Atheism as a belief does not have to present intellectual credentials within academia. Yet to hold beliefs means giving reasons for doing so, ones which may be found wanting. Instead, atheism is the automatic default setting within the academic world. Conversely, religious belief confronts a double [...]

This text offers a user's guide to the philosophical work of Roy Bhaskar. The author expounds the main concepts of Bhaskar's work and defends his theory of knowledge. Part One deals with the philosophy of experimental science and discusses the stratification of nature, showing how biological structu[...]

In recent years, new disease threats--such as SARS, avian flu, mad cow disease, and drug-resistant strains of malaria and tuberculosis--have garnered media attention and galvanized political response. Proposals for new approaches to "securing health" against these threats have come not only from pub[...]