The Future Of Creation Order

This work provides an overview of attempts to assess the current condition of the concept of creation order within reformational philosophy compared to other perspectives. Focusing on the natural and life sciences, and theology, this first volume of two examines the arguments for and against the beauty, coherence and order shown in the natural world being related to the will or nature of a Creator. It examines the decay of a Deist universe, and the idea of the pre-givenness of norms, laws and structures as challenged by evolutionary theory and social philosophy. It describes the different responses to the collapse of order: that given by Christian philosophy scholars who still argue for the idea of a pre-given world order, and that of other scholars who see this idea of stable creation order and/or natural law as redundant and in need of a thorough rethinking. It studies the particular role that reformational philosophy has played in the discussion. It shows how, ever since its inception, almost a century ago, the concepts of order and law (principle, structure) have been at the heart of this philosophy, and that one way to characterise this tradition is as a philosophy of creation order. Reformational philosophers have maintained the notion of law as ‘holding’ for reality. This book discusses the questions that have arisen about the nature of such law: is it a religious or philosophical concept; does law just mean ‘orderliness’? How does it relate to laws of nature? Have they always existed or do they ‘emerge’ during the process of evolution?

This book investigates humanities, social sciences and politics from the perspective of the concept of creation order. It is the second volume in a series that provides a unique and topical overview of attempts to assess the current health of the concept of creation order within Reformational philosophy when it is compared with other perspectives. Divided into a section on fundamental reflections and a section on normative practices, it discusses issues such as redemption, beauty, nature, love, justice, morality, and ethics. It concludes with discussions on a practice-based theory to explain religion in international relations and a normative model for the practice of cooperation in development. This series reflects the role that the branch of Christian philosophy called ‘Reformational’ philosophy plays in the discussion on the status of laws of nature. Ever since its inception, almost a century ago, the concepts of order and law (principle, structure) have been at the heart of this philosophy. One way to characterise this tradition is as a philosophy of creation order. Firmly rejecting both scholastic metaphysics and Deism, Reformational philosophers have maintained the notion of law as ‘holding’ for reality. Questions have arisen about the nature of such law: is it a religious or philosophical concept; does law just mean ‘orderliness’? How does it relate to laws of nature? Have they always existed or do they ‘emerge’ during the process of evolution?

This book investigates humanities, social sciences and politics from the perspective of the concept of creation order. It is the second volume in a series that provides a unique and topical overview of attempts to assess the current health of the concept of creation order within Reformational philosophy when it is compared with other perspectives. Divided into a section on fundamental reflections and a section on normative practices, it discusses issues such as redemption, beauty, nature, love, justice, morality, and ethics. It concludes with discussions on a practice-based theory to explain religion in international relations and a normative model for the practice of cooperation in development. This series reflects the role that the branch of Christian philosophy called 'Reformational philosophy plays in the discussion on the status of laws of nature. Ever since its inception, almost a century ago, the concepts of order and law (principle, structure) have been at the heart of this philosophy. One way to characterise this tradition is as a philosophy of creation order. Firmly rejecting both scholastic metaphysics and Deism, Reformational philosophers have maintained the notion of law as 'holding for reality. Questions have arisen about the nature of such law: is it a religious or philosophical concept; does law just mean 'orderliness? How does it relate to laws of nature? Have they always existed or do they 'emerge during the process of evolution?

What does the Bible have to say about creation care and the responsibility of Christians? Edward Brown offers a biblical framework for creation care as well as practical steps that ordinary Christians can take to exercise good ecological stewardship.

An Ethos of Compassion and the Integrity of Creation addresses how to reconcile the lawful order seen in the world, which the Institute for Christian Studies takes as given by God, with the need for human compassion, also called for by God. The Institute sponsored this book in celebration of their twenty-fifth anniversary. An Ethos of Compassion and the Integrity of Creation opens with a study of parables relevant to today and closes with a meditation by Langdon Gilkey on the ideas brought forth in this book. A study of the history of the idea of 'creation order', central to the Institute's philosophical tradition, is followed by a controversial challenge suggesting how that philosophical tradition can be changed to give centrality to the viewpoint of compassion toward vulnerable people and the physical environment. Medical ethics, the environment, and gender chauvinism serve as case studies for issues of compassion and created order. Contributors: Atie Th. Bruggemann-Kruijff, Adrienne Chaplin, Jonathan Chaplin, John Cooper, Calvin B. DeWitt, Harry Fernhout, Langdon Gilkey, Sander Griffioen, Caroll Guen Hart, John E. Hare, Hendrik Hart, Sylvia C. Keesmaat, J. Richard Middleton, James Olthius, Elaine Storkey, Johan van der Hoeven, Allen D. Verhey, Brian J. Walsh, Albert M. Wolters, Nicholas Wolterstorff. Copublished with the Institute for Christian Studies.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Asia-Pacific Digital Libraries, ICADL 2011, held in Beijing, China, in October 2011. The 33 revised full papers, 8 short papers and 9 poster papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 136 submissions. The topics covered are digital archives and preservation; information mining and extraction; medata, catalogue; distributed repositories and cloud computing; social network and personalized service; mobile services and electronic publishing; multimedia digital libraries; information retrieval; and tools and systems for digital library.

We are on the cusp of a broad revolution, one with startling implications for perception, cognition, emotion, and indeed, personal identity. Still in its relative infancy, this rapidly progressing field is poised to move from perceptual aids such as cochlear implants to devices that will enhance and speed up thought to the ultimate goal of researchers, that of downloading the mind from its bound state in the body to a platform-independent existence. This controversial book describes the science that will make these transformations possible. It begins by describing how the brain works, including an overview of the architecture of the brain. It then examines the current state-of-art neural technologies, including devices that read from the brain, and devices that can write information into the brain. The book also describes how insights from the nascent field of consciousness studies show how the full transfer of the “soul” could be realized. Finally, it considers what it would be like to be a mind unbound, and the possibilities beyond those found in ordinary corporeal life.