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Category: Blog
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Big Belief and Big Doubt. Navigating the Altar of Autocomplete
Abstract In the complex landscape of 2026, the concepts of “Big Belief” and “Big Doubt” emerge as the critical navigational anchors for the human mind. “Big Belief” refers to an “interpretive priority” where a comprehensive worldview—be it religious or naturalistic—orients a person’s engagement with every object and event in reality. Conversely, “Big Doubt” represents the…
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An Australian Political Analysis. Queensland and Michael Macklin
Management Institute for Contributory Economy This essay examines the trajectory of Australian politics with a specific focus on the unique socio-intellectual landscape of Queensland and the pivotal role played by Dr. Michael Macklin. Utilizing his dual career as a philosopher of education and a Senator for the Australian Democrats (1981–1990), the analysis explores how Macklin’s…
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Local Example of Progressive Theology in the late 1960s: The Logic of Analogy and the Leap of Faith
Dr Neville Buch Abstract Produced in 1967 by Michael Macklin (writing as Br. Ronald OFM), Analogy, Analysis and God represent a significant local example of progressive theological inquiry in Queensland during the late 1960s. This philosophical thesis navigates the “crisis of theological language” prompted by the rise of logical positivism and linguistic analysis. By evaluating…
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The Cognitive Pedagogy of Choice and Living Freedom
Dr Neville Buch Abstract In the contemporary landscape of 2026, the dynamic of cognition for living freedom of belief is increasingly caught between the growing formalization of algorithmic education and the radical necessity for a pedagogy of choice. This essay explores how standardized machine-based routines risk modifying consciousness into “passive, dependent, filled” patterns, contrasting…
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1986 Pentecostal Gathering. Faith and Power in the Queensland Deep North
Dr Neville Buch Abstract The 1986 Pentecostal Gathering at the Christian Outreach Centre in Mansfield represents a definitive moment in the intersection of Queensland’s political and religious sub-cultures, marking the peak of an alliance between the Bjelke-Petersen administration and neo-Pentecostalism. This essay explores how the state’s political culture—defined by a “Deep North” ethos of…
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Pedagogy of the Oppressed and The Pedagogy of Choice: Freire & Illich and Convivial Learning
Dr Neville Buch Abstract As we navigate the educational landscape of 2026, the increasing formalization of online learning and the algorithmic character of machine-based education have resurrected the radical critiques of Paulo Freire and Ivan Illich. This paper provides the theoretical background for a Dimensions of Choice (DoC) analysis, contrasting the “banking system” of…
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What is Sociology of Education?
Dr Neville Buch Abstract This essay defines the Sociology of Education today as a critical interdisciplinary field focused on the remediation of “denoetization”—the mechanical liquidation of the human capacity for judgment. Drawing on the Dynamic of Cognition (DoC) and Spiral Historiography frameworks, it argues that education is no longer merely the transmission of content…
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The Altar and the Academy: Worldviews in a Secular Age
Dr Neville Buch Abstract This essay introduces the complex interplay between education, religion, and the rising influence of non-religion in contemporary society. It explores how educational institutions have become primary battlegrounds for competing worldviews, ranging from conservative “combat concepts” to the Enlightenment-driven secular critiques of faith. Drawing on historical and sociological perspectives, the discussion…
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Global Themes that Australian Studies-in-Religion scholars are missing
10 May 2026 Dr Neville Buch Necessity and Choice. The Architecture of Necessity and Human Authorship Abstract This essay explores the dialectic between necessity and choice within the frameworks of semantic theory, sociology of education, and religious studies. It posits that while neoliberal models of “rational choice” attempt to reduce human behaviour to the mechanical…
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The Architecture of Epistemic Violence and the Techné Mindset
Contents Abstract 2 The Architecture of Epistemic Violence and Power: A Synoptic View.. 2 Endnotes and References. 4 Bibliography. 5 POSTSCRIPT QUESTIONS. 6 Explain the difference between ‘know-how’ and ‘know-that’ in communicative competence. 6 How does Sellars defend his ‘big picture’ against representationistic critics?. 7 How does the ‘Synoptic Vision’…