Predestination and freedom in Milton's 'Paradise lost'

John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) offers a highly creative seventeenth-century reconstruction of the doctrine of predestination, a reconstruction which both anticipates modern theological developments and sheds important light on the history of predestinarian thought. Moving beyond the framework of post-Reformation controversies, the poem emphasises both the freedom and the universality of electing grace, and the eternally decisive role of human freedom in salvation. The poem erases the distinction between an eternal election of some human beings and an eternal rejection of others, portraying reprobation instead as the temporal self-condemnation of those who wilfully reject their own election and so exclude themselves from salvation. While election is grounded in the gracious will of God, reprobation is thus grounded in the fluid sphere of human decision. Highlighting this sphere of human decision, the poem depicts the freedom of human beings to actualise the future as itself the object of divine predestination. While presenting its own unique vision of predestination, Paradise Lost thus moves towards the influential and distinctively modern formulations of later thinkers like Schleiermacher and Barth.

Does ICT promote democracy and economic freedom in Middle East?

This study investigates the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) expansion on economic and social freedom in the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates) for the period of 1996 to 2005. This study is unique as it analyzes the effect of institutional resistance (governments’ restrictions) on ICT development, economic freedom and democracy. The results show that institutional resistance poses a significant negative effect on ICT development and democracy. Results also show that ICT expansion in Middle East has not only been effective in bridging the Digital Divide, but that it had a positive impact on promoting civil liberties and economic freedom in a region that is vulnerable to political, social, and global conflicts.

The impact of information and communication technology (ICT), education and regulation on economic freedom in Islamic Middle Eastern countries

Our study investigated the impact of ICT expansion on economic freedom in the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen). Our empirical analysis used archival data from 1995 to 2005; it showed that ICT expansion in the Middle East has been effective both in bridging the digital divide and also in promoting economic freedom in a region that was vulnerable to political, social, and global conflict. However, differences between countries, such as the educational attainment of their citizens and institutional resistance to technology acceptance, both enhanced and restricted the relationship between ICT and economic freedom.

The social media paradox:an intersection with freedom of expression and the criminal law

This article begins by setting out the human rights provisions that apply to social media expression. It then provides insight into the part social media plays within our society by analysing the social media landscape and how it facilitates a ‘purer’ form of expression. The social media paradox is explored through the lens of current societal issues and concerns regarding the use of social media and how these have manifested into litigation. It concludes by analysing the tension that the application of an array of criminal legislation and jurisprudence has created with freedom of expression, and whether this can successfully mitigated by the Director of Public Prosecution’s Interim Guidelines.

A seismic shift? An evaluation of the impact of new media on perceptions of freedom of expression and privacy

New media platforms have changed the media landscape forever, as they have altered our perceptions of the limits of communication, and reception of information. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp enable individuals to circumvent the traditional mass media, converging audience and producer to create millions of ‘citizen journalists’. This new breed of journalist uses these platforms as a way of, not only receiving news, but of instantaneously, and often spontaneously, expressing opinions and venting and sharing emotions, thoughts and feelings. They are liberated from cultural and physical restraints, such as time, space and location, and they are not constrained by factors that impact upon the traditional media, such as editorial control, owner or political bias or the pressures of generating commercial revenue. A consequence of the way in which these platforms have become ingrained within our social culture is that habits, conventions and social norms, that were once informal and transitory manifestations of social life, are now infused within their use. What were casual and ephemeral actions and/or acts of expression, such as conversing with friends or colleagues or swapping/displaying pictures, or exchanging thoughts that were once kept private, or maybe shared with a select few, have now become formalised and potentially permanent, on view for the world to see. Incidentally, ‘traditional’ journalists and media outlets are also utilising new media, as it allows them to react, and disseminate news, instantaneously, within a hyper-competitive marketplace. However, in a world where we are saturated, not only by citizen journalists, but by traditional media outlets, offering access to news and opinion twenty-four hours a day, via multiple new media platforms, there is increased pressure to ‘break’ news fast and first. This paper will argue that new media, and the culture and environment it has created, for citizen journalists, traditional journalists and the media generally, has altered our perceptions of the limits and boundaries of freedom of expression dramatically, and that the corollary to this seismic shift is the impact on the notion of privacy and private life. Consequently, this paper will examine what a reasonable expectation of privacy may now mean, in a new media world.

Ultrahigh step-up dc-dc converter for distributed generation by three Degrees of Freedom (3DoF) approach

This paper proposes a novel dc-dc converter topology to achieve an ultrahigh step-up ratio while maintaining a high conversion efficiency. It adopts a three degree of freedom approach in the circuit design. It also demonstrates the flexibility of the proposed converter to combine with the features of modularity, electrical isolation, soft-switching, low voltage stress on switching devices, and is thus considered to be an improved topology over traditional dc-dc converters. New control strategies including the two-section output voltage control and cell idle control are also developed to improve the converter performance. With the cell idle control, the secondary winding inductance of the idle module is bypassed to decrease its power loss. A 400-W dc-dc converter is prototyped and tested to verify the proposed techniques, in addition to a simulation study. The step-up conversion ratio can reach 1:14 with a peak efficiency of 94% and the proposed techniques can be applied to a wide range of high voltage and high power distributed generation and dc power transmission.

Adósság, pénz és szabadság = Taxation, money and freedom

A tanulmány a Déltengeri Társasággal foglalkozó tanulmány folytatása (Madarász [2011]). A 18. századi brit államadósság szerepéről és kezeléséről szóló modern gazdaságtörténeti értékelések áttekintése után a tanulmány részletesen bemutatja Davenant, Defoe, Bolingbroke, Hume, Wallace, Pinto, Steuart és Smith érvelését a \"közhitel\" lehetséges és szükségszerű gazdasági és politikai hatásairól, a háborús kiadások fedezésének módjairól. Részletesebben tárgyalja Hume és Smith álláspontját a papírpénz és a bankok szerepéről, a pénzmennyiség változásának következményeiről és a skóciai \"szabad\" bankrendszer jellemzőiről. A vita egyik oldalán a közhitelt szükséges, ám veszélyes eszköznek tekintették, amely válságba sodorhatja az országot, és aláássa a politikai szabadságot, a másik vélemény szerint a kereskedő állam adóssága szükséges és előnyös, ösztönzi a gazdaság fejlődését, és kifejezi a polgárok bizalmát a kormányzat iránt. / === / The study, following on from the author s previous work on the history of South Sea Company, focuses on the issue of public debt in 18th-century British economic writings. The first part reviews recent debates among economic historians: how to explain the growing credibility of British governments after 1689. The next details the arguments of some important protagonists in the early modern age - Davenant, Defoe, Bolingbroke, Hume, Wallace, Pinto, Steuart and Smith - on the expected economic and political consequences of an increasing public debt and on the methods of financing wars. This is followed by discussion of the monetary theories of Hume and Smith, notably their views on banks, credit, paper money, the effects of increasing money supply, and the features of free\" Scottish banking system. Two main lines of argument were advanced in the controversies on public debt. Several writers regarded it as a necessary but dangerous instrument that undermines political liberty and can lead the state into financial bankruptcy. Others described it as not only necessary, but advantageous to a commercial nation, by stimulating trade and development and symbolizing the public s confidence in their government.

The civil war of ideas: Ayn Rand, intellectual freedom, and the regulation of thought in the Soviet Union and United States, 1905-1943

The philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand (1905–1982) is an icon of American culture. That culture misunderstands her, however. It perceives her solely as a pure market conservative. In the first forty years of her life, Rand's individualism was intellectual and served as a defense for the free trade of ideas. It originated in the Russian Revolution. In 1926, when Rand left the Soviet Union, she developed her individualism into an American philosophy. Her ideas of the individual in society belonged to a debate where intellectuals intended to abolish the State and free man and woman from its intellectual snares. To present Rand as a freethinker allows me to examine her anticommunism as a reaction against Leninism and to consider the relation of her ideas to Marxism. This approach stresses that Rand, as Marx, opposed the State and argued for the historical importance of a capitalist revolution. For Rand the latter, however, depended on an entrepreneurial class that rejected Protestantism as ideology – which she contended threatened its interests because Christianity had lost its historical significance. This exposes the nature of Rand's intellectual individualism in American society, where the majority on the entire political spectrum still identified with the teachings of Christ. It also reveals the dynamics of her anticommunism. From 1926 to 1943, Rand remodeled American individualism and as she did so, she determined her opposition first to the New Deal liberals and second business conservatives. To these ends, Marxism and Protestantism served Rand's individualism and made her an American icon of the twentieth century.

Silence by Stealth: Freedom of the Press and Polarization in Latin America

The weak democratic systems that followed decades of military dictatorships in Latin America coupled with the emergence of new authoritarian regimes of the left have had a significant impact on the relationships between the governments and the media. The new populist leaders have challenged the media that have generally reflected the perspectives of the traditional elites. This ideological clash has renewed direct and indirect censorship, curtailing freedom of expression and thus, freedom of the press. In this context, this paper discusses the mechanisms used by Latin American governments, particularly the new authoritarianism of the left, to silence dissident voices. Many of these mechanisms are legal, found in laws related to personal injury and defamation. Others have been of constitutional nature, invoking states of emergency or national security concerns. Some governments have used institutional means to close down newspapers and other sources of information. Current media conditions in Latin America show growing polarization. This has led to considerable levels of violence and intimidation against editors, journalists, and news crews in several countries. It is precisely this type of deterioration of fundamental rights that leads to questioning the strength and sustainability of Latin American democracies.

Remembering Pedro Pan: Faith, Family, and Freedom in Cuban-American Collective Memory , Lecture by Anita Casavantes Bradford

This flyer promotes the event "Remembering Pedro Pan: Faith, Family, and Freedom in Cuban-American Collective Memory Lecture by Anita Casavantes Bradford" and cosponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Center and the Green Library