13AR18-47
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Apologia Report 18:47 (1,183)
December 31, 2013
Subject: Depression, our "preeminent public health menace?"
In this issue:
ATHEISM - a comprehensive picture of how philosophy and theism have influenced each other over time
CULTURE - the sad epidemic: "clinical depression dominates contemporary culture's discussion of mental illness"
ORIGINS - the biggest creationism player in Islam?
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ATHEISM
God in Proof: The Story of a Search from the Ancients to the Internet, by Nathan Schneider [1] -- this book is not likely to impress the sophist, but there's plenty here to captivate those who want a comprehensive picture of how philosophy and theism have influenced each other over time - right up to the recent past.
Schneider gives us a historical overview of the proofs for God's existence, describing his visits to various camps of leading figures who support and oppose belief in God. Along the way he introduces us to well-known contemporary representatives of these camps and makes interesting observations about his encounters. Schneider discusses the value and limitations of debate, expressing a real appreciation for how courtesy in confrontation pays dividends.
Schneider often describes his ongoing and uncertain struggle with Roman Catholicism. At first I (RP) wondered if this tension was just another literary tease, but having read some of Schneider's investigative work online, it rings true.
The material is sufficiently technical to challenge readers who are unfamiliar with philosophy. Even so, many readers will benefit from the encounter. Schneider is unbiased enough to make this a profitable read for most who find the subject of interest, no matter their position on the existence of God.
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CULTURE
The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic, by Jonathan Rottenberg [2] -- Publishers Weekly (Dec '13, #3) tells us: "Although clinical depression dominates contemporary culture's discussion of mental illness, it is often treated as a chemical defect or a state that individuals can overcome through attitude changes. Drawing on epidemiological evidence and his own experimental research, psychologist Rottenberg urges that we understand depression through the science of mood, or 'affective science.' In this stimulating book that synthesizes research and memoir, [Rottenberg] observes that mood science provides insights into why humans experience low mood - the defining feature of depression - and allows us to explore its causative forces. He calls attention to the many triggers of low mood - group separation, stress, death of loved ones - arguing that humans share a mood system with other mammals that alerts us to the ways social loss can jeopardize our survival; thus, a low mood forces a reassessment of the best course of action in a given situation."
Kirkus (Dec '13, #2) adds: "Rottenberg (Psychology/Univ. of South Florida) calls attention to the epidemic increase of depression - not only in America, but also in England, Canada and Italy. With more than 15 percent of the population affected by depression, he writes, it is threatening to become 'a preeminent public health menace.' Despite the massive resources devoted to research and treatment of the disease, 'it is striking people at younger and younger ages.' Drawing on his own experience as director of the USF Mood and Emotion Laboratory and as someone who himself underwent a multiyear bout of deep depression, he points to disappointing progress in the development of effective antidepressants over the past 60 years, when the rate of recurrence is factored in. ... In Rottenberg's opinion, our cultural emphasis on being upbeat can be counterproductive. The human capacity for reflection can derail this semiautomatic process when we seek to enhance pleasurable upbeat moods and worry about being depressed. By shifting our attention to our own mental processes, we risk losing sight of broader goals. Rottenberg does not dismiss the benefits of talk therapy and medications to treat depression or deny the role of genetic predisposition. His laudable aim is to broaden the discussion." This book calls for "a new 'diagnostic and therapeutic' paradigm for treating depression by framing it as a mood disorder rather than a disease."
Paradoxically, is it not depressing that there is so much money changing hands amidst the all-consuming rise of the health care industry? Since the 1980s health care has increasingly abandoned its benevolent non-profit heritage. Who can avoid noticing how "Big Pharma" advertising continues to grow with its typically attendant hall-or-horrors fine print litany of potential drug side-effects.
Full-page ads are pretty much the rule in the December 23 issue of Time magazine. However, only four different market segments are represented by multi-page ads.
The largest of these groups, totaling about 20 pages - all multi-page (one 5+ pages) - in that issue of Time are for pharmaceutical company products. These are ads for brands often unfamiliar to most of us. In fact, the products are likely appropriate for only a tiny fraction of Time's readers - and even then, as a rule, "by prescription only." Perhaps we haven't paid attention to all of this because society is high on drugs itself.
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ORIGINS
"Islamic Creationism: Harun Yahya's Global Publishing Empire" by Stefano Bigliardi -- this cover story begins: "Creationism has gone global, and in the Muslim world, it is mainly associated with one pen name: Harun Yahya. Behind this pseudonym ... is a whole enterprise whose public face is the Turkish writer, religious leader, and TV personality Adan Oktar....
"Oktar is unlikely to have written (or read) all of Yahya's works. Their original nucleus is produced by a team whereas the translations are commissioned to, or more probably spontaneously carried out by, sympathizers the world over.
"Harun Yahya's works are written in plain language, they are highly repetitive, and seem to mainly be composed using a bold copy-paste technique, with a system of quotations somewhat below any acceptable standard of scholarship. The books are indeed sprinkled with de-contextualized quotations from major scientists along with more controversial figures, no distinction being made between the respective intellectual profiles.
"It is difficult to catch a glimpse of the real dimensions, sources, and reach of the enterprise. In 1990, Oktar founded the Scientific Research Foundation (SRF). The Foundation for Protection of National Values (FPNV) followed in 1995. The goal of the SRF whose website boasts the organization of more than 2,600 scientific events in Turkey and abroad, is the '...establishment of a worldwide living environment that is dominated by peace, tranquility [sic] and love'; it is principally devoted to the defense of creationism. ...
"According to Yahya, Darwinian evolutionist doctrines are the source and least common denominator of all the violent and repressive phenomena of the last century, such as terrorism and totalitarianisms (communism and fascism alike), all rejected on a par with racism, romanticism, capitalism, Buddhism, and Zionism (which after flirting with Holocaust denial in the 1990s he explicitly distinguishes from Judaism). He claims that they received constant support throughout the millennia by Freemasonry, whose agency he describes as the principal occult actor of history in all its anti-religious manifestations. ... Yahya rejects Darwinism following a double-track criticism: on the one hand he points out its moral consequences, whose disastrous effects he envisages in history. On the other hand he claims that Darwinism lacks scientific proof. ...
"Against the evils that affect contemporary society, Yahya endorses an ecumenical and messianic form of Islam based on a return to religious values that have their symbols and examples in the Prophets. According to Yahya, the time of the coming of a last prophet or Mahdi is near; he will appear and begin his activity in Turkey, the country that Yahya considers endowed with moral superiority and therefore apt to take up the leading role in an Islamic union. It is to be remarked that, despite refusing to explicitly identify with the Mahdi, Yahya constantly describes him in a way that curiously fits his own profile."
Bigliardi's analysis is so dismissive as to be unhelpful regarding much of Yahya's actual written content. Skeptical Inquirer, 38:1 - 2014, pp32-37.
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - God in Proof: The Story of a Search from the Ancients to theInternet, by Nathan Schneider (Univ of Calif Prs, 2013, hardcover, 272 pages) <www.ow.ly/mvyhW>
2 - The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic, by Jonathan Rottenberg (Basic Books, February 2014, hardcover, 272 pages) <www.ow.ly/s0dEC>
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