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"Crosby, Donald A., author"
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Faith and Reason
Few words are as widely misconceived as the word \"faith.\" Faith is often set in stark opposition to reason, considered antithetical to scientific thought, and heavily identified with religion. Donald Crosby's revealing book provides a more complex picture, discussing faith and its connection to the whole of human life and human knowledge. Crosby writes about that existential faith that underlies, shapes, and supports a person's life and its sense of purpose and direction. Such faith does not make a person religious and being secular does not mean one rejects all forms of faith. Throughout the book Crosby makes the case that faith is fundamentally involved in all processes of reasoning and that reason is an essential part of all dependable forms of faith.
Crosby elaborates the major components of faith and goes on to look at the mutually dependent relationships between faith and knowledge, faith and scientific knowledge, and faith and morality. The work's final chapters examine crises of faith among several noted thinkers as well as the author's own journey of faith from plans for the ministry to pastor to secular philosopher and religious naturalist.
eBook
The Thou of Nature
Humans share the earth with nonhuman animals who are also capable
of conscious experience and awareness. Arguing that we should
develop an I-thou, not an I-it, relationship with other sentient
beings, Donald A. Crosby adds a new perspective to the current
debates on human/animal relations and animal rights-that of
religious naturalism. Religion of Nature holds that the natural
world is the only world and that there is no supernatural animus or
law behind it. From this vantage point, our fellow thous are
entitled to more than merely moral treatment: protection and
enhancement of their continuing well-being deserves to be a central
focus of religious reverence, care, and commitment as
well. A set of presumptive natural rights for nonhuman animals is
proposed and conflicts in applying these rights are acknowledged
and considered. A wide range of situations involving humans and
nonhuman animals are discussed, including hunting and fishing;
eating and wearing; circuses, rodeos, zoos, and aquariums;
scientific experimentation; and the threats of human technology and
population growth.
eBook
A religion of nature
The beauty, sublimity, and wonder of nature have been justly celebrated in all of the religious traditions of the world, but usually these traditions have focused on beings or powers presumed to lie behind nature, providing nature’s ultimate explanation and meaning. In a radical departure, Donald A. Crosby makes an eloquent case for regarding nature itself as the focus of religion, conceived without God, gods, or animating spirits of any kind, and argues that nature is metaphysically ultimate. He explores the concept of nature, the place of humans in nature, the responsibilities of humans to one another and to their natural environments, and offers a religious vision that grants to nature the kind of reverence, awe, love, and devotion formerly reserved for God. Crosby also shares his personal journey from theistic faith to a religion of nature.
eBook
Living with Ambiguity
In this book Donald A. Crosby looks at how a religion based on the sacredness of nature deals with the problem of evil. Further developing and defending the vision of religious thought and life elaborated in his previous work, A Religion of Nature, Crosby explores how such a vision can enable us to interpret, respond to, and cope with the diverse forms of evil in the world, arguing that an ambiguity of goods and evils in human life, in nature as a whole, and in any conceivable or desirable realm of existence is inevitable. It is therefore futile to seek recourse in powers, presences, states, or realms thought to wholly transcend a combination of goods and evils or to be entirely devoid of evil. This being the case, the central problem of an adequate religious faith is how to live a constructive, meaningful life in the face of this intractable ambiguity. Religion of nature, as it is laid out and explained here, confronts this problem and offers a comprehensive, sustaining, and fully adequate way of conceiving and living a religious life.
eBook
The philosophy of William James
The focus in this book is on the philosophy of William James as it relates to his conceptions of “pure” and ordinary experience, the respective natures of self and world, the interrelations of experience, self, and world, the awareness of a common world by two or more selves, and the extent to which and means by which those selves can gain access to one another’s personal consciousness. The book provides explications and critical interpretations of these themes in James’s philosophy and, when appropriate, makes substantive suggestions for their clarification and improvement. It defends the thesis that these themes offer a promising basis for building a credible philosophy of mind and its relations to the world, including its relations to other minds in the world. It considers at length two recent objections to empiricism as an epistemological program and defends empiricism in general and James’s brand of empiricism in particular (what he called radical empiricism) against these objections. Finally, it argues the need for and sketches some outlines for a greatly expanded, enriched, and multi-dimensional radical materialism and shows why and how the development of such a materialistic metaphysics can be integrated with James’s philosophy of radical empiricism.
eBook
poisoned weed
Over-two thirds of the U.S. population is allergic to poison oak, poison ivy, or a related plant. These and many other common plants in our homes, fields, and gardens are irritants that cause misery to many. But surprisingly, there has never been a general guide to help raise awareness of them--and to help avoid them. This new book reviews the history, occurrence, classification, toxicity, and health aspects of all the major allergenic and irritant species.
eBook
Transforming undergraduate education
For those ready to participate in making transformative changes, Transforming Undergraduate Education provides evidence and case studies that suggest how steps can be taken and progress made. For those who are currently leading their campuses through a change in culture, this book offers support and encouragement. And for those who are pausing—looking positively but cautiously at what needs to change—at the prospects and challenges that may be encountered, Harward and the collection of authors offer an invaluable and innovative resource. Given the intensity of interest regarding the “problems in higher education,” Harward notes how the systemic sources of those problems are infrequently addressed and even rarer is the offering of solutions or suggestions for positive actions. Harward and his colleagues see the achievement of this book as doing both—understanding the problems and offering solutions. The book assembles the voices of leaders, scholars, practitioners, critics and others committed to higher education; collectively they combine theoretical considerations with analyses of fundamental issues related to learning and liberal education. The resulting arguments, theories, and evidence are sufficient to encourage significant—transformative—changes in higher education. Contributors offer examples of campus initiatives that document such changes, from directional nudges to major shifts of emphases and resources—from theoretical arguments to case studies and practices that suggest and guide constructive steps in efforts at change.
eBook
Fish versus Power
Fish versus Power is an environmental history of the Fraser River (British Columbia) and the attempts to dam it for power and to defend it for salmon. Amid contemporary debates over large dam development and declines in fisheries, this book offers a case study of a river basin where development decisions did not ultimately dam the river, but rather conserved its salmon. Although the case is local, its implications are global as Evenden explores the transnational forces that shaped the river, the changing knowledge and practices of science, and the role of environmental change in shaping environmental debate. The Fraser is the world's most productive salmon river; it is also a large river with enormous waterpower potential. Very few rivers in the developed world have remained undammed. On the Fraser, however, fish - not dams - triumphed, and this book seeks to explain why.
eBook