Nautilus Award Gold Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In Matter and Desire, internationally renowned biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber rewrites ecology as a tender practice of forging relationships, of yearning for connections, and of expressing these desires through our bodies. Being alive is an erotic process-constantly transforming the self through contact with others, desiring ever more life. In clever and surprising ways, Weber recognizes that love-the impulse to establish connections, to intermingle, to weave our existence poetically together with that of other beings-is a foundational principle of reality. The fact that we disregard this principle lies at the core of a global crisis of meaning that plays out in the avalanche of species loss and in our belief that the world is a dead mechanism controlled through economic efficiency. Although rooted in scientific observation, Matter and Desire becomes a tender philosophy for the Anthropocene, a "poetic materialism," that closes the gap between mind and matter. Ultimately, Weber discovers, in order to save life on Earth-and our own meaningful existence as human beings-we must learn to love.

Building on the work of Elinor Ostrom (Governing the Commons) the author examines how the different shared goods of a democratic society are shaped by technology and demonstrates how club goods, common pool resources, and public goods are supported, enhanced, and disrupted by technology. He further argues that as the common good is undermined by different interests, it should be possible to reclaim technology, if the members of the society conclude that they have something in common.

This book highlights mathematical ideas to help explain a number of important aspects of the dynamics of social groups. These ideas are similar to those used to describe the behaviour of Lagrangian mechanical systems, and as such this book appeals to anyone wanting to gain an understanding of the intrinsic unity of natural phenomena.

It seems that just about every new technology that we bring to bear on improving our lives brings with it some downside, side effect or unintended consequence. These issues can pose very real and growing ethical problems for all of us. For example, automated facial recognition can make life easier and safer for us - but it also poses huge issues with regard to privacy, ownership of data and even identity theft. How do we understand and frame these debates, and work out strategies at personal and governmental levels? Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics addresses one of today's most pressing problems: how to create and use tools and technologies to maximize benefits and minimize harms? Drawing on the author's experience as a technologist, political risk analyst and historian, the book offers a practical and cross-disciplinary approach that will inspire anyone creating, investing in or regulating technology, and it will empower all readers to better hold technology to account.

God came to give messages to a child that "He" did not exist in the figures of gods and goddesses, which people worshipped around him.Instead, God explained that "He" existed as a mystery, hidden from the world, who could not be seen, felt or touched by any one. Since then the child developed a secret friendship with God. However, there was an understanding between the child and God that the child will not divulge this secret encounter with the Divine to anyone in the outside world. When he stepped into adulthood, God started revealing Himself in a different way: In the same physical body two different existences started emerging. One was bound to the will and ego-bound mind, with whom he could identify himself as a person, while on the other side, there existed a Divine Being, who could penetrate the physical state and incarnate in a physical body - a phenomenon which could not be grasped by the human intellect. Later in life, as a highly creative person, with wide knowledge in many fields of science and arts, he grappled to understand these personal experiences, which defy all scientific knowledge and reason. The book throws lights on the questions: "Do these experiences represent a case of a brain damage, resulting in wrong neural circuitry, which generate the messages of God in the mind, or does there truly exist God, who is beyond intellectual comprehension of even a very sophisticated human mind? Without finding any convincing answer, a nuclear scientist and a cosmologist, after undergoing intense dilemma and conflicts for more than fifty years, remains at bay. On one hand this book reveals a hidden world, which has disturbed, puzzled and created agony and despair, while on the other hand it has illumined the mind with knowledge and vision, not accessible through intellectual process of the mind. It is a story of pain and joy, suffering followed by profound ebullience of a spirit which is one with the cosmos and resides in us.

Dr. Cynthia K. West examines the intersection of information technologies, power, people, and bodies. Informed by more than ten years as a digerati in Silicon Valley and a political theorist, she offers a unique perspective on the direction in which information technologies are leading North American and global societies and cultures. Not only are information technologies bringing positive changes, technologies are embedded in what Michel Foucault calls power networks. Information technologies inherit influences from prior historical, cultural, and social events. West's research examines how information technologies are on a path of creating efficiency, productivity, profitability, surveillance, and control.

Human-machine interface technologies are merging more and more with physical bodies. Surveillance technologies are supervising human activities in an increasingly panoptic fashion. Biometric technologies record data from the body's parts--hands, retinas, irises, and even body odor. But as West points out, we need to ask ourselves just how digital do we want to become? West calls for an ethics dialogue not only among digerati within the industry but also a dialogue which allows for public participation. Where do we want to lead the technology? Instead of continuing to embrace the goals of the technocratic paradigm, how can we use the technologies toward more humanistic goals? West concludes by offering six levels of active participation for positive change. This book will be of particular interest to scholars and students of contemporary science and technology as well as participants in information technology.

We need a new philosophy of the earth. Geological time used to refer to slow and gradual processes, but today we are watching land sink into the sea and forests transform into deserts. We can even see the creation of new geological strata made of plastic, chicken bones, and other waste that could remain in the fossil record for millennia or longer. Crafting a philosophy of geology that rewrites natural and human history from the broader perspective of movement, Thomas Nail provides a new materialist, kinetic ethics of the earth that speaks to this moment. Climate change and other ecological disruptions challenge us to reconsider the deep history of minerals, atmosphere, plants, and animals and to take a more process-oriented perspective that sees humanity as part of the larger cosmic and terrestrial drama of mobility and flow. Building on his earlier work on the philosophy of movement, Nail argues that we should shift our biocentric emphasis from conservation to expenditure, flux, and planetary diversity. Theory of the Earth urges us to rethink our ethical relationship to one another, the planet, and the cosmos at large.

As lifelong meditators and mindfulness teachers, we confess we were almost embarrassed when we stumbled onto a 5-15 second shortcut to transcendence. This idea ran counter to everything we knew about meditation before we began our research. But, yes, it is possible. It only requires accessing the powerful emotion of awe in ordinary, everyday life. The changes in our lives have been profound, and after seeing the results repeated again and again in our thousands of patients, clients, and study participants, we've proven that our shortcut, coined the A.W.E. Method, works. -from the Preface Think about the last time you were truly in awe - perhaps on a walk or whilst watching a musician perform live - maybe you felt goosebumps or you lost your sense of time? Unbeknownst to you, some pretty incredible things were happening inside your body. Your fight-flight-freeze response became less active and activity decreased in your brain's default mode network, which is associated with both chronic pain and anxiety. Your interleukin-6 levels decreased, which can reduce chronic inflammation and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression. Being in awe can be beneficial to both your mind and body and now the AWE method provides a shortcut to all these benefits and is accessible to anyone, anywhere. ATTENTION (give your full focus to something), WAIT (take a deep breath and appreciate that thing), EXHALE and EXPAND (as you exhale slowly, allow your feelings to expand and grow). 5-15 seconds, two or three times a day - that's all! In this book you'll learn: - about the surprising and little known science of awe - how we unwittingly cut ourselves off from feeling awe - how AWE can enhance traditional mental health therapies - strategies for using AWE to improve relationships, alleviate existential anxiety and manage chronic pain - the different types of awe we can experience (sensorial, conceptual, and interconnected) - how to recognize and get good at experiencing each type of awe Learn how to microdose mindfulness through the power of AWE now.

Seeking Communion as Healing Dialogue: Gabriel Marcel's Philosophy for Today discusses society's problems with interpersonal communication, arguing that these issues are more deeply rooted in problems in being. Margaret M. Mullan draws on the work of Gabriel Marcel to explore the meaning of body, of being with, and of being at all in today's world, answering questions about why we are often unable to dialogue with the people around us, why we feel disconnected and alone even in an increasingly technological world, and how these changing technologies expose and sometimes exacerbate our weak connections to others. Engaging Marcel's reflective method and theory of communion, Mullan explores how we seek communion amid technology and proposes that Marcel's reflections are generative contributions to the understanding and study of communication, offering a way to seek healing dialogue in present day. Scholars of communication, philosophy, conflict studies, and media studies will find this book particularly useful.

In Rescuing Humanity, Willem H. Vanderburg reminds us that we have relied on discipline-based approaches for human knowing, doing, and organizing for less than a century. During this brief period, these approaches have become responsible for both our spectacular successes and most of our social and environmental crises. At their roots is a cultural mutation that includes secular religious attitudes that veil the limits of these approaches, leading to their overvaluation. Because their use, especially in science and technology, is primarily built up with mathematics, living entities and systems can be dealt with only as if their "architecture" or "design" is based on the principle of non-contradiction, which is true only for non-living entities. This distortion explains our many crises. Vanderburg begins to explore the limits of discipline-based approaches, which guides the way toward developing complementary ones capable of transcending these limits. It is no different from a carpenter going beyond the limits of his hammer by reaching for other tools. As we grapple with everything from the impacts of social media, the ongoing climate crisis, and divisive political ideologies, Rescuing Humanity reveals that our civilization must learn to do the equivalent if humans and other living things are to continue making earth a home.

Is He Out There? is an interdisciplinary examination of the Christian reaction to Dawkinss The God Delusion. That reaction has offered a wide range of counter-arguments, among them: that Dawkinss demonstration of how God almost certainly doesnt exist addresses an out-dated conception of God; that science and religion are not conflictual as Dawkins contends and indeed may well be converging upon an understanding of how God acts in the universe; that Dawkinss denigration of the Bible depends on an overly literal reading; and that Dawkins assumes a narrative of progress in which human beings take the place of God in controlling the course of history. Is He Out There? responds to these arguments in the context of current scientific understanding, biblical criticism and philosophy. Paul Laffan demonstrates how the desire to meet the challenge posed by Dawkinss viewpoint has led to the perversion of scientific theories and accepted positions in other important fields of inquiry. It suggests that Christianity is wedded to a God who is the cause of the universe a classical conception of cause that is anachronistic; that denying the Bible was read for most of the Christian era as offering a literal account of divine creation is a significant misrepresentation of doctrinal history; and that a complete dismissal of progress requires the dismissal of scientific achievement. The author considers the extent to which attractive, secular values like tolerance and freedom of opinion are Christian in source and whether moral systems require God to underwrite them. The wide-ranging nature of Is He Out There? not only provides a review of the state of contemporary Christian apology but is a measured address of the arguments put forward in The God Delusion and indeed of the substantive commentary on Dawkinss thesis.

This book outlines a number of different perspectives on the relationship between science, technology, and innovation in emerging economies. In it, the authors explore the aforementioned relationship as a pillar of economic development, driving growth in emerging economies. Employing a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, the authors work to determine the main related factors and outcomes of the relationship between science, technology, and innovation, ultimately seeking to guide public policies to enhance the welfare of the population of an emerging economy.

This book presents the applications of future technologies to overcome the toughest humanitarian challenges from an engineering approach. COVID-19, a worldwide pandemic, has limited many physical operational areas and at the same time has motivated to uplift the initiative to digitalize the world. Society is facing ever more intense and protracted humanitarian crises, and as a result, the global community is pressed to find new ways to help people and communities in need. This interdisciplinary book highlights the exchange of relevant trends and research results as well as the presentation of practical experiences gained while developing and testing elements of technology enhanced learning experiences with the help of emerging technologies like IT/ICT, AI, ML, edge computing, robotics automation, 5G for the betterment of humanity. It highlights the analytics and optimization issues impacting society and technology for example on security, sustainability, identity, inclusion, working life, corporate and community welfare, and well-being of people to create a secure tomorrow.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline thanks to generous funding support from The Swedish Governmental Agency For Innovation Systems, Vinnova. This timely book expertly examines ongoing pressing issues in the modern world namely, an unstable economic climate, political turmoil and the environmental crisis. It takes a unique look at how science, technology and innovation could contribute towards the creation of a smarter and more resilient society by allowing more inclusive approaches into how science is integrated. With an insightful global interdisciplinary approach, Smart Policies for Societies in Transition combines in-depth theoretical analysis whilst also providing a reflective look at broadening the scope of science and innovation policy in order to understand the critical issues and challenges. Chapters illustrate historical practices and events, and discuss how the move to smart politics and the linking of boundaries from a social, ecological and global viewpoint leads to fewer but more creative policies. With its retrospective and forward-thinking perspectives, this book will be an excellent resource for academics wanting to rethink their approach to science and innovation governance, whilst scholars will find the collaborative method for combining policy analysis with theory of policymaking and governance informative and illuminating.

How should a free society protect privacy? Dramatic changes in national security law and surveillance, as well as technological changes from social media to smart cities mean that our ideas about privacy and its protection are being challenged like never before. In this interdisciplinary book, Chris Berg explores what classical liberal approaches to privacy can bring to current debates about surveillance, encryption and new financial technologies. Ultimately, he argues that the principles of classical liberalism - the rule of law, individual rights, property and entrepreneurial evolution - can help extend as well as critique contemporary philosophical theories of privacy.

In The Lord, the Giver of Life: Spirit in Relation to Creation , Aaron T. Smith argues that the Spirit in which God exists is not a mode of being but a pattern of relation, which enfolds the world in each moment and gives it a life coordinated with God's. "God" and "world" find mutual determination in the eschatological achievement of covenantal existence, in the triumph of love. Smith offers a new take on the biblical story of creation by bringing intricate interpretation of Genesis into productive dialogue with prominent voices of the Christian tradition as well as contributions from modern science and philosophy. The creation is not primarily a collection of discrete things, but the divinely-willed event of communion, which takes temporal shape within histories of generation, or the history of each generation. The human creature exists authentically in the time-framing of promise and fulfillment, coming to perceive the giving of life as good and right in the manner of the biblical covenant, and coming to desire it again - gladly consenting to life's interdependent generation.

This book explores the impact of developments in pharmaceutical medicine in the twentieth century on a Christian ethical evaluation of transhumanism and future 'hi tech' medical enhancement technologies. It suggests that the Christian ethical assessment of proposed future radical transhumanist biomedical technologies should be conducted in the light of responses to past medical advances. Two specific case studies are featured, focusing on the oral contraceptive pill and on Prozac and SSRI antidepressants. Whilst future biomedical technologies may have therapeutic benefits for the relief of disease and contribute to improving human health and welfare, the book considers the implications for society and their acceptability as therapies from a Christian perspective. Stressing the inadequacy of natural law alone, the author proposes an ethical framework for assessing novel biomedical technologies according to the effects on personal autonomy, embodiment and bodily life, and on the imago Dei.

This book examines the post-9/11 God debate in the West. Through a close study of prominent English God debaters Richard Dawkins, Karen Armstrong, Christopher Hitchens, and Terry Eagleton, Adrian Rosenfeldt demonstrates that New Atheist and religious apologist ideas and arguments about God, science, and identity are driven by mythic autobiographical narratives and Protestant or Catholic cultural heritage. This study is informed by criticism of the New Atheist polemic as being positivistic, and the religious apologists as propagating "sophisticated theology." In both cases, the God debaters are perceived as disassociating themselves from human lived experience. It is through reconnecting the God debaters' intellectual ideas to their cultural and social background that the God debate can be grounded in a recognisable human reality that eludes reductive distinctions and disembodied abstractions.

People often believe that we can overcome the profound environmental and climate crises we face by smart systems, green innovations and more recycling. However, the quest for complex technological solutions, which rely on increasingly exotic and scarce materials, makes this unlikely. A best-seller in France, this English language edition introduces readers to an alternative perspective on how we should be marshalling our resources to preserve the planet and secure our future. Bihouix skilfully goes against the grain to argue that 'high' technology will not solve global problems and envisages a different approach to build a more resilient and sustainable society.

Religion and Outer Space examines religion in and on the final frontier. This book offers a first-of-its-kind roadmap for thinking about complex encounters of religion and outer space. A multidisciplinary group of scholarly experts takes up some of the most intriguing scientific, spiritual, trade/commercial, and even military dimensions of the complex entanglements of religion and outer space. Attending to the historical reality that the interconnections between religion and the heavens are as old as religions themselves, the volume starts with an examination of "outer space" elements in the most sacred writings of the world's religions. It then explores some of the religious questions inevitable in this encounter, analyzing cultural constructions (both literary and actual) of religion and outer space. It ends with examinations of the role of religion in the very real and very present business of space exploration. What might motivate the spread of religion (or at least fantasies of religion in its myriad possibilities) into new interior and exterior dimensions of the cosmos? Only the future will tell. Religion and Outer Space is essential reading for students and academics with an interest in religion and space, religion and science, space exploration, religion and science fiction, popular culture, and religion in America.

In Rescuing Humanity, Willem H. Vanderburg reminds us that we have relied on discipline-based approaches for human knowing, doing, and organizing for less than a century. During this brief period, these approaches have become responsible for both our spectacular successes and most of our social and environmental crises. At their roots is a cultural mutation that includes secular religious attitudes that veil the limits of these approaches, leading to their overvaluation. Because their use, especially in science and technology, is primarily built up with mathematics, living entities and systems can be dealt with only as if their "architecture" or "design" is based on the principle of non-contradiction, which is true only for non-living entities. This distortion explains our many crises. Vanderburg begins to explore the limits of discipline-based approaches, which guides the way toward developing complementary ones capable of transcending these limits. It is no different from a carpenter going beyond the limits of his hammer by reaching for other tools. As we grapple with everything from the impacts of social media, the ongoing climate crisis, and divisive political ideologies, Rescuing Humanity reveals that our civilization must learn to do the equivalent if humans and other living things are to continue making earth a home.