As long as the human race battles with an internal need to judge and discriminate against others, chances and opportunities will continue to favor and disfavor individuals and groups differently. Playing God shares a discourse for those with an inquisitive mind and those struggling to reconcile the puzzles in life with such relatable topics as nature, religion, morality, global politics, power, control, greed, and many others. Brown Ogwuma, a clinical social worker, has worked in the human services field for twenty years and appreciates philosophy and original thinking. He shares his practical glimpse at life that he hopes will encourage others to take a realistic approach to the way they live their own lives. In his reflections that stem from the complexities and convoluted nature of life, Ogwuma discusses concrete and actual situations-both his own as well as those of other people-in order to explore and advocate ideas and principles beyond the ordinary. In its no-nonsense study of the authenticity of life, Playing God lets others know that seeing life in an unconventional way can free us to structure our lives so that the meaningful takes precedence over what others expect of us.

Henri Bergson was a great French philosopher whose life overlapped that of Charles Darwin. He had serious concerns about Darwins atheistic concept of man and animals evolution. Bergson also presented ideas of Intelligent Design almost 200 years prior to it's regeneration in the 20th century. My book separates God from Evolution of the cosmos and all it contains by espousing the "elan vitale" as "of God" and the true creater of the Universe. To Permissions Department: To complete my book I need permission to insert portions from your Republishing organization of "Science" 2003 Author/Editor Mohamed A.F. Noor, Publisher Nature Publishing Company, an article Donald C. Austin, MD [email protected]

The volume was developed to address conceptual, relational and formational questions around the phenomena of creativity and spirituality from a multidisciplinary perspective. We acknowledge the complexity of each phenomenon, and the need for multiple perspectives, in a number of ways. First, different chapters are written from psychological, theological or philosophical perspectives. Second, multiple research perspectives are considered across empirical and phenomenological methods of inquiry. Finally, multiple associations between creativity and spirituality are evaluated. From such multiple perspectives the theme of this volume emerges. Both creativity and spirituality are important for individual and societal flourishing but we know little about fostering both in the 21st century. Some ways of fostering them are psychologically harmful and need to be avoided. New ways of protecting people as they engage in creative and spiritual endeavours are needed. In particular, formal training in both creativity and spirituality within the sphere of higher education should be developed in the light of current research. However, new research that integrates multiple perspectives and examines creativity and spirituality together is needed for training that avoids harm and promotes individual and social flourishing. The book will be valuable for educators in all disciplines of higher education because it justifies and explicates training in creativity and spirituality within all areas of higher education. Further, it discusses how such training might best be included within andragogical practice. The book will be useful for researchers of creativity and spirituality because it gives an overview of contemporary research issues and findings, and proposes a new philosophical? theological perspective for integrative research in these areas. Students in fields of creativity, theology and spirituality will use the book as a synthesis of contemporary theories and research relating to both creativity and spirituality and for direction in post?graduate research. More broadly, Christians and others who appreciate the creative and performing arts will find much to challenge their thinking and deepen their awareness of spirituality within human creativity.

It's clear that we are the authors of Evil. We are the ones running with pitchforks. Deity is no more than a cardboard cut-out, barely paying attention if at all. Yet, so blatant are claims on behalf of the gods in our time that one is compelled to wonder how civilization came to be in such a mess. Of course humanity shares the blame, perhaps most of it, but given the deity's reputation for miraculous cures, it is surprising, no, astonishing, that human suffering is still an issue twenty-six centuries after Job made his complaint. The author remembers the last century as a time of stupendous brutality and cruelty, from which humanity has yet to recover. The truth is, he fears, that either we do not know the gods well enough to banish them, or that banishment could not come too soon. We would do well to remember Socrates and how to apply reason in our lives.

This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Philosophy in a Meaningless Life provides an account of the nature of philosophy which is rooted in the question of the meaning of life. It makes a powerful and vivid case for believing that this question is neither obscure nor obsolete, but reflects a quintessentially human concern to which other traditional philosophical problems can be readily related; allowing them to be reconnected with natural interest, and providing a diagnosis of the typical lines of opposition across philosophy's debates. James Tartaglia looks at the various ways philosophers have tried to avoid the conclusion that life is meaningless, and in the process have distanced philosophy from the concept of transcendence. Rejecting all of this, Tartaglia embraces nihilism ('we are here with nothing to do'), and uses transcendence both to provide a new solution to the problem of consciousness, and to explain away perplexities about time and universals. He concludes that with more self-awareness, philosophy can attain higher status within a culture increasingly in need of it.

This book is comprised of a compendium of motivational

essays that are intended to stimulate the mind and stir the

heart toward sensing the magnificence of the Almighty

Lord, Allah (Glory be to Him, the Most High), as also

to experience the beauty and wisdom of Islam, and to

imbibe the principles and precepts of life taught by

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

The style of these discourses is generally intended to

educate both Muslims and non-Muslims on the spirit

and values of Islam, and on recognizing humanity and

human attributes within oneself, as well as to share

Islamic ethics, morality, philosophies, and principles

so as to promote the understanding of Islam and to

illuminate the purpose of life. Each essay is motivated by

several particularly insightful verses from the Qur'an and

traditions and sayings of the Prophet, which in themselves

are enlightening to read and reflect upon.

Wise men, if they try to speak their language to the common herd instead of its own, cannot possibly make themselves understood. There are a thousand kinds of ideas which it is impossible to translate into popular language. Conceptions that are too general and objects that are too remote are equally out of its range: each individual, having no taste for any other plan of government than that which suits his particular interest, finds it difficult to realize the advantages he might hope to draw from the continual privations good laws impose. -from VII: "The Legislator" How does human nature impact politics and government? What is the "social contract," and what are our obligations to it? Is the "general will" infallible? What are the limits of sovereign power? What are the marks of "good government"? What constitutes the death of the body politic? How can we check the usurpations of government? Swiss philosopher JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) was a dramatic influence on the French revolution, 19th-century communism, the American Founding Fathers, and much modern political thought, primarily through this 1762 work, his most influential. Here, he explores concepts of civil society, human sovereignty, and effective government that continue to be debated-and not yet settled-in the 21st century. A classic of modern thought, this is required reading for anyone wishing to be considered well educated.