MY aim in this essay is to raise the question "Is there such a thing as mental illness?" and to argue that there is not. Since the notion of mental illness is extremely widely used nowadays, inquiry into the ways in which this term is employed would seem to be especially indicated. Mental illness, of course, is not literally a "thing"—or physical object—and hence it can "exist" only in the same...

Spirituality" has often been framed in social science research as an alternative to organized "religion," implicitly or explicitly extending theoretical arguments about the privatization of religion. This article uses in-depth qualitative data from a religiously-diverse U.S. sample to argue that this either-or distinction not only fails to capture the empirical reality of American religion, but...

From ancient herders calling their fl ocks to today’s pet owners conversing with their cats or dogs, humans have always tried to extend their communication to other species. Francis of Assisi famously held a sermon to birds, whom he called his brothers and sisters. Stories, real, enhanced or imagined, abound through the ages, from deities taking animal shapes to modern horse whisperers. In many...

The author analyses a rare case of mirror-outrage that followed the destruction of the Buddhasof Bamiyan. This event brought the Taliban and the international community into opposition in2001. The article first stresses the intriguing paradigmatic similarities between the destruction ofthe Buddhas and the destruction of Artemis Temple in 356 BC, when the eradication of amonument...

Meteorology is a wonderfully interdisciplinary subject. But can nonlinear thinking about predictability of weather and climate contribute usefully to issues in fundamental physics? Although this might seem extremely unlikely at first sight, an attempt is made to answer the question positively. The long-standing conceptual problems of quantum theory are outlined, focussing on indeterminacy and n...

There are countless high mountains in Tibet, and ancient Tibetans believed that gods resided on every one of them. The worship of mountain gods was one of the most important forms of nature worship among ancient Tibetans; it was fundamental to their entire belief system. Each mountain god possessed his own territory and was in charge of particular affairs. Around each god sprang up myths, legen...

Abstract This article reinterprets Thucydides's analysis of the post-Periclean turn in Athenian politics by reading it within context contemporary “tragic” and “scientific” explanatory traditions. It finds this an ambitious attempt to reinvent traditional, tragic pattern hubris-driven reversal reinterpreting its underlying causal logic according a scientific perspective which overdetermining ef...

Roman jugs with handles terminating in human feet exemplify artefacts representing and footwear. Using a ‘bricolage’ of archaeological theory that includes object biography contextual archaeology, this paper explores the many facets significance attached to such through case study foot-handled jugs. By assembling corpus, patterns geographical chronological distribution can be examined. The sett...

In the border zone between Roman provinces of Upper Moesia and Thrace a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus Hera, defined by toponymic epithet Souidept?noi, was discovered on Belava mountain, near Turres (today?s Pirot). The presumably encompassed temenos, an altar two smaller temples, oriented east-west, with entrance eastern side. Unfortunately, illegal excavations were conducted area thieves, who st...

This article posits that Pompeian religious knowledge which characterised Lares and serpents as gods of place was a consequence lived religion. It argues this arose from personal experiences agency it produced during encounters with these deities in different material locational contexts, namely household kitchen shrines street-corner altars. suggests because the unique ways ritual caused human...