Digital Commons Network^™

“I Am Dark Energy”, Taylor Scott

Comparative Woman

No abstract provided.

Is There A Gay Brain? The Problems With Scientific Research Of Sexual Orientation, Matthew Mclaughlin

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

In 1991 neuroscientist Simon LeVay published “A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men”, which reported the discovery of a ‘region’ in the anterior hypothalamus of the brain that determined sexual orientation in men. LeVay's study was an attempt to revolutionize the scientific study of sexual orientation, as previous decades of research had failed to isolate the biological determining factor of human sexual orientation. Blinded by his political motivation to aid the gay rights movement at the end of the twentieth century, LeVay's study - as well as the countless other scientific investigations of human sexuality - merely …

An Explication Of All Cogent Scientific Conceptualizations Regarding The Non-Dual: Finding Nothing To Write, Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Sometimes more is less, even within scholarly writing, known for its all too frequent verbosity. This paper follows approaches that sparingly used words, even to the point of using no words at all. One example of this strategy is a renowned psychology article describing its author’s unsuccessful self-treatment of his own writer’s block, which led to a blank paper (Upper, 1974). Another, in the area of interventions, which are commonly seen as demanding empirical support to evaluate risk-benefit analyses, involved a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of parachutes in preventing deaths. This research was presented, but never conducted—as no controlled trials …

A Neurotheological Approach To Spiritual Awakening, Andrew B. Newberg, Mark R. Waldman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A neurotheological approach suggests an analysis of spiritual awakening experiences by combining phenomenological data with neuroscience. This paper presents a synthesis combining information on the thoughts, feelings, and experiences associated with spiritual awakening experiences and neurophysiological data, primarily from neuroimaging studies, to help assess which brain structures might be associated with these experiences. Brain structures involved with emotions correlate with emotional responses while areas of the brain associated with the sense of self appear to correlate with the key feature of these experiences in which an individual loses the sense of self and feels intimately connected with God, universal consciousness, …

Stem Fundraising Campaign Enhances The Sciences, Lydia Marcus

The Voice

No abstract provided.

The Possibility Of Pilgrimage In A Scientific World, Stephen F. Haller

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The paper is a philosophical argument about whether a pilgrimage can be meaningful in a scientific age. Since a scientific world-view rules out many ideas which are traditionally associated with pilgrimage, such as miracles and the effectiveness of prayer, it seems that pilgrimage might be a practice inconsistent with the modern scientific age. Attempts have been made to reconcile this conflict by arguing that science and religion do not conflict, but are non-overlapping spheres of inquiry. Thus, it is possible to make sense of pilgrimage in a scientific age, if one strips their pilgrimage of all aspects to which science …

Andrea Goulet. Legacies Of The Rue Morgue: Science, Space, And Crime Fiction In France. Philadelphia: U Of Pennsylvania P, 2016., Kelsey B. Madsen

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Andrea Goulet. Legacies of the Rue Morgue: Science, Space, and Crime Fiction in France. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2016. 295pp.

On The Contemporary Vilification Of Scientists, Omid Miry

Quill & Scope

As an afterschool STEM mentor for the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), each year I introduce myself to a new cohort of New York City public school children. Before I introduce myself as a scientist in training, I ask them to pull out a blank sheet of paper and draw a scientist.

An Essay On Science And Feminism, Christina Darco

Quill & Scope

Politics often seeks to polarize ways of being and thinking because it makes voting easier. Unfortunately, framing complex questions in this way belittles the issues by creating simplified definitions that come from a lack of understanding.

Frankenstein And “The Labours Of Men Of Genius”: Science And Medical Ethics In The Early 19th Century, Allison Lemley

Grand Valley Journal of History

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, first published in 1818, used a sprawling network of allusions to contemporary literary and scientific works, which strongly reflected Romantic scientific and literary ideology. The robust connections between Romantic artistic and scientific circles included personal and professional relationships, scientists writing literary works, and authors discussing scientific advances. The closely linked scientific and artistic community helped define science and the nature of life in the new era. Medical historians have not fully discussed the debate concerning medical ethics in this period, detailing earlier Enlightenment medical ethics and later Romantic medical developments, which more closely resemble modern scientific …

The Believing Scientist: Essays On Science And Religion, Hyrum Lewis

BYU Studies Quarterly

Stephen M. Barr. The Believing Scientist: Essays on Science and Religion.

Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2016.

Review: Russian Science Fiction Literature And Cinema: A Critical Reader, Alla A. Smyslova, Alexandra Portice

Russian Language Journal

Anindita Banerjee’s critical reader provides excellent insight into the development of science fiction literature and cinema in Russia from the early nineteenth century all the way to the mid-2000s. The book features four sections, each of them comprising four articles by different authors, and an introduction from the editor. The latter provides a brief but brilliant overview of Russian nauchnaia fantastika, or “scientific fantasy,” positioning it within the context of literary, social, and scientific life in the USSR, as well as outlining the existing scholarship on the topic. From the very beginning, when the genre first emerged at the turn …