Absolute Fact Research Articles

Relational Quantum Mechanics, quantum relativism, and the iteration of relativity

The idea that the dynamical properties of quantum systems are invariably relative to other systems has recently regained currency. Using Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) for a case study, this paper calls attention to a question that has been underappreciated in the debate about quantum relativism: the question of whether relativity iterates. Are there absolute facts about the properties one system possesses relative to a specified reference, or is this again a relative matter, and so on? It is argued that RQM (in its best-known form) is committed to what I call the Unrestricted Iteration Principle (UIP), and thus to an infinite regress of relativisations. This principle plays a crucial role in ensuring the communicability and coherence of interaction outcomes across observers. It is, however, shown to be incompatible with the widespread, conservative reading of RQM in terms of relations, instead necessitating the adoption of the more unorthodox notion of perspectival facts. I conclude with some reflections on the current state of play in perspectivist versions of RQM and quantum relativism more generally, underscoring both the need for further conceptual development and the importance of the iteration principle for an accurate cost-benefit analysis of such interpretations.

Conceptualising Discourse: The Ancient and Modern Greek Word of συζητώ - συζητέω (συ+ζητώ) in Modern Philosophy Law

This article undertakes to explain the importance of discourse in the modern philosophy of law. It conceptualises discourse as a step to the comprehensive truth of a phenomenon, which does not exist in most forms of modern methods. Therefore, modern philosophy of law must be sought through a vigorous application of the method of discourse in deducing the diversity of truth-seeking in modern legal doctrine and the application of law in contemporary society. In this article, the author endeavours to systemise that discourse is capable of comprehending a single absolute fact in legal doctrine and law, which is necessary to produce the exact procedures in society. Thus, discourse unfolds the relationship between the known and the unknown into a philosophical principle. It is then conceivable that discourse by its deduction creates societal forms and substances for the investigator to understand the true form and nature of law in society. Keywords: discourse, philosophy of law, law, ethics, and integrity

The agreement on the emphytesis concerning land for agricultural needs and peculiarities of judicial protection of the parties to such agreement

The article is devoted to the specifics of the normative and legal regulation of the contract of emphytheusis and its judicial practice, in which the right has a place, regarding the use of a plot of land for agricultural purposes.
 In the scientific literature, there are several approaches to defining the concept of emphytheusis. In particular, it is considered that this is a contract of use, which establishes a land easement, and as the right to own and use someone else's land plot for personal needs.
 It is an absolute fact that the current land legislation does not determine either the terms or the procedure for payment under the contract of emphyteussis. This means that the parties must determine these essential terms of the contract independently, which is essentially not only the duty, but also the right of the parties to such a contract. Failure to take into account and settlement or improper settlement of this issue may have negative consequences in the field of performance of such a contract.
 It is these problematic issues that most often become the subject of their judicial review. Of course, the long-term duration of such contracts does not take into account the inflationary components of the increase in the normative monetary value of land, other force majeure circumstances or changes in legislation, etc.
 These and other facts and circumstances definitely affect both proof and enforcement in the field of judicial protection of the rights of the parties to the emphytheusis contract. It is for these reasons that the author notes that judicial practice is not as unambiguous as it would be desirable. In this regard, the work examines the practice of the Supreme Court, which is essentially final in nature. At the same time, the work conducts a legal analysis of changes in the current legislation of Ukraine in the field of land use during the current state of war.
 The author also analyzes the issue of the automatic extension of emphyteusis treaties, based on their termination after the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. In addition, the work draws attention to the presence of legislative gaps, which courts overcome at the expense of judicial law-making in the field of emphytheusis legal relations, in connection with which the author provides suggestions on ways to eliminate them.

“They Are Not Gone – yet!” : Social Media Users’ Reaction to the Perceived Death of Cyber Acquaintances

Through in-depth interviews with 28 Iranian social media users, this paper examines the reaction of social media users to the perceived death of their online friends in order to find common threads of anxieties and uncertainties among users who experienced such events. We found that subjects experience contextual, cognitive and emotional difficulties in absorbing the news, leading them to go through an initial stage of wandering before dealing with the actual trauma. Such difficulties are categorized in terms of 5 generic conditions: Conceptual Dilemma, Rational Denial, Situational Puzzlement, Relational Confusion, and Environmental Inconsistency. With ample examples, we have discussed each condition and their interrelatedness. It seems that rather than an absolute fact, the death of an online friend is understood, or felt, as a fuzzy state of mixed presence and absence, in relation to which later death events in online or even offline situations may be understood.

State variable, entropy, should be negative

<p indent="0mm">The positive-and-negative property of a physical quantity is usually related to its physical meaning. The general convention is to use positive values to represent positive things and negative values to represent negative things. However, the state variable, entropy, is a strange physical quantity. From a macroscopic perspective, entropy represents the unavailable energy of the heat output of a thermodynamic system as it changes from an arbitrary state to a state in equilibrium with the environment, in short, the unavailable heat of the system. From a microscopic point of view, entropy represents the degree of disorder (chaos) in a system. Both the macroscopic and microscopic physical meanings of entropy indicate that it represents a negative thing. Therefore, entropy should be negative by its nature. However, historically, since Planck’s statement of Nernst’s heat theorem, entropy has always been taken for granted as a positive value. This is contrary to people’s cognitive habits, which adds to the mystery of entropy. Analyses indicate that Planck’s statement of Nernst’s heat theorem is not general and is valid only for single-component substances, such as perfect crystals. It is not an absolute fact that “entropy cannot be negative”. The Planck’s choice of a zero-temperature perfect crystal as the zero point of entropy is a non-physical operation and involves only a matter of convenience. Recently, based on the symmetry of reversible thermodynamics, a new equation of state for ideal solids has been established. Since entropy is explicitly included in the equation of state for ideal solids, the zero point of entropy cannot be chosen arbitrarily. The analysis from the thermodynamic stability and the verification of the property data show that entropy in the ideal solid equation of state must have a negative value. This physically specifies that the zero point of entropy should be the point of maximum entropy, i.e., the zero-pressure ideal gas limiting state. In fact, the ideal gas equation of state has a zero point of volume. That is the ideal solid limiting state (zero-volume state). At this zero point, the volume always takes a positive value. In brief, the zero point of volume of the ideal gas equation of state is the zero-temperature ideal solid, while the zero point of the entropy of the ideal solid equation of state is the zero-pressure ideal gas. The ideal solid equation of state is a creation of thermodynamic symmetry. The zero point of entropy, i.e., zero-pressure ideal gas is likewise a requirement of thermodynamic symmetry. The smaller the absolute value of negative entropy, the greater the unavailable energy of the system (the smaller the available energy) and the higher the degree of disorder of the system (the lower the degree of order). This is consistent with people’s cognitive habits. In addition, the zero-pressure ideal gas can be used as the zero point of entropy for both the ideal gas and the ideal solid equations of state, thus allowing a uniform orientation and division of the applicability of various practical equations of state between these two extreme equations of state. Unlike the choice of zero-temperature perfect crystal as the zero point of entropy, when zero-pressure ideal gas is used as the zero point of entropy, entropy takes a negative value, which is in accordance with the physical meaning of entropy and is also the requirement of thermodynamic symmetry. Taking a negative value for entropy is the physical, essential choice.

Utopian and Dystopian Themes in Tolkien’s Legendarium

Utopian and Dystopian Themes in Tolkien’s Legendarium

Dialog‐constraining institutional logics and their interactional manifestation in the science classroom

AbstractThis study seeks to understand why dialogic argumentation has not been adopted as a legitimate means of instruction by science teachers. To answer this question, this qualitative case study examines the mutually constitutive relationships between macrolevel phenomena, such as the taken‐for‐granted institutional mandates that teachers and schools call upon to maintain their legitimacy in society, and microlevel routinized teacher–student classroom interactions. Integrating ethnography with the analysis of classroom interactions, we seek to capture the social structuring that informs instruction and classroom interactions. Based on an inductive analysis of observations, interviews with teachers, and documents, three types of macrolevel institutional logics that mediate against the implementation of dialogic argumentation emerged. These included the logics of (a) accountability, (b) tracking, and (c) the profession. These logics give rise to instructional practices that run counter to the pursuit of dialogic argumentation. Classroom observations were analyzed to examine how these logics are conveyed through institutionally bounded interactions between teachers and students. Shaped by these institutional logics, instruction in classrooms is narrowed to mostly direct instruction of terminology and absolute facts, and is stratified into various status levels according to classroom tracking. We argue that teachers may resist dialogic argumentation primarily because it violates the fundamental rules, norms, and practices that grant them individual and organizational legitimacy. This contextualization of teacher–student interactions as motivated by institutional logics may explain in greater detail the absence of dialogic argumentation from science classrooms.

Boghossian, Bellarmine, and Galileo: Adjudication and epistemic relativism

Many prominent arguments for epistemic relativism take their departure from the observation that a certain kind of epistemic symmetry is present in particular empirical cases. In this paper, we seek to attain further clarity about the kind of symmetry at issue, and the sort of relativism to which such symmetry can reasonably be taken to give rise. The need for such an investigation is made apparent, we believe, by the fact that prominent anti-relativist arguments such as that advanced by Boghossian in his influential book Fear of Knowledge (2006) yield distorted pictures of the matter. Following Boghossian, we present our argument through a detailed consideration of the dispute between Bellarmine and Galileo concerning heliocentrism. Contrary to what Boghossian claims, the relevant sort of symmetry does not concern a difference in fundamental epistemic principles between Bellarmine and Galileo, but rather a much more localized difference in procedures for adjudication between shared principles in the novel epistemic circumstances generated by Galileo's telescopic observations. Bellarmine and Galileo advance fundamentally different procedures of adjudication that are nevertheless equally rational. The upshot is not so much the denial that there are absolute epistemic facts as such, as Boghossian thinks, but rather the denial that there is an absolute fact of the matter as to which was the most rational way to proceed: Bellarmine's or Galileo's. What this gives us, is the denial that there is a certain kind of absolute epistemic fact.

On the Unity of Revelation and True Philosophy

In this text, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand Solger (1780–1819), an influential but often overlooked figure in German Idealism and German Romanticism, offers an account on the relationship between revelation and philosophical thought. For Solger, the being of the eternal reveals itself in and to existence as a “creation out of nothing.” Similarly, existence seen from the position of the being of the eternal is the “nothing of being.” For the being of the eternal to enter into existence requires the sacrifice of existence, that is, the annihilation of the nothing of being. For Solger, the task of philosophy is to think these oppositions of the eternal and existence as a complete “passing over” movement, one which is comprised of creation and annihilation. Ultimately, “true philosophy” should attempt to think the “absolute fact” of revelation, namely, revelation as both thought in consciousness and experienced in its actuality in existence.

ScrapNet: An Efficient Approach to Trash Classification

As people have become more aware of their actions and how they affect their surroundings, they have realized the dire state of the environment. As a result, the recycling movement has gained momentum as a measure to save it. Contemporarily, the recycling industry has not seen a major shift and the problems that existed decades earlier persist. Trash classification is at the core of these problems, because if you can’t classify it, obviously you can’t recycle it. Manual classification often leads to misclassification as humans classify or judge things based on their experiences, knowledge, and not just absolute facts. Additionally, if the waste to be sorted is toxic, being in direct contact may be physically harmful to the people involved. Until a solution is found for this problem, the recycling industry won’t be on par with the rise in recycling culture. Thus, this is the problem we have set out to solve; this paper proposes a Deep Learning model based on EfficientNet Architecture that can classify different kinds of trash with an accuracy high enough to make it a viable solution for the industry while using a comparatively lower number of parameters than existing methods. We achieved an accuracy of 98% on the TrashNet dataset, the standard data for Trash classification, and outperformed all existing models. Additionally, as no large dataset with a varied set of trash images was present, we created a new dataset of 8135 images by combining various datasets and standardized them, achieving a classification accuracy of 92.87% with EfficientNet B3.

Perspectival objectivity

Brukner (2018) proposes a no-go theorem for observer-independent facts. A possible consequence of the theorem is that there can be no absolute facts about the world, only facts relative to an observer. However, admitting such observer dependency runs the risk of licensing pernicious anthropocentrism in our account of reality, thereby precluding the possibility of objectivity in scientific inquiry, which would surely count as a mark against taking Brukner's result too seriously at face value. In this paper I argue that, properly understood, observer-dependent reality does not preclude objectivity, and I claim that this idea has philosophical pedigree, too. Working through the examples of colour perception and causality, I identify a perfectly reasonable notion of 'perspectival objectivity'. I argue that such a view would not be out of place in Bohr's philosophy of quantum theory, and claim that this notion of perspectival objectivity can be appropriated as part of an understanding of quantum phenomena to take the sting out of the possibility of observer-dependent reality, and permitting the objectivity required for scientific inquiry.

Gender Precarity: Gender Identity and the Economy of Authenticity

In this paper I examine the role of authenticity within contemporary debates about gender identity with an eye to exploring the structure of sex and gender-based oppressions - with particular consideration with the marginalisation of trans subjects. I begin with a return to Butler's Gender Trouble to critically examine her ontology of gender and the suggestion that gender cannot be a matter of authenticity. Though this disagrees with the common schematic of trans identity mobilised within contemporary identity politics, this paper seeks to use this critique to provide a deeper explanation of trans oppression within the context of Butler's heterosexual matrix. The aim of this move is to situate trans struggles as central within philosophical feminist theory - whilst breaking from several of the shortcomings of contemporary identity ontology. These considerations will then be explored alongside Butler's work in Precarious Life, wherein the oppression of trans people will be explored in how these subjects bear a greater burden of authenticity - wherein trans genders are automatically regarded as authentic whereas cis genders remain unquestioned. This contextualises the rhetorical and ontological move adopted by many trans activists whereby they present gender as a matter of absolute and inviolable fact - which is incompatible with Butler's ontology of gender. Using bother of Butler's texts, we can regard this move as the pursuit of an impossible security, a move that serves to obscure the inauthenticity of gender overall. Instead, we are encouraged to embrace in inauthenticity of gender and to refuse to allow ourselves to sink into an economy of authenticity that marginalises trans subjects.

The Concept and Utilization of Swastika ‘Hooked Cross’ on Islamic Artefacts

‘Swastika’ is an equilateral hooked cross, it is one of the symbols that became popular to several nations of different cultures since prehistoric times. This symbol was associated, or rather, became symbol for some religious beliefs and spiritual concepts in some ancient civilizations. It has been extensively transmitted among several nations. Such prevalence proves the popularity that hooked cross ‘Swastika’ had attained, however, this caused the difficulty in determining its place of origin. Some historical studies suggested India as ‘Swastika’s’ homeland by the end of the Bronze Age, since it was predominantly a religious symbol of Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. The spread of Buddhism religion which held the hooked cross ‘swastika’ as a holy symbol, led to the emergence of swastika in China and Japan as symbol of prosperity. However, others, due to some evidences, pointed out to Mesopotamia, land of the oldest known civilization on universe, which later became a cultural center extended from the Near East to Central Europe, and in Asia it had widespread and reached as far east as China. In addition, hooked cross had been contemporary to ancient Egyptian civilization. This had been assured by the discovery of a rock drawing in the western desert of Upper Egypt. In late historical times, precisely, the Byzantine empire, hooked cross was also in use. Furthermore, it was in use in the Coptic art as well. Hooked cross ‘Swastika’ continued to be used in ancient historical eras; contributed in their arts, and till the modern era. In addition, the widespread of ‘Swastika’ resulted in being associated with several terms; Gammadion cross or Crux Gammata, Hakenkreuz, Fylfot (fower foot), Wan in china, Manji in Japan, Tau cross, and Thor’s hammer. In addition, each society used Swastika in a distinct fashion; it sometimes symbolized the Sun, good fortune, fertility, religious beliefs, etc. Through this stretched history, hooked cross’s symbolism had radically changed, especially in the 1st half of the 20th century A.D, after being chosen as symbol for the blossoming Nazi party founded by Adolf Hitler in Germany. Since then, the ‘Swastika’ had been effectively detached from its past, Germanized and reinvented as a symbol of German purity and supremacy. This paper enclosed a briefed history of the hooked cross ‘Swastika’ since its emergence, with stating the diverse thoughts of its place of origin. This is succeeded by the symbolism of the hooked cross ‘Swastika’ and the changes happened lately. The final point is the outline of applying hooked cross ‘Swastika’ in Islamic Art, this is supplemented by some chosen Applied artefacts demonstrating this. This paper aims at:- Illuminating on one of the most unique symbols with differ meanings and argumentative as well. - Focusing on themes of association between different nations on vast areas since very ancient times.- Deducing the Islamic art’s tendency to admitting decorative elements of several cultures, if there is no conflict with Islamic faith.- Hinting that absolute facts or concepts are not exist, and symbols – such as ‘Swastika’ are liable to multiple changes.

Formação de profissionais de Educação Infantil: experiências de estágio supervisionado

The goal of this work is to reflect our experience as teachers in a compulsory supervised training in Pedagogy course at Federal Fluminense University, which is a knowledge field that overcomes the instrumental traditional activity practice. Students face the interruption between theory/practice which is necessary as a formative area in educational studies and constructions in everyday school realities in Infant Education, where they live. We emphasize Japiassu with his uncertain pedagogy which breaks doctrines and absolute facts in the educational process, talk to Vigotsky and his emphasis in the meaning understandings and the existance meanings and also with Novoa about the teaching activity and the practices of reflexion. Authors and their thesis help us understand the teaching formation as an epistemological field.

Sein, Existenz und Bild in der Philosophie des späten Fichte

The late Fichte transforms transcendental philosophy into ontology, without transcendental philosophy ceasing to be transcendental philosophy. The center of his philosophy is no longer the transcendental self, but rather concepts like existence, light, image, from which the transcendental self can be derived. Against dogmatism, for which being is to be considered as an absolute fact, Fichte tries to show that being can be deduced and explained from the light, and that means: from transcendental freedom. Whatever exists is made from the substance of appearance, from the substance of visibility and light, from the material of the image. But the appearance, the image, the light, can only derive their creative power from the fact that they are (in absolute terms) the existence of the Absolute. And precisely at this point, under the idea that only the Absolute is, Fichte has repeatedly to cope with the question of the relation between the being-character of this substance and the being-character of the Absolute. Against his reiterated attempts to proceed this way, the difference between being and existence can not so easily be traced back to the concept of an absolute Being, in whose inner essence lies the fact that nothingness becomes itself an ‘apparent something’ (the world), against the background of which, and by which, the Absolute cannot be, and cannot be understood, except as absolute.

Leadbeater’s possum and Victoria’s Central Highlands’ forests: flawed science and environmental activism as drivers of forest management change

ABSTRACTAspects of the scientific discipline of forestry have endured decades of environmental activism aimed at discrediting it. Much of this activism has entailed strategic avoidance of inconvenient truths while promoting myths, half-truths and pseudo-science as though they are absolute fact. However, arguably of greater concern are more recent instances of false or unsupported claims about native forest management contained in some conservation-focussed research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.This paper examines recent scientific literature which addresses Leadbeater’s possum and broader conservation issues in the forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands. In assessing its contribution to the public and political discourse on forest management we identified the following six areas where much of this research is contentious:Leadbeater’s possum population estimatesThe proportions of forests respectively catering for conservation or wood productionValue of active forest management strategies for conserving Leadbeater’s possumForest carbon stocksThe concept of ecosystem collapseValue of environmental services derived from native forests.This contentious research is characterised by the omission of critically important context, reliance on flawed or wrong assumptions and errant citation practices. In the past, there would have been an expectation of such problems being identified and excluded during effective peer review by appropriate scientists. That this is no longer guaranteed is indicative of broken academic protocols.We conclude that there is evidence of a disturbing synergy between some peer-reviewed science and environmental activism in fashioning and promoting a questionable case for forest management change—in this instance, through advocacy of a proposed new national park that would restrict or end a range of public activities and decimate a significant and sustainable local timber industry.

A discursive question: Supporting student‐authored multiple choice questions through peer‐learning software in non‐STEMM disciplines

AbstractPeer‐learning that engages students in multiple choice question (MCQ) formulation promotes higher task engagement and deeper learning than simply answering MCQ’s in summative assessment. Yet presently, the literature detailing deployments of student‐authored MCQ software is biased towards accounts from Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM) subjects, rather than discursive subjects or disciplines where content may contain fewer absolute facts and objective metrics and more nuance. We report on qualitative and quantitative findings from a semester‐long deployment of a peer‐learning software package (PeerWise) in a 140‐student course on Interaction Design. PeerWise enables students to author, rate and comment upon their peers’ MCQ questions. The platform was enthusiastically adopted as a revision aid, yet overall question quality was poor and students expressed difficulty in translating the discursive nature of the course content into MCQs with only one correct answer. In addressing these shortcomings, this paper offers specific recommendations to instructors of more discursive subjects using student‐led MCQ authoring platforms, and further, how platforms such as PeerWise may be adapted to better suit disciplines characterised by discursive content. We propose alternative approaches to moderation and two suggestions for potential amendments to the software itself.

Fenomenologia transcendentalna jako prawdziwy empiryzm

The aim of the article is to demonstrate that phenomenology can be understood as true empiricism, that is to say, the empiricism free from naturalistic implication. This empiricism is a result of criticism of the rationalistic prejudices and it begins with a statement of the absolute fact of my transcendental consciousness (the fact of experience of my “I am”). According to Husserl, the principle of all principles of phenomenology means that actually experiencing consciousness plays a fundamental role in our knowledge as it is the ultimate justification and an original place of the demonstration of all sense. In this context, the author points out that principle of all principles may be considered as a postulate of empiricism , because all knowledge must be based on the absolutely given experience of the fact of “I am”. In contrast to traditional empiricism, phenomenological empiricism attempts to the solution of the opposition between empiricism and rationalism in the traditional sense and this solution takes place in the transcendental experience so that phenomenology, as noted by Ludwig Landgrebe, appears to be transcendental empiricism.

An effective value swapping method for privacy preserving data publishing

Privacy is an important concern in the society, and it has been a fundamental issue when to analyze and publish data involving human individual's sensitive information. Recently, the slicing method has been popularly used for privacy preservation in data publishing, because of its potential for preserving more data utility than others such as the generalization and bucketization approaches. However, in this paper, we show that the slicing method has disclosure risks for some absolute facts, which would help the adversary to find invalid records in the sliced microdata table, resulting in breach of individual privacy. To increase the privacy of published data in the sliced tables, a new method called value swapping is proposed in this work, aimed at decreasing the attribute disclosure risk for the absolute facts and ensuring the l-diverse slicing. By value swapping, the published table contains no invalid information such that the adversary cannot breach the individual privacy. Experimental results also show that the NEW method is able to keep more data utility than the existing slicing methods in a published microdata table. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The MotherSafe experience: demystifying perceptions regarding treating pregnant or breastfeeding mothers

Abstract MotherSafe is a state‐wide service operating in New South Wales, Australia. MotherSafe offers counselling services for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers regarding the potential effects of exposure to medications, radiation, possible environmental hazards, street drugs or household products, as well as the effects of occupation upon pregnancy and breastfeeding outcomes. Consumers call MotherSafe to check advice having been given by healthcare professionals, only to find that the advice has been unnecessarily alarming to the woman, and in many cases it is incorrect purely because the advice that has been provided is based upon a construct that has considered the pregnancy categorisation of the drug as an absolute fact, or upon an assumption that information relevant to pregnancy is also applicable to breastfeeding as well. Outlined here are a series of issues that should be considered in the provision of advice on these issues as they relate to pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as a summary of the resources available to inform evidence‐based advice.