Vol 3, No 1
The Pulse staff is pleased to present the Fall edition of the 2005-2006 academic year, which features the following outstanding pieces of scholarly writing. Three of the articles in this edition were written by underclassmen, and all five essays were originally written for undergraduate classes at Baylor. The diverse topics within this edition demonstrate a wide range of academic interest. Enjoy!
Discerning the Divine: Averroës and Martin Luther on Interpreting Holy Texts
By Zach Dietert
Twelfth century Muslim philosopher Averroës and the Christian reformer Martin Luther each struggle to free their respective holy texts from exclusive interpretation. Despite the authors' very different circumstances and approaches, an analysis of their commentary on scriptural interpretation reveals an extraordinary unity of purpose.
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Schizophrenia: A Complex Challenge in Health Economics
By Ta-Wei Lin
Efforts to optimize availability of medical options for the treatment and management of schizophrenia, a debilitating mental health disorder with high prevalence, can benefit from application of mental health economics. Evaluating economic costs to the individual, the individual's family, and society, while taking into consideration special problems with patient-induced demand and capacities for self-support, provides context for identifying current trends, areas of possible reform, and directions of research that will maximize the cost-effectiveness of available health care resources.
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Sentire et Sperare: The Use of Imagery in the De Rerum Natura
By Katie Smith
Lucretius, the leading Epicurean philosopher of the Roman period, details the Epicurean doctrine of physics in De Rerum Natura, his most extensive work. Lucretius proposes with use of imagery and analysis that the five senses, particularly sight, are the sole source of truth to the epistemological human.
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Vital Community in Dante's The Divine Comedy
By Amanda Weppler
Dante's Divine Comedy reveals the importance of love of the community by showing the torment of the broken community in the Inferno, the community reforming in the Purgatorio, and the joy of the perfected community in the Paradiso.
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The Historical Roots of Chinese Communism Propaganda
By Michael McCarty
Communist propaganda in China was not an accidental success; instead, its effectiveness stemmed from long-standing propaganda archetypes in Chinese history and culture. Mao Zedong and the other leaders of the CCP built upon precedents of propaganda from China's historical legacy of the powerful Emperors as well as the Confucian scholar-officials, and utilized those precedents to legitimize the power and ideology of the new regime.
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