Absolute Truth Research Articles

The Problem of Relativism and Its Implication on Contemporary Issues in Islam Based on Al-Attas’ Worldview Theory

The relativism problem –allegedly has become a frightening specter for a stable religious and social existence. Relativism which believes there is no absolute truth; the truth is relative, raises a problem by denying the existence of God's truth and declaring that human is the measure of all things. Even though human statements, when viewed from this review, also become very relatively charged. Therefore, an in-depth study of relativism and its implication for Islam must be investigated. This paper tried to provide a solution problem of relativism by using the worldview theory from Al-Attas, which can guide humans to know the direction and purpose of their behavior in viewing actual reality. The authors used a qualitative research method, collected data on the issues raised from various reading sources such as books and journals, and analyzed data using Al-Attas' theory. Critical analysis methods supported by solid historical reviews found that this understanding of relativism triggered other notions that deconstructed the truth claims of Islam as a complete religion and messed up fixed Sharia law 'śawābit'. Relativism is the root cause of multi-dimensional problems, especially religion and social issues. Therefore, the existence of an ideal moral measure that is universal is necessary and manifest.

The question of freedom in doping: A moral approach

In this paper, two questions are been put forward: whether doping falls within the athlete's freedom to do what they can to enhance their performance and whether or not is necessary an establishment of limits on the scientific research concerning these substances. Following this line of thought, two aspects of freedom are raised: the freedom of the athlete, and the freedom of the scientist. These two aspects are discussed within a moral framework, in particular that of moral relativism. For the first question, based on the theory, the athlete may consider that there is no absolute truth about doping, such as e.g. that it is wrong and not beneficial for sports, athletes, etc. The morally rightness of doping depends on the moral character of each athlete and/or the association, the country she/he represents. For the second question, one might consider that research in the field in question is not morally wrong. By investigating the properties of various substances we could be led to cures for several diseases and even to the augmentation of human capabilities. Both aspects are also discussed through selected interview answers of professional athletes.

Цивилизационный субъект в ХХI в. и моральный универсализм

The article is devoted to some reflections on how a civilizational subject should behave in the conditions of the degradation of Western culture that has emerged in the 21st century and the resurrection of the idea of essentially tribal or ethnic separatism in the world community. At the same time, the coming era is characterized by the philosophical justification of the “truth” of the golden billion, the realization of which involves the disappearance of seven billion human lives. The thinking of the last century led humanity to a global catastrophe, to the closing of the path to truth. The affirmation of the real truth of global geopolitics as the design of the will to power as the original absolute truth was a consequence of the recognition of the death of God as a stream of non-truth of a metaphysical idea. The author believes that the main element of the direction of the current situation is moral universalism, which develops into universal philosophical truth. Such universalism unites people with their ethnic, national and other differences. This universalism of the truth of being is based of a real policy of harmonization of human relations, combining the civilizational reconstruction of industrial and social life with its adaptation to environmental practice, ensuring the preservation of nature and humans. The author draws on the cultural ideas of Eastern and Western philosophers: Nishida Kitaro, Hobbes, Hegel, Bergson, Heidegger, Schelling, Rosenzweig.

Anti-science Narratives as a Form of Legitimization of Post-truth

This article sets forth a Critical Discourse Analysis of the anti-vaccinist narratives kindled by the Covid 19 medical crisis with a view to identifying those elements of the discourse that would mark a degradation of the medical discourse (in the sense of its ostracization) and the entrance into a new era of communication: post-truth. Post-truthfulness is seen here as a disaggregation of the traditional discourse (that was in the service of truth) and a reaggregation of the discourse in a pattern where personal truth is validated in discourse as absolute truth. The article analyses both the de-construction of the traditional discourse and the re-construction of the new one emphasizing in both situations the linguistic means that are used to serve every purpose. The anti-scientific discourse produced by those supposed to support it is analysed in order to identify the major topics that are exploited with a view to persuading audiences of the science’s negative impact of people’s life.

Modernizing Myth: Madeline Miller and the Continuation of the Monomyth

Greek mythology is generally looked upon as stagnated stories of made up characters and monsters; however, through the words of one contemporary author, Madeline Miller, mythology is revealed to be a modern phenomenon, not solely a classical one. This essay explores the works of Miller’s Young Adult novels, Song of Achilles, Circe, and Galatea that reveal unrepresented and misunderstood segments of mythology, interpreting them to empower and reveal aspects of not only Antiquity but also modern society. Her interpretation inevitably encourages young readers to challenge classical history that people have normally accepted as absolute truths, which allows myths to be more accessible to the modern reader while utilizing an evolving perspective. The stories she creates are different compared to mainstream interpretations, but they are still authentic. In a way, Miller is the modern Homer, adding to the ancient tapestry of mythology while weaving in her own threads to add to history and myth that transcend both time and space.

Mimicking non-ideal instrument behavior for hologram processing using neural style translation.

Holographic cloud probes provide unprecedented information on cloud particle density, size and position. Each laser shot captures particles within a large volume, where images can be computationally refocused to determine particle size and location. However, processing these holograms with standard methods or machine learning (ML) models requires considerable computational resources, time and occasional human intervention. ML models are trained on simulated holograms obtained from the physical model of the probe since real holograms have no absolute truth labels. Using another processing method to produce labels would be subject to errors that the ML model would subsequently inherit. Models perform well on real holograms only when image corruption is performed on the simulated images during training, thereby mimicking non-ideal conditions in the actual probe. Optimizing image corruption requires a cumbersome manual labeling effort. Here we demonstrate the application of the neural style translation approach to the simulated holograms. With a pre-trained convolutional neural network, the simulated holograms are "stylized" to resemble the real ones obtained from the probe, while at the same time preserving the simulated image "content" (e.g. the particle locations and sizes). With an ML model trained to predict particle locations and shapes on the stylized data sets, we observed comparable performance on both simulated and real holograms, obviating the need to perform manual labeling. The described approach is not specific to holograms and could be applied in other domains for capturing noise and imperfections in observational instruments to make simulated data more like real world observations.

True Knowledge in the Bhagavad-Gītā: A Philosophical Perspective

In this research paper, I shall attempt to discuss the perspective of Bhagavad-gītā on true knowledge. The Bhagavad-gītā is one of the essential fundamental sources of Indian philosophical understanding and spiritual realization out of three basic sources. The knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā is the supreme wisdom and superior spiritual as well as the finest philosophical realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. The wisdom of Bhagavad-gītā is revealed by the self-realized individual soul. Among the different species of life, human life is an excellent production of material nature. Human beings have the higher intelligence to understand the Absolute Truth through imperishable transcendental knowledge. Philosophical understanding of the field of activity and knower of the field of activity have constituted the true knowledge in the human intellectual and advanced human civilization. Knowledge is the intellectual power and spiritual enlightenment of human beings. The material nature is temporary and constituted by the three unseen strands. Individual souls are apart from the material universe. Instead of it, they are inseparable eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Eternal Spiritual Reality. Everything is emanating from the Absolute Truth and the Absolute Truth is realized by the different transcendentalists in three different features. As far as Bhagavad-gītā is concerned, the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of the Godhead, Kṛṣṇa who has existed with the transcendental body of the Consciousness-Existence-Blissful eternally. Nothing comes from the void; everything comes from the Supreme Spiritual Perfect Eternal Personal Being.

Christian Ethics and Distance Education

Ever since the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic as a worldwide crisis, the educational approach across the world has undergone a transformation. Both teachers and students are using an online method of teaching and learning. In applying this method, they experience a new challenge related to the moral and ethical aspects of online learning or distance education. This study aims to determine the application of Christian ethics in distance education. It uses a qualitative approach. The study suggests that incorporating Christian ethics, which are founded on the principles of God’s teachings, should be integrated into distance education, as secular ethical principles are insufficient in establishing the value of absolute truth. Utilizing Christian ethical principles as a compass can serve as a reliable method for addressing moral and ethical inquiries. It has the potential to positively impact individuals who follow it. By embracing it as a solution, one can reduce or even conquer any challenges associated with ethical dilemmas.

Book Review

While the first-person style of philosophising has a long tradition dating back to Plato and Socrates, it has been almost completely abandoned in modern times, as scholars tend to present their philosophical ideas in a matter-of-fact manner, omitting (or concealing) possible biases, personal preferences, and dispositions. That such an approach gives only an illusion of objectivity is a major theme of Triumph of Uncertainty. Developing a subjectivist approach to both philosophy and science, Tauber has written an intimate self-reflection, calling for a greater appreciation of the personal, if not in style, then in awareness of the thinker's subjective role in his/her own research. He does so by demonstrating how the analytical, whether scientific or philosophical, cannot be sundered from human-centered values, experience, cultural bias, and emotional influences. The book begins with a review of the roots of the author's own speculative temperament traced to his childhood and adolescence as a son of Hungarian Holocaust survivors in America (Chapter 1). He discusses his early career choices, which at the time were equally driven by his immigrant insecurities, internal emotional struggles, and his evolving youthful interests in humanities and science (Chapter 2). Although he eventually followed the voice of rational objectivity by pursuing a career in academic medicine, disillusionment crept into his work in the laboratory and at the bedside, making him realise that the absolute certainty and truthfulness so expected of experimental research were unachievable (Chapter 3). This realisation set him on a trail of intellectual exploration, which he decided to pursue no longer at the laboratory bench, but within the walls of a philosophy department (Chapters 4–5).

An Apology for a Dynamic Ontology: Peirce’s Analysis of Futurity in a Nietzschean Perspective

Ontology is a part of metaphysics; it concerns what there is. Is it possible to consider being and reality not in a traditional metaphysical way—that is, not as a ground, an origin, a cause, but as a movement, a flux, a dynamogenic principle? I will set out from a seminal aphorism by Nietzsche, occurring in Human, all too Human (§2): “A lack of the historical sense is the hereditary fault of all philosophers. But everything has evolved; there are no eternal facts, as there are likewise no absolute truths. Therefore, historical philosophising is henceforth necessary, and with it the virtue of diffidence”. I will then move on to explore Peirce’s late thought, starting from a passage in a letter to W. James, where the author supports a “futurist” interpretation of reality—as he had in the juvenile writings—and speaks of “the reality of the public world of the indefinite future as against our past opinions of what it was to be.” This can be defined as a process of “mellonization,” that operation of logic by which what “is conceived as having been is conceived as extended indefinitely into what always will be”. Similarly, in the Preface to Human, all too Human Nietzsche writes: “Our destiny rules over us, even when we are not yet aware of it; it is the future that makes laws for our today”. I will try to read some Peirce’s statements in a Nietzschean perspective within the context of the plan to develop a dynamic and historical ontology; and I will try to read the “enigma” of Nietzsche’s Eternal recurrence from a Peircean perspective.

The Biophysical Modelling of the Stress Theory

Selye published a short note about his findings in Nature in 1936. Selye applied his famous theory of stress to everyday life. A stress-free state is equivalent to being dead. In our paper we write about the some directions in stress research and the stress syndromes in clinical medicine. We show that eustress suits to situations when the psychoneuroendocrine stimulation of the organism and its behavior is temperate, maintaining at an optimal level the physical and mental resources and the health status and inducing a positive adaptation to the environment. We give a comparative analysis between the eustress and distress. Psychical stressors are those which come into being independently from the man’s will and destroy – as social factors – psychic and organic components taking place in the response, the organism consequently get tired. During the harmonic life gradually all human psycho-organic components shall get exhausted. Forming a biophysical model is not the task of the biologist or physicist alone, a good model can successfully constructed only by common, collective-work. This is typically the task of the biophysicist and a problem which falls within the competence of this discipline. Model is always an approximation, the user of the model has to take into consideration that he can approach only the absolute truth just through the endless series of relative truths. We use the Le-Chatelier principle and determine the measure of psychical organization.

«Ақырзаман» теориясының онтологиялық желісі

One of the actual problems of philosophy is the process of the future development of mankind. Since a person's achievements are related to the assimilation of time, this time is usually divided into different periods. For the Turkic peoples, the division of time into times has developed as a habitual, everyday occupation. The allocation of ancient time, modern time, and the apocalypse in historical time is so firmly rooted in consciousness that, without hesitation, we affirm that this is the absolute truth. In the article we tried to analyze the concept of “apocalypse”, its essence and character, reflection in consciousness and hypotheses about this phenomenon. The purpose of the article is a philosophical analysis of theories related to the concept of “the end of the world” through the prism of axiological (value) understanding of the end of human history. Moreover, the phenomenon of the “apocalypse” in close connection with the idea of an infinite heavenly world has always been considered in philosophy as the main philosophical problem. A person not only tries to understand and explore the problems associated with time, but also lives in this phenomenon. No matter how deeply we try to reason, it is impossible to find and accurately determine the future of human history, which is contained in itself. Uncertainty is always worrying. But it can be dispelled in an attempt to approach the understanding of the ontological meaning of the “apocalypse” and the realization of our close connection with it.

The mediating role of the need for absolute truth in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty, depression, and anxiety

This study aims to examine the mediating role of the need for absolute truth variable in the relationship between intolerance to uncertainty, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. The sample of the study consisted of 314 participants between the ages of 18-65, at least high school graduates voluntarily, by convenience sampling method. Sociodemographic Information Form, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale Short Form, the Need for Absolute Truth Scale, the Beck Depression Scale, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scales were applied to the participants to get data. Pearson correlation analyses and regression analyses were applied to the data. According to the results, the need for absolute truth partially mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and depression. Besides, the need for absolute truth had a partial mediating role in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and generalized anxiety disorder. Keywords: Absolute truth; anxiety; anxiety disorder; depression; uncertainty.

Freedom of Expression: Values and Harms

When considering restrictions on socially disfavoured expression, the Supreme Court of Canada has often considered the targeted expression’s “value.” In the seminal cases of Ford v. Quebec and Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Quebec, the Supreme Court articulated the importance of expressive freedom by relating it to three core values: (1) seeking and attaining the truth; (2) participation in democratic institutions; and (3) diversity in forms of individual self- fulfillment. Subsequent cases considering restrictions on expression have evaluated the extent to which the targeted expression advances these values. Ironically, although Ford and Irwin Toy embraced a broad conception of expressive freedom, the Supreme Court has used the values analysis developed in these cases to justify limiting disfavoured expression. As applied to marginalized ideas, the Supreme Court has tailored its balancing test under R. v. Oakes such that expression found to be “distant from the core of free expression values” is granted little protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Under this test, legal restrictions on hate speech, obscenity, and other forms of disfavoured expression have been upheld based on the Supreme Court’s low assessment of the value of the underlying expression. This article argues that although certain forms of expression may be validly restricted under the Charter, the Supreme Court’s practice of assessing the value of targeted expression when applying the Oakes test is both politically illegitimate and vulnerable to error. This practice should be abandoned in favour of an alternative application of Oakes that balances (1) the severity of the restriction against (2) the harm of the targeted expression. Under this analysis, the value of the expression is not a factor because all expression is considered equally valuable. This approach adopts a relativistic perspective on the value of free expression and denies the ability of courts to mediate absolute truth. According to this view, the only characteristic of targeted expression that may justify its restriction is its likelihood to cause harm, a question more susceptible to judicial determination than its underlying value. The impetus for my argument is that, as applied, the Supreme Court’s values analysis inevitably imposes political preferences onto Charter interpretation. A more politically- neutral framework would be more consistent with section 2’s unqualified protection of “thought, belief, opinion and expression,” as well as section 1’s concern for “a free and democratic society.”

Juridical-Psychological Etudes on the Teaching of Religion in Schools in Albania

Religion and politics have consistently gone through a tough relationship. The public debate on religion repeatedly gives the idea of being a "sterile debate", since knowing or coming up with the absolute truth is almost impossible when it comes to religious-civil power-state institutions and religious institutions. Much worse concerns clashes between civilizations and religions worldwide, with bloody conflicts still on the rise nowadays. Hence, the topic on religion must never be underestimated, and yet, never overestimated as well. Precisely, this article conducts a dual-track analysis, on one hand, the possible constitutional admissibility of teaching religion in schools, and on the other, the empirical analysis aimed at collecting data on the opinion of parents, teachers, and school psychologists regarding the inclusion of religion-related subjects in school curricula. The small sample used for semi-structured interviews emerged as having opposing viewpoints about whether or not religion should be incorporated in school curricula. This paper focuses on the topic of religiosity, wrapped up in its own veil of mystery, and it affects the innermost angle of human beings. The relationship with the divine does not allow anyone to touch what is revered just for existing. For these and other reasons, this issue is constantly complex to deal with, but at the same time, it is overrun by hues that modern jurists must grasp and give real value to constitutional principles that keep a democratic society alive, capable of including rather than excluding anyone.
 
 Received: 2 January 2023 / Accepted: 01 March 2023 / Published: 5 March 2023

The revelations of Q. Dissemination and resonance of the QAnon conspiracy theory among US Evangelical Christians and the role of the Covid-19 crisis

Previous studies show that the QAnon conspiracy theory is especially popular among American evangelical Christians. The paper investigates the reasons behind this relationship. We hypothesize a mediation relationship between evangelical dogma and how it is practiced on the one hand and the susceptibility for conspiracy thinking on the other hand. We argue that evangelicalism due to its biblicism is characterized by the belief that its perception of reality holds absolute truth (nomization), that the world can be clearly divided into good and evil (Manichaeism), and that salvation can be achieved through political means (immanent eschatology). Those beliefs, in turn, in the uncertain times of the Covid crisis resonate with the cognitive (epistemic), the affective (moral), and conative (eschatological) elements of conspiracy theories. Using data of waves 46 (March 2019), 68 (April 2020), and 73 (September 2020) of the American Trends Panel, conducted by the PEW Research Center we show respective mediation effects: Evangelical Christians are particularly convinced that their religion alone holds absolute truth and that religion has not enough influence on politics. The latter also correlates with the conspiracy belief that “powerful people intentionally planned the Covid outbreak”. QAnon support again is linked both to such Covid related conspiracy thinking and the three elements of nomization, Manichaeism, and immanent eschatology.

PERKEMBANGAN FILSAFAT ILMU DAN RELEVANSINYA TERHADAP FILSAFAT ISLAM SEBAGAI MATERI AJAR DI PERGURUAN TINGGI

Explaining the development and relationship between science philosophy and Islamic philosophy is the aim of this writing. Descriptive qualitative is the method used by collecting data through library research to gain the aim. The result shows that the development of science philosophy can not be separated from the history of developed science which is the main base in the development of science in which science philosophy consists of (ontology, epistemology, and axiology) Islamic philosophy is based on Islamic notions led by revelation from Allah which are the absolute truth. Science philosophy is only the trigger since all theories and concepts have already been given in Al-Qur’an. Thus, science philosophy and Islamic philosophy can work together to create science based on absolute truth.

A Semiotic Paradox: Scientific Language in the Narrative of TV Advertisement-

The narrative we find in TV advertisement especially abounds in scientific terms that the viewers hardly understand. The apparently ‘scientific’ language induces them to believe in the modern myth of science as absolute truth, which inevitably produces alienation from reality. The more such language triumphs, the more alienation they suffer without knowing it. Such is our situation today that reminds us of the time of Nazi in which alienating language was dominant. However, whether the use of scientific language on TV advertisement becomes alienating or not depends on the socio-cultural context of the viewers. For example, in Japan where the tradition gives more power and space to the ‘signifiant’ than the ‘signifié’, scientific terms used in advertisement are not necessarily meant to indicate ‘truth’ but just play the role of fascinating signifiants that stimulate the viewers’ dream of paradise, of a wonderland. Those viewers momentarily impersonate ‘the modern Westerners’, enjoying the participation in a collective dream which gives them much pleasure. If they purchase the advertised product, it is not because they believe its effect is scientifically proved but because it invites them to share the collective dream stimulated by the advertisement. One may say it is a semiotic paradox for the ununderstandable makes sense in their mind.

Pelisanan Al-Qur’an: Tinjauan Estetika Kenikmatan Tekstual

Similar to the language of the Qur’an, the terminology will imply pleasure before ideological submission. This study explores several hypotheses regarding the pleasure-related aspects of the Qur’anic text, particularly in the context of the oral Qur’an. It is because achieving an aesthetic experience through the mouth is one way. Some of these issues have been addressed by the concepts of work and text (teks), as well as Roland Barthes’ aesthetics of textual pleasure (The Pleasure of the Text). The use of Barthes concepts is made to carry on semiotics’ work in the study of how to read the Qur’an and incorporate the Barthesian text theory into the same study. In comparison to the findings of this qualitative research, the Qur’an as an authoritative holy book is a work that has absolute and complete truth and completeness, which does not allow any textual changes. Muslims who reject this idea are also rejecting their faith in Almighty Allah. Since the Qur’an is so full of meaning, which is limitless and can never be fully understood, it is also a text. In light of this, the Qur’an will give its readers ample room to create new texts (read: tafsir). This is consistent with the principle, s}ah}ih likulli zaman wa makn, that the Qur’an will always be relevant to the world and its events. The Qur’an, which is mostly read by Muslims, will also make its readers happy at the same time.

Между философской критикой и идеологической апологетикой (об уровнях бытования человеческих идей)

The article is devoted to the problem of the correlation of Philosophy and Ideol­ogy. The deep opposition of these two phenomena is that Philosophy is critical thinking, while Ideology is apologetic consciousness. Ideologies are also sa­turated with critical invectives against opponents, but this criticism is only a preparatory action before the main act of ideology – the postulation of one’s own indisputability. The declaration of absolute truth is the credo of an Ideolo­gist, not a Philosopher, who understands the unattainability of absolute truth. There are three levels of existence of human ideas. The first is the actual Ideas, breakthrough guesses; this is a personalized level, where each idea is marked by the author. The second level is the space of ideologems, ideological constructions that still retain the memory of their personal authorship, but have already over­grown with a “party” shell. Ideologems are clusters of not creative-authorial, but already secondary, relaying consciousness; these are “ideas – passwords” by which corporations are self-determined and delimited in the public space. Fi­nally, the third level of the existence of ideas is Ideologies, firmly fixed ideologi­cal complexes that have indisputable dogmatics. Ideologies are the final station of the path from “love of truth” to “will to power”.