The Epistemology of Rudolf Otto

(M.A.)--Boston UniversityRudolf Otto's principal aim was the elucidation of religious knowledge on its own terms. As a philosopher, he was part of the Neo-Friesian school of Kantian critical philosophy. As a philosopher of religion, he followed Luther and Schleiermacher principally. Otto made important changes in the epistemological theories of Kant, and the religious theories of Schleiermacher. These changes are not of uniform quality, however. Some are the outgrowth of Otto's Rationalistic use of the critical method, and some are upon religious antonomy. Within Otto's own system, there are indications of development of ideas over a period of years. His early work, Philosophy of Religion, was intended to lay a philosophical foundation for his whole system, and to treat the rational element in religious knowledge. His later work, The Idea of the Holy, was intended to build upon the philosophical foundation already laid, and to treat the non-rational, or non-conceptual, element in religious knowledge . Many concepts are carried over from the earlier work to the later, but many innovations are introduced in The Idea of the Holy which do not appear in the Philosophy of Religion. On the whole, it is fair to state that Otto's epistemology must be understood against the background of his Philosophy of Religion,but that his mature epistemological formulation is found in The Idea of the Holy. Otto bases his epistemology upon the rationalistic approach,using Kant's critical method. Pure Reason is his source of the conditions and possibility of knowledge, and also the source of conceptual, constitutive ideas. Otto breaks sharply with Kant upon the issues of the cognitive value of the a priori categories of knowledge, and the ideas of Pure Reason. Kant held that knowledge of spatio-temporal events is constituted according to the a priori principles of the understanding, and that the a priori nature of that knowledge is itself an indication of the ideality of that which is known. Otto, on the other hand, held that this inference is not warranted, that apriority is no indication of itself of ideality. He held, as do some other Kantian commentators, and following the Neo-Friesian interpretation of Kant, that a priori types of knowledge may refer to real, independent entities. The constitutive activity of the mind does not in itself render that to which it responds dependent upon the mind, existentially or essentially. Otto extends the possibility of cognitive experience to cover non-sensory awareness, while Kant insisted that only objects of sensory perception were cognitively valid. Kant had maintained that non-sensory, mental conceptions or ideas were not constitutive of knowledge, but regulative only. Otto holds, on the hand, that in the Idea of Pure Reason give the necessary conditions under which Reality exists. This brings him to the rational conclusion that the "principle of completeness" must be followed in the understanding of Real Existence. This principle of Rational Coherence gives the possibility and the necessity for the validity of knowledge in sense perception and in ideal conception. Otto also introduces the Friesian concept of "Feeling of Truth" as a cognitive faculty which apprehends Reality in a preconceptual way. Otto's concern for the rational element in religion is manifest in the opening pages of The Idea of the Holy, as well as in his Philosophy of Religion. He holds that the superiority of any religion is to be judged according to the rational content of its conception of God. But he also recognizes what he calls the non-rational element of religion. This is the element of mystery to which primitive religions give so much evidence, and to which the so-called higher religions point by implication. The tendency, however, is for the elevating development of a religion to obscure this non-rational element as definition of doctrine and practice continue. Otto hopes to re-evaluate the non-rational element of religion,and to establish a sound rational basis upon which the knowledge of religion on its own terms can be possible. Otto holds that this non-rational element of religion is of the nature of "creature-feeling", in which one feels himself to be confronting his Creator.The rational basis for the knowledge of this element of religion is found in the a priori category of the holy. For Otto, categories apply to knowledge of real, independent entities. Thus the religious category of knowledge is knowledge of the religious object, the "numen", as Otto terms it. The mode of cognition of the numinous is called the faculty of divination, which is itself a rational element. Divination seems to be an outgrowth of the "Feeling of Truth" which appears in Otto's Philosophy of Religion. The faculty of divination does not render final cognitive judgments concerning religious objects. Otto recognizes that divination in its crude stages takes almost anything as a religious object in some meaning or other. Indeed, in the higher types of religion, symbols and types are given religious meaning which should be accorded only the objects of numinous experience. Religious judgment may develop to discard unworthy divinations, and to retain worthy ones. Otto's epistemology lacks any clear formulation of religious judgment. From the philosophical point of view, represented in Otto's Philosophy of Religion, the criterion of Rational Coherence might be applied, and from the religious point of view, represented in The Idea of the Holy, the quality of the Object of personal divination is self-accrediting. From the point of view of The Idea of the Holy, the divination of God is such that not only the a priori capacity of the mind for religious knowledge is a factor, but the self-revelation of God is also a factor. The faculty of divination, no matter how well grounded rationally, has no way of judging of itself. The religious judgment must arbitrate according to "the principle of completeness", or Rational Coherence, and only as God revealed Himself could an idea which conceived His Real Existence be coherent. On the basis of Otto's epistemology, the basis of religious knowledge is revelation,and Otto's theory of religious knowledge is a theory of revelation. The criticisms which have been made against Otto's epistemology generally fall into two categories: those that criticize him for claiming too much finality for knowledge in religious experience, and those that criticize him for emphasizing too much the non-rational element of religious knowledge. Otto could have avoided the former criticisms by being more explicit as to the non-judicial character of religious awareness, and by formulating a theory of religious judgment. He could have avoided the latter criticisms by the use of "non-conceptual" or some less ambiguous term rather than the often misunderstood term "non-rational"

Development of Survey Tool to Evaluate Behavior and Educational Tools Affecting Water Health in Lewiston and Auburn Communities

The Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Group (AVSWG) has been tasked with the objective of inducing a reduction or elimination of fertilizers and/or pesticides for 15% of college educated residents between the ages of 35-55 in the cities of Lewiston and Auburn by June, 2018. This demographic was chosen as the target of the outreach program because of their financial stability and their relative willingness to change behavior when compared to other age groups. We produced a survey that targets this same demographic and is meant to evaluate the effectiveness of the AVSWG education outreach program. This deliverable fits into Permit Year 3 of the BMP Adoption Plan. Additionally, we have offered informal evaluation of the BMP adoption plan activities and materials through this tool and through critical evaluation, which also fulfills a compliance task in Permit Year 3

Emergent Endotracheal Intubation and Mortality in Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: To determine the relationship between emergent intubation (emergency department and field intubation cases combined) and mortality in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) while controlling for injury severity.Methods: Retrospective observational study of 981 (35.2% intubated, 64.8% not intubated) patients with TBI evaluating the association between intubation status and mortality. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Injury severity measures included Head/Neck Abbreviated Injury Scale (H-AIS), systolic blood pressure, type of head injury (blunt vs. penetrating), and a propensity score combining the effects of several other potential confounding variables. Age was also included in the model.Results: The simple association of emergent endotracheal intubation with death had an odds ratio (OR) of 14.3 (95% CI = 9.4 – 21.9). The logistic regression model including relevant covariates and a propensity score that adjusted for injury severity and age yielded an OR of 5.9 (95% CI = 3.2 – 10.9).Conclusions: This study indicates that emergent intubation is associated with increased risk of death after controlling for a number of injury severity indicators. We discuss the need for optimal paramedic training, and an understanding of the factors that guide patient selection and the decision to intubate in the field. [WestJEM.2008;9:184-189

Relationship of Metabolizable Protein Balance, Purine Derivative Excretion, and 3-Methyl Histidine Excretion to Feed Efficiency in Individually Fed Finishing Heifers

Individually fed heifers were used to determine the relationship of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and metabolizableprotein balance to feed efficiency. Heifers were fed finishing dietsthat were either deficient or sufficient in metabolizable protein. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for early, late, and entire feeding period concentrations of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and creatinine. Results from this study indicated a negative relationship between feed efficiency and metabolizable protein balance, and no relationship between 3-methyl histidine excretion and feed efficiency, suggesting that protein turnover and microbial protein synthesis are not related to feed efficienc

Relationship of Metabolizable Protein Balance, Purine Derivative Excretion, and 3-Methyl Histidine Excretion to Feed Efficiency in Individually Fed Finishing Heifers

Individually fed heifers were used to determine the relationship of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and metabolizableprotein balance to feed efficiency. Heifers were fed finishing dietsthat were either deficient or sufficient in metabolizable protein. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for early, late, and entire feeding period concentrations of 3-methyl histidine, purine derivatives, and creatinine. Results from this study indicated a negative relationship between feed efficiency and metabolizable protein balance, and no relationship between 3-methyl histidine excretion and feed efficiency, suggesting that protein turnover and microbial protein synthesis are not related to feed efficienc

Center Director's Discretionary Fund 2005 Annual Report

The FY 2005 CDDF projects were selected from the following spaceport and range technology and science areas: fluid system technologies; spaceport structures and materials; command, control, and monitoring technologies; and biological sciences (including support for environmental stewardship). The FY 2005 CDDF research projects involved development of the following: a) Capacitance-based moisture sensors to optimize plant growth in reduced gravity; b) Commodity-free calibration methods; c) Application of atmospheric plasma glow discharge to alter the surface properties of polymers for improved electrostatic dissipation characteristics; d) A wipe-on, wipe-off chemical process to remove lead oxides found in paint; e) A robust metabolite profiling platform for better understanding the "law" of biological regulation; f) An explanation of the excavation processes that occur when a jet of gas impinges on a bed of sand; g) "Smart coatings" to detect and control corrosion at an early stage to prevent further corrosion h) A model that can produce a reliable diagnosis of the quality of a software product; i) The formulation of advanced materials to meet system safety needs to minimize electrostatic charges, flammability, and radiation exposure; j) A lab-based instrument that uses the electro-optic Pockels effect to make static electric fields visible; k) A passive volatile organic compound (VOC) cartridge to filter, identify, and quantify VOCs flowing into or emanating from plant flight experiments

BLAST: The Mass Function, Lifetimes, and Properties of Intermediate Mass Cores from a 50 Square Degree Submillimeter Galactic Survey in Vela (l = ~265)

We present first results from an unbiased 50 deg^2 submillimeter Galactic survey at 250, 350, and 500 micron from the 2006 flight of the Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST). The map has resolution ranging from 36 arcsec to 60 arcsec in the three submillimeter bands spanning the thermal emission peak of cold starless cores. We determine the temperature, luminosity, and mass of more than one thousand compact sources in a range of evolutionary stages and an unbiased statistical characterization of the population. From comparison with C^(18)O data, we find the dust opacity per gas mass, kappa r = 0.16 cm^2 g^(-1) at 250 micron, for cold clumps. We find that 2% of the mass of the molecular gas over this diverse region is in cores colder than 14 K, and that the mass function for these cold cores is consistent with a power law with index alpha = -3.22 +/- 0.14 over the mass range 14 M_sun < M < 80 M_sun. Additionally, we infer a mass-dependent cold core lifetime of t_c(M) = 4E6 (M/20 M_sun)^(-0.9) years - longer than what has been found in previous surveys of either low or high mass cores, and significantly longer than free fall or likely turbulent decay times. This implies some form of non-thermal support for cold cores during this early stage of star formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Maps available at http://blastexperiment.info