Documents published in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy

1. Alain Locke's Philosophy of Democracy, by Christopher Buck, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 4 (2015). For Locke, democracy was more than its narrow political definition, but multidimensional, encompassing local, moral, political, economic, and cultural stages — a model against which he measured America’s fidelity to its democratic ideal. [about]
2. Arguments for the Existence of God in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Writings, by Mikhail Sergeev, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vols. 2-3 (2014). On the basic typology of philosophical arguments for the existence of God; classical vs contemporary views; Abdu'l-Bahá's arguments from nature and from history. [about]
3. Bahá'í Teachings and the Principle of Separation between Religion and State, by Mikhail Sergeev, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 1 (2012). Historical background of the concept of separation of church and state, some contemporary views within and without the Bahá'í community, and the nature of secular democracy. [about]
4. Concept of Nature in Baha'i Philosophy, The, by Jean-Marc Lepain, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 2-3 (2014). Philosophies of nature and of science; holistic approach to reality; subjectivity; the theory of intelligibility; metaphysics; nature as the will of God; continuity and discontinuity in nature; origin of the universe; emanation and manifestation. [about]
5. Criteria of Knowledge, The: Beyond Inspiration, by Julio Savi, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vols. 2-3 (2014). On the epistemology of inspiration and intuition; 4 criteria of human knowledge: sense perception, intellect, scriptural tradition, and inspiration. Abdu'l-Bahá adds a fifth: the inmost heart. [about]
6. Ernst Bloch's Philosophy of Hope and the Bahá'í Writings, by Ian Kluge, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 1 (2012). This Marxist thinker, like the Bahá'í perspective, adheres to an evolutionary worldview: reality is a teleological process in which all things strive to actualize their inherent potentials and complete themselves in their highest possible condition. [about]
7. Ethics Based on Science Alone?, by Ian Kluge, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 4 (2015). A critique of the idea that ethics can be based on science alone; questions of legitimacy and authority in ethics; reflections on Sam Harris' book The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values. [about]
8. Human Nature and World Religion: Toward a Bahá'í-Inspired Philosophical Anthropology, by Harold Rosen, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 1 (2012). On how the major religions depict human nature, philosophical anthropology, the shared metaphysical concept of four levels of reality, and the nature of divine reality across religions. [about]
9. Look at Harmony and Unity as Common Principles in the Confucian System and the Bahá'í Faith, A, by Benjamin Olshin, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vols. 2-3 (2014). Confucianism and the Bahá'í Faith represent complex and multi-faceted systems of philosophy, practice, and belief that resonate strongly with each other. The goal of both is for human beings to live in a society characterized by harmony and ethics. [about]
10. Macrocriticism: A Comparison of Nicolai Berdyaev and Shoghi Effendi, by Zaid Lundberg, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 1 (2012). Comparison of "the most widely read of the Russian religious philosophers" with the background and style of Shoghi Effendi's religious, ethical, and social writings. [about]
11. Mikhail Sergeev, Theory of Religious Cycles: Tradition, Modernity and the Bahá'í Faith: Review, by Benjamin Olshin, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 4 (2015). [about]
12. Philosophy Special Interest Group Sessions at the 38th Annual ABS Conference, 2014: Conference Report, by Ian Kluge, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vols. 2-3 (2014). Summary of four presentations: K. Naimi's "Thinking Sociologically About Independent Investigation," I. Kluge's "Insufficiencies of Secular Humanism," M. Sergeev's "Bahá’í Faith and Modernity," and J. Howden's "Unconscious Civilization." [about]
13. Theses on Modernity and the Bahá'í Faith, by Mikhail Sergeev, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 4 (2015). On how new religious movements respond to modernity; cycles of religion; project of modernity; culture vs. civilization; the Bahá'í extension of modernity; Bahá'í departure from modernity; separation of religion and state. [about]

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