This chapter considers the theology and spirituality of Gregory the Great, who exerted a profound influence on medieval theology until AD 1150. Key themes discussed include allegorical readings of the Bible, Christology, desire, contemplation and suffering.

‘Empirical legal studies’ refers to research which applies quantitative methods to questions about the relationship between law and society.1 It is conceded that, terminologically, it would also be possible to include qualitative methods, and that many projects indeed call for a mix of quantitative and qualitative empirical tools.2 However, pragmatically it makes sense to have a special research field on the quantitative methods of empirical legal studies as these use distinct tools in order to establish causal relationships.

Some traditional comparative lawyers denounce postmodern comparative law as being ‘incomprehensible’.1 Indeed, it is often fairly complex. Yet this chapter aims to show that it is possible to make it comprehensible. It also highlights both its strengths and limitations. To start with, Section A explains that ‘postmodernism’ is understood as a wide label for research that challenges the traditional method but does not merely suggest ‘modern’ adjustments.

Richard of St. Victor is widely known for the so-called social or interpersonal model of the Trinity, discussed in detail in this chapter. His views on reason and intellect (from The Mystical Ark) are also examined in some detail.

According to Lord Kelvin (1883), ‘[w]hen you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of the meagre and unsatisfactory kind’.1 Lord Kelvin was a natural scientist, but today many social scientists would agree that quantitative approaches are central to scientific progress. Legal researchers have joined in relatively late, but there is now also a growing use of quantitative studies in law.

After a brief survey of his life, this chapter examines the theology of St. Augustine, focusing on his views on faith and reason, theology of the Trinity and the psychological analogy, salvation, and spirituality (frui and uti).

The growing use of socio-legal comparative law responds to the lack of consideration given by traditional comparative law to both the law in practice and the relationship between law and society. It also reflects developments in general legal scholarship as many countries have seen a trend towards scholarship in socio-legal studies, law and society and empirical legal research, using qualitative or quantitative methods.

This chapter provides an overview of some of the more common human rights violations with corporate involvement. The non-exhaustive overview aims to provide some initial insights into how corporate conduct can affect and impact human rights and to show the breadth of issues that fall under a BHR lens. Hence, the focus is on problems rather than solutions. The issues and violations dealt with are selected with a view on multinational corporations in particular. Furthermore, the selected issues are cross-cutting – that is, not specific to one particular industry. The chapter covers human rights problems relating to employment relations, corporate supply chains, affected communities, the environment, and particularly vulnerable groups such as Indigenous peoples or human rights defenders. Violations include discrimination, child labor, forced labor and modern slavery, and land grabbing, among others.

In 1910, Hermann Ebbinghaus famously described psychology as having “a long past but only a short history” (p. 9). By “history,” Ebbinghaus was apparently referring to the brief period of time when experimental psychologists had been consciously working as members of a new, official discipline; the first psychology laboratory had been opened only about thirty years before his comment. By “past,” Ebbinghaus seemed to reference the age-old questions about human behavior and experience that psychologists study; for thousands of years, scholars had been debating and writing about these topics. If you have taken other courses in psychology, you are likely already familiar with some of these questions, and it is helpful to consider them as we take a brief tour through the history of psychology.

This book has reviewed the development of psychology from its roots in philosophy; through the great advances in physiology and other life sciences in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries; and finally Wilhelm Wundt’s founding of psychology as an independent science late in the nineteenth century. Since then many psychologists have been part of the “short history” of the field. In considering some of them we have emphasized not only their theoretical, empirical, and practical contributions to psychology but also their lives and careers, successes and failures, triumphs and frustrations.

In the last chapter, we covered the work of philosophers and scientists who laid the foundations for psychology as a discipline. However, there is one area of science that is even closer to psychology and that also has long roots: neuroscience. In the present chapter we consider the history of neuroscience, focusing on work that was particularly influential on psychology. Much of that work can be divided into two questions. First, what are the relationships between anatomy (structure) and physiology (function) for specific behavioral phenomena? That is, where in the nervous system do different activities take place? What parts of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves do what? This is sometimes known as the localization problem. Second, what are the dynamic processes that the nervous system uses to transmit information? What are the specific chemical and electrical mechanisms that enable communication through the nervous system?

The thought of Ockham represents a watershed in medieval theology. Ockham is often seen as the father of nominalism, and his epistemology, views on faith and reason, theology and philosophy, are duly examined.

This chapter studies the Trinitarian theology of Jan van Ruusbroec and his ideal of the common life. It finishes with a short examination of the remarkable movement known as the Devotio Moderna (Modern Devotion), founded by Geert Grote.