Divine Love and the Argument from Divine Hiddenness

This paper criticizes one of the premises of Schellenberg’s atheistic argument from divine hiddenness. This premise, which can be considered as the foundation of his proposed argument, is based on a specific interpretation of divine love as eros. In this paper I first categorize several concepts of divine love under two main categories, eros and agape; I then answer some main objections to the ascription of eros to God; and in the last part I show that neither on a reading of divine love as agape nor as eros can Schellenberg’s argument be construed as sound. My aim is to show that even if -- contra Nygren for example -- we accept that divine love can be interpreted as eros, Schellenberg’s argument still doesn’t work

One thing happens, and then another one comes right after. Anthropological perspectives on vulnerability, resilience, and social justice for a Latinx community in post-Harvey Houston

2020 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.The materially destructive and socially disruptive impacts of natural hazards run parallel to historical inequalities that put marginalized communities in harm's way. The purpose of this thesis project is to gain insights into the role that chronic disaster conditions play in actualizing acute disaster impacts. I begin with a discussion of anthropological perspectives on disaster vulnerability and resilience and explore social justice and capabilities theory as a starting point to improve disaster recovery approaches. I use this framework to analyze my findings from conversations with residents of a low-income Latinx community in Houston, Texas that was impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Next, I discuss the approaches to disaster recovery employed by government agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs). I conclude this thesis with a discussion of how government agencies and CBOs can apply these insights to better support marginalized communities during disaster recovery

Caroline Ashcroft: Violence and Power in the Thought of Hannah Arendt. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021, 320 p., 74.54 EUR

In her book, by looking through the conception of violence in Arendt’s works, Caroline Ashcroft attempts to illuminate what politics is according to Arendt. Ashcroft’s main project is to argue that there is a type of violence that is political and even necessary for politics in Arendt’s opinion. She argues that the conception of violence and how to approach it, is an essential key to understand Arendt’s political philosophy and to differentiate her philosophy from other contemporary understandings of the political, and even to distinguish between different interpretation of Arendt by authors such as Chantal Mouffe, Bonnie Honig and Seyla Benhabib. In “On Violence,” Arendt claims that there is an inverse proportionality between violence and political power. Power, according to her, arises if there is a free space for action, or sharing of perspectives, creating the common sense necessary for people’s common worlds, and in other words, a coherent force of the political action. Violence is exactly what disturbs freedom, which is the raison d’être of politics and so violence is anti-political according to a typical reading of Arendt’s “On Violence”. But, as Ashcroft notes, taking this reading seriously, and overlooking Arendt’s other writings leads many philosophers to interpret Arendt as a strict pacifist who “builds on an ideal of politics which is, indeed, absolutely free of violence” (p.6). Some others think that Violence in Arendt’s eye is always “unpolitical” and instrumental. But in contrast to all of these simplistic readings of Arendt, Ashcroft argues that “some forms of violence can indeed be reasonably considered political and even politically essential for Arendt” (p. 13). But how, in Arendt’s framework, can violence be political?In her book, by looking through the conception of violence in Arendt’s works, Caroline Ashcroft attempts to illuminate what politics is according to Arendt. Ashcroft’s main project is to argue that there is a type of violence that is political and even necessary for politics in Arendt’s opinion. She argues that the conception of violence and how to approach it, is an essential key to understand Arendt’s political philosophy and to differentiate her philosophy from other contemporary understandings of the political, and even to distinguish between different interpretation of Arendt by authors such as Chantal Mouffe, Bonnie Honig and Seyla Benhabib. In “On Violence,” Arendt claims that there is an inverse proportionality between violence and political power. Power, according to her, arises if there is a free space for action, or sharing of perspectives, creating the common sense necessary for people’s common worlds, and in other words, a coherent force of the political action. Violence is exactly what disturbs freedom, which is the raison d’être of politics and so violence is anti-political according to a typical reading of Arendt’s “On Violence”. But, as Ashcroft notes, taking this reading seriously, and overlooking Arendt’s other writings leads many philosophers to interpret Arendt as a strict pacifist who “builds on an ideal of politics which is, indeed, absolutely free of violence” (p.6). Some others think that Violence in Arendt’s eye is always “unpolitical” and instrumental. But in contrast to all of these simplistic readings of Arendt, Ashcroft argues that “some forms of violence can indeed be reasonably considered political and even politically essential for Arendt” (p. 13). But how, in Arendt’s framework, can violence be political

Transverse expansion of hot magnetized Bjorken flow in heavy ion collisions

We argue that the existence of an inhomogeneous external magnetic field can lead to radial flow in transverse plane. Our aim is to show how the introduction of a magnetic field generalizes the Bjorken flow. We investigate the effect of an inhomogeneous weak external magnetic field on the transverse expansion of in-viscid fluid created in high energy nuclear collisions. In order to simplify our calculation and compare with Gubser model, we consider the fluid under investigation to be produced in central collisions, at small impact parameter; azimuthal symmetry has been considered. In our model, we assume an inhomogeneous external magnetic field following the power-law decay in proper time and having radial inhomogeneity perpendicular to the radial velocity of the in-viscid fluid in the transverse plane; then the space time evolution of the transverse expansion of the fluid is obtained. We also show how the existence of an inhomogeneous external magnetic field modifies the energy density. Finally we use the solutions for the transverse velocity and energy density in the presence of a weak magnetic field, to estimate the transverse momentum spectrum of protons and pions emerging from the Magneto-hydrodynamic solutions

Local perspectives on climate change, Participatory Video in Somotillo, Nicaragua

Participatory Video is a methodology premised on particular attitudes and behaviors that value collective and consensual decision-making and equalized power relations, seeking local solutions to local problems, through coming together, reflecting, communicating, and taking positive action. The PV project has been conducted following the successful implementation of the Quesungual Agroforestry System in the community of La Danta in the municipality of Somotillo (department of Chinandega, Nicaragua). The objectives of this PV project were to 1) increase participants’ awareness of ways they can influence and mitigate the effects of climate change they’re subject to; 2) empower local groups to take part in a process of analysis and response that celebrates indigenous knowledge and practice; 3) generate a better understanding of gender differences as they relate to climate change adaptation and mitigation; 4) generate knowledge and information that allows future projects in the region to better understand the local context when creating inclusive climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that have a higher potential for success. It can be concluded that the PV tool works especially well with young people, who tend to naturally present a certain curiosity for technology and creative, imaginative ways to approach various subjects. The PV methodology gave them confidence and ensured all participants had a voice in the final video message. An element that resonated is that giving community figureheads a more prominent role in project dissemination activities can increase the adoption of new technologies. Aside from being more effective than brief training sessions which may not necessarily be a part of a larger plan of long-term capacity development, it will help communities strengthen their trust in their indigenous knowledge

Non-relativistic approximate numerical ideal-magneto hydrodynamics of (1+1) D transverse flow in Bjorken scenario

In this study, we investigate the impact of the magnetic field on the evolution of the transverse flow of QGP matter in the magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) framework. We assume that the magnetic field is perpendicular to the reaction plane and then we solve the coupled Maxwell and conservation equations in (1+1D) transverse flow, within the Bjorken scenario. We consider a QGP with infinite electrical conductivity. First, the magnetic effects on the QGP medium at mid-rapidity are investigated at leading order; then the time and space dependence of the energy density, velocity and magnetic field in the transverse plane of the ideal magnetized hot plasma are obtained