Why do smokers claim that the first cigarette of the day is the best? What is the biological basis behind some heavy drinkers' belief that the "hair-of-the-dog" method alleviates the effects of a hangover? Why does marijuana seem to affect ones problem-solving capacity? Intoxicating Minds is, in the author's words, "a grand excavation of drug myth." Neither extolling nor condemning drug use, it is a story of scientific and artistic achievement, war and greed, empires and religions, and lessons for the future. Ciaran Regan looks at each class of drugs, describing the historical evolution of their use, explaining how they work within the brain's neurophysiology, and outlining the basic pharmacology of those substances. From a consideration of the effect of stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, and the reasons and consequences of their sudden popularity in the seventeenth century, the book moves to a discussion of more modern stimulants, such as cocaine and ecstasy. In addition, Regan explains how we process memory, the nature of thought disorders, and therapies for treating depression and schizophrenia. Regan then considers psychedelic drugs and their perceived mystical properties and traces the history of placebos to ancient civilizations. Finally, Intoxicating Minds considers the physical consequences of our co-evolution with drugs -- how they have altered our very being -- and offers a glimpse of the brave new world of drug therapies.
This study ponders different ways Christian thinkers understood humanity in its relationship to divine grace. It names fallacies that have in the past skewed theological understanding of that relationship. It argues that the philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce avoided those same fallacies and provides a novel frame of reference for rethinking the theology of grace. The author shows how the insights of other American philosophers flesh out undeveloped aspects of Peirce's thought. He formulates a metaphysics of experience derived from his philosophical analysis. Finally, he develops an understanding of supernatural grace as the transmutation and transvaluation of human experience.
This study traces the critique of Enlightenment modernism that began with Ralph Waldo Emerson and culminated in the thought of Charles Sanders Peirce and the mature Josiah Royce. Varieties of Transcendental Experience argues that these thinkers provide a constructive alternative to deconstructionist postmodernism that is compatible with the Christian faith.
The Federal Reserve banking system was created in 1913 in an effort to bring coherence to nationwide banking practices and prevent crises like the financial panic of 1907. Since it began operating in 1914, the Federal Reserve has played a crucial role in determining American financial policy and practice. It is largely an entity unto itself, operating independently, rarely subject to the political machinations of Congress or the presidency. Yet few Americans know how it works, and even fewer know anything of its history. This history of the Federal Reserve begins by giving an overview of American banking practices before the Federal Reserve's formation. The events leading to the Reserve's creation, and its early trials and tribulations, are then documented. Subsequent chapters track the Federal Reserve's history: its role during times of financial and military crisis, its relationship to each presidential administration, and the Fed's evolution as its leadership has changed over the years. The history wraps up with the Alan Greenspan era, explaining major changes in the institution's operating procedures since the 1980s. An appendix lists all members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, from its formation until 2003.
This study ponders different ways Christian thinkers understood humanity in its relationship to divine grace. It names fallacies that have in the past skewed theological understanding of that relationship. It argues that the philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce avoided those same fallacies and provides a novel frame of reference for rethinking the theology of grace. The author shows how the insights of other American philosophers flesh out undeveloped aspects of PeirceÕs thought. He formulates a metaphysics of experience derived from his philosophical analysis. Finally, he develops an understanding of supernatural grace as the transmutation and transvaluation of human experience.
The passion is the climactic event in each of the gospels. This volume elucidates the passion in its historical background and explores its theological breadth and depth. With scholarly finesse and pastoral awareness, the author sets the vibrant message of the passion speaking to our lives and times.
This volume, covering entries from "Determinables and determinates" to "Fuzzy logic," presents articles on Eastern and Western philosophies, medical and scientific ethics, the Holocaust, terrorism, censorship, biographical entries, and much more.
La Crosse Fish Decoys is the first and only book covering this subject matter. It should interest fish decoy collectors, hobbyists, fishermen, and anyone interested in a hobby that has a solid financial return. The heyday for spearfishing in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was 1890 until 1938, when spearfishing was banned in that region. Thus given the age of the decoys used, little is known concerning their makers. Indeed, all of the known La Crosse fish decoy makers are deceased. This book is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 provides a brief history of the La Crosse region from its earliest days until the present time with emphasis, when appropriate, to the sport of spearfishing. Chapter 2 discusses the development of the technique of spearfishing from its Asian origins and contrasts the American Indian approach to spearing to the white mens modification of it. In Chapter 3,The Mississippi River is discussed and its effects on spearing in the La Crosse Reach. The heart of the book is Chapter 4, when seventy-one known La Crosse decoy makers biographies are presented along the discussion of their decoys, not to mention, photographic examples of their work. Chapter 5 gives a photographic review of fish decoys which imitate actual fish species. Chapter 6 provides photographic example of La Crosse spears used by fishermen, and documents both known and unknown speak makers. Finally, Chapter 7 reviews La Crosse cheater decoys, jig sticks, lures, and decoy-holding boxes to round out the book.
Elegant and inventive, Surpassing Wonder uncovers how the ancient Hebrew scriptures, the Christian New Testament, and the Talmuds of the Rabbis are related and how, collectively, they make up the core of Western consciousness. Donald Harman Akenson provides an incisive critique of how religious scholars have distorted the holy books and argues that it was actually the inventor of the Hebrew scriptures who shaped our concept of narrative history—thereby founding Western culture.
Offers a lively and provocative account of what we can learn about Jesus by reading the letters of Paul, providing fresh new insights into both Jesus and Paul. The author painstakingly recreates the world of Christ, a time rich with ideas, prophets, factions, priests, savants and god-drunk fanatics. He insistently stresses throughout the Jewishness of Jesus (e.g., referring to Jesus and Paul as Yeshua and Saul, as they were then known). Equally important, he dismisses the traditional method of searching for facts about Jesus by looking for parallels among the four Gospels; they were handed down to us as a unit by a later generation, he argues. Saul, although he did not know Yeshua personally, knew his most important followers and wrote immediately after Yeshua's death. His teachings were approved (though sometimes reluctantly) by Yeshua's brothers and other early leaders.
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