London School of Theology

This article aims to formulate a philosophical problem that is grounded upon the Pan-Abrahamic nature of early Islam, focusing on the implications that this has for understanding the identity of the contemporary Islamic community. This philosophical problem—termed the Pan-Abrahamic Problem—is structured around the examination of Prophet Muhammad’s leadership and the inclusivity of the early Islamic community, as proposed by Fred Donner in the form of the Pan-Abrahamic Thesis. The formulation of this philosophical problem is presented through the lens of the philosophical criteria of continuity and connectedness of aims (doctrine) and organisation, as proposed by Richard Swinburne. This philosophical problem will, thus, offer a challenge against traditional exclusivist narratives within Islam, ultimately aiming to emphasise the inclusive and pluralistic foundation of the religion and the significance of this for the contemporary Islamic identity.

Images are central to our understanding of and learning about our world. We argue that visual training needs to be improved in the higher education system to enhance the potential of visual thinking to mediate productively our relationship with the context we inhabit. Initiatives from the social sciences and humanities since the end of the twenty century have highlighted the importance of training in visual research methods and visual literacy, but they also expose the scarcity of tools for understanding and applying images in research processes. In this paper, we examine the way visual methods were organised and employed in earlier studies and propose a new taxonomy. This classification will map these methods in an interdisciplinary framework that allows practitioners to use images in the development of projects. This proposal also seeks to inform future methodological approaches where images are recognised as a language of knowledge, analogous to numbers or linguistic expressions.

<p>Society faces grand challenges on a number of dimensions, for example: climate change, pandemics, security and geopolitics, and social exclusion. The future development of towns and cities is key to meeting these. The availability of analytic capabilities provides foundations for developing and evaluating alternative policies and plans. An extensive range of models is available, but they have not been well-focused on these kinds of grand challenges. A significant research task, therefore, is to review the modelling developments needed to provide the necessary analytics base. We consider in turn: the building bricks; the challenge of interdependencies and high dimensionality, using Lowry’s model as a framework; the integration of the elements into a comprehensive model as a basis for grand challenge analytics; and the challenges of implementation.<strong></strong></p>

Abstract This article aims to provide a philosophical elucidation of the concept of divine atemporality (i.e. divine timelessness and immutability), found within the theological trajectory of Classical Theism, and a philosophical model – termed Aspectival Pluralism – that demonstrates its compatibility with the further notion of Divine Preservation. To achieve this end, an original interpretation of the concept is formulated within the Aspectival Account and the thesis of Theistic Ontological Pluralism, as extended by the temporal ontology of Priority Presentism, introduced by Sam Baron, and the Exdurantist view of persistence, introduced by Theodore Sider, which will ultimately enable the notion to be elucidated in a clear and consistent manner and help to answer an important conceptual question concerning it.

ABSTRACT A free-range organic broiler (Gallus gallus domesticus) premises in Staffordshire was infected by high pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N8 during the 2020–2021 epizootic in the United Kingdom (UK). Following initial confirmation of the infection in poultry, multiple wild bird species were seen scavenging on chicken carcasses. Detected dead wild birds were subsequently demonstrated to have been infected and succumbed to HPAIV H5N8. Initially, scavenging species, magpie (Pica pica) and raven (Corvus corax) were found dead on the premises but over the following days, buzzards (Buteo buteo) were also found dead within the local area with positive detection of HPAIV in submitted carcasses. The subacute nature of microscopic lesions within a buzzard was consistent with the timeframe of infection. Finally, a considerable number of free-living pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were also found dead in the surrounding area, with carcasses having higher viral antigen loads compared to infected chickens. Limited virus dissemination was observed in the carcasses of the magpie, raven, and buzzard. Further, an avirulent avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1) was detected within poultry samples as well as in the viscera of a magpie infected with HPAIV. Immunohistochemistry did not reveal colocalization of avian paramyxovirus antigens with lesions, supporting an avirulent APMV-1 infection. Overall, this case highlights scenarios in which bi-directional transmission of avian viral diseases between commercial and wild bird species may occur. It also underlines the importance of bio separation and reduced access when infection pressure from HPAIV is high.

Mimesis played a crucial role in moral and civic education in Graeco-Roman antiquity. From classical Greek drama to Aristotle to the Graeco-Roman rhetorical traditions, mimetic ethics focuses on how personal example and imitation shaped people’s behaviour and character. Extended contact with the Graeco-Roman traditions led early Christianity to adopt the concept of mimesis in the overlapping spheres of family and education. Discipleship and citizenship intersect in that Christians are called to be good disciples or ‘citizens’ in God’s society. This study explores the Johannine, Pauline, and Petrine traditions and proposes that the mechanism of personal example and imitation regulates the ethical–political life of early Christians and instructs them to live well in both the church and society.

This paper aims to show that the experience of ‘primary recognition’ (O’Hara in Moral certainty and the foundations of morality, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2018) can be extended to human AI interactions. That is, I argue that human beings can (and do) experience non-rational, reflex moral responses to AI and social robots that fit O’Hara’s description of primary recognition. I give two plausible examples, one involving a military mine-sweeping robot and the other, a toy dinosaur called a ‘Pleo’. These experiences of primary recognition do not, however, settle the question of whether any particular AI can be considered a true moral patient or a ‘person’.