such as the Greens and Earth First! have been influenced by a diverse, less-publicized group of radical ecological philosophers. It is their work—the philosophical underpinnings of the radical ecological movement—that is the subject of _Contesting Earth's Future_. The book offers a much-needed, balanced appraisal of radical (...) ecology's principles, goals, and limitations. Michael Zimmerman critically examines the movement's three major branches—deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism. He also situates radical ecology within the complex cultural and political terrain of the late twentieth century, showing its relation to Martin Heidegger's anti-technological thought, 1960s counterculturalism, and contemporary theories of poststructuralism and postmodernity. An early and influential ecological thinker, Zimmerman is uniquely qualified to provide a broad overview of radical environmentalism and delineate its various schools of thought. He clearly describes their defining arguments and internecine disputes, among them the charge that deep ecology is an anti-modern, proto-fascist ideology. Reflecting both the movement's promise and its dangers, this book is essential reading for all those concerned with the worldwide ecological crisis. (shrink)

'... this book to open up exciting new dimensions in the study of human evolution' Robin Dunbar School of Biological Sciences, Liverpool 'The book is billed as being of interest to a multi-disciplinary audience and meets its aim of befitting advanced students and researchers in evolutionary psychology, anthropology, evolution and palaeontology' QJEP Section BTo most people it seems obvious that there are major mental differences between ourselves and other species, but there is considerable debate over exactly how special our minds (...) are, in what respects, and which were the critical evolutionary events that have shaped us. Some researchers claim language as a solely human, even defining, attribute, while others claim that only humans are truly conscious. These questions have been explored mainly by archaeologists and anthropologists until recently, but this volume aims to show what psychologists have to say on the evolution of mind. The book begins with a thorough overview of what is known of the non-primate mind and its evolution. Following this, an international range of experts discuss in temporal sequence the human mind at various stages of evolution, beginning with the pre-hominids of 20 million years ago and ending with contemporary human behaviour. Accessible to students and researchers alike in psychology, anthropology, evolution, archaeology, and ethology, The Descent of Mind provides a range of provocative answers to the timeless question of what it means to be human. (shrink)

In the past four decades, obstetric and neonatal care practices have changed dramatically throughout the western world. As a result, humans now confront unprecedented situations for which they have no biological preparation or cultural experience. In these special issues, an integrated view of the evolving practices of birthing and infant care are discussed from a variety of perspectives. Contributors attempt to show how understanding of the biomedical and psychosocial issues can be informed by cross-cultural and cross-species evidence concerning birth management, (...) neonatal care, and early development. The individual contributions are summarized in this introductory article. (shrink)

"Writing in a lively and refreshingly clear American English, Zimmerman provides an uncompromisingly honest and judicious account... of Heidegger’s views on technology and his involvement with National Socialism.... One of the most important books on Heidegger in recent years." —John D. Caputo "... superb... " —Thomas Sheehan, The New York Review of Books "... thorough and complex... " —Choice "... excellent guide to Heidegger as eco-philosopher." —Radical Philosophy "... engrossing, rich in substance... makes clear Heidegger's importance for the issue of (...) technology, ethics, and politics." —Religious Studies Review The relation between Martin Heidegger’s understanding of technology and his affiliation with and conception of National Socialism is the leading idea of this fascinating and revealing book. Zimmerman shows that the key to the relation between Heidegger’s philosophy and his politics was his concern with the nature of working and production. (shrink)

Review of: Liturgy in the twenty-first century: Contemporary issues and perspectives, by Alcuin Reid, ed., pp. xxvi + 367, paperback, GBP17.99.

Review of: Greek for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving New Testament Greek, by Benjamin L. Merkle, Robert L. Plummer, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017, pp. 176, US$21.99.

Should medical researchers not participate in military biological research? The argument for “no participation” falsely assumes there is no practical and moral distinction between offensive and defensive military biological research.